Homecoming

Hola! Sorry to have left you all in such a state of suspense (… at least my vanity would hope that you were left just a wee bit in suspense ;) ), but now that I am back in the world of internet from the age of the dinosaurs my opportunities for writing have been quite infrequent. This reason, and also the fact that upon my arrival in Mexico – as you probably have realized by now, I did get here – I was swept up into the flurry of construction and ministry.

But I digress. Let me tell you about my trip... when last I wrote I was leaving Oregon “rumbo a Mexico” (on course for Mexico). That bus ride was looonnnngggg. I left Roseburg at 12pm on Friday and arrived in Tucson at 9pm on Saturday... what's that, 30 hours? Somewhere thereabouts. Interestingly enough, I had traveled that particular route (down the West coast) so many times with my family, that I was actually able to recognize landmarks as the bus traveled down to Arizona. It's a strange feeling of deja vu when you can wake up from a doze, look out the bus widow and know where you are without having to ask :) .
I do not recommend bus travel for the faint-hearted, but other than a few incidents of exceptionally bad smells emanating from the bathroom at the rear of the bus (… yeah, that was not pleasant), rather uncomfortable seats, a few travel companions with rather filthy language (really though, God has been working on my heart, teaching me to see past outward appearances. This trip was a bug step towards that) and far too many hours in the same position, it wasn't half bad :) . That is to say that, if needs be, I would do it again.

About halfway through this part of my trip, all of my emotions seemingly caught up with me. All of the things that I had been too busy to feel over the last week came crashing over me like waves. I had known that it was bound to happen some time or other, but I am rarely ever prepared for the heaviness and despair. BUT as I looked to the Lord for comfort, He, being as always faithful and true, lead my heart to Psalm 23 and gave me this prayer, which I thought to share with you...

Lord, you are my shepherd, and my gentle guide, my vigilant protector; I will not want for anything. For you make me rest peacefully in your blessing; you comfort me and bring my to a place where I can close my eyes and bask in your presence. When I am weak and despairing, you restore hope to my soul. With your firm hand you lead me into the paths of truth and righteous living, for the sake of the glory of your name. Even if I should come to walk through valleys of doubt, despair and death, I will fear not, because you are greater than any evil which would ever beset me. You are with me. Seeing your might and knowing of your love brings me comfort, even in the darkest of times. No matter what this life brings, I know that you promises are true. You will render to each their due. You will not allow my persecutors to prevail forever, but will raise me up before them in the end, anointed and chosen daughter by your grace. In that day, I will rejoice before you, even as I do now, because of your goodness and mercy; and in your presence I will dwell forevermore.

When the bus finally pulled in to the Tucson station, I was utterly glad that the trip was over. The idea of sleeping in a real bed was so alluring that I didn't even really feel like eating. Of course, once I was off the bus and driving back through downtown Tucson in the car with some of my dear friends, I seemed to get a second wind. Regardless, I didn't last too long after that. From Saturday evening I stayed about 4 days in Arizona. It was great to visit with friends and I was especially blessed by the brother and sister I stayed with. What a priceless gift to have such a loving and caring family in Christ!

On Wednesday evening my friends saw me off at the Mexican bus station. I was finally homeward bound! About this leg of the trip there is not much to tell. I traveled through the night, sleeping most of the way. The bus was comfortable and peaceful and we made very few stops. By 9am the next morning we were pulling in to Guasave, Sinaloa. Home! My family arrived shortly thereafter, and I am sure you can imagine our exuberance! We were all quite content.

Since then, as I said, we have all been running full-tilt, working furiously to get the construction done and the house ready for our mission teams coming in December. Quite an undertaking; but praise God for the large family we have and for His strength as we strive to be faithful to our King and to accomplish the work He has given us.

I must apologize to those of you who like pictures. Unfortunately, at this moment all of the pictures that I might post are on my mom's laptop... and presently I am the only one still awake in the house (the things we do to find a moment to use the internet. Sigh. ;) ). With that said, I will try my utmost to post pictures either tomorrow or the day following.

Blessings to you! Thanks for sparing a moment to read through my meanderings!

