My Prayer

All I ever want to be is what You want of me, Lord;

I give my life to You.

And all my hopes and dreams and plans

I place within Your hands, Lord, and give my life to You.

by Nate Carter; sung by the Taylors on Everlasting Praise

Whatever You give today, I will accept.

Whenever You withhold, I will praise You.

Plans

Many are the plans in the mind of a man, but it is the purpose of the LORD that will stand.

~Proverbs 19:21~

We can make plans...but if God didn't make the same plans, then our plans are the ones that go.

The heart of man plans his way, but the LORD establishes his steps.

~Proverbs 16:9~

Our hearts are not completely reliable, but God and His ways are!

Commit your work to the LORD, and your plans will be established.

~Proverbs 16:3~

We pray and make biblical choices--but even then God is God and we are not!

Conclusion: Fun Stuff Wednesday

"For everything there is a season,

and a time for every matter under heaven."

Ecc. 3:1, ESV

As time goes on, seasons change.

Almost a year ago, I graduated from college. I went on a missions trip. I came back to my job of 5 years. I started this blog. I paid off my school loan. I saved up for and bought a car. I dropped hours at work, partly because it was the slow season and partly because I didn't think I needed all those hours (and just sometimes I feel like doing things besides working all the time. :) )

Over a month ago, I found out I didn't get the work-study job for graduate school that I had been planning on. Which means that I'm not going back to campus this summer but, rather, Lord-willing, this fall when school actually starts. It means I'll still be working at my job of now 6 years. It means I go back up to full-time hours.

When seasons change, priorities shift. And my blog is part of that. "Fun Stuff Wednesday" had its season. I enjoyed it--I got to talk about polar bears, and snow, and current projects I was working on, and my car, and our road trip, and random things that make me happy. And while all those things are good and are the result of God's blessings in my life, I want to focus my limited time on other things.

Not that you necessarily cared that much, but I wanted to explain why FSW disappeared. (Or, maybe perhaps why I didn't bother to do one today?) I'll still be counting God's blessings...but in a different format.

Happy Wednesday!

The Gain

In his sermon on the passage beginning in John 15:18, Pastor Mike used II Timothy 3:12, "Indeed, all who desire to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted."

As I thought about this, I recalled I Timothy 6:6. Obviously it's a different context, but it also talks about godliness: "Now there is great gain in godliness with contentment."

Godliness has a price (persecution) ... but the gain far outweighs the price.

The Blessings of Bible Conference

Snippets of the fun times...

Road trip.

Moms who find good maps and sisters who help navigate.

Being grateful we were going East rather than West!

Showing my sister around my home-away-from-home as we walked around campus and ate at the snack and coffee shops.

Running into and catching up with old friends and past roommates.

Sitting with Shalin for the Tuesday afternoon session; with Karah on Thursday night.
Seeing my (practically grown-up) little kiddies I babysat for at the campus daycare center last year.

Enjoying a Reedy River picnic.

Using the dorm snack room microwave to heat up leftovers like old times.

Having a mission team reunion.

Going to Starbucks with Fiona, a freshman buddy.
Navigating my way through crazy Greenville streets (and only getting lost a couple of times. :)

Taking sermon notes in a stylish homemade book. :)

Buying souvenirs.

Coffee mug from BJ and butterfly mug from downtown's
Mast General Store flank the picture;
I bought the piano book because it has an arrangement of
"Arise, My Soul, Arise";
"Beyond all Praising" is the 2011 Soundforth CD
~ the others had songs I wanted!

And even Ivy got a souvenir. ;)

Enjoying a week of Spring but driving back in Winter--in our flip-flops, no less!

Praise God for His provision. :)

The Best of Bible Conference

(These are from my notes, so they are not necessarily direct quotes. The full audio of these sermons can be found here; my quotes start with Monday evening and go in order.)

~ Monday ~

"Know God intimately...then serve Him."
-Craig Scott

~ Tuesday ~

"Is the Bible precious enough to me to guard it?"
-Bob Potter

On Ephesians 5:15-17: " 'Not as fools but wise' = Saying yes to God's Word."
-Craig Scott

"Man has the tendency to bring God down; we don't look so bad then as when we exalt God."
-Greg McLaughlin

~ Wednesday ~

"Does God have to show me the end before I'm thankful for the interruptions and mistakes?"
-Sam Horn

"A genuine faith is a walking faith."
-Bob Potter

"If you have no walk with God, you have no ministry."
-David Innes

~ Thursday ~

"I desperately need God to speak to me through His Word; to reveal sin and build me up in the faith."
-Bruce Compton

On Titus 2:11-15: "God's sanctifying grace 'teaches us' = meaning we should live with a certain view; we should live intentionally and thoughtfully. It teaches us to live 'righteously' = meeting obligations that God has given us; and 'godly' = in a way that meets God's approval."
-Sam Horn

~ Friday ~

"Not every Bible reading experience is a 'hallelujah' moment. But the Bible is rich. Live by it. It's not inspired just because we feel like it is!"
-David Innes

On Psalm 90:12: "We are short on time. Whatever ground God puts us on is holy ground: there is no difference between sacred and secular. Watch out for unproductiveness."
-Ken Casillas

On James 1:22-25: "A doer is characterized by doing God's Word; he has a consistent testimony."
-Bruce Compton

Summary...to Whet Your Appetite :)

It was a road trip with my sister.
It was a week to wear Spring outfits and enjoy warm weather.
It was a week to see old friends and remember good times.
It was a time for a California reunion.
It was time for a vacation from what "normal life" has been this past year.

But it wasn't all about those things. Bible Conference, for my three years at BJ, was the highlight of my year. Not just of the semester, but of the year.

It was a time for a vaction from what was "normal life."
It was a week to meet up with friends who had opposite schedules the whole rest of the semester.
It was a week to wear Spring outfits and pray for warm weather. :)

But it was always about looking forward to that refreshment and encouragement and rebuke that I knew God was going to send.

Bible Conference never has an "official" theme, but one always...divinely...seems to appear. Unquestionably, this year's was the importance of the Bible.

As I have pondered that this week, I've asked myself the question, "Have I given priority to the Bible?" Yes, I've had my devotions. It's in my routine. But is it the priority of my heart?

"Behold, I long for your precepts;

in your righteousness give me life!"

(Psalm 119:40, ESV)