Here lately I've been feeling like one of those mothers you read about in children's stories, being able to find a biblical application in small everyday events. I even find myself quoting scriptures at students or applying verses to my own life as I experience things that I've never run into before. I'm going to try and enable you to get into my head in what I've been thinking about lately.
With great anticipation I watch my oldest brother on live TV as he's about to enter the octagon for a big fight. He puts on his gear, hugs my dad (yes, I saw my dad on LIVE TV for the 1st time EVER), and gets encouragement from coaches and the like around him. He enters the octagon, fans are cheering like there's no tomorrow. I too start to cheer, even though he can't hear me. My heart rate begins to quicken and I begin to pray "dear Lord, keep my brother safe, enable him from power from within, help him to win, at the very least, do well during this fight." Round one starts and both my brother and his opponent go after it. I pray that God gives my brother an in to take this guy down. Round two; his opponent is pounding my brothers face. I begin to yell at the guy, telling him to punch somewhere else. None the less, my brother remains on his feet, blocking as many punches as he is able. His face begins to swell before the fans eyes, his opponent keep striking. My brother remains on his feet. Round three; same thing takes place only the punches and the kicks intensify. His eyes begin to swell shut yet my brother still remains on his feet; his opponent taken back as to why he has yet to fall down. He eventually puts him in a head lock, my brother bent over, yet still remaining on his feet. Round three ends, my brother's opponent wins yet the hosts of the show are shocked by the endurance that my brother portrayed. They spoke of him as having a "chin of steel and the heart of a lion." His opponent even praised him, saying he doesn't know how my brother stayed on his two feet.
I'm used to seeing my brother win fights and so are his fans but while watching all of this, the Lord reminded me of something. No matter how hard the enemy attacks, no matter what he throws at me; stand. No matter how simple it would seem to sit down, to give in; stand. No matter how painful the blows are, even when I loose sight as to what is before me; stand and God will see me through.
I love you my brother! I'm pretty sure I would have fallen after the first blow, but you endured with the heart, the will, and the mind of a champion. You are the definition of a fighter.
Sunday, September 18, 2011
Sunday, August 28, 2011
100 things I'm thankful for:
- Family
- Friends
- Flowers
- Trees
- Clouds
- Stars
- Fireflys
- The Ocean
- Rain
- Autumn
- Sunrise
- Sunset
- Children
- Butterflys
- Chocolate
- Peanut Butter
- Protein
- My legs
- My arms
- My feet
- My hands
- My fingers
- My toes
- My eyes
- My eyelids
- My eyelashes
- My belly button
- The ability to hear
- The ability to see
- The ability to smell
- God's word
- The Father
- The Son
- The Holy Spirit
- Soul Food
- Italian Food
- Accents
- Culture!
- The ability to think
- The ability to process
- The ability to speak
- The ability to critique
- Mistakes
- Unanswered prayers
- Answered prayer
- Oatmeal
- The ability to feel
- The ability to touch
- The ability to taste
- Laughter
- Tears
- Pain
- Joy
- Morning
- Mourning
- Evening
- Dusk
- Dawn
- Deer
- Dew
- Snow
- Speech
- Actions
- Love
- The rich
- The poor
- The middle class
- electricity
- Running water
- Cell phones
- the ability to read
- Doc and Ms. Judy
- Corrie ten Boon
- Elisabeth Elliott
- Dannah Gresh
- Shannon Ethridge
- The Mangan's
- Marlena and Shawn Graves
- Crossroads Bible College
- Cedarvillle University
- Eastern Nazarene College
- Carmille Akande
- Corey MacPherson
- Jewel Johnson
- Martin Luther King Jr.
- Frederick Douglas
- Teeth
- Tongue
- Christmas!
- Birthdays!
- Caterpillars
- Education
- Donors
- Grants
- Scholorships
- Roommates
- Difficult people
- Clean clothes
- Chapstick
- MUSIC!
All these things I am grateful for and so much more
Sunday, August 21, 2011
Post 14
Why is New England known for being spiritually dead..........or is America in general becoming spiritually dead (I had church-searching problems in OH too...people weren't as odd though)?
You go to one church and they emphasize the importance of a personal relationship with Christ and why we need to take care of the body of Christ; yet the opportunity to shine the light of Christ to the neighborhood where the church is located in is not seized.
You go to another church and they emphasize the importance of being the hands and feet in the local community, yet nothing is done to nourish those that are within the church.
