Praise and Worship

What's the diference between praise and worship?

Any thoughts?

Prayer Request

Hey all! For those of you who know me well, you know that I'm struggling with health issues. This definately hasn't been a good week for that. I'm feeling a lot like I did in the summer which really isn't a good thing. It's just frustrating because I was doing so well and now I'm back to eating toast and rice and all that bland crap. So I just ask for you prayers, sometimes it's hard to deal with...I find myslef asking "Why me?". But I'm trying to remain faithful!

Turn your eyes upon Jesus

Turn your eyes upon Jesus
look full in his wonderful face
and the things of earth will grow strangely dim
in the light of his glory and grace

Greek Orthodox Church

Today I had a really cool experience. I went to a Greek Orthodox Church downtown for a paper I have to write in my History of Christianity class. I went with my friend Deborah from school, we stuck out like 2 sore thumbs...hee hee. We walk in, we're both wearing black dress pants and a dress shirt, and we noticed that we were the only women wearing pants! So embarassing, everyone was staring at us, well it also could have been that we were standing on the side of the room with all the men, which we quickly realized. Also all the women were wearing scarfs over thier heads, which obviously we did not have either. Anyways, so one oleder lady sortof took us under her wing and showed us where to stand, she also told us when to stand and when to sit, because the whole service was in Greek. Although I didn't understand the lauguage it was really cool to see all the rituals that they do in thier service. I noticed when we first got there they were doing a ceremony to dress the "priest" I'm not sure if that's what he's called. Also as soon as you walk in there's two podiums on each side of the centre isle red carpet, each one had a picture on it, I'm pretty sure one was Jesus, the other looked like it could have been a saint or something. Anyways, as people arrived they would strand at each podium, cross themselves and kiss the picture two times. Even the little kids, it was so cute! Their parents would lift them up. After that the men would go stand on one side of the room, and the women on the other. There were a few times that I heard the "preist" speak english. Through the whole service he was sortof chanting/singing and when he spoke in english i relaized that it was scripture he was resiting. One passage that stuck out was, "Love the Lord your God with all you heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and love your neighbor as yourself". I forgot to mention, the church was absolutely beautiful. On each wall there were georgous stained glass windows, and between each window were paintings of different saints including st. francis, and there were one or two of mary, and a few of Jesus. Also on the walls between the windows were vases with incence burning. In the middle of the ceiling was the biggest chandalier I've ever seen, it was incredible..sooo beautiful! At the front of the sacntuary, where the "priest" and other church members stood there were alot of candles and incence burning.
Anywho....really what I got out of the whole thing was that, in the history of our faith there is so much tradition and ritual, that's all part of how Christianity began. I know that I've been gulity about complaining about tradition and all that jazz in my own denomination, but being at the church this morning, not even understanding what I was hearing, I could still feel the presence of God and worship him. It showed me that no matter how traditionalised church is or how contemporary church is...it doesn't change my relationship with God. So..that's my thoughts for today.

God answers prayer in unexpected ways

Just a warning this may not make sense, but it's my thoughts so here goes;
Yesterday was the crappiest day I've had in a really long time. It was just one of those days that feels like everything is falling apart. But through all that God revealed something to me that I have been praying about for a while. I wont go into detail as to what that was, but I just encourage you to stay faithful because God does answer prayer. It may not be the answer you were looking for, cause in my case this time it wasn't really what I wanted to hear, but the more I thought about it the more I realized that God's in charge and it isn't always about what I want. He knows what's best for me, even if I don't see it at the time.
Also today when I got to school, I checked my mailbox and my singleness paper that I was talking about in an earlier blog was there. I was kindof reluctant to look at the mark, but I did. And to my surprise...I got an A! I've never gotten an A on a paper! Not even through my 4 years of high school. I swear I've looked at the mark 2o times over to make sure it was right. It just proves that if you really put your mind to something, and put your heart into it, and pray about it....which i did alot of because singleness was a hard topic for me to write about, then you can do anything. "WE can do all things through CHRIST, who gives us STRENGH!"

I'm just fine

I've never been a fashion queen
no fancy dresses just jeans
I've even been known to wear my
heart on my sleeve

I'm jsut your average girl next door
a plain and simple girl you see
with my share of idiosynchraisies
But you love me for me

And I'm just fine,
I see your smile from heaven
my fathers proud
and I know that I am simply, fearfully,wonderfully
made in you
you make me beautiful somehow

I've got old fashion sensibility
I believe shivalry still exists
I can be a princess even when
they're aint no prince
So what if i'm right brained?
I've got half a mind to disagree
I'd rather write the book
then go and read the movie
So even when i may not rhyme
you always give me reason

And I'm just fine,
I see your smile from heaven
my fathers proud
and I know that I am simply, fearfully,wonderfully
made in you
you make me beautiful somehow

Got my elbows on the table
my mind up in the clouds
I know I'm getting better
I can almost hear you laugh out loud
the more I trust in you
the more i find
what you create is no mistake
it's purpose by design

So I'm just fine

Isn't it Ironic?