Confessions of a Hurting Heart

I have been found out. The verdict: guilty. And I cannot plead my innocence, because it's true.
How often have I repeated to myself that my joy is only in God, only in His will, only in His presence, only in doing His work? And it is... or should be.
It's funny, so often I feel as though I am constantly re-learning things that I already know. A couple of years ago when I was in Mexico with my family I went through a time in my life when I wanted to be anywhere but where I was. I wasn't content. I felt like I wasn't serving any purpose where I was; what purpose could highschool serve anyway? God took me to task on this, and I came out of it much the better for having gone through it. Perhaps it's the very fact that I have already gone through this once which made me blind to the fact that I was going through it again.
But praise the Lord for friends who love me enough to speak the truth, even when it's not what I want to hear!

There have been many changes in my life in the past year. I look back on the things I did with my family in January and feel that it can't be real. Sometimes as I sit in my room with my eyes closed I almost feel that when I open my eyes I will find out that everything since then has been a dream; that I never really left Mexico. But I open my eyes and I see the carpeted floor and green walls and know that it's real.

I have come back to the place where I grew up. The people I left behind are the same, the scenery is the same, the church is the same... I even feel at times that I must be the same. I'm not. The person I am today is not the person I was 7 years ago... even aside from the fact that I was much younger then. I didn't realize how hard it would be to come back after so much time had passed. Mexico isn't Asia or Africa, but it isn't the US either. And my family isn't here.

Finding my identity without them has been the most difficult thing I have ever faced. What happens when the realization comes that no matter what you do things are never going to be the same? What do I do when I realize that the life that I left behind in Mexico was left behind forever? Regardless of what the future will be, it can never be the past.

I have avoided facing this up till now, but it's time that I stopped dodging the truth and acknowledged it for what it is, Lord give me strength. My heart aches for love and security that I had with my family. I have tried to fill up the gap with prayer, with reading my Bible, with keeping busy, with friends, with plans, with excuses... they didn't work. Everything that I have done here has been good, and I can say with certainty that my prayer life has never been better, but I have been prevented from sharing in the joy of the blessings of God because I have been too focused on the blessings I did not have.

It has been a harsh awakening for me. How is it that I could have missed something so vital, so important. It's true. I have been living without joy. Oh, there have been moments in which I have been joyful, but I haven't lived it, and more often than not my eyes are clouded by tears of sadness, not of thanksgiving.

But the fight is not over! The first step is taken. Time will heal the wound in my heart, and until then I will fight for God's peace and joy in my life!!

In my mind, my future is crowded with plans and hopes and dreams, but I don't live in the future, and I never will. I am HERE and I live NOW! Regardless of what may come, I will cling to the promises of the the Lord knowing that in His joy I can find strength!

Psalm 95:1-8a
O come, let us sing for joy to the LORD,
Let us shout joyfully to the rock of our salvation.
Let us come before His presence with thanksgiving,
Let us shout joyfully to Him with psalms.
For the LORD is a great God
And a great King above all gods,
In whose hand are the depths of the earth,
The peaks of the mountains are His also.
The sea is His, for it was He who made it,
And His hands formed the dry land.

Come, let us worship and bow down,
Let us kneel before the LORD our Maker.
For He is our God,
And we are the people of His pasture and the sheep of His hand.
Today, if you would hear His voice,
Do not harden your hearts

Continued musings

What a week... or two. When so much time passes between my posts I forget what I have done. This is about the time when I would look back in my journal, that is if I actually kept one. But I don't, so you will have to rely solely upon my ability to recall all that I have done. Hey now, it's not that scary of a prospect! ;)

My Spanish classes have continued marvelously. I really feel like my students are starting to learn! We aren't progressing as rapidly as I hoped to in the beginning, but I think that, realistically, we are moving at a good pace. This Wednesday will be my first adult class. Again, it isn't as big as I had first hoped that it might be, but I know that God has it all in His hands; I did as much as I could, and the results must be left up to Him!
I don't have an "official" job other than teaching Spanish. I have done some odd jobs and have made myself available for babysitting as well. Though some have questioned my decisions up till now I can only say that I believe that I am where God has placed me. It's enough... sometimes it's hard to trust and be patient, but it's enough.

I made a trip out to the college last week with Emily. I managed to accomplish quite a bit in one morning I think! I registered as a student (got the nifty little "student ID" number) and took my placement test. I placed quite well in English, but not so well in Math. It's to be expected; Math has never been my strong suit. Anyway, I still need to sign up for classes, but I really have done all that I can until I decide how I am going to pay for the semester. Money is usually the issue, isn't it? I am praying and watching for the answer.
Honestly, I still am not sure what it is that God has for me. I want to attend school, yet a huge part of my heart was left in Mexico and that part of me (sometimes it feels like all of me) would like nothing more than to return there (... or maybe France. I have always wanted to go to Europe ;) ). Whatever I end up doing, I know that the choices I make in this next year are probably going to shape the rest of my life. It's a rather intimidating thought, but I know that I serve a faithful Master, and an expert Potter whose plans I can trust.

