Tuesday, December 16, 2003 What I've learned today
2:01 PM
I spent an hour and 15 minutes in the Word this morning. I read it out loud that my focus was constant and not interrupted by other things. When I finished, this is the most important thing that God showed me:
1Timothy 4:15-16
Meditate upon these things; give thyself wholly to them; that thy profiting may appear to all. Take heed unto thyself, and unto the doctrine; continue in them: for in doing this thou shalt both save thyself, and them that hear thee.
First things first. I need to meditate, or pray, over the word. I need to read it. I need to believe it. And I need to ask God to place it in my heart permanently. I need to ask God to put it there so that I might display it to others. Through praying over the Word, I will receive whatever I ask. God will give me whatever I pray. If I pray over a healing scripture, God will give me healing. If I pray over a forgiveness scripture, God will give me forgiveness. And through these results in my life, others will see the power and grace that God has. Through me God will demonstrate all He can do.
Additionally, I have to immerse myself in the Word. I have to believe in it WHOLLY. Not in part, but in whole. I need to believe it, pray over it, and follow it. Not only will others see the awesome things God is doing in my life, and not only will I receive this salvation and this grace, but OTHERS will receive it as well. Those who hear what I say can and will be saved provided I am living in God's word completely and meditating over it. Lord, let me be a person who gives themselves wholly to you, and reflects your goodness and glory to others. Amen.
So, the day has finally arrived. Well, at least, it's close enough. The end of the LOTR trilogy is here. In many ways I am more excited than I have been in a while. However, I also feel a slight sadness as I know there will be no other movies within this series. Unless the decide to go back and do the Hobbit. WHICH THEY SHOULD! At any rate, I will simply look forward now to seeing this great movie on Wednesday and then to reading and rereading all of the books. And, I still can enjoy watching the trilogy over and over again on DVD. Too bad I have to wait so long for my DVD collection to be complete.
In other news, I'm very excited for Christmas this year. I've already gotten really great presents for everyone I know and a lot of these gift ideas are ones that I thought up of on my own. That makes it super awesome because I can feel as though I really know these people really well! :o) Also, I'm looking forward to receiving a trilogy of books that I have thus far enjoyed. I have yet to read the third, but the first two in the series were phenomenal and they should definitely be made into a series of movies! hahaha! Perhaps THAT is what I will have to look forward to in the future. Any, they're by Garth Nix and the first two in the series are called Sabriel and Lirael. The third is titled The Abhorsen. They're very good fantasy books taking place in a very well elaborated world. The characters are very entertaining and the reading is not too dense. In fact, I think the book is actually intended for young adults but I think that anyone would greatly enjoy reading these books. I know I have!
In addition to that, my plans for Italy are finalizing. Keith and I are going there for most of the summer to do a service project there. Craig will be joining us for the second half of the trip, where we'll either be in Como or Gatteo for 3 1/2 weeks and then we will spend a week in Rome. Best part about it all? Serving others in an environment that promotes a love of Christ. Father Matt, the man helping us organize this all, said it best when he said, "You will be bringing God to these people." That is by far the best part of the trip. Second best part? Free room and board. Even when we're in Rome for our week of VACATION TIME rather than service, we will be put up in one of these homes for the entire week! It should be totally awesome and lots of good fun.
And with that said, I am off. I hope this update was both informative and stimulating to you all, and I look forward to updating more in the near future.