I know I can be a pretty opinionated person.  I think that is the curse of being able to talk before age 18 months.  But I know when to stop and I feel that arguments are a complete waste of time.  Why should I expect you to think like me??  

This whole Chick-fil-A drama has got people piping hot.  I'm  a little unsure why it is an issue at all.  Why should a company get slammed for having an opinion?  A wide spread one at that!?  And what happened to freedom of speech, separation of church and state, and tolerance (because really if you are refusing to eat at a christian restaurant that is willing to serve you, who is really being intolerant????)?  

As a Christian, I support that same view, but like Chick-fil-A, I'm not condemning or judging people who don't think like me (no one was EVER denied service for being gay!).  Now, DO NOT get me wrong on this.  I do not think truth is relative and that sin is only sin to some and fine for others.  I just think matters of the heart should be left to God because I for one am not qualified to pick a fight.  Besides, isn't HIS opinion ultimately the only one that matters?  I am a huge believer in God speaking to people and helping to convict them in their sin.  If someone is truly a Christian, I believe God will convict them.  That is not to say that I cant help shed a little light but it is to say that it is not my job to convince or convict.  I am commanded to love everyone, because maybe there is some truth in "being born gay".... afterall, we are ALL born sinners.  But that is not what we are called to be.  It is not our DNA.  We are called to be holy vessels of Christ and that cant be done if we are too busy arguing, fighting, and condemning.  

So.  All that to say, I went out today to support not only Chick-fil-A, but family values, freedom of speech, and moral standards.  But no, I am not being intolerant or judgmental.  In fact, I leave your sin with you and God, no matter what it may be.  But do me the honor of leaving me and my opinions alone too. 

PS~ Chick-fil-A has been an amazing contributor to the wounded warriors and their families in San Antonio as they provide free meals several time a month and walk the cow around the hospital to cheer up injured soldiers.  It was always a blessing to have that provided meal when we lived in a hotel room with no kitchen.  THAT has eternal value. 

Mo Ranch Retreat

Ronnie and I went on our all church retreat up in Hill Country last weekend. It was BEAUTIFUL. We had fun in the sun with our friends and enjoyed relaxing for a change. The teaching for the weekend was on Road trips, which seems so appropriate to our lives. Often we come to a detour, stop, or yield sign that changes the plans we have for our life. But God is ever faithful and ever present if we allow him to be in control. And after all, it's not just about the destination, or else we would just go straight to heaven after we accept Christ; it's the journey here that matters.

Wisdom

Ronnie and I stopped in to visit a friend of my Grandma Meyers today. Her name is Helen and she is a wonderfully sweet 93 year old woman. She has been a prayer warrior for us over the past year and was so excited for us to drop by. Though we stayed for only a short while, I learned so much from her. Helen's late husband was a veteran of World War II. She proudly showed us the pictures of him in uniform. She pulled out an oversize binder filled to the brim with "His Story."

"Do you keep a journal?" she asked me.
"Not really, but I suppose I should." I replied.
"Oh, you must keep a journal." she insisted as she proudly flipped through the pages of "His Story."
You see, Helen is preserving history... for her, her family, and for future generations. She is creating books filled with stories, memories, pictures, and history. How precious is the gift of memories? She did not just stop there though. Helen has made a book of her daughter's story and is also working hard to create her own story. She inspired me today. She inspired me to dig into my family's story and to preserve it, and also to preserve the story Ronnie and I are just beginning to create.

MPC Lock In

What I learned....

1.  High Schoolers DO NOT sleep

2.  About 101 new amazing games

3.  Shipley's Do-Nuts is open at 5am

4.  To Save A Life is a great movie

5.  Girls will ALWAYS scream in the dark

6.  Grog is a great capture-the-flag-type game

7.  Not everyone gets tired at 3am

8.  I heart this group

9.  Cheese balls are the bomb

10. Maybe I am not the night owl I use to be *old*

Convictions

I have been convicted lately of how I spend my time. Why not be intentional and purposeful? Why allow myself to be sucked into late mornings, PJ days, and hours of mindless television. What good does that do the Kingdom? I am trying my hardest to make every day worth getting up for. I want to accomplish something each day. I want to encourage someone each day. I want to better myself, learn and grow, each day. I am going to be intentional.

Book Review: The Shack

Anyone who knows me knows that I am not a big reader. It takes me a lot of time to finish a book and it has to be REALLY good for me to get into it.

