Feeding our Community and the World

In the last two weeks I have had the opportunity to serve in two events which provided food for the people in Hamilton County and the country of Haiti.

Monday, August 16th, Fred Knoll and volunteers from White River drove to Christ Community Church in Fishers to unpack a semi-truck full of food donated from LeSEA Global to three local food pantries. I wish I had a picture of all the volunteers and the sheer delight on their faces as they say pallet after pallet of food was removed from this semi. One of the White River volunteers teared up as she shared how much of a blessing this food was. She expressed that the shelves at the pantry were so empty and she just didn't know where more food was going to come from. God more than provided for the pantry that week, as he does each and every week.

This is just one story of many that comes from the food pantry. This is now my one minute plug for the food pantry. Semi-trucks of food don't come every week, but family just like mine and yours go to the grocery store every week. What if for every dollar you spend at the grocery story, purchase 10% more for food to donate to the pantry. Consider it, ask God about it. He says in Malachi 3:10 "Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. Test me in this..."

The second event I was able to be apart was just last Sunday. The Jr. High and Sr. High, instead of our normal Sunday morning service, banded together to worship with our hand to pack over 10,000 meals for children in Haiti. I could write all day about how amazing it was to see all the youth sacrifice their Sunday morning for kids across the world that they don't know, but I'll let the pictures tell the story:

Jr. High and Sr. High working at the tables where they filled the bags with food. Did I mention that Jr. High students alone made 7,000 meals 1st service? We had to stop since we ran out of food. Image if they brought enough food for 30,000 meals!

Before filling the bags with food, we got to learn a little bit about LeSEA Global and the history of Haiti.

Some of the highschoolers working hard....or hardly working :)

Events like these you never forget. I'm sure the youth ministries will be doing this again, and when that happens, check Justin Fluhr's blog for his side of the story.

Question for my readers, if there are any...I'm still looking for a new name for this lovely blog since I finished my CIY challenge. Any suggestions?

The Finish Line

The race is done. The marathon is complete. Today, I finished reading the Bible through in a year. Yet, somehow I don't feel any different. It's like when you turn another year older, or even when you reach an important age like 18 or 21, you're still the same person as the day before.



Just because I read Malachi and Revelation 22 today, makes me no different than yesterday. However, I will say this; I am different than I was a year ago. Taking on this CIY challenge and being on this incredible journey has changed me. It has changed my view of not only the Bible, but of God, Jesus Christ, and the church. I fell in love with reading the Bible in the last 365 days. For those who have been reading my blog throughout the last year, I praise you for you patience during my occasional rants and tirades and I hope you've enjoyed, or at least got a few laughs from, my blog. In honor of completing my challenge, 66 Book in 365, I thought I'd run through a list of my favorite, and not so favorite, moments. (Cue video collage music, now)

• August began quite well in the gospels and Genesis/Exodus (I had no idea what was coming later on in the Pentateuch)


• Leviticus is most likely the driest book in the Bible, ick.


• In October, I got extremely behind and ended up reading all of Deuteronomy in one day.


• Romans was possibly my favorite book in the NT, and I cannot wait to read it today


• Going through the Kings, Samuel's, and Chronicles was an amazing history lesson of the Israelites


• God brought the book of Psalms and Proverbs to my reading schedule just at the time in my life that I needed encouraging reading
• With spring came lovely flowers, green trees, and the prophets. Now, some of the books were interesting reading, while others were like eating a brick
• When summer came, I knew I'd be done with my challenge soon, soon enough to start counting the days
• In July, I went to camp and got behind a week on my schedule, which was slightly stressing, but I finished. Here I am 365 days, with the Bible under my belt.

It's been a wonderful, stretching, hard, rewarding, frustrating, and enlightening year in God's word. The ways that God moved, even a thousand blogs cannot adequately describe. Like it says in John 21:25:

"Jesus did many other things as well. If every one of them were written down, I suppose that even the whole world would not have room for the books that would be written."

