Ever hear the Rascal Flatt's song "Too Good Is True"? I've decided it's all a feel-good ruse. :-)
So, it's been a while since I've updated this thing. Between being a college student and waiting tables, I don't have a whole lot of extra time on my hands... Even my Facebook usage has dwindled alarmingly...
Life on this side of Christmas break has slowed... I only have one more paper to write for school, and I've read all but one book that I've been assigned to read. Yay me.
Thanksgiving is fast approaching and bringing with it all the festivity of the holiday season. I saw a sign in someones yard the other day. It said, "Happy Turkey Day!" That irked me, as I'm sure it does every believer who knows that the fourth Thursday in November is about so much more than turkey, green bean casserole and pumpkin pie. As I drove past that sign in my frustrated state of mind, I realized that it had been a while since I'd slowed down to ponder everything that I have to be thankful for, and it occurred to me that I complain on a fairly regular basis. I don't want to be that person... We all know someone like her, the person who never has anything good to say because she's too busy complaining about the fact that boys are stupid or that gas prices are astronomical or that she'd really rather not go to work... I think I'm becoming that person though. And no one has proverbally slapped me for it yet, but I wouldn't be surprised if it happens soon.
So, even in the midst of my almost-the-end-of-the-semester-semi-depression, I want to remember that I am blessed beyond measure. That I am bought with the blood of Christ, that my Father has, does and always will take care of me, that I have friends who love me even when I foolishly taper off my time with them to spend it with a boy, that my family loves me and wants me to be around, that my tuition is taken care of, that I have a job, that I don't go hungry, that I have the ability to sing, that the sun is shining and I'm not dead. :-)
If you actually read this, bless you. I'm sure you could find something better to do with your time though! :-) Until next time, I do pray that God will bless your life as richly as He has mine.
Soli deo gloria!
~Allison~
Saturday, November 15, 2008
Friday, July 25, 2008
I'm Back
So... it's definitely been more than a week since I last posted... I've been home for almost a week now. I'm sorry I haven't blogged, but I needed time to process things.
The last week of camp at Campbellsville was great. It went by much too quickly. That week, I was placed on Ping-pong duty for rec and that ws fun. Campbellsville U has a really cool thing that they call the Student Activity Center. It's an old gymnasium in a building that has 2 stories. The bball court is on the top floor, and on the bottom floor is a room with 3 pool tables, 2 ping pong tables, 2 air hockey tables and a fooseball table. There is also a TV and several couches in that room. It's just a great place for the students to hang out. Which is exactly what many of the GO TELL campers did.
On the first day of camp it rained. It was absolutely lovely, the kind of rain that I LOVE to sleep during. But it was fun to get out and run around in the rain with the kids. During services, I was assigned to run the jam cam, aka the handheld, which is the camera that gets carried around stage. The cool thing about the jam cam is that you can get some really cool shots with it. The bad thing is that it's kinda heavy and after carrying it around on your shoulder for 30 minutes it starts to feel REALLY heavy. But it was still fun!
One of the campers kinda latched on to a few of us interns and she found me on Facebook when she got home, so she and I have been messaging back and forth and that's been neat.
The coolest thing that happened that week (for me anyway) happened on Friday morning. I woke up on Friday still not knowing how I was going to get to the airport in Louisville. I'd been asking about getting rides for the last 6 weeks and had come up with nothing. When I walked into the room where we had staff meeting each morning, there was a young man who I'd never seen before drinking coffee. Turns out that he had been an intern with GO TELL in 2007 and he and his wife had come down to Campbellsville to help close out the camp. Since he was a GO TELL inern, I knew that he probably went to one of the 7 colleges that partner with GO TELL. I asked him where he went and he said Boyce College. Boyce College is in Louisville. At this point I asked if he and his wife lived in Louisville and he said yes. I asked if I could ride back to Louisville with them and they said I could. Problem solved. God took care of me. Again. Big surprise, huh? :-)
So then it was off to Honduras. What an eye-opening experience. I've never before lived in a place where clean water is something very preciously conseved, where the land is so pretty, but the people don't have the resources to care for it so trash is just thrown here and there, where people hear about what Americans have and do and can only imagine such extravagance.... It was quite an experience. But you know, the coolest thing about Honduras was not the beautiful beaches or the jungle or the fact that I could walk under a tree, bump my head on it's fruit and realize that I'd just hit my head on a mango. The coolest thing about Honduras is that the people who are Christians there are just so excited about Heaven. They are not tied down to this earth by their earthly possessions... going there gave new meaning to the verse, "It is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of Heaven," for me.
I was placed on a construction team while in Honduras, and I helped prep a site for the laying of a foundation for a playground. I didn't get to interact with the islanders much while doing this, so I was kinda bummed about that... But I know that God called and provided for me to go on the trip, so I know that He had a purpose in doing so.
So now it's back to real life. Job hunting starts this Saturday (I've been filling in at the SBTC for the last week) and I move into my dorm room next Friday. It's pretty exciting and I still covet your prayers. Thanks for keeping up with me over the summer and thank you so much for praying for me. I cannot express how much I appreciate it. Until next time, God bless!!!
Soli deo gloria,
~Allison~
The last week of camp at Campbellsville was great. It went by much too quickly. That week, I was placed on Ping-pong duty for rec and that ws fun. Campbellsville U has a really cool thing that they call the Student Activity Center. It's an old gymnasium in a building that has 2 stories. The bball court is on the top floor, and on the bottom floor is a room with 3 pool tables, 2 ping pong tables, 2 air hockey tables and a fooseball table. There is also a TV and several couches in that room. It's just a great place for the students to hang out. Which is exactly what many of the GO TELL campers did.
On the first day of camp it rained. It was absolutely lovely, the kind of rain that I LOVE to sleep during. But it was fun to get out and run around in the rain with the kids. During services, I was assigned to run the jam cam, aka the handheld, which is the camera that gets carried around stage. The cool thing about the jam cam is that you can get some really cool shots with it. The bad thing is that it's kinda heavy and after carrying it around on your shoulder for 30 minutes it starts to feel REALLY heavy. But it was still fun!
One of the campers kinda latched on to a few of us interns and she found me on Facebook when she got home, so she and I have been messaging back and forth and that's been neat.
