Oh Boy

Winter came a little early this year to Boston! 4-8 inches expected tonight so I'm making some stew and laying on the couch while watching football. Cozy time!

Huh...

"By faith the walls of Jericho fell, after the army had marched around them for seven days. By faith the prostitute Rahab, because she welcomed the spies, was not killed with those who were disobedient. And what more shall I say? I do not have time to tell about Gideon, Barak, Samson and Jephthah, about David and Samuel and the prophets, who through faith conquered kingdoms, administered justice, and gained what was promised; who shut the mouths of lions, quenched the fury of the flames, and escaped the edge of the sword; whose weakness was turned to strength; and who became powerful in battle and routed foreign armies. Women received back their dead, raised to life again. There were others who were tortured, refusing to be released so that they might gain an even better resurrection. Some faced jeers and flogging, and even chains and imprisonment. They were put to death by stoning; they were sawed in two; they were killed by the sword. They went about in sheepskins and goatskins, destitute, persecuted and mistreated— the world was not worthy of them. They wandered in deserts and mountains, living in caves and in holes in the ground. These were all commended for their faith, yet none of them received what had been promised, since God had planned something better for us so that only together with us would they be made perfect." (Hebrews 11:30-40 NIV)

That'll teach me to complain about my "problems".

Redemption

"“Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God—this is your spiritual act of worship. Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.” Romans 12:1-2

I've read this verse plenty. But I have been asking God to show me where he wants me to serve up here and when I saw the last part of this verse it hit me - I can't clearly discern his will until I offer my whole body as a spiritual act of worship.

"Then Jesus said to his disciples, 'Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me.'" (Matthew 16:24 NIV)

Or try this one...

"Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your bodies." (1 Corinthians 6:19, 20 NIV)

God bought me with his Son' life. He loved and cared enough for me that he sent his Son to his death and I can't hand over my struggles to him?

He has a plan and a purpose for my life and I need to offer ALL of me to him so that he can work on perfecting me to his will.

I'm not just talking about what foods I put in my mouth - though I'm convicted that's a large part of it. I'm talking about the way I handle anger when it rises up in me, the way I respond when I want to be lazy, the way I treat people I come in contact with on a daily basis. This is all part of giving my entire body as a living sacrifice.

I'll tell you... I'm 100% convinced that even when I was living my life away from Christ, he had his hand on me. After all he has done for me - finding living situations, jobs in every city, an amazing family, etc - the very least I can do is offer myself as a sacrifice. It's not easy. It takes effort and desire to give ourselves completely over to him. But I try. It's an uphill battle every day. But I know it's worth it for God to be able to complete his works in my life.

Whoah.

I'm not sure if I've somehow managed to completely skip these verses every time I've read through Hebrews, or if they simply mean something different to me now but I thought I'd share.

When I read these verses this morning I was slightly blown away. These are in the NIV translation.

"Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has ascended into heaven, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to the faith we profess. For we do not have a high priest who is unable to empathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet he did not sin. Let us then approach God's throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need. (Hebrews 4:14-16 NIV)"

I'm not a huge fan of The Message translation but for these verses, I really like it's summary of it:

"Now that we know what we have-Jesus, this great High Priest with ready access to God-let's not let it slip through our fingers. We don't have a priest who is out of touch with our reality. He's been through weakness and testing, experienced it all-all but the sin. So let's walk right up to him and get what he is so ready to give. Take the mercy, accept the help." (Hebrews 4:14-16 MSG)

What a great way to start of the day huh?? It's going to be a fantastic one!

Perfection

Mission Field

I've been doing a study called "Life in the Spirit" by Robertson McQuilkin. Granted, it's a little old as far as studies go (Copyright 1997?!). And yea, it's a LifeWay Press study (I don't necessarily always like them). But I'm actually really enjoying it so far.

Anyhow, the point of this post is to ask for your prayers. God has really been revealing to me lately that we are not here in Boston to work out. We could do that at home. We're here because He's led us here and He has us here for a reason. This is our mission field.

There's a song by Kutless called "Changing World". I feel like they wrote the song just for me! The whole thing is amazing but this is the part that always catches my attention: "I need to let go of my destiny. I need to trust in things unseen" Our lives are not ours to control. There's someone else who's directing our steps.

Knowing this, I'd like your prayers in asking God to reveal to us where He wants us and give us the boldness and wisdom to do what needs to be done. This is not an accident. We originally came up here knowing no one and having nowhere to live. God provided. We know this is where He wants us. Know we want to know our next step. Your prayers are appreciated.

Miss and love you all. :)

These Are a Few of My Favorite Things

This is the view off our back porch. Isn't it cute?? There's a little stream that runs not 5 yards from our back door. When we leave the door open, you can hear the stream running and it makes me want to go to sleep all the time. Next piece of news... Meet this guy:

l This is, apparently, my new friend. 2 days Tim found a tick on me. We both freaked (you would too if you had legs sticking out of you!!!) and tried to pluck it off before we Googled how to handle the situation. 'Ol Tick was in there pretty good and Tim got the body out but the head is still stuck. "Ewwww" I know. I don't need you to tell me it's gross. It creeps me out on a minute by minute basis that I have a head stuck in my back. No worries people. I'm a clean person. The family I babysit for lives in the middle of the woods and I have to walk their dog. The doc says I should be fine. Hopefully... Anyways. I have some funny videos for you as soon as I figure out how to upload them from my phone. My computer is so slow I don't even like to turn it on. Adios Amigos.

Ahhh

The leaves are starting to change and the air is definitely cool. There's nothing quite like fall in Boston.

Ahhh

It's great to be back.

We're Heeere.

So we made it. Actually, Tim's been here 2 weeks and I've been here a week but I've just been too busy getting settled in to update. We left Raleigh, went to ATL to visit the Gus family, then headed over to Bama to visit the Osbornes. Long story short: we're here and we're settled in. I passed by Laura and Cody's old house...

Which just made me sad. Glad for them... sad for us. Boston won't be the same without them this year. None the less, we're enjoying a lazy Sunday watching football. Trying to keep all the windows open until the brutal MA winter forces us to close them. Hope everyone is well and I'll get better at updating. Oh. And I just want to let you all in on a little challenge I have with my lovely husband. I'm working out at the same place he is and I've bet him that by the end of the off season, I'll be pound for pound stronger than he is. Think I can do it?!? We'll see!!!