Rules from God

Rules from God for 2006
1. Wake Up!! Decide to have a good day. "Today is the day the Lord hath made; let us rejoice and be glad in it." Psalms 118:24

2. Dress Up!! The best way to dress up is to put on a smile. A smile is an inexpensive way to improve your looks. "The Lord does not look at the things man looks at. Man looks at outward appearance; but the Lord looks at the heart." I Samuel 16:7

3. Shut Up!! Say nice things and learn to listen. God gave us two ears and one mouth, so He must have meant for us to do twice as much listening as talking "He who guards his lips guards his soul." Proverbs 13:3

4. Stand Up!!... For what you believe in. Stand for something or you will fall for anything.. "Let us not be weary in doing good; for at the proper time, we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good..." Galatians 6:9-10

5. Look Up!!... To the Lord.
"I can do everything through Christ who strengthens me." Philippians 4:13

6. Reach Up!!... For something higher. "Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not unto your own understanding. In all your ways, acknowledge Him, And He will direct your path."
Proverbs 3:5-6

7. Lift Up!!... Your Prayers.
"Do not worry about anything; instead PRAY ABOUT EVERYTHING."
Philippians 4:6

Send this to the people you care about.
I thought this was mighty special, just like you.
Pass this on and brighten someone's day, and remember:

God answers Knee-Mail.

hungry?

As many of you know, I am now living in a house owned by the Wesley Foundation. I do have a title as a peer minister, but it would be hard for me to not be involved in the ministry that goes on in the house. Our ministry is called Crossroads and we are a small group, mostly prodestants, who are just getting started as a newer group.

We serve a meal a week and so this Tuesday was our first. We were so excited, cooking, preparing, making flyers and a big posterboard, it was great. Granted we only had a few people those people are coming back (if anything for the excellent Methodist food!). And as I've been thinking about all this and talking about it the thing that kept coming out of my mouth when talking to people was "come for lunch". And i've begun to wonder what i want to attract people to our house. I mean food is great and a great way to bring in college students. . . but isn't sharing faith more important?

One of the things we offer is a weekly online bible study. Going with the theme of food, i thought it would be great to throw light on the idea of feeding the spirit. We all know how important it is to feed our bodies. When we don't, we get sick, we don't have enough energy, sometimes to the point where people faint. Our spirits are the same way. We all have a hunger inside of us for more. For truth. Many times i know i have fed that hunger with quick fixes. Throwing things at my spirit that don't really satisfy it. Kinda like junk food. It does the trick for a very small time, but eventually just makes you more hungry.

Without knowing it we hunger for God. Many times we find ways to supress this hunger, but it's still there. We long to be "complete", little do we know that there is nothing but daily time with God that can really "hit the spot". Sometimes we get a great feast at a weekend retreat, or a week at camp, even sunday church services. We leave feeling God's presence and our spirit feels good. However one meal, even a great feast doesn't last forever. We need to feed our spiritual self daily just as we feed our physical selves.

I know that i struggle with finding time each day and i have covered that in some of my other posts, but i again encourage you to find an accountability partner and work together. We are all a family in Christ, here to love and support each other.

I had a hard time finding verses that fit exactly what I was looking for, but here are two good ones. God Bless!

Exodus 16:4 (The Message)
God said to Moses, "I'm going to rain bread down from the skies for you. The people will go out and gather each day's ration. I'm going to test them to see if they'll live according to my Teaching or not. On the sixth day, when they prepare what they have gathered, it will turn out to be twice as much as their daily ration."

2 Chronicles 13:10 (The Message)
"But for the rest of us in Judah, we're sticking with God. We have not traded him in for the latest model—we're keeping the tried-and-true priests of Aaron to lead us to God and the Levites to lead us in worship by sacrificing Whole-Burnt-Offerings and aromatic incense to God at the daily morning and evening prayers, setting out fresh holy bread on a clean table, and lighting the lamps on the golden Lampstand every night. We continue doing what God told us to in the way he told us to do it; but you have rid yourselves of him.

your sister in Christ,
Erin

School starts again!

Well I have returned to a world where internet exists!

Summer camp was amazing and i have a million and three stories for anyone who'd like to hear them, i'm sure a few will come up in future posts.

I would like to ask again if anyone would like to help with the posting. I have lots of resources, many of which are online, and putting together devotionals is a great way to help one establish for themselves what they really believe. I am also asking for help because this blog gets to be a bit much for one person to keep up.

God Bless!
your sister in Christ
~Erin

Support

Sometimes I feel needy. . . do you ever feel that way? I know I need something, but I'm too afraid or too proud to ask. We all need friends. True, close, honest friends. The ones who you know don't mind a phone call at 2 am, or in the middle of class because you need them. But why do i feel sometimes afraid to ask? We all say, call anytime. . . stop in anytime. . . don't worry about it. . . but do we question comments like these? I love this poem:

Don't walk in front of me, I may not follow,
don't walk behind me, i may not lead,
Just walk beside me and be my friend. -Camus

Many times I can't articulate my needs. Many times we don't think it's important enough to bother anyone about. Many times, i'm scared they will freak out. God offers constant support, is always there, and will always be there. But the thing I like about this poem is that i'm not asking you anything. I am answering your question. YOU asked, where do you want me? I guess that's how i view most relationships. I know what I want to get out of it, I know what i need to get out of it, but what about you? what do you want? Do you truely want to help, or just be around? God always says, I want to help you through this, how do you need me. Well . .. i need support. We all do. I encourage every Christian to create a support group amoung them. Wesley used to organize groups he labled classes. You had to go, and you had to share. You were help accountable. Create a space where you are comfortable and find people who will keep you accountable. We need support to grow, or we will crumble. God Bless!

Ecclesiastes 4:11-12
11 Also, if two lie down together, they will keep warm.
But how can one keep warm alone?
12 Though one may be overpowered,
two can defend themselves.
A cord of three strands is not quickly broken.

Your sister in Christ,
Erin

Schedule God too

I know I've been busy, but being sick last week (hospital sick) kinda reminded me of an old lesson sometimes i just haven't learned yet. Schedule God too. So often I get so busy, often with things i try to explain as "out of my control" and i simply run out of time. Homework, church, music things, finacial things, work, all of these things take time and often demand the time I have, but I do the deciding and in the end it is me who gives my time. When I don't give enough time for God every day, i find myself slipping. Maybe it's not a big deal today, or tomorrow, or even next week, but in a month or two months i soon find I have left my God time for church.

You can't expect to meet God at church if we do not meet him daily. We gather at church to celebrate God's godness, to tell him, hey - you are amazing and i thank you for that. If we don't have him in our lives not only do we fall apart but we can't say "God you're amazing" truely, we don't really know him. And the refocusing doesn't happen, nor do we feel better. Church becomes another thing on our to do list. We are missing the joy and the goodness. We are missing the hugs and the refreshment our souls need. When I forget this, and i miss it, my body fights on for awhile, then bad things pile up. All the sudden it just seems like everything is due and nothing is done. My soul just isn't feed, and I am not in an attitude to let God help. I must do it. This is pride. Then i fall. Most often it is me getting sick (like i was last week) where I am forced for at least a day to rest. Sometimes it is me relapsing to some of my old "bad habits". Stress coping things i used to do, my cutting, or my ED (eating disorder), things that I can control when I feel my world out of control.

I am coming into this monday head on, ready and rested with God by my side. Writing my schedule for the week, and including prayer and quiet time with God. Make sure you smile alot, and take the time to rest with God.

Manna and Quail

While the Israelites were in the desert they could not find food and water. Many complained to Moses and Aaron saying "at least in Egypt we had food and water!" Then God said to Moses, "I will rain down bread from Heaven for you. Have the people go out and collect enough for each day and on the 6th day gather enough for two days." The people still grumbled for meat. So the Lord said "at twlight you will eat meat and in the morning you will be filled with bread." In the evening wuail came and covered the camp, in the morning there was a layer of dew around the camp. When the dew was gone thin flakes like frost on the ground appeared on the desert floor. The Israelites were confused until Moses said it is the bread from the LORD. Take enough for each in your tent. No more or less, none is to be saved (except for the sabbath day). The bread was called manna and tasted like wafers made with honey. Moses had Aaron take some and put it in a jar to keep for future generations.

Manna meant "what is it?" and quail migrate around the sinai penisula resting on the ground or in bushes making them easy to capture. It is amazing how God provided for the people even after their grumblings. Also his system eliminated greed. Just a heart warming story.

God Bless,
your sister in Christ, Erin

Chronological Order

I think sometimes the wordiness of the old testement gets us confused so i decided to try and abbreviate the things we generally highlight through the Exodus.