Well, the time has come. All of my friends (alright, not all but most of my friends) are graduating this week. Just this last Sunday I went to the graduation of a friend who I have know since we were... my goodness... like 6? So much time has passed in between, but it was rather nice to be able to see her finish school and take the next big step in her life. I was just reflecting the other day how strange it is that everyone grows up. I know it's a part of life and all, but it's so hard to understand how the little baby of what seems like merely yesterday could be the spunky ten-year-old who just ran by. How is it that the same roles that my friends and I used to fill could now be filled by the younger generation... and when did I become part of an older generation??!! But, the strangeness of it all aside, I really am excited to watch all of my friends take big steps forward, and even more excited to see some of them who are truly chasing after God with all their heart!

Oh, on a cheerful note, I have a new laptop! I am actually at this very moment typing this very post on its very keyboard. Is that cool or what?! It's a refurbished Compaq HP. So far I really like it... we'll see whether I still do after a couple of months, but I have high hopes ;) ! So, now that I do have the laptop I am going to upload pictures... next time I get on. For now I'll just end by posting a short poem that I wrote last Summer. I have kept it in my Bible for the longest time, but I think that it's time that it saw light. If it sounds familiar and you have a facebook account, you probably read it there ;).

ENDURE
All of us grow weary, and all of us complain.
We grow offended in the face of unfair accusation
And we are jealous of those who, through dishonesty, seem to gain.
In waiting we grow impatient, and in difficulty we are burdened with stress.
We flee so quickly from persecution and are even less willing to suffer physical pain.
Is this right? Have we not been called to something more?
For we haven’t suffered affliction and bodily torment as did Isaiah;
Nor have we been rejected by country and kinsmen as was the prophet Jeremiah.
We have not been wrongly accused and killed mercilessly by those we most love, but Jesus was.
Brethren, we have not yet resisted to the point of shedding blood in our striving against sin.
Perhaps it’s time that we did.

The Changes Life Brings

Well, here I am again! It's been a long while. I didn't write for some time because I didn't have time, and then I didn't write because I still didn't have time, and then I didn't write because I didn't know how to pick things up where I'd left off. These past months have been months of great change. I have been struggling to find my footing in it all, still haven't gotten there, but my God is a big God and He's helping me to persevere.

In February we left Mexico on our Spring furlough. We had a great trip. God proved Himself faithful time and time again through everything that happened. As of right now my family is back in Mexico gearing up for Semana Santa (Holy Week) and I am in Oregon.

Some of you might be thinking "what???? When did this happen?" The decision was made in December, right after my birthday. I still can't believe that it actually happened, but it did! I have now been here a month. I have two jobs. I work weekends at the Wildlife Safari selling tickets (just for this month) :) and I am also teaching Spanish classes.

It's been such a drastic change for me. I am saddened by so many things that have changed, but excited by what is yet to come. This is a poem that I wrote one morning as I meditated on everything that had been happening. God's been doing some hard things in my heart, but I'm so in love with Him!

STEPS

Take a step, take a leap
As the years go by the steps seem to become more and more like leaps.
Life is like a dark road;
Sometimes you can barely make out what's right in front of you.
The road draws you forward into the unknown.
Going back is impossible, but what is hidden in the darkness ahead?
Take a step, take a leap
Staying put is ever so much easier than moving on.
Most prefer known hardships to stepping forward into unknown possiblilities.
But just imagine those possibilities!
Take the steps and see what they bring.
The girl becomes a woman
The boy becomes a man
The steps we take make us who we are.
Take a step and trust God for the rest.
Who knows, this next step could be the first step of a new adventure.

So, I am going to pick things up here. My mission hasn't changed, just the country :) . As I undertake this new challenge I could really use all of your prayers!
This has been my passage for the month. I hope that it encourages you as much as it has me!!

