These last four months have been pretty crazy.
-We moved into a new place.
-We now have a roommate. (Helps us save money)
-The semester started back up for both Richard and I.
-Richard is working, taking online classes, volunteering w/the Trintity Christian athletic program, coaching a youth basketball team, working out all the time, and working on his music in between all those things. (Yes, we do spend time w/ each other every once in a while ;))
-I started helping with the worship at church every once in a while.
-Richard's tooth got knocked out playing basketball.
-God provided a free root canal for him. PTL!!
-Richard car randomly caught on fire.
-God provided him w/ a FREE car. Again, PTL!!
-Richard has had two tryouts this past month that have gone really well!
-I stepped off campus in November to work on support and God has really provided!
That's just a little overview of what's going on in our world. We have seen God's faithfulness on display this semester. Even in the midst of our crazy life (which is beyond what I can briefly mention in this post), I feel like we have experienced God's peace more than ever. We've really grown to understand that God IS trustworthy, regardless of what our circumstances tell us.
Like I said, Richard has had two tryouts this month. The first one he was invited to popped up out of no where. We were so excited that God provided Richard with another opportunity to pursue what he loves. Because the first one went so well, he was invited to another one this past weekend in Chattanooga, TN. It was called the Best of the Best and only 30-40 guys were invited. He felt very positive about how it went. 3 scouts asked for contact information afterward, so we are hopeful, but now we just wait to see if anyone calls!
Stepping off campus in November to raise support was NOT how I wanted to spend the last few week of the Fall semester. I was so hesitant when Misty & Newp (the women's director & campus director) suggested I step off campus to work on support so that I can be full-time next semester as the Women's Coordinator (b/c Misty is moving to West Virginia to be with her new hubby). My experience with support raising in the past hasn't been the best, so the thought of taking time to work on it mid-year was not appealing. But I am so grateful to have people above me who push me to do what they know is best. The past few week of raising support have been the best experience of raising support I've had since being on staff. The Lord has been so gracious and has made this process relatively easy. It has been such a blessing to talk with people who genuinely support the ministry I have with Cru and want to be a part of it. The Lord has provided abundantly! I am very close to reaching my "low end" goal, but still have people to contact and really believe I will reach my actual goal!
This semester has been really great, but I am looking forward to the Christmas break. Richard and I will be traveling a bit over the holidays. Last weekend he was in TN, this weekend we will be in OK for Misty's wedding, the next weekend I will be in Midland for a shower, a few days after that we will head to Ft. Worth for Christmas at my dads, come back to LBK for Christmas here, head back to DFW for Winter Conference, then mid-January we'll go back to Midland for Kalie and Keenan's wedding! Hopefully we can afford the gas! Haha! It should be fun though!
Hope everyone is staying warm! Enjoy the holidays and maybe, just maybe, I'll re-post before the next four months pass!
Peace & Love,
Mrs. Jones
Wednesday, December 7, 2011
Thursday, July 21, 2011
Contentment
"For I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. 12 I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. 13 I can do all this through him who gives me strength."
-Philippians 4:11-13
How did Paul do it?? He was content in the WORST of circumstances....what?? I wish I could honestly say this is true for me right now. But it is NOT. I want to be content in "any and every situation". I want to say that HE is enough for me. I want to say that I am completely satisfied with HIM alone. I know that ultimately nothing in this world will bring me the joy & peace that He can, but at times it's hard to remember that. Especially when the things that I want are genuinely "good" things. But if I want these "good" things more that I want my Savior, I've got it backwards and those things will never be "good" if I put them before Him. So, I'm praying. Praying for contentment. Praying that I seek the Lord for himself and not for his benefits. Praying that I'm satisfied in just knowing Him. Praying for a heart of gratitude for His MANY blessings & provisions. And believing that "I can do all this through him who gives me strength".
-Philippians 4:11-13
How did Paul do it?? He was content in the WORST of circumstances....what?? I wish I could honestly say this is true for me right now. But it is NOT. I want to be content in "any and every situation". I want to say that HE is enough for me. I want to say that I am completely satisfied with HIM alone. I know that ultimately nothing in this world will bring me the joy & peace that He can, but at times it's hard to remember that. Especially when the things that I want are genuinely "good" things. But if I want these "good" things more that I want my Savior, I've got it backwards and those things will never be "good" if I put them before Him. So, I'm praying. Praying for contentment. Praying that I seek the Lord for himself and not for his benefits. Praying that I'm satisfied in just knowing Him. Praying for a heart of gratitude for His MANY blessings & provisions. And believing that "I can do all this through him who gives me strength".
Monday, July 11, 2011
The Angels Rejoice
Tonight Richard and the SOG guys headed to a juvenile detention center here in Lubbock to put on a show for the kids out there and to share a message of hope to them. When it was over, Richard called me and was so excited to tell me how great it went. He just felt like the Holy Spirit led him and a couple of the SOG guys to use their time to share their testimonies rather than mainly songs. Two guys and one girl at the detention center made the decision to place their faith in Christ tonight b/c of Richard's and SOG's obedience to be ministers of the gospel. Is it ironic that today Richard was supposed to be in Hartford, Connecticut for his tryout? If this is why the Lord kept Richard here, then praise Him. We can celebrate the lives of 3 new creations today! God is good. His plan is better than ours. Everything is for HIS glory and HIS kingdom. Gotta keep that perspective. :)
Thursday, July 7, 2011
New Creations
For the past couple of months I have been going through a Bible Study called Experiencing Christ Within. It's been one of the most enlightening Bible Studies I've EVER gone through. One thing in particular that has really stuck out to me is that as believers under the new covenant we are ALL new creations in Christ. Therefore, we ALL have a new nature desire to glorify God...even if our lives don't reflect that. We ALL have the Holy Spirit and therefore have the power to fulfill the desire of our new nature but we don't always appropriate that power.
I know that I can't paraphrase all that I've taken from this study but I do want to share with you what I studied tonight.
From Experiencing Christ Within:
New Covenant ministry is based upon positive, God-given assumptions about every believer. A New Covenant approach to ministry views all believers through fundamentally optimistic lenses. "From now on," Paul said, "we regard no one according to the flesh....If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new" (2 Cor. 5:16,17). Or to put it another way, we no longer view believers primarily in light of their problems but in light of their potential because of the Holy Spirit dwelling within them.
What You Can Know For Certain
What are the positive assumptions you can be certain of for every believer?
First, every Christian you encounter is of immense value and importance. Not only did Christ die for them, but God also has uniquely designed them to be an exhibition of the supernatural - a reflection of His craftsmanship. This is true for every believer; there are no disposable saints. We're all "His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them" (Eph. 2:10).
With every believer you encounter, we can also assume this person will never be fully satisfied until his or her life is fully aligned with God's uniquely designed purposes. No matter how content he may look on the outside, there will be some measure of internal restlessness if this believer's life is out of alignment with God's purposes.
We can also assume that every believer we encounter has divinely implanted resources that are pressing outward for release. Jesus made this promise for every believer: "Out of his heart will flow rivers of living water" (John 7:38). The waters of the life of Christ relentlessly push forward for expression from within all of us. Some believers may not be aware of this, but they cannot thwart its reality. If the waters aren't making their way past the surface, it's not because they've stopped pressing, but because the believer has shut the floodgates of his life for one reason or another.
The Messages You Convey
Christlike love is the lifeblood of our ministry, for Christ's New Covenant command is to love one another as He loved us (John 13:34). As we seek to love other believers in this way, what messages will our love convey?
The first is this: I'm relentlessly and unconditionally for you. You can never extinguish my love for you.
Our love is to be like Christ, who loved His disciples "to the end" (John 13:1), even as they denied and deserted Him. It's a love that "bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things," a love that "never fails" (1 Cor. 13:7,8). This love communicates loudly and clearly, "You do not have to change in order to maintain my love for you."
At times it may need to be a tough love. It might even require, if absolutely necessary, breaking fellowship with the loved one, though this is always to be done out of love and never for lack of it. The key issue is that our ministry be bathed in a supernatural, relentless love for the ones God has privileged us to influence.
Another message our love should communicate is this: I see your potential for the kingdom of God and it excites me. I'll do all that I can to help see this purpose realized. New Covenant love is as purposeful as it is unconditional.
A final message our love should send is this: I'll do all I can to help inflame your new nature. I"ll also stand against your flesh when necessary. Again, both aspects are critical. True love requires that we be wise physicians, knowing when to nourish the healthy tissue and when to do battle against the cancer.
God: Present or Absent?
New Covenant ministry is, above all else, working with God - not working for God, but with Him. The distinction between these two is literally the difference between the presence or absence of God in our ministry.
New Covenant ministry is working with God to help others fulfill their whole potential in Christ (Col. 1:28,29). This is done in large measure by (1) nourishing and stimulating the new nature, (2) exposing the perversity and foolishness of living by the flesh, and (3) beckoning to a more God-honoring and personally satisfying plane of living.
A New Covenant Prayer
May the beauty of Christ be my focus...
the strength of Christ my dependency...
the approval of Christ my contentment...
the word of Christ my meditation...
the leading of Christ my agenda...
the presence of Christ my feast...
and the glory of Christ my mission.
We are all called to New Covenant ministry. I pray this is as enlightening for someone else as it was for me.
I know that I can't paraphrase all that I've taken from this study but I do want to share with you what I studied tonight.
From Experiencing Christ Within:
New Covenant ministry is based upon positive, God-given assumptions about every believer. A New Covenant approach to ministry views all believers through fundamentally optimistic lenses. "From now on," Paul said, "we regard no one according to the flesh....If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new" (2 Cor. 5:16,17). Or to put it another way, we no longer view believers primarily in light of their problems but in light of their potential because of the Holy Spirit dwelling within them.
What You Can Know For Certain
What are the positive assumptions you can be certain of for every believer?
First, every Christian you encounter is of immense value and importance. Not only did Christ die for them, but God also has uniquely designed them to be an exhibition of the supernatural - a reflection of His craftsmanship. This is true for every believer; there are no disposable saints. We're all "His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them" (Eph. 2:10).
With every believer you encounter, we can also assume this person will never be fully satisfied until his or her life is fully aligned with God's uniquely designed purposes. No matter how content he may look on the outside, there will be some measure of internal restlessness if this believer's life is out of alignment with God's purposes.
We can also assume that every believer we encounter has divinely implanted resources that are pressing outward for release. Jesus made this promise for every believer: "Out of his heart will flow rivers of living water" (John 7:38). The waters of the life of Christ relentlessly push forward for expression from within all of us. Some believers may not be aware of this, but they cannot thwart its reality. If the waters aren't making their way past the surface, it's not because they've stopped pressing, but because the believer has shut the floodgates of his life for one reason or another.
The Messages You Convey
Christlike love is the lifeblood of our ministry, for Christ's New Covenant command is to love one another as He loved us (John 13:34). As we seek to love other believers in this way, what messages will our love convey?
The first is this: I'm relentlessly and unconditionally for you. You can never extinguish my love for you.
Our love is to be like Christ, who loved His disciples "to the end" (John 13:1), even as they denied and deserted Him. It's a love that "bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things," a love that "never fails" (1 Cor. 13:7,8). This love communicates loudly and clearly, "You do not have to change in order to maintain my love for you."
At times it may need to be a tough love. It might even require, if absolutely necessary, breaking fellowship with the loved one, though this is always to be done out of love and never for lack of it. The key issue is that our ministry be bathed in a supernatural, relentless love for the ones God has privileged us to influence.
Another message our love should communicate is this: I see your potential for the kingdom of God and it excites me. I'll do all that I can to help see this purpose realized. New Covenant love is as purposeful as it is unconditional.
A final message our love should send is this: I'll do all I can to help inflame your new nature. I"ll also stand against your flesh when necessary. Again, both aspects are critical. True love requires that we be wise physicians, knowing when to nourish the healthy tissue and when to do battle against the cancer.
God: Present or Absent?
New Covenant ministry is, above all else, working with God - not working for God, but with Him. The distinction between these two is literally the difference between the presence or absence of God in our ministry.
New Covenant ministry is working with God to help others fulfill their whole potential in Christ (Col. 1:28,29). This is done in large measure by (1) nourishing and stimulating the new nature, (2) exposing the perversity and foolishness of living by the flesh, and (3) beckoning to a more God-honoring and personally satisfying plane of living.
A New Covenant Prayer
May the beauty of Christ be my focus...
the strength of Christ my dependency...
the approval of Christ my contentment...
the word of Christ my meditation...
the leading of Christ my agenda...
the presence of Christ my feast...
and the glory of Christ my mission.
We are all called to New Covenant ministry. I pray this is as enlightening for someone else as it was for me.
Wednesday, May 4, 2011
the month of tryouts
I figured it was time for an update. So here goes.
As most of you know, our plan was to head back to Canada in June for this upcoming season. Richard had a 2 year contract with the BC Lions, so we never questioned whether or not we'd be there for the 2nd year. But considering the nature of professional football, we should have know better than to assume anything.
In February, Richard got a phone call from the Lions. They were telling him how great they thought he would be for the new defense they would be using this season. They told him he would be starting this season. All sorts of good stuff. We were excited about that.
In March, however, Richard received a much different phone call from the Lions. They were releasing him from his contract. WHAT? Releasing him?? We were both in shock. We never saw that coming. They explained that they had brought in a vet and had already already paid him his signing bonus and therefore they wouldn't be bringing Richard back. Outrageous. So political. No longer a game...just a business.
Richard spoke to his agent who said he would begin getting in contact with other teams to see if anyone was interested in picking Richard up. After about 2 weeks we still hadn't heard anything. At that point we just didn't know what direction to go. Does he still pursue football? Does he pursue his music? We knew that if we ended up here in the fall, then he would of course finish classes and graduate. But what then?? Once again, our life is in limbo. I feel like it's a mirror image of last year at this same time.
So we started praying. We made a long list of things we thought were important to be praying for during this time. Things like wisdom, the ability to accept God's will, the strength to love & encourage each other well during this time.
Finally, in about mid-April, we decided that Richard would continue to pursue football by going to some tryouts. We started looking up dates and locations of tryouts. We were concerned about how we would afford getting him to the tryouts, especially if it meant the cost of flights to multiple tryouts. But we really feel like the Lord gave us favor. Two tryouts are in the DFW area and one is in Houston. How convenient is that?? No flights. Just gas to get there.
The first tryout was May 1st in Fort Worth at TCU for Montreal Allouettes. He felt like it went really well. He had a chance to speak with the coaches a bit and felt good about their reaction to his performance. We're not sure when we'll hear anything but we know we'll hear something at least by the end of the month.
The 2nd tryout is May 14th in Houston for the Hartford Colonials (a UFL team). One of the coaches there was a coach a Texas Tech this past year, so Richard feels good about knowing someone when he gets there.
And the 3rd tryout is May 21st in Bedford, TX for the BC Lions. You may be thinking, "what?? isn't that who just released him??" yes, it is. But when we found out that tryout is in the DFW area, we thought we should consider it. Richard decided that he would contact his coaches from BC and let them know he was considering coming to the tryout and would ask them if they would even reevaluate him if he did come. To both of our surprise, the coach was all for it! So we'll see what happens.
So that's what's going on here. We would LOVE to have you guys praying with us especially during this month! Pray that Richards will stay healthy and uninjured and that we would accept whatever God has for us!
In other news, Richards music is going really well! His CD is selling well and he has shows ALL the time. 1-3 a week! He's a busy guy. He has a show in Dallas on May 7th. It's a showcase, meaning there will be people there who are looking to sign new artists to their labels. Pray this goes well! :) If you haven't heard his music or you are interested in buying his CD, you can purchase his CD online or preview some of his music there.
http://www.reverbnation.com/store/index/artist_1476718
I will try to be better about updating as we hear back from teams. We are grateful for everyone's love & support during our crazy lives!
Peace :)
As most of you know, our plan was to head back to Canada in June for this upcoming season. Richard had a 2 year contract with the BC Lions, so we never questioned whether or not we'd be there for the 2nd year. But considering the nature of professional football, we should have know better than to assume anything.
In February, Richard got a phone call from the Lions. They were telling him how great they thought he would be for the new defense they would be using this season. They told him he would be starting this season. All sorts of good stuff. We were excited about that.
In March, however, Richard received a much different phone call from the Lions. They were releasing him from his contract. WHAT? Releasing him?? We were both in shock. We never saw that coming. They explained that they had brought in a vet and had already already paid him his signing bonus and therefore they wouldn't be bringing Richard back. Outrageous. So political. No longer a game...just a business.
Richard spoke to his agent who said he would begin getting in contact with other teams to see if anyone was interested in picking Richard up. After about 2 weeks we still hadn't heard anything. At that point we just didn't know what direction to go. Does he still pursue football? Does he pursue his music? We knew that if we ended up here in the fall, then he would of course finish classes and graduate. But what then?? Once again, our life is in limbo. I feel like it's a mirror image of last year at this same time.
So we started praying. We made a long list of things we thought were important to be praying for during this time. Things like wisdom, the ability to accept God's will, the strength to love & encourage each other well during this time.
Finally, in about mid-April, we decided that Richard would continue to pursue football by going to some tryouts. We started looking up dates and locations of tryouts. We were concerned about how we would afford getting him to the tryouts, especially if it meant the cost of flights to multiple tryouts. But we really feel like the Lord gave us favor. Two tryouts are in the DFW area and one is in Houston. How convenient is that?? No flights. Just gas to get there.
The first tryout was May 1st in Fort Worth at TCU for Montreal Allouettes. He felt like it went really well. He had a chance to speak with the coaches a bit and felt good about their reaction to his performance. We're not sure when we'll hear anything but we know we'll hear something at least by the end of the month.
The 2nd tryout is May 14th in Houston for the Hartford Colonials (a UFL team). One of the coaches there was a coach a Texas Tech this past year, so Richard feels good about knowing someone when he gets there.
And the 3rd tryout is May 21st in Bedford, TX for the BC Lions. You may be thinking, "what?? isn't that who just released him??" yes, it is. But when we found out that tryout is in the DFW area, we thought we should consider it. Richard decided that he would contact his coaches from BC and let them know he was considering coming to the tryout and would ask them if they would even reevaluate him if he did come. To both of our surprise, the coach was all for it! So we'll see what happens.
So that's what's going on here. We would LOVE to have you guys praying with us especially during this month! Pray that Richards will stay healthy and uninjured and that we would accept whatever God has for us!
In other news, Richards music is going really well! His CD is selling well and he has shows ALL the time. 1-3 a week! He's a busy guy. He has a show in Dallas on May 7th. It's a showcase, meaning there will be people there who are looking to sign new artists to their labels. Pray this goes well! :) If you haven't heard his music or you are interested in buying his CD, you can purchase his CD online or preview some of his music there.
http://www.reverbnation.com/store/index/artist_1476718
I will try to be better about updating as we hear back from teams. We are grateful for everyone's love & support during our crazy lives!
Peace :)
Sunday, February 27, 2011
God at Work
Clearly it is evident that I am NOT good at this blogging thing unless I have LOTS of free time, which is definitely not the case these days! But some really fun things are happening and I want to share!
When I came back to Lubbock for the Spring semester, I knew that my job would look different than it had the 2 years before. I knew it would. But being someone who is resistant to change, I didn't like the thought of that. I pushed back pretty hard. Internally, I didn't want to do things differently that I had before. I liked what my schedule was like. I enjoyed the students I regularly met with. Outwardly, though, I said OK to whatever changes had to come, because I knew I didn't have a choice. And ultimately, if I'm saying no to change, I'm saying I desire my comfort over serving God wherever He calls me.
So, the beginning of this semester was interesting, to say the least. I didn't know how to fill my schedule. I didn't know what students to meet with. I didn't know what in the world my ministry would look like at all this semester, and I wasn't hopeful. But goodness, how the Lord had something planned.
One part of my job this semester is helping out with a Bible Study in one of the all girl dorms on campus. This particular dorm has been difficult to really reach out to and maintain a Bible Study in the past because they were the only dorm on campus that didn't allow us to host our Bible Study in their dorm. But this year, the Lord granted us favor and we are finally allowed to meet for Bible Study in their study lounge! I know that may not seem like a big deal, but let me just tell you the impact it has had just this semester!
This semester, we have had around 25 girls attend the Bible Study. And each week we have an average of 10-15 girls show up. And whats even more fun is that 7 of these girls attended our annual Women's Retreat this weekend!
