The Foot Bone's Connected To The.... Heart Bone?!

Now, I realize that's not how the song usually goes, but after reading the first chapter of Girls Gone Wise In A World Gone Wild (which I shall refer to as GGW in the rest of this blog and all blogs pertaining to GGW from here on out), I think that's how the song SHOULD go.  Point of Contrast #1 compares the heart: a wise girl's heart is centered on Christ; a wild girl only sees Christ in her peripheral vision.

There were so many things that stuck out to me in this chapter!  From the very beginning, God has only wanted two things from us: Love Me (God) with your heart and follow Me (God) with your feet.  That's it!  Just love Me with your heart and follow Me with your feet.  Sounds so simple, right?  Whether we like it or not, our feet are very much connected to our heart. If Christ is at the center of our heart, if He holds first place in our affections, then it will be evidenced in our conversation, our thoughts, and our decisions in even the smallest of things.  What convicted me most in this chapter was when Mary Kassian put the Proverbs 5:5-6 passage into the scenario of the modern church.  Proverbs 5:5-6 says "Her feet go down to death; her steps follow the path to Sheol; she does not ponder the path of life; her ways wander, and she does not know it."  Mary Kassian puts it this way: "It's important to remember that although her steps wander, the Wild Thing of Proverbs is a very religious woman who moves in religious circles.  Nowadays, you might find her at a youth group, on the worship team, in a Bible study, on a mission trip, or teaching Sunday School.  She could be the leader of the women's ministries in your church.  Or the speaker at your next women's retreat.  She could be me.  She could be you."  Sometimes its hard to recognize the wild woman because she does so many things right.  Perhaps she doesn't even realize that she is a wild woman. In fact, she probably thinks she has it all together and is doing great in her spiritual life. It could be me... it could be you.

What holds first place in your affections?  What holds first place in mine?  There is nothing more important than a girl's relationship with God, and until we get that right, we'll have a constant struggle to get anything else in our lives right.

Girls Gone...Wise?

In today's culture, it's not just the girls who have gone wild. You can't even run to the grocery store without encountering "wildness!" It's everywhere: magazines, billboards, advertisements, even people!  One of my goals for 2011 is to read more "Bible-Help" books.  Bible-Help books are unlike self-help books in that they are geared toward the God-loving woman who seeks to better please Him.  The first book I've chosen to go through was recommended to me shortly after I arrived at CBC.  In her book Girls Gone Wise in a World Gone Wild, Mary Kassian takes us on a journey through the Proverbs where she will compare for us the Wild Woman and the Wise Woman.  I plan to do my studies on Thursday evenings and will try to blog after each chapter.  I began last week with the intro. You know it's going to be a good book when you're convicted even before you hit the first chapter!  I'm really looking forward to getting into this book!  Stay tuned!

Transformed Singleness

How Christ Transforms My Singleness

Sherry VanHooser asked me to listen to this today so I could give her my opinion on the speaker. I enjoyed it so much, I want to share it with all of you.  Sometimes we think we've got it all figured out... if I just do this, then God will give me what I want, but that is SO NOT TRUE!  God isn't sitting in heaven waiting for us to bargain with Him!  He's simply whispering Trust in Me... I love you and have the only plan that is best for you.  I hope you take the time to listen to this (Ladies AND Gentlemen alike!) and really think through what she's saying!

A New Way of Thinking About an Old Truth

Growing up in church, I have often heard Psalm 37:4 quoted, applied, and (unfortunately) misused.  The verse says Delight yourself in the LORD, and he will give you the desires of your heart.  Some people take this verse with a sort of bargaining kind of attitude;  they come to God, pulling their wagon of "desires" behind them, saying "ok...I'll delight myself in the LORD until I get the "desires of my heart" (which are all conveniently located in the wagon).  People that use this verse in this context really annoy me because I don't think that's at all what this verse means!

