see it for yourself...

You can see last Tuesday's 7/22 meeting online here.

notes as promised...

PRAYER: A REMIX part one
WHO IS BLESSING WHO?

*The way we have grown accustom to praying is this: bless me, be with me, watch over and protect me, forgive me of my many sins. It all ends with ME! A new way that we should pray is this: Lord I want to bless You, live through me and use me.
*Converse with God instead of regurgitating cliche phrases that you've heard.
*Pray "New Testament" prayers... pray in light of God's grace.

OLD TESTAMENT
*Genesis 12:2-3 (God's promise to Abraham) God's idea of blessing: "leave your country, leave your family, and leave your father... go where I'm leading you and I will bless you."
*Numbers 6:22-27 (blessing of Aaron)

And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying: "Speak to Aaron and his sons, saying, 'This is the way you shall bless the children of Israel. Say to them: "The Lord bless you and keep you; The Lord make His face shine upon you, and be gracious to you; The Lord lift up His countenance upon you, and give you peace."' "So they shall put My name on the children of Israel, and I will bless them."

Why not pray this prayer? Because this prayer was fulfilled in Jesus Christ on the cross! ALL the blessing came through Him.

NEW TESTAMENT
*Galatians 3:14 "That the blessing of Abraham might come upon the Gentiles in Christ Jesus, that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith."
We got the blessing through Jesus. We HAVE the Abrahamic blessing! (Even us Gentiles!) Our prayer should be "Thank You for the blessing you have given me!"
*Ephesians 1:3 "Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ."
Christ HAS blessed us! It doesn't just mean in heaven; in means in the spiritual dimension of life that is just as real as the physical.
*John 1:16 "And of His fullness we have all received, and grace for grace."
We HAVE received the fullness of his grace. "Grace for grace" means one blessing, after another, after another!
*The key is recognizing that we possess the blessing of God.

*Asking God for a blessing is like wanting a present when He's already given us every gift we could ever ask for. He's saying "Tap into the resources that are available to you... open your eyes!"
*Romans 8:17 -> we're sitting at the right hand of God!!! yet we are still saying, "God, will you give me a blessing?"
*All of the prayers in the Bible after Calvary are blessing God rather than asking for His blessing.
*The proper view of being blessed by God is asking Him to use you and what you have so that you can bless Him more.

*(side note... free of charge!) The author of "The Prayer of Jabez" has the proper view of blessing... after making a ton of money from his book, he moved to Johannesburg, South Africa to serve God.

7/22 report...

I absolutely love 7/22! It was so good last night. I think for me it was more than the actual event that was awesome; it was awesome how God made everything "connect" last night. Matt Redman was leading worship, and one of the first songs we did was one of his new ones. There was a phrase in it that says "Lord, my ears had heard of you, but now my eyes have seen you," which was a phrase that I had read just the day before! It really hit me when I read it on Monday, and then it was really reiterated when I heard it in the song on Tuesday. How cool! Then, Louie spoke. His topic fit in perfectly with what I had been reading from a book my Sunday school teacher gave me. Louie spoke about adjusting the way we approach God in prayer. It's actually a three-part message that he'll be completing throughout the summer sessions. Tomorrow I'll try to post some of the notes I took. It was really awesome, talking about how we need to bless God rather than asking Him to bless us. Anyway, more on that tomorrow. Erin came with me last night. I'm really glad she did, too. I think this is the first large-scale "modern worship" thing she's been to. She said she goes to the contemporary service at her church (when she's not working), but I'm pretty sure this was the largest number of Christian young people she's ever seen all in one place! She seemed to enjoy it, and I hope she comes again next month with me. Well, that's about all. If you're ever in the Atlanta area, definitely check into going to a 7/22 meeting. Later.

shop life...

Screaming saw. Whining sander. Mental radio attempts to and occasionally succeds at drowning them all out. Body focused in repetitive, mindless action, with mind free to wander as it pleases. Rehearse choir song... recall events of previous evening... plan for the future.... Song lingering from car radio hours ago. Twelve drawers done; on to the vanities. Song still lingers. Fumes replace breathable air. Finish this strip, then you can breathe.... Ah, much better. Sudden slap of cherry and pine on concrete. Wish they wouldn't do that. Men. A woman would find a better way. Lunch, at long last. Table full of mixed culture. American lunch meat and pizza; Mexican beans, rice, tortillas, and what-not. Divided conversations. Pale, humorus attempt at blending. Back to work. Choking afternoon heat. Sweltering. Sweat-saturated. Thick and relentless. Pounds should be dropping off me daily... waiting for that to happen. Heat replaces the usual mental freedom. Mornings are better. Nearing the finish. One more hour. What? Run an errand?! A break from the heat... I'd love to! Jugs of water switched and delivered... Homeward bound. Hasta manana.

