hey you.

you're cooler than the flip side of my pillow.

thats right.

too much talent in one room.

Philemon: dude

i can

spell any of the original 150 pokemon

me: ...

Philemon: just ask me which one

and i'll spell it

Dear Class,

I need you more than I can even comprehend. I don't see a bright future without you. But you've been so needy lately, always making me do this and that. Do we really need to keep meeting like this? At 8am? I'm just not happy anymore. Please get your act together. We've still got a long road ahead of us.

Love,

Tanya

Not even a penny.

Yesterday was Baby Samuel's celebration service. The service was beautifully structured around giving glory to God for all that He's done through Samuel's life. As I sat there...I couldn't help but think about Hosea.

I've been reading Hosea again for my quiet times, and my goodness, he was quite a man! You really only hear about Hosea's life in the first few chapters of the book. From it, we find out that he was an obedient man who listened when God told him to marry a prostitute. He goes after his unfaithful wife over and over again as her wandering heart leaves him. It's so amazing to me the way God uses Hosea to demonstrate His love and mercy towards Israel. But even more so, I'm amazed by Hosea's understanding of the little value his life has. In this present age, we're told to "save" ourselves for the right person to marry. You don't want to give your heart away to just anyone...and certainly not to a prostitute. We learn to guard our hearts, not to give ourselves away too easily, and to find a godly spouse. We do it because we think we're of some sort of worth, that we ought to cherish ourselves and our lives, don't we? And yet...the fact that we even have BREATH is because God is gracious and full of mercy. We are worthless creatures trying to establish meaning in a temporary world. Hosea must have had such a firm grasp on the fact that his life was completely worthless if not used to bring glory to the One who gives him undeserved life. In reckless abandonment, he lets God use him in whichever way He pleased. Hosea knew his life was not his own...that his sole purpose was to bring God glory. He obediently marries a prostitute to illustrate God's love and mercy towards Israel. If Hosea was alive today, people might look at his marriage and feel sorry for him. They might look down on him for having married an outcast, feel bad that he has to chase after an unfaithful wife, think he's foolish to stay with her. But...when I see Hosea, I see a man who's lived a full life.

Is it possible that the world sees Samuel and feels sad that his life was so short lived? Yes. But if the fullness of life was measured by how we used it for God, then I am so convicted that Samuel lived a fuller life in his 19 days on this earth than I have in these past 18 years. He's told more people about Jesus in these 19 days then I have in my 6866-something days. God worked because Samuel was willing. The possibilities are scary if we lived fully convinced that we are just a vessel in God's great work. Imagine the glory He would receive if we were willing like Hosea and Samuel. I'm so humbled to have known Samuel's story. It's made me reexamine my life and my heart for God. Thank You, Father, for using this infant to remind me of Your goodness.

Now Approaching:

Finals week.

Please go easy on me.

When it's time to walk that way we wanna walk it well

Elaine Goodfriend #2

OT class has proved to be both interesting and challenging.

Professor Goodfriend is sooo knowledgeable in the Word. It's so insane how she knows exactly where to go in the OT for any question you throw at her. The other day, I raised my hand and asked a question regarding adultery. Without any hesitance, her immediate reply was, "OK, lets go look in Leviticus 18:20, and 2:10. And also Deuteronomy 22." While I realize that she's probably read the Old Testament 500 bazillion times, I still admire her familiarity of the Bible.

However, I can't help me think about how hopeless her life is. Whenever Professor Goodfriend talks about Christianity (she is a devout Jew), she seems to have this bitter, cynical tone. She comments on Jesus as if Christians are stupid to believe that He is the real Messiah. As she lectures and goes on and on about the OT, I start to feel sad for her. Here is a woman with exceptional knowledge of the Bible, who follows every tradition of the Jewish faith, and lives her life according to the laws of the Old Testament....Here is a woman who proudly states to her class that she won't bathe during Yom Kippur to observe the laws of old...Here is a woman who is still waiting for her Savior. A lot of times in class, I think to myself, "Man...if she only knew the Truth, if she only knew Jesus...she could do such great things with her knowledge of the Bible. Her life could be so filled."

I can't imagine what it would be like to live life hoping daily for a Messiah to come. I can't imagine living life without the Holy Spirit. Being in that class reminds me of the hope we have in Jesus, of how blessed we are to have something to live for, of God's goodness to provide for us. It helps me to get just a tiny grasp on this unfathomable gift that God has given to us in His son.

What is knowing the Bible by heart, if I don't have Jesus?