Wednesday, January 31, 2007

Making snail time...


Yesterday morning as I was out walking, I happened upon a beautiful snail slowly slithering across my path! He was such a pretty site that I decided to run back to the apartment and get my camera. But I needn't have rushed. He was in no big hurry. :-)

Afterwards I was thinking about how we are like "snails." I know that is a funny comparison, but just think of it! God has incredible treasures in His Word, in the Paradise that He is preparing for us, and most importantly...IN HIS LOVE!!! Yet, we are just taking our time waddling along, in no big hurry to get there. We get distracted with this, or we have to do that! Always something important that gets in our way and keeps us from moving forward. We are just like snails!! But the incredible thing is that He has given us FEET to RUN...FEET to MOVE FORWARD!! But, we don't use them most of the time. We'd rather take our time. We'd rather slither along!!!

If we only know what glory awaits us, if we only knew what heaps of joy He longs to pour upon our souls!

So many times I've been a snail...making slow haste in seeking God's promised land, but just content and at ease, in no big hurry. Yet when I finally do get to the treasures He's had waiting for me, when I finally do fall into His arms of Love, I'm aghast that it took me soo long!

Do I see impatience or anger upon His face?? Does he irritatedly ask, "What took soooo long?" No...He simply holds me close and whispers, "Welcome my child! I'm sooooo glad you came! Here, take my robe. I have a banquet table waiting...and I made it just for YOU!!"

"Oh Lord, why did I take soooo long??!"

Sunday, January 28, 2007

Congratulations Valerie!



Valerie just passed her NCLEX and is now officially an RN!!!!!! I'm sooo excited for her! Yeah!!! Way to go girl!!! :-) God truly did answer our prayers, and He brought you through!

"I can do ALL THINGS THRU CHRIST who strengthens me!" Phil 4:13

What is my tooth worth??

Well, I had an interesting adventure today! As my family knows, I've been struggling with a tooth ache for awhile...and it hasn't been getting any better, but I've been putting off finding treatment as I have been on the move constantly for the last month...and I don't have a regular job, so finances are limited now. Anyway...God supplies our needs, as He promises! (Phil 4:19)

At church on Sabbath, they made the announcement that the Loma Linda School of Dentistry would be doing FREE dental work on anyone who came today to the school. Wow -praise the Lord!! One of our dental doctor friends here, Carlos, gave me the tip that this would be a good time to get some x-rays and get things checked out, but if I wanted to get in, I would have to go EARLY!!!! Well, how early is EARLY??? He reccommended 6am, but then reconsidered and said, "how about 5am?" I inwardly groaned, but thought, "Ok, 5am it is!!!" When you've got an unresolved ache in the jaw, you'll do anything!

I set my alarm for 4:30 am and got over to the campus about 5am. I was the 10th person in line. Two ladies had spent the night there camping on the lawn. (Now that is determination!) Another couple had come at midnight, and another at 2:30am. Wow!!! Not long after, more people started coming. By 6am, there were over 200 people waiting in line. I was sooooooo glad I'd come at 5!!

I was in the second group ushered into the medical dental center, and by 8am, was on the chair (already had x-rays done) and they began work on a cavity that was worse than expected. Incidently, it wasn't what I went in for, but I was very glad they discovered it before it got infected and I had to go get a root-canal, like I have on everything else that has gone bad with my teeth!! :-) But God knew what I needed done, and He saved me a bundle just on that! "Before they call, I will answer. While they are yet speaking, I will hear!" Isa 65:24

Who likes sitting in a dentist chair? Not I, for sure! They numbed my mouth and then put this big plastic mask across my mouth and embedded it around my gums and the designated teeth so that nothing would fall down my throat while they worked. I thought it was kinda a cool set up, until on a bathroom break I saw myself in the mirror and almost died of laughter. I looked like the little desert lizard that runs on two feet and flares out its mouth and head when it is scared! In other words, "The wide mouth monster!" It was funny!!! I had to leave the mirror quick or I knew I was gonna pop the thing out! Back in the chair, they drilled some more. At one point it started really hurting, so they had to give me more numbing shots for the the pain. Ouch! I hate the thought of needles in my mouth! :-/ But, I survived! (And my mother wasn't even there to hold my hand!)

Wow! What an adventure. My mouth is still numb and in denial...

What happened to the other tooth? Well, the x-rays showed that it does have an abcess, and although the problem is not resolved yet, now I know where to go for further assistance. So, we are on the road to recovery! One tooth at a time... :-)

Living Water to a Parched Earth

This Sabbath Sunny and I went with our "Advent Hope Youth Group" to the Coachella Valley Preserve out in the desert, towards Palm Springs. As we drove, it seemed to get more and more desolate and dry. Then all the sudden, we came around this mountain of sand, and there were a bunch of palm trees and a beautiful scenic Oasis in the midst of the wilderness.

