Advancing the Gospel

It's been a bit busy around here lately. Olympics is taking up a bit of time, running another chunk, work...the largest chunk. :) I'm starting my new position tomorrow and was busy training someone this last week. I got around to memorizing another few verses this evening.

Philippians 1:12-14

No I want you to know, brothers, that what has happened to me has really served to advance the gospel. As a result, it has become clear throughout the whole palace guard and to everyone else that I am in chains for Christ. Because of my chains, most of the brothers in the Lord have been encouraged to speak the word of God more courageously and fearlessly.

So, what does it take for us to speak the word of God courageously? Are we ever spurred on to that point of speaking boldly about the truth? I can remember a few times that I have felt emboldened and fearless. Usually it's after a time at Bible camp, or when I came home from Austria, or even when I have been affected by death.

It's definitely something to think about. I need to make sure that I see each day as an opportunity and as exciting to be alive for one more day to serve God. It's so easy to lose track of what we're here for. What are we here for? To further God's kingdom on earth, not to increase our bank accounts or pride, but to use what God blesses us with to love others and be used in their lives to draw them closer to Him.

I believe that it is of utmost importance for us as God's children to be in His word and communicating with God through prayer. How can we expect to be in God's will unless we are so close to God that we know what his will is? You can't know someone that you don't spend time with. Let's spur each other on to love and good deeds! Hebrews 10:24

Fruit of Righteousness

Day Four brings me to Philippians 1:9-11

And this is my prayer: that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight, so that you may be able to discern what is best and may be pure and blameless until the day of Christ, filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ-to the glory and praise of God.


Here is a description of the kind of love that Christians are to show. Not just higgledy piggledy emotive love, but a love that takes thought and decisiveness. A love that is based on knowledge of who God is and how that affects our lives and our actions toward others. This is the type of love that should motivate our every action and which will ultimately bring us before Christ to hear "well done".

Does anyone else find it hard to put thought into every word and action? I sometimes let myself get so led by emotion that I don't think before I speak/act. I'm not saying that emotion is never justified, but that allowing our emotion to control us is wrong. Those of you who know me well can understand that I get a little revved up sometimes. :)

These verses are definitely a challenge to me to be ever mindful of what my purpose and motivation should be, which is to further God's kingdom through my actions. How do I further His kingdom? By building up other believers, by being an example and testimony to unbelievers by what I say which is then supported by what I do.

I can only imagine what kind of change we could bring about if we all lived by these words! Let's live it moment by moment!


Today was a bit of a blur. Felt like it just passed me by and I don't know where I was the entire time. Heather and I went out together tonight. We decided to go and see a movie and decided on Invictus. Such a good movie and well worth watching again. I kept thinking, "this is a great movie to watch with Dad!" So Heather and I had a great time together and enjoyed chatting before the movie started. We were there about a half hour early. :)
Heather told me something so cute. Selah (her daughter) has been asking "can Beth come over and play?" I definitely plan on getting over there soon! :) Made my day to hear that! I Love my little adopted nieces! Well, hope you have a great Friday! Looking forward to the long weekend!

Go with God!

I have you in my heart..

Day three of the memorization challenge.

Philippians 1:7-8 I decided to do 2 verses today since the next three kinda go together.

It is right for me to feel this way about all of you, since I have you in my heart; for whether I am in chains or defending and confirming the gospel, all of you share in God's grace with me. God can testify how I long for all of you with the affection of Christ Jesus.

Wow! Read those verses again! Paul really had a love for these people and he wasn't afraid to share that with them. Can you think of anyone that makes you feel this way? Are there people in your life that you are vulnerable enough with, that you actually long for them when you're away from them? I do, and I can tell you that it hurts. Paul obviously loved these people personally and he also loved them in Christ. At times I think we take for-granted the special bond we have with other believers. We seem to forget that our lives here are very temporary compared to eternity. Paul's love for these people is made even more profound by his love for them in Christ. He had realized the connection with them as family in Christ.

God's grace in the lives of brothers and sisters in Christ is the deepest bond for a relationship to be built upon. I certainly believe that it is important to take an interest in people's likes and dislikes and find common ground there, but there is absolutely no reason for believers not to be able to love each other despite personality clashes. We have something in common for eternity and we have a whole book that we can draw on for discussion. :)


Well, my day felt a little scattered today. I finished up a training manual this morning for a new employee who is starting next week. I was also on till for part of the day and spent a couple of hours balancing the books. A bit of a weird day, but it was good. I only have 6 more days with my MSR team before I move out of the area for the rest of the year. 3 of those days will be spent with the new employee. I'm feeling a bit torn.

