erinjo's Xanga

migration

Sun, 07 Sep 2008 16:34:59 GMT

i've flown the coop. but i'll keep updating this entry'stimestamp every time there's something new to see over in my newstomping grounds. don't worry..this site won't go anywhere. i subscribe to too many people, and the grass always looksgreener...right?

New post:

Thoughts on Love

come on over.

ok, let's try this one.

Fri, 08 Feb 2008 14:03:07 GMT

ok...still blogging over there for now.

BLOGTEST

let me know what you think.

well..

Tue, 05 Feb 2008 14:57:40 GMT

umm. ok. i hated the look. so i'm looking for something more "me".

new look

Fri, 01 Feb 2008 13:19:28 GMT

as you've noticed by now...i've spruced things up around here. i'm not sure how i feel about it yet, as i was pretty attached to my old theme. i've been getting the itch to get out of xanga, actually, but i can't bring myself to do it. there's not enough customizability out there unless you want to pay for it (and i don't).

so, what do you think? honest answers only. old or new, or some combination thereof?

paul's letter to the romans

Thu, 31 Jan 2008 15:09:08 GMT

do any of you write letters anymore? though i'm relatively young, letter writing was the main form of communication if you didn't want to pay for long distance phone charges. i remember childhood penpals, writing to grandma, aunts and uncles..now we have email. i think it's too easy, and causes communication to be undervalued. but that's for another post.

paul wrote letters to a lot of churches during his ministry. we have records of them in the Bible - they are sometimes referred to as the epistles - along with some of the other letters written to churches by his contemporaries.

what i love about reading the letters of paul is watching his thought process unfold. there is something almost unsettlingly human to me amidst the divine insight and wisdom in the words.

so, i've been studying the book of romans this month, along with reading an awesome commentary (The New Testament Bible Knowledge Commentary by Walvoord and Zuck) which i borrowed from pastor chilly. i choose to read romans because i always get caught up in thinking about God's sovereignty, and chapters 9 thru 11 really focus on it. and not only did i get a fresh understanding of that section, but the whole book seemed to come alive to me this time through. i LOVE that about the Word. it is living and active and i am changed every time i open it up to read it. cool. here's a brief synopsis:

the first section of romans really focuses on God's ability to judge. the end of chapter 1 contains the familiar assertion that God has given all people opportunity to know who he is, "For since the creation of the world God's invisible qualities - his unseen power and divine nature - have been clearly seen, being understood from what he has made, so that men are without excuse. "(1:20) man's rejection of God led to our spiral downward, as the Truth of God was traded for a lie, and God removed his had from men, "(giving) them over to shameful lusts." (1:26b)

all men are equally guilty of this sin, and therefore God alone can judge, because there is no sin in him.

then paul talks of a new righteousness through faith. "This righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Chris to all who believe. There is no difference, for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus." (3:22-24) Hallelujah!! though we are all under sin and judgement, our faith in Christ brings a righteousness from God. we are redeemed "freely by his grace" because of Christ. and all that is required is our faith in Jesus.

paul goes on to talk about abraham's faith, believing God though he could not see where God was bringing him. abraham had faith under crazy circumstances - old and childless, he believed the God that told him that his wife would have a son. paul points out that, "it was not through law that Abraham and his offspring received the promise that he would be heir of the world, but through the righteousness that comes by faith." (4:13) in fact, we are all heirs of abraham because we share the same faith in God. abraham became the father of so many more than were descendants of him, all because he believed. and because i share that faith in God, i am made a descendant of abraham as well.

how amazing! that God would do these great things for us, so undeserving.

the next few chapters offer different illustrations of our death to sin, and life in Christ. though adam death came into the world, and through Christ life returned. baptism's symbolism is explained in chapter 6, and we are told that since we died with Christ, we are alive also as he is alive. and since we have died to sin, sin is no longer our master. we are now a slave to righteousness, because of our faith.

paul says, "But thanks be to God that, though you used to be slaves to sin, you wholeheartedly obeyed the form of teaching to which you were entrusted. You have been set free from sin and have become slaves to righteousness." (6:17-18)

he explains this idea further by using marriage as an illustration: "For example, by law a married woman is bound to her husband as long as he is alive, but if her husband dies, she is released from the law of marriage. So then, if she marries another man while her husband is still alive, she is called an adulteress. But if her husband dies, she is released from that law and is not an adulteress, even though she marries another man. So, my brothers, you also died to the law though the body of Christ, that you might belong to another, to him who was raised from the dead, in order that we might bear fruit to God." (7:2-4)

because we have believed in Christ, we are released from the law and sin just as if we had died. and we are given a new life, just as Christ was raised from the dead to glorify God and bear fruit. i love the way God explains this through paul...whoa.

paul finishes out the book (another 9 chapters) by talking encouraging his readers (the romans, and us) to take joy in the fact that we have been saved by grace, and to hold onto that hope though good and bad times. he also encourages the church to encourage the new believers among them, not causing anyone to stumble because of anyone's actions.

paul also talks about God's sovereignty and the election of Israel...which will be the subject of tomorrow's post, since this one has gotten quite lengthy.

: )

a quick laugh...

