"They were hungry and thirsty; Their soul fainted within them. Then they cried out to the LORD in their trouble; He delivered them out of their distresses. He led them also by a straight way, to go to an inhabited city."
Psalm 107:5-7

"Therefore He humbled their heart with labor; They stumbled and there was none to help. Then they cried out to the LORD in their trouble; He saved them out of their distresses. He brought them out of darkness and the shadow of death, and broke their bands apart."
Psalm 107:12-14

"Their soul abhorred all kinds of food, And they drew near to the gates of death. Then they cried out to the LORD in their trouble; He saved them out of their distresses. He sent His word and healed them, And delivered them from their destructions."
Psalm 107:18-20

"They rose up to the heavens, they went down to the depths; Their soul melted away in their misery. They reeled and staggered like a drunken man, and were at their wits' end. Then they cried to the LORD in their trouble, And He brought them out of their distresses. He caused the storm to be still, so that the waves of the sea were hushed. "
Psalm 107:26-29


"Who is wise? Let him give heed to these things, And consider the lovingkindnesses of the LORD. "
Psalm 107:43

Since I'm giving my honest opinion on The City, let me continue. Since Part 1 was full of raving about the glories of NYC, let me speak plainly about its flaws and/or my disappointment.

1. Rockefeller Center. Okay, I liked it. Really I did. But I was a little sad that the winter skating rink doesn't become a duck pond in the summertime. (That idea was my own invention, and a pretty good one, if I do say so myself!). :)

2. Music. I love music, especially worship. Everyone knows that. In light of that fact, my lone criticism of Times Square Church is this: Too much music. And with that said, the music is WONDERFUL. "for You are my sweet salvation, my blessed Redeemer!"

3. Trash. It's icky. And it's all over the sidewalks... at least in Times Square, where we spent the day. Maybe other places in the city will be cleaner. Heh, maybe. But I guess that's to be expected with so many people on one itty bitty island. Seriously, people, move to Kansas; you could have your own cornfield!

4. Driving. Thank goodness I wasn't the one that had to maneuver the big white van around the City. Let's just say if I judged NYC by its driving skills alone, I might never go back. I am ecstatic that my next trip to the City will not require my driving within city limits.

5. Noise. Last, but not least, let me just express incredible displeasure at the very not-cool person with ear-splitting bass who sat behind us in traffic for 20 minutes. We shut all the windows and still had to put hands over our ears. And 2 hours later, my ears still hurt. Okay, so my ears are sensitive (as the youth say, "did you hear that? It's a cricket chirping fifty miles away")... but even so, that bass was crazy-loud. Now I appreciate the noise ordinance in State College!

6. Pizza. Well, it wasn't anything to write home about. :) But I'm definitely going back to find some better... even legendary!

And on that note....
I Love New York!

Picnics.

They're so summery. And that's why I love them. On Saturday, our picnic for the cast of Pride & Prejudice was rained out. Of sorts. The sky was dark, the wind blew like a madman and I was warned by cell phone to run back to the theatre. So there I am, running along in my ballet flats. My confession: I love rain and did wish to be drenched, but common sense won out and I resolved to seek shelter under a building if necessary. As it turns out, the rain was short and semi-sweet (doesn't this make you think of chocolate?), but our picnic was destined to be inside. *sigh*. It was deafeningly loud. How can it not be when twenty-plus teenagers and random adults take over an empty room?

On Sunday, the annual Memorial church picnic commenced at a new location (which made me very happy). This time, another family hosted it and they live right by a park. The most notable events were the fact that I did *not* get sunburnt, because I was smart enough to put on sunscreen this time... And, the not-too-skillful-but-undoubtedly-FUN softball game. Yes, softball brings back the memories for me. In Texas, The Sis and I used to play in the sand behind the backstop as The Parents won games in the church softball league. Years later, in PA, our yard was the gathering place for the neighborhood kids and baseball was our favorite game. Back to the present, I did get hits every time I went up to bat, except once when I got hit by the softball. OUCH. Then we fired the pitcher. Hahaha. Running in flipflops wasn't too hard (better than running on sand in bare feet!). Why don't I learn to wear sensible shoes? Anyway, my team won. By alot. :)

Plays.

