December 2011
60 posts
“You sound like you have a cold, Elizabeth.”
“Nah Papa, it’s just some congestion because I’ve been getting nosebleeds lately.”
“Nosebleeds!” he sounded alarmed. “Why don’t you see a doctor? Or look in the mirror!” he said, as he cracked up laughing.
This is the good life.
November 2011
85 posts
i-have-learned-the-secret asked: Where is the most beautiful landscape you have seen?
1 tag
takey0urs0cks0ff asked: about your last post about drinking beer and stuff like that i believe that God put those things here just like he did everything else but i also believe in moderation that you can drink alcohol in moderation and legally but those that over indulge are dis obeying the Lord but that's just my opinion about it(:
i-have-learned-the-secret asked: What is your favorite kind of ungulate? Why?
i-have-learned-the-secret asked: If you were a teacher, what age would you want to teach?
i-have-learned-the-secret asked: How old is my humor? (It is equivalent to children in what age group?)
Americana: Christmas lights on small town post offices and fire halls. Love it.
I looked around my room at all the half finished books and projects I have accumulated and thought: God, teach me how to finish what I start. And not to start anything You have not ordained.
I think I would have been a better high school teacher than doctor.
Honesty is one of the most painful and precious gifts a friend can give.
Tired just thinking about how soon I have to wake up. Two. More. Weeks.
Sometimes, I stay up and think about all the secrets others have entrusted to me. They mostly break my heart.
“God, help us to put and keep our eyes on You!”
– A prayer today. ”Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith…” (Hebrews 12:2a).
Looking= aphoraō - to turn the eyes away from other things and fix them on something.
Timely word.
Goal for this month: lose ten pounds. Why not be counter culture this holiday season?
Lonely on the inside tonight.
Sometimes I wonder what God thinks when He hears our confessions.
He is an always safe place for the brokenhearted.
At the Altar:
Elizabeth, do not rush this time. This is a precious time.
It is, of course.
Every moment in His presence is precious. But especially undivided worship.
4 tags
Can you imagine Jesus remodeling? Or drinking beer at a football game? Or sitting down at a movie? The very thoughts are obscene. So why do those who bear His name spend so much time on such futile activities?
I used to be afraid of getting married because I didn’t know anyone who is married and happy. Then I realized, with very few exceptions, I didn’t know anyone who is single and happy. It seems the problem of satisfaction is within us, not without us. Only He can satisfy. And then it doesn’t matter whether people are single or married: everything is for the glory of God.
It is good practice in combatting jealousy not to begrudge those who have off today. Or more than one day a week on a regular basis. Though admittedly, I still think I should have been a teacher.
1 tag
Exhausted, but hitting the ground running. Six and a half more months of bondage, and missing things I treasure for hours upon hours of futility. The end is in sight: the person in darkness has seen a great light.
“God, how am I going to make it through the next six months?”
“You’re going to rely on Me. You have to rely on Me.”
http://m.oneplace.com/ministries/living-on-the-edge... →
A very timely sermon I heard this morning.
4 tags
“You shouldn’t miss me. It will make the time we are apart seem even longer.”
“You’re right. I shouldn’t miss you. I should be there.”
Most days, I would trade everything I own to be a better lover of God and others. I am still so limited.
How interesting is it that God let His people plunder the Egyptians without force, to give them the very gold that they would soon after turn into a golden calf? How often the lust of our eyes becomes the idolatry of our heart.
6 tags
Sometimes I think: if this is the training ground for what God wants to do through my life in the future, the actual battle must be terrifying.
8 tags
While reading Jeremiah this morning I realized life has become increasingly difficult because I have started focuing more on my own comfort than God’s glory.
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God’s worthiness of worship does not change with my circumstance.
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What I miss most about pre-residency life is regular fellowship. Counting the months until I can regularly attend a church worship gathering.
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When did everyone in my family start saying “I love you”? Surreal.
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There comes a point in Christian maturity when one must realize that the only followers of Christ who will be discipled are those who want to be discipled. The Word is the chief agent of out discipling, anyway. The extent to which we want the Word is a direct prognostic indicator of the rate at which we will be discipled.
This is the first time I have started to feel like I belong in Rochester more than Buffalo. I feel release from the ministry God laid on my heart in Buffalo and burdened for those in Rochester. Don’t get me wrong, I will always like Buffalo bettter. But I want to be where God’s hand will best use my life.
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I’ve been so refreshed and encouraged by those who are new and rapidly growing in their faith in Christ. I must pray that God would give me a renewed passion to reach out to those who are overchurched and stagnant. Only He can make things new.
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From a conversation with a sweet friend:
We all owe God everything we have — we can’t owe Him any more, we can’t owe Him any less.
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Even if you’re used to no one taking care of you, it is really easy to become entitled as soon as someone starts putting you first.
3 tags
I miss singing harmony.
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Thankful for a roommate who helps me pack Operation Christmas Child boxes and whom I hear laughing in the morning as Denise Austen announces,”this exercise is great for the triceps, so when we wave goodbye nothing jiggles!”
7 tags
God, I repent of trusting myself more than You. Only You can accomplish want You want to do in my life today.
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When I was younger, my Dad told me never to expect anything from anyone: then I would never be disappointed, and I would often be pleasantly surprised. This was good advice.
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Since the Fall, women have struggled to be in control. I am not exempt.
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Thinking of a beautiful friend, I asked, “She’s going to believe in You someday — isn’t she, God?”
“Yes,” He replied.
“I can’t wait,” I sighed.
“Me either.” He smiled.
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I feel that God is ending my involvement in ministry in my hometown to open opportunities in other areas. A year ago, that would have made me sad. Today, it makes me expectant. Feels like release. Feels like God is doing a new thing.
Frustrated about having an abbreviated quiet time this morning for a variety of reasons, I prayed:
God; I’m sorry I cut short Your time this morning.
To which I heard:
Elizabeth, all of your time is mine. You just gave it to me in a different way today.
True. Sometimes we serve in stillness. Sometimes in activity.
“You will do more with your prayers than you will ever do with your lectures, Elizabeth.”
I’m finding a new standard of perfection, defined and fulfilled by Christ rather than by me.
