Christian Exiles

"In a profound sense, this world is not our home. When we are away from our bodies we will be “at home with the Lord” (2 Cor. 5:8). We are not to be “conformed to this age” (Rom. 12:2). Our lives “are hid with Christ in God” (Col. 3:3). We have been “transferred out of the dominion of darkness into the kingdom of his beloved Son” (Col. 1:13). We have “passed out of death and into life” (1 John 3:14). We are exiles and strangers here.

The fact that we are exiles on the earth (1 Peter 2:11) does not mean that we don’t care what becomes of culture. However, it does mean that we exert our influence as very happy, brokenhearted outsiders. We are exiles. “Our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ” (Phil. 3:20). “Here we have no lasting city, but we seek the city that is to come” (Heb. 13:14)."

-John Piper

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My Very First Video Update! :-)

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Neck Warmer Style Scarf

I finished my first crochet project since I started yesterday!! Originally, I was going to make a full length scarf, but I decided to go with a trendy neck warmer style scarf with buttons instead (gotta throw my own style in there somewhere!) I started yesterday for a few hours and then finished when I got home from work tonight... Here is the final product. I'm so excited!!! :o)

 

 

 Now, what to make next?.....

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Galatians 3:8 // 3:13-14

We've been trekking through the book of Galatians at my church for a couple months now, and man, what a blessing it has been! There is so much meat packed into that book. Each week, I try to make it a point to take one verse that sticks out from the passage we're in and memorize it and meditate on it for the rest of the week. It's just something that personally helps me to digest the meat better.

Last week's memory verse:

And the Scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, preached the gospel beforehand to Abraham, saying, “In you shall all the nations be blessed.”

-Galatians 3:8 

This week's memory verse:

Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us—for it is written, “Cursed is everyone who is hanged on a tree”— so that in Christ Jesus the blessing of Abraham might come to the Gentiles, so that we might receive the promised Spirit through faith.

-Galatians 3:13-14

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Using What My Grams Taught Me

Once upon a time, I used to crochet. My Grams (grandma) taught me how to crochet when I was still in elementary school... about 9 or 10 years old. I remember the very first thing I crocheted too. It was a baby-pink scarf. Although it looked a bit contorted and the scarf was half the length it should have been, I was proud of my creation. Crocheting was so much fun for me and honestly, I don't know why I stopped. It's such an inexpensive hobby, and for me, there is a therapeutic element to it that I can't quite explain. So last night, I was in Walmart looking for some ballpoint pens, and I saw the crocheting and knitting section. I stopped to look around. I couldn't help but feel a wonderful sense nostalgia! So I went ahead and bought a few crochet needles and some yarn. Why not start up this awesome hobby again? There are so many things you can crochet, it's pretty amazing. Maybe one day (Lord willing) when we have children, I can make them blankets, hats, and other cute pieces of clothing... It's certainly cheaper than buying everything all the time, and no store bought blanket or hat can compare to one that has been hand-made with love! :o) I also think they'd make pretty cool gifts for family members and friends. Who knows, maybe I'll get good enough to start selling them? (Probably unlikely, but possibly!)


Supplies? Check!

  

The beginnings of my gray scarf.
Since I'm a bit rusty and havent done this in 12 years, I hope it turns out alright...



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A New Challenge

Recently, I decided I'm going to train to run a half marathon. I've always wanted to do it, but I found myself making excuses like, "Oh, that's impossible for me to run that many miles with my body type," or "I just don't have time to train for something like that," or "I know I would end up being the last person to cross the finish line and that would be embarrassing," or "I hate running anyways, so I wouldn't even last very long in the training phase," and the list of excuses goes on and on. Deep down, I just didn't believe I could ever do it.

Until one day, I was looking at a friend's facebook page, and saw a picture of her at the finish line after running a FULL marathon. Now, that might not seem like a big deal, but here's the thing. She is about 30 years old and get this... SHE HAS FIVE CHILDREN!!! And all of them are young... ranging from infant to elementary school age. As I stared at the picture, my jaw dropped in amazement and immediately I thought to myself, "Aja, you are 22 years old with NO children. You have NO EXCUSE WHATSOEVER! If she can do it, you most certainly can! So get over yourself and get moving!"

