Some of my Favorite Things About this Time of Year

1.Cozy sweaters...I've been waiting all year for this

2. The beautiful leaves that make the most beautiful carpet for the mansion that is the great outdoors.

3. Steaming cups of strong, black coffee...mmm

4. Geese flying south for winter. Their calls are a major part of the soundtrack of autumn.

5. Wearing beautiful scarves!

6. Raking leaves (and making leaf forts with the kids).

7. Gorgeous sunsets that come earlier.

8. Jumping in puddles on rainy days.

9. Fires and roasting marshmallows.

10. Thanksgiving! I love being with relatives and eating turkey!

Fall is, by far, my favorite time of year!

All I Have is Christ

The Brevity of Life

Christians and non-Christians alike often forget how short life is. True, we know in theory that life is short, but nothing brings us face-to-face with our own mortality like the death of a loved one or friend does. In every stage of life, we have ambitions and goals, ranging from what we are going to eat for lunch to what kind of house we want when we get enough money to where we will go when we are retired. Death interrupts these plans. Are we ready to die? One of my relatives got into a car for the last time when she was only fifteen. I am nineteen, am I ready to die? I don't just mean, "Am I saved?" I know I am, praise the Lord.  I mean, if I died tomorrow, what would I regret? What would I wish I could have done before I died? 

Death raises the question of what is really important to accomplish in life. Americans get caught up in the now. We work so hard for the pleasures of life, forgetting about how short life really is. Christians in America are bombarded with the American dream every day. "You know you need this!" Screams a commercial on TV. "Indulge yourself - you deserve it." Tempts an ad in a magazine. And we swallow it - hook, line, and sinker. James 4:13-17 has a severe warning against this type of thinking that is so rampant among today's culture: "Now listen, you who say, 'Today or tomorrow we will go to this or that city, spend a year there, carry on business and make money.' Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes. Instead, you ought to say, 'If it is the Lord’s will, we will live and do this or that.'  As it is, you boast in your arrogant schemes. All such boasting is evil. If anyone, then, knows the good they ought to do and doesn’t do it, it is sin for them." 

Satan wants us to look at the statistics and think we will not die. God does not care about statistics, and he probably laughs at our feeble attempts to predict the future. How much clearer does he have to be? We don't know what is going to happen. We can make our plans and have our goals and ambitions because that's what humans do, but are we focusing on what is really important?

Why am I thinking so much about my mortality? I am not just being morbid and trying to get you all to do the same. I actually believe that pondering our mortality is a healthy exercise encouraged by the Bible. Honestly, I was not even thinking about this until two days ago, when a got a wake up call in the form of a text message. My friend said, "I want to let you know, our friend Jason died last night." Jason was in his mid-twenties, a father of three, and had become a Christian only a year ago. When he did, he did not waste any time. He went to Southeastern. He had such a sweet spirit every time he talked to me or anyone else. And then came the cancer. And last Saturday, it was over. And I asked God, "Why?" 

"Why do you need Jason more than his family does? And why did he not get to live more of his life as a Christian for you?" God showed me that he is sovereign and Jason believed that, I know. When our friends die, those of us left behind wonder why. But even though I cannot see it right now, God definitely has a purpose for everything he does. Already something good has come out of this seemingly untimely tragedy: I was forced to think about my own death. I don't have a terminal illness, but I might someday. I haven't ever wrecked a car, but I might someday. Or God could simply bring me home by keeping me from drawing one more breath. What kind of God would do that? The kind of God who sees the big picture even when we can't. The kind of God who says, "...unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds." (John 12:24) Does it make sense now? Not really. I still can't figure out why God would let people die young, but it is a comforting thought that the kind of God who sent his own Son to die in our place holds our lives in his hands. No true harm can ever come to his loved ones. Death isn't  it.

Think of it this way: when you were a child, your parents told you not to do some things, like crossing the street by yourself, etc. Well, you might have come up with a million excuses, and you might not have understood why they said that. I know I did.  And why? Because you and I could not see the bigger picture, and our parents could. That is how it is with God. The Bible says he is all-seeing and all-knowing. Which one of us can claim that? Not me! So we shouldn't think we know better than God.

Now back to the topic at hand. What if we die young? If I died right now, my loved ones would be left with a messy room to take care of. That is not how I want to be remembered. But all humor aside, I think of all the things I could have said and done with just my family, and I realize that I need to change that first and foremost. And what about Jesus' command to go and make disciples of all nations? Life is short for me and there are non-Christians out there dying without Christ. Why am I holding off? If I looked back over my life, I would see so many missed opportunities. I can't change the past, but I can do something about the present and therefore affect the future. 