You go to another church where the people are sweeter than southern style sweet ice tea, yet there's really no meat to the service.
And you go to another church where worshiping God is emphasized yet there is no teaching involved.
And then you go to another service where they teach and preach deep truths of Christ, yet they're as cold as ice at the north pole.
So the question is; where do I go? Do I go to the "sweet" church or the community outreach church and try and find a Bible study elsewhere? Do I go to the cold but solid church and try to find friends elsewhere (oh wait, one of the reasons I'm looking for a church is to have fellowship and find friends)?
And so my church journey continues. I've been told this process takes about a year. "Lord help me to be patient"
You go to one church and they emphasize the importance of a personal relationship with Christ and why we need to take care of the body of Christ; yet the opportunity to shine the light of Christ to the neighborhood where the church is located in is not seized.
You go to another church and they emphasize the importance of being the hands and feet in the local community, yet nothing is done to nourish those that are within the church.
You go to another church where the people are sweeter than southern style sweet ice tea, yet there's really no meat to the service.
And you go to another church where worshiping God is emphasized yet there is no teaching involved.
And then you go to another service where they teach and preach deep truths of Christ, yet they're as cold as ice at the north pole.
So the question is; where do I go? Do I go to the "sweet" church or the community outreach church and try and find a Bible study elsewhere? Do I go to the cold but solid church and try to find friends elsewhere (oh wait, one of the reasons I'm looking for a church is to have fellowship and find friends)?
And so my church journey continues. I've been told this process takes about a year. "Lord help me to be patient"
Monday, August 15, 2011
Post 13
One thing that I love about Monday's is that it's the beginning of a new week; a time to start afresh and begin a new. I'm not one to work out like there's no tomorrow but I don't mind exercising. SO this morning I got up a couple hours before work and walked alongside of the beach for about 45 minutes. AND...it was raining. Usually I'm not a fan of being outside in the rain but it was very refreshing this morning. This time enabled me to think on the goodness of the Lord, something I never do enough.
Things are getting busier at work. Students are beginning to move in early and want to talk about life. One thing that is SO valuable that I learned from my Youth Ministry minor is that so many young adults just want to be heard because they have no one to listen to them, no one to glean wisdom from, no one to wrestle through the serious issues of life. I think one of the greatest mistakes many parents make is not letting their children's voice be heard. Yes, a parent has the right to set guidelines and rules and standards and requirements but a child needs to have the freedom to respectfully express what's going on in their head without being cut off and thrown to the side like what they say isn't worth a penny, let a lone a dime. All that to say, I see my job as not only a job, but a ministry and I'm excited for what God's going to teach me and how he'll use me.
On a lighter note, my boss played a trick on me today by putting some flash drive in my computer to make the mouse go crazy and move about without me even touching it. SOOOOOOooooooo.....while he was at lunch I drenched his office in the scent of Amber Romance and then I even had a chance to spray his neck (and ear-but that was an accident). The funny thing about it, he didn't even smell anything until 3 hours after I sprayed everything down. Laughter is good for the soul. Until next time.
JGB
Things are getting busier at work. Students are beginning to move in early and want to talk about life. One thing that is SO valuable that I learned from my Youth Ministry minor is that so many young adults just want to be heard because they have no one to listen to them, no one to glean wisdom from, no one to wrestle through the serious issues of life. I think one of the greatest mistakes many parents make is not letting their children's voice be heard. Yes, a parent has the right to set guidelines and rules and standards and requirements but a child needs to have the freedom to respectfully express what's going on in their head without being cut off and thrown to the side like what they say isn't worth a penny, let a lone a dime. All that to say, I see my job as not only a job, but a ministry and I'm excited for what God's going to teach me and how he'll use me.
On a lighter note, my boss played a trick on me today by putting some flash drive in my computer to make the mouse go crazy and move about without me even touching it. SOOOOOOooooooo.....while he was at lunch I drenched his office in the scent of Amber Romance and then I even had a chance to spray his neck (and ear-but that was an accident). The funny thing about it, he didn't even smell anything until 3 hours after I sprayed everything down. Laughter is good for the soul. Until next time.
JGB
Thursday, August 4, 2011
Post 12
Today I've been feeling a little down. I think it's partly because I'm exhausted (and it's only the beginning of August, what am I going to do when the students get here?).
I miss human touch (it's my 2nd love language). So I'm asking the Lord to wrap his arms around me. So I've decided to take myself out to dinner tomorrow.....and maybe I'll buy myself some flowers.