The coolest thing that happened that week (for me anyway) happened on Friday morning. I woke up on Friday still not knowing how I was going to get to the airport in Louisville. I'd been asking about getting rides for the last 6 weeks and had come up with nothing. When I walked into the room where we had staff meeting each morning, there was a young man who I'd never seen before drinking coffee. Turns out that he had been an intern with GO TELL in 2007 and he and his wife had come down to Campbellsville to help close out the camp. Since he was a GO TELL inern, I knew that he probably went to one of the 7 colleges that partner with GO TELL. I asked him where he went and he said Boyce College. Boyce College is in Louisville. At this point I asked if he and his wife lived in Louisville and he said yes. I asked if I could ride back to Louisville with them and they said I could. Problem solved. God took care of me. Again. Big surprise, huh? :-)
So then it was off to Honduras. What an eye-opening experience. I've never before lived in a place where clean water is something very preciously conseved, where the land is so pretty, but the people don't have the resources to care for it so trash is just thrown here and there, where people hear about what Americans have and do and can only imagine such extravagance.... It was quite an experience. But you know, the coolest thing about Honduras was not the beautiful beaches or the jungle or the fact that I could walk under a tree, bump my head on it's fruit and realize that I'd just hit my head on a mango. The coolest thing about Honduras is that the people who are Christians there are just so excited about Heaven. They are not tied down to this earth by their earthly possessions... going there gave new meaning to the verse, "It is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of Heaven," for me.
I was placed on a construction team while in Honduras, and I helped prep a site for the laying of a foundation for a playground. I didn't get to interact with the islanders much while doing this, so I was kinda bummed about that... But I know that God called and provided for me to go on the trip, so I know that He had a purpose in doing so.
So now it's back to real life. Job hunting starts this Saturday (I've been filling in at the SBTC for the last week) and I move into my dorm room next Friday. It's pretty exciting and I still covet your prayers. Thanks for keeping up with me over the summer and thank you so much for praying for me. I cannot express how much I appreciate it. Until next time, God bless!!!
Soli deo gloria,
~Allison~
Saturday, July 5, 2008
Saying Goodbye
Today is the day we pack up and head out. Half of the group has already left for Texas, and it saddens me to think that I probably won't see them again. 6 weeks isn't that long in the scheme of things, but when you live with someone and do ministry with them, you bond quickly. And then it's no fun saying goodbye to people you've grown close to.
It seems like it's barely been 2 weeks, let alone 5. We've only got one more week of GO TELL left and then it's off to Honduras for me. I'm excited, but I can hardly believe that the summer is already drawing to a close. It's been a crazy awesome ride.
I'm riding up to KY with Olivia and Jenny and we're leaving in about an hour. The drive is about 6 hours. Please keep us in your prayers if you read this today! :-)
This is probably the last blog I'll post while I'm gone. I don't know if I'll be able to access a computer next week, and I don't know how much time I'll have. My flight back to Texas from Kentucky leaves next Friday. The plane for Honduras leaves Saturday morning and we'll be back on July 19. I'll blog again after I get home.
Thank you for keeping up with me this summer. I appreciate all of the prayers and support!
Oh! If you want to see some pictures from the camps, click here. I'll post some of my own when I get back and can upload photos from my camera.
Love you!!!
~Allison~
It seems like it's barely been 2 weeks, let alone 5. We've only got one more week of GO TELL left and then it's off to Honduras for me. I'm excited, but I can hardly believe that the summer is already drawing to a close. It's been a crazy awesome ride.
I'm riding up to KY with Olivia and Jenny and we're leaving in about an hour. The drive is about 6 hours. Please keep us in your prayers if you read this today! :-)
This is probably the last blog I'll post while I'm gone. I don't know if I'll be able to access a computer next week, and I don't know how much time I'll have. My flight back to Texas from Kentucky leaves next Friday. The plane for Honduras leaves Saturday morning and we'll be back on July 19. I'll blog again after I get home.
Thank you for keeping up with me this summer. I appreciate all of the prayers and support!
Oh! If you want to see some pictures from the camps, click here. I'll post some of my own when I get back and can upload photos from my camera.
Love you!!!
~Allison~
Wednesday, July 2, 2008
Hiatus
So, I was reading my best friend's blogand she posted a blog with the ABC's of her. I thought it was cute and wanted to do it too. It's kinda pointless, but I think I kinda needed the goofiness. :-) Enjoy!
The ABC's of Me
A) Age ~ 21, woot!
B) Burger of choice ~ Umm... I'm actually in the mood for a turkey burger at the moment. Mmm.
C) Car ~ 2005 Kia Optima
D) Dog's name ~ I've never had a dog.
E) Essential item you use every day ~ Air
F) Favorite TV show ~ Big Bang Theory, CSI: Miami, HIMYM
G) Favorite Game to play ~ Scrabble & Egyptian Rat Screw, woot!
H) Hometown ~ Fort Worth, TX
I) Instruments I play ~ Toco la guitara. (Which means, "I play the guitar.")
J) Favorite Juice ~ Concord Grape. Yummy!!!
K) Whose whatnots would I love to kick? ~ What's a whatnot?
L) Last restaurant I ate at ~ Piccadilly's (sic)
M) Favorite Muppet ~ Umm.... I think I like Beaker. You know, the skinny one with the red shock of hair.
N) Number of piercings ~ both ears are double-pierced
O) Overnight hospital stays ~ None that I remember. I had one when I was a baby
P) People I was with today ~ GO TELL people
Q) What do I do in my quiet time ~ pray, read my Bible and write
R) Biggest regret ~ I try not to regret things. What's done is done and wasting time wishing I could change it doesn't help.
S) Status ~ Single
T) Time I woke up ~ I think it was 8:15
U) What I consider unique ~ The love of Christ
V) Vegetables I love ~ Spinach, broccoli, potatoes...
W) Worst habit ~ BITING MY NAILS
X) X-rays I have had ~ Teeth and my foot
Y) Yummy food I ate today ~ Umm.... I don't think I've had anything all that yummy today.
Z) Zodiac sign ~ Pisces. But who cares?
Alrighty, that's all for now. Thanks for reading! Please keep praying for me. I love you!!!
The ABC's of Me
A) Age ~ 21, woot!
B) Burger of choice ~ Umm... I'm actually in the mood for a turkey burger at the moment. Mmm.
C) Car ~ 2005 Kia Optima
D) Dog's name ~ I've never had a dog.
E) Essential item you use every day ~ Air
F) Favorite TV show ~ Big Bang Theory, CSI: Miami, HIMYM
G) Favorite Game to play ~ Scrabble & Egyptian Rat Screw, woot!
H) Hometown ~ Fort Worth, TX
I) Instruments I play ~ Toco la guitara. (Which means, "I play the guitar.")
J) Favorite Juice ~ Concord Grape. Yummy!!!
K) Whose whatnots would I love to kick? ~ What's a whatnot?
L) Last restaurant I ate at ~ Piccadilly's (sic)
M) Favorite Muppet ~ Umm.... I think I like Beaker. You know, the skinny one with the red shock of hair.