Wow!!! It made me think of what God can do in our lives when His spirit (the living water) flows into our parched and thirsty souls!! We can be the most barren and desolate of creatures, with not a spot of color or hope in our lives...and then He comes in with all His life giving power...and there is life!!! Vibrant life! Beautiful life!! Radiant life!!!




"The wilderness and the solitary place shall be glad for them; and the desert shall rejoice, and blossom as the rose. It shall blossom abundantly, and rejoice even with joy and singing." Isa 35:1-2

A different kind of beauty...


Hiking in the desert


Eve, Sunny and I



Reminds me of old OA hikes



TJ and MaryAnn - new friends!



Wednesday, January 24, 2007



Excited and ready for another day with my King!!!

Rumblings of greater things to come...

What a beautiful last couple weeks it has been as I've been able to take more time for reflection and study in God's Word. Maybe it has to do with the fact I am in between travel nurse jobs and I can actually take more then the usual allotment of time from my daily schedule...or maybe it has to do with the fact that the Lord is simply drawing me closer to Himself in answer to my prayers of longing!

Yesterday, as I've been continuing to review the "Set-Apart Life" series of Bible studies, I was on the section called "Consecration." It talked about the 10 commandments in more depth...it was sooo beautiful and thrilling. (Well, yes, it was scary and convicting too! But as you see yourself more in your true light and inadequacies, you also see God more in His true glory!!!)

"And all the people saw the thundersings, and the lightnings, and the noise of the trumpet, and the mountain smoking: and when the people saw it, they removed, and stood afar off. And they said unto Moses, speak thou with us, and we will hear, but let not God speak with us, lest we die. And Moses said unto the people, Fear not: for God is come to prove you, and that his fear may be before your faces, that ye sin not." Exodus 20:20

This afternoon, while I was sitting here at my desk, the doors and windows started shaking. While I have felt tremors here and there, it was the most noticeable earthquake I've felt since I've been here. (I know it was an earthquake, because not long after, I looked it up on the web, and the epicenter was only like 20 miles from here!) Kinda sent shivers up my back. But what is that compared to the shaking of God on Mt Sinai, and the shaking He is longing to do in our hearts? His desire is not to consume us, but to consume sin...so that nothing will come between us and Him.

Following is a letter from our King in the paraphrased words of one of his humble servants. I thought it was convicting, yet beautiful, so wanted to share it here.

"I am holy, dear one. I am a consuming fire of righteous perfection, and anything unlike me, anything that bears even the slightest traces of the flesh will turn to ash in my presence. If I but hear its rustlings in thy being, you can not partake of me. If I but smell the lingering aroma of worldliness on thy garments, you can have no part in me. If there be even the subtle stain of sin's imperfection upon thine hands, then you will die in my presence. I am holy. And I will always be holy, for a thousand forevers, I will still be holy.

But because I love thee, I have made a way for thee. It is a way into my holy presence. Through the thunderings and lightnings of my righteousness, I have invited thee. Through the waters of baptism, the cleansing of my blood, and the veil of my flesh, into my most holy dwelling. For only clean hands and a pure heart will secure you in my presence.

But first, dear one, it is necessary that I acquaint you with this fiery chamber of my love. To enter here, thou must be clean. Thou must be purged of all sin. The flesh about thy heart must be removed as a covenant symbol of our marriage. Thou must leave thy people. Thou must leave thy comforts of home, leave thy every possession behind, and even thy own name must be abandoned if thou are to partake of my life. To enter this fiery chamber, thou must allow me to possess thy life and burn away all that which separates you from me. Thou must allow me to refine you like the gold's of Ophir, that you may enter in with me and be my spotless bride.

To eat of my flesh and drink of my blood in such a holy communion, is the most sacred of all sacred activities in all this Cretion of mine. For me to be in thee, and for thee to be in me, this is a mystery hidden for ages and generations, but only now revealed to those of my most sacred fellowship. But to be my own, purchased of my blood, and bearing my very name, this is the most supreme and sacred delight.

I love you dear one, and that is why I must prove you with fire. But do not be afraid, just yield yourself to me. I will only purge away that which would keep you from me. I will make you clean, and you will be my bride, my spotless bride."

*From the inspiring pen of Eric Ludy - Copyright 2007. www.setapartlife.com

Sunday, January 21, 2007

The gift of silence...

