the man of my life

Across America children from 3 to 103 are celebrating one important man. The man has a thousand different faces, comes in a variety of shapes & sizes, & may or may not have hair present on the top of his head. He is the man of a thousand faces, yet one thing can be agreed upon: he is the greatest man on earth. No one is faster, no one is stronger, & no one else can do what he does.

Have you figured out who he is?

It shouldn’t be hard considering today’s date. He’s your father. And whether you call him Dad, Pops, Daddyo, or Father, he is the most important man of your life.

I have been influenced by a multitude of men in the past 21 years, but one man stands above the rest. He’s the man of my life—he’s my dad. In my eyes, he can do no wrong (ok, so he does mess up sometimes, but I tend to overlook that), he can lift anything (including my 40 gallon tub filled to the brim with books), build anything, & you had better believe that my dad is faster, better, and stronger than your dad!

In church this morning, Pastor Wood took us to the Psalm for Fathers. Do you know what it is? Think a second . . . still can’t guess? Psalm 23.

The LORD is my shepherd: I shall not want.

He maketh me to lie down in still waters: He leadeth me beside the still waters.

He restoreth my soul: He leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for His name’s sake.

Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,

 I will fear no evil: for Thou art with me;

thy rod & thy staff they comfort me.

Thou prepares a table before me in the presence of mine enemies:

Thou anointest my head with oil: my cup runneth over.

Surely goodness & mercy shall follow me all the days of my life:

& I will dwell in the house of the LORD for ever.

Pastor Wood compared our earthly fathers to our heavenly Father. He pointed out that our fathers provide for our needs, protect us from a variety of areas, comforts me in times of need, & disciplines me when I need it most.

This summer the staff choir is singing From Everlasting to Everlasting. The first line grabbed my attention today & reminded me of the love that God has for me:

As a father has compassion on his children,

So the Lord has compassion on His own . . .

I can rest confidently in my heavenly Father, just as Psalm 23 says. God the Father provides for my every need, protects me from all harm, comforts me in times of need, & disciplines me when I need it most.

He is the man of my life.

kurango did WHAT??

For those of you who are interested, this is my cabin cheer:

Kurango Did WHAT??

There once was a cabin

Of mighty reknown
All the wanted posters said,
"The Coolest Girls in Town".

We are the mighty outlaws

Of the Wagon Wheeler team

And being number one

Is our number one dream

Kurango Did WHAT??

Wore bright blue!
Kurango Did WHAT??

The Wagon Wheeler crew!

who is the King of glory?

Junior Camp 1: Ron DeGarde

Who is the King of glory?
The Lord strong & mighty; the Lord mighty in battle.
(Psalm 24:8)

This week started with a little bit of apprehensive anticipation. After all, it was my first week of counseling! The counselors congregated in the chapel at 2 o'clock as we waited for the junior campers to flood in & begin the first week of Frontier Frenzy 2010. I'll admit, I was shakin' in my boots! God is good, though and it was an awesome week. I met my five junior campers, Ashleyn, Jennifer, Evelyn, Rachell, & Leslie, & we settled in for the exciting week to come. I couldn't wait to see how God would change each of us over the next 5 days.

During the evening service, Brother DeGarde introduced his theme for the week: Psalm 24:8. At each service he would say, "Who is the King of glory?" & the campers would reply, "The Lord strong & mighty; the Lord mighty in battle." That simple verse put my heart in check for the week--my God is the King of glory, He can do anything!

My apprehensiveness wore off as I got more comfortable with the girls & just enjoyed being a counselor at camp. Sometimes it was hard to get on to the girls (some of them are just so cute!), but overall they were well behaved & enthusiastic. Several times throughout the week my cabin could be heard reciting all the blue team cheers as well as screaming our cabin cheer at the the top of their lungs!

One thing God taught me this week was to praise Him even through difficult (or just plain interesting) situations. At the beginning of the week my shower began leaking into my closet. I thanked the Lord that I had a shower, closet, & a good supply of towels. On Wednesday, the plug in the tank of my toilet corroded to the point that the toilet would no longer flush. I thanked the Lord that I knew how to take care of the problem & theat Cody Bill would soon take care of the situation. Wednesday afternoon, after the watergame & swimming, we were blessed with an hour & a half of torrential downpours. I praised the Lord for the hour to get to know my girls (we were stranded in the cabin) & getting to know Rebecca, but I had a hard time praising Him for the leak that appeared above my bed. All in all, I learned to thank the Lord for what He has given me, especially maintainance men like Cody Bill who fixed all of my leaks & issues on Friday afternoon!