N) Number of piercings ~ both ears are double-pierced
O) Overnight hospital stays ~ None that I remember. I had one when I was a baby
P) People I was with today ~ GO TELL people
Q) What do I do in my quiet time ~ pray, read my Bible and write
R) Biggest regret ~ I try not to regret things. What's done is done and wasting time wishing I could change it doesn't help.
S) Status ~ Single
T) Time I woke up ~ I think it was 8:15
U) What I consider unique ~ The love of Christ
V) Vegetables I love ~ Spinach, broccoli, potatoes...
W) Worst habit ~ BITING MY NAILS
X) X-rays I have had ~ Teeth and my foot
Y) Yummy food I ate today ~ Umm.... I don't think I've had anything all that yummy today.
Z) Zodiac sign ~ Pisces. But who cares?
Alrighty, that's all for now. Thanks for reading! Please keep praying for me. I love you!!!
Sunday, June 29, 2008
Home Stretch
Hello from Atlanta again! I've been to Virginia and back again. Camp seemed very different this week. It seemed more laid back and... I don't really know how to describe it. We only had 300 kids this week, which was SMALL, compared to the 1000 we had the week before. It was a good week though. I had my own room and bathroom, which was pretty great ;-). Other than that, I don't have much to report. I didn't really get to interact with the kids this week, which kinda bummed me out, but I'm doing a job and I understand that what needs to be done needs to be done. :-)
A touch of homesickness hit this week, so if you are reading this and you're from FBC Watauga, the SBTC or you live in my house, know that I MISS YOU!!!
So... sorry this was so short, but that's all I have to say. Please keep praying for me! I love you!!!
Friday, June 20, 2008
GO TELL Camp - Week 2
Well, we've made it through the second week of camp. And it was pretty much amazing. :-) I was in charge of Four Square again, and that was fun. There were a lot more kids this week. Played Miss Teen South Carolina 2007 again, manned cameras during worship, pretty much just hung out with the kids and had a blast.
Tomorrow morning, the interns are splitting up. Half of us are staying here and half are trekking up to Lynchberg, VA to work the camp at Liberty University. It's kind of sad. We're a great team and we all get along so well. It's going to be interesting to try to cover all of the bases with only half of the manpower we've had for the last 2 weeks. I'll let y'all know how it goes after it's over.
I'm starting to feel a little tired, but I think that might be because I stayed up too late on Wednesday and Thursday nights. But it was fun!
I hope that my cell phone will start receiving signal when we leave tomorrow, but I have no guarantees of this. Ive discovered that, although it's kind of inconvenient not to have it, it's also not absolutely necessary to have it. :-)
Alrighty y'all. I hope you know I'm missing you and I can't wait to see you FBC Watauga people in Houston and you people who are related to me in a few weeks. Oh! I almost forgot to ask y'all to pray for me: I still haven't figured out how I'm going to get to the airport in Louisville, KY to catch my flight down to Houston on July 11. Please pray that God would work out that small detail.
Thanks for reading! I'll try to update again next weekend. I love you!!!
~Allison~
Tomorrow morning, the interns are splitting up. Half of us are staying here and half are trekking up to Lynchberg, VA to work the camp at Liberty University. It's kind of sad. We're a great team and we all get along so well. It's going to be interesting to try to cover all of the bases with only half of the manpower we've had for the last 2 weeks. I'll let y'all know how it goes after it's over.
I'm starting to feel a little tired, but I think that might be because I stayed up too late on Wednesday and Thursday nights. But it was fun!
I hope that my cell phone will start receiving signal when we leave tomorrow, but I have no guarantees of this. Ive discovered that, although it's kind of inconvenient not to have it, it's also not absolutely necessary to have it. :-)
Alrighty y'all. I hope you know I'm missing you and I can't wait to see you FBC Watauga people in Houston and you people who are related to me in a few weeks. Oh! I almost forgot to ask y'all to pray for me: I still haven't figured out how I'm going to get to the airport in Louisville, KY to catch my flight down to Houston on July 11. Please pray that God would work out that small detail.
Thanks for reading! I'll try to update again next weekend. I love you!!!
~Allison~
Friday, June 13, 2008
GO TELL Camp - Week 1
Hello again everyone! I am still in Toccoa, and this morning we completed our first week of camp. What an amazing time. So many salvations, rededications and kids who surrendered to the Ministry.... It's got me way pumped for next week.
So... it's going to be hard to sum up a whole week worth of awesomeness in a blog that won't bore you to death as you continue to scroll down and down, searching for the end of the unbelievably long blurb... therefore I have decided to just touch on the highlights.
I was given my responsibilities last Sunday night, and this week I ran the Four Square court during rec. Not surprisingly, it was pretty quiet. The quietness ended up being great when a couple of girls from Laurel, MS stopped to play on Tuesday and ended up staying and just chatting with me for almost 4 hours. They came back and we talked more on Wednesday and that night I went to their church share group time. I shared my testimony with them and I really felt like God moved in a big way in the hearts of some of those kids. It was really, really amazing.
I was also assigned to be a "Camera Assistant," which means that I've been filming the worship services, which has been SO MUCH FUN. It's so cool to set up shots and see how you can do it differently to get different effects... I can't really explain it, but it's GREATNESS, take my word for it.
I performed in several skits this week and that was a lot of fun. On Monday night, I played Miss Teen South Carolina on a "Jimmy Kimmel Live"-type improv skit. That was a hoot and a half. :-D
I went into town today and had cell service, so I got to talk to my mom today, which was nice. :-)
I guess that's about it. All of the interns are still getting along well, so thank you for your prayers! I think that we have to change rooms this weekend because we've got so many campers coming in next week, which means sleeping 5 girls to a room instead of the 3 we're currently enjoying. So please keep praying!
I think that wraps it up... please keep praying for me and the other interns as often as God brings us to your hearts. Thanks y'all! Love you! Have a great week! I'll try to update again next weekend! Soli deo Gloria!!!
So... it's going to be hard to sum up a whole week worth of awesomeness in a blog that won't bore you to death as you continue to scroll down and down, searching for the end of the unbelievably long blurb... therefore I have decided to just touch on the highlights.
I was given my responsibilities last Sunday night, and this week I ran the Four Square court during rec. Not surprisingly, it was pretty quiet. The quietness ended up being great when a couple of girls from Laurel, MS stopped to play on Tuesday and ended up staying and just chatting with me for almost 4 hours. They came back and we talked more on Wednesday and that night I went to their church share group time. I shared my testimony with them and I really felt like God moved in a big way in the hearts of some of those kids. It was really, really amazing.
