105=15=5=120...........college math

Well as most of you know, many colleges have been finishing up with this semester by giving their students final exams. Even though I don't physically go to a university for class, I too had a final yesterday. (I do take my tests at several universities in MO and KS.) My final test for 2010. =) It was Social Science and History.........basically I had to study everything about, well, everything. It covered Western Civilization 1 & 2, United States History 1 & 2, Psychology, Sociology, Microeconomics, Macroeconomics, and much more. It was kinda nerve racking because I had taken this test in May but had not passed. Thankfully though, after many more hours of study, I was able to pass yesterday! =)

So you are probably wondering what the numbers above mean. Well, because I passed my test I now have 105 credits! =) 120 credits is what I'm aiming for, which means I only have 15 credits left before I graduate with a Bachelors in Liberal Studies! I only have 5 more tests. I'm so very excited! This was an amazing early Christmas party!!!!! =)

Have a very Merry Christmas!!! =)

Love,

Ashton

JP: Sports, Finally

JP writes:

If you know me you know I love sports. And finally, God comes through with a sports blog! I was flipping stations on the truck radio as I was heading to the missions base when I landed on a sports talk program. Of course, I just had to stop and listen for a minute. The KC area sports teams generally are at the bottom of the standings regardless of the sport (reminds me of Atlanta's teams when I was growing up in the 70's.) Their fans must be conditioned to complain because that's all they did despite the fact that the KC Chiefs football team is 8-4 and in first place for the first time since I was growing up in Atlanta. Yes Tuffy, that's a long time ago. "The quarterback is not good (just named the Player of the Month for November) , they need to settle on using just one running back rather than two (this despite the fact that they lead the league in running the ball), why didn't they tell us one of the coaches was having knee surgery during the off week, blah, blah, blah..." People, they are in first place! Give them a break and enjoy it.

Then I started thinking. God must be thinking the same thing about us, the body of Christ in the USA. Just like the KC sports fans, we've been conditioned to complain. We're not satisfied. Our churches are big and beautiful with amazing state of the art audio/visual technology, but we still find something to complain about. We don't like the music, the sermon's too offensive, the sanctuary is too warm/cold, the coffee doesn't taste good enough. The same thing goes for our houses and cars. Someone else always has a bigger, nicer one. Our cell phones and ipods are "so yesterday". We wring our hands a complain because right now we can't afford to stop at Starbucks on a daily basis. We are constantly comparing ourselves to those who have more rather than those who have less than we do. Instead of stopping and giving thanks to God for how He has provided, we complain because we want more. It seems like we as a society are never satisfied.

Now imagine what the tribe of Levi must have thought when God divided out the promised land among the Tribes of Israel. The story can be found in the book of Joshua. God first told Moses and now reminds Joshua in detail how to divide the land. Nine of the tribes inherited land on the west side of the Jordan: Simeon, Judah, Dan, Naphtali, Asher, Issachar, Zebulun, Benjamin, and Ephraim, plus half the tribe of Manasseh (Joshua 13:7). The tribes of Reuben, Gad, plus the other half of Manasseh, took their inheritance on the east side of the Jordan (Joshua 13:8). And I'm sure people were complaining because they didn't get river front property or didn't have mountains in which to build their weekend retreat. I'm sure that they wanted what the others had received.

But what about the tribe of Levi. Weren't they left out. In fact, it was as if God had said "Sorry, no land for you." However, he did provide them with an inheritance. "But to the tribe of Levi, Moses has given no inheritance; the Lord God of Israel is their inheritance. (Joshua 13:33, Numbers 18:20).

What? No land? I imagine many from every tribe thought that the Levites had received a raw deal. After all land was and still is a sign of wealth and a means to more wealth. Ahh, but God knew that true wealth was found in spending time with Him.

The Levites had inherited the privilege of coming into the Lord's presence on a daily basis and serving Him. They had to learn to be satisfied with just the Lord and nothing else.

And that's the question that the Lord poses to us today - In the world today, if all we had was the Lord, would we be satisfied?

AP: Heart Matters

AP Writes:

Hello all!!!!

I apologize for not writing sooner! My life has been super busy this past couple of months with preparation for the Mystery of Christmas. (We performed this past weekend. It went really well and was so much fun! I'm kind of sad it is over, but relieved to be able to sleep again!) Recently over the past couple of months God has really been highlighting to me the state at which I hold my heart. I often find myself in the prayer room just flipping through different parts of the Bible when verses I've never noticed before will jump out at me, all of them dealing with issues of the heart. I've even had conversations with different close friends about how our hearts are doing.