The Friday evening service is still ringing in my ears. I dedicated my life to full-time Christian service not long after being saved, but Brother DeGarde's message on surrendering reminded me that I must be continually living in dedication to God's will. Yes, I am still on the right track, but sometimes I have been a little distracted by selfish desires.

At the invitation, one of my campers went forward to dedicate her life to missions. It was so exciting to walk through the verses of how God has a plan for our lives with her! Afterwards, we went & talked with Tina, the lead counselor. She explained that we must keep our lives clean & ready to be used by the Lord.

What a rebuke! Am I an empty vessle, fit for the Master's use?

I hope so.

But there is one thing I know. When I am asked, "Who is the King of glory?" I will proudly answer, "the Lord strong & mighty; the Lord mighty in battle!" Through Him, I can do anything!

impossible is possible

Counseling at a Christian camp is something I have always wanted to do, but with the cost of college rising and the amount of decent paying jobs dwindling, I just never thought it would be possible.


I never should have doubted my God, He can do the impossible.

During the fall semester, Dave Keck, program director at Southland Christian Camp, visited Maranatha to recruit college students for the summer. I have always wanted to counsel at a camp while in college. And counseling at Southland would be a dream come true!


My brother, Craig, & I sat and talked with him for a couple hours, but we just didn’t think it would be possible. All four of us siblings were in college that semester & money was tight. God had been faithful to provide for my school bill in the past, but I was hesitant to ask Him to provide for even more. The only way camp would be possible would be if the Lord gave Craig & I the military scholarship we were waiting for.


Looking back, I can see that I doubted that God could do the impossible. I had forgotten His promise from Luke1:37: “For with God nothing shall be impossible.” Without completely understanding why, knowing now that it was the Lord’s will, I filled out an application to work at Southland.


And soon forgot about it.

In January, the Lord provided the military scholarship Craig & I had been waiting on. The finances appropriated were enough to cover the spring and next fall semester. With finances for school taken care of, I began praying that the Lord would give me an opportunity to minister this summer. Camp still seemed impossible, so I applied to go on a missions trip with the college. Soon after being accepted, I felt the Lord leading me to decline attending the trip.


“What’s going on, Lord?” I thought. “I want to minister for you this summer in some capacity!”


I had no reason to worry or doubt God’s providence. He knew exactly what He was doing.


A few weeks after declining the ministry I thought I had been praying for, the Lord opened a door I wasn’t expecting & fulfilled one of my life-long dreams.


Mike Herbster, director of Southland, emailed me one afternoon asking if I was still interested in working at the camp in Louisiana for the summer. The excuse that I had given Dave in the fall was invalid: I didn’t need to spend my summer working at home to make my down payment, God had already supplied that.


The door was wide open. The dream I thought impossible was a possibility.


God truly can do the impossible.

the real cinderella

In case you haven't noticed, I love fairytales. I know, I know, the title of my blog does gives that away, but I sincerely believe that everyone is part of their own fairytale. The masterful Author of life is writing an amazing fairytale just for me & you. Being a lover of fairytales, I have read Grimm's Fairytales & watched pretty much every Disney & other animated fairytales. But I found a new one.

This "new" fairytale is rather old. The story-line is slightly suggestive of Disney's Cinderella. But Walt & his artists' redition pales in comparison. Only one Author could write a story so amazing.

The Real Cinderella

Life was wonderful for Cinderella. She had been married for 10 years to her "prince". He & his family fled their home country & entered hers. Life was perfect: a dream come true.

But then things began to change. Eli, Cinderella's father-in-law, passed away. Then her brother-in-law. And then her prince. Suddenly, her perfect world was falling apart.