I was also assigned to be a "Camera Assistant," which means that I've been filming the worship services, which has been SO MUCH FUN. It's so cool to set up shots and see how you can do it differently to get different effects... I can't really explain it, but it's GREATNESS, take my word for it.
I performed in several skits this week and that was a lot of fun. On Monday night, I played Miss Teen South Carolina on a "Jimmy Kimmel Live"-type improv skit. That was a hoot and a half. :-D
I went into town today and had cell service, so I got to talk to my mom today, which was nice. :-)
I guess that's about it. All of the interns are still getting along well, so thank you for your prayers! I think that we have to change rooms this weekend because we've got so many campers coming in next week, which means sleeping 5 girls to a room instead of the 3 we're currently enjoying. So please keep praying!
I think that wraps it up... please keep praying for me and the other interns as often as God brings us to your hearts. Thanks y'all! Love you! Have a great week! I'll try to update again next weekend! Soli deo Gloria!!!
Sunday, June 8, 2008
Hello from Toccoa!!
Hey everyone! I feel like I haven't seen you in FOREVER!! (Yes, I know it's only been 6 days...)
Tomorrow our first camp starts and I am totally JAZZED! I can't wait to find out what my assignment will be. We'll get them tonight. I spent all day yesterday helping our tech crew, Acquire the Fire (aka ATF), unload all their equipment and begin to set it all up. I never knew how HEAVY all that sound euipment is! The cool thing about that is that I get to see how all the tech stuff is done. Yesterday a crew of about 10 interns helped ATF with all the stuff (about 6 girls and 4 guys) and when they told Tyler, the lead intern, that they would need more people to help today, they specifically asked for me and my new friend Olivia to come back and help them. They said we'd worked really hard and they wanted us back. I thought that was pretty cool.
Anyway... I have to go back and help do more tech stuff at 3, so I'd better close. My cell phone gets absolutely NO signal out here, so e-mails and comments on here are the best way to contact me. My e-mail address is chiquitaxbonita@hotmail.com. I hope everyone has a great week! I'll try to update again at some point this week, but if I were to guess when I'll get a chance to borrow someone's computer again, I'd say it'd probably be next Sunday. Have a wonderful week everyone, and please pray for our team. We're getting along wonderfully right now, but I know that as camp gets running, we're going to get run down. Please pray for strength, endurance, wisdom and lots and lots of understanding! :-) See y'all in about 6 weeks, give or take. I love you!!!
Tomorrow our first camp starts and I am totally JAZZED! I can't wait to find out what my assignment will be. We'll get them tonight. I spent all day yesterday helping our tech crew, Acquire the Fire (aka ATF), unload all their equipment and begin to set it all up. I never knew how HEAVY all that sound euipment is! The cool thing about that is that I get to see how all the tech stuff is done. Yesterday a crew of about 10 interns helped ATF with all the stuff (about 6 girls and 4 guys) and when they told Tyler, the lead intern, that they would need more people to help today, they specifically asked for me and my new friend Olivia to come back and help them. They said we'd worked really hard and they wanted us back. I thought that was pretty cool.
Anyway... I have to go back and help do more tech stuff at 3, so I'd better close. My cell phone gets absolutely NO signal out here, so e-mails and comments on here are the best way to contact me. My e-mail address is chiquitaxbonita@hotmail.com. I hope everyone has a great week! I'll try to update again at some point this week, but if I were to guess when I'll get a chance to borrow someone's computer again, I'd say it'd probably be next Sunday. Have a wonderful week everyone, and please pray for our team. We're getting along wonderfully right now, but I know that as camp gets running, we're going to get run down. Please pray for strength, endurance, wisdom and lots and lots of understanding! :-) See y'all in about 6 weeks, give or take. I love you!!!
Hello from Toccoa!
Hey everyone! I feel like I haven't seen you in FOREVER!! (Yes, I know it's only been 6 days...)
Tomorrow our first camp starts and I am totally JAZZED! I can't wait to find out what my assignment will be. We'll get them tonight. I spent all day yesterday helping our tech crew, Acquire the Fire (aka ATF), unload all their equipment and begin to set it all up. I never knew how HEAVY all that sound euipment is! The cool thing about that is that I get to see how all the tech stuff is done. Yesterday a crew of about 10 interns helped ATF with all the stuff (about 6 girls and 4 guys) and when they told Tyler, the lead intern, that they would need more people to help today, they specifically asked for me and my new friend Olivia to come back and help them. They said we'd worked really hard and they wanted us back. I thought that was pretty cool.
Anyway... I have to go back and help do more tech stuff at 3, so I'd better close. My cell phone gets absolutely NO signal out here, so e-mails and comments on here are the best way to contact me. My e-mail address is chiquitaxbonita@hotmail.com. I hope everyone has a great week! I'll try to update again at some point this week, but if I were to guess when I'll get a chance to borrow someone's computer again, I'd say it'd probably be next Sunday. Have a wonderful week everyone, and please pray for our team. We're getting along wonderfully right now, but I know that as camp gets running, we're going to get run down. Please pray for strength, endurance, wisdom and lots and lots of understanding! :-) See y'all in about 6 weeks, give or take. I love you!!!
Tomorrow our first camp starts and I am totally JAZZED! I can't wait to find out what my assignment will be. We'll get them tonight. I spent all day yesterday helping our tech crew, Acquire the Fire (aka ATF), unload all their equipment and begin to set it all up. I never knew how HEAVY all that sound euipment is! The cool thing about that is that I get to see how all the tech stuff is done. Yesterday a crew of about 10 interns helped ATF with all the stuff (about 6 girls and 4 guys) and when they told Tyler, the lead intern, that they would need more people to help today, they specifically asked for me and my new friend Olivia to come back and help them. They said we'd worked really hard and they wanted us back. I thought that was pretty cool.
Anyway... I have to go back and help do more tech stuff at 3, so I'd better close. My cell phone gets absolutely NO signal out here, so e-mails and comments on here are the best way to contact me. My e-mail address is chiquitaxbonita@hotmail.com. I hope everyone has a great week! I'll try to update again at some point this week, but if I were to guess when I'll get a chance to borrow someone's computer again, I'd say it'd probably be next Sunday. Have a wonderful week everyone, and please pray for our team. We're getting along wonderfully right now, but I know that as camp gets running, we're going to get run down. Please pray for strength, endurance, wisdom and lots and lots of understanding! :-) See y'all in about 6 weeks, give or take. I love you!!!
Friday, June 6, 2008
A Message From Allison!
Hey everyone! I am writing tonight from Norcross, GA.
