Is that a challenge?!

I've never given up anything for Lent before, but I'm giving it a try this year. I've given up facebook in an attempt to focus more on God and my family. 

I find that I tend to click into Facebook every time I feel a lull in my day and fill up every moment with staring at my phone. And that's just not good. I feel distracted in general, but especially from my children. I want to be more present for them. I also want to be more present for God and give Him more than a few moments of my day... that's just unacceptable. 

I've done fine with staying away from Facebook (I deleted the app), but I still find myself on my phone too much, so if I can't get that under control I may delete some more apps for a while.

I have started a Bible study from She Reads Truth (via their app) called Open Your Bible. I really like it so far and am enjoying adding a guided Bible study to my day. They have both paid and free studies... if I burn through the free ones I think the rest would be worth paying for.

I've been thinking about making a change to my eating habits for a while now. I've felt kind of out of control and I know I'm addicted to sugar. Robin was telling me she felt the same way earlier, so I showed her this method I've been researching: Whole 30. It's very similar to the Caveman Diet or Paleo. She thought it was a great idea and wants to start tomorrow! I've never done something like this, but it's only for thirty days... I can do it! Wish us luck!!

1 Corinthians 13

 If I speak in the tongues of men or of angels, but do not have love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. ² If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. ³ If I give all I possess to the poor and give over my body to hardship that I may boast, but do not have love, I gain nothing.

 

⁴ Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. ⁵ It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. ⁶ Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. ⁷ It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.

⁸ Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away. ⁹ For we know in part and we prophesy in part, ¹⁰ but when completeness comes, what is in part disappears. ¹¹ When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put the ways of childhood behind me. ¹² For now we see only a reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.
¹³ And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.


...anybody else need this reminder?

Sanctity of Life

¹³ For you created my inmost being;
you knit me together in my mother’s womb.
¹⁴ I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
your works are wonderful,
I know that full well.
¹⁵ My frame was not hidden from you
when I was made in the secret place,
when I was woven together in the depths of the earth.
¹⁶ Your eyes saw my unformed body;
all the days ordained for me were written in your book
before one of them came to be.

Psalm 139


Yesterday our youth group had an event celebrating the sanctity of life. They had the opportunity to learn more about what abortion means to us as Christians and how we should respond to it. We had a few speakers with different experiences all relevant to the issue... a woman who's close friend had an abortion when she was in high school, a woman who had an abortion herself when she was 19, and one with a passion for life and babies who's had two miscarriages. They were all such touching and personal stories and I SO hope that the youth learned from them and felt their passion. Mostly the kids were taught that however they are confronted with abortion, they should speak the truth in love, and stand on the Word of God.

The youth also set up a display on the front lawn of the church. They staked 150 white crosses into the ground (that they made themselves on Winter Retreat) that represent the 150 babies that are killed each hour in the USA alone through abortion. Does that not blow your mind?? That's almost 4,000 babies a day. Far over one million a year. 50 million since abortion was legalized in 1973. Let your heart work on that for a while.



I'm proud of our students showing up on a Saturday afternoon to learn about the sanctity of life and do some important work. We hope that the lawn display catches some eyes and changes some hearts. Even before they were finished setting it up a man pulled in and asked what the crosses were all about- that's pretty awesome.

As a side note... notice how there's nice green grass where the crosses are? Yeah, there's snow everywhere else. It melted in that spot the day before we set them up. We were all worried nobody would get to see the white crosses because of the snow... guess there was nothing to worry about. Wow.


I want to bump you over to my friend Amanda's blog for her story about the day (I swiped her pictures so that's why they're the same ;). She was one of the speakers for the event and has some great things to say, and even a video that we watched yesterday. Today is Sanctity of Life Day... please take some time to pray for the unborn babies of the world who face genocide. For the pregnant women who are faced with a choice. For the women who have already made their choice, have had abortions, and who need to know there's a God who forgives and heals.

NYC Mission Trip 2009

On Saturday, August 8 at 5:00 am, we left with 11 other people from Hillcrest Baptist Church to head to New York City for our mission trip. I have to say that I was really nervous about the whole thing. I felt totally unprepared and uninformed. However, it went SO well... it was much less scary than I imagined and really a lot of fun. That's not to say it wasn't challenging- it definitely was- but the good outweighed the bad by far.

We stayed and worked at Park Slope Community Church in Brooklyn, NY. Brooklyn was awesome- we liked it so much more than Manhattan. We arrived Saturday night after 12 or 13 hours of driving and settled in.

