We interrupt our regularly scheduled programming to bring you, “Youth Group Love.”

Just in case you are a new reader to the blog… I have the amazing and awesome opportunity to be responsible for a group of wild & crazy teenagers!! I get to plan events for them, preach to them, pray for them, worship with them and generally watch God transform their hearts & lives. It. Is. AWESOME. Sometimes, it is insanity. But the rewards are innumerable. My heart leaps with joy when a youth testifies about something God revealed to them. I am nearly moved to tears when I listen to the earnest prayers of a young person. And sometimes, throughout the week, I smile just thinking about them. :)

We wanna give the youth group some love!!!

Preaching. I noticed a trend. In (almost) every sermon, there is included some random—usually violent—fact or news story. Me + Google = Weird information. Aaaaaand, I tend to tell at least one story about how I was inadvertently injured. Like on Wednesday, I talked about pacing and praying as a teenager, and walking into a shelf on the wall. Yeah, I happen to injure myself often, so I have a lot of stories…. Case-in-point, last night I drew blood twice and fell down the stairs twice. No blood from the falls, though I did ruin a pair of brand-new socks! Darn it! (congrats if you caught the pun)… Maybe stories for next week? :)

Talking. The Chatty Girl talks the most. The Sparkly Girls gets the most excited while talking. The Curly Girl smiles the most while everyone else talks. The Green-Eyed Girl does the unique “umm/laugh” combination that I do while I preach. Hmmm. Did I get it from her or did she get it from me? That is the question…

Uniqueness. It’s the quiet ones you gotta worry about. Like one guy is gonna major in Computer Security in college. A.k.a., anti-hacking. Makes me wonder what he does in his spare time… Kidding! Or the girl who raises sheep and one particular sheep gave birth to lamb triplets! And she informed me that if you wash a sheep, it does NOT shrink. Cuz I was wondering. :) Or the kid with the fixation with fairness. Hilarious because he walked around the church three times the other day, asking if anyone wanted the rest of a Tootsie Roll. Just eat it already! :)

Affection. One girl doesn’t like hugs. Yeah, I used to be like that, too—so I offer her a hug, just to see the look on her face! Classic! And the guys just beat each other up to express affection. At least, I’m hoping they are expressing affection and not animosity. :)

Besides the ever-present humor and hilarity, there is always a spiritual work going on in the youth. May God give them grace to lift a standard of holiness and radical faith in their generation!

"Let no one look down on your youthfulness, but rather in speech, conduct, love, faith and purity, show yourself an example of those who believe."
1 Timothy 4:12

Musings on Singleness: Purity

I find it slightly humorous that the Bible tells young people to be an “example of the believers” in purity according to 1 Timothy 4:12. In a time of our lives when hormones are running wild and some religious sects find it acceptable for young people to “sow their wild oats,” God’s standard is set higher!

With that in mind, we should take our pursuit of purity very seriously. 2 Timothy 2:22 says to “Flee youthful lusts.” Flee means literally to run away! If you have somehow found yourself placed in a situation that would compromise your purity, do not stay and talk about it—run away! That is the honorable and strong thing to do. Joseph did it in Genesis 39, even running so fast that he left his coat behind. Now there was a man intent on pleasing God!

You ought to set standards for yourself, to guard your heart and mind from sexual lust. Maintaining purity takes preparation and strength to walk away from un-edifying situations. People have taken some extreme measures to keep their minds and hearts clean. I know unmarried women who can't and won't watch chick flicks, because it inspires jealousy and feelings that make contentment difficult. Personally, I tend to cover my eyes or look away during kissing scenes. I know---so immature! lol But I figure, if I can't kiss anyone, I don't wanna watch anyone else kissing. I don’t think kissing scenes are necessarily evil. But sometimes, I just can’t handle it.

Everyone is different, so I’m not going to tell you where the line is. However, I do believe there are some Scriptural principles that can be applied generally.

I've said this before and I say it again. It is NEVER right to watch anyone take part in sexual activities. It seems harsh written in black-and-white English, but this seems to be easily justified in the media-driven morally bankrupt world that we live in these days. I'm not just talking about pornography!! (though that is evil!!) I'm talking about those scenes of undressing and implied sex in PG-13 movies. I'm talking about prime-time television that includes endless sexual references and again, undressing and implied sex. The justification comment that I always hear is "But you don't actually SEE anything!" Does that really matter? Your mind is already led astray by the implication. Your heart has already been led into lust. Why split hairs about it?

Or, another justification, "but it's between married people!" Let me try to be tactfully blunt here. It would be sinful to invade any married couple's bedroom and watch them have sex. Watching it on a television is no different. Not only is the marriage bed to be kept pure, I believe it should be guarded. Marriage is a covenant between God and that man & woman. No one else gets involved.

