Counterfeit Gods

Lately I have been learning so much about Idolatry. Not just in my own personal time, but also Pastor Spencer has been teaching a series on Knowing God, and No Idols. So many things have hit home for me as I learn and grow. Right now I am going through the book Counterfeit Gods by Timothy Keller. Such a great book, he points out so many very clear points that I would have never even thought maybe idols. I like also in his book how the main "Counterfeit God" is tied in with a biblical example of it.

Today I learned of the idol of power/pride. I feel like this is a daily battle for me, overcoming pride. I am so thankful to lay all my sins at the foot of the cross and be daily forgiven for the idols and sins that I struggle with and by His grace He forgives me time and time again.

The Chapter that I really appreciated was chapter 2, was on Leah, Rachel and Jacob. And making sure that we don't put love or the idea of it or even somebody in place of God, who should be our love. Jacob loved Rachel so so much and was captivated by her beauty and would do ANYTHING to be with her, even after his father in law tricked him and originally given him Leah. I learned a lot from Leah during this chapter, she was the less desirable one, yet the LORD never forgot about her, and the Lord blessed her abundantly with the conception of many children, and Rachel for a time was not able to do that.

The Bible repeatedly shows us weak people who don't deserve God's grace, don't seek it and don't appreciate it even after they received it. No human being male or female will ever be that PERFECT someone, someone who will never disappoint you, always be faithful in to you in words, or plans. There is only one who can be that. Jesus Christ. I like the phrase that the author said in this chapter, and I hope that you will pick up this book and read it for yourself, and maybe my babbling will make a little more sense ;) But he says. " It means no matter what we put our hopes in, in the morning, It is always Leah, never Rachel.

I hope this made sense, I clearly enjoyed this chapter and am still enjoying this book, and I hope you will too. I am daily needing His grace, forgiveness and love. I am such a wicked sinner. Loved and forgiven by a Perfect Savior.

Iowa

This past weekend I was able to get away for about 4 days and take a little vacation. It was really nice to just get away for a little while and enjoy some friends that I haven't seen in a long time. I rode along with Butch and Heidi to Iowa on Friday and returned last night. It was such an amazing fun time filled with amazing food, fellowship, evening walks, malls, BBQ joints, church, and just relaxing together.

I was even able to sneak in just a little time with my old youth pastor and his wife and family, and even one night got to watch their twins while they went out. Lyndon wasn't to fond of me, as you can see from the photo, but Laurel and I became fast friends. I had such a great time, and can't wait to do it again. Now its back to real life.....

Sunday Night

Sunday Evening, I was truly blessed and praising the Lord for the work that He has done in these 3 lives. Above are pictures of the baptism service that we had at church Sunday night. The Lord was glorified, and it was truly one of the best services I have been too. 13 people were baptized (My brother Pete, my brother Dan's girlfriend Lauren, and my really good friend Liz-who are all pictured-are just 3 of the 13). These people wanted to publicly pronounce their obedience to the Lord by being baptized and wanting witnesses to keep them accountable for the decision they have made, being committed to the Lord for the rest of their lives. It was extra special for me as a sister to see my older brother (who is a youth pastor) baptize my younger brother. What a special moment.

I was baptized at 17, that is when I committed my life to Christ. One of the best decisions I have ever made. What an amazing night!

(Sorry for the blurry pictures, my camera is terrible, and the lighting isn't that great!)

Happy 1 Year Blog.

It was actually one year ago yesterday that I started this blog. I can't believe that its been one whole year already..Seems so crazy. A lot has happened to me over the last year since starting this blog! The Lord has blessed me beyond words. His Grace is sufficient, His love so undeserving, And His daily forgiveness needed.

I feel as though, spiritually, I have grown tremendously over the last year, and I think in part it has to do with this blog. Typing out what what I am learning and thinking through what the Lord is doing and trying to teach me has helped. Also meditating on what I am learning. I appreciate all the amazing feedback from all you readers. It great to hear what you think. I also hope that you have learned a little bit of me as you have been reading this. I hope you see a girl, longing to know her Savior deeper, being humbled,a trying to live a life of daily dependence on Him, and longing to see His face soon. This is still my daily desire and will be for the rest of my life.

