friendships

So, my heart has really been reevaluating my "friendships" lately. I mean, there are just some things that people post on Facebook, specifically, that I don't want to see. I changed my Twitter and deleted some people from Facebook already, but I don't know if this is silly or not. There are some people I keep on my Facebook friends (or kept) because I felt that maybe I was the only "light" they have. I fall short a lot (see the last two blogs for starters) so I don't know that they see it. And, I think in some cases, they post things I don't want to condone or have any part of - including seeing pictures of it. Thus lies the issue. To keep or not to keep? It's been on my heart, but am I being a prude or do we just not have anything in common? Would I talk to them if I saw them in a supermarket? "What would Jesus do?"

Paul drew a distinct line, and told us not to be apart of the world. Don't dabble in it, don't mess with it. It's a line we blur a lot as Americans (or maybe humans), and I admit I am guilty of that one. What does it mean in this instance?

For starters, the Gospel is a game-changer. It makes people mad, it makes people uncomfortable, and it makes people want to push back against it. Why? Because the heart of the Gospel surrounds the realness of Jesus Christ, and a lot of people - especially in Paul's day - didn't like that. To have Jesus proclaimed as their Messiah but not come wielding a sword to save them from the Romans and create a dominant Jewish nation was nothing short of disappointing to the Jews, so many didn't believe. Put into the perspective of all of creation, however, and it makes total sense. God sent His Son to reconcile a broken humanity to Himself, because nothing else could make the atonement for the real heartbreaking, heavy reality of our sin. And He acted as a servant - as a role model for Christians (ouch!) and He gave his life for both His glory and to reconcile His children to Himself.

He then conquered death! What caused death in the garden? Sin! So sin is conquered through the resurrection of Christ (why we celebrate Easter- NOT a bunny that drops eggs of candy). The battle is won for those who believe. And reading some of this, some people don't want to commit fully to this Gospel. Why? Because it means we can't dabble in this world. It means there's something greater than partying it up and "living the life," and other things that separate us from God's love. The reality is that we were created in the image of God, meant to worship Him alone, and that all other things we worship (or try to) will not satisfy us. Yeah, we were created for the purpose of worshiping, so in every moment of our lives, we are worshiping something!

That's just the start. I could keep going. My question, after all these things, is whether God would have me to continue to be friends with some people I met a long time ago that aren't good influences, even virtually. Am I flirting with the world by maintaining these friendships?

That's what's on my heart, and that's what I'm hoping God and I will be figuring out this week. Feel free to pray with me!

Striving to surrender each and every day,

Elizabeth Marie

receiving the good and the bad

First of all, I can't say that Cleveland is all bad. There are some cool things that have happened, which I feel I should write down in case I get really sad... which happens occasionally, but I think that's part of moving away.

1. Seeing my parents/Sam. That may have been a highlight, when Mom, Dad, and Sam were all in Cleveland for about three days. We went to the Rock & Roll hall of fame, baseball games (we even got club seats once!) and got to spend quality time with some of the people I missed the most right after we moved. Awesome!
   
   
2. Going to Finger Lakes, NY. That was amazing! It was beautiful, I got to try a ton of different wines, and take a tour of the beautiful Lake Canandaigua. We had an "experience" with hotels and bedbugs, but we finally found a good place to stay and went to Niagara Falls, Canada the following day. Austin also got to try the original Buffalo wings in Buffalo, NY!
   
   
3. Cleveland Wine Festival! We learned that they have really sweet wines here (I'm assuming by the temperatures here, that its Region 1, which explains all the ice wine) and we like robust reds, so that didn't quite hit the spot but it was still a very fun day.
   
   
4. We got to go home for free! We spent quite a bit while we were there, but the flights were of no cost to us, which is a miracle in and of itself! We're looking forward to being back three times this winter, too. Houston will feel so warm coming from Tennessee!
   
   
5. I painted quite a few canvases! Don't be surprised, family, when you get one. Iamnotkidding.
   
   
6. We got to see The Avengers set! That was the highlight of my rainy Sunday (sorry Texan friends, I really would send you rain if I could and I AM praying that you get some).
   
   
7. We're going to CHICAGO! We're going to see The Second City, with Mark Amshey (only after eating at Gino's, of course) which is where famous people like John Belushi, Tina Fey, and so many others started out. We can't wait! There's also a free jazz festival and fireworks on the pier the next day, and Sunday after a brunch or something we'll head back to Mentor.

