Challenge #3: In Christian Witness

In my previous two posts I shared the first two challenges. Here is the final challenge posed by Dr. Bouknight at church. I hope you will take the final challenge...


To be ....

3. In Christian Witness
-a Christ honoring witness


-John 3:16
"For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.


In the book, A Voice in the Wind (I know I keep referring to it, but like I said, the book helped inspire me to propose these challenges to you!) Hadassah was a witness to God everyday. As a slave, her master would call upon her to tell them stories. Every story Hadassah shared was a story from the Bible. Although her masters did not fully understand and make the connections they enjoyed her stories. Eventually two of them did become Christians.

How exciting is that? Can you imagine being a slave and sharing with your master the story about Jesus? Stories from the Bible?

It can be so hard to be a Christian witness. Maybe we are shy and we don't want to talk. Maybe we are scared of rejection. Maybe we are even embarrassed to share about our faith. There are so many things that stops us from sharing about God.

 In my own Christian life, I know how hard this can be. At this time in my life, I don't feel God pushing me towards mission trips, or even going house to house to share the Word of God. I don't feel comfortable going up to strangers and sharing either. I don't know maybe I am embarrassed and shy when it comes to that.


As I grow in my faith, I do feel the need to share with others more. I ask myself, how can I be a Christian witness? How can I share about Jesus?


The more I thought about this question, the more I realized I am a Christian witness. In a lot of things that I do, I witness to those around me.


Facebook has been a great way for me to witness to others. I can post a Bible verse, a prayer, anything about the Glory of God and how God has helped me in my own life. People are reading it. Maybe a nonbeliever reads it one day and has hope. Maybe even a Christian reads it and gains new hope.


Blogging has been another way that I can witness to those around me. The story of me is my greatest witness. I can share about me. People can read about my story and my faith. I started this blog as a way to track the life Drew and I are building. But the more and more I type the more I realize...this is my Christian witness. This is the life God is building for us. This is my story of how God is working in my life. You feel my tears, my hopes, my joys, my faith. This is my Christian witness. This is my story. Just sharing your own story with someone is being a Christian witness...


At church Sunday, Dr. Bouknight challenged us to be witnesses even when we are at a restaurant. Before you eat a meal do you say grace? Are you embarrassed to do it in public?


I will admit, in the past I said grace over my food every once in a while, but not consistently. But last year, something clicked in Drew and I, and our faith grew stronger. We also became stronger in our marriage. We started praying together over our meals at home, and soon started praying over our meals when we are at restaurants. And honestly, it makes me feel good. It makes me feel good to know I am not ashamed to publicize that I am a Christian. God gave me this food to nourish my body so that I can do His work. Saying grace to God for this food? Not a question. It's my praise and my thanks to God. You never know who is watching you. So why not say a prayer? Maybe someone else will have the courage to say grace in public too! I'm not going to lie, every time I see another family hold hands and say grace, it brings joy to my heart and feels me with even greater hope knowing God is everywhere!

 One way I want to challenge myself to be a better witness is through Sonic. If you listen to WMHK you know on Fridays they do the Drive Thru Difference. Drew and I discussed that every Friday sometime during the day he would pick a customer and pay for their meal. And that we would include the letter available online at WMHK's website (see below). We are going to start this next Friday. I can't wait to see how it goes and see how God touches someone else's life!

(image from WMHK's website)

*I think ours would be signed "Your friends at Sonic" (or something to that affect)

Sometimes it's just the little things we do to be part of Christian witnessing. What can you do to be part of it? Will you pay for someones meal behind you in the drive thru? Will you say grace over your meal in public? Will you leave a bible verse for the janitor? Will you post a prayer on Facebook? Will you give a Christian book to a friend? Will you take the hand of someone in need and pray for them and with them? Will you invite someone to church? What will you do? The possibilities are endless.


Good luck my friends! I hope you have read and considered participating in the three challenges I have proposed over the last three days.


Will you....


1. show Christian love (even to your enemies)?
2. be useful (at church, at home, at work)?
3. be a Christian witness?


I KNOW YOU CAN DO IT! Pray about it and see what God can do in your life and even in someone else's life!


Be blessed!







To hear Dr. Bouknight's sermon: Click Below...
http://my.ekklesia360.com/Clients/sermonaudioplayer.php?CMSCODE=EKK&siteid=3053&sermonid=202711&useSkin=

Challenge #2: In Usefulness

In my previous post I gave you the first challenge that was proposed to me at church Sunday....


Below is the 2nd challenge...

2. In usefulness
-2 Timothy 2:21
 "Therefore, if anyone cleanses himself from what is dishonorable, he will be a vessel for honorable use, set apart as holy, useful to the master of the house, ready for good work"


In the book that I read, A Voice in the Wind, Hadassah time again proved to be useful. She was useful to her master and useful to God. Although, she was later forbidden to worship in a secret Christian church, when she did attend, she was useful by her voice. Hadassah was a great singer and served her church through her voice. She was also useful to her master, by knowing her needs and attending to everything that she could in the main house.

