Josh Groban "I'll be Home For Christmas"

A guy who "gets" the sacrifices made by all those serving...

Reflections and Resolutions

New Year's Resolutions are a popular thing... and come in all shapes and sizes. But, how often do we take the time to think about resolutions as they apply to our spiritual life? In the next few days, I plan to take some time to reflect on the following questions and to use them to help me establish my resolutions for 2010. I encourage you to join me!

1) In what ways have I grown spiritually in the last year?

2) How have I seen the Lord actively conforming me further into the image of Christ?

3) In what ways has my faith been tested? How have those tests caused me to draw closer to Christ?

4) Where is my heart? Am I loving God and others more? What might I do in the New Year to better love God and those who are in my life?

5) Is there any area of unrepentant sin in my life? What might I do to put this sin off and put on the ways of the Lord?

6) Do my actions/behaviors put Christ on display as being my Lord, my treasure and my joy? If not, why? What needs to change?

7) Am I actively pursuing my relationship with Christ? Does my daily schedule reflect that? If not, how might I do that in the New Year?

8) Am I in a church where the Word of God is taught and where other believers are actively pursuing their spiritual growth and encouraging me to do the same? If not, what needs to change? If I am limited in my options (as many military gals might be) - then how might I supplement through other means (Bible studies, podcasts, etc)?

9) Am I actively seeking to "make disciples" (Matt. 28:19)? If not, how might I do so in 2010?

10) What are my spiritual goals for 2010?

My hope is that these questions will spur us on as we press onward toward the goal of the upward call of God. May He bless you abundantly in 2010!

Mountain top musings

Two weekends ago, I was able to get away for a personal pray retreat. I stayed at Bonclarken in Flat Rock, NC - it is a Presbyterian retreat center.... quite lovely!

The accomodations were nice, and I spent some great time in the Word and in prayer.

My last morning there - I took a hike around the Carl Sandburg estate. The scenery was beautiful - and I headed out on a trail after studying the map... the trail took me over little glassy mountain. As I hiked along the trail, my focus was on the path - because there were lots of leaves and it was slippery. At one point, I looked up and realized I was on the top of the mountain, and had almost missed it! How many times does that happen in life? We get so consumed by the path - our circumstances, the difficulties - when if we just look UP - our perspective would be so different. The trail hadn't changed - it was still hard to see and there were still slippery leaves and twisted roots to trip me up - but my perspective had changed.

As I started back down the mountain, I cam to a sign - which clearly indicated that the way back to the house was right. By this point, the map was a bit fuzzy in my mind, so against every intuition, I went right, obeying the sign. But five minutes later, I was having an argument in my mind about this not being the right way. I longed for a map to set me straight - and finally decided to turn around and go the other direction. By this point, I was feeling a little nervous - not sure if I was on the right path, running out of time to get back for check out of the retreat center, and by myself on a mountain! That's when it hit me - how much like life this is... we get up, maybe have a quiet time - and the Word makes sense at that point. We strike out into the day with our "map" in mind - but it doesn't take too long down the path, before a sign tells us to go a direction that doesn't seem right, even though it points toward where we want to go.

We mustn't forget that the enemy prowls around seeking to devour and destroy - and he disguises himself as "light" - as helpful signs - that get us off the straight and narrow path. Ps. 1:2 says Blessed is the man who's delight is in the law [instruction] of the Lord, and on His law he meditates day and night.

Thankfully, even though I couldn't remember the map exactly, I had studied it enough to have a good sense of direction. I obeyed the promptings of the Spirit to turn around, and I made it back to the parking lot in due time. May the same be said of our daily walk with the Lord... let us be in His Word, burying it into our hearts; let us be sensitive to His leadings and promptings, and may we keep our focus upward on the joy that is set before us.

Some interesting stats

I borrowed this from Deedra, one of my co-worker's blog:


Women in the Military (taken from DoD Women's Research and Education Institution.)

More women are serving in the U.S. military than ever before...(as of 6/2008)

They make up 14% of all U. S. military personnel= 400,000 troops
They make up 34% of the U.S. Air Force
26,000 women are currently serving in Iraq or Afghanistan
They fill 90% of all military roles...including gunners and MP patrols

This is the first time in history that women are on the front lines.

These women are married, divorced, single...mothers, daughters, wives, sisters and aunts...

Please pray for our Women In Uniform!

Theopedia

So - I happened upon this website today - and thought it might be a useful tool - if you have questions about theological terms. I'll probably add it to my links on the side - but this is an online Christian encyclopedia. Click the link below to enjoy!

Theopedia