work and play

so instead of the normal "make 30 calls a day" thing we had going at work, we now just call until we get 12 packets sent.  so sometimes you make 12 calls, and sometimes you make 45.

can i just tell you that i have learned how to coerce some secretaries. if they answer the phone, theyre getting a packet. dang it.

im on a roll this morning. 

the other day i was leaving a voicemail for rebecca and almost identified myself as "katie"- my office pseudonym since davis ann is way too hard to explain over the phone.

in other news...

sometimes i realize that i am very much a girl. and sometimes i dont like this fact. 

sometimes i get really thankful that i live with sarah teague. she's really compassionate and patient with me. even when i complain a lot. actually, especially when i complain a lot. 

i almost had an emotional breakdown the other day when i realized that sarah was going to move from tuscaloosa to probably somewhere far away and erica was in virginia. my sister just moved to north carolina. what the heck. i dont want to grow up im pretty sure.

except im ready to be done with school. im dreading going back to tuscaloosa. i dont want to study :(  or do rush. gross.

but ill get to live with sarah and sara again! that will be fun :)

and maybe school won't be that bad.

and rush is only 2 weeks counting workshop.

3 things:

1. sarah teague. seriously. cant ask for a better friend.

2. going to richmond soon. praise God for conversations with erica that reveal my sin and point me to the cross.

3. post its. love em!

creation, evolution, and filemaker.

waiting for filemaker to load.

slowest program ever.

im starting to realize that by the time it loads im going to have time for one phone call and then im going to have to leave to go meet my grandparents for lunch. johnny rockets :)

last night i went to an apologetics class at oak mt pres. creation v. evolution was the topic. pretty interesting. the guy speaking had been on a couple state boards that review textbooks... very revealing as to the people that supervise our education. he used to be a strong evolutionist, but came to know the Lord (along with his wife) and trusted the Lord in creation. 

my favorite part was when he was reading all the Scripture that identified God as Creator, especially in the psalms when the psalmist would praise Him for the work of Creation. so amazing. 

"before the mountains were brought forth or ever you had formed the earth and the world, from everlasting to everlasting, you are God." (psalm 90:1)

wow. i love that: "from everlasting to everlasting..." proved in Creation. so cool.

Word.

so the past couple days (ok weeks. maybe months.) ive been trying to be really open to whatever the Word says. that probably sounds weird. 

but i've been doing this thing where, when i read the Word, i want to ignore what i "know" and relearn the good stuff while tossing out the bad. not always easy. especially when you come to verses like psalm 11:5 and psalm 5:5. (warning: only read these if you're willing for your head to explode. slash to submit yourself to whatever the Word says, regardless of what youve been taught your entire life. slash want to be confused.) 

it's rough.

but i love the Word. i identify with the psalm 119 guy. to quote bradley pinkerton, "we cannot know God fully, but we can know him truly." the only way to know him truly? yeah, the Word.

listened to a platt sermon called "The Gospel and Homosexuality." (weird choice, huh? good tho. obvi.) he talked about how a couple denominations were acknowledging that the Bible says that homosexuality is wrong, but they were saying that those parts shouldn't be in the Bible. that they aren't inspired. im sorry. WHAT? "who are you, o man?" people have such a disregard for the Word. even when it's not that blatant. someone was talking about how, in romans 3, it says "no one seeks God, not even one." and its true- no one is seeking the God of the Bible. people want to serve a God that serves their desires and wants. no one wants to seek the God that does, in fact, have wrath. and does, in fact, have compassion on whom he chooses. scary thing: im included in no one.

God, i want to know you truly. 

thanks guys.

chris hanna told me id make a good mormon. mostly because im goal oriented. same night, called me an old maid. 

thanks.

morning madness

interesting day so far, and it's only 9:30.

one of the other interns said he has a "vendetta" against people who only quote from one book of the Bible. ( i think it was because when he asked a question and didn't like my answer, i cited Romans. ive been quoting from Romans a lot...)

i got my picture made by mr. mark for the sdea website. bad picture... then he came by my cubicle and we had a mini-photoshoot. hehe :)

spilled coffee on my skirt this morning. nbd, skirt's navy.

watched a facebook video of jonathan in idaho with the entire sdea staff. 

everyday i realize how highly i think of bubba. 

3 things:

1. eric sims. one of the most loving people i know.

2. my work computer is so slow that i can write an entire blog while i wait for programs to open.

3.  the Gospel.

stop what you're doing and read this out loud. out loud. and like you mean it.

"but now, the righteousness of God has been manifested apart from the law, although the law and the prophets bear witness to it. it is the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe. for there is no distinction: for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God [wait for it!!] and are justified by his grace as a gift through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus[!!!], whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith. this was to show God's righteousness, because in his divine forbearance he had passed over former sins. it was to show his righteousness at the present time so that he might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus."

romans 3 (emphasis mine.)

trying

i found myself avoiding God this morning.

just didnt know what to say.

figured i may as well expose it.

the Gospel, revisited.

let me know if you find heresy in the following... 

for the past few weeks i've been asking the Lord to show me what the Gospel truly is. i listened to a sermon and then went on a run to think about it and pray, and as i walked back i pulled an erica and started preaching to the air...

you are without hope. dead in your trespasses, you lie lonely, separated from God. you have no merit, nothing makes you appealing; you have no worth in and of yourself. 

and before a holy God you have no place. he is just and he is holy, and before him you cannot stand. there is nothing in your heart that desires true justice, nor is there anything within you that desires holiness. there is a chasm between you and the Father that cannot be crossed, a divide that cannot be conquered. there is a breach that can only be made right by blood, the blood of a pure and perfect sacrifice.

and He has provided such a sacrifice. the Father searched for a pure, clean, perfect sacrifice, and on the earth he found no such thing. no one understands, no one seeks God. there is no one righteous, no not one! but the Father, in his infinite and abounding love and provision, sent the only One capable. he was not merely a lamb as the Jews were accustomed to. he was not merely man, for he is the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth. and he came and lived among us. and when the time came he suffered and died as the perfect and atoning sacrifice for the sin from which we could not save ourselves. 

so believe. believe on his name and repent! forsaking all, throw yourself at the cross of Jesus Christ and submit yourself to His Lordship. leave the sin that entangles you and hold fast- cling!- to the righteousness, the all-sufficiency, the holiness of Christ. he is the only one that can save you from an eternity of misery, an eternity of complete and total separation from the only One that loves you fully and truly.

but first, count the cost. know that the call of Christ is dangerous. it is radical, hated by the world. you will be persecuted, and you will die. the call of Christ is to lay down your life. if you try to keep your life, you will lose it. 

for i am not ashamed of the Gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes.

the Gospel

the Gospel is my favorite story. it's the only thing that makes it work. and by it i mean everything.

i suck at sharing the Gospel. a guy just practically begged for it, and not a single word came to mind. im giving him a Bible i randomly (except not really) have with me. i wrote the Scripture "but small is the gate and narrow the way that leads to life, and few find it." have no idea why. i asked the Lord. felt like that was what he was saying.

but seriously. what's the deal? why can't i do this? i think im going to go tell him. he's sitting outside. moved so he could smoke. but what do i say? "hi. youre in the midst of separation from God because you were born in the condition of rebellion. you can do nothing about this. luckily, God did." it sounds so freakin absurd. i mean, it really is. absurd i mean. screw it. God, give me words...