"He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose." ~Jim Elliot
...it's a quote I found on her Facebook wall that speaks volumes not just to her life but to her death. Betsy Smith is with her savior. There's nothing to say at this point...no words can express the feelings.
In this tough time I pray for faith like Job to say: "The Lord gives and the Lord has taken away...BLESSED BE THE NAME OF THE LORD" Our God is awesome, but it is easy to forget in times like this. I choose to praise you Lord for reminding me that your sovereignty is so much bigger than any "control" that I feel like I posess or deserve. Forgive me for my failure recognize your authority until something like this happens.
I'm praying, praying hard...and trusting God to bring this family back together soon.
Praise God from whom all blessings flow
Praise Him all creatures here below
Praise Him above ye heavenly hosts
Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost
Amen
Thursday, April 27, 2006
Tuesday, April 18, 2006
Alive and Kicking....
Ok...so I don't have long (try not to make that sigh of relief audible...) but I wanted to check in and let you know about my awesome weekend. Easter is so cool, and I had a great time with everyone.
Thursday afternoon I spent some time at Mrs. Pinkley's. Her husband died in October, and after the initial rush of helpful people, I think she's a bit lonely. So mom and I kept her company for a bit and then invited her to have Easter with us. She is such a dear.
We got in a great game of Frisbee Friday afternoon...ended by some rocking Uno and a nacho cheese war with Matt...hehe...never a dull moment. It was a BEAUTIFUL weekend for the most part, although we had some very brief but severe storms as well. When I came home from work Thursday night there was a huge lightning storm...no rain...just electricity lighting up the whole world in an eerie gray light. It was incredible...I sat on the deck into the wee hours of the morning marveling at the power of God as shown in creation...that is until the tornado sirens drove me indoors.
Friday night was our good friday service at riverside. This type of service, very solemn and reflective was different for this congregation...but I love a dark service to reflect on the death before the joy of ressurection morning. How can we appreciate the joy fully without first contemplating the death?? Later that evening, we experienced a new game at Walmart...my super competitive friends and I spent the better part of 2 hours running around and looking for obscure items...ask if you want the details...it was awesome fun! We enjoyed a good girls morning on Saturday at a shower for Andrea Kneezel...it was wonderfully fun. She is amazing. Sunday was good as always...great service, amazing food at Kneezels, and time to hang with my college buddies as well as several additions from Cedarville. I also got to do an egg hunt for the first time since I was in like junior high. Why did we let that tradition go?
In short...I'm still here...still alive and kicking. But more than that, I've experienced a renewal of the promise for EVERLASTING life. That's a term I've grown up with...one that I have memorized, quoted, and glued to my forehead since I was a kid. And sure enough...I've lost it's meaning somewhere in the mix. That's why I love Easter so much. It's a powerful reminder of the most basic principles of our faith...it's a joy fest, the most tangible expression of perfect love, and a chance to praise God for his victory over sin and death.
Thursday afternoon I spent some time at Mrs. Pinkley's. Her husband died in October, and after the initial rush of helpful people, I think she's a bit lonely. So mom and I kept her company for a bit and then invited her to have Easter with us. She is such a dear.
We got in a great game of Frisbee Friday afternoon...ended by some rocking Uno and a nacho cheese war with Matt...hehe...never a dull moment. It was a BEAUTIFUL weekend for the most part, although we had some very brief but severe storms as well. When I came home from work Thursday night there was a huge lightning storm...no rain...just electricity lighting up the whole world in an eerie gray light. It was incredible...I sat on the deck into the wee hours of the morning marveling at the power of God as shown in creation...that is until the tornado sirens drove me indoors.
Friday night was our good friday service at riverside. This type of service, very solemn and reflective was different for this congregation...but I love a dark service to reflect on the death before the joy of ressurection morning. How can we appreciate the joy fully without first contemplating the death?? Later that evening, we experienced a new game at Walmart...my super competitive friends and I spent the better part of 2 hours running around and looking for obscure items...ask if you want the details...it was awesome fun! We enjoyed a good girls morning on Saturday at a shower for Andrea Kneezel...it was wonderfully fun. She is amazing. Sunday was good as always...great service, amazing food at Kneezels, and time to hang with my college buddies as well as several additions from Cedarville. I also got to do an egg hunt for the first time since I was in like junior high. Why did we let that tradition go?
In short...I'm still here...still alive and kicking. But more than that, I've experienced a renewal of the promise for EVERLASTING life. That's a term I've grown up with...one that I have memorized, quoted, and glued to my forehead since I was a kid. And sure enough...I've lost it's meaning somewhere in the mix. That's why I love Easter so much. It's a powerful reminder of the most basic principles of our faith...it's a joy fest, the most tangible expression of perfect love, and a chance to praise God for his victory over sin and death.