Sunday we attended church in the morning, then visited Manhattan to go to Broadway! A lady in our group who's a total theatre buff had a birthday that day, so it was a good day for Broadway (plus we didn't have any ministry planned that day). We went to a discount ticket place and spent way too much money. We ended up seeing "9 to 5" (Remember that movie with Dolly Parton?). It was really good! It was just a really fun, well done show. One of the stars was Allison Janney (The West Wing, Juno, Finding Nemo...). It was really fun recognizing someone in the cast. We went back to Brooklyn and had some tasty dinner at Princess Pizza :)

Monday and Tuesday mornings we had "Prayer Stations" set up down the street from the church. We had water (for people and dogs :) and tracts (I'm not a big tract fan, but they work for some people. God can use anything I guess!). I was really nervous about this part because I'm not exactly an outgoing person and can be scared to talk to people about such important stuff. It went surprisingly well. I was able to talk to and pray with several people, and enjoyed just saying hi to everyone and handing out water.

Wednesday and Friday (not Thursday because of rain) we did a free car wash in front of the church. New Yorkers are incredibly suspicious of anything "free" ...it was so funny. Everyone wanted to know, "what's the catch?" "Why is it free?" "Are you taking donations?" It was pretty successful in that we got to wash a lot of cars, have a friendly chat with lots of people, and pray with a few. It was fun.

Monday through Friday we did Vacation Bible School. I was "in charge" of it. I delegated a lot (thank goodness) and just ended up doing the lesson myself. The first day was SO HARD. Honestly, the 5 kids that showed up (all related) were absolute monsters. Talk about a challenge. We were all pretty discouraged after that day. However, the same kids (plus a couple more) came back the next day and were SO much better. It was definitely an answer to prayer. We had between 3 and 7 kids each day. Some days seemed to go better than others and I don't know how much good we did, but we did our best. Most of the team helped out in every section (puppets, story/lesson, crafts, recreation) so it was tiring but fun. Nathan ended up doing puppets a lot and did a really great job. The last couple days he and our buddy Andy did the most hilarious shows staring Flatman and Bobbin. Funny!!

Friday we had a free cookout and had a great turnout. A lot of homeless people came (the church has had cookouts all summer so people know to come) as well as folks from the community and the church staff. We all took turns cooking and serving- it was fun :)


The whole week (except Thursday) was SOOO hot. Like mid-90's most days with 100% humidity. Most of the women, especially me, got really swollen feet and ankles from the heat and being on our feet so much. I couldn't get my feet in my shoes so I was stuck wearing flip flops all week which made my feet hurt. I also got heartburn several days which I've never had before. And I was always tired despite taking naps every afternoon. So yeah, a very physically challenging week for me!!

But like I hope I've communicated, it was really worth it. This was my first mission trip and I was really scared to go, but I'm so glad I did. I learned that when it comes to sharing Jesus with people you can't screw up. I also learned the joy in showing kindness and a friendly face to people (that was my favorite). I learned that God can use situations that aren't the greatest for His glory. I would definitely like to go on more mission trips in the future.

One of the really fun things we got to do was go up on the roof of the local YMCA at night. When we walked outside and saw this view I was surprised for some reason. Wow, what a view.


This is looking down from the roof at the streets of Brooklyn.


We left NYC at 6 am Saturday the 15th and made it home with a few challenges but safe nonetheless. I'm sure I left a lot out (mostly food related probably), but there's at least a taste of our week. It was a good one :)

The Lambi vs. The Big Apple

We're leaving tomorrow at 5:00 a.m. to travel to New York City for a mission trip with our church (don't ask me why I'm still awake). Please pray for us while we're gone. We'll be returning next Saturday sometime, so there will be no pregnancy update this week- sorry! Hopefully we'll have grand stories (the good kind, not the bad kind) to share upon our return.

Fireproof

You should go see this movie. Especially, but not exclusively, if you're married. It's a story about the everyday couple who is in the "winter" of marriage, where they hardly ever speak and when they do it's in a yelling match. Divorce seems like the fastest and easiest way to "peace," until the man's father challenges him to wait 40 days to start the divorce and follow a plan to save his marriage...

I won't tell you more, but let's just say that it was one of the most uplifting, truthful movies I've seen. The film really tells it like it is.