Well, I found a book that met my requirements: It was thrilling and captivating as well as educational. The Shack, by William Young gave me a new understanding of God and the trinity through the story of a man named Mack who, after the brutal murder of his daughter Missy, encounters God in a shack at a time in his life when he needs answers. Mack's experience is magical yet so down to earth. The descriptions of God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit are mesmerizing and their answers to some of life's basic questions like forgiveness, joy, and relationship are eye opening. Through the journey, Mack is able to heal from the tragedy and learn to again find happiness and love in a God he only thought he knew.

I finished this book in under a week and highly recommend it to anyone looking for an interesting read or who is searching to better understand God and improve their relationship with him. I wish I could buy this book for everyone I know and convince them to read it. So please, pick up a copy. Read it with an open heart and be prepared for some surprises.

God is SO Good

I am back down in Texas again with Ronnie. I can not tell you how good it feels to be able to hold his hand again. We had so much to talk about when I got in last night and he fought through his tiredness to make sure we had the time. We talked for a couple hours!

Today was a good day too but, just as yesterday, Ronnie has been very drowsy. He dozes in and our throughout the day no matter what he is doing. They got him up on his tilt table and slowly inclined him until he was standing. While his blood pressure did drop a little, he did a great job and managed to stay up for about half an hour. Afterward, they put him into his chair. I fed him his dinner a little bit ago too. He is on a puree diet, but it is kind of funny because they mash up all his food, then put it into molds to make it look like the food again! We got a kick out of that. Anyways, he managed to force down some mashed potatoes, some soup, and juice, but cleverly avoided the "meat." He did a great job on dinner. His nurse said it is the most he has eaten in quite some time!

I also wanted to take a minute and tell everyone how AWESOME God is. He has brought so many strangers into my life, each who have touched my life in the way only an angel could do. I was gifted plane tickets round trip from Indiana to San Antonio through an army affiliated organization. And while housing seemed out of the question, the day before my trip, a room opened up in the Powless house here on base across from the hospital! And on top of it all, the day I got into San Antonio, some amazing new friends connected me with a company car (a little Toyota Prius hybrid) to use for the remainder of my trip! But these are only a few of the "angels" that have touched my life recently. there are so many others...
*My work managers and co-workers who have granted me time off whenever needed
*Hospital volunteers who talk to and pray for me
*Friends who have sent notes and cards to me and Ronnie
*Military personnel who have made calls and gotten information for me
*Senators who have visited and encouraged Ronnie
*Family who have loved me and supported me to the ends of the earth
*Teachers who have graciously moved tests and assignments for me
*Advisers and department heads working with me on my school schedules to make them flexible
*And so, so many others...

It is almost overwhelming how incredible the body of Christ has been. Thank you Lord God for showing me your hand.

Perspective

The last few months have been filled with worry and anxiety for me as I wait for the calls from Ronnie. But my worry is nothing compared to what he goes through.

Ronnie is fighting on the front lines in Afghanistan in a battle against an enemy who doesn't "play fair." Many men have died and we are truly blessed that Ronnie has not been added to their numbers. Ronnie repeatedly accredits God alone with his survival through the day. He has survived car bombs and explosions on several occasions and has had comparatively less significant injuries more times then he cares to discuss. I know that I only know a snippit of what goes on in the land beyond my imagination, but I guess I am thankful for that. I am just thankful to have my soldier alive and on his way home for a couple of weeks. I want to keep it all in perspective I guess.... remember that God has kept him safe in situations where death seemed inevitable.

While I realize that the physical and emotional scars of this deployment will be a part of our lives from this point forward, we know that God is the one that allows us to move forward and live a life of beauty despite the pain.

I am proud of my Army Man and pray that God will continue protect him. I feel incredibly blessed, as we all should, to have Ronnie.

Psalm 37:23 The Lord directs the steps of the godly. He delights in every detail of their lives.

I came across this verse today and it just seemed to be God speaking to me directly. I'm a detail person. Sometimes, I let the details carry me away and I forget that I'm not the one in control. God is in control and he holds every one of the details that I cant wrap my head or heart around. On top of that, he DELIGHTS in the details! They don't stress him out!

There is [as usual] a lot going on in my life with wedding planning, job hunting, school, moving, selling, buying, and then of course the sand paper people who seem to be thrown in the mix just to watch you squirm and freak out. God is in control of all of these details and he DELIGHTS in them. I will follow him and I am accountable ONLY TO HIM.

Death and Dying

This is a little something Ronnie wrote up today after a conversation with a fellow soldier that left him thinking. Feel free to leave your comments.