Left with nothing, Cinderella's mother-in-law, Mimi, desided to leave the country she had called home for a decade & return to the land of her people. Mimi blessed her daughters-in-law as she encouraged them to return to their families. They didn't want to leave her. They begged to return with Mimi to her home, but Mimi was resolute: she would return alone. Opi left, but Cinderella refused. She chose to give up everything, her home, her people, and her gods, just to stay with Mimi.

Mimi & Cinderella returned to Mimi's homeland completely destitute. They had nothing.

To provide for her aged mother-in-law & herself, Cinderella worked in local fields. Without knowing it, she began working in the field of the richest man in the land, Bo, who also happened to be a relation of Mimi. Bo noticed Cinderella. There was a sparkle in his eye as he asked his reapers who the foreign young lady was. When he was told, he could hardly contain his excitement. Bo's heart was racing when he met with Cinderell. He told her to only come to his field--he would make sure she left with plenty. He carefully concealed his identity; he did not want her to know who he was just yet. 

At the end of the day she returned to Mimi with more than enough. Mimi was shocked & asked Cinderella to retell the events of her day. Cinderella shared everything, specifically the kindness of the rich land-owner, Bo. Mimi's eyes sparkled with excitement! Bo would be the natural & perfect match for Cinderella!

Mimi prepared a plan for Cinderella to meet with Bo. Following Mimi's explicit instructions, Cinderella met with Bo, asking him to fulfill his duty as a near kinsman by caring for Mimi & herself. Bo was delighted! But there was a problem. There was a man who was a closer relation & must be asked first. He sent Cinderella back to Mimi, reassuring her that he would rectify the situation.

Again, Cinderella returned to Mimi, telling her of Bo's promise. Mimi was encouraged, for Bo was a man of his word.

Early the next morning, Bo gathered officials of the city & the nearer relation of Mimi. As the men sat listening, Bo presented the relation with a grand opportunity--the land & wealth of Mimi's deceased husband. Greed swept through the relation. His eyes sparkled as he immediately agreed to claim the fortune.

"One more thing," said Bo, "you must also take Cinderella as your wife." (The laws of the land required a near relation to marry his deceased relation's wife in order to continue that man's family line.) That was a problem. The relation already had a wife & would not like another.

So, reluctantly, the man offered the wealth to Bo, who was next in line. The man took of his shoe (that's right, he lost a "slipper") to signify his promise to Bo.

Bo shook with excitement as he left the meeting. He ran quickly to the home of Mimi & told Cinderella the news. He was her prince!

Bo & Cinderella were married & soon Mimi was a gleaming grandma.

It is true, that Bo & Cinderella lived "happily ever after", but that is not the end of the story. You see, though she was a foreigner, Cinderella's great-grandson became the greatest king of that nation. And from that line came the an even greater king.

A fairytale written & recorded in a time which barely had history. A fairytale written by the most masterful Author, God Himself. If you haven't guessed already, the real Cinderella is Ruth of the Bible. Mimi is the faithful Naomi & her rich land-owning prince is Boaz. Their great-grandson is King David & from that line came the Savior of all mankind, Christ, the King of Kings.

remember. repent. repeat.

 "Nevertheless I have somewhat against thee, because thou hast left thy first love."

Revelation 2:4

I know, I am an English major & my title for this post seems a little odd. Remember. Repent. Repeat. The title is more than three words, it's three imparative commands. Three "thou shalts", if you will. But here, I'm getting ahead of myself, let me give you some context. Last week we had spring revival services on campus with Dr. Tom Farrell. Though I have grown up under the preaching of this amazing man of God, I always know that the Lord will challenge me to change through Dr. Farrell's messages. This past week was no different.

On Monday, January 11, Dr. Farrell spoke on "The Danger of Desertion" from Revelation 2:4. His challenge: "have you left your first Love?" He introduced the answer of this question with an equation: Life - Love = NOTHING. Not the love of one man to another, though, as Christians, we are required to do so, but the love that I, a wretched sinner, show to my glorious Savior, Christ.

I am not articulate enough to persuade you with the passion of Dr. Farrell, but I will share with you his answer to "how would you know if you had left your first love?"

