Just wanted to update everyone who has been praying for me on my health…I wanted to do it sooner but here it goes! We had a Dr’s Appt. Friday with a hematologist (blood specialist) that was very encouraging to our spirits! He confirmed my diagnosis of Pregnancy Associated ITP…or a low blood platelet count related to my pregnancy. I was put on steroids a few weeks ago and my platelet count had doubled in that time, for which we are so thankful!! My medicine will be reduced, which is also a good thing.

How grateful Jeremy and I are for all your thoughts, prayers, and words of encouragement. We are praying for the Lord’s continued guiding and strength during the months to come. I’m definitely learning the hard lesson of surrendering COMPLETELY to God- giving up control and letting Him take over- it’s quite challenging for me to do…but I wouldn’t rather anyone else be in control of my life or body…

Thanks again! We have our next Dr.’s Appt. and ultrasound next Friday which is always exciting!

Why does summer always have to fly by so quickly??  It’s this way for everyone, right??  Lots has been happening and I’m disappointed that August has arrived already!!

Some highlights of my summer:

1.  Finding out that Jeremy and I are adding to our family…our little one is due February 9th!  We’re praying for a healthy baby and delivery, and would much appreciate your prayers!  We are so thankful and blessed to be starting this wonderful, scary journey!

2.  A wonderful family vacation to Florida!  A great time to completely rest and relax and spend time with my family and precious nieces and nephew!  We had great weather, great food, saw amazing sunsets and even some dolphins!

3.  Just came back from an amazing week spent at El Faro Church in Lebanon, PA.  We had a group of students there and met up with 3 other churches.  What an great time…God really was at work and it was wonderful to be a part of.  We did a lot of service projects around the city, were involved in lots of training, took part in amazing worship, covered the city in prayer, and planned and ran 3 outreach carnivals.  It’s awesome to see God changing the hearts and lives of our students, as He teaches and changes me at the same time.  The week flew by and despite the lack of sleep was certainly a highlight of the summer for me and many others!  It was a blessing to see many kids give their lives to Christ, and neat, too, that some of our kids got to be a part of those decisions. 

Hope everyone is having a wonderful, relaxing, safe summer.  Let me know your highlights!!

Sunday School this morning was awesome. Our Student Ministry is a part of One Prayer…over 1300 churches around the world are involved in this, and we listened to a pastor who shared with us what his one prayer is for the universal church. Visit here to read about what God is doing around the world as a result of a vision about being united and one.

We heard a great sermon this morning. A lot of basic things, but it’s so basic that sometimes it’s easy to forget about how important it is…

When the world, or unbelievers, look at Christians, what do they see? People in NYC were interviewed- asked what they thought about Christians- and the answers were saddening. Some said they would never become a Christian because of what they know about us. Others said Christians are completely un-unified. Others, that they knew no Christians. Others, that we say one thing and do another.

We are called to be different. We are called to love. We are called to be one. What a difference we would make for the world if we rose to our calling. Non-believers are watching us…do they like what they see, or are we turning them off to Jesus Christ? Are we giving them any reason to want to know more about what we have that they are missing, or are they too busy watching us fight with other believers about trivial things that they want nothing to do with us??  Are they watching us build the body up, or tear the body down???

We are one in Christ. It’s time we set our preferences and differences aside, live our lives differently, and come together as a body of Christ with one common goal- to reach the world for Jesus Christ. After all, it’s not about us, it’s about Him. As the pastor put it, are we playing for the name on the back of our jersey (ourself), or the name on the front of our jersey (HIM!)…..interesting and challenging things to think about!

Today at our Missions Meeting, Ron talked about being faithful in sharing the gospel, even when we get rejected or discouraged, because seeds are being planted and you may never know the effect you may have, immediately or maybe even ever.  The important thing is that we continue to share, and leave the results up to God.  I love Isaiah 55:11-

11 so is my word that goes out from my mouth:
       It will not return to me empty,
       but will accomplish what I desire
       and achieve the purpose for which I sent it.

