Monday, April 28, 2008

A Little Rambling

It is another rainy Monday, which means it is a great time for me to do some much needed housekeeping ('much-needed' - that is like the biggest understatement EVER!). We had a great weekend -----Knoxville on Friday (ate here), t-ball and looking at open houses on Saturday (ate here), and Sunday began our Missions Conference at church (after church went here and bought the boys some shorts and sandals and for me ---- these -only mine are brown because you can NEVER have enough brown flip flops and then we came home to eat leftovers from the night before). Have you noticed that I included what I ate every day this weekend? Pray for me, my name is Beth and I am addicted to food (they say admitting it is the first step).

As I mentioned earlier, our church began its annual Missions Conference this weekend. We bring in missionaries from all over the world and give them some really special treatment for a few days. (By special treatment I mean people take them out to dinner - each Sunday School class raises money to buy them something they need - our class bought our missionaries a satellite phone). On Sunday morning, our pastor introduced them and tells where they are serving. They walk down the aisle, some dressed in the native dress of the country they minister to. It always makes me cry to see them walk down that aisle......I suppose because I know that one day I will see them walk down another aisle and hear "Well done good and faithful servant". It always humbles me to see people who have given up their comfortable lives to share the gospel. Makes me think "What am I doing to spread the good news?". The answer is NOTHING! I have said before that my mission field is the school, the park, the ball field, etc. But compared to these people, I do nothing for the cause of Christ.

Well, time for me to go and vacuum the rugs and clean some toilets. This morning I was trying to remember what I titled a post from long ago and after much searching, I found it (I really need to tag these posts). The post is linked below the follwing verses which are my favorites..........


Isaiah 43:1-7
But now, this is what the LORD says—
he who created you, O Jacob,
he who formed you, O Israel:
"Fear not, for I have redeemed you;
I have summoned you by name; you are mine.
When you pass through the waters,
I will be with you;
and when you pass through the rivers,
they will not sweep over you.
When you walk through the fire,
you will not be burned;
the flames will not set you ablaze.
For I am the LORD, your God,
the Holy One of Israel, your Savior;
I give Egypt for your ransom,
Cush and Seba in your stead.
Since you are precious and honored in my sight,
and because I love you,
I will give men in exchange for you,
and people in exchange for your life.
Do not be afraid, for I am with you;
I will bring your children from the east
and gather you from the west.
I will say to the north, 'Give them up!'
and to the south, 'Do not hold them back.'
Bring my sons from afar
and my daughters from the ends of the earth-
everyone who is called by my name,
whom I created for my glory,
whom I formed and made."


Now you might want/need to read this. Or maybe I am the only one who needs to read it again (and again and again).

14 comments:

Fran said...

I would love to just talk about this live with everyone....

What are we doing to spread the gospel?? Really?? What are we doing to bring other to Him???

That goes straight to my heart.

And..my name is Fran and i'm addicted to food too. :)

Earen said...

Good morning friend! Sounds like you had a fun weekend & those flip flops sure look comfy.

I know we can all do more in sharing the gospel to others, but sometimes we as moms can get caught in the trap of "did I share with anyone today". Don't get me wrong, we definitely should strive for that, but I start in my own home. How did I share Christ with my boys today? How did I share Christ's love in ways to serve my husband. And plus, your blog ministers to far more people than you probably could ever imagine...at least it has to me! Blessings my friend!

Amanda said...

Thanks for the conviction this morning. God used you to remind me of something he taught me a few months ago. Sometimes when I have a "practical" problem, I like to go to "Christian books" and authors rather than the Bible. I think it is reserved for the "spiritual" matters of life. Needless to say that means I value man's opinion over God's. Not Cool. Thanks for the reminder...I'll go do some Bible study now. Have a good week. See you at church maybe.

Eddie said...

Well, I love Puelo's also. Great food and not badly priced either. It's obvious to me that your priorities is food, food , food and clothes and shoes and in that order. No wonder I couldn't get hold of you this weekend. Hope you had a great time.

Good question: What are any of us really doing in sharing our faith and for the cause of Christ. When we see missionaries who have given so much and we complain if we have to give up an hour to go visiting. Shame on us all.

Just Call Me Grammy said...

I love what your church does for the missionaries, each class doing something personal and taking them to eat etc. I will have to suggest that to our missions committee.

{patty} said...

Beth,

I was reading the little booklet that the church handed out on the missionaries this morning and was crying. I totally know where you are coming from. I feel like I have done nothing to enhance the kingdom. I told a friend this morning that I will be living on a dead-end street in Heaven on the other side of the tracks and will have to catch the bus just to see Jesus everyday. NO joke.

I hope to see you tonight at the Brewers, if not, remember I love ya, you rock and inspire me daily!!

PS. I will try to update tonight! Not that I have anything interesting to blog about. I will make something up.......

Mommyluann said...

We have have room to give more to get kingdom growth. I watch those missionaries too and think the same thing.

Anonymous said...

Bethanne you need to pray for me, Im addicted to food, but I have gained 10lbs in the last 6 months...PRAY HARD!!!

~cassie~ said...

You can't have too many brown flip flops...I completely agree!!!

That is awesome what your church does for missionaries....Missions is something that has always been close to my heart...

I loved the older post you linked to...that was so good...I need to go back and read your old posts...when I can find the time....=) Have a good one....

AnnaElizabeth said...

"Fear not, for I have redeemed you;
I have summoned you by name; you are mine.
When you pass through the waters,
I will be with you;
and when you pass through the rivers,
they will not sweep over you.
When you walk through the fire,
you will not be burned;
the flames will not set you ablaze.
For I am the LORD, your God,
the Holy One of Israel, your Savior;
I give Egypt for your ransom,
Cush and Seba in your stead.
Since you are precious and honored in my sight,
and because I love you"


man, I love Isaiah. Good word today!

I know how you feel about seeing full time missionaries and looking at what I'm doing for Christ. We are all called to do great things for God, we are just called to do them in different ways.

That is all.
Love ya!

AnnaElizabeth said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
~cassie~ said...

sorry to post again...but I tagged you on 3 random things....I think you may have done this before..but I think that you are full of some awesome randomness....so I thought I would tag you again...=)

Alana said...

Ooh, those flip flops look so comfy!

I'm addicted to food as well. Bad food at that.

I appreciate what you had to say. I was thinking about this very subject today. I feel so ill-equipped to share my faith at times, but I know that a lot of that is fear. I need to just trust Him to help me!

ocean mommy said...

Got room for one more in the club? I, Stephanie, am addicted to food...

I so get the tearing up watching those precious servants walk down the aisle!

We did a similar thing at our home church and let me tell you....it choked me up every year!!! My favorite part of the weekend was Saturday evening. Our Sunday school classes had a huge dinner (of course food was involved) and we had time to ask questions, encourage and pray for the couple we would help over the next year. It was awesome...they are living heros of our faith!