While we're talking about purity in mind, we might as well talk about reading materials. For sure, we should avoid any "porneia" or sexually themed materials. For girls, there are alot of temptations in this area because the world equates romance with sex. This includes popular novels, like The Notebook, even many so-called "Christian" romance novels are waaaay too impure for me, and also trashy "lifestyle" magazines like Cosmopolitan or Redbook, etc. These magazines are often of the soft-core pornography variety, talking about how to have sex and why to have sex and many many things that are NOT edifying to someone trying to live as an example in purity.

“Let marriage be held in honor among all, and let the marriage bed be undefiled, for fornicators and adulterers, God will judge.”
Hebrews 13:4

It seems that the endless barrage of sexual material that is leveled against us in this world. Even unknowingly, it cheapens our view of sex. And in turn, it cheapens our view of God’s holy institution of marriage.

"Keep the marriage bed pure" starts during singleness. It begins with the mind ( for as a man thinks in his heart, so is he) and ends with the actions. Do whatever is necessary to keep yourself pure. Even run away! :) Now that is honorable.

Musings on Singleness: Contentment

Contentment is the attitude that should be associated with waiting.

Often we singles (especially the ladies) see the rosy, beautiful, chick-flick version of romance and are longing for it. The world is constantly pushing romance and relationships and that perfect kiss at the end of the chick flick, etc. We all should be familiar with this concept after the Valentines’ Day overkill!While I remain a romantic at heart, I can honestly say that romance is not the answer to all life’s problems. It is not really the desperate, all-consuming need of your heart.

The truth is… your deepest longing is for fellowship with God. Sin has separated us from Him. We need to reconciled to the Father through the finished work of Christ on the cross. And no romance is gonna do that work. The hole in your heart… is not for “The One” or your soulmate or anything of that nature. That’s a lie of the enemy!

Let’s say that you are a Christian, walking in fellowship with Jesus. And you see Godly marriages around us and it inspires a longing for the same. Like I said before, the desire for marriage is God-given! It’s not evil or sinful or any such thing! 1 Corinthians 7 states clearly that if man marries, he is not in sin.

The only danger lies within our hearts. Discontentment can rear its ugly head. And while the Lord may have destined us for marriage in the future, the danger is that we may become too busy longing for that season to be of any use in the kingdom of God now.

“But godliness is a means of great gain, when accompanied by contentment.”
1 Timothy 6:6

“Not that I speak from want, for I have learned to be content in whatever circumstances I am.”
Philippians 4:11

Throughout Scripture, contentment is spoken of most often in the context of money. And that is certainly something we must be content about. I think the principle can also extend to our attitudes in the situations we are in relationally. Constantly looking forward to another season can be as great a hindrance as constantly looking back.

“But Jesus said to him, ‘No one, after putting his hand to the plow and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God.”
Luke 9:62

Fit means usable, useful, or of any value. If we are putting our hands to the plow and then looking away, we will become useless in the kingdom of God! Contentment guards our head, our eyes, our focus and keeps us looking at eternal things. There is great gain in contentment during this season of singleness. Great gain for us spiritually, but more importantly, great gain for the kingdom of God.

Musings on Singleness: Waiting

If trust is the biggest issue for singles, waiting comes as a close second. I’ve been singing and humming and otherwise, listening to this song repeatedly (in my head, since I don’t have the album) in the last few weeks. You may recognize it from the montage during Fireproof the Movie. The lyrics speak to me deeply.

While I’m Waiting by John Waller
I'm waiting
I'm waiting on You, Lord
And I am hopeful
I'm waiting on You, Lord
Though it is painful
But patiently, I will wait

I will move ahead, bold and confident
Taking every step in obedience
While I'm waiting I will serve You
While I'm waiting I will worship
While I'm waiting I will not faint
I'll be running the race
Even while I wait

I'm waiting
I'm waiting on You, Lord
And I am peaceful
I'm waiting on You, Lord
Though it's not easy
But faithfully, I will wait
Yes, I will wait
I will serve You while I'm waiting
I will worship while I'm waiting on You, Lord…

I’m trying so hard to strike the right chord with this series. Because I feel like I’ve gone through every one of these struggles and temptations. I have assumed that I knew the will of God—and was wrong. I have cried myself to sleep at night. I have bowed my knees in prayer, struggling with consecration, giving my dreams up to the Lord and then fighting the same battle yet another week. I have looked at happily married couples and wondered when and if and how this will ever happen to me. I have filled journals with the Scriptures of promise, and my “tortured poetry” (slightly tongue-in-cheek). I have been weak and been strong. I have been foolish and I have been wise. I have silenced my feelings and I have been led by my feelings. These struggles are near to my heart. And yet there is hope for us in this season of waiting. There is always a sunrise to look forward to—even in the darkest night. This isn’t just about recognizing the tough times, but seeing those times through the light of Scripture.

