Christmas music

I love Chrismas music! I wish I could listen to it all year long, but it would be difficult, considering I have only a few Christmas cd's, and I would get tired of those very quickly if I listened to them all year. I like being able to find radio stations that are playing Christmas music! I have several stations that I can go between (you know....to try to find the most "checkable" music). I can usually find something to listen to. I like that a lot of the traditional Christmas carols are in different tonalities. Major and minor get so old so quickly!

Some of my favorite Christmas songs/carols/cd's: O Come, O Come, Emmanuel; What Child is This; Sleigh Ride; I Want a Hippopotomus for Christmas; Santa Baby (that one's hillarious!); Walking in a Winter Wonderland (which is actually more of a winter song than it is a Christmas song); the Chipmunk Christmas cd's; John Rutter's Christmas cd's.

A song that I heard the other day went something like this: "All I want for Christmas is you." So, this is all about a person missing their "special someone," but it made me think...who would you put in for "you"? All I want for Christmas is....? Who is the real reason for Christmas? Jesus, of course. Isn't He the first One that we should think of? "All I want for Christmas is...You, Jesus!" It rebuked me to think that He isn't what I think of first. That should be my new goal...to want Jesus and Him only for Christmas. To be completely satisfied and fulfilled in Him and His leading in my life. And I CAN be completely satisfied with Him!

Moving....

It looks like I am going to be moving to Watertown! I think it's time for me to be more "on my own," if you know what I mean: make my own food, have my "own" apartment (well, I'll be with 2 other girls, and they've been in the apartment for a while, already), start getting my own furnerature, and basically being more responsible. I am looking forward to this next step in "growing up." I know...maybe it's taking me longer than it should. I love being "young"! I don't want to leave college and be grown up, but I have to, eventually.

There were rumors about me going around work last week when I was gone. Our maintenance guy loves to talk, and I mentioned that I am moving to Watertown. I guess he talked to the assistant manager and said something about how I'm going to be giving my two-weeks notice for quitting. I got back, and the assistant manager asked me about this. I never said anything about quitting; I don't have any plans to quit. The maintenance guy must have read into things and thought that I was quitting! What is this world coming to?!?!

One thing that I will be thankful for is being a little closer to school. I love being able to fellowship with other Christians my age who are going through similar circumstances as what I am going through. I am TOTALLY going to miss that when I finally finish college and move on. But, God has a plan for me, and He will provide all the comfort that I need to be content in Him!

The difference....

There is a definite difference between "being called" and "surrendering." Being called means that God wants you to do a certain thing (most cases being full-time Christian service, missions, being a pastor, and other such things) with your life. Surrendering means that you are willing to do something, that you will do that IF God wants you to do it, but not necessarily that you believe that God wants you to do that thing. Surrendering is saying that you will do whatever God wants you do to, that you are opening your heart to be "called" to that thing, if God wants to call you.

About 8 years ago, I felt God calling me to be involved in Christian ministry. I know that's kindof vague, which is kindof why I have no idea what I'm supposed to do with my life (see a few posts ago entitled "What do I want to do with the rest of my life?" and the same, "Part 2."). I have since been planning on trying to do something that would be mainly influencing people's lives positively for Christ: maybe teaching at a Christian school, being a housewife and mother, or whatever God wants me to do.

Summer '01, I surrendered to go to the mission field, if that would be what God wanted me to do. I saw that I wasn't completely willing to do ANYTHING or go ANYWHERE. That did not mean that I knew (or know now) that God would want me in the mission field. It just meant that I am willing to go, if that's what God wants me to do.

Then, about 4 years ago, I started being interested in Wales. I didn't (and still don't) know if that may be what God wants for me in the future. I've taken several trips over to that area of the world, which have been good opportunities for me. The trip that I took this summer was a good trip; I really enjoyed myself, and I was able to see God work in wonderful ways. Yes, I enjoyed the trip. Yes, I think I could enjoy myself if I spent the rest of my life ministering in Wales. But I don't know that God wants me to be in Wales. In fact, I feel that God may be leading me AWAY from Wales. I am still willing to go, but I saw some things while I was there. Most of the things that I would do in Wales would be the same kinds of things that I could possibly be doing here in the United States. Plus, I keep seeing that the United States is becoming more of a mission field. I'm not so sure that I'm supposed to leave a country that has so many needs.