Though it's sad to think that this is my last post about my CIY challenge, this blog will stay. It's name and purpose may change a bit, but I will still be writing about my Savior and the things He does.

Bookstore Story

I waved my white flag, I claimed defeat, Ezekiel had gotten the best of me. Yet, from the distance, a light began to shine, a glorious beautiful light, chapter 48 verse 35 of Ezekiel. Yes, the last verse of the whole book. The other day, I read the final verse and I cannot tell you how excited I was to be finished with that book.

Yes, I understand it's the Word of God, and yes I should probably be a little more respectful with my words, BUT, right now I'm not. Someday, I hope to understand the meaning and purpose behind that book, but right now I have no desire to think about Ezekiel any longer.

Okay, the complaining portion of my blog is over. Today, 66in365 will be featuring a very special story time about how awesome God is:

This last week, my mother, a friend, and myself went to visit the school I will be attending in the fall(Cornerstone University). While we were driving around the Grand Rapids area, we decided to stop into a Christian book store to look around while I filled out an application.

After giving the app. to the young gal behind the counter, we started talking. She graduated from Cornerstone last year, and was super excited to know that I was attending there. She asked if I had found a church yet, and when I said 'no', she got this big ol' smile on her face. She began telling me about her church and the college ministry it has in the downtown of Grand Rapids. That really perked my interest, but here's where God just blew my mind.

I said I really want to find a church where I can get involved in their Jr. High. Believe it or not, they need youth sponsors at their church, and this gal who works at the bookstore also works part-time for the youth pastor! All I can see is God in this picture. The timing, the people, the circumstances, everything! It was all God!

God always provides. In every need, He always provides. God is reminding me of that truth in multiples areas of my life right now.

So, readers, where has God been providing for you lately?

What's your 'bookstore' story?

35 Days....

It's July!!! which is an exciting month for me. In 3 days I'm leaving to be a counselor at church camp for middle schoolers for a week. Faith, Hope, & Love Week (a local mission trip with other churches) is in 3 1/2 weeks. Fellow students are leaving for CIY in 2 1/2 weeks. And lastly, it is my last full month of my CIY Challenge. In 35 days, I will have read the entire Bible in a year. It's excited to say, and even more exciting to think about.

I believe I should start a countdown or something until I finish. Well, this is a short post, but I thought I'd let ya'll know where I'm at with this challenge. Even though Ezekiel is most likely the driest and toughest book to read (I'm more willing to read Revelation right now that Ezekiel), I can see the light at the end of the tunnel. God's word is truly amazing.

So readers, what have you been reading in God's Word lately?

Where has his spirit been leading you in the scriptures?

Summer Challenges

Considering it's the first official day of summer, I decided to switch things up a bit and change my background and design. Also, I've been reading Jon Acuff's blog, Stuff Christians Like, a lot recently, so if my writing style has changed, you can blame him :)

I've been praying and thinking a lot about this summer and what God has planned for me. A part of me really wants this summer to be like last, full of fun times with friends nearly every day. Unfortunately(and I say this out of my current state of mind), I believe God is bringing me into a summer very different and very difficult. One word, I believe, that best describes it: uncomfortable. I was talking with a friend last week about this idea of being uncomfortable. So, I'm taking the idea and running with it. I've made a list of spiritual goals for the summer that will challenge me and make me uncomfortable:

1. The Word:Finish my CIY challenge on time without becoming complacent in my reading
2. Generosity: Continue to tithe 10% of my paychecks while rounding up to the nearest 5
3. Serving: Do one thing around the house every day
4. Faithfulness to God: Commit to praying for people every day each week
5. Outreach: Be a Light to those at Camp Allendale, Faith, Hope, & Love Week, and the Thursday Dinner Table

There are other things in my life, that are out of my hands, right now that make me far more uncomfortable than this list, but these 5 areas(given as a template from Keith Comp) are my personal challenges for the summer. I'm excited to see where God will lead me this summer, but very nervous at the same time.

