?....are my ears open...am I really listening....?

So yeah...I've been trying to read the entire Bible and so far all I have left is Acts and Revelation left in the NT. The OT I'm going to tackle next...leaving out Psalms, Proverbs, Song of Songs and Ecclesiastes, as I read them out of order. I read some verses yesterday and today in Revelation where the different churches are being addressed and repeatedly the churches are being asked "Are you ears awake? Listen!" It goes on to say in chp 3 to Sardis, "I see right through you work. You have a reputation for vigor and zest, but you're dead, stone dead. Up on your feet! Take a deep breath! Maybe there's life in you yet. But I wouldn't know it by looking at your busywork; nothing of God's work has been completed. Your condition is desperate. Think of the gift you once had in your hands, the Message you heard with your ears--grasp it again and turn back to God. If you pull the covers back over your head and sleep on, oblivious to God, I'll return when you least expect it, break in to your life like a thief in the night." Revelation 3:1-3 (MSG)
It made me think about this holiday season, and all the craziness in Matt and I's life just trying to get Christmas presents for everyone and also the time that I've put into making alot of them for individuals. What work have I done for Christ this past month? We're approaching HIS BIRTH!, and I'm busy running around without my head half the time.
I've also been comtemplating another issue with myself. I sat in Cedar Creek Church a couple of months ago, and the topic was dealing with sufferings in your life. They showed a video clip showing many evils in the world: 9/11, the Iraq war, homelessness and poverty...(insert your own experiences with suffering) And I began to think, "WHY ISN'T GOD DOING SOMETHING ?! WHY IS HE JUST SITTING BACK WATCHING!?" And all of a sudden it hit me like a ton of bricks: Why aren't I doing anything? Why aren't I giving my time and money to bring aid to these people. Not just 5 minutes here and there writing a check, but really GIVING my time....even just to pray for them. Wouldn't I want people to bring me aid and also pray for me if I was in their situation? Maybe God allows all of this junk to happen in our lives to make us want to step up and do HIS work. The work that he can definetly do without us....why aren't we taking the responsibility to try to make it right? Maybe God's giving us this opportunity to act, and it grieves Him to know we aren't doing anything....nothing....


On a lighter note though, we had a wonderful weekend at my parents place the 16th and 17th. It was my grandma Jones' 85th birthday! It was so nice to see her and to also see our family that we don't see much.
On Saturday we went with my mom, Britney, Tim and Tyler to downtown Dayton to take a wagon ride. Tyler's so cute! (he's 3) I told him that the horses had big booties and he looked me straight in the eye and corrected me saying that the horses have "big bottoms!" Very cute! We miss him when we're gone...


Here's some pics from the weekend trip down with our new camera!

Within God's Kingdom...where do I fit...?

I've always thought about my place, where I'm supposed live, and do my day to day things. Since I've been working at the design room office though, it seems that it's completely taken over my life. I am obsessed with trying to figure out my place and where I fit into this big mess. I have many hours here each week to do what I want after I get my "job" completed. With much coffee and free time I've been trying to read the entire Bible and it's so amazing, that each day God reveals specific sections that directly relate to the struggles and issues that I'm facing that day.

"There was a disciple in Damascus by the name of Ananias. The Master spoke to him in a vision, "Ananias."
"Yes, Master?" he answered.
"Get up and go over to Straight Avenue. Ask at the house of Judas for a man from Tarsus. His name is Saul. He's there praying. He has just had a dream in which he saw a man named Ananias enter the house and lay hands on him so he could see again. (for Saul was blinded at the time)
Ananias protested, "Master, you can't be serious. Everybody's talking about this man and the terrible things he's been doing, his reign of terror against your people in Jerusalem! And now he's shown up here with papers from the Chief Priest that give him license to do the same to us."
But the Master said, "Don't argue. GO! I have picked him as my personal representative to Gentiles, and kings and
Jews. And now I'm about to show him what he's in for---the hard suffering that goes with this job."
So Ananias went and found the house, placed his hands on blind Saul, and said, "Brother Saul, the Master sent me, the same Jesus you saw on your way here. He sent me so you could see again and be filled with the Holy Spirit."
No sooner were the words out of his mouth than something like scales fell from Saul's eyes--he could see again! He got to his feet, was baptized, and sat down with them for a hearty meal." From Acts 9: various seq. verses (MSG)

I thought about this and wondered:

What if Ananias continued to protest and eventually didn't go find Saul? What would of become of Saul?
Would he of become a Christian?Would I be a Christian today? (trickle down effect through the generations)

I thought about, well maybe God would of used someone else to go to Saul so he could see and believe. But what if God didn't use someone else?! What if He's trying to use me TODAY and in my heart I'm protesting which results in someone else not knowing Christ. It's such a scary thought. I wanna be the type of person that God uses so others can see the Truth. I know God's using me now, just like He uses everyone, but secretly in my heart, I wanna be used more than just the day to day interactions. What honor it would be to be used by God to start a revolution just like the disciples of Christ....