Multitude Monday

11. Slightly cooler days (which, here in Texas, means highs in the 90s rather than in the 100s)

12. Homemade vanilla bean ice cream, made by my dear friend Sabrina

13. Surviving day-one(ish) of being promoted (despite having little idea what I was doing); along with this, encouragement from friends to allay my fears of failure

14. Long phone conversations with dear friends, sharing both joys and woes and different-yet-the-same dilemmas

15. Goodreads.com and the [re]discovery of so many lovely quotes to be found there

16. The impending visit of a dear friend/pseudo-brother this weekend and the opportunity for a quick phone visit with him today

17. Getting to see the girls from my Bible study again this week, after being scattered throughout the state for the summer

18. Celebrating 9 months today since I moved to Texas!

19. This truth: "But God is the God of the waves and the billows, and they are still His when they come over us; and again and again we have proved that the overwhelming thing does not overwhelm. Once more by His interposition deliverance came. We were cast down, but not destroyed." -- Amy Carmichael

20. Unexpectedly receiving a photo I hadn't seen before of my mom and me in 2007

haiti - march 2007

Happy Monday!

Of beauty and enjoyment (part 1)

As I mentioned in a previous post, Sabrina and Everly and I have been doing a book study this summer on Elisabeth Elliot's Discipline: The Glad Surrender. This sort-of-weekly time of discussion, laughter, tears, and sharing our lives with each other has been so wonderful, so special, and so very edifying. Though we frequently drift off topic (some weeks more than others, depending on what crazy circumstances are going on at that time -- and trust me, there have been many this summer!), we also have had many good conversations that have arisen from the multitude of wisdom that EE shares in her book.

Yesterday, we talked about "The Discipline of Possessions", one aspect of which is that

Things are given to us to enjoy for awhile. Nothing has done more damage to the Christian view of life than the hideous notion that those who are truly spiritual have lost all interest in the world and its beauties. The Bible says, "God . . . endows us richly with all things to enjoy." It also says, "Do not set your hearts on the godless world or anything in it." It is altogether fitting and proper that we should enjoy things made for us to enjoy. What is not fitting or proper is that we should set our hearts on them. Temporal things must be treated as temporal things -- received, given thanks for, offered back, but enjoyed.

Interestingly enough, this topic is one that I've been pondering fairly frequently over the last few months as God has provided so many opportunities for me to rejoice in the "simple pleasures" of life. From glorious sunsets, silly moments with dear friends, and beautifully foamy soy cappuccinos to midnight excursions to play on the swings at the park, spontaneous hugs, and the delight in reading a good book -- all these things are gifts from God, given to me for enjoyment and that I may, in response, praise Him. He is so good, so kind and so loving; daily (and, were I to open my eyes and pay attention, even moment by moment) He graciously gives me so many reasons to rejoice in Him. And how magnificent it is to rejoice in Him! After all, as the Westminster Catechism states, the chief end of man (that is, our reason for being) is "to glorify God and enjoy Him forever."

Now, I have to admit that all too often I take His gifts for granted and fail to acknowledge His hand in providing them; furthermore, I have to be careful not to get so caught up in the gift, whatever it may be, that I am more in awe of it than I am of its Giver (that would be idolatry).

On that note, though, I must rather abruptly end this particular post with a "to be continued", as I am rapidly running out of time before I need to be at work. So, until next time! :)

1000 gifts

So, I've decided to join in on Multitude Mondays and start posting every week about things for which I'm thankful. Here's this week's 10:

1. New books (well, new to me, anyway) from Half-Price Books

2. Late-night kitchen adventures with Sabrina, Everly, and Birdie

3. Lovely sunsets

4. Seeing Jack Johnson in concert last week

5. Psalm 139, and good sermons preached on it

6. New friends

7. An "old" friend moving to town soon

8. Several opportunities to cross things off my Bucket List

9. A long letter from a friend

10. An entire weekend off of work

me and Birdie at the Jack Johnson concert

Names

my Christina - March 2010

I like babies. A lot. And I like names. Ever since I was little, I've liked to think about what I might name my kids someday (should I ever be so blessed as to have some of my own). I can remember looking through old books of baby names that my mom still had from when she was pregnant with my brothers and me; I loved reading all the names, along with their meanings and origins. Since, as a nine-year-old, I didn't have any babies to name, I mainly used these books to come up with names for characters in stories that I was writing. If I'm remembering correctly, names such as Jessica and Aimee and Olivia were some of my favorites at the time (I don't remember any boy names that I used).

