I just had this thought in my head.
Tuesday nights are great. It's a time of fellowship, prayer, thanksgiving, hurting, and healing. But what if God wants us to do more? We've wanted to go out and do something in the community to really put some actions to our words and thoughts. And I've been thinking and reading how we need to be joyful in our persecutions (James 1:2-4). So should Tuesday night be a time of persecution? Stepping out in faith? Going into the community, "making disciples of all nations?"
I know we need time for development and encouragement, but when am I going to step up and actually use what little faith I have to glorify the Lord?
Weird? maybe.
Just a thought.
Have a great day!
John 3:30 "He must become greater, and I must become lesser."
Wednesday, January 27, 2010
Monday, January 25, 2010
Random Thoughts
The past couple of days God has been bombarding my mind with a couple things. I'm not exactly sure what to say about them, because nothing I can say will describe exactly what you're going through or how they affect you, so I'll leave the relating to you. Only you know what comes to your mind when you read these.
1. Faith - I have not stopped thinking about what Francis Chan wrote in his book "Crazy Love." One of his professors in college asked the class the question that goes something like this, "What do you do in your life that requires faith?"
2. God's got your back - John 16:33 "I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.”
3. Give everything you've got - Recently I had a track meet that mentally and spiritually challenged me more than it physically challenged me. As we pulled into the campus of Virginia Tech, seeing the castle-like football stadium, the many classrooms and buildings, the dorm rooms, and all of the extravagant facilities, I realized how big this meet what going to be. As the echoes of the gunshots went off and the events dwindled down near to the end, I realized what type of runner I wanted to be. As I watched and saw one of the runners in the 300 meter dash break the facility record and become one of the world's fastest 300 meter times of the year, it dawned on me. I want to be that runner that when I step on the track, people know this is going to be a good race. I want to run fast, I want to run hard, I want to be a challenger. This may sound selfish or arrogant, but here's why I want to do that. Obviously, I want God to use me to share the gospel with other competitors, but I want to be a good runner because I know what it entails. It requires seemingly impossible workouts, many hours in the weight room, thousands of repetitions at the high jump, long jump, or pole vault pits. I think about all of this as a Gatorade commercial. I want to sweating and breathing heavy. I want to give every single ounce of fight or pain or effort I have. But as the commercial ends, it reads, "For the Glory and Honor of Jesus Christ." I want to be a living miracle. I want to show everyone that no matter what you have or don't have, God will use you. No matter what ability you have, God will use it, if you only let him.
Lord, I'm going to give you everything I got. Help me stay strong, keep you on my mind and in my mindset. "For I am not ashamed of the Gospel..." Romans 1:16a
1. Faith - I have not stopped thinking about what Francis Chan wrote in his book "Crazy Love." One of his professors in college asked the class the question that goes something like this, "What do you do in your life that requires faith?"
2. God's got your back - John 16:33 "I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.”
3. Give everything you've got - Recently I had a track meet that mentally and spiritually challenged me more than it physically challenged me. As we pulled into the campus of Virginia Tech, seeing the castle-like football stadium, the many classrooms and buildings, the dorm rooms, and all of the extravagant facilities, I realized how big this meet what going to be. As the echoes of the gunshots went off and the events dwindled down near to the end, I realized what type of runner I wanted to be. As I watched and saw one of the runners in the 300 meter dash break the facility record and become one of the world's fastest 300 meter times of the year, it dawned on me. I want to be that runner that when I step on the track, people know this is going to be a good race. I want to run fast, I want to run hard, I want to be a challenger. This may sound selfish or arrogant, but here's why I want to do that. Obviously, I want God to use me to share the gospel with other competitors, but I want to be a good runner because I know what it entails. It requires seemingly impossible workouts, many hours in the weight room, thousands of repetitions at the high jump, long jump, or pole vault pits. I think about all of this as a Gatorade commercial. I want to sweating and breathing heavy. I want to give every single ounce of fight or pain or effort I have. But as the commercial ends, it reads, "For the Glory and Honor of Jesus Christ." I want to be a living miracle. I want to show everyone that no matter what you have or don't have, God will use you. No matter what ability you have, God will use it, if you only let him.