Christ the Lord is Risen Today, Alleluiah
Sons of men and angels say "Alleluiah"
Raise your joys and triumphs high, Alleluiah
Sing ye heavens and earth reply, Alleluiah
Lives again our glorious king, alleluiah
Where oh death is now thy sting? Alleluiah!
Once he died our souls to save Alleluiah
Where's thy victory oh grave? Alleluiah!
Soar we now where christ has lead, Alleluiah
Following our exaulted head, Alleluiah
Made like Him, like Him we rise Alleluiah
Ours the cross, the grave, the skies, alleluiah!!!
Today campus is alive with spring energy, the trees are flowering white and purple, and the whole place is covered with lush green grass. A little reflection, a lasting reminder of the blessing and gift of life!! I'm off to class...have a good one...
Friday, April 07, 2006
head in the clouds...(and I don't mean ditzy)
Hi all,
Holy cow, it's April, it's Friday, it's sunny, Easter is a week away, and I've got nothing to do for an hour...sounds like a great time to post!
Coming back from spring break has been hard but good...I can hardly believe how fast time is starting to fly. It has been so easy to be apathetic recently, with beautiful weather coming and fun stuff happening on campus. But I must focus!! So much stuff staring me in the face to do in the next five weeks. Two big research papers are underway, and I'm slowly climbing through source after source hoping that I'll come up with some good arguments. We present for our main research project to a board and group of students on April 28th...aka...I'd better get a good idea of what this thing is really gonna read like ASAP. Our Bio lab is picking up again...papers are done but now we're ready to memorize a huge number of bones and muscles...good stuff...applicable stuff...now I just have to convince my brain cells to keep absorbing for a little while longer! I'm also really enjoying my vocal jazz group...we've got a concert coming up and we're starting to make good sounds. I have learned so much from the experience and love the girls I'm singing with too!
We've had some nasty weather around here lately, which is good because I love thunderstorms but bad because tornados are not helpful people around here...there's been storms all over the country so keep those people in your prayers. We take the "little things" like a roof and cars with no dents for granted.
Ryan and Heather Jackson are now officially in a new house...I'm so excited for them. We have put in a lot of work re-painting and getting everything moved. Soon the re-modeling will be finished and hopefully some of the chaos will subside. I'm also hoping that then they will get to rest for a while...they work so hard to keep us all motivated and encouraged.
Let's see...what else? Oh...Intervarsity hosted a great outreach night the other night called "Stump the Chump." It was basically a chance for a non-threatening discussion environment. We inivted kids to drop questions about christianity in a box all week long, and then come for food and a discussion. Our two insanely smart "chumps" (one is a history buff, the other working on his doctorate in astrophysics) fielded questions about everything from predestination to grace versus justice. We had about 15 kids there that I had never seen before, many of whom I think were challenged a little by what was said. I continute to pray that God will take the seeds sown and cause them to grow. I also pray that we, his instruments, would be effective in reflecting a positive image of Christ on campus. Last night, one of the girls who I met at Stump the Chump showed up for prayer. I have no clue where she stands spiritually, but when we paired off I went over to pray with her and get to know her a little better. Turns out that a good friend of hers from high school had been killed in a car wreck this week. She openly shared her heart...the pain that no one can understand, the fact that the even rocked her world even though she didn't know the girl super well, the inspirational figure that this girl and her family had been. It was an awesome time of sharing, and I hope that she found even a little comfort within our group. I hope that she comes back. Please pray for her...I think God may have brought her across our path at a critical moment. Lord use me....
I found a quote about prayer that I thought was pretty good. The author is heading up a prayer team for the release of "The DaVinci Code" this summer (by the way, another great discussion starter...) I thought his words were pretty good...
"Prayer always works. (It probably won’t surprise you to discover that the head of a prayer ministry believes that.) Of course, a skeptic would reasonably counter my claim – planes crash, patients die, ill-prepared students still flunk. And while it’s hard to prove the effects of prayer on others, there’s one person on whom prayer always works…the person doing the praying. Prayer gets us in the right frame of mind. It puts things in perspective. Most importantly, it takes our struggles and doubts and worries out of our frustrated, feeble hands, and puts them in their proper place – in God’s tender, resilient and purposeful hands."
