Христос Воскрес!

Христос Воскрес!
Christ is Risen!
Serendipity! (Surprised by Joy!)

What Jesus teaches is good news to irreligious people and not at all what institutionally religious people want to hear or accept. He surprises everyone. No one can really figure him out. And yet people flock to Him by the thousands, everywhere He goes. Jesus literally redefines righteousness and religion, which is quite threatening to those in positions of power and authority in a particular system.
--Shannon

Nothing was expected at Easter, other than for Christ to die. God works outside of the box of propriety. As we know, Christ arose from the grave, and He is alive! Everyday is Easter. Happy Easter!

Amy and I. Not a picture from Easter, rather about a week prior, but I thought I would show how warm and beautiful it is here. 27C and upwards! :) This is the same awesome Amy who helped me with the mailing!

Check out all my cool loot! :) Veggie Tales marshmallows and Veggie Tales Jelly Beans. Some people are allergic to chocolate so the bunny wouldn't be too good!

Just a picture of me outside on Easter day, holding my loot and enjoying the sunshine.

The Magic of 3 Days

This was shared with me, and I want to share it with my blog readers. It's something we so often forget, as we try to make "everything perfect" within a matter of minutes or seconds.

The Magic of Three Days
By Patt Barnes

It was a beautiful spring day, and a sense of peace stayed with me as I left the cathedral on Easter Monday morning. I paused for a moment on top of the steps leading to the avenue, now crowded with people rushing to their jobs. Sitting in her usual place inside a small archway was the old flower lady. At her feet corsages and boutonnieres were parading on top of a spread-open newspaper.

The flower lady was smiling, her wrinkled old face alive with some inner joy. I started down the stairs—then, on an impulse, turned and picked out a flower.

As I put it in my lapel, I said, “You look happy this morning.”

“Why not? Everything is good.”

She was dressed so shabbily and seemed so very old that her reply startled me.

“You’ve been sitting here for many years now, haven’t you? And always smiling. You wear your troubles well.”

“You can’t reach my age and not have troubles,” she replied. “Only it’s like Jesus and Good Friday . . . ” She paused for a moment.

“Yes?” I prompted.

“Well, when Jesus was crucified on Good Friday, that was the worst day for the whole world. And when I get troubles I remember that, and then I think of what happened only three days later—Easter and our Lord arising. So when I get troubles, I’ve learned to wait three days . . . somehow everything gets all right again.”

And she smiled good-bye. Her words still follow me whenever I think I have troubles. Give God a chance to help . . . wait three days.

The above article originally appeared in Guideposts magazine. Visit the recently updated guidepostsmag.com today.

Good Friday

Good Friday is when you come together as a church, and commemorate the crucifixion of Jesus Christ. An oxymoron (plural oxymorons, or sometimes the Greek plural oxymora) (from Greek ὀξύμωρον, "sharp dull") is a figure of speech that combines normally contradictory terms. What an oxymoron--Good Friday. Although, it does sound contradictory, without Good Friday, there is no winning of the laughter on Easter day.

Did e'er such love and sorrow meet,
Or thorns compose so rich a crown?

Once again, an oxymoron, thorns composing a rich crown? My brain does not even begin to fathom how great this really is, or why my God would so this for you and me, but He has. Love and sorrow has met, and I am blessed because of it. So are you.

Forbid it, Lord, that I should boast,
Save in the death of Christ my God:
All the vain things that charm me most,
I sacrifice them to His blood.

I like these words. I especially struggle with the last two stanzas--All the vain things that charm me most, I sacrifice them to His blood. Ouch!

We sing, "When I survey the wondrous cross" frequently at contemporary service. It is combined with another song. Many Sundays I've sang the following words:

Love so amazing, so divine,
Demands my soul, my life, my all.

I know and love these words, but do I really mean it? Do I really mean that: God may have my soul, God may have my life, God may have my all, God may have all my stuff, God may have all my hopes, God may have all my dreams, God may have my all desires, God may have all my intellect, God may have all my (fill in the blank for yourself!) What do you struggle with giving to God? Readers please share so that we can encourage one another.

Maundy Thursday

"Cast your burden upon the Lord and He will sustain you;
He will never allow the righteous to be shaken."
Psalm 55:22

I read those words a couple weeks ago, and just thought, thank you, Jesus for your sustenance. Thank you Jesus for your placation. Thank you Jesus for your undisturbed peace and calmness. Last night at Maundy Thursday service these words were sang by the choir.