Same play, different showings. The Little Bro's debut as actor was quite an event. He was "Mr. Bingley," the object of interest to the Bennet family in Pride & Prejudice. He was quite a hit. At the second showing, which had a rowdier, livelier audience than the first, the audience roared with laughter every time he walked in the door before he said a word! Maybe it was the cheesy smile. It's like all he did was smile... and look at "Jane." And when the Little Bro "ran out of smile-age" (his words, not mine), he would look at us in the audience and smile even wider. HILARIOUS. I bought a frappucino to make him happy. I figured he wouldn't want a rose, like I gave to The Youth Group Girl who also was acting. :) She played "Lydia" with perfect flippant coyness. And her rose was light pink with dark pink edged petals. Mmmmm, I think I shall grow roses.

Pursuit.

We are the scavengers in pursuit of 30 random, useless items to be obtained without purchase or crime. :) Friday night, the youth met in downtown State College for a scavenger hunt. Have you ever walked up to a perfect stranger and asked for a hair? I didn't... because leaders couldn't do the work. HA! But I did watch and laugh. :) And there was that random college student standing on the lawn by a busy street, with an unplugged electric guitar. He gave us a guitar pick, an egg and a piece of junkmail. I *still* can't figure out what he was doing, but he probably thought we were just as weird. :) Unfortunately, my team did not win... but the ice cream afterwards was awesome (inserting plug for the Penn State Creamery. Great ice cream, good ambiance-we ate outside on the patio), so I didn't feel too sad. And the youth loved it.

Yeah, life is good.

This weekend I had a tiny taste of the City, and now I'm hungry for more!!

New York City is a night-and-day difference from my hometown. City and town being the most obvious differences. If there is one word to describe New York City, it is "busy." People are always moving, walking, going somewhere to do something! That kind of hurried pace is actually normal to me. There's so much to do in my daily life--and yet, every night I go home to the mountain, where life is peaceful again. I can't imagine living in the City, but visiting is a definite must! (can't wait 'til July!)

My Favorite Things:

1. Church. Eight of the ten hours that we were in the City, we spent in church. Is that not awesome?!? We saw David Wilkerson (though he did not preach). Worshipped for hours. Heard a great message from Carter Conlon on "The Inward Groanings of the Righteous."

2. Youth Prayer. I liked it because of the familiarity--the fact that it just felt like "home." We possess that same precious faith and it is evident. It was easy to share in their burdens and simply pray together.

3. Ravi Zacharias. We weren't originally planning on going to the mid-afternoon service as well, but after hearing that Ravi Zacharias would be preaching, we took a vote and it was unanimous. We were going. He spoke on "Apologetics in the 21st Century." I'm actually a little leery of the concept of apologetics, because many people use it as an excuse to argue. However, in hearing Ravi Zacharias preach, it is evident that he is a man that truly loves God and, above all, exalts the message of the Gospel. I was impressed and encouraged in faith. (His big words did go over the youth's heads sometimes. My question is, why does he like the word "transcendent" so much?). :) Oh yeah, and he is HILARIOUS!

4. NYC Friends. It was good to hang out with NYC Guy and NYC Girl during the afternoon. I learned many things... like *true* New Yorkers never wear hats that say, "New York", though they might wear an "I (heart) NY" shirt if it's not in the classic white, they don't get their driver's license, those vents on the sidewalks are for the subway cause it's hot down there in the summer and sometimes those street peddlers have great jewelry. Oh yes, and like every other place I go... the accent is contagious.

5. People-Watching. Made me wish that The Sis and I had visited NYC before her season in life changed (i.e. marriage and children). But as it was, the youth and I had fun watching people while eating our pizza and commenting on their fashion choices. People are so fascinating!

6. Architecture. Stepped inside St. Patrick's Cathedral for a few moments. I liked the outside better--that steeple rising high amidst the skyscrapers. But mostly I got to stare at the stunning visual feast that is Times Square Church (formerly a Broadway theatre). Thoughts were running through my head, like, "How often do they wash those 30-foot curtains? Is this real marble that I'm leaning against? Why can't people make buildings this pretty now-a-days?"

More observations coming soon....