Today I was asked a very intriguing question from a fellow soldier. As I was filling out our death cards, which contains information about where to be buried or cremated and next of kin and such, my friend next to me asked whether or not I was afraid to die. At first it seemed like a simple question, but then it reality hit like a freight train. I became slightly confused with the question and told him I’d get back to him.

As I was thinking about whether I fear death, I realized something to be true; I’ve always thought that as a Christian we shouldn’t fear death but embrace it as common knowledge that when it happens we go to heaven. I don’t necessarily think so any more. Now before everyone goes over the edge and starts flipping out let me explain and then you can decide for yourselves what you believe to be true.

Let me start by asking you a question; can you tell me that as a human you will not sin? I think we can all agree that the correct answer is no. We all “fall short of the glory of God,” we are sinners by nature. I am in no way trying to connect sin to fear, but am trying to show my logic of thinking as these two things are similar.

I believe that we, as humans, cannot honestly say we do not fear death. I realize that this is bold statement, but listen. As a United States Soldier, I’ve come close to death exactly 3 times (that I know of) since I’ve been in. I was honestly scared. What I am trying to get to is this: we need to be able to differentiate what we as Christians should and shouldn’t fear. We shouldn’t fear what comes after death. We shouldn’t doubt where death will take us. I know I am going to heaven when my time comes. BUT, I am still slightly afraid when the ACT of death is occurring.

I just want to clarify one thing. I am in no way condoning living a life of fear for that is wrong and the bible is quite clear about it. What I am saying or asking is this: is it really possible to say you don’t fear death? Have you ever come close to it? Did thoughts of family and loved ones come to mind? Thoughts like, “how will she be able to take care of herself,” or” I won’t ever get to have kids” come to mind? Once again I realize we should never worry about death, my point is when it happens there will be some fear.

This simple fact brought me to the correct way to ask the question. Perhaps it would be better to ask, “what will you do and how will you act when confronted with it?” The answer for me is that I will be a little bit scared. I will be scared of leaving my family, my friends, my amazing girl and her family and I will be thinking about how I could have done things differently ext.. This will all be surpassed though with coming into the arms of God.

This reality about fear is what led to another question. As a Christian, none of us wants to sin, but it will happen and when we are confronted with it, what will your reaction be? Will it be in anger? Arguing? Hate?

I apologize for taking so long in getting to the point, I suppose it comes from my mother’s side (love you mom). My reasoning is this. Instead of saying you do not fear death, ask yourself how you will react when the time comes, instead of saying I will not sin focus on what your reaction should be when it happens. So what do we do? Is fear imminent when confronted with death? Just before Jesus crucifixion the bible says “he offered prayers and supplications with strong crying and tears unto Him who was able to save him from death” (Hebrews 5:7). I believe this verse is here to show us that Jesus was not only the Son of God but also had the flesh of man.

So what are we to do with this fear? I think we need not embrace it but pray like Christ did to take away this fear. We need to remember that we get to spend eternity with Christ in heaven. Do you kind of see what I’m getting at? Fear, like sin, is inevitable. It is part of our sinful nature, so instead of looking for the worldly ways to ease it, simply look to our Lord and Savior. Ask him to give you the courage to move into eternity fearlessly. All along I have been looking for ways to either ignore my fear of the act of death or ease it by believing it won’t happen anytime soon. It is impossible to rid yourself of the fear you experience right before death, it is only possible to receive this holy peace through Jesus Christ. Are you afraid of death? What will your reaction be when you sin? Look to Jesus.

In summary, there is a difference between death and fear of dying. God grants peace in the moment that can overcome fear. But the fear is still there. It is not a fear of life after death, but a fear of a life unlived or death’s impact on others. My grandpa says that God granted us the instinct to preserve life, so the thought of death will always scare us. But it’s how we handle this fear that really matters.

Beauty in the Small Things

This is what I woke up to this morning. Pure. Beauty. Thank you God for the little things. I treasure them.

He's Got the Whole World in His Hands

... but it doesnt always feel like it, does it?

With all that is happening in Haiti, I feel like the little things in my life pale in comparison. I will never understand how God can care for the needs of an entire nation while still managing to juggle my tiny life of insignificant dramas. But somehow, he can. Sometimes I get a bit cocky and tell God he is dropping the ball... my ignorance amazes even me. I will never fully be able to comprehend God's power, but I hope to one day be able to fully trust him and his plan without a second thought. Until then, I'm thankful that God has his hands cupped around our little globe. I can't imagine what this world would look like if it wasn't.