You may be wondering how we get the word out about the Bible Study. On the first day of this semester, in all the dorms, we gave out drawstring bags with a Bible & book in them. All we asked the students to do was fill out a short survey to give us their contact info and help us gauge where they are spiritually. 2 of the questions asked if they were interested in getting info about growing spiritually this semester & whether or not they wanted info about getting involved in a Bible Study.
Once we see who said "yes" to either of the last questions, we begin contacting them either by e-mailing them, calling/texting them, or even stopping by their dorm room. As I began contacting some of these girls, I have had the chance to meet some really fun girls who truly desire to grow in their walk with God and/or want to know God for the first time in their lives. I am so grateful to say that the Lord has given me the opportunity to share the gospel with 2 girls over the past 2 weeks who have never known Christ, and both indicated that they wanted to accept Jesus as their Lord & Savior! How cool is that?! 2 other girls that I met indicated that they are believers but weren't sure how to begin walking with God for a lifetime. So over this past month, I have had the chance to start Follow-Up with the 2 girls who just accepted Christ & the 2 girls who desire to grow in their faith!
What Follow-Up is, is 5 Bible Studies that go through the basics of our faith. It teaches them how to be confident in the salvation Jesus offers, how to accept the forgiveness that Jesus offers even though we still struggle with sin as Christians, how to begin walking in the Holy Spirit, how to be obedient to the Holy Spirit as we battle our flesh, and how to become mature in our faith.
It is so fun for me to see these girls start to "get it". I see God giving them understanding of the Scriptures and revealing Himself to them each time we open His Word. So even though I was resistant to change at the beginning of this semester, I am MORE than grateful for it now. Now I can see that God wanted to use me in a way that was going to MAKE me rely on Him instead of doing something I could have in my own strength.
I love seeing Him at work. I love that He is truly moving in this particular dorm on campus. I love that He chooses to use such an imperfect person like me so that He will get the glory. There are so many more stories that I could share about how God is using our ministry, but I would literally be writing for days. But just know that God is changing lives at Texas Tech! We have seen someone accept Christ EVERY week since we have been back on campus this semester! We have seen an Atheist come to our Women's Retreat who left saying, "This just seems right". 28 of the 40 girls who came to our Women's Retreat had NEVER been before. 3 of those 28 had just accepted Christ within this semester!
God is moving! And I LOVE it! :)
Be encouraged.
-mrs.jones
When I came back to Lubbock for the Spring semester, I knew that my job would look different than it had the 2 years before. I knew it would. But being someone who is resistant to change, I didn't like the thought of that. I pushed back pretty hard. Internally, I didn't want to do things differently that I had before. I liked what my schedule was like. I enjoyed the students I regularly met with. Outwardly, though, I said OK to whatever changes had to come, because I knew I didn't have a choice. And ultimately, if I'm saying no to change, I'm saying I desire my comfort over serving God wherever He calls me.
So, the beginning of this semester was interesting, to say the least. I didn't know how to fill my schedule. I didn't know what students to meet with. I didn't know what in the world my ministry would look like at all this semester, and I wasn't hopeful. But goodness, how the Lord had something planned.
One part of my job this semester is helping out with a Bible Study in one of the all girl dorms on campus. This particular dorm has been difficult to really reach out to and maintain a Bible Study in the past because they were the only dorm on campus that didn't allow us to host our Bible Study in their dorm. But this year, the Lord granted us favor and we are finally allowed to meet for Bible Study in their study lounge! I know that may not seem like a big deal, but let me just tell you the impact it has had just this semester!
This semester, we have had around 25 girls attend the Bible Study. And each week we have an average of 10-15 girls show up. And whats even more fun is that 7 of these girls attended our annual Women's Retreat this weekend!
You may be wondering how we get the word out about the Bible Study. On the first day of this semester, in all the dorms, we gave out drawstring bags with a Bible & book in them. All we asked the students to do was fill out a short survey to give us their contact info and help us gauge where they are spiritually. 2 of the questions asked if they were interested in getting info about growing spiritually this semester & whether or not they wanted info about getting involved in a Bible Study.
Once we see who said "yes" to either of the last questions, we begin contacting them either by e-mailing them, calling/texting them, or even stopping by their dorm room. As I began contacting some of these girls, I have had the chance to meet some really fun girls who truly desire to grow in their walk with God and/or want to know God for the first time in their lives. I am so grateful to say that the Lord has given me the opportunity to share the gospel with 2 girls over the past 2 weeks who have never known Christ, and both indicated that they wanted to accept Jesus as their Lord & Savior! How cool is that?! 2 other girls that I met indicated that they are believers but weren't sure how to begin walking with God for a lifetime. So over this past month, I have had the chance to start Follow-Up with the 2 girls who just accepted Christ & the 2 girls who desire to grow in their faith!
What Follow-Up is, is 5 Bible Studies that go through the basics of our faith. It teaches them how to be confident in the salvation Jesus offers, how to accept the forgiveness that Jesus offers even though we still struggle with sin as Christians, how to begin walking in the Holy Spirit, how to be obedient to the Holy Spirit as we battle our flesh, and how to become mature in our faith.
It is so fun for me to see these girls start to "get it". I see God giving them understanding of the Scriptures and revealing Himself to them each time we open His Word. So even though I was resistant to change at the beginning of this semester, I am MORE than grateful for it now. Now I can see that God wanted to use me in a way that was going to MAKE me rely on Him instead of doing something I could have in my own strength.
I love seeing Him at work. I love that He is truly moving in this particular dorm on campus. I love that He chooses to use such an imperfect person like me so that He will get the glory. There are so many more stories that I could share about how God is using our ministry, but I would literally be writing for days. But just know that God is changing lives at Texas Tech! We have seen someone accept Christ EVERY week since we have been back on campus this semester! We have seen an Atheist come to our Women's Retreat who left saying, "This just seems right". 28 of the 40 girls who came to our Women's Retreat had NEVER been before. 3 of those 28 had just accepted Christ within this semester!
God is moving! And I LOVE it! :)
Be encouraged.
-mrs.jones
Friday, January 7, 2011
back to the grind
It has been 8 whole months since I have worked full time. Really, 8 whole months since I've had any kind of routine. I must say, I'm ready for a routine. Come Monday, the routine will begin. It's going to be so strange to have a schedule again. But I'm ready. I'm ready to hang out with my staff team. And I'm so ready to start meeting with students again. But I know this semester will look different from my prior two years with Campus Crusade. Not different in a bad way, just different. Different responsibilities, changes to our team since I've been gone, working with different students...But I'm prepared for whatever God has in store. I just want to be used for His purpose.
As of right now, I still haven't raised all of my support for this semester. I randomly received a check in the mail yesterday, which was so wonderful. But it looks like I'll probably just be working part-time with Campus Crusade this semester. I'm not really sure what that will look like or what that means for rest of my time, but we'll figure it out. I'm pretty sure I want to get another part-time job, I'm just not sure what or where...
Richard starts classes on Wednesday. We are so blessed that he is back on scholarship this semester. That means not only are his classes paid for, but we will also receive a monthly scholarship check. He also qualified for a financial aid grant. We are so grateful for those because that means Richard can focus on school and training while he is here and not worry about having to work a part-time job.
I guess that's about it for now. I'll try to be better about updating more often.
with love,
mrs. jones
As of right now, I still haven't raised all of my support for this semester. I randomly received a check in the mail yesterday, which was so wonderful. But it looks like I'll probably just be working part-time with Campus Crusade this semester. I'm not really sure what that will look like or what that means for rest of my time, but we'll figure it out. I'm pretty sure I want to get another part-time job, I'm just not sure what or where...
Richard starts classes on Wednesday. We are so blessed that he is back on scholarship this semester. That means not only are his classes paid for, but we will also receive a monthly scholarship check. He also qualified for a financial aid grant. We are so grateful for those because that means Richard can focus on school and training while he is here and not worry about having to work a part-time job.
I guess that's about it for now. I'll try to be better about updating more often.
with love,
mrs. jones
Monday, December 13, 2010
overdue
Okay, okay...this is long overdue...i know.
here is a miniature update since my last blog post:
God is good. :)
Happy Holidays
-the joneses
here is a miniature update since my last blog post:
- BC Lions lost in the first round of the playoffs in DOUBLE over-time.
- We immediately began packing our things and headed home 3 days later.
- Safely arrived back in Lubbock after a 3 day journey home.
- REJOICED in being back home!
- Moved into our new apartment.
- We were SO excited to go back to Experience Life!
- Got to spend Thanksgiving in Lubbock with my family.
- Have watched God provide in the most incredible ways during a month & 1/2 with no income!
- Have LOVED seeing & catching up w/ friends since we've been home.
- Have raised 62% of my support for Campus Crusade.
- Started going to our staff planning meetings for next semester!
- Found out that Richards brother's high school football team made it to the State Championship!!!
- This weekend we get to see Richards family at the football game for the 1st time since FEBRUARY! :)
- We put up our Christmas tree last night.
- We are excited to be home and able to spend the holidays w/ our families!
God is good. :)
Happy Holidays
-the joneses
Sunday, November 7, 2010
a little bit longer
Well the BC Lions won their game and the Edmonton Eskimo's lost theirs. We're in the playoffs! We are honestly surprised though. Richard and I really thought we'd be heading home this coming week. But God had other plans and we're grateful for them. More time hear=more paychecks, which we really need as we transition back to Lubbock. But more time here also means Richard will have more time to finish up some of his music at the studio, so we're glad about that, too.
We are both just ready to get back. We miss what we consider "normal". Normal priced gas, normal priced groceries, work, school, friends, family, the dollar menu :), sunshine through our windows, fountain Diet Dr. Peppers!!! :) We miss Experience Life, Monday night prayer meetings, Cru on Thursdays... We just genuinely miss our life in Lubbock.
But we'll patiently wait for the Lord and we'll continue to trust Him during our time here. We'll keep everyone updated as we begin the playoffs. We'll be home soon enough! :)
We are both just ready to get back. We miss what we consider "normal". Normal priced gas, normal priced groceries, work, school, friends, family, the dollar menu :), sunshine through our windows, fountain Diet Dr. Peppers!!! :) We miss Experience Life, Monday night prayer meetings, Cru on Thursdays... We just genuinely miss our life in Lubbock.
