Random Thoughts

After much deliberation and putting aside my reservations, I decided to join a Beth Moore Bible study on the book of Daniel. We are five weeks in and I have to say, "Wow!"

Generally, at the beginning of the study there is a history lesson behind the current chapter/verses, and then there are five daily lessons (I usually cram and do them all on Tuesday night) which allow for personal application of what you have learned. This week we talked about how King Belshazzar had the consecrated vessels of God, which were taken from God's temple, and toasted his foreign false gods with them.

The personal application of this section was a reminder that we are God's consecrated vessels, that His Spirit dwells in those who believe in and on Him. What idols, what false gods are we as His consecrated vessels choosing to "raise our glasses to"?

Another post on the Daniel Study

Way To Go, JoAnn!

I have been wanting to write for a week now, but nothing has really come to mind. My friend JoAnn over at Growing In God's Grace has a wonderful entry on what God is showing her and doing in her life. It is a wonderful read and her thoughts speak to my heart as well.

The Priesthood of All Believers

"All Christians Are Priests of God" at Subversive is a good read on the subject.

"As you come to Him, the living Stone—rejected by human beings but chosen by God and precious to Him— you also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ." (1 Peter 2: 4,5)

The Church and Mission

I just finished reading a short article on mission at The Resurgence. The first question in the article was, "Is your church doing mission for its own glory or God’s?" This question hit me between the eyes as I have often asked this question of myself, my church. What is our motivation, our purpose? Are we doing things to spotlight ourselves and/or our church? Hopefully, never! Anything and everything that we do should always point to and glorify Jesus Christ.

Mission should not be something that we are doing but something that we are. As believers in Jesus Christ, reaching out and helping and sharing and talking about just who He is and what He has done and will be doing should be a natural expression, not a checklist to mark off. When we are following Jesus and our purpose is set forth by Him, then we are being missional and He will have the glory.

I Have Lived In 7 Different States...

and I went to 12 different schools K-12. No, we were not in the military. We just liked to see the sights:) I am really much more stationary as an adult, but we have moved a lot by some standards. I have a friend who refuses to write my address and telephone number in ink for fear that she will not be able to erase it.

Most of the places that we have lived have many things in common, but there are some things that are unique to certain areas. This entry is something of a "Things That I Miss" blog from the states that I lived in the longest:

Louisiana...

• Deep fried oysters
• Sweet tea offered year-round. Don't try to order this outside of the South. You get weird looks and a packet of sugar.
• The flowers and trees...Camellias, azaleas, my Aunt Margie's sweet olive whose fragrance sweetly permeated the yard
• Susan...you know who you are!
• My mom and dad and grandma
  

Colorado...

• The Tattered Cover Book Store
• The 16th Street Mall and the vendor at the corner of Welton and 16th who had tamales each morning

Georgia...

• Amicalola Falls (We weren't there very long:)

California...

• In & Out Burger
• Trader Joes, the coolest little grocery store around. Check out it out here: Trader Joe's
• Baja Fresh
• Living within a mile of the beach and spending summers playing in the waves with my children
• The smell of the salt air
• My dear friend Julianne who I will get to see very soon!
• My family and friends