Friday, April 27, 2007
Nikon
Recently it was my birthday, and i got one of the coolest things I've gotten as a present. It was something that I have wanted for a long time. One of my favorite things to do is take pictures. Anything from people, plants, animals, sports, nature, the sky, or manipulating things to get a good picture. So, my parents thought it was a good idea, since I am going to be out of the country in places that I do not ever want to forget, to get me a camera. It is a Nikon D40x 10.2 megapixel. And I am loving it. I want to give you a little preview of what kind of pictures I'll be taking while I'm abroad. So here they are:
Monday, April 23, 2007
Contentment
I was first introduced to the Valley of Vision, a collection of Puritan prayers, by my brother Dan. He told me I had to read them because they are short, but pace a huge punch. These prayers are good to read as prayers of your own heart, but put in eloquent speech. The one you are about to read is a blessing to God, and a prayer for contentment. We need to take seriously what the saints that have gone before us have done. For on their shoulders we stand. I hope that what follows is what is in your heart and mind.
Heavenly Father, if I should suffer need, and go unclothed, and be in poverty, make my heart prize Thy love, know it, be constrained by it, though I be denied all blessings. It is Thy mercy to afflict and try me with wants, for by these trails I see my sins, and desire severance from them. Let me willingly accept misery, sorrows, temptations, if I can thereby feel sin as the greatest evil, and be delivered from it with gratitude to Thee, acknowledging this as the highest testimony of Thy love.
When Thy Son, Jesus, came into my soul instead of sin He became more dear to me than sin had formerly been; His kindly rule replaced sin's tyranny. Teach me to believe that if ever I would have any sin subdued I must not only labor to overcome it, but must invite Christ to abide in the place of it, and He must be to me more than vile lust had been; That His sweetness, power, and life may be there. Thus I must seek a grace from Him contrary to sin, but must not claim it apart from Himself.
When I am afraid of evils to come, comfort me by showing me that in myself I am a dying condemned wretch, but in Christ I am reconciled and live; that in myself I find insufficiency and no rest, but in Christ there is satisfaction and peace; that in myself I am feeble and unable to do good, but in Christ I have ability to do all things. Though now I have His graces in part, I shall shortly have them perfectly in that state where Thou wilt show Thyself fully reconciled, and alone sufficient, efficient, loving me completely, with sin abolished. O Lord, hasten that day.
Amen
Heavenly Father, if I should suffer need, and go unclothed, and be in poverty, make my heart prize Thy love, know it, be constrained by it, though I be denied all blessings. It is Thy mercy to afflict and try me with wants, for by these trails I see my sins, and desire severance from them. Let me willingly accept misery, sorrows, temptations, if I can thereby feel sin as the greatest evil, and be delivered from it with gratitude to Thee, acknowledging this as the highest testimony of Thy love.
When Thy Son, Jesus, came into my soul instead of sin He became more dear to me than sin had formerly been; His kindly rule replaced sin's tyranny. Teach me to believe that if ever I would have any sin subdued I must not only labor to overcome it, but must invite Christ to abide in the place of it, and He must be to me more than vile lust had been; That His sweetness, power, and life may be there. Thus I must seek a grace from Him contrary to sin, but must not claim it apart from Himself.
When I am afraid of evils to come, comfort me by showing me that in myself I am a dying condemned wretch, but in Christ I am reconciled and live; that in myself I find insufficiency and no rest, but in Christ there is satisfaction and peace; that in myself I am feeble and unable to do good, but in Christ I have ability to do all things. Though now I have His graces in part, I shall shortly have them perfectly in that state where Thou wilt show Thyself fully reconciled, and alone sufficient, efficient, loving me completely, with sin abolished. O Lord, hasten that day.
Amen
Starting Out
Well, greetings to all you blogsters. This is a new thing for me, this blogging deal. I have wanted to start one for a couple months, and now my dream is coming to fruition. The main reason that I have started this blog is to help you to stay in touch with what I am doing with my life. Since I will be leaving for South Africa in 23 days, this will probably be the best way to get updates. I will be in Johannesburg for two and a half months, working in tandem with Grace Christian Church in putting a roof on an AIDS hospice, visiting orphans who are HIV positive, and basically being a handyman in the settlements. That is the main thrust of my trip. This is an awesome experience for me because this will be the second time I have gone there. Last summer I was in South Africa for 3 weeks and that totally changed my life. I cannot wait to see how the children have grown and to see what progress has been made on the sanctuary of the plant church we were building. I have no doubt that it will be a growing time and a time where I learn how important leaning on God is.
I return to the US around the beginning of August and have just enough time to do some laundry, say hello to close friends, and pack back up on the plane to leave for the Holy Land. I have a great opportunity to spend the Fall semester studying the Bible in the land that it was written, Israel. The Master's College has this program called IBEX, and it is the extension campus of Master's. I will be there from August 28 until December 8. So, within the next 7 months, I'll be home around three or four weeks.
That is the main reason for this blog. I hope to be blogging regularly. Whether that will be stories from my experiences, pictures, encouraging things that I'm reading, what God is teaching me, songs, poetry, life lessons, or just to say hello. Whatever the format is i hope that it finds you well and you enjoy seeing, from reading, what I am experiencing. Thank you and God bless.
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I return to the US around the beginning of August and have just enough time to do some laundry, say hello to close friends, and pack back up on the plane to leave for the Holy Land. I have a great opportunity to spend the Fall semester studying the Bible in the land that it was written, Israel. The Master's College has this program called IBEX, and it is the extension campus of Master's. I will be there from August 28 until December 8. So, within the next 7 months, I'll be home around three or four weeks.
That is the main reason for this blog. I hope to be blogging regularly. Whether that will be stories from my experiences, pictures, encouraging things that I'm reading, what God is teaching me, songs, poetry, life lessons, or just to say hello. Whatever the format is i hope that it finds you well and you enjoy seeing, from reading, what I am experiencing. Thank you and God bless.
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