I think it's really ironic how my last blog was about self-esteem and that is exactly what satan is attcking me with this week. And the bad part is, he know's my vulnerabilty and he knows which buttons to push, and he can make us feel like absolute crap. Kindof like the big pile of crap I stepped into this morning on my way to school! Anyways....jsut don't take your eyes away from God becaus ehe is the one who can help us through anything!

jess

We are made in the image of God!

On my bus ride home today, I was just sitting there staring out the window, and I realized just how much our society is obsessed with sex, and outward beauty. I've always known it, but never accoiated it so much with how it makes me feel about myself. I was looking at the ads at the bus terminals, and the billboards everywhere. Each one containing "skinny girls", and "buff" boys. The more I thought about those images the more it explained to my why "I" myself am so caught up in the way I look. I buy magazines every now and then, and while flipping through the pages I catch myself saying, "I wish I looked like that!", yet the picture I'm looking at is most likely a girl with an eating disorder, and her face has been air brushed and computer generated. Why do we have the mind set that these people are perfect and that we are far from it? Why do we forget that we are made in the image of God, and that he created and formed us in our mothers womb so intracitly and unique from any other person? I know that I personally forget those things, and I let the media determine the way I view myself. Satan is using the media to get to us, through magazines, billboards, t.v. shows, movies...everything. I challenge you to try throwing your magazines away, fast from the media, and billboards and try being spiritually disiplined in these areas. Maybe try using your time more wisely, instead of sitting and watching "America's next top model", or "The Swan", spend that time in communion with God, and ask him to help you love and see yourself the way he does. Ask him to reveal your gifts and talents to you. You are special, and so am I, God made us that way!

Bored....

Well, today has been a very productive day. I've finished to major papers, and now I don't know what to do with myself. So I've decided to update my blog...for the second time today. What? I'm a new blog user and quite frankly it's a bit exciting..especially when people leave comments...YAY to you people!!!! Anywho...hmm...what's been on my mind today? Ok...well...going to an interdenominational Christian University, surprisingly feels like high school again. Well not exactly..but to a certain extent. Like with high school you have friends with different beliefs, religions, and then there's the people that just don't care. Well you wouldn't think it, but even going to a Christian University you still get ( I wouldn't say persecuted) picked on becuase of your denomination. Well at least I do. I'm a Salvation Army girl, I can't say I've really been proud of that my whole life, but now I've come to the realization that it's a big part of my life and who I am. Most of my friends at school are Pentecostal, now if you know anything about denominations you know that there's a pretty big difference there. In conversations at school, I feel like a minority, and that I'm being told that what I beleive is wrong or different things that the Army practices or don't practice are wrong. We all believe in the same God for crying out loud! I don't know that much about other denominations to really argue this but I just find it frustrating that we're all Christians, and there are different denominations because of the history of the church, yet we tear eachother down because we're divided into categories. Ultimately we all believe that Jesus died for our sins and that if we accept him as our personal Lord and Saviour then we will live eternally with him in heaven! As Christians we're supposed to be accepting and not judge one another, so lets hold ourselves accountable of that.

Singleness

For the past two weeks I've been working on a 10 page paper for my Christian Life and Discipleship class, and just writing it has really challenged me. Originally my topic was going to be on the spritual discipline of worship. But as I thought about it, yes I've experienced different forms of worship but I didn't really know how to express how I felt about it in 10 pages. So...I decided to go with a topic that tugs a little harder on my heart strings....."Singleness"...well not just singleness....."Singleness and the Christian Woman's Life". I started reasearching for it, and then I realized.."Hey, I'm a single Christian Woman, I can have an opinion about this!" I couldn't believe how much I got into writing this, I mean don't get me wrong I like school, but normally I'm not excited about writing a paper. OK, I'll get to my point. Basically what I learned from doing this assignment, (well I knew it before but it never REALLY sunk in) is that right now, my single life stage, is so crucial. Like, right now is my time to grow spiritually, get intimate with God, and really experience him. For the longest time I've depended on other people for my happiness, well mostly guys, but also my friends and family. But I've been challenged to REALLY trust God with this area of my life. Oh ya, it's way harder said than done, and believe me I've said it a few times! But I believe that it's something we should surrender to God everyday! Like any other single woman, I have the desire in my heart to fall in love, to get married, and have a family....all that jazz. (God does promise us that if we delight our selves in him he will give us the desires of our hearts.) But ultimately those things can not satisfy me unless I'm in love with my heavenly father, my creator. Is this an easy thing? I believe that loving him can be easy, but putting all your trust in him and handing him the pen of your life...that's hard! It's because we're in a fight...the devil is always trying to turn us a way from God, and us getting frustrated with God over our singleness and pushing him out of the way because we want to be in charge, that's just giving satan what he wants. I challenge you, if you're single, to take advantage of this time, and fall in love with your "groom" Jesus. If you are in a relationship...take a look at it and see who you have as 1st priority? And just put all your trust in him!!!

I think that's enough of my rambling for today....don't even know if it made sense.


Jess