Hence, the jump start of my journey to running a half marathon (which, in case you didn't know, is 13.1 miles). I started pre-training to get my body used to running outside... and boy, let me tell you something. Running inside on a treadmill and running outside are two completely different things! I realized early on that I'd be able to run 3 miles on a treadmill with no problem, but when I ran outside, that 3 miles got cut down to a measly 1 mile. And that was even a struggle. On a treadmill, the surface is flat, smooth, slightly bouncy and stays exactly the same the entire run. But with outdoor running, you have uneven terrain, and you're running on pavement which we all know has no bounce flexibility whatsoever, so the full impact is on your legs. And don't even get me started on all the variations in weather that can mess with you too.

I see it as a challenge. I'm refuse to let the pavement break me! I want to conquer it. I'd like to train for 7 months before running the race. They say you should choose the race you want to run so you have a goal to look forward to. I'm planning on running the "Holiday Half Marathon" in Pomona, CA in mid-December.

Historically, I tend to have a love-hate relationship with running (I've always been more of a swimmer... I'm a water-baby!) But I'm determined to learn how to love it. I've got my training schedule together and should officially start in May once I feel like I've passed pre-training.

I don't know what I'm getting myself into, but in the end, I think it's going to be an awesome feeling to do something I initially thought impossible for me to do. With some hard work, consistency, determination, a positive attitude, (prayerfully no injuries!) and the Lord's help, I'm going to run that race.

(P.S. Unfortunately, I've missed the past two weeks of conditioning because I went on a business trip for a week and then got very sick... but as soon as this sickness passes, I hope to be at it again! I'll do my best to give updates about my journey! Stay tuned...)

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Job

 

(one of my favorite books in the Bible)

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True Brokenness

One the best messages I've heard on brokenness by Nancy Leigh DeMoss.

Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

Part 4

Part 5

Part 6

Part 7

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A Prayer for Japan

This was taken from the Desiring God blog as Pastor John Piper lifted up a special prayer for Japan... please be praying for them as well:

The power of moving water is greater than most of us can imagine. Nothing stands before it. We are driven to our knees:

Father in heaven, you are the absolute Sovereign over the shaking of the earth, the rising of the sea, and the raging of the waves. We tremble at your power and bow before your unsearchable judgments and inscrutable ways. We cover our faces and kiss your omnipotent hand. We fall helpless to the floor in prayer and feel how fragile the very ground is beneath our knees.

O God, we humble ourselves under your holy majesty and repent. In a moment—in the twinkling of an eye—we too could be swept away. We are not more deserving of firm ground than our fellowmen in Japan. We too are flesh. We have bodies and homes and cars and family and precious places. We know that if we were treated according to our sins, who could stand? All of it would be gone in a moment. So in this dark hour we turn against our sins, not against you.

And we cry for mercy for Japan. Mercy, Father. Not for what they or we deserve. But mercy.

Have you not encouraged us in this? Have we not heard a hundred times in your Word the riches of your kindness, forbearance, and patience? Do you not a thousand times withhold your judgments, leading your rebellious world toward repentance? Yes, Lord. For your ways are not our ways, and your thoughts are not our thoughts.

Grant, O God, that the wicked will forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts. Grant us, your sinful creatures, to return to you, that you may have compassion. For surely you will abundantly pardon. Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord Jesus, your beloved Son, will be saved.

May every heart-breaking loss—millions upon millions of losses—be healed by the wounded hands of the risen Christ. You are not unacquainted with your creatures' pain. You did not spare your own Son, but gave him up for us all.

In Jesus you tasted loss. In Jesus you shared the overwhelming flood of our sorrows and suffering. In Jesus you are a sympathetic Priest in the midst of our pain.

Deal tenderly now, Father, with this fragile people. Woo them. Win them. Save them.
And may the floods they so much dread make blessings break upon their head.

O let them not judge you with feeble sense, but trust you for your grace. And so behind this providence, soon find a smiling face.

In Jesus’ merciful name, Amen.