Creation
Adam and Eve
expelled from the garden
Cain and Able
Noah and the flood
Abrah and Sari- Abraham and Sarah
Hagar - Ishmael
Sarah - Issac
Issac and Rebeka
Jacob and Esau (Jacob gets the blessing)
Jacob has 12 sons - youngest being Joseph
Joseph gets sold to Egypt
becomes adviser to the king
when Jacob dies, Joseph brings his family into Egypt (about 70)
350 years later a new Pharoh (unaware of Joseph) decides to enslave the Hebrews in fear of a revolt
Murder of the boy infants
Moses, escape, grows up in palace, goes into wilderness, burning bush, exodus
40 years in wilderness
10 commandments
then we come up to Leviticus

so that is my overview of Genesis and Exodus covering the main stories, but sometimes we get confused of how they all relate to each other

God Bless,
your sister in Christ~Erin

Dinah

Interesting story. . . ( found in Genesis 34)

So Dinah was one of Jacob's and Leah's daughters. (Abraham- Issac- Jacob)
When Jacob and his family were in Shechem in the land of Cannan. They had been traveling around and Dinah went out to meet some of the other women in the area. While she was out a guy named Shechem saw her and fell in love with her. He violated her and then asked his father to get her as his wife. Jacob found out and soon did Dinah's brothers. When Shechem's father came to ask for Dinah as a wife for his son they agreed only if the men of the city would be circumcised. They agreed and all became circumcised. 3 days later, while all the men were still in pain, two of Dinah's brothers, Simeon and Levi, went into the city and killed every male. The looted where their sister ad been defiled and took flocks and herds, donkeys and anything else they could find out to the fields. They carried off all of their wealth and their women and children as they left. Jacob yelled at his sons for bringing him trouble in this new land knowing that those left in Cannan could band together and kill him and his family. His sons replied, "Should he have treated our sister like a prostitute?"

So family revenge? We aren't really told how Dinah feels about this whole mess. . . just that he charmed her. So alot can be see in this story. . . even without God's view on the story. We see alittle more of humanity here. . . we get angry, we do things we may regret later. We are protective of our family members.

Then I always try to think with a little historical perspective. Think towards the end, the brothers looted and took the animals, wealth, and women and children. Women and children and just thrown in their like donkeys, someones property to be taken. Yet the whole story brought about because of a woman.

These are the stories that i find facinating. . . why is it here in the bible? What does it offer us today? or even. . . how much has been exaggerated over the years until someone wrote the story down? Is it possible that the two brothers killed every male in a city? I'd love to know what you think.

God Bless,
your sister in Christ~Erin

Tower of Babel

Many of us have heard many different stories with pieces resembling the story of the tower of babel. Many dismiss it as a simple legend however I believe that the story was kept because it has a good lesson to learn. (The tower of Babel occured after the great flood. )

Genesis 11

The Tower of Babel
1 Now the whole world had one language and a common speech. 2 As men moved eastward, [a] they found a plain in Shinar [b] and settled there.
3 They said to each other, "Come, let's make bricks and bake them thoroughly." They used brick instead of stone, and tar for mortar. 4 Then they said, "Come, let us build ourselves a city, with a tower that reaches to the heavens, so that we may make a name for ourselves and not be scattered over the face of the whole earth."
5 But the LORD came down to see the city and the tower that the men were building. 6 The LORD said, "If as one people speaking the same language they have begun to do this, then nothing they plan to do will be impossible for them. 7 Come, let us go down and confuse their language so they will not understand each other."
8 So the LORD scattered them from there over all the earth, and they stopped building the city. 9 That is why it was called Babel [c] —because there the LORD confused the language of the whole world. From there the LORD scattered them over the face of the whole earth.

So, challenging. The idea that we as humans are capable of working together is a warming idea, but the idea that God didn't want us to work together. . . is harder to swallow. Granted the intent of the tower was prideful. . . showing God that we something. Any thoughts?

Cain and Abel

Well I thought we better get an overview, maybe understand a little bit more about biblical history along with stories. I know this is late, but forgive me, college life is crazy.

I thought we could start with Cain and Abel, seeing as most of us are roughly familiar with their parents, but not so much them. Cain and Able were the children of Adam and Eve. The story is found in Genesis Chapter 4.

Genesis 4
Cain and Abel

1 Adam [a] lay with his wife Eve, and she became pregnant and gave birth to Cain. [b] She said, "With the help of the LORD I have brought forth [c] a man." 2 Later she gave birth to his brother Abel.
Now Abel kept flocks, and Cain worked the soil. 3 In the course of time Cain brought some of the fruits of the soil as an offering to the LORD. 4 But Abel brought fat portions from some of the firstborn of his flock. The LORD looked with favor on Abel and his offering, 5 but on Cain and his offering he did not look with favor. So Cain was very angry, and his face was downcast.
6 Then the LORD said to Cain, "Why are you angry? Why is your face downcast? 7 If you do what is right, will you not be accepted? But if you do not do what is right, sin is crouching at your door; it desires to have you, but you must master it."
8 Now Cain said to his brother Abel, "Let's go out to the field." [d] And while they were in the field, Cain attacked his brother Abel and killed him.
9 Then the LORD said to Cain, "Where is your brother Abel?"
"I don't know," he replied. "Am I my brother's keeper?"
10 The LORD said, "What have you done? Listen! Your brother's blood cries out to me from the ground. 11 Now you are under a curse and driven from the ground, which opened its mouth to receive your brother's blood from your hand. 12 When you work the ground, it will no longer yield its crops for you. You will be a restless wanderer on the earth."
13 Cain said to the LORD, "My punishment is more than I can bear. 14 Today you are driving me from the land, and I will be hidden from your presence; I will be a restless wanderer on the earth, and whoever finds me will kill me."
15 But the LORD said to him, "Not so [e] ; if anyone kills Cain, he will suffer vengeance seven times over." Then the LORD put a mark on Cain so that no one who found him would kill him. 16 So Cain went out from the LORD's presence and lived in the land of Nod, [f] east of Eden.

Sibling rivalry, something many of us can relate to. . . but here in an extreme. Other things brought out in the story are jealousy, anger management, and punishment. Abel brought to God the best of his labors while Cain simply brought "some fruit". God was pleased with Abel for sacrificing his best for him, but not so much with Cain who just kinda gave God some stuff because he was suppose to. The intent, not the quantity, was the problem. God knew their hearts. He didn't plan on punishing Cain for not sacrificing the best of his crop, he just wan't very happy with him. Because of this though Cain gets angry.

This is the ironic part. Cain doesn't do his best but Abel does, so who suffers? Abel. His brother is jealous that God is pleased with him and blames it on his brother, not his lack of effort to please God. So he does his worst, he kills the object that he sees as an obstacle between him and God. To me this says something about conquering our fears, not simply destroying them. Learning to work with the problems in life. The punishment that Cain recieves brings this idea home. He gave him a new challenge. Cain wasn't able to be killed and wasn't able to work the land, and as much as this may seem like a terrible thing the Lord gave him mercy. And protection.

So all in all, an interesting story which has much to tell and teach about. Jealousy, sibling rivalry, and mercy.

God Bless you and yours,
your sister in Christ~Erin

Obscure Stories

I find the best way i learn is through stories, i can remember them and relate while learning a lesson. Therefore i thought we could look at some stories for the next month from the bible for our devotionals.

The bible is full of stories, most of them from the old testament. We do not study these stories much anymore, they are not often taught. Stories of the prophets, judges, and many others. Inspirational stories such as Ruth and Naomi, brotherly love and loyalty such as in David and Johnathon, and stories of courage like Ester or Joshua.

These stories give us strength, courage, and hope. They help us to better understand the personality of God as best we can. Pray for guidance and understanding as we go more indepth into studing the bible.

2 Chronicles 1:10-12
10 Give me wisdom and knowledge, that I may lead this people, for who is able to govern this great people of yours?"

11 God said to Solomon, "Since this is your heart's desire and you have not asked for wealth, riches or honor, nor for the death of your enemies, and since you have not asked for a long life but for wisdom and knowledge to govern my people over whom I have made you king, 12 therefore wisdom and knowledge will be given you. And I will also give you wealth, riches and honor, such as no king who was before you ever had and none after you will have."

God Bless,
your sister in Christ~Erin

Temptations

As humans we all sin. The problem arises for me when i fall into temptation and the same old ways. The same old sins that drag me down. Then i feel guilty and on top of that beat myself up. God understands that as humans we have temptations and advises us on how to fight them.

Luke 22:46
"Why are you sleeping?" he asked them. "Get up and pray so that you will not fall into temptation."

Don't ignore them. . . acknowledge that they are there. And learn to recognize them.

1 Corinthians 10:13
No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it.

Temptation is not a problem only some of us face, ALL of us have temptations. There are not different levels of sins, we all fall and do wrong. We therefore all need to learn to defense against it.

Mark 14:38
"Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the body is weak."

Matthew 6:13
'And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one. '

Matthew 4:1
[ The Temptation of Jesus ]" Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the desert to be tempted by the devil."

Jesus again sets a great example of how we can prepare ourselves. He spent 40 days (a sacred period) preparing for his ministry and during that time we get the story of how he was tempted by the devil (see Matthew chapter 4). He prayed, and he spent time preparing himself. He knew the scriptures and he used his knowledge to fight off temptations. We need to study so that we have the knowledge to fight our temptations. There will always be hard times in life but it's having the hope that comes with Jesus and the stories of Gods love and mercy that will help us live through them.

God Bless,
your sister in Christ~ Erin

Loss

life is a series of events- good, bad, and indifferent. I have recently experienced the bad in the loss of a friend. Crystal and i graduated from high school together and coming from a small school that means we knew each other well growing up. The news was a huge shock. A car accident. An event that happens in life. I went home for the funeral and grieved with my friends. It was hard and as we all do when faced with difficult times in life we ask God - WHY?

But we can't find the answer. Sometimes it seems to come to us later in life, sometimes not. It's hard to imagine a good reason for a person to die. The old question, why do bad things happen to good people?? There is never really an answer, or an answer we can understand. We can not even try to understand the mind of God, the reasonings that he has. But we always try. We always search, and sometimes that search almost destroys us.

