DANCIN' WITH THE ANGELS

today, there is a party in heaven. and we have a new sister in Christ! :> PRAISE GOD!!! it's taken a whole semester of weekly investigative bible studies, but God's word has spoken and one more heart has returned to her Daddy. i'm so happy i would do cartwheels if i could. :> :> :>

All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.
~2 Timothy 3:16-17~

END OF THE ROPE

Why should I feel discouraged?
Why should the shadows come?
Why should my heart feel lonely,
and long for heav'n and home?
When Jesus is my portion,
My constant friend is He.
For His eye is on the sparrow
And I know He watches me.
His eye is on the sparrow
And I know He watches me.

i. need. faith.

You're blessed when you're at the end of your rope. With less of you there is more of God and his rule.
~Matthew 5:3 [the Message]~

SOMETIMES

...you actually find inspiration while doing research for essays. ok, so it's very rare and only likely to happen if you're in theatre and writing about a theatre company for mentally challenged young people. but still. from the pages of Throw Your Heart Over the Fence by Diane Dupuy:

"Ladies and gentlemen, I will now say grace. Please bow your heads. Heavenly Father, this is the beginning of a new day. God has given us this day to use as we will. We can waste it or use it for good. What we do today is important because we are exchanging a day of our lives for it. When tomorrow comes, this day will be gone forever, leaving in its place something we have traded for it. We want it to be a gain, not a loss, full of good, not evil, success, not failure, so that we shall not regret the price we paid for it. Amen.
or the price He paid for it. Amen.

here's another:

The trouble with this world is that nobody ever thinks they have a handicap, when in fact we all have handicaps to overcome.

finally,

Great spirits always encounter violent opposition from mediocre minds.
--Albert Einstein

in this time of chaos, stress and turmoil, it's always good to be re-inspired.

Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable–if anything is excellent or praiseworthy–think about such things.
~Philippians 4:8~

FREEDOM :: RESPONSIBILITY

i'm beginning to learn what it means to be an adult. i've hung around adults my whole life (the convenient byproduct of having no siblings and being close to my parents) so i've always been seen as more "mature." but i'm only starting to understand what it means to have the freedom to choose for myself what i think is best and then to be responsible for my choices. after our EM last night (which, by God's grace, went so much better than we expected or deserved), our fellowship went out to eat. since i'd only eaten a sandwhich, a pear and some random snacks the whole day, i knew i had to get some food into my system. so i decided to go, even though i knew i had an 8:30am class this morning. but this morning, when i awoke, it was already 8:30. and on top of that, i had a splitting headache.

this is where my lesson in freedom comes in. i knew i had to make some choices: would i rush around to get ready and dash off to class so i would be only 15 minutes late? or would i take the time to get some scripture into my brain and hand the day over to God before i left for class and be an hour late? the child in me would have taken the first option. i mean, i wouldn't want my teacher to take marks off or be mad at me, would i? but then i thought for a moment and i realized that i am my own person. i can choose to walk in late if i know that's what i need to do. it's a three hour studio class so it's not like i'd be interrupting anything. and if my teacher wants to dock me marks for being late, so be it.

this morning, i understood a little more of what it means to break free from trying to win the approval of people around me. the only One i need the approval of is God. and if i'm right with Him, the rest of the world is taken care of. i also learned a bit about wisdom: striving to please God will make you a wise spender of time.

Teach us to number our days aright, that we may gain a heart of wisdom.
~Psalm 90:12~

ETERNITY IS A LONG TIME

I don't want to change the world. I want to change eternity.
--Ruth Liu, quoting someone...

The everpresent struggle as a student: do I spend my time on a theoretical assignment that only gets looked over by a prof and given a grade? or do I spend the time taking care of the people around me? i know God has given me brains and put me in university but sometimes, i wonder just how God gets glorified in some of the stuff they make us do here. i guess i just have to trust that God knows my heart and will act justly.

Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving.
~Colossians 3:23-24~

PUSHING LIMITS

i'm in a rather peculiar predicament. God has been doing so much in my life recently that i can't figure out what to write about. tc was about a week's worth of info packed into each day... prepping for ccf's outreach this wednesday is NuTsO! random opportunities to share the Word of God with my classmates. the reality of going on a missions trip slowly sinking in. realizing that i'm a cultural orphan. trying not to be a zombie or a space cadet. coming to terms with all that's happening in the world. learning what God means when He tells us His name is I AM. praying for peace - both within and without.

and that's just a selection of what's going through my head.