Waiting is recognizing that God’s timing is different than our own. And being patient in the journey. Over and over again, I’ve been in prayer over some hope for marriage and 1 Corinthians 13 is impressed on my heart… but only one phrase, “Love is patient.”

A key verse in this season of waiting:

“And let us not lose heart in doing good,
for in due time we shall reap if we do not grow weary.”
Galatians 6:9

The enemy will come to attack our perspective and steal our perseverance. But when the time seems long and the journey seems difficult, this is when we must press on! In due time—in the Lord’s perfectly ordained season—we will reap. So just as the Word commands, let us keep doing good and serving and worshipping while we are waiting. Like Esther, we have been put in this world for such a time as this! Don't waste your waiting! Be busy doing the work of the kingdom! :)

Friday. The long-awaited Women’s Fellowship Nite at The Sis’ house. Full of womanly chatter, food, fun, a short-yet-sweet-and-edifying devotional, the Secret Sister reveal, and several energetic games of Apples to Apples. I WON a game!!! YES! And obviously, I’m not competitive at all—that trait came from my mom. After driving home, spent awhile playing melancholy music in a minor key on the piano. Perhaps melancholy isn’t the perfect word. Maybe intense? One roomie told me later that she fell asleep to sounds of piano music. Awwww. Saturday. Up semi-early making breakfast for the youth girls. As usual, there was fine china and silly discussions and good times. Eventually, we ended up watching old YFN videos and listening to music in my room. Soon the house was quiet again and I considered taking a nap. But Craigslist.com was calling: With an ad for slightly used, but still lovely vanity table. This required a quick road trip to the nearby ghetto (Williamsport) with The Mom. Funny topics of conversation: The new GPS system’s name is Gabby. They wanted to name it “Garth.” I just couldn’t reconcile that name with the computerized woman’s voice blabbering on about road names. Yes, I did buy that vanity! Vanity just sounds so unBiblical… Hmmm… Anyway, home for cooking seafood + pasta: delicious. Then I tried to watch a chick flick while writing the Musings on Singleness series. Haha! That didn’t work so well. I cite irreconcilable differences. :) I gave up and spent a few hours writing, studying, thinking musing, etc. Sunday. People think that church is just a two-hour service that you go to once a week. However, church is really a family of believers. Yes, we do gather together for church service. But that service is just a culmination of the relationships we have every day—our own relationships with God and our relationships with one another. Sunday morning is always a vibrant mix of conversations in the foyer, preaching, teaching, worship, testimonies from excitable people, prayer and laughter. Like The Pastor’s story about singing VeggieTales’ songs with a little girl on a school bus. “God is bigger than the Boogey-man!!” Hilarious!… It was another missions-focused Sunday. Which. Is. Awesome. We were able to number the missionaries that we’ll be supporting!! SOOO exciting! Then onward to lunch with the family for The Bro-In-Law’s birthday. Random chat with my old piano teacher. Sunday rest, a.k.a. NAP. Quiet evening hanging with the roommates as we read, wrote, texted and otherwise relaxed while getting spiritual food. I had books, journal, Bible, concordance and notes spread out all around ---> working on the Musings on Singleness series (this is becoming a theme). I have enough material to go at least one more week, maybe more. So stick around!!

* Sigh* Weekends are superior!

Sometimes singles don’t have much to trust God with. Or not much in the natural anyway. We don’t have families or a ton of responsibility or houses (well, some of us), so when we talk about trusting God with everything, it may seem a little stilted.

Yet trust is the BIGGEST issue to deal with during the season of singleness.

Why? Because this is about trusting God with the unknown journey of my entire life! I may not have a husband to give to Him for guarding—but right now, I’m giving any possibility of having a husband. I may not have children to entrust to Him—but right now, I’m entrusting whether I’m going to have children. I may not have a home of permanence—but right now, I’m entrusting any physical stability in this life to Him. I may not have twenty years in a career or, for that matter, twenty years spent keeping a home—but right now, I’m entrusting the entire course of my life to Him. This is about consecration, lordship, giving all. This is putting my Isaac on the altar and lifting my hand to kill. It is trusting God with every part of my life—known or unknown.

One of the most quoted verse on trust is Proverbs 3:5-6.

“Trust in the Lord with all your heart…”
According to Strong’s Concordance (my authority, since I am not a Hebrew scholar), trust means to trust, be confident or sure; be secure, careless, put confidence, (make to) hope, (put, make to) trust. Trust is me throwing all my confidence in God. Not myself. It is me being confident in the character of God, His goodness, the kind intention of His will toward me and trusting in Him to accomplish that will in my life.