A lasting gift Jesus gave His own.
To share His bread, His loving cup.
Whatever burdens may bow us down,
He by His cross shall lift us up.

As the year continues, I hope and pray that my response to God will look like Psalm 71:14, "But as for me, I will hope continually, And will praise You yet more and more." God gave us Jesus to give us hope, now we need to grasp that hope for ourselves. It's not just a cute little statement or idea.

I strive to be like the psalmist in Psalm 73:28, "But as for me, the nearness of God is my good; I have made the Lord God my refuge, that I may tell of all Your works."

What wondrous love is this that caused the Lord of bliss
To bear the heavy cross for my soul for my soul
To bear the heavy cross for my soul!

When was the last time you heard someone describe God as blissful? According to the dictionary blissful means extremely happy, ecstatic, ecstatic of salvation. He lifts us up, by His cross. This seems like a huge oxymoron, but we know it's not.

One of the last hymns sang at Maundy Thursday service used the following words, "Heavy with weeping may the three days pass, To win the laughter of thine Easter day." Do you think of Easter as something you won, a holiday filled with joy and laughter? If not, maybe we need to rethink Easter and what it really means to each of us individually and to the world.

"My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever. " Psalm 73:26

Sermons and more sermons

As Dad and I drove home from Taos Ski Valley, we listened to just under 11.5 hours of sermons. Yes, it took us 11.5 hours to drive from TSV to San Antonio, TX. :)

I thought I would share a couple snip-its that stuck out to me.

• God doesn't just want to save you; He wants more than the minimum, He wants to make you beautiful!
  
• When talking about sin, the following statement was made, do you want to please God or simply test the limits?
• The Bible is a diary of God's faithfulness to his promises. Over and over God makes a promise, and then He follows through! Yes, He is faithful to Faith Thomson. He is faithful to you too! :) How has God been faithful to you this past year? Please share an example. Encourage and lift up readers of this blog!
  
• In response to people that have wronged us, we have to forgive...we must live!
  

Tilt test and mailing help

You should be receiving a letter in the mail, very soon, if you have not already, talking about my current endeavors and future hopes and intentions. I am very thankful to my friends, Steven and Amy who helped me place the letters in the envelopes, label the envelopes, and stamp them! If you did not receive an update letter via snail mail, please send me an email with your current mailing address, and I will be sure to send it to you. :) Also, a shout out to Staples, who let me use three coupons, and did everything that was asked, within 24 hours, with no extra charges.

As we continue to search for answers, and a clear diagnosis, I am still undergoing different medical tests. The most recent medical test I had done was a Tilt Table Test (TTT). A TTT is used to evaluate the cause of unexplained fainting (syncope). Shortly after arriving at the cardiologist, I was given an IV, so that during the TTT they could intravenously inject a drug to create further susceptibility to the test. They also wanted to make sure I remained hydrated ICE.

During a TTT, you lie on a table that moves from a horizontal to a vertical position (45 degree angle). Because of the nature of the test, and they are trying to see if/when you pass out, you are loosely "strapped down" from the abdomen to the calf. My heart rate and blood pressure were monitored throughout the TTT. There were three electrodes placed on my chest, and then a computerized blood pressure cuff was placed around my arm--automatically every 2 minutes or 120 seconds my blood pressure was taken. Once again, another test that showed no abnormal findings.

PS--For those of you who are interested...I asked you to pray for my friends (Derek and Claire Plantenga) son, Micah, he is out of the NICU in Bolivia, and is a happy healthy boy! Yay God!

Micah Plantenga :)

Way up, way up, in the middle of the air!

Dad and I on the ski lift at Taos Ski Valley, NM

Over Spring Break, I was given the opportunity and blessing to ski with Mom and Dad. Mom and I drove up to Taos Ski Valley, together, on Sunday, as Saturday, I chose to run a 10-mile trail race. You can read about the race here. I enjoyed spending the time with Mom, Hugo, and Lois. Hugo and Lois are some very special sock monkeys, for the Gaudet Reunion 2010! We had fun taking pictures in Roswell, NM, with the aliens! :) Our drive was elongated by some crazy snow conditions on the drive up, but God is good, and kept us safe.

During our ski trip we took one day to hike. And then Mom and Dad indulged my desire to go to the Earthship homes. I'm not a particularly green person, I was just curious. I think Dad enjoyed the interesting building materials as well.

