Tennessee

Good evening! I can hardly believe that it is so early...when it feels so late! I know so many people have been saying this, but really. The sun setting at 6 pm messes with how my body feels about bedtime. I can hardly keep my eyes open! Must. have. chocolate. cherry. kiss. coffee!
I am in Knoxville, TN right now. Zane and I headed up here yesterday afternoon when I finished working. The Vol vs. Vandy game is playing in the background, my dad is dressing the turkey, I'm obviously blogging, my little bro and his girlfriend are enjoying the game, my mom is telling my dad how to dress the turkey, and Zane is helping with the Turkey's inner parts. And my beautiful dogs are in the kitchen hoping some of that turkey falls on the floor:)
We will be having Thanksgiving Dinner tomorrow instead of on Thursday due to me and Zane only being in K-town through Tuesday. We will head to Chattanooga after Knoxville to spend several days with his family. Friends, I am so blessed to have this much time to spend with mine and Zane's family. Living in Athens, we rarely have the opportunity to come to TN and be with our family, unless it is around the holidays. And having lived in TN my whole life, when hubby and I moved to GA, it was a hard lesson in leaving and cleaving! Nevertheless, we have adjusted, and are learning to love different things about Athens. But being here for the holidays is like the cream cheese in Cheesecake. You have to have it!
I hope you have a wonderful Thanksgiving. Remember to thank God for all the blessings He has given you, whether that is through handing you something new, or taking something away. I love you!

Then Sings My Soul--Mighty

"God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble." -Psalm 46:1

Good evening, friends! I cannot stop thinking about my brothers and sisters around the globe that are risking their lives for God's glory. I really feel convicted to pray more for the church. In Matthew 9, when Jesus is with His disciples, he sees the crowds and has compassion on them. But instead of saying 'Peter do this, Simon go there, Andrew bring me this person,' He tells them to pray that laborers would go, because the field is ripe for harvest. And that is what we have today--brothers and sisters going and risking their lives, and people coming to know Christ at rapid rates, yet in so many countries, persecution persists and members of His body, the church, are being killed.
Do you pray for them? Do you lift them up in prayer and ask God for their safety, for a place for them to worship together without fear of losing their families, for them not to lose their lives, for their captors to see Christ in them and be captivated...wanting what they have?
I am convinced that we, the church, do not lift each other up enough. And before we go and 'do' anything, we must pray.
When I was deciding on a song for this evening, this one popped off the pages. How mighty our God is! I want my Father to increase my faith to proclaim Him as my refuge, as my strength, as my present help in trouble.
We think of Martin Luther as a reformer, Bible translator, political leader, fiery preacher, and theologian. But he was a hymn writer as well, and one of his songs has become one of the most well-known hymns in the world! He understood music the way I do...as a gift, a treasure, one that can cause any emotion, stir any tear, and a blessing that must be given back to God by being lifted up as praise to our God while dropping us to our knees in worship. In the forward of a book, Luther once wrote:

"Next to the Word of God, the noble art of music is the greatest treasure in the
world. It controls our thoughts, minds, hearts, and spirits...a person
who...does not regard music as a marvelous creation of God...does not deserve to
be called a human being; he should be permitted to hear nothing but the braying
of asses and the grunting of hogs."

Our brothers and sisters in persecuted countries understand that the greatest treasure in this world is the salvation given to us through Jesus Christ. That, dear friends, should and will cause any range of emotion, stir multiple tears, and drops us to our knees, leaving us weak enough to lift praise to God. Our God is a mighty fortress. He takes care of the hungry, the broken, the persecuted--His beloved.
A mighty fortress is our God. A bulwark never failing.
Our helper He amid the flood of mortal ills prevailing.
For still our ancient foe doth seek to work us woe--His craft and power are great;
And armed with cruel hate; on earth is not His equal.
Did we in our own strength confide, our striving would be losing.
Were not the right man on our side, the man of God's own choosing.
Dost ask who that may be? Christ Jesus, it is He-Lord Sabaoth His name
From age to age the same! And He must win the battle.
And though this world with devils filled, should threaten to undo us.
We will not fear, for God hath willed, His truth to triumph through us.
The prince of darkness grim, we tremble not for him-his rage we can endure,
For lo, his doom is sure! One little word shall fell him.
That word above all earthly powers, no thanks to them, abideth.
The Spirit and the gifts are ours through Him who with us sideth.
Let goods and kindred go, this mortal life also-the body they may kill;
God's truth abideth still! His Kingdom is forever!

Please, let me say that again. Let goods and kindred go, this mortal life also. The body they may kill. God's truth abideth still. His Kingdom is forever! O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?! (1 Cor. 15:55)

Saving

"Although we need to be saved from eternal separation only once, Christ continues His saving work in us the rest of our lives" (Beth Moore).

What a reminder! I've told you about the Biblestudy that some girlfriends and I started doing via email (do to the great distance between us all). We are in our second week now and are really being open, honest, and vulnerable to each other. I'm blessed beyond words to see how God is teaching us with each other's stories, how He is opening up the door to flood each other with our deepest prayer requests, and how He will draw us closer to Him that we may better share His joy with the world.
That being said, during our first week (which also served as an introduction) a common theme was the young age we were each saved. But many of us, though asking Jesus into our lives early in life, 'rededicated' our lives, so to speak, to Christ at a later date, mainly in college. One of the girls explained her experience this way:

"One thing I have thought about recently especially as I
get older and more of my friends have been saved at a much later age (in college
or even later) and not in Sunday school at six like me, is that (at the risk of
sounding too compare-y) other people who may have been saved at a later age have this much more dramatic conversion experience and have a much more mature
understanding of God before being saved. They really recognize the horror of
their sin and their desperate need for a Savior. I think I knew those things at
six, but it was only at a six year old level."

Oh my, how much I agree with that statement! The last several months, I've really struggled with the date of when I was saved. Was it when I was six? Or was it when I was in Romania, July 15th, 2004, and during my testimony, realizing how desperate I am for Christ, and feeling His marvelous mercy and grace rain down on me. Knowing that He loves me so much! I spent so much time growing up doing the right things, behaving the right way, and was wondering if it were just for my parents? But I know, beyond a shadow of doubt, that I loved Jesus and believed in Him, and He was my Saviour then. He is my Saviour now. When I read those words this morning, that Christ is continuing His saving work every day of our lives, I felt this amazing peace. Maybe that is not something you see as important. But for me, I want to celebrate the day God called me to Himself. It is more important than the day of my birth. Salvation is the greatest gift one can ever receive, and I praise God that this 'wishy-washyness' in my mind was put to rest through the words He spoke to me this morning.
"Yet it was I who taught Ephraim to walk; I took them up by their arms, but they did not know that I healed them. I led them with cords of kindness, with the bands of love, and I became to them as one who eases the yoke on their jaws, and I bent down to them and fed them" Hosea 11:3-4. May God help me to acknowledge Him daily and never forget that He teaches me, every moment, how to walk.
"For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God" Ephesians 2:8. What a precious gift, and how marvelous, how wonderful, that after receiving that gift, if we mess up (which we will), our Saviour is right there with us guiding us back to the path of righteousness.
Praise God that He never leaves us or forsakes us!