Interestingly enough, the movie was produced by a church and is remarkably openly Christian, yet is still the #4 movie in the nation even though it is being shown in relatively few theaters. Wow!! I expected it to seem low budget, but I was pleasantly surprised. The film quality was great, and I'm not sure I've ever watched such a tear-jerker. I was even on the edge of my seat a few times.

So. Go see it.

Saucy

Don't these tomatoes look delicious?? I don't even like raw tomatoes but I still think they look pretty mouth watering.

I thought I'd fill you all in on our garden since it's been a looong time since I have. It's mostly done producing except for small but very tasty cantaloupes, misshapen watermelons, peppers, some herbs, and tomatoes.

We've probably used the tomatoes more than anything else in the garden (except maybe potatoes). Robin has this marvelous machine called a "Juice-o-Strainer" which I LOVE because it separates the skin/seeds/stems from the juice/pulp reeeeally easily. It's wonderful. Ya just stick the tomatoes in the top and turn a crank, and out comes a usable tomato product. Some of it we just cooked for a little while and canned to use at tomato juice (we've already had some in chili and vegetable soup), but we've mostly been making tomato sauce.


...and it is soooo good. We haven't really used a recipe. We looked at a few online to get us pointed in the right direction, but didn't follow one in particular. I wish I could give you a recipe because it has been turning out so well... let me see if I can guestimate a bit ;) Please don't actually follow this "recipe" because it might be horrible!!

-A big pot of tomato pulp and juice
-1 onion and a couple sweet peppers diced and sauteed, plus a TBL minced garlic thrown in sautee pan for a few seconds
-1/4 cup olive oil
-1 or 2 TBL sugar
-1/2 TBL salt
-pepper
-fresh chopped sweet basil
-dried oregano
-chunks of peeled tomatoes (optional... we did this in a couple batches which was nice because it made the sauce extra chunky)
...simmer for hours and hours until it tastes done and is thick-ish.

I don't know if those estimates are anywhere close, but hey, it turned out great so who cares? As Nathan would say, "cooking is an art, not a science." :)

We also put up some pickled peppers a few days ago. We had a whole bunch of banana peppers sitting around and figured we should actually pickle them so people could eat them. I know Nathan likes them on pizza and such. They were very easy but stinky to make. I suggested putting some red peppers in just so they look pretty ;) This is pretty much peppers, garlic, salt, water, and vinnegar.


I hope everyone had a great week. I worked yesterday and today (girls didn't have school because of conferences), and will be working part time for about a week starting Wednesday (new nanny has a wedding to go to). It's the job that never ends!! Haha, I'm not complaining :)

If you haven't noticed, I've been posting a "Today's Awesome Scripture" thingy over there in the right-hand sidebar. I've been working harder on reading my Bible every day ('cause I want answers/wisdom/direction and scripture is one of God's big ways of giving us those things) and have been reading while I eat breakfast. I hope you're enjoying them (they're highlights from my reading)... hope I can keep up the good habit!! Pezmama is gonna keep me in line ;) I'm going to her place to watch Jane Austen (and Jane Austen-esque) movies tonight (and hang out with the kiddies!) while Nathan goes to King's Island with Andrew and company. I also have a bonfire to start for Robin's Sunday School class this evening, and hopefully hot dogs and s'mores to roast. Fun stuff!

Have a wonderful weekend!

Treasure the Wonder -- Beth Moore 1

Let's talk about the first of Beth Moore's seven guidelines for maximum impact in Bible study... Truthfully, I am having a terrible time trying to wrap my mind around what she was trying to teach us, so laying out these seven points post by post is as much for me as it is for you!

1. Treasure the Wonder

God has a marvelous plan of revelation. This is the perfect beginning to this series, because it teaches us that the fact that we don't understand everything about God is all part of his plan. God reveals truth to us piece by piece, bit by bit, and in a specific order. He reveals this truth to us in many ways (life experiences, prayer, fellowship, trials), one of which is the study of scripture.

Think about it... the Bible is God's word in book form. It's right there, ready to help us, instruct us, lead us, challenge us. But most of us (including and especially me) don't use it much, if at all. I'm a person who's always wanting to know God's will so I know what to do in/with my life, I want to know what my calling is, and am left clueless... but it's my own fault! God reveals truth through this word, which is always available to me. All I have to do is pick it up and read it (well, study it really. A surfacy reading may not do me as much good).

