Achan and Ai
I have been making my way through the Bible again and I started reading Joshua this morning. Where are the single, godly men like him and Caleb hiding? I want to be with a man like that, so much faith and what a great leader. I am degressing, let me get back to a man I don’t want to end up with, Achan. Poor dude.
Anyways I was reading about how the Israelites attacked the men of Ai and it should have been an easy win for them but because of the sin of one man, they were defeated by the Amorites. When Joshua inquired of the Lord, He told him that one man had stolen some objects that were supposed to be set apart for the Lord. Joshua gathered all the tribes together and the Lord showed him that Achan was the man. The Lord then told the Israelites to take Achan, his sons and daughters, cattle, donkeys, sheeps, goats, tent and everything he owned to the Valley of Achor where they burned everything. At first glance, this seems kind of harsh but the Lord always has a purpose for what He tells us to do. This man’s sin affected everyone, not only the Israeltites but his entire family. When we sin, we think we are the only one who is affected but the Lord knows the long term effects of sin, especially hidden sins. They affect every area of our lives and the people closest to us. It also has a profound effect on non believers. They are watching and waiting too see how and if we are different. Do we walk our talk?
Still counting my blessings…
I finished reading Deuteronomy today and I had forgotten how much of it focuses on God’s blessings for obedience. I know we don’t obey so we can be blessed but how incredible is the promise of blessings for simply being obedient. Not that it is any way simple to be obedient. Sometimes it’s just plain difficult but I would rather listen to God than have Him curse me. Yikes, perish the thought.
Anyways, here it is almost the end of another year and the beginnings of a new one. I am working on my goals for next year, not resolutions but real goals I would like to accomplish. And no, I am not going to publish them here for all the world to see!
I have been taking this recuperation time from knee surgery to pray and seek the Lord and try to figure out some things. I really want to be involved in missions but I am not sure to what extent that will look like. I would love to work for an organization that mobilizes missionaries and short term mission teams overseas. That way I may not have to live overseas all the time but I would get to lead several trips a year. I am not sure. I was researching jobs with organizations and I realized that I will have to continue in school. Almost everyone wants a Bachelor’s degree so my little Associate’s degree ain’t gonna cut it. I prayed most of today (and on and off for the last 6 months) about whether or not to continue in Bible college and I am pretty sure I am going to continue. It will be difficult and I will be taking 2-3 classes each semester. Studying takes up so much time and is a huge commitment. I am going to try to balance it this year though because last year I studied way too much.
I am waiting for my school counselor to call me back with my classes. I know I need to take some hard ones like Apologetics and Systematic Theology, oh goodie!!!
Counting my Blessings-Part 1
My life BC (before Christ) was a life full of despair and sadness. I struggled with depression for over 20 years and it amazes me that the Lord healed me from this affliction. It wasn’t a quick, painless healing. It was one that took several years of working my recovery program and going back to the broken areas of my heart and allowing Jesus to help me to sort through and process it all. It was difficult to have to go back and remember and feel the pain but that is the only way to deal with them and be free of the bondage of past hurts.
There are many things I am thankful for as this year ends. Over the next few days, I will write about them.
What a blessing it was for me to be able to be in Bible college. This past year I took so many courses and learned so much about the Lord and His word. I also learned a lot about myself. I love learning and knowledge and I can’t believe that after almost failing high school (due to all the partying and skipping my classes) that I am Summa Cum Laude. I am amazed that everything I did in my past has not killed all my brain cells and the Lord redeemed and restored them.
I am grateful that I was allowed to lead my first mission trip to Peru this past summer as well. What an awesome experience. God did amazing things in each and every person on the trip and grew our faith and opened our eyes. We were able to be Jesus’ hands and feet and share His love and blessings with many people.
I am also grateful for having insurance and being able to have 2 knee surgeries this past year. I am hopeful that this partial knee replacement will bring about total healing and freedom from the pain I have plagued with for the last several years. I can’t wait to go hiking again and join the gym and work out pain free. I can’t wait to be able to just walk through a mall or walk around the block.
