This too is meaningless, a chasing after the wind.

I feel like I don't know where I am, like I don't know who I am. What is happening? I'm learning, I'm adjusting, I'm waiting. It's hard. I feel like I'm different and nobody else is different. Like they don't notice that I'm different, like they don't understand. Ok


So, first I need to figure it out myself. How am I different? Why? How did I change? What did I learn? How do I apply that to my life here?

And I also need to wait on Christ. I feel like my life is so useless and nothing I do has any meaning. It makes me think of Ecclesiastes 4.

¹ Again I looked and saw all the oppression that was taking place under the sun:

I saw the tears of the oppressed—
and they have no comforter;
power was on the side of their oppressors—
and they have no comforter.
² And I declared that the dead,
who had already died,
are happier than the living,
who are still alive.
³ But better than both
is the one who has never been born,
who has not seen the evil
that is done under the sun.

⁴ And I saw that all toil and all achievement spring from one person’s envy of another. This too is meaningless, a chasing after the wind.

⁵ Fools fold their hands
and ruin themselves.
⁶ Better one handful with tranquility
than two handfuls with toil
and chasing after the wind.

⁷ Again I saw something meaningless under the sun:

⁸ There was a man all alone;
he had neither son nor brother.
There was no end to his toil,
yet his eyes were not content with his wealth.
“For whom am I toiling,” he asked,
“and why am I depriving myself of enjoyment?”
This too is meaningless—
a miserable business!

⁹ Two are better than one,
because they have a good return for their labor:
¹⁰ If either of them falls down,
one can help the other up.
But pity anyone who falls
and has no one to help them up.
¹¹ Also, if two lie down together, they will keep warm.
But how can one keep warm alone?
¹² Though one may be overpowered,
two can defend themselves.
A cord of three strands is not quickly broken.

Advancement Is Meaningless

¹³ Better a poor but wise youth than an old but foolish king who no longer knows how to heed a warning. ¹⁴ The youth may have come from prison to the kingship, or he may have been born in poverty within his kingdom. ¹⁵ I saw that all who lived and walked under the sun followed the youth, the king’s successor. ¹⁶ There was no end to all the people who were before them. But those who came later were not pleased with the successor. This too is meaningless, a chasing after the wind.

I want so badly to be serving, to be where He wants me to be, to be doing something, but I don't know what it is. I know too that He will reveal it when He wants to, He has a plan, He has perfect timing. ugh, so strange. I feel so strange all the time. I don't know what to do with myself, I don't know how to respond to people.


Still processing...still processing





*I am processing, I love you immensely.

He has done it!

Yesterday at small group (my first since coming back from Mexico), we were talking about the crucifixion. We read Isaiah 53 all together.

¹ Who has believed our message
and to whom has the arm of the LORD been revealed?
² He grew up before him like a tender shoot,
and like a root out of dry ground.
He had no beauty or majesty to attract us to him,
nothing in his appearance that we should desire him.
³ He was despised and rejected by mankind,
a man of suffering, and familiar with pain.
Like one from whom people hide their faces
he was despised, and we held him in low esteem.

⁴ Surely he took up our pain
and bore our suffering,
yet we considered him punished by God,
stricken by him, and afflicted.
⁵ But he was pierced for our transgressions,
he was crushed for our iniquities;
the punishment that brought us peace was on him,
and by his wounds we are healed.
⁶ We all, like sheep, have gone astray,
each of us has turned to our own way;
and the LORD has laid on him
the iniquity of us all.

⁷ He was oppressed and afflicted,
yet he did not open his mouth;
he was led like a lamb to the slaughter,
and as a sheep before its shearers is silent,
so he did not open his mouth.
⁸ By oppression and judgment he was taken away.
Yet who of his generation protested?
For he was cut off from the land of the living;
for the transgression of my people he was punished.
⁹ He was assigned a grave with the wicked,
and with the rich in his death,
though he had done no violence,
nor was any deceit in his mouth.

¹⁰ Yet it was the LORD’s will to crush him and cause him to suffer,
and though the LORD makes his life an offering for sin,
he will see his offspring and prolong his days,
and the will of the LORD will prosper in his hand.
¹¹ After he has suffered,
he will see the light of life and be satisfied;
by his knowledge my righteous servant will justify many,
and he will bear their iniquities.
¹² Therefore I will give him a portion among the great,
and he will divide the spoils with the strong,
because he poured out his life unto death,
and was numbered with the transgressors.
For he bore the sin of many,
and made intercession for the transgressors.