I need You more
More than yesterday
I need You Lord
More than words can say
I need You more
Than ever before
I need You Lord
I need You Lord

More than the air I breathe
More than the song I sing
More than the next heartbeat
More than anything
And Lord as time goes by
I'll be by Your side
Cause I never want to go back
To my old life
(lyrics by Lindell Cooley & Bruce Haynes)

This has been my cry the last few days. I'm realizing that I'm worthless, useless and helpless without Christ. No self-knowledge or earthly wisdom is enough to sustain me, to help me, to guide me. I need Christ!

Christ is all.

All I need, all that I require to live is found in Him!

Check this off my things-to-do-in-my-lifetime list:

I have shot a handgun.

A modified Smith & Wesson 9mm, to be exact.

And I hit the target every time.

Be afraid, be very afraid. :)

The Other Brother's passion is guns, so he showed me all the right things to do. How to stand, hold the gun and do some weird triangle bobblehead stance. Now that was hilarious to watch. I guess it looks pretty stupid, but it's smart in a combat situation. But since I'm probably not gonna be in a combat situation, I am free to laugh as I please! ... I didn't slam the magazine in hard enough (though definitely hard enough to hurt my hand), and so the gun jammed after like 12 shots. But I had already hit the Smiling Uber Bad Guy on every shot, so I gladly gave up the gun to the Other Brother to fix and finish the mag.

I took the now very pock-marked Smiling Uber Bad Guy home with me. The Smiling Uber Bad Guy was my own creation, using a cardboard box and a sharpie marker. The Dad said I should take it to work and put it on my desk with a sign reading, "I'll help you in a MINUTE!" hehe.

Moral of the Story:

Handguns are really fun to shoot.

There were six middle-schoolers at my house last weekend. Middle schoolers really are a different sort. They lack the self-consciousness and knowledge of high schoolers, so this combination of honesty and ignorance equals hilarity! Sometimes I choked on my own laughter. Sometimes I just laughed outright. They are also refreshingly unembarassed and didn't take offense at my laughter. Actually I think they were flattered by the fact that someone thought they were funny. :)

Some of their words...

Curious Girl- "What's a 'complex'?"

Curious Guy- "What's 'inhumane'?"

Crazy Kid- *singing at top of his lungs*, "One million bottles of milk on the WALL! One million bottles of milk, take one down, pass it around, one million bottles of milk on the wall!! Nine hundred ninety-nine thousand, nine hundred ninety-nine bottles of milk on the WALL..."
*pause*
Me-"Why didn't you finish?"
Crazy Kid-"It takes me three seconds to say one of those."
*5 minutes of silence*
Crazy Kid-"It would take me 35 days to finish!!"

Enthusiastic Girl- "I LOVE this SONG!.... (next song plays on the radio)... I LOVE this SONG!.... (next song plays)... I LOVE this SONG!..." :)

This next one is my personal favorite. :)

Witty Kid-"You know, if you rub your seatbelt against your neck, it will cut your head off"
Me-"Who told you that?" (I'm thinking someone's been messin with his head)
Witty Kid-"Oh no, I figured it out myself! Cause once I got a cut on my neck from the seatbelt."

Life comes after death
Dawn after the darkness
Celebration after suffering
Calm after the storm
Victory after the struggle
Healing after pain
Sunrise after midnight
Rainbow after the rain.

There was a beautiful rainbow on the horizon one morning last week, against the background of dark storm clouds. Rainbows have always been a promise of God's faithfulness-to Noah, that God would not destroy the earth by flood again.. and now to me, that perfect beauty comes after the trial.

The Lovely Friend and I went to a book sale at the PSU Ag Arena on Saturday morning. I stopped looking for more books when my arms started hurting from the pile of books in my arms. Later that day, my mom and I came back and things got really good because in between looking in the Children's section, Religion and Literature--and my moaning about the fact that all the fiction books were *new*--she noticed a Collector's section. OOOOOooohhh. How did I miss this before? So that's where the old books were hiding!

Without boring you with titles of books I bought, I was happiest about these two. One was a beautiful hardback of Revivals of Religion by Charles Finney. The other was an incredible blue and gold hardback of Tennyson's Poems. *sigh*

At Sunday lunch, my dad was messin' with me... "Look me in the eye and say this without laughing, 'I am not obsessed with my 531 books.'" Of course, I kept laughing. The Little Brother started to make fun of me... until I mentioned his 35 knives. HA!