But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us. We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed.
~2 Corinthians 4:7-9~

MORE TO COME

on the final night of TC senior, Dr. Dennis Ngien spoke of a painting of Niagara Falls entitled "More To Come." he explained how this illustrated God's love and grace toward us. there's always more to come.

if this past week was any indication of just how much God can pour into my life, i don't know if i can take any more of what's to come! anywho, i know this is a mean thing to do 'cuz i have a lot i want to share, but i still haven't recovered from my lack of sleep so i'll leave it here for today.

The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not be in want. He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside quiet waters, he restores my soul.
~Psalm 23:1-3~

GOODNESS

why do i doubt God? He has shown His faithfulness and carried me through yet again. and now i can go home and focus my energies on the new task at hand: TC.

praise God! because He Is.

lates y'alls. i'm off till friday.

Your love, O LORD , reaches to the heavens, your faithfulness to the skies.
~Psalm 36:5~

TICK, TICK, TICK...

excuse me while i breathe deeply and flop into the arms of my heavenly Father. let me rest, let me sleep. let my heart be still and know that He is God. then let me surely and steadily complete each task. let me not look behind or ahead. let me focus on what is at hand. and through it all, let my heart be thankful. let each moment sing of His glory. let no complaints issue from this heart. let it remain pure, blameless and holy.

let all this come to pass. i will get there.

In His time, in His time,
He makes all things beautiful in His time
Lord please show me everyday
As You're teaching me Your way
That You do just what You say,
In Your time.

But these things I plan won't happen right away. Slowly, steadily, surely, the time approaches when the vision will be fulfilled. If it seems slow, wait patiently, for it will surely take place. It will not be delayed.
~Habakkuk 2:3 [NLT]~

COINCIDENCE?

February 5, 2003: york ccf goes to ICC soup kitchen. ols talks to a man named peter. finds out he's having a hard time finding a place to live. hears about his current mice-infested living conditions. decides to put peter on prayer list to ask God to help him find a place.

February 19, 2003: ols visits ICC sans ccf. peter is still looking for a place. he seems more agitated and burdened than the last time. ols decides to keep praying.

March 5, 2003: york ccf goes to ICC soup kitchen again. ols talks to peter. peter says he found a place that's everything he wanted and more. when did he find it? February 20, 2003.

coincidence? i think not.

we're dealing with Higher Powers here, people.

three cheers for God?! AMEN!

You have been a refuge for the poor, a refuge for the needy in his distress, a shelter from the storm and a shade from the heat.
~Isaiah 25:4~

WIND BENEATH MY WINGS

did i ever tell you you're my hero?
...i could fly higher than an eagle
'cuz you are the wind beneath my wings

walking back to my res at 1 or 2am has allowed me to catch a glimpse of what really goes on in the university when everyone's gone. there's an army of people who clean the school every night into the wee hours of the morning. they sweep up the garbage, clear the garbage cans, clean the bathrooms and they even have a zambonie-like machine that polishes up the floors. these are the behind-the-scenes people. they rarely get credit (if any at all) yet they're so vital to the success of the school.

thinking about my life, i realize i have plenty of those people, too. every little project i take on, every ministry i invest in, i only accomplish it with the support of numerous people. take chairing my school fellowship, for example. in times like these, when i'm swamped with schoolwork, the committee members step up and see that things get done. my parents graciously open up our house for planning meetings. and my friends at church don't take offense when i hardly show my face there.

there's a saying that no man is an island. and i guess i'm beginning to learn that truth. everything i do has an effect on the people around me, whether i'm aware of it or not. that's a pretty crazy thought.

so in Christ we who are many form one body, and each member belongs to all the others.
~Romans 12:5~

TESTIFY

[v. intr.] To make a statement based on personal knowledge in support of an asserted fact; bear witness.

while i was giving my testimony to the tc senior worship team yesterday, i came to the realization that despite being stretched and pushed to the limits, i'm actually enjoying my life(!). it's as if, on the surface, i have much to do - too much, for my liking - but underneath, there's this current of joy and power that comes from knowing that i am walking with God. (note: the way i see myself at this moment, i am not walking my own path, i have found where God is walking and i've just joined Him in His work - altho, sometimes, i know i go on my own and He walks with me but that's not the case this time.) i know this excitement is given to me by the grace of God, but i also know that i had to let go of my own inhibitions and release my tight grasp of my own life before i could experience this. letting God lead is risky and scary. and to the world, it doesn't make sense. but wow, is it ever incredible to live in His reality.

anywho, i'm completely thankful for where i'm at this moment, 'cuz i know it's a rollercoaster ride and the next turn could be downward.

thanks, for this gift, Daddy. :>

I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do everything through him who gives me strength.
~Philippians 4:12-13~