I have discovered this new love over the last week while I have been sick.
It’s herbal tea. My family are all coffee drinkers and the thought of drinking herbal tea has never really appealed to me until this week. Right now I am enjoying a nice cup of Camomile :-)
So when I go back to college I think I need to start a collection of teas. Any suggestions??
Well exams for this semester are done and I have to say even though this time I only had 3 exams – compared to 6 at the end of last year – I feel much more exhausted this time around. I’m not sure why but stress really got the better of me at the end of last week and despite going into hiding at my folks place on the weekend I am having a hard time getting back to being myself again.
But here is something that never ceases to amaze me and that has brought me a lot of comfort over the last few days. In the process of studying for my New Testament exam I had the pleasure of working with 2 brillo friends and translating and chatting about this –
Later, knowing that all was now completed, and so that the Scripture would be fulfilled, Jesus said, “I am thirsty.” A jar of wine vinegar was there, so they soaked a sponge in it, put the sponge on a stalk of the hyssop plant, and lifted it to Jesus’ lips. When he had received the drink, Jesus said, “It is finished.” With that, he bowed his head and gave up his spirit.
Now it was the day of Preparation, and the next day was to be a special Sabbath. Because the Jews did not want the bodies left on the crosses during the Sabbath, they asked Pilate to have the legs broken and the bodies taken down. The soldiers therefore came and broke the legs of the first man who had been crucified with Jesus, and then those of the other. But when they came to Jesus and found that he was already dead, they did not break his legs. Instead, one of the soldiers pierced Jesus’ side with a spear, bringing a sudden flow of blood and water. The man who saw it has given testimony, and his testimony is true. He knows that he tells the truth, and he testifies so that you also may believe. These things happened so that the scripture would be fulfilled: “Not one of his bones will be broken,” and, as another scripture says, “They will look on the one they have pierced”.
What an amazing display of Jesus’ sovereignty and therefore willingness in his own death. Without even talking about the fact that everything that happened fullfilled scripture written AGES before that, I am always blown away by this line –
With that, he bowed his head and gave up his spirit.
In this day and age we are some determined that ‘its my life and i’ll do what I want’ and yet as hard as we try we can never just decide to give up our spirit and die. But Jesus can! Because as much as we want to be god, Jesus IS God and, in what might be seen as his darkest hour, he showed that in a way that I find astounding.
And he was not just in control of his life but he is control in all things. I’m so glad that he is cause if it was up to me what a mess I would make – especially now.
I had an interesting conversation after church tonight about singleness and how a church that is mostly families should be serving the few single people they have.
Towards the end of the conversation my minister asked me and another girl if we thought that it is his job as our pastor to find us a husband. I’ll admit that I thought about it a minute before replying with a less than confident no. But the more I think about it the more confident I am about that answer.
His job is not to find me a husband (and for the record he doesn’t think thats his job). His job is to teach me. Teach me the bible, teach me how to make wise, godly decisions, teach me how to love and trust God, teach me to find satisfaction in God no matter what my marital status. He is to teach me how to live a life that glorifies God in whatever stage I’m at.
But that’s not just his job. Its yours too. And mine.
Isn’t that what we should be wanting for our friends? Shouldn’t we be encouraging them all to keep trusting Jesus with everything?
I’m not saying you can’t ever try and set people up (if you can find a way that isn’t really awkward!) I’m just saying that a change of martial status is not always the answer. Trusting God, on the other hand, IS always the answer. So lets point our friends to that instead.
I’m sure it will come as no surprise if I tell you that college is really hard! And stressful. And a lot of the time I feel like I have no idea what’s going on.
But there are somethings that are uber encouraging for me. Here is just 2 examples.
Stu Vac – I hate exams, but the time we get to concentrate on study is so fruitful for me in terms of consolidating the things I have learnt over the semester (and to verify I have learnt something!)
Moore blogs – I love that so many of my class mates blog about college work. It’s such a great reminder that the things we learn are meant to change us and mould us to be like Jesus. I love reading about how what we do in class, or read for class, really resonates with people and does change them and encourage them. Thanks fellow bloggers for your encouragement to me. I pray that you will always keep following Jesus.