“…And lean not on your own understanding…”
Sometimes I think—life would be so much easier for me, if I had a five, ten and twenty year plan! If the Lord would just reveal when and where and how my life would play out, I’m thinking there would be peace in my soul. My human intellect says that I must understand my ways, so that I can live correctly. I gotta know the plan! But then again, I don’t think an instant revelation of God’s will would be the healthiest thing for me. Where would be the joy and struggle and formation of my heart through the journey? How would I ever learn to trust God with the unseen?

“In all your ways, acknowledge Him…”
Trust is allowing and welcoming the Lord’s direction is every single area of my life. In all my ways. In everything I do, say, plan, purpose, will, accomplish and live. Trust is acknowledging that I am not the Master. God is the Master Planner of my life. He’s not just a little piece of my life. He directs it all.

“And He will direct your paths.”
The truth about trust is this. God never fails! NEVER! I trust Him with my life, and He will do right by me. God is not a man that He should lie. One of my favorite verses ever is 2 Timothy 2:13, “If we are faithless, He remains faithful, for He cannot deny Himself.” God’s character is such that it is impossible for Him to be unfaithful. Yes, He WILL direct my paths. I find great comfort in Psalm 23, which speaks the Shepherd’s care for His sheep. There are so many promises of God’s care for me during this chapter... He will provide all I need. He will bring me to a good place. He will protect me; I do not need to fear anything. He will comfort me. He will prepare a place for me. He honors me and blesses me abundantly! And the best part, “Surely goodness and mercy will follow me all the days of my life and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.”

Yes, the Lord will direct my paths into a good place. Even in marriage. His promise is completely trustworthy.

Musings on Singleness: Idolatry

This is always a big thing in the Church. Singles are weeping over their God-given desire for marriage and companionship. And quickly someone will point the finger and say, “Marriage is your idol!” At times, this may be a true statement. It was true for me.

One day, several years ago, the Lord dealt with me personally on this subject. He told me that I was not desiring His coming, because I wanted to get married first. That hurt. Because my misguided hope was sinful at the core. I had elevated a natural desire above what should have been my highest spiritual desire. The Lord’s strong rebuke rang loud and clear in my heart. And I repented for exalting marriage above my love for Christ.

Now I ask myself these questions: Can I honestly say, “Come quickly, Lord Jesus?” Is it my truest and strongest longing—to be with the Lord?

Other revealing questions to ask ourselves:

Do I cry about my lack of marriage, but remain stoic about spiritual things?
Do I constantly feel hopeless about marriage in my life?
Do I consider changing jobs/churches/ministry groups, not because the Lord is leading, but because it would seem easier to get a spouse?
Have I begun to listen to worldly voices regarding how/why/where to find relationships?
Am I obsessed with the thought of marriage?Do I continually create scenarios in my mind of “when I’m married…?”
Have I lowered my standards for a spouse wrongfully?
Have I considered dating unbelievers?
Do I have a wrong ideal of marriage as utopian or paradise? Do I act like marriage will solve all my problems?
Do I love the Lord with all my heart, all my soul and all my might? Do I love Him more than the thought/desire for marriage?

Idolatry is a deceptive sin. Today, let's allow the Lord to shine the light on our hearts. While He created marriage for the good of man and for His own glory, we can twist it for evil. Especially by exalting it above its rightful place. Love and seek God first.

"Therefore, my beloved, flee from idolatry."
1 Corinthians 10:14

"And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and all your soul and all your might."
Dueteronomy 6:5

Musings on Singleness: The Season

You will notice that I am talking about the season of singleness. In the Word, we see that some have been given the gift of celibacy (or permanent singleness). This is a grace-gift, meaning that the Lord gives supernatural ability for that particular person to live in celibacy. However, the fact is that a vast majority of people will marry. Even more revolutionary concept: I think that is God's will! From the beginning of time, the creation of the human race, God recognized the need for man to have a helpmate. He said, "It is not good for man to be alone." And all the singles said, "Amen!"

With that in mind, I am speaking most directly to people in a season of singleness, yet looking towards marriage. And while some possess the grace-gift of celibacy, we can rejoice in God’s promise of grace to ALL of us.

2 Peter 1:3 declares that “[God’s] divine power has granted to us everything pertaining to life and godliness…” This includes grace to live victoriously through the season of singleness. What a glorious promise! No matter what the temptations or trials or pressures or decisions, we can stand on the Word of God and remember that God has provided the grace in our time of need.