Later that day, the Other Brother defended me. "It's not 'obsessed', it's 'passionate!'" :) Exactly!

Most of ya'll know that I now work in the accounting field. How did I get there? Sometimes I wonder that myself. Here's my story.

I started out my working life at a greenhouse/landscape business, as a humble water girl. That meant hours and hours in the hot sun watering plants that were just gonna die anyway. :) Okay, so the water helped them keep on living. I felt like such a life-saver. *rolls eyes* :) But at least I got a really nice tan! After a couple years and six months before my graduation from high school, my employer asked me to work in the office. I believe my exact title was "office assistant." That was the time in which I got rid of my fear of the phone. lol :) Onward through the next few years and I moved on to another company where my exact title was, "secretary to the assistance vice president." It sounds more impressive than it was, though I did learn alot at that job--particularly how to persevere under trials.

And now to my current employer, I was a "receptionist" in name only for 4 1/2 years... doing mostly accounting work + answering the phones and generally doing waaaaay too much work for one person! Anyway, sometime in the last 3 months, I began the transition of my job from "receptionist" to "accounting assistant." I'm currently learning more about accounting (via online courses) than I've ever wanted to know! These are time-consuming classes so if I haven't talked to you for a couple months, accounting is probably one of the many reasons. :)

In reality, I can honestly say that I don't really have a career. I have a job that God has blessed me with and I have some skills that I've learned along the way. But a career? Naw, not really. I haven't devoted my life to the study of accounting... But I have devoted my life to follow God wherever He leads and do whatever He says. So if accounting is part of the journey, may God help me to do it well.

Amy Carmichael (missionary to India) wrote a little book called, "If." It's a whole book of prose with the same format. If I do something/act somehow/feel something, then I know nothing of Calvary love. The basic idea is that once I really understand the amazing sacrificial love of Christ, then I will also understand that selfishness is sin and selflessness is Calvary love.

I re-wrote some of the sayings from the book into more modern/understandable English for the youth. Here they are. Read & say "ouch". That's what I do. :)


If I can easily talk about the failures of others, then I know nothing of Calvary love.

If I can laugh at a joke at the expense of someone else, or somehow make them feel less valuable, then I know nothing of Calvary love.

If I can write, speak or think something mean, without feeling ashamed of myself, then I know nothing of Calvary love.

If I remember someone's confessed, repented and forsaken sin, and hold it against them in my mind, then I know nothing of Calvary love.

If I am afraid to speak the truth, because someone might not like me anymore, then I know nothing of Calvary love.

If I am afraid to hold someone to the standard of the Word, because it's so much easier to avoid it, then I know nothing of Calvary love.

If I hold on to my own choices, just because they're mine, then I know nothing of Calvary love.

If I am so obsessed with myself, that I hardly ever think a thought about anything else, then I know nothing of Calvary love.

If I cannot honestly be happy to be 2nd place or 20th place, then I know nothing of Calvary love.

If I figure out some spiritual thing that no one else can, and I forget that it is the Lord that reveals the deep mysteries to His unworthy servant, then I know nothing of Calvary love.

If I get offended easily, then I know nothing of Calvary love.

If a sudden jolt causes me to speak an impatient, unkind word, then I know nothing of Calvary love.

If I say, "I forgive, but I cannot forget," as though God couldn't wash the memories from my mind, then I know nothing of Calvary love.

If I make a big deal about the little problems of life, then I know nothing of Calvary love.

If people suffer right beside me, and I don't even know it, then I know nothing of Calvary love.

If there is a secret "but" in my prayer, "Anything but that, Lord," then I know nothing of Calvary love.

If things, places or people hold me back from obedience to my Lord, then I know nothing of Calvary love.

If I love to be loved, rather than to love, and to be served, rather than to serve, then I know nothing of Calvary love.

If I am careless about other people's hurts, and miss opportunities to help them, then I know nothing of Calvary love.