Then we broke into our small groups and read the four gospel accounts by ourselves and then discussed them. All the time we had these questions to think about:

What do you see? What will be your response?

Matthew 27:27-56

²⁷ Then the governor’s soldiers took Jesus into the Praetorium and gathered the whole company of soldiers around him. ²⁸ They stripped him and put a scarlet robe on him, ²⁹ and then twisted together a crown of thorns and set it on his head. They put a staff in his right hand. Then they knelt in front of him and mocked him. “Hail, king of the Jews!” they said. ³⁰ They spit on him, and took the staff and struck him on the head again and again. ³¹ After they had mocked him, they took off the robe and put his own clothes on him. Then they led him away to crucify him.

³² As they were going out, they met a man from Cyrene, named Simon, and they forced him to carry the cross. ³³ They came to a place called Golgotha (which means “the place of the skull”). ³⁴ There they offered Jesus wine to drink, mixed with gall; but after tasting it, he refused to drink it. ³⁵ When they had crucified him, they divided up his clothes by casting lots. ³⁶ And sitting down, they kept watch over him there. ³⁷ Above his head they placed the written charge against him: THIS IS JESUS, THE KING OF THE JEWS.

³⁸ Two rebels were crucified with him, one on his right and one on his left. ³⁹ Those who passed by hurled insults at him, shaking their heads ⁴⁰ and saying, “You who are going to destroy the temple and build it in three days, save yourself! Come down from the cross, if you are the Son of God!” ⁴¹ In the same way the chief priests, the teachers of the law and the elders mocked him. ⁴² “He saved others,” they said, “but he can’t save himself! He’s the king of Israel! Let him come down now from the cross, and we will believe in him. ⁴³ He trusts in God. Let God rescue him now if he wants him, for he said, ‘I am the Son of God.’” ⁴⁴ In the same way the rebels who were crucified with him also heaped insults on him.

⁴⁵ From noon until three in the afternoon darkness came over all the land. ⁴⁶ About three in the afternoon Jesus cried out in a loud voice, “Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?” (which means “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”).

⁴⁷ When some of those standing there heard this, they said, “He’s calling Elijah.”

⁴⁸ Immediately one of them ran and got a sponge. He filled it with wine vinegar, put it on a staff, and offered it to Jesus to drink. ⁴⁹ The rest said, “Now leave him alone. Let’s see if Elijah comes to save him.”

⁵⁰ And when Jesus had cried out again in a loud voice, he gave up his spirit.

⁵¹ At that moment the curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom. The earth shook, the rocks split ⁵² and the tombs broke open. The bodies of many holy people who had died were raised to life. ⁵³ They came out of the tombs after Jesus’ resurrection and went into the holy city and appeared to many people.

⁵⁴ When the centurion and those with him who were guarding Jesus saw the earthquake and all that had happened, they were terrified, and exclaimed, “Surely he was the Son of God!”

⁵⁵ Many women were there, watching from a distance. They had followed Jesus from Galilee to care for his needs. ⁵⁶ Among them were Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James and Joseph, and the mother of Zebedee’s sons.

Mark 15:16-41

¹⁶ The soldiers led Jesus away into the palace (that is, the Praetorium) and called together the whole company of soldiers. ¹⁷ They put a purple robe on him, then twisted together a crown of thorns and set it on him. ¹⁸ And they began to call out to him, “Hail, king of the Jews!” ¹⁹ Again and again they struck him on the head with a staff and spit on him. Falling on their knees, they paid homage to him. ²⁰ And when they had mocked him, they took off the purple robe and put his own clothes on him. Then they led him out to crucify him.
²¹ A certain man from Cyrene, Simon, the father of Alexander and Rufus, was passing by on his way in from the country, and they forced him to carry the cross. ²² They brought Jesus to the place called Golgotha (which means “the place of the skull”). ²³ Then they offered him wine mixed with myrrh, but he did not take it. ²⁴ And they crucified him. Dividing up his clothes, they cast lots to see what each would get.

