Jesus' Love and Icy Pops

Someone showed me Jesus' loves the other day. It was very hot outside, and David, Austin, and I were working on a concrete round about, with cars breathing down our necks and the sunshine magnified by the asphalt and concrete. It was near noon.

A woman and her son crossed the round about toward us. "We're just out sharin' the love of Jesus with you guys!" she said with a bright smile, handing each of us each two frozen icy pops and her church card. We thanked her and the icy pops gave us new energy.

How often do we represent Jesus in by doing little, nice things for people? Sharing a gospel presentation is important, but sometimes it's effective to share Jesus' love in little ways - like icy pops!

Heart Weeds

I predicted that my summer job as a landscaper for the City of Hutchinson would provide no blogging material. I stand corrected. Pulling weeds and planting flowers for the city turns out to be the best jobs in a while. It’s a wonderful, brainless job, a great place to recover from three years at college; the whole first morning I thought of nothing all morning. (At one point, I started to think about something and decided it was too much work.)

City flower beds come in two types: Bed Number One, where the ground is tilled, spread with compost, tilled again, planted, watered, mulched four inches thick, watered, etc. and Bed Number Two, where the hard ground is spread with mulch. Tugging at weed in these beds, I remembered how people compare sin to weeds – the smaller you get them the easier it is to pull them out. But this isn’t necessarily so. Nice, big tall weeds with a tap root slide right out of the soil, while little Bermuda grass’ shallow roots intertwined with the soil and stick to the ground. What makes weeding easy or hard was the soil. Bed Number One don’t get very many weeds. When they do come, they are easy to pull out; the soil is loamy and soft. Bed Number Two is too hard to weed and is hoed by hand. The mulch blows off, leaving the ground exposed to the elements that sap the moisture, strip the top soil, and pack it down.

The Lord reminded me that my heart can be like those two beds. If it is tilled by conviction from the Holy Spirit, watered from the Word of God, and mulched by obedience to God’s will, the sprouting weedscan be pulled easily. If my heart is calloused to the Holy Spirit’s reproof, my Bible sits in the drawer, and I live to please myself, it will hurt badly when the Holy Spirit finally pulls out the weeds.

On Being "Filled"

Staffers at Christian Youth in Action open every evaluation with prayer for the student who is presenting. This year, I've found myself praying often that my students would be filled with the Spirit while they teach. I have to admit, when I started doing this, I felt a bit charismatic(!), but it is Biblical to pray that others might be filled with the Spirit.

Scripture makes it clear that being filled with the Spirit is dependent upon personal submission to the Spirit and does not happen automatically for every believer at all times. Jesus says in John 15:5, "Without me, ye can do nothing." Today, the Holy Spirit's indwelling ministry provides the power to live a life of love and obedience to God. Without this Power, I am left only with the power of the flesh about which Paul writes in Romans 8:8: "They that are in the flesh cannot please God." The following is another prayer from The Valley of Vision. It is titled "Fullness in Christ," and explores the connection between our position in Christ and being filled with the Holy Spirit.

O God,

Thou hast taught me that Christ has all the fullness,

and so all plentitude of the Spirit, that all fullness I lack in myself is in Him,

for His people, not for Himself alone,

He having perfect knowledge, grace, righteousness,

to make me see,

to make me righteous,

to give me fullness;

That it is my duty, out of a sense of emptiness,

to go to Christ, posses, enjoy His fullness as mine, as if I had it in myself,

because it is for me in Him;

That when I do this I am full of the Spirit,

as a fish that has got from the shore to the sea and has all fullness of waters to move in,

for when faith fills me, then I am full;

That this is the way to be filled with the Spirit,

like Stephen, first faith, then fullness,

for this way makes me most empty, and so most fit for the Spirit to fill.

Thou hast taught me that the finding of this treasure of all grace in the field of Christ

begets strength, joy, glory, and renders all graces alive.

Help me to delight more in what I receive from Christ,

more in that fullness which is in Him, the fountain of all His glory.