Lord, I'm going to give you everything I got. Help me stay strong, keep you on my mind and in my mindset. "For I am not ashamed of the Gospel..." Romans 1:16a
Friday, January 15, 2010
Isaiah 6:8
Today I read out of my devotional and I've read this verse plenty of times, but it hits me every time in a slightly different way. When I read it this time, I really got this feeling of a challenge. God wasn't direction the question of "Who will step up?" to any individual particularly, but once Isaiah heard what God said, he knew he needed to step up. I want to be Isaiah, I want to step up to the challenge. I want to be accountable. I want to be used. I want to know that I have the faith to step up knowing that if I make myself available to God, that He will use me. In "Crazy Love" by Francis Chan he talks about having faith. I wrote about this a couple days ago, but he challenges people with the question, "What are you doing right now that requires faith?" Well my answer is still nothing, but by reading "Hear am I, send me!" makes me want to step up. I know God will take care of me, but it's forgetting about my personal issues and facing eternal issues.
God I want to be used by you. I want to step up when I know you want me to step up. Help me be bold. Give me the faith to believe that you can do anything through me, but using only your power and strength. I truly want to be used, even though I may not act like it. Here am I, Lord. Send me!
God I want to be used by you. I want to step up when I know you want me to step up. Help me be bold. Give me the faith to believe that you can do anything through me, but using only your power and strength. I truly want to be used, even though I may not act like it. Here am I, Lord. Send me!
Tuesday, January 12, 2010
Busy being a shadow
Over the past two days I've been observing/shadowing over at the Lehigh Valley Hospital and Health Network in the Physical Therapy department and I've loved every second of it! So far all I've done and all I am legally allowed to do is watch and learn, and I'm doing plenty of both! So far my shifts have been from 8am to 4:30pm which seems like a long time, but it goes by reasonably fast! Each Physical Therapist's appointments are scheduled hourly so every time a patient walks in, you realize that an hour has went by and it felt like the last patient just got there! But even when the PT I am shadowing isn't busy with a patient, I get a chance to roam around and watch other PT's do their job and help out on a rare occasion if someone drops a pen or I need to get out of the way. Again, legally I'm not allowed to do anything pertaining to physical contact with the patient or any equipment, and nor would I want to attempt to know, say, or do anything because, to me, it would seem like an insult to the PT. They probably wouldn't think that, but I don't even want to take a chance at any liability claims or problems. Anyways, I have had a BLAST just watching and learning. It's absolutely insane how much these people know. Two of the PT's are probably some of the smartest people I know. It just seems like they both have answers to every single problem or patient that comes in the door.
Today involved a lot of evaluations ("evals") which is by far my favorite part to watch. Not that I have any knowledge of physical therapy, but with each patient I tried to figure out what I thought the possible diagnosis was based on the symptoms that I am knowledgeable of. For the most part, I was in the same ballpark and when the PT described the problem in physical therapy jargon I got the main idea. Grabbing an occasional anatomy and directional term here and there helped me grab an idea of the problem. As to be expected, in comparison to the PT's I felt like I was a new born baby just trying to walk while these guys and gals are zipping past me lapping me a couple times. But I tend to thrive on that type of "fight or flight" response. Sometimes the only way to learn is to throw yourself in the situation and figure it out.
My favorite part was definitely the evals though. I loved the fact that, to the PT, the patient that was in the waiting room was a complete stranger and they had to figure out what the problem was. And you don't realize how many different problems there are until you get into a setting like this and every single person has a different problem that requires different and specific stretches,exercises, and/or programs to match their problem. It's mind boggling. But also, it's the thrill of the new challenge every time a new patient walks in the door. Some people with chronic back pain, others with post-operation therapy, neck pains, shoulder pains, foot imbalance, total body balance issues, some learning how to walk or run again, others looking to retain normal or better qualities of life. You name it, they probably see it. But seeing that patient on the initial eval and watching as the PT tries and usually succeeds in diagnosing the issue. It is crazy that within the first couple of minutes of the PT doing a few stretches, exercises, or palpating the area, they have already concluded what the issue is. I can't wait to have that knowledge and perception of physical therapy to help patients get back to normal life. That is why I love physical therapy. Within the first couple of hours observing, I knew that this solidified my love for physical therapy. I want the day-to-day, patient-by-patient challenge to try to help them. I wish you could see the joy on the faces of some of the patients when they here the PT say, "You've come to the right place. I've figured you out and here it is..." For some, after he tells them that with just a few weeks of therapy they will be back to painless, effortless, unrestricted movements, they are filled with joy. They don't stop smiling. They don't stop thanking the PT. I want to make someone feel like that. To give them hope; a fighting chance. I want them to have complete trust that I will help them progressively get stronger, healthier, and back to normal life.
And God's saying the same thing to me and you.
Heal me Lord.
