Patience is a Virtue...

This is the second time I've tried to post this. Apparently God thought I needed a little work in the patience department. I am rewriting this and we'll see how much I remember from what I was trying to write last night. :)
"This too shall pass" or so I keep on telling myself when I'm at work. We have a few new people and it is taking a while to get them "broken in". As fun as these new people are, it takes a lot of patience and a lot of ability to multitask. :) And I haven't even begun training someone yet!
A different topic...We had bible classes last night and Les is now teaching our class. Lots of fun! We just finished getting through the book of Deuteronomy and there are all sorts of "nuggets" in there! I love the way this course makes me have to think! We actually have two groups meeting in the church building. Dad is teaching the other class. We will be getting together to begin with some singing and inbetween we'll get together for coffee as well. It will be great to get to know some more people. I think if everyone came from the two groups, we would have 40+ people there.I don't have to start work till 12:00 today, but I should still go eat something for lunch. Otherwise I'll be starving by the time 3:30 break comes along.

Long Weekend

Yes!! It is the weekend and I get Monday off as well!! Quizzing went really well last night and we had a lot of fun! I really hope that the kids get as enthused about quizzing as I am! We have a bunch of new kids this year and hopefully it will go well. We might even have enough to have 3 teams this year! Wow! Big change from last year! I'm really excited about memorizing Acts. I really love the situation questions that pop up when we're quizzing on books like the gospels or Acts. Kinda fun to try and figure them out. Well, we have a special treat this weekend. David and Mindy Nelson are out to visit. David is the guy who got Dad hooked on BTCP training materials and who has been working in the Philipines with the same materials. Such a fun couple!! Anyway...I've gotta go and make some phone calls.

Back into Routine

Yesterday we started our small groups! It sounds like it will be a good year. I'm a little bit sorry that I will only be around for the first half of the book. Also...We will be starting up the quizzing again this week. Friday night is our "kickoff". I really hope that we get the kids interested. I really want to memorize Acts this year. I need to check out the materials website and see what we should order. It is going to be interesting this year. We need another couple to help lead, especially when I leave. I guess a prayer request would be that we as leaders would be good communicators and that we would find someone else to help. Anyway...gotta get back to work.

Could Someone Please Help Me Stop Yawning?!!

Yes, I am very tired today. It is dreary and cold outside and that always makes me feel tired. Yesterday we had a family member from out east just drop in. No, it wasn't Josh. :) shucks. actually it was my first cousin twice removed. Her name is Judy. We had so much fun trying to figure out exactly how we are related. :) We can't figure it out as fast as all you mennonites!! I think my great great grandfather is her grandfather and my mom's great grandfather. And my grandfather is her uncle or something like that. She is a character and we had fun looking at some pictures of her travels and just chatting. It is really nice to have a couple people from my Mom's side of the family still visit or call every once in a while. We are a lot more in touch with my Dad's side. Anyway...I have a bit of work to do now....

Please, Break My Heart

The title is one that you may or may not understand. I will explain it yet. Yesterday I found out that two very dear friends of mine lost their baby. The knowledge of them having to deal with such pain and loss had me in tears. This brought me around to thinking about something God has been impressing on my heart. Having a broken heart. Losing someone you love is always something that brings that pain. Some biblical background...
Adam and Eve - lost their son Abel
Abraham - offering up his son to God
Jacob - Losing his son Joseph and thinking he was dead
Job - Lost everything, I'm sure his Sons and Daughters were the worst part of that loss
David - Lost his first child born of Bathsheba, and his son Absalom
Mary the Mother of Jesus - Watching her son be crucified
God - gave His only Son for each and every one of us.

What pain must all of these people have felt?? What pain must God feel each time a person turns away from His gift?!! All these people who went through these things still gave glory to God through faith.

The other night I was praying and I asked God to soften my heart, to break my heart for each person I come in contact with. It is easy to feel pain and concern for those close to us who are hurting. It is easy for us to express concern and caring for those who are across the ocean. It is not easy for us to care for the people that we come in contact with either through work, or maybe even just random people you meet as you live each day. For me, it's the people that come in for a few seconds, to do business. It is easy to be completely impersonal and forget about them immediately. These people have problems and are hurting too. What does it take for us to care? I personally always try to guard my heart from pain. Knowing too many people too well, is a recipe for getting hurt. I pray that God will break down the barriers that I build up. That I would care more about the other person than about myself. That I would be willing to have my heart broken, to feel concern for each person I meet. That I would be willing to let God have the glory.

Dull...