About a year ago, while sitting in the waiting room during my sister's speech therapy appointment, I decided to make a new list of names that I like and may use at some point in the future. Unfortunately, this list was misplaced when I moved to Texas, and despite having searched for it for several months (at the request of my dear sister-friend Everly, who loves names just as much as I do), all of my digging through boxes and under beds and in notebooks was in vain. Until this afternoon, that is, when I stumbled across it while looking for my original notes on Chris Riser's Psalm 139 sermon, which was the subject of my earlier blog post today. So anyway, without further ado, here is the long-awaited list (in no particular order, and you'll see my thoughts on some of these names have changed over the last year):

Girls

1. Anna

2. Anastasia (though I like this name less now than I did at the time)

3. Erin (again, don't like it as much)

4. Josie (don't like it)

5. Chloe

6. Rachael

7. Rebekah

8. Hannah

9. Adrianna

10. Alyssa

11. Meredith

12. Natalia (still like it, but not as much; actually, I like how it sounds but not how it's written)

13. Kathryn

14. Emily

15. Grace

16. Janet

17. Amelia

18. Carita (not so much)

Boys

1. Caleb

2. Jonathan

3. Jeremiah

4. Josiah

5. Hezekiah (ehh, not sure about this one)

6. Micah

7. Ryan

8. Isaac

9. Aaron (maybe)

10. Samuel

So those are the 2009 lists. Since that time, I've decided that I want to name my first daughter Janet Grace (and call her Grace), after my mom (Janet Sue, but she loved the name Grace, as do I). I also would love to adopt my Christina, and give her the middle name Rose (unfortunately, that's not super likely to happen, but we'll see). Since I wrote this list a year ago, I've thought of/heard several other names that I really like -- though unfortunately, I didn't write them down and my super-tired brain can only remember a few at this moment: Amberly (girl) and William (boy). If I think of others, perhaps I'll update again (or at least just start a new list). Anyway, there ya go, Miss Everly; hope you enjoyed this!

Psalm 139

Almost two years ago to this day, on August 24, 2008 I sat in my small country church in the foothills of the Smoky Mountains and listened to Chris Riser preach on Psalm 139. Though this has always been one of my favorite psalms, I don't remember ever having heard a sermon on it before that particular Sunday, and so it was with great anticipation and growing excitement that I listened to Chris delve into the text.

O LORD, you have searched me and known me! You know when I sit down and when I rise up; you discern my thoughts from afar. You search out my path and my lying down and are acquainted with all my ways. Even before a word is on my tongue, behold, O Lord, you know it altogether. You hem me in, behind and before, and lay your hand upon me. Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; it is high; I cannot attain it.

God knows me. Intimately. Deeply. Better than I even know myself. He knows me, and He loves me [even still]. In a way, it's incredibly frightening that anyone - let alone God - would know me so entirely; no matter how hard I may try to hide my fears and failures from the outside world, I can never hide them from God (He, in fact, sees and understands them even more than I do). Yet at the same time, how amazingly comforting it is to know that He does know and understand; He doesn't leave me to try and figure things out or make my way through life alone but rather is here, with His hand on me, guiding me and protecting me each step of the way. No matter what happens, He is with me (and little did I know when I first heard this sermon how real this truth would become to me less than two weeks later, and how desperately I would cling to it as my world came crashing down around me). How reassuring it is to know that "my help comes from the LORD, who made heaven and earth . . . He who keeps Israel will neither slumber nor sleep" (Psalm 121:2, 4).

Where shall I go from your Spirit? Or where shall I flee from your presence? If I ascend to heaven, you are there! If I make my bed in Sheol, you are there! If I take the wings of the morning and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea, even there your hand shall lead me, and your right hand shall hold me. If I say, "Surely the darkness shall cover me, and the light about me be night," even the darkness is not dark to you; the night is bright as the day, for darkness is as light with you.

