The Bride of Christ

"Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave Himself up for her, that He might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, so that He might present the church to Himself in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that she might be holy and without blemish." ~Ephesians 5:25-27

Last year I remember watching this video for the first time. I had never before heard anything like it. I do not recall ever hearing the parallels that were being compared, and it was so amazing to think about. After watching it though, as the year went by, I remember hearing this message repeated again, and again, and again. Maybe I had heard it before, maybe I had just been naive or wasn't paying very good attention. Whatever the case it was a lesson that God planted in my heart deeply this past year, and I would like to share some of what I have learned with you.

I love watching this video. There are many things that stick out to me, but I only want to share a few today. The first is, "One bought with a price." Luke 22:20 says, "In the same way, after the supper He took the cup, saying, 'This cup is the new covenant in My blood, which is poured out for you.'" When I read this verse, I noticed a key word here. Do you see it? As I think about the parallels I noticed, "new covenant." 

Ancient Jewish Tradition: The bridegroom paid the bride price set by the father of the bride.

Our Relationship with Christ: Christ paid the price for His bride with His own blood.

Jesus made the new covenant in His blood.

So how does one determine the price? 

Proverbs 31:10 says, "An Excellent wife who can find for her worth is far above jewels." 

"The bride described in Proverbs had a price that was far above rubies she was an honored and loved daughter....she would be a valuable asset to her husband, so her father would require a very high price of the groom in order to attain her." ("Restore My Heart" Denise Glenn) Our heavenly Bridegroom choose us as His bride. The one who would bring Him honor, who would be the completion of His love. However, we are a sinful, unfaithful bride, and He paid more than rubies for us. He saw us worth that much. He was worth every drop. "Christ paid with something far more precious than jewels. Our Father in heaven set the highest imaginable bride price, complete payment for our debts every sin to be blotted out." (Mary & Elisa Abele) We have been redeemed, renewed through His great love.

"Or do you not know that our body is a temple of the Holy Spirit that is in you, whom you have from God. You are not your own. For you have been bought with a price; therefore glorify God with your body." (1 Corinthians 6:19-20)

Ancient Jewish Tradition: The father often chose the bride for the bride his son.
Our Relationship with Christ: Our heavenly Father chose us to be the Bride for His Son.

Ephesians 1:3-4, "Blessed be the God and Father of Our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ, just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love." 
Who initiated this relationship, our relationship with God? When did God choose you for His Son? God chose you - not by accident, and He chose you before the foundation of the world! 
"You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you that you would go and bear fruit." 
~John 15:16

He chose you, He accepts you, and He renews you.

"Your holiness does not demand your perfect performance. It does not require a super talent. It does not insist on a flawless past. What it does ask is that you lay your life at the foot of the cross of Jesus, to die to your own agenda and to live only to please Him." (Mary & Elisa Abele) So go out and bear good fruit. Live everyday preparing as if your Bridegroom were returning tomorrow. Because He could. Keep your lamps full and waiting. Spend everyday digging deep into God's word. And spend everyday making a difference for God's kingdom.

"Let no your heart be troubled. Believe in God; believe also in Me. In My Father's house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also." 

~John 14:1-3

Quiet Times

"When I discovered your words, I devoured them. They are my joy and my heart's delight, for I bear your name, O LORD God of Heaven's Armies."

-Jeremiah 15:16

Over the years I have had many times when I have spiritually felt overflowing. However there have also been times in my life when I have closed my Bible in prayer feeling dry. As if everything I had just read had just been me fumbling through the pages. I couldn't hear the Lord leading me. I knew He was there, always, but I couldn't feel Him. 

Through these spiritual peaks and valley's I have learned many things. One of the most important it to be persistent. Despite a peak or valley it is important for me to stay in the word. "But he answered, 'It is written, "'Man shall not live on bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God."' (Matthew 4:4) Our hearts long for continual communion with God.
 

It can get difficult to stay consistent in life's busy schedule. Every morning after my quiet time with the Lord I share a verse or a couple of verses with a friend. Sometimes through text, or email, or letters. Not only have I found that this a great way to encourage my friend, but it is also a way for me to keep myself accountable, having a responsibility to uphold. This friend can be a sibling, parents, classmate, kindred spirit, etc.

