Missions

In the past few weeks there has been much talk of missions in my life. Now I'm not talking about mission impossible going in to enemy territory and saving the world...at least not yet. I'm talking about missions. Missions of the church. No, thats not quite right. I'm talking God's Mission. What is His mission for us? I guess that inorder to figure this out (assuming that we know nothing) we would have to define the term mission. Bring out your dictionary...start flipping through...missing...missing link...missiology..no...Ah! Mission! Here it is:

Mission-religious mission. 2a. ministry commissioned by a religious organization to propagate its faith or carry on humanitarian work. 2b. assignment to or work in a field of missionary enterprise. 2c1. a mission establishment. 2c2. a local church or parish dependent on a larger religious organization for direction or financial support. 2d. organized missionary work. 2e. a course of sermons and services given to convert the unchurched or quicken Christian faith. 3. A body of persons sent to perform a service or carry on an activity.

The list goes on and on, but it still doesnt say quite what I'm looking for. The answer to my question...What is God's mission for me? As a team my youth group came up with this defination:

Missions is loving like Jesus did, everyone we meet, everywhere we go.

For those of you (myself included) who need to know who exactly "everyone" is...Jesus is everyone. Not everyone that we meet will have accepted Jesus as their Savior, but Jesus resides in everyone that we meet, even if they do not know it. Think of the sheep and the goats. (Matthew 25:31-46) In this, are some very important instructions to us.

34Then the King will say to those on his right, 'Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. 35For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, 36 I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me.' 37Then the righteous will answer him, saying, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink? 38And when did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you? 39And when did we see you sick or in prison and visit you?' 40And the King will answer them, 'Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.'

The least of these...The least of these are those people in the world that we consider to be below ourselves (why we believe that I have no idea, we are all equal) they are the people that are hardest to love, they are all the prostitutes, the tax collectors, those that oppress us, those that smell funny, and those that freak us out.

Now allow me to take the opportunity to define for you (myself included as I do not claim to be omniscient) everywhere. I believe that "everywhere" (the entire world) goes back to the years following the flood. The decendents of Noah all spoke the same language though they lived far from eachother in different nations. There was no need for a separate language. The want to be great drove them to begin "build(ing) ouselves a city and a tower with its top in the heavens, and let us make a name for ourselves, lest we be dispersed over the face of the whole earth." (Genesis 11:4) In Genesis 11:7 God mixes up their language so that they have several languages, not allowing them to continue their communication while building the Tower of Babel. Their lack in communication skills stopped their building of this great towerand the left the city. Genesis 11:9b says "And from there the Lord dispersed them over the face of all the earth." All the earth. That doesn't just mean the United States of America. It's not just England or France. We can add China into the mix and it still wouldn't be the entire earth! The entire earth! From the highest North through the furthest South. The entire East until you are past the West. Every single nation, every single person, everywhere you go! That is the entire earth! That is everywhere. Earlier I said that I was not talking about going into enemy territory and saving the world...yet. Now, I'm talking about it.

Matthew 28:19-20a states: "Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you."
2 Timothy 4:2 instructs us to "preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, and exhort, with complete patience and teaching."

Every nation. That is God's commandment to us. Going into Satan's turf and teaching those living there about Jesus Christ and helping them to accept Him as their personal Savior. As I said...going into enemy territory and saving the world.

How do we love like Jesus did? How do we love like God loves us? Several books in the Bible teach us about loving one another, but there are a few verses that I want to look at specifically.

1 John 3:16: "By this we know love, that He laid down His life for us, and we ought to lay down our lives for the brothers."
Matthew 5:44 tells us to "Love our enemies and pray for those that persecute (us)."
John 3:16 states that "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life."
1 John 4:7- "Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God."

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Alright this post is not complete..but I need to go and get some stuff for my trip to South Padre for Student Life. I'll finish it up by this evening.