²⁵ It was nine in the morning when they crucified him. ²⁶ The written notice of the charge against him read: THE KING OF THE JEWS.

²⁷ They crucified two rebels with him, one on his right and one on his left. ²⁹ Those who passed by hurled insults at him, shaking their heads and saying, “So! You who are going to destroy the temple and build it in three days, ³⁰ come down from the cross and save yourself!” ³¹ In the same way the chief priests and the teachers of the law mocked him among themselves. “He saved others,” they said, “but he can’t save himself! ³² Let this Messiah, this king of Israel, come down now from the cross, that we may see and believe.” Those crucified with him also heaped insults on him.

³³ At noon, darkness came over the whole land until three in the afternoon. ³⁴ And at three in the afternoon Jesus cried out in a loud voice, “Eloi, Eloi, lema sabachthani?” (which means “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”).

³⁵ When some of those standing near heard this, they said, “Listen, he’s calling Elijah.”

³⁶ Someone ran, filled a sponge with wine vinegar, put it on a staff, and offered it to Jesus to drink. “Now leave him alone. Let’s see if Elijah comes to take him down,” he said.

³⁷ With a loud cry, Jesus breathed his last.

³⁸ The curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom. ³⁹ And when the centurion, who stood there in front of Jesus, saw how he died, he said, “Surely this man was the Son of God!”

⁴⁰ Some women were watching from a distance. Among them were Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James the younger and of Joseph, and Salome. ⁴¹ In Galilee these women had followed him and cared for his needs. Many other women who had come up with him to Jerusalem were also there.

Luke 23:26-49

²⁶ As the soldiers led him away, they seized Simon from Cyrene, who was on his way in from the country, and put the cross on him and made him carry it behind Jesus. ²⁷ A large number of people followed him, including women who mourned and wailed for him. ²⁸ Jesus turned and said to them, “Daughters of Jerusalem, do not weep for me; weep for yourselves and for your children. ²⁹ For the time will come when you will say, ‘Blessed are the childless women, the wombs that never bore and the breasts that never nursed!’ ³⁰ Then

“‘they will say to the mountains, “Fall on us!”
and to the hills, “Cover us!”’

³¹ For if people do these things when the tree is green, what will happen when it is dry?”

³² Two other men, both criminals, were also led out with him to be executed. ³³ When they came to the place called the Skull, they crucified him there, along with the criminals—one on his right, the other on his left. ³⁴ Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.” And they divided up his clothes by casting lots.

³⁵ The people stood watching, and the rulers even sneered at him. They said, “He saved others; let him save himself if he is God’s Messiah, the Chosen One.”

³⁶ The soldiers also came up and mocked him. They offered him wine vinegar ³⁷ and said, “If you are the king of the Jews, save yourself.”

³⁸ There was a written notice above him, which read: THIS IS THE KING OF THE JEWS.

³⁹ One of the criminals who hung there hurled insults at him: “Aren’t you the Messiah? Save yourself and us!”

⁴⁰ But the other criminal rebuked him. “Don’t you fear God,” he said, “since you are under the same sentence? ⁴¹ We are punished justly, for we are getting what our deeds deserve. But this man has done nothing wrong.”

⁴² Then he said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.”

⁴³ Jesus answered him, “Truly I tell you, today you will be with me in paradise.”

⁴⁴ It was now about noon, and darkness came over the whole land until three in the afternoon, ⁴⁵ for the sun stopped shining. And the curtain of the temple was torn in two. ⁴⁶ Jesus called out with a loud voice, “Father, into your hands I commit my spirit.” When he had said this, he breathed his last.

⁴⁷ The centurion, seeing what had happened, praised God and said, “Surely this was a righteous man.” ⁴⁸ When all the people who had gathered to witness this sight saw what took place, they beat their breasts and went away. ⁴⁹ But all those who knew him, including the women who had followed him from Galilee, stood at a distance, watching these things.

John 19:16-37

¹⁶ Finally Pilate handed him over to them to be crucified.

So the soldiers took charge of Jesus. ¹⁷ Carrying his own cross, he went out to the place of the Skull (which in Aramaic is called Golgotha). ¹⁸ There they crucified him, and with him two others—one on each side and Jesus in the middle.

