Have I looked to You for help?
Have I told You my troubles?
Have I sought after wisdom?
Have I asked You for guidance?
Have I leaned on Your strength?
Have I hidden in Your shelter?
Have I run to Your tower?
Have I worshipped at Your throne?
Have I hungered after righteousness?
Have I thirsted for living waters?
Have I walked in the right paths?
Have I followed the Good Shepherd?
Have I set myself apart from this world?
Have I burned with holy fire?
Have I proclaimed the Gospel?
Have I fallen to my knees?
Have I exhibited fruit of Your Spirit?
Have I learned of You today?

"To You, O Lord, I lift up my soul.
O my God, in You I trust;
Do not let me be ashamed;
Do not let my enemies exult over me.
Indeed, none of those who
wait for You will be ashamed;
Those who deal treacherously
without cause will be ashamed.
Make me know Your ways, O Lord;
Lead me in Your truth and teach me,
For You are the God of my salvation;
For You I wait all the day."
Psalm 25:1-5

On my four-day sojourn to the sunny South, I was absolutely enthralled by the blue skies and gorgeous clouds. Though equally enthusiastic about a snapping turtle sunning himself by the pond—or at least, you would think if you heard my brother and sister talk. For the record, I really DID take a picture of a snapping turtle. And I thought it was cool! And I kept going back to look at the picture. Because it was cool! See! COOL!

And then he jumped in... Ah, the things that amuse me! :)

Moving on…

Throughout the week, I walked around with my eyes lifted towards the sky. Always looking up. People probably thought I was a little strange. Like “don’t mind me, I’m a sun-and-warmth-deprived Northerner!” But the pictures were worth it... Here were some of my sky-views!

I’ve been meditating on the question, “What do you live for?”

The weekend? Your next paycheck? When you’re in a “relationship?” When you get married? Your next vacation? When you meet “The One?” * When you graduate? When you buy a house? When you can travel? When you have a family? When you get famous? When you retire?

These life goals—the focus of many souls—seem so shallow. Pointless. Small-minded. Downcast. In a sense that these desires are only for the most temporary of fulfillments. And yet... As Christians, we have different goals. A different focus. Something real and eternal and wonderful to live for!!!

We must be always looking up! Oh, just to be with Jesus! To see His face! To bask in His presence! To be in awe of His power, to experience His great strength firsthand.

Come quickly, Lord Jesus.

"He who loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me; and he who loves son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me. And he who does not take his cross and follow after Me is not worthy of Me. He who has found his life will lose it, and he who has lost his life for My sake will find it."
Matthew 10:37-39

I am blogging from the sunny South. Visiting my younger bro and his family in North Carolina. I (heart) the South, by the way. Really, really love the beautiful sunny weather. They are about 3 months ahead of us seasonally or so it seems. :)

Anyway, visiting family always makes me think about my loyalty to Jesus. It has been said that blood is thicker than water. In other words, there is nothing stronger than the loyalty of blood relations. However, as a Christian, I have a loyalty to a more precious Blood. The Blood that was shed by my Saviour. Though I love my family (and I do love them very much), I am more loyal to the Master. My glorious Lord.

Love God best.
Love people less.

Whooooosh…

That is the sound of my week.. my weekend.. my life.. rushing past me like a violent river or a tornado’s wind! I won’t attempt to review my entire week of joblessness. Best description would be "busy." Let's just talk about the weekend of fun!

A walk about town on Friday evening. No stars, but I still look at the sky.

This was the view after a long hard day of manual labor! My Saturday was spent driving around Pennsylvania. Many hours. Talking back to the strange voice of "Gabby," our eloquent and annoying GPS system! Joking with the goofy Dad and Little Bro during working hours. Dust. Wheelbarrows of mud. Bright sunlight that translated into angry sunburn on my arms! A few moments of rest beside a cool pond. Ice cream. Napping on the drive home. Blisters. Aloe. And hours of house-cleaning with the roomie. :)

Sunday. Day of worship, rest and fellowship! Beautiful time of worship. Encouraging teaching and discussion of the Word. Family dinner of Italian food. Enjoying my new kitchen island! Looong walk about town with The Little Bro, The Green-Eyed Girl & The Butterfly Girl roomie... Browsing an antique store. Modelling funny hats. Picnicing on the courthouse lawn with some pizza (The Little Bro is obsessed). Ice cream. Restful spring breezes. Chasing ducks! Gloriously fun photo shoot in the park. Artistic and symbolic photography. :) Good times were had by all.

