From my heart...

Warning:  This blog post will be long and some of you may disagree with what I have to say but, this blog post is my heart on what I feel is a truly important matter and it is something the Lord has laid on my heart to share! Are you ready for it....this is my blog about Voting!

I promise that I am not going to be one of these people that uses her blog over the next 2 months to explain why I think you should vote for a certain person or party.  In fact, I am not even going to mention who it is I am going to vote for...although I think you might have a pretty good idea before I am done :-) I only have one purpose in this blog and that is to share why I think it is important we as Christians exercise our right to vote. And why apathy is a disease among Christians.

Have you ever thought about whether or not Jesus would have voted if he lived in our society? I am sure there would be many variations of answers to this question and I am not going to answer it with a yes or a no.  But I think the Bible sheds some light on Christ's interaction with government officials.  What I find interesting is that Christ never stayed away from those in Roman authority.  If anything, he was bolder in his conversations with them. Just a few of his interactions included calling Matthew the tax collector as one of his disciples (Matthew 9, Mark 2 and Luke 5), the healing of the Centurion's servant (Matthew 8, Luke 7), the chief tax collector Zacchaeus (Luke 19), Jesus' trial before Herod Antipas (Luke 23) and Jesus before Pilot (Matthew 27, Mark 15, Luke 23 & John 18&19). Probably the most well known passage when it comes to dealing with the government was when the Pharisees tested Christ by asking if it was lawful for them to pay taxes as the people of God (Matthew 22, Mark 12 & Luke 20). His answer to them was to give unto Caesar the things that are Caesar's and to God the things that are God's.  Most people interpret this fairly literally as meaning that we need to pay taxes. This is true, but I think at the heart of this passage is also Christ modeling respect for the government that God has ordained to be in control at the time.

As Christians we believe that God is in control of the nations. Psalm 47:8 says "God reigns over the nations; God is seated on his Holy throne."  We see this throughout the entire Bible as God ordained what nations would rise up and what nations would fall.(Isaiah 7-24 will give you further proof). The most prominent examples we see are Assyria and Babylon and how God used these godless nations for His purpose. These truths are exciting to us mere mortals who can rely on a God that holds the whole earth in the palm of his hand. Unfortunately, I feel that Christians have used God's Sovereignty among the nations to justify their apathy towards anything that has to do with the government.  In this case, voting. I can't tell you how many times I have heard Christians say that God already knows what is going to happen and my vote isn't going to change anything. Yes, God does know what is going to happen and He is in control, but we have a role to play as the body of Christ as we live out His will.

Merriam-Webster defines apathy as a lack of interest or concern. Can you imagine what would have happened if Abraham was apathetic about leaving the land of his fathers, or if Moses was apathetic to the plight of the Israelites in Egypt, or if  David told Samuel he didn't care about being King?  What about if the disciples and Paul had just said "hey, God is sovereign, He will get the Word out one way or another, he doesn't need me."  Yes, God's purpose would have been accomplished if these men had said no, but each of them had a role to play in the will of the Lord and He used them in incredible ways. Can you imagine the blessing they would have missed out on? Can you imagine what we would have missed out on?

Please don't think I am trying to elevate voting to a pedestal it doesn't deserve. The Great Commission is by far the most important mandate we have as modern day Christians. So please don't misunderstand the purpose of the preceding paragraphs. My goal is to show you just how important we are in the framework of the Christian body. God has roles for each of us to play and in the nation of America he has given us the role of constituent with the freedom to vote for our leaders and further his Kingdom.  Why would you want to miss out on doing your part in a role that God has blessed you with?  A role that not all people on this planet get to have.