But I cannot do God's calling for me outside the study of His word. And when I study He won't just make me able to do His will, but "thoroughly equipped," competently competent! So a benefit of studying scripture isn't just having a clear direction/goal, but having the tools to accomplish that goal in a spectacular way!

...all that is to say, WOW, God has given us this marvelous gift, this incredible tool called the Bible, and we need to use it. We should never forget the remarkableness (if that is a word) of what God has already done for us, even specifically through scripture. We have a whole road map in handy leather bound format. Let's try using it.

So our first lesson: Realize this... "Holy cow. We have God's word."

Living Proof of Love

This weekend I had the opportunity to go to a conference given by Christian writer and speaker, Beth Moore. Robin was going to go but was unable to, so I got to attend in her place, meaning I didn't even have to pay to go! I didn't really know much about Beth Moore going into it, except that all the women at church were crazy about her and her bible studies. I have to say that they had good reason! Not only was she a fantastic speaker, but so accessible, knowledgeable, passionate, humble, and even goofy! I enjoyed myself so much. I even got to know a couple women from church that I roomed with and were such a blast to hang out with. We had a great time.

The conference was held at Southeast Christian Church in Louisville, Kentucky (sort of the outskirts... much farther away from downtown Louisville than where we lived)... it was the biggest church I have EVER seen... in fact, the sanctuary/auditorium may have been the biggest room I've ever been in. There were two balconies with escalators up to them. The room seated 9,000 and it was full. I believe there were 8,900 people there, almost all women. In addition, the conference was being simulcast to 715 locations, bringing the total number of people watching to 70,000. WOW.

This is a picture I found online of the auditorium... that black part in the upper left-hand corner is the upper balcony. I took a picture on my phone and got it onto the computer, but for some reason it doesn't want to upload at the moment.


Beth used the parable of the sower (in Luke 8) for the conference. I don't know about you, but I've heard this scripture preached on a lot. But she really brought new light and a different angle on this familiar story. The point of the conference was: To increase our confidence and competence in the word of God, to be a woman of spiritual means, and to learn how to let scripture have maximum impact, producing a "100-fold harvest" in our spiritual lives.

Here are her guidelines on how to read scripture for a 100-fold harvest (based on the parable):
1. Treasure the wonder
2. Protect your heart
3. Expect the test
4. Dig the roots
5. Stop the choke
6. Retain the word
7. Press forth to your 100-fold

Through study of God's word, He won't just make me able to fulfill His purpose for me, but He will make me "competently competent!" This comes from the phrase "thoroughly equipped" used in scripture. Thoroughly and equipped apparently have the same Greek root word, so it's just like emphasizing the point... God is going to make us READY to do His will when we read His word... competently competent! Not only will we grow spiritually by studying scripture... that spiritual seed could grow and produce 100 times as much as it started with... we could grow spiritually 100 times over if only we persevere.

I know this probably isn't making a lot of sense. I'm trying hard to wrap my mind around the concept I'm talking about and all that I learned at the conference. It's hard! I'm thinking about writing a separate journal about each of the seven points listed above. That might help both you and me understand what Beth was trying to teach us! It's good stuff. **To view my posts on each of the seven guidelines, please click the links on the list above**

Nostolgia

As of the moment, I am sitting in the bed of Andrew's younger brother in the town that I spent the majority of my life. The little town with little dreams - Norwalk, Ohio. I'm here because Andrew asked me to come with him, and as my wife, Rachel, is currently in another place I used to call home (Louisville, Kentucky) I didn't see the harm in visiting the old stomping grounds.

Last night, at around 11 o'clock, Andrew, Steve, Levi, Jake and I went to a pier in Huron to watch a storm roll in. On the way here Andrew and watched as lightning jumped from cloud to cloud, flashing silhoettes of a shifting mother-of-pearl sky. It was beautiful beyond description and it was at the point that we decided that we would visit the pier and watch God's fireworks from an unimpeded vantage point.

The pier itself is probably a half of a mile hike from one end to the other and once your're out there, standing on the rocks in front of a suspiciously dark lighthouse the only things you can see are blackness and the lights the dot the horizon, Cedar Point the left and some smoking factories to the right. We sat down and watches as electricity cracked it fingers above our heads, trailing across the sky like spider silk. We only started walking back once the rain begain to drop lightly. By the time we made it back to the other end of the pier it was a torrential downpour and most of us were soaked to the skin.

Except Levi.

Levi wanted nothing to do with sitting right beside a huge lightning rod in the middle of an elecrical storm and had gone back to the car, here he played electronic Yatzee.

