Category — My Hope

“May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in Him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.” Romans 15:13

Please read the post before you condemn me for being sacreligious or blasphemous!

Last weekend we had Disciple Now for the middle school, high school and college students at ClearView. It was a great weekend for everyone involved. Bill worked on the technical side of things and I helped with registration and coordinated the lunch on Saturday. It reminded me of how much I LOVED working at the church. When Matt asked if I would be interested in working again for 15-20 hours a week – I said yes!

Over the past couple of days I have been trying to figure out what to do with Will while I was at work. There were several options to consider. Contemplating the decision and trying to figure out what was best for Will took its toll on me. I did not sleep at all on Monday night. I was literally up all night with a restless spirit. On Tuesday, everytime I started to make a phone call or write an email to a “babysitter” I couldn’t do it. I started 3 emails, picked up the phone 10 times. I cried all day trying to decide what to do.I cried thinking about leaving Will with someone who wouldn’t love him as much as I do.

Then in a soft still voice the Holy Spirit said to me – “This is not what I have called you to do at this time.” He kept saying to me over and over- I have called you to be at home and be the best mom that you can be. If I started thinking about the options agian He would say to me – Stop trying to do what you want to do, do what I am calling you to do!”

It is an amazing experience to hear that directly from the Lord. I would say that more times than not I am not open to hearing from the Holy Spirit so I miss what is best for me and what the Lord is calling me to do. I pray that I always have a “soft heart” and a longing to do what the Lord wants me to do instead of what I want to do.

Incidentally, this week in the Esther Bible study we studied about our destiny.What God is calling each of us to do. At this season of my life I strive to be happy, content and awesome at what God is calling me to do. “Who knows?” God knows!

Esther 4:14b “Who knows, perhaps you have come to the kingdom for such a time as this.”

Esther 4:14b

During this “month of love” it is easy to become consumed with planning that perfect, special date or lavishing gifts on family but this “story” showed me what true love is. How Jesus loved. Jesus did not just love his family and friends. He did not just give to people he liked and were similar to him. Jesus touched the lepers, ate with tax collectors and befriended Gentiles.

Our friends Kristian and Katy are perhaps the most “Jesus like” people I know. They live in New York City and work for non-profits yet they give more away in terms of possessions and time than anybody I know. They constantly had people living with them in their apartment – for various reasons like they were looking for an apartment. They lead small groups, serve at Apostles and many other places. They are humble, sweet and purp0seful in their lives.

Read their story here: http://kristiankatyrose.blogspot.com/2009/02/at-77th-st-subway-station.html

It made me cry. It challenged me to do more – right here, everyday, in the burbs.

Well, I don’t really have much to update on these days. I’m not doing too great on my scripture memory. I definately don’t have the entire first chapter of James memorized but I’m working on it. Anything I memorize will be more than I did have! This week in the high school curriculum they are talking about “the fall” and man sinning. One of the points they made was that when Eve was tempted she did not know God’s word accurately (Did God say you couldn’t eat from any tree?) and Satan used that to deceive her. But that when Jesus was tempted in the desert he knew God’s word accurately and used it correctly and was able to resist temptation. That was really challenging to me. How can I know what God wants me to do and resist temptation if I don’t know His word? Maybe that will be a challenge to you too.

This weekend my Mom came up to visit. We had a good time eating out and just hanging out at the house. She couldn’t believe how clean our house was – but the secret is that it is so uncomfortable for me to bend over and pick stuff up off the floor that I’ve been really good about cleaning up after myself (like hanging up clothes or putting them in the basket). On Sunday we went to church but as soon as the service was about to start the power went out! It was a little chaotic. We were suppose to have a leaders lunch meeting after church so it got moved up earlier and we had to meet at Bar-B-Cutie instead of the church. Bill and my mom went to Cracker Barrel.

Well, I guess I had more to talk about than I thought!

When is the last time you have challenged your memory? Well, here is a perfect opportunity for you!