There is nowhere I can go where God is not; no physical place, and no mental place where I can ever get beyond His reach. Even in the darkest moments of my life - the "dark nights of my soul" - God has been and will be there. Ironically, it has been in some of these darkest times that I have felt God's presence the most, perhaps because it is then that I am so aware of my utter need for Him and my inability to control my life. Thank God for this promise: "It is the LORD who goes before you. He will be with you; he will not leave you or forsake you. Do not fear or be dismayed" (Deuteronomy 31:8).

For you formed my inward parts; you knitted me together in my mother's womb. I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works; my soul knows it very well. My frame was not hidden from you, when I was being made in secret, intricately woven in the depths of the earth. Your eyes saw my unformed substance, in your book were written, every one of them, the days that were formed for me, when as yet there was none of them. How precious to me are your thoughts, O God! How vast is the sum of them! If I would count them, they are more than the sand. I awake, and I am still with you.

Man is God's crowning creation, and He formed each one of us, individually and exactly. God makes no mistakes. He put this mess of red curls on my head that for years was the bane of my existence (not to be dramatic or anything); He gave me this "peach" skin that so very clearly labels me as a foreigner in a Haitian marketplace. He made me exactly the way He wanted, and who am I to argue with Him or complain about that? (Though, admittedly, I've done just that on many occasions.) The point is, though, that no matter what I look like, no matter what I am or am not able to do, I am fearfully and wonderfully made by the Creator of the Universe. What's more, He's written the very days of my life in His book, every.single.one of them. How then can I justify worrying about my future, when God's already got it all planned out? Silly me for thinking that over-thinking is going to get me anywhere; my times are in His hands (Psalm 31:15)!

O that you would slay the wicked, O God! O men of blood, depart from me! They speak against you with malicious intent; your enemies take your name in vain! Do I not hate those who hate you, O LORD? And do I not loathe those who rise up against you? I hate them with complete hatred; I count them my enemies. Search me, O God, and know my heart! Try me and know my thoughts! And see if there be any grievous way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting!

The title of Chris's sermon on this psalm is "Celebrating the Power and Presence of God". He made the statement that when we do this (celebrate), we are able to deepen in God's love and reflect His holiness. And as this happens, we become increasingly uncomfortable with the sin in our lives (which God reveals to us in order that we may repent); we also grow to hate the evil in the world around us and to desire that those who have not yet been saved would come to "know Christ and the power of His resurrection" (Philippians 3:10). Our desire is that Christ would be exalted and God thereby glorified.

Anyway, those are just some thoughts based on the notes I took while listening to this sermon again this morning (in preparation for church tonight, since tonight's text is, in fact, Psalm 139). Chris explains it all much better, though; feel free to listen to the sermon here. :)

mini Haiti reunion

In 2005, I lived/volunteered at Haiti Children's Rescue Mission, an orphanage in the mountains above Port-au-Prince. This is where I met my "Texas family" (of which Joey, Sabrina, Everly, and Birdie are a part); they were living there at the time as well. This is also the orphanage where Nahomie, one of my adopted sisters, was staying -- along with about 100 other children and 20 or so nannies, cooks, and housekeepers. Obviously, it was quite a busy place. About twice a week, Sabrina and I attempted to set aside a time to meet with the older girls and have a Bible study. Here is our group:

Youseline, Sabrina, Nahomie, Marie Jean, Everly, Bernadette,

Christ-Darlyne, Faniese, Linda, Jullie, Fedeline, and me

Though I moved back to the States at the end of April 2005, I have been able to go back and visit HCRM many times during subsequent trips to Haiti. A lot of the kids - including several of the girls in our Bible study - have now been adopted and live in the States or Canada, so it's been several years since I've seen many of them, though we've been able to reconnect a little on Facebook. Last week, however, I was able to see four of these girls - Youseline, Linda, Christ-Darlyne, and Fedeline - for the first time since they've come to the States. They came and spent a few days at Eyrie Park (home of my "Texas Family"), and I was able to go hang out with them one evening. It was so much fun seeing them again and reminiscing about the time we spent together in Haiti.

Everly, Salou, Linda, Christ-Darlyne, Birdie, and Fedeline

Youseline and Cindy

Christ-Darlyne and me

Also, Christ-Darlyne entertained us with "The Banana Song & Dance" :)

So much fun seeing these beautiful girls again! Mwen renmen nou tout e mwen byen kontan nou te ka vin visite nou! Vini anko!