I guess just everyday general daily life is blogged about here sometimes as well. I am so blessed to be with Owen and Leah and at times Logan, they have taught me more than they will ever know or understand. I treasure my times with them, because sadly, I won't be with them forever. You prayed for me and my jobs, As you have seen, the nanny job I got back, just a little later than anticipated, and even was blessed with a 2nd job, which I am still loving every second of it. And lastly, I don't think I have blogged about Him ;) much, but the Lord has blessed me with an amazing boyfriend who cares about me, and keeps me laughing. I am excited to see what the Lord has in store for us. I will continue to trust the Lord with this relationship, and seek His will for us. And just continue to pray for him daily that he will grow into the godly man he needs to be, and desire Him above all else....

Thank you for reading. May you continue to grow in Christ daily, Just as I do.

Need Of Jesus

LORD JESUS,

I am blind, be thou my light,

ignorant, be thou my wisdom,

self-willed, be thou my mind.

Open my ear to grasp quickly thy Spirit's voice,

and delightfully run after His beckoning hand;

Melt my conscience that no hardness remain,

make it alive to evil's slightest touch;

When Satan approaches may I flee to thy wounds,

and there cease to tremble at all alarms.

Be my good shepherd to lead me into the green pastures of thy Word,

and cause me to lie down beside the rivers of its comforts.

Fill me with peace, that no disquieting wordly gales

may ruffle the calm surface of my soul.

Thy cross was upraised to be my refuge;

Thy blood streamed forth to wash me clean,

Thy death occurred to give me surety,

Thy name is my property to save me,

By thee all heaven is poured into my heart,

but it is too narrow to comprehend thy love.

I was a stranger, an outcast, a slave, a rebel,

but Thy cross has brought me near,

has softened my heart,

has made me thy Father's child,

has admitted me to thy family,

has made me joint-heir with thyself.

O that I may love thee as thou lovest me,

that I may walk worthy of thee, my Lord,

that I may reflect the image of heaven's first-born

May I always see thy beauty with the clear eye of faith,

and feel the power of thy Spirit in my heart,

for unless he move mightily in me

no inward fire will be kindled.

Valley of Vision

Forgiveness and the Cross

It is shallow nonsense to say that God forgives us because He is love....The love of God means Calvary--Nothing less; the love of God is spelt on the cross, and nowhere else. The only ground on which God can forgive me is the Cross of my Lord.

Oswald Chambers

He is Able.

Able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think
Able to make all grace abound toward you, that you, always having all sufficiency in all things, may have an abundance for every good work.
Able to aid those who are tempted
Able to save to the uttermost those who come to God through Him, since He always lives to make intercession for them.
Able to keep you from stumbling, and to present you faultless before the presence of His glory with exceeding joy.
Able to keep what I have committed to Him until that Day.
Who will transform our lowly body that it may be conformed to His glorious body , according to the working which He is able even to subdue all things to Himself.
"Do you believe that I am able to do this?" They said to Him, "Yes, Lord." According to your faith let it be."

2Tim. 1:12, Eph. 3:20; 2Cor. 9:8; Heb. 2:18; Heb. 7;25; Jude 24, 2 Tim 1;12, Phil. 3:21; Matt. 9:28-29.

Lord Willing, at 93.