This morning, I'd just finished a beautiful time of Bible study and reflection and knelt down to pray, when the neighbors in the condominium next door start blaring loud LOUD rock n' roll music! "Oh God," I cried out. "How can I talk to you amidst this racket!" Then I got the bright idea to rebuke the darkness and pray that God would turn off the music. He is more powerful than evil, right? Well, I hadn't even finished praying when the music shut off, just like that!!! Wow! Praise the Lord! I almost couldn't believe it. I continued thanking God for the miracle and praying...The music didn't come on blaring again until I had gone on with activities of the day.

Isn't God great, with even the smallest of our needs! Wow!!!

The sun comes up, the sun goes down...


Sunrise amidst the frost crystals
Originally uploaded by EchoHisLove.

Saturday, January 20, 2007

All is Vanity...

Friday night a friend invited me to their place for supper and a Bible study. And the chapter they happened to be studying was Ecclesiastes 1. Wow! Haven't looked at Ecclesiastes for awhile.

"Vanity of vanities, saith the preacher, vanity of vanitites; all is vanity." vs 2

"What profit had a man of all his labour which he taketh under the sun? One generation passeth away, and another generation cometh: but the earth abideth forever...the thing that hath been, it is that which shall be; and that which is done is that which shall be done: and there is no new thing under the sun." vs 3,9

"And I gave my heart to know wisdom, and to know madness and folly: I perceived that this also is vexation of spirit. For in much wisdom is much grief: and he that increaseth knoweth increaseth sorrow." vs 18

And so chapter 1 ends. Very sobering huh? :-/

Then I went to church Sabbath and guess what we were studying? Ecclesiastes 2!

Solomon begins, "I made me great works; I builded me houses; I planted me vineyards: I made me gardens and orchards, and I planted trees in them of all kind of fruits...I got me servants and maidservants...I gathered me also silver and gold, and the peculiar treasure of kings and of provinces...Then I looked on all the works that my hands had wrought, and on the labour that I had laboured to do: and, behold, ALL was VANITY and VEXATION of spirt, and there was no profit under the sun."

In essence again, All is vanity, all is vanity!

So what is the point of life anyway? What is the point of the hurrying and worrying and scurrying about? Why must we keep doing the same things our ancestors did? Unless we find a different path, we really can't hope for more can we? It's all vanity!

Needless to say, I am becoming increasingly convinced that it's time I break away from the traditional and do something very untraditional, and in fact, preposterious! (At least in most people's eyes!)

My increasing hunger and thirst is to but know His will...to do His will. "Seek ye first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added unto you..."

"Father, may I not rob your kingdom of any more of your glory by seeking my own selfish will!"

Thursday, January 18, 2007

Blessings sometimes come in disguised packages!

God has been teaching me some beautiful things as I've been seeking to yield more fully and completely to Him and His plan for my life. One thing I've really been striving to work on is "my agenda." As I was studying again in Lession 4 of the "Set-Apart Life" series, Eric poses the important question...

"Are you dictating your life's agenda and simply begging God's blessings on your already made decisions or are you willing to let Him decide what you will or wont do that day?"

How often I find myself rushing off to do more tasks or fulfill my agenda and quickly praying as I go, "Father, please bless these things today?" But are they really part of His plan? So this morning, in a new way, I prayed that God would write my agenda and let me follow His plans, not my own.

Another thing I've struggled with is knowing how to reach out in love to the strangers I meet everyday. I feel guilty, for I know I have treasures of gold in Jesus love that they do not have. How can I keep it to myself?? But yet, how can I share? I can't just start preaching on the curbside? Thus, another prayer I've been praying is, "Lord, led me to those that you want me to bless and reach..."

Well, today God answered both of those prayers in a very unique way. And my life took some twists and turns that I would have never mapped out in any agenda. But I was seeking God's agenda...and what a blessing His path turned out to be!!

About 4pm, I was just walking into the post-office to mails some letters and my next stop was going to be Taco Bell as I was very hungry and hadn't eaten since 7 this morning. But I stopped to open the door for a black lady coming out of the post-office, and she kinda grabbed my arm as she passed me and whispered, "Maam....would you help me?" I paused and turned to look into her eyes. Although she didn't smell bad or look as weathered as a typical begger, she still looked desperate. I don't tend to give cash to beggers as I don't know what they are going to use it for, and I don't want to support underground "drug abuse" or etc. And so, often, unless I have some food or something else disposable on my being, will tend to say "sorry" and walk away. But somehow God's spirit made me stop and listen. She rambled on about how she needed money for a motel for just one night, and then things would be ok for her and her kids. I didn't really get the story straight, but told her to wait for me while I mailed the packages and I would think about it.