Think about that, talk about that, meditate about that, and praise God for that grace!! :)

The overwhelming topic of conversations lately seems to be marriage and love and singleness, etc. If it were springtime, I would blame it on that. "In the spring, a young man's fancy lightly turns to thoughts of love." (Tennyson quote) But actually, it is winter. It is not Seasonal Conversational Disorder. :)

I am hearing what is on the hearts of single people—Christian young men and women that sincerely want to please the Lord with their lives, and yet are struggling to silence their emotions long enough to hear from God! And I'm starting to realize how important this is. I’ve seen enough trouble and turmoil and even shipwreck in the faith because of this issue. Why is this so important? Because the single season is where most people mess up their lives. They can’t handle the pressure, or the desires, or the decisions, or the sexual temptations, or whatever, and they just give up/give in and walk away from the Lord. They stumble, fall and don’t get up again. It breaks my heart.

So now I get it. This. is. life-alteringly. important.

Through the exhortation of 1 Corinthians 7:35, it is clear that God has a specific mode of action for us single people. Undistracted devotion to the Lord. There is a right heart attitude and a right life action that is associated with the time & place that the Lord has put us. And as with every other spiritual truth, the enemy has deceptions and challenges placed before us to keep us from running and finishing this race well.

Through the next few days, I want to look at some specific topics that we deal with in the season of singleness. And how to be victorious. I don’t claim to have all the answers or be perfect or be super-strong or any such nonsense. Remember, I'm still single too! I got street cred in this area, for sure! But hopefully, from my honest heart to yours, we can apply Biblical perspective to these things and, hopefully, someone will benefit from these Musings on Singleness.

Sooooo. Recently, I discovered that I can get a good workout if I go to the gym on my lunch break. The gym is less than 5 minutes from my office. In the last few weeks, this plan has been working out (no pun intended) quite marvelously. In the course of my daily workouts, I've had some reasons to giggle. Here are a few:

Yesterday, I almost ran over a blind guy. I was engrossed in my driven weights workout—going from machine to machine—going a little too fast, as usual. I turned around and came within six inches of flattening him. And then for the rest of the workout, I thought about weird things like, “I guess the multitude of mirrors in this room does nothing for him!” and “I bet he’s not really blind: he’s just wearing those sunglasses and carrying a red stick so he can stare at people without them knowing!” Conspiracy theorist to the core. :)

I like the Incline Press machine. It reminds me of a roller coaster. In between sets, I’ll be resting, lost in my own thoughts, humming to myself and swinging my legs… and I like upside-down roller coasters. Where you can swing your legs. Get the connection?

Everybody looks so completely MISERABLE at the gym. And I find it humorous that people pay money to torture themselves physically (as I do the same thing). One day I decided that it was my ministry to smile at the gym. So I smile whenever I think about it. While trying to avoid eye contact with anyone. Because someone told me that guys are gonna think I’m flirting. And I don’t want them to think that! I just want people to look less tormented! It will improve general morale!

The Golden Girl roomie and I were on treadmills side-by-side and discovered a revolutionary concept: effortless calorie-burning! It goes something like this: Step on treadmill, start treadmill, step off treadmill as treadmill continues to run, watch calorie burner increase… 25-26-27…300! :) Hahaha...

A.k.a. Weekend in Review

1. A Treasure Hunt. My “secret sister” is so creative! She organized a treasure hunt that began with a note taped to my car window and ended with a gift & a big red bow! I was simply ecstatic about a little note, but it got even better….

2. A Porch Swing! Yeah, it’s 20 degrees outside right now. But that porch swing will soon adorn my porch! Have I mentioned that my “secret sister” rocks? Cause she does. I (heart) porch swings. They remind me of lazy summer days at my childhood home. And honeysuckles. And good friends. :)

3. Tract Evangelism. On Friday night, we went downtown to witness. People ignored us, threw tracts in the trash and rolled their eyes. But they also read and walked, discussed the law of God with their friends and put tracts in their pockets. As I encouraged the youth, “Even if they only read the title, and thought about eternity for one second, that’s a seed God can use!”

4. Piano Practice. Late at night. Or during the day. When nobody’s home. Or when a roomie is busy. Doesn’t matter. I love my piano. And I even love annoying scales. And simple classical music from back in the day. And songs that I almost don’t remember writing.

5. Babysitting Little Girlies. Snuggling on the couch with books about ladybugs & goldfish, playing Hungry Hippos, Candyland and peek-a-boo, singing Christmas carols and dancing in the kitchen. And listening wide-eyed to the chatter of a three-year-old with a large vocabulary and even larger memory.

6. Bible Teachings Online. I nod, laugh, “amen” out loud in an empty room, wince, concentrate with intensity, remember, raise eyebrows quizzically, giggle and sigh. Nothing can liven up boring computer work like a good sermon!