¹⁹ Pilate had a notice prepared and fastened to the cross. It read: JESUS OF NAZARETH, THE KING OF THE JEWS. ²⁰ Many of the Jews read this sign, for the place where Jesus was crucified was near the city, and the sign was written in Aramaic, Latin and Greek. ²¹ The chief priests of the Jews protested to Pilate, “Do not write ‘The King of the Jews,’ but that this man claimed to be king of the Jews.”

²² Pilate answered, “What I have written, I have written.”

²³ When the soldiers crucified Jesus, they took his clothes, dividing them into four shares, one for each of them, with the undergarment remaining. This garment was seamless, woven in one piece from top to bottom.

²⁴ “Let’s not tear it,” they said to one another. “Let’s decide by lot who will get it.”

This happened that the scripture might be fulfilled that said,

“They divided my clothes among them
and cast lots for my garment.”

So this is what the soldiers did.

²⁵ Near the cross of Jesus stood his mother, his mother’s sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene. ²⁶ When Jesus saw his mother there, and the disciple whom he loved standing nearby, he said to her, “Woman, here is your son,” ²⁷ and to the disciple, “Here is your mother.” From that time on, this disciple took her into his home.

²⁸ Later, knowing that everything had now been finished, and so that Scripture would be fulfilled, Jesus said, “I am thirsty.” ²⁹ A jar of wine vinegar was there, so they soaked a sponge in it, put the sponge on a stalk of the hyssop plant, and lifted it to Jesus’ lips. ³⁰ When he had received the drink, Jesus said, “It is finished.” With that, he bowed his head and gave up his spirit.

³¹ Now it was the day of Preparation, and the next day was to be a special Sabbath. Because the Jewish leaders did not want the bodies left on the crosses during the Sabbath, they asked Pilate to have the legs broken and the bodies taken down. ³² The soldiers therefore came and broke the legs of the first man who had been crucified with Jesus, and then those of the other. ³³ But when they came to Jesus and found that he was already dead, they did not break his legs. ³⁴ Instead, one of the soldiers pierced Jesus’ side with a spear, bringing a sudden flow of blood and water. ³⁵ The man who saw it has given testimony, and his testimony is true. He knows that he tells the truth, and he testifies so that you also may believe. ³⁶ These things happened so that the scripture would be fulfilled: “Not one of his bones will be broken,” ³⁷ and, as another scripture says, “They will look on the one they have pierced.”

After reading all of those, I was just overwhelmed. I am still overwhelmed by the love of Christ for us, that he went willingly, because he loved us. He had a choice, but because he loved us so much, he was offered up and he took our sins upon himself. I feel like I can't accept such a gift. I feel so puny and undeserving and so grateful and amazed. I am in wonder of who God is, of who Christ is, of how he loves us.

It is so big. There is so much.

He loves us unceasingly, without limit.

We came to a close with Psalm 22

¹ My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?
Why are you so far from saving me,
so far from my cries of anguish?
² My God, I cry out by day, but you do not answer,
by night, but I find no rest.

³ Yet you are enthroned as the Holy One;
you are the one Israel praises.
⁴ In you our ancestors put their trust;
they trusted and you delivered them.
⁵ To you they cried out and were saved;
in you they trusted and were not put to shame.

⁶ But I am a worm and not a man,
scorned by everyone, despised by the people.
⁷ All who see me mock me;
they hurl insults, shaking their heads.
⁸ “He trusts in the LORD,” they say,
“let the LORD rescue him.
Let him deliver him,
since he delights in him.”

⁹ Yet you brought me out of the womb;
you made me trust in you, even at my mother’s breast.
¹⁰ From birth I was cast on you;
from my mother’s womb you have been my God.

¹¹ Do not be far from me,
for trouble is near
and there is no one to help.

¹² Many bulls surround me;
strong bulls of Bashan encircle me.
¹³ Roaring lions that tear their prey
open their mouths wide against me.
¹⁴ I am poured out like water,
and all my bones are out of joint.
My heart has turned to wax;
it has melted within me.
¹⁵ My mouth is dried up like a potsherd,
and my tongue sticks to the roof of my mouth;
you lay me in the dust of death.

¹⁶ Dogs surround me,
a pack of villains encircles me;
they pierce my hands and my feet.
¹⁷ All my bones are on display;
people stare and gloat over me.
¹⁸ They divide my clothes among them
and cast lots for my garment.