I was reading in Ezekiel this morning that God commanded him to lay on his side for 390 days and eat bread only cooked over burning cow manure. Ezekiel is a living example of uncomfortable. Yet his heart was still soft to the Lord working and he still told the people of Israel to turn back to God. Now to sound conceited, but that's what I want my life to look like. That, no matter how uncomfortable I am, that no matter how much 'life sucks', I can still point people back to God. Last night at bible study, a statement was made that hit the nail right on the head. "If my goal is not leading them back to God, I'm not doing my job." Talk about a perfect challenge for my summer..

CIY Challenge Update: I'm on schedule and in Ezekiel and Hebrews. Nearly everyday as I read, I cannot wait to finish so I can go back through and study God's Word in more depth. This challenge was a God-send. I don't know what this last year would've looked like without it.

Redemption & Hope

I've been truckin' through Jeremiah the last week or so, and I read a few chapters today that caught my attention. Chapters 30-34 talk about God's plan of redemption for Israel; other things are talked about, but redemption is my focus this blog. While reading through, I couldn't help but stop periodically and scramble for my blue highlighter to mark these amazing verses. The promises that God makes for the Israelites are huge! Here are the ones that stood out to me.

• I will break the yoke off their necks and will tear off their bonds 30:8
• I am with you and will save you 30:11
• I will restore you to health and heal your wounds 30:17
• I will add to their numbers...I will bring them honor 30:19
• You will be my people and I will be your God 30:22
• I will be the God of all the clans of Israel, and they will be my people 31:1
• I will come to give rest to Israel 31:2
• I will build you up again and you will be rebuilt 31:4
• I will turn their mourning into gladness; I will give them comfort and joy 31:13
• I will put my law in their minds and write it on their hearts 31:33
• I will be their God and they will be my people 31:33
• I will forgive their wickendness and will remember their sins no more 31:34
• I will never stop doing good to them 32:40
• I will inspire them to fear me 32:40
• I will assuredly plant them in this land with all my heart and soul 32:40
• I will heal my people and will rebuild them as they were before 33:6

I am amazed at these promises of redemption for the Israelites. What annoyes me though about this, the Israelites heard all these promises from God, and warnings not to stray away from Him, yet at the time that Jeremiah was prophesying, the Babylonians were about the take Israel and Judah into captivity. I've thought many-a-times, 'those thick-headed people, don't they see the amazing plans God has for them? (referencing Jer. 29:11) Can't they see the chance for amazing blessings in their lives?" -> check out Jer. 32:42

Then, I began to think about my own life in comparison to the Israelites. Sure, I don't sacrifice children (Jer. 32:35) or burn incense to other gods (32:29), but I still turn away from God, I still sin. These chapters about God's plans and blessings for the Israelites make me think about God's plans for my life. Are there blessings he wants to give me, but my sinful heart is getting in way? Does God have my life going one direction, yet my selfishness leads me another way, just like the Israelites?

In chapter 31 verses 35-37, God is talking about the seriousness/realness of his promises. He says that the only way for God to reject his promises and the Israelites is if the heavens can be measured(vs.37) and the Earth can be searched out(vs.37), and if the laws of nature are destroyed(vs.35). God was not going to abandon the Israelites, despite all their flaws. And, God will not abandon us today, despite all our flaws. There is so much hope in Christ!a

"I—yes, I alone—will blot out your sins for my own sake and will never think of them again." Isaiah 43:25

"For He Himself has said, "I will never leave you nor forsake you." So we may boldly say: "The LORD is my helper; I will not fear. What can man do to me?" Hebrews 13:5-6

Isaiah, check lists, and Salvation

Yesterday, I finished reading Isaiah; though not on schedule, it is finished. What a strange book Isaiah is, and more confusing than I had originally expected. The book is divided into two sections, Chapters 1-39 (The Book of Judgement) and Chapters 40-66 (The Book of Comfort). The first section generally went over my head with promises of judgements on certain lands for the things they had done. It wasn't until the second half, or even the last 15 chapters or so, that the words of Isaiah struck my heart.

