It's been awhile

It's been almost a year since I last wrote on here. I've been a little preoccupied. The main thing that has been going on in my life has been learning to live with fibromyalgia. I was having a lot of health problems in the fall, and I was finally diagnosed in February with FM. I'll be honest, it's been a bit of an adjustment, but God has blessed me. I'm learning how to take better care of myself and to manage my symptoms, and on my good days I actually feel better than I have in a very long time. For those of you who are unfamiliar with fibromyalgia, here's a good introduction/overview to fill you in on what I've been learning to live with: FM Fact Sheet.

Now that I'm doing better, I hope to have more time/energy to put into this blog. I've been doing a lot of thinking and it will be good for me to try to organize my thoughts.

Renewed Heart Ministries

Just wanted to share a really great website: Renewed Heart Ministries. Herb Montgomery is a pastor that gets it. I'll let his messages speak for themselves: http://www.renewedheartministries.com.

Growth

I love spring time. Despite it's dangers (pollen, poison ivy, and the allure of baby animals I don't have the time/room/money to care for), I truly enjoy seeing green, lush growth after the dreary brown, dormant scenery of winter.

Spring reminds me of the seasons of growth I'm continually going through as a person and as a child of God. All I can say is I'm glad God's not through with me yet. I've been struggling... more often than not... for as long as I can remember. God has granted me triumphs and given me great blessings that I don't deserve, and yet I still feel like I'm waging a continual uphill battle.

I've been trying to pair my worries with praises...to remind myself despite what I'm facing, God has always seen me through.

Frustrations at work. But thank God for work!

Worries about money. But thank God for work and for keeping me healthy so I don't miss work!

Unresolved pain and bitterness about my mom. But thank God for granting me understanding and hope in the future -- being reunited with mom in heaven, one day experiencing the fullness of motherhood myself.

Ugh-ness. Amen!

Haha. Still a work in progress, as you can see!

Sermon Video

This is a sermon I gave at my church (Canton Adventist Church) on 4/4/2009.

The audio is HIDEOUS at the beginning,
but it gets better once my dear hubby brings me a working microphone.

brainstorming...

I've started working on my sermon and I'm feeling a little better about it. I won't feel good about it until I've finalized it though...my mind can't rest knowing I've got something important coming up.

I've decided my sermon is going to be entitled "Bringing Heaven to Earth." I've got some really good quotes and some exciting concepts going through my head that I hope I can communicate clearly and effectively. Despite how much I hate seeing videos of myself, I'm going to have Drew run our video camera this weekend and I'll post the resulting video on here for those of you who wish you could be there but can't. :)

what was i thinking?

so...i'm scheduled to "preach" at my church next weekend...

i kind of have an idea of what i want to say...

but what was i thinking?

i'm 25. i have no theological training. i'm not a "good" christian. who would want to hear me speak? i don't feel qualified.

on the one hand, makes me really grateful to be a part of a church where everyone has value... including me.

on the other hand, they must be desperate for speakers.

i'm getting really nervous...

A Sermon I Heard from a "Heretic"

Despite the rather cheesy intro, the sermon is quite fantastic. Pastor Gary asks some really good questions that I would almost be afraid to ask in my own mind, let alone in front of a whole group of people. But I think they are valid questions. I could see how the questions he asks may make some people feel uncomfortable, but I think it's because they are hard questions that challenge the way we've always believed. But I think it is important to challenge and stretch what you believe in so that when it is really tested your faith will be as strong as can be. Check it out: