1 I cry aloud to the LORD; I lift up my voice to the LORD for mercy.
2 I pour out before him my complaint; before him I tell my trouble.
3 When my spirit grows faint within me, it is you who watch over my way. In the path where I walk people have hidden a snare for me.
4 Look and see, there is no one at my right hand; no one is concerned for me. I have no refuge; no one cares for my life.
5 I cry to you, LORD; I say, "You are my refuge, my portion in the land of the living."
6 Listen to my cry, for I am in desperate need; rescue me from those who pursue me, for they are too strong for me.
7 Set me free from my prison, that I may praise your name. Then the righteous will gather about me because of your goodness to me.
I hope this blog finds everyone having a great Thanksgiving break (although now it is just about over). This psalm has been chosen by a member of FBC Clinton's sunday school class as a passage to be memorized during this time in her life. Susanna Young has Hodgkin's Lymphoma. She has suffered from it for many years. She has dealt wonderfully with the chemo, radiation, pain, and even humiliation. She has a wonderful personality and you never see her without a smile on her face; hat smile that brightens up the room when she is present.
Our Sunday School class has chosen to memorize it alongside of her. This is an act of friendship and love to her in hope that she will see that we are here for her during this trying and devastating time in her life. It is our prayer that she will receive some encouragement from this.
She has recently been sent to Birmingham for some more chemo. I am not sure how she is doing. But my prayer for you this Thanksgiving holiday is that you remember and thank God for all the great blessings he has enriched you with. You may not be the richest, smartest, prettiest, or best at a certain sport, but God has given you wonderful talents and He wants you to use those to further His kingdom. Just like this young girl, you do no know when you will take your last breath. Step out now. Do something with what God has given you.
Sunday, November 30, 2008
Sunday, November 16, 2008
10. My Testimony
I was born under a Christian home with very Godly parents who strived in every way possible to teach me what it meant to be a Christian and to live like one. I was brought up with strong Christian values and every Sunday, my parents made it a point to take me to church. Going to church gave me a chance to grow in His likeness and I did. They emphasized the importance of being a Christian and expressed themselves as one too.
One afternoon, at the age of eight, I really felt God tugging at my heart to accept Him as my personal Lord and Savior. So, I wrote my mom a note (I was big on notes at the time) saying that I wanted to accept Jesus as my Lord and Savior. So we talked and prayed about it and the upcoming Sunday I talked to our pastor, Dr. Rob Boyd, and was baptized the following month. Over the next years I regularly attended church camps and activities where I was encouraged by many to expand my walk with Jesus Christ. It was not until the summer after my ninth grade year and on into my tenth grade year that I began to see that I really was not growing spiritually.
At the beginning of my relationship with Christ, I consumed myself in his Holy Word and I was on fire for Him. I progressed more spiritually and grew to understand what it truly meant to be a disciple of Jesus Christ. Yes, countless obstacles were hurled in my direction and I prayed that God’s power would overcome me and unbind me. Soon, all of this drifted away. My regular quiet time disappeared. My Bible was just another book on the shelf and was rarely opened except when taken to church. I began to turn my back on God and decided to run my own life, taking a hold of the reins once again. Everything seemed to be going bad and I turned even farther away from God. My anger got the best of me causing me to be what seemed like hatred towards my parents and brother. Finally I woke up from this “nightmare” and at Super Summer last year I decided to once again return the reins to the rightful owner.
My tenth grade year was a hard year for me, but I managed to get through it because my Savior was right beside me every step of the way. Friendships seemed to be falling apart and my relationship with my parents was terrible. Though everything was going wrong, I turned to Him and relied on Him to bring me through this storm. Just like the song, I began to praise God in the storm, my storm. Eventually friendships were restored and my parents and I began to share our love for one another again. I have learned to not release my anger as much and desire to honor my mother and father, as it says to do in the Bible. By placing Jesus Christ first in my life, many blessings began to enrich my life. One of those is the richness that God has blessed me with with the wonderful friends that he has placed in my life and the life-long friendships that are growing from them. One of my favorite passages is Psalm 23 which talks about letting God lead your life. If God has entire control over your life, then you will be abundantly blessed. I pray that from Super Summer this year God would take my heart and break it so that I can surrender my everything to Him. My hope for me is that from camp I will have such a burning passion for Christ that I can ignite other hearts on fire for Him. That has been one of my desires is to experience the joy of leading someone to Christ and undergo an intense overseas mission trip.
