"Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scripture, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures..." 1 Corinthians 15:3-4

Resurrection Day. So much to be thankful for.

This weekend brings a mixture of emotions...sorrow, joy, love. We don't deserve Christ's sacrificial death as He paid the penalty for your sin and mine. But praise the Lord that He did not stay dead, but was raised to life again. We do not serve a dead God, but one that is alive. His resurrection gives us reason for the hope we have in Christ. And we can celebrate this everyday, not just on Easter!

Before the throne of God above 

I have a strong and perfect plea: 

A great High Priest, whose name is Love,

Who ever lives and pleads for me.

Mu name is graven on His hands,

My name is written on His heart;

I know that while in heaven He stands

No tongue can bid me thence depart

No tongue can bid me thence depart. 

When Satan tempts me to despair,

And tells me of the guilt within,

Upward I look, and see Him there

Who made an end to all my sin.

Because the sinless Savior died,

My sinful soul is counted free;

For God the just is satisfied

To look on Him and pardon me

To look on Him and pardon me. 

Halleluja! Hallelujah! Praise the One,

Risen Son of God! 

Behold Him there, the Risen Lamb

My perfect, spotless righteousness,

The great unchangeable I am,

The King of glory and of grace!

One with Himself I cannot die

My soul is purchased by His blood

My life is hid with Christ on high,

With Christ, my Savior and my God

With Christ, my Savior and my God.

Snapshots of our Easter :)

Family!

Fun Creations!

Hawaiian Blitz!

Christ is risen, He is risen indeed.

An excerpt from Becoming a Woman Who Pleases God:

 The Teacup

       There was a couple who use to go to England to shop in the beautiful stores. They both like antiques, pottery, and especially teacups. this was their twenty-fifth wedding anniversary. 

One day in this beautiful shop they saw a beautiful teacup. They said, "May we see that? We've never seen one quite so beautiful." As the lady handed it to them, suddenly the teacup spoke. "You don't understand," it said. "I haven't always been a teacup. There was a time when I was red and I was clay. My master took me and rolled me and patted me over and over, and I yelled out, 'Let me alone,' but he only smiled, 'Not yet.' 

"Then I was placed on a spinning wheel," the teacup said, "And suddenly I was spun around and around and around. 'Stop it! I'm getting dizzy!' I screamed. But the master only nodded and said, 'Not yet.' "Then he put me in the oven. I never felt such heat. I wondered why he wanted to burn me, and I yelled and knocked at the door. I could see him through the opening, and I could read his lips as he shook his head, 'Not yet.' 

"Finally the door opened, he put me on the shelf, and I began to cool. 'There, that's better,' I said. And he brushed and painted me all over. The fumes were horrible. I thought I would gag. 'Stop it, stop it!' I cried. He only nodded, 'Not yet.' 

"Then suddenly he put me back in the oven, not like the first one. This was twice as hot and I knew I would suffocate. I begged. I screamed. I cried. All the time I could see him through the opening, nodding his head and saying, 'Not yet.' 

"Then I knew there wasn't any hope. I would never make it. I was ready to give up. But the door opened and he took me out and placed me on the shelf. One hour later he handed me a mirror and said, 'Look at yourself.' And I did. I said, 'That's not me; that couldn't be me. It's beautiful. I'm beautiful.' 

"'I want you to remember, then,' he said, 'I know it hurts to be rolled and patted, but if I had left you alone, you'd have dried up. I know it made you dizzy to spin around on the wheel, but if I had stopped you would have crumbled. I knew it hurt and was hot and disagreeable in the oven, but if I hadn't put you there, you would have cracked. I know the fumes were bad when I brushed and pained you all over, but if I hadn't done that, you never would have hardened; you wouldn't have had any color in your life. And if I hadn't put you back in the second oven, you wouldn't have survived for very long because the hardness would not have held. Now you are a finished product. You are what I had in mind when I first began you.'" 

God knows what He's doing for all of us. He is the potter, and we are His clay. He will mold us and make us, so that we may be made into a flawless piece of work to fulfill His good, pleasing, and perfect will (Isaiah 45:9). 