It was the kind of experience that makes you realize the awesomeness of the world we live in. Lightning is something that I've always loved to watch with a kind of inspired disbelief, because it's something I wouldn't believe in if I didn't see it for myself. Watching it, I feel as though I'm in some kind of fantasitic fantasy novel where anything can happen, anything. Electricity dancing in the sky! Imagine! It makes me feel like a kid again, full of wonder and imagination.

I can't help but look up and see God.

Baptism

"Go into all the world and preach the good news to all creation. 16Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned." (Mark 16:15-16)


I wanted to write a little about my baptism. We went to a creek in Franklin on Sunday night to watch people be baptized. About 10 people had planned to be baptized that night, from a 70-something year old woman in a wheelchair (who was carried into the water in a wooden chair... what a cool thing to see! Not to mention she was terrified of water- talk about obedience!) to children. Baptisms are always really great to watch and they fill you with joy, and this one was especially powerful because instead of sitting in pews we were gathered around a creek in God's beautiful world (in beautiful weather, no less). With each baptism I got more and more antsy... I had been thinking about being baptized a lot recently, but hadn't felt a strong pull either way. I had a lot of pride and stubbornness standing in my way too. But that night I knew I was being nudged. I found myself thinking more and more that I had to be baptized. I started to worry that Larry (Nathan's dad as well as the pastor) wouldn't ask for more "volunteers" at the end, but also wasn't sure I wanted him to. But as soon as he started asking if there was anyone else who would come, I turned around and told Nathan (once I found my voice), "I think I have to go." He said, "so go." So I put my hand up and stepped into the water (taking Nathan with me and telling him to take his cell phone out of his pocket- haha). Larry was so excited that he almost cried. He and Nathan walked me out to where the water was deep, and together they dunked me under and lifted me up. I felt so relieved and happy (not to mention very wet), and everyone was so joyful. Nathan actually swept me off my feet and carried me to shore :) 17 people ended up being baptized that night- wow.

There are several reasons I felt it was important to be baptized, so let me *try to* explain a few.

1) Jesus tells us to be baptized (Mark 16:16, above). I have heard baptism called "the first act of obedience" for new believers. I am not a new believer, which is actually one of the things that kept me from being baptized sooner. I had to get over a lot of pride and stubbornness (much to do with worrying about what other people might think) to go ahead with it. I don't necessarily believe that those who believe but aren't baptized aren't saved... I fully believe that if I would have died before Sunday I would be in heaven. But if being baptized is an act of obedience to God, which I believe it is, it follows that choosing to not be baptized is an act of disobedience.

2) Jesus is our example. Jesus was the only sinless man... as we should strive to be without sin, we should strive to be like Jesus. Even Jesus, who didn't need to be baptized for its usual purpose of repentance, was baptized to "fulfill all righteousness" (Matt 3:15). I'm honestly not sure what that means, but I think it had to do with fulfilling God's plan; accepting his coming death, burial, and resurrection; and humbling himself.

3) Baptism is a public proclamation of belief. I know what I believe... but does everyone else? No. People only know as much as we reveal to them. Baptism shouts to the world that I am a follower of Christ, my savior. Many of the people who witnessed my baptism were members of Hillcrest church, but there were also many strangers present. Not only did I affirm my beliefs to people I know who probably assumed that I'm a Christian, but to those who don't know me (and who possibly don't know the Lord... which is not to say that everyone at church is a Christian, because that is not the case).

4) Baptism is a symbol of sharing in Jesus' death, burial, and resurrection. We are called to die to our sin and rise as children of God. The act of baptism symbolizes the death (falling down into the water), burial (being under water), and resurrection (coming up out of the water). This is a powerful symbolic act!

5) I felt led to. When you feel like God wants you to do something you better do it! :)


What a great experience. I definitely feel like I made the right decision. The fact that I felt so much unrest and uncertainty about not being baptized assures me that being baptized was God's will for me. I'm also so thankful that my husband and my father in law were the ones to baptize me- they are two people who are "spiritual leaders" in my life.

By the way, I know someone took some pictures, so I hope to get those soon :)

Dust

We had a very interesting weekend! Nathan has been practicing for over a month for "Dust Weekend," also known as Discipleship Now weekend, at Urbancrest Baptist Church in Lebanon, OH. His old youth pastor Shawn is the youth pastor there, and his friend Andrew is the middle school youth pastor. They've played together in bands lots of times before, so this was a really fun reunion for Nate.