7/22...

I'm going to 7/22 again tonight. I'm looking forward to it. I'm sure it'll be awesome once again. Sorry you couldn't be here for it, Allie! I invited Erin from two doors down. She's my age and is home for the summer from college. I don't know her very well, but Marti has been bugging me to hang out with her, so I figured this would be something cool that we could do.

Other than that, this week has been a little on the boring side. The family is in Montana, so it's just me and Marti's parents at the house. Work has been slow for me so far this week, but it should pick up significantly tomorrow. It has been nice to get a chance to do some extra reading while the house is quiet though. When all nine of us are here it's a little hard to find a quiet corner at times!

I was trying to lay out a few minutes ago, but as soon as I got settled, it started raining. It appears to have stopped, so I might go try again. Later.

the Lord's day...

One thing (out of many) that I am enjoying this summer is the opportunity to spend practically all day on Sunday in church. During school I go to church in the mornings and I love it, but then the afternoons and evenings are filled with homework and studying. The necessary evils of college. But for four months I have the freedom to spend twice as much time per Sunday at church. Today was such a blessing. Nothing else to worry about except worshipping God... no school work, no group meetings, no work, nothing. It was a beautiful day.

new likes...

I think my new preference in cars is the Honda CRV. I see them all over the place here. And after driving Marti's Forerunner, I think I could definitely like that size car. But the new CRVs have really dorky looking tail lights. They're long and skinny and run from the top of the car down to the bumper. The older ones aren't like that. So in that respect, I like the old ones better. I still like the Honda Civic pretty well though, and wouldn't be at all disappointed with one of those!

I like singing in the choir at First Baptist Woodstock. When I came here I thought there was a chance it wouldn't be "up to par" with what I was used to, but it's pretty awesome. I'm enjoying it.

Lastly, I really like Canton quite a bit. It's being added to my list of potential places to live after college. Don't worry, though... I'm not completely sold on moving here just yet. I love St. Augustine way too much to decide this early. There's several factors I will have to weigh before making a decision, but I have a good year and a half to decide.

Well, that's all for now. I'm not sure why I posted this stuff... I just wanted something to write about! Stay tuned!

Phos Hilaron (Hail Gladdening Light)...

Hail Gladdening Light
Of His pure glory poured
Who is the Immortal Father, Heavenly Blest
Holiest Of Holies, Jesus Christ our Lord

Now we are come to the sun's hour of rest
The lights of evening 'round us shine
We hymn the Father, Son and Holy Spirit Divine

Worthiest art Thou, at all times to be sung
With undefiled tongue
Son of our God, Giver of life alone
Therefore, in all the world Thy glories Lord
Thine own

"As early as the 4th Century, Phos Hilaron (Hail Gladdening Light) was already considered ancient, being a mainstay of evening prayers in a tradition known as the lighting of the lamps. At that time in Jerusalem, a candle was kept perpetually burning in the empty tomb of Christ, its glow a symbol of the living light of Jesus. As Christians gathered to worship, the candle was brought forth from the tomb, it's bright, solitary flame calling the church to celebrate the Risen Lord. Phos Hilaron literally means 'hilarious light,' especially meaningful given that this hymn was probably sung in the catacombs by the earliest Church."

--from the Passion "Hymns" CD

*At the latest Passion concerts they do something similar to the lighting of the lamps while this hymn is read by the entire congregation. It's pretty incredible!

what i thought i wanted...
by Sara Groves

Tuxedo in the closet, gold band in a box / Two days from the alter she went and called the whole thing off / What he thought he wanted, what he got instead / Leaves him broken yet grateful // I passed understanding a long, long time ago / And the simple home of systems and answers we all know / What I thought I wanted, what I got instead / Leaves me broken and somehow peaceful // I keep wanting you to be fair / But that's not what you said / I want certain answers to these prayers / But that's not what you said // When I get to heaven I wanna go find Job / I want to ask a few hard questions, I wanna know what he know / About what it is he wanted and what he got instead / How to be broken yet faithful // What I thought I wanted / What I thought I wanted / What I thought I wanted / What I thought I wanted // Staring in the water like Aesop's foolish dog / I can't help but reflect on what it was I almost lost / What I thought I wanted, what I got instead / Leaves me broken and grateful // I'm broken and grateful / I want to be grateful, peaceful, thankful, faithful, grateful //

awesome...

