Author Archives: MzEllen

•

Have I not commanded you? Be strong and of good courage; do not be afraid,
nor be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go. (Joshua 1:9)

God has led me through some frightening times...times of not knowing what the future will bring.

Maybe even more frightening have been the times when I knew exactly what the future was going to bring.

And there is more frightening times and more uncertainty facing me right now.

Yet God has commanded us...commanded...that we not be afraid.

For you did not receive a spirit that makes you a slave again to fear, but you received the Spirit of sonship. And by him we cry, "Abba, Father." (Romans 8:15)

Woodrow Kroll writes "Lessons for Living"

A child had to walk each evening past a dark, spooky house. Some adult
friends tried to give him courage. One handed him a good-luck charm to
ward off the ghosts. Another installed a light at a particularly dark
corner near the house. A third took a more spiritual approach, saying,
"It's sinful to be afraid. Trust God and be brave!" It was good advice,
but not much help. Then one friend said with compassion, "I know what it
is to be afraid. I'll walk with you past the house." Instantly the child's
fears were gone.

"Lucky charms" don't work, mantras don't work.

It is because we are adopted children of God that we know that He walks with us.

It is God who arms me with strength and makes my way perfect. (Psalm 18:32)

So we say with confidence, "The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid. What can man do to me?" (Hebrews 13:6)

Do not trust men...they will fail you  Only God will never fail.  And He will walk with you through the scary parts.

You can go through life thinking that there will always be somebody there - a "rock" - but that's not true.

Sometimes, it's just you...and God.

•

Typical throat and chest congestion and stuffy nose.  Time to start the nasal rinse again.

On a similar note...we are really going to be pushed to get both flu shots this years.  The more research I do on the swine flu shot, the less I want it.

On the other hand, I work with some pretty immuno-compromised people and our campus would be decimated if a bad flu hit us there.

•

My church is a venue for "ArtPrize" - the first piece of art that committed to being in our building was a Calvin College grad.

Our building will be open to the public for 10 hours a day for 2 weeks...I've committed to working for a couple of 5 hour shifts...serving coffee, greeting people and answering questions.

This morning I helped hang up artwork and got to chat with a few of the artists.  I also got the chance to talk a little more with fellow congregation members (who happen to move from a certain mega-CRC I used to be a member of)

And I asked...what if I want to go to Rehoboth...for real.

I got a "preview" of what is going to happen tomorrow in service.  I cried this morning and I'll cry tomorrow.

•

Something can "matter" without "making a difference"

Having something "matter" is just an emotion...it means that you care.

The question then, becomes "do you care enough to act on the emotion?"

If so, then the the thing that "matters" also "makes a difference".

It matters to me that my daughter would be very upset if I had her cat put to sleep...but even though it matters, if the time comes, I cannot let that emotion of "matter" also "make a difference."

If there is no action, no change...then whatever it that "matters" does not "make a difference"...and there is little that "makes a difference"

•

One one thing.

ABC News reporter Terry Moran caused quite a commotion tonight Twitter after writing the following: "Pres. Obama just called Kanye West a "jackass" for his outburst at VMAs when Taylor Swift won. Now THAT'S presidential."

oops....

In the process of reporting on remarks by President Obama that were made during a CNBC interview, ABC News employees prematurely tweeted a portion of those remarks that turned out to be from an off-the-record portion of the interview. This was done before our editorial process had been completed. That was wrong. We apologize to the White House and CNBC and are taking steps to ensure that it will not happen again.

Can I still agree with him if he was "off the record"?

(Yesterday was politics day and I missed it, so here it is)