Dictionary.com defines voting as a formal expression of opinion or choice, either positive or negative, made by an individual or body of individuals. I thought this was a great definition because it speaks to the positive and negative aspects of voting. Unfortunately though, Christians aren't bothering to even be positive or negative about the vote because they just don't bother to vote to begin with. Yes, there is the problem of feeling like we don't have a true man of God to vote for and that this country is sinking further and further into moral despair and there is nothing we can do about it.  When we say this though, do we really believe that God is sovereign? There are two men for us to vote for this November, two flawed men that were created by God just as you and I were.  They are no better and no worse sinners and just as much in need of the saving blood of Christ as you and me. The only true difference is that they have a platform God didn't see fit to give us. How do we make a choice between the two you might ask....I believe prayer is the key, followed by knowing the facts about each candidate and their platform. This will help you make the best decision. (I would love to tell you who I think that is...and again, you can probably guess based on my conservative principles and the fact I have been a staunch republican for many years. But, I truly feel that the vote is your choice and prayer is the key....no matter who the candidate you choose, because God has a purpose in how he speaks to you....especially if we believe He is sovereign).

Better wrap this up for those of you who are still with me. Basically, our nation is in a moral disaster. We have a choice to make as believers, will we try to turn the tide and make a stand by using our God given right to vote? Or, will we sink even further in our apathy and cause the generations behind us to live in a country that is no longer truly free? Are we really willing to hide behind the God we have pledged to serve and not get out on the front lines and be willing to stand for His mandates no matter the cost? If we aren't willing to do the small things, what makes us think God will ever entrust us with big things?

So go vote this November!  Not because I told you to or because someone guilted you into it and not just because it is your right as an American. Go vote because you are a part of something bigger, you are a part of the body of Christ!  I will leave my place of voting on November 6 with a smile on my face and joy in my heart no matter the outcome.  Why?  Because I know that God is Sovereign and I did my part in His plan whatever it may be! 

The Cookie Sheet, The Cutting Board and The Cooling Rack

Ever had one of those weeks? Not the kind where everything has gone wrong or anything, but the kind where the week just seems like it will never end and your brain is so overloaded that you find yourself doing really strange things?  Well, that has been me for the past couple of weeks...hence the long time between posts.  So, I shall explain my interesting title to you below.

My new job at the Seminary has been wonderful and I can say that I am truly enjoying it. There are several events each year that I plan and they are not for the faint of heart!  In a 4 day time period I had a luncheon for Adjunct Faculty, a New Faculty Orientation and then the 2 day Faculty workshop full of 65 professors, 4 meals, 4 breaks, session materials and a guest speaker!  No, I don't mention all of this so you feel bad for me...I thrive on this kind of stuff and truly enjoy it!  I tell you this so you understand where my mind has been dedicated for the past few weeks. Needless to say, when I have gotten home at night I have done some strange things.

After the first event, I came home that night and proceeded to make dinner.  Making dinner calms me down and seems to put me back in the right state of mind. However, on this particular day my brain got left at work.  I actually managed to melt the bottom of a tea kettle....yep...melt it. I had turned the wrong stove eye on and didn't realize it until it was too late. So, that was a fun story to tell Mike when he got home!

But, the craziest thing I have managed to do in the kitchen was yet to come.  After the Faculty Workshop on Tuesday, I come home and started dinner. As I am getting everything together for our Mexican Fiesta night I went ahead and preheated my oven to 350 so it is ready to go. What I had managed to forget was that I had put a few items in the oven to get them out of the way when we had unexpected company the day before. So, picture this...cookie sheet with a cutting board and cooling rack sitting inside it.  Now picture plastic cutting board in 350 degree oven....yep...more melting.  And not only that, the cooling rack got stuck in the melted cutting board.  After I realized this, with Mike standing in the Kitchen watching my madness, I called myself all sorts of interesting names! Have no fear, they were all G-Rated :-) At that point all I could really do was shake my head and laugh at my own absentmindedness. But, it also made me thankful that the Lord has all things under control.  It doesn't matter how much I try to juggle in life, I will always have those moments where my brain just doesn't work the way I want it to. Thankfully we have a Father and a Savior who knows it all and keeps this big world turning.  I am truly thankful for the Ultimate Multi-tasker :-)

Guess that is all for now. Thanks for enjoying another installment of my ramblings!  I better go though....I think I smell something melting :-) Until next time...

Maybe we all need to Eat Mor Chikin!