Wed, 30 Jan 2008 18:31:45 GMT

any thoughts?

understanding my job

Sun, 27 Jan 2008 01:11:23 GMT

so...job. (the book in the Bible, not my work.)

i used to always have trouble reading this book. though my reading comprehension is very good, i did not take the time to understand the full depth of the book. hence, i thought the advice given to job was usually good advice. but with this reading, i am taking my time and trying to figure it out (with the help of the Holy Spirit, other people, and my handy dandy study notes).

it's been really cool, actually, seeing meaning and making connections with passages that i hadn't in the past.

like job 8:20:
Surely God does not reject a blameless man, or strengthen the hands of evildoers.

now, i might have shouted a great big AMEN after reading this verse a year ago...but now i see a connection between this and job 1:1:
In the land of Uz there lived a man whose name was Job. This man was blameless and upright; he feared God and shunned evil.

in fact, God calls job blameless several times. and yet he gives him into satan's hand...

i'm reminded that God's ways are so high above ours. we often struggle to understand exactly why He might cause something to happen, and lose focus on who He is. who we are in relation to Him. God is so HUGE!! how could we presume to know everything about Him?
wow.

global perspective

Fri, 25 Jan 2008 18:30:20 GMT

its easy to get wrapped up in our own lives and business. but today my heart is focused on an 8 year old boy in honduras.

Hello Rodrigo!

Anthony and I received your letter and drawing in the mail, and we were so excited! It is very nice to meet you! We apologize for not writing to you sooner, and we will send a picture of ourselves as soon as possible so that you can see what we look like.

I'd like to tell you a little about ourselves. We have just finished with our schooling, and have only been married for two years. We don't have any children yet, but we do have a fish named Eustice. She is our only pet. Do you like animals? Anthony likes working on cars, fixing things, and playing the guitar. I like singing and learning how to cook.

We work at a car company during the daytime, but we spend the rest of our time working at our church in the city, and trying to tell people about Jesus. Knowing Jesus is the most important part of our life - living for him is very exciting every day. One of my favorite stories from the Bible is when Jesus heals a man who was born blind.
Do you ever read the Bible or tell stories from it? Do you have a favorite?

We have been praying for you and your family. We keep your picture and drawing in our kitchen and think of you often. We are excited to have you as a part of our life, even though you live far away from us. It feels like you are not so far. We will write again soon!

Love,
Erin (and Anthony too)

he never lets go.

Thu, 24 Jan 2008 04:12:10 GMT

while i was praying the other night, the song "never let go" by david crowder*band was playing in the background. i began to sing along with it in prayer, and God showed me a crazy illustration of his love and faithfulness and strength in my life.

i saw myself dangling on a cliff.
my stomach dropped and my feet were dangling.
my grip was giving way as rocks crumbed beneath my sweaty fingers.
i couldn't hold on any more.
and then there was a man standing above the cliff with his arm outstretched, waiting for me to take it
...and the moment of decision.
would i take one hand off the cliff and take his hand?
would i trust him to save me from falling?
and i do.
and he's got me.
firm grip - wrist to wrist.
but i'm not strong enough to keep hold of his hand for long.
my palm begins to sweat, and i let go.
but he doesn't let go.
he's still got me.
strong enough to pull me up, even when i am not.
and so my life is a decision to trust this man, this Jesus, with my life.
every day.
he never lets go.

ever faithful
ever true..
oh, what love, oh, what love
in joy and pain
in sun and rain
you're the same
oh, you never let go

thank-you, my Jesus.

a day with priscilla

Tue, 22 Jan 2008 18:59:38 GMT

growing up a city girl in the 1930's, priscilla smith never wanted to marry a farmer. now, nearly 70 years later, she said she wouldn't have trade it for anything.

my grandmother priscilla is one of the most hardworking people i've ever met. she spent most of her adult life working and living on a farm outside of lansing, michigan. operating a family farm involves work i cannot even fathom - from early rising and late sleep, to animal care, to manual labor in the fields...my mother tells me stories. add onto that the duties of wife and mother and you have quite a job description.

what if you decided to build your own house while running the farm and raising the kids? well, it seemed like a good idea 40 years ago, and the house is still standing today (at least as of yesterday when i was visiting). can you imagine? wow.

priscilla went on to have a long career at montgomery wards, eventually becoming manager of the ladies department for several years. i have memories of elementary school clothes shopping at "grandma's wards" during childhood visits. she now relays stories of her firm management style, and her desire to see all of the ladies in her department succeed not only in the store, but their lives as well.

hard working wife, mother, grandmother, businesswoman...ah but there's more.

there is Jesus.

my grandmother priscilla is passionate about her Lord and Savior. and about loving others, sharing and serving at her small community church, and telling everyone she can about a God that loves them just the way they are. she told me yesterday that she is becoming even more bold in sharing her faith. "i just want them to know that there is more to life..." she's so cool.

in the years since my grandfather died, she has blossomed into an even more independent confident woman. she is giving and sharing more than ever before in her life - really pouring into the people around her in any way she can. she beams as she shares pictures of the children she works with at a local school. they have various kinds of learning disabilities, and she meets with them once a week during their music class to help play and sing. she says that they've been making a lot of progress this year. she smiles. so do i.

as we pack into her car to go into town and have a chinese lunch, we make a detour to stop at her church to pick up donated coats and blankets. they need to be taken into town and given to a local shelter. (which we later found was closed due to MLK day...?...strange.) the waitress at the restaurant knows her order, as my grandmother is a regular. i'd think like to be a regular somewhere someday.

after lunch we return to the farm and she shares with me the secret to making popcorn balls. popcorn balls are my ALL TIME favorite sweet treat. i have baby pictures that can attest to my lifelong love for them. but bottom line, sharing this special family tradition with my grandma was so cool. an afternoon i will cherish, and repeat one day with my own children and beyond. "heat the syrup until it starts threading..." "you are a good popcorn folder!" "it's the vinegar that cuts the sweetness..." imprinted in my memory.

all in all, and eventful yet relaxing day spent with priscilla. visiting grandparents as an adult is very different than family trips as a child. i have the opportunity to take advantage of their full attention, and the now the desire to glean something from their age earned wisdom. i'm so blessed to have a grandmother like priscilla. and i'm really glad she married that farm boy.