Getting ready for Labor Day

This week we’ll be gearing up for a fairly busy Labor Day weekend. We will have several groups coming this weekend, Lord willing, to continue serving the Lakeshore, Waveland, and Bay St. Louis area. We are continuing to work at Ms. Redford’s and Ms. Lynn’s and with each group that comes getting a little closer to getting their houses finished.

We have also done a lot of work at Ms. Laura Lambert’s trailer. Ms. Lambert’s trailer was flooded, but has been leveled, gutted out, wired, insulated, had some siding put on.

The office is coming along. There was a team here from Baton Rouge on Saturday to help paint the trim. This will be Pastor Don's office.

The distribution center is still very busy, seeing some days over 500. This is the line that formed this past Wednesday morning. We also had a donation of 50 children’s bikes come in. We were able to give those out to community members

I had the privilege to meet Mr. Malcolm the other day. We have been working on Malcolm’s place for a couple of months now, but I had never met him or been to his house. It was very encouraging for me to listen to him speak of the volunteers that have been to his house and how his life has changed since the storm. He explained how he now has compassion on those who are going though similar things. I also got to go visit the team that was working at his house this past Saturday. The team from Star, MS was laying tile and putting door handles on, making the house more into a home.

Am I being stupid?

I was reading Bob Kauflin's blog "Worship Matters" and for Monday's devotional he asks the question "am I being stupid?". It was a great entry (in my opinion) on obeying Proverbs 12:1 "Whoever loves discipline loves knowledge, but he who hates reproof is stupid."

Here are a couple of exerpts from his entry, but read I encourage you to read the whole thing for yourself.

"I’ve been aware of my desire to love the encouragement and avoid hearing anything critical. I tend to have the same attitude after I preach a sermon. But God tells me that if that’s my attitude, I’m stupid. He wants me to LOVE reproof and discipline, not run from it.

Why? I can think of a few reasons. Loving reproof makes me more aware of my need for God’s grace in my life. Loving reproof helps me fight my inherent craving for self-exaltation. Loving reproof is a sign that I need others in the process of sanctification. Loving proof is a way of acknowledging I have blind spots and that I don’t know EVERYTHING.

Here are a few ways I try to cultivate the love of discipline and reproof (and I still have a long way to go):

1. Pray for reproof. That’s right. Ask God to bring people into your life who will point out where you’re making mistakes, sinning, or could do things better.
2. Expect reproof. Be on the lookout for it. I find that when I’m surprised by critical feedback from others, it’s usually because I'm looking for their praise.
3. Ask others for input. That’s why we hand out evaluation forms at the conferences. We read every one of them. They have been invaluable each year for making the next conference better. It’s best to ask people for input when they have time enough to think about it, and are convinced that you really want to hear it.
4. Thank people for reproof. It’s rarely easy to reprove someone else. When a friend approaches me and says they want to share something with me (and I don’t get the feeling it’s encouragement), I want to make sure I thank them for caring enough to give me input, whether I agree with them at the moment or not.
5. Ask questions about reproof. Oftentimes, people don't say everything they're thinking. Ask them to elaborate, expand upon, or fill out what they're saying. It will help you hear it more clearly and respond more humbly.
6. Thank God for reproof. Every critic is a gift from God. God is the one who enables others to overcome their fears and tell us what we need to hear. What an evidence of God’s kindness!"

End of the summer update

The summer is about coming to an end, and that leaves me trying to figure out where it went. This summer has been a great time of growth for me in several aspects of my life. I admit it’s hard for me to even know where to begin, because there’s just so much and a lot of that is hard for me to put into words. But here I go:

1. The Lord has blessed me with great friends and fellowship. I knew coming down here that for the most part I’d be around Christians a lot of the time, but I didn’t know that I’d be blessed with such great friends. And meeting people from all over the United States and being able to have conversations with them has been much fun but relationships that I have made with folks from here has truly been a blessing.

2. I’ve been encouraged to think theologically and know that as a female it’s alright to be thinking theologically (while I never thought it was wrong I felt a bit out of place when discussing theology since not many of my female friends didn’t care to learn and felt like others thought it wasn’t necessary for females to know).

3. Realizing my frailty and sinfulness and the need to lean on God and his strength and power. It is humbling when I come to the point of realizing that I am acknowledging God in provision and doing so much work here, but I fail to run to him and fully trust and rather being self-sufficient. I came to realize very quickly that if I was going to be self-sufficient I wasn’t going to make it too long. Not everyday has been easy, but then when was that ever promised. But I definitely see a difference in the times I am trying to be self-sufficient rather than being in prayer, reading scripture, and trusting God.

