George Kelly Jr - May 19, 1918 - June 14, 2008

My grandpa went home to Jesus a week and a half ago. I miss him a lot. God gave him 90 years on this earth and I was fortunate to know him for 26 of them. So many good memories, my last one is from breakfast on the Sunday before he passed away. Grandpa and Grandma were eating breakfast and wearing red shirts. Grandpa told me that everyone should wear red shirts on Sunday. This past Sunday, I wore a red shirt. His love for Jesus will affect me as long as I live. Thank you Grandpa for your Godly legacy. My heart will always miss you.

Graduation

Tomorrow night at 6 pm, I am graduating from Union University with a Master's Degree in Christian Studies. I am psyched! I cannot believe that it is finally here!

The simpliest things

I get joy from small things in life, like whip cream in the can, happy hour at sonic, waking up and realizing it is Saturday and I can sleep. Ya get the picture. Well, my mind has been on Theological things since I am reading this Systematic Theology book by Wayne Grudem. I usually read the book with the Bible by my side for looking up verses when he only gives the reference or for looking up the context. Anyway, I was reading about justification and came across these verses in Isaiah 55:6-7, "Seek the LORD while he may be found; call upon him while he is near; let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous his thoughts; let him return to the LORD, that he may have compassion on him, and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon." I love these verses. I know I have read them many times. Here's what jumped off the page as a finished reading: verses 8-9, "For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the LORD. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts." Yes, more familiar verses.
Before now, I had not realized that those verses were hanging our next to each other. How incredible of God to put these together for me to read! :) I love it that when I seek God in His Word, He continues to impress me and show me more of Him.
Simple stuff, yet brings joy.

Theological Thoughts... sorta...

Welcome to April. I love everything about Spring, except for allergies. Last night, I started my last class in Union University Master's of Christian Studies Program. The class is Theology 2. Theology 1 was obviously prior to this and I don't think that I have ever been so challenged in my beliefs. Maybe challenged is not a good word, but I have definitely gained a greater appreciation for Scripture.
Sometimes I wonder though if people have theological discussions to impress other people. My dad reminds me to be careful of words that are not Bible words and I think that some theological ideas can come from words that men deem important. We had this discussion last night concerning peccability and impeccability. The meaning of these words have to deal with the question of Jesus being able to sin and choosing not to or not having the ability to sin. In my class and the Biblical people that I am around expect you to have an opinion about these ideas. I kinda straddle the fence when it comes to this. I think the important thing is that Jesus lived a sinless life. The Bible definitely affirms this!
I don't want to know more about Theology because it impresses people. I want it to strengthen my faith and affirm things that I believe from Scripture.
My favorite verses that I have come across as I have been reading lots of Theology is found in Jeremiah 9:23-24. Thus says the LORD: "Let not the wise man boast in his wisdom, let not the mighty man boast in his might, let not the rich man boast in his riches, but let him who boasts boast in this, that he understands and knows me, that I am the LORD who practices steadfast love, justice, and righteousness in the earth. For in these things I delight, declares the LORD."
I hope that my knowledge of God increases through the study of Theology. Imagine delighting the Lord. That's the desire of my heart!

A few things I love about a Mac

My Macbook has been a small source of joy and fun since coming to live at my house. I am totally enjoying widgets! Who knew that there were so many. I gotta keep myself under control, I mean how many widgets does one girl need??? :)
Second, something that is not really a Mac thing, is iGoogle. More specifically, the How To on iGoogle. I loved todays: How to Remove Gum from Clothes
Good times. I feel smarter every day! :)

Tough Skin for the Ministry

Mondays are usually a little crazy, but for the past two Mondays, I have been torn down by people that I think would normally care about me. Two times, people have referred to my face of those who work in youth ministry as immature and needing to grow up. Granted, that is often the case. I am immature and I have a lot of growing up to do, and I don't have years of experience behind me. Isn't that something that should be valuable in youth ministry? I think the students have the opportunity to see the flaws and kinks that come from learning as I go. I'm so glad I do not have the Christian life figured out. I still desire to learn and grow. I want to learn from these people that God has placed in my life, but today they have hurt my heart.