We've been here for almost 3 days now, learning everything we can about how to be a youth camp staffer. It's been SO crazy busy, but it's been wonderful. All of the other interns are so great. I can tell we're probably going to get along famously. : )
Tomorrow we will load the truck and pile into the cars and high tail it to Toccoa, GA, where we will begin our first camp on Monday. I cannot tell you how excited I am to get this show on the road.
The highlights of the week would definitely be being selected as a member of the drama team, gaining more of an idea of what being a GO TELL intern is all about, and a really sweet time of sharing & exhortation that spontaneously occurred during lunch today. I feel like there is a place where I will fit here, and I know that God is going to do some awesome moving and shaking in the next 6 weeks.
That's all I have for now. I'm posting this by way of my wonderful friend Amanda who received this in a facebook message. I have yet to find an available computer here in GA, so I've used my phone to access facebook and message her all of this. Thank you Amanda Jo!
Good night everyone!
I'll try to update again sometime this week or next weekend. Love you!
We've been here for almost 3 days now, learning everything we can about how to be a youth camp staffer. It's been SO crazy busy, but it's been wonderful. All of the other interns are so great. I can tell we're probably going to get along famously. : )
Tomorrow we will load the truck and pile into the cars and high tail it to Toccoa, GA, where we will begin our first camp on Monday. I cannot tell you how excited I am to get this show on the road.
The highlights of the week would definitely be being selected as a member of the drama team, gaining more of an idea of what being a GO TELL intern is all about, and a really sweet time of sharing & exhortation that spontaneously occurred during lunch today. I feel like there is a place where I will fit here, and I know that God is going to do some awesome moving and shaking in the next 6 weeks.
That's all I have for now. I'm posting this by way of my wonderful friend Amanda who received this in a facebook message. I have yet to find an available computer here in GA, so I've used my phone to access facebook and message her all of this. Thank you Amanda Jo!
Good night everyone!
I'll try to update again sometime this week or next weekend. Love you!
Saturday, May 24, 2008
Amazed
You know, I'm not sure I understand why I'm always taken by surprise when God paves the way for me to do what He's called me to do, but I am. I don't know why I'm taken aback when He provides exactly what I need completely exactly when I need it. I don't get why I sell Him short by worrying and fretting and doubting Him. I don't know why I do all these things when time after time after time He does what He says He will do, when He is true to His character and does not call me to something He has not planned out.
All that to say that, once again, God has shown me that He is in control and He will provide when He calls us to do things. Yesterday I received the bulk of my support for GO TELL. I'm still slightly in shock. I thank each of you who have been praying for me and ask that you would continue to do so. I will be leaving Texas on June 3. (If you received a letter that said I'm leaving on the 4th, I'm sorry about that. I scheduled my flight for the wrong day!) I'll be back July 19. I am so excited about the weeks between those dates. God is going to do some AWESOME stuff this summer and I cannot wait to see His hands move. It's going to be astounding! :-)
Well, that's all I have for now. I'll update later. Please keep me in your prayers and have a blessed day. Love you!!
~Allison~
All that to say that, once again, God has shown me that He is in control and He will provide when He calls us to do things. Yesterday I received the bulk of my support for GO TELL. I'm still slightly in shock. I thank each of you who have been praying for me and ask that you would continue to do so. I will be leaving Texas on June 3. (If you received a letter that said I'm leaving on the 4th, I'm sorry about that. I scheduled my flight for the wrong day!) I'll be back July 19. I am so excited about the weeks between those dates. God is going to do some AWESOME stuff this summer and I cannot wait to see His hands move. It's going to be astounding! :-)
Well, that's all I have for now. I'll update later. Please keep me in your prayers and have a blessed day. Love you!!
~Allison~
Thursday, May 15, 2008
Encouraged
Worrying comes very easily to me. Perhaps it's because I come from a family of worriers. I think it goes deeper than that. I think that worry is a symptom of a disease I like to call Distrust of Almighty God-itis. To me, worrying basically means that I don't trust God to be in control of something. I don't trust that He has it all in His hand. When I worry, I doubt Him and that does no good whatsoever. After all, the Scriptures say, "So Jesus answered and said to them, 'Assuredly, I say to you, if you have faith and do not doubt, you will not only do what was done to the fig tree, but also if you say to this mountain, "Be removed and be cast into the sea," it will be done. And whatever things you ask in prayer, believing, you will receive.'" (Matt 21:21-22 NKJV)
Now, don't get me wrong, I'm not a "name it, claim it theologian." (I'm not any kind of theologian actually.) But I do believe that God wants us to come to Him with our needs and desires. He created us to have needs and gives us certain desires and I believe that He wants to take care of us. "Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows." (James 1:17 NKJV) "If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him!" (Matt 7:11 NKJV)
So here is my dilemma: when I worry, I am not having faith and I am doubting, contradicting Matthew 21:21. When I worry, I am not asking in prayer believing that I will receive, contradicting Matthew 21:22. I've been telling myself these things for the past several weeks. But for some reason, my head and heart aren't making the connection and while my head understands all these things, my heart is having a difficult time completely believing.
Then something amazing happened. Yesterday we had a luncheon at work and my boss's wife (who is without a doubt one of the sweetest, gentlest, most godly woman I know) was asked to bring a devotional for us. She chose to base her sermonette on the last half of Luke 18:1, "...that men always ought to pray and not lose heart..." When I worry, I'm losing heart in God. I become discouraged... But the cool thing is that I really think that the first part of that little passage is the remedy for losing heart. If we are always praying, always in a state of communication with God, we will be listening for His voice of confirmation and we will hear it and not lose heart. Even with these words ringing in my ears at my desk later that afternoon, I continued to fret over what God's will is and whether or not I've discerned it correctly. I was thinking about this very thing when part of a verse popped into my head and I stopped what I was doing. The passage is Eph 3: 20-21 and it says, "Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us, to Him be glory in the church by Jesus Christ to all generations, forever and ever. Amen."
....... WOW. If that wasn't a direct mandate to stop fretting, doubting and worrying about provision for GO TELL, then I'm not sure what would be.
Anyway, I just wanted to share my heart with you today. I've only got 6 more days at my job and about 20 days till I leave. I'm getting very, very excited. I cannot wait to see what glory God will get in this. Please continue to pray for me, specifically that I will not doubt Adonai Nissi (The LORD my miracle). Love you!!
Now, don't get me wrong, I'm not a "name it, claim it theologian." (I'm not any kind of theologian actually.) But I do believe that God wants us to come to Him with our needs and desires. He created us to have needs and gives us certain desires and I believe that He wants to take care of us. "Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows." (James 1:17 NKJV) "If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him!" (Matt 7:11 NKJV)
So here is my dilemma: when I worry, I am not having faith and I am doubting, contradicting Matthew 21:21. When I worry, I am not asking in prayer believing that I will receive, contradicting Matthew 21:22. I've been telling myself these things for the past several weeks. But for some reason, my head and heart aren't making the connection and while my head understands all these things, my heart is having a difficult time completely believing.
