it's ok.

"In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up..."

Isaiah 6:1

Apparently, Uzziah was a good dude.  Confident, successful, good to his people.  He pushed back the enemy, established new territory, and made everybody happy.  He had an extensive reign, and basically was faithful and good the entire time. 

But then, as is unavoidable, he died.  And everybody panicked.  His son hadn't exactly learned how to be a good king from his dad, and nobody wanted Loser-Son on the throne.  I think maybe even Isaiah was a little freaked out.  

BUT!  He saw the Lord - "sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up."  And he realized:  we don't need Uzziah, we don't need his worthless son - we have the LORD. The Lord God, who has taken us from the land of Egypt, and established us as a people, and watched over us all this time.  So why do we freak out about who will rule over us?  We have the Lord.  

Yeah.  We have the Lord.  And He is ruling over us, so we need not fear. 

Sometimes learning the background of a passage makes it so much more marvelous.      

oh, happiness!

There are some days when I simply can't contain my excitement over how good God is and I want to run and shout and spin and throw my hands up and laugh and prance and grin all at once.

For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

-Romans 6:23

Knocks my socks off.

Hard or frail
Rich or poor
All in need
Need fear no more

Such a thing to give away

Oh, happiness
There's grace enough for us
And the whole human race

-DC*B

wowza.

"Let us settle it in our minds that the Christian fight is a good fight--really good, truly good, emphatically good. We see only part of it yet. We see the struggle, but not the end; we see the campaign, but not the reward; we see the cross, but not the crown.  We see a few humble, broken-spirited, penitent, praying people...but we see not the face of God smiling on them, the kingdom of glory prepared for them...There are more good things about the Christian warfare than we see."

-J.C. Ryle, Holiness.

"For Our Sake..."

"For our sake He made Him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God."

Whoa.

I am crying out for this Jesus who became sin so that I could become righteousness.

death undone

"Sing out with joy for the brave little boy who was God, but he made himself nothing. Well he gave up his pride, and he came here to die like a man..."

(This song is from the best Christmas CD ever - Andrew Peterson's Behold the Lamb. Listen here.)

I hope you all have a fantastic Christmas!

Luis!

There is a little boy in Nicaragua named Luis Fernando Brenes. He is five years old. He likes to sing, play ball games, and run. He lives with his mom and two siblings.

The best Christmas present Luis could ever receive is a sponsor - someone who will support Luis and his family so he can grow physically and mentally, and spiritually.

I sponsor a child through Compassion International. Her name is Crisleni. Yeah, it costs me money every month to support her, but it is really a small price to pay to release someone from poverty. (Plus I love getting letters from her!) I have been given so much. I live in a wonderful house with a wonderful family. I have all the food I need and clothes and a bed and a job and internet...and if I don't have something I need, I can get it!

"From everyone who has been given much, much will be demanded."

Luke 12:48

I think nearly every reader of my blog can say that they have been given much. And we've all heard it a million times - "it's better to give than receive."

I think a lot of Christians today want to impact the world in a positive way, but aren't sure what to do. (All my fellow Rebelutionaries, I'm talking to you!) Yay! - you don't have to wonder or look any longer - here is your chance to use what God has given you to bless someone else. :)

I am dedicated to finding a sponsor for Luis before Christmas, so that he can receive the coolest Christmas present ever - freedom from poverty. Please let me know if you are interested in sponsoring Luis! I can send you a packet with his picture (he is *really* cute!) and more information. And trust me, even though it seems like a lot of money sometimes, sponsoring a child is something you will never regret.

City '09

Where I have been? July 19-24 I was in Lincoln attending City on a Hill, a youth leadership conference. While there I learned about hot topics for Christians today such as evolution, homosexuality, abortion, and the death penalty. I have never before been filled with so much information in one week's time. Someday I will write what I think about these topics, but for now I am still processing everything I have learned.

Along with discovering so much information relating to the Christian worldview, I also learned about how the Nebraska Legislature works. We divided up into two groups, and each group was presented with a bill. Then each group divided again, being either for or against the bill. On Wednesday we walked to the Capitol to present the bills and discuss them. Some of us were the senators on the committees, while others were testifiers. Then, the next day, we went to the Warner Chamber where we all debated the two bills. Not only was it delightfuly fun, but we also got to learn hands-on the process a bill goes through in Nebraska. I loved testifying and I also enjoyed being a senator debating my bill.

There is so much more I want to say and write about City, but it takes a lot of time for me to get my thoughts on paper in a presentable way. Hopefully you will be hearing more soon!

1 million children

So excited to be part of this! Thank you Compassion!