Let me not think to receive the Spirit from Him as a 'thing'

apart from finding, drinking, being filled with Him.

To this end, O God,

do Thou establish me in Christ,

settle me, give me a being there,

assure me with certainty that all this is mine,

for this only will fill my heart with joy and peace.

"Be filled with the Spirit, speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord, giving thanks always for all things to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, submitting to one another in the fear of God." - Ephesians 5:18-21 (NKJV)

Things I Do at CYIA (not necessarily related to CYIA)

Since many people are curious about what happens at CYIA, here is a look into a life at CYIA of KS.

1. We live, sleep, eat, work, and play at Newton Bible Church. I was raised in this church and calculated the other day that I have lived in this building for nearly 4 months, only counting CYIAs.

2. Grading papers takes a great deal of time, but can be quite entertaining. If this were not the public internet, I could tell you some of the hilarious introductions that come across staff desks, but this is public internet. Our students are good, though, and have good attitudes.

3. Sleeping. Only about 6 hours a day are spent in this most delightful of all pursuits. The day begins at 5:40 a.m.and ends about 11:00 p.m. at the earliest, after tucking in all the girls at 10:30. One night as I was headed upstairs at about 11:45 p.m., a very loud noise started going off in the kitchen. Another staffer and I investigated and it was the weather radio warning us of a thunderstorm warning. It kept making very loud, annoying noises, and we didn't know how to turn it off, so we just turned the volume down and went to bed. It rained very hard that night, and thundered and lightening-ed, which makes a lot of noise when you are the second floor of a metal building. I got only about 3 hours of sleep that night.

5. Eating Starbursts.

6. Practicing a mime song for talent night. I had never mimed anything until yesterday when my cousin taught me how.

7. Listening to the CBI Singers. They gave their last concert here Sunday evening. Bethany spent the evening with me in the dorm, and I enjoyed morning devotions with them before the left for the long trip back to Hot Springs. Bethany texted me around 12:30 a.m. that they got home safely.

8. Re-connecting with friends. Vanessa, Emily, Ellie, Luke & Amber, Gabe & Nola and children, Miss Elfrieda, Michaela, Bekah & Rohn, Chelsey, Cathy, and many others.

9. Having devotions with my dorm girls! This is one of my favorite parts of CYIA. Hearing what God is doing in each others' lives and being taught from God's Word is an important foundation for teaching clubs during the second week.

10. Most important, teaching clubs in the community with the CYIA'ers. Please pray for that the children who heard the gospel would respond to Christ's invitation of eternal life. Pray that those who made a profession of faith would grow in their new relationship with God.

In Which We Make French Press Coffee

After supper the other evening, I was feeling in a coffee mood. I decided to use the Ghiradelli Caffe Gourmet Coffee I had rescued from the trash stack when white glove hit the girls’ dorm. But because I’m neither a coffee connoisseur nor the daughter of a coffee connoisseur, making coffee meant dragging the coffee maker up from the basement where it is stored when there is no company around to drink coffee. And I didn’t feel like doing that. So instead, I decided to make coffee in a French press. Now, nobody in my house has a French press, either, but we did have a sauce pan and a coffee filter. So, the following is a recipe for making French press coffee without a French press in 9 easy steps.

Step 1: Put 1 ½ cups of water in the saucepan and turn the burner on hi.

Step2: Text Graham and ask how long to “soak” the coffee grounds in the water.

Step 3: Remove boiling water from the heat and set aside to cool slightly.

Step 4: Receive a text from Graham saying to be sure and not boil the water.

Step 5: Drop 1 tablespoon of coffee grounds into the hot water and put the lid on the saucepan. Brew 3 minutes.

Step 6: While the coffee is brewing, put 4 tablespoons of real, raw, cow’s milk cream into a mug and heat it in the microwave.

Step 7: Place a coffee filter inside a small strainer and place the strainer on top of the mug. Pour the coffee from the pot, through the strainer, and into the mug.