I still don't know what God wants me to do, but I'm more sure now than ever that God doesn't want me in Wales for the rest of my life. Maybe God just wanted me to be willing to leave everything that is familiar so I can pursure His will. God has a way of taking us out of our comfort zone! He likes to do that, but it's good for us...it makes us lean on Him and trust Him more. When we are comfortable, we tend to trust in ourselves and our "rut." It's a good place to be when you don't know what to do and you have to completely trust in God! Wherever you are in the world and in life, whatever job you have, the best situation to be in is one in which you have to completely trust in God!

O give thanks...

I Chronicles 16:8, 34 says, "Give thanks unto the LORD, call upon his name, make known his deeds among the people...O give thanks unto the LORD; for he is good; for his mercy endureth for ever."

I know it's Thanksgiving in a couple of days, but I was just thinking...how often do we actually stop and thank God for all that He's done for us? Not enough, I can say that much, at least for myself. How many times do we just stop and think of all the wonderful things that God has done for us? How many times do we thank God for all those wonderful things? How often do we thank God for the everyday things that He provides for us-life, breath, a place to sleep, food to eat, our jobs, the ability to think and reason, His Word to read and study and memorize, His love for us, His sovereignty, etc.? We often get so busy with life that we don't see all the blessings that He sends our way.

Every once in a while, Pastor will ask for testimonies. A couple of people will say that they are thankful for their salvation. Another person or two may say something else that they are thankful for, but what is this compared to all that God has done for us? He keeps the world from exploding or imploding, from getting too close to or too far away from the sun, from losing all the "natural" laws (which are actually completely from God, anyways). He takes care of our needs and loves us with a love beyond comprehension. In His sovereignty, He does what is best for us. Psalm 34:1 "I will bless the LORD at all times: his praise shall continually be in my mouth." If we stop and think about it, we could have something to praise God for ALL the time. Even if it is a "bad day," God has done so much for us, so much that we don't deserve, that we should always be able to think of something to thank him for.

How thankful are you? What do you have to be thankful for? Please leave a comment saying something that you are thankful for! I would love to hear what you are thankful for!

What do I want to do with the rest of my life? Part 2

I've been thinking a lot about this question. What am I supposed to do after college? No matter how much I think about it and pray for God to show me, I still don't know. I can search, make plans, and try to figure it all out, but what does that accomplish? Nothing, other than wasting my time.

God knows what I am supposed to do; He has a plan for my future. What I need to do is seek Him (Jeremiah 29:13 "And ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart."). When we seek Him with all of our heart, we will draw closer to Him. The closer we draw to Him, the more we become like Him. The more we become like Him, the more we will do what He wants us to do. It is a day-by-day commitment, challenge, and the one thing that we should pursue: a closer walk with God.

YLCF has a poem on their blog: www.ylcf.org/2006/11/waiting. I read this, and it was so helpful to me! Every once in a while, I need to be reminded that I don't need to know what is in my future. God knows all, and He is the One that I need to know. I must wait for Him to show me where to go. I must "walk by faith, not by sight" (2 Corinthians 5:7). No matter how much I DON'T know about my future, I need to follow Christ. I may not see the next step I will take, but I can know that I am safe, no matter how "dangerous" a place it may be that God is leading me (Psalm 23:4 "Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me...."). God knows the next step that I need to take. He has already planned it and ensured that I am able to handle it with His help. I just need to trust in the help that He gives me.

What do I want to do with the rest of my life?

This is a question that I've been asking myself. I've put a lot of thought into it. I don't have any definite answers or leadings. Some things would depend on other things, but here are some of my thoughts concerning the issue:

1. I would love to be a "stay-at-home mom," of course if God provides a husband and children.

2. I love music: maybe I could write and arrange music and get some published, play in church, maybe teach lessons.

3. I love to sew, so it would be fun to incorporate that into my life.

4. I love people, so anything that would involve people would be great!

5. I want to be involved in church ministries.

So, what does this all mean? I have no idea. It doesn't mean that I'm planning to do all of these things, or even ANY of these things. These are only the things that I want. I have no idea what God wants, which is the main thing that I need to be concerned about. Right now, I'm open to whatever God wants me to do, wherever He wants me to do it. It's a little disconcerting to be in this position: I'm not in control! But it puts me in a place where I have to trust God completely-to do what He knows is best for my life-rather than me making a plan for my life and completely messing it up.

