I'm Going to Israel!

On Monday I leave for Israel for 10 days! I'm really glad that I took the opportunity to go even though I had to work like a crazy person to pay for it without dipping into my savings too much. I'm looking forward to everything except the flight! I'll post lots of pictures when I get back!

He knows what we need

“Everything is necessary that He sends. Nothing can be necessary that He withholds.”

- John Newton

HT: First Importance

Stir My Heart

I was going through CDs to upload music to my MP3 player tonight (getting ready for my trip to Israel!) and I came across this song again by Sara Groves. Reading the lyrics is not nearly as powerful as listening to her sing. You can listen to a clip here.

If time were ever to wear you away
And circumstance should bind me
If age should bring a dark night on my soul
If fear and doubt should bind me

Please stir my heart
Take me back to the fire
And bring to me recollections of joy
And renew my first desire

If pains and trials come to me
And I cannot stand strong
If fools adjust my theories
To believe your truth is wrong

Please stir my heart
Take me back to the fire
And bring to me recollections of joy
And renew my first desire

I swear it will never happen to me
But how I can I know
For Peter swore the same to thee
Oh, hear the cock crow

Please stir my heart
Take me back to the fire
And bring to me recollections of joy
And renew my first desire
Please stir my heart
Take me back to the fire

Being Labeled

Pastor and author Kevin DeYoung explains why he doesn't mind being labeled Reformed in 'What I Mean By Reformed'. I've been attracted to Reformed theology for the past couple years and his post explains perfectly why I'm so fascinated with it.

And it's not that I want to be divisive or separate myself (I admit I did so at first) by taking the label, it's just that Reformed theology is so rich and beautiful to me, and unlike anything I've ever heard in all my 25 church going years.

And I don't mean to say that no other 'label' or theology thinks and believes this way (link here for some harms of labels), it's just that I personally prefer Reformed theology to any other theology I've heard explained and preached.



I know, I know. I'm really weird. Can't I just post about something normal, right?

A Pastor's Heart

About ten years ago I was in an ungodly relationship. In God's mercy, I was saved from this relationship, but coming out of it, I was VERY confused as to how I actually got in such a messy, ungodly relationship. I read Joshua Harris' book I Kissed Dating Goodbye and it opened my eyes to fickleness of being 'in love' and it helped me to understand how important it is for me to involve my parents.

But as I continued to read about courtship and relationships more, I became very legalistic. I made all sorts of rules for how I would act around guys to protect myself and to protect them. I made sure to guard my heart but what I really did was make in impenetrable fortress. I'd made so many mistakes before that I tried to earn God's and other's approval by following all the right rules. Legalism is not just trying to earn your salavation through works. I like how C.J. Mahaney defines it: Legalism is seeking to achieve forgiveness from God, justification before God, and acceptance by God, through our obedience to God.

Over the past year or two, God has really changed my heart. He's helped me understand that through the cross, there's nothing more I need to do to earn His approval. I've also come to understand that God is merciful and He is my Father and my Shepherd. He will guide me. I don't need to erect all sorts of walls and follow all sorts of rules. God will keep me safe. He is generous towards me. Now I'm not saying that I do whatever I want. I still follow what the Bible says and I believe that is imporant to obey the Word.

Over this same past year or two I've rediscovered Joshua Harris through his blog. I'm posting to honor his pastor's heart. There are many men and women who writes books or run parachurch ministries or hold seminars or produce materials for churches. Though many of the principles in the materials are good, some of the applications are not. And sometimes people twist the principles presented in the materials and make their own rules about how the principles should be applied. Such things often lead to legalism.

I appreciate that Joshua Harris has taken the time to assess how his writings and teachings have affected his followers. I like that he tries to correct any errors in application that may arise from his teachings. That is a pastor's heart. Since I'm in the medical field, I compare pastors to physicians. A good physician will study the principles of medicine and then he will apply the medicine to his patients through medications or recommendations. But a good physician must always be assessing his patients and how they respond to his applications. The same must take place with pastors.

A recent post, What I've Learned Since I Kissed Dating Goodbye, on Joshua Harris' blog does just this. The gist of it is this:

I still stand by the message of that book [I Kissed Dating Goodbye] that premature, short-term romantic attachments can be a big distraction from serving God—especially for teenagers. But in the years since I've also seen that a legalistic application of these ideas can be unhelpful, too. One of my main concerns in my church or any other church is that there be no disunity among Christians over issues of dating and courtship. We need to learn to hold our own convictions on this matter with charity. Most importantly we need to make sure that our convictions are shaped by scripture—not culture, church culture or my books.