My mom and I have talked about this verse off and on for a long time.  We've agreed that one way of looking at this verse is this: when you delight yourself in the LORD, HE becomes the desire of your heart!  Paul Katsion, my current Sunday School teacher, gave me a new way of thinking about this truth. The emphasis on the second half of the verse should be on give rather than on desires.  I loved that!  When we delight ourselves in the LORD, its not our way of bargaining with him to get what we want;  by delighting in the LORD, He will GIVE us new desires in our heart.  It's often hard for us to "know the will of God" and if our desires "line up with the will of God."  If we truly delight ourselves in the LORD, we can be sure the desires of our heart will line up because they are no longer our desires, but His.

I hope you find encouragement in this little nougat of truth with a new spin.  Thanks, Paul (and mom) for helping me to see what this verse truly means and how it should be impacting my life! 

2010 in Retrospect

Happy 2011!  I can't believe we're already four days in to the new year.  Time flies, huh?  I'm a little late in my review of 2010, but I have a good excuse as you will see at the end of this report.


Last New Year's Eve, my car at the time died at random three hours from home.  I was staying with my aunt in Minburn for the week so I could work in Ankeny over the holiday.  As frustrating as this situation was, God really showed Himself faithful!  My good friend, Sara, was able to fill in for me at work. Since I was staying with my aunt, Ralph and Eric (her neighbor and son) were there to help me out with the car.  My parents didn't even have to make the six hour round trip journey to pick me up because my "brother" David's girlfriend (now his wife!) was in Ames visiting for the weekend, so she was able to pick me up on her way home!


In March, the FBBC Chorale went to Colorado (and a few other places) for spring tour.  I'm so thankful for those ten days; talk about spiritual encouragement!  God really worked in my life through that trip in SO MANY ways.  I was able to see my mom's side of the family a number of times because most of them live in the Denver area. It was while we were there that I learned of more family discord- my uncle and aunt were splitting up.  That was hard news to take, but my chorale family was so encouraging and patient with me.  I have so many great memories from that trip.  A few that stick out to me include staying with my best friend, Keri Lightfoot, in Colorado Springs; hiking in the Garden of the Gods with Bethany Spink, Joanna Augsburger, Lindsay Yankee, Jared Segerstrom, and Jake Mangold; and the concert we gave in Luke Snell's home church- what a blessing!  While we were on this trip, God really laid it on my heart to be praying more specifically for the team that was headed to Holland and Germany on the European Chorale Tour.


Shortly after we returned from Colorado, I was informed that one team member of the European Chorale was thinking about pulling out, and I was asked to take her place.  What an amazing opportunity!  Obviously, I told Doc (the Chorale director) about how God had pressed it upon me to be praying more faithfully for the ECT, and we agreed that this was the right thing to do. I would have just six weeks to raise the $3,000 needed for the trip, but I knew God would provide if it was His will for me to go.  After a week of waiting for the other team member's final decision,  I was told that she had decided to go, and I would not be needed. While it was a little disappointing, I knew I wasn't really out anything because I hadn't planned to go in the first place.  I knew God had a plan, and I know that He was definitely teaching me to trust Him through this!


Fast forward a few weeks, and you'd have found me sitting in Mrs. McFarling's class on a Friday morning listening to her share with us that a church in Mount Pleasant, Iowa, was looking for a full time office manager, and if anyone was interested in the position, to call the church.  Well, my first thought was That's Home!!.  My second thought was But that doesn't effect me because I'm moving to Colorado Springs to live with Keri. Again, God had a plan.  He gave me a LOT of travel time that weekend to think about the situation that had been "dumped in my lap." I traveled home for my "brother" David's wedding (which was a blessing as well!), then Saturday evening the FBBC Chorale gave a concert at... you guessed it... Mount Pleasant.  I was so confused.  I knew what I had planned, and I thought God and I were on the same page, but if that were true, then why did this job suddenly show up?  Thank God for great godly family and friends (Laura Bunjer & Elisabeth Perrott)- the end result, most of you can probably figure out.  I called Pastor Van (who just happens to be Doc's brother) and applied for the job.