Romans 8:26-39
In the same way the Spirit also helps our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we should, but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words; and He who searches the hearts knows what the mind of the Spirit is, because He intercedes for the saints according to the will of God. And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose. For those whom He foreknew, He also predestined to become conformed to the image of His Son, so that He would be the firstborn among many brethren; and these whom He predestined, He also called; and these whom He called, He also justified; and these whom He justified, He also glorified.
What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who is against us? He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him over for us all, how will He not also with Him freely give us all things? Who will bring a charge against God's elect? God is the one who justifies; who is the one who condemns? Christ Jesus is He who died, yes, rather who was raised, who is at the right hand of God, who also intercedes for us. Who will separate us from the love of Christ? Will tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?
Just as it is written,
"FOR YOUR SAKE WE ARE BEING PUT TO DEATH ALL DAY LONG;
WE WERE CONSIDERED AS SHEEP TO BE SLAUGHTERED."
But in all these things we overwhelmingly conquer through Him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, will be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Children will listen

I found these lyrics over at Felecia's Blog. It just really hit home for me. It reminded me of how we are called to be an example to those around us, especially children. God sends us into the world to be lights, and as you can tell from the title of my blog, I believe that it means literally. We need to go into the world and show others the way to salvation. Children are very easily impressed and any actions we take or things that we say are going to leave a mark. Whether it is good or bad is your choice and responsibility.
Jesus says in Matthew 18 verse 6 that whoever causes one of these little ones to stumble it would be better for him to have a millstone hung about his neck and be flung into the sea. I don't know about you, but this makes me think that God is really serious about how we act.
So, now I will leave you to peruse this. I hope that you enjoy it as much as I did!

CHILDREN WILL LISTEN

How do you say to your child in the night?
Nothing's all black, but then nothing's all white
How do you say it will all be all right
When you know that it might not be true?
What do you do?

Careful the things you say
Children will listen
Careful the things you do
Children will see and learn
Children may not obey, but children will listen
Children will look to you for which way to turn
To learn what to be
Careful before you say "Listen to me"
Children will listen

Careful the wish you make
Wishes are children
Careful the path they take
Wishes come true, not free
Careful the spell you cast
Not just on children
Sometimes the spell may last
Past what you can see
And turn against you
Careful the tale you tell
That is the spell
Children will listen

How can you say to a child who's in flight
"Don't slip away and I won't hold so tight"
What can you say that no matter how slight Won't be misunderstood
What do you leave to your child when you're dead?
Only whatever you put in it's head
Things that you're mother and father had said
Which were left to them too
Careful what you say
Children will listen
Careful you do it too
Children will see
And learn, oh guide them that step away
Children will glisten
Tample with what is true
And children will turn
If just to be free
Careful before you say
"Listen to me"

Children will listen .... children will listen .... children will listen!

So, what about prayer?

Hey everyone! I have felt led to post about prayer.
Prayer is one of the hardest and most necessary things in the Christian life. Setting up a daily and hourly prayer schedule is difficult and takes a lot of work. It is my belief that it is so hard because we have an enemy whose object in life is to see us fall and fail in all that we do for God. Prayer is what makes the Christian tick. If the Devil succeeds in causing us to fail at it, then he has succeeded in making us live a stunted life. We can't grow if we don't pray and receive from God.

I've found that something that helps me immensely when I pray is to pray aloud. I know, it sounds weird to say that you should talk aloud when there is "no one" in the room. I, however, find that this makes it much easier to concentrate. When I try and pray in my mind I find myself wandering off in my thoughts and I have to constantly be pulling my mind back into focus.
I try to, every time before I begin to pray, ask God to take control. I pray against anything that the Devil is trying to throw against me and I pray protection over my family. This tends to help me gain victory.

Also, we need to realize that just because our minds wander doesn't mean that we are a bad people. Everyone is tempted. BEING tempted is not what we need to fight against, FALLING to the temptation is. We have to make sure that we see any obstacle between us and God as from the enemy, not from us.

Corinthians 5:17
Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come.

This verse says that you are a new creature in Christ. That means that in Christ you are no longer considered a sinner. Sure, you still fail at times, but now you are essentially good. That means that ANY temptation that comes your way is from your FLESH (your old sin nature, to which you are now dead) or THE DEVIL, not you. You are a new creature in Christ!!

For, how can we say that when we do something good it's from Christ yet when we do something bad it's us. NO! In Christ we are new, different, changed.

Romans 5:18-20
So then as through one transgression there resulted condemnation to all men, even so through one act of righteousness there resulted justification of life to all men. For as through the one man's disobedience the many were made sinners, even so through the obedience of the One the many will be made righteous.
[my emphasis added]

Christ has given you the victory!! He died so that you might have life and have it in abundance!!

John 10:10
"The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly."