Step 8: Add a 1 ½ shots of English Toffee syrup.

Step 9: Stir and enjoy!

So, the next time you crave coffee and don’t have a coffee maker, you can make French press on the stove in a saucepan. When you do, please comment on this post and tell me about your experience. Together, we can make this blog a gold mind of stove top French press experiences that will benefit later generations.

The Divine Will

“O Lord,

I hang on thee; I see, believe, live when thy will, not mine, is done;

I can plead nothing in myself in regard of any worthiness and grace, in regard of thy providence and promises, but only thy good pleasure.

If thy mercy make me poor and vile, blessed be thou!

Prayers arising from my need are preparations for future mercies;

Help me honor thee by believing before I feel, for great is the sin if I make feeling a cause of faith.

Show me what sins hide me from thee and eclipse thy love;

Help me to humble myself for past evils, to be resolved to walk with more care,

For if I do not walk holily before thee, how can I be assured of my salvation?

It is the meek and humble who are shown thy covenant, know thy will, are pardoned and healed, who by faith depend and rest upon grace, who are sanctified and quickened, who evidence thy love.

Help me to pray in faith and so find thy will, by leaning hard on thy rich free mercy, by believing that thou wilt give what thou hast promised;

Strengthen me to pray with the conviction that whatever I receive is thy gift, so that I may pray until prayer be granted;

Teach me to believe that all degrees of mercy arise from several degrees of prayer, that when faith is begun it is imperfect and must grow, as chapped ground opens wider and wider until rain comes.

So shall I wait thy will, pray for it to be done, and by thy grace become fully obedient.”

-Valley of Vision: A Collection of Puritan Prayers and Devotions

Trusting and Waiting

"I wait for the LORD, my soul waits,

and in His word I hope;

my soul waits for the Lord more than watchmen for the morning,

more than watchmen for the morning." - Ps. 130:5-6

"We are too apt to wait for circumstance, people, things' and to meet with disappointment, because they are apart from Himself. But those who wait for the Lord cannot be ashamed. There may be no Theophany; but, as they wait, a new strength and comfort steal into their hearts. Oh to have the eagerness of the watcher for the dawn, as we wait for God! And should not we all cherish this expectancy for the breaking of that eternal morning, when the day shall dawn on which night never falls?" - F. B. Myer on the Psalms

These words encouraged me in my devotions this morning. Then, in chapel this morning, Uncle Phil said, "How much we trust God is linked to our understanding that God is in control." That trust is demonstrated in confidence in God, belief in what He says, and submission to His will.

Is it not a restful thing to trust in God?

Christmas Break Pilgrimage

Spending Christmas Break in Hot Springs definitely had its perks! Lots of hours at work, lots of hours sleeping, and lots of hours on the road visiting my friends Clara and Levi and Aryn. Bekah and I headed out early Wednesday morning and arrived at Clara and Levi's by early afternoon. It was wonderful to see their "nest" and enjoy their hospitality. Clara is a great hostess! Highlights of the visit included taking Bekah's senior pictures (which turned out great!), shopping for the first time in six months, and watching North and South. And, of course, good talks about the Lord and our lives.

Friday morning Bekah and I drove on to Grace University and spent time with Aryn, exploring Grace's campus, hearing about classes, and painting our nails. Roja's provided a delicious, fresh-tasting Mexican for supper. Saturday morning we rambled around the Joscelin Museum of Art feeling cultured! Here is the a picture of the reproduction that I purchased. It is Renoir's "Two Girls at the Piano."

After feeling cultured, we ate dinner at Panara. Take a bit of advice and don't order off the kids menu. It's cheap, but it was a cheese sandwich on enriched, white, store-bought bread; could have manufactured it in an a non-cook's kitchen. Eat real Panara food when you go there.

The trip home was long, but safe. Bethany and I ran into snow about 25 miles from school, and it takes a long time to drive 25 miles at 35 mph, but we did eventually get there. Special thanks to my great traveling companion, Bekah, without whom this pilgrimage would not have been possible.