We all have a emptiness inside of us, a whole that we need filled. We spend much of out lives searching for what's missing and loss adds to the hurt and pain of emptiness. However there is only one thing that will fill our emptiness and it's God. He also tends to be the one we blame our pain upon. This does not make us very open to him.

Faith in God's grace and love gives us hope for a better world. We trust in his promises that he is good and his plan is not to harm us but for us to prosper and give us hope and a future. As hard as it is to accept the pain caused by loss God offers us comfort and love instead of a world of sorrow and bitterness. We many not be able to understand his plan now, but through our faith we trust that he is the way and the life.

Jeremiah 29:11
For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.

God Bless,
your sister in Christ~Erin

Food!

So there was a very cute little skit done in my church today to "advertise" for the youth's sub sale for Super Bowl sunday. The boy was sad because the Packers weren't in the Super bowl but the girl set him straight by reminding him Super Bowl sunday was NOT about football - but about food! (Which is funny knowing how methodist gatherings are very often about food!) So the point of the skit was to get people to think about food on super bowl sunday instead of foodball and buy that food from the youth.

I chuckled just at all the old jokes we used to make about if there is food the people will come. We all need food, we all like food. . . but lets go back to that we all need food. Our physical bodies need food for strength. When we don't get it we get hungry. Our spiritual bodies are the same way - we need food for strength. Where does one get food for the spirit?

Food for the spirit is found in many ways. I find that it is most important to get a regular daily schedule going. A time set aside, 5-20 min a day. Time to quiet, time to read, time to pray. Everyone has their own ways to relax and have God time. I like to write personally but one can draw, sing, paint, meditate, take a walk, or a million other things. Reading scripture should be a part of these quiet times. Here is some scriptural wisdom:

1 Peter 2
1Therefore, rid yourselves of all malice and all deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and slander of every kind. 2Like newborn babies, crave pure spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow up in your salvation, 3now that you have tasted that the Lord is good.

Jude 1:19-20
20But you, dear friends, build yourselves up in your most holy faith and pray in the Holy Spirit. 21Keep yourselves in God's love as you wait for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ to bring you to eternal life.

1 Timothy 4:7-8
7Have nothing to do with godless myths and old wives' tales; rather, train yourself to be godly. 8For physical training is of some value, but godliness has value for all things, holding promise for both the present life and the life to come.

Just as we feed our physical bodies we must feed our spirits. We are not accustomed to feeding them but many of us feel an emptiness that can only be filled with God. We can't just fill it with God once a week, we need to feed our spririts everyday. I highly recommend having an accountabilty partner or group. I'll do another blog on that one though. Remember however the importance of feeding your spirit. We all experience some of that emptiness that can only be filled with God's love.

God Bless,
your sister in Christ~Erin

Sabbath

Genesis 2:2-3
2 By the seventh day God had finished the work he had been doing; so on the seventh day he rested [a] from all his work. 3 And God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it he rested from all the work of creating that he had done.

God took a day of rest after working hard. We work hard, therefore following his example we also need to take a day off.

Exodus 16:23
He said to them, "This is what the LORD commanded: 'Tomorrow is to be a day of rest, a holy Sabbath to the LORD. So bake what you want to bake and boil what you want to boil. Save whatever is left and keep it until morning.' "

It is also one of the ten commandments. Over the years we have learned much about stress, it's complications and it's problems. I don't think anyone will tell you they don't have stress, and many of us have too much stress. I learned a lot this summer about the importance of taking daily time for yourself as well as taking a Sabbath. Many of us will say we don't "need" it, however are not telling the whole truth. We need to feel our souls and rest our bodies and our minds. I don't think I really need to harp on this topic, but I did want to touch on it.
Take some time to rest

God Bless,
your sister in Christ~Erin

Loas

Laos was taken over by the communist Pathet Lao in 1975. Although Laos is rich with natural resources and has great potential for foreign investment, growth is hampered by the government’s slow reforms.

Religion: Buddhist 61.05%, Traditional ethnic 31.20%, non-Religious/other 4.20%, Christian 1.85%, Muslim 1.10%, Chinese 0.50%, and Baha’i 0.10%

Ideological Influence: Communism

Head of State: President Gen. Khamtai Siphadon

Persecution: The three or four Christian churches in the capital city of Vientiane are considered potentially subversive and are closely monitored by the government. House-church meetings are raided, and Lao Christians are arrested, while foreign Christians are expelled. Communist leaders in some districts have implemented a program called “New Mechanism,” in which anyone who does not convert to Buddhism or animism is forcibly removed from their district. Christian villagers also have been forced to sign a document renouncing their faith. If they refuse, they are forced to leave their homes, and their property is either seized or destroyed.

Missionary Opportunity: The church has grown despite persecution and restrictions. There have been reports of entire villages turning to Christ. Significant numbers are turning to Christ among the Hmong and Khmu people.

Something not often known is that the Hmong people came from the mountains of Loas. Their young men were recruited by the Americans to help in the Vietnam War and as refugees have come to America. Many of them have settled in WI and MN. Loas is a very diverse country in a influential part of the world. There are christians in Loas who need our prayers.

"Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.... By faith Enoch was taken up so that he would not see death; and he was not found because God took him up; for he obtained the witness that before his being taken up he was pleasing to God. And without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is and that He is a rewarder of those who seek Him" (Hebrews 11:1, 5-6 NASB).

God Bless,
your sister in Christ~Erin

God's Image

So from the society we live in many of us have different views about ourselves than may be true. Once a leader took a group of us through this exercise. We were asked to answer these questions and given about 2-3 min for each one.
1. Who are you?
2. Who are you to others?
3. Who are you to God?

Taking time to answer these questions one by one is difficult. Reminds me of a scene from "Anger Management". When Adam Sandler goes to his first counseling session. They ask him to tell the group a little about himself. He begins to tell the group about what he does and is quickly stopped by the facilitator "No, don't tell us about your career - tell us who you are" he is told. So he begins to tell the group about what he enjoys doing and again is stopped. "Not your hobbies, - who you are." So frustrated he begins to talk about himself that he is a pretty good guy and . . . "Not your personality! Tell us WHO YOU ARE." To which he blows up at the group "I don't know what you want to hear!" bringing about a laugh from the audience ( he is trying to convince them he doesn't need anger manangment yet has these angry outbursts.

Who are we? We are bombarded with a lot of ideas of who we should be. . . but do we know who we are? Many young people go off to "find themselves". I think the 3rd question above had a lot of our answers. We were created by God for a purpose. Therefore should we not begin at God to find out who we are?

We are children of God. Beloved children.
John 1:12-13
12 Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God— 13children born not of natural descent,[a] nor of human decision or a husband's will, but born of God.

As children we are given the blessing of the father and loved with the intense love as a child is loved by a parent. This is an incredible gift. To be loved, honestly loved, by the creator of the universe. By thearchitectt of our world. . . we are loved. Not for our actions but we have always been loved this way!

Jeremiah 1:4-5
4 The word of the LORD came to me, saying,
5 "Before I formed you in the womb I knew [a] you,
before you were born I set you apart;
I appointed you as a prophet to the nations."

God knew us before we were born. He loved us before we were born. He formed us the way we are and loves us for the way we are. No matter what other people may tell us we are special the way we are. Special and beloved. We have been given a physical body from God to care for. It is a gift. . . a temple. Many of us ( myself included) have out of anger and pain abused this gift. Feelings of depression,lonelinesss, and unworthiness can cause us much pain. We look at who we think we should be and are often not happy with ourselves. Because of this we cause our body to suffer. Over dieting, over exercise, over strenuating ourselves can cause damage to our bodies. These image problems can develop into serious issues. Self harm problems, eating disorders, and other problems of lack of control. God does not want us to hurt ourselves.

1 Corinthians 6:19-20
19Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; 20you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your body.

God created us to look like we do. We are not all super models with "hot" bodies. We are not all popular or well liked. We are all different. We all have different gifts. But the bottom line is - we are all beloved children of God.

If you ever face the question of "who amIi" Ii urge you to look towards God for theanswerr. You are his beloved child. And do not let our world lie to you - telling you that you aren't good enough, because YOU are perfect.

Romans 12:2 "The Message"
2Don't become so well-adjusted to your culture that you fit into it without even thinking. Instead, fix your attention on God. You'll be changed from the inside out. Readily recognize what he wants from you, and quickly respond to it. Unlike the culture around you, always dragging you down to its level of immaturity, God brings the best out of you, develops well-formed maturity in you.

God Bless!
your sister in Christ~Erin

Self Image

This is a hard thing for many in todays society of perfection. We grew up in a world of virtual reality and media. Not learning the ways of life or failure. The social pressures are also extreme and unneccessary. The show "Beauty and the Geek" stresses it's okay in society for guys to be smart but girls must be pretty. What are these messages telling us as christians?

Romans 12:2
2Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.

God wants us to be who we are, who we were created to be. But when we find out in some way we are different, not "normal". We scrutinize ourselves pysically, mentally, socially. Girls are taught somehow that they are not complete without the love of a guy, so they will do anything to fulfill those feelings. This can lead to all kinda of problems. Really it can just be a big mess.

Tomorrow I will list some more Godly ways to view ourselves and others. Today i ask you too think about yourself and ask a couple of these questions:
~What do you struggle with most? appearence, accomplishments, or status
~ In your idea what does the ideal person look like?
~What do you like most about yourself?
~If you could change anything about yourself would you? What?

God Bless,
your sister in Christ~Erin

Praise God!