Today involved a lot of evaluations ("evals") which is by far my favorite part to watch. Not that I have any knowledge of physical therapy, but with each patient I tried to figure out what I thought the possible diagnosis was based on the symptoms that I am knowledgeable of. For the most part, I was in the same ballpark and when the PT described the problem in physical therapy jargon I got the main idea. Grabbing an occasional anatomy and directional term here and there helped me grab an idea of the problem. As to be expected, in comparison to the PT's I felt like I was a new born baby just trying to walk while these guys and gals are zipping past me lapping me a couple times. But I tend to thrive on that type of "fight or flight" response. Sometimes the only way to learn is to throw yourself in the situation and figure it out.
My favorite part was definitely the evals though. I loved the fact that, to the PT, the patient that was in the waiting room was a complete stranger and they had to figure out what the problem was. And you don't realize how many different problems there are until you get into a setting like this and every single person has a different problem that requires different and specific stretches,exercises, and/or programs to match their problem. It's mind boggling. But also, it's the thrill of the new challenge every time a new patient walks in the door. Some people with chronic back pain, others with post-operation therapy, neck pains, shoulder pains, foot imbalance, total body balance issues, some learning how to walk or run again, others looking to retain normal or better qualities of life. You name it, they probably see it. But seeing that patient on the initial eval and watching as the PT tries and usually succeeds in diagnosing the issue. It is crazy that within the first couple of minutes of the PT doing a few stretches, exercises, or palpating the area, they have already concluded what the issue is. I can't wait to have that knowledge and perception of physical therapy to help patients get back to normal life. That is why I love physical therapy. Within the first couple of hours observing, I knew that this solidified my love for physical therapy. I want the day-to-day, patient-by-patient challenge to try to help them. I wish you could see the joy on the faces of some of the patients when they here the PT say, "You've come to the right place. I've figured you out and here it is..." For some, after he tells them that with just a few weeks of therapy they will be back to painless, effortless, unrestricted movements, they are filled with joy. They don't stop smiling. They don't stop thanking the PT. I want to make someone feel like that. To give them hope; a fighting chance. I want them to have complete trust that I will help them progressively get stronger, healthier, and back to normal life.
And God's saying the same thing to me and you.
Heal me Lord.
Sunday, January 10, 2010
Happy Sunday!
I hope everyone is having a great day! I know I sure am! Just one of those days when you wake up happy and everything is going right! But the reason for this post is because my pastor used a verse today that I really liked and is a constant challenge for me and hopefully a lot of other people too.
John 3:30 - "He must become greater; I must become less." (NIV)
enjoy =)
John 3:30 - "He must become greater; I must become less." (NIV)
enjoy =)
Saturday, January 9, 2010
What Faith?
Last night I finished "Crazy Love" by Francis Chan and there were so many things going through my head. If nothing else I learned that my life needs to change. It challenged me to think about my life and my faith. In one of Chan's chapter videos, he tells us about the question that one of his professors asked him in Bible school..."What are you doing right now that requires faith?" Just like Chan, I couldn't think of anything that required faith. How terrible is that?! All throughout the book there are many examples of people who live there life completely on their faith and trust in God. That shatters my mind, but at the same time it shows us exactly where are relationship with God is. If what we do on a daily basis requires no faith or trust in God, then what the heck are we doing?! What the heck am I doing?! And whatever it is that I am doing, it surely doesn't seem like its for God's purpose.
Take an honest look at your life; your daily routine. What requires complete faith? I hate to say it, but everything for me seems like I can do it. I know what my credit card balance is. I know how much money is in my checking account. I know that my wallet has a few dollars in it for gas money or a bite to eat. I know all of these things and I don't have to trust that God will provide because it seems like I'm providing, or my parents are providing me with everything. But when's the last time I've stepped out completely by faith? When have I ever said, "Lord, I'm going to go to the mall today to talk about my relationship with you." My instantaneous response to that thought would be, "Well I wouldn't know what to say!" or "I might run into someone I know and that would be awkward!" or "People might shut me down." So then I step back and look at my faith...
So my faith is... comfortable. easy. rehearsed. systematic. fake.
I don't know about you, but if I were to die right now and this is what I have to show God, I would be embarrassed. And I don't know about you, but I want God to say "Well done, thy good and faithful one." I don't know about you, but in the end I want to say "I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith." (2 Timothy 4:7)
I'm a track guy. I like to run. But what if I have been running for 22 years, and then yesterday I find out that I'm not running on the right road. That the course I've been running is my own. How can you finish a race you've never been on? Never started? What am I doing? What do I need to be doing? Who am I following? Where am I running?