God’s Word will never return void…what an encouragement this should be as we share the gospel.  I am reading Fresh Power by Jim Cymbala, an amazing book (all of his are), easy to read, and so many great thoughts.  One story he shares in particular touched my heart…it is in regards to the impact we can have without ever knowing it…

This is a true story that goes back to 1921.  A young missionary couple, David and Svea Flood, went to the heart of Africa, where they were not well-received.  They were not allowed contact with the villagers, and lived secluded.  There was a young boy, however, who was given permission to sell them chickens and eggs twice a week.  Svea thought, if this was the only African she could talk to, she would try to win this boy to Jesus.  She succeeded, but this was literally the only positive thing happening for this family.  Shortly later, Svea gave birth to a little girl, and passed away a few days later.  David Flood snapped and his heart turned cold to God.  He gave the baby away, and went home.  The baby, Aggie, was adopted by American missionaries.  Many years later, Aggie received a Swedish religious magazine in her mailbox.  She found someone who could translate, and read the story…about missionaries who came to Africa long ago, a baby that was born (her), the death of the mother, the one African boy led to Christ…and how after all the missionaries left, that same boy grew up to start a school, lead all the students to Christ, and those children led their parents to Christ.  Today there were 600 believers in that village. 

You can read the full story here, it is truly amazing and I didn’t finish it or include some miraculous details. 

It’s amazing how God uses things we could never imagine to bring glory to Himself.  Svea Flood dedicated her life and sacrificed to serve her God.  She gave her all, not counting the cost.  How we live is so much more important than how long we live.  May God help us to live for something far greater than ourselves, far greater than “the cravings of sinful man, the lust of his eyes, and the boasting of what he has and does…the world and its desires pass away, but the man who does the will of God lives forever.”  (1 John 2:16-17). 

Lastly, be encouraged and keep pressing on…we don’t always see God’s plan, but He is always at work, and His plan is always perfect.  So perfect, that he used one discouraged, yet obedient woman to lead a young boy to Christ, who went on to influence 600 people- an entire village- to make decisions for Christ.  What a mighty God we serve! 

I just finished a truly amazing book- “Mistaken Identity.”  A few months ago, on Dateline I believe, we watched the story of the Van Ryn and Cerak families.  After watching their inspirational messages, Jeremy bought me the book they wrote so I could read it.  I literally could not put it down, and read through the entire thing, often teary-eyed, quite touched and blessed. 

If you’re not familiar with their story- both families had children who went to Taylor University, were in a car accident together, and the victims were not properly identified…the Cerak family was told their daughter, Whitney, was killed in the accident, while the Van Ryn family clung to their hope as their daughter, Laura, fought for her life in the hospital.  They stayed by her bedside 24-7 caring for her and praying over her.  After 5 weeks, the therapist asked Laura to write her name…and she wrote, W-H-I-T-N-E-Y….the girls had been identified at the accident scene only by the purses lying next to them, and their identities had been mixed up.  Family and friends had their questions about different features as they came to visit “Laura” in the hospital, but the doctors reassured them to expect her to look distorted after such a horrific accident.  (You can watch here for the story as well, or here for a more detailed, 7 minute clip from Dateline, where Whitney and each family are interviewed).  (It’s awesome what a great testimony both families have shared with the world and how God is glorified and made known through this story). 

Mistaken Identity, written by both families, shares in much greater detail the events of those 5 weeks and beyond, and the Lord’s awesome, powerful hand on each of the families throughout their journey. 

Here on some verses meaningful to each of the families in their time of hurt:

Psalm 27:14- “Wait for the Lord.  Be strong and take heart, and wait for the Lord.”

Psalm 33:20-22- “We wait in hope for the Lord; he is our help and our shield.  In him our hearts rejoice, for we trust in his holy name.  May your unfailing love rest upon us, O Lord, even as we put our hope in you.”

2 Corinthians 4:17-18- “For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all.  So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen.  For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.” 

And Laura’s favorite verse in bold:  I Peter 1:3-9- “Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ!  In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil, or fade- kept in heaven for you, who through faith are shielded by God’s power until the coming of salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time.  In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kids of trials.  These have come so that your faith- of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire- may be proved genuine and may result in praise, glory, and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed.  Though you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy, for you are reveiving the goal of your faith, the salvations of your souls.”

The faith of these families is unwavering.  At her sister’s funeral, Carly Cerak read, “Death is Satan’s greatest way to attack the world.  Amazingly, God takes what Satan uses to attack us and uses it to bring us together and reveal himself the most.  Through Satan’s greatest strength, God’s power still overcomes and is stronger.”  Also, “God is still a good God, and his promises are true.  I will see Whit again.  And these are not just things I say to get me by and to cope with my pain.  I know the living God, and I will worship him next to my sister again someday.”