I have found the best way to study is to go through a book of the Bible, rather then reading a daily devotional book. I do read those as well sometimes. I especially love a devotional I have by Oswald Chambers, "My Utmost For His Highest". What I love about reading through whole books is that I get the whole picture. When choosing a book(s) I will pray, and let the Lord direct. His direction is not always obvious, sometimes He speaks through elders, or friends, or it is just a worldly "accident", or a leap of faith. But what we sees as detours, God see as design. :)

As I am writing I am reading through the book of Romans. I am digging deep into this study, and spending time reading commentaries on Romans, as well as listening to sermons as I do my chores, or clean, etc.. John Piper does an excellent job speaking through this book, I listen to him often. But of course God it the best leader through His word. 
Starting the day off in the word helps to guide me through the day making straight my paths. In those times of busy mornings, and forgetful flesh, however I have had many awe awakening times with the Lord before my eyes close at night as well. The most important thing is to be in the word constantly. 
His word will, and does, change your life. And His word will, and does, change other's lives as well.

"Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!" 

- 2 Corinthians 5:17 

  

A Surprise Filled Tech Week

"And as you wish that others would do to you, do so to them." -Luke 6:31

"Do not judge by appearances, but judge with right judgement." -John 7:24

I have recently found myself at the end of two very difficult tech weeks. One for dance and ballet, the other for theater. If I had to pick a favorite I couldn't, but one definitely shocked me more then the other.

The first tech week I entered was dance and ballet. A tough one to start out with for sure, because it is very physically demanding. It was great though. Everything came together beautifully! It is amazing how compassionate a bunch of over-tired, worn out, hungry, ballerina's can be. You would think it would be the opposite, more like war, with peoples heads being bitten off every minute, but it wasn't. It was like the epitome of a great big happy family! Everyone helping another, from highlighting the schedule for someone else, to bringing girly pink cupcakes, and of course helping everyone you see with make-up, hair, and costumes. It was so sweet.

 We ended that tech week renewed and refreshed in kindness, and praising the Lord for His goodness. After a nice break of about 19 hours we began tech week two! This is the surprising one. Theater. The chosen theater production this year was a play called Joe Bob. It was a comedy.... based on the book of Job.....that takes place in Texas.....Yep. Let me just say when we (the class) found out what we were doing, honestly I do not think a single one of us were excited. We didn't tell our teachers that. No way. But inside, I think we all thought this was going to be super tacky. I mean a comedy based on Job. Oxymoron much. And reading through the script did not encourage us. I make this sound like it was horrible, but it wasn't the worst thing ever. Even though it was not the play I would have picked, I knew that God had a plan. Obviously there was someone out there who needed to hear this message. And let me tell you this story definitely had the message.

The surprise was how much it ended up being able to impact us, me in particular. It was definitely a great lesson on not judging a book on it's cover, or maybe not underestimating what Dale Johnson (One of Directors) can do! It was one of the simpler plays we've done, but it was also one of the best. Though I didn't think it possible it really did challenge us as actors and actresses. I know particularly for those girls who fell victim to the sudden shortage of guys in our class. It was a fantastic experience. It has now become a favorite production ever done. How could this be? God. It's His story. I cannot wait to see what He has in store!












I am going to put a plug in for the Theater class this coming fall. We need some more people who want to learn, and have fun. Weather you think your talented or not come anyways! You could be a complete natural, and you could find that it something you absolutely love! So come try it out for a semester! And be sure to tell any guys you know too. Our class could use some merry men.

Guys

"My son, give me your heart and let your eyes delight in my ways"

~Proverbs 23:26

Guys. I am not going to gush about the cutest boy at school, (Which since I am home-schooled would be my brother, Dad, or dog. Yes, definitely going with the dog.) He's adorable. 
See: 

Anyways not gushing about our dog, or about any guy from the latest TV show, band, movie, etc. Personally the whole thing causes way too much drama. However with guys are out their, it can be very hard staying God-centered. It can be extremely challenging for me to keep God at my center when I look at some of my friends with their boyfriends/girlfriends. It is hard to keep myself from falling into the pit of self pity. I must focus on the will God has for me, not my own. 