Live that life. Claim it in the name of Jesus. The One who is on our side is greater than the one who is in the world (1 John 4:4). Proclaim it in the name of Jesus and the enemy will flee!!!!!

Prayer can only be established by practice. The more you practice prayer, the easier and more natural it will become. The apostle Paul tells us in his letters to the Ephesians that we should pray without ceasing. That means that we should not only set aside a time for private prayer but that we should pray throughout the day.

While you're doing the dishes if you think of someone who needs prayer, pray!! There is nothing stopping you. God invites us to pray to Him at all times. That's what Paul meant when he said pray without ceasing. Not that you should always lock yourself away in your room, but that you should constantly be in communication with God. It's funny, but the word communication has the same root as the word communion. Just a thought!

Thanks guys for listening to my ramblings!

Getting My Priorities Straight

Recently I have been thinking about priorities and where God should fit in. I mean, I knew that the Bible taught that God should come first in all that we do and that most churches teach that you should "tithe your time" but what does that mean?

I always saw it as meaning that I needed to give God a percentage of all of my time. I don't know about you, but I found that difficult. To always be worried that I wasn't giving God enough? And what is "enough" anyway? I had no idea.

One person would tell me, "All you have to do is dedicate some time to prayer and read your Bible every day," another would say, "No, no, you have to share the gospel with someone to have truly tithed your time," and still another, "Just follow the rules the best you can and you'll be fine."
Okay, now I was really confused! What's the truth? Where should God be on my priority list?

From all the advice that I had been given my list ended up looking something like this:

• God
• Prayer
• Reading the Bible
• Sharing the Gospel
  
• Family
• Friends
• Quiet Time for myself
• Chores at Home
• Work
• Going to Church
• School
• Having Fun
• ...

Now, I'm not saying that there is anything wrong with the things on the list. They are all good things and most of them things that I do every day. The problem with the list is that it's set up as a list of expectations. That means that for me this list was something that I lived by. A standard that I had set. When I went to the Bible, however, I found very different results.

1 Corinthians 10:31

Whether, then, you eat or drink or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.

So, the Bible says that in ALL things and ALL the time we must give Him the glory. I found myself thinking, "But that's not what everyone else says!" It turns out that the Bible had something to say to that argument too.

Colossians 2:6-8

Therefore as you have received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him, having been firmly rooted and now being built up in Him and established in your faith, just as you were instructed, and overflowing with gratitude. See to it that no one takes you captive through philosophy and empty deception, according to the tradition of men, according to the elementary principles of the world, rather than according to Christ.

Now I was really stumped. Not only was I wrong in my assumptions, but I couldn't use what people had told me as a basis anymore. I had to go to the Bible and come up with a whole new kind of priority list. This is something like what I came up with:



We need to give God everything and more! We can't give Him a portion or even a percentage. If He isn't being glorified in everything that we do then we are falling short of God's command.

Matthew 5:14-16

"You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden; nor does anyone light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on the lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven."

We must be lights to the world and we do that by showing God in our actions. As it says in James 1, "...Faith without works is dead..." You can't be a Christian and NOT show Christ in all your actions!

You need to realize that I'm not perfect or even close. Just because I finally figured out what my priority list should look like doesn't mean I have as easy a time living it out. I still fight against my flesh and the Devil-- whose object in life is to see me fail. Only by the grace of God do I even have a chance. But, thanks to Jesus, I do have the grace of God, and I can do it!!!

In His service~

A life lived beyond expections

Meet Chelly. She grew up in a Christian home surrounded by Christian people and principles. She had wonderful Christian friends and was taught what was right from a very young age. Chelly eventually became a young woman who was involved in the church and with her youth group. Still, something seemed to be missing in her life. She wanted to have a closer walk with Christ. She wanted her pray-life to be strong and persevering; a life that glorified God in all it’s aspects. She shared this with one of her friends but received merely skepticism. “What do you mean?” said her friend. “You already spend time in your Bible everyday and are actively involved in ministry. How would you find the time for anything more?” So, with this discouragement, Chelly laid aside the feeling of lack saying, “If that’s good enough for her, then it’s good enough for me.”

The months and years passed. She got married and had children, yet she still felt that something was missing. She wasn’t sure what it was but she knew it was something. One day she shared her feelings with the wife of her church’s pastor. The woman immediately told her that what she felt missing was a personal relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ. She told Chelly that all it took was willingness and effort on her side- God was more than willing to fellowship with her. Chelly felt something inside of her that she had kept repressed for so long rise up in agreement with everything that the woman had said, and she left feeling like God had truly touched her heart.