Well I'm going to go get some shut eye so I'm not in the same place around this time tomorrow. But before I go, I've been doing some online shopping lately and you know how there's now a customer service rep. ready to "chat" with you help you with any of your questions? Well at the end of our little session I've begun to tell people about Jesus. Usually the rep. signs off rather quickly and doesn't respond to what I'm saying. But even though I haven't been receiving any responses I think I'm going to continue because if one person starts to search for the truth, it will be 100% worth it. Until next time! :)
I miss human touch (it's my 2nd love language). So I'm asking the Lord to wrap his arms around me. So I've decided to take myself out to dinner tomorrow.....and maybe I'll buy myself some flowers.
Well I'm going to go get some shut eye so I'm not in the same place around this time tomorrow. But before I go, I've been doing some online shopping lately and you know how there's now a customer service rep. ready to "chat" with you help you with any of your questions? Well at the end of our little session I've begun to tell people about Jesus. Usually the rep. signs off rather quickly and doesn't respond to what I'm saying. But even though I haven't been receiving any responses I think I'm going to continue because if one person starts to search for the truth, it will be 100% worth it. Until next time! :)
Wednesday, July 27, 2011
Post 11
Guess what?
I am writing this blog while sitting at my very own table!!!!!!!!! I ordered a Barista Table from Target and it took me about 1 week to put it and the chairs together. But I absolutely love it! I'm just hoping that the screws don't fall out since I'm not the strongest woman in the world.
Now it is time to tell you one of my stories. There's a pastor that I heard on the radio a few Sunday's ago and I decided that I wanted to check out his church. I don't have a car so I figured out how to take public transportation to get to the church (well, so I thought). So I hopped onto the "T" and then took the bus to this church. Well google maps told me that I would only need to walk .4 miles to the church from where the bus stop was. BUT....the only way of getting to the church from where I was located was to walk on the interstate. While I do consider myself somewhat adventurous, I just thought that that would be an awful way to die so I ignored those instructions and attempted to walk around the interstate. And I kept walking....and walking....and walking. An hour later I find that I am VERY close to the church, but guess what? I had to walk up a ramp and there was no way around it (who decides to build a church off of the interstate???). So I asked the Lord to surround me with his angels, I opened up my umbrella and stretched it out to my left (so people would see the umbrella before seeing me) and walked up the ramp. So I finally get to the church (I was 1 hour and 15 minutes late) all hot, sweaty, and tired and I walk in. And guess what kind of welcome I get? Some woman, trying to show off to some man that she just met (at least that's what I concluded) told me that my dress was too short and I needed to pull it down. Since when did a knee length dress become too short (the woman didn't even say "hello" Suppose I wasn't a Christian and that's the welcome I received)? But I tugged on it, turned around and dragged my feet up the stairs to the sanctuary. And.....come to find out that the pastor that was preaching was a guest preacher and guess what? The service was practically over. So after the service was over, I found a random lady and asked her if she knew if there was a bus stop near by. And she told me where one was and when I was almost out the door she came up to me and told me that she could just take me to the train station (the "T"). Now normally, I don't accept rides from strangers but she was older and alone, and I figured she must not be too awful if she just sat under the preaching of the word of God; not to mention that my feet, back, and hips were hurting (I wasn't prepared to walk all over the place) so I accepted. So she drives me to the station and I made it safely back home and I passed out on my bed and fell asleep. And there you have it! I must say that I am VERY thankful for the lady that helped me out. My state isn't midwestern or southern so being nice to strangers isn't exactly normal, so praise God she trusted me and I trusted her. Thankfully, I have a friend who told me that she would go with me to church this next Sunday and maybe we can figure out the predicament of the interstate being in the way of safe walking. ;) That's all for now!
I am writing this blog while sitting at my very own table!!!!!!!!! I ordered a Barista Table from Target and it took me about 1 week to put it and the chairs together. But I absolutely love it! I'm just hoping that the screws don't fall out since I'm not the strongest woman in the world.