Psalm 8

glorious sunset * August 5, 2010

¹O LORD, our Lord,
how majestic is your name in all the earth!
You have set your glory above the heavens.
²Out of the mouth of babies and infants,
you have established strength because of your foes,
to still the enemy and the avenger.

³When I look at your heavens, the work of your fingers,
the moon and the stars, which you have set in place,
⁴what is man that you are mindful of him,
and the son of man that you care for him?

⁵Yet you have made him a little lower than the heavenly beings
and crowned him with glory and honor.
⁶You have given him dominion over the works of your hands;
you have put all things under his feet,
⁷all sheep and oxen,
and also the beasts of the field,
⁸the birds of the heavens, and the fish of the sea,
whatever passes along the paths of the seas.

⁹O LORD, our Lord,
how majestic is your name in all the earth!

July in review

July was quite a fun but full month (thus the lack of posts--or, at least, that's going to be my excuse...). Here are some photos of the festivities:

4th of July

fun times at Eyrie Park

Kevin came to visit, and we drove to Arkansas for Ian's wedding

Ian and Stephanie's wedding - the most God-glorifying wedding I've ever attended

National Ice Cream Day with the brothers :)

Starbucks girls night

Starbucksness

Caroline's 1940's-themed graduation party

Anne of Green Gables party

Of stars and swings and simple satisfactions

St. Augustine, Florida * October 2004

The heavens declare the glory of God,

and the sky above proclaims His handiwork. (Psalm 19:1)

One of my favorite aspects of Creation is the sky; I love sunrises, rainbows, pretty clouds, sunsets, and--most especially--stars. There is just something so amazing, so powerful, in these displays of God's glory, and it's awesome to think that the God who paints such magnificent pictures across the sky has said, "I have called you by name, you are Mine. . . you are precious in My eyes, and honored, and I love you."* Oh my goodness; wow. He who is the very essence of beauty and holiness and truth has called me, in all the wretchedness of my sin and the utter ugliness of my life apart from Him--He has called me and reconciled me to Himself through Jesus' death and resurrection, even before I had any inclination of my need for a savior.** What a beautiful, incredible, ridiculous truth (one that, unfortunately, I tend to lose sight of all too often). It's certainly beyond my ability to comprehend; all I can say is just wow.

Oh, praise the One who paid my debt

And raised this life up from the dead

Jesus paid it all

All to Him I owe

Sin had left a crimson stain

He washed it white as snow.

(Jesus Paid It All)

Amazing, amazing, amazing. And as if saving me and giving meaning to my life weren't enough, God continues daily to give me reminders of His love and of the fact that He is intimately involved in every aspect of my life. God loves to give His children good things; sometimes these gifts are big and obvious (like with all the incredible things He did to put together my trips to Haiti this spring), while other times they're more subtle, like a much-needed hug from a friend or "randomly" coming across a timely Bible verse or song lyric or line in a book (note: nothing is mere happenstance with God). Such simple joys, sometimes, and yet each one of these gifts is an expression of God's grace. I don't often enough recognize this and give Him the praise that He deserves, but every once in awhile, something in me clicks and I just can't help but be in awe of Him.

The other night (which was the original inspiration for this post, though--as usual--I'm getting there in a rather roundabout and unexpected manner), I had one of those beautiful moments when I was utterly and blissfully content, so thrilled by the simple pleasure of a viewing a lovely star-filled sky and swinging in a park at midnight with my brother (who was so kind as to accompany me on this impulsive excursion). Though this was not the most breathtaking glimpse of the stars that I've seen (nothing can compare to clear nights in Haiti, far from city lights, lying on a roof or in a field and feeling completely surrounded by the stars and galaxies), I nonetheless was so filled with joy as I swung through the cool night air and reveled in God's presence. I wasn't necessarily thinking great thoughts or praying profound prayers, I was just being--being with God and enjoying Him. Simple...but amazing. One of John Piper's well-known statements is that "God is most glorified in us when we are most satisfied in Him"--and what an incredible thing it is that He gives us so many opportunities and ways to be so satisfied.

* Isaiah 43:1,4

** Romans 5:6-11