Only Eight Weeks...

...to make an impact for the Lord on my fellow Coast Guard recruits and Company Commanders, to shine the light of the Gospel in a dark place, to have the attitude of Christ Jesus as I give my best in all I do, and to be a witness of the transforming beauty and power of the cross.

Tomorrow I embark upon an eight-week adventure, which marks the beginning of my service in the Coast Guard. Boot camp will be hard and challenging, but it is only eight-weeks...eight weeks and it will all be over. I will be a Coastie, heading to a new duty station where I'll meet new challenges (hard, fun, exciting, difficult, etc.) that will stretch me. In such a short time (even though it may seem like an eternity at the moment), boot camp will be behind me...it's only eight weeks.

But a good friend challenged me to look at it in a different light---to look at it through Christ's eyes. I only get eight weeks to make an impact on the people that I'll come in contact with; only eight-weeks to be a witness of my precious Lord and Savior; and only eight-weeks to make much of Him through my actions and attitudes at Cape May, New Jersey. I am an ambassador of Christ, and He is the one who has placed me in Coast Guard boot camp for such a time as this. I thank and praise Him that I get eight weeks to serve and glorify Him in Cape May, New Jersey. An exciting, challenging adventure is just about to begin in my life---God is with me and He will strengthen me to shine for Him.

Thank You, Lord, that I get eight-weeks of boot camp---eight-weeks to point others to the Living God.

The Narrow Way

The narrow door leads to the narrow way;
Nothing with us can we bring,
No merit of our own will fit,
And no good works with us can stay.

Upon our knees we must come humbly
With our eyes fixed solely on the Cross.
No other way will lead to Glory;
Compared to Christ, all else must be considered loss.

Pain and suffering, He has ordained
As tools to work His will.
He is near the broken hearted;
Their souls He will forever sustain.

So let us meet Jesus in the fire
Of our sorrow, pain and loss.
In the suffering God bestows to us,
Let us follow Christ as we take up our cross.

Girls Day Out!!!

Yesterday all of us Waite girls had a special outing together. After getting lunch from Wal-Mart's Deli we headed to the Sandias for a picnic. We found a nice spot in the forest, and sat down for some lunch.

God has definitely blessed me with an amazing mom and some amazing sisters. Not only did we have a wonderful time, but we also were able to encourage one another with what God has been teaching us this past year.

After Lunch we went on a nice hike through the woods. Esther deemed herself the leader of our group and charged ahead of us all.

While we were hiking, we got some good snap shots of us girls together. We wanted to make sure we remember the special day we had after I leave for boot camp.

All in all it was a wonderful day with my mom and sisters. These are memories that will stay with me the rest of my life.

~The Cost of Drawing Near to the Lord~

This morning as I was enjoying my quiet time with the Lord, I read Psalm 34 and verse 18 stood out to me: "The LORD is near to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit." I have always been encouraged by this verse because it is a comfort to know that God is near me when my heart is broken and hurting. But this morning as I read the verse and meditated upon it, a new thought struck me. Perhaps the cost of drawing near to the Lord is a broken heart.

How many of us are willing to sacrifice and endure suffering and trials, which will cause our hearts to be broken in order to be near to the Lord? How many of us live our lives in such a way that honors Christ at the cost of our comforts---at the cost of our ease---at the cost of our hearts being broken??? So many of us want to be near the Lord, but so few of us are willing to pay the price and count the cost. Yes, our hearts will be broken here on this earth, but will be full of joy and happiness in Heaven; we will bear the weight of taking up our crosses now, but the pleasure of resting in His presence then forever; and we will experience loss below, but far, greater gain above. Drawing near to the Lord hurts---broken hearts brings great pain, but in the end it will be more than worth the pain we experienced for such a little while. Knowing that it will be worth it does not make it easier though, nothing makes it easier, but Christ makes it possible.

Draw near to the Lord, sacrifice comfort and ease, be willing to suffer and go through trials, cling to Christ, and fix your eyes on the goal. The cost is great but the cause is greater, the suffering hurts but the reward is worth it, a broken heart seems to much to pay but drawing near to the Lord will cost you something. We cannot serve both God and comfort---it must be one or the other. Serve the Lord with me---draw near to Him and count the cost.

Summer Fun

If you need some good ideas of how to unwind and have a fun activity to pass the time, playing in the mud is definitely a winner! Today I had some serious fun in the mud with my siblings.

Poor Peter didn't last long after I splashed him with muddy water...oops!. He did not like the taste of mud...I sure don't blame him.

"So how's your day?"

This is a relatively common question, which we respond to with equally common answers: "Great", "Not too bad", "Pretty good", etc. But most of the time, I would say that we do not put much thought into such questions and answers; we are just going through the formalities of life. Usually a question like this is given a quick answer to mask the truth, but deep down inside perhaps things are not so good...or so we think. Whatever the case, we do not reflect long enough, taking the time to examine our hearts and lives.

This morning I had a good talk with my little sister Rachael about this very thing. I asked her how her day was, and then we talked about how every day---no matter what our circumstances may be---should be just AMAZING because as Christians we are doing better than we deserve. Our circumstances should not factor into our answer when someone asks us how our day is going, our feelings should have no bearing upon our response, but instead we should base every day off of the Good News that is ours in Christ. We are sinners, saved by grace because of Christ's sacrifice, we are not treated as our sins deserve, but are shown amazing grace. We will NEVER ever experience separation from God because Jesus went through that for us. We are no longer God's enemies, but we have peace with God! Now let me ask you again, how's your day? Maybe now you'd answer something like this: "Amazing!! I am doing so much better than I deserve. I am saved from the punishment of my sin and I am a child of the King of kings. Every breath is a gift from God and every pump of my heart is because of Him. I am loved by the Creator of the universe! How could my day be anything but AMAZING??!!"

Funny how our perspective on life changes how we would answer such a common, every day question, huh? But so it should because when we are looking at life from God's perspective everything changes. So the next time someone asks you how you are or how's your day, remember that all we deserve is Hell, but Jesus has given us life through His death. I know that if your eyes are fixed upon Christ, your answer will definitely not be a common one!