One Way

Hey all! This post will be the first in a series called "Hunger for Heaven" that will cover what I learned from my most recent Bible study on longing. You can read the intro to this series here . I said this in the introduction, but I wanted to put this disclaimer here as well: I am merely a studier of the Word. I am no expert, and I'm certainly not God! Although I enjoy sharing my insights, I certainly do not understand everything, or believe that I am necessarily right on everything I do understand. Even if I quote well-known theologians, such as Matthew Henry or John Piper, don't just believe it! I'd encourage you to take everything with a grain of salt, and go look it up in the Word, because God's Love Letter is the only written word in which we can trust completely!! So, let's get started! :) As I said in the intro, I want to long after God more, and not just at random points, but all the time! If I'm going to be rid of the selfish longings ...

I'm baaaaack! For those who don't know, the last post I wrote was in May, due to my college classes ramping up to the finish line. I have about two weeks left of school, but it's fairy easy work, so I'm hoping I'll be more regular on blogging again! A lot of changes have occurred in my life in the past couple months - some expected, some rather out of the blue! But I've seen God's hand and plan in each of these changes, and am excited to see what He has for me now that I'm almost done with college. Even so, I've recently been challenged by many sources (the Word, family devotionals, sermons, and personal study) to keep my focus on the future...as in the  future. The eternal future. About mid-July this challenge really hit home (no pun intended...ok, who am I kidding ;) ). I'd previously had a couple emotional experiences of intense longing after my heavenly home (in a very non-suicidal way, need it be said X-) ), but the "bout" of ...

Happy Memorial day!!! To all the military men and women who have or are serving our country, thank you so much for all you do! A lot of times we don't appreciate you enough! Well, this may be last blog post for a while (so bear with me, it may be a bit on the longer side). I'm getting into the last three month stretch of college, and the intensity level of things is rapidly cranking up. Although I'm greatly looking forward to finishing school, I still want to "work at it with all [my] heart, as working for the Lord, not for men" (Col 3:23), and the one of the biggest ways I can see myself doing that right now is removing myself from a lot of my internet activities that have become a distraction. I'm also looking forward to writing a blog post on what God's taught me through my experience in the last four years once this is all over. :) Ok, so on to today's topic - Love. Yup. Big stuff. And as I've said before, I really don't understand ...

So much has gone on in the past couple weeks!! Not only did I finish my joy study (yay!), but I got through the last two weeks of rehearsals and three performances of a Christian Youth Theatre play! (www.spiritualtwist.com) The play, titled "Genesius", focused on the persecution of early Christians in Rome, 303 AD. It explicitly shared the Gospel, and touched on themes like sacrifice, surrender, faith, love, joy in trials, and much more! I was HUGELY blessed to be able to be a part of this production, and know I will never be the same, especially after the role I played. My character's name was Claudia. Not only was she a Christian, but she was also a noblewoman, which was less common in those days. Her (fictional) husband was also an important official and a close friend of the Emperor, Diocletian. When Claudia and her daughter, Lydia, are captured and brought before the Emperor (which happens during the play), he tries to get Claudia to renounce her faith, first by a...

Well, I'm getting very close to the end of my joy study, and today, Day 26 out of 30, the action item for the day was to write a "Declaration of Thanksgiving" and share it with others! And the cool thing is, that this declaration pretty much sums up what I've been learning throughout this whole study. :) ~~~~~ Declaration of Thanksgiving      It is good and fitting for us to give thanks to the Lord in all  circumstances, and not just because " this is God's will for [us] in Christ Jesus. " (1 Thess 5:18) God deserves our thanks at all times and in all situations because He is God! He is good, his love endures forever, and he has redeemed us from the pit of our sin. He has performed innumerable awesome deeds before Mankind, including sending his son to die for a bunch of sinners, many of whom would continue to reject him after the fact!          No matter how difficult or painful our circumstances, God does not change .   ...

"'Simon,' he [Jesus] said to Peter, 'are you asleep? Could you not keep watch for one hour? Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the body is weak.'" (Mark 14:37b-38) I'm hoping to write a full blog post on my study of this verse soon, but unfortunately, I'm short on time today. In short - this passage speaks so much truth to me! Sometimes, we can get into situations where we feel "spiritually high" one day, week, or over an event/camp/worship jam, then the next day we're back to the same old sins/depression/doubt, etc., and it can all feel fake, like it was only some kind of adrenaline rush. We wonder how, or if, we will overcome the really big giants in our lives. But Jesus gives us the answer! " Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. " Not to say we will always be happy, healthy, wealthy, and wise - but for those who are truly his, God's promises are av...

Today was one of those first time experiences that I'll never forget. I've been a part of our local Church Body - Southwest Wake Christian Assembly (SWCA) - for right around eight years, and although we've had a dozen births and a handful of marriages, we've never had a death of one of Body members. One of our oldest members, Mr. Bob, was just transferred to Hospice this week with likely only a few more days to live on this earth. The whole situation was rather sudden - I knew he'd struggled with health issues for a while and was weak, but I didn't realize how close he's been to death. Today I got to visit him. Unfortunately, he was sound asleep the whole time, but I still got to talk and sing loudly to him. Even if he didn't hear anything I said or sang, I'm sure God will pass along the message when Mr. Bob falls into His embrace. I admit, I cried. It was emotional seeing him there, knowing he won't be here for much longer. I was also sad tha...