Please don't miss out on the wonderful things God has for us. Take a step back and look at your life. And ask yourself this question... would your life be different if you suddenly stopped believing in God? or would your heart never skip a beat?
Be bold. Test and make sure you even have faith. And if you do, use it only for the Glory of Jesus Christ.
To God be the Glory, forever and ever, Amen.
Take an honest look at your life; your daily routine. What requires complete faith? I hate to say it, but everything for me seems like I can do it. I know what my credit card balance is. I know how much money is in my checking account. I know that my wallet has a few dollars in it for gas money or a bite to eat. I know all of these things and I don't have to trust that God will provide because it seems like I'm providing, or my parents are providing me with everything. But when's the last time I've stepped out completely by faith? When have I ever said, "Lord, I'm going to go to the mall today to talk about my relationship with you." My instantaneous response to that thought would be, "Well I wouldn't know what to say!" or "I might run into someone I know and that would be awkward!" or "People might shut me down." So then I step back and look at my faith...
So my faith is... comfortable. easy. rehearsed. systematic. fake.
I don't know about you, but if I were to die right now and this is what I have to show God, I would be embarrassed. And I don't know about you, but I want God to say "Well done, thy good and faithful one." I don't know about you, but in the end I want to say "I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith." (2 Timothy 4:7)
I'm a track guy. I like to run. But what if I have been running for 22 years, and then yesterday I find out that I'm not running on the right road. That the course I've been running is my own. How can you finish a race you've never been on? Never started? What am I doing? What do I need to be doing? Who am I following? Where am I running?
Please don't miss out on the wonderful things God has for us. Take a step back and look at your life. And ask yourself this question... would your life be different if you suddenly stopped believing in God? or would your heart never skip a beat?
Be bold. Test and make sure you even have faith. And if you do, use it only for the Glory of Jesus Christ.
To God be the Glory, forever and ever, Amen.
Friday, January 8, 2010
I Dare You!
Today has been a slow day, but a great day! I've been reading "Crazy Love" for probably 4-5 hours now and I can't put it down. And i'm not going to stop until this book doesn't have any pages left. But here's one thing that I've been getting from this book. Obviously there are tons of lessons to learn from each page, but one overlying thing for me... I have been thinking about how I don't have enough faith to trust God. But then I read a part that said "Test God." So now here's my shot. I'm going to test God. I'm going to give, not knowing if God will provide, but how. I want to challenge God to see what crazy way He is going to provide for me. And when He does live up to the challenge, He gets all of the glory.
So I give you the challenge... Test God. I DARE YOU! See if He doesn't blow your mind with how he's going to provide for you when you think it's impossible. And once He does, I hope that leads you to go tell every single person who comes in your path about the amazing way God provided for you.
Have a great and blessed day!
God Loves You
So I give you the challenge... Test God. I DARE YOU! See if He doesn't blow your mind with how he's going to provide for you when you think it's impossible. And once He does, I hope that leads you to go tell every single person who comes in your path about the amazing way God provided for you.
Have a great and blessed day!
God Loves You
Monday, January 4, 2010
False Start
John 13:37 "Peter said to Him, Lord, why can I not follow you now?"
This verse started off my devotions today. And at first glance I knew the answer to the question, but I didn't really know where Oswalt Chambers was going with it. The first paragraph grabbed the steering wheel and I went for a joy-ride.
It's been a long break for me. A lot of sitting around, trying to make the time go by faster, but nothing worked. I decided not to go back to my old work because I will be shadowing a Physical Therapist very shortly and I didn't want to come back to work for 2 weeks. And spiritually, I've been doing ok, but nothing has rocked my brain as of late, so I guess I'm just waiting for the next mountain to climb. This is no Mt. Everest, but a mountain none-the-less. And who knows, I may be making a mountain out of a mole-hill. But I feel like right now I'm in a time of waiting. I've spent all of my time here at home waiting, anticipating the next move, ready to jump to the next challenge. But after reading today, I think i'm just going to keep waiting. Actively waiting, if that makes sense. I've found that I used to just wait by doing nothing and waiting for God to yell at me. But I need to keep searching God even through the times of waiting because He might be whispering to me. I want to be able to hear God's calling, whether He's yelling or whispering. Oswalt Chambers says, "When God brings a time of waiting, and appears to be unresponsive, don't fill it with busyness, just wait.[...]Never run before God gives you His direction. If you have the slightest doubt, then He is not guiding. Whenever there is doubt-wait."
