into sunlight and liberty

"He not only breaks the chains that bind me, but also leads me out of prison into sunlight and liberty. He delivers me from the twists and turns of my own deviousness, from the surliness and selfishness, from prejudice and hate, from dismal doubt and unbelief, from oppression by Satan and my own ego, and from my inner lustings and cravings. By the time God is finished with me at the end of my life, I will recognize that He has done an amazing work in me..." (W. Glyn Evans)

true beauty

I like this video, it's a little peak into the secrets of the beauty industry. I think all women should see it:

upcoming events!

Here are some big events coming up in the ministry:

Fall Getaway (October 2-4): This is a weekend-long retreat for the students in Providence. It's a great place for students to grow in their faith, build community with other believers, and get away from the stress and pressure of school

Cross '09 (November 9-11): This is a nation-wide event that focuses on cross-cultural ministry, especially in the inner city. Students in Campus Crusade all over the country will do ministry in their local areas; many of the students from the Northeast region are going to New York City

Boston Winter Conference (January 2-6): This is an extended conference for the students in the Northeast Region. The conference consists of worship, special speakers, seminars, training, and a day of outreach.

Be praying for these events! Pray for the leaders and planning of the events, pray that people will be reached with the Gospel, and that the students experience God in new and exciting ways!

rhode island fast facts

So, it made sense to me that I should do a little research on the little state of Rhode Island considering that I'm moving to Providence in the near future and I've only been there once. So, if you're a history or geography geek like me, check out what I've learned about the Ocean State (400 miles of coastline!):

-->everyone knows that RI is small (only 37 miles wide and 48 miles long), but do you know why? It's because the founder, Roger Williams, inisted on paying the Native Americans fair price for the land. He acknowledged that the Natives were the actual owners of the land, and it was this liberal thinking, along with his push for religious freedom, that got him kicked out of the Plymouth colony

-->it was the first colony to declare independence from Great Britain and the last to join the new union

-->during the 1700s the state was known as "rogue island" because it took in all the unwanteds from the other colonies... Reminds me of how Jesus interacted with 'rogues' (see Matthew 9 and Luke 15)

-->the state motto is "hope"

Ok... now I've revealed my geeky side to the blog world, but I hope you learned a little about my soon-to-be home.

how deep

"I pray that from His glorious, unlimited resources He will empower you with inner strength through His Spirit. Then Christ will make His home in your hearts as you trust in Him. Your roots will grow down into God's love and keep you strong. And may you have the power to understand, as all God's people should, how wide, how long, how high, and how deep His love is. May you experience the love of Christ, though it is too great to understand fully" (Ephesians 3:16-19 NLT).

I love this passage! I tend to put God in a box. But it's impossible to put God in a box! He's bigger than anything we can imagine with our finite minds! Paul says he prays we can have the power to grasp God's love for us. We are too weak to understand how much God loves us. We just don't get it. It's too great for us. He imagined the sun.... He thought up meerkats... He is the power behind lightening... He is bigger than the extents of space. He is so much more than we can fathom and anything we know on this earth.

perfecting the imperfect

All believers are in a process of becoming more like Jesus. This process is called sanctification. Here's yet another quote, it's from Mere Christianity by C.S. Lewis. It seems to be a reflection on Philippians 1:6... "He who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus."

"Make no mistake," He says, "if you let Me, I will make you perfect. The moment you put yourself in My hands, that is what you are in for. Nothing less, or other, than that. You have free will, and if you choose, you can push Me away. But if you do not push Me away, understand that I am going to see this job through. Whatever suffering it may cost you in your earthly life,..., whatever it costs Me, I will never rest, nor let you rest, until you are literally perfect- until My Father can say without reservation that He is well pleased with you, as He said He was well pleased with Me. This I can do and will do. But I will not do anything less." (C.S. Lewis, Mere Christianity)

Seems like quite a large project... but God has the power to do it, to transform the lives of His followers. And it's not something we can do; only God has the power to make us perfect, our only job is to abide in Him.

faith and trials

A quote within a quote from Wilderness Skills for Women by Marion Jordan (again):

"The word temptation can be translated two ways in the Bible. One means incitement to sin, and the other means to test or to prove. Both definitions apply to Job's situation. Satan is tempting him to sin, while God is allowing him to be proven faithful. James Dobson, in his best-selling book When God Doesn't Make Sense, describes the seasons of testing perfectly:

'Most believers are permitted to go through seasons of emotional and spiritual valleys that are designed to test their faith in the crucible of fire. Why? Because faith ranks at the top of God's system of priorities. Without it, He said, it is impossible to to please Him (Heb. 11:6). And what is faith? It is the substance of things "hoped for, the evidence of things not seen" (Heb. 11:1). The determination to believe when the proof is not provided and when the questions are not answered is central to our relationship with the Lord'"

Have you experienced these valleys? I know I have. And in the midst of them, it's not fun. But looking back on those seasons, I can see how God used them to draw me closer to Him and to strengthen my faith.

God is like a life preserver. When things are fun and easy, it's like I'm standing on a dock with the life preserver resting at my feet. When life gets rough, it's like I'm in the middle of the ocean desperately clinging to the life preserver with all my strength. God doesn't care so much about where I am (dock or ocean)... He cares more about how tightly I'm clinging to Him.