¹⁹ But you, LORD, do not be far from me.
You are my strength; come quickly to help me.
²⁰ Deliver me from the sword,
my precious life from the power of the dogs.
²¹ Rescue me from the mouth of the lions;
save me from the horns of the wild oxen.

²² I will declare your name to my people;
in the assembly I will praise you.
²³ You who fear the LORD, praise him!
All you descendants of Jacob, honor him!
Revere him, all you descendants of Israel!
²⁴ For he has not despised or scorned
the suffering of the afflicted one;
he has not hidden his face from him
but has listened to his cry for help.

²⁵ From you comes the theme of my praise in the great assembly;
before those who fear you I will fulfill my vows.
²⁶ The poor will eat and be satisfied;
those who seek the LORD will praise him—
may your hearts live forever!

²⁷ All the ends of the earth
will remember and turn to the LORD,
and all the families of the nations
will bow down before him,
²⁸ for dominion belongs to the LORD
and he rules over the nations.

²⁹ All the rich of the earth will feast and worship;
all who go down to the dust will kneel before him—
those who cannot keep themselves alive.
³⁰ Posterity will serve him;
future generations will be told about the Lord.
³¹ They will proclaim his righteousness,
declaring to a people yet unborn:
He has done it!

Can we just sit in awe together?

stress...

Carrie is getting very nervous and stressed about Mexico! I leave in 15 days and I feel so unprepared! I'm super excited to see what God does in Mexico City, but I am super nervous too. So nervous, in fact, I can't sleep and call people crying late at night. I know that He has a plan, and that He has it all figured out, but I don't and it makes me super nervous. I think I will be clinging tightly to Jeremiah 29:11 this summer and for the next two weeks as I try to get ready to fly to Mexico for two months!

"For I know the plans I have for you, declares the LORD, plans top prosper you and not to harm you, to give you a hope and a future." Ok, I just need to remember that and breathe.


Pray for me! aah

Communion Blog

Last night I was at church.

It was Good Friday.

We were discussing Isaiah 53, the prophecy predicting the messiah’s coming and his suffering, taking our sins upon himself and us being declared righteous because of it. Amazing. A prophecy written some 600 years before the birth of Christ, explaining how He would suffer and die for us.

And then the Lord’s Supper. I watched as others went ahead of me and dipped the bread in the cup. The bread went in white and came out dripping red, and I could not move. I couldn’t breathe. There in front of me were my Savior’s broken body and blood, crimson and dripping. Oh God, I was horrified by the reality Christ’s brokenness. For me. And then it was my turn. I dipped the bread in the wine and ate it. Immediately I wanted to throw up. There was a horrible taste, a horrible, gut-wrenching realization of what I was doing. I was taking part in the broken, mangled, bloody body of Christ. It was awful and awesome, disgusting and beautiful, the worst and the best experience of my life.

I was Sick.

Horrified.

Overwhelmed by the love of Christ, that He would suffer so!

If I am so disgusted and horrified at the suffering and pain of Christ, how much more is God disgusted and horrified by the suffering and pain of His Son?

He is doing something in me.

That was the worst and the best communion that I have ever experienced. I understood before what the Lord’s Supper means, but He took me deeper yesterday, to a place of deeper community with Christ in His suffering, and I was terrified and sick to know even the tiniest bit of the suffering of Christ. He took it for me. For you. God subjected his son to the most horrifying and awful experience in order to bring us to Him, to have community with us the way we should have, because we could not pay the price ourselves.

I am unable to express the feelings that I have about this. There are no words for the work of Christ in my heart, but I am grateful and overcome completely.

Galatians 1:13-16

The gospel gives us a new perspective on our yesterdays, which creates the roadmap for our tomorrows.

An interesting thought. Looking at our lives, our whole lives from the perspective of God's plan for us and what the Word means for our lives, changes our perspective completely.

God is good and he has a plan.

"For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future." Jeremiah 29:11


Even before we were born, before we were a twinkle in our grandmother's eye, He had set us apart.

"Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart; I appointed you as a prophet to the nations." Jeremiah 1:5


Amazing.


Thanks Daily Bible Verse!

Lectio Divina

I have been doing this Lectio Divina thing lately, well, for a month or so, and it is great!