I went to 7/22 last night at North Point Community Church. It was SO good. Louie Giglio spoke and their usual worship band led the music. I just couldn't get over how huge it was. Literally thousands of people my age meet there every Tuesday night, from far and wide, for the sole purpose of worshipping one God. Incredible. Many ministries that grow to outrageous proportions, in my opinion, lose their origional focus and become more hype than anything else. The ministries that have stemmed from North Point, however, (namely the Passion ministry, including David Crowder, Chris Tomlin, Charlie Hall, Louie Giglio, and others) are thoroughly annointed with the power of Christ, from everything I have seen of them. Louie definitely isn't all hype; he's a passionate and powerful communicator of the Word of God. When I got to 7/22, I was nearly ten minutes late due to a late start, rain, and a detour along the way. By the time I got into the auditorium, it was completely packed and people were already starting to line the walls. I found a decent spot on the staircase, and joined in with the worship that was already in progress. From my spot, I could see nearly everyone in the auditorium. At one point, I just had this incredible picture: I imagined every Christian wearing red, representing that they were covered with the blood of Christ. Out in public, you would see red scattered throughout a crowd, but in this room of thousands of people, it was an overwhelming sea of red. What an amazing thought! I know that size is not what matters in a ministry, but at the same time, I believe there is an awesome power in collective worship on such a huge scale. There's power in numbers; there's power in the Body when they're all together.

One thing I learned from Louie last night was based on John 8:31. The enemy may be perfectly happy for you to do things "for God" as long as you don't root and ground yourself in the Word of God, in Christ Himself. You must ABIDE in Him, which is to hold on and never let go. That is when we become TRUE followers of God, when we become His disciples.

That's all for now. Stay tuned. Peace out!

what luck...

In the two weeks that I've been here, I've had two cars die on me. First, the Suburban incident. Then, last night at like 10:20, my car died while I was driving home from church. You know how your parents always warn you about strangers on dark backroads, and to be careful if you ever have car trouble on one of those roads... well, just my luck, I broke down on a DARK country road, couldn't get hold of the Briants, and had no other option but to have strangers help me. Luckily, the people who stopped all were very nice. We called 911 and a cop came and helped me (a slightly cocky young flirt who definitely wanted to make his presence known, and definitely wanted me to know about his new sqad car!). Eventually, I got in touch with Marti, and a tow truck came for my car, so we were finally home by midnight. So, $344 later, my car is all better. Not to mention the $1.85 gas prices! How outrageous! Anyway, maybe I have all my car troubles out of the way and the rest of the summer will be just peachy. I do hope so.

On a better note, yesterday was our "fun day." One thing we did that I thought was really cool was we went to this all-organic grocery store called Harry's. When Marti was explaining it to me, I pictured a little produce market. Harry's is as big or bigger than an average grocery store, but it has way better stuff. Like half the store is the best fruits and veggies that I've ever seen. They have all kinds of cool stuff... way too much to explain. Then we got Cold Stone ice cream. (Can't be all healthy!) I had a blueberry-cheesecake milkshake. It was great! Last night Marti and I went to choir practice, and then I stayed afterward for the Wednesday night college thing. It's called "The Brink." Choir is awesome; The Brink is okay. It's a little more "youth-group-ish" than what I'm used to. I'll give it a few more tries. I plan to go to "7:22" next Tuesday at North Point. I'm sure that'll be awesome. I met a guy, Craig, (friend of the Briants) who goes there, so at least I'll know somebody. Anyway, that's all the exciting news for now. Stay tuned.

the furniture business...

I learned to stain today. I've been waxing up until this point. Staining is easy. Waxing isn't hard, but there's a lot less work involved in staining. I did a nice kitchen table. It was beautiful.

Nobody cares, do you? That's okay.

Not much else to report currently, except that church was awesome this week. Guy named Bryan taught in Sunday school and he was really good. The pastor's son-in-law spoke in church, and he was really good, too. I think I'm going to enjoy my 3 1/2 months there. Hopefully, I'll be able to go to "The Brink" tomorrow night, which is their Wednesday night college thing, similar to Fusion that I'm used to.