Sometimes I wish men could just fall off the face of the earth and make it easier. But that is not the solution. Realistically the male race is not going to die out tomorrow. So what do I do? How do I become God-Centered now. Waiting.
First, this may sound a bit backwards, but forget about yourself, and start thinking about a guy. The guy, a guy in the future, and of course think about God. 
When I was in middle-school, I really liked this guy, foolish little puppy I know, but I did. I began to realize I spent way to much time dwelling on foolish stuff. I started praying for this kid each night. I would pray God would strengthen his own personal walk, and then I would pray God would prepare the right godly girl for him, completely taking me out of the picture. I did not dwell on him long though, after him I moved on to praying for my future husband. Asking God to prepare his heart and mine, even at this early age. And then I would move on to other prayers and subjects. 
God can use such things in amazing ways. This young man may have been struggling and God knew he needed a prayer warrior. Even though I have stopped liking this young man, I continue to pray for him when the Lord leads. Him as well as many others. If God lays someone on your heart, pray. Go and continually lay them down before the throne of God. 
"Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your request to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your mind in Christ Jesus." -Philippians 4:6-7

I encourage you to join me. Whether you are praying for you future husband, current spouse, a brother, or your Dad. Sometimes I pray very specifically and sometimes my prayer is more of a heartfelt babble. That is when I am very thankful I have an intercessor and translator of my heart! When I pray specifically some of the things I pray for is this:

His Head–That he will look to God as Lord of his life. (1 Corinthians 11:13)
His Mind – That he will have the mind of Christ and think as the Holy Spirit would lead him and not the flesh. (1 Corinthians 2:16)
His Eyes –That God will keep his eyes from temptation and that He will turn his eyes from sin. (Matthew 6:13, Mark 9:47)
His Ears – That he will hear God's still small voice instructing him. (1 Kings 19:12, Psalm 32:8)
His Mouth – That his words will be pleasing to God. (Proverbs 19:14)
His Neck –That he will humble himself before God and be strong, courageous, and careful to do everything written in God's Word so that he will be prosperous and successful. (James 4:10, Joshua 1:8-9)
His Heart-That he will love and trust God with his whole heart. (Deuteronomy 6:5;  Proverbs 3:5)
His Arms-That God will be his strength. (Psalm 73:26)
His Hands-That he will enjoy the work of his hands and see it as a gift from God. (Ecclesiastes 3:13, 5:19)
His Ring Finger – That he will be true to our marriage vows and that our love will never wane. (Proverb 3:3; Malachi 2:16)
His Legs – That he will stand firm in his faith and not waver. (Psalm 62:6)
His feet – That God will order his steps and that he will walk in God's truth. (Proverbs 4:25, Psalm 26:3)

God has a plan for my life, even if I do not know the chapters ahead.

"Ask, and it will be given to you seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you."

~Matthew 7:7

Sticks and Stones

"The tongue can bring death or life; those who love to talk will reap the consequences."

~Proverbs 18:21

"Sticks and stone may break my bones, but words will never hurt me." This familiar statement came to light in the 1800's. It originally was written to persuade young victims of name-calling to ignore the taunts, to refrain from physical retaliation, and to remain calm and good-natured. I believe that is a fantastic thing. In other words it could be restated as this: 

"You have heard that it was was said, 'Eye for eye, and tooth for tooth.' But I tell you, do not resist an evil person. If anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to them the other cheek also. And if anyone wants to sue you and take your shirt, hand over your coat as well. If anyone forces you to go one mile, go with them two miles. Give to the one who asks you, and do not turn away from the one who wants to borrow from you... But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you." - Matthew 5:38-42, & 44 

God never said it would be easy, because it's not, however He did say we should do it. We cannot control what comes from another mouth, but we can control how we respond and what comes from ours. Instead of putting blame on someone else why not start with us. 

"Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother's eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? How can you say to your brother, 'Let me take the speck out of your eye,' when all the time there is a plank in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from you brother's eye." Matthew 7:3-5 

When you think about saying something about someone else, think about theses things.

• Would I say it to their face
• Would it build them up
• Would it improve the silence 
• Is it meaningful to God's Kingdom

When you think about sweeping under the rug. Or skipping a minor step in a task think about this verse.

• "And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through HIm." -Colossians 3:17
• Do your best, for God, because He is there, and He is watching you.