The very next week,  Doc approached me once again.  A different team member had to drop out of the ECT due to health reasons.  The short story is that I now had just four weeks to raise my $3,000 and get my passport (which is almost as big of a feat as getting the money!).  Again, the short story goes something like this:  by the time we left, I think I was like $3 and some odd cents over what I needed and I had my passport in hand!  God is SO GOOD!  How amazing!  I'm still blown away by the whole series of events: Will you go?   Nevermind, you can't go.  Oh, actually, we NEED you to go!  How Great is Our God!


In May, I spent my final days as a student at Faith Baptist Bible College, and graduated from the Administrative Assistant Program with my AA. This was a rather joyous occasion since I am the first in my generation on both sides of my family to graduate from college with any kind of degree!  Go me!


One week after graduation, I hopped on a plain and went on the adventure of my life! I spent the last few weeks of May and the first week of June touring Holland and Germany!  I was also able to see the Alps in Austria and a monastery in Belgium!  I could write an entire blog about each day of that tour, but since I'm trying to keep this condensed (ya, right!) I wont... because I'm not done yet... or maybe I should say God isn't done yet.


A few days after I landed on American soil again, I began my new job as Office Manager/Administrative Assistant at Calvary Baptist Church in Mount Pleasant.  It has been a great job!  I have learned SO much!  My co workers are constantly pushing me to grow... and they usually don't even know it! I have seen God's faithfulness in bringing me home.  I have been able to live in my childhood home with my parents and sisters, which has helped me save money (which is a good thing since I have a school loan to pay!).  It's been so wonderful to integrate myself  back into the family routine- home cooked meals, my laundry done for me, and a piano right in the house;  my family is such a blessing!


June 19, I was able to be in my other "brother"'s wedding.  It was so fun to celebrate with my childhood brother-like friend as he married the love of his life!


Fast-forward to October.  God isn't done yet.  In early October, my 85-year-old grandfather (Dad's dad) was in a very serious accident involving a chainsaw and a very large tree (for more details, please see my post from October It Doesn't Rain, but It Pours).  October was spent making trip after trip after trip to Iowa City to be with him. God is always good, and today, my grandfather is in a nursing home making a recovery that is beyond anyone's expectations.  It is hoped that in the next six months or so, he will be able to return to his apartment and resume life as normal.  Praise the Lord!!


After this, things started settling down.  We had a wonderful November ending with a very nice family Thanksgiving and Black Friday Shopping spree!  December kicked off with the family trip to Des Moines to see Daniel in the FBBC Festival of Carols.  While we were there, we took in Mary Poppins at the Civic Center (which was part of our family Christmas present).  We celebrated three family birthdays (me, Leah, and Lindsey's Mike's) and two almost-family birthdays (Chandler Lang and the birth of Ellie Christine Lang!).


You'd think that's enough for one year, but apparently that is just not the case.  The Tuesday before Christmas, I woke up with a kind of uncomfortable pain in my upper right side.  I joked with mom on my way out the door for work that If they take me to the hospital, I'll make sure to tell them to call and let you know.  I wish it had been that funny.  By the time I got home from work, the pain had significantly increased.  After a nice dinner of chicken enchiladas (which were NOT a good idea, just FYI), the pain had gotten so bad I was in tears.  The pain had spread up into my right shoulder, and I was miserable. Finally, my dad drove me to the ER where they said the word gall bladder an awful lot, drew some blood (which was awful!), gave me two shots (which were also awful!), and told me to see my family doctor tomorrow if things hadn't improved.  Well, as most of you know, things did NOT improve, and the short story is that on the Tuesday AFTER Christmas, I had laparascopic gall bladder removal surgery.  It has been a very slow recovery, and I am not "bouncing back" nearly as quickly as they said I should, but God is good. I'm still working on that recovery part, but as they say, that too will just take a little time.


If you've made it all the way through this post, you deserve some kind of medal, I think.  It's a long one, but I couldn't let the opportunity pass to share with all of you just how much God has done in my life over this past year.  I have learned so much about His faithfulness, His trustworthiness, and His divine plan.  God is SO good, and I can't wait to see what He has for me in 2011.