Just found out that Marti and I don't have to go into the shop tomorrow after all. We thought we would because it's a busy week, but we don't! Which means that we can go to the Bible study that meets in the neighborhood. Cool. Stay tuned.

on motherhood...

"Just when you think you've got it all together, somebody spills chocolate all over your shirt."

--Erin O'Donnel, radio phone interview yesterday

the georgia girl...

Life is good here in Canton (a small city right outside Atlanta, for those who don't know). I arrived here Wednesday, unloaded my car, and just chilled out for a while. That evening, I went to Ashlee's track meet (Krissy and Christina [and Allie], you'll be happy to know I'm living with runners!), and then to choir practice with Marti. Thursday I jumped right in to work. And it was a BUSY day. Marti and I were out of the house by 7:30 and worked till about 4:00 I think. Then there was all the running around for the evening, and then we had to come back and make dinner, and lug a huge dresser downstairs (two flights) for me to use while I'm here. Luckily, it was lightweight. The activity at this house doesn't stop till about 11:00 pm! Friday I hung out at the house while Marti met with a client. Friday night Rex and Marti were getting themselves all together to leave on Saturday to go to France on a mission trip. Yes, that's right, the two adults in the house left on a mission trip clear across the Atlantic Ocean. I'm the responsible adult over four kids for eight days. I do morning wake ups, daily errands, afternoon activities, and dinner. So far, it's been good. The only hindrance was that I drove the Suburban to church Sunday because we didn't all fit in any of the other vehicles, and when we were leaving church it wouldn't start. The battery was dead. And it was raining. But a nice man helped us, so all was well. So other than that, everything has been great. Not much else to say. More reports to come. Later.

the countdown has begun...

In slightly more than 32 hours, I will be leaving Jacksonville for Atlanta!! I'm super excited! I do have moments, however, where I'm like "what am I getting myself into?" but I'm positive I'm going to love it, so no worries. I think I'm mostly excited to be in a totally new environment for a few months. Besides, what could be cooler than living with good friends who I haven't seen in a long time and doing something that's "right up my alley" as a job. These few days between St. Augustine and Atlanta, however, are a bit crazy, trying to see everybody that I want to see before I head out. I have a feeling I'll be sending quite a few mass-emails while I'm gone... not because I don't care enough to write individual ones, but rather because there's like a million people I feel I need to keep in contact with, yet I will probably have limited internet time. So if you get one of those, don't feel jipped! Anyway, I'm off to get one of two remaining nights of sleep in my own bed. Later!

time for change...

FINALS ARE OVER!!! We had "dockside Fusion" at Jayce's beach house tonight. It was cool. We had a really good turnout too. My strawberry lemonade was a big hit! I had to say my goodbyes to everyone tonight since I won't see them for four months. I'm way excited about Atlanta, but I will definitely miss everybody in St.Augustine. I look forward to August as much as I look forward to next week. Change is good but tough at the same time.

Peace out, my friends.

supernatural...
(for allie!)

oh where is superman when you need a helping hand?
don't look for wonder woman when trouble's really coming
and please don't count on batman when danger you must face
I highly recommend God's supernatural grace

supernatural
Jesus walked on the water
supernatural
God made a sidewalk through the sea
supernatural
Jesus made instant wine
supernaturally

the rock...

there is a Rock
a solid Rock
a Rock we've built our lives upon
there is a Hope
a blessed Hope
and we now shout it to the world

(Allie, let me know if you remember the rest!)

hands...

we lift our hands in the sanctuary
we lift our hands to give You the glory
we lift our hands to give You the praise
and we will praise You for the rest of our days
we will praise You for the rest of our days

yes
yes, Lord, for the rest of our days

my Redeemer lives...

I know He rescued my soul
His blood has covered my sin
I believe; I believe

my shame He's taken away
my pain He's healed in His name
I believe; I believe

I'll raise the banner
'cause my Lord has conquered the grave!

my Redeemer lives
my Redeemer lives
my Redeemer lives
my Redeemer lives

You lift my burden
I'll rise with You
I'm dancing on this mountaintop
to see Your kingdom come

my Redeemer lives
my Redeemer lives
my Redeemer lives
my Redeemer lives