This past Monday our college age group went out and visited some shut-ins from church. My brother Pete was in charge and partnered us up, and told us where to go. Corrie and I had the great and honor and pleasure of visiting one of the dearest and sweetest ladies, Ruth. We were to meet with the shut-ins for about an hour and then all come back to my brother Dan's house to have a time of worship, prayer,and then just talk about what we learned from our experience visiting these older wiser saints.
I must admit to you, I had some selfish pride issues going on that I later repented of, asking the Lord to forgive me, because I really wasn't in the mood to do this, and had other more "important" things of my own stuff to do. I realized how selfish that was, and didn't realize how much I can and would learn from Ruth and later learn from others experiences with the other elders that they visited.
What a blessed time that Corrie and I had with Ruth. What an amazing godly women she is. I wanna be just like her. Ruth can't see really anymore, so its hard for her to read her Bible so she prays, everyday...all the time. She told us that every morning she prays for her neighbors, that they would finally understand the gospel, she prays for her children who are not saved, which just tares her apart, but she loves them tremendously. She prays for the church, she prays for her friends, the ones that have "not yet gone to their better home" as she would say. Ruth is such a strong lady. At 93 she still lives in her own home that she has owned for I think like 40+ years, still walks around, gets her own meals, and she is sharp as tack. I think she may have a better memory then me.
The thing that stuck out to me the most about Ruth is her humility. The way she spoke she is just so humble about everything, She is very non-judgmental about everybody she knows, She even was listening to this past Sundays sermon, When Pastor Spencer was talking about idols, and how sometimes fear and worry can become idols in our lives, and she said, that she was guilty of them at times herself. She went on and on about her family and telling us how old everyone is, and how much she loves them, but you could just see just how much she wants the to know and love the Lord as much as she does. She would quote Bible verses to us, when she would speak of a hard time in her life that she had gone through...Her husband died of a heart attack at 50 when they had been married for 21 years. She has now been a widow for like 40+ years. So crazy, Yet she loved that man so much, but has just looked to the Lord for her daily strength, and knows that the Lord is enough.
Others in our group had amazing experiences to...I think the overall take-away that we all got, was one simple truth. Trust God. Always and Forever. He will take care of it. Such a crazy simple truth yet, we just sometimes don't wanna do it. The people we saw were 85+ years old, and they were still trusting God for everything. They just can't do much anymore yet, they trust God. They can't remember pretty much anything anymore, but they ALL knew that having that relationship with Christ is the ONLY thing that matters in this world. Trusting and obeying Him.
My brother Dan visited Norma and Hillard, another amazing godly couple they have been married for 60+ years. Over 60 years, I don't even know what that's like. Hillard had a stroke and really can't remember anyone or anything anymore, But Norma sits by him everyday. All day. That is what marriage is. That only happens if you let Christ reign in your marriage. What a testimony for so many of us. She is gonna be by that bedside till he goes "to his better home". And you know what Norma does while she sits there? Listens to sermons and reads her Bible..Simply amazing. I could go on and on about the things we all learned, but I won't
So what I am taking away from all of this, is someday Lord willing at 93, I may still be humbled by the cross, trusting Him, no matter what the outcome or circumstance, Looking at the blessings God has given me everyday, and just always, always remember that nothing in this life is more important than my relationship with my Savior. Growing and Knowing Him.

Choosing Forgiveness

Forgiveness, it seems so easy at times, and other times so hard., Yet do we REALLY forgive people or do we just say we do?? I am onto another book, this one titled Choosing Forgiveness by Nancy Leigh DeMoss. At first I was hesitant to start this because basicly I thought that I really didn't need to read it because I thought I really didn't struggle with this. But even just starting this book, I see maybe some hints of bitterness in my life or unforgiveness. I maybe don't struggle with it to the extreme that some people do, but I think that I maybe have some in my life.

I have had an easier time forgiving since truly understanding the gospel, and what Christ did for me on that cross, The forgivess he gave me there, and grants me DAILY, the however many times I wrong Him, and He chooses to forgive me. He gave His LIFE for me, How could I not forgive somebody for what they do?

When you don't forgive someone or have built up bitterness towards someone, it shows, even though you may not think it does, even our speech and tone of voice towards someone will show eventually.

Most of us know from experience that when sin of any kind is given a chance to take up residence in our hearts, it doesn't stay confined to its own little corner. If not confessed and repented of, sooner or later it will affect our entire person--our physical and emotional well being, our demeanor, and our whole outlook.

We need to ask ourselves this question: "What if God only forgave me to the extent that I've been willing to forgive those who've sinned against me?"

As John Piper has said " If we hold fast to an unforgiving spirit, we will not be forgiven by God. If we continue on in that way, then we will not go to heaven. because heaven is the dwelling place of forgiven people.".......The point is not that a forgiving spirit causes us merit God's forgivenss, but simply that forgiven people forgive others, and that those who persistantly refuse to forgive others have no basis to claim to have been forgiven by God.

May I have the heart of Jesus Christ; always ready to forgive no matter what, Reminding myself of what Jesus has done for me at the cross, and daily grants me His forgiveness, and grace when I don't deserve it.

Draw near with confidence to the throne of grace, so that you may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need. Hebrews 4:16.