Now it is time to tell you one of my stories. There's a pastor that I heard on the radio a few Sunday's ago and I decided that I wanted to check out his church. I don't have a car so I figured out how to take public transportation to get to the church (well, so I thought). So I hopped onto the "T" and then took the bus to this church. Well google maps told me that I would only need to walk .4 miles to the church from where the bus stop was. BUT....the only way of getting to the church from where I was located was to walk on the interstate. While I do consider myself somewhat adventurous, I just thought that that would be an awful way to die so I ignored those instructions and attempted to walk around the interstate. And I kept walking....and walking....and walking. An hour later I find that I am VERY close to the church, but guess what? I had to walk up a ramp and there was no way around it (who decides to build a church off of the interstate???). So I asked the Lord to surround me with his angels, I opened up my umbrella and stretched it out to my left (so people would see the umbrella before seeing me) and walked up the ramp. So I finally get to the church (I was 1 hour and 15 minutes late) all hot, sweaty, and tired and I walk in. And guess what kind of welcome I get? Some woman, trying to show off to some man that she just met (at least that's what I concluded) told me that my dress was too short and I needed to pull it down. Since when did a knee length dress become too short (the woman didn't even say "hello" Suppose I wasn't a Christian and that's the welcome I received)? But I tugged on it, turned around and dragged my feet up the stairs to the sanctuary. And.....come to find out that the pastor that was preaching was a guest preacher and guess what? The service was practically over. So after the service was over, I found a random lady and asked her if she knew if there was a bus stop near by. And she told me where one was and when I was almost out the door she came up to me and told me that she could just take me to the train station (the "T"). Now normally, I don't accept rides from strangers but she was older and alone, and I figured she must not be too awful if she just sat under the preaching of the word of God; not to mention that my feet, back, and hips were hurting (I wasn't prepared to walk all over the place) so I accepted. So she drives me to the station and I made it safely back home and I passed out on my bed and fell asleep. And there you have it! I must say that I am VERY thankful for the lady that helped me out. My state isn't midwestern or southern so being nice to strangers isn't exactly normal, so praise God she trusted me and I trusted her. Thankfully, I have a friend who told me that she would go with me to church this next Sunday and maybe we can figure out the predicament of the interstate being in the way of safe walking. ;) That's all for now!
Tuesday, July 19, 2011
Post 10
You know you're an adult when......you wake up (On Your Own) at 7am, on a weekday, and mop the floors and clean your bathroom-before work). I must say that I surprised even myself and have no idea why I did such a thing. ;)
I'm all settled in my new place.....living "on my own" is interesting, but I enjoy it. I don't come home to a husband, a child, a sibling, a parent, a dog, a cat, a bird, a turtle, a fish, or a grasshopper (my brother's and I used to capture them as pets way back in the day). Even though I enjoy "living on my own" I do not have the desire for it to remain this way for forever as it does for many. Thankfully I have the Lord and since I have him, what can man do to me? I am slowly beginning to understand why it would be hard for someone who has lived on their own for awhile, to suddenly adjust their way of life (habits and schedules) for another. I sometimes come home feeling as though I don't want to talk to anyone yet other times I have all the energy in the world!
Last week I was able to fly out to OH and be in a dear friend's wedding. It's so nice when you have those friends that are more than friends and defines what it means to be apart of a family. Another good friend that was in the wedding as well, is moving over seas for a few years to teach at a school. How can three individuals be so close, to suddenly be scattered across the globe, doing things that have no relation to one another yet have an invisible bond that will never be broken?
All that to say, life is changing; for me, for them, maybe even for you. Ready or not, the present is here and I must embrace it and ask God for wisdom when it comes to figuring out how to drive through it. Until next time......
I'm all settled in my new place.....living "on my own" is interesting, but I enjoy it. I don't come home to a husband, a child, a sibling, a parent, a dog, a cat, a bird, a turtle, a fish, or a grasshopper (my brother's and I used to capture them as pets way back in the day). Even though I enjoy "living on my own" I do not have the desire for it to remain this way for forever as it does for many. Thankfully I have the Lord and since I have him, what can man do to me? I am slowly beginning to understand why it would be hard for someone who has lived on their own for awhile, to suddenly adjust their way of life (habits and schedules) for another. I sometimes come home feeling as though I don't want to talk to anyone yet other times I have all the energy in the world!
Last week I was able to fly out to OH and be in a dear friend's wedding. It's so nice when you have those friends that are more than friends and defines what it means to be apart of a family. Another good friend that was in the wedding as well, is moving over seas for a few years to teach at a school. How can three individuals be so close, to suddenly be scattered across the globe, doing things that have no relation to one another yet have an invisible bond that will never be broken?
All that to say, life is changing; for me, for them, maybe even for you. Ready or not, the present is here and I must embrace it and ask God for wisdom when it comes to figuring out how to drive through it. Until next time......
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