I was struggling in October/November with really trying to understand my heart and feeling kind of disappointed that I wasn't able to control the emotions of my heart well. I found a verse in Jeremiah that said "The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it?" (Jer. 17:9) I was reminded that my heart was human, and that if I followed what my heart was 'feeling' then I was following things that were untrue. I found the verse that said, "Now devote your heart and soul to seeking the Lord your God." (1Chron. 22:19) I realized that we are supposed to give ourselves in our day to day business. Even though our hearts are wicked, God still really wants them!

He even knows the secrets of our hearts. Which, honestly, could be a little scary for most of us if we stop and think about it. God knowing everything we think........everything. It makes you not want to think! =) "God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever." That would probably be my prayer right now. That in everything, through everything, that my gaze would be such that I would depend on God to sustain my heart. He should be the strength of my heart......He's the one who created me. I have nothing that I could give Him in return for His sacrifice for me. He deserves every second of every day.

It also says in Matt. 5:8, "Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God." Doesn't that make you want to go get your heart in check? I mean, who wouldn't want to see God? I love how blunt the Bible is. It tells you what to do in order to get desired results. Only, they aren't things we can do on our own......we have to depend on His guidance. =) Colossians 3:1 is also encouraging because it says, "Set your hearts on things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God." God wants us to meditate on Him. How cool is that? Our job is to think about Jesus. =) I also like Phil. 4:7 which says that the peace of God will guard your heart and mind. The thought that God's peace will guard our hearts is so comforting to me because that means I don't have to be in control! He leads my heart!

One day during this past week, I was putting my makeup on for the show and Uncle Matt came up while fixing his suit/costume and asked me a few questions. I love it when he asks me questions because it always makes me think. He wants to know what's going on deep in the heart, not just the surface. I love that about him! =) He was asking me about my heart and how my life was going. Through our conversation I was reminded that the matters of the heart are so extremely important! We should hide ourselves in Christ. (Col 3:3)

I also really like this quote. It would be so cool if this were the case of the guy I end up marrying! =)

"A woman's heart should be so hidden in God that a man has to seek Him just to find her."

Max Lucado

Hope to write more later!

Ashton =)

JP: Dust off and get back in the game

JP writes:

Isaiah 52 begins with the Lord saying, "awake, awake, O Zion, clothe yourself with strength. Put on your garments of splendor.....shake off your dust, rise up, sit enthroned." There are two things that He wants us to do. First, to wake up from our deep, comfortable, cozy slumber called contentedness. And secondly, to shake off the dust, rise up, and walk into the glory and power that He desires for us and makes available to us. Or in other words, to get back in the game as I like to put it.

God desires to use us to heal, evangelize, and prophesy on a regular basis. However, somewhere along the way in our christian walk, we as a church body have lost our initial zeal for the Lord and have gotten knocked down by the tribulations of life. Now, we are afraid of getting back up and causing waves. Afraid of what others may say and of losing their so called respect. We have written our selves off as useful in the kingdom of God. We don't see ourselves as God sees us. Wollowing in the self-pity of our human weakness, we crawl to the sidelines and take our place on the bench content to watch the "game". Giving into the lie that our sin is bigger than God's power. We need to shake off the dust because the enemy wants to speak lies into your brain saying that what you've done in your past disqualifies you from being used by God. He wants to speak lies to us saying that we are not worthy.

The Lord is crying out "awake, awake. It's time to get up, brush off, and get back in the game. I came to set you free so that I can use you to set others free." We have to do something. We have to wake ourselves from the lethargy of unbelief. We have to get up! I remember getting knocked down several times in sports growing up and not wanting to get back in the game. It was painful and many times I was afraid. But as I was picking myself up, brushing off, and doubting myself, my coach would be there reminding me of the player he knew me to be. Telling me to not look at the circumstances, but at the facts. God does the same thing when He tells us to walk by faith, not by sight in 2 Corinthians 5:7 and to agree with who He says we are!

But that's easier sad than done because we look at weak, little ol' us and compare ourself to those that we are in awe of on the ministry stage. We look at them wondering what amazing things are going to come forth from them next. Wes Hall recently shared at a service that often the leaders are sitting there thinking, "Man, I'm tired and really hungry. The music is irritating me and that guy in the 5th row is really bugging me. I really wish I could go home and be with my children! I just don't feel it." In reality, they are just like us. They, too, have to shake off the dust.