Then something amazing happened. Yesterday we had a luncheon at work and my boss's wife (who is without a doubt one of the sweetest, gentlest, most godly woman I know) was asked to bring a devotional for us. She chose to base her sermonette on the last half of Luke 18:1, "...that men always ought to pray and not lose heart..." When I worry, I'm losing heart in God. I become discouraged... But the cool thing is that I really think that the first part of that little passage is the remedy for losing heart. If we are always praying, always in a state of communication with God, we will be listening for His voice of confirmation and we will hear it and not lose heart. Even with these words ringing in my ears at my desk later that afternoon, I continued to fret over what God's will is and whether or not I've discerned it correctly. I was thinking about this very thing when part of a verse popped into my head and I stopped what I was doing. The passage is Eph 3: 20-21 and it says, "Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us, to Him be glory in the church by Jesus Christ to all generations, forever and ever. Amen."
....... WOW. If that wasn't a direct mandate to stop fretting, doubting and worrying about provision for GO TELL, then I'm not sure what would be.
Anyway, I just wanted to share my heart with you today. I've only got 6 more days at my job and about 20 days till I leave. I'm getting very, very excited. I cannot wait to see what glory God will get in this. Please continue to pray for me, specifically that I will not doubt Adonai Nissi (The LORD my miracle). Love you!!
Friday, May 2, 2008
Letting Go
Hi everyone. It's been a while. I hope all is well for you.
I've been having a tough time the last few weeks, mostly because I can't seem to grasp that God's will is perfect and He Himself is sovereign. It's interesting to me that I have seen God provide miraculously in so many ways on so many different occasions, and yet, again I doubt His faithfulness. Perhaps this is just what sinful nature does. Perhaps this doubting of Almighty God is simply the result of a heart that has been blackened by sin time after time. But there are no excuses for doubting. God has more than adequately displayed His power, not only in creation but in my own life.
I was struggling with this most strongly last night. I've got 4 more weeks left before it's time to leave home and go to GA. I'm still rather short on the funds that I need. Okay... very short. I've been praying that God will provide and my prayers have sounded like this, "God you know I need this, when are you going to take care of it? I'm starting to get worried because it's looking like You might not come through. God I know this is Your will for me, so umm... whenever you get arouond to taking care of it, that would be good. Okaythanksbye."
Prayers like that will get you nowhere, in my opinion, because they are all about us and not about Him. My focus was stuck on the fact that I want to do GO TELL, and since I've decided that I want that, it must be what God wants, right? WRONG.
I don't think that God minds giving us gifts and sharing His wealth with us, after all, the Bible says that every good and perfect gift comes down from the Father of lights. What I think God does mind is us coming to Him like He's obligated to do what we want Him to do the moment we "ask" Him to do it. So I changed my approach to petitioning God for provision, and insight into His will, and let me tell you something that I found amazing: the moment I finished praying for God's will to take root in my heart over my own, for God to glorify His name through the life He's given me, for God to take GO TELL and only give it back if it was way He would get the most glory, I was peaceful. For the first time in a few days, I had a calm spirit that was not fretting over funds. God quieted my heart... and in that quiet, God said, "I have taken care of it, my daughter. I will take care of you."
Please don't mistake me and think that I think that I literally heard God speak. That's not what I'm saying here. I'm saying that God spoke to my heart. And when I "heard" the words, "I have taken care of it," I did not immediately wonder who had paid for my summer, or how GO TELL is going to work out, I knew that He meant that He has already orchestrated His will. My life is taken care of, and He is the One doing the caring.
Anyway, I just wanted to share that with you. Please continue to pray with me that God's will be done, and that He gains the utmost glory from my life.
I've been having a tough time the last few weeks, mostly because I can't seem to grasp that God's will is perfect and He Himself is sovereign. It's interesting to me that I have seen God provide miraculously in so many ways on so many different occasions, and yet, again I doubt His faithfulness. Perhaps this is just what sinful nature does. Perhaps this doubting of Almighty God is simply the result of a heart that has been blackened by sin time after time. But there are no excuses for doubting. God has more than adequately displayed His power, not only in creation but in my own life.
I was struggling with this most strongly last night. I've got 4 more weeks left before it's time to leave home and go to GA. I'm still rather short on the funds that I need. Okay... very short. I've been praying that God will provide and my prayers have sounded like this, "God you know I need this, when are you going to take care of it? I'm starting to get worried because it's looking like You might not come through. God I know this is Your will for me, so umm... whenever you get arouond to taking care of it, that would be good. Okaythanksbye."
Prayers like that will get you nowhere, in my opinion, because they are all about us and not about Him. My focus was stuck on the fact that I want to do GO TELL, and since I've decided that I want that, it must be what God wants, right? WRONG.
I don't think that God minds giving us gifts and sharing His wealth with us, after all, the Bible says that every good and perfect gift comes down from the Father of lights. What I think God does mind is us coming to Him like He's obligated to do what we want Him to do the moment we "ask" Him to do it. So I changed my approach to petitioning God for provision, and insight into His will, and let me tell you something that I found amazing: the moment I finished praying for God's will to take root in my heart over my own, for God to glorify His name through the life He's given me, for God to take GO TELL and only give it back if it was way He would get the most glory, I was peaceful. For the first time in a few days, I had a calm spirit that was not fretting over funds. God quieted my heart... and in that quiet, God said, "I have taken care of it, my daughter. I will take care of you."
Please don't mistake me and think that I think that I literally heard God speak. That's not what I'm saying here. I'm saying that God spoke to my heart. And when I "heard" the words, "I have taken care of it," I did not immediately wonder who had paid for my summer, or how GO TELL is going to work out, I knew that He meant that He has already orchestrated His will. My life is taken care of, and He is the One doing the caring.
Anyway, I just wanted to share that with you. Please continue to pray with me that God's will be done, and that He gains the utmost glory from my life.
Thursday, April 17, 2008
Right or Wrong?
How do we decide what is right and what is wrong? Is there such a thing as black and white when it comes to morals? How do we know if Biblical commands are applicable to us, have figurative meanings or were meant solely for the person to whom the command was written?
There are basically 3 main groups when it comes to right and wrong. There are the people who say that right and wrong are determined by situations. There are the people who think that what's right and wrong changes with the person - that everyone has their own truth and what's true for them may or may not be true for everyone else. For these people, there is no such thing as absolute truth and there is no "black or white." Lastly, there are people who believe that everything is either right or wrong, no matter what. For this last group of people, there is no "gray area" in morality, everything is morally absolute.