I have been in tears a number of times in the past few days when I have thought about the fact that my friend's life is now over. I am thankful that he is singing praises to the Lord right now. And now, I am also thankful that his death has given me a wake-up call in my life. I will not waste my life, so help me God! 

 

Good Intentions

How many times do I start off with good intentions only to fall, sometimes farther than before? How many times do I leave unfinished things I have started? Questions like these run through my head constantly as I see project after project and intention after intention fail. In fact, they are doomed from the start.

You see, as a Christian, woe is the person who makes plans without asking God for wisdom at the start and all throughout the process. God, because he loves you and wants you to grow in your sanctification and in your understanding of him, is committed to giving people reality checks whenever they do anything in their own strength.

God should be in everything. You should start off everything (from menial to life-changing tasks) with the help of God. And it is not just some sort of magic spell that says if you say the right prayer before you do something, it will work. It is honoring your Lord and saying that you can do nothing without him. And doing that will start your mind in the right place.

But it is not just a one-time thing. No, relying on God for strength should be in every step of the process of accomplishing that which you set out to do. And, it is not just another rule to follow in the Christian life. I viewed it that way all of my life. “I have to ask God for help or else this won’t work.” The problem was that I did not see my own helplessness and dependence on God. And I did not know the joy of needing God. I knew in theory that I needed him, and I spoke like I believed that, but when push came to shove, I relied on myself. And look where that has gotten me: a whole lot of unfinished projects and failed efforts. Obviously, I can’t finish things in my own strength – I can’t even start them.

Which leads me to another interesting point: what if I start something fully relying on God, and the thing I try to do ends up failing? Well, that could mean one of two things: despite your faith and hard work, God had other plans; or because of your self-reliance and hard work, God had other plans. It is quite feasible that you could do your best and remain completely trusting God the whole time, but still not get what you were working for. We do not have the full picture, so we have to trust God’s will.

And the other option? Maybe you started off in God’s will – trusting him – but then fell off the tracks at some point. I cannot tell you how many times I
have done this. The Holy Spirit often convicts me of my loner mentality. If your goal did not come to fruition, maybe it was a wakeup call. Start trusting God and not yourself.

Oh, and there is another reason why you could start something with all the right motives and in all the right ways and still fail, and that is laziness. We do have a role to play in the accomplishing of tasks in this world. We are blessed with this responsibility, but in the end, God’s will will be the determining factor. Let’s put it this way: What God wants to happen will happen. What we do does not change God’s purposes. If something we set out to do fails, then it was not supposed to happen. But, that does not give us the right to sit back with our hands folded. That’s the lazy way out, and it does not bring glory to God (which is our main purpose anyway). God says we show our faith by what we do, and we should work with all our might for him. We cannot know the exact will of God – it is not our job. Our job is to do what God has commanded us in the Bible, and know that God will bring about the results he has forordained.

If we keep this in mind, we should feel no regret after the end of a goal or project, even if it “failed.” I am done making good intentions and failing in the most important thing of all – my ongoing relationship with God. I really do speak from experience – I cannot begin to express all of the times I have failed to reach my intended goals because of my laziness in my relationship with God. When you want to do something, do not even take a baby step without being in God’s word and in prayer, and I guarantee that you will never fail in what really matters.

Boiling the Frog: Thoughts on the Nature of America's Movie Industry

"We can go see it; it's only PG -13." That is something I have caught myself and my friends saying about movies. Well, as much as I hate to admit it (because it limits my entertainment options) PG-13 has really changed. In fact, the movie culture as a whole has changed. Hollywood has boiled the proverbial frog in water by getting us accept that having sex with one's boyfriend or girlfriend before marriage, living with a member of the opposite sex, disrespecting one's parents, reversed gender roles, etc. are all right. Slowly these ideas have crept into movies and lowered the standard for movies whose ratings used to mean that they were acceptable to watch. There are a few major problems with the movie industry and it effects: what it does to people's minds, the ideas about romance, insensitivity to violence, inappropriate humor becoming acceptable, etc.

People are very visual, and once an image has entered into one's mind, it will be stuck there. It has become okay to watch movies with half-naked people in them. People actually get ideas about appropriate attire from these movies. In addition, directors try to visually include enough normalcies in the movie set, so that radical ideas become more readily acceptable. As much as we don't like to admit, beauty and familiarity are powerful tools in manipulating, and we have often succumbed to their powers.