And here is my short contribution. I read this last night in Martin Luther’s ‘Appeal to the ruling class of German Nationality’
‘it is the duty of every Xn to accept the implictions of the faith, understand it and defend it, and denounce everything false’
I think defending the faith and denouncing everything false are often forgotten (at least by me). What a great reminder that they go had in hand with accepting and understanding. I pray that God would help us all in humility and wisdom, to defend the faith and denounce everything false.
An article in the paper this week & subsequent letters to the paper have got me thinking –
Is investing in the stock market a form of gambling???
So this is not strictly in line with the rest of this series because this is something you SHOULD say if your friends start dating someone
Talk about an awkward conversation right! But what a great way to encourage your friend in their godliness.
I suspect most people don’t want everyone in the world to be around for this convo – so best ask this one when its just the two of you. Encourage them to talk about this with their bf/gf. Also encourage them to have at least one person who they talk openly with about this, and who is willing to hold them accountable to the boundaries they have set.
Once I had a friend of mine give me a piece of paper with specific ‘rules’ her and her bf had set for themselves. At the bottom of the paper was a note for the people they had shared this with which said ‘Please put this somewhere you will see it and remember to pray for us as we seek to be godly in our relationship’ – what a great idea!
Of course if you ask the question you need to be prepared to hold them accountable – which means holding their godliness higher than their friendship.
Why do physical boundaries matter?
It is God’s will that you should be sanctified: that you should avoid sexual immorality; that each of you should learn to control his own body in a way that is holy and honourable, not in passionate lust like the heathen, who do not know God; and that in this matter no one should wrong his brother or take advantage of him. The Lord will punish men for all such sins, as we have already told you and warned you. For God did not call us to be impure, but to live a holy life. 1 Thessalonians 3:4
According to Steve its good policy on your blog to keep people interested by letting them know what’s coming up.
I have a few more posts coming on ‘What not to say to your single friends’, including some helpful insights on contentment from a guest blogger!
I am also going to do a series of posts looking at depression – what it is, how to recognise it, particular challenges it brings for Christian sufferers, and some advice for sufferers and carers. I always happy to hear your thoughts, especially on tough subjects like this so if you think there is something that should be discussed please let me know. Also if you have a story to tell (anonymously or otherwise) which would be helpful for others to hear I’d love to hear about that as well.
Once I have finished writing my OT essay (due Tuesday) I’ll be hoping to share some thoughts about Deuteronomy 24:1 – 4 and marriage/divorce in the Bible.
And honestly thats about as much forward thinking as I am willing to do so I hope something in there has caught your interest :)
Postsecret was started by Frank Warren in 2004, when printed 3000 postcards with the follow invitation on them
You are invited to anonymously contribute a secret to a group art project. Your secret can be regret, fear, betrayal, desire, confession or childhood humiliation. Reveal anything – as long as it is true and you have never shared it with anyone before. Steps: Take a postcard, or two. Tell your secret anonymously. Stamp and mail the postacrd.
Tips: Be brief – the fewer words used the better Be legible – use big, clear and bold lettering Be creative – let the postcard be your canvas
He left these postcards in art galleries, between pages of books in libraries and handed them out at train stations, for a few weeks. Then waited and the secrets started coming in.
He has made several books and a blog out of the secrets that continue to flood in.
Some are funny, some are incredibly sad, some are so foreign to me but many more than I would like could have been sent by me.
Its well worth checking out. Perhaps you’d even like to send your own secret.
Here are some facts about Depression –
* 20% of young people will have experienced significant depressive symptoms by the time they reach adulthood * At any point in time up to 5% of young people will experience depression serious enough to warrant treatment * 1 in 4 women suffer from depression * 1 in 6 men suffer from depression * Depression related suicides rates are 4 times higher in men than women * 121 million people suffer from depression (worldwide) * Untreated depression is the no 1 cause of suicide * Suicide is the 3rd leading cause of death in teenagersAnd the saddest of all –
*2/3 of depression sufferers never seek treatmentI can’t help but think that the reason so many people don’t seek help is that they are scared of the stigma related to depression. So how do we get rid of an unwarranted stigma?? What part does education have to play??
Here are some sites that are doing good things for sufferers of this and other related mental illnesses.
a girl who speaks 