But we'll patiently wait for the Lord and we'll continue to trust Him during our time here. We'll keep everyone updated as we begin the playoffs. We'll be home soon enough! :)
Tuesday, November 2, 2010
just an update
Welp, the BC Lions won their game on Sunday. We still have a chance to go to the playoffs, but we HAVE to win our next game and the Edmonton Eskimo's HAVE to lose their game. So we'll see what happens. If we had of lost on Sunday, we would've known when we were heading home, but now we are still waiting to see how this season finishes. Of course we would love for our team to go to the playoffs, but Richard and I are both ready to get home, too. So we have mixed emotions at this point.
Richard had another opportunity to go speak to some kids at a Christian school yesterday and was able to perform his song again. We hope that Richard will have more opportunities to do things like that when we get back home. Here is a link to a new song of his on youtube... . Enjoy!
Most of you know that I plan to work with Campus Crusade again when I get back home. I just started the process of raising support again. It's such a nerve-racking process, but God has fully provided two years in a row, so I shouldn't expect anything less this time. It will be difficult raising support during the transition as Richard and I leave Canada, take a 3 day drive home, and move back home. But I'll manage. :) I am excited to start working with the staff team again and with the students at Tech. I have missed the community, the encouragement, and the insight that comes with working in ministry. Please pray with me as I continue the support raising process. I will post my progress every once in a while. And if you are interested in being a ministry partner, here is a link to my giving page...https://www.globalservicenet.org/giving/Lori-Jones .
We'll keep everyone updated as we find out more about when we're coming home. Please pray that we would trust the Lord during this time. Pray that we would have a safe trip home. And pray that the Lord would provide all our needs during this transition.
Richard had another opportunity to go speak to some kids at a Christian school yesterday and was able to perform his song again. We hope that Richard will have more opportunities to do things like that when we get back home. Here is a link to a new song of his on youtube... . Enjoy!
Most of you know that I plan to work with Campus Crusade again when I get back home. I just started the process of raising support again. It's such a nerve-racking process, but God has fully provided two years in a row, so I shouldn't expect anything less this time. It will be difficult raising support during the transition as Richard and I leave Canada, take a 3 day drive home, and move back home. But I'll manage. :) I am excited to start working with the staff team again and with the students at Tech. I have missed the community, the encouragement, and the insight that comes with working in ministry. Please pray with me as I continue the support raising process. I will post my progress every once in a while. And if you are interested in being a ministry partner, here is a link to my giving page...https://www.
We'll keep everyone updated as we find out more about when we're coming home. Please pray that we would trust the Lord during this time. Pray that we would have a safe trip home. And pray that the Lord would provide all our needs during this transition.
Saturday, October 23, 2010
Richard scores a TOUCHDOWN!!
Yep, that's right! During the first quarter of the game, Richard recovered a fumble, ran for 50 yards, and scored a TD!! Woohooo!! You can imagine how proud I was! BC Lions win the game 36-31!
Here is the best video footage I could get of it since the game didn't air in the states! Enjoy!
Here is the best video footage I could get of it since the game didn't air in the states! Enjoy!
Monday, October 18, 2010
what a weekend
Well it has been an interesting past few days up here in Canada.
On Thursday I drove to Seattle to pick up Romeyo from the airport. The drive there and back wasn't as bad as I thought it might be. I left Surrey early because I didn't know how much traffic I would get into crossing the border, but I ended up getting to Seattle early. I drove around trying to find a shopping center to walk around in while I waited, but I didn't have any luck. I did find a nice little lake, though, and ended up stopping there and reading my Bible for a little bit. Here are a couple of pics of the lake.
On Friday, I took Romeyo up to watch the BC Lions practice before their game on Saturday. Then on Saturday night we headed to the game. We were playing the Edmonton Eskimo's and we really needed to leave with a win. The first half of the game wasn't super interesting, but we ended up in a tie at the end of the 4th quarter and lost in overtime.....again.
(us before the game)
On the VERY first play of the game, our friend Alozie got injured and had to be carted off the field....not good. We later found out that he, in fact, broke his leg and dislocated his ankle. Let me give you a little background on him. He played for the Edmonton Eskimos for his first few years in the CFL. During one of his games with the Eskimo's, he broke both his tibia and fibula. He was out the rest of the season with hopes of returning the next season. His recovery didn't go as planned and he ended up having to have 2 more surgeries on his leg. When training camp came around for the next season, he wasn't ready and the Eskimo's cut him. He took the next year off, unsure if he would return. During that next year, he and his wife began to pray about whether or not he should return to the CFL. They felt that's what God was leading them to do, so he found out about the BC Lions try-out, went for it, and was put on the team. This is his first season back since the injury and now he has broken his fibula on the same leg and dislocated his ankle. We don't know what this means for him or his family's future, but we do know that this has to be a difficult time for them. It's so easy to ask God "why me?" when stuff like this happens, so please pray that he would have quick healing and that his family would trust the Lord during this time!
On a better note, we took Romeyo to White Rock yesterday. We ate lunch at a cute little restaurant right off the beach and walked down the pier. We took lots of good pictures while we there! Romeyo really seemed to enjoy how beautiful is it there! Here are a couple of pictures of us while we were there....
This morning I got a text message from Richard saying that someone told him he might be up to play this week. Neither one of us thought much of it because we have been told that SO many times since we have been here. But he is, in fact, starting this week! Their game is away in Calgary on Friday. I'll find out if it will be playing online and let y'all know. Anyway, we are really surprised. We honestly didn't think he would play anymore this season for multiple reasons, but we are grateful that God has given him the opportunity!
This past week, Richard has recorded a couple of new Christian rap songs so hopefully they'll be completely produced and ready before we leave here so that we can come home with some new music for you guys!
Tonight, we're going to take Romeyo to downtown Vancouver to sight-see a little on his last night and then tomorrow I'll take the drive back to Seattle to drop him off. Please pray for safe travel as we drive and as he flies!
On Thursday I drove to Seattle to pick up Romeyo from the airport. The drive there and back wasn't as bad as I thought it might be. I left Surrey early because I didn't know how much traffic I would get into crossing the border, but I ended up getting to Seattle early. I drove around trying to find a shopping center to walk around in while I waited, but I didn't have any luck. I did find a nice little lake, though, and ended up stopping there and reading my Bible for a little bit. Here are a couple of pics of the lake.
On Friday, I took Romeyo up to watch the BC Lions practice before their game on Saturday. Then on Saturday night we headed to the game. We were playing the Edmonton Eskimo's and we really needed to leave with a win. The first half of the game wasn't super interesting, but we ended up in a tie at the end of the 4th quarter and lost in overtime.....again.
(us before the game)On the VERY first play of the game, our friend Alozie got injured and had to be carted off the field....not good. We later found out that he, in fact, broke his leg and dislocated his ankle. Let me give you a little background on him. He played for the Edmonton Eskimos for his first few years in the CFL. During one of his games with the Eskimo's, he broke both his tibia and fibula. He was out the rest of the season with hopes of returning the next season. His recovery didn't go as planned and he ended up having to have 2 more surgeries on his leg. When training camp came around for the next season, he wasn't ready and the Eskimo's cut him. He took the next year off, unsure if he would return. During that next year, he and his wife began to pray about whether or not he should return to the CFL. They felt that's what God was leading them to do, so he found out about the BC Lions try-out, went for it, and was put on the team. This is his first season back since the injury and now he has broken his fibula on the same leg and dislocated his ankle. We don't know what this means for him or his family's future, but we do know that this has to be a difficult time for them. It's so easy to ask God "why me?" when stuff like this happens, so please pray that he would have quick healing and that his family would trust the Lord during this time!
On a better note, we took Romeyo to White Rock yesterday. We ate lunch at a cute little restaurant right off the beach and walked down the pier. We took lots of good pictures while we there! Romeyo really seemed to enjoy how beautiful is it there! Here are a couple of pictures of us while we were there....
This morning I got a text message from Richard saying that someone told him he might be up to play this week. Neither one of us thought much of it because we have been told that SO many times since we have been here. But he is, in fact, starting this week! Their game is away in Calgary on Friday. I'll find out if it will be playing online and let y'all know. Anyway, we are really surprised. We honestly didn't think he would play anymore this season for multiple reasons, but we are grateful that God has given him the opportunity!
This past week, Richard has recorded a couple of new Christian rap songs so hopefully they'll be completely produced and ready before we leave here so that we can come home with some new music for you guys!
Tonight, we're going to take Romeyo to downtown Vancouver to sight-see a little on his last night and then tomorrow I'll take the drive back to Seattle to drop him off. Please pray for safe travel as we drive and as he flies!
Tuesday, October 12, 2010
Canadian Thanksgiving
Yesterday (Monday) was Canada's Thanksgiving. Like in the States, watching football is a part of their Thanksgiving. The Lions played in Winnipeg in the afternoon. We were down a few points in the first half, then by the 3rd quarter we were up 32-11. I thought we had it in the bag. Then the 4th quarter rolls around and our players started behaving like children, fighting and getting penalty after penalty. In the last few minutes of the 4th quarter, one of our defensive linemen got disqualified for punching an opposing player in the face, then our only true center injured his leg and couldn't play, so they brought in the back-up who isn't a true center and caused several more penalties. :( Winnipeg ended up coming back to tie the game, then we lost in double overtime! It was NOT fun to watch! And after the defensive player was disqualified, they REALLY needed Richard there...oh well, their loss! There are only 4 games left before the playoffs and we really need to do well in these next 4 games, so say a little prayer for the BC Lions! :)
Earlier this week, Mrs. Dolly (our landlady) invited us to have Thanksgiving dinner with her family! So after the game, we followed her to her son's apartment where we met up her son, Fraser, and his roommate, TJ, her other son, Grant, her daughter, Lesley, & Lesley's boyfriend, Rob, Lesley's daughter, Brooke, and Rob's friend, Chansler (?). Fraser's apartment was so nice and everyone made Richard and I feel so welcome and really comfortable! Fraser prepared an incredible Thanksgiving dinner! Different than our family's Thanksgiving dinner, but SO good! He's a great cook! It was so fun to spend time with a family who have such a good time with each other like ours do! I was so grateful that they included us in their holiday celebration! They really are like our family here in Canada. Such a blessing. :)
On Thursday, our friend, Romeyo, is flying in to spend a few days with us. He is flying into Seattle, so I'll be driving to pick him up while Richard is at practice. Pray he has a safe flight and that we'll have a safe drive to and from Seattle. I'm glad Richard gets to have a visitor since he hasn't seen family or friends since May. This is Romeyo's first time to visit Canada, so hopefully we can show him around well!
