take note

I don't know when I started taking church notes, but I know it's been forever. Every Sunday, for as long as I can remember, I've been obsessed with filling in the blanks in the outline provided for the morning service. What started out as an obsession has turned into a reflective journal so I can continue to learn more about my God.

Of course, as a young child I just wanted to fill in the blanks. I would sit next to Mom or Grandmommy with my Bible & bulletin spread in my lap & my eyes glued on . . . Mom or Grandmommy's notes. While appeared to be an attentive listener, I was focused on one thing--the blanks. If the sermon got boring or if the preacher seemed to take too long one one point, he completely lost my attention. My bulletin became a sketch book & my blanks remained . . . well, blank. Once I returned to the reality of the sermon, I would lean over & eye Mom's bulletin & loudly whisper, "what's that word?" & "is this spelled right?"

As I grew up, my notes became less of an obsession & more of a listening tool. I began taking notes during school chapels & at summer camp to help me follow along. I can't say that I learned much from those sermons in elementary & junior high, but I was learning to listen. Which was an important step to applying the sermons personally.

I don't know when it clicked, but somewhere between seventh & ninth grade it hit me--those blanks I'd been filling out religiously since I could writer were no longer just words to fill out my page, nor were notes just to keep me from getting bored. Taking notes allowed me to return to the sermon as a reminder of truths so I could apply the message to my life. My notes are no longer just an outline of the sermon--they include personal thoughts, quotes that get me thinking, & even songs that relate to the message. My notes are personal reminders so I can continue to become more like Christ.

There is no right or wrong way to take notes. A friend at college only writes down a phrase or two because she finds writing distracting (something I, admittedly, don't quite understand) & another friend only writes down what he finds to be new or novel. Last Sunday, my attention was drawn to a junior high girl who was strictly taking down the sermon's outline.

My point? How you take notes does not matter.

So, what does matter? Well, as you sit under the preaching of God's Word, are you taking note? Are you allowing God to change your life through the preaching of His Word?

my life is not my own

Tonight was the Lord’s Supper at my extension church. I love celebrating the Lord’s Supper—and not just because I like the tart taste of Welch’s grape juice.

The Lord’s Supper calls me to break open my heart before Christ. To lay before Him my praise and thankfulness for what He has done in my life and to apologize and repent for sins I have harbored for too long. Truly, I don’t have to—and should not—wait for the Lord’s Supper to open my heart to my Savior, but I always enjoy the service, nonetheless.

So far this semester the Lord has been teaching me that my life is not my own. Every time I sit down in a church or chapel service—even in my personal, room, and dorm devotions—God challenges me to change. He pleads for me not to settle for mediocre Christianity, but to live a fulfilled, satisfied life of a servant.

I don’t want to sound like an angel—change is hard! I feel as though I meet failure at every turn—I am 14 years old in Christ and I have yet to read through my Bible outside of a requirement for a college course. That’s sad! But God has challenged me and, praise the Lord, I have been more consistent this year than any year of my Christian life. Then there’s the struggle of Bible memory—how pitiful that I can memorize an eight-minute speech in a few hours, but I struggle to commit God’s Word to memory.

As I sat in the pew tonight, surrounded by faithful believers, my heart broke in realization that, though I am growing, I have a long way to go. At the beginning of the semester, Evangelist Will Galkin said, “I’m not who I used to be, but I’m not who I want to be. I am what I am by the grace of God.” How true! The more I learn about and grow in my God, the more I realize I have to learn and grow.

Before communion tonight we sang “His Robes for Mine.” This song has been a wonderful encouragement in my life and has brought tears to my life. That my God gave his life, willingly, for me, a horrible sinner, is beyond my comprehension. Christ suffered for me so I could be justified before Christ—yet I struggle to obey Him in simple things and sometimes live in doubt that He will perform as He promises.

I encourage you to take a moment to read the words and pour them into your heart. God has given ALL for me, truly “my life is not my own.”

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

His robes for mine: O wonderful exchange!
Clothed in my sin, Christ suffered ‘neath God’s rage.
Draped in His righteousness, I’m justified.
In Christ I live, for in my place He died.

Chorus:

I cling to Christ, and marvel at the cost:
Jesus forsaken, God estranged from God.
Bought by such love, my life is not my own.
My praise—my all—shall be for Christ alone.

His robes for mine: what cause have I for dread?
God’s daunting Law Christ mastered in my stead.
Faultless I stand with righteous works not mine,
Saved by my Lord’s vicarious death and life.

His robes for mine: God’s justice is appeased.
Jesus is crushed, and thus the Father’s pleased.
Christ drank God’s wrath on sin, then cried “‘Tis done!”
Sin’s wage is paid; propitiation won.

His robes for mine: such anguish none can know.
Christ, God’s beloved, condemned as though His foe.
He, as though I, accursed and left alone;
I, as though He, embraced and welcomed home!

risks

To laugh is to risk appearing the fool.