Last week I read a church sign that said, “TGI Monday. Learn to love your job.” Ironic. Especially since I had just been informed of the economy’s impact on my own job. I am currently on “temporary layoff.” Translation: An undetermined amount of unpaid time off, in which I will learn to be ever-so-much-more thankful for my job and dream about accounting questions and increasing paperwork on my desk. I may be (and hopefully will be) recalled in a few weeks…. The irony doesn’t cease to amaze me. I was always the one that smiled on Mondays and inwardly groaned at every office-Eeyore whining endlessly about how their weekend wasn’t long enough. I figured, if I need to spend 40 hours a week at a job, I might as well be happy doing it! :) Even. on. Mondays.

Ah well. You know what they say: “When life hands you lemons, make lemonade!”

Life Experiences of the last few days…

Grocery Shopping. Normal task, not-so-normal time. Mid-morning on a weekday. In which the grocery store aisles were quietly busy and I was increasingly distracted by the little children humming, playing and otherwise entertaining themselves while their mums shopped. Whenever I see a little one, I involuntarily smile. I can’t help it. I just do!

Hospitality at My House. I (heart) guests. Especially my sis and her two little girlies. Hospitality means I can cook for people, besides myself—SO much more fun! And talk to other people, besides myself… ummm… not that I would do that… :)

Small Town Fun. Which means—antique stores that never end, including but not limited to antiques. I found a book. Does that surprise anyone? I didn’t think so... And small specialty shops with talkative shopkeepers… And a park with ducks to chase, daffodils to pick and a playground to climb on (paradise for little nieces).

Resurrection Sunday Song. Performed by the little people of the church. I loved the hand motions! The Niece (older one) stole the show with her downright adorableness. And silliness that made me laugh and cry.

Shooting Guns. With new and old friends. Shotguns, handguns, other guns. Targets as clay pigeons, jugs of water, cardboard uber-bad guys. And me capturing the experience with a camera the whole time. The Pastor scared me silly by telling me to ‘watch where I was pointing that camera.’ LOL. Since gun safety was obviously on my mind, I was paranoid for a half-second…. but the target practice was quite a nice way to spend a Resurrection Sunday afternoon. :)

Starlight Basketball. Day turned to evening. The many guests at my parents’ house for Easter dinner dwindled to a few. But among those that remained, several headed outside for some basketball. In the dark. Well, except for the incredibly awesome starlit sky. And some headlights. After our eyes adjusted, it wasn’t too bad. :)

And just a reminder about why Resurrection Sunday (aka Easter) is the best holiday.

He is risen, Risen from the dead!
He has conquered, Hell and the grave.
No more sadness, no tears.
Victory is here
He is risen!
Jesus is alive!

Sometimes the darkness is overwhelming...

Nearly 48 hours spent in the company of teenagers and youth leaders. In the mountains. No cell service. No television. No indoor plumbing. Welcome to the youth retreat—Pennsylvania (rustic) style!

Our time together looked something like this… sleep, eat food, read the Bible, play UNO, worship, pray, eat food, hear the Word preached, take a nap, read a book, play something outside, look at the creek, swing, take pictures, hear the Word (again), eat more, sit by the campfire, wash dishes, sleep, worship, talk about God and life and many such interesting things.

My favorite moments:
-Sitting on the floor Friday night and playing random music on the little keyboard. Mostly 20 different kinds of organ… Including, but not limited to: jazz, The Wedding March and circus organ parade music. Yeah, the circus music was my favorite!
-Re-enacting Fireproof jokes & pranks. “Pile on (The Sparkly Girl)!!!” And the warnings that follow, “Don’t put those pictures on facebook!”
-Wading through a freezing-cold river. I have an irrational fear of heights, and just couldn't make myself cross on the "cable bridge." Crazy and funny.
-Laying on the ground late in the evening, viewing brilliant stars and listening to sounds of the rippling stream waters. What ambiance.
-Spontaneous conversations that happen because you have nothing else to do, but be social with your brothers and sisters in Christ. :)
-Weird quotes... "Hygiene stinks," "Comancheros!" "I am a camel," .... funny youth people. :)
-Instructive times in the Word, intense times of prayer and wonderful times of worship.

Retreats rock!

"A friend is a person with whom I can be sincere. Before him, I may think aloud."
Ralph Waldo Emerson

This is a poem I wrote several years ago. I found it in an old journal and smiled at the relevancy to my recent post on peer pressure. There is much power in honest, Christ-centered friendship. And therefore, there is much value in friendship. I am so thankful for the brothers and sisters in Christ that honor me with their friendship. And how their love is displayed through our times together -- in conversation, prayer, fellowship, laughter and tears.