"Show yourself in all respect to be a model of good works, and in your teaching show integrity, dignity, and sound speech that cannot be condemned, so that an opponent may be put to shame, having nothing evil to say about us." Titus 2:7-8

Three Strikes

"For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them."

~Ephesians 2:10

This last school year I got the pleasure of taking an English 101 class. I can honestly say it challenged me for the better in my writing and speech making skills. This last week of class we were given the opportunity to write our on creative story. There were some amazing stories written, and I was honored to be amongst such talent. Unfortunately I do not have copies of those stories, but I do have a copy of mine to share with you. 

  Three Strikes

I have played every sport in the book, from Basketball and football, to red rover and Chinese checkers! You may be wondering why I have played so many sports, but let me just start out by saying it is not because I am some super genius athlete. The problem lies there. I am about as much of an athlete as my grandmother is a singer. It is awful. Not that I'm not good at a sport, what is awful is her singing. Sounds worse then a pelican crying for help while he chokes on a fish! But it's the heart that counts.

The first real sport I ever tried, was skipping rope, otherwise known as jumping rope. It started when my mother told me to, "get involved," "You need to make friends!" She would tell me everyday. I tried jump rope. Mom was sure I was going to make friends!  She was right, I did make a friend, his name was concrete and he hurt.

After that failed experience Dad encouraged me to try something more manly. I went as manly as I could think. I joined the sport of rodeo. Cowboys are pretty manly, right? I was sure it was my fit. I mean riding bucking horses this was perfect! The problem was instead of riding them I spent most of time flying through the air over them. After failing to perform this sport properly, I was given what they said would be the manliest job ever...the rodeo clown. After spending one day running for my life, I realized the rodeo was not for me.

After that bucking experience, I thought maybe I could choose a manly sport that kept my feet firmly on the ground. I found the perfect match. It was chess boxing.  Chess boxing is just like it sounds, it’s chess and boxing.  All you do is rotate from one to the other. Box for four minutes, chess for four minutes. Sounds easy right? It wasn’t, the sport was horrible. How could someone expect you to think logically after being pummeled in the head by a 200-pound kid. I broke the record, I am sure, for the most broken bones in four minutes.

Three strikes, if this had been a great big baseball game I would be out. My mom was still determined I was going to make friends. I was quickly signed up for unicycle hockey, a team sport. Balancing, balls, swinging sticks, nothing could go wrong there. Let me just say whoever invented this so called "sport", did not consider that balls being whacked everywhere, is not good when your on wheels. The only thing I managed to do for my team was to show the opponents my awesome spastic ninja skills as I hit the ground. I could see the fear in their eyes.

I tried underwater football, snow kiting, logrolling, cluster ballooning, sky surfing, rattlesnake round up, toe wrestling, hamster racing, and many others. I thought I would never find a sport. I was tried of making friends, and tired of being manly. I was tired of the disaster that seemed to follow me everywhere. I was giving up, if only there was ultimate sandwich making, or a race in messing up your room, those I could do. I wanted something solo, something that does not require muscles big enough to pull a train, I wanted a break.

Our family decided to take a trip to the Grand Canyon. “Family bonding” is what my parents called it. We got there and were looking at the canyon when I looked up and saw him. No, not an angel, it was a man ironing his shirt. I went over and asked him what he was doing. It was then and there that I found out about the sport of extreme ironing. Perfect! Imagine how amazing it would be to iron around the world. On top of Mount Everest, on the Great Wall of China, by the Great Pyramids. Just do not try it in the pool. I found out the hard way water and electricity do not mix...

 The End

I hope you you enjoyed it! :D

      

The Best Field Trip Ever!

"There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven: a time to be born and a time to die, a time to plant and a time to uproot, a time to kill and a time to heal, a time to tear down and a time to build, a time to weep and a time to laugh, a time to mourn and a time to dance, a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them, a time to embrace and a time to refrain, a time to search and a time to give up, a time to keep and a time to throw away, a time to tear and a time to mend, a time to be silent and a time to speak, a time to love and a time to hate, a time for war and a time for peace."

