Grace...because He's not finished with me yet

God has been teaching me a lot about His grace recently. Yes, I've heard about the cross and grace all of my life. The knowledge of grace is in my head, but lies about perfection and expectations keep it fromy truly reaching my heart. I want to learn how to live a life of someone who truly understands God's grace and love, and the freedom that comes with this.

Our pastor is preaching on Philippians during this season of Advent. Yesterday, the first Sunday of Advent, he spoke on Philippians 1:6 - "...He who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus." The Truth that resounded in my heart was the Lord saying to me, "See Kari? I'm not finished with you yet. I don't expect you to be perfect now. But I am at work in you, and someday, when you are with Me, you will be perfect. Because I am faithful."

Thank You, Lord, for your goodness to me! His goodness and encouragement to me especially hit me yesterday because I knew I was supposed to be in that church service. I had woken up feeling exhausted, completely lacking energy, and not feeling well at all. I considered staying home, but something inside of me told me I needed to be at church. So I dragged myself out of bed and got ready for church. Mike's house is on my way to church, so on Sundays, I walk to his house and then we walk to church together. Yesterday morning, when I rang his doorbell, he looked at me (I obviously wasn't looking my best - he could tell I didn't feel well) and said, "Why didn't you stay home?" I replied, "Because I need to go to church and get some God and grace." And then, at the end of the service, I turned to him and said, "See? I told you I needed to be here today." :)

Along these same lines of the Truth of God's grace and love, there have been two YouTube videos in recent months that have hit the target of the deep places of my heart. I hope that they encourage you as they did me. Here they are: God chiseling and Lifehouse's "Storm" .

Loved and Loving

Loved - Last Thursday was my birthday, and then Sunday some of the ladies here had a bridal shower for me. So for the past several days, I have felt so loved on and blessed. So reaffirmed in who God has made me to be. So thankful for this community God has placed me (us) in. I am blessed.

Loving - I love my students! It is a privilege to be here, loving them and teaching them. H. is a freshman girl with such a cheerful student. She brings a smile to my face, even when I am having a bad day. We work on her English, but we also have good conversations. So I am not just her teacher, but I also feel like a bit of an informal mentor/big sister as well. S. is a 7th grade boy that I want to adopt and let live at my house. No, this is not realistic. It is just that my heart is heavy for him. He is facing some difficult things right now, and the dorm structure, while good, is not the best for a 7th grader (he and his 8th grade roommate are the only two middle school boys in the dorms this year). So please pray for S. (and H. and all of my other students) as he (they) continues to transition into life here at BFA.

Thank you for your prayers. This is a busy time of year here - please pray for energy, strength, and health. (BFA was closed last Monday and Tuesday due to a significant number of people being ill, including some with H1N1. Thankfully, the time off restored us all, and helped people either recover or stay healthy!)

Stand

"...So stand in the rain
Stand your ground
Stand up when it's all crashing down
You stand through the pain
You won't drown
And one day what's lost will be found
Stand in the rain..."

from Superchick's "Stand in the Rain"

My Brother's Wedding

This season of my life is full, as evidenced by the fact that it has been over a month since I have posted. Eeks! There are a couple of incomplete posts in my drafts folder - things on my heart that I wanted to share with you, but didn't have the words to finish. I hope to eventually share them with you, since that is the purpose of this blog - to share with you what God is doing in and through me.

The latest busyness was that I made an eight-day trip to the US for my brother Greg's wedding. The first quarter of school ended right before I left so I had sub plans AND progress reports to complete before getting on a plane. My travel day home was a bit hairy, but ended well, and I am SO THANKFUL that I was able to be there to witness and celebrate Greg and Stephanie's wedding, and also to spend precious time with my family!