... or, "Things I Love about My New House"

• The sound of quiet waters from the nearby creek
• Two-story farmhouse style (good memories!)
• Super-nice little old ladies for neighbors
• A lilac bush
• The cozy new paint colors
• The afternoon sunlight in my bedroom
• In-town-but-not-on-a-hillside... You would have to see the town to fully appreciate this one.
• In-town-but-not-surrounded-by-too-many-people. After living on a mountain, towns can be quite a shock. My street is calm, with only a few houses! Yes!
• A front porch
• Walking distance to a beautiful park… and a parkside café with good ice cream!
• The thrilling concept of my own mailbox
• A faux fireplace (it’s better than no fireplace!)
• Black-eyed susans

I'm not even moved in yet. We are diligently working at completing important projects before move-in. Yeah, it's a time crunch. But just after spending hours there working, these things have made me happy.

• Make jokes about my "free pen," being famous and my identity (any aliases?) during house closing.
• Crawl in a crawl-space underneath my house looking for the water shutoff valve. In between avoiding thoughts of spiders and snakes, I was thinking "Where's a husband when you need him?"
• Direct the army of volunteers in cleaning, painting and otherwise transforming my house. Yes, I bought them pizza. Yes, they ate it all. :)
• Scrub-a-dub-dub. My manicure now looks like grub. However, it's amazing what a little soap and elbow grease will do to a kitchen floor and bathtub.
• Meet the neighbors. And smile at the charming Little Old Ladies neighbors, who I believe will be my greatest house asset. Can you say 24 hour security system? :)
• Smirk at the Lowe's guy after pushing a pile of paint sample orders across the counter. "Soooo... should I come back in about a half hour?" Haha. His face was priceless.
• Sing pretty worship songs with the girls while painting... and listen to The Little Bro joining in from another room.
• Wear long sleeves to church to cover the distracting paint & primer stains on my arms. I didn't mean to fall onto that wet paint.
• Name the unnamed sermon. I fondly referred to it as, "How Not to Be a Jerk."
• ZZZzzzzzzzzzzzz... And that is what Sunday afternoons are for!

I bought a house. Bless the Lord who gave it to me!!!

I am *almost* speechless. But there is a story behind this, so I gotta tell it. The story began five years ago. In 2003, I was renting a studio apartment, going to Bible school part-time, working as a receptionist full-time, involved in college ministry, worship and anything else I could be.

Someone's random comment sparked thoughts of buying a house. Even heard the Lord speak through a person and it was so real that it felt like a punch in the stomach? That was my feeling. I started thinking seriously about buying a house for the purpose of ministering to college girls.

"... But those who wait for the Lord, they will inherit the land." Psalm 37:9
In the margin of my Bible, there is written: 09/04/03 Promise for a house.

I should have paid attention to the first phrase of the verse and gotten a clue. But my soul was so excited about the promise, that I charged full-speed ahead into house buying preparations. There were financial limitations and other limitations, and doors kept closing at every turn. One possibility involved a land trust program, but since I only would've been purchasing the house structure--it didn't fit the promise that the Lord had given me. Finally, after months of frustration, I decided to move back to my parents' house in summer 2004. In my heart, I decided to put the dream on a shelf and forget about it. The next few years were filled with Bible school graduation, changes in ministry, learning things from the Word and growing in character ALOT. Then it happened again...

That punch-in-the-stomach Word from the Lord. In the end of July 2008, I felt the Lord leading me towards buying a house. My financial limitations had not changed much. But the timing of the Lord can change everything! Within two weeks, I prayed and thought and decided to buy a house. Within seven weeks, I closed the deal on the house and became a homeowner.

The question remains: Why the wait of five years? When God promises something, shouldn't it happen immediately? Obviously not. Actually, Hebrews 11 talked about those that hadn't received the promise during their lifetimes. Food for thought... Anyway, my immature response to the promise of God was to assume that He meant NOW. But He didn't.

And I understand that my action should've been prayer for direction, preparation and wisdom. But through all my ignorance, the Lord saw fit to do things HIS way anyway. I understand and see so clearly that five years ago, I was not ready for the responsibility of His promise fulfilled. Through the years, He's done some major changes in my thinking, lifestyle and heart. Here are a couple things that will directly affect my house.

Practical Virtue. Friends can testify to the fact that I was messy--REALLY messy--in the former keeping of my studio apartment. During those years, I was busy, for sure, and overcommitted and unaware of the virtue of a clean, welcoming, orderly house and how it pleases the Lord. Gradually, through the reading of the Word, the enlightening of the Holy Spirit, the iron sharpening of friends, and a little trial and error, I started to give attention to virtuousity (my word). This involves so much more than just cleaning though. It's hospitality, and unselfishness, and taking care of others' needs, and keeping a beautiful home, and being disciplined in sleep, and willing to serve, and strong, and trustworthy and more. Though I'm not perfect now, my eyes have been opened.