Psalm 19

For the director of music. A psalm of David.

1 The heavens declare the glory of God;
the skies proclaim the work of his hands.
2 Day after day they pour forth speech;
night after night they display knowledge.
3 There is no speech or language
where their voice is not heard. [a]
4 Their voice [b] goes out into all the earth,
their words to the ends of the world.
In the heavens he has pitched a tent for the sun,

just thought this was an interesting verse for the day i lost my voice. Sometimes we are in the middle of the hardest time. . . stress, sickness, many things. Still in all of these problems we need to take the time to praise god! Take time to walk outdoors, to the car, to class, walk the dog. Outside is an amazing portrait of God's love. Enjoy it, even if you may be to sick to talk.

God Bless,
your sister in Christ~Erin

Agree to Disagree

1 Corinthians 1
10I appeal to you, brothers, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree with one another so that there may be no divisions among you and that you may be perfectly united in mind and thought. 11My brothers, some from Chloe's household have informed me that there are quarrels among you. 12What I mean is this: One of you says, "I follow Paul"; another, "I follow Apollos"; another, "I follow Cephas[a]"; still another, "I follow Christ."
13Is Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Were you baptized into[b] the name of Paul? 14I am thankful that I did not baptize any of you except Crispus and Gaius, 15so no one can say that you were baptized into my name. 16(Yes, I also baptized the household of Stephanas; beyond that, I don't remember if I baptized anyone else.) 17For Christ did not send me to baptize, but to preach the gospel—not with words of human wisdom, lest the cross of Christ be emptied of its power.

If i have learned one thing at college it is that when you have a discussion you will encounter multiple views. You will probably even argue. As christians we have argued for years - look at the divisions it has caused amoung us - denominations. I urge you to work towards bringing union again between christians, make friends, TALK, respect everyone, and agree to disagree. WE have so much to learn from one another.

God Bless,
your sister in Christ~Erin

Gritted-Teeth Prayers

This is a devotion from The Upper Room magazine:

9"This, then, is how you should pray:
" 'Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your name,
10your kingdom come,
your will be done
on earth as it is in heaven.
11Give us today our daily bread.
12Forgive us our debts,
as we also have forgiven our debtors.
13And lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from the evil one.[a]'

Read Matthew 6:9-13

Forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.

-Matthew 6:12 (KJV)
AS I was going through a divorce last year, I dealt with feelings of betrayal, hurt, anger, and abandonment. I resented the time I'd invested in a lost marriage. At the same time, I tried to grasp the idea of forgiveness. While I wanted God to hear my prayer of repentance and to forgive me, I was having a hard time forgiving my soon-to-be-former wife. I prayed through gritted teeth, "I forgive her, God." I did not mean it and God knew I did not mean it, but I kept praying the same prayer daily.

It was hard to forgive someone who had treated me badly. But at times when memories popped into my head and I felt hurt and resentment, I said my gritted-teeth prayer. I read self-help books about anger management, but they didn't help. Nothing helped but my daily, strained prayer. Gradually, I began to unclench my teeth, to relax, and to honestly pray to be able to forgive my wife. Then, I felt, God forgave my lack of contribution to the marriage.

Forgiveness is a spiritual two-way street. I had not worked hard enough at my marriage, and I had not worked at my relationship with God. While the marriage could not be salvaged, my relationship with God has grown as I have learned to forgive.

Ed Ridgley (Alabama, U.S.A.)


Lord, teach us to forgive as you forgive. In Jesus' name. Amen.

God hears and responds even to the prayers we pray through gritted teeth.

It is so hard to forgive, especially when those close to us hurt us. Parents, siblings, close friends, these are the people we trust. When they hurt us we build up this wall and do not let anyone in. It is a dark and lonely road. I know, i've been there. It is almost impossible to forgive someone close to you who has hurt you - but with God it is possible, and it is neccessary for living a healthy life in Christ. Even if you are gritting your teeth, those prayers are important.
God Bless,
Your sister in Christ ~Erin

Waiting

Hello everyone! I have been pretty sick and unable to keep up with the blog for a few days, but i'll try to catch us up! Here is a devotion I get e-mailed from my campus ministry program. ~Erin

E-mail BIBLE STUDY “Moved by faith in God.”
But those who wait for he Lord shall renew their strength,

They shall mount up with wings like eagles,
They shall run and not be weary,
They shall walk and not faint. Isaiah 40:31

A social activist, Leonard Woolf wrote of his life’s work: “I see clearly that I have achieved practically nothing. The world today and the history of the human anthill during the past 57 years would be exactly the same as it is if I had played ping pong instead of sitting on committees and writing books and memoranda. I have therefore to make the rather ignominious confession that I must have in a long life ground through between 150,000 and 200,000 hours of perfectly useless work.”[1]
Jesus was much younger when he cried out on the cross, “My God, my God why hast thou forsaken me?” But whether we are young or old it is possible for the world to “get to us.”
After we have given the world around us our best shot no good seems to come from our effort.
As students we sometimes work hard to prepare for an exam only to get a terrible grade.
After four to six years of university work there is no employment waiting for us.
As parents we do our best to raise a child only to have the child turn against us and spurn our values.
Martin Luther King worked for civil rights and nonviolence only to be brought down in violent assassination.
Jesus came to earth from God indicating how God so loved the world, only to be crucified!
In America it is easy to believe that life should have comfort, luxury and convenience. The reality is that life can also be cruel.
Does our Christian faith help us with our feelings of futility?
The verse for today from Isaiah says, “But those who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength.” This is a hard word for those of us who want the pain to be gone NOW. We remember that Jesus was in the tomb for three days. I think of this as a way of “waiting for the Lord.” In spite of the miraculous power which Jesus exhibited in his earthly life, still he lay in the tomb doing nothing. If Jesus waited upon the Lord, surely we must wait too.
This word from Isaiah has proved itself many times in my life, but there is more to the wait than the promise that we shall mount up with wings, run and not be weary and walk and not faint. We also wait for God to being all history together. A Hebrew Testament scholar, T.C. Vriezen believes that “God holds history in the hollow of His hand, and that He will make the history of the world end in complete communion between God and man, so that He will come as King; or, in other words, so that He may be all in all.”[2]
Here is the difference between humanism and faith in God. Yes, human effort is needed, but by faith we enter into a promise and power that goes beyond all that we can do. Thanks be to God, but Lord help me to wait.[3]

Yours,
Ron Erickson

[1] The Journey Not the Arrival Matters: An autobiography of the years 1939-1969 (New York: Harcourt, Brace & World), p. 217.
[2] An Outline of Old Testament Theology (Boston: Charles T. Branford Co., 1958), p. 371.
[3] Many of the ideas in this meditation are inspired by Ernest T. Campbell, Locked in a Room With Open Doors (Waco: Word Books, 1974) p.113 ff.

God Bless,
your sister in Christ~Erin

All things free

After diving into grace more deeply we must also back away and look at the wonderful overall picture of grace. The following is the outline for one of John Wesleys sermons, Free Grace. The whole sermon can be found at http://gbgm-umc.org/umw/wesley/serm-128.stm

Sermon 128 (text from the 1872 edition)
Free Grace

by John Wesley

Preached at Bristol, in the year 1740

"He that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also freely give us all things?" Romans, 8:32

TO THE READER
Nothing but the strongest conviction, not only that what is here advanced is "the truth as it is in Jesus," but also that I am indispensably obliged to declare this truth to all the world, could have induced me openly to oppose the sentiments of those whom I esteem for their work's sake: At whose feet may I be found in the day of the Lord Jesus!
Should any believe it his duty to reply hereto, I have only one request to make, -- Let whatsoever you do, be done inherently, in love, and in the spirit of meekness. Let your very disputing show that you have "put on, as the elect of God, bowel of mercies, gentleness, longsuffering; "that even according to this time it may be said, "See how these Christians love one another!"

How freely does God love the world! While we were yet sinners, "Christ died for the ungodly." While we were "dead in our sin," God "spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all." And how freely with him does he "give us all things!" Verily, FREE GRACE is all in all!

The grace or love of God, whence cometh our salvation, is FREE IN ALL, and FREE FOR ALL.

I. It is free in all to whom it is given.
II. The doctrine of predestination is not a doctrine of God.
III. Predestination destroys the comfort of religion, the happiness of Christianity.
IV. This uncomfortable doctrine also destroys our zeal for good works.
V. Furthermore, the doctrine of predestination has a direct and manifest tendency to overthrow the whole Christian Revelation.
VI. And at the same time, makes that Revelation contradict itself.
VII. Predestination is a doctrine full of blasphemy.

God's grace is a wonderful and free gift for all of us. Yay!! Praise God!!!
God Bless you,
your sister in Christ,
~Erin

Sustaining Grace

Wesley believed that, after we have accepted God's grace, we are to move on in God's sustaining grace toward perfection.Wesley believed the people could "fall from grace" or "backslide." We cannot just sit on our laurels, so to speak, and claim God's salvation and then do nothing. We are to participate in the what Wesley called "the means of grace" and to continue to grow in Christian life.