Hmmm....what was I to do?? "God, why did I have to bump into this strange lady? How am I suppose to help her? How do I know if she is telling the truth about her needs." While I was inside the post-office, I came to the conclusion that I could help her by taking her to the motel she was talking about, and pay the bill directly, rather than giving her the money. This would also validate if she was telling the truth about her needs. I'm not accustom to taking "beggers" in my car anywhere though, and in case she had some plans to rob me or something, I pulled out all my important cards from my purse and stuck them in my pockets, before I came out of the post-office and offered to help her. (Isn't that awesome, self still looking out for it's best interest!)

I asked her to tell me her story again. Evidently, she had come down on the bus with her two children from Seattle WA a couple weeks previous. She had been looking for work and working on getting an apartment through Welfare, and had brought enough money to pay the motel bill up through last night. But now they had no more money. The details with their new apartment were suppose to come through tomorrow, but tonight....tonight they would be on the streets without help. She had talked to shelters, but they would not allow her 14 year old boy to stay with her (only females), and she didn't want to put him in a male shelter for fear he would get raped. So she didn't know what to do. She had been to churches around asking for help, all she needed was $30 bucks for one night, but no one would help. We got in my car and drove the few blocks to the motel. She was sooo excited, she almost cried. I was still cool and guarded, although listening to every word. Still wondering if she was telling the truth or just giving me a "sob story." "God," I prayed. "If you led me to this woman to bless her, I'm willing! Just please give me wisdom, and protect me!" :-)

The motel people knew her as she'd been there the night before, so her story validated. She showed me paperwork from Seattle WA without my asking. Then after I paid, I asked her how she was going to get her two kids. Evidently, she'd left them in a Library across town (as that was the only safe place) while she went looking via bus for a shelter and place to stay the night. So I asked her if she wanted me to take her to get the kids. She couldn't belive it! So we did! The children (a girl and boy 13 and 14) were well mannered and friendly, and very grateful for the help. We talked a bunch more and I invited them to our church services which they said they'd love to attend. Finally, before I left them, we huddled in a group and I prayed for them. The boy had tears in his eyes that he wiped away when we finished. Now trusting the little family and their story, I gave them some cash to help with food, a calling card and my number in case they needed anything more. As I drove away, they blew kisses and waved as they cried. I'm not sure who was the more touched...

It was after dark by then, so I decided I could forgo Taco Bell and my other errands, and instead drove back to the cozy apartment I share with my sister. I felt soooo happy and peaceful though. God actually had answered my prayer. I gave Him my agenda, and although my day didn't turn out like I would have imagined, it was so much better!

"God is not servant to our agenda! He must become King over our life and we must submit to His agenda. Do you find that there are certain things that are off limits to God in your life? Have you pre-decided that God's access to your life can only go so far? If so, the Amalekites are still keeping you from the promised land, and what you choose not to destroy will ultimately destory you. Give God your agenda!!!" - Eric Ludy

Wednesday, January 17, 2007

Welcome back to California


This is the valley I live in currently. The tiny white clump in the very center of the picture is Loma Linda University Hospital. I live along the bottom of the hills about an inch to the lower right of the hospital. I was sooo excited when I saw this from the airplane, because this whole picture encompasses the community I will be living and working in for the next months and maybe years. This is the "Mission field" I never dreamed I would be working in, and the last place I ever wanted to come live! "Lord, I'd rather go to China or India or Africa...anywhere, but please don't send me to Southern California!" :-)

Ahhhh...doesn't God have a sense of humor? Well, here I am, because of God's leading and only by His grace. And as long as He directs, here I will stay.



Yes Lord, you can have my computer!

Since I've been back in Loma Linda, I've been trying to get un-packed, catch my breath, spend some more serious time in Bible study and prayer, and work on Creator's Call organizational needs. And already God brought me a small trial to test my faith. My laptop arrived in the mail yesterday (it had been getting some repairs), but when I plugged it in, it would not start...nor did it seem that the power cord was even giving it proper power so it could charge. I tried all sorts of different things, even left it to sit for a few hours, and then tried again, all to no avail.

I just paid over a hundred dollars to have it repaired, and now it still wouldn't work? Or perhaps it had been damaged in shipping? The repair shop reported that it was working when they sent it out, and I had it insured it with the UPS, but I knew they would not reimburse me for anything since there were no obvious damages on the box.

Well, I was discouraged, but I immediately started praying that God would give me strength to accept the fact that I might not have a lap-top anymore. And that's tough to think about, because I do EVERYTHING on it! However, I certainly can't afford to buy one now that I'm not working, so I would have to trust and leave it in his hands.