Lifestyle Ministry, rather than Programmed Ministry. Back then, I still thought that if you planned ministry, it would be successful. Now I know that it is only by the power of the Spirit that people's lives are changed, and I am only a vessel. Jesus' disciples lived with Him for three years and were radically different because of His life first and then His teaching. Now, I am not comparing my life to the discipleship of Christ. Don't misunderstand me. I'm just saying that I have learned that being an available vessel makes you ready to be used to help people. I never want programs to get in the way of ministering to souls.

Unselfishness. Two years of living independently can really do somethin' to ya. And for me, it only highlighted the selfishness of my heart. Then after living at home again for four years, and trying to learn how to serve others, the truth is evident; it's not about me. Every time I came home and made supper when my to-do list was a mile long, but my mom looked tired... I remembered that truth. And I learned, how can I serve others if I can't serve my own family? The Word says, "Do not look out for your own personal interests, but also for the interests of others.." Radical, earth-shattering, un-American-like concept. God is hopefully working unselfishness in me more and more.

Anyway, I hope you were blessed by reading this testimony of God's blessing to me. Be encouraged-sometimes God's promises are for LATER, not NOW... So keep on believing. He will accomplish what He has promised to you. :)

We interrupt our regularly-scheduled programming to bring you... HOUSE STUFF! Just in case you didn't know, I am buying a house today. So I gotta blog about that. But no worries, The Modesty Series will return in a few days!


Yesterday, alot of things happened. Awesome house-buying things. So when the reality of this monumental life-change began to set in, a particular Scripture verse kept echoing in my mind.

The issue of modesty isn't just about how much clothes we wear, but why we should wear clothes at all! (This is quite shocking, isn't it? I believe in getting to the heart of the matter). So we're gonna start this series at the beginning... of time, of people and of the Bible.
To bring you up to speed, I'll tell the story quickly. God created man and woman. They were sinless. They lived in paradise. There was no modesty, because there were no clothes.

"And the man and his wife were both naked and were not ashamed."
Genesis 2:25

I can hear the liberals screaming now. "See!!! Nudity was God's idea!!" Hold on a minute. Let's look at the rest of the story: Sin happened.

"Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves loin coverings."
Genesis 3:7

The first impulse of sinful man was to cover himself. To put on some clothes!! Because without sin, there is no lust. Without lust, there is no shame in nakedness. But now that sin has entered the world, covering one's body is instinct.

Modesty is necessary because of man's sin nature.

Side note: Sometimes girls like to put off their responsibility to dress modestly by saying, "Well, it's not my problem if the guys can't keep their mind outta the gutter!" May I suggest that according to these Scriptures, it is your problem! It is the sin nature of all mankind that made modesty necessary. Take some responsibility, ladies, and cover yourselves!!

Modesty. This poor word has been maligned and twisted and mocked in popular culture. It's probably right up there with "abstinence" as the most hated words of our time. And that's why I'm gonna talk about it! Well, actually I'm gonna talk about it because modesty is a command of the Lord. And I'm serious about obeying the Lord in everything--even the tough parts.

Modesty. Are you shuddering yet? I'll just have to keep saying the word... Modesty is a concept that seems to have disappeared from our modern world, and to our shame, from the Church. I can't count the times that I've been scrolling through pictures on Facebook of Christian friends and quickly glanced over my shoulder to see if my brother was nearby. Or a girl walks into church and I subconsciously check my own shirt to see if I am covered properly. Because of Christians' shameless clothing, I am ashamed. Christian girls wearing miniskirts and bikinis and low-cut shirts---clothing in which my face would flame in embarassment to be caught wearing in front of any man of God, not to mention my holy Lord. Almost daily I am shocked by the degradation of true feminism. Girls making themselves into objects of lust and inordinate desires because of the clothing they wear.

Modesty is relevant because I can't walk through the grocery store checkout line without turning my face away from some half-(or less)dressed girl on a magazine cover. I can't watch a movie without realizing that I couldn't dress like that. Many times I have preached the Word in youth group and been saddened by seeing someone who needs more clothes.

Modesty is about humility. Modesty is about self-control. Modesty is about unselfishness. Modesty is about loving the Body. Modesty is about holiness. Modesty is about obedience.

Modesty isn't some fringe/freak show thing for the Amish or the Mennonites. Modesty is about putting attention back where it belongs--on Christ and His Gospel.

I encourage you to stick around as we look at the Word in the next few days... and see what the Lord has to say about modesty.