Wonderful Day

Today... was a very good day. So good that I felt like devoting an entire blog entry just to this day. How good of a day is that? To start off with, I slept extremely well. That was until about four o'clock when I started feeling around for my phone because I wanted to know what time it was. Wondering if I had another hour to sleep or another minute... I don't know if y'all have had a four in the morning experience before, but for me this morning, it was rather humorous. To start off with, Columbus was walking all over my legs, I reached around my bed trying to find my phone (around this time I began to wonder if I had actually fallen asleep while talking to Drew without saying "goodnight" to him. It wasn't until about second period that I decided that I had said "goodnight"... at least I think I did.) only to discover that it wasn't there. So I reach down the side of my bed still searching in the dark for this object...well to make what has the potential to be a short long story short, Columbus had taken my phone and batted it around till it was at the very center underneath my bed. I threw slippers and books to hit it to one side so that I could grab it. Thats when I discovered the current time...turned over, and went back to sleep. Then I got up, did my morning routine, headed out for school while talking to Drew, then decided that I wanted a DP. I stopped into the gas station and grabbed a 10 2 4 DP which for those of you who are to lame to know, is a real DP, a DP made with sugar, not corn syrup. I breezed through my classes, then I discovered after the fact that THS is a rebel in disguise. Supposedly, we were not allowed to go home early today, but we were released if we were exempt. I went home and watched Pretty Woman (Julia Roberts is amazing! She + Richard Gere = perfect screen couple) and catnapped for a bit. Around 4:30 I headed over towards Sugar Land area where I got to see Drew!! Yea! Then it was off to my church where I got to catch up with the youth group choir members from Bartlett United Methodist Church in Bartlett, Tennessee. Ohmegoodness they were amazing! Plus they sang quite a few songs that we sang in the past among which was Lightshine which is one of the best songs in the entire world. If you have not heard it, make certain that you do so before you die, or should you die before you hear it, request it from the angels in heaven. Ahh...it made me happy. Our entire choir was just rocking out to it! After the last song, I headed over to the church library where I grabbed a ton of books that are sitting in my car ready to go to school with me tomorrow for the lame times that I need to be there. I then headed on home, where I currently sit in my computer chair, writing out this blog and waiting for the clock to strike.

Pondering the Future

Have you ever just sat there pondering the future? Lately it seems to be what I do most often. I wonder things that are soon to happen, things such as what grade I will receive on my chemistry test, what exams I will be exempt from, or what am I going to do this afternoon. I wonder about things in the near future, things like senior year and college applications. I wonder about what it will be like to be a college student and make all my own decisions. One of the things I wonder most is after college. Who will I marry, what will my ministry be like, where will I live, will I have children (I wonder about this one quite a bit right now, almost to the point of worrying. With my cousin having difficulties with having children along with it running in my mother's side of the family, I wait anxiously to get the test results back to know if the same disease that flows in my cousin's blood so rapidly, also flows in me. I don't want it to. I never wanted children before, unless they were adopted, but lately I have been imagining a little girl with blonde ringlets like I used to have bouncing around in a green back yard.) I wonder what I will be doing 10 years from now, will I be married when I am almost 28 years old? Do I know the person already? Have I passed them in the hallways? I wonder what it will be like to grow old. I see my parents grow older each year, when I saw my Mimi I wondered what it will be like to live without them. So many questions won't pop out of my head.

I wonder....
I wonder....
I wonder....

Wishing upon stars

I like to wish upon the stars
To seem them sparkle and shine
They are so beautiful, they make me smile I say

Do not wish upon the stars he said
for they shall bring you nothing.
They are only creations of the Lord
not God Himself. If you want something, pray about it
for prayers bring answers.
Do not wish upon the stars.
They can only twinkle and shine.

I lead my thoughts then to change
that night that I stopped wishing
My prayers flowed out, they pleaded with God.

I stop to think.
You are young you silly girl.
Live the life you know.
You are young you silly girl,
too young to think like that.
You can't possibly know what you want your future to hold.

Some days though...I do know.
I know as sure as I know my heart.

My wishes turn to prayers
I once more plead with God.

This poem is not completed here. I know the ending of it. Maybe, just maybe...one day I will share my prayer with you. Until then, it waits with God.

Flip Book Calendar

As some of you may know, I am in the possession of a flip book calendar. On every day it has a new saying or quote. I thought I would let y'all read a few that I really enjoy.