We all have times when we feel it, but the majority of the time we don't. If we operated on feelings, no one would show up. That's why we walk by faith not by sight. Kind of like a train. Lead with faith, and the feelings will follow. We need to wake up to who we are - sons and daughters of the King of kings. Royalty equipped to do His works. It's not so that man gets the glory, it's so that God gets the glory.

Many of us are sitting in the dust waiting for God's big crane to pick us up when it's time, shake us, and then set us up where we are supposed to minister. However, He has already done His part, now He's waiting for us to do ours. Most likely your ministry field is right there in your day to day life. It's time to get back in the game. Keep going even if you get knocked down the first time. Don't be afraid. Our Heavenly Father is right there cheering you on and whispering secrets to unlock hearts. It's our job to rise up and get going. the results are up to Him.

I'll close by quoting that great theologian Adrian Balboa of Rocky movie fame:

Rocky - "But, I'm afraid."
Adrian - "There's nothing wrong with being afraid. You're human aren't you?.. You're the one that has to carry that fear around inside you... Get rid of it, because it's going to bother you for the rest of your life. Look at what it's doing to you now."
Rocky - "And if I lose?"
Adrian - "At least you lose with no excuses. No fear. And I know that you can live with that"

AP: Word of the Day

AP writes:

I thought a while ago I should unsubscribe from the Dictionary word of the day. Moma signed me up for this a couple of years ago to prep for the SAT. But now that I am a college Senior it seemed as if it was not serving its purpose anymore. I'm so thankful I kept it! The funniest words come through! Here are just a few of them:

Slugabed \SLUHG-uh-bed\, noun:

One who stays in bed until a late hour; a sluggard.

Viand \VAHY-uhnd\, noun:

An article of food, now usually of a choice or delicate kind.

  

Smithereens \smith-uh-REENZ\, noun:

Small pieces; bits.

Acta \AK-tuh\, noun:

Official records, as of acts, deeds, proceedings, transactions, or the like. 

Lucifugous \loo-see-FOO-guhs\, adjective:

Avoiding light.-----------(Interesting since Satan's name is Lucifer and he hates God, who is light.....)

Hobbledehoy \HOB-uhl-dee-hoy\, noun:

An awkward, gawky young fellow.

Frabjous \FRAB-juhs\, adjective:

Wonderful, elegant, superb, or delicious.

  

Brobdingnagian \brob-ding-NAG-ee-uhn\, adjective:

Of extraordinary size; gigantic; enormous.

Quaggy \KWAG-ee\, adjective:

1. Marshy; boggy.
2. Soft or flabby.

Tittle \TIT-l\, noun:

1. A dot or other small mark in writing or printing, used as a diacritic, punctuation, etc.
2. A very small part or quantity; a particle, jot, or whit

Kenspeckle \KEN-spek-uhl\, adjective:

Conspicuous; easily seen or recognized.

Mojo \MOH-joh\, noun:

1. Personal magnetism; charm.
2. The art or practice of casting magic spells; magic; voodoo.
3. An object, as an amulet or charm, that is believed to carry a magic spell.
4. Good luck or favor concerning an event or individual.

Yeuk \YOOK\, noun:

1. An itching sensation.

verb:
1. To itch.

Cheechako \chee-CHAH-koh\, noun:

A tenderfoot; greenhorn; newcomer.

There are so many funny ones!!!!!!!!!!! All this to say, you should sign up for the Dictionary word of the day; it provides you with a fantastic vocabulary and you will laugh twice! (once on your own and then again when telling all your friends!) =)

Have a great day!

Ashton =)

Fred

Hello everyone!

I want to share with you a special story of what happened in my life today and ask you to partner with me in prayer. Today as I was doing school in the basement, my entire house's electricity went off. Unfortunately since all my school work is on the computer and internet, I was unable to do school. So I went to the Grandview McDonald's because they have free wi-fi. (Personally I think it's just to get you to purchase food but yeah....=) )

There was quite an unusually large number of seniors in the McDonalds so I assume they had some type of gathering or celebration or something. Personally I love elderly people. I love to listen to their stories and listen to their wisdom. Most people in my generation don't give them a second of their attention and act as if they don't exist. What great wisdom we are missing out on! We shouldn't shove them in a corner just because they need us to talk a little slower and louder......we should listen intently to what they have to say because they have lived life and know what's coming our way.

