Sometimes God chooses to overwhelm us with His goodness, just because He can.  

Right now, my heart is overflowing with thankfulness to Him for His goodness which He has shown in very concrete ways over the last few days.  

"My soul, wait thou only upon God;  

for my expectation is from him. 

He only is my rock and my salvation: 

He is my defense; 

I shall not be moved. 

In God is my salvation and my glory: 

The rock of my strength, and my refuge, is in God. 

Trust in him at all times; ye people,

 Pour out your heart before him: 

God is a refuge for us. 

Selah.  

Psalm 62:5-8 

Counting

Tomorrow is Thanksgiving, a time to give thanks for the many ways God has so freely blessed us!  With that said, here are a few things for which I am thankful:

Many of the small things like laughter, weekends, coffee, texting, music, and fall colors bring with them some of the simplest joys in life and make me smile. I think one really misses out on a lot in life if they cannot recognize blessings that some wrapped in papers called ‘ordinary’ and ‘familiar.’

Often, some things are not truly appreciated until they are no longer readily available at our fingertips. That includes the encouragement of godly friends who love the Lord, the time spent with a family who loves me, a wonderful boyfriend. These things can be taken away. I am so blessed to have all of these in my life!!

Perhaps the greatest level of thankfulness happens on the spiritual level, for blessings that are spiritual are the greatest blessings of all, are they not? What anticipation can compare to the hope of eternal life that I have through Christ? What greater physical treasure do I have in my possession than the inspired Word of God—God’s Message revealed to man? What other power should I desire to have controlling me than the indwelling presence of the Spirit? Who cares more about me than God Himself? What greater privilege do I have than to be among those called “the sons of God” and to have direct access to the Father through prayer? The list really could go on…and on…and on…for the spiritual blessings of the believer are endless. However, it really boils down to one thing: I am thankful to be “in Christ” through the blood of Christ shed on the cross for my sins.

Count your many blessings

name them one by one,

and it will surprise you

what the Lord hath done. 

Because of the lack of a title...

Sooo, I started this post like three weeks ago and have worked on it a dozen times since then. I think that I just need to to click the "publish now" button, or it shall never get posted... :)

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Ahhh...Senior year at Cornerstone has proven already to be providing a plethora of new experiences, or perhaps they are more appropriately called blessings. Just the other day I was thinking of all the ways that God has blessed me, and the song "Count Your Blessings" came to mind.... Yes, God's blessings are numerous and I do not have much to complain about in life.

The lesson in Sunday school one of the first weeks that I was back at school was on trusting God. The timing could not have been better. (By the way, have you ever stopped to think about how God brings something into your life at just the time that you need it? It is pretty incredible sometimes!) Yes, I believe that the more a believer grows in his relationship with the Lord, the more he will trust in Him. A couple points were mentioned concerning reasons for why we so frequently fail to trust God.

Perhaps one of the reasons for our lack of trust is because it is an issue of time: whatever it is, we want it now and we are not willing to wait on the Lord to bring His plan to pass in His perfect timing. Or another aspect could be that we may have "the end" in mind and so flawlessly planned out that we fail to even think of trusting in the Lord to bring it to pass. It may also be that we so often fail to trust God because we have the idea that if we do give it over to Him, the end result may be drastically different from what we imagined it to be (which is all too often mistakenly equated with being an unpleasant thing . If only we could learn once and for all that God's ways are soo much better than ours...life would be so much easier.) Or perhaps a further reason, in all honesty, may be that we simply prefer to do things in our own way. To trust God would suggest a possible modification....

For some reason, as I have been writing this, the second verse of the song Satisfied keeps running through my mind, even though it doesn't really talk about trusting...perhaps it is because of the mindset of looking to Him instead of around me that the words communicate:

Feeding on the husks around me, till my strength was almost gone,

Longed my soul for something better, only still to hunger on.

Hallelujah! I have found Him whom my soul so long has craved!

Jesus satisfies my longings -- Thru His blood I now am saved."

As has been alluded to, somewhat, in one of my previous posts, I am very thankful for the way that God continues to work in my life, that He is not done with me yet, that there remains posted in my life a "construction zone" sign because of His continual work to conform me to His image! Unfortunately, it's not always very fun to be experiencing God's work zones... (The results are definitely worth it, however!)

It is 11:30 pm, Saturday night: that means it is high time that I get to bed. However, I simply could not wait until later.

The graduation of the seven Antioch Bible Institute students this evening was incredible. I am so thankful that I was able to be here for it! To witness the dedication and zeal that each has for the Lord was truly a privilege.

The choir sang the song "Lord, send me anywhere" by David Livingstone. Talk about a song with words of commitment and dedication to the Lord! I absolutely love the words to the chorus:

"Lord, send me anywhere, only go with me.