7. Roses. Beautiful cream-colored roses with magenta edges that I gave away to the unmarried ladies of the church. I (heart) Valentines’ Day… if, for no other reason, than the fact that I can give roses to my friends. :)

8. Missions Conference. LOTS of teaching about missions and the Gospel and stories about missions!! Pleasantly surprised to learn that I have an awesome missions book in my library yet unread. And though I might have looked a little ‘out of it’ towards the end of Sunday morning’s message—not enough sleep—I was actually deep in thought about missions giving. God is doing great things!

9. House Party! At Hidden Haven (a.k.a. my parents’ mountaintop home). It is hidden. This is why we give out printed directions to newcomers. It was a potluck, which meant extra tables throughout the kitchen/dining area, last-minute preparation of extra food, animated discussions that sounded bad but were actually edifying. People scattered about the house (and outside, too), listening to music, losing at pool, watching good movies, shooting guns, munching, talking, laughing, taking pictures, staying late. Most hilarious moment: The guys setting off a half-stick of dynamite in the front yard. Seriously!

10. An Obsession with Lists. Only *I* would make a list within a list. I spent Saturday night at my parents’ house, and it made me remember some more things that I miss about “home.” Their home, not my new home. 1) LONG drives before/after church. Which usually mean deep discussions and/or dozing. 2) The woodstove. Falling asleep by firelight. 3) The abundance of semisweet chocolate chips. So we can make chocolate chip cookie dough any time we want. This weekend we didn’t—though it was discussed—but it’s the possibility that comforts me. :) Good times with family.

I’ve been on a blogging sabbatical for the last few days, because the laptop is at the computer doctor. Still there. I have to blog quickly before work. Gah. Anyway, we are praying for a speedy and semi-painless recovery. Poor little thing.

Computer problems are sad because I was planning on rambling about Valentines’ Day for a few posts. Yes, that awful day for singles and ooey-gooey romantic day for couples everywhere. I am just amazed by the variety of reactions caused by this Hallmark holiday. People wanna boycott social events, gorge themselves on chocolate and maybe even contemplate suicide. There is just so much wrong with that. Except maybe a (little) chocolate.

In light of these desperate and depressed typical actions, I will point singles to my Valentines’ Day post from last year…

http://jewelsoftruth.blogspot.com/2008/02/valentines-day.html

And suggest a few ways to get your eyes off of yourself & your so-called “hopeless” single existence.

1. Give Gifts to Others. For years, I have done something for all the single girls in the church. A rose or chocolates or a framed Scripture. Something to encourage and edify and remind them that God has their future in His hands.

2. Consider True Love. Not Hollywood, happily-ever-after love, but the God-kind of love. Agape. The kind of love that compelled Christ to lay down His life for us. The kind of love that we love one another with. One Valentine’s Day, the youth group had a “What Is Love?” banquet. Fun times of getting dressed up, eating great food and talking about God’s definition of love. My suggestion: Read 1 Corinthians 13, and maybe the booklet “If” by Amy Carmichael.

3. Serve Married Couples. By babysitting little children so parents can go out for Valentines’ Day! This is my plan for this Valentines’ Day…. If nothing else, it will give me thankfulness for the benefits of my current season of life… All while sighing over the cuteness of married couples. :)

4. Get Spiritual (Not Carnal)! Gather a group of people together and talk about the Word, worship God and pray. How perfect to remember the greatness of God and the smallness of me. And to get some spiritual edification! This is very good.

As Christians, we are innately different in our perspective than the world. Even—or especially—in times like Valentine’s Day. Our lives do not revolve around whether or not we have found the “perfect” spouse to complete us. We know that Christ Himself has completed us, made us righteous and given us new life. Everything good (including marriage) is just a bonus.

Praises to the perfect, awesome, wonderful Lord of Lords!!!

“I don’t like hot things.” –The Little Bro… while sitting in the hot tub. Oh, the irony.

“Ugh. She is such a bad actor.” –The Dad critiquing people on Walker, Texas Ranger.
“So is Chuck Norris. But he does the spinning round kick. So we forgive him.” -Me

“If you want more information, you’ll have to subpoena it!” –The Dad shutting down an insurance agent with knowledge acquired from Law & Order episodes. Heck yeah!

“This is the worst day of the year.” –Little Bro whispering because of sickness.
“There’s only one month so far.” –Me
“This is the worst day of this year AND last year.” –Little Bro

“Take one down, pass it around… a bottle of oil. We’re not heathens here!” –The Pastor
Yes, he really did say that during a church service.

“Dysfunction is just another word for SIN!” –The Pastor quoting Dr. Dobson.

“Do you want a fish?” –The Pastor sharing candy.