Although I have not yet experienced the incredible opportunity of going overseas on a mission trip, I have been on two in the past year. They have been a major turning point in my life. Ever since that summer before my tenth grade year, I have had a burning passion for missions. Last summer, I had the opportunity to travel down to the coast and do some repair and construction work on some of the houses that got damaged from Hurricane Katrina. That was an amazing experience for me to get to see the joyous reactions of those families that we helped and to know that I was doing it out of the kindness of my heart and for the glory of the Lord Almighty. Then, this past spring break, I had another incredible opportunity to join about twenty five college students from Mississippi College on their annual spring break trip to Mission Arlington. It was AMAZING! The Lord really moved in my life. It affirmed my desire and passion for missions. I was able to develop an amazing relationship with a little boy named Isaiah. I had the chance to talk with him about his relationship with Christ and his older brother, Andrew, went on to accept Jesus Christ as his Savior. At the closing of the week, I was able to pray, along with another college student, with Isaiah, Andrew, and his mother. It was GREAT!
The Lord has also been laying on my heart about my friendships. I have had the same friends for a long time and it has been a great experience sharing memories with them, but some things happened and I got really hurt. The Lord taught me that I need to expand my horizons and include and develop other relationships, not necessarily tossing the others out, but spending time with others so that I can share the love of Jesus with more people. This year I have made some extraordinary friendships with several seniors and with several college students. It was great for me to see another side of friendships. I have really been struggling with developing some deep, true friendships, especially with guys. I have met some amazing college guys that are becoming that for me.
I thank God for all the blessings he has given to me throughout my life and know that through the rough times, “God is gonna pull us through!” (you had to be there--Spring Break at Mission Arlington).
My senior year was quite difficult in the fact that most of the things that I wanted to accomplish or attain this year I did not. But Luke 12:48 helped me through this. I have accomplished great things in my life and I should be very proud. I may not be as smart as my brother or as athletic as a certain friend but I have wonderful attributes that I can use to glorify my Lord. Mississippi College will be a new and exciting experience for me and I hope that I can use my talents to further Christ’s kingdom. I know he has some amazing things in store for my life.
I pray that my experiences at Mississippi College will help me grow closer to Christ, broaden my horizons to develop new friendships, and use my career goal as a physical therapist to help the less fortunate, physically and spiritually, all around the world.
One afternoon, at the age of eight, I really felt God tugging at my heart to accept Him as my personal Lord and Savior. So, I wrote my mom a note (I was big on notes at the time) saying that I wanted to accept Jesus as my Lord and Savior. So we talked and prayed about it and the upcoming Sunday I talked to our pastor, Dr. Rob Boyd, and was baptized the following month. Over the next years I regularly attended church camps and activities where I was encouraged by many to expand my walk with Jesus Christ. It was not until the summer after my ninth grade year and on into my tenth grade year that I began to see that I really was not growing spiritually.
At the beginning of my relationship with Christ, I consumed myself in his Holy Word and I was on fire for Him. I progressed more spiritually and grew to understand what it truly meant to be a disciple of Jesus Christ. Yes, countless obstacles were hurled in my direction and I prayed that God’s power would overcome me and unbind me. Soon, all of this drifted away. My regular quiet time disappeared. My Bible was just another book on the shelf and was rarely opened except when taken to church. I began to turn my back on God and decided to run my own life, taking a hold of the reins once again. Everything seemed to be going bad and I turned even farther away from God. My anger got the best of me causing me to be what seemed like hatred towards my parents and brother. Finally I woke up from this “nightmare” and at Super Summer last year I decided to once again return the reins to the rightful owner.