4. Seems small but huge to me…Realizing the advantages of singleness and seriously enjoying it. Still I’m pretty sure I don’t have the gift of singleness and don’t desire to be single forever; however, at this point I love it and realize that there is no need to be in a hurry.

5. I’ve been stretched this summer beyond what I ever could have thought. And busier than ever. But still have had a lot of fun. Working as a project coordinator and mainly coordinating the inexperienced teams has been an experience in itself. Like we say around here a team of experienced workers will work on a project for a couple of days, but a group of teens will work on a site and have the work done in a couple of hours, and be ready to move on to the next project. It has kept me busy and hasn’t left much time to be shy. But I have been able to meet many teens, adults, and community members.
   

I know there is much more that I have learned and experienced so far, but to be able to communicate it is difficult without rambling, so I’ll spare you.

There has been a lot to learn this summer and we have kept busy the entire time summer; this week, however, we are pretty quiet around the church grounds. We have one family volunteering this this week and had a day team come in on Monday, but that's it for this week. With the beginning of the school year our numbers have dropped a lot, but there is still plenty to be done here on the gulf coast and a need for more folks to come help.

Brief reflections

I was able to stop by Ms. Malstrom's camper yesterday and chat with her for a while. The church has sent several teams over to her house this summer and she almost ready to move in, she is hoping to be in within the next month. Basically just waiting on the gas company and a refrigerator and stove, then she'll be able to get in. She took me in to see the progress that has been made. It is such a cute little place now.

Through the course of the summer I have had some time to reflect on what is happening all around me, however, as I try to explain it the words I can come up with don't seem like enough. But in a very brief summary: It has been awesome to see the ways God is working here. Working in the hearts and lives of folks around here and in other parts of the country; seeing the church stand firm on the truth; provision for the biggest of needs and the smallest; and seeing folks frodifferentnt denominations, states, walks of life come together and unselfishly serve along side each other.

Work, growth, and conviction

Much continues to be worked on here in Lakeshore. Teams are out working in several homes laying floors, putting up cabinets, putting in air conditioners, and ministering to the grieving. We have several small teams here at the moment and it has been fun getting to know some of the volunteers a bit better. One family that is here now John & Shannon and their 2 children from Maryland share a love of scripture and the doctrines of grace and it has been enjoyable to talk with them and get to know them as they serve.

This past Wednesday night we changed things up a bit for the church service. We watched a DVD of The Desiring God conference held last fall. John Piper preached to us last night and fit about 30 sermons into 55 minutes. He was preaching on God’s Sovereignty over Satan and evil. It was pretty intense and I am sure I missed part of what he was saying at times, but I was encouraged this morning when I heard that one of the members was having a hard time with one of the points Piper was making. I was encouraged that folks were really thinking about what they were hearing and questioning things that didn’t make sense. It is apparent that God is working in the hearts of the folks here in Lakeshore and the members of Lakeshore Baptist Church.

As I was reading my email this week and checking several blogs I came across numerous times a fresh words letter that John Piper recently wrote. It was very convicting and really made me think about what comes out of my mouth. Entitled "Talking to people Rather than about them" it is definately worth a read.

Total Depravity...and biking...

"It is a sad, harmful, and evil characteristic of sin not to recognize how serious it is and to excuse it by treating it lightly." - Dr. James Montgomery Boice

I am excited I finally finished the "Amazing Grace - The History & Theology of Calvinism" DVD. It was very helpful in helping me to understand even more about the doctrines of grace. I warned ya'll that I'd be writing more about calvinism. There is a lot concerning total depravity that I could touch on (many sermons and chapters of books are devoted to this).

Total depravity meaning we are completely unable to do any good in the eyes of God including believing the gospel. Each person is sinful and not right with God, this is all caused by the fall. There was one part that really hit me though and it is the difference between the words can and may.

Can is a word of ability. May is a word of permission.

This is important to take into consideration when looking at John 6:44-45

John 6:44-45 (ESV) 44 No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him. And I will raise him up on the last day. 45 It is written in the Prophets, 'And they will all be taught by God.' Everyone who has heard and learned from the Father comes to me—

See in verse 44 Christ says that no one can come... Knowing that can is a word of ability, this verse is saying man cannot choose whenever he is ready. If it were left up to us on our own to follow Christ or not, we would never choose him because our hearts are full of sin. God draws people to himself, and that is the reason people are able to come.

Another installment of "When interns get bored" (still which almost never happens)....
Before the "M" here in Lakeshore and before I had gotten my car back from the shop my co-worker Greg gave me a gift. A gift that once the bosses left site I had a great deal of fun on. If only ya'll could come watch me make a fool of myself on my rusty old child's bike...