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Stumbling upon Jon Foreman

I was on Facebook the other day browsing through some of my friend's profile pages, and I happened to stumble upon a YouTube video. I clicked on it, and it was a song by Jon Foreman called "In Love." I'd never heard of him before, but I immediately fell "in love" (yes, I did that on purpose) with it. It was a completely unique sound, but the simplicity and power of the lyrics left me... well, teary-eyed. So I decided to check out some of his other songs. His song "White as Snow" stopped me in my tracks and I was swayed along with the music as he quoted parts of Psalm 51, one of my favorite psalms. 

Take a listen :o)

"In Love"

 

  

  "White as Snow"

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"Great God, Great Savior"

O LORD GOD ALMIGHTY,

Your ways are unsearchable,           

Your knowledge vast beyond comprehension,

Your holiness unbearable,

Your power infinite,

                all of creation, light as a feather,

                sustained effortlessly by Your hand.

You created all things by your perfect wisdom,

                                from the searing hot sun to the cool delicacy of the midnight moon,

                                from the dry, desolate deserts to the untold depths of the oceans,

                                from the simplest of creatures to the most complex of all beings.

Lord, You know my heart intimately,

                every thought,

                every deed,

                every motive.

There is no hiding from Your presence;

                You are everywhere at once,

                                transcending space and time itself,

yet, intricately woven in and through the fabric of its history.

O, how I’ve not cherished You as I should;

How I’ve overlooked Your surpassing beauty;

How I’ve been presumptuous in my sin.

Bring me to a place where I am unable to take my eyes off Your glory,

                Your love for me put on full display,

                Your death for me on that blessed cross,

Your life for me in the Spirit’s sweet regeneration.

Help me to clench in a firm grasp how much I’ve been forgiven

                that my heart would

                tremble at the thunder of Your love

                and worship You in spirit and in truth.

Let me more fully understand my desperate condition

and cry out to You for deliverance,

                                forsaking all vanities in this life in pursuit of holiness,

                                killing all the lusts of my flesh so as to gratify the Spirit,

                                leaving all worldly comforts that tempt me

                                     to forget where my home is.

Guide me by Your Spirit to cultivate

a genuine heart of repentance and humility,
and a willing spirit to serve You.

Most gracious God, let me perceive

the crushing weight of my sin laid upon my Savior’s shoulders,

my wicked rebellion in the gashes of His tender flesh,

the incalculable cost of my redemption in His shed blood.

How precious is that blood which cleanses me from the stained guilt of sin,

                                                white as snow,

                                                fresh as the morning,

                                                bright as the sun,

                                                pure as His righteousness.

Restore to me the joy of Your salvation,

                the sweetness of Your fellowship,

                the confidence in Your faithfulness,

                the realities of Your love,

                the wonder of Your glory.

(written this morning during my quiet time...)

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"The Awakened Sinner"

O My Forgetful Soul,
Awake from thy wandering dream;
    turn from chasing vanities,
    look inward, forward, upward,
    view thyself,
    reflect upon thyself,
        who and what thou art, why here,
        what thou must soon be.
Thou art a creature of God,
    formed and furnished by him,
    lodged in a body like a shepherd in his tent;
    Dost thou not desire to know God’s ways?

O God,
Thou injured, neglected, provoked Benefactor
    when I think upon thy greatness and thy goodness
        I am ashamed at my insensibility,
        I blush to lift up my face,
        for I have foolishly erred.
Shall I go on neglecting thee,
    when every one of thy rational creatures should love thee,
    and take every care to please thee?
I confess that thou hast not been in all my thoughts,
            that the knowledge of thyself as the end of my being has been strangely overlooked,
            that I have never seriously considered my heart-need.
But although my mind is perplexed and divided, my nature perverse,
    yet my secret dispositions still desire thee.
Let me not delay to come to thee;
Break the fatal enchantments that binds my evil affections,
    and bring me to a happy mind that rests in thee,
    for thou has made me and canst not forget me.
Let thy Spirit teach me the vital lessons of Christ,
    for I am slow to learn;
And hear thou my broken cries.


-Puritan prayer, The Valley of Vision

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