Some Christians tend to focus on God's justifying grace, but Wesley asserted that the Christian walk does not stop with acceptance of new life in Christ. Wesley said in his sermon, "On Repentance of Believers":

It is generally supposed, that repentance and faith are only the gate of religion; that they are necessary only at the beginning of our Christian course, when we are setting out in the way to the kingdom.... And this is undoubtedly true, that there is a repentance and a faith, which are, more especially, necessary at the beginning: a repentance, which is a conviction of our utter sinfulness, and guiltiness, and helplessness.... But, notwithstanding this, there is also a repentance and a faith (taking the words in another sense, a sense not quite the same, nor yet entirely different) which are requisite after we have "believed the gospel;" yea, and in every subsequent stage of our Christian course, or we cannot "run the race which is set before us." And this repentance and faith are full as necessary, in order to our continuance and growth in grace, as the former faith and repentance were, in order to our entering into the kingdom of God.

John Wesley believed that Jesus is God's means of grace. For him, the "means of grace" were also "works of piety" (spiritual disciplines) and "works of mercy" (doing good to others). He said that means of grace are: "...outward signs, words, or actions, ordained of God, and appointed for this end, to be the ordinary channels whereby he might convey to men, preventing, justifying, or sanctifying grace."

Basically, Wesley is saying that after we accept God's justifying grace we aren't done. We need to always be growing in a relationship with God through his sustaining grace. There are many things we can do to keep our Christian life growing but they need to come from the heart not just doing because we are told. This is one of the hardest aspects of living a Christian life. Believing in God is not just a sunday thing, but an everyday all the time thing. We need to foster a relationship with God to keep our relationship with God. Imagine meeting a friend and hitting if off real well at first. Then ignore them after that. You don't create a real relationship. Even if you have had a relationship it takes lots of care to keep that relationship. Sustaining Grace is God's side of caring for that relationship we just need to recognize it and add in our part too.

God Bless,
your sister in Christ~Erin

Justifying Grace

Today some call God's justifying grace "conversion" or being "born again." When we experience God's justifying grace, we come into that new life in Christ. Wesley believed that people have freedom of choice. We are free to accept or reject God's justifying grace. Wesley emphasized "Free Grace" saying:

The grace or love of God, whence cometh our salvation, is FREE IN ALL, and FREE FOR ALL.... It is free in all to whom it is given. It does not depend on any power or merit in man; no, not in any degree, neither in whole, nor in part. It does not in anywise depend either on the good works or righteousness of the receiver; not on anything he has done, or anything he is. It does not depend on his endeavors. It does not depend on his good tempers, or good desires, or good purposes and intentions; for all these flow from the free grace of God; they are the streams only, not the fountain. They are the fruits of free grace, and not the root. They are not the cause, but the effects of it.

I think many of us can probably recall the moment when we recieved this kind of grace. Wesley talks about his experience at Aldersgate, and felt his "heart strangely warmed". This can take place anytime anywhere, but i do believe it is essential. Accepting God's justifying grace to me is truely comfirmation. Yes many of us take the class and answer questions in front of the church saying we will take responsibility for ourselves. However, this seems more real and a more moving experience. Any stories to share?

God Bless,
your sister in Christ ~Erin

Prevenient Grace

Prevenient= meaning before
Wesley believed that we are all born with God's grace even though we are too young and incoherent to accept it ourselves we are stilled loved by God. Paul says we are all born sinners yet God gives us grace. This kind of grace is granted to everyone - no exceptions. Here are a few verses to bring this idea to light.

All peoples on earth will be blessed through you. Genesis 12:3

Your Father in heaven is not willing that any of these little ones should be lost. Matthew 12:50

You did not choose me, but I chose you. John 15:16

Just some interesting info from www.umc.org - prevenient grace reminded me about baptism and i was confused about the two, so i went searching - here's what i found!

Within the Methodist tradition, baptism has long been a subject of much concern, even controversy. John Wesley retained the sacramental theology which he received from his Anglican heritage. He taught that in baptism a child was cleansed of the guilt of original sin, initiated into the covenant with God, admitted into the church, made an heir of the divine kingdom, and spiritually born anew. He said that while baptism was neither essential to nor sufficient for salvation, it was the "ordinary means" that God designated for applying the benefits of the work of Christ in human lives.

On the other hand, although he affirmed the regenerating grace of infant baptism, he also insisted upon the necessity of adult conversion for those who have fallen from grace. A person who matures into moral accountability must respond to God's grace in repentance and faith. Without personal decision and commitment to Christ, the baptismal gift is rendered ineffective.

Baptism for Wesley, therefore, was a part of the lifelong process of salvation. He saw spiritual rebirth as a twofold experience in the normal process of Christian developmentÂ?to be received through baptism in infancy and through commitment to Christ later in life. Salvation included both God's initiating activity of grace and a willing human response.

Any thoughts?
God Bless,
your sister in Christ ~Erin

Wesley's Grace

Did you know that John Wesley believed that God provides us with three kinds of grace? He believed in:

prevenient (preparing) grace
accepting (justifying) grace
sustaining (sanctifying) grace

God's grace is a wonderful gift to humankind. Grace is God's love freely offered to us. We do not do anything to "earn" it. Take a moment and reflect upon how you have experienced God's grace in your life.

God's prevenient grace is with us from birth, preparing us for new life in Christ. "Prevenient" means "comes before." Wesley did not believe that humanity was totally "depraved" but rather God places a little spark of divine grace within us which enables us to recognize and accept God's justifying grace. Preparing grace is "free in all for all," as Wesley used to say.

Today some call God's justifying grace "conversion" or being "born again." When we experience God's justifying grace, we come into that new life in Christ. Wesley believed that people have freedom of choice. We are free to accept or reject God's justifying grace.

Wesley believed that, after we have accepted God's grace, we are to move on in God's sustaining grace toward perfection. Wesley believed the people could "fall from grace" or "backslide." We cannot just sit on our laurels, so to speak, and claim God's salvation and then do nothing. We are to participate in the what Wesley called "the means of grace" and to continue to grow in Christian life.

Who knew grace was so complicated??? Interesting though to see how Wesley divided the Christian journey. Any thoughts?
God Bless,
your sister in Christ,
~Erin

Grace Week

I have enjoyed studing about John Wesly lately and his teachings. He focused often on grace and it's role in working towards Christian perfection. This is an interesting yet somewhat complicated idea, so I thought together here we could see what we thought. Today I want to pose the question to you - what is grace? What does it mean to you? Have you experienced it? Do you have any questions about it? Tomorrow we will begin John Wesley's answers to those questions.

John 1:15-17

15John testifies concerning him. He cries out, saying, "This was he of whom I said, 'He who comes after me has surpassed me because he was before me.' " 16From the fullness of his grace we have all received one blessing after another. 17For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.

God Bless,
your sister in Christ ~Erin~

Wesley

John Wesley read the Bible every day, usually early in the day or late in the evening. A scholar, he could read the scriptures in their original languages and wrote commentaries on the Bible. His Explanatory Notes on the New Testament and his sermons are a part of the Doctrinal Standards of The United Methodist Church. John Wesley gave Methodists advice on how to read the Bible. Read Wesley's advice and try it. Is his approach helpful to you? What is your method of searching the scriptures?

Today I am beginning The purpose driven life. I recieved the book for christmas thinking this should be interesting. I soon learned reading the intro that it is a 40 day journey. A holy journey. It may give me some things to but here, but I have also been studying John Wesley.

John Wesley was the founder of Methodism. There is alot of history about him and his teachings which reveal alot of reason behind methodist tradition. I encourage anyone who is not familiar with history of the wesley's ( John/Charles/ and their family ) to do alittle research - or ask.

Here is some more of Wesley's advice:
If you desire to read the scripture in such a manner as may most effectually answer this end, would it not be advisable,

1. To set apart a little time, if you can, every morning and evening for that purpose?
2. At each time if you have leisure, to read a chapter out of the Old, and one out of the New Testament: if you cannot do this, to take a single chapter, or a part of one?
3. To read this with a single eye, to know the whole will of God, and a fixt resolution to do it? In order to know his will, you should,
4. Have a constant eye to the analogy of faith; the connexion and harmony there is between those grand, fundamental doctrines, Original Sin, Justification by Faith, the New Birth, Inward and Outward Holiness.
5. Serious and earnest prayer should be constantly used, before we consult the oracles of God, seeing "scripture can only be understood thro' the same Spirit whereby it was given." Our reading should likewise be closed with prayer, that what we read may be written on our hearts.
6. It might also be of use, if while we read, we were frequently to pause, and examine ourselves by what we read, both with regard to our hearts, and lives. This would furnish us with matter of praise, where we found God had enabled us to conform to his blessed will, and matter of humiliation and prayer, where we were conscious of having fallen short.

And whatever light you then receive, should be used to the uttermost, and that immediately. Let there be no delay. Whatever you resolve, begin to execute the first moment you can. So shall you find this word to be indeed the power of God unto present and eternal salvation.

and personally I would encourage anyone who would like to make a commitment of the sort to find an accountablity partner. Someone who can read with you and talk with you. always wonderful.
9 Two are better than one,
because they have a good return for their work:

10 If one falls down,
his friend can help him up.
But pity the man who falls
and has no one to help him up!

11 Also, if two lie down together, they will keep warm.
But how can one keep warm alone?

12 Though one may be overpowered,
two can defend themselves.
A cord of three strands is not quickly broken.

God Bless,
your sister in Christ ~Erin

"conservative"??

right now i am in the middle of a class on human differences. We talk a lot about biases, prejudices, discrimination and understand why these happen. It's a topic that often comes up in my discussions with others about social justice and how to get more of it in the world. There is oppression and hate but the question is what as Christians do we do about it?? Though one thing that has come up in our conversations is the label "conservative"

many people are confused by what "conservative" refers to. Is it a political frame of mind? If used as an adjective what does it really mean? It comes up in our class often because one particular person describes conservative views as if they are terrible and others obviously take offense to this tone. I can understand both sides of this issue. I hate to be ignored because "your just a crazy liberal" or blown off because "i think more conservatively" this to me seems as an excuse to ignore the issue we were discussing. yet on another hand it is something that is not really addressed.

what is a conservative christian?

well i can really only answer for me but i tend to classify conservatives as people whos views are more traditional and more focused on their own group instead of the entire world. That is a super broad idea (not even definition) but i think most of us already have an idea of what a conservative is. so why bring it up? i seem to at least find myself "fighting" against what i would call conservative ideas when talking about why it is so important to feed the hungry or reach out to those who are poor. Why?