Standing in constant rain to watch a high school football game. Sipping hot chai while chatting about the dangerous obsessions of pop culture. Throwing two touchdown passes in a flag football game on a "field" lighted only by nearby parking lot lights. Uncontrollable laughter while playing Xbox as my racecar burst into flames. Being startled by a deer on the mountain during my zombie-ish drive home... Reading design books enroute to Hershey Park. "Why do I torture myself like this?" thoughts during the upward climb of a roller coaster. Viewing strange native American animals in the small zoo park. The Mom's disappointment when she dropped souvenir cups into the prairie dog area--distracted by my prairie dog barking. Having deep conversations with a parrot. Entranced by grey wolves and Canadian lynx. Vehemently refusing to ride the newest CRAZY rollercoaster. Getting my picture taken with a celebrity--the giant Hershey's chocolate bar!! :) The surprising best ride of the day: The "Howler," which made me so dizzy that I couldn't walk a straight line! Late night/early morning baking brownies... Playing the small keyboard for worship (different, but fun!). The last message in the pride & humility series. People, people everywhere at the picnic on the mountain. Deep conversations in the apartment about short engagements, chick flicks and setting standards. Wandering around in my tired state. Supplying various girls with weather/hiking appropriate clothing. Roasting marshmallows at a bonfire in the *early* evening. Smashing peanut shells with The Namesake girlie.... This blog entry has made me tired. I think I need a nap.

"Humor is the spiciest condiment in the feast of existence. Laugh at your mistakes, but learn from them, joke over your troubles but gather strength from them, make a jest of your difficulties but overcome them."

Anne of the Island by L.M. Montgomery

This has been running through my head for days. It's the last lines of a song I wrote on Saturday. I guess there are worse things to have stuck in my head. :)

By Your grace
Through Your blood
You will make me overcome...

Friday evening I was an almost-photographer. Then my subject backed out at the last minute because of scheduling conflicts. I called another subject, but they were busy, too. So I was stuck at the coolest photo background place yet (Boalsburg Military Museum) with myself running back and forth between tripod and place of photo, and taking photos of myself. Annoying, and not really nice either. Especially I had just come from the gym and was still in workout clothes. Ugh... I'll chalk that one up to 'at least I got some experience.'

Saturday, the family and I were supposed to go to Hershey Park. It was our consolation prize instead our planned-then-cancelled family vacation to Prince Edward Island. Which I can't be bitter about that being cancelled, because I'm buying a house and ya know, no vacations this year is just financial reality. Seriously though, you'd think the weather could cooperate so we could ride rollercoasters and have the best chocolate milkshakes on the planet. But NOOOOOO. Rain, wind advisories and flood watches destroyed that plan. The result: The Little Bro slept alot (recovering from youth guys' Xbox overnighter), my parents worked all day and I read books and packed boxes for moving. I was pleasantly surprised to discover that through the last few years, I have accumulated alot of useful kitchen stuff. So the establishment of my own household won't be quite as bare-bones as I thought! Oh yes, and I wrote a song, too. And recorded it.


Sunday morning, at worship practice before church, I'm just minding my own business, playing the keyboard and singing "God is good, all the time..." And all the sudden, I see a little red-headed girl skipping past the doorway. I keep singing and a minute later, she skips by again. I don't know why, but I found this unexpectedly hilarious. I couldn't sing anymore. I had to stop the song and explain the funnyness to The Little Bro (who was on drums). Except I couldn't stop laughing for a full minute to explain it. There were actually tears.. Wow. Okay then.


This reminds me of something that happened at youth group last week. We were worshipping. It's only me on keyboard for youth worship. We were in the middle of a song, in the middle of line, and *CRASH* the keyboard collapses underneath my hands. After a second of stunned silence, I just kept going and moved over the other keyboard and finished the worship service.. The keyboard stand just wasn't tightened enough-my fault. Ah yes, ministry is interesting. :)

Anyway, during the rest of Sunday, I had the privilege of spending time with two lovely young ladies and my family. We went for a walk by the river, made microwave s'mores, watched some Walker, talked about the Word, experienced the joy of the hot tub, and generally had a wonderful time.

Blogging has become quite the modern phenomenon. Never before in history have the intimate thoughts of regular people been so accessible to the general public. Since I'm a blogger and a Christian really concerned about obeying the Lord, I thought I'd share my thoughts on blogging Biblically.

1. Keep Your Priorities Straight. In my life, almost everything comes before blogging. My personal time with God, my family, my service in the church, my job, and my current educational pursuits all have higher priority. So when life gets crazy and I don't blog, I don't feel bad about it. At least I try not to. :)

2. Don't Vent... If you have a problem with a person, talk directly to that person. DON'T BLOG ABOUT IT! Talking to the entire general public (what blogging is) instead of the person about a certain situation is a violation of the Matthew 18 principle. You must go to your brother in private, then with one or two, then before the church. Never expose your brother's (or your parents' or your friends' or anybody else's) sins on your blog.

