Prayer: a giving up of one's worries

Recently I have gone through a spritually "dry" time where I didnt have great desire for God. I found it so hard to pray. I knew that when i did pray it was good, but too often I felt like I couldnt. Just recently I have been thinking about Hope. Hope is only found in Jesus. The world has a way of making one feel so hopeless because of the evil and the trials which come with the territory. But THANK GOD there is Grace and forgiveness for all my short commings. It is also extended to the person who inflicts the pain and suffuring.

Our God is completely just. That is why our hope is in Jesus, whose death paid the price for our sin.

Of mice and men

Last night I went to this biblestudy I've been a part of. It is a time of worship, prayer and listening to the Word of God with about 8-13 people from the churches of Reading, PA. It is always so encouraging to be in the presence of God and to hear the Word of God spoken. Anyways my one friend Jessica and her friend Donna caught a ride with me to the biblestudy and on the way home I invited them to my house for tea (in good Kazakh tradition).

As many of you know I spent about 4 months in Kazakstan. So when the topic came up in conversation i was more than willing to show pictures and souvenirs of my travel. To my dismay I realized a mouse made its home in my box of keepsakes and totally shreded most of my stuff.

Not only do I need to clean it all up but its not like I can get this stuff again. Oh well... I guess this is one of the down sides of living in a city row home.

Up and Down

The fruit of the Spirt is Love Joy Peace Paciece Kindness Goodness Faithfulness Gentelness and Self-control.

Sometimes i feel like i cant love or i wonder where my joy is.

Sometimes i feel like i cant pray.

In my weakness God is Stronger.
So, soul, PRAISE the Lord regardless of how you feel.
See yourself through the love, hope, and faithfulness of Christ.

Help me to hope again. Help me to trust again.

Cultural Amphibian

I consider myself a cultural anphibian. I was born into a white, middle class family with deep Pennsylvania Dutch roots. I was also born and raised in the "ghetto" of the small city of Reading, PA. (known for its high murder rates and pure cocaine) Both my mom and dad's familys come from rurual situations. My family is country, my neighbors are ghetto. What does that make me? A cultural anphibian. I have learned to be at home both in the city and in the country.

I am the youngest in my family. I have one whole brother I spent all my growing up years with. I also have half sibblings, five to be exact. My dad is 27 years older then my mom... its like being raised by your grandpa (with out being spoiled). My dad was already 50 years old when I was born.
You can probibly tell My family is very important to me. Community is also very important to me. I am trying to get to know my neighbors... You know the whole, "Love your neighbor as your self" type deal. You probibly also picked up that my faith is very important to me. It is... sometimes too much (I have this tendency to get caught up in religous piousness) I just want to Love the Lord my God with all my heart. (which is easy to do when my eyes are not set on condeming myself or others.)

Budgeting

Last night I got around to organizing and budgeting my finances. (as if anyone cares) But I took advantage of the fact that everyone was busy except for me. It was really good for me to get some work done around the house.

I should have some money left over to put into a savings account. It just gets kind of tricky. I dont want to hord my money and I dont want to mooch off of others. I dont want to become self reliant and forget about God's faithfulness. Its not wrong to be rich (and I have strugled with this idea). I want to be generous. I want to be wise. The cheapest price isn't always the best price. Look at Wal~Mart. Is it cheap? You better believe it. Do I support it's ethical/economic decisions? Not really.

my $85 mistake

As you may know i work selling appliance parts for my family buisness. Today i recived a shipment of a stupid misunderstanding between me and the customer. I didnt get stuck with the bill... my mom did. I still feel horrible about it. Who is going to want to buy a brand new dishwasher motor which costs $106.30 when you can buy a whole new dishwasher for $170?

oh well... May the Lord surpise me and use this mistake and bless someone out of it.