In light of my previous blog post, I don't think God did anything miraculous in me while I read Isaiah, or at least it didn't feel like it. Maybe my heart wasn't there until just a few days ago when I got the chance to really sit down, stop, and ponder his Word. And when you think about it, isn't that the point of this challenge? To ponder upon the Word of God. I get so wrapped up in staying on schedule and completing the task, that I forget the many blessings that accompany it. My Current CIY Challenge Struggle: Reading the Bible as spiritual food for survival, not as a thing on my check list.

Though I didn't understand most of Isaiah, there were some parts that blew my mind. The following verses I had as my facebook status a while back, and they still encourage me to continue after Christ:

"Hear me, you who know what is right,

you people who have my law in your hearts:

Do not fear the reproach of men

or be terrified by their insults.

For the moth will eat them up like a garment;

the worm will devour them like wool.

But my righteousness will last forever,

my salvation through all generations."

Isaiah 51:7-8

What a promise!! Our Father's righteousness never ends, and his salvation will continue on for generations. Those verses give us hope, that despite our mistakes and screw-ups, God's righteousness and salvation is always there. The things of this world will pass away, but God will not.

May Isaiah Bless us All

As I was filling out the 3x5 card for the month of May with my reading schedule, I found some very ironic days and passages. May 1st I was to begin Isaiah and May 26th was the last day spent in Isaiah. Well, for anyone going to Noblessville, we know what May 26th means the last day of school. For all the seniors, most importantly, it's the last day of high school. Currently, I am counting down the days for graduation but the irony within my reading schedule caused me to stop and think for a bit. During my last month of high school, I will be reading one of the most confusing books in the Old Testament. Now, I could read it through, while only thinking of walking across that stage and receiving my diploma, or I could do something crazy.



Well, I don't like the easy way out, so I am asking God that during the last few weeks of school, that He would do something crazy. Just in the first few chapters, I am thoroughly confused and amazed at the powerful message Isaiah is trying to convey to Judah. A few verses that really stuck out to me, concerning my life right now were from chapter 5 verses 18-19:



18 "What sorrow for those who drag their sins behind them with ropes made of lies, who drag wickedness behind them like a cart! 19 They even mock God and say, “Hurry up and do something! We want to see what you can do. Let the Holy One of Israel carry out his plan, for we want to know what it is.”



To read these verse in context click here. I like the part where is says that we mock God by asking him to hurry up and do something. This is particularly convicting in my life, because I've been asking God to do something in my life, without regard to His plan and his timing. I am reminded of Jeremiah 29:11-13 (some of my favorite verses) " 'For I know the plans I have for you,' declares the Lord, 'plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plan to give you hope and a future. Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.'" The last two verses I always tend to over look. I will have to call upon God and pray to him and seek him, but seek him will all my heart. So often I forget my relationship with God is a two-way street; it's far more than God just blessing me and giving me things. And this reminds me of one of my favorite quotes from the book Crazy Love by Francis Chan:

'The irony is that while God doesn’t need us but still wants us, we desperately need God but don’t really want Him most of the time."

These are all things I've been pondering on while struggling to finish the marathon of high school I've been running for 4 years; God's timing is truly and wonderfully perfect.

Bible Lit Service Project

Back in a previous post, I mentioned a class that was taking this semester, Bible Literature. Well, one of the requirements for the class is a field trip, an individual service project. Each student was to find a location to service that was not their home church, was not super comfortable for them, and was new or challenging. For my service project, I traveled to Carmel land to Northview Church to assist their groundskeeper, Marcia. I went into the day not knowing what exactly I'd be doing, and walked away with a renewed sense of awe for God.