To weep is to risk appearing sentimental.

To reach out for another is to risk involvement.

To expose your feelings is to risk exposing your true self.

To place your ideas, your dreams, before a crowd is to risk their loss.

To love is to risk no being loved in return.

To live is to risk dying.

To hope is to risk despair.

To try is to risk failure.

But risks must be taken, because the greatest hazard in life is to risk nothing.

Persons who risk nothing do nothing, have nothing and are nothing.

They may avoid suffering and sorrow,
but they cannot learn, feel, change, grow, love, or live.

Chained by their attitudes, they are slaves, for they have forfeited their freedom.

Only a person who risks is free.

-- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --

Risks & gambles. A seemingly natural part of life. Now, some people believe risk and gambles are synonomous. They are not. Risks are calculated leaps of faith where the reward is sure; gambles are spontanious action with limited (& impractical) possibilty of reward.

I don't know about you, but my life isn't a gamble. But it's not a risk either. Risks merely offer freedom--freedom to expand my horizens & envision something more.

So, are you up to taking some risks?

perfect protection

Christ is my Perfect Protection

"The LORD is my Shepherd"

Before we begin studying the characteristics of the Good Shepherd, we must understand what that title means. John 10:11,14 (AMP) says, "I am the Good Shepherd. The Good Shepherd risks and lays down His [own] life for the sheep. I am the Good Shepherd; and I know and recognize My own, and My own know and recognize Me." Isn't that amazing? Christ laid down his life for me--but He doesn't stop with sacrifice, He has claimed me as His own & recognizes my voice when I cry out in the night.

What does that phrase, "The LORD is my Shepherd," mean?
(I'll give you a hint, look at the title)--that's right, God is our perfect protection. What words come to mind when I say 'protection'? The ones I immediately thought of were shelter, tower, shield, & defense (quite a list, huh?). The Psalms are filled with verses proclaiming God as our shelter, tower, shield, & defense--Psalm 89:18, 91:4, 119:14, just to list a few.

Man has an opposing, sinful characteristic to go with each of God's holy ones. If God is our protection, what is man's problem? Give up? FEAR. We are afraid of everything!--spiders, darkness, fire, paper cuts, failure, people, & death, just to name a few. But, & here's a wonderful thought, we don't have to be afraid anymore--God is our perfect protection!

the Good Shepherd

I must admit that I was a horrible room leader last semester. I allowed my schedule & my academics to reign--& missed out on getting to know the four amazing girls I shared my room with. At the end of the semester, Holly asked one of the girls to move to second floor & now I'mm regretting the time I wasted getting to know her.

This is my last semester and it's going to be different. No more complacency. No more (ok, so less) selfishness--I won't let ME reign.

In light of that, I made two commitments with the Lord:
1) read my Bible at least 20 days each month
2) prepare a devotional lesson every week for my room

I knew where I was going personally, but I had no idea what to do for my room. On Sunday, January 9, I headed to Sunday School for the last time before heading back to college for my final semester at Maranatha. I never expected the Lord to give me what I had asked for: a series to study with my roommates.

My Sunday School teacher pointed out 16 characteristics of the Good Shepherd from Psalm 23. I was stunned & challenged by the characteristics of my God in such a short Psalm. What a blessing!

So, over the next semester I will be sharing with you what the Lord teaching my roommates & me about Himself from Psalm 23. Enjoy!

almighty Father

Tonight, I attended a childrens worker's meeting at CBC (my college extension church). Pastor Kurtz spoke on "Encouraging Children through Music". I have to admit that I grumbled when I first heard the topic. "Ugh," I thought, "not another sermon on music." WRONG ATTITUDE.

Pastor Kurtz's thoughts encouraged me. Childrens music can (& should) be exciting, God-honoring, & doctrinal--it should not, however, be "funny". Pastor Kurtz led the childrens workers in several songs interspersed through his lesson: "Be a Missionary" ended with a somewhat excited "Let's Go!" & we were asked to lay "Father Abraham" to rest.

But there was one song he mentioned that really thrummed my heartstrings. I song I love to sing in prayer & praise to God--& a wonderful song to sing with children.

I am so ashamed by my initial thoughts of the meeting, but I was encouraged when I left. I hope & trust that my ministry with children is just beginning, because I can't wait to teach the next generation about my awesome God through song.

-- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --

Almighty Father

Almighty Father, You alone are holy. You are my refuge, I will trust in You.

You are a tower, a mighty fortress, You are my strength and shield. You are God.

Almighty Father, You alone are holy. You guide my footsteps that I may not fall.

In joy or sorrow, I will exalt You. You are my righteousness, You are God.

Almighty Father, You alone are holy. You are Creator, You are all in all!

Yours is the power, Yours is the glory. Yours is the majesty, You are God

webcams & secret mics

Today I experienced my first live on-line Educational Psychology class. And my experience can only be described as mortifying.