The reasons I love Texas:

1. Walker, Texas Ranger – need I say more? :)
2. It’s my birthplace.
3. The accent comes back as soon as I step foot in the state.
4. Texas was its own country.
5. GUNS.
6. Mexican food. and Tex-Mex food.
7. Keith Green is buried there.
8. They have the coolest flag ever.
9. Remember the Alamo!
10. Everything is bigger in Texas – especially the hamburgers.
11. The weather is hot, hot, HOT!
12. Spanish moss hangs off the trees.
13. Need entertainment on a road trip… count the oil wells!
14. Texarkana; the perfect blend of Texas and Arkansas. Okay, so I just think it's a cool word. :)
15. "Y'all" is a perfectly normal word to say.
16. Turn signals are optional.
17. Snow is a once-in-a-lifetime event.
18. There's a church (or two) on every corner.. though that might actually be a bad thing.
19. People, especially children or young people, actually say "yes, ma'am" and "yes, sir."
20. Texans got some state pride... sadly lacking in other states.
21. Everybody has an accent.
22. Grits. I like 'em.
23. Hush puppies. Food of my childhood. :)
24. Garden Valley... it's like the Mecca!
25. My very first memories were at church in Texas.
26. That's where my family met the Puhses--our oldest friends.
27. Leonard Ravenhill is buried there.
28. My parents met the Lord there.
29. Texas is bigger than most small countries.
30. Even after all this time (19+ years since we moved to PA), it still feels like "home."


But just to make sure y'all understand, I'm NOT thinking of moving away to Texas. Maybe I'll make a "PA - land that I love" post next. LOL

These are some of my notes from what I preached to the youth on Wednesday night. It really struck me how brutally honest David's prayers are in the book of Psalms. Now it seems like prayer has become such a romanticized, experience-oriented spiritual exercise. But that's not how it's supposed to be. Prayer is just a broken heart crying out to the Lord. All the Lord wants from us is our honest, sincere cries at all times.

Note: I read from the New Living Translation of the Bible on Wednesday (though my Bible is New American Standard, and I usually study with New King James version, too). I like how simple the Word is translated in the NLT, and sometimes you just gotta have the Word in the language of the people. :) Anyway, onward....


Ever feel this way…..
Overwhelmed?
Like no one cares what happens to me?
Very low?
Losing all hope?
Paralyzed with fear?
The depression deepens?
My heart is full of pain?
I’m fading like a shadow at dusk?
My heart is sick?
In the pit of despair?
Sinking into the mud and the mire?
Surrounded by too many troubles to count?
Like I cannot see the way out?
Like I’ve lost all my courage?
Poor and needy?
Overwhelmed by my troubles?
My heart is in anguish?
My heart is overwhelmed?
I’m sinking deeper and deeper?
Death itself stares me in the face?
In the depths of despair?

CRY OUT! – The answer is CRY OUT to the Lord!

Why?
Because you got to ask a question before you get an answer.
Because you got to ask for help before the Lord will be your help.
Silence gains nothing but silence.
But crying out to the Lord is the answer... or, maybe the way to the answer.

Remember those feelings that I talked about earlier? Let’s look at the person who felt like all those things above. It was David, the man after God's own heart! You say, "No, it couldn't have been him." Oh yes!

I Samuel 22:1 – David’s trouble in the cave
Psalm 142 – David’s prayer during that trouble.
That was David's response to his trouble. He was rejected by men, chased by his king, surrounded by four hundred losers. Yeah, life was looking a little desperate. So David cried out to the Lord.

What am I doing instead of crying out?
+ turn on the TV
+ call somebody to tell them all my troubles
+ or, talk to somebody online, or, text somebody
(why are we more comfortable baring our soul to a complete stranger/kinda friend, than we are telling the One who knows all things? OR, why are we so quick to tell a person, rather than the God who can deliver us?)
+ eat food
+ sleep
+ hurt my body (by cutting, inflicting pain, abusing my body in any way)
+ shopping
+ obsessing over somebody/anything

These are all symptoms of the same problem… we will not cry out to Christ!