This morning, before packing it away, I called the repair shop to ask if they had any additional suggestions. It still would not start and showed no signs of life. "It's ok!" I told myself. "This is God's computer, not mine, so it will work out for the best." Amazingly, and to my shock, while I was talking to the repair guy, my computer turned on!!!!! And it has been working ever since.

But it was like God had to test me to see if I would yield the "loss" to Him, before He gave it back. What a blessing! I don't know what tomorrow will bring, but "Please Lord, give me strength to yield and trust you, no matter what the trial! My life is yours!"

The Set-Apart Group January 2007


Thanks Michelle, Beth, Lauren, Carlianne, Sarah R, Melissa, BenZ, Levi, Fork, Sarah, Nick, Braxton, Michael, Dave, Ashley, Annie, Bri, Cindy, Kendra, Jess, and last but not least, Eric, Leslie and Hudson - for such a life-changing memorable retreat!!! If we don't all meet again on this earth, let's be sure to meet in Heaven!!

The happy Ludy family!



With Eric and Leslie


Eric breaks down the baby bottle as he illustrates a point



Hudson makes some new friends



Nick and Sarah, the special couple on our team!



Michelle and Mel



The great adventure awaits...Lauren and BenZ contemplate stepping out of the comfort zone!



Footprints of a different sort


Ironic as these footprints seem, they illustrate an important point! We aren't suppose to walk like the rest of the world! Our path and walk is to be different!!!

Sharing time



Another dinner at the girl's house



Leslie and Hudson



Happy and He knows it! Ben, what a blessing you are to our group!



Evening Worship and Prayer


This evening time together turned out to be the favorite part of the day for me as we knelt, worshiped and prayed...sometimes for several hours at a time. It was soooo beautiful to fellowship and share with each other and God.

Their studio - our classroom!

This is fun! I've even got my blanky! :-)


Each day we got to take a little trek through the beautiful winter wonderland, to get to class at the Ludy's home!

Ashley & Annie serving up something sweeeet!


The Windsor girls were a constant display for God's glory as they served and loved each of us!

Getting aquainted with new Friends

Tuesday, January 16, 2007

The Set-Apart Life...

Where do I begin? Just arrived back in California again (been gone since Thanksgiving) after spending a wonderful weekend (mid-trip after leaving Oklahoma) at the "Set-Apart Training Series" that Eric & Leslie hosted at their home in Windsor Colorado.

Wow! Can just a few words actually summarize what the "Set-Apart Training Retreat" really meant for my life? Talk about opening the door and seeing God in a whole new wonderful and spectacular way, talk about coming alive to the reality of the most exciting existence that anyone could hope to live, talk about laughing and crying and praying...praying like I never have before with a team of youth come alive with the passion of Christ. Words fail me to describe the experience. It was a glimpse of Heaven, a taste of the promised land! And to think, it was only the first step! Wow!!!

Eric has a 20 part series that he's been developing over the last months and year, but due to time, we only covered about half of the material. Thankfully he gave us all the notes as well as a stack of CD's that he'd already recorded with their ministry team. So that's a blessing.

In a Nutshell (If this is possible), I'll give a run-down of the important points.



The Endless Frontier

- Never pitch your tent spiritually, even if you are ahead of 99.9% of the rest of the world, we must always be pressing ever upward and onward. Choose to be a pioneer rather than a settler.

- Always allow scripture to define the potential of the Christ-life, not other Christians. Don't limit what God can do in your life.

- Make the destination the promised land, and don't settle for the wilderness experience. God has so much more in store for us.



The School of Christ

"The school of Christ must break us before it can build us. It must exact so that it might fill. It must first conquer so that the Almighty King can rule. It must bring storm before it invades with triumphant peace. For the gospel to be understood aright and to be exercised in its fullness in the soul of man, the ruin of man's inner domain must first be exposed. For the benevolent takeover of our existence to commence, we first must realize the vast extent of our need of rescue. God has a plan to regenerate our lives, to wholly and completely reconstruct and reform us, to in a sense, rebirth a whole new existence within our being. He has a design to conform us to the image of His Son (Rom 8:29), to pattern us after the perfect temple (Ezek 40:3). His expectations and desires for our human lives are nothing short of a pure and perfectly undiluted replication of His own life. But for man...these expectations are impossible to fulfill.

Thus, before we can reach the promised land, we must realize three basics.