Upon learning that the girls were misidentified and it was actually her sister, Laura, who died in the accident, Lisa Van Ryn wrote on the blog they were using to update family and friends, “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever.  What may come as a shock to us does not shock the One who made us…we met the Cerak family and were able to share with them some of the great things we have seen Whitney accomplish over the past month…It is a sorrow and a joy for us to learn of this turn of events…we will mourn Laura’s going home and will greatly miss her, while knowing she is safe and with her King forever…we rejoice with the Ceraks, that they will have more time on this earth with their loved one.”

And months after the accident, from Whitney’s first blog entry:  “Never will I leave your; never will I forsake you.”  So we say with confidence, “The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid.  What can man do to me?”…Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever.  “When I found out five other people were killed in the car accident, I was really sad.  I don’t know why all this happened, but the only good thing about all of this is that the message of God was heard in a powerful way.  God has taught me He is faithful…I’ve had to trust God in a way I never had before…God gave me a desire for Him that I never had before.”

Wow…despite circumstances, God is the same, He does not change, and He will remain faithful.  The story of these families not only encouraged me in my faith, but challenged me in my personal walk and the way I respond to adversity.  I long to trust in Him in a way I haven’t had to before, and pray that as I face hardships, my faith will be strengthened and people will come to know Christ through my actions…

IF ANYONE WOULD LIKE TO READ THIS BOOK, I WOULD LOVE TO LEND YOU MY COPY!!

As usual, it’s been a busy week!  I’ve been teaching 11th and 12th graders on the topics of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Other Drugs this week.  It’s always interesting, to say the least.  We had some really good discussions in a lot of my classes.  A lot of my students have been affected first-hand by substance abuse.  I have students who have had parents die in alcohol-related car accidents, students who have been in the ER because they have overdosed, students whose friends have overdosed and died, or been in accidents and died, and the list goes on.  Yet, you talk to these students, and still, they admit they are “invincible”- it’s never going to happen to them. 

We had an assembly this afternoon, as prom is tomorrow night.  An 11 year-old named Hollywood Olsen, from Harrisburg, came and talked to our students.  He was a survivor of an alcohol-related car accident.  His biological father is an alcoholic, and one night, 2 years ago, he made Hollywood and his brother get in the car after he had been drinking, and made the 13-year old brother drive.  They were in a car accident and rather than be blameful and bitter over the accident, as well as some major injuries, this young man has chosen to “change the world,” as he told us.  He goes around speaking in churches, schools, and political events, daring to make a difference in people lives, challenging them to think about their decisions before they act, as well as who they will affect.  Hollywood, as a 5th grader, is making a huge difference.  He’s standing up for what he believes and proclaiming it wherever he goes.  He’s passionate about this issue because he’s been directly affected by it.

After Hollywood, the Cumberland County Coroner gave a sobering presentation.  I’ve never heard this group of students so quiet and attentive.  He had a power point of various drug and alcohol related accidents he’s been called to in the last year.  He did a very good job of hitting his point home, also conveying the importance of the choices we make. 

Overall, it was a great assembly and the kids enjoyed it.  Still, I wonder, why will they do stupid things this weekend??  As powerful as it is to hear stories and see pictures and get the facts, for some reason, having fun in the moment is more important.  My students told me that.  The only way some will learn is if and when they are directly affected. 

So, even though we’ve seen the bad stuff that is always going on, all around us, why do we think we are invincible??  How would we be living our lives differently with the realization that we AREN’T??

Well, today is the National Day of Prayer.  Even though I think prayer is important in day-to-day life, I appreciate the fact that our nation recognizes an event like this and think it’s amazing to think of people all over the country gathering together today to lift up our world to the Lord.

It was a huge blessing as 20 of us from ODSM gathered outside the church tonight and spent time in prayer for requests that kids had gathered in their schools throughout the week.  Then we were stretched as we went door to door asking people if we could pray for them.  Kendra, Tiffany, and I prayed for probably about 6 people out of all the doors we knocked on, a lot weren’t home, and we probably got around 10 no’s (not interested, no but thanks, no but I appreciate you asking, no I’ve already been to church today, no I don’t believe in prayer, no I’m busy…..).  I am so thankful for the people we were able to pray for.  They were touched and seemed encouraged and were very thankful to us.  But I also hurt that so many of our “neighbors” have no interest or desire for prayer.  I couldn’t imagine not going to God whenever I wanted to- I’m sad they don’t know what that is like.