That's all for now!
Earlier this week, Mrs. Dolly (our landlady) invited us to have Thanksgiving dinner with her family! So after the game, we followed her to her son's apartment where we met up her son, Fraser, and his roommate, TJ, her other son, Grant, her daughter, Lesley, & Lesley's boyfriend, Rob, Lesley's daughter, Brooke, and Rob's friend, Chansler (?). Fraser's apartment was so nice and everyone made Richard and I feel so welcome and really comfortable! Fraser prepared an incredible Thanksgiving dinner! Different than our family's Thanksgiving dinner, but SO good! He's a great cook! It was so fun to spend time with a family who have such a good time with each other like ours do! I was so grateful that they included us in their holiday celebration! They really are like our family here in Canada. Such a blessing. :)
On Thursday, our friend, Romeyo, is flying in to spend a few days with us. He is flying into Seattle, so I'll be driving to pick him up while Richard is at practice. Pray he has a safe flight and that we'll have a safe drive to and from Seattle. I'm glad Richard gets to have a visitor since he hasn't seen family or friends since May. This is Romeyo's first time to visit Canada, so hopefully we can show him around well!
That's all for now!
Saturday, October 9, 2010
Luke 12 & an update
Today, my time with the Lord was full of lists...
I read Luke 12 and the commentary that went with it. I thought some of the commentary was really interesting and insightful, so I thought I'd share a few things.
(read Luke 12 if you can :))
Luke 12:1,2
Signs of hypocrisy:
1. knowing the truth but not obeying it
2. living a self-serving life
3. faith is reduced to rigid rules
4. outward conformity without inner reality
"discern you own heart. consider the signs of hypocrisy and make sure you are not guilty. then ask God to help you live rightly."
Luke 12:8,9
We deny Jesus when we:
1. hope no one will find out we are Christians
2. decide not to speak up for what is right
3. are silent about our relationship with God
4. blend into society
5. accept our culture's non-Christian values
We acknowledge Jesus when we:
1. live moral, upright, Christ-honoring lives
2. look for opportunities to share our faith with others
3. help others in need
4. take a stand for justice
5. love others
6. acknowledge our loyalty to Christ
7. use our lives and resources to carry out his desires rather than our own.
are you doing more to deny Christ or acknowledge Him?
Luke 12:22-34
Overcoming worry requires:
1. simple trust in God, your heavenly Father: expressed by prayer rather than worry
2. perspective on your problems: develop a strategy for addressing & correcting problems
3. a support team to help: find believers who will pray for you to find wisdom & strength to deal w/ worries
"Jesus commands us not to worry. Worry is pointless because it can't fill any of our needs; worry is foolish because the Creator of the universe loves us and knows what we need."
Luke 12:40
People who are ready for their Lord's return are:
1. not hypocritical but sincere
2. not fearful but ready to witness
3. not worried but trusting
4. not greedy but generous
5. not lazy but diligent
"May your life be more like Christ's so that when he comes, you will be ready to greet him joyfully."
As I was sitting there reading, there was an older man sitting at a table near me. He saw me journaling and asked if I was writing an essay. I simply told him I was just reading and studying my Bible. From there he proceeds to tell me that He does not believe there is a God. He shared all sorts of other thoughts and opinions that indicated he hadn't based them on biblical or religious study but rather on his own ideas. I had just read Luke 12:11,12 which says, "don't worry about how to defend yourself or what to say, for the Holy Spirit will teach you at that time what needs to be said." So I said a quick prayer to myself and asked the Lord to give me the words to say. He didn't give me the opportunity to say much but when I did speak I tried to be as open and honest about my faith as I could. It was a very minor conversation, but I pray that the Lord will cause our paths to cross again at the coffee shop or that the Lord would place someone in his life to speak truth to him. Please pray that this man would have a divine revelation about the God of the universe and his Son, Jesus.
Football update: The BC Lions won again last Saturday, which is really good for their chances to go to the playoffs. Richard did well, but still didn't play as much as he had hoped. On Monday, the head coach called Richard into his office to talk. He told Richard that he likes how he's been playing but they can only travel with 5 defensive lineman and they need a defensive end more than a tackle. He even told Richard that they might have him drop a few pounds next season so that he can play defensive end, which he would love. So anyway, Richard is back on the practice roster this week. We're not sure what that means for the rest of the season, but we'll continue to trust the Lord's plan for us here.
On Wednesday, Richard had the chance to meet up with a guy who has a recording studio in Vancouver. He recorded a couple of new songs and re-did a song he had already written. The guy who has the studio asked Richard to come back to Vancouver on Friday to perform his song and share his testimony with some kids. I wasn't able to be there, but Richard said he wasn't nervous at all and felt really comfortable as he performed and shared his testimony. We are so grateful for the opportunities God has given Richard here.
As we go back and forth on this roller coaster from practice roster to active roster back to practice roster, we continue to remind ourselves that God has us here for a purpose that is greater than football. Continue to pray for us to trust God with his plans for us. Pray we would be content with his plans. And pray that we would desire His plans over our own.
"The Lord will work out his plans for my life--for your faithful love, O Lord, endures forever."
-Psalm 138:8
I read Luke 12 and the commentary that went with it. I thought some of the commentary was really interesting and insightful, so I thought I'd share a few things.
(read Luke 12 if you can :))
Luke 12:1,2
Signs of hypocrisy:
1. knowing the truth but not obeying it
2. living a self-serving life
3. faith is reduced to rigid rules
4. outward conformity without inner reality
"discern you own heart. consider the signs of hypocrisy and make sure you are not guilty. then ask God to help you live rightly."
Luke 12:8,9
We deny Jesus when we:
1. hope no one will find out we are Christians
2. decide not to speak up for what is right
3. are silent about our relationship with God
4. blend into society
5. accept our culture's non-Christian values
We acknowledge Jesus when we:
1. live moral, upright, Christ-honoring lives
2. look for opportunities to share our faith with others
3. help others in need
4. take a stand for justice
5. love others
6. acknowledge our loyalty to Christ
7. use our lives and resources to carry out his desires rather than our own.
are you doing more to deny Christ or acknowledge Him?
Luke 12:22-34
Overcoming worry requires:
1. simple trust in God, your heavenly Father: expressed by prayer rather than worry
2. perspective on your problems: develop a strategy for addressing & correcting problems
3. a support team to help: find believers who will pray for you to find wisdom & strength to deal w/ worries
"Jesus commands us not to worry. Worry is pointless because it can't fill any of our needs; worry is foolish because the Creator of the universe loves us and knows what we need."
Luke 12:40
People who are ready for their Lord's return are:
1. not hypocritical but sincere
2. not fearful but ready to witness
3. not worried but trusting
4. not greedy but generous
5. not lazy but diligent
"May your life be more like Christ's so that when he comes, you will be ready to greet him joyfully."
As I was sitting there reading, there was an older man sitting at a table near me. He saw me journaling and asked if I was writing an essay. I simply told him I was just reading and studying my Bible. From there he proceeds to tell me that He does not believe there is a God. He shared all sorts of other thoughts and opinions that indicated he hadn't based them on biblical or religious study but rather on his own ideas. I had just read Luke 12:11,12 which says, "don't worry about how to defend yourself or what to say, for the Holy Spirit will teach you at that time what needs to be said." So I said a quick prayer to myself and asked the Lord to give me the words to say. He didn't give me the opportunity to say much but when I did speak I tried to be as open and honest about my faith as I could. It was a very minor conversation, but I pray that the Lord will cause our paths to cross again at the coffee shop or that the Lord would place someone in his life to speak truth to him. Please pray that this man would have a divine revelation about the God of the universe and his Son, Jesus.
Football update: The BC Lions won again last Saturday, which is really good for their chances to go to the playoffs. Richard did well, but still didn't play as much as he had hoped. On Monday, the head coach called Richard into his office to talk. He told Richard that he likes how he's been playing but they can only travel with 5 defensive lineman and they need a defensive end more than a tackle. He even told Richard that they might have him drop a few pounds next season so that he can play defensive end, which he would love. So anyway, Richard is back on the practice roster this week. We're not sure what that means for the rest of the season, but we'll continue to trust the Lord's plan for us here.
On Wednesday, Richard had the chance to meet up with a guy who has a recording studio in Vancouver. He recorded a couple of new songs and re-did a song he had already written. The guy who has the studio asked Richard to come back to Vancouver on Friday to perform his song and share his testimony with some kids. I wasn't able to be there, but Richard said he wasn't nervous at all and felt really comfortable as he performed and shared his testimony. We are so grateful for the opportunities God has given Richard here.
As we go back and forth on this roller coaster from practice roster to active roster back to practice roster, we continue to remind ourselves that God has us here for a purpose that is greater than football. Continue to pray for us to trust God with his plans for us. Pray we would be content with his plans. And pray that we would desire His plans over our own.
"The Lord will work out his plans for my life--for your faithful love, O Lord, endures forever."
-Psalm 138:8
Wednesday, October 6, 2010
Caught up in the grace of God
On Sunday, Richard had practice, so I went to church by myself. We had a guest speaker who is the pastor of the Hillsong Church in New York. He came with a great message about being "Caught up in the grace of God". I definitely can't paraphrase what he said without completely botching it, but I thought I'd try to share some of his thoughts.
He talked about how us as believers must be good stewards of the grace God has given us. If the people in our world are ever going to meet Jesus, they have to experience grace in action. We have to extend grace to those around us. A little bit of grace goes a long way!
2 Corinthians 12:8-12: "Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. But he said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ's sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong."
We don't have an excuse to not give grace to others or to not share the love of Christ with those around us. In our weakness - our lack of words, knowledge, confidence -Christ's power is made perfect.
Acts 20:24: "But my life is worth nothing to me unless I use it for finishing the work assigned me by the Lord Jesus—the work of telling others the Good News about the wonderful grace of God."
Our life is "worth nothing" if we are not using it to finish the work God has called us to - "the work of telling others the Good News about the wonderful grace of God". I want the my life to be worth something according to God's standard. This doesn't mean you have to be in full time ministry...it just means using your opportunities to tell others about the grace of God.