I know, I know. When am I actually going to have a real post? Not right now. Yes I am very bored at work, but for me to actually keep a train of thought here, is impossible. Right now I have been counting the seconds till lunch time. only 1920 more to go!! I'll post more tomorrow

Oh What a Day!!

Yesterday, I was invited to go on a hike with some friends from camp. I thought "sure, a couple of hours hiking and maybe icecream after, no problem". It turned into a 10 hour marathon of fun and laughter!! We left my parents place around 1:00 in the afternoon and headed out to camp for some exercise. And oh, what a gorgeous day for hiking!! 20 degrees, the trees are starting to turn, the sun was out, Perfect!! After our hike, they decided to play some football. Since I haven't got over my fear of flying/falling objects, I opted for lazing in the sun instead. Afterward we went out for ice cream at Dairy Queen. Yum! Pecan Cluster Blizzard. Lots of laughs and then we decided to go and buy some food from Stuporstore, and make supper at someone's house. Perogies and bacon. Good stuff. lots more laughs and then we went to another person's house for some basketball and frisbee, where I again opted for the sidelines and my 4 doggy friends. Apparently every animal knows what a sucker I am. ;) We ended up gong inside and eating and laughing some more and finally got back to my parents place around 11:30. Anyway, It is another gorgeous day outside. Maybe I'll go rollerblading or something.

Just a Typical Day at Work

So...not much new going on in my life. Yesterday I firmly decided that chewing tobacco is an absolutely disgusting habit! It reeks, it bulges out your cheek, it makes it hard to talk properly and I'm sure that there are many other reasons beyond that. Besides serving that one person last night was a very slow and easy night. Today I'm on commercial. Yay!! love that! So, I got my passport in the mail a few days ago. It only took them 14 days to get it to me. Not bad! Also, Tauernhof got my application so it is now completely officially official. And...I got my leave of absence approved from work. Great!! Everything is falling into place so neatly! I'd better start working now. :)

Back to Work

So, my first day back at work after my extra long weekend and I got to work overtime. Yay!! Can you tell I'm being sarcastic? I am. No, it wasn't because I was rusty and couldn't balance. It was because it was so incredibly busy!! So much for a holiday to get rested up! I think I'm more tired now than before. I'm sitting here listening to my little bro record some harmonies for one of his songs. If I didn't know better, I would think that he just couldn't sing. :) It's funny 'cause we can't hear the music he's singing along with, so we just hear him singing something that sounds very off key. :) Anyway...I think I'm going to go home now and do some more Sudokus to make me really tired, and then I'm going to bed. g'night

The LifeLight Experience

Wow! What a great weekend!! So, apparently my parents (no pun intended) like Perkins because it's "predictable". We stopped there for lunch the other day in Winnipeg, and then on the way down to Sioux Falls, and also when we got to Sioux Falls. For those of you who know how indecisive I can be when looking at a menu, I am really tired of Chicken Quesadillas. :) When we stopped for lunch at Perkins we were seated right by a middle aged couple who were taking their very elderly mother out for lunch. So funny!! They kept on reading suggestions off the menu for her with tantalizing comments. The elderly woman was so spunky! She didn't know what she wanted, but she sure knew what she didn't want!! After a few such comments, Mom and I were trying to not obviously laugh at them. So when we got to Sioux Falls we camped at the KOA. Showers, a great playground, laundry facilities and not too many other things that would recommend them. Not my idea of real camping, but I'm not complaining too hard because it was cold and wet so it was good to have those things (minus the playground). LifeLight...Yeah, so it started out with a lot of rain (and I mean a lot!!) With close to 100,000 people walking all over the grounds and driving all over the fields where there was parking, it was soon a muddy mess! I wore flip flops on Friday and got a really great pedicure!!! Hardened mud..exfoliation..yah. :) We sat in the dining tent and watched people trying to walk up a little hill to get to the main stage and wiping out. People were walking around in mud from head to toe!! The showers and dryers were in demand at the KOA that night. The next day was much better!! It was still a little cold, but it was drying up. They had brought in wood chips and gravel and we had gone out and bought rubber boots (with hard toes for moshing!!jk). We managed to stay fairly warm and dry and the concerts were good! Sunday was definitely my favorite day for concerts though. Leeland ( a really great band with a 17 year old lead singer!! ) Sanctus Real, Kutless, and Newsboys...although not my favorite band, they always have a fun concert!! The sun also decided to come out on "Sun"day and dried everything out and kept us much warmer. So we came back safe and sound and even without a cold!!

The Gift of Love

The reason I was thinking about what I am going to share with you is because I had a song stuck in my head. I know that those songs are often not ones that we want stuck, but this time I was blessed with one of my favorites.