This semester Matt, our high school minister is teaching through the Book of James on Wednesday nights. The challenge to students and everyone else is to memorize the book of James. Yes, I typed that right – memorize the book of James!

So, if you need an exercise to keep your brain in top-notch shape try to memorize the book of James with us. This is an activity that exercised your brain and it’s good for your soul! If you want to listen to the “sermons” each week, access the memorization schedule or make memory cards you can get it all off the CLearView website – RESOURCES FOR THE BOOK OF JAMES.

I should have posted this earlies because by tomorrow you’re suppose to have James 1:1-8 memorized. But you can catch up – the first 8 are pretty familiar and easy to remember!

2008 has been an exciting year so far!

We are leaders in training for our Community Group. Which will be wonderful!

Bill has been excelling as a digital media public relations guru! At the end of February, he will be traveling for three days to North Carolina to help train 35 marketing and public relations experts at a multi-billion dollar business intelligence company. Bill is getting attention at his company for being a great Account Executive! Even the Executive Vice-President (EVP) has taken note of his work and his stylish wardrobe He was also given the “task” of picking out laptops for the digital media team and is now trying to convince the EVP that he needs a Mac.

As I mentioned in the previous post, I was able to spend several days at the United Nations the past couple of weeks. I attended the Commission on Social Development which was about improving the lives of all people through concrete actions. In particular, I attended sessions that had to do with aging policy. The sessions were about the Madrid International Plan of Action on Action and how regions and countries had implemented the plan to make cities more aging friendly. I am now serving as a United Nations representative for the International Association of Gerontology and Geriatrics (IAGG).

I also have the opportunity to be involved in several other international aging projects. I am a member of the NGO Committee on Aging and helping to plan and implement the 2008 International Day of Older Persons to be held in October at the United Nations. I am also the U.S. Student Representative for the 2008 World Elder Abuse Awareness Day that will be held in June in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.

At my internship I get to do a poster presentation at the National Association of Social Workers conference in Albany, NY. The conference is at the end of March and I’m presenting on how social workers can use blogging as a means of communication with other professionals and as a tool to inspire communities to action.

So, how is everyone doing on their 2008 goals? It has been almost 2 months are you following through or have you forgotten all about them? One of our favorite things to do is dance (if you can call it that) on Friday nights! During one of our dances we found a “theme” song for our lives. It’s corny and juvenile but our “theme” song is “REACH” by S CLUB 7. (I’m sure only Dana will know who they are!) It’s our theme song because it is all about reaching for the stars, following your hearts desire and being an achiever. But, it’s also about having someone who will always be with you as you are achieving your dreams! And setting goals is one way to “reach!”

Does anybody else have a theme song?

No, we didn’t stand on boxes and preach but we did have a picnic and play frisbee! Today our church met at Sheep’s Meadow in Central Park just for fun. We are really loving our church and have made a lot of new friends! (I know it’s surprising that Bill and I would have friends but we do!) The preacher’s son (about 3 or 4 yrs. old) loved Bill and crammed his pockets full of “change” a.k.a. grass!

After a fun afternoon in the park we went shopping in Chelsea. We got some new accessories for our apartment – a couple of vases and a couple of pillows and a picture for the bathroom. Now, we actually own something from our favorite store – West Elm. I’ve heard that the secret of style is to mix expensive things with bargain finds. So, we bought some things from West Elm and T.J. Maxx!

Then, we ate dinner at Merchants NY in Chelsea. It was just a restaurant that we passed and it smelled good so we decided to eat there. It was delicious. Then we made the trek back to our apartment.

What a fun day!

This morning at church Bill and I learned the #1 reason to live in a city. Because when Christ comes back he is going to establish “a Holy City” here on earth (Rev. 21: 1-2). Those of us who already live in the city are ahead of the curve because we already know the subway system! Ha, ha! We thought that was funny! J.R. (our preacher) was joking around about why NYC was such a great place to live. Today was the Apostles Church’s 2 year anniversary. We are really enjoying it there and have met tons of great people.