In the first part of the morning, I was assigned to prune and clip back some pine bushes...some wonderfully overgrown pine bushes. Needless to say, 3 hours later, the bushes looked wonderful and I had quite a collection of battle wounds on my arms. What struck me as ironic though, was the concept of pruning a bush. Someone comes and kills a living part of a plant, because in the long run, it will grow healthier and the plant will live longer. I was reminded when Jesus talked about the vine and the branches in John 15. He says the he will cut every branch that does not bear fruit, but he even prunes the branches that bear fruit, so it will be more fruitful. Those 3 hours truly gave me the chance to ponder upon what God is pruning in my life, whether its fruitful or not.

Serving tody at another chruch was a very different experience, but a good reminder that God works in any and every church he wants. Right now, Northview is growing almost exponentially, and it amazes me! Sometimes, I forget that God moves outside of White River, and going today was a healthy reminder of how massively big God is. Just a cool thought to ponder on.

Well, an update upon my challenge: I am a few days from finishing Proverbs and 2 Corinthians. Once again I will say how excited I am to finish the challenge, so I can read through these amazing books again and take my time.

Psalms and Such

Today was my last day in the blessed book of Psalms. Wow, what a book!! Now, I know I say that about almost every book I've read during my challenge, but this one deserves some real props. I was planning of writing a creative little ditty about Psalms like 150 Words for 150 Psamls. But my computer crashed halfway through writing it, so I've decided to give a little teaser.

If you haven't read through Psalms before, do it. There are so much things you can learn from it. It amazed me how much a person can connect with the words of the authors of this compelation. You can get such an inside perspective of a person's heart. You experience the agony they're in, or can be called to worship through their adoration of our Lord. Just today I was reading in chatper 147, and the author describes the physical power of God and what he can do. In the next chapter he describes who should be praising God and why they should. This book is so wonderful..

Psalms truly was a blessing for me. When I first began my challenge, I wanted to encorporate the Psamls into my everyday reading, so I wouldn't spend 2 months reading Psalms. Well, I decided not to do that back in October or so, because I though maybe when I get to Psalms, I'll be going through a rough patch and would really need the extended time in easier and encouraging reading. How did God provide!! These last 2 months have been really really hard. Between show choir craziness, senioritis at its worst, and a stressing college desicion, I really did need the break. Looking back, I can see how God provided through all of it. Even if I got behind in my schedule, it is much easier to read 12 chatper of Psalms than 12 chapter of Isaiah in one sitting. So, in hind sight, I can only give God the glory with his protection of me, and with the blessing Psalms has been in my life.

I'll end this post with a Psalm 121, a song of ascents. These types of psalms could only bring me to praise the Lord:

I lift up my eyes to the hills—
where does my help come from?
2 My help comes from the LORD,
the Maker of heaven and earth.
3 He will not let your foot slip—
he who watches over you will not slumber;
4 indeed, he who watches over Israel
will neither slumber nor sleep.
5 The LORD watches over you—
the LORD is your shade at your right hand;
6 the sun will not harm you by day,
nor the moon by night.
7 The LORD will keep you from all harm—
he will watch over your life;
8 the LORD will watch over your coming and going
both now and forevermore.

Technology, Priorities and Psalms

Well, there is much to discuss with this blog post considering it's been 3 week since I've last updated.Firstly, I had an interesting experience about 2 weeks ago concerning technology. After an amazing night at small group I sat and talked for a long long time with my mom about things, such as college, God, priorities, etc. After much discussion I came to the conclusion that technology was cluttering my life, and it needed the boot. So, I took a technology fast for a few days. No computer, no television, no cellphone, no music. nada. Honestly, it wasn't as hard as I though it would be. It was freeing, actually. I learned to appreciate silence more, and I learned that it's ok not to be connected with absolutely everyone at any and every moment of the day. Because of this learning experience, I have deactivated my twitter account, taken off facebook updates, and it's a beautiful thing. The point of getting rid of technology was to learn to better manage my priorities, which leads into my second paragraph.