My tenth grade year was a hard year for me, but I managed to get through it because my Savior was right beside me every step of the way. Friendships seemed to be falling apart and my relationship with my parents was terrible. Though everything was going wrong, I turned to Him and relied on Him to bring me through this storm. Just like the song, I began to praise God in the storm, my storm. Eventually friendships were restored and my parents and I began to share our love for one another again. I have learned to not release my anger as much and desire to honor my mother and father, as it says to do in the Bible. By placing Jesus Christ first in my life, many blessings began to enrich my life. One of those is the richness that God has blessed me with with the wonderful friends that he has placed in my life and the life-long friendships that are growing from them. One of my favorite passages is Psalm 23 which talks about letting God lead your life. If God has entire control over your life, then you will be abundantly blessed. I pray that from Super Summer this year God would take my heart and break it so that I can surrender my everything to Him. My hope for me is that from camp I will have such a burning passion for Christ that I can ignite other hearts on fire for Him. That has been one of my desires is to experience the joy of leading someone to Christ and undergo an intense overseas mission trip.
Although I have not yet experienced the incredible opportunity of going overseas on a mission trip, I have been on two in the past year. They have been a major turning point in my life. Ever since that summer before my tenth grade year, I have had a burning passion for missions. Last summer, I had the opportunity to travel down to the coast and do some repair and construction work on some of the houses that got damaged from Hurricane Katrina. That was an amazing experience for me to get to see the joyous reactions of those families that we helped and to know that I was doing it out of the kindness of my heart and for the glory of the Lord Almighty. Then, this past spring break, I had another incredible opportunity to join about twenty five college students from Mississippi College on their annual spring break trip to Mission Arlington. It was AMAZING! The Lord really moved in my life. It affirmed my desire and passion for missions. I was able to develop an amazing relationship with a little boy named Isaiah. I had the chance to talk with him about his relationship with Christ and his older brother, Andrew, went on to accept Jesus Christ as his Savior. At the closing of the week, I was able to pray, along with another college student, with Isaiah, Andrew, and his mother. It was GREAT!
The Lord has also been laying on my heart about my friendships. I have had the same friends for a long time and it has been a great experience sharing memories with them, but some things happened and I got really hurt. The Lord taught me that I need to expand my horizons and include and develop other relationships, not necessarily tossing the others out, but spending time with others so that I can share the love of Jesus with more people. This year I have made some extraordinary friendships with several seniors and with several college students. It was great for me to see another side of friendships. I have really been struggling with developing some deep, true friendships, especially with guys. I have met some amazing college guys that are becoming that for me.
I thank God for all the blessings he has given to me throughout my life and know that through the rough times, “God is gonna pull us through!” (you had to be there--Spring Break at Mission Arlington).
My senior year was quite difficult in the fact that most of the things that I wanted to accomplish or attain this year I did not. But Luke 12:48 helped me through this. I have accomplished great things in my life and I should be very proud. I may not be as smart as my brother or as athletic as a certain friend but I have wonderful attributes that I can use to glorify my Lord. Mississippi College will be a new and exciting experience for me and I hope that I can use my talents to further Christ’s kingdom. I know he has some amazing things in store for my life.
I pray that my experiences at Mississippi College will help me grow closer to Christ, broaden my horizons to develop new friendships, and use my career goal as a physical therapist to help the less fortunate, physically and spiritually, all around the world.
Saturday, November 8, 2008
9. Everything
Find Me Here Speak To Me I want to feel you I need to hear you You are the light That's leading me To the place where I find peace again.
You are the strength, that keeps me walking. You are the hope, that keeps me trusting. You are the light to my soul. You are my purpose...you're everything.
How can I stand here with you and not be moved by you? Would you tell me how could it be any better than this?
You calm the storms, and you give me rest. You hold me in your hands, you won't let me fall.
You steal my heart, and you take my breath away. Would you take me in? Take me deeper now?
How can I stand here with you and not be moved by you? Would you tell me how could it be any better than this? And how can I stand here with you and not be moved by you? Would you tell me how could it be any better than this?
Cause you're all I want, You're all I need You're everything,everything You're all I want your all I need You're everything, everything. You're all I want you're all I need. You're everything, everything You're all I want you're all I need, you're everything, everything.
And How can I stand here with you and not be moved by you? Would you tell me how could it be any better than this? How can I stand here with you and not be moved by you? Would you tell me how could it be any better than this? How can I stand here with you and not be moved by you? Would you tell me how could it be any better than this? Would you tell me how could it be any better than this?
