Today's Promise From God

When you want to know the importance of righteous living ...

Plant the good seeds of righteousness, and you will harvest a crop of love. Plow up the hard ground of your hearts, for now is the time to seek the Lord, that he may come and shower righteousness upon you.

Hosea 10:12

Doctrine Week 1 Trinity : God Is DISCUSSION (Suze)

Hello all! So, I have actually listed to this series once before, but it was quite a few years ago when my husband first discovered Mars Hill Church online. But I am SO happy to be listening to it once again. It is so important to "go back to the roots" if you will, when you are a Christian. There are so many wonderful books and studies out there for us to use as resources, but the foundation of our faith should be from the Word of God, which we find in the end all, be all of books: The Bible. That is what I love about this series. For me it solidifies the foundation on which I try to build my life, and my daughter's life on. For my wonderful new-Christian Al, it is going to clarify to many things about the Christian faith and help her build her family's foundation with Jesus as the building blocks. (I love you Al, and am so happy for you!) With that said, I think Pastor Driscoll underscores this point by citing Titus 2:1 at the beginning of the sermon: "You, however, must teach what is appropriate to sound doctrine." A pastor who keeps pointing his congregation back to the Bible with specific verses is one who truly wants the people to grow from the Word of God, not the word of man.

In order to know and follow God, we must realize and submit to the fact that HE IS THE ONLY GOD! 1 Timothy 2:5 "For there is one God and one mediator between God and mankind, the man Christ Jesus, who gave himself as a ransom for all people..." He- God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit- is the only God there is. For me, us, as Christians that truth is so exciting and redeeming! We know the God of the universe and he chose us to worship Him here on earth. He chose us to believe in His son Jesus so that one day we will live with him forever in his kingdom. If that isn't exciting, I don't know what is!!

The Bible also speaks of another truth, one that is much more difficult to swallow: the truth of false gods, fallen angels, and demons. 1 John 4:3 "but every spirit that does not acknowledge Jesus is not from God. This is the spirit of the antichrist, which you have heard is coming and even now is already in the world." Wow... chills. It is scary to know that major world religions look to these antichrists as their gods. But the good news is God died for all of us, even followers of His enemies. They too can be forgiven and redeemed if they would repent and turn thier hearts to Jesus. What a merciful God we serve!

I have more to say on this topic, but I have to finish up a paper for Pharmacology :(. I am going to post this and hopefully come back to it soon. Thanks all.

Today's Promise From God

When it seems there is no one to comfort you ...

Even when I walk through the darkest valley, I will not be afraid, for you are close beside me. Your rod and your staff protect and comfort me.

Psalm 23:4

Today's Promise From God

When you're looking for stability in the midst of change ...

The grass withers and the flowers fade, but the word of our God stands forever.

Isaiah 40:8

Asingan, Pangasinan, Philippines

Sue and I have been thinking of ways to give to our communities and/or elsewhere. We've discussed many ideas and I think we may have something in the works finally. I've been talking with my mom about her recent trip to the Philippines as well as relating my experiences there. As a result I know there are two things we can do that would directly affect, in a positive way, people in my mother's province.

When we were talking on the phone she mentioned to me that the items Mom Vitale had given me (shoes, clothes) "went right away." Basically, when my mom brings items to the Philippines they are in large boxes. I remember one time being in the Philippines when she opened one. The box was outdoors of the house by the cool, concrete wall. There's a lot of dry dirt, very dusty, floating all around and I remember there being people of all ages, as young as 2 and as old as say 85-90. Everyone's talking and I could pick up a few words here and there but didn't understand anything. I was focusing on how this distribution was going to happen because there was no organization whatsoever. My mom opened the box and at a time when you would think chaos would ensue-well, nothing happened. Everyone around, my cousins, unfamiliar faces, aunties and uncles patiently waited for my mom to begin handing out things and everyone on their own made sure they were not greedy and that everything was equally dispersed. It was actually a very relaxed scenario. For some reason I wasn't assisting in the process but I imagine that I was set back observing everything. I didn't really appreciate what was happening because in my mind I always knew all our clothes we didn't wear anymore were sent here and I saw plenty of my childhood outfits, my dad's clothes, mom's clothes on relatives and complete strangers around me. Well, I have a deep grasp on the little they have there and how important my 10 year old t-shirt is to those in Asingan. Susan and I are in the works of attempting to collect, package and send at least one box this year stocked with clothes, shoes, toys.