Taking this class has taught me a little about appreciating diversity (that and kristina) though i have settled on the idea that we as christians are not going to agree completely and that is okay. Diversity of people and ideas are not ever going to completely go away and that is a wonderful thing. We will always have theological differences, different beliefs, cultural tendencies, however we believing in Jesus's teachings should be able to rise above and celebrate our differences while coming together to help our world. Conservative, liberal, progressive, catholic, methodist, hispanic, whatever lables we may find ourselves in- we can and must respect each other. The beauty of it is we have enough in common as christians to come together and make the world a better place. We also have a world of things to learn from all our differences it's beautiful.

So not alot said but yet an issue brought up - we are called to love each other -everyone, and i know i often forget what that means.

1 Corithians 13

if i speak in the tounges of men and of angels, but have not love, i am only a resounding gong or clanging cymbal.
if i only have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if i have a faith that can move mountains, but have not love, i am nothing.
if i give all i possess to the poor and surrender my body fo the flames, but have not love, i gain nothing

love is patient , love is kind
it does not envy, it does not boast
it is not proud, it is not rude
it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered
it keeps no record of wrongs
love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth
it always protects, always trusts
always hope, alays preserves

love never fails

God is love and God loves us- social justice isn't about giving to the poor or having gifts, life is about loving God and our service coming out of that love.

God Bless
your sister in Christ ~Erin

Going upstream this Christmas

I had the chance deliver the Christmas message at the church I attend here in Park Rapids. I was speaking as a member of the General Board of Church and Society of the UMC, so I'll spare you that half of the sermon (http://fromtheblizzard.blogspot.com for the full spiel).

Scripture: John 1:1-14 (In the beginning was the word...you know, THE Christmas scripture besides the manger story).

Good morning this Christmas! I’m deeply humbled to be able to share with you this joyous morning.
So, today we celebrate the coming of the word and the light into the world. It seems prudent to ask some questions. Why is Jesus called light? What does it mean to follow the light of the world? What does it mean to spread that light to all, that all might be children of God?
I’d like to start thinking about these questions by doing a little imagining. Come with me on a picnic, will you? It’s been winter for awhile here, let’s pretend it’s a warm summer day and we’re heading to the river with some family or friends for a nice afternoon. Imagine you’re just sitting down to a yummy picnic lunch when suddenly behind you you hear some water splashing and the sound of someone struggling. You turn around and there’s a person in the water, calling for help! What do you do? (congregation responds…jump in, throw a floatie). OK, so you get the person up on the beach, safe and sputtering, and you’re tending to him when you hear the same sounds of struggling again. You turn around and this time, there are 3 people, drowning in the river. Now what do you do? (grab a friend or family member and go in, etc.) Alright, so it might be a challenge but in pinch you could probably save the 3 people. But no sooner have you gotten them up on the shore than you turn around to loud shouts to see some 15, maybe 20 people in the water. What do you do? (pray, call for more help) What if before you know it, there are 40 people? (eventually someone says… “Go up stream to see who or what’s throwing the people in the river”).
Maybe you didn’t quite expect that answer. I think often we do feel called, as Christians, to jump in the river and do what we can to save those struggling in the water. But when the water is filled with strugglers, and we are doing all we can to stay afloat ourselves, the situation can seem not only overwhelming, but hopeless. Here is where Christmas comes in. Friends, that first Christmas was one big surprise filled with hope. For Christmas is about that journey upstream.
I’d like to visit once again the story as it’s told in Gospels.
A girl, a virgin who is engaged to be married, is visited by an angel and told she’ll give birth to God’s son. Even though it’s a mortal crime, literally punishable by death, to have extra-marital relations, Mary takes the risk and is willing to be God’s servant. Then when it’s almost time for the baby, Mary and Joseph must travel. There is no room in the inn and they are given shelter in a stable with the animals. The newborn Jesus is laid on a feeding trough, on a bed of straw. The angels don’t announce the arrival of baby Jesus to King Herod, or to the Pharisees, as would be expected; instead the angels appear to lowly shepherds—as Pastor Don explained last night, the “nobodies” of society. In fact King Herod doesn’t hear about the birth until some time later, and only through three foreigners who later disobey his selfish orders. Why? When Jesus could have been born anywhere, to any woman, why was he born to a young virgin, and why were his first hours spent in a strange, harsh place in the company of the lowest of society? Perhaps because Jesus came as a savior for all people, not just the rich and the established. And perhaps because in Jesus’ day, the problem upstream was that to be a young woman meant you had few rights and little importance in society; perhaps because in Jesus’ day, to be lower on the societal ladder was to be considered less than human; perhaps his birth was the first confrontation in a long line of confrontations with societal norms that Jesus found unacceptable. Now, we have an entire Christian year to study the many times Jesus directly challenged a system or institution, be it political, religious, or cultural, that was unfair or unjust. Today, may his humble birth remind us to look about ourselves and identify the areas of our life and areas of society in which we have grown complacent and comfortable with the status quo; Christmas should be a time when we look around to find the areas of our life and society in which we are perfectly happy to worship a child who may as well have been born in a hotel or a hospital. Christmas should be a time when we ask ourselves, “Is it okay that 1/6 of the world’s population is severely food insecure?” Christmas should be a time when we should ask ourselves, “Is it okay that the leading cause of death in the world for ages 15 to 49 is a completely preventable disease?” HIV/AIDS/Pneumonia. Is it OK that here in the cold, wintery state of MN, more than 1,000 people turned away from full homeless shelters on any given night? Is it OK that over half of 20,000 homeless or precariously housed Minnesotans are children? Is it OK that 41% are working part or full time and still can’t make enough to afford rental or mortgage? Christmas, of all days, should be a time when the church confronts the world about these unacceptable realities in the same way that Jesus did on that night so many years ago. For most of all, Christmas should be a time when rather than thinking about how to do our duty by saving one or two people from the river, Christmas is the time when we go upriver. And we go upriver in the name of a God who didn’t send a son to preach that we should help people when it’s ‘convenient,’ but in the name of a God who sent his to be born of a virgin in a stable, worshipped first by the lowest of society.
As followers of that baby in a manger, we must do everything we can to see that the hungry are able to feed themselves; that the naked are able to clothe themselves. And sometimes, this means more than rescuing people from the river—it means going to see why they’re drowning. This Christmas, I pray we do not worship a Christ who might as well been born to a married, experienced mother on a comfortable bed with the help of midwives. Today, let’s celebrate a most unconventional birth and commit again to shake ourselves from satisfaction with the way things are. Let’s worship a Christ child who still, today, gives light to the world by shattering the world’s expectations. And let’s remember that it is us, Christ’s followers here on earth, who must be the conduits for that light. WE must spread the news of his birth; we must share with others the joy of a baby born for all, and we must be living testimonies to the Christmas message of righting what is wrong and speaking out on behalf of those who society would rather forget or ignore.

--Kristina

Break

Sigh. . It is Christmas break, yea for that! I am going to take a break for a few days, it's crazy everywhere. I might catch em up. . . depends on how things are going. Many of you know it's hard for me to be home, and also hard for me just going through the holidays. Keep me in your prayers as i keep all of you. God Bless!
~your sister in Christ~Erin

"Two are better than one, for when one falls down his friend can help him up"
Ecclesiates 4:9-10 ( i think. . . )

Waiting

Christmas is suppose to be a time of waiting, that's what the advent wreath is all about right? Waiting for christ to be born. But he was already born. He lived, he taught, he inspired, and fulfilled his purpose through death. So what's the waiting about?

Really i have no answer to that, it's more of a vocal frustration about something kinda obvious. However we all know very well that waiting and patience are things we need to have to get through life every day. I guess i'll use me again for an example. . . I am at college, right now i am waiting to see a friend i haven't seen in months to go hang out. . . also waiting to move into another dorm room. . . and then waiting to go home. Waiting for a kinda important phone call from a friend. . . waiting to finish up some christmas presents. waiting to get out of college and into seminary. . . waiting to find out my purpose in the world. Oh i know i could go on, and i bet some of these ring bells with others.

Patience helps with all of this. The waiting part of advent i find helpful to think about with these things i listed. Waiting is a part of life. But not all of life, realize the things you need to wait for but also - enjoy the moment you have right now. and the next and the next.

God Bless,
~your sister in Christ, Erin~
Luke 2:25-32

25Now there was a man in Jerusalem called Simeon, who was righteous and devout. He was waiting for the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was upon him. 26It had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not die before he had seen the Lord's Christ. 27Moved by the Spirit, he went into the temple courts. When the parents brought in the child Jesus to do for him what the custom of the Law required, 28Simeon took him in his arms and praised God, saying:
29"Sovereign Lord, as you have promised,
you now dismiss[d] your servant in peace.
30For my eyes have seen your salvation,
31which you have prepared in the sight of all people,
32a light for revelation to the Gentiles
and for glory to your people Israel."