Arms of Love
I sing a simple song of love
To my Savior, to my Jesus
I'm grateful for the things You've done
My loving Savior, my precious Jesus
My heart is glad that you've called me your own
And there's no place I'd rather be
Than in Your arms of love
Than in Your arms of love
Holding me still, holding me near
In Your arms of love

We have been given a gift called love. There are many ways that people think about love, but I'm thinking in the simplest terms of the meaning. God gave His Son out of love for mankind. He wants us back.

1John 4:9-11 This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might have life through him. This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent His Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. Since God loved us in this way, we also ought to love one another.

If God had not shown His love for us in this way, what reason would we have for showing kindness to others? We as Christians should literally be taking Christ's example when he was here on earth, and loving others like he did. Without asking, "what's in it for me?". If Christ had not come, what would our world be like? I know that for me, living in a Christian community, it's hard to imagine. In this way we can understand the verse:

1John 4:19 We love because he first loved us.

So simple. But is it really? God has given us an opportunity to love. By becoming a Christian, going to church, going to youth, being baptized...all those things we do...in these things we are supposed to be making a conscious decision to live as Christ did, to LOVE as Christ did and does. Are we? What a scary, exciting, challenging thought!

Please realize that in writing this I am not trying to judge you. This is just my thoughts about my life made public, to challenge and hopefully encourage you!!

Another Day, Another Dollar (or a few more)

Ya, I'm working today. :( Actually I've been sitting here watching other people work. haha. I'm on commercial teller today and it's separate from the other tellers. I only have to key business deposits and there haven't been that many businesses coming in. I get to go for lunch pretty soon. Yippee. I couldn't find much to eat at home though. I have eggos and syrup and nachos and salsa and a yogurt. weird, I know. I only have to work 3 days next week! yay! I'm on vacation on thursday and friday and then we are going to sioux falls for life light fest. good times! I know I'm not writing with good grammar or phonetics, but I'm sure you all get the general idea. As one of my coworkers said this morning "Saturdays are when you are supposed to be home watching cartoons." :) I'm lazy...

Making it a Habit

Hey,
You might find that I don't really have much to say, but I'm trying to make this a habit. :) Eventually it might stick and I'll actually update this regularly. So I started reading some of "The Complete Works of Francis Schaeffer". Wow!! A lot of it doesn't really sink in, but some of it I'm able to understand. What an amazing thinker!! And to be able to put it into words! Even though the average person may not be able to understand it right off. I'm finding it fascinating anyhow, and it's pulled me in enough that I might actually be able to keep reading it without getting sidetracked. Well..I've been thinking about all the things that I may need for Austria and trying to cut out all the unneccessary. It really is going to be hard to fit everything in two bags. What about all my shoes? just kidding. I'll live without my 2 dozen pairs somehow. 'k maybe I don't have quite that many. Only 18 pairs that I can think of excluding slippers. :) At least I have the reputation of girls packing a lot as an excuse. If Justin didn't need his 50 lbs of stuff, he could bring some of my stuff to Europe as well and just forward it to me when I got there. LOL It might look kinda strange for him to be bringing my heels with him though. :) (Justin: I give you permission to get me back.) Maybe I'd better go before I dig myself into a deeper hole.

There and Back Again (Beth's Tale)

Actually, I'm going to keep this relatively short, because I am really tired. :) It was a successful day in the city. I got my flights booked, my travel insurance bought, and all the browsing through stores I ever have wanted to do in my life, done. It really feels official that I am going now! I also feel more nervous than ever about the lack of travelling I've done, but what better way to get experience except through experiencing. :) It was a fun day with the parents, but exhausting nonetheless. Far too much "browsing and saving", not that I wanted to spend money. Oh well, at least most of the day was spent in one of my favorite places...shoe stores. Just one of my many weaknesses, but I was able to hold out and didn't buy a single pair. Every time I was tempted, I just told myself that I was saving money by not buying them. I saved a few hundred bucks today. haha. Dad was looking for some shoes, but he ended up saving money too! There's nothing out there that could possibly measure up to my Dad. :) just kidding. The styles are a little weird in Men's dress shoes right now though. A whole bunch of European styles that have long toes that make you look like one of Santa's elves!!! :) Well...things are quickly falling into place for my trip so...time to talk to the boss. :) gotta get to bed soon! my eyes are starting to close on me. Peace

I'm Going to AUSTRIA!!!