1. We must realize the greatness and vastness of God's intent in our lives
2. We must realize how sinful and unworthy we are of His great plan
3. We must realize that it's humanly impossible of ourselves to ever achieve the plan



The fullness of Grace and what it means

We should be perfect (Matt 5:48)
We should be holy (1Pet 1:16)
We should be slaves to righteousness (Rom 6:19)
We should be dead to sin (Rom 6L10-12)
We should be pictures of supernatural love (Luke 6:27-31)
We should not shrink back from death (Rev 12:11)
We should deny self, pick up the cross and follow Him (Matt 16:24)

But how can all this be?

"And when Jesus cried out again in a loud voice, he gave up his spirit. At that moment the curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom. The earth shook and the rocks split. The tombs broke open and the bodies of many holy people who had died were raised to life." Matt 27:50-55

"We are to be perfect as our Father in Heaven is perfect, but not by struggle and effort, but by the impartation of that which is perfect." - Oswald Chambers

Check out the following verses:
Col 1:23-29
Eph 3
Gal 2:20-21
Matt 21:11-13
John 2:18-21
1 Cor 3:16-18
1 Cor 6:18-20
2 Cor 6:15-17

The theme of scripture? Ruin, Redemption, and Regeneration!

"The whole purpose of the Redemption is to give back to man the original source of life, and in a regenerated man this means "Christ formed in you." Am I willing that the old disposition should be crucified with Christ? If I am, Jesus Christ will take possession of me and will baptize me into His life until I bear a strong family likeness to Him. It is a lonely path, a path of death, but it means ultimately being "presenced with Divinity." The Christian life does not take its pattern from good men, but from God himself, that is why it is an absolutely amazing supernatural life all through." - Oswald Chambers



Scripture

Eric then showed us through scripture the battle between "Flesh & Spirit." Although I've known about this battle, it was never so clear as he went through the different layers of scripture.

Ishmael versus Isaac
Essau versus Jacob
Wilderness versus Promised Land
Amalekites versus Israelites
Saul versus David
Sinai versus Moriah, Zion

Then he talked a lot about the covenant shift, from laws written on tablets of stone to lives made complete through the indwelling of His Spirit in our lives today!

He shared how we need to recognize the Amalekites in our lives that are trying to keep us from the promised land. They represent the things of our flesh that keep us from being completely surrendered and overtaken by God.

He talked about the work of "tribulation" and how important it is in our lives. I had to admit that I had been praying that God would NOT allow tribulation into my life, as I'm afraid of more loss and pain. But God convicted me over this weekend that I need to open my hands to allow whatever He needs to bring into my life to humble me, build me, and re-create me. Wow!

Probably the most important part of Eric's series was the sections titled "To Tremble" and "Canon" validating the authenticity and power of scripture. He made a statement that I will never forget.

"The way you treat and value scripture is the way you treat and value Christ!"

Scripture is very important to me...I read it every day, I memorize portions of it, and I talk about it with my friends. But is it my very sustenance, my very life...is my soul close to death without it? I have to admit, I often take it forgranted, and don't value it as I hope I would Christ were He in my presence! Lord help me, Lord forgive me!!



Finally - what about the THREE RIGHTS?

First Right

"In God's mysterious language, the right side of the body denotes far more than a mere compass direction or physical appendage; it denotes strength, power, salvation, control, will, lordship, kingship, holiness, cleanliness, correctness, correction, social propriety, honor and wisdom. Therefore, if man claims this "right side" of his being and refuses to release it unto God, he is despising the offer of God's strength, power, salvation, control, will, lordship, kingship, holiness, cleanliness, correctiness, correction, heavenly propriety, honor, and wisdom and is determining to seek those things by means of his own machinations. Therefore, the right side of one's being must be relinquished in order for man to become as he ought to be."

"Thy right hand, O Lord, is become glorious in power: thy right hand, O Lord, hath dashed in pieces the enemy." Exodus 15:6

Second Right

"Humanism emphasizes the natural born rights of man for life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. These inborn, inherent, innate rights of man are reasonable and proper to uphold in a human society. But God's business is pressing us into a heavenly, not an earthly society - a heavenly and not an earthly pattern of living. Every man has these reasonable and naturally inherited possessions - a right to control, decide his own course, engineer his outcome, design and build his fortune and fame, create and stimulate his happiness and pleasure, keep or relinquish his assets. But as long as man holds onto this perceived right, he cannot enter into the pattern of Jesus Christ, who asks for everything, including even that which is reasonable to keep, to be poured out as a sacrifice upon the altar of devotion. Therefore, the natural born inherent rights of man must be relinquished in order for man to become as he ought to be."