Now, I want to preface the story by telling you that I typically enjoy my college classes & I love the professor, Dr. Bruce Jackson. You should also know that I have never used a webcam before & do not have one built into my computer. I don't even like the idea of a webcam. Hello? CREEPY! Plus, sometimes technology chooses to embarrass & mock me. Honestly. I work with computers in most of my jobs, yet they always find a way to . . . well, mortify me.

Once a week, I have to use my webcam to participate in a live class session (Dr. Jackson retired from MBBC two years ago and moved to Colorado. He teaches Ed Psych from the comfort of his home in the Colorado mountains.). The live session scared me because I've never used a webcam before (I know, I know, incredibly archaic of someone my age).

Mandy & I met in the dining common & found a quiet booth away from the laughter & buzz of students eating lunch. 12:15--five minutes until class started. Plenty of time to set up the computer & get logged in. Mandy ran to get coffee while I prepared the computer.

That's when the troubles began.

First, my computer showed no visible signs of life when I pulled it out of my bag. That meant relocation to a table near a plug in. By 12:18, Mandy returned with her coffee and helped me move. We would enter the class late, but we were sure Dr. Jackson would be understanding.

12:22--With the computer connected to power & the webcam set teetering at the top of the computer screen, we logged in. We could hear Dr. Jackson, see his PowerPoint, & laughed at our various classmates who sometimes acted as though they were unaware they were being videoed. As my gaze roamed the computer screen, I realized that we couldn't see our picture. Mandy texted a friend (also in the class). No, they couldn't see us either. Stink. What did we do wrong?

Precious class-time ticked off the clock as Mandy ran to her bag (which we cannot bring in the dining common) to get a cheat sheet we were given in class last week.

12:25--We skimmed the cheat sheet & figured out how to connect the camera to the Adobe program. Hooray we were on! That's when the real horrors (for me, at least--Mandy just laughed & laughed) began.

Apparently, as soon as you turn the camera in the program, it automatically turns the mic on--permanently. The function works like a walkie-talkie, only at the beginning it's like the talk button is taped down. Get my drift? Well, being the first time my computer has used the webcam, it (my computer) froze while it figured out what programs would be necessary to function properly (ie. the webcam, the mic I plugged in, the Internet, and the Adobe program opened).

Now, I consider myself pretty adequate when using computer technologies. However, I did not know that I had a speaker built into my computer (who would assume such a thing when I do not have a webcam built in?).

Are you laughing yet? I hope you are. Mandy hasn't stopped laughing since this afternoon. I'm learning to, though, again, I'm still mostly mortified.

Anyway, my computer froze once we entered the room. I knew the camera was on, however, I didn't think about the mic. When my computer froze, I assumed that the other members of the room were no longer receiving feedback. Wrong. Apparently several class members & Dr. Jackson tried to tell us what was going on--only I wasn't receiving any of their posts or comments. Finally, Deb texted us, "We can hear you." WHAT?! I could have died. So, for seven minutes (I mean that literally. We watched the recording of the class this evening--mortifying.) the class & Dr. Jackson heard Mandy laugh as I verbally shared my frustrations (luckily, Mandy was closer to the mic. The only thing I said that could be distinguished, "the program just froze . . . I hate this . . ."). I kept trying to resolve the problem while the Dr. Jackson tried to go on with class (Mandy & I even called for technical help. Unfortunately, the lady did not answer her office or cell phone). Unfortunately, because our mic was on, those seven minutes of lecture are muddled by the sounds of the dining common.

After what seemed to be eternity, my computer finally caught up with me to shut down the Internet. Finally, we were off-line. I unplugged the camera, hoping my computer would fare better tackling one task at a time. My hands trembled as I reconnected to the Internet. "Lord," I prayed, "please let this connect properly this time." Mandy laughed as I looked at her & said, "Shut up, we're logging back on."

Upon re-entering the room I immediately turned off the automatic talk function. We listened to the lecture for about five minutes before I braved plugging the camera back in. "You want to try?" I asked Mandy. "Sure." With a huge lump in my throat & knot in my stomach I plugged in the camera & turned it on in Adobe. I fully expected the talk button to automatically turn on. It didn't, praise the Lord.

The rest of the class proceeded as normal with a few sound glitches. We laughed as Deb & Trisha knocked their camera off, sending viewers on a 360 ride of Trisha's room. We laughed as we watched Korinne fall asleep. But I think everyone, including Dr. Jackson, got their laugh of the day watching Mandy & I struggle through the first ten minutes of logging in.

After class Mandy & I laughed (okay, Mandy laughed & I blushed to the point of clashing with my hair) with classmates as I tried to explain (with Mandy's interjections of "I thought it was hilarious!") what exactly happened.

All I can say is, I'm glad it's over. And, as I always seek to, I definitely learned something new today.

Oh, & for future reference, I think there should be a day where all the students log in before class starts to ensure all programs are working properly.

You know, so no one is mortified, like me.