Yes, I've known about this for three weeks already, but I figured it was time to share it with everyone. I'm sure not that many people are actually checking this site for updates anymore, but I guess I might try writing on here again. I have been looking into possibly either going to school or working at a school for quite a while, but finally on a day when I was feeling "down in the dumps", I got an email from Capernwray Tauernhof in Austria saying that they would like me to come and help out for 6 months. So...I will be spending Christmas and my 20th birthday in the Alps!! :) I'm excited to see what God has to show me in another part of the world. I'm ready for a challenge and a change of scenery and to meet new people. Please pray for me that I will be completely willing and ready to be used by God.
God Bless

Keeping the Story Alive (by a thread)

So...I started a story a long time ago and have failed to keep it going. I will try to finish it now. If you haven't read the rest of the story, you may want to go back to previous posts and read it. Here goes...
...The story went something like this...History of a land called Allmansway: In the land of Allmansway there is a castle where the king ruled. The king reigned over the land for many many years. More years than one man should ever live. The substance of his life came from a small glass vial. This vial sustained the whole land, because it had been given to the king by the woman he loved. This woman became his wife and bore him two sons. The eldest son's name was David. After David was born she didn't have another child for several years and then finally she had her second son whom they called Percivald. From the first Davy and Percy did not get along. Percy was always taking his parents attention and often did so selfishly. He was always getting into mischief and then blaming Davy. Davy (although he did not like it) put up with it and tried to please his parents as best as he could. Then one day, as Percy and his mother were out riding in the orchard, she fell from her horse and hit her head on a rock. She never became conscious again and eventually died, and from that day on Percy became more and more unhappy, blaming himself for the accident. Percy hated himself and more and more he turned his hatred toward his brother Davy. Davy was now 20 years old and Percy was 14. One day as Percy was in the village tormenting the peasants he came upon an old abandoned hut and decided to explore. He found that it was an old conjurer's hut filled with potions. He found a potion labeled "jungmachen". He found another one that was labeled "sprechmacht".
Of course, being the King's son, he is skilled in different languages and could discern that these meant "youngmaking" and "speakingpower" or thereabouts. Suddenly a nasty idea sprang into his mind.... You will have to "tune in next time" for more of the story. Please leave me an idea of what you think should happen.
ttfn, Beth

Cookie Blitz

Hey, Sunday for college and career we decided to make cookies for some of the people in our church. Everybody brought some ingredients and we mixed up a double batch of hamburger cookie dough. While the guys did that, us girls decided to play some dutch blitz. I got a new set of blitz cards for my birthday that needed breaking in. It was great fun to let the guys have the kitchen while we fooled around. We ended up bringing cookies to 10 different households rather late in the evening. Tonight we have another quiz practice. yay! I always look forward to it. I find it fun even if the quizzers don't always. We are working on the first half of the 14th chapter of Romans today. I am going to try to get the verses memorized. It is always easier if I know the verses as well. This is going to be a busy week. I am working monday through saturday. Thankfully my evenings aren't all booked yet. I'm guessing that it will be a pretty quiet week here at the "Cred". I really don't have that much to say today soo...
catch ya later

It's Been a Really Long Time

Hey Guys
I knew I would be sporadic when I first started this thing, but this is absolutely horrible. I haven't posted since May. Apparently I got a full time job. :) I'll fill you in a bit on what has been happening in the last 6-7 months. I had what seemed to be a very short summer which was spent mostly at work. In August I started earnestly looking for an apartment for me and Heather to live in. I also bought my first car.In September Heather got engaged. In October I decided to move out on my own. In November I moved into my new apartment. Somewhere in that time my brother got engaged as well. In December our whole family was together for Christmas including my almost sister-in-law, Jenna. We had a wonderful Christmas together although it was different this year. In January I threw a bridal shower for Heather. SO FUN!!! I had a whole bunch of girls over for the evening and a few even stayed for night.
Heather is getting married March 25th and Josh is getting married May 6th. I am still at my job at the "Cred" and am enjoying it more than I've ever enjoyed any other job. I am loving living on my own and I don't think I could ever go back. Even though it is expensive, it's good to know that my money is going toward something worthwhile. (living, eating, etc.) :) The only reason I'm writing on here right now is because i have been so incredibly bored at work today. Too quiet. After Christmas no one has any more money to spend. Anywhoos... I'll try to post again eventually.
buh-bye for now
Beth

Larger Than Life

I was going through a bit of my music and reading the lyrics. I usually try to buy my music because of the value of the lyrics first and then the way it sounds. I know that sounds really backwards, but it works. I hear something I like and immediately find the lyrics. If the lyrics aren't worth the money to buy the cd, than I won't buy the cd. I do have a few "embarrassing" cds that I bought before my brain hatched. :)
The first group I was ever exposed to in a real live concert was Down Here. They played at our church. :) I really enjoy their first cd for the music, but mostly for how clear and firm their lyrics are. I love it when artists make very clear what they are trying to say. I get so frustrated with the "choose your own interpretation" style of writing music. That kind of writing can be so misleading. It's like...what are you trying to say? Are you talking about your relationship with God or your girlfriend? Or the ones that are even more spaced out. It's kind of like trying to interpret a Picasso painting. What was he thinking when he painted this? Was he thinking? or was he just splashing a bunch of paint around? or was he just a wee bit out of his head? This song by Down Here is very nice and clear.

