6/24/07

Prayer Quotes & Prayer

Quotes I found online:

When you pray, rather let your heart be without words than your words without heart. ~John Bunyan

Is prayer your steering wheel or your spare tire?-- Corrie Ten Boom

Accustom yourself gradually to carry Prayer into all your daily occupation -- speak, act, work in peace, as if you were in prayer, as indeed you ought to be. --François Fénelon

My Sacrifice, A Prayer:

Laid on thine altar, O my Lord divine,
Accept this gift today, for Jesus’ sake.
I have no jewels to adorn thy shrine,
Nor any world-famed sacrifice to make;
But here I bring, within my trembling hand,
This will of mine – a thing that seemeth small;
And thou alone, O Lord, canst understand
How, when I yield this thee, I yield mine all.

Hidden therein thy searching gaze canst see
Struggles of passions, visions of delight,
All that I have, or am, or fain would be –
Deep loves, fond hopes and longings infinite.
It hath been wet with tears, dimmed with sighs,
Clenched in my grasp till beauty hath it none.
Now, from thy footstool, where it vanquished lies,
The prayer ascendeth – “May thy will be done!”

Take it, O Father, ere my courage fail;
And merge it so in Thine own will that I
May never have a wish to take it back;
When heart and courage fail, to thee I’ll fly.
So change, so purify, so like thine own,
Make thou my will so graced by love divine
I may not know or feel it as mine own,
But recognize my will as one with Thine.

C.T. Russell

6/13/07

For where your treasure is . . .

Luke 12:34 -- "For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also."

I was reorganizing a photo album today -- yeah, not the most productive thing I could've been doing :)

Anyway.

So I've had a ton of experiences!!! In Japan, and in other countries (I was dealing w/ Japan pictures, though...)

But...what is it that I remember? Yeah, I love rice fields, and I love the appearances of street scenes with cute buildings/shops all around, spectacular nature views, and random close-ups...In part, the scenery of particular places will remain in my heart -- the beauty of Shirokawa-go (in Japan), and Cameron Highlands (in Malaysia), etc.

However, is the beauty enough to make life ultimately meaningful...? Not 100%.

I guess what I remember when I look back on life (not only my Japan experience) would tend to be the people, experiences, struggles, & spiritual concepts.

A glimpse at my apartment decorations and belongings might on the surface place me in the "Miss International" category.

Yes, the international world is definitely a part of my core.

What's the heart of my core, though?

I guess what excites me is people coming to Christ, thinking/talking about deep matters, and when they're really knowledgeable about the Bible.

However, is that my core, or just what excites me when I see these things in others?

Maybe I should be more proactive in personally taking on characteristics that seem to be wedged into my heart core.

I did send out an e-mail asking if people would be interested in getting a group together to engage in deep conversation. Maybe I should just schedule something and hope people come and 'engage'...

:)

6/7/07

How do you decide if you should do something 'big'?

First be content with doing the 'small and mundane', because even if you do the 'big', once you do that, life may still seem 'small & mundane'? And then once people get semi-established, I wonder if it's hard to pursue the 'big'...like now that I'm now I'm moved out (well, I still need to go through a bunch of junk back home), how would I ever even consider doing the 'big', unless I strive for the 'big' in the middle of the seemingly mundane life...and yeah, so maybe I'm on my way to being 'established', but, whatever that means, ... 'established' as a single individual who has possibly lived 1/3 + of her life, and possibly who will have a new kitten next month? Will that be my 'establishment'? What happened to my big 'dreams' of the past? Now here I am - all grown up, and in a time of transition. Now what...

"Homeless Seattle" videoclip

Homelessness Clip

4/21/07

Purpose in Life verses

Colossians 3:17 -- 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.

Mark 12:29-31 -- 'The most important one,' answered Jesus, 'is this: 'Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.' The second is this: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.' There is no commandment greater than these.'

If you have other good 'purpose of life' type verses, please feel free to leave them in a comment...

4/1/07

Proverbs 16

My pastor again preached from Prov. 16. Today's sermon covered vs. 16-33. There sure are some nuggets in there!

vs. 20: "He who gives attention to the word will find good, And blessed is he who trusts in the LORD."

vs. 32: "He who is slow to anger is better than the mighty, And he who rules his spirit, than he who captures a city." The corresponding sentence in the fill-in-the-blank outline is "INNER MASTERY IS FAR BETTER THAN OUTWARD MACHO."

vs. 33: "The lot is cast into the lap, But its every decision is from the LORD."

Alrighties...

3/31/07

2 Scriptures -- Contentedness in Adversity ; Jesus the Advocate

"So to keep me from being too elated by the surpassing greatness of the revelations, a thorn was given me in the flesh, a messenger of Satan to harass me, to keep me from being too elated. Three times I pleaded with the Lord about this, that it should leave me. But he said to me, 'My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.' Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong." -- 2 Cor. 12:7-10

Lord teach me to be content with adversity for the sake of Christ. In my weakness please be my strength...

"But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. He is the propitiation for our sins, [...]" -- 1 John 2:1b-2a

He is the Advocate...

(boldness added)

3/25/07

Plans, plans

So today's sermon was entitled "The Truth about Planning," covering Proverbs 16:1-15.

Here are some of the points from today's 'fill-in-the-blank' outline that came in the bulletin:

"HUMAN PATHS:
Are ultimately determined by God.

In your planning: Be guided by, and consistent with God's clear work.

In your planning: Transparently roll out each decision before the Lord.

In your planning: Bear in mind, you answer To God.

HUMAN PATHS:
That delight God defuse hatreds."

Some of the verses and some of my sermon notes:

  • Verses 1-9 are about the course, the way of one's life.
  • Verses 1 & 9 capture the theme
  • Verse 1: "The plans of the heart belong to man, but the answer of the tongue is from the LORD." --> It means the last word is from the LORD.
  • Verse 9: "The heart of man plans his way, but the LORD establishes his steps." --> "steps": procession or parade
  • Aspire, but then rest
  • Verse 3: "Commit your work to the LORD, and your plans will be established."

Thoughts & Questions:

Yes, everything is ultimately under God's control. But decisions can be made that run contrary with what the Bible says. So, can big decisions about jobs, etc. be made contrary to what God hopes? Does God's desires = His will = His plan = ultimately what will happen? Is His "Plan" what will ultimately happen, and is His "plan" stuff he desires to happen but may not always happen? Is that possible? He is ultimately in control, but how does our decision-making play into that? Yes, it is ultimately God who "establishes his steps" (vs. 9b) & "the answer of the tongue is from the LORD" (vs. 1), but how does it all pan out? Basically is the solution in vs. 3 (committing to God)?