This is a photo of the final project I turned in last night for my drawing perspective class. It is definitely an improvement from my first perspective drawing which I'm too ashamed of to share with you. The best part? It was chosen to be used as an example or exemplary work during school accreditation meetings and such. Honestly, even though I don't think this is a masterpiece, I never thought I'd ever be able to draw anything, much less something like this.
Do you evangelize? Witness? Preach the gospel? Obey the Great Commission (Mar 16:15)? I don't. I have on occasion, but I don't do so regularly at all. I can happily announce that I'm a Christian, but announcing the message that makes me so is a different story.
I'd been ok with this for a long time. I'd watched Ray Comfort rightly preach the gospel several times and felt conviction and a desire to do the same. I bought tracts, passed some out, encouraged the youth group to "get out there" and share their faith, and even helped an established evangelism team one night. The thing is, the conviction and desire always faded away and I ended up back where I had started: discouraged, apathetic, and intimidated.
After going through the process a few times, I'd gotten tired and settled on apathetic mode. Concern for everyone else's eternity was near the bottom of my list. That's probably why I was more excited about the drive out to California than the actual reason behind the drive. I'd made up hundreds of excuses for not evangelizing and they all seemed legitimate enough. "I need to brush up on some apologetics first," "Paul did take years to prepare before he did anything."
As the seven of us headed out in one very large church van, Sarah leaned over and told me she was already very excited. "I'm also a little scared, though. I mean, Ray Comfort is so direct," she said. She knew what was ahead of her. She knew she would feel conviction, but she was ready for, even looking forward to, it. I, unfortunately, was not. I honestly didn't think anything would happen. I'd heard it all before, so what could possibly change?
We'd been settled into our seats for some time and one of the guys had just finished his message. Videos of evangelism encounters were playing as people shuffled in their seats. One particularly caught my attention.
The camera focused on Ray was speaking to a woman near a fancy fountain. "Have you ever told a lie?" he asked. She answered with a simple "yes." "Have you ever looked at another person with lust?" He continued until the look on her face showed she realized how sinful she actually was. Before saying good bye and walking away, he asked her if she had ever heard what he told her about Christ. "No, never," she replied.
Never? Hasn't everyone in America heard the gospel? Doesn't everyone know at least vaguely about what Jesus did and accomplished on the cross? I don't know why I hadn't realized it before. Hardly anyone has heard the gospel. I hadn't heard it before I converted. I'd been told that Jesus loves me. I'd been told he had a plan for my life. Never had I heard that he died on the cross so that if I believe and repent, my sins will be forgiven. Never.
The conference I attended achieved much more than I thought it could. It showed me, once and for all, that there are countless souls who have never ever heard the good news. I cried. I cried not only because I thoughts of dying hospital patients who never heard of the wonderful sacrifice Jesus made flooded my mind, but also because I feared that the urgency I felt at the moment would fade away again.
This time, I'm determined to stay on fire. I know I have to seek the lost and tell them of the salvation that has been revealed to me. I have no more excuses. They were all destroyed during a later message when somebody said something about not needing to know anything but the gospel to go out to preach it. They were destroyed when somebody explained how to start a conversation. They were destroyed when the great men of Living Waters made evangelism seem easy.
So, my dear readers, you have become my accountability group. Next week will mark the beginning of a new post category: Testimony Thursday. I'll make time each week to head out and do some street evangelism and report back any interesting stories on Thursdays. Please pray for me!
I booked a flight to Mexico yesterday and now I'm so excited to plan the trip! Granted, we won't take off until late June, but Richie and I haven't taken a real vacation since our honey moon more than three years ago. We'll be visiting my mom's hometown where I hope to take lots of walks without a destination, explore the nearby woods, and relax in my grandma's sunroom. Naturally, I've got an outfit planned for lazy summer days.
Big Retro Sunglasses: $30.00 Top Shop
Agate Stone Necklace: $9.00 Charlotte Russe
Navy Blue Polka Dot Romper: $37.99 Ruche
Marigold Cardigan: $36.00 Tulle
Marigold Peep Toe Flats: $39.95 DSW
She opens her hand to the poor and reaches out her hands to the needy.
Proverbs 31:20
According to the National Philanthropic Trust, 89% of American households donate to charity. Wow, America sounds pretty giving, right? Right. Until you find out the median household income is around $52,000 and we only average $1,600 in annual donations. If I were better at math, I'd find out what percentage that is exactly.
I think we all like to believe we're pretty giving. No one wants to consider themselves a scrooge, after all. I'm even tempted to say, "Hey, if that's the American average, then means I'm above average! No need to change anything!" Even if you give your full tithe, sponsor a child, and donate to your local Christian radio station, there's always more you can do.
The Proverbs 31 woman wasn't stingy with her donations. She didn't wait for a disaster to strike in order to give. Her hand was open to the poor; she reached out to them. She wasn't one to wait, expecting the poor to come to her and beg for help. She looked for them and looked to help them.
I'm sure this doesn't mean she simply gave them money. Donating money is probably the easiest thing to do in America. It doesn't take much sacrifice, since money (even during recession) is abundant. It doesn't take much time or effort, either, especially with text message and online facilitators. Worst, it doesn't fill the most urgent and desperate need: the need to hear the gospel. Giving money is good, but it should only be the beginning of our giving.
This week's challenge might be to start carrying a bit of change in your purse or car to hand out to people in need. It might be to make a habit of volunteering at a nearby shelter. It might be to commit to sponsoring a child in Bolivia and writing to him for the next 10 years. Whatever you may choose to do, reach out to the poor giving not only your money, but also your time and the gospel.
There are so many awesome links to share this week, I have no idea where to start!