I think about how useful am I? How am I useful to God? How am I useful to my church? How am I useful to those around me?


I know it can be so hard. We get so wrapped up in our work, our families, our lives. We sometimes forget that we are supposed to be serving someone way more powerful than ourselves...God.


Growing up, I was very active in my church. I used to love helping in the nursery. And I adored helping with Vacation Bible School during the summer. Anything to do with kids, I loved. That was my way to be useful in my church.


However, as I have gotten older, and we now attend Shandon. I know I am not useful. I go...I attend (most Sundays) but I know I am not as useful as I can be. Drew and I have helped with child care a few Sundays, but not consistently. This is something I know I need to work on. I don't just want to "sit on the premises" as Dr. Bouknight preached on Sunday. I want to be present. I want to be useful. It's time to step it up...I know I fall short, so if you feel like you do too, than know your not the only one. ;)


I guess my biggest problem is that I attend a large church. Shandon is quite large. My Sunday school is quite large. So I need to find my niche...I'm praying about it, just need to research my options... :)


How are you useful in church? Do you just attend? Do you just sit on the premises? I challenge you to become more involved in your church this year. You can do it! Find something of interest, or talent. Talk to some people and pray. God will answer!


As I think about challenging you to be more useful in church, I would also like to challenge you to  be more useful in all that you do. How can you be more useful at work? How can you be more useful to your spouse? How can you be more useful to your kids? How can you be more useful to your friends? The questions could go on and on. I think you get my point. :) Think about different ways you can be useful in church and in your life!


Good luck my friends! I know you can meet this challenge! Be useful my friends!


As always be blessed!

Challenge #1: In Christian Love

This past Sunday at church, we had a guest pastor because our regular pastor, Dr. Lincoln, was on vacation. Our guest pastor was Dr. Bill Bouknight and he continued our series on Faith, Hope, Love.

He had three challenges for each of us this year.

To be...


1. In Christian Love
2. In Usefulness
3. In Christian Witness

Over the last few days I have had a lot of time to reflect on the sermon. Because we have had 4 days of no school because of snow and ice I had a chance to read some books written by my favorite Christian author Francine Rivers.

The first book I read was A Voice in the Wind, and the second I started was Echos in the Darkness (they are both in the same series). In the book, a young slave girl, Hadassah, loses everything around her including her family. She falls in love with her master's son, but refuses to marry him because he is not a Christian. The daughter of the master is out-raged and she sends Hadassah to be eaten by the lions.

In the second book (which I am not finished yet) Hadassah's life is saved by a young student studying to be a doctor. Although Hadassah lives, her master's family does not know that she is alive because if they did know, their daughter would probably have her hang. Because of all the scars from the lion's attacks Hadassah wears veils over her head to hide her scars mainly to keep from scaring people around her. The doctor uses her as his assistant.

This is a general summary of the books I read, but in the book it goes a lot deeper than just the words I said above. I saw Hadassah use each of three challenges Dr. Bouknight set before us, and it challenged my own mind of how I could do this in my own life....

Challenge #1: In Christian Love
-In church, Dr. Bouknight challenged us to love everybody, even our enemies.

In A Voice In the Wind, Hadassah entire family was murdered and she was taken in as a slave. She was assigned to care for her master's bratty daughter, Julia. Julia got everything that she wanted, she took advantage of Hadassah, called her names, and everything. Yet, Hadassah loved Julia. She cared for her. She learned her needs, she learned her temper tantrums. She even took a beaten that was meant for Julia from Julia's husband.

I think about if I could do that? Could I love the one that curses my name? Could I take a beaten for the one that wants my own life destroyed? Could I lose my entire family and be the only survivor?


Realistically, no...I don't think that I could do that. I want to be more like that. I pray that I can be more like Hadassah, more like Jesus. But we all know it's so hard...

The Bible says...

Mark 12:31
The second is this: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.' There is no commandment greater than these."

Luke 6 27-31
[27] "But I tell you who hear me: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, [28] bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you. [29] If someone strikes you on one cheek, turn to him the other also. If someone takes your cloak, do not stop him from taking your tunic. [30] Give to everyone who asks you, and if anyone takes what belongs to you, do not demand it back. [31] Do to others as you would have them do to you.

I know how hard it is to this. I know how hard it is to forgive and to love those you hate. I can honestly say I am working on this myself.

Growing up my parents were not the kindest to me and my brother. They were abusive, and my brother always got it the worse.  My dad would often come home in a rage just waiting to take it out on somebody. No one talked in my house, scared of what my dad might do. He would beat us for the littlest things. I remember getting in trouble and having to stand in the corner. My dad went outside, and I had to go to the bathroom, so I snuck real fast to go. But he caught me. I will never forget the bruises on my legs and the look on his face. My brother however, got in way more trouble than I did. Patrick was always the center of his target. His power over us was overwhelming. My entire childhood I lived in fear. If you ever read the book, A Child Called It, that was my life. Not as severe, but severe enough, where the wounds are still there.