Mom and I outside of the a Earthship home.

Me inside of an Earthship home--notice the inside flower garden.

This is the gnarly stuff they make the homes out of--tires, beer cans, pop cans, beer bottles, dirt, interesting stuff.

I had a blast during the week! To my surprise, some friends from church, Trent and Henry Timberlake, also came up to Taos Ski Valley. Henry and I went out for a couple beers at Eske's, the evening Trent and Henry arrived. Eske's has some pretty cool local brews. The next evening, the guys joined my family for burgers at the condo. Dad, Henry, and I skied the following day--I'm pretty sure Henry liked skiing fast with Dad! Henry convinced me to try a couple of the ski jumps. I jumped slowly the first time and landed alright, but the second time, I got some air, and then enjoyed a crash. Oh well, it was a fun learning experience. I also tried a box for the first time. Not my cup of tea.

One of those random joy moments for me is when I catch a little air--and then going through my head is always "Way up, way up, in the middle of the air! Ezekiel saw a wheel..." Always brings a huge smile to my face.

Dad and I on the lift!

Another thing that brings me a huge smile to my face are my friends Fares and James. I am pictured below with the guys. They keep us inline, and keep our stuff safely stowed away, when not in use.

James, Faith, Fares

I'm wet, too

A friend of mine recently shared her testimony on facebook, I told her that I loved her analogy and wanted to share her testimony on my blog, and Julie said that it would be alright. Please note, there is a little tongue in cheek humour in here. :) This has a fabulous modern day parable--and I too, like Julie, am wet! Sharing your testimony is easy; getting your testimony is the challenge. God has already won the battle and He will be victorious!

When I was three, I stole a jar of candy from a kiosk. Sticking my hand in the glass shaped heaven; a childish greed took over and I took off. When I was six, I joined a wannabe soccer team. I mentioned early morning runs to my mom, who thought a crowd of kids jogging at five thirty was a horrible idea. I snuck out and ran anyway. When I was nine, I recruited my Indonesian friend to help fix a spelling test. I listened—her accent meant she sounded words out—and wrote. When I was eleven, I walked out to a crazy friend’s party. It was 11:30 at night, and would run late, of course. There I didn’t ask permission—I went out.

If you think about it, I wasn’t murdering people. I wasn’t stealing cars. I wasn’t being cruel to anyone. But, I knew, because I’m a missionary kid, that stealing, lying and whatever else, was wrong on the Jesus stick. I was sticking pins in the water balloon of sin, rather than a knife, maybe. But I was still getting wet.

Sometime during all of this, I went forward at a church alter call. Essentially, I prayed Jesus would keep me good, and send me to Heaven in the end. I didn’t understand the implications of a relationship with an invisible, distant but close being. Anywho, I continued to act up, a bit, but didn’t link myself to the evil crowd my dad preached to. He said evil people were hell-bound—because I wasn’t worried about my behavior, my life stayed the same.

Age twelve I realized there should be something more. Emotion struck, tears flowed, knees bent and I walked out of church with something new. It’s like something clicked about my behavior, like I understood the water balloon thing. A thing is a thing, no matter how small.

I’m seventeen now, and a lot has changed. If you know me, you know how much.

By that, I mean a lot.

Did I say a lot? Yes, a lot. I’m like a playdoh sculpture; shaped all the time. Basic form is static, but every friend, every party and every weekend in Bali changes a little something. No hyperwise conclusion here, just stating I’m the same as I was back in ’99. A little good, a little bad. A little candy kiosking, a little moralizing. End.

Just like Julie, I know that my sins are wrong on the Jesus stick, I even know when I'm sticking pins in the water balloon, and going back to my prior post, it feels pretty good at the time. Really...what's a little water? But Julie is right in her analogy, I'm still getting wet, even if I'm not sticking a knife in the world of sin.

Confession. I am wet!

GPS and God: how are they alike

This article was posted in First Press, the bi-monthly newsletter of First Presbyterian Church, and gave no author. I thought it was a good analogy.

GPS stands for Global Positioning System, which is now available in cars to guide you to your selected destination. You enter an address and GPS will instruct you on each turn necessary for you to reach your desired destination beginning from your present location as the starting point.

Let's say you get in your car with GPS, but you don't turn it on. How can it help you?

Now if you don't have a relationship with our Lord Jesus, how can He give you guidance?

