Well...

I'm going to admit tonight that I feel like Job has been saying the same thing for oh...the whole book. So, I'm afraid I don't have a whole lot to share on that front. I am looking forward to church tomorrow so hopefully I will have a bit more direction as I read the rest of the book. I do really like feeling like I have feedback after each week of reading. It has been a good time for me and I feel like God is challenging me.

Guess I will take this time to share some random things about life right now:

*On Friday, Brad & I interviewed a girl for camp this summer who had come to Crosspoint...when we were working. How weird. She had actually only been a Brad's camps, but how strange that someone who was a camper for us in 5th and 6th grade is now applying to work camp in the summer. Geez I feel ancient in the camp world.

*I have been frantically trying to get things done this weekend before we head to Kenya. Preparing to miss almost 2 weeks of school is not easy, but I am grateful that I have the opportunity to go.

*On Friday, Brad & I tried a couple of firsts for us in Birmingham. A place called Newks for lunch and Yogurt Mountain for dessert. Yogurt mountain is great. You go in, grab a bowl and then you have about a dozen flavors of frozen yogurt to choose from. Then you can put whatever toppings on it that you want and they weigh it to see how much it costs. My favorite flavor combo was peanut butter with rice krispie treat...yum. My idea for them...they need to create a membership club where you pay a monthly fee and can go as much as you want for one monthly cost!

*A little over a week ago I got my lab placement for this semester. This spring we are all going to schools in Bibb County which = the boonies. It will be about a 45 minute drive, but thankfully I have several friends I may be able to carpool with. I was assigned Kindergarten though, so I am really excited. I think eventually I would love to teach Kindergarten, so this will be a good test!

*It dawned on me the other day that this summer I will get to go to camp and focus totally on camp and I got really excited. I took 3 classes online last summer and it was craziness. I still don't know how I did it. It was literally by the grace of God. He provided us with a great staff and me with great office ladies who I literally could not have gotten through the summer without. I am really excited that this summer my focus will not be split and I am looking forward to all the travel. This is it...my last go round, unless God has some super crazy plans for me that I am not aware of yet. So I am going to make the most of it!

*My random thoughts lately...I'm ready to have a place to call home. Don't get me wrong, I love it here and I love our house. We are incredibly blessed. But ever since I graduated college I feel like I have been in a constant transition. Fortunately, we have stayed in one place for the last few years, but we still can't really put down roots as we aren't sure what we are going to do long term. So, whether it is here, or somewhere else, I am just ready to have a place to call home for a while. I know that God is already sorting out those details, and in the meantime I just need to be happy with all my blessings.

Well, that might be enough random updates for now. If I get any great insight on Job tomorrow at church I will try and share it. Guess that is all for now.

Today's Reading: Job 22-24

"Naked I came from my mother's womb, and naked shall I return. The lord gave and the lord has taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord." Job 1:21

The power of our words.

Tonight as I read Job, I thought about the power of our words. in chapter 19, Job says "How long will you torment me and break me into pieces with words?" Our words have power. They have the power to break down, as the words of Job's friends were doing to him. Or they have the power to build up and encourage. I have learned this fact as I study to be a teacher as well. I have learned that as a teacher, your words can have a permanent impact on the lives of your students. I have also learned this being a Compassion sponsor. For some children who are sponsored through Compassion International, the only words of love and encouragement they receive may be through the letters from their sponsor. I know from experience too. I remember times when important people in my life either built up or tore down my self confidence through the words they said. As Christians, our words have great power. Our words can either be a reflection of Christ or of the world. Our words can build up or tear down. We must always be cautious of our words. We must guard our heart and guide our tongue. Use your words to build up those around you each and every day.

Today's Reading: Job 18-21

"Naked I came from my mother's womb, and naked shall I return. The Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord." Job 1:21

A few good friends...

Tonight as I continue to read Job I realize the importance of having good friends. Unfortunately, Job's friends were not being very supportive during these chapters. In fact, Job says, "I have heard many such things; miserable comforters are you all. Shall windy words have an end?" Job 16:2&3. Not the best friends, huh? I had the opportunity to talk to a friend from camp tonight and I realized that I really should take more time to do that. I get busy, life gets crazy, and I use facebook as an excuse and substitute for keeping up with people. Its really just not the same. Tonight I took time to actually pick up the phone and call and it was so great, and so much better than "sort of" keeping up with someone via social media. I am sure that all Job wanted was just to have a good friend to turn to...someone who would tell him that everything would be alright. Or someone who would just sit and be with him (and not talk his ears off like Job's friends did). So tonight I hope that my friends know how important they are to me, even when I don't do the best job of keeping up. I also hope that I can do a little better at keeping up with people. God intends for and created us to be relational. And we are meant to have community. So tonight I challenge you too. Call a friend tonight. Write a note. Send an email. Do something to purposely seek out and encourage a friend. You never know how much they may need it, right at that very moment.