"Do we provoke the Lord to jealousy? Are we stronger than He? All things are lawful for me, but all things are not expedient; all things are lawful for me, but all things edify not. Let no man seek his own, but every man another's wealth." I Cor 10:22

Third Right

"Man has a way which he perceives is correct and proper, but God must prove that man's opinion is unholy and wholly unlike his own. God must redefine "correctness" in man's existence. God's ways appear foolishness to man's natural mind, but in reality, God's ways are "right and correct" and it is man's ways that are actually foolish, incorrect and wrong. The "right" idea is, by scriptural definition, the perfect and inviolable opinion of God; never wrong, never perverted, never polluted, and always, without exception correct. God is right, His Word is right, His Word became flesh is right, and everything that opposes this "right" is, without exception, always wrong. Therefore, the way that seems right to a man, must be relinquished in order for man to become as he ought to be."

"There is a way that seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death." Prov 14:12

"Each way of a man is right in his own eyes: but the Lord ponders the hearts." Prov 21:2

Summary of the "Rights"

-We must allow God to strip us of everything that might cause us to think we have saved ourselves by our own right hand.

-All our human faculties must be overtaken. Our mind must submit to things that may appear foolish, our hands and feet must now do the bidding of a New Power within, for no longer is our right arm our own.

-Our every possession must be handed over, poured out with rediculious extravagance upon the feet of our King. We must learn to abide, to rest at His feet, and though the world bustle about in the strength of their own right-handedness and call us crazy, we must choose the good part (the holy pattern) in order to fully apprehend His strength, salvation, abundant life and amazing love.

-We must willingly become fools in the eyes of the world. We must forsake popularity for the applause of The Man of the Right Hand. For the Kingdom and for the Glory we must pronounce the Truth that we know will sound foolishness in the hearts and minds of the world. We must choose to live a life that seems not merely strange, but repulsive to the right-handed men and women that look on. But through this foolishness. God will ultimately prove that the true fools are those who lean upon their own right-handedness to save them.

-The right hand of God will not work on behalf of the rich, but He will certainly rescue the poor. When our right hand is consecrated unto Christ, then it must fall in line with what Christ's right hand would do - it must reach out, it must extend itself to fight against injustice, to fight for truth, to protect the fatherless, to feed the hungry, to comfort the sick, and to provide for those who have nothing. A righteous life is a life wholly spent, not partially spent, on the work of the right hand of God.

"I have set the Lord always before me: Because He is at my right hand, I shall not be moved." Psalms 16:8

"But seek ye first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added unto you." Matt 6:33


That is my greatest desire...and from this day forward, more than ever before, my plan is to "Seek Him First" in all that I do!

Watch out, because there will be more wild radical changes ahead!!!!


*Note* - To check out some of the powerful "Set-Apart Life" sessions online, go to:
http://www.ericandleslie.com/discipleship.php

Monday, January 08, 2007

The Sun encourages the Lighthouse..."Let it shine!"


The Sun encourages the Lighthouse..."Let it shine!"
Originally uploaded by EchoHisLove.

This and That...

Time is flying by, and once again I am preparing to say goodbye to my family as I head back to California. It's hard to believe that my holiday time at home is over, but I'm looking forward to getting back to Loma Linda and working with my Creator's Call team. :-(

The last couple weeks have been busy ones, between recovering from a minor cold/flu that finally caught up with me after GYC, to working on learning Adobe for Graphics and Editing with CCBN projects, to helping around the house and playing "spy" games with my siblings, to helping mom with various projects. Even got to take her out for an afternoon and help her find several new outfits to add some variety to her wardrobe. That was fun, even if she does have different taste than I. But I guess she has that right, since she's my mom! :-)

On Sabbath, Fiedlers were here and gave us some education about Adventist History. It was especially interesting as Mr. Fiedler talked about some of how Loma Linda began. That has more impact now that I am personally living in Loma Linda. Trey and Julie Shurley and boys also gave us a surprise visit Sabbath. It was fun to catch up with Julie (a friend from childhood days) and the boys 3 & 5 were a blast to chase around the yard and play games with.

Since GYC, I've been struggling with finding a specific focus in my devotions...whether to focus on this topic or that, or to just read inspiration, or to get into more in-depth Bible study. There are a lot of topics I want to do more research on and study out, but somehow, it seems I have a hard time trying to do such intense stuff when I just wake up. So...what to do? I think I have decided to keep it more simple and inspirational, while also making extra time in my week for more intense Bible study and gold-digging. So this morning I started reading "That I may Know Him" again, and did a comparison on the Bible verses used. It was a blessing! I also want to get back into my "scripture memory" routine. That's kinda been slipping for awhile, especially with my crazy schedule. But with God's help, even though things aren't always perfect, I will keep pressing upward.