I'm really excited because I get to be on the IV leadership team next semester. A whole bunch of people from our chapter are going up to Wisconsin right after school gets out for a week of training camp with some other IV teams. I'm getting really excited about this and praying that what I experience up there will both equip me to serve here and draw the people in our group closer to each other. We are going to need all the three, four, and 15 cord strands we can get!
Still working at the hospital occasionally, still singing in church and school choir, still loving being close to my family (yeah, it gets frustrating at times, but much more often its so great to be in on their daily lives). Easter (my favorite holiday of all time) is only 8 days away...praise the Lord!!
The heavens declare you are God
And the Mountains rejoice
The oceans cry halleluiah
As we workship you Lord!!!
Holy cow, it's April, it's Friday, it's sunny, Easter is a week away, and I've got nothing to do for an hour...sounds like a great time to post!
Coming back from spring break has been hard but good...I can hardly believe how fast time is starting to fly. It has been so easy to be apathetic recently, with beautiful weather coming and fun stuff happening on campus. But I must focus!! So much stuff staring me in the face to do in the next five weeks. Two big research papers are underway, and I'm slowly climbing through source after source hoping that I'll come up with some good arguments. We present for our main research project to a board and group of students on April 28th...aka...I'd better get a good idea of what this thing is really gonna read like ASAP. Our Bio lab is picking up again...papers are done but now we're ready to memorize a huge number of bones and muscles...good stuff...applicable stuff...now I just have to convince my brain cells to keep absorbing for a little while longer! I'm also really enjoying my vocal jazz group...we've got a concert coming up and we're starting to make good sounds. I have learned so much from the experience and love the girls I'm singing with too!
We've had some nasty weather around here lately, which is good because I love thunderstorms but bad because tornados are not helpful people around here...there's been storms all over the country so keep those people in your prayers. We take the "little things" like a roof and cars with no dents for granted.
Ryan and Heather Jackson are now officially in a new house...I'm so excited for them. We have put in a lot of work re-painting and getting everything moved. Soon the re-modeling will be finished and hopefully some of the chaos will subside. I'm also hoping that then they will get to rest for a while...they work so hard to keep us all motivated and encouraged.
Let's see...what else? Oh...Intervarsity hosted a great outreach night the other night called "Stump the Chump." It was basically a chance for a non-threatening discussion environment. We inivted kids to drop questions about christianity in a box all week long, and then come for food and a discussion. Our two insanely smart "chumps" (one is a history buff, the other working on his doctorate in astrophysics) fielded questions about everything from predestination to grace versus justice. We had about 15 kids there that I had never seen before, many of whom I think were challenged a little by what was said. I continute to pray that God will take the seeds sown and cause them to grow. I also pray that we, his instruments, would be effective in reflecting a positive image of Christ on campus. Last night, one of the girls who I met at Stump the Chump showed up for prayer. I have no clue where she stands spiritually, but when we paired off I went over to pray with her and get to know her a little better. Turns out that a good friend of hers from high school had been killed in a car wreck this week. She openly shared her heart...the pain that no one can understand, the fact that the even rocked her world even though she didn't know the girl super well, the inspirational figure that this girl and her family had been. It was an awesome time of sharing, and I hope that she found even a little comfort within our group. I hope that she comes back. Please pray for her...I think God may have brought her across our path at a critical moment. Lord use me....
I found a quote about prayer that I thought was pretty good. The author is heading up a prayer team for the release of "The DaVinci Code" this summer (by the way, another great discussion starter...) I thought his words were pretty good...
"Prayer always works. (It probably won’t surprise you to discover that the head of a prayer ministry believes that.) Of course, a skeptic would reasonably counter my claim – planes crash, patients die, ill-prepared students still flunk. And while it’s hard to prove the effects of prayer on others, there’s one person on whom prayer always works…the person doing the praying. Prayer gets us in the right frame of mind. It puts things in perspective. Most importantly, it takes our struggles and doubts and worries out of our frustrated, feeble hands, and puts them in their proper place – in God’s tender, resilient and purposeful hands."
I'm really excited because I get to be on the IV leadership team next semester. A whole bunch of people from our chapter are going up to Wisconsin right after school gets out for a week of training camp with some other IV teams. I'm getting really excited about this and praying that what I experience up there will both equip me to serve here and draw the people in our group closer to each other. We are going to need all the three, four, and 15 cord strands we can get!
Still working at the hospital occasionally, still singing in church and school choir, still loving being close to my family (yeah, it gets frustrating at times, but much more often its so great to be in on their daily lives). Easter (my favorite holiday of all time) is only 8 days away...praise the Lord!!
The heavens declare you are GodAnd the Mountains rejoice
The oceans cry halleluiah
As we workship you Lord!!!
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