-Author Unknown

May we be pliable in His hands...

Growing up, something would happen in life and my brother would always say "It builds character..." Even to the most trivial things...well, usually to the most trivial things! And he still says it to this day. Even though a lot of the time it would be silly things that are "building character," I think that there's a good deal of truth in the statement for daily life happenings. I also think that character building is something we need to be working on in our lives. What kind of character should we be cultivating?

I recently began reading a book entitled Becoming A Woman Who Pleases God. It is a very practical book. The first chapter is basically about the wise woman in Proverbs 31 and how we should be cultivating her qualities. There are eleven of them. I won't go into too much detail, but I will let you know what they are :) ...Virtuous(Prov. 31:10), Trustworthy (Prov. 31:11), Energetic (Prov. 31:24), Physically Fit (Prov. 31:17), Economical (Prov. 31:18), Unselfish (Prov. 31:19-20), Prepared (Prov. 31:21-22, 27), Honorable (Prov. 31:25), Prudent (Prov. 31:26), Lovable (Prov. 31:28-29), and God-Fearing (Prov. 31:30). My goal is to pursue these characteristics in my own life and cultivate a heart that loves Christ more than anything else. I like to base my decisions in light of eternity...does ____ really matter? Character does, and the heart intentions behind it. I don't know who reads this, if anyone does :) but I ask that you would pray for me that I would build my character based on God's principles and standards so that He can be glorified. 

"The inspired description of God's Wise Woman focuses on the development of what is truly permanent and noteworthy...the character of the woman." My hope is to cultivate this type of character..not because "charm is deceitful and beauty is vain," but because I want to honor the Lord and give Him glory in all that I do, for that is why I was created. Christ is the ultimate goal...life is the journey that makes us more like Him.

Don't let me lose my wonder...

I've been reading in Matthew lately, and read about the crucifixion this evening. Two words: mind blown. And I hope every time I read this account my mind is blown. Why? I am amazed that Christ would willingly suffer, being ridiculed and humiliated, beaten and spit on, for a sinner like me... I had tears in my eyes as I read how my Savior suffered, taking the punishment for my sin. I don't deserve it. I don't want to lose my wonder of His grace toward us. It brings me back to Isaiah 52 and 53 as it talks about how He suffered:

Behold, my servant shall act wisely; he shall be high and lifted up, and shall be exalted. As many were astonished at you-- his appearance was so marred, beyond human semblance, and his form beyond that of the children of mankind-- so shall he sprinkle many nations' kings shall shut their mouths because of him; for that which has not been told them they see, and that which they have not heard they understand. Who has believed what he has heard from us? And to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed? For he grew up before him like a young plant, and like a root out of dry ground; he had no form or majesty that we should look at him, and no beauty that we should desire him. He was despised and rejected y men; a man of sorrow, and acquainted with grief; as one from whom men hide their faces he was despised, and we esteemed him not. Surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows yet we esteemed him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted. But he was wounded for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his stripes we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one-to his own way; and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all. He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth; like a lamb that is led to the slaughter, and like a sheep that before its shearers is silent, so he opened not his mouth. By oppression and judgement he was taken away; and as for his generation, who considered that he was cut off out of the land of the living, stricken for the transgression of my people? And they made his grave with the wicked and with a rich man in his death, although he had done no violence, and there was no deceit in his mouth. Yet it was the will of the Lord to crush him...

That last part always gets me: "Yet it was the will of the Lord to crush him" ...essentially, it pleased God to crush His own Son. Only Christ's blood can redeem us. It had to be done that way. I am so thankful for what Christ has done for me. I never want to lose my wonder...

2013.

"Father, thank You for a new year and for the trials to come that will make me more like You..."