My heart turns throughout the day
I am thinking of you
Wondering where you are
And wanting to share thoughts with you.
My head is spinning
The world is twisting
And it happens without you.
You're far away
For many days
Though you'll return soon.
Prayer is my escape
As my thoughts become petition
Asking for strength and wisdom
And that God's will be done.
That angels would surround you
And the Spirit would uphold you
And the Lord would control you.
Praying for spiritual fruit
For spiritual passion to remain true
For supernatural help in all you do
and that you return soon.

Friendship reaches a thousand miles
and lasts eternity.
Friendship weathers a thousand storms
and emerges triumphantly.
Friendship holds through a thousand lies
with unswerving loyalty.
Friendship speaks a thousand words
in loving honesty.

Poor peer pressure gets such a bad reputation. Peer pressure is blamed for everything from drug use to murders to the crazy behavior of the 1960s. And yet, it’s not all bad!! I have become a defender of peer pressure. And I submit the revolutionary concept that peer pressure, in and of itself, is not evil! Peer pressure is a device easily used to promote good or evil. The Bible recognizes the power of friends and warns of it in 1 Corinthians 15:33, ”Don’t be deceived. Bad company corrupts good morals.” If bad company corrupts, then what does good company do? Oh, the possibilities are endless!

Some things that Peer Pressure has introduced to me:

Coffee. For years, The Original VA Friend yapped endlessly about the glories of Starbucks and I was firmly anti-coffee. Mostly out of the “I don’t wanna try it because I don’t wanna get addicted” principle. When you work with people who practically have a coffee IV drip, caution is a good thing!… I tasted coffee for the 1st time in my life in 2006. Fast forward to today: I still won’t drink it everyday, but amazingly, I LIKE it. Maybe even LOVE it. With lots of cream and sugar, of course. But it’s coffee nonetheless.

Upside-Down Roller Coasters. I remember the first roller coaster that I ever experienced. It was an itty-bitty one at a place called Bland’s Park. I must’ve been 10 years old. And it made cry. So I avoided roller coasters… until one youth group trip to Hershey Park. My red-headed best friend dragged me onto The Great Bear—an upside-down, loopy, crazy, high-velocity ride that I absolutely loved!! I still hate heights. But I can enjoy the odd, upside-down roller coaster.

Letter-Writing. I wrote letters to The Oldest Friend for years, out of necessity. Because he lived hundreds of miles away, and this was before email! I learned how to ramble, be interesting and be personable… and to be caring. And to never, EVER use the phrase: “That’s really funny that you almost died!” It is easily misconstrued. (the guy almost died because he was bitten by a spider while cleaning under his bed—tell me, is that not funny?) I still love, love, LOVE getting mail.

Other things I like or love more because of people influencing me through the years… Basketball, flag football, HALO, Indian food, American history, poetry, sushi, blogging (LOL), hiking mountains, racquetball, cooking Italian food, gardening, baking pies, antiques, saxophone music, watching the Steelers, biographies of missionaries, the Methodist movement, Star Wars, tea parties, studying virtuousity, talking on the phone (yeah, I used to be a hater), crime dramas, classic literature—like Charles Dickens, crème brulee, big dogs!, running, etc. I could go on and on.

Thank God for my friends. For their influence and insight and weirdness. Without the “pressure” of friendships, I would be an entirely different person. My friends forced me out of my comfort zone—which was quite cozy and I didn’t want to leave! They exposed me to hobbies, interests, quirks and most importantly—passionate, radical pursuit of God!

Sometimes, it’s just one sentence spoken that stays in my mind and changes the course of my life. Sometimes just one experience that I remember vividly. One mention of an author. One prayer prayed. One heart open before the Lord. One invitation to dinner. One moment. Or many.

I started to walk with God, to pray every day and study His Word because of the influence of a youth pastor and a small discipleship group of my peers. I prayed out loud in a group because it was the thing to do. I kept myself pure in relationships because of the influence of my parents… I can honestly say (and have said for years) that I am who I am today because of the great influence of my friends. Especially, I am a Christian today because of their influence. Throughout my teenage and young adulthood years, it was the press and conversation of friends—most often, my closest friend and sis—that kept me on the straight and narrow way.

This causes me to consider my ways:
Am I the influenced or am I the influencer?
Am I a force for good or evil in the lives of my friends?
Do I pull others up with me?
Do I challenge the views of others?
Do I encourage complacency? Or encourage radical spirituality?
Am I a follower or a leader?

“And let us consider how to stimulate one another to love and good deeds, not forsaking our own assembling together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another; and all the more as you see the day drawing near.”
Hebrews 10:24-25