Coming off the missions conference, we were challenged to “go,” and “make disciples.”  In my mind, missions means going away from home and then going to work.  I experienced firsthand tonight how lost our community is- how lost people less than a mile away from our church are.  What are we doing to reach them?  We don’t have to go across the world to make a difference- there are plenty of people in our backyard who need to experience the love of God and how it can change their life.

So, what can we do to reach them???

This weekend was the Missions Conference at our church.  I really enjoy the way our church invites only 3 families as it gives us a chance to really connect and get to know them and their ministry.  Each family is unique and has an amazing ministry- it was really neat to hear from them and get to know them on a deeper level through spending the weekend with them. 

Saturday night we were supposed to kick off “The Pit”…thanks to the rain we had to go with plan “B!”  We found an outdoor grill at Kohl’s and decided that’s how we would still get our campfire that was promised to the students for S’Mores!!  At about 6:30 the rains really came down…..pouring…..knocking out electricity…..thunder……..lightning…….and more and more rain and flooding!!  I was so proud that that didn’t keep away kids from coming out to our Youth Event with the Missionaries.  60+ people circled together in the gym and we worshipped, encouraged the missionaries with student testimonies of what missions has meant to them, asked questions about missionary life, prayed for the missionaries, fellowshipped, and roasted marshmellows!!  It’s so neat and such a blessing and encouragement to see kids stepping up and sharing and praying in front of large groups of people like that.  Guys, you were given the ultimate compliment on your leadership in the ministry- “outsiders” have noticed it and are blown away by it- way to go, keep on leading! 

So anyway, we’re in the gym all this time doing these things, and you can hear the rain still coming down……..harder and harder!!  At 8:30 when we ended what was scheduled to do, the rain stopped, the guys got the fire going, and we were actually able to sit outside in the parking lot and do our S’More thing!!  Wow, thanks, God!!  About 9:15 when most of the kids were picked up……the rain kept on comin’!!  I was so amazed and thankful that God allowed us that time outside to fellowship around the fire.  That evening was definitely a highlight of the weekend for me!!  What was your highlight of the Missions Conference???

As I continue the Bible Study “Experiencing God,” a quote from this week’s lesson really struck me and challenged me.  The quote is as follows:

“You sin against God when you miss the mark of His purposes for you.”

How do I know God’s purposes for my life?  Am I doing all I can to build an intimate relationship with Him so that I can hear His voice and distinguish when He is calling me to do something??  I need to daily spend time talking with Him, reading Scripture, and listening for His voice.  I struggle to take time out of my day to do all of this, but that is how intimate relationships are built. 

Am I trusting Him, stepping out in faith, and obeying when I do know He is telling me to do something??  God has blessed me (and all of us for that matter) with various gifts and abilities.  Are we  doing all we are able to be doing for Him for His glory?  We know some of the things He purposes for our life:  showing Christ’s love to a lost world, proclaiming the gospel, helping the poor and the widows, serving, and the list goes on.  How many times have I passed up opportunities and thus sinned against God??  I hate to try and remember, but many. 

God chooses to use us to make a difference in this world.  God set the example and gave the ultimate sacrifice- His son.  What am I doing from day to day to be all that He wants me to be??  Am I stepping out in faith and obedience and trusting Him to work through me and use me, despite my inabilities??

2 Corinthians 12:9

But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me.

My aunt stumbled upon this and it’s possibly THE CUTEST THING I’VE EVER SEEN!!  The Lord’s Prayer, sung by this adorable 2-year old, will be sure to put a smile on your face and brighten your day!!  Here it is found in Matthew 6:9-13:

 9“This, then, is how you should pray:
   ” ‘Our Father in heaven,
   hallowed be your name,
 10your kingdom come,
   your will be done
      on earth as it is in heaven.
 11Give us today our daily bread.
 12Forgive us our debts,
      as we also have forgiven our debtors.
 13And lead us not into temptation,
   but deliver us from the evil one.

Here it is, much cuter!  Enjoy!