On Persecution

I've been thinking about today's sermon and I really felt challenged by it. It was on persecution and how as Christians we should expect and accept persecution because of the Gospel. Persecution is really key to our faith. We should be prepared to follow Christ both in His joy and in His sorrow. Obviously we can't experience either in full, at least not now, but we can follow in our Perfect Master's footsteps. After the sermon we were talking about what makes us so reluctant to share the Gospel. I think that for me, a lot of it has to do with pride. Also, I don't really have the right perspective. When I miss an opportunity, I don't think that the person I could have talked to is going to hell. That's just not on my radar. I forget that I will not lose in the end; they will. I also forget that I'm not presenting myself in any way, but Christ. So I really don't have any excuse. The sermon was really good and I pray that I might be more willing to follow the cross, to follow Christ, and to ultimately and wholeheartedly throw myself into spreading His amazing Word.

Katrina Regurgitation

So, apparently immigration isn't too big of a deal. I will refrain from adding my comments. Instead, I wanted to share some of my pictures that I took down in Mississippi just about three or four weeks ago. (nota bene: these are with a disposable camera.) I think that we are prone to brush these things aside after a few weeks or months, but the reality is that people are still suffering greatly from Hurricane Katrina. These are pictures of some of the destruction.




Ok, so this is just a cool pic of a tractor. It's the house in the background that was damaged and that some of us got to work on.


We drove by this place on our way to New Orleans. It is right by the coast.


This is a random, decripit, abandoned truck that says "USE ME FREE!" on the front.



A car and boat completely totaled.


It's kind of hard to tell, but this is a Walmart with the bottom completely washed out. All that's left is some of the roof and the supports.

Immigration

So, I was wondering if anyone felt like sharing their opinions on all of the illegal immigration controversies that have been so prevalent in the news and congress. I haven't followed it much, but we did have a pretty intense, opinionated discussion about it in class the other day. We played "four corners" where a statement is read and then everyone goes to a corner depending on whether they agree, strongly agree, disagree, or strongly disagree. What made it especially interesting and tense was that we had two ladies from Bosnia in our class.

One of the statements was: "Immigrants in general are taking jobs away from Americans." Keep in mind, these were open--we were free to agree or disagree, as long as we had a reason.

Another one was a scenario: "If a country falls into economic crisis, the U.S. should allow people from that country to immigrate to the U.S." It was not specified if there would be a certain quota or not.

The one that caused a lot of controversy, though, was this: "Immigrants in the U.S. have to know the English Language."

I know that this doesn't deal specifically with the illegal immigration problem, but with immigration in general. I will post my opinions tomorrow, or when I get the chance. Any thoughts, or is this a topic that most people have pushed aside???

Hey

Hi again!! I'm back...I wasn't gone very long, but the days were tremendously long and tiring, so it seems like ages ago since I last saw a computer. Pretty dumb, I know, but true.

I just got back from the 70-something annual Vermont All State Music Festival in Bennington, VT. I had the priviledge of rehearsing and performing with the 200+ person chorus. This year was by far the best according to the sound, effects, and music that we were able to produce. We had a good conductor, and it went well. It was exhausting, though. Singing all day for three days is not very good at all.

I had a good time, but only as far as the singing goes. This year more than ever I felt a huge contrast between myself and all of the other kids there. There were only three Christians in the entire ensemble, at least that I was aware of. I felt very alone. I could feel the gap that was between me and my fellow singers. It was sad, especially after such a wonderful missions trip with my church. I can't really discribe how disappointing it was to be at All States. Yes, the singing was great, but I really longed for the Christian fellowship that I am blessed with up here at home. This experience has made me really thankful for the strong Christian church that I can be a part of and for the bond that I have with all of my friends through Christ. It also made me really excited to go to a Christian school this fall. It will be such a difference from my school here.

You Know You're...

Ok, so these are dumb, but pretty funny. (If you're a Vermonter...)

Emotions

You know, everytime I think I have myself figured out, something else happens and I feel like I have no idea about how I work, whether it's another sin or another emotion that I have to deal with. I just went through the painful lesson of learning that I like to keep stuff inside, not acknowledging that I have a sensitive emotional side of me. I like to be strong and in control, not burdening others or myself with my emotions. I learned that building it up is bad and that there are both physical and emotional punishments for doing that. I learned this over the Katrina trip, and then thought that I was all good to go. No problem!! From thenceforth, I would never fail to deal with emotions right away, letting nothing build up. Ha. Pretty funny. I wish my soul would obey my mind sometimes, and viceversa.

So I came back from the trip with high expectations as to my emotional well-being. I had been realigned in the process and was ready to recuperate. Unfortunately, I was not as well prepared as I thought I should be. I went through this past week with a dogged determination, just trying to get through an intense school schedule while dealing with my siblings and working with my grandparents while my mom had surgery and while my dad stayed at the hospital with her. With the stuff going on at school and then all of the things going on at home, I was left with very little time to talk with anyone outside of the family or think about what I was putting myself through. Yes the week was rough, but it wasn't bad. It was hard, but so much harder for my mom and my dad and for others, especially for those who are not Christians in our family. However, I didn't create time to go through simple steps in realizing what I was going through. I thought I was doing fine with it all.

Well, I faced the consequences of holding back my emotion today in church. Looking back, it was all very funny, because I pretty much started bawling and almost got hysterical. The share service was so powerful. All of it seemed to be exactly what I needed to hear, which kind of let loose some of my pain. Fortunately, a very kind woman let me go out to her car with my best friend and we just talked for a little bit. It was a little embarrasing, especially when I was a little out of control, but it was what I needed all along. If I can only learn to acknowledge myself before it bursts out with such passion, I think I can save myself unneeded pain and I would be better adept at helping others.

Anyway, I'm back at that point where I know nothing about myself. It kind of scares me. If I can't figure myself out, what am I going to do in my life?? Oh well. This is probably a good experience and hopefully I will take something away from it this time. Pray that I would trust in God's promises and that I would truly walk by faith, not by sight.

Here's what was on top of our bulletin today:

"Trust HIM when dark days assail thee,
Trust HIM when thy faith is small.
Trust HIM when - to simply trust HIM
Is the hardest thing of all."

As you can imagine, that was pretty powerful.

Also, here are the words of a song that really spoke to me. God must have known that I needed to hear all that I did today.

"What You began, You will finish;
By Your strong hand I will prevail
Every trial, You work in it,
And Your faithfulness can't fail.
Though I do not claim to understand
The mysteries of Your sovereign plan,
I know the good work You begain-
You will finish.

You are the One who works in ways I cannot grasp.
You are the One who knows my prayers before I ask.
Why should I doubt You when without You I'd be lost?
When I am tossed on the sea, You bring me back to the land,
And what You began.

You are the One who will work all things for my good.
You are the One who guards my path before I look.
Why should I try to walk by sight and not by faith?
Lord give me the grace to have a childlike trust in Your plan,
And what You began."

What You Began
by Dave Fournier

Yea!! Back to a Version of Normalcy

I've received two blessings today: I finished my AP Test Marathon and my mom returned home from the hospital!! I am exhausted, but so is every one else. It's been a crazy week, but it has also been good. The surgery went well, as far as the doctors can tell. It will be a long recovery, but at least it is over with. Continue to pray as they all decide what the next treatment will be, etc.

Anyone have good movie suggestions?? I'm looking particularly for comedy. We can always use more of that!!