On my way back to California I have a special treat to look forward to, as I'll be stopping off in Colorado for a weekend of discipleship training with Eric and Leslie Ludy. They are such an inspiration and encouragement, so I'm looking forward to the time of refreshment and sharing with them and a few others.

Wednesday, January 03, 2007

Welcome to the GYC Convention Baltimore MD

Travel Partners - Mom, Brothers, and friend Anna

Enjoying the sights

Look at all the Early-risers!

Enjoying an early morning meeting at GYC


Morning Devotional with Peter Gregory

Loma Linda Ministries Team

Creator's Call meeting with David Gates

With old friends - Mary, Jeff & Fawna

Morning Sunrise on the Final Day of GYC

Goodbyes in Baltimore

Trip to Baltimore Maryland General Youth Conference

This last week has been a flurry of passing miles, monumental moments and incredible inspiration. Not even sure where to begin on recounting my wonderful trip to GYC except to say it was well worth the time!!

I and my mom and brothers and a friend Anna, along with almost 5,000 other youth and young adults, traveled out to the East Coast for a unforgettable weekend of spiritual encouragement and inspiration. I drove out of OKC Dec 27th at 2am and picked up the rest of my travel partners in Arkansas about 6am. About 24 hours later, after traveling almost 1,400 miles, we arrived in Baltimore. Despite only a few hours of sleep, all of us were up and running at 6:30 that morning (Dec 28th) so as not to miss the morning devotional with Peter Gregory. And so went the weekend - packed with powerful devotionals, attending challenging seminars, talking with friends, and working at the booth. Our "Creator's Call Broadcasting Network" shared a booth with other Loma Linda Ministries, so that was a blessing. Over the weekend, we gave away over a thousand fliers and DVD's of our first two programs. And on Sabbath, Curtis (CCBN president) got interviewed by David Gates on the live 3ABN broadcast and got to share our vision for Creator's Call and what we are working towards. What a blessing!

My favorite part of the weekend though was the evening devotionals by David Assherick. He doesn't bow to popular opinions or comfort style preaching, but preaches like it is, straight from the Bible. And believe me, it nudges you out of your comfort zone!

The first evening his sermon was titled "What do you Expect?"

He talked about expectations in general and how we as a society always expect less than promised. Advertisers tell us one thing, but constantly deliver something less and lower quality. And now that same mentality is affecting our relationship with God. We don't really expect God to deliver like He says in His word. Maybe He did miracles in the past, and we believe He will do miracles in the futures, but we don't believe He'll do miracles today. We don't believe that He is God of the present.

He went on to share how real our unbelief is through the example of Gideon and the Woman at the Well (Judges 6 and John 4). They lived in Bible times, and at first, even they didn't believe. They believed that God had worked for their ancestors but would not come through for them. Thus their church and circle was stagnating. But the problem in the church (then and today) is not the church, it's us! We don't believe our God is alive today!!!

He talked about how satisfied we are when God helps us find our lost keys or wallet, but God longs to do soooo much more for us. Then He told the story of Lazarus and how even Mary and Martha (who knew Jesus well) didn't believe that He would raise Lazarus from the dead. They believed he was powerful enough to keep Lazarus from dying if Jesus had arrived on time, and they believed that He would raise Lazarus at the last day (2nd coming), but they didn't believe that Jesus could or would raise Lazarus that day here and now! And that is proved by their objections to Christ asking for the stone to be rolled away from the tomb. "Jesus, he's gonna stink! It's been too long since he was put away!" And as we all know, Jesus wept. But it wasn't sadness for Lazarus death, as David so clearly brought out. It was over the unbelief of his followers.

David then brought up a quote from Desire of Ages pg 535 that said "Whenever the Lord is about to do a great work, Satan always raises someone up to object..." In other words, "Been there, done that, can't work, wont work, don't even try..." But God is not just a God of the past or of the future, He is our God today! He wants to work today, to do miracles today! How can we be so comfortable resting back in our easy chairs...trusting and believing in a God that has worked, and someday will work again, but not in a God that is working in the here and now!!!??? God is not the God of "I was" or "I will be"....but the God "I AM."

As David spoke earnestly from the heart and with boldness from God's Holy Word, many hearts were touched, and many came forward to serve God with even greater committment.

The rest of his sermons were just as powerful, and for anyone who is seeking an even closer walk with God, I would highly HIGHLY reccommend you go listen to them. They can be found online in the GYC 2006 section at: http://www.hopevideo.com/

Let's act on the Words and Promises that God has given us, for He is ALIVE TODAY!!!!