Mom also mentioned to me that a relative of mine was having trouble with breastfeeding as well as basic infant care like burping after feeding. Now, it's not that she neglects her daughter, or forgot how to breastfeed. She simply was never taught basic infant care or given assistance in breastfeeding. There are no programs such as Planned Parenthood or just your general hospital providing information unless one was to go seeking the information which not everyone knows how to go about that either. What they need is information to be distributed to households with children or not. This information is pertinent for everyone because if one person directly will not end up having their own children then they can pass the information on to their siblings or other relatives. It's truly devastating for mothers and fathers alike to not have this information in basic care and it's extremely simple to purchase some extra printer ink and paper and make my own brochures to send and have distributed by relatives of mine in the area.

These are ideas in the works. I'll keep you posted on this venture Susan and I working on.

~Al

Today's Promise From God

When you want to experience God's blessings ...

How great is the goodness you have stored up for those who fear you. You lavish it on those who come to you for protection, blessing them before the watching world.

Psalm 31:19

The Hiding Place : Finished!

I just finished reading The Hiding Place. What a powerful story. Corrie ten Boom is certainly an inspiration and to think her sister Betsie was the one to often influence her. Makes me feel like I first need to focus on being more like Corrie, then Betsie and then on to Jesus on my road to leading a purpose driven life. Each and every page you expect someone to crack but through every horror they experienced including Betsie's death, they never once turned a cold shoulder to God and gave up on their faith. The only moment Corrie ever showed true fear is when she encountered her former captor when she was speaking in Germany. She found it very difficult to shake the hand of a man who was directly involved in what happened to her sister and she finally asked God to give her his forgiveness and she found more than just the strength to forgive in that act. The most moving part of the book for me was when Betsie and Corrie are in the camp working and Betsie is quite ill at this point. She is having trouble carrying loads of dirt on her shovel and carrying then as she is very weak. This is amusing for the guards and they laugh and make fun of her outwardly. Eventually, Betsie chimes right in and gives the old, "That's me all right" type of statement. I strive to be this faithful in God. That scene in my mind brought tears to my eyes. What a woman she must have been! I certainly recommend this book to all!!

~Al

Today's Promise From God

When you feel lost and don't know what to believe in ...

I have come as a light to shine in this dark world, so that all who put their trust in me will no longer remain in the dark.

John 12:46

Imagine Your Life Without Fear - Max Lucado

My mother in law gave me this wonderful book which is actually an excerpt from a book entitled Fearless by Max Lucado. I really love his style of writing and it's in a way that appeals to both my husband and I. There's nothing like using your life as a metaphor to personalize information and make it more understandable. The book deals with our fears and why we really have nothing to fear as God always has our back. One snippet I loved was when he discusses his dad erasing all of his fear of the monsters in his room as a child. He discusses being scared and I can certainly relate to that, I was extremely scared of the dark when I was little (Thanks mom and dad for leaving the hall lights on!). When he goes to his father to explain his fear of these monsters his dad asks him what he is afraid of and Lucado mentions the safety he feels when he is around his dad. In the same manner God also doesn't understand our fear because why should we be afraid when he is always there for us. The comfort Lucad felt in a dark room WITH his father is how we should feel every day knowing God is with us, no?
~Al

Today's Promise From God

When you feel the need to start over ...

Great is his faithfulness; his mercies begin afresh each morning.
Lamentations 3:23

Doctrine Week 1 Trinity : God Is DISCUSSION (Al)

We have watched our first seminar this week (hooray!) which you can also view on this blog by clicking 'Mars Hill Church' to the right under 'find what you're looking for'. Here are our thoughts on this first week and if you have some to add we'd love to hear from you so please leave comments if you'd like!

AL : Since this is our first discussion let me set up what is happening. I have posted my overall thoughts on Doctrine Week 1 below. I also typed out notes while watching the video and have posted them as a comment to this post so if you'd like to read them while watching the video or just to read them check in comments. We set the deadline for January 30th so you'll see Sue's post between now and the 30th here as well!