I have found myself slacking in priorities, mostly in the technology department. Thus the tech. fast. I have been trying, and asking God of course, to retrain my habits. Because I haven't been spending time wisely, I've been procrastination on my homework. This in turn leads to me not getting my Bible reading done (see, this blog ties into my challenge). And since I've become behind on my reading schedule, I've felt obligated to catch up. I haven't been reading God' word as a blessing and encouragment, but rather as an obligation and constant reminder of my misuse of time. That is not how I want to view the Word of God. So, I've been asking God to redue my mindset toward his Word, and you know what? He's been moving!

I am still in Psalms, but should be finished soon. And, what I've been reading has been extremely fascinating. For example, i was reading Psalm 107 and the patterns of repitition in it is crazy! Basically, the author describes the sin of man, the punishment of God, man's repentence, and God's rescue of man. It does this about 3 times in the chapter, following the pattern. Now, I don't know what that means, but I think it's really cool. Also, in Psalm 119, the author uses the word "law" about 30 times, "command" about 17 times, and "precept" about 20 times. If you haven't read Psalm 119, it's very long, but a good read. I admire the talent these writers have in Psalms, the way their words still connect to people today. I'm loving this book!!

UPDATE: I have very good news to share!! Tomorrow, April 5, I will be 2/3 completed with the CIY Challenge!!! I believe that should inspire a blog in it of itself. I will say though, I can only attribute it to God, and his mighty power and control in my life. What a journey it's been, and how Awesome is our God!!!

I can't think of a title, so this is what you get.

God's Word never stops amazing me, teaching me, and encouraging me. Today I was reading in Romans, trying to get caught up with my schedule, when God's Word spoke to me in a way I haven't experienced in a long time. To be perfectly honest, I've felt a big disconnect from Him with the last month or two. Sure, I've still been going to church, reading my Bible, and praying, but it has seemed kind of forced, and not genuine. Well, I didn't go to church this morning due to a choir competition the day before, and I just needed to rest. So, I was reading in Romans 7 where Paul's talking about struggling with sin. The verses that screamed at me go like this:

21So I find this law at work: When I want to do good, evil is right there with me. 22For in my inner being I delight in God's law; 23but I see another law at work in the members of my body, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work within my members. 24What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death? 25Thanks be to God—through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, I myself in my mind am a slave to God's law, but in the sinful nature a slave to the law of sin.

Go a head and read those verses again, I had to.

Now, read them one more time, since I did as well to fully get my head around the depth of Paul's message.

This paragraph has just describes my past 3 Saturdays. I am in show choir, and the past three weekends, we have been at competitions, and I have been totally out of my element. Being around that atmosphere really pressures me to conform to the world's standards, to talk, act, and think like everyone else. It has been really hard. I am trying my best, and asking for God's help, to be a witness of Christ, to be salt in the world. Most of the times, it seems like I don't make a difference. It seems like I just mess up and conform, and I am fighting a battle that I'll never win.

These verses spoke to my heart this morning. Knowing that Paul experienced those same things, those same feelings is such a comfort to me. Who knows, that battle may always be a losing one, but who will rescue me? Jesus Christ my Lord. I am reminded that I am in this world, but not of this world. (Most of the verses on this page will give account to that) That, though I struggle with infinite sins, and never ending challenges, that it is all for God's glory. In the next chapter in Romans, Paul says, "I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us" (chapter 8 vs 18). What a reminder! Our actions today are meant for glory in heaven. Talk about a different perspective. I will be pondering on these verse for quite a while, and maybe God will get me out of this rut I seem to have found myself in.

Reading Update: Well, I haven't been keeping along with my schedule 100%, I am about 5-6 days behind, but hopefully I can slowly but surely get caught up. I've enjoyed the break from tough OT books with Psalms. It's been quite an encouragement this last month and a half. And what a book Romans is! Holy cow! I can't wait to read this book through again when I get the chance. It is chalk full of wisdom.