“If we start the movie now, it will be over at 1:00 am.” –The Butterfly Girl.
“I can’t survive on 4 hours of sleep.” -Me

“Squash, squash, squash, squash, squash…” –Me
“You look like you have Tourette’s.” –The Golden Girl

“So are we gonna get ice cream or are we just gonna talk about it?” I don’t remember which roommate said that. The important part was that we got ice cream. :)

“Ah. Stupid!... No, no... I Will. Not. Curse. This. Computer!” –Me. Frustrated with technology.

Friday. Doing a frenzied house-cleaning so I could go to the mountaintop for the night. Straightening up and cooking, like I had never left. :) Happy suppertime with the family. And then, enjoying the icy winter cold. I had been soooo excited because of the clear, cloudless sky. Perfect for star-gazing from the hot tub. I didn't realize that the moon was almost full, which meant bright moonlight reflecting off the snow---too bright to see anything besides Orion and a dipper. Oh well. Back inside by the fire. And falling asleep to Fireproof.

Saturday. Fighting with the laptop. Reading a whole book. Uploading old YFN videos. Taking care of the sick and/or miserable Little Bro, which included but was not limited to giving him cool washcloths, supplying vitamins and hot lemon tea, making chicken noodle soup, and reading "Christ the Healer" aloud. Baking apple dumplings. Playing the piano. Finding an old journal. Taking a "little hike" with my dad. :) We were trudging through six inches of snow, which felt something like walking with weights around the ankles. Down one mountain, up another, across the ridge, down the mountain, up a hill and down the icy driveway. Once we even lost the trail. "Daddy, we're not on a trail" -Me. "But we're going in the right direction!" -Dad. Nice. Challenges aside, I loved it. The beautiful weather, clear views, mountaintop breezes, good conversation and moving clouds. After supper, it was back to my dear small town and dear little house for The Princess Bride with the roomie. Which I fell asleep watching. This is becoming a trend. I must be tired.

Sunday. Waking up to find out that I am leading worship alone. Me and the keyboard. Dependent on the grace of God. We sang about salvation, and redemption, and the Blood of Jesus. "O precious is the flow, that made me white as snow, no other fount I know, nothing but the Blood of Jesus." The encouragement of seeing passionate prayer for the healing of one another. Too much sickness lately. But there's healing in the Blood of Jesus! Challenging Word about missions. The Golden Girl's delicious chicken and dumplings. A much-needed nap. Hanging out with the roomies. Our spontaneous run to Walmart for ice cream. And finally, a movie that I didn't fall asleep while watching. :) Praise the Lord for Sunday naps. And praise Him for creating a day of rest. He knew what He was doing! :)

When I first read "Azusa Street" by Frank Bartleman, this poem was my response. Actually, first there were tears and grief and prayer and then, this poem.

It's not okay anymore.
The signs of death, I will not ignore.
How can we continue this way?
Spiritual theatrical parts to play?
One song, two song, three song, four
The game is done; I play no more.
Spirit, lead me, You're the Guide.
Jesus, tell me, You're the Head.
Father, reveal this mystery-
How we ought to see Your glory.

Are we serious when we say,
"This game of church, we won't play?"
Or is it satan's soothing balm
As blood drips down our guilty palms?
What a mockery of the real thing
As we dance and shout and sing
No one knows (to our shame)
The Spirit has long since gone away.

O where is the passion to pray?
To seek and search for His face?
Has it been stolen or given away?
We traded our prayer for baseball games.
We've forsaken our first love
Our first want-that we used to think of.
When did "nothing else matters"
Become "here's my weekly two hours?"

Religious exercise in carnal minds
Makes all spiritually blind
Working hard to accomplish on earth
What should've been done in heaven first.
O why don't we know the power of prayer?
Why don't we love to petition our Father?
Why are we running away from His presence?
Yet wondering why we can't accomplish His purpose?

Let us be humbled and broken before Him.
Nothing will ever be done without Him.
Let us stop playing the games of religion,
And feel again the prick of conviction.
Let us be desperate and needy for Jesus,
Unable to tread without hearing His voice.
Let us be people dependent on prayer
As necessary as breathing the air.

"Yesterday, I watched the waves crash over me
Was swept away, and left me stranded in the sea
But today, I want to give You everything
All of me...
I want to invite You into my life
Take all that is within me
I want to invite You into my life
You are my one and only
Anchor in the storm..."

The lyrics of a song written by one of my oldest friends. I used to listen to this song over and over. It reminds me of the stunning majesty of the ocean, the feeling of insignificance when I stand before the sea, the requirement of Lordship in my daily life as a Christian, and how I must worship the Master---with my life.

And yesterday is the theme of this blog entry.

Not-so-great Things of Yesterday:

• Gritted my teeth all night long and woke up with a headache (this is what happens when I am thinking too hard or I'm cold or both).
• Spent ALOT of money on car repairs.
• Got a parking ticket.
• Cold. Like 1 degree cold. Wretched Old Man Winter.