She tackled the challenge with gusto and was not one bit sorry! Chelly felt more alive than she had felt in years; she wanted to share it with her friends and husband! She started by telling her husband but, like it had happened so many years ago, she met with incredulity and doubt. Her husband was a Christian, but what was this that she was talking about. “A personal relationship”?? Well, he certainly couldn’t see what she was talking about. He had been a Christian all his life yet he had never felt anything like what she was describing. She was disappointed. “What is wrong with me?” she thought to herself. “Could it be that I am merely being led by my own feelings? Should I really dedicate all that time to prayer?”

Now, Chelly did not leave off praying immediately. She continued for weeks, but the time that she set aside gradually became less and less. She wanted to pray and listen to God’s voice, but the feelings that she had couldn’t be from God; not when everyone around her was content where they were. Whenever she felt down and despairing she would merely repeat to herself, “If it’s good enough for them, then it’s good enough for me.”

And that’s how she lived out the rest of her life, knowing that there was something missing yet content to be “the same as everyone else”.

---

How many of us live lives like Chelly's? How many of us are content living at the minimal rather than the utmost? How sad it would be for us to come before God and Him to ask, "Why did you never seek me? I loved you so much and all I wanted was to be with you; yet you rejected and ignored me." What will you be able to say? "I'm sorry Lord! It's just that..." you fill in the blank.

But that's not how it has to be!! Embrace the journey; Christ or nothing! Live your life seeking God and not conforming to the norm. What does the Bible say about living in that manner?

---

Romans 12:2
And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.

---

So what it says is that God wants us to show the world through our actions who He is!! Wow! What a huge responsibility! How much of His reputation has He staked on our conduct!

---

2 Thessalonians 1:10-12

10When He shall come to be glorified in His saints, and to be admired in all them that believe (because our testimony among you was believed) in that day.
11Wherefore also we pray always for you, that our God would count you worthy of this calling, and fulfill all the good pleasure of His goodness, and the work of faith with power:
12That the name of our Lord Jesus Christ may be glorified in you, and ye in him, according to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ.

[My emphasis added]

---

The calling we have received, to live our lives to the utmost, is not an easy calling. The Bible itself tells us that we SHALL be persecuted. But it also tells us that, through prayer, we can and will be victorious!

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Jude 1:17-21
17But, beloved, remember ye the words which were spoken before of the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ;

18How that they told you there should be mockers in the last time, who should walk after their own ungodly lusts.
19These be they who separate themselves, sensual, having not the Spirit.
20But ye, beloved, building up yourselves on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Ghost,
21Keep yourselves in the love of God, looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life.

---

2 Timothy 4:7
I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith:

---

HAVE YOU???

Writing for God

I know I haven't ever done this before, but I thought it might be high-time to publish some of my writing on my blog. I don't write a lot and I don't see myself as an exceptionally gifted writer. But, when I get an insperation, I like to write it down. So, here's something I wrote about a year ago when I was on a mission trip in Puebla...



MY FAITHFUL CAPTAIN


Here I am alone in my boat. The darkness closes in around me
I've already tied my anchor to the ship and put my life in the
hands of the captain, but through the fog I cannot see what I know
is there. I feel myself being pulled along, yet though I know I shan't
lose my way, I begin to doubt that the Captain cares. "What if he's
forgotten about me?" Whispers my mind. But in my heart I know
He hasn't. When I cry out to the Captain to tell me the course I recieve
no answer, but I know He hears. The boat is thrown by waves and the
the rain threatens to sink my small craft. I hold on begging the Capitain
to bring me aboard, yet I hear no response, merely the thunder and rain.
Then a voice creeps into my heart saying. "Would it not be easier to cut
the rope and steer your own course? What has this Captain done but
bring storms apon you?" I feel a knife placed into my hand and in my
mind I reason to comply, but my heart cries out, "No! Remember when
you placed your life in the hands of the Captain? He promised He would
bring you through." Then I remember my Captain. The tender look in
His eye as He lifted the rope gently from my hands and promised never
to lead me astray. In that moment I feel a strength and I throw the
knife into the sea declaring the I shall follow my Captain. So I follow,
looking forward to when we will arrive at port, where my Captain is
waiting. He never promised it would be easy, only that He would bring
me through. With this before me I continue to look forward, sometimes
catching glimpses of light from the ship, but always looking toward the
prize and believing that my Captain cares.