~Ecclesiastes 3:1-8

Last year my sister, Emilee had the unfortunate habit of leaving her dresser drawers open, and one day it cost her.  She was sent to clean her room, and while doing so she slipped on a scrap piece of paper, and hit her head on the corner of the bottom drawer.  I was the first one to hear her crying, so I ran to see what had happened.  Mom wasn’t far behind.  There was no blood, but Mom was dreadfully terrified that there might be some internal injury.  At twelve that night, it became very obvious that she was getting worse.  My parents decided to take her to Duke where my dad worked.  While most would say it is not the finest time to go, I did not see it that way.  To me it was an opportunity for the best field trip ever!

I am usually quite a happy and cheerful person, and this night was no exception.  I was what most people call hyper, overexcited, or bouncing off the walls.  I talked to whole way there, despite Emilee and her headache.  By the time we got there, Mom had had with me, and put me on what she calls a “silent time-out.”  Little did she know this was the worst possible thing she could do, for everything is much funnier when you have to be quiet! 

There was no wait when we walked in, so the nurse led us directly to a room.  She started to look at Emilee’s head, while I looked at the room!  It was a funny little room with a bunch of weird tools in it, I assumed those were used on the patents.  I was glad it was Emilee laying on that bed rather then me!  When she was finished she handed mom some packets of activities Emilee could do while she waited.  Mom handed it to me since evident Emilee was in no mood to do that.  I looked down only to see two huge googly eyes staring up at me.  Laughing was not an option with mom in the room; it was very obvious that she was not in the mood!  So I pulled out of the packet a coloring page with a flower on it to focus my mind on my coloring.  The nurse left and I was able to keep my composer.

While waiting for the doctor, Emilee started to speak.  She was lying in the bed; staring distantly up at the ceiling and very slowly muttering, “Stop!  Wash....... your...... hands....... when..... finished......”  My first thought was, “Oh, no!  She’s gone delirious!”  Though very worried, Mom calmly asked her what she was saying, Emilee pointed to the ceiling and said, “I was reading that sign!”  We all looked up and saw the little, red, stop sign she was reading for the employees.  I put my hands over my mouth and tried not to laugh.  I glanced up to see mom send me a serious look and decided laughing was not a good idea.  “Coloring, coloring is what I need to be thinking about,” I say in my head.

 The doctor soon came in.  His name was Dr. Fox.  I started to think about all the Foxes I knew, Dr. Fox, Mr. Fox, Pastor Fox, Teacher Fox!  I looked away hoping to hide my giggling face from mom and everyone else in the room, though it did not work so well when he came to shake my hand.  He examined Emilee’s head, and then started listing things that would be a minor head injury.  He said even if you fell from a tree and hit eight branches; it would still be minor.  I began to picture someone falling and hitting eight branches on the way down.  Boom, boom, boom!  I was trying harder to focus on my coloring, and I probably would have succeeded in not laughing, had he not gone on, such as someone getting hit in the head with a golf ball!  I had seen people in movies getting hit with a golf ball, but I again found this hilarious and pictured someone like Goliath falling to the ground due to a golf ball.  After he had finished, I had completely lost my battle not to laugh, though I tried to be quiet, and control myself.  I could feel my mother’s eyes piercing me.  I knew before I even looked up that she was giving me the “Stop before I stop you look”.  Obviously the coloring was not working well!  So I try to focus on something more interesting, ...the floor.  Trying to find pictures in the floor is like trying to find pictures in the clouds, it’s impossible!  Finally I could feel mom’s gaze shift, and I began to listen to what the doctor was saying.  He told Dad and Mom that Emilee would need to rest, without any electronics or TV, for three days, and that he would write a school note for her.  Mom quickly spoke up and said, “Oh I home school them, and we have no TV, so that won’t be a problem!”  I pulled the hat I was wearing down over my face.  Thank you, Mom for making the home school stereotype seem true!

 When we first got in the car I have to admit I was pretty sacred of what mom would say, but after nothing was said, I took the liberty and spoke first.  I spent the whole drive home talking about all that had happened to me in the ER.  After a while I glance out my window only to see a billboard with a huge golf ball that looks like it’s flying towards you.  “Oh no! We’re all going to die!” I say,  “We better turn around and go back so he can look at our minor head injuries!”  I even had Mom laughing!  After laughing, I sit back and think, “What a big sense of humor God has.  This has truly been the best field trip ever!”