Great Things about Yesterday:

• My parents gave me a gift (a BOOK! Yes!)
• Lemon poppyseed muffins
• Funny old YFN videos. "OCHO!!!", arm-wrestling, face paint, cafeteria tours, & interviews.
• Thinking about how much I love my favorite chair. My "devotions" chair. :)

Back in my youth group days, we used to go to a summer youth camp every year. Crazy-awesome youth camp that I loved so much that now I'm taking my youth group there. But ANYway, that has nothing to do with this story... :)

All the youth would be divided into large groups called "nations" and we would play nation games for hours out in the blazing hot Texas sun. My friends and I were passionate and intense about pretty much anything we did. In fact, youth group motto was "Pray Hard, Play Hard." I guess you'd have to hear us pray to fully appreciate that statement... So my sis and I would pull out the face-paint and nation armbands and became the hardcore nation motivators. One day, I even put paint all throughout my cute pixie-cut hair.

The problem was this: Water was also involved in these nation games. And the water streamed down my head, washing that paint (warning label: do not apply near eyes) right into my sensitive eyes. There was burning and crying and... then... I walked around for the next seven hours, asking people, "does it look hazy in here to you? Do you see that white fog right there? * pointing to my peripheral vision*? It's cloudy! I see clouds! In the hallway! Right there! In Texas!" Needless to say, they all thought I was crazy!!! And I was! Finally, they sent me to the nurse for eye drops or something.

If you read this entire story, you are probably wondering what this has to do with ANYTHING. But there's a point. Really.

Hazy. Cloudy. And a bit foggy. That's how I feel about life without prayer. When I get into the presence of God and lay things out before Him, there is clarity. Instead of seeing things as they are not, I begin to see things as they truly are. Psalm 119:130 says, "The unfolding of Your words gives light; it gives understanding to the simple." In prayer, when I speak to God and hear His voice speaking to me, there is light in previously dark areas. Places of confusion become clear. Places of perplexity become simple. The mysterious becomes plain. Prayer, that daily secret place with God, is the way to break through the hazy days... Only with the light of God's presence.

Hospitality is grand. Prep work for hospitality is... interesting. Errr rather, maybe I should call it the part-time job of being a homeowner... Clean, straighten, vacuum, sweep, fold, wash. The verbs of my life! :)

Laughing til the tears came over Fireproof movie bonus features!! I (heart) pranks and outtakes.

Brilliant idea of grocery shopping at about 9:30 p.m. on Friday night. Walmart is empty. YES! Except the creepy floor-cleaning machine guy that followed me around. And the fact that I can't go to Walmart without seeing at least 5 people I know and yet don't know what to say to... As the Little Bro succinctly says, "Awk-ward!"

Fine china and pretty glasses for breakfast with the youth girls. Laughter, moments of silence, some seriousness, all working together for a (hopefully) mutually beneficial meal. And yes, breakfast food is my favorite!

Explaining my lack of sleep during busy weekends.. "It's not the sleeping I have a problem with; it's the waking up that's difficult!"

It's oddly annoying that interruptions are guaranteed to occur whenever I start to pray... Like * open mouth* and the doorbell rings, the phone rings, the door opens... Argh.

Baking fun with The Butterfly Girl roomie. Lessons learned: Black frosting is unattainable. And The Little Bro will steal batter every time my back is turned. Literally. And everything is more fun while drinking smoothies & sparkling grape juice.

The Golden Girl's first comment upon arriving home on Saturday night, "Was (The Little Bro) here?" When I wondered how she knew, she says, "Walker, Texas Ranger." LOL He is predictable! The Little Bro did come over for dinner and chill-time, which usually includes the latest season of Walker on DVD... and we argue goodnaturedly over which episode to watch, and then comment freely throughout. :) Family tradition dictates this.

Exhortations on revival during church. Passionate prayer for souls. Righteous indignation during Sunday School. And fun youth group decisions. :)

On the cell phone with The Sis before the Superbowl... and then my quick ending, "Ahhh, I gotta go! My favorite part--the National Anthem!"

Screaming and sighing in unison during the game. And explaining football to The Chatty Girl. She asks funny questions, "What is that yellow line?" (the first down) and "What does W mean?" (Win) "What does L mean---Oooh.." :)

Frenzied Superbowl-party-cleanup to very loud Jeremy Camp music, "I know that I've been-given more than beyond measure!" --- my song on repeat. I'm sure it looked odd; the abundance of people in a little kitchen, twirling, half-dancing, bobbing heads and singing loudly. :)


Smiling and waving at a tired-looking fireman during the early morning darkness of a Monday. Fireproof is getting in my head.