This really spoke to me becaue I have really been struggling with this lately. Jesus Christ is the only thing that I need to sustain me in this world. I have had several aspirations that Ihad set out to accomplish during my high school career and did not get them. I have never had a girlfriend and find myself longing to have one because all of my friends have one. I used to feel that there was an empty space in my heart and thought that if I tried to fill it with the love from a girlfriend it would be better. But then I realized that that empty space should be filled with Christ and His love for me; that He is the only thing that I need in my life. He is everything that I need.
You are the strength, that keeps me walking. You are the hope, that keeps me trusting. You are the light to my soul. You are my purpose...you're everything.
How can I stand here with you and not be moved by you? Would you tell me how could it be any better than this?
You calm the storms, and you give me rest. You hold me in your hands, you won't let me fall.
You steal my heart, and you take my breath away. Would you take me in? Take me deeper now?
How can I stand here with you and not be moved by you? Would you tell me how could it be any better than this? And how can I stand here with you and not be moved by you? Would you tell me how could it be any better than this?
Cause you're all I want, You're all I need You're everything,everything You're all I want your all I need You're everything, everything. You're all I want you're all I need. You're everything, everything You're all I want you're all I need, you're everything, everything.
And How can I stand here with you and not be moved by you? Would you tell me how could it be any better than this? How can I stand here with you and not be moved by you? Would you tell me how could it be any better than this? How can I stand here with you and not be moved by you? Would you tell me how could it be any better than this? Would you tell me how could it be any better than this?
This really spoke to me becaue I have really been struggling with this lately. Jesus Christ is the only thing that I need to sustain me in this world. I have had several aspirations that Ihad set out to accomplish during my high school career and did not get them. I have never had a girlfriend and find myself longing to have one because all of my friends have one. I used to feel that there was an empty space in my heart and thought that if I tried to fill it with the love from a girlfriend it would be better. But then I realized that that empty space should be filled with Christ and His love for me; that He is the only thing that I need in my life. He is everything that I need.
Saturday, November 1, 2008
8. Habitat Humanity
So today, I had the incredible opportunity to work on a house being built for Habitat Humanity. I had never done something like this and it was a great experience. I was a little worried about how I could be used because I have never built a house or done anything remotely close to it. It turned out a lot of painting needed to be done and that was right down my alley.
We painted several rooms in this one house. It had to be very detailed and careful. This was the perfect job for me becaue I am such a perfectionist. Others got to put shingles on a house while others were nailing boards on another house. I can not imagine walking around on top of a house; I would definitely fall off! I am so clumsy. I mean how would you walk because the roof is slanted.
I had the opportunity to talk to the owner of the house. She described her hardships and her struggles with getting a house. She explained that you had to make a certain income and then get accepted through an application process. After that, you were selected and you had to go before an interview panel. She said she was very nervous about that, but she knew God would be with her. Then it hit me. We are so blessed and have been given many riches (with even many more to come). We forget that it is God that has so richly blessed us with these things. We forget to thank Him for all the good things He has done in our lives. This young lady has gone through a hard life and is raising kids as a single mother and is now receiving a house through Habitat Humanity but she continues to praise God even through the rough times.
We painted several rooms in this one house. It had to be very detailed and careful. This was the perfect job for me becaue I am such a perfectionist. Others got to put shingles on a house while others were nailing boards on another house. I can not imagine walking around on top of a house; I would definitely fall off! I am so clumsy. I mean how would you walk because the roof is slanted.
I had the opportunity to talk to the owner of the house. She described her hardships and her struggles with getting a house. She explained that you had to make a certain income and then get accepted through an application process. After that, you were selected and you had to go before an interview panel. She said she was very nervous about that, but she knew God would be with her. Then it hit me. We are so blessed and have been given many riches (with even many more to come). We forget that it is God that has so richly blessed us with these things. We forget to thank Him for all the good things He has done in our lives. This young lady has gone through a hard life and is raising kids as a single mother and is now receiving a house through Habitat Humanity but she continues to praise God even through the rough times.
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