Elihu: An Example for the Youth

Due to our wonderful snow day today, I had plently of time to catch up on reading Job this morning. I am now at chapter 38, and and should finish the book by Thursday. Well, my opinion of Job is starting to turn around. I just finished the 6 chapter monologue of Elihu. Let me tell you, I really like this guy. All 31 chapters before he begins his monologue, he doesn't say a word. It says in the beginning of chapter 32 that he was angry with Job and the 3 friends who had been talking with Job the entire book. It also says that he had waited to speak, since they were older than him. It wasn't untill they had finished talking that Elihu's anger was enough to cause him to speak. I can image a couple things about Elihu in this situation:

• He's young (maybe a teenager?) and his words are probably not worth much to the others
• The things Job's friends are saying frustrate Elihu since "they had found no way to refute Job, and yet had condemned him(or had condemned God)
• Job had been justifying himself rather than God

I understand what it means to be underestimated for your age. Older folks tend to pass judgements on the youth as immature, unwise, and foolish. I'll admit it, I do the same to people younger than me. Elihu says upfront the impression he recieves from Job and his friends about his age. "I am young in years, and you are old; that is why I was fearful, not daring to tell you what I know. I thought, 'Age should speak; advanced years should teach wisdom.'" (ch 32 vs 6-7) His approach to these adults was interesting, one that makes me think. He wasn't proud in saying that 'I have something to say too, and you should listen to me'. He states the facts and was honest with these men, he was afraid to talk. Into the next verses he talks about wisdom does not come from age, but from God. "It is not only the old who are wise, not only the aged who understand what is right." Elihu was saying, "I'm wise too; don't disregard my words because of my age." This reminds me of the verse 1 Timothy 4:12. In the next chapters (32:10-:33) Elihu is defending his right to speak and be heard. This begs the question: How is my approach with adults compared to Elihu? I could contiue talking about his for many paragraphs, but I'll get onto my next point.

Secondly, Elihu has been listening to Bildad, Zophar, and Eliphaz talk to Job for quite a while now, and he's calling them out. "I gave you my full attention. But no one of you has proved Job wrong; none of you has answered his arguments." (32:12) My impression, is that Elihu is saying that their words and arguments and advice are wrong, utterly wrong. I don't quite know what to think about this. The imagery Elihu uses in 32: 16-22 is a pretty clear indicator of the emotions/frustrations he is experiencing. He does show extreme patience though, by waiting for everyone else to speak their peace, regardless of whether he agrees with it or not.

Lastly, Elihu directly calls out Job('blameless and upright; he feared God and shunned evil' 1:1; He was the greatest man among all the people of the East' 1:3) Job was kind of a big deal, and some munchkin was calling him wrong. In chapter 33 verses 8-12, Elihu reminds Job that he is not greater than God. And later on in the chapters, Elihu mentions that who is he[Job] to say 'I am innocent, but God denies me justice' (34:5). That is really gutsy of Elihu; remember who he is and who Job is. I don't know if I could even say that to my mom or my pastor, let alone the richest most prosperous man in the world. Elihu was brave to say these things and more, but I believe that God spoke through him to Job. Here's some food for thought: How is God trying to use you to be an example to those older(or younger) than you?

These chapters are just filled with lessons to be learned! Oh, how I wish I could spend some more time in this wonderful book. I wish I could sit down with Elihu and have a conversation over coffee. I am adding him to my list of people to talk to in Heaven. What an example he is to me, and hopefully other youth. Sorry this post is so long, but when I read about his guy, I just had to write about it.

Job issues

I am just over halfway thorugh Job, and I'm not fan. In past, I have attempted start and finish Job. Let's just say, I was able to start it, but not neccesarily finish it. I remember why I never finished it. I have one simple word of advice for Job, brevity. I'm struggling to unterstand the purpose of the monologing and rants. I don't mean to come across as critical, I just don't understand Job's perspective. For me, the advice his friends are giving seems reasonable, but the things that Job is saying also makes sense. As I read this book, I feel like i need to pick sides, yet I do not know which side to take.