I am like most girls, and I love my romantic comedies and chick flicks. But there are some things I have become willing to ignore, and I am afraid I am becoming insensitive to in order that I will be able to keep watching my movies. Things like premarital sex, living together, dressing immodestly to catch a guy, and more general moral failings like lying, cheating, etc. have been presented as normal in the films that I enjoy so much. I tell myself not to throw out the baby with bath water, and I swallow the whole thing - hook, line, and sinker. It is such a tendency with girls to also get the wrong impression about what kind of women they must be in order to get the guys that we're supposed to desire. This is so dangerous when it comes to thinking about one's own marriage, because people are not like the characters in the movies, and the shabby imitations that we come up with are disgusting, earn us the wrong kind of spouses, and often lead to divorce.

Another problem with the movie industry is its promotion of violence (and insensitivity to it) and revenge. I enjoy watching tense action movies, but I have started to just accept the bloodshed as nothing. I did not realize how detrimental this was, until I wondered why the "death" of so many people was not bothering me. Movies make death and murder impersonal. Revenge is also a common theme in movies, and is probably more of a struggle for people. Christians are steeped in a culture that says one’s natural impulses are reasonable guides for one’s actions. Revenge is one of those impulses. But the Bible says, “Do not take revenge, my friends, but leave room for God's wrath, for it is written: ‘It is mine to avenge; I will repay,’ says the Lord.” (Romans 12:19) We are called to live supernatural lives – not natural lives.

Yet another prevalent issue in movie-watching is inappropriate humor. Bathroom humor, stereotypes that slander and misrepresent, sexual humor, etc. are all laced throughout the movies that keep coming out. Even children’s movies have hints at inappropriate humor; such that children are being taught at a young age to laugh at what is sacred or sinful. I have often sat in a movie theater and laughed at the funny parts of a movie, only to realize later how inappropriate that was.

Movies cater to people’s strongest emotions and desires: the desire to be loved, the desire to laugh, feelings of anger over injustice, etc. These are not sinful desires/ feelings; in fact, they are what make us human. Because the people in the movie industry are experts are experts in manipulating human emotions, we do not easily realize the moral issues with a movie, unless we really think about it. It is so difficult to find wholesome things to watch or entertain oneself with. But it is worth the effort to not contaminate one’s mind.

What If? Thoughts on Thankfulness

I was listening to K-Love today, and heard something that really convicted me. A K-Love listener had written something on the K-Love facebook page, and it went something like this: "What if you woke up today with only the things you thanked God for yesterday. What would you have?"  So I got to thinking...what would I have? When closely considering my prayer time yesterday, I saw that I did a lot of asking, complaining, and stating the obvious, but I did not thank God for anything in my morning prayer time. What about later? Surely I thanked Him later for my family, friends, possessions, and the spiritual blessing he has given me. Looking over my day, I realized that I thanked God for only my three meals.

You may think that allowing "What if" statements to make me think hard is silly, but I have discovered in various seasons of my life that I am most happy and content with what I have when I am most thankful. On this topic, Charles Spurgeon said, "You say, 'If I had a little more, I should be very satisfied.' You make a mistake. If you are not content with what you have, you would not be satisfied if it were doubled."  Gratitude and contentedness are closely related.

When I try to purge complaining out of my life, Satan tries to tempt me to think that I have a lot to complain about (which, by the way, I do not!). God handpicked my life for me to bring about his purposes in the world, and to bring him the most glory. Complaining is telling God that he did a bad job picking out the circumstances in my life.

A few years ago, I was struggling with similar discontent/ungrateful thoughts, and my mom showed me a video of an interaction between some sort of aid worker and some young Sudanese children. The aid worker happened upon what appeared to be an abandoned village (probably raided by some warring party). In the corner of the village, there was a little girl who was skin and bones. She may have been injured (I forget), but she greeted the aid worker and the camera man with a bright smile. They gave her some crackers, and instead of eating them, she went rapidly off...then returned carrying two small children- also skin and bones. Taking the crackers, she split the pack in half between what we later were told were her two younger siblings. The girl was only eight, and she already was facing such terrible hardships. That is why I have nothing to complain about.

Will not God, who created the whole universe and you, and who keeps the breath in your body, take care of you, giving you everything you need? Why complain or worry? Give thanks with joy, even if the Lord has allowed some hardship in your life. Maybe you do not see right now how whatever you are going through fits into his plan, but he has a purpose for you. However flippant that may sound to you who may be going through a trying time, realize that true peace, comfort, and security lies in being grateful for, content with, and trusting in God's plan for you life. Find ways to live as a grateful person.


Here's my challenge for you and myself: this month (July 20th until August 20th), every day this entire month, write down ten different things for which you are thankful, and read them at least three times that day. I think the forecast for this month is a change of attitude for me, and for whoever else tries this wholesome activity. And I am looking forward to having that change.