Hello dear readers. I write this post with a heavy heart,  yet as one who is joyful because my hope and strength are in the only One that matters. So many sad events have taken place in our world over the course of this year and for some reason they have weighed heavy on my heart more in the past few days. Things from my personal life to national events to international events. It could be the shock of the Aurora shootings that triggered this heaviness, but whatever the cause, the Lord is teaching so much.

As I have tried to analyze the heaviness in my heart, I realize that more than anything I see the sin and depravity of mankind more and more each day. This realization has truly weighted me down. I am thankful for this heaviness though because it gives me the tiniest of glimpses to what our Savior endured on the cross (and I mean tiny!). It is nearly impossible to fathom the weight He bore just from our sin alone...not even taking into account the physical pain from the cross, the nails and the crown of thorns, but the horrid pain of our sin weighing heavy on our perfect and sinless Savior! It brings tears to my eyes even as I write this.  The Lord gave Paul such amazing words in the book of Romans to help all of us understand what a depraved world we live in and how there truly is nothing new under the sun. This scripture passage is just as applicable today as it was then. Romans 1:29-32 says "They have become filled with every kind of wickedness, evil, greed and depravity. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit and malice. They are gossips, slanderers, God-haters, insolent, arrogant and boastful; they invent ways of doing evil; they disobey their parents; they have no understanding, no fidelity, no love, no mercy. Although they know God’s righteous decree that those who do such things deserve death, they not only continue to do these very things but also approve of those who practice them."  Is that not us?  Praise the Lord I have a Savior who washed me white as snow and takes away my sin so I can strive to be more like him each and everyday!

The question may be asked "what do I do with such heaviness of heart? how do I respond? how can I help bring change to such a depraved world?" The questions alone can bring heaviness of heart! Our answers in such a time come from the very same place we received our conviction...the Word. The first thing we must realize is that we alone can't bring about the change we so long to see in our world. We have to realize that we are only a vessel that the Lord uses for change and we must be willing no matter the circumstance or obstacles to be obedient to what He calls us to do. You may have noticed the title to my post was Maybe we all need to Eat Mor Chikin?  You can probably guess it has a little something to do with Chick-fil-a president Dan Cathy's recent stance on marriage. You would be right in your guess. What I appreciated about Dan Cathy was that he was obedient to the Word and what God asked of him.  He could have easily just not taken a stand at all and left well enough alone (being politically correct)...like so many of us do on a daily basis. But instead, he proclaimed the truth from the Word of God and used the platform God has given him to be a Christ centered light in such a dark world. He was willing to say with is actions that "no matter what the world may think or how it may affect my worldly business...I will stand for what is right and true!"  So to that I say...let's all Eat Mor Chikin and be willing to say I will stand for Christ no matter the cost! I know it isn't an easy task and believe me, this blog is far more for me than any of you reading along. Though my heart is heavy, I can find joy in the promises of God and I leave you with scripture from Hebrews 4: 14-16 which says, "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." All praise honor, glory and power to Him forever and ever! Oddly enough, my heart doesn't seem so heavy anymore....=) Until next time my friends... 

Blogging....what's the big fuss about?

Sorry it has been a little bit since I have posted!  Things have been a little crazy lately. But, I am back and ready to ramble on about some new and interesting topic!  For this entry I have a bit of a bone to pick though. (Read at your own risk! =) Lately I have noticed a rather large amount of facebook posts where people remark that they are sick of reading other peoples blogs.  To which my reply is...then don't read them.  Might sound harsh, but it is the truth. The thing about blogging is that it is basically a public diary in which you allow people to read about your life and the thoughts you want to share. It really is a rather self serving way of communication, but hey, we are all just nosey enough to want to know as much about other people as we can. (Otherwise all these entertainment magazines and shows would be out of business!)  So,  a blog makes it perfectly easy to catch up with people without really having to interact with them at all. By no means am I upset or angry when writing this post, it is just an observation. And since this is my "public diary" I guess I can write about whatever I want, right?!...haha =) What I love about blogs is that I can check in on the people I care about the most and even the ones I am just curious about what they are up to in life. I can read about exciting trips that have been taken or see pics of new babies. I can learn a new recipe or even get an idea for a new book to read. Mainly, I can just be amused by the adventures and opinions of others. All that to say, I am thankful for all you bloggers out there whether I read what you write or not, or whether you read what I write or not.  Each of you knows that sometimes it just feels good to get your thoughts out there even if others don't read them =) To those folks who are sick of reading blogs, you do have the option not to read them. But, if I was a betting person, I would bet you will read them anyway because you are just as curious as the rest of us with what people do with their lives. Why else would you still be reading this =) For those who have stuck with me, I hope you have enjoyed my latest "observation," or maybe at least found it amusing =)  Some may agree and some may disagree. That is the beauty of America though, we have the right to speak our mind....at least for now...unless something changes in November...but hey, that might just have to be another "bone to pick" at another time =)  P.S. I promise my next post will be a little more fun and light hearted! Until we meet again...

Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day

As a kid, I read this book by Judith Viorst entitled Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day. Many of you may have read it or even read it to your kids.  Most of us can relate to having one of these kinds of days every now and then too!  For me, that day was yesterday. Basically, my car broke down in the grocery store parking lot, I hit my head very hard on our refrigerator door (still feeling the headache from that), my sweet puppy pottied all over my foot in his excitement to see me and we received some sad medical news about Mike's grandma (pray for her as she has a broken hip and pneumonia).  Needless to say, it was a day where one thing just happened after another.  And like poor Alexander in the book, I got very mopey and whiney and just wanted to move to Australia (or least go to sleep and forget the day happened). Let's just say my attitude wasn't the greatest.  My poor hubby can attest to that, God love him!

But as I reflect on the day, I realize, unlike Alexander, there are many things to be thankful for even amidst the times of trouble.  See, Alexander's story ended by his mom telling him that sometimes we just have terrible, horrible, no good, very bad days and we just have to deal with them. While this is true statement, we as Christians have so much to be thankful for in spite of the difficult times in life.  God even blesses us during the middle of our crisis. So, instead of being mopey and whiney, I should have rejoiced in the fact that my sweet friends Amy and Cameron came and gave me a ride home from the grocery store (Mike was at church teaching Sunday school meeting for the first time...I wasn't about to bug him in the middle of that!) I should have been thankful when 2 people in the grocery store parking lot came over to help me and Mike try to figure out what was wrong with my car. I should have been thankful that even though my Lincoln went potty all over my foot at least he has unconditional love for me and is always happy to see me. As for my poor injured head, not quite sure how to be thankful for that except to say at least I have a refrigerator =) All that to say, God takes care of us even when we have tough days, we just have to be willing to look a little more closely and get passed our own bad attitudes.  I didn't pass that test very well yesterday, but thankfully my turn around is getting a little faster =)

I leave you with these verses from Matthew 6:25-27, 32-34, "Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life?.... For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own."  These verses remind me that God has it all taken care of!  I definitely don't need to worry and I can definitely have a better attitude through the trials of life!  So, there is my little heart to heart lesson for the week. Please do keep Mike's grandmother in your prayers as they get her pass this pneumonia so that she can have surgery on her hip. And pray for my in-laws as they care for her during this time. Thanks for reading! I find blogging strangely refreshing. Helps me get all my crazy thoughts out.  I at least know my mom, my sister and my grandmother get some enjoyment out of it...shout out to them! Hopefully some of the rest of you do too!  Much love...until next time...

Afternoon Tea with Jane Austen

I have said for years (and my husband and family can attest to this) that I was born in the wrong time period. For the record, I am not doubting the Lord and His sovreignty in putting me on this planet when he did; I just often dream of times gone by.  I just chalk it up to my extreme love of history. With that said, I basically would love to visit anytime between the years1500-1900 England. From the halls of King Henry VIII to the defeating of the Spanish Armada under Queen Elizabeth I to the creation of the King James version of the Bible through all the King Charles's and King George's to colonization and the Revolutionary War up into the reign of the magnificent Queen Victoria. Each of these time periods entices me for numerous reasons. Have no fear, I will not bore you with all of them in this blog =) For those that hate history and are still with me I am impressed! On to the topic at hand though.