Hope

Along with the Christmas season comes many things, hope, joy, love, peace. Each week of advent focuses on a different thing, but i'd like to go back to hope. Our lives need hope, we need dreams to go forward in life. Christmas is a great exampe of how God brings us hope. Through Christ we are forgiven and can live again.

Kinda sort thought but still one that we can all apply to our own lives.
Here is one of the best passages outling hope. . .

Isaiah 40

Comfort for God's People

1 Comfort, comfort my people,
says your God.
2 Speak tenderly to Jerusalem,
and proclaim to her
that her hard service has been completed,
that her sin has been paid for,
that she has received from the LORD's hand
double for all her sins.
3 A voice of one calling:
"In the desert prepare
the way for the LORD [a] ;
make straight in the wilderness
a highway for our God. [b]
4 Every valley shall be raised up,
every mountain and hill made low;
the rough ground shall become level,
the rugged places a plain.
5 And the glory of the LORD will be revealed,
and all mankind together will see it.
For the mouth of the LORD has spoken."
6 A voice says, "Cry out."
And I said, "What shall I cry?"
"All men are like grass,
and all their glory is like the flowers of the field.
7 The grass withers and the flowers fall,
because the breath of the LORD blows on them.
Surely the people are grass.
8 The grass withers and the flowers fall,
but the word of our God stands forever."
9 You who bring good tidings to Zion,
go up on a high mountain.
You who bring good tidings to Jerusalem, [c]
lift up your voice with a shout,
lift it up, do not be afraid;
say to the towns of Judah,
"Here is your God!"
10 See, the Sovereign LORD comes with power,
and his arm rules for him.
See, his reward is with him,
and his recompense accompanies him.
11 He tends his flock like a shepherd:
He gathers the lambs in his arms
and carries them close to his heart;
he gently leads those that have young.

Christmas

A Christmas devo sent to me, i really liked it. . .
God Bless!
~your sister in Christ, Erin

God so loved the world, He gave his only Son. John 3:16a

In ten words this verse tells us what God is like, who Jesus is, and
how much God cares for each of us and the world.
Without this message our planet and its people would be floating in
space and we would know only that we exist. The book of Genesis
tells us that God created the heavens and the earth. Now in John
3:16 we are told that God not only created the world, but that God
loved it and sent his Son to show how much God cared for it.
This is such a mind stretching idea that we occasionally need a
personal experience to make it sink in.
Henry Carter tells the following story that helped me sense how God
reaches out to us. He is a minister and supervisor of a home for
emotionally disturbed children.

I was working feverishly on my Christmas sermon---the hardest time
in any minister's year to find something fresh to say---when the
floor mother appeared at the study door. Another crisis upstairs.
Christmas Eve is a difficult day for the emotionally disturbed
children in our church home. Three-quarters of them go home at least
over night and the ones who remain react to to empty beds and the
changed routine.
I followed her up the stairs, chafing inwardly at the repeated
interruptions. This time it was Tommy. He had crawled under a bed
and refused to some out. The woman pointed to one of the six cots in
the small dormitory. Not a hair or a toe showed beneath it. so I
addressed myself to the cowboys and bucking broncos on the
bedspread. I talked about the brightly lighted tree in the church
vestibule next door and the packages underneath it and all the other
good things waiting for him out beyond that bed.
No answer.
Still fretting at the time this was costing, I dropped to my hands
and knees and lifted the spread. Two enormous blue eyes met mine.
Tommy was eight, but looked like a five-year-old. It would have been
no effort at all simply to pull him out. But it wasn't pulling that
Tommy needed---it was trust and a sense of deciding things on his own
initiative. So, crouched there on all fours, I launched into the
menu of the special Christmas Eve supper to be offered after the
service. I told him about the stocking with his name on it, provided
by the women's society.
Silence. There was no indication that he either heard or cared
about Christmas.
And at last, because I could think of no other way to make contact,
I got down on my stomach and wriggled in beside him, bedsprings
snagging my suit jacket. For what seemed a long time I lay there
with my cheek pressed against the floor. At first I talked about the
big wreath above the alter and the candles in the windows. I
reminded him of the carol he and the other children were going to
sing. Than I ran out of things to say and simply waited there beside
him.
And as I waited, a small, chilled hand crept into mine.
"You know, Tommy," I said after a bit, "it's kind of close quarters
under here. Let's you and me go out where we can stand up."
And so we did, but slowly, in no hurry. All the pressure had gone
from my day, because, you see, I had my Christmas sermon. Flattened
there on the floor I realized I had been given a new glimpse of the
mystery of this season.
Hadn't God called us, too, as I'd called Tommy, from far above us?
With His stars and mountains, His whole majestic creation, hadn't He
pleaded with us to love Him, to enjoy the universe He gave us?
And when we would not listen, He had drawn closer. Through prophets
and lawgivers and holy men, He spoke with us face-to-face.
But it was not until that first Christmas, until God stooped to
earth itself, until He took our very place and came to dwell with us
in our loneliness and alienation, that we, like Tommy, dared to
stretch out our hands to take hold of love.

PRAYER: Remind us, O God, that you are reaching out to us during
final exams, during the joyous times of homecoming, when we are on
the mountain top of joy and also when we go through the valley of
sorrow and death. The hopes and fears of all the years are met in
thee tonight. We prayer in Jesus' name, who is the only Son you gave.

Yours,
Ron Erickson

taking a step back

as i was trying to finish this up tonight i was thinking. . . hum what to do the devo on today. Couldn't think of anything in particular and was like come on Erin. . . just think. There i found my problem. So often i want something to happen the way i see it, and I forget who I'm working for. I forget who i dedicated my life to. God what do you want?

As i sat back in my chair saying Lord what do you want to share with us tonight i felt called to say that's exactly the problem sometimes. we get so used to doing things and being praised for it we forget where all our strenght, talent, and life comes from. We forget who we are doing it for, who we are living for.

i challenge you to look at your relationship with God with your life. . . and remember to inculde prayer and asking for God's advice when making decisions. He loves us and wants to be inculded, not just talked about and hung out with in alone time, but also brought with us throughout the rest of our lives.

Acts 17:27-28
27God did this so that men would seek him and perhaps reach out for him and find him, though he is not far from each one of us. 28'For in him we live and move and have our being.' As some of your own poets have said, 'We are his offspring.'

God Bless,
~your sister in Christ, Erin~

Music

I think music is amazing. Rhythm and melody can unite people of every nation and convey better emotionally than most other languages. Music is also a way we can express emotion, using more than just words but melody enhances the feeling in our souls. This is why i love church music. Old hymns that have stayed with us throught centuries not only because of the nice melody, but the truth that seeps out of them. Here are some of my old favorites:

Be thou my vison, oh Lord of my heart;
naught be all else to me save that thou art;
though my best thought by day or by night;
waking or sleeping, the presence my light.

Amazing grace how sweet the sound,
that saved a wretch like me;
that once was lost but now i'm found,
was blind but now i see.

Jesus loves me this i know,
for the bible tells me so;
little ones to him belong,
they are weak but he is strong.
Yes Jesus loves me.. . .

From thou font of every blessing,
la la la la la la la (oops?)
lord i wander, oh i feel it
prone to leave the God i love
take my heart oh take and seal it
to thy . . . . heart above.

Psalm 33
1 Sing joyfully to the LORD, you righteous;
it is fitting for the upright to praise him.

take some time today or in the next few days to make some joyful noise to the Lord, music is a great way to worship.
God Bless!
~your sister in Christ~Erin

Blessings and Being Loved

*Hope you don't mind, Erin, I felt called to share! =D*

1 John 3:14
14We know that we have passed from death to life, because we love our brothers. Anyone who does not love remains in death.

Romans 8:38-39
38For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons,[a] neither the present nor the future, nor any powers,39neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Proverbs 17:17
17 A friend loves at all times,
and a brother is born for adversity.

I was pleasantly surprised today...
finals are drawing near as the semester is ending, and I'm starting to get a *wee bit* stressed out, not thinking that I'm going to be able to do everything I need to get done, or do it well at all. I checked my mail--and got a letter from home, one from someone in my home-church, and a package full of cookies and candies from my aunt (yum!), all wishing me good luck on my finals. Every college student loves getting mail, so just getting a letter would have helped make my day--but it stopped me short and was just like, "wow, I'm loved." That was just what I needed. To help me see some of the blessings in my life, when I'd been choosing to focus on other things.
Sometimes we get so caught up in what we're doing, what's next on our schedule, and then trying to find time to relax or have fun--unwind, that we forget about God, and the many blessings He's bestowed upon us.
One thing I like to remind myself is that I have no idea what's going on. I don't know His plan at all. And I don't know every little part of it--and I don't catch everything He sends my way. I like to look at my blessings (which are amazing) and think, wow that's probably not even 1/2 of them... Just that I don't see them all, or they don't seem like blessings to my eyes yet.

John 1:16
From the fullness of his grace we have all received one blessing after another.
((I like this verse A LOT here))

Romans 15:29
I know that when I come to you, I will come in the full measure of the blessing of Christ.

Ephesians 1:3
[ Spiritual Blessings in Christ ] Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ

Psalm 21:6
Surely you have granted him eternal blessings and made him glad with the joy of your presence.

Isaiah 44:3
For I will pour water on the thirsty land, and streams on the dry ground; I will pour out my Spirit on your offspring, and my blessing on your descendants.