Was I ever in control, in the first place?

Celebration in Heaven....again!

Once again, there has been a celebration in Heaven because of what God is doing at Stoughton Baptist Church! Josh came to our bonfire a couple of weeks ago with Warren and Andre, who used to come to Stoughton but are now going to church with their mom. Josh seemed to enjoy himself! Then, he came to Teen Time last night! It was exciting! Tyler taught a lesson based on the story of Noah and the flood, saying how sometimes what God asks us to do doesn't make any sense, but we have to trust God and obey Him, no matter how illogical His commands seem. It didn't really have much of a salvation message. Titus had all of us make a list of people that we know aren't saved, and he said he's going to make a list to pass out to all of us so we can start praying for people to get saved. That's about as much as salvation was talked about. But, in the invitation, Tyler asked if anyone was not "100% sure" that they are going to heaven. I didn't peak, so I don't know if he raised his hand, or not, but I found out later that he had talked to someone and accepted Christ! Praise the Lord!

Winter has arrived

Last night was a big snow storm...well, more than just snow. It started out as rain in the afternoon, turned to sleet mid-afternoon, then turned to snow by early evening. Here at the hotel, we had a couple of people cancel reservations because of the weather, but we had quite a few more that came in because of the weather.

In my opinion, what is the point of winter if we can't have snow? What is the point of the cold if we can't have the beauty of the snow to go along with it? I mean, I love dirt, and everything, but it's just not as pretty as the snow! And the snow we have now is the perfect snow for snowball fights....nice and wet and sticky!

Snow normally brings forth a connotation of being clean, pure. "Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean: wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow." (Psalm 51:7) "...though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow..." (Isaiah 1:18) Maybe that's why I like snow so much...it reminds me that God loves me and has forgiven me of ALL of my sins, and He sees me as pure, just like the snow, because of Christ dying to pay the penalty for our sins! It reminds me of how I don't deserve God's love, yet He still loves me unconditionally! Before we accept Christ, we are cold, barren, and ugly, like winter without snow. When we accept Christ, we become white as snow, beautiful and pure in God's eyes, because all He sees is Jesus and His blood! How Christ's blood and my sin mix to make something pure and white and beautiful, I don't know. I DO know that there are a lot of things about God and His will that I don't understand, but I don't need to understand because He is in complete control: He is sovereign. And add His love into the equasion, and it's a perfect combination: He loves us, and He will do what is best for us because He is in control of what happens in our lives!

Guess who I just met!!!

Ok, maybe it wasn't anyone famous, but that's ok. It's interesting to see what different kinds of people stay here in the hotel. I was sitting here, doing...well, not very much. A man walked in to the hotel and asked if we had a directory of all the Microtels. I pointed them out to him, and as he walked over to pick one up, he mentioned that he is going to be a missionary, and that he is raising his suppport. I asked him if he was with a mission board...he said, "Yes, I'm with Baptist International Missions, Inc." Wow! I mentioned that I was there for Camp BIMI this summer! He asked me how that was. He asked me what church I go to, so I mentioned that I go to Stoughton, and that I go to Maranatha. He said that he's on deputation to be a missionary to the military in Germany! How cool is that! Well, he hadn't planned on giving out any prayer cards, so he didn't have any with him, but he said that he would have his wife come in and give me one. It was a blessing to see the Kisslings, and I now have their prayer card. It's always good to see other Christians here in the hotel, especially since there aren't very many Christians here. It's a little bit of a bright spot in my day!

Sammi's Birthday and the Bonfire

This weekend was a fun weekend. Sammi Garland had her birthday party (about a month late, but that's ok cuz it was still fun!), and we had the annual bonfire at church.

For Sammi's birthday party, we watched movies and played Guesstures. We watched about 8 movies: a few that I had seen before and a few that I hadn't seen before. I can't remember the names of most of the movies, but it was fun!

Friday, between a couple of the movies, we played Guesstures! It was fun, too! My team didn't win, though. Oh well. We slept in a little on Saturday morning, watched more movies, and relaxed a little.


Then Saturday night was the bonfire at church. There were 19 of us altogether: 8 college students, 11 teenagers! It was good to see a few that we haven't seen in a while! And it was good to see God working in people's lives during the preaching.



Along with eating hot dogs and s'mores, we played "capture the glowsticks," which is a variation on capture the flag, only we hid glowsticks around the property. It was fun!