Today's Reading: Job 14-17

"Naked I came from my mother's womb, and naked I shall return. The Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away, blessed be the name of the Lord." Job 1:21

When God is silent (and men are not)

As I continued to read through Job tonight, I thought about the times when we seem at our lowest and God seems to be silent. So far, Job has continued to express his frustrations and cry out to God, but God remains silent. Have you experienced times like this? I know I have. I don't think that things have ever been as bad for me as they have been for Job, but I have been in situations where I have felt pretty hopeless and I wondered when God would answer my call. I know the truth is that he really never leaves us, but there are times when it sure feels that way. As I read Job I also think about the times when God is silent and we try to seek hope from man instead of Him. In these chapters, Job is seeking the help of his friends, and honestly, they don't seem to be helping very much. How much more discouraging is it to us when others we seek are not encouraging or helpful and do not speak words of truth in our lives. I think this reminds me that even when He seems silent, we must always ultimately seek and find our hope in God. And I continue to understand that just as God's words have meaning, his silence does too. God doesn't just sit up in heaven, twiddling his thumbs, wondering when we'll shut up long enough to listen. He has a reason for his silence. Maybe He is trying to teach us something. Maybe His answer does not fit in our time table. Maybe we just won't understand in this world. No matter what, we must hold on to our faith and trust that God's answers will come, in His time.

Todays Reading: Job 10-13

"Naked I came from my mother's womb, and naked I shall return. The Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away, blessed be the name of the Lord." Job 1:21

A week from today...

I will be on my way to Kenya! I am so excited and blessed to have this opportunity to go on another trip to see the work of Compassion International. If you aren't familiar with Compassion, it is a child sponsorship program that is releasing children from poverty in Jesus' name. My involvement with Compassion International has changed my life. I will never be the same because of the experiences I have had with Compassion. In 2007, I traveled to Uganda, Africa for my first international experience and my first trip with Compassion. I admit before I traveled I was still a little skeptical. I just hadn't learned a whole lot about the program. After seeing the work that they do firsthand, I was sold for life. I was able to see how their ministry partners with churches in the poorest areas and how they are equipping these churches to change the lives of the people in these communities. I also learned that the greatest tragedy of poverty is not a lack of "stuff" it is a lack of hope for a future, and that is exactly what Compassion is providing to these children and families. In Uganda, I was also able to meet my sponsored child Susan and her mother. It was an incredible and overwhelming experience. I am so happy and proud to watch her grow up into a beautiful young woman of God. I know that God has great plans for her life. In 2008, Brad & I both had the opportunity to travel to the Philippines. And I had entirely new experiences with poverty. I had no idea that people built their homes over flooded rice fields and ride rafts of styrofoam or swim through rivers of trash and raw sewage just to get into the mainland of their communities, or that people built communities in graveyards. My family now sponsors a little girl named Mary Hart from the Philippines and I trust that God has incredible plans for her life as well. In the fall of 2008, Brad and I were also able to travel to Haiti. You can read in my previous blogs what a heart I have for that country, especially now in the midst of such terrible tragedy. Brad & I also sponsor a young man named Bens who lives in Haiti. We are pretty sure that he has been protected from much of the tragedy, but I am sure that he is still affected in some way. I pray that he will grow up to make a difference in his country one day. Although in all of the places that I have been the people are different and the landscape is different, two things are constant. One is poverty. It is like nothing that most of us have ever seen and it is nothing like anything here in the US. The other constant is the impact that Compassion International is having on the future generations of these countries. Compassion is bringing hope, it is bringing a future generation of leaders who will make an incredible difference in their country. Most importantly it is bringing hope to these children through Jesus Christ.