Ezekiel 34:26
I will bless them and the places surrounding my hill. I will send down showers in season; there will be showers of blessing.

Proverbs 18:24
24 A man of many companions may come to ruin,
but there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother.

I'm not sure exactly what my point was... Take a moment and think of the many blessings God has placed on you, and know that there are more still. Set some time aside for God during finals... maybe send a card to a friend or family member--you just might make their day. :o)

--holly

Multi-tasking

So I was humbled by God today. One thing I haven't been doing well lately is taking some time for God everyday, time to pray time to study and time to listen. So I have been filling in the cracks of my schedule with my version of God time. When i had to walk somewhere, or today, while i was at work lifeguarding (hehe). So in those moments i say to my self yea! some God time! but today God said Erin, you can't multi task your time with me. You can't get a full experience of me when your attention is not centered on me. You can't just shove our time in the cracks of your schedule, this isn't going to work they way you want it.

So needless to say i was alittle taken back, but awed. God was calling me on my slacking. Not something new to me for the past few days but for God to call me on it. . . wow. I want a more indepth meaningful relationship with my God, i want my life to be focused on him and to live for him and with him in all that i do, but that kind of relationship doesn't come without work. I need to give on my part too.

This just really hit home the idea of scheduling our time. The importance in taking time with God everyday not as another multi tasking activity because you can, but let those moments supplement your devotion or whatever time you set aside ahead of time for you and God.

Alot of us, me included, are very involved in religious activities (for lack of a better term) and do alot of God related work in a day, say write this blog devo, but that isn't me and God time. I have let myself rationalize that time out of my schedule and it is hurting me. I don't know if anyone else has experienced this but i wanted to put it out there as something that moved me today.

God Bless,
~your sister in Christ, Erin~

Deuteronomy 8:3
He humbled you, causing you to hunger and then feeding you with manna, which neither you nor your fathers had known, to teach you that man does not live on bread alone but on every word that comes from the mouth of the LORD.

Caught in the middle

NDONESIA
VOM recently reported that on November 8th, two girls were attacked on their way to a Christian school. Christian Solidarity Worldwide (CSW) reports Siti Nuraini, 17, a Muslim, died in Poso Kota general hospital November 9th. Her Christian friend Ivon, also 17, remains in critical condition. This incident closely followed the beheading of three Christian schoolgirls on October 29th, and represented a further escalation of violence. The Reverend Rinaldy Damanik, Moderator for the Central Sulawesi Christian Reform Church, and Chairman of the Central Sulawesi Churches Crisis Co-ordination Centre, has been in close contact with Christians and government officials in Sulawesi and has appealed for a stop to the violence. He stressed security officials needed to act promptly to ensure those guilty of the attacks are brought to justice and also to try and prevent further attacks. As reported in the Jakarta Post, Presidential spokesman Andi Mallarangeng said the President had ordered security forces to bring the perpetrators to justice and urged residents not to launch revenge.

An international Christian human rights organization is urging the immediate release of three wrongly accused Indonesian Christian Sunday school teachers who have lost their appeal to overturn charges. This means a three-year prison term for the women—Dr. Rebekka Zakaria, Eti Pangesti and Ratna Bangun. They are currently serving a three-year prison sentence in the Indramayu district of West Java, having been wrongly convicted of "attempting to coerce children to change their religion" under the Indonesian "Child Protection Act." Christian Freedom International (CFI), reports that on November 22, 2005, the three Sunday school teachers lost an important appeal to have their sentences reduced or overturned by a higher court.

Pray God will soften the heart of the judge who will hear the next appeal, giving him compassion for these innocent women. Pray they will be comforted and made aware of the many people who are praying for them. Pray the Lord will minister to the children while their teachers are in prison.

This i got from the Voice of the Maryters, more info can be found at www.persecution.com if anyone wants. This kind of story is not one anyone wants to hear but it happens in countries all over the world today. Some people like the two girls in this story get caught in the middle of these conflicts. There is fighting over land and resources, religion, power, alot of things. These problems are very serious to some, so serious that children are killed. This is a problem.

Some people take this persecution and stand up for the name of Christ through it all. Maryters are found dying for many causes and beliefs. Christian maryters have been documented since the stoning of Stephen by a group of Jews including Saul. Sometimes these people are considered heros and other times insane. I can't really determine what they should be judged as for i don't know their story. I believe one should live out their life the way God calls them and if while living their faith they come into situations where their proclaiming their faith will put them into danger they have to make a decision. I can only say with what i have experienced so far in my life I can not deny my God. This is easier said then done, however it is a decision only an individule can make.

This and many other stories like it pull at my heart and bring the fight for social justice home. First and most importantly i can pray about it. i can also inform others. i can stand up for what i know to be right and true and try to live out my life as God calls me, i encourage you to do the same.

God Bless!
~your sister in Christ, Erin~

Moses

Exodus 3

1Moses was shepherding the flock of Jethro, his father--in-law, the priest of Midian. He led the flock to the west end of the wilderness and came to the mountain of God, Horeb. 2The angel of GOD appeared to him in flames of fire blazing out of the middle of a bush. He looked. The bush was blazing away but it didn't burn up.
3Moses said, "What's going on here? I can't believe this! Amazing! Why doesn't the bush burn up?"
4GOD saw that he had stopped to look. God called to him from out of the bush, "Moses! Moses!"
He said, "Yes? I'm right here!"
5God said, "Don't come any closer. Remove your sandals from your feet. You're standing on holy ground."
6Then he said, "I am the God of your father: The God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, the God of Jacob."
Moses hid his face, afraid to look at God.
7GOD said, "I've taken a good, long look at the affliction of my people in Egypt. I've heard their cries for deliverance from their slave masters; I know all about their pain. 8And now I have come down to help them, pry them loose from the grip of Egypt, get them out of that country and bring them to a good land with wide-open spaces, a land lush with milk and honey, the land of the Canaanite, the Hittite, the Amorite, the Perizzite, the Hivite, and the Jebusite.
9"The Israelite cry for help has come to me, and I've seen for myself how cruelly they're being treated by the Egyptians. 10It's time for you to go back: I'm sending you to Pharaoh to bring my people, the People of Israel, out of Egypt."
11Moses answered God, "But why me? What makes you think that I could ever go to Pharaoh and lead the children of Israel out of Egypt?"
12"I'll be with you," God said. "And this will be the proof that I am the one who sent you: When you have brought my people out of Egypt, you will worship God right here at this very mountain."
13Then Moses said to God, "Suppose I go to the People of Israel and I tell them, "The God of your fathers sent me to you'; and they ask me, "What is his name?' What do I tell them?"
14God said to Moses, "I-AM-WHO-I-AM. Tell the People of Israel, "I-AM sent me to you.'"
15God continued with Moses: "This is what you're to say to the Israelites: "GOD, the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob sent me to you.' This has always been my name, and this is how I always will be known.
16"Now be on your way. Gather the leaders of Israel. Tell them, "GOD, the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, appeared to me, saying, "I've looked into what's being done to you in Egypt, 17and I've determined to get you out of the affliction of Egypt and take you to the land of the Canaanite, the Hittite, the Amorite, the Perizzite, the Hivite, and the Jebusite, a land brimming over with milk and honey."'
18"Believe me, they will listen to you. Then you and the leaders of Israel will go to the king of Egypt and say to him: "GOD, the God of the Hebrews, has met with us. Let us take a three-day journey into the wilderness where we will worship GOD-our God.'
19"I know that the king of Egypt won't let you go unless forced to, 20so I'll intervene and hit Egypt where it hurts--oh, my miracles will send them reeling!-after which they'll be glad to send you off. 21I'll see to it that this people get a hearty send-off by the Egyptians--when you leave, you won't leave empty-handed! 22Each woman will ask her neighbor and any guests in her house for objects of silver and gold, for jewelry and extra clothes; you'll put them on your sons and daughters. Oh, you'll clean the Egyptians out!"
~The Message

I love the message sometimes. This story is one familiar to us all but it has so much in it. So familiar it was referred to in a conversation i had last night with a friend. I was upset, upset with myself and wanted to give up yet my friend urged me to look towards God. I replied to that i wish God would give up on me, notice my failures and leave me for what i am never to become what he wants me to be.

That was not good enough for him. He assured me that God would not give up on me. Look at Moses he said, he didn't think he could do it either. This is exactly the point of this story i would like to emphasize today. Holidays are a hard time of year, so much to do it becomes very stressful. Many of us have finals or whatnot keeping us busy if things begin to go wrong it's hard to be okay with it this time of year. Moses was not in a situation where he felt most comfortable. He ran away from home and was doing something he had never before done with a relativly new wife and baby. As he is getting accustomed to things God comes and says i have a plan for you.

God has been present in so many of our lives and to me it never seems to come at a convienent time. It's always when i'm in the middle of something or i just don't have the time. But God doesn't give up that easily. He knows us, he has a purpose for us and he wants the best for us (to be with him). He is determined (and dare i say more stubborn than even me) to be there for us and show us the path, weather we have wondered or not. He knows us for who we are, not who we pretend to be to others, who we really are. He knows our faults, our constant sins. Yet loves us anyway and has a purpose for us.

I know this time of year can be stressful, but remember to praise God everyday no matter how we are feeling because he always deserves it. He is always calling us like he called Moses, and he knows better than we that together we can do it.

God Bless,
~your sister in Christ~Erin