What keeps me from crying out?
You’ll have to answer this question yourself.
- Pride?
- Shame?
- Deception by the enemy? (telling you lies about who God is, what He thinks of you and what He can/cannot do about your problems)

Lie #1 of the enemy – “God doesn’t care about me”

God’s Truth –
“Cast all your cares (anxiety) on Him, because He cares for you.”I Pet. 5:7

Lie #2 of the enemy – “God doesn’t care about my problems”

God’s Truth –
“You keep track of all my sorrows. You have collected all my tears in Your bottle. You have recorded each one in your book.” Psalm 56:8

Lie #3 of the enemy – “I’m not important enough for God to help”

God’s Truth –
“He will rescue the poor when they cry to Him; He will help the oppressed,
who have no one to defend them. He feels pity for the weak and the needy,
and He will rescue them. He will save them from oppression and from
violence, for their lives are precious to Him.” Psalm 72: 12-14

Lie #4 of the enemy – “God doesn’t want to hear about my problems.”

God’s Truth
“Cast your burden(s) on the Lord and He will sustain you…” Ps. 55:22

When do I cry out?
- “All day long” (Ps. 86:3)
- “Morning, noon and night” (Ps. 55:17)
- “in the day of my trouble” (Ps. 86:7)
- “In the day and in the night” (Ps. 88:1)
- “In their trouble” (Ps. 107:6, 13, 19, 28)
- “All night long” (Ps. 77:2)

How do I cry out?
- Out loud (Ps. 55:17)
- Taking all my troubles to Him (Ps. 142:2)
- Praising as I speak (Ps. 66:17)
- Without holding back (Ps. 77: 1)
- Keep on pleading (Ps. 88:13)

What’s the result of me crying out?
- He hears (Ps. 55:17 ---and A LOT more Scriptures, like in my Bible)
- He answers (Ps. 3:4, Ps. 31, Ps. 120:1)
- He gives help (Ps. 18:6)
- He restores my health (Ps. 30:2)
- He sets me free from all my fears (Ps. 34:6)
- He gives me the strength I need (Ps. 138:3)
o “makes me bold with strength in my soul” (NAS)
- He makes me “radiant with joy” (Ps. 34:5)
o causes me to live in joy (Ps. 69:32, Ps. 30:-12)

READ Psalm 143... and Cry Out to the Lord!

"You can do more than pray, after you have prayed, but you cannot do more than pray until you have prayed."--John Bunyan

“We are a non-violent youth group.”

These were my words of warning to one of the guys at youth group last night. He was considering “pelting” another youth in the hackeysack circle. The funny thing is, we really are a violent youth group. Well, in a rough-and-tumble kind of way. We try not to knowingly inflict pain on one another, but the guys like to wrestle around. So I pretty much let them tumble, as long as they leave the girls alone and as long as they’re not being unsafe.

Five minutes after refereeing the almost-pelting incident, I had a brilliant idea! I picked up the bag of marshmallows from the snack table (we had s’mores for snack) and quietly handed a couple marshmallows to one of the guys standing beside me. I informed him that he could “pelt” anyone who dropped the hackeysack…. and of course, it only took one pelting and the marshmallow fight began! Marshmallows flew back and forth across the room. People took cover behind each other, trash cans... one girl even hid under the table!! When a marshmallow hit somebody (most of the time, it just hit the wall behind them), the looks on their faces were priceless--this strange mixture of shock and surprise! LOL Awesome. Of course, I was only watching... and giving ammo to the ones who couldn't find marshallows. :) Evil, aren't I? There was one marshmallow that just stuck to the wall until somebody took it down and threw it again, and then it stuck to another wall. I just watched and laughed, and laughed some more!! :)

After awhile, the chaos subsided... but the laughter continued. Nothing like a little "good, clean violence" to break the ice.



Disclaimer #1: Nobody was harmed in the making of this blog entry.
Disclaimer #2: Yes, we did clean up the mess.

I'm dying at the altar again today.
I've climbed upon the cross again today.
I'm entrusting my soul to You today.
I count all things as loss for You today.

I'm forgetting the past again today.
I'm reaching out for the prize again today.
I'm running the race for You today.
I cut off all ties but You today.

I'm denying the flesh again today.
I'm refusing desires again today.
I'm giving up treasures for You today.
I'm consumed in the fire of You today.

I'm rejoicing in hope again today.
I'm standing in faith again today.
I'm revelling in love of You today.
I know I won't stray from You today.