Hebrews 4:16: "So let us come boldly to the throne of our gracious God. There we will receive his mercy, and we will find grace to help us when we need it most."
There are people we try to extend grace to who think they don't deserve it. They think they are too "bad" to come to church, to have good friends, to be loved, to have good things. But we have to remind them that though we all are undeserving of God's grace, we are all able to "come boldly to the throne of our gracious God." Boldly in our weakness and in our sin we can come to His throne and "we will receive his mercy, and we will find grace to help us when we need it most"...when we're in the depth of our sin. Praise God for His grace and mercy! Praise God that His power is made perfect in our weakness! Praise God for the calling to share His grace with those who need it most! We've got to get caught up in the grace of God so that others can experience it, too!
I want to know -understand, be certain of, grasp, experience- the grace of God. I want my life to be lived in such a way that I literally need the grace of God upon my life daily. But more than that, I want those who don't know the grace of God to experience it in the depth of their soul. To know that they have a loving, forgiving, merciful Father who is longing to give grace to them, regardless of how "bad" they are. The grace Christ extended on the cross was enough...people desperately need to know that.
Wednesday, September 29, 2010
Lovely Day
What a lovely day today is! Be prepared, this post is lengthy! :)
Last night, Richard and I went to hang out with Caryn & Alozie and have a little devotional with them. It was such a sweet time of sharing what God is teaching us as well as struggles we are faced with daily. We spent time sharing our prayer requests and praying for one another. It's so good to have people here to walk with us and encourage us in our faith.
We watched a sermon called How to Change a Lustful Mind. It talked about how there are 2 systems of operation on this earth: the world & the kingdom of God. The pastor asked the question, so how do we get free from the world's system?? The answer, we walk in the Spirit. He talked about how will-power is NOT enough to free ourselves from the flesh, we have to REPLACE our flesh/sinful nature with something greater...the Word of God. In order to walk in the Spirit, we must KNOW the Word of God. It must dwell richly within us. The pastor stated that "we are destroyed by our lack of knowledge of the Word". How do we fight the flesh if we haven't learned how to use the sword (the Bible)? The pastor says the issue is our mindset. It keeps us trapped. Keeps us from progressing in our walk with the Lord. We have to stop "trying" in our strength to fight the battle with our flesh and allow the Holy Spirit to fight the battle for us. But we must know the Word of God. When you're tempted by the flesh, fight it with Scripture. Find verses in the Bible that directly pertain to your struggle. Easier said then done, I know, but faith is a muscle, you gotta use it for it to get stronger. :)
This morning, the Lor
d woke me up earlier than usual and gave me the desire and motivation to walk to the coffee shop down the road and spend some time with Him. It was such a peaceful morning. I stepped outside with a light jacket on, into the 55 degree weather, and walked through the heavy fog to the coffee shop. I prayed for the Lord to prepare my heart for my time with Him and that's just what He did.
I got to the coffee shop, ordered a hot cup of coffee, doctored it up just the way I like it, and nestled myself into my little hang out spot. (Pictured to the right) Perfect. :)
I've been reading through the Gospels and just started Luke last night. As I read through the first 3 chapters of Luke, I just loved being reminded of God's faithfulness to His people and how he uses the most unlikely people for the glory of His name.
I loved re-reading Mary's response to the angel, Gabriel, when he told her she would be with child by the Holy Spirit. "Behold, I am the servant of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word." (Luke 1:38) She doesn't freak out. She doesn't tell the angel that he's crazy or that what he said was impossible. She submits to the word of God. I pray that that will be my response when the Lord calls me to do something crazy for him.
I loved reading about Zechariah's prophecy over his son, John the Baptist. In Luke 1:76-79, Zechariah says, "And you, child, will be called the prophet of the Most High; for you will go before the Lord to prepare his ways, to give knowledge of salvation to his people in the forgiveness of their sins, because of the tender mercy of our God, whereby the sunrise shall visit us from on high to give light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace." We may not be John the Baptist, but we can still follow his example. The Lord will return one day, therefore, we can still prepare the way for his return. We can give knowledge of salvation to his people, we can tell them about Jesus' forgiveness of sins, we can give light to those in darkness and hope to those in the shadow of death, and we can guide people in the way of peace! How cool is it to know that we have such a huge calling! We are called to make Christ known....all of us! Like I said earlier, he uses the most unlikely people to do great things for his kingdom!
After my time in the Word, I read a couple of chapters from my book Loving God. It's so neat because the things I'm reading in my book are parallel with the Scriptures I'm reading right now. Fun to see God work that out! :) In my book today, the author was speaking about the crucifixion scene and the two thieves on each side of Jesus. He said, "For those two men who actually died alongside my Savior are representative of all mankind. We either recognize our sinful selves, our sentence of death, and our deserving of that sentence, which leads us to repent and believe - or we curse God and die." I'd never thought about it that way. One thief is cursing Jesus saying, "Are you not the Christ? Save yourself and us!" while the other, aware of his sinfulness, is saying, "Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom". Definitely represents our world today, we are all thieves (sinners)...but which one are you?
The author goes on to ask how do we express gratitude for what Jesus did on the cross. His words..."Simply stated: by living the way He commands. By obedience. That is what the Scriptures mean by holiness or sanctification - believers are set apart for holy living. Therefore, holiness is the only possible response to God's grace. Holy living is loving God." (emphasis added :) ) He says that holiness is "the complete surrender of self in obedience to the will and service of God...the conformity to the character of God and obedience to the will of God". But "there can be no holiness apart from the work of the Holy Spirit - in quickening us through the conviction of sin and bringing us by grace to Christ, and in sanctifying us - for it is grace that causes us to even want to be holy....Conforming to the character of God - separating ourselves from sin and cleaving to Him - is the essence of biblical holiness." Clearly I like what He has to say. :) Leviticus 11:44 says, "I am the LORD your God; consecrate yourselves and be holy, because I am holy."
Needless to say, I took in a lot this morning. But it was so good. I'm glad the Lord continues to teach me and open my eyes & ears to things I need to see & hear. I pray that He will continue to give me an open heart to His Word.
Blogging what I learn helps me to process, but I hope those of you who read are encouraged and challenged in your faith as well.
I have a lot of free time on my hands up here, so I'd love to know how I can be praying for my friends and family back home! Lemme know!
Oh, and this morning when I got to the coffee shop there was a sign on the front door stating that they are hiring full & part time positions...I'm thinking about applying! I'll let you know! :)
I'll leave you with a picture of the coffee shop and the view when you leave. :)
"This is the day the LORD has made;
let us rejoice and be glad in it." -Psalm 118:24
much love!
loribeth
Last night, Richard and I went to hang out with Caryn & Alozie and have a little devotional with them. It was such a sweet time of sharing what God is teaching us as well as struggles we are faced with daily. We spent time sharing our prayer requests and praying for one another. It's so good to have people here to walk with us and encourage us in our faith.
We watched a sermon called How to Change a Lustful Mind. It talked about how there are 2 systems of operation on this earth: the world & the kingdom of God. The pastor asked the question, so how do we get free from the world's system?? The answer, we walk in the Spirit. He talked about how will-power is NOT enough to free ourselves from the flesh, we have to REPLACE our flesh/sinful nature with something greater...the Word of God. In order to walk in the Spirit, we must KNOW the Word of God. It must dwell richly within us. The pastor stated that "we are destroyed by our lack of knowledge of the Word". How do we fight the flesh if we haven't learned how to use the sword (the Bible)? The pastor says the issue is our mindset. It keeps us trapped. Keeps us from progressing in our walk with the Lord. We have to stop "trying" in our strength to fight the battle with our flesh and allow the Holy Spirit to fight the battle for us. But we must know the Word of God. When you're tempted by the flesh, fight it with Scripture. Find verses in the Bible that directly pertain to your struggle. Easier said then done, I know, but faith is a muscle, you gotta use it for it to get stronger. :)
This morning, the Lor
d woke me up earlier than usual and gave me the desire and motivation to walk to the coffee shop down the road and spend some time with Him. It was such a peaceful morning. I stepped outside with a light jacket on, into the 55 degree weather, and walked through the heavy fog to the coffee shop. I prayed for the Lord to prepare my heart for my time with Him and that's just what He did.
I got to the coffee shop, ordered a hot cup of coffee, doctored it up just the way I like it, and nestled myself into my little hang out spot. (Pictured to the right) Perfect. :)
I've been reading through the Gospels and just started Luke last night. As I read through the first 3 chapters of Luke, I just loved being reminded of God's faithfulness to His people and how he uses the most unlikely people for the glory of His name.
I loved re-reading Mary's response to the angel, Gabriel, when he told her she would be with child by the Holy Spirit. "Behold, I am the servant of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word." (Luke 1:38) She doesn't freak out. She doesn't tell the angel that he's crazy or that what he said was impossible. She submits to the word of God. I pray that that will be my response when the Lord calls me to do something crazy for him.
I loved reading about Zechariah's prophecy over his son, John the Baptist. In Luke 1:76-79, Zechariah says, "And you, child, will be called the prophet of the Most High; for you will go before the Lord to prepare his ways, to give knowledge of salvation to his people in the forgiveness of their sins, because of the tender mercy of our God, whereby the sunrise shall visit us from on high to give light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace." We may not be John the Baptist, but we can still follow his example. The Lord will return one day, therefore, we can still prepare the way for his return. We can give knowledge of salvation to his people, we can tell them about Jesus' forgiveness of sins, we can give light to those in darkness and hope to those in the shadow of death, and we can guide people in the way of peace! How cool is it to know that we have such a huge calling! We are called to make Christ known....all of us! Like I said earlier, he uses the most unlikely people to do great things for his kingdom!
After my time in the Word, I read a couple of chapters from my book Loving God. It's so neat because the things I'm reading in my book are parallel with the Scriptures I'm reading right now. Fun to see God work that out! :) In my book today, the author was speaking about the crucifixion scene and the two thieves on each side of Jesus. He said, "For those two men who actually died alongside my Savior are representative of all mankind. We either recognize our sinful selves, our sentence of death, and our deserving of that sentence, which leads us to repent and believe - or we curse God and die." I'd never thought about it that way. One thief is cursing Jesus saying, "Are you not the Christ? Save yourself and us!" while the other, aware of his sinfulness, is saying, "Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom". Definitely represents our world today, we are all thieves (sinners)...but which one are you?