Okay, so you turn on the GPS and enter your destination. Now you turn up the radio and don't pay any attention to the GPS when it is giving you instructions to turn right. You decide to turn left. GPS now has to re-compute the instructions to get you back on course and to your destination. The penalty is that it will take longer to arrive and you may miss a critical appointment.

Now, if you have a relationship with Jesus, when He tries to tell you the path you should take, if you decide to go your own way; you may be led down a path of sin. You may also pay a penalty by ending in a place you shouldn't be. You are not available to do the work God had planned for you and you will need to repent and ask for forgiveness. Then you need new directions to get back on the right path...

I think all too often, I have the radio of life turned up, and I'm not paying attention to GPS Jesus, giving me instructions. Other times, I hear Him, plain as day, but as a sinner, I decide to turn the opposite way. It seemed like a pretty good idea at the time, right?!

My Dad and I were listening to some old Rich Kannwischer sermons, and in one of them he made the following statement...

When David had Uriah killed, he felt like a powerful King, not a sinner
When David slept with Bathseba, he felt like a lover, not a sinner

Feelings can be deceiving.

10 mile trail race

I decided that for my first race, since all of these medical fiascoes, I would run the Prickly Pear 10 mile trail race. After reading Ann's blog, and being totally interested in her thoughts as she completed her last race, I decided that I too should share what went through my head during the 10 mile trail race.

Upon waking up, my adrenaline was pumping, but in a good way. This was both odd and scary; a new feeling for me, in the past 9 months. It's exciting when your adrenaline pumps in good ways, and not over the top for no apparent reason. I do not know if God has chosen to heal me permanently or temporarily, but what I do know, is I have been feeling fabulous and I will bask in the glorious days He has given me!

Race: Prickly Pear 50k and 10 mile trail runs
Distance: 10 miles
Goal Time: 120 minutes (12:00 min/mi)
Actual Time: 1:51:16 (11:08 min/mi)

I started near the back, as I am not fast, and my goal was to finish in two hours or less--12 minute miles. I felt that was a good goal for my first race since May, and since I became "healthy." I looked around to see if anybody I knew was there, but I did not see any familiar faces.

I completed the first three miles, relatively easily, in thirty minutes, following a lady, who I deemed my personal pace setter. During our first water break, around mile 3, she stopped and drank the Gatorade, and so did I. I had read on some running sites that people that are not super serious about there time should stop and drink, and then throw away their cup, as you really are not going to lose that much time. I like to do that.

The two of us continue, myself, directly behind this woman. I did not want to pass her, just to keep up with her. Sadly, she tripped and fell at some point, but yay, she was okay, and got up and kept going. I continued to follow her, passing people as she passed them, but then she fell again. This time a little harder. It was at this point that she chose to slow down more, and I chose to pass her. I'm glad she was okay, but I am sad that she fell! She was such a good pace setter, oh well!

Around mile 5 or 6, I found a new pace setter for a couple miles. Until this point I thought two things primarily:

• Wow I cannot believe how easy this run is
• Thank you Lord for giving me a hedge of protection and keeping me from biting the dust!
  

My new pace setter was fabulous until she too, bit the dust. Thank God she was okay, as well, but like many, a little shaken and chose to slow down.

Somewhere around miles 6 to 8 was my personal challenge. I was done, this was getting almost boring, something had to change. Lo and behold, I found a new pace setter, an older man, and I followed him until he decided he was tired and started walking.

For my last two miles, I was by myself. The people in front of me were far enough in front that I did not want to sprint up just to run side by side them, and the people behind me stayed pretty far behind me. A lady came up on behind me for a couple minutes, she too bit the dust. And she too was okay. I am blown away at how many people took some pretty ugly spills and am thankful that God kept me safe! :) Thank you Jesus for the hedge of protection and a fabulous run this morning!

The last mile took me by surprise. All of a sudden I saw a sign that said, 100 meters to race finish. Oh, wow! I was finished and by the end of the race, I felt great. I knew I could've gone further, and I knew I had finished in under 2 hours! I completed the race in less than goal time. Yay!

Props to Andrew Kahn, who from his great ingeniousness has learned that phones can have problems if they get too wet from sweat...so before I put my phone in my back pocket, I put it in a ziplock snack bag. Worked like a charm! Thanks, Andrew for your great intelligence. I even noticed other women freaking out because their phones were soaked. Ewww! :)

Only in Texas do you finish a race, and eat fajitas! Yes, we had fabulous, oranges, bananas (this monkey ate 2), tortillas, beef fajitas, chicken fajitas, pico de gallo, black beans, borracho beans, and rice. And of course their was lots of bottled water and Gatorade. There was plently of beer as well, for the connoisseurs.