It's frustrating to say the least. To try to understand more about this book, I think I'll do some research, just not toady. I am determined to push through this book, and I am super excited to start Psalms.

Biblical Literature

This semester I am taking a Biblical Literature class a school. I've heard good things about this class from other people, and I am super excited to see what I can learn. What I think is interesting though, is a public school teaching a bible class. Now, this class is not taught from a Christian perspective, it is taught as a piece of literature. It's a very unique approach, one that I never thought about. After 3 weeks of this class, let me tell you, I love this class!! We have amazing discussion and are going slowly through the old testament. We were assigned this project (which I'm presenting tomorrow) to take a Christian song and analyze it as a piece of poetry. I chose David Crowder's version of How He Loves, and cannot wait to present it.

Anyway, I am super excited for this class because I want to learn some on the facts and history behind the old testament. With my challenge, I do not have time to dwell on a passage for a couple of days, I have to appreciate it for a moment and move on. With this class, I hope to answer some questions that I've had about Scripture and learn some important details about the OT. I also imagine that this class is a good introduction to Bible classes I hope to take in college. Now, I know that these type of classes will be different from eachother(christian college & public high school), but I want the two perspectives. This Bib Lit class is going to be awesome, I can tell. Hopefully I can tell some more about it as I go along. Here's something I never knew:

There are two different accounts of creation in Genesis, chapter 1 & 2. Read the two stories and notice the differences, tone and details. We had a very interesting discussion about that one class.

Just an update for my challenge, I finished Nehemiah this morning and am back on track from my little set back this last week or so. I'm excited to continue in Acts and start Esther then Job!

The Gospels

The other day I finished reading the Gospels. I'm actually really sad that I won't be able to read about Jesus' life anymore, but I am excited to start reading about the impact his life had on the people. I'm not entirely sure what the books of Acts will entail, but from the first few chapters I can tell it's going to be good. (I guess I can't say that since I think all the books I've read so far are good).

John was probably my favorite Gospel to read. The way it was written and the accounts included were all wonderful. I think my favorite part of the book was the way the author ended it. I actually made me laugh a little bit...

24This is the disciple who testifies to these things and who wrote them down. We know that his testimony is true. 25Jesus did many other things as well. If every one of them were written down, I suppose that even the whole world would not have room for the books that would be written.

It's a cool thought to imagine; our entire world could not hold the amount to books it would take to tell all that Jesus did. Wow! I cannot wait to hear all the stories in heaven!

What's your favorite part of the Gospels?

What an Encouragement!

This wonderful book I'm reading never fails to amaze me everyday, and knock me off my feet every once and a while. Last week I was in Washington State visiting family for Christmas. Well, our last day to be there had come and I had to say goodbye to my grandparents far too early than I wished. To say the least, it was a bittersweet departure when they left. As my brother and I were packing my aunt's house was empty and, for me, lonely. I was quite upset and decided to sit and read God's Word for a while, for some encouragement and to get me back on track with my schedule. I'm in the Chronicles right now, and what amazing books, let me say. Not even 10 minutes into reading 1 Chronicles, I come across chapter 28 verse 20:

"David also said to Solomon his son, 'Be strong and courageous, and do the work. Do not be afraid or discouraged, for the Lord God, my God, is with you. He will not fail you or forsake you untill all the work for the service of the temple of the Lord is finished.' NIV

How awesome is our God? I stopped and read that passage nearly a dozen times, each time feeling the comfort of those words more and more. In the next chapter David praises God in front of the whole assembly, a lot of people I'm assuming. Here's the link to this passage, I encourage you to read it.

God always provides, every time. This is just another amazing story and reminder of how thankful I am to have received this challenge. On a slightly sad note, in the next week I'll be finishing up the Gospels and starting in Acts. I'm not quite sure I like that, I really like the Gospels.

What have you been reading lately? I'd love to hear your stories!