I'm looking forward to this year as an opportunity to grow in my relationship with the Lord. There will be many changes, trials, and decisions to be made this year, and no matter how "good" or "bad" they seem, I know that through these situations I am being conformed into Christ's image as I cling to the promise I have in Christ that "for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to His purpose" Romans 8:28. The "good" is becoming more like Christ...though these trials may be difficult, they are for my ultimate good. As Romans 8:18 says, "...the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us."  What an amazing concept. I am so looking forward to Christ's return when we will be perfected. I think I am beginning to understand what James is talking about in 1:2 when he says "Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds..." Like I said earlier, it's through these trials that we can become more like Christ, and in that experience joy as our faith is strengthened. Now I'm not saying that I am going to be perfect in my trials this year..far from it. But I do have Christ. I love Isaiah 43:1-3 "Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name, you are mine. When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; when you walk through fire you shall not be burned and the flame shall not consume you. For I am the Lord your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior."
I'm excited for this year, for what God is doing in my life.


A quote to leave you with tonight: (I can't remember who said this...) "Could you be satisfied with heaven, if Christ were not there?" 

At this time of year we often reflect on the previous year and remember things we did, accomplishments we've made, etc... but I want to challenge you to focus on what Christ has done in and through you this past year rather than what you have done.

How has Christ worked in my life this past year? A few ways:

1. He has sustained me in school...I could not be entering my last semester of Dental Hygiene school without Him.

2. He has granted me the ability to memorize the book of Colossians and part of Philippians so far...just wanting to know my Savior more, and it's only from Him that I am able to do this.

3. He has blessed me with great friendships with people who love Him and cause me to love Him even more.

4. He has given me the ability to trust in His sovereignty through difficulties in life...next year will bring big changes, but Christ has been faithful and will continue to be faithful through all circumstances.

 I said last January that I wanted to look back over 2012 and see how much more precious Christ has become to me. As I look over this past year I know I have grown in Christ in some ways, but I also see many areas in my life that can definitely use more growth. My prayer for 2013 is that I seek Christ in everything, that I grow in the areas I am lacking, and that I am more conformed into the image of God's Son.

I would love to know what Christ has done in your life this year.

I have also been reflecting on this song, "Nothing That My Hands Can Do" by Sovereign Grace...such powerful words. It is a beautiful picture of God's grace toward us, reminding us that there is nothing we can do to save ourselves and that it is only through Christ's death that we can be made right with God. Here are the lyrics:

Verse 1
There's nothing that my hands can do
To save my guilty soul
I cannot cleanse my filthy stains
Or make my spirit whole
For nothing but the blood of Christ
Can all my sins erase
I dare not claim my righteousness
But hide within His grace
'Tis Christ who saved me from the depths
God's pardon I've received
I'm washed within His precious blood
My heart is sprinkled clean 

Verse 2
I'll praise the God of holiness
Of justice, truth, and might
Who guides me by His mighty hand
To walk within His light
While Satan weaves his shallow lies
God speaks to me in love
Reminding me His only Son
Has bought me with his blood
And Christ dispels my every doubt
through Him I am redeemed
I love because He loved me first
I live because He lives 

Verse 3
My life is but a fleeting sigh
A tear within the sea
But You are everlasting, Lord
And You've predestined me
To leave this fading world behind
Not fearing death will come
For then I'll look on Jesus Christ
And to His arms I'll run
And when I see Him face to face
What glory that will be
To look upon my Savior's scars
And know they were for me

You know sometimes when you feel so overwhelmed that you don't even know where to begin? Well, I was feeling that way a little bit earlier today, and then I was thinking...why am I stressing out about something that God is in control of? Silly me, why didn't I trust God in the first place? What I'm referring to is being back at school this week and having information overload with clinic requirements, pharmacology...(I could just stop right there). Anyways, I had to stop and remind myself that God is sovereign and has placed me in this position in life, at this school, taking these classes, at this moment for His purpose that I may trust Him and bring glory to His name. I cannot pass these classes on my own, but must rely on Him for strength and endurance. Just like Paul said in 2 Corinthians 12:9-10 "But He said to me, 'My power is made perfect in weakness.' Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest on me. For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong." We are weak, and Christ's power is made evident in our lives when we rely on Him to get us through things. Paul was content in his weakness, during insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. Why? Because ultimately Christ was glorified. Paul boasted of his weakness so that Christ would be exalted by proclaiming His power. Can you and I say that we are content when we are weak or enduring insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities in our own lives so that Christ can be glorified?