Nepal Trip Report

I recently returned from a trip to Nepal. It was an eye-opening experience for me, and I want to share some of the things God showed me, and some ways people can pray.

Throughout the trip, I felt God’s hand on me and I know he was really protecting and guiding our entire team. We started off the trip (after landing in Kathmandu) with a six-hour van ride. I remember passing thousands of people during that ride, and thinking about how few of them actually knew Jesus as their Savior. That thought was quite staggering.  It really helped my mindset for the trip. I had been wondering what good a two-week trip to Nepal would actually do, but God convicted me that he can use any words we say as seeds in the hearts of each person with whom we would share. It was up to him to provide the results, and I did not have to worry about anything but obeying his calling.

We trekked to some villages high in the mountains, and were able to talk to many people through translators. It struck me with how hospitable the people were. We could walk right into their courtyards and talk to them about the gospel (or whatever we wanted, for all they cared). Their receptivity was another story. Sadly, the ties of family, tradition, and social status kept even the most open and rapt listeners from believing in Christ and giving up their lives of Buddhism.

A few stories of conversations I experienced (either as a listener or a speaker) are as follows: in the first village to which we went, I went out sharing with a sub-group of our team (three people and a translator). I struck up a conversation with a woman who was open to hearing about Christianity. She listened politely, at first, but then she became more and more interested in hearing how she did not have to fear death. In the end, however, she said that she probably would not die soon, but she could not risk losing the respect of her family. We gave her a Bible on cd, and I am hoping that she will listen to it.

Another time, we went to a small restaurant to eat lunch (the same sub-group). It was taking a while, so we offered to help, just for fun. The owner taught us how to make momos (stuffed dumplings), at which we did a horrible job J After eating our lunch, we were able to talk with her about the gospel for a good while. Again we met with the same response: she was worried what her family would think. Her name is Tse-Ring, and she is a mother of two.

One of the most memorable conversations we had was in another village. We went to look for an internet café where we could write home. In the room with the computers, there was a man on the bed who obviously had some physical issues. While we were waiting for the very slow internet, H started talking to him. We found out the he was paralyzed from the middle of his back down because of a motorcycle accident. He was a teacher, but he was stuck to his bed now. In this conversation, which lasted for maybe an hour, we discovered that he was disillusioned with Buddhism, and was quite open to talking about Christianity. He invited the whole team back for dahl bot (the traditional lentil and rice fare of the Nepalis) the next day. So our entire team came for lunch, and we all shared with him. I wondered if it was overwhelming, but he never seemed annoyed or disinterested. He asked a few questions, but never said he believed. Again, the problem was his family. It was sad to pray so hard for his conversion, and to see his unbelief. But I know the Lord used us to plant the seed of the gospel inside him, and, if the Lord wills, it will be brought to fruition in the right time. His name was Shak-Ti.

The other memorable portion of the trip was the journey back. On the way up, we had taken a 20-minute plane flight that saved us days of trekking (though we still had to trek for two days after landing). But as we set out to return, the winds were too strong and it was too cloudy for flights. So, we set out by Jeep…for a while, that is. Then we came to a landslide through which the Jeep could not go. So we had to get out and walk through it to a bus that was purported to be waiting on the side. Someone told my dad and me to take our hiking boots off so they would not get muddy (the mud was up to our mid-calves). So we did – big mistake! Underneath the chocolate-looking mud there were vicious little sharp rocks waiting for our poor bare feet. In addition to the numerous cuts my dad and I both got on our feet, I got a rock stuck in my foot. Not fun! The next two days were filled with multiple landslides, treks, three-hour bus rides that lasted nine hours, falling boulders, crossing streams, leeches, staying in un-ideal places, rushing rivers with no guard-rails, and other such treacherous events. God got us through them all, and brought us safely back.

It was such a blessing to be able to be with H and see how God is using her, in addition to meeting Nepali believers. Although God did not choose to allow the salvation of anyone while we were there, I feel sure that the seeds we planted will be used by him. This trip really put a lot of things in my life in perspective, and showed me that my life (just like the life of every believer) is meant for serving God.

Here are some prayer requests:

·                    Pray for the woman who was afraid of death that I was able to share with               (I do not remember her name).

·                    Pray for Tse-Ring, the woman who taught our group how to make momos and to whom we talked for a while.

·                    Pray for Shak-Ti, the paralyzed man who listened so closely, but was held back by fears and    doubts.

·                    Pray for H and her partner, L, as they follow up with the contacts we made on this trek.

·                    Praise: a woman named Yankee (spelling?), down in Kathmandu, to whom many Christians had witnessed, became a believer while we were up in the villages. This is an answer to prayer for H and many others.