We drove over to the church on Friday at 4:00 in the snow and wondered what the projected 8 inches of snow would do to the weekend. We had planned to come back home to sleep (it's only about 20 minutes away). As soon as we got there we realized we'd better run to Wal-Mart (very close to church) to grab some overnight essentials before the roads got any worse. So we grabbed some toothbrushes, toothpaste, shampoo, contact supplies, a couple pillows, and a blanket. And it's a good thing we did. We were trapped in the church all weekend because of tons of snow and massive drifts. Us and about 40 teenagers and a dozen leaders. It was an exhausting and bizarre weekend, but I thank God for the snow.

This was the most spiritually significant experience I've had since I went on my "Chrysalis" when I was 15. It was really amazing. I won't go into a lot of detail because so much of spirituality is so personal, but I do want to share a few insights/highlights.

1. I am dust. When God created Adam, He scooped up a handful of dust and breathed life into it. Originally God had created Lucifer to be the most glorious of all beings, made to reflect and project God's glory above all things. He was beautiful and powerful; he had the privilege of standing in the presence of God. But Lucifer decided it wasn't enough to be the greatest of all of God's creation; he wanted to be God himself. So he rebelled, and God cast him out of heaven onto a little speck of dust called EARTH. So God created a new being with the capacity to praise Him, to reflect His glory, and to project Him throughout all creation: us. He did this by breathing his spirit into a handful of dust. And that's all we are without Him. Dust. Nothing. I wish I could explain this more eloquently, because it's so much deeper than this.

2. I need to live for God's glory. This is something we sing in many "praise and worship" songs, but it never really hit me before this weekend. I need to seek to glorify Him in everything that I do. Everything. In my words, in my actions, in my silence. 1 Corinthians 3: 10-15 talks about the judgment of the Christian in heaven. With Christ as our foundation we will not be judged for our sins; He has paid for them. But we will be judged by what we've done with our lives since claiming Jesus as our foundation. We have several materials to use to build upon that foundation: gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, and stubble. The first three are beautiful, priceless substances... but the special thing about them is that the pure forms of gold and silver are reflective, and precious stones reflect and project [light]. We use these things to build upon our foundation when we do things for the glory of God. The latter three building materials absorb light, not reflect it. We use these things to build on our foundation when we take the glory in what we do for ourselves (look at me! Look how great I am! Look what I can do!). On that day of judgment, what we have built will be tested with fire. The wood, hay, and stubble will be burned away to ash... to dust. The things that we did for ourselves will be nothing. But the things that we did for the Glory of God- the gold, silver, and precious stones- will be purified (you purify gold with heat/fire) and stay firm on our foundation. We will be rewarded for these things- and the great thing about it is that, as I mentioned before, these materials are reflective... so our reward is that we will eternally reflect the splendor of God because we glorified him with our actions in life.

3. Praise and worship is not music. Much of the focus of Dust Weekend was true worship. We talked about the misnomer "praise and worship" in reference to music. Of course we can and do worship God through music, but many of us seem to think that that music is the very definition of music! It is not! We have so many opportunities to worship God in the things that we do. In music. In art. In writing. In silence. In raising our hands. In reading scripture. In prostrating ourselves. In clapping our hands. In kneeling. In shouting. In tears. In dancing. We have SO limited ourselves!! I love to worship with music, but worshiping the King by laying on the ground with your face in the dust is such an amazing form of worship too. We should not assume that that one person not raising their hands, or that one person not singing isn't worshiping God. It could be that they're praying, worshiping God in their silence.

4. Sin is pretty. Idols are pretty. Satan is pretty. I have many things in my life that I know I should walk away from... deep in my heart I know that they're doing me more harm than good. But they seem so harmless. They look so nice on the surface. Let me give you an example. I love to perform; in music, in acting, whatever. BUT I have a major pride problem. I can easily sing a hymn in front of a crowd (or even as part of the congregation) but instead of worshiping God with it, I make it all about me. "I wonder if the person standing by me has noticed how good I sound." "Wow, that's some loud applause. I must have done great." So this looks great from the outside- anybody watching would think I was such a worshipful person... but it's a pitfall for me. I've realized that I need to stay away from public performances for now- until I can learn to get over myself and truly be able to lead others in worship.


There are so many more things that I could say, but I need to stop. I hope that you can glean something out of all of this.