“Magnify the Precious Name of Jesus”

I’ve been awake since 5:30 this morning when the power went out in my residence hall because of the storm. It was the most beautiful outdoors scene that I have seen in all of 2008 thus far. Perhaps if I liked snow the storm wouldn’t have been my top choice. I got out of bed, tried unsuccessfully to flip a few lightswitches on, then slipped on my flip-flops and headed into the hall to chat with a couple of my guy friends who had pulled all-nighters studying. Referring to the intense lightning, one of the guys said something about “nature being really ticked off about something.” I had interpreted the storm as God’s display of His majestic nature. It was amazing! I’m tired, but getting up that early was definitely worth the missed couple of hours of sleep.

Wonderful week! “Oh magnify the precious name of Jesus. Praise His name”. I’m listening to a song called “Wonderful Grace of Jesus” (Haldor Lillenas) from a CD compilation that my mom ordered from The Church of Greenville. That line is a complete expression of my heart right now, although I’m not sure my heart can completely express that line, if that makes sense. I know what I’m trying to say. The LORD knows.

Finals begin tomorrow, but guess what? I don’t have any this semester! Only a six to eight page research paper that will be a reflection of my Lunch Buddy mentoring experience. It’s due on the last day of finals, but I bet I can write all tomorrow. Not a big deal, and I’m actually very interested in this research. I definitely have a heart for older children and adolescents. Those are hard years for good kids. I guess they’re probably difficult for the bad ones too, but I think I was one of those “good/nice/shy” kids during that stage, so I don’t know what the experience is like on the other end of the aggressor-victim spectrum.

I talked about the David and Bathsheba story in a previous post. Well, time for #2 favorite Bible story, which I read last night: King Solomon and his wise judgment about the living baby that the two mothers brought before him. I’m not going to summarize it here. It’s in I Kings 3. Please read it! I remember my mom telling me this story from the time I was a little girl, and I’m half tempted to call her now so that I can hear it from her again, but it’s a quarter after eleven, and I’m sure I’d get an earfull from both of my parents. They’re early-to-bed people.

Ooooh, by the way….check out this new website that Elder Jeremy Sarber (and a few other brothers and sisters in the church, I suppose) put together: http://www.oldschoolbaptistnetwork.com/
I put a link to it on the left-hand side of the page. The directory section of the site has been particularly helpful to me as I have narrowed down my list of graduate schools. One of my top criteria is that a PB church is located near the school, so I’ve enjoyed having access to a list of churches, addresses, and pastors. What is also cool is that after I put a link to the site on my facebook, one of my friends saw it, we got to have a conversation about it (oh the wonders of the new facebook chat application), and she’s coming to church with me on Sunday!

Speaking of conversations, I am still conversing by e-mail with that older gentleman whom I randomly met in Barnes and Noble one Saturday and who ended up coming to church at my church the next day. He is the most interesting man, and I am still thankful to the LORD for opening that opportunity for me to share the Word with him. I don’t really know much about the spiritual life of my new friend, but I can’t help but think that God knew that I needed this conversation just as much as, if not more than, the gentleman. I can’t take any credit for this experience, and I don’t want to be heretical by taking Scripture out of context, but I am brought to the 19th verse in Matthew 10: “…take no thought how or what ye shall speak: for it shall be given you in that same hour what ye shall speak. For it is not ye that speak, but the Spirit of your Father which speaketh in you.” It was all definitely of my Father.

Lately I have been thinking about how incredibly different my life would be without a relationship with Christ. Before I write too much and make myself sound like a super-spiritual, fervent disciple of Christ…well…just no. I’m a worrier. I’m weak. My faith is lacking. I don’t pray like I should. I would hope that I might be a light for others (Matt. 5:16), but I’m still so immature.

Yet I have Christ. I am His. And I have hope. Even when I’m at some pretty (and petty) low times in my life, in the back of my mind I do know that He’s in control. This belief is a blessing. I can’t imagine life any other way.

A special message for my brother, who has 3 finals tomorrow, one of which begins at 7:30 a.m. That’s early for a college student. Best wishes bud!