Sunday, September 6, 2009

Checking In!!! Gasp, yes...really!

I know it has been f o r e v e r since I last checked in. APRIL...wow...so sorry! I have been reading...okay, I'm a wee bit behind but I'll catch up...never fear. Since mid April I've read...the rest of Mark, Galatians, 1-2-3 John, Song of Songs, Psalms, 1-2 Peter, Joel, Duet., John, 1-2 Corinthians, Jude, Joshua and I'm mid way through Judges. Yeah!!!
I've been totally engrossed in autobiographies and biographies of various missionaries. A couple we count as an extra set of Grandparents loaned me a whole stack. I've read:
...Vision for God (about the life of Margaret Brand missionary to India for leprosy optical patients with husband Paul)
...Gates of Splendor (if you've seen the movie it's never the same as the book people!!)
...Against All Odds by Jay Walsh (about reaching the native tribes of Bangladesh)
...Green Leaf in Drought (the story of the escape of C.I.M missionaries from Communist China)
...The Valley is Bright by Nell Collins (missionary to cancer patients)
...Tramp for the Lord by Corrie ten Boom (anything by her is inspirational)
I plan to continue with whatever I can get my hands on...it's spiritually challenging!!

I got some neat old sunday school studies from my grandparents basement this summer. They were moldy and damp...but they let me have them anyway. I'm just loving them!!! They are harder than anything that's been written recently. I'm so sick of the fluff in the christian bookstores I could just scream. Sorry, blog for another day...
I also love the answers inside...I think it's either my Grandma or my Aunt's handwriting. She can't remember...I mean, she's only a Godly woman after all...she's only done about a badillion such studies...what's the matter with her she can't remember. HAHAHA! Love you Grandma!

This one starts with Colossians...Putting Christ First. My brief synopsis of what I've learned thus far...I need to put Christ first in my faith, in God's plan for me, and in ministry. The source of spiritual fruit is the Word of the truth of the Gospel. God made everything...things we can see and things we can't...things on earth and in heaven...in all realms of power. He made everything for Himself (his glory). In the spiritual sense Christ is the head...so, he should come first in all things. In order to be presented holy and without blame...I must continue firmly in faith; steadfast. I must not be moved away from the hope of the gospel.

The challenge of course was to put Christ first...they suggested trying it for 24 hrs. That's sort of wrong...you should try it fully EVERY DAY. Doesn't mean you'll succeed. You'll walk in the power of his daily sufficient grace though!

So, I'll try to check in again before the end of the year. Hope you are working hard on your resolutions...and above all that you are reading God's Word! It's soooo important!

2 comments:

Kayren said...

I love that you found the old studies of your Grandma's.

The books you listed...would they be appropriate for Sparky? She loves to read missionary stories, but so far she has mostly read Heroes of the Faith. She enjoys reading non-fiction if it isn't 'boring,' which can sometimes be difficult to gauge. Our version of boring and hers varies.

Your thoughts?

Barbara H. said...

I LOVE missionary biographies. I have read all of those except Vision for God (though I did read Ten Fingers For God about Paul Brand and another one about his mother -- can't remember the title) and the one by Jay Walsh, though I have read other books of his.

I highly, highly recommend By Searching by Isobel Kuhn.She was raised in a Christian home and sent off to college fully prepared to defend the faith against "modernistic" ideas. But when one of her professors simply said, "You only believe that because your mom and dad did," she realized he was right, and she went into a worldly lifestyle. This is the story of how God brought her to Himself and then called her to the mission field. In the Arena is excellent as well, kind of a follow-up to By Searching. Climbing by Rosalind Goforth is another favorite -- after writing a biography of her husband, Jonathan, she was asked to write some things about her life. Another favorite is Amy Carmichael of Dohnavur by Frank Houghton.