Obviously it isn't terrible, but considering that that's 7 things over the span of about 50 days (yes, it's been that long, which amazes me) in Ohio.. that's kind of a small ratio to me.

So, in the midst of all of this, I am struggling. Struggling because I just want to have a place that feels like home, and because I am not used to being so far away. Struggling, because I know that God has a real purpose for us in Ohio, but it didn't make sense to me for so long. I have some suspicions now, but it isn't clear and I'm sure it won't be until we've left, and maybe even later than that. But, God is funny. And Good. I wanted a new book [of the Bible] to read this morning, and I felt like I should read Job. I've read Job, and I had a feeling that God wanted me to read it, and that there was a really specific reason.

I read the first five chapters, and took little notes on some of the parts that I underlined me: the things that struck me about this passage. I'm just going to jot some of them down here, so you can see what God is doing (and then a podcast from a sermon at our church that slapped me in the face) and the things He is teaching me - whether I like it or not!

• Job 1: 1 "... and that man was blameless and upright, one who feared God and turned away from evil."
  I know this is the Bible and all, but this is the description of Job in the first verse. It's the first thing the writer says about him. Would this be the first thing someone said about me? Youch.
  
  {Job loses everything - livestock, posessions, children!}
• Job 1:20 "Then Job arose and tore his robe and shaved his head and fell on the ground and worshipped."
  Uh, excuse me... His first response is to grieve and worship even while he is grieving! No, I am definitely not going through the things Job did, but I can't say I responded this well when I was upset, missing something about/in Texas, or just feeling lonely here. It was more of a "why me, God? What is this all about?" (selfish!)
  
  
• Job 1:21 "And he said, 'Naked I came from my mother's womb, and naked shall I return. The Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord."
  Satan asked permission to do this to Job so that Job would curse the Name of the Lord, but instead, Job is blessing it. Satan definitely does things in our lives, attempting to turn our hearts from the one true God, but Job still worships - how would I respond?
  
  {Satan wasn't pleased with his response, so he asked permission again to go after Job's flesh}
• Job 2:7 "Satan...struck Job with loathsome sores from the sole of his foot to the crown of his head."
  His wife later suggests he just "Curse God and die" - basically, "get it over with because this sucks so much." But Job persists:
  
  
• Job 2:9 "'... Shall we receive good from God, and shall we not receive evil?' In all this, Job did not sin with his lips."

In the next chapters, Job starts to kind of wonder why this is happening to him, and his friends come by, which I see both as encouragement to him, but I remember that they also ask/hint that maybe it happened because he sinned (he didn't, but that was the common belief then - bad things happened to you because you had sinned).

Job isn't an unfamiliar book to me. In fact, I remember reading it about a year and a half ago when I was going through a totally different time in my life. But the theme is the same: do we only "deserve" (funny word, we don't "deserve" anything good as sinners, but God is gracious to us beyond belief) the good stuff? And why, when the "bad" comes, do we not like to take it? We get mad at God and blame him because life isn't how we want it (selfish) and we aren't happy with it. Ouch! That's me. Life isn't what I want, and I'm not really happy with it.

It's just my periodic reminder I guess. Thank you, friends, for letting my share my struggles in this life with you, for letting me share about our marriage (which is amazing, and I love this man so, so much) and "Our New Life."

Here's the link to the podcast I was talking about before. It's from Acts, because they're working through it. I highly encourage you to listen to it, too. If you like it enough, you can start from the start ;) It was a good challenge for me, and I keep remembering how it was an unlikely place for Paul. What struck me was when the pastor, Alex, started talking about people in that Gateway congregation not wanting to live in Cleveland. What? Me? Not wanting to live here? What are you doing God?? Yeah, that just happened. Anyway.. check it out and see what we've been getting into each week up here in Cleveland, Ohio (or Mentor).

Please pray with us for friends who are going through big changes in their lives, for transitions here in the north to Tennessee and people who are literally a road block for us (loving them despite that), for our families whom we miss dearly, and for making new friends and building relationships and community in Tennessee.... and that fall would come soon because I'm dying to wear my boots!!

Love,

Elizabeth Marie