3. Remember, Anybody Can Read. This includes your future bosses, your enemies, your parents, your pastors, complete strangers, criminals and weirdos. Just ask yourself if you would be embarassed or ashamed if any particular person read that post. If there is any question about the appropriateness of your post, err on the side of caution and don't post it!

4. Be Slow to Speak. A blog post written in the heat of passion (whether anger or any other emotion) is probably going to be regretted. Try to write only when you're level-headed, not tired, irritable or under the influence of caffeine. :)

5. Write Understandably. No one will be able to be edified from your blog if they can't understand what you are saying. Write clearly. Use punctuation and correct spelling (there's a cool little button called 'spell check'). Avoid using the same words over and over. Alot of grammatical mistakes happen because people are lazy. Do everything, even writing a blog entry, as unto the Lord.

5. Glorify God. Everybody fits into the Body of Christ differently. And I'm sure that everyone's blogs are different. Some are wordy. Some are short'n'sweet. Some are obsessed with numerical lists--like me! But all should bring glory to God.

If you're gonna blog, then do it well. Do it to glorify God.

* P.S. to my youth people. Reminder: Your blog is (like you) submitted to your parents. Make sure you're talking with them about what personal details they would/would not like for you to reveal online. Be obedient. Give them a link to your blog. Remember, your life is an open book before your parents.

Everybody is different. Everyone has different personal tendencies. One of mine is that I see things in black-and-white. It's hard for me to be cold about anything. I'm always white-hot and passionate about something. Sometimes this is a good trait. And sometimes it just leads me wrong.

The negative part is that I often fall into obsession. My passion and delight will soon become consuming. I will take something--be it a hobby or object or habit--and throw myself whole-heartedly into it, so much that the more important things are left behind or only pursued in a cursory way. The dangerous part of this tendency is that I have often been led into idolatry. And usually I am unaware that some thing besides my Lord has taken my affection. I remain ignorant until the Light of the Holy Spirit floods my soul and shows me the true Way that I ought to be walking.

Usually these idols are things that bring me pleasure. Good things. Not sinful in and of themselves, but it is the obsession of them that makes them abominable to Christ. Usually these things are the "candy" of life. Great in small doses, but destructive as a steady diet.

This week, the Holy Spirit pressed me about one particular area. The example: He showed me that my thoughts were being drawn away from the Word and away from spiritual things. My meditations, involuntary thoughts, first morning thoughts, daydreaming thoughts, last evening thoughts... were not His. What made my soul feel good and what really was good were two entirely different things. "But as for me, the nearness of God is my good..." Psalm 73:28 shook me and woke me from my slumber and reminded me that it is only the presence of God that brings good to me.

May no pleasure of this world, no person, no thing, no time-consuming hobby, no earthly delight, no ministry responsibility, no possession even that which the Lord gave me, no dream of my soul, no friend, no talent or special gifting, may nothing else steal my affection and whole-hearted devotion to the Master of my life.

Summer has officially come to an end. Orion has reappeared on the southeast horizon. And school started, too. But that doesn't make any difference to me.

I heard a coyote howling last night. Scared me half to death, because it sounded so close-like right underneath my window!

My "new" chair rocks. Literally. Cause it's a rocking chair. *falls over laughing *.... Oh geez. It's so interesting-looking (read: semi-ugly). Well, until I put it in my living room and it matched perfectly. And the other grand thing about this chair is the comfortability factor. The first time I sat in it, I wanted to take a nap. The first time The Dad sat in it, he told a very long, very lame joke about a farmer. The punch line was "Comfortable/Come-for-da-bull." LOL Oh geez.

The Sis is on vacation. Away from civilization. Out of cell phone range. Why, why, WHY?!! I need to discuss things with her...

Like paint colors. I'm finally seeing the light at the end of the tunnel on design themes. Six girls on my apartment floor on Sunday night with design magazines spread all over the place did help. :) I have the ideas that I like, and the color families, not specific colors. There's like a billion paint colors. And I have almost that many paint chips laying around the house.... And I have a tendency to be influenced by the descriptive paint color names, like "Cut Ruby." Doesn't that sound beautiful?

"God will promote those who promote Christ." I heard this on a sermon tape early Sunday morning and it immediately came back to me when I heard about the spiritual 'promotion' of a friend. Congratulations to you!

Pride & humility are the themes that God is speaking to our Body right now. At this moment, I'm listening again to The Pastor's most-recent sermon. Yeah, technology is great. Best quote of the sermon: "I would rather give my kids wine today, than feed them pride." -The Pastor. And if you don't know, we're all very anti-drinking-alcohol. So that was huge. Pride is deadly and destructive. God is truly showing us the gravity of this sin.

And that's enough of my rambling for now.