I tend to lean more towards the view of a moral absolutist. I cannot Biblically say that there is no such thing as absolute truth because that would mean that I was saying that the Bible isn't absolutely true and that would be discrediting it's inerrancy. I do not like situational ethics, because they are wishy washy. God is a God who stands strong on the laws that He has placed in order to govern man. He does not waver in His character. I believe that situational ethics go against the very nature of God.
In any case, this was the topic of discussion last night at church. Eric C (the youth/associate pastor at my church) preached on this issue. His text was Matthew chapter 5, and he summed it up in 7 points.
There are basically 3 main groups when it comes to right and wrong. There are the people who say that right and wrong are determined by situations. There are the people who think that what's right and wrong changes with the person - that everyone has their own truth and what's true for them may or may not be true for everyone else. For these people, there is no such thing as absolute truth and there is no "black or white." Lastly, there are people who believe that everything is either right or wrong, no matter what. For this last group of people, there is no "gray area" in morality, everything is morally absolute.
I tend to lean more towards the view of a moral absolutist. I cannot Biblically say that there is no such thing as absolute truth because that would mean that I was saying that the Bible isn't absolutely true and that would be discrediting it's inerrancy. I do not like situational ethics, because they are wishy washy. God is a God who stands strong on the laws that He has placed in order to govern man. He does not waver in His character. I believe that situational ethics go against the very nature of God.
In any case, this was the topic of discussion last night at church. Eric C (the youth/associate pastor at my church) preached on this issue. His text was Matthew chapter 5, and he summed it up in 7 points.
- Christ didn't come to get rid of the Law. (The Law is the Old Testament_
- Christ did come to teach the TRUE application of the Law.
- The Law will last until the end of time.
- Those who practice and teach the Law incorrectly are least in God's kingdom.
- Christ was specifically speaking to the Pharisees when He said this, but it still applies to those who misinterpret the Law today.
- Those who practice and teach the Law correctly will be great in the kingdom of God.
- Unless a person is more righteous than the Law, there is no way he will make it into Heaven on his own. (FYI: It is impossible to be more righteous than the Law, if you don't believe me, go read Exodus - Deuteronomy and check out some of the Laws the Jews were expected to follow.)
Eric then presented us with "6 Things to Consider When Asking About the Universal Application of a Biblical Teaching" I've listed them and my own notes.
- Consider God's Nature as it is Revealed to us in the Bible and Creation.
- Look at those things which stirred the wrath of God.
- Idolatry and a lack of respect, fear and awe of God are 2 that are HUGE.
- God is a jealous God! This DOES NOT mean that He is jealous of us!!! It means that God desires and deserves all of hearts, worship and adoration.
- In order to know what God has revealed, we have to read His Word - we must know the Bible.
- We cannot just assume that we know God without taking the time to get to know Him and to LEARN!!!
- Consider God's created order. (The way He made things to be: Genesis 1, check it out yo.)
- In order for this to be operational in one's heart, one must first believe that God created.
- Anything that goes against the natural order of things is immoral, things like homosexuality, adultery, fornication, abortion, murder, cloning, lying, etc.
- Consider the situation in which the command was given.
- The passage about the rich young ruler, for example. In this case, Christ was specifically speaking to that man, not to humanity in general.
- Consider what the rest of the Bible says about the issue.
- Consider what Jesus says or emphasizes about the issue.
- Consider whether or not the command affects people being SAVED.
- QUIT BEING SO STINKIN' LEGALISTIC!!!
- Sometimes things can really be a matter of spiritual life and death, don't risk ruining some one's eternal future just because you think that it's wrong to wear a hat in the sanctuary, have more than your ears pierced, listen to certain kinds of music, etc.
- As followers of Christ, we should be as He is, loving and compassionate. In this way, our witness will be good.
I just thought this was interesting and, as you can see, I got a TON of notes out of a one hour session or so.
Thanks for reading, here's a tiny update about GO TELL.
I'm still going. Still have no where near the amount of money I need to be able to do this. But I KNOW that God is faithful, and will continue to be. Please pray with me for God's provision and preparation, His protection and His direction. Thanks!!!
PS. You can still go to www.gotellministries.com, click on the "Support Your Intern" link and support me monetarily with a tax deductible donation. :-)
Until next time, God bless!!
~Allison~
Tuesday, April 8, 2008
The Schedule
Hello everyone! Are you ready for this?? (Drum rolls) Ladies and gentlemen, may I present to you the first of the GO TELL updates!!!
I cannot tell you how excited I am to be serving as an intern with GO TELL Ministries this summer. It is going to be absolutely a-mazing.
So far, God has already proven faithful (of course.) I looked up flights with AA this morning and discovered that a one way ticket from here to Atlanta is only about $99. I have yet to find out how much it costs to get from KY to Houston, but I know that God has gone before me and that it will be taken care of. How exciting is it to know that God Almighty cares enough about us to plan things for us and use us to further His kingdom?? Pretty exciting if you ask me. :-)
I got my schedule for the summer and will be travelling all over the place this summer. I'll be working camps in Virginia and Kentucky, as well as spending time in Georgia before heading down to Honduras. It's going to be absolutely insane, but I am SOOOOOO psyched.
Well, that's all for now. Look for another update soon. Please pray for me!!
~Allison~
PS I'm still working on getting together all the funds I need for the summer. If you want to donate, please visit http://www.gotellministries.com, click on the INTERNS link, scroll down a bit and click on the "Support Your Intern" link. :-)
I cannot tell you how excited I am to be serving as an intern with GO TELL Ministries this summer. It is going to be absolutely a-mazing.
So far, God has already proven faithful (of course.) I looked up flights with AA this morning and discovered that a one way ticket from here to Atlanta is only about $99. I have yet to find out how much it costs to get from KY to Houston, but I know that God has gone before me and that it will be taken care of. How exciting is it to know that God Almighty cares enough about us to plan things for us and use us to further His kingdom?? Pretty exciting if you ask me. :-)
I got my schedule for the summer and will be travelling all over the place this summer. I'll be working camps in Virginia and Kentucky, as well as spending time in Georgia before heading down to Honduras. It's going to be absolutely insane, but I am SOOOOOO psyched.
Well, that's all for now. Look for another update soon. Please pray for me!!