Larger Than Life

Walk this life beneath the stars/ contemplate just who we are/ against the backdrop of knowing God/ Seasons pass they come and go/ but one thing keeps its worth in gold/ a timeless bond, sharing dreams we hold// It's larger than life, it's larger than we/ it's bigger than you. it's bigger than me/ it's larger than life// there's something here that tells me so/ I was not made to walk alone/ it sharpens me to know we stand as one/ will our lives reflect the Maker/ of the sky we're living under/ it changes all to know You're really there/ when the space between us falls apart/ You're the bridge that spans our hearts// You're larger than life, You're larger than we/ Who's bigger than You/ You're bigger than me/ You're larger than life//
by Down Here

God made each of us with a need for Him and that need can only be filled by Him. When we let Him fill that need, we are bound to Him for eternity. The mystery of God and His being is bigger than anyone can truly understand. He reveals Himself to us through His word, and if we let Him, through our lives. Isn't it an awesome thought that God made us so that we can reflect Him? God is so much bigger than my tiny little self and yet he knows and cares about what I do with my life. He wants me to reflect Him and the only way I can do that is if He works in me. I can't do anything without His help. He is allowing each living person on earth to draw breath. If He was gone all of a sudden, than everything would stop. He sustains the world by His power. The only reason the ant on the sidewalk is still moving is because God is sustaining life. He sustains us and yet He gives us our free will. Do you get what I mean by God being larger than life? The things of God are to big for us to grasp with our minds. And yet He still cares about little ol' me and you. Wow! That's exciting!

Beautiful Day!

Hey! Today was a great day. Started out the morning with some great praise and worship at worship team practice and it only got better from there. We had a missionary couple in our church this weekend and they shared this morning. His name is Alex Jean Paul with the French accent. He was born in Haiti and he is now a missionary to Haiti. They are setting up VBS there in Haiti in 27 churches. My Dad will be going out there to help train some pastors since he is fluent in French. It was so great to hear how the gospel is being spread over there. It is unbelievable how poor those people are! In some ways I envy them their hunger, both physically and spiritually. I take God's blessings so forgranted. Here's a song that makes me think every time I hear it.

I Stand Amazed

I bring You my heart/ I bring You my praise/ I bring You my broked dreams I've lost along the way/ I lift up my voice/ I lift up my hands/ I lift up the moments in my life that I don't understand/ And I lay it at the cross/ Where I'm surrounded by Your grace/ And I marvel at the wonder of Your LOVE// chorus: I stand amazed/ I stand in awe/ i stand forgiven in the midst of it all/ Before You I bow/ before You I fall/ Blessed Redeemer, Sweet Savior of all/ I stand amazed// I offer You thanks/ I offer my life/ I offer a sacrifice of praise when I'm scattered by the night/ For You are my shelter/ You are my King/ You are the risen Son of God/ the Lord of everything/ Now I'm standing at the cross/ Where I"m surrounded by Your grace/ And I marvel at the wonder of Your LOVE//I stand amazed/ I stand in awe/ I stand forgiven in the mids of it all/ Before You I bow/ Before You I fall/ Blessed Redeemer, Sweet Savior of all/ I stand amazed!
by GlassByrd

If God loves us enough that He would die for us, then why can't we do something for Him? He gave us our life. Why aren't we offering it back to Him like Hannah did with Samuel? I've heard it said that if we saw all the evil around us that we would die of terror. why is it that we don't die of bliss when we see a glimpse of God's splendor every day? We should be excited (excited is not a big enough word) about God, but instead we are scared of what others think of us! One of the best quotes I heard last summer was: "anything we go through here on earth is but a moment in time when you think about eternity". Somebody said this to me when I was complaining about sore muscles and being tired. I think of it now with the thought "we only have one life! And it is so short compared to eternity! God has given us this time and He wants us to use it to do His work wherever we are. I'll stop my rant for now, but be aware that the whole issue of complacency has been on my heart for a long time. It's not likely that I will give up the subject too soon.:) g'night.