Instantly my brain kicks into my track mode, and it makes perfect sense. Imagine a runner stepping up to the starting line, not knowing how far to run, or in what direction to run? It just doesn't make sense. And how about when we "jump the gun" and start running before God pulls the trigger. In track you get disqualified from the race. Thank the Lord that He doesn't end our lives if we do false start!
In today's world, we're all about speed, efficiency, quickness, I have to have it ten minutes ago. Everything needs to be available at people's fingertips instantly. But that's not how God works. I remember the Bible verse that woke me up from my stagnant days at King's College. I will never forget when Pastor Jim read Psalm 46:10 "Be still and know that I am God." It hit me like a ton of bricks. My whole time at King's College I was asking God to answer me day after day after day. But I never took the time to listen. I was too busy asking and trying to get an answer and to make a move that I didn't take time to listen to God's advice and plan for my life. It was God telling me to slow down, shut up,listen, and to wait. "Be still..."
God is not going to answer on our time. It's his plan that matters.
So as I sit here and type this, I need to remember to wait. Wait to hear God's next move. And the only way to wait is to "Be still, and know that I am God." Remember who God is. He has got us in His hands. We're gonna be just fine. So wait.
This verse started off my devotions today. And at first glance I knew the answer to the question, but I didn't really know where Oswalt Chambers was going with it. The first paragraph grabbed the steering wheel and I went for a joy-ride.
It's been a long break for me. A lot of sitting around, trying to make the time go by faster, but nothing worked. I decided not to go back to my old work because I will be shadowing a Physical Therapist very shortly and I didn't want to come back to work for 2 weeks. And spiritually, I've been doing ok, but nothing has rocked my brain as of late, so I guess I'm just waiting for the next mountain to climb. This is no Mt. Everest, but a mountain none-the-less. And who knows, I may be making a mountain out of a mole-hill. But I feel like right now I'm in a time of waiting. I've spent all of my time here at home waiting, anticipating the next move, ready to jump to the next challenge. But after reading today, I think i'm just going to keep waiting. Actively waiting, if that makes sense. I've found that I used to just wait by doing nothing and waiting for God to yell at me. But I need to keep searching God even through the times of waiting because He might be whispering to me. I want to be able to hear God's calling, whether He's yelling or whispering. Oswalt Chambers says, "When God brings a time of waiting, and appears to be unresponsive, don't fill it with busyness, just wait.[...]Never run before God gives you His direction. If you have the slightest doubt, then He is not guiding. Whenever there is doubt-wait."
Instantly my brain kicks into my track mode, and it makes perfect sense. Imagine a runner stepping up to the starting line, not knowing how far to run, or in what direction to run? It just doesn't make sense. And how about when we "jump the gun" and start running before God pulls the trigger. In track you get disqualified from the race. Thank the Lord that He doesn't end our lives if we do false start!
In today's world, we're all about speed, efficiency, quickness, I have to have it ten minutes ago. Everything needs to be available at people's fingertips instantly. But that's not how God works. I remember the Bible verse that woke me up from my stagnant days at King's College. I will never forget when Pastor Jim read Psalm 46:10 "Be still and know that I am God." It hit me like a ton of bricks. My whole time at King's College I was asking God to answer me day after day after day. But I never took the time to listen. I was too busy asking and trying to get an answer and to make a move that I didn't take time to listen to God's advice and plan for my life. It was God telling me to slow down, shut up,listen, and to wait. "Be still..."
God is not going to answer on our time. It's his plan that matters.
So as I sit here and type this, I need to remember to wait. Wait to hear God's next move. And the only way to wait is to "Be still, and know that I am God." Remember who God is. He has got us in His hands. We're gonna be just fine. So wait.
Prayer please?!
Pray for Andy Schneider
I need help. My close friend needs your prayers. Can you please pray for my close friend Andy Schneider and that God's glory will be shown in and through him. I can't thank you enough. click on his blog to get more information about him, it's not something I can put in a nutshell or begin to explain. thanks!
Love you all
Geren
I need help. My close friend needs your prayers. Can you please pray for my close friend Andy Schneider and that God's glory will be shown in and through him. I can't thank you enough. click on his blog to get more information about him, it's not something I can put in a nutshell or begin to explain. thanks!
Love you all
Geren
Pond Hockey
This is the first picture I took as we got to the frozen lake to play some pond hockey. To me it's a description of pond hockey in a photo. enjoy! and go play pond hockey if you can!
© 2010 Geren Woodbridge
© 2010 Geren Woodbridge
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