What is exactly the point for acting this way? I'm trying to be a little tougher when dealing with different people and situations in the ministry. I'm still a girl and my feelings/emotions sometimes get the best of me. I am reminded for every hurt there are so many words of encouragement. I am so grateful for the encouragement.

no temptation

So many good things happening lately! February was a tough month and I'm glad for March and some sign of winter being over! Funny story, I got an email from Starbucks advertising the new Honey Latte. I deleted it quickly. I'm definitely gonna have to check it out after this Starbucks fast is over! :) I will not give into temptation.

On to other things, my Sunday morning girls have been challenging me! God is doing some incredible things in their lives and we have begun to read the Bible together. They have been so faithful and I have loved the dialogue and questions that it has prompted! I keep telling them that they have potential. They like to say it back to me, "We know we have potential!" I get excited about teaching them.

Theology class just happens to be the most time consuming challenge for me right now. I read about 400 pages on The Doctrine of God. It was incredible. In class we had to pick 2 attributes that we would teach lessons on about God. I chose Independence for the fact that God does not need us, yet chose to create and love us. The other one was Holiness. To me it is one of the coolest things about God, He is perfect in every way, and calls His children to live holy lives. It is something about God that I do not understand, but am trying to grasp. My mind is boggled each and every week. It is awesome!

a little withdrawl

I need to clarify what I am about to say. 1. I am not Catholic (Southern Baptist is my current denomination affiliation). 2. I do not adhere to lent.

That being said, I have given up Starbucks for 40 (actually 41) days. This giving up just happens to coincide with Lent, but it is more of me disciplining myself to see if I can actually live without something that I would consider an addiction. Yes, I definitely miss my Tall Non-fat Cinnamon Dolce Latte Extra Hot w/Whip, but I am surviving. A couple of times I have actually thought about giving up coffee altogether, but I don't think I'm ready to jump on that train yet.

Am I learning anything by giving this up?? Maybe, time will continue to tell!

Happy Valentine's Day

You probably saw this on google today! It made me smile everytime.


My grandparents have been married over 65 years and my parents will celebrate their 40th anniversary this year. Quite a legacy to live up to...
To those that I love - I love you every day of the year, not just February 14th.

In honor of Valentine's Day...

I love Valentine's Day. With or without a boyfriend, I have some fun memories. When I was little my mom would make us a special dinner and we would eat by candlelight. My mom pretty makes every holiday special and Valentine's day just happened to be a fun one. In honor or this week of Love, I'm wearing pink or red everyday. I will also be toting around my new red moleskine. I think I may be addicted! :)



What do you love about Valentine's Day? Yes, it is a Hallmark holiday, but you should never miss an opportunity to let people know that you love them.

A short rant...

I'm pretty tired of hearing about celebrities with drug/alcohol addictions checking into rehab. I refused to waste my time watching the Grammys last night, but I saw on all the major news websites today that Amy Winehouse won the most awards. Yeah, she couldn't even make it to the states because her life is like a train wreck at this moment. These are the people that are glorified in our society. It really makes me sick.

While, I am ranting. I have a little NBA news to add to this. Why did the Phoenix Suns take Shaq and give up Shawn Marion. Shaq was great about 8 years ago. Unfortunately for the Suns, they got shafted!

More positive stuff later.

My Favorite

Call me a sappy person! This is my favorite commercial...





FYI - I'm going to something really cool tonight! Hopefully, it will live up to my expectations and I will blog about it.

What to Say?

I've been thinking about my Sunday School girls all day long. They are 9th graders. I had them when they were in 6th grade as well, so we are pretty comfortable with each other. Over the past couple of weeks, I've dealt with some of them individually concerning spiritual issues, relationships, and the list goes on. Here's what I'm trying to figure out. What do I need to teach them that goes beyond the every Sunday lesson? What do I wish that someone would have shared with me when I was in the 9th grade? These girls are great listeners and love some discussions. I want to give them truth from God's Word, while making it practical for the here and now. What a task! Not so sure how I am doing with accomplishing it.

