I Boast No More

I Boast No More- Isaac Watts

No more my God, I boast no more
Of all the duties I have done
I quit the hopes I held before
To trust the merits of Thy Son

Now, for the loss I bear His name
What was my gain I count my loss
My former pride I call my shame
And nail my glory to His cross

Yes, and I must, I will esteme
All things but loss for Jesus' sake
O may my soul be found in Him
And of His righteousness partake

The best obedience of my hands
Dares not appear before Thy throne
But faith can answer Thy demands
By pleading what my Lord has done

Forever

"Father, let me be weak that I might lose my clutch on everything temporal. My life, my reputation, my possessions; Lord, let me loose the tension of a grasping hand.....rather open my hand to receive the nail of Calvary." - Jim Elliot

Today, in Spanish class, I was thinking about how many times I focus on things that won't last. We sing a song in Youth on Wednesday night and the last part says...Forever my love
Forever my life
Forever my heart is Yours

Forever is a loaded word and most of the time when I think about it I get a headache. But what an awesome thought that when we give Christ our hearts, He holds them forever. So many times I get preoccupied with things that seem so important at the moment, but when compared to eternity I see how small and insignificant they really are. May I look at people and situations with eternity in mind.

State Competition

Yesterday we left for State competition at Franklin Road Christian School. It's been a long two days but we did really well. Our chimes group is going to Nationals and the handbell group may be going as well. Over all, our school did very well. I think one of my favorite things on this trip was playing squares. Bonnie and I did pretty good once we got our sign right! And Gabe, of course, kept us all laughing!! Spending time with close friends is something I never want to take for granted.

Lost in Beauty

Today, as I was looking through pictures from when I went to China, I came across one of the Great Wall. And I remember exactly how I felt. We had been hiking for hours and I was so tired. When I finally reached the top, it took my breath away. I had never seen such beauty before. Knowing that God just spoke this into existence reminded me of His awesome power. As I walked along the Wall, I noticed all of the farming villages in the valley below and I wandered if anyone had ever brought the truth to them. My heart ached at the thought of knowing that these people see this beauty everyday, yet have no relationship with the One who created it. Who will go and tell these people? Will they ever have hope? I've been reading Revolution in World Missions and the author made a statement that literally made me feel sick. There is one missionary worker per 78,000 people. The lost are all around us. They are in our towns, our cities, our country and around the world. What are we going to do with hope we have inside of us?


Put away my desire for things supreme,
Replace them with Your vision and Your dream,
To show the world Thy sovereign grace,
Bringing them to seek Your face.
So use me Lord for Thy glory alone,
To proclaim Your love in worlds unknown.

Another one bites the dust

I went bowling with some friends last night and discovered, in a not so graceful way, that they oil the lanes. I was going up to bowl and was concentrating on the pins in front of me, determined to hit at least one of them, when I stepped across the line, slipped on the oil and fell. It wasn't one of my finest moments but at least I can laugh at myself. If they're going to oil the lanes they should at least put up a sign or something!

"Good Kid" Mentality

Before I start this new post, I have to say that I'm a complete dummy when it comes to computers. Today, YPD spent along time trying to help me "fix" my blog. Well, after trying many different things we came to a conclusion, I had been using the wrong username. So, thanks Dave for helping me "fix" my problem!

So many times I look at the world around me and see all the kids messing up their lives and think that I'm better than them. I may not say it, but I've thought it. A couple of weeks ago, YPD started talking about this "good kid" mentality. It is easy to think this way considering most of us don't drink, smoke, or sleep around. But just because we're not "in the world" doesn't mean that we don't sin. God sees all sin the same, no one greater than the other. While I was thinking about this, God brought me to the passage in Isaiah where Isaiah saw a vision of God. He saw God's greatness and his insignificance. He said that he was undone before the Lord. As I was reading this I realized how many times I take my eyes off of God. Instead of looking at people, I need to be looking at my Savior. It is when we see the greatness of God, that we see ourselves as we really are- undone. But what an awesome thought that God would let us see ourselves as we really are so we can change to become more like Him. It's in those low moments of life that God's grace becomes more real to me.

Here it is!

Well, everyone is making these blog things so I thought I would too. It took me forever to think of a title so I picked up a book and typed in the first word I saw. Since I'm moving in May, I thought this might be a good way to keep in touch with everyone. I'm really not into computers that much, but this seemed easy enough to do, so hopefully I won't mess it up!