finally made it to the blog!!

Hi friends! Can't wait to meet you all.. Andy mentioned that I should share one of the ways I am planning on raising more funds for this summer.. So, I am having a HUGE dinner at my house and inviting everyone that I can think of (as a facebook event). It will be a good chance to share my excitement with them about what I am doing this summer, and it will give me an opportunity to ask if they would like to contribute to the cause! Hopefully I get a good return on my investment.. Anybody else have creative fundraising ideas??

Also, I'm a bit behind on the blog.. So here are some of the responses I've been writing in my journal--just wanted to share even though they're a bit late!

The Bread of Life:

One of the first phrases that caught my eye in John 6:25-40 was, "Do not work for food that spoils, but for food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you." How often do we work for food that spoils? It seems like it's so easy for me to quickly fill my day working for things that are good, yet they will spoil one day.. they're earthly things. The funny thing is, even when we try to work for things that don't spoil, we fail because those are the things the "Son of Man will GIVE you." What a blessing it is to have the Holy Spirit. Jesus uses the analogy "bread of life" to give us something tangible to associate with. It helps us realize, we can physically muddle through life without guidance (the Shepherd), without truth (the Word), and without light (the Son), but we will physically die without food. We have a great need for Jesus, and I think that's why He chooses to say He is the bread of life first; his first emphasis is that we can't live without him. One thing I know is that I can't be satisfied and live full of the Spirit when I am not spiritually nourished.. How many opportunities have I missed because of a lack of discipline in my spiritual nourishment? It's easy to tell when our bodies are physically hungry, but is it just as easy to know when our spirit is hungry? How often do we try to fill our spiritual needs with physical things?

Some verses I love pertaining to this topic:
Lamentations 3:22-24
"Because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed,
    for his compassions never fail.
²³ They are new every morning;
    great is your faithfulness.
²⁴ I say to myself, “The Lord is my portion;
    therefore I will wait for him."

Psalm 42:1-2
"As the deer pants for streams of water,
    so my soul pants for you, my God.
² My soul thirsts for God, for the living God.
    When can I go and meet with God?"

Light of the World:

The beauty of light is that even the smallest amount can conquer darkness--darkness can never conquer the light. There is nothing better than walking in the light--knowing the Light of the World and walking with him.. One of the ways to continually walk in the light is to ask God to expose the obstacles, the things, the destructive patterns that keep us walking in darkness. I think in order to keep walking in the light it is important to know the Word, the truths about God--what he says about himself, and what he says about us. It's important to not just know, but to believe those things and let them guide the way you live. I think that it's also important to ask God to continually reveal himself to us, and ask him to make us more like Christ. Our human condition can be so discouraging.. Living in a world of darkness is hard, but we are so blessed to have the power of Christ in us--power that conquered sin and death and raised a man from the grave. Yet, it's so easy to disregard that power and still walk in darkness; sometimes we don't even acknowledge the light. In his word, He says, "You know the truth and the truth will set you free." The truth is what sets us free, but first we have to know it. What a relief to know that our incapable selves don't have to do anything! That yet again, it is the work of Christ that does stuff for us--that's some pretty great love. 

// amy