I have found myself clinging to some promises of God this year such as...
"But if we say we have no sin, we are only fooling ourselves, but if we confess them to him, he is just and faithful to forgive us and cleanse us of all wrong." 1 John 1:8-9
"For now there is no condemnation..." Romans 8:1
"...for I am the Lord who heals you." Exodus 15:27
The 1 John verses I read just a few weeks ago. The promise is God is faithful about forgiving us when we confess our sins. But I like the extra part, he doesn't just forgive, he cleanses us of all wrong. That's freeing. I can be self critical when I make mistakes/sin. But I am not God, He is. And He is faithful to wipe my slate clean. These verses have been revitalizing for the past month. I've shown them to some students, and their response was, "So this means God has forgotten my past" which for them can be really freeing.
The Romans 8:1 verse has just recently been a huge encouragement. With my self criticism comes self condemnation. Any time I do something wrong, I get down on myself and feel guilty/bad for it for a while-even if it's just saying something to a roommate that came out the wrong way unintentionally. Also, lately, I think the enemy has played up on this weakness and has made me feel guilty-usually it is because I feel like I am not living up to a certain standard or doing enough ministry. But God doesn't love us more or less if we live up to particular level of goodness or if we fail 77 times. Lately, I have been trying to constantly remind myself of this promise and live in that freedom. God has been trying to help as well. A few devotionals, sermons, and many conversations with one roommate and a long distance friend have centered around this promise.
The Exodus verse is one I just read yesterday. The Israelites just left Egypt through the Red Sea, and God just changed the bitter water of Marah to sweet water. God tells Moses, If you listen carefully to my voice and obey, I will not make you suffer the same plagues as the Egyptians did before..."for I am the Lord who heals you." That is the context of the verse, but for me, it's a reminder that God heals. This has been crucial in the past 4 months with mom's cancer and all of the emotional and mental stress that comes along with it. I have comfort in knowing He can (and has been) healing mom. I have comfort in knowing He will heal me in time from the rollercoaster of events. I know He will heal me of many things I don't even know of. But I know I, and all of the students I see, are shattered or broken, and God's promise is that He heals.
Wednesday, April 22, 2009
Tuesday, April 14, 2009
Assignment #8
Seeing a new movement planted and growing makes me think of...
Orchids and my neighbor Tashia. They are, in my opinion, easy to plant, but really hard to keep growing.
Last Valentine's Day, I bought flowers for my mom and our close friend/neighbor Tashia. I happened to find a beautiful white and purple orchid that had been priced incorrectly. Instead of paying nearly $30, I bought it for $7! Tashia has always wanted an orchid, but you could give her fake flowers and she'd kill them. Not a green thumb on either hand. I really wanted to give it to her anyways, especially since I got it for cheap!
I visited Tash this past weekend for our annual family/neighborhood Easter dinner. I looked for the orchid, but I could guess its fate. It had died only a couple weeks after Valentine's Day.
I say movements are like orchids because you just stick a bulb in the ground and water it (or in my case, allow Home Depot to do the dirty work). But keeping it growing is a very different story. I have really enjoyed helping start a movement at Frisco. The ministry there is fairly young, and I'm the first female staff to be assigned there full time. Building relationships with coaches, students and faculty has been one of my favorite parts of my job.
The toughest part, and I believe I've mentioned it before, is continuing to keep students involved. I need to spend more time in praying for the movement to keep growing. Actually a lot more praying about many things is really what I need to do. It's tough to keep students involved when they're too busy or just don't know enough about Student Venture.
I think seeing and experiencing a movement is different each year. You see different students come and go, seniors graduate, new freshmen each year. This is one reason I really want to be part of this ministry for 4-6 years.
Orchids and my neighbor Tashia. They are, in my opinion, easy to plant, but really hard to keep growing.
Last Valentine's Day, I bought flowers for my mom and our close friend/neighbor Tashia. I happened to find a beautiful white and purple orchid that had been priced incorrectly. Instead of paying nearly $30, I bought it for $7! Tashia has always wanted an orchid, but you could give her fake flowers and she'd kill them. Not a green thumb on either hand. I really wanted to give it to her anyways, especially since I got it for cheap!
I visited Tash this past weekend for our annual family/neighborhood Easter dinner. I looked for the orchid, but I could guess its fate. It had died only a couple weeks after Valentine's Day.
I say movements are like orchids because you just stick a bulb in the ground and water it (or in my case, allow Home Depot to do the dirty work). But keeping it growing is a very different story. I have really enjoyed helping start a movement at Frisco. The ministry there is fairly young, and I'm the first female staff to be assigned there full time. Building relationships with coaches, students and faculty has been one of my favorite parts of my job.
The toughest part, and I believe I've mentioned it before, is continuing to keep students involved. I need to spend more time in praying for the movement to keep growing. Actually a lot more praying about many things is really what I need to do. It's tough to keep students involved when they're too busy or just don't know enough about Student Venture.
I think seeing and experiencing a movement is different each year. You see different students come and go, seniors graduate, new freshmen each year. This is one reason I really want to be part of this ministry for 4-6 years.
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