Aug 8, 2010
Danny shared tonight on Romans 8:29 which say’s; God uses all things for the good of those who love Him. Danny then closed with a saying that he got from his mother, “God does not waste any opportunity in our life.” Those are very true words.
A couple months ago I was spending some time with one of my friends who is not a believer, and he was telling me some things that he regretted; Things that he could have done better in his life. I listened and then after some time I told him that I do not regret a single thing in my life. He said, “You know most people would call you a liar if you said that.” It is probably what he thought too, but just wanted to say it in a nice way.
After Danny spoke it brought that back up to mind, and I began to ponder. Is it true that we can go through life without regrets? Biblically I am sure we can. So then my next question was, why is that?
I think it is because God loves us and He does not waste opportunities. Everything He does is used to mold and shape us into the image of His Son. For me, I now look back to all those years in which I was living for myself. I remember how hopeless and empty it was, so now that gives me a drive and a desire to seek God, and His best for me, no matter what it takes or where it takes me. God used those precious years in my life to make me into the man I am today. If it was not for those things that He led me through, then I would not be here today. It matters not how it happened, nor how long it takes, only that in the end of it all we come to know God and love God. If I lived the worst possible life imagined but yet at the end of it all came to a saving knowledge of Christ it all would have been worth it. Only those that don’t know Christ will have regrets on that faithful day when He calls us home.
So now, let us throw down every hindrance and run the race that is set before us with all diligence because the things in this life are meaningless compared to the surpassing knowledge of Jesus Christ our Lord.
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Aug 1, 2010
Bathrooms are horrible! They are my least favorite thing to clean in the whole wide world. In fact I don’t like any type of cleaning, but bathrooms are by far the worst. That was, until something very strange happened this past month.
In the month if July it was my turn to clean bathrooms. It just so happened that the last two weeks of this month the August students were leaving and so it was time to deep clean the house in preparation for the new August students. So I scrubbed and I scrapped applying lots of fancy chemicals to the shower and bathtub to remove all that nasty mildew build-up. I also got to get down on my hands and knees and clean the toilets, those lovely toilets that get rid of all our sweet smelling wastes (ha, yah right!). The floorboards, walls, counters, mirrors, etc… also had to be cleaned.
At the beginning of the month I was not excited one bit, but as time went on I actually started to enjoy the bathroom cleaning. It felt humbling and like I was serving my fellow house mates in doing this. It became a joy and I would now gladly clean the bathrooms every week, for the rest of my life.
It is funny how God works. It seems like all the things that I used to hate are now becoming things in which I love. Other things like sharing a room, going to church, reading my bible, writing, speaking in front of people etc.. have all become things that I deeply enjoy. Although speaking in front of people is nerve racking it is always a pleasure to do. I never thought that I would enjoy any of these things. Haha, God is good!
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Jul 30, 2010
The Love of God
MercyMe
(1) The love of God is greater far Than tongue or pen can ever tell;
It goes beyond the highest star, And reaches to the lowest hell;
The guilty pair, bowed down with care, God gave His Son to win;
His erring child He reconciled, And pardoned from his sin.
CHORUS:
O love of God, how rich and pure!
How measureless and strong!
It shall for evermore endure
The saints’ and angels’ song.
(2) When years of time shall pass away, And earthly thrones and kingdoms fall,
When men, who here refuse to pray, On rocks and hills and mountains call,
God’s love so sure, shall still endure, All measureless and strong;
Redeeming grace to Adam’s race-The saints’ and angels’ song.
(3) Could we with ink the ocean fill, And were the skies of parchment made,
Were every stalk on earth a quill, And every man a scribe by trade,
To write the love of God above Would drain the ocean dry.
Nor could the scroll contain the whole, Though stretched from sky to sky.
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Jul 29, 2010
One time I asked my roommate if God had been glorified by him today? He said I don’t know then he asked me the questions “did you glorify God today?” I said I think so, but then I began to really ponder that question. Was God really glorified by me today??
The answer came quickly. Yes. God is glorified by my whole life. He is glorified when I am sad and when I am happy He is glorified when I do good work and when I do bad work; He is glorified when I struggle and when I don’t; He is glorified when I eat and when I don’t eat. He is glorified when I sleep as well as when I am awake. God is even glorified when I sin and when I don’t sin. In all things God is glorified.
Why is that?
It is because I am His, and He is mine. It is because He chose me even while I was still a sinner and because every day God is with me shaping me into the glorious image of His son. He is glorified because a holy God who can have nothing to do with sin, instead of calling down fire from heaven to consume me, He has come and made a living inside of me. He is glorified because through His power and strength this sinful, timid, hateful man will be transformed into a bold, soul winning, lover of God; if that is not glorious, than I do not know what is.