Happy Heart Day

All glorious is the princess in her chamber, with robes interwoven with gold.... You are altogether beautiful, my love; there is no flaw in you.... How beautiful you are, my darling, how beautiful you are!... My beloved is mine, and I am his....

For your Maker is your husband, the LORD of hosts is his name.

Psalm 45:13, Song of Solomon 2:16, Song of Solomon 1:15, Song of Solomon 4:17, Isaiah 54:5

Ultrasound Training

I completed my didactic training in Limited Obstetrical Ultrasound last week and I was amazed at how much I learned in just three days! The training was done through the National Institute of Family and Life Advocates (NIFLA). From their website, NIFLA "exists to provide life-affirming pregnancy help centers the best legal education, consultation, and training possible". In providing training in ultrasound, they follow the guidelines given by The Association for Medical Ultrasound (AIUM).

For the past six months I have been volunteering some of my time as a nurse at Care Net PRC of North Central MA. I've really enjoyed volunteering there and felt so privileged to be able to attend this training! Now I just need to complete the practicum or 'hands-on' part of the training which includes 50-75 scans before I can do them on my own and be fully certified. Limited Obstetrical Ultrasound is not diagnostic but it can give preliminary information on the gestational age of the baby, the location (is it in uterus), and the viability (is the heart beating). This is very helpful information for women who need to make a decision regarding their pregnancy and it also serves women who are awaiting health insurance.

One of the instructors brought up an interesting point. She said that ultrasound didn't really come on the scene until right around the time that abortion became legal. Ultrasound is a window into the womb and when you see that tiny beating heart there's no denying that a life has begun.

Clay Feet

I enjoyed reading John Piper's thoughts on Lincoln in honor of his 200th birthday at DesiringGod.org. I've always known Lincoln as a hero for ending the injustice of slavery. And it is true, he was considered to be a progressive in that area in his time and is credited with ending slavery in America.

But consider these comments made by Lincoln:

• [H]e had “no purpose to introduce political and social equality between the white and black races.”
  
• He was not in favor of “making voters or jurors of negroes, nor of qualifying them to hold office, nor to intermarry.”
  
• He said there is a “physical difference between the two” that would “probably forever forbid their living together upon the footing of perfect equality.”

Shockingly, in 2009, Lincoln would have been a considered racist! John Piper relates:

"[L]ike every hero, his [Lincoln's] feet are clay. That is what human greatness is—deeply flawed.

There is one hero, and only one, who will not let you down—Jesus Christ. All other heroes fail us, and the reason they do is to point us to Christ. There is no one more admirable, and more worthy of our praise, than Christ. At the very moment when he looked least praiseworthy, he was achieving the highest triumph of love—his death.

I thank God for Abraham Lincoln today. And among other great reasons one of them is: admiring and disillusioned I turn to Jesus."

It made me think of some men and woman I have 'heroized' in the past. It's true: The failures of men have served to point me to Jesus as the hero that will never, ever fail. Thinking of clay feet makes me think of how Jesus' feet are described in Revelation 1:15 "like fine copper when glowing in a furnace." Wow. What a comparison.

All items in italics were taken directly from Desiring God, Admiring and Disillusioned I turn from Lincoln to Jesus, by John Piper.

Thy Mercy, My God

I just heard this song and I think the lyrics are so beautiful!! I want God's mercy to be the theme of my life.

Thy mercy my God is the theme of my song,
The joy of my heart, and the boast of my tongue.
Thy free grace alone, from the first to the last,
Hath won my affection and bound my soul fast.

Without Thy sweet mercy, I could not live here.
Sin would reduce me to utter despair,
But through Thy free goodness, my spirit's revived
And He that first made me still keeps me alive.

Thy mercy is more than a match for my heart,
Which wonders to feel its own hardness depart.
Dissolved by Thy goodness, I fall to the ground
And weep for the praise of the mercy I've found.

(Hallelujah, Hallelujah, Hallelujah)
(Hallelujah, Hallelujah, Hallelujah)

Great Father of mercies, Thy goodness I own
In the covenant love of Thy crucified Son.
All praise to the Spirit, Whose whisper divine
Seals mercy and pardon and righteousness mine.
All praise to the Spirit, Whose whisper divine
Seals mercy and pardon and righteousness mine.

You can listen to it here sung by Sarah McCracken.