After work I went home and then went straight back to work to run on the treadmill. 4 miles down today. It felt like I was pushing it the whole way.. ick. Not really looking forward to the 8 mile on Saturday if that's what it's going to be like. Here's hoping the energy comes up a bit.
Looking forward to the long weekend, although I won't be doing much. :) It'll be a chance to clean up the house and get some laundry done. Goody! :)

Till next time

Began a good work..

So today was my second day of memorization.

Philippians 1:4-6

In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy, because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now, being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.

Love those verses! Those Philippians were so blessed to have an example and mentor like Paul. He was cheering them on in the faith and upholding them in prayer. I feel so blessed to have people like that in my life as well. The first ones that come to mind for me are my parents. They are constantly providing support and encouragement and lifting me before my heavenly Father. A goal of mine is to be that person to others. I think it is wonderful to have that knowledge that someone is mediating for you and cares so much about your life. Are you that person for someone? Do you tell those people? Another person who has been that person for me is Rhonda. Really appreciate you Rhonda!

This morning at work we had a staff meeting at which was given some disappointing news, which I believe was received very well by the staff. Afterward we went around the room and said one thing that we appreciated about the person next to us. It was so good to hear those things said out loud! So good to see how our staff meshes and works together and cares for each other. I work with an awesome group of people in the MSRs and I will miss them. I hope that the team I will be joining will be just as great (I'm sure they will be) and that I can be a Christ-like example as I tackle the project with them.

Well the rest of the week is looking surprisingly calm. A couple more days of running. A girls night with Heather (which I am really looking forward to!), and my evenings are still free otherwise. I had lunch with another friend today, which was really good. Love spending time with my people! :)

Hope you all have a wonderful day tomorrow!!

A Challenge

So today, I came up with an idea while I was running on the treadmill and staring at the wall. I thought to myself "I should really get back into memorizing scripture again." I used to be a Bible Quizzer and still help out with the program at church quite often. The kids memorize around 145 verses in the school year (sometimes more, sometimes less) and then they compete against each other. It's a really great program that encourages study and memorization of Scripture and a little competition never hurts either. :)
So I started thinking about which books of the Bible I would really love to have memorized. The books that the quizzers are doing this year are 1st and 2nd Corinthians. Pretty awesome! Those were the first books I memorized as a quizzer. :) So the book that I have decided to tackle is Philippians. I love the book and have done some study in it and it would be so great to have it stored in the memory vault. I thought it might be a good idea to start memorizing while I'm running or even throughout the day whenever I have a couple of minutes. It used to only take 15 minutes for me to memorize a pretty good chunk, but I'm sure it'll take the old brain a little longer these days. I've decided to start at about 2-3 verses a day and see how that goes.
It may sound a little overwhelming when you think back to those Sunday School verses you had to memorize as a kid, but I find it a lot easier to memorize passages. Once you have a firm grasp on the context and thought process of the writer, it just flows easily.
Philippians has 4 chapters and 104 verses. Piece of cake!
So if there are any determined (or just bored) people out there who would like to get some scripture memory in, let me know! I would love to have an accountability partner! Each day I will post the verses I've memorized and possibly an interesting tidbit from my day. haha
Here are today's verses:

Philippians 1:1-3
Paul and Timothy, servants of Christ Jesus, To all the saints in Christ Jesus at Philippi, together with the overseers and deacons: Grace and Peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. I thank my God every time I remember you.

New Temporary Position

Hey all,
Just a quick update. Wanted to let you know that I was offered a position at work that will last the rest of the year. I will be doing something completely different. Should be fun and interesting. I'll have the opportunity to work with a lot of different people, some of whom I haven't met before. :)
Looking forward to the new adventure, and seeing what God has in store.
Please pray for me as the new job comes with a lot of responsibility.
Other news..not much. I've been running a lot lately and am training for a marathon, just for kicks. I have no intention of running a full marathon. :) I might do a 10 km in Spring and possibly a half in Fall, but we'll see how long I can keep it up.
I've been keeping myself pretty busy. Whenever I'm not working, running, or busy with church stuff, I have been working on a writing course and also doing some artwork. So, yeah..lot's going on. I've also been enjoying spending time with friends and have been able to catch up with some old friends over coffee the last couple of weeks.
Tonight our church family is going skating. We haven't rented the ice at the arena in a few years and I'm looking forward to lacing up the skates tonight. It's been a long time!
Well..I'm going to have a bit of a rest, and maybe even nap. :)

Need help with ideas for artwork..

Ok, so I have a couple of blank walls in my house that really need filling. I am considering painting something, but need some ideas of what to paint.
These are examples of a couple of things I have done in the past.
If you have thoughts etc. Let me know. :)