Growing up, school was my haven. I couldn't wait to go to school so that I wouldn't have to be in the house with him. Part of the reason I am a teacher today is to create a safe haven for my students because you never know what those children go through at home.

Growing up, I have always believed in God. My neighborhood friend, Lindsay Sanders, use to pick me up and take me back and forth to church, and when she moved away the Dusenburys would pick me up (which I am so grateful) So then church became my haven. I loved it. I loved everything about the warm feelings of having those around you love you. I loved knowing that no matter what I did, God loved me. I knew that with God's help I could endure what ever pain my dad could deliver. I knew that God had plans to prosper me, to not harm me. I knew it. And I just knew I was not giving up on my faith living in that house. I could not let God down.

Now that I am adult, and I look back on the environment that I grew up in, I don't know how I survived. I don't know how my brother survived. But I know we survived. I know God had better plans for us.

Through my college years, I have held onto a lot of pain towards my parents. I hardly talked to them. And I hardly saw them. I didn't wish to, I didn't want to, I had no desire to.

But over the years, God has been weighing on my heart every day to do something about the relationship that I have with my parents. I have been reading and reading, and praying and praying about how to forgive them. How to love them? I have also been able to talk about my life growing up more and more with my friends and my coworkers. This has helped me to let go of that anger I have felt.


Before the holidays I wrote my parents a letter. Basically asking them to forgive me for the horrible daughter that I am. For taking such a grudge on them, for not being a better daughter.

That letter still sits saved on my computer. I have reread it and reread a dozen times. I have not mustered up the courage to mail it my parents. I know I am scared to send it.


But I can honestly say, although my words were chosen carefully, I don't think I was hurtful to them. I used words of love to explain myself and to ask for forgiveness and to ask and give them love...

After reading that book, A Voice in the Wind. I am so much closer to actually mailing that letter to my parents. After hearing the sermon on Sunday, I know I need to reconcile.

I want to show Christian love so badly to my parents. I want them to know God's love. To feel God's love in my letter, in my words. I want them to feel God's love in me.

My friends, I ask for your prayers. Please pray for me. I am almost at the point where I think I can mail it, but I need your prayers. Pray I will hit print on my computer, sign that letter, and stick in the mailbox. Pray for me. Pray for my parents. Pray we will show Christian love towards one another.


Friends, I challenge you. What can you do to show Christian love? Do you love your enemies? Do you turn the other cheek? Do you forgive? Do you love unconditionally as God loves you?

Thanks for taking the time to read this. I wanted to put challenge 2-3 on here as well, but decided I would post them in a separate entry. Challenge 1 is enough to take in.

Be blessed.

Hello 2011!

Wow! I cannot believe it's January 1, 2011!

Should I be setting New Years Resolutions? Haha, I am not very good at those, but I guess I could give it a try! :)

Dear God,

These are my New Years Resolutions/Goals for 2011!

1) God, I would really like to grow my relationship with You. I am not always faithful on my Daily Bible Reading, and I know I need to get better with that. God, please help me to do that. Help me to get up earlier, or stay up later so I can have that precious time in with you. I want to do better, I need to do better. Thank you God.

2) Sometime in 2011, Drew and I would really really love to get PREGNANT! :) Yay! God, please bless us with a healthy pregnancy and baby! Our fingers are crossed that by the end of 2011 we may be holding (or at least pregnant) with a precious baby of our own, that we may share You with Oh God.

  *To help us get kicked off for our savings, I even started a Baby Fund Jar :)

gotta start somewhere... :)

3) God, I pray for the last half of my third year teaching that I can really step it up. I want my students to have the best last half of the year possible. I pray God that you will open their minds and help me meet their needs academically, socially, and emotionally. Help me on days God that I feel like I am overwhelmed and/or at lost. Help me to make a difference in their lives and prepare them for first grade. Help my students God to be obedient, kind, caring, and loving towards one another Lord God. Help my parents and I to have the best relationship possible to help their child grow and be successful! God help my little ones to see You in me. Help me to be all of the fruits of the spirit with my precious students.

4) God, I pray for our poor backyard. It needs help. We've been "working" on a patio for quite some time now, and I really would love to have that area done so that we can actually use it to entertain.

5) God, I also pray that you will continue to surround me by so many wonderful people! My friends and family mean the world to me and I so glad each one is a part of my life. Please watch over us all and help us to have a very safe and Happy New Year!

6) God, I pray that I will be a little less facebook addicted. Haha...I am quite obsessed since getting it on my phone. When Drew and I do have a baby, I know I will decrease my use some, but probably upload more pics! Hehe! :)

7) God, I pray that you will watch over Drew and I. Help us to make good sound discussions when it comes to all that we do. Help us do well in our careers, our relationships, our health, our finances, etc.


God, I pray these resolutions/goals to you Lord God, because You are the Creator! You are my All In All! I pray to You God. I worship to You.

In Your name I pray, AMEN!