This blog is mainly about my love affair with the amazing Jane Austen. To understand this love, you had to have my little historical intro. I remember the first time I attempted to tackle a Jane Austen book was when I was studying abroad in England during my junior year of college. I had promised myself that I would finally read Pride and Prejudice in the country it was written in (cheesy I know, but that is what we history nerds do!) As I read Pride and Prejudice for the first time, I was swept up in a time gone by. The time of true ladies and gentlemen when chivalry was at its best and true love was for only a fortunate few. A time when clothes were handmade and as breathtaking to look at as they were to wear (minus the corsets!) A time when the Miss Elizabeth Bennetts and Mr. Darcys were the happy endings every english maiden longed for; including Jane Austen herself. As I sat in the park overlooking Kennsington Palace in London and finishing this incedible work of fiction, I began my love affair with all things Jane and all things England. Since that time I have read as much Jane Austen as I can and seen as many versions of the movies and miniseries that exist (the absolute best is the BBC version of Pride and Prejudice with Jennifer Ehle and Colin Firth!) Then there are my tea sets, love of scones and black currant tea and the general need to ponder a return trip to England in the near future. Often times we are asked if we could sit down and have lunch with someone past or present who would we choose. Well, I have a fairly long list of people I would choose from (Ronald Reagan, Queen Elizabeth I, Queen Esther of the Bible, The Apostle Paul, Joan of Arc, Jonathan Edwards and the list goes on...) but I always leave room for afternoon tea with Jane Austen. I think we could be quite good friends =)

So, there is a small window into my love of all things Austen. This blog really only scratched the surface but I am impressed if you have stuck with me this long! If I wrote in great detail this would have to be a several part blog. As a final note to this entry, I wanted to share about one of my most favorite things on this planet. I know I can't take it with me to heaven, but I can enjoy it while I am on this earth =) My amazing husband is an incredible gift giver. He is a great listener and when I say there is something I like or wish to have, he files it away and odds are good I will receive it as a gift at some point. During our 2 years of dating/engagement, I mentioned on several occasions that I would love to have an original edition of Pride and Prejudice some day. Little did I know, my soon to be husband went searching for just such an item. The oldest copy he was able to find (that wasn't on display somewhere or cost an arm and a leg) was an 1895 Peacock Edition. The cover is gorgeous with a golden peacock etched on it and the pages are gold tipped. The best part, is it has that old book smell too =)  Mike gave this to me as a wedding gift and further proved why he was such a keeper (there are many other reasons too!)  I think more than anything, Jane Austen meant all the more to me in that moment because I realized I had finally found the Mr. Darcy I had always hoped for. Yes,that may sound cheesy, but to be honest that is the kind of sentimentality Jane would be proud of! Until next time...

Abraham Lincoln Brewster

Confused by the post title? Well let me enlighten you =) Many of you have at least heard of my little maltipoo puppy named Lincoln. But some of you may not know that his full name is Abraham Lincoln Brewster. How did he get that name you ask?  Well it is a morphing of my love of history and Mike's love of music. Abraham Lincoln is of course one of my most favorite presidents (and do not get me started on that horrible movie about Abraham Lincoln being a vampire chaser...that will be a blog post in and of itself!) and Lincoln Brewster is one of Mike's favorite christian artists. So, when we got our sweet little pup two and half years ago that was the name we decided on.  I will just say that even though he is only 8 pounds he lives up to his very long and involved name!  I have posted 2 pictures below because they are so typical of my full of personality pup!  We recently moved to on campus housing at the seminary and there are still some things not quite in place.  For example, the guest bedroom dresser mirror is currently leaning against the stair railing right outside our bathroom waiting to be hung. Lincoln pretty much always "stands guard" outside the bathroom as I get readyin the morning. But lately, he has found it more interesting to look at himself. In pic number one, I can't decide if he is self absorbed or if he really just wants a little furry friend like himself. What do you think?  Of course, he is adorable, but I may be a little biased. The second pic shows his sweet face and why we love him so much!  That is all for today. Two posts for blog launch day...don't expect that again =) Until next time.....