A Theme for 2010

It seems like over and over again, whether I come up with it or not, my life has a theme verse for the year. It is usually a verse that seems to perfectly describe where I am at in my life or where I will be going. The past few weeks, a new verse has been surfacing in my mind...

Ecclesiastes 3
¹ There is a time for everything,
and a season for every activity under heaven:

² a time to be born and a time to die,
a time to plant and a time to uproot,

³ a time to kill and a time to heal,
a time to tear down and a time to build,

⁴ a time to weep and a time to laugh,
a time to mourn and a time to dance,

⁵ a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them,
a time to embrace and a time to refrain,

⁶ a time to search and a time to give up,
a time to keep and a time to throw away,

⁷ a time to tear and a time to mend,
a time to be silent and a time to speak,

⁸ a time to love and a time to hate,
a time for war and a time for peace.

It seems like so many aspects of this passage relate to me right now. I know that this year is going to bring many changes in my life, and while change usually worries me, I have complete peace. I am excited for the changes ahead and am ready for the direction my life seems to be taking. I have come to realize that there truly are seasons in life. Seasons for different activities and places and also seasonal friendships... the kind that God gives you to touch your life in that special way at a specific time. I am so grateful for each season of my life thus far. It has made me who I am today. I cant wait to see who I will be tomorrow with God's help.

Family Matters

"Be who you are and say what you feel because those who mind don't matter and those who matter don't mind." Dr. Seuss

forgive me for a second... i have a lot going in my head... and im sorry for the parts that come out with my science classes attached to them (anatomy specifically).

Family has been on my mind lately and has caused me to question what is a family, who is my family, and how do i know? I have been so blessed to have such an amazing family that loves me and cares for me no matter what. But I have seen them also love others with that same family love. I have come to realize that for some, it is not the blood that makes you related, but the relationship.

The bottom line...

Families come in all shapes and sizes. just because you are blood does not mean you are family. A family is a small-scale replica of the body of Christ. it is made up of all different parts and all different functions. No part outwieghs the other in value, opinion, or conviction. Each part relies on the others and CARES ABOUT THE OTHERS. But how can you care about others if you do not love them? and how can you love others unless you have Christ's love? I have to ask then, if you do not CARE for others... their well being, lives, dreams, needs.... how can you love them or the God that created them? If you... in your bitterness, unforgiveness, apathy, or ignorance... CHOOSE not to show love to another in word, thought, and deed, you are not family. You have disconnected yourself from the body. You force the body to restructure itself in such a way as to nourish all parts even if it means bypassing the most effective route. Take heed, a single cell cannot survive alone. we are designed to be a family. we are designed to love.

Philosophy Class

Thought I would share this...

Simplicity.

A sterilized place doesn't grow anything bad, but it doesn't grow anything good either.
What kind of Christianity are you living?

A Practical Treasure

Ronnie and I have seen probably 7 or 8 different Catholic Cathedrals since I have been here in Germany. Each is unique. Some are decorated with wood carvings while others are coated with Gold. One even had skeletons in glass caskets all around! Despite the differences, the Cathedrals are all treasures.

A relationship with Christ use to be something treasured, much like these cathedrals. It was worth a high price; it was a sacrifice. But somewhere along the way the beautiful treasure became untouchable; too valuable to be of everyday importance. It lost its practicality. Later down the line, some people rediscovered the practicality of the treasure and began allowing it to be used again, but soon the treasure was no longer seen as a treasure but as normal. It lost its beauty and its value. We are called to treasure what Christ has done for us as well as grow daily in relationship with him. A relationship with Christ is both practical and beautiful, and these Cathedrals helped me to remember that.

Bound to Hit Traffic

Sometimes we go through life expecting all the lights to be green. We plan are scheduals thinking unconsiously, "I can get there in 13 minutes if I make good time." But the fact of the matter is we are going to hit the red lights sooner or later.

Relationships work the same way. So often I expect so much out of those around me. I have unreasonalble expectations of who I want a person to be or how I want them to act, but the fact of the matter is no one is perfect. Life isnt perfect. and we cant get bent out of shape when we hit the red lights. Besides, you wont appreciate the green lights until you have dealt with the reds.

Great sermon Pastor Doug.

Got Service?

Cardboard Confessions

Today we had an all worship chapel service. In it, many students did a personal version of the cardboard confessions. It was very powerful. I had seen a great video of it last week and was deeply moved so i decided to share it with you here. The original link I watched is no longer available but here is another one. I encourage you all to think about it.