The author goes on to ask how do we express gratitude for what Jesus did on the cross. His words..."Simply stated: by living the way He commands. By obedience. That is what the Scriptures mean by holiness or sanctification - believers are set apart for holy living. Therefore, holiness is the only possible response to God's grace. Holy living is loving God." (emphasis added :) ) He says that holiness is "the complete surrender of self in obedience to the will and service of God...the conformity to the character of God and obedience to the will of God". But "there can be no holiness apart from the work of the Holy Spirit - in quickening us through the conviction of sin and bringing us by grace to Christ, and in sanctifying us - for it is grace that causes us to even want to be holy....Conforming to the character of God - separating ourselves from sin and cleaving to Him - is the essence of biblical holiness." Clearly I like what He has to say. :) Leviticus 11:44 says, "I am the LORD your God; consecrate yourselves and be holy, because I am holy."
Needless to say, I took in a lot this morning. But it was so good. I'm glad the Lord continues to teach me and open my eyes & ears to things I need to see & hear. I pray that He will continue to give me an open heart to His Word.
Blogging what I learn helps me to process, but I hope those of you who read are encouraged and challenged in your faith as well.
I have a lot of free time on my hands up here, so I'd love to know how I can be praying for my friends and family back home! Lemme know!
Oh, and this morning when I got to the coffee shop there was a sign on the front door stating that they are hiring full & part time positions...I'm thinking about applying! I'll let you know! :)
I'll leave you with a picture of the coffee shop and the view when you leave. :)
"This is the day the LORD has made;
let us rejoice and be glad in it." -Psalm 118:24
much love!
loribeth
Monday, September 27, 2010
Loving God
The BC Lions came up with a 29-10 win on Saturday! It was such a strange game though...18 of our points came from field goals. Neither one of the teams made a touchdown until the 4th quarter. Definitely a defensive game. Richard played well! He made one tackle. But he didn't play near as much as he had hoped to. We're not sure, but we think the coaches were being cautious b/c of his leg just recovering and they were playing the #1 team, so they needed all the players to 100%. But we are so grateful that he got to travel with the team, play his first professional game, get a tackle, and come home with a win! :)
While he was gone this weekend, I started reading a book that my landlady lent me. It's called Loving God by Charles Colson. It was written in the early 80's, so I'd never heard of it, but I figured it would be a good way to pass time. As I mentioned in a previous post, I just finished reading Crazy Love by Francis Chan. I'm only half-way through Loving God but these books share similar concepts (which isn't hard to tell from their titles).
Through both of these books, I feel like God is opening my eyes to a better understanding of what it means to LOVE Him. Yes, I believe in Him, but am I loving Him. I've come to realize that if you truly LOVE God, your life has to be fruitful. (no brainer, huh?) As I think about that, I'm convicted by the lack of fruit I see in my life. Now, I know that we don't always see the fruit in our lives. We don't necessarily see how our prayers for others affect them or how encouraging words uplift someone or how a small conversation can change someone's life. But some fruit can be seen. Am I serving others? Am I being generous with my finances? Are my words tearing down or building up? Am I loving "the least of these"? Do I treat others as if they were Christ? Am I being Christ to others? Is God's Word on my mouth? Am I sharing the gospel with those I encounter?
Ephesians 2:8,9 says, "For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast." Praise God for His grace! But James 2:26 says, "As the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without deeds is dead." Our faith in God must produce deeds! Loving God is an action!
I don't want to live my life as a "Christian" just to have the benefit of heaven. I want to follow Him closely in this life, love him deeply, serve him well, and proclaim Him to those who don't know Him because He is a Holy God worthy of praise, glory, and honor. I want others to see Christ in me and desire to know Him because of the work they see Him doing in me. I pray for that kind of fruit in my life. I pray that I grow to LOVE (as an action) God more and not just believe in Him.
How are you loving God?
While he was gone this weekend, I started reading a book that my landlady lent me. It's called Loving God by Charles Colson. It was written in the early 80's, so I'd never heard of it, but I figured it would be a good way to pass time. As I mentioned in a previous post, I just finished reading Crazy Love by Francis Chan. I'm only half-way through Loving God but these books share similar concepts (which isn't hard to tell from their titles).
Through both of these books, I feel like God is opening my eyes to a better understanding of what it means to LOVE Him. Yes, I believe in Him, but am I loving Him. I've come to realize that if you truly LOVE God, your life has to be fruitful. (no brainer, huh?) As I think about that, I'm convicted by the lack of fruit I see in my life. Now, I know that we don't always see the fruit in our lives. We don't necessarily see how our prayers for others affect them or how encouraging words uplift someone or how a small conversation can change someone's life. But some fruit can be seen. Am I serving others? Am I being generous with my finances? Are my words tearing down or building up? Am I loving "the least of these"? Do I treat others as if they were Christ? Am I being Christ to others? Is God's Word on my mouth? Am I sharing the gospel with those I encounter?
Ephesians 2:8,9 says, "For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast." Praise God for His grace! But James 2:26 says, "As the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without deeds is dead." Our faith in God must produce deeds! Loving God is an action!
I don't want to live my life as a "Christian" just to have the benefit of heaven. I want to follow Him closely in this life, love him deeply, serve him well, and proclaim Him to those who don't know Him because He is a Holy God worthy of praise, glory, and honor. I want others to see Christ in me and desire to know Him because of the work they see Him doing in me. I pray for that kind of fruit in my life. I pray that I grow to LOVE (as an action) God more and not just believe in Him.
How are you loving God?
Thursday, September 23, 2010
BREAKING NEWS!!!!!
Well, it's official! Richard is FINALLY playing in this weeks game...as a starter!! Wooohooo!!
For those of you who don't know, Richard has been on the practice team up here in Canada. During training camp he pulled his hamstring and wasn't able to practice for a few days or play in one of the scrimmages. Because of that, his competition was given the spot on the team. It was a really humbling experience for Richard because he's never NOT played. But we knew this was just a part of God's plan for us here in Canada.
Throughout this season, we knew that Richard could be moved up to active roster at any point. And there were multiple weeks where we really thought he would have been moved up. Several of his teammates were injured and the team has had 8 losses....not good. We were confused as to why the coaches weren't moving him up and we felt like we were getting the run around a little bit when Richard would ask questions but we just kept waiting and trusting God's plan. Then a couple of weeks ago, Richard pulled his quad. Really? Something else?? Well after lots of rehab and treatment and PRAYER his leg is good to go and he is playing! Praise the Lord!
I am so glad he finally gets to do what he LOVES! Not to mention, excited about the little bit of financial relief this brings us! (Although, his coach told Richard he HAD to use part of this first game check to buy a suit for traveling...haha!) But God is good. He is always in control! He knows exactly what he is doing. And His plan is PERFECT!
His game is away this weekend, so he'll fly out Friday, the game is Saturday, and he'll fly home Sunday...so it will be my first weekend here all by my lonesome! But I can't wait to watch my sweet man play on Saturday. Please pray for his leg to be 100% healed and have 100% strength!!
The game will be on espn3.com on Saturday at 8:30 for anyone who wants to watch or check the score! :)
And here's a link to an interview Richard had Tuesday...go check it out!
http://bclions.com/video/index/id/14251
Something else that I forgot to mention in my last blog was the cool opportunities that Richard has had these past two weeks. After their home game two weeks ago, one of the Christian radio stations teamed up with the BC Lions to put on an after show. A band called StarField performed and some of the players gave their testimonies and Richard was able to perform his song "Trust in the Lord". The next day he went to a church block party where he was able to hang out with the kids there, sign autographs, talk to them a little bit, and was able to perform his song for them, too. Then this past Sunday, our friend, Alozie, had a friend who was giving his testimony at the opening of a new church in downtown Vancouver. Alozie told his friend about Richard and they asked Richard to come perform there, too! So it's been fun to see God open up opportunities for Richard to share a little of his testimony and give God glory!
If you haven't heard Richard's song or seen the video, here is the link for that too...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PtHLt2QJfAc
Praise the Lord, for He is good!!! :)
For those of you who don't know, Richard has been on the practice team up here in Canada. During training camp he pulled his hamstring and wasn't able to practice for a few days or play in one of the scrimmages. Because of that, his competition was given the spot on the team. It was a really humbling experience for Richard because he's never NOT played. But we knew this was just a part of God's plan for us here in Canada.
Throughout this season, we knew that Richard could be moved up to active roster at any point. And there were multiple weeks where we really thought he would have been moved up. Several of his teammates were injured and the team has had 8 losses....not good. We were confused as to why the coaches weren't moving him up and we felt like we were getting the run around a little bit when Richard would ask questions but we just kept waiting and trusting God's plan. Then a couple of weeks ago, Richard pulled his quad. Really? Something else?? Well after lots of rehab and treatment and PRAYER his leg is good to go and he is playing! Praise the Lord!
I am so glad he finally gets to do what he LOVES! Not to mention, excited about the little bit of financial relief this brings us! (Although, his coach told Richard he HAD to use part of this first game check to buy a suit for traveling...haha!) But God is good. He is always in control! He knows exactly what he is doing. And His plan is PERFECT!
His game is away this weekend, so he'll fly out Friday, the game is Saturday, and he'll fly home Sunday...so it will be my first weekend here all by my lonesome! But I can't wait to watch my sweet man play on Saturday. Please pray for his leg to be 100% healed and have 100% strength!!
The game will be on espn3.com on Saturday at 8:30 for anyone who wants to watch or check the score! :)
And here's a link to an interview Richard had Tuesday...go check it out!
http://bclions.com/video/index/id/14251
Something else that I forgot to mention in my last blog was the cool opportunities that Richard has had these past two weeks. After their home game two weeks ago, one of the Christian radio stations teamed up with the BC Lions to put on an after show. A band called StarField performed and some of the players gave their testimonies and Richard was able to perform his song "Trust in the Lord". The next day he went to a church block party where he was able to hang out with the kids there, sign autographs, talk to them a little bit, and was able to perform his song for them, too. Then this past Sunday, our friend, Alozie, had a friend who was giving his testimony at the opening of a new church in downtown Vancouver. Alozie told his friend about Richard and they asked Richard to come perform there, too! So it's been fun to see God open up opportunities for Richard to share a little of his testimony and give God glory!