I am grateful for my friends. Friends who care about and love me and are there for me. Friends who encouraged me, wiped me my tears for me, hugged me and accepted me for who and what I am. They challenge me in my faith, call me out and question me when I make bad decisions (especially Tina 
and genuinely care about y well being.
I am grateful for another year of sexual purity. It amazes me how the Lord blesses obedience in this area. Before meeting Jesus, I did not understand why sex outside of marriage was wrong but now I totally understand why the Lord commands that we remain pure. I now realize my worth as well and know that I am worth waiting for! I want to be cherished, loved and respected and the first way to have someone do that for you, is to cherish and love and respect yourself.
Kingdom of the Cults Continued…
I am finishing up my last course so I can graduate from Bible college, woohoo! The course is based on Walter Martin’s book entitled Kingdom of the Cults. If you are reading this and you are a believer in Christ, you should really read this book. I am utterly amazed and almost speechless by the cults that are there and it saddens me so much to see so many people led astray by these horrific cults.
I was reading the chapter on the Church of Scientology and I can’t believe what I read. I am not going to rant on this blog about it so you need to go buy the book. We, as Christians and preachers of the Word, need to be equipped with the knowledge of these cults so we can help lead people into truth. One of the most common denominators is the way these cults abuse the Bible and take the Scriptures out of context. I feel that much more compelled to read and study and pray for God’s wisdom and Spirit to help my memorize and understand the Word.
It should not surprise us that Satan and all his demons would try to tempt us and twist our thinking but we have the Sword of the Spirit which is the Word of God. When Jesus was tempted by Satan in the wilderness, did He not quote the Scriptures 3 times, refuting Satan? Yes, He did. If Jesus, Savior of the world, Messiah, King of Kings, etc, etc, uses Scripture, than how much more do we need to use it! We can’t use what we do not know.
Hebrews 4:12
For the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.
3 weeks post knee surgery
It’s hard to believe that tomorrow it will be 3 weeks since my knee surgery. I thought I was going to blog like crazy but it hasn’t turned out that way. I am almost at the point of going stir crazy and if I wasn’t allowed to drive for short distances, I would be a lot more antsy than I am. It’s funny how just being able to drive to Blockbuster or CVS is the highlight of my day!
I miss going to church so much. That is always the hardest part of recovering from surgery. I got ready to go yesterday and stopped by Blockbuster first, but after walking around in there for 15 minutes, I couldn’t go. I was exhausted. I am definitely going on Wednesday though. I miss worship and although I have music on all day at home, it is just not the same.
I am reading the Bible from cover to cover again and it amazes me how much I forget. I also have to finish up one course in school, then I am done. I graduate. That will be awesome. I am praying about what to do next. I want to take nursing or some type of medical courses but I need to continue to pray about it.
2 Weeks Post Knee Replacement Surgery
It’s hard to imagine that just 2 weeks ago, I got a few new pieces put into my knee. I went to the doctor’s today and they took the staples out and am I happy about that! They were starting to itch and get on my nerves.
He was very pleased with my progress and couldn’t believe how well I was doing and that I was walking and bending my knee at almost 90 degress so quickly. I can thank my Creator for the way He put me together and the fact that He is the Great Physician.
The nurse that came to out to see me told me that the entire back of my leg would bruise and amazingly, I didn’t get one bruise there! I know that it was also everyone’s prayers that have worked miracles in my healing.
I will admit that after having 3 scopes to that knee already, I thought the pain level would be the same but it wasn’t. It hurt! it still hurts if I try to walk around too much. Now I realize why they say about 6 weeks off work. Even going to the doctor and the store today totally drained me. I am getting my energy back but I have to keep reminding myself, this was major surgery and it has only been 2 weeks.
I feel like soon, I will have my life back. I have been thinking about the bondage I have been in with all the knee pain for the last several years. Even areas of serving in ministry have been dictated by my pain so I am looking forward to a new knee and a new year.
I am so excited to see what the Lord is going to do in my life next year.
Each year, I look back and am amazed at what the Lord has done in my life. I woke up this morning just thanking my Abba Daddy for loving me so much. It’ s so incredible to be loved and adored in the perfect way that only He knows how to do. I actually got the warm fuzzies!