I find it difficult to be motivated to read the bible. A lot of the time I feel like I just want to have the perfect verse to fit my situation or it's a boring part, or it's hard to understand, but as per IV staff suggestion, I tried Lectio Divina, which is awesome. It's just focusing on a specific verse or a small section of the bible and seeking after a word from that verse that Gos is directing your attention to and then praying it into application for your life. God is speaking to me. It's so good. I love it.

You should try it too.

Here are the steps. I find it really helpful in focusing and thinking intentionally about my prayer and bible reading time.

THE FOUR PHASES OF LECTIO

Praying with Scripture falls into the following four phases. These phases are not air-tight compartments with rigid transitions between them. Lectio offers a natural flow from one phase to the next rather than a lock-step march.

Phase One - Lectio: reading.

What does the text say?

• TURN to the text and read it slowly, gently, out loud. Savor the reading, feel the words in your mouth, listening for the "still, small voice" of a particular word or phrase that says, "I am for you today."

Phase Two - Meditatio: meditation.

What does the text say specifically to me at this point in my life?

• TAKE the word or phrase into yourself. Slowly repeat it to yourself, allowing it to interact with your inner world of concerns, memories, and ideas. Let your imagination engage the text. Images are not necessarily but invitations into dialogue with God.

Phase Three - Oratio: prayer.

What does God say to me and what do I say to God through the text?

• SPEAK to God. Interact with God as you would with one who you know loves and accepts you. Experience this God-breathed word or phrase as a means to bless and transform the thoughts and images that God’s Word has awakened in you. Give to God what you have found in your heart.

Phase Four - Contemplatio: contemplation.

Being still, resting in God’s presence, and letting God work through my mind and heart.

FINALLY, REST in God's embrace. Let go of words and images. Rejoice that God is with you in silence, spiritual rest, and inner receptivity.

• SILENCE – “Be STILL, then, and know that I am God” (Psalm 46:10, CEV).
  
• LISTEN – “each new generation will LISTEN and learn to worship the
  Lord their God with fear and trembling” (Deuteronomy 31:13).
  
• DWELL – “One thing have I asked of the Lord; that I might DWELL in
  the house of Lord all the days of my life” (Psalm 27:4).
  
• ABIDE – “ABIDE in me as I ABIDE in you …. If you ABIDE in me and
  my words ABIDE in you …” (John 15:1-5).
  

RE-ENGAGING DAILY LIFE

As you come up out of the depths of contemplation and prepare to resume your normal activities, first thank God for meeting you in this time. Then ask God to show you what difference can this text make in how you act? What possibilities does it open up? What challenges does it pose?

Where can I go from your Spirit? Where can I flee from your presence? If I go up to the heavens, you are there; if I make my bed in the depths, you are there. – Psalm 139:7-8

Is God real in my life or what? so amazing

A lot has happened the last few days that has made me think a lot about being totally sold out for Christ. I have always thought, yeah, we should all be like that, but have never actually been like that. I get super caught up in school, in work, and in life. There are so many distractions and I have my own plans which mean I have to work and plan.

It takes so much time to live in this world. I get so distracted. But God has been showing me lately a lot about changing the focus of my life. A blog created by a friend just said what I needed to hear when she quoted Proverbs 19: 21:

Many are the plans in a person’s heart,
but it is the LORD’s purpose that prevails.

And I get a bible verse everyday in my email, today's was:

Proverbs 16:9
In his heart a man plans his course, but the LORD determines his steps.

God is in control! How awesome is that? We just need to trust and be obedient.

Everything seems to be pointing in the direction of God, which is amazing. I am definitely struggling with being obedient to God's word and I wish that it were easier, but it is amazing to see Christ move. I am constantly amazed and I constantly remember how much I suck. I am unworthy of God's love, unworthy of all the blessings he gives to me everyday. It is amazing to think that even though I am undeserving, even though I am a huge sinner,He loves me anyway, and He blesses me anyway. "...I am a great sinner, and... Christ is a great Saviour." -John Newton

I am just thankful that I am utterly blessed by a huge, wonderful, beneficial God.

"When you arise in the morning think of what a privilege it is to be alive, to think, to enjoy, to love..." ~Marcus Aurelius

And remember Christ is the reason you are alive!