Summary : I should add that Susan has been a Christian for the past 7 years and I have just become one and am still learning so much. This seminar opened my eyes to who God is and that there truly can be only one God, our God. I always used to say that I believe in God but I don't deny other religions and their beliefs. I never understood why some would be so adamant that there is only one God, our Savior and I took this as closemindedness but I now know that any other spirits, gods, etc that others worship are false as it is stated in the Bible that there was God first and no other before or after Him. There is no love without God and Christianity because God IS love. If you are not a Christian you do not understand or know love, God and the doctrine. I really enjoyed the end of this seminar because everything that you'd think someone would want out of life IS the trinitarian life. Who wouldn't want to be happy, full of love, submitting to God in times of need and transparent and open with nothing to hide. People should be jumping at the chance to become Christian and lead a trinitarian life! I believe that this is the life I've always tried to lead but have stumbled and been unsure at times if I was actually living in this way but by being a Christian I am given direction and have many resources (God, church, loved ones, other Christians) to always help guide me.

Today's Promise From God

When you're feeling angry at others ...

If you are even angry with someone, you are subject to judgment!
Matthew 5:22

My First Book of Prayers Collection

We have two of the 4 board books that come in this collection. The four are as follows:

Goodnight Prayers

Mealtime Prayers

Everyday Prayers

Friendship Prayers

It's a very sweet collection of basic, rhyming prayers that would be easy for a child to get the hang of. The books have nice illustrations. I googled them to find our more information since there is no author listed and was able to find the collection on Ebay, that's it! Obviously, though, there are TONS of children prayer books out there. If you would like to search for this particular collection try googling the titles as well as The Clever Factory, Inc. ( I believe this is the publishing company.) Enjoy!

My daughter loves when I read them to her!

~Al

Today's Promise From God

When you wonder how angels are involved in the world today ...

The angel of the Lord is a guard; he surrounds and defends all who fear him.

Psalm 34:7

Today's Promise From God

When you need to feel accepted by God ...

Even if my father and mother abandon me, the Lord will hold me close.

Psalm 27:10

Note: Taken from The NLT Bible Promise Book

The Hiding Place : Great Read

I forgot to mention before that I am also reading The Hiding Place. Ironically, Susan and I were chatting away as usual on the phone and she asked me if I had read this book. It just so happens that I bought it years ago in college when I was in a Holocaust class but opted to read another book instead for my project, The Bielski Brothers (also fantastic!). Anyway, I dug up my copy of The Hiding Place and began reading away as I also recalled a quote of Corrie Ten Boom's in Purpose Driven Life. I'm about halfway through and it's remarkable. Her way of thinking and her perspective as a result of being a Christian is extremely motivational. If you haven't read this pick it up!

~Al

Currently Reading ..

I've had this book for two years now. My husband used it last year and I read a different one year bible. I'd give you the title but we still have all of our books packed up and I can't remember exactly what it was! As soon as I dig it up I will post the book because it was also fantastic. The difference between the One Year Bible and the book I read last year is that this is the Bible divided up into daily readings where in the other there were daily bible readings but also stories relative to the daily passage. These one year books are a great way to stay on track and give you something, like a mantra, for each day.



Tonight my husband will be finishing the last few pages of Purpose Driven Life and we will move on to another book that I'll reveal after I've read some of it so I can give you my thoughts!! I also have a very teeny, tiny book that is an excerpt from a larger book. I read a few pages and it's fantastic, but again, I'll reveal in a bit. I want to scan the pages in so I can share the reading with you. The book deals with handling fear and how to live without it and with God. It has fantastic stories that are very motivational.

Ta-ta!

Al (short for Anna Lisa!)

Doctrine Week 1 Trinity : God Is

We will be watching a seminar weekly. Feel free to watching and discuss/comment anytime! We will post when we plan on watching each seminar by so that you can expect to see our discussions on or around that date.

Our Deadline : January 30, 2011

Transcript Available : http://www.marshillchurch.org/media/doctrine/trinity-god-is

(for some reason when I hit play the first time the video does not work but when I refresh the page and click again it works fine, just a tip!)