So now I ask the question to you.
Did you glorify God today?
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Jul 25, 2010
Hello all! This blog post is dedicated to the Bonsai house (Bethany, Chantelle, Katie, and me!)
It is Sunday July 25, 2010 and we are seated at Panera’s about to start our 3 PM devos. Our theme for our last house devotion this year is: Things God’s brought us through this year. We took turns expressing the various stories of God’s faithfulness, but I won’t list it in the order that we did it because it would take a while, and it’d be super long. So I’ll just list what each person said in list form. 🙂
Katie:
Gave me a house that I can laugh with, a nice Christmas even though I was away from family. Grace to learn and transition to my new role at work. God gave me a lot of grace this year to handle the pressure of not being around my family; my nephew, Wesley, was born this year!!
Gave a lot of grace with Susanna and Pam gone in February. Shook me from my apathy and showed me where I needed change. He was really clear with me when I needed it. He gave me a lot of opportunities to trust Him, and has been patient with me. We have a quote book!!
God gave me the grace to follow someone’s lead even when it didn’t make sense. He gave me wisdom and discernment through this year. Gave me people I can talk to, and helped me be more open. We have some house videos! He gave Alley, Bethany, and Chantelle grace to follow my lead, and gave me family to take care of me when sick. He helped me keep Bethany and Alley from killing each other.
Bethany:
Healed me (health). He gave me sisters (House mates). My family has changed in the Lord. We got to go camping! He helped me to not be depressed and taught me to take control of my thoughts. Gave us grace in public speaking, raised all our support, and helped us in time management. He gave us interns!
Let us go to Asia, I got to go to FL with Chantelle. He helped me be more open, and we were able to bond as a house quickly.
Chantelle:
Healed me (health). Made me happy by giving me free decorations for Christmas. He taught me to trust Him and be gracious when I’d been hurt. I have freedom in knowing that Jesus is the only thing beautiful about us. Brandon accepted the Lord!
I survived without my family, and God took care of them in relationships, church, and in growing them. He also gave me a whole family outside of home that I can go to whenever I need to. He showed me how prideful I was in the beginning of the year and began to break me. In my hour of need He gave me Psalm 31. Helped me to be depressed…
Taught me that romance is not the center of my life. He made me love heaven more than earth. Gave us grace in public speaking, raised all our support, and helped us in time management. He gave me a fiancé even though Katie said I couldn’t have one (hehe). Allowed my family to come to graduation and let us go to Asia.
He gave me new supporters throughout the year. Gave me grace when Stephanie left, and leaders I can talk to. Gave me a great church to go to (AKA: the Village with Matt Chandler)
Alley:
He taught me how to trust people, and healed my heart. Taught me to trust Him through every situation (AKA: Ducky), and took over for me with my family… they’re alright! 😀
Gave me a whole family outside of home that I can go to whenever I need. I’m not as concerned with my self-image. He intensified my discernment and made me more intense and passionate. I came to the point where I’m not afraid of my future. Gave us grace in public speaking, raised all our support, and helped us in time management. He made me more transparent, and gave me more of an appreciation for the body of Christ.
He gave me IT guys that could save my computer multiple times. We went to Asia. I got to be my aunt’s maid of honor, I joined staff. We got new supporters throughout the year. He gave me someone to go to when Stephanie left, and future apartment mates that I can be open with, gave me a tan!! The Village Church that I could go to and be challenged.
House:
Snow Days! Sick buddies.
I hope you enjoyed reading a bit of the Lord’s faithfulness with us through this year. 🙂 Remember, He is ALWAYS faithful.
– Signed,
The Bonsai house
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Jul 20, 2010
Tuesday 20, 2010/Graduation Day arrived so quickly and oh was it amazing.
Some of my highlights were
- Gayle Erwin (author of the Jesus Style) encouraging us to use the gifts God himself had given us to edify and encourage the body. Thank you Uncle Gayle!
- Hearing from our house leaders.
- Sharing something with our familes, leaders and staff.
- Watching the Slide show of our year
- Getting letters from Pastors and GFA leaders
- Getting a beautiful piciture of a sister in Asia praising the Lord!
This is laughable but looking back I can remember in Aug 2009 one of our leaders told us our year would be over “like that” and he snapped his fingers. At the time I didn’t believe him because it was already going too slow for me. I wanted it to be done and over with ASAP. (HONEST TRUTH-note: my mind soon changed)
I have had a wonderful year, one that if I had toI would do over again 🙂 My class mates are true gems and I am so blessed to have spent a year learning and growing with them
Man : ( it is already over . I can’te believe it!
Well, in a matter of weeks the new August class will arrive and begin their School of Discipleship journey. I hope and pray that theirs is even more wonderful than my own.
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