Thankful

A few years ago one of the hot topics in Christian culture was Glory. There were books, albums, devotionals, and speakers all over concentrating on the concept of God's Glory.

I have to admit, it all went right over my head. Recently however, I have been connecting a few dots.

The thing that gets me most excited...even giddy...is seeing the Lord alive and active in the lives of those around me. THAT my friends, IS God's Glory! To quote Beth Moore, "God's Glory is the way He makes himself recognizable."

Today, on Thanksgiving I am thankful for God's Glory! He has been showing up big time around here!

The most recent example was on Sunday night (well, technically Monday morning. Gotta love the hours of campus ministry!).

Around midnight Greg got a text from a couple students asking if we were still awake and available to talk. When these two sweet girls walked into our apartment that night, it was evident that one of them had been crying.

As is so often the case...when we get to the point when we know that we cannot handle life on our own, we can see our need for the Savior the clearest.

"Cindy" described how lost she felt. She realized that the friends that she partied with were not really friends, that the guys she used to date really did not love or care about her. She recognized her need for the Lord, but at the same time she was scared that she was just beyond saving.

Doesn't your heart just break when you hear something like that?

That night Greg, Candace and I were able to tell "Cindy" about Grace. Unmerited favor. That we come to the Lord with nothing but brokenness, and in return the Lord does not give us what we deserve, but he gives us Jesus. To quote Candace accepting Grace "is the easiest and hardest thing to do".

Eph 2:8-9 For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast.

Candace (a month-old believer)led her friend to the Lord that night.

GLORY!

Could you not do the "happy dance" in your chair right now?

No...strike that...I am going to change the name of that dance to the "Glory dance"!

The Lord is showing up...making himself know...and changing lives.

Psalm 100
A psalm. For giving grateful praise.

Shout for joy to the LORD, all the earth.
Worship the LORD with gladness;
come before him with joyful songs.
Know that the LORD is God.
It is he who made us, and we are his[a];
we are his people, the sheep of his pasture.

Enter his gates with thanksgiving
and his courts with praise;
give thanks to him and praise his name.
For the LORD is good and his love endures forever;
his faithfulness continues through all generations.

I just have to share!

It is a gorgeous fall morning here in Philly and I am just giddy with excitement. Last night I (Ashley) began a bible study with 2 of the girls who are brand new believers this semester. I wish you all could have been there to see their excitement and hunger for Truth! They left with plans to start their "homework" that very night, they didn't want to wait!

Join me in praying the the Lord would just capture their hearts as they spend time in the Word!

Spoiled for the Ordinary

I was talking to a student the other day, and she was telling me about her experience with a group called YWAM. One of the phrases they use is “Spoiled for the ordinary”. That phrase resonated with me.

I am reminded of what life was like for us in 1999. Newly married…no kids…both working full time. We used to joke to one another that we were living for the weekends. Now I know that God does not waste time and He was working during that time, but we KNEW there was something more for us.

Once kids came along and other things filled our time, but we still had that unsettled feeling. Even when we lived in SC and Greg was directing a short term missions program we had trouble making Columbia home.

I can tell you today that where we are now feels like home. It is a place where our gifts are being used, the Lord is working in us and in others, we live with a community of believers that love one another, and the Lord has blessed us with provisions above and beyond what we could have asked or imagined.

Think we are a bit spoiled? 

Spoiled for the Ordinary!

If you are stuck in the ordinary ask the Lord to open your eyes to what He is doing around you and ask Him how he wants you to use your gifts in those areas.

A Special Day

Sunday was a special day for our family.

Caedmon, our oldest, asked Jesus into his heart when he was 5. I will never forget that night we prayed with him. He had been asking about Jesus for a long time. He has the sweetest, wildest, softest heart imaginable...(kind of like his Daddy). It was the honor of a lifetime to accompany him to the foot of the cross as he placed his faith in the Lord. As Greg and I left the room that night, we overheard Caed praying out loud. He said to the Lord "I have waited so long to get to talk to you, this is great." Super sweet, right?

Since then I have see the Lord working in that big heart of his. He is definitely still a 9 year old boy who bickers with his sister, but He is so sensitive to the things of the Spirit.

We have been talking with Caed about Baptism for a while now. We wanted to make sure that he knew what it was and why people do it. We actually even tried to get him to put it off until more family could be here to help celebrate, but he was very eager!

So Yesterday afternoon Caedmon was baptized! Greg accompanied Caedmon into the "dunk tank" (as Caed called it) and was right next to Caed the whole time.


One of my all time favorite verses is 1 cor 2:9. It is actually on the wall in the Caed and Abby's room. It says:

“No eye has seen, no ear has heard,
and no mind has imagined
what God has prepared
for those who love him.”

I get excited just thinking about all that the Lord has prepared for Caedmon! He is one awesome kid.

Better pics and some video footage are to come, but here are a few we took.

November 2010 Newsletter!

11

Wow, What A Week!

Last week was one of those weeks when we realize that we can work ON the ministry until we are just plum worn out (leading small groups, discipling students, and baking for get togethers) but the LORD is the only one who changes people!

I am just overjoyed to tell you that we have 2 new sisters in Christ! Here are their stories:

Greg and I met Candace (she's fine with using her real name) last semester. She was friends with a few girls from ACF but hadn't shown much interest at the time in diving into a Christian fellowship. Greg and I began to pray for her this semester when we first saw her and she told us that she had been looking forward to getting more involved with the ministry. In a chat with Greg on Tuesday Candace shared that she needed to quit her small group because she felt like she needed to be right with God before coming back. They talked about grace and that He accepts us where we are. This concept was at first difficult because there wasn't something she needed to do to deserve salvation. Nothing was keeping her from receiving Christ so they prayed together!

"Linda" is a good friend of Candace and also the roommate of one of our small group leaders. She came to our fellowship for the first time last night but had no idea about Candace's recent decision to follow Christ. Greg had previously asked Candace if she was ready and willing to share her decision aloud at our large group meeting on Thursday night. She shared from her heart, through tears, about her decision to follow Christ. At the end of the fellowship gathering, a student and a co-leader initiated conversation with "Linda" about what she thought of everything. Ten minutes later we had a new sister in Christ!

God is at work here and we're thankful for all the ways you partner with us for the sake of the Gospel!

Can I get an AMEN?