Energy Drink

So, today my boss dude, Nathan, and I were checking wikipedia (an unreliable source) for information on what was in his energy drink. We found out that one of his favorites had Guarana in it, which is the main ingredient in



This stuff is the best drink in Brasil. It is kinda like Ginger Ale, but better. Anyway, the energy drink contains guarana, which has 3 times the amount of caffeine as coffee beans. I think I may need to switch from coffee to energy drinks. Why can't coffee contain guarana?

Inadequate

That one word would probably best describe my feelings of today. I guess working in the ministry would bring that about from time-to-time. I hate it when it happens. I feel like my gifts, talents, and abilities are pretty much worthless. A few times today I wanted to take the work that I was doing and just start over. I desired something fresh and it seemed like all I could come up with was leftovers.
I've been reading in Proverbs lately and most of the chapters seem to deal with my issues of pride, inability to control my tongue, and more. God's Word is so convicting, it gets to me like nothing else and I see myself as completely inadequate with a deep dependence on God. I've been thinking of the words to some worship song, I think it's called "All We Need." I love the chorus, "And we have all we need in you, and all we need is you, all we need is you." If only my heart would match up with the words that were coming out of my mouth.

How much?

Sometimes I wonder how much information a blog should really contain? Should I get real personal and tell some stories or should I just give some deep thoughts and go on? I like personal, transparent, honest information. Will this ever show up in my blogging? Maybe. For now I'm thinking... some things may just be too personal.

Still gets me excited!

Christmas happened and so many other good things have come into my life lately. I am living in a new place, enjoying a macbook, starting a new class (most interesting, I would have to say.)

Nothing compares to sharing Jesus with someone. I had the opportunity to do that a few days ago on our Student Ministry Ski Trip. This person wasn't just a student, she was a college student and was completely broken over her need for a Savior. It may have been one of the coolest conversion experiences I have ever had the privilege of witnessing. God moved in such a powerful way, the only thing for this girl to do was accept Jesus. I'm so glad I got to share in her joy. I'm so thankful for the power that God has to change lives. Thinking about it, still gets me excited.

Nothing

I've been a bad blogger in December. It has been busy! I'm working on my top 10 for 2007. I could probably give like a year in pictures, but that might be cheesy so I'm gonna stay away from that. December has been excellent, just extremely busy!

More coming soon!

A thankful heart...

Thought I would get a head start to the bazillion things I wanted to do this Thanksgiving. Once I go home, it is all about the cooking. My responsibility is making rolls. They are wonderful... it's my mom's recipe, so no credit can really be given to me. :)
This year, I am truly thankful for all the everyday things that God blesses my life with, but one thing stands out above other things this year. I was reading in Acts last week. Acts 10:34 states, "In truth I perceive that God shows no partiality." Yes, that is what I am truly thankful for this year, that God shows no partiality. In His goodness, He made provision for me to have salvation. It is definitely not something I have earned or deserve, but He opened the door for all. Such a simple thought, but one that blows my mind. My heart is overflowing with thankfulness... I pray that God blesses you and your family this Thanksgiving.

Some randomness

Have you ever had those days when God just seems to be bugging you? Not in a bad way, but in a good way, like you can't get the thought out of your head. That's been me lately. I pray that God will reveal His lesson to me soon... sometimes I'm a slow learner.

Here goes, I love bullet points!

• My mom had an exciting report about her cancer this week. The pill form of chemo is working, so she will not have to take iv chemo for now. This makes an enjoyable Thanksgiving and Christmas without all the side effects of chemo. God is bigger than cancer. I can't say it enough.
• I'm taking a church history class this term. I had no idea the volume of information included in church history. The more I learn, the more excited I am that I am a Christian.
• My small group girls are reading through Acts. I've learned so much. Some will be reflected in my Thanksgiving post.
• Speaking of Thanksgiving, it is one of my favorite holidays. Not all the pressure of gifts, but just an enjoyable time. There is supposed to be 25 of us this year for Thanksgiving. I'm so excited. The more, the merrier. Plus, I have about a million reasons to be thankful.
• One thing I am not thankful for is holiday traffic. It is already crazy here. It just reminds me of the commercialization of Christmas. Today, the thought actually came to me to not buy/recieve gifts, just enjoy the holiday. It's not about us anyway.