1. A coolness towards the Savior
   "You will never work right until you worship right."
2. A caulousness about sin
   "Can I prove by my watcing & listening that I really LOVE Christ?"
3. A contendtedness about self
   "The closer you get to Jesus the less you will love yourself."
   "Am I abhoring any & all sin that God points out?"
4. A carelessness about souls
   "Here, read this & meet me in heaven someday."
5. A contendedness among the saints
   The church belongs to Christ. I am honored to serve in it.
   

Dr. Farrell closed by challenging us with those three imparatives: Remember. Repent. Repeat. The irony of the message really hit me when I got back to my room to do my devotions. What should my devotions be but Revelation 2?! God prepared my heart for my devotions as Dr. Farrell preached.

So, next time you read Revelation 2:4, ask yourself, "have I left my first love?" If the answer is yes, evaluate yourself, remember who God is, repent, &, if needed, repeat.

filled to the full

God provides. Do you know that? I don't mean do you understand the statement, but have you ever seen God provide for you personally? I have. Boy howdy, have I.


Philippians 4:19 (AMP) says, And my God will liberally supply (fill to the full) your every need according to His riches in glory in Jesus Christ.


It is true that I have seen the Lord provide thoughout my life. Not just in little ways either. In big ways: money for the bills, watching over Dad with his appendix & me with my surgery two years ago, protection from car wrecks & fires, & security, just to name a few. Philippians 4:19 says that He will provide for our every need. My family & I have seen Him provide for our needs in the past, but this time He really "knocked our woolly socks off".


Jarid married Lindsay in Phoenix, Arizona on 01.01.10. It was a wonderful time for my family, but the combination of the event, the trip, & the soon beginning of second semester equalled great financial strain for my family. I had to clean out my savings for my down payment & I was still going to be short. Craig had nothing.Not two pennies to rub together.  NOTHING. I am a worrier & I love my brother, so it took alot of faith to believe that the Lord was going to provide. But I knew He would. He was asking Mom & I to wait so we could see Him work & so we would know, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that college was not paid by Mom or me, but my Him.

Craig & I had to be on campus January 4th for Craig's preterm class. That's right, Craig took a whole class whithout know how the Lord was going to provide for him to stay for the rest of the semester. I was praying. Craig was praying. Mom & Dad were praying. We knew the Lord would provide because we were all confident that the Lord had called Craig to Maranatha.
The down payment ws due on Monday, January 11th. On Saturday, January 9th, I got a call from Mom. The GI Bill had finally gone  though. The Lord was providing. Not just that, Dad's "lost" pay was rectified. The Lord was providing! Philippians 4:19 (AMP) says the Lord will "liberally supply" or "fill to the full" your every need, but the Lord did more than that, He gave us a want too. On Saturday night, while I was still bubbling with excitement over the new Mom had shared with me that mornig, Crystal texted me: "I just won a Wii!" I thought she was kidding (she is, after all, my big sister). It couldn't be true. The Lord gave us not only the money we needed for college, but also a Wii? Is God really that good? Yes, He really is.


My skepticism came back on Monday, Down Payment Day. AKA: The Worst Day of the Semester (it always makes me feel poor & I hate that feeling). I just knew that the business office would give us trouble, saying they couldn't accept the finanial aid statement without money. You never know how fast the government will give you the money they say they have given you. So, with grumblings in my heart, Craig & I headed to the financial aid office. After a rather short conversation with Mr. Roth, who is in charge of military financial aid, Craig & I got our packets (after a rather long wait) & headed to the registration room with our financial aid slips in hand. While we waited our turn in the business office line so they could update our financial aid, I looked at my bill to calculate how much I would have left to pay. That's when it sank in. That's when I realized I had a sudden fondness for this particular registration day. The day I hated so much. That is when I realized how good God had truly been to Craig & I -- & to my family. I'm no good at math, but even I could calculate that my financial aid would exceed what I had left on my bill. And not by just a little. By ALOT. Not just mine either, Craig had a significant surplus too! GOD IS GOOD! As the men in the business office entered the new financial aid, Criag & I could not stop laughing. God had provided for us in a miraculous way! He had truly "filled to the full" all of our needs!


I don't know how the rest of the semester will go or what surprises the next few month holdl, but I know tha tthe Lord will provide. Not just my needs, but my wants too.

Psalm 118:23--This is the Lord's doing; it is MARVELLOUS in our eyes.