Lay any burden on me, only sustain me.

Sever any ties but the tie that binds me to

Thy service and to Thy heart."

Ahh, there really is no greater thing than to be serving the Lord, no matter what may be the cost!

Sometimes it is hard to seek God's best in one's life. It has a price. It requires counting the cost.

Seeking God's best may not always produce immediate, visible results. It is a case of physical versus the spiritual; the temporary versus the eternal.

God's best far outweighs any of the immediate pleasures of the best that the world has to offer. The decisions of today will have far-reaching effects on the rest of my life. Remind me of this truth when when I am tempted to give up seeking God's best in trade for the temporary benefits, to question whether the ultimate goal is worth the price that it demands of me.

Lord, remind me not to settle for anything less than Your best, no matter how difficult it may be.

Cornerstone Bible Institute has begun it's 2010 fall semester! We are now two weeks into the school year, and I am excited! However, I can already see that it is going to be very different from my freshman year! But you know, that's ok. I'm looking forward to what God has in store for me this year, whether He teaches me through blessings or trials. I read this verse this morning. The last phrase caught my eye, and it was so encouraging:

"Let us therefore come boldly

unto the throne of grace,

that we may obtain mercy,

and find grace to help in time of need."

Hebrews 4:16

Isn't it wonderful to know what we have God's grace to take us through our times of need?

I read Psalm 90 today and it was such a blessing and encouragement! Two verses in particular stuck out to me:

Verse 2 --"Before the mountains were brought forth, or ever thou hadst formed the earth and the world, even from everlasting to everlasting, thou art God."

Verse 12 -- "So teach us to number our days, that we may apply our hearts unto wisdom."

Some random thoughts from today:

• God has blessed me with an amazing church family!

• God can work everything out...sometimes it is just a matter of time!

• God can and will provide, but not always does that mean that I will get all of my "wants" and "would like to's."

• There are a lot of people out there who are hurting and need prayer--I need to do my part!

• It is a blessing to hear from people back in Brazil and to hear about what is going on there!

(No, I have not forgotten about finishing my update about the missions trip...)

Missions Trip, part 1

Eighteen teens and four adults,

early mornings and late nights,

dozens of kids with tons of energy,

pizza and hot dogs, and then more pizza and hot dogs,

the book of Ephesians,

midnight showers,

toaster escapades,

a park known for its past (and also present) gang activities,

lots of laughs,

the Willis Tower and Michigan Avenue,

staring off into space in middle of the day because of the lack of sleep,

three-on-three basketball tournament.

What do these all have in common? They all are a part of the absolutely amazing missions trip to Chicago that I just got back from! Wow, remember how I asked prayer for this trip in a previous post? Well, I can tell that people were praying. It was tons of work, but also just as much fun. I absolutely loved every single minute of my time...

I think the past ten days were the highlight of my summer.

Showers of blessing!

Thankfully, this year has proven to be a year with a little more rain than the previous few years. After several year with hardly enough rain to make the planted fields grow, much less fill the dry wells and rivers, this area of Brazil is in desperate need of a good rainy season! Today, when going to a nearby town to work on some more of my Brazilian documents, the river that we had to pass over was full and over-flowing! It is interesting to note though, how just a month or so ago, this same river was hardly more than a little stream! Last Monday, it also began to rain about 4:00 p.m., and it rained steadily until midnight or so! If our rain gauge is correct (which I think it is!) in that one afternoon/evening, we had more than 5 inches of rain!



Rains, however, are not the only blessings lately. Like I already mentioned, I have been working on trying to get my Brazilian documents before we go back to the U.S. To make a long story short, what I thought would take, in the least, several hours, just to start the process and fill out the forms, took hardly an hour! Better yet was the fact that I was able to leave with the document in my hands!



Due to some Mission business that my parents had to do in Fortaleza, we all went to Fortaleza last week. The highlight of that time was the opportunity to get together with some of the other MKs. It was such a blessing to be able to go to the Tapioqueiras (an outdoor restauraunt) for a "girls' outing" with one of my dearests friends!



Before signing off, I wanted to add a poem that I read recently while reading the book Goforth of China, by Rosalind Goforth. I think it accurately reflects the attitude that each one of us should have when it comes to serving the Lord.



And as the path of duty is made plain
May grace be given that I may walk therein.
Not like the hireling for his selfish gain,
Making a merit of his coward dread,
With backward glaces and reluctant tread,
But cheerful in the light around me thrown
Walking as if to pleassant pastures led.
Doing God's will as it if were my own,
Yet trusting not in mine, but in His strength alone.



Continuing to seek His face,
~Angie