Lord, so far today I've not been grumpy, selfish, greedy, envious, proud, or angry. I'm really pleased about that. But in a few minutes now, I'm going to get up, and from then on I'll probably need a lot more help.--July 9

People who throw kisses are hopelessly lazy.-Bob Hope--July 29


I just got lost in thought....It was unfamiliar territory.--August 5


The latest survey shows that 3 out of 4 people make up 75% of the population.--August 26


The preacher was wired for sound with a lapel mic, and as he preached, he moved briskly about the platform, jerking the mic cord as he went. Then he moved to one side, getting wound up in the cord and nearly tripping before jerking it again. After several circles and jerks, a little girl in the third pew leaned toward her mother and whispered, "If he gets loose, will he hurt us?"--August 31


Ham and eggs: A day's work for a chicken, a lifetime commitment for a pig.--September 11


Adam and Eve had an ideal marriage. He didn't have to hear about all the men she could have married, and she didn't have to hear about the way his mother cooked.-Kimberley Broyles--September 12

Beauty that (past or present tense?)

"Here I Am To Worship"

Light of the world, You step down into darkness.

Opened my eyes let me see.

Beauty that made this heart adore you hope of a life spent with you.

[Chorus]

And here I am to worship,

Here I am to bow down,

Here I am to say that you're my God,

You're altogether lovely,

Altogether worthy,

Altogether wonderful to me.

King of all days,

Oh so highly exalted Glorious in heaven above.

Humbly you came to the earth you created.

All for love's sake became poor.

[Chorus]

Here I am to worship,

Here I am to bow down,

Here I am to say that you're my God,

You're altogether lovely,

Altogether worthy,

Altogether wonderful to me.

I'll never know how much it cost to see my sin upon that cross.

I'll never know how much it cost to see my sin upon that cross.

And I'll never know how much it cost to see my sin upon that cross.

No I'll never know how much it cost to se my sin upon that cross.

[Chorus]

Here I am to worship,

Here I am to bow down,

Here I am to say that you're my God,

You're altogether lovely,

Altogether worthy,

Altogether wonderful to me.

So Here I am to worship,

Here I am to bow down,

Here I am to say that you're my God,

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We were singing this song in church on Sunday and I actually looked at the screen and realized that I had been singing it incorrectly. I said "beauty that makes" as opposed to "beauty that made." I always thought that "makes" would make more sense. Shouldnt we always have our hearts adoring God. Do we only see things once, then they never effect us again? Am I the only one that is bugged by it saying "beauty that made this heart adore you"? To me that just sounds like it made you adore God in the past, not now. I think it would be better to say "beauty that makes". I don't know about y'all, but I continue to see beauty that always makes me adore God. It is there in the sunsets, the stars, the sun, the grass...it is all over! Anyways...thats my thought!

Feeling Alone

Have you ever felt alone in this world? When you really need someone to be there...or you need things to change, but you know that if they were to change, your life would have been so different and you would not know if you would have liked the person that you might have become had your life not changed drastically. Every one of those things in my life add up to my freshman year in high school. So much happened that year...I wonder how I would have been different. What type of person would I be? What would I have done? Everything that I did do...I can't get it out of my head. Amazing how that works...isnt it? I guess I do regret some things. This entry isn't about that though. This is about the seniors at my church. The class of 2008. The graduates. The confirmation class of 2004....My confirmation class.

Tonight...the night of the senior dinner at the church...the seniors are graduating. I won't be with them. I guess I do have regrets, though I wish that I did not. I regret alot of things, things that all lead up to this night.

Calvary Episcopal School-8th grade

"If she doesnt start doing the work, she will not pass 8th grade."
"Why can't she be more like Rob?"
"Come on Carole-Marie, just do the work, it's not that difficult."
"I don't want to be Rob, I know the work isn't difficult, why won't yall just give me a break?"
"How would you feel about being homeschooled with Mrs. Elder?"
"Will anyone miss me once I leave? If I just go away one day and don't come back?"

Gateway Preparatory School-8th, 9th, 10th grade (for the first time)

"With our program you will be doing college courses by the time you are 16 years old."
"You dont get a summer. You can finish half of a grade in that time."
"Because you did not finish the lesson for today, you don't get to go to the dance tonight."
"My system is uncheatable!" - "Then how did I cheat it?"
"You are no longer allowed at Gateway. That is final."- "I didn't want to be here anyways!"

Summer before my first year in public school-

"Because Gateway is not an accredited school, you will not be able to transfer any of your credits...I'm sorry, you will be put into all freshman classes."
"Freshman English?!? I should be in English 4 this year!"
"Mommy...I think I should drop down to the year below me in Sunday School, that way, it won't be wierd when I am not graduating and they are."

I have to do work. I'll finish this in a bit.