Overall, I had a blast running this race, and I am looking forward to my next race. A nice and easy 5k. My next 10-miler will be on Mother's Day...the Fort Sam Houston Army 10-miler. It will be my second time to run the FSH Army 10-miler.

On a side note...the Redbud is beautiful in bloom! :)

So are the Bluebonnets...they are just opening. In Texas, we have March flowers...forget May flowers. :)

Among the heartache is hope

A fellow Mission Society Missionary, Angela, posted parts of this on her blog, and I found it so incredibly encouraging. This past year has been challenging--spiritually, physically, and emotionally. Read on!

Among the heartache is hope, amidst the suffering is grace, behind the ambiguity is a divine plan, and I am created in the image of God.

You will find God to be more faithful than you ever dreamed He could be, but you will also learn that He is more unpredictable than you wish He was. You will discover that His grace indeed is sufficient, but His ways are so much higher than your own that you cannot even imagine what the next step will look like. Your faith will be tested as you wonder if a good God would place a precious soul inside of a broken body.

You will discover, as you allow God to give you strength, that God is indeed very good. As you learn to love more and more, you'll understand more and more about God's love for broken and imperfect people. Temporal things will lose value and you will learn what is really important. Your heart will burst with joy and pride as you see small victories in life.

You'll appreciate more the fact that in heaven there will be no bad news, no pain, no suffering and no tears. You will wake up every morning aware of your need for a gracious and loving God. That is the greatest gift of all. We all desperately need Him, we just tend to become self sufficient and forget. It's not a road you would choose, but one day you will look back and you wouldn't trade that road for anything in the world.........

The Lord said to Gideon, "Go in the strength that you have......I will be with you". My advise would be...get out of bed every morning and put one foot in front of the other in the strength that you have. God will be with you every step that you take and His grace and strength will be more than enough!

Press on!

Positive and Negative consequences

Before I started my quiet time the other morning, I was thinking about positive and negative consequences...more specifically the positive consequences. I was thinking about the good things that happen when we do what we are supposed to, when we are supposed to. I was remembering how sweet it is to receive those blessings from God when we are in His will. And then, when I pulled out First Cup--one of our readings was from Deuteronomy 28.

If you will diligently obey the Lord your God, being careful to do all His commandments which I command you today...all these blessings shall come upon you and overtake you if you obey the Lord your God. Fear the honoured and awesome name, the Lord your God.
The Lord your God will (not He might, or if He feels like it, He will!):

• Delight over you to prosper you, and multiply you--Yes God takes pleasure in us, He is gratified in us, He cheers for us!
  
• Set you high above all the nations of the earth
• Blessed shall you be in the city
• Blessed shall you be in the country
• Blessed shall be the offspring of your body
• Blessed shall be the produce of your ground
• Blessed shall be the offspring of your beasts
• Your heard shall increase
• Your young flock shall increase
• Blessed shall be your basket
• Blessed shall be your kneading bowl
• Blessed shall you be when you come in
• Blessed shall you be when you go out
• The Lord will cause your enemies who rise up against you to be defeated before you
• The Lord will command the blessing upon you
• The Lord will command the blessing in all that you put your hand to (I especially like this!)
  
• He will bless you in the land which He gives you

And as great as all of this is...I struggle with the questions of, "Will God do this for me?" Which brings me back once again to Psalm 126:2-3. "The Lord has done great things for them. The Lord will do great things for me. I am glad!"

On the contrary, there are promises of curses for those who do NOT obey God--i.e. negative consequences. Take the opposite of the positive consequences and you have the curses. It continues with, "all these curses shall come on you and pursue you and overtake you until you are destroyed." Why? "Because you would not obey the Lord your God by keeping His commandments and His statues which He commanded you."

God gives us awesome responsibilities, with spiritual and physical consequences, both positive and negative. This is a great privilege! What are you going to do with your life? What choices will you make today? Are you going to obey God, or choose the path of curses? Everyday is a new day, so maybe yesterday disobedience was chosen, but today, we can start fresh and choose to be obedient.

Humour me, please! :)

A friend shared some funnies compiled from teachers. These are some of my favourite!

This one was shared by Jessica, a fellow teacher.

Isn't it romantic?