I quit my job this Monday and I'm going to have a full week and a half free of both work and school! Can you tell I'm excited? I've been filling my tentative schedule for that time with house projects, DIY's and seed starting plans. Can't wait!
Aside from excited, I'm also a bit scared. Relying on just one income is going to be a huge change for Richie and me, but I keep reminding myself that I'm doing this whole school thing and taking big risks for the sake of our family, including our future monkeys. And thinking of future monkeys, of course, reminds me of this post in which a mom of four explains to her beautiful kids why she doesn't want them to be happy.
It also reminds me of Jen Lula's lovely maternity photos. Her blog is on my list of daily reads and her pregnancy posts so far have been wonderful to read.
While we're on the subject of children and pregnancy, Albert Mohler wrote about the 100 million baby girls that have been killed either in the womb or shortly after birth in countries such as China and India. Its truly heartbreaking to read about parents' hatred toward their own helpless baby daughters.
So how successful was the controversial Focus on the Family Super Bowl ad? Boundless shares a letter.
What if the ad had only reached one person? Would it have been worth it? Jon Acuff reminds us that numbers don't really matter.
So I guess the focus of today's links is obvious and it couldn't be more appropriate. With Congress positioned to vote on a health care bill that would allow our tax money to fund abortions, we need reminders to stand up for the helpless and pray for our leaders.
Fremont, CA is a beautiful town. It's full of tall trees, green grass, and surrounded by hills worthy of an appearance in Narnia or Lord of the Rings. On our little walk that ended up being a pretty huge walk, Sarah and I saw more flowers than you could find in all of Las Vegas. People must have thought we were crazy to be so excited about simple flowers like these.
Ever experience something so monumental, you can't seem to process it? Has it ever happened that after such a monumental event, more monumental little things keep happening until you can't process anything at all? That's how I feel right now and I have no idea how to write this blog post.
I guess I should start by explaining why I was in Northern California this weekend. My husband, a select group of our youth group, plus a close friend who is pretty much responsible for the whole trip, and I traveled 11 hours to San Jose solely to attend the Transformed Conference put on by Living Waters.
Confession: I was more excited about traveling some place new and having a slightly better chance than usual of meeting Kirk Cameron. I was more excited about hanging out with Sarah, one of my best friends, and going thrift shopping* with her. I was more excited about taking photos and enjoying the cool breeze and being close to the Golden Gate bridge and exploring. I was even more excited about my outfits. This is all painful to confess.
Even when we arrived at the venue and took our seats, I was more excited about everything but the word of God. I hadn't really traveled 11 hours to hear brilliant men of God preach and learn from them. I had traveled for the sake of traveling.
All I'll say for now is that by the end of the first session, my whole outlook had changed. I felt conviction and by God's grace and strength was able to humble myself and change on the spot pretty quickly. Somehow, my typically stubborn pride let go easily enough and I was able to submit to God as I should have from the beginning. I know he's the one who deserves all the honor and glory for it because every time I've tried to overcome my pride alone, I've failed horribly.
From that moment until this one, God's been teaching me through his word preached by faithful men like I hadn't experienced in some time. I'd like to share it all with you, but its so much and covers so many topics that we'll have to spread it out over the next few weeks. The upcoming journal entries will be on evangelism, modesty, decisions, and ministry. I hope you'll come back and stick around so I can share all this with you.
*Our little thrifting excursion ended up making the whole group late to the conference and I still feel terrible about it. Sorry, guys. Sarah and I will find a way to make it up to you.
If I weren't as poor and busy as I am, traveling would most likely be my favorite hobby. This past weekend, I got to visit Northern California for the first time and loved it. Our stay was shorter than I would have liked and we were preoccupied with things more important than spontaneous adventure (namely, the Transformed Conference put on by Living Waters) but when I get to return I think I'll pack an outfit like this. It would fit perfectly with the area's glistening green hills, lawns full of grass (a rarity in Las Vegas), towering trees, gigantic flowers, and random stretches of semi-wilderness.
Brown Ruffle Purse: $68.00 Urban Outfitters
Romantic Blush Dress: $168.00 Anthropologie
Black Bloom Sash: $95.00 Percy Handmade
Black Sandals: $59.95 DSW
She puts her hands to the distaff, and her hands hold the spindle.
Proverbs 31:19
Distaff? Spindle? I'm sure there are ladies out there who are familiar with both terms, but if you're like me, you might need to look them up. Proverbs 31:13 tells us the virtuous woman seeks wool and flax, materials that can be used to make threads and fabrics. Today's verse is the second part to that.
A distaff is a staff with a fork at one end used in hand-spinning thread. A chunk of wool or flax can be put on the fork so that fibers can be draw out and spun using a hand-held tapered rod called a spindle. In verse 19, we see the virtuous woman take on the work she had collected material for.
As I'm sure you can imagine, spinning thread by hand is hard work that requires patience, diligence, skill, and time. The Proverbs 31 woman doesn't shy away from the work, though.
I think the busyness of life today keeps many people from trying, or even wanting, to do things that require as much effort and practice as spinning thread. We want things done quickly and easily so we can move on to the next item on our to-do list. Taking the time to gain a skill is just too time-consuming.
While working smart and saving time are valuable, some things are better when we invest time in them. Think about what areas of your life this is true for. Maybe instead of microwave meals you could start cooking or instead of entertaining yourself with television shows you could start reading more. Instead of relying solely on others' teaching you could also study the Bible for yourself. Investing a little more will reap huge gains.
Ever since Richie and I moved out on our own, I've been making waffles almost every Sunday morning. Its the best part of the weekend and it gives me something to look forward to on slow Thursdays like today.