I am so blessed to be a part of Compassion International. It is a blessing to be able to be a small part of something much larger than myself. To feel that in some small way I am making a difference in the lives of others. That in some small way I am answering God's call to help the orphans and widows of this world. Sometimes it doesn't feel like much, but it is something. My heroes are the Compassion project workers who work with these children and are a part of their everyday lives. I ask you to join with me in praying for these people. Specifically for this week for those in Kenya. I pray that in some way I may be able to bring encouragement to these dear people as we are visitors in their country. Also please seriously consider making a difference in the life of a child through sponsorship. It is $38 a month and if we are honest with ourselves, we blow through that much money a month on trivial things like iTunes and Starbucks. That $38 helps support the needs of a child as well as pay for school fees and medical expenses. More importantly, it provides you the opportunity to build a relationship with that child. It is a relationship that will change your life as you are able to see them grow and change and have HOPE for their future. If you want more info about Compassion International, just let me know or check them out on the web at www.compassion.com. In the words of some friends of mine who are Compassion graduates, "So you want to change the world...PROVE IT."

Today's Reading: Job 6-9...I did read today!

"And he said, Naked I came from my mother's womb and naked I shall return. The Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord." Job 1:21

Blessed Be the Name of the Lord.

So tonight the reading shifts to the story of Job. Here are a few of my thoughts from reading tonight...

1. Talk about a bad day. In one day Job loses all his earthly possessions as well as his children. And yet, at the end of it all he says, "Naked I came from my mother's womb and naked shall I return. the Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away, blessed be the name of the Lord" Job 1:21. I wonder if I could or would respond in the same way. To literally lose almost everything and still praise and bless the Lord takes quite a lot of strength. Strength I am sure that Job found in the Lord.

2. Just when he thought he had enough, there was more. Just as Job has lost almost everything, not his own health is attacked. He is miserable. Even his own wife tells him to curse God and die. and Job responds, "Shall we receive good from God, and shall we not receive evil?" Job 2:10. I think this is one of the things as humans we often struggle with the most. When things are going well, we are receiving blessings from God. But when things turn and we find ourselves in despair, we often feel that God has forsaken us. In truth, God is always with us. Even as Job was being attacked by Satan, God was still with Job. I believe that is the only reason Job could still respond in this way. That type of strength is not human.

3. Job shows his humanity. Job was tough, he really was, but his lament in chapter 3 was bound to happen. Who could blame him. Job is in such pain and despair he laments his very birth. Job is at a very low point. Job is struggling. Yet, we know that God is still with him. Job's circumstances have changed, but God still loves him, that remains.

4. The presence of satan is real. At the beginning of Job, God asks when satan presents himself where he has come from. Satan replies, "From going to and fro on the earth, and from walking up and down on it." Job 2:2. Evil and satan are real. I believe he is just as present on the earth as he was when Job was alive. And while satan brings pain, destruction and despair just as he did to Job, he is still not stronger or more powerful than God. He never has been and he never will be. There are days when things are so bad on this earth, it seems that satan is winning, but that is never true. No matter how desperate things are, God is always in control. Always. He has already written the end of the story. And that is something we can take joy in, even in the midst of pain and tragedy.

So, while I have studied Job before, but I am looking forward to studying his story again. While it is a painful one, I think that there are also some beautiful pictures found in the midst of his suffering.

Today's Reading: Job 1-5

"And he said,"Naked I came from my mother's womb, and naked shall I return. The Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord." Job 1:21

Forgiveness

I think that the picture of Joseph's forgiveness of his brothers is a beautiful one. After the death of their father Jacob, the brothers believe that now Joseph may take out his long built up anger on them all. To their surprise, Joseph's perspective is much different. Not only has he forgiven them, but he also tells them this, "Do not fear, for am I in the place of God? As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good, to bring it about many people should be kept alive." Genesis 50:19&20. So not only was Joseph able to put the sins of his brothers against him behind him, but he was also able to see the bigger picture of God's plan for his life. There was no reason that Joseph had to forgive his brothers, most of us would have taken the opportunities he now had to cut of his support of them and their families, but Joseph chose to take care of all of them. I find this picture beautiful first because it is a familiar one. God has no real reason to forgive us. He didn't and doesn't have to do it. He didn't have to provide His one and only Son for us as a sacrifice for our sins, but He did. He loves us and He did. Because of this, our relationships can be reconciled to him just as Joseph reconciled the relationships with his brothers. I also think that is a beautiful picture of perspective. How even when others do evil against us, God can mean it for good. While there is often difficulty in the process, it can be exactly what needed to happen for the greater good.

So I wonder, and I ask these questions to myself as well, who do you need to be reconciled with? Who do you need to show the forgiveness of God to? What situation do you need to put into perspective and realize that maybe while difficult, God meant it for good? When we think about our anger or grudges, we must always remember that God forgave us when we were unworthy and undeserving. We should be willing to show others the same love of Christ in us.

Todays Reading: Genesis 47-50

"As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good, to bring it about that many people should be kept alive, as they are today." Genesis 50:20