~Allison~
PS I'm still working on getting together all the funds I need for the summer. If you want to donate, please visit http://www.gotellministries.com, click on the INTERNS link, scroll down a bit and click on the "Support Your Intern" link. :-)
Tuesday, February 12, 2008
Infinity
was listening to the radio again last night on the way home from YACS. There was a sermon playing entitled "Good Fences Make Good Neighbors" (Listen to it here! http://www.haventoday.org/audio/021108-64k.m3u ) It was an interesting concept and I was really agreeing with what the pastor was saying. That is, I was really agreeing with what the pastor was saying until he said something to the effect of, "One day, we will know Christ as He knows us." *Tires screeching to a halt*
Excuse me? Did I hear that right? Did he really just say that one day we will know everything there is to know about the Lord Jesus Christ? Houston, we have a problem.
But seriously. I do have a HUGE problem with that statement. We are finite beings, and I believe that we will always be finite in some capacity. Even in our new bodies, we will have those finite limits. I don't believe that, once we finish this life and go to Heaven, we'll be able to fly or read minds or walk through walls or any of that crazy stuff. Heaven is the city of God and it is made of physical materials such as gold, pearl and precious stones. There is water in Heaven that flows from the throne of God. What bothers me about the statement that one day we will know everything about Christ is that Christ is God, and God is infinite. As finite beings, we can never fully understand and infinte God. It's simply impossible. If finite beings could grasp everything about God, then He couldn't be infinite.
I looked up the definition of "infinite" on www.m-w.com. I found the result to be quite interesting. ": extending indefinitely : endless2: immeasurably or inconceivably great or extensive : inexhaustible 3: subject to no limitation or external determination." My favorite is the second one. "Immeasurably or inconceivably great or extensive."
God is not only infinite. He is infinitely immutable. He does not change. (Hebrews 13:8 "Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today and forever.") Therefore, if God is now infinite and God is immutable, then God has always been and will continue to be infinite. There will never be an end to God. If there is no end, then how can we discover it? If there is never an end to God, then how can we ever know all there is to know? I believe it is impossible for us to know all there is to know about God, and it will always be impossible. For if we could fit the entirety of the infinity of God into our finite beings, then there would be no infinity because there would be an end. An end means that there can be nothing further and therefore negates the possibility of infinity.
Yikes... my head hurts now. Did that make any sense at all? I'm really interested to get feedback on this, I've already spoken of it with one of my coworkers (who also happens to be a good friend) and we disagree on the matter. Let me know what you think!!
Excuse me? Did I hear that right? Did he really just say that one day we will know everything there is to know about the Lord Jesus Christ? Houston, we have a problem.
But seriously. I do have a HUGE problem with that statement. We are finite beings, and I believe that we will always be finite in some capacity. Even in our new bodies, we will have those finite limits. I don't believe that, once we finish this life and go to Heaven, we'll be able to fly or read minds or walk through walls or any of that crazy stuff. Heaven is the city of God and it is made of physical materials such as gold, pearl and precious stones. There is water in Heaven that flows from the throne of God. What bothers me about the statement that one day we will know everything about Christ is that Christ is God, and God is infinite. As finite beings, we can never fully understand and infinte God. It's simply impossible. If finite beings could grasp everything about God, then He couldn't be infinite.
I looked up the definition of "infinite" on www.m-w.com. I found the result to be quite interesting. ": extending indefinitely : endless
God is not only infinite. He is infinitely immutable. He does not change. (Hebrews 13:8 "Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today and forever.") Therefore, if God is now infinite and God is immutable, then God has always been and will continue to be infinite. There will never be an end to God. If there is no end, then how can we discover it? If there is never an end to God, then how can we ever know all there is to know? I believe it is impossible for us to know all there is to know about God, and it will always be impossible. For if we could fit the entirety of the infinity of God into our finite beings, then there would be no infinity because there would be an end. An end means that there can be nothing further and therefore negates the possibility of infinity.
Yikes... my head hurts now. Did that make any sense at all? I'm really interested to get feedback on this, I've already spoken of it with one of my coworkers (who also happens to be a good friend) and we disagree on the matter. Let me know what you think!!
Monday, February 11, 2008
Beyond the call?
I'm discovering that things they say on the radio are good food for thought. Or debate.. Whichever. Lol
Anyway, I was listening to the radio one the way to work this morning and they played a feature that they play every morning called, "Beyond the Call." This feature is about a minute long and tells brief stories about people who went "beyond the call." I really enjoy the feature, but this morning, when I heard the title something struck dischord in me.
Beyond the call? As Christians we are called to live our lives as living sacrifices. We are called to care for the needy (Deut 15:11 "For the poor will never cease to be in the land; therefore I command you, saying, 'You shall freely open your hand to your brother, to your needy and poor in your land.'") and the widows and orphans (James 1:27 "Pure and undefiled religion in the sight of our God and Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their distress...") We are called to love even our enemies (Matt 5:44 "'But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you.'")
My question is, can a Christian go beyond the call of Christ? I don't believe so. The call of a Christian os so far beyond human capability. Only with the power of Christ can we "press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus" (Phil 3:14). The world's view of things is so different than God's (Is 55:9 "For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways and My thoughts than your thoughts.") and what the world may see as "going beyond the call" is really simply trying to fulfill the ultimate call.
There is nothing a Christian can do that would be "going beyond" what Christ has called us to. Even those who have died for the sake of His name did not go beyond the call. They merely followed and obeyed, even unto death, and that was the call. They couldn't go beyond because God expects the utmost. There is no beyond when it comes to the call that is on the life of every believer.
Anyway, I was listening to the radio one the way to work this morning and they played a feature that they play every morning called, "Beyond the Call." This feature is about a minute long and tells brief stories about people who went "beyond the call." I really enjoy the feature, but this morning, when I heard the title something struck dischord in me.
Beyond the call? As Christians we are called to live our lives as living sacrifices. We are called to care for the needy (Deut 15:11 "For the poor will never cease to be in the land; therefore I command you, saying, 'You shall freely open your hand to your brother, to your needy and poor in your land.'") and the widows and orphans (James 1:27 "Pure and undefiled religion in the sight of our God and Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their distress...") We are called to love even our enemies (Matt 5:44 "'But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you.'")
My question is, can a Christian go beyond the call of Christ? I don't believe so. The call of a Christian os so far beyond human capability. Only with the power of Christ can we "press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus" (Phil 3:14). The world's view of things is so different than God's (Is 55:9 "For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways and My thoughts than your thoughts.") and what the world may see as "going beyond the call" is really simply trying to fulfill the ultimate call.
There is nothing a Christian can do that would be "going beyond" what Christ has called us to. Even those who have died for the sake of His name did not go beyond the call. They merely followed and obeyed, even unto death, and that was the call. They couldn't go beyond because God expects the utmost. There is no beyond when it comes to the call that is on the life of every believer.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)