If you haven't heard Richard's song or seen the video, here is the link for that too...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PtHLt2QJfAc
Praise the Lord, for He is good!!! :)
Monday, September 20, 2010
Back To Reality
Welp...it's been about 3 weeks since I last posted...woops :)
In my last update, I told everyone that I was getting to go to Fort Worth for 2 weeks to help my sister and my baby niece. So September 2nd, I flew to Fort Worth. I was so excited to see my family but even more excited to meet my baby niece, Kynlee. She is perfect. Such a beautiful baby.
So for my first few days in Fort Worth, I just spent time admiring sweet Kynlee. We took her to my dad's coaches office to show her off to the other coaches. You should have seen my dad. He was holding her and walking around asking everyone if they saw "his" baby! :) It was cute to see how proud he is of her. The other coaches with babies of their own were pretty funny, too. They were grinning from ear to ear just looking at her. And Kynlee did so well that day, too. She didn't fuss at all. Such a good baby.
We took Kynlee to the doctor while I was there for her 2 week check up and she had already put on one pound and grown 3/4 of an inch. So crazy how fast babies grow! Erin went to the doctor, too, and she was doing so well so quickly after having a c-section. She was able to do so much more than I anticipated while I was there.
Erin & I made a trip to Lubbock so our family there could meet Kynlee and see me a little bit while I was in Texas...but Kynlee was definitely priority. :) We stopped in Abilene on the way to Lubbock so that Gran and Grandy could meet Kynlee. I was glad we got to see them, even though it was a quick stop. When we got to Lubbock we headed straight to my grandma's house. It was so fun to see my grandma get to meet her great grand baby. Erin and I got a break while our mom, aunt's and grandma spent time holding and taking care of Kynlee. :)
On Saturday, I was blessed to have lunch with some of the women in my life who I love and miss so much. I was so glad to see Kelli, Kim, Cotter, Katie, Ceri, and Misty! It was fun to catch up and hear about their lives. It was short & sweet, but I'm so grateful that we had time to get together.
Sunday, Erin, Kynlee, and I headed back to Fort Worth. My days in Texas we quickly coming to a close. While I was in Fort Worth, I was glad to watch two of Kimber's volleyball games. I hate that I miss out. During my second week there, it was fun to see Kynlee's eyes focus better and actually look at me instead of who knows what. I took so many pictures of her while I was there...I thought everything she did was cute...naturally. :) My last night in Fort Worth I spent time over at my dad's house with Kimbo, Haley and my dad. I feel like I didn't get to see them as much as I would have liked b/c they had to be at work and school....lame...who does that?? haha! But I am still so glad I got to go spend such a good amount of time there. What a blessing to get to spend two weeks with my baby niece...we definitely had bonding time. :)
One thing I did while I was in Fort Worth was read a book called Crazy Love. I know lots of y'all have heard of it and/or read it, but it was a good book. Challenging. Thought provoking. Makes you uncomfortable with the idea of being a "lukewarm" Christian. You really have to read it with an open heart and and open mind. There are times in the book where the author literally tells you to stop and pray before continuing on b/c he knows the next part of the book may be difficult to swallow. I would suggest it, but you have to be ready to internalize the things he talks about in the book. Something else he challenges people to do is to read the gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke & John) and to take them LITERALLY. Read them as if you've never read the Bible before and never heard about the things Jesus is teaching. Take the words Christ spoke literally. I don't think Jesus would have wasted his breathe otherwise. One other thought from the book that I'll leave you with is the author's challenge to "consider & actually treat others as if they were Christ". Don't you think you'd treat everyone you come in contact with differently?? Your spouse, parents, kids, person behind the counter, teacher, boss, the poor & needy.....
Anywho, I was so glad to get home to see my hubs. 2 weeks is a long time! :) And might I add that I was REALLY glad to get back to 66 degree weather! Praise the Lord! :) Now I can step outside in the middle of the day without melting!
So it's back to reality...being home all day. Bills, cleaning, doing laundry, taking care of my pups, checking out peoples blogs, and updating mine....but I'm glad to be back. I won't be back to Texas until the middle of November or beginning of December, but that's not too long...we can make it. Oh, and we have an apartment set up to live in when we get back to Lubbock! So praise the Lord for that!
Hope you are all doing well! Feel free to call, skype, or e-mail anytime!
LOVE!
In my last update, I told everyone that I was getting to go to Fort Worth for 2 weeks to help my sister and my baby niece. So September 2nd, I flew to Fort Worth. I was so excited to see my family but even more excited to meet my baby niece, Kynlee. She is perfect. Such a beautiful baby.
So for my first few days in Fort Worth, I just spent time admiring sweet Kynlee. We took her to my dad's coaches office to show her off to the other coaches. You should have seen my dad. He was holding her and walking around asking everyone if they saw "his" baby! :) It was cute to see how proud he is of her. The other coaches with babies of their own were pretty funny, too. They were grinning from ear to ear just looking at her. And Kynlee did so well that day, too. She didn't fuss at all. Such a good baby.
We took Kynlee to the doctor while I was there for her 2 week check up and she had already put on one pound and grown 3/4 of an inch. So crazy how fast babies grow! Erin went to the doctor, too, and she was doing so well so quickly after having a c-section. She was able to do so much more than I anticipated while I was there.
Erin & I made a trip to Lubbock so our family there could meet Kynlee and see me a little bit while I was in Texas...but Kynlee was definitely priority. :) We stopped in Abilene on the way to Lubbock so that Gran and Grandy could meet Kynlee. I was glad we got to see them, even though it was a quick stop. When we got to Lubbock we headed straight to my grandma's house. It was so fun to see my grandma get to meet her great grand baby. Erin and I got a break while our mom, aunt's and grandma spent time holding and taking care of Kynlee. :)
On Saturday, I was blessed to have lunch with some of the women in my life who I love and miss so much. I was so glad to see Kelli, Kim, Cotter, Katie, Ceri, and Misty! It was fun to catch up and hear about their lives. It was short & sweet, but I'm so grateful that we had time to get together.
Sunday, Erin, Kynlee, and I headed back to Fort Worth. My days in Texas we quickly coming to a close. While I was in Fort Worth, I was glad to watch two of Kimber's volleyball games. I hate that I miss out. During my second week there, it was fun to see Kynlee's eyes focus better and actually look at me instead of who knows what. I took so many pictures of her while I was there...I thought everything she did was cute...naturally. :) My last night in Fort Worth I spent time over at my dad's house with Kimbo, Haley and my dad. I feel like I didn't get to see them as much as I would have liked b/c they had to be at work and school....lame...who does that?? haha! But I am still so glad I got to go spend such a good amount of time there. What a blessing to get to spend two weeks with my baby niece...we definitely had bonding time. :)
One thing I did while I was in Fort Worth was read a book called Crazy Love. I know lots of y'all have heard of it and/or read it, but it was a good book. Challenging. Thought provoking. Makes you uncomfortable with the idea of being a "lukewarm" Christian. You really have to read it with an open heart and and open mind. There are times in the book where the author literally tells you to stop and pray before continuing on b/c he knows the next part of the book may be difficult to swallow. I would suggest it, but you have to be ready to internalize the things he talks about in the book. Something else he challenges people to do is to read the gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke & John) and to take them LITERALLY. Read them as if you've never read the Bible before and never heard about the things Jesus is teaching. Take the words Christ spoke literally. I don't think Jesus would have wasted his breathe otherwise. One other thought from the book that I'll leave you with is the author's challenge to "consider & actually treat others as if they were Christ". Don't you think you'd treat everyone you come in contact with differently?? Your spouse, parents, kids, person behind the counter, teacher, boss, the poor & needy.....
Anywho, I was so glad to get home to see my hubs. 2 weeks is a long time! :) And might I add that I was REALLY glad to get back to 66 degree weather! Praise the Lord! :) Now I can step outside in the middle of the day without melting!
So it's back to reality...being home all day. Bills, cleaning, doing laundry, taking care of my pups, checking out peoples blogs, and updating mine....but I'm glad to be back. I won't be back to Texas until the middle of November or beginning of December, but that's not too long...we can make it. Oh, and we have an apartment set up to live in when we get back to Lubbock! So praise the Lord for that!
Hope you are all doing well! Feel free to call, skype, or e-mail anytime!
LOVE!
Tuesday, August 31, 2010
taste & see
"Oh, taste and see that the Lord is good!" -Psalm 34:8
Experiencing the goodness of God has been the theme of my life the past 6 months or so. He has been continually revealing His goodness to both Richard and me in so many different ways. His love, his forgiveness, his comfort, his abundant provision, his perfect plan, his kindness, his faithfulness, his grace, his perfect understanding of our needs...I could literally go on and on.
Richard and I have experienced a lot of ups and downs over these past 6 months but the Lord keeps reminding us through His Scriptures to "meditate on his works". So we are continuously reminded of how good and faithful God has been to us; how He is completely trustworthy and we can always depend on Him.
Yesterday was a perfect example of how good our God is. Through the kindness & generosity of my family, God provided a way for me to go to Fort Worth to be with my sister and her new baby, Kynlee, for 2 weeks! My heart has truly been longing to be with them, so I am completely grateful for this unexpected gift. I am so excited to get to serve my sister by helping her during this huge transition in her life.
Another extremely unexpected gift we received yesterday was a check from one of Richard's coaches. He knew that Richard being on the practice roster had made our finances a little tight and that we had a few needs and he wanted to help. He told Richard that some of the money HAS to go toward a date night, so we are going to definitely take advantage of that! :) We are so grateful for the way the Lord uses His people to provide. We are humbled by the generosity we've seen from so many people in our lives. We are so blessed.
Yesterday as I was reading Psalm 30, I came across this verse:
"I am counting on the Lord;
yes, I am counting on him.
I have put my hope in his word." vs.5 (NLT)
I have put my hope in his word." vs.5 (NLT)
It spoke sweetly to me, because I AM counting on the Lord and I HAVE put my hope in his word b/c He is always good, always faithful, always true to His Word. What a mighty God we serve! :)
Also, yesterday Richard was able to have a spiritual conversation with one of his teammates! Richard is highly respected by his teammates and the Lord is really using that to build relationships. Continue to pray for him as God uses him to minister into the lives of his teammates! He is truly a light in a dark place!
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