Experience our trip with us through pictures!

Posing with our map and Google directions -

- Dishing out hard peppermint ice cream at
Clara and Levi's home

Finishing off the
Sparkling Grape Juice -

- Lunch at Penara's

Enjoying a Runza (bierock)at the Hajda's bakery -

Encouraging Our Friends

Before turning in at night, my roommate Christine and I read from Amy Carmichael's devotional Edges of His Ways. (If you are looking for a good devotional, I highly recommend it!) Last night, the reminders were so practical that I wanted to share them with you:

"And Jonathan Saul's son arose, and went to David into the wood,

and strengthened his hand in God."

- I Samuel 23:16

God make us all His Jonathans. There is a greater hunter abroad in the world. Like Saul who sought David every day, he seeks souls every day, never a day's respite, always the hunt is on. Although the words stand for ever, "but God delivered him not into his hand", yet sometimes souls tire of being hunted, and like David they are in a wilderness in a wood. This is Jonathan's chance. But notice what he does, he does not so comfort David that he becomes necessary to him. "He strengthened his hand in God." He leaves his friend strong in God, resting in God, safe in God. He detaches his dear David from himself and he attaches him to his "Very Present Help". Then Jonathan went to his house, and David abode in the wood - with God....

Next time we read of David being in serious trouble he had no Jonathan to strengthen his hands. "And David was greatly distressed; for the people spoke of stoning him....But David encouraged himself in the Lord his God." Long afterward when he was delivered from Saul he sang one of his songs, "It is God that girdeth me with strength....Thou hast girded me with strength....The Lord liveth." (His dear Jonathan was dead, but he does not even speak of him, all that matters is, "The Lord liveth; and blessed be my Rock".)

If he had leaned on Jonathan, if Jonathan had made himself necessary to David, he would not have leaned on his Rock and proved the glorious strength of his Rock; his whole life would have been lived on a lower level, and who can tell how many of his songs would have been left unwritten, with great loss to the glory of God and to the Church of all the ages?

- Amy Carmichael in Edges of His Ways, p. 5-6

Do I Value What Paul Valued?

"But what things were gain to me, those I counted loss for Christ.

Yea doubtless, and I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord: for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and do count them but dung, that I may win Christ, and be found in him, not having mine own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith:

That I may know him, and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, being made conformable unto his death; if by any means I might attain unto the resurrection of the dead.

Not as though I had already attained, either were already perfect: but I follow after, if that I may apprehend that for which also I am apprehended of Christ Jesus.

Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus."

- Philippians 3:7-14

1. What Paul Didn't Value

Paul didn't place spiritual value on his religious background, his ethnicity, his personal achievements, his attitude, or his high morality. He used the word "dung" to describe these things. His achievements gave him as much standing with God as manure. Why did he have this attitude towards these things? Because he wanted to win Christ.

2. What Paul Valued

Paul placed spiritual value on his position in Christ. He placed value in God's righteousness credited to him because of Christ' death. None of these were things he did; they were gifts given to him by God.

3. What Paul Wanted

Paul wanted resurrection. He understood that resurrection opened the door to ultimate Christlikeness. He wanted to "lay hold" (NKJV) of this goal of Christlikeness because Christ had "laid hold" of him and rescued him from a life of self-centered pride and sin.

4. What Paul Did

Because of what he didn't value, what he did value, and what he wanted, Paul did three things. First, he forgot the things of his old life that he could have valued. Second, he reached for the things before (possibly Christlikeness or resurrection). Third, he pressed for the prize of God's high calling in Christ.

What about me (and you)?

Do I value God's gift of salvation and sanctification? Or do I I value personal achievements more? Oh, yes, I say. I value God and His gifts most. But my actions demonstrate my values. What do I do everyday? What what do I fill my time? What occupies my thoughts?

"But what things were gain to me, those I counted loss for Christ....That I may know Him."