As I was sitting there working on my biology homework a very sweet, older gentleman saw me working on my computer and saw the symbol of the brand of my computer on the back of my screen. Jokingly he asked me if my computer was an Apple. I was like, "No sir." wondering what he was going to say next. He said that if it was, he was going to ask if he could take a bite out of it. =) I smiled at this old man's humor. Little did I know this little encounter was going to last 1 1/2 hours.

He started talking to me about how the companies were trying to get our money by showing us that we needed the newest, latest, better version of everything. I responded by saying that my generation would be wise if we would listen to the advice of our grandparents and parents. He said that we should also listen to Christ. I heartily agreed and then he asked if I was a Christian. I said that I was and his next question was if I was part of the International House of Prayer. I said that I was and that my parents are on staff there. At this point I was thinking that he was in favor of the International House of Prayer but his next comment quickly put me in place.

He told me that people from IHOP are antichrists and freaks. Immediately I knew my place was not to argue with him and prove him he was wrong but to rather listen to what he had to say and just question him on why he thought that way. (Later I found out that this instinct was from the Holy Spirit because anyone who knows me knows that I always like to argue and prove I'm right until, well I'm right! =) Also during the conversation I felt a trembling that would rise up inside my stomach to my jaw where it would tremble. I was like, "Not now Holy Spirit! =)" And I kept seeing flashes of light out of the corner of my eyes.)

I asked him why he thought IHOPers were antichrists. His answer was incorrect in that he said that we didn't teach from the Bible; that we paraphrased and taught from the paraphrased version and that was punishable by eternal damnation. He is correct in the fact that if you change the Bible by adding or taking away from it that you are putting yourself in the position of eternal damnation. (It says that in Revelation) He said that the leaders had taken the scriptures, added and taken away from them, and were teaching from that. I had no idea where he got this idea but I knew that the IHOP leaders only teach that which is straight from the scriptures. He was wrong about the IHOP leaders. Mostly the one he kept referring to was Mike Bickle. I told him that Mike Bickle even puts the exact words of the NKJV into notes and hands them out so people can search it out for themselves what he is teaching. This brought us to another point.

He said that the only real version of the scriptures was the original documents due to translation errors by humans. I asked him how the originals were true if they too were written by humans but he didn't have an answer for me. He only said the NIV, NKJV, KJV, NAS, ESV, and many others were wrong. (I don't believe this though.) We talked about many of history's translators, like Wycliff, and I was very thankful for my education where I had studied this! =)

This man was so right on so many issues but just a little bit wrong on a couple of parts, which throws all of it off. He said that he had studied 23 different translations of the Bible, including the Greek and Hebrew. He believes that all scripture is God breathed and infallible. He believes that only God is God. He believes we are saved by grace and that salvation is a free gift from God.

But some things I knew were wrong. He said that there are 3 stages of life for humans. 1) The first generation of humans being before Jesus' death in which men had to perform offerings (works) and attain salvation. 2) The second being the ones after Jesus' resurrection who receive the gift of salvation freely. 3) And the third being those who live in the final days. That in itself wasn't wrong but he said that we don't need Jesus' blood. He said that Jesus wasn't God, but merely an image of God. But then he said that if we reject Christ we will burn in Hell for eternity forever, which is correct. So instead of pointing out he was wrong I simply asked him, "If Christ isn't God, then why does it matter if we reject him or not?" He had to ponder about that one for a while and eventually told me he didn't know the answer.

Another question I asked him was, "If Christ isn't God then how was he born of a virgin?" He responded by telling me that all things are possible with God (true) but that Christ was only an image of God (false). I asked him what he thought about John 1:1 where it says that the Word became flesh and dwelt among us. Wouldn't that be Christ---God? He didn't have an answer for that one either.

Another thing he said was that God and Satan don't dwell on the earth....at all. (false) I asked him if he thought that demons could control the minds of humans and he said no. (I knew this was wrong). Since I could tell he knew the scriptures, I asked him this, "If God doesn't dwell on earth then answer me this. In Acts when Jesus left his disciples, he said that he would send a helper for them and he sent the Holy Spirit. Is the Holy Spirit God?" His answer was that due to the languages of Greek and Hebrew, words mean different things in different orders next to other words. He said that there are 8 different meanings of the words Holy Spirit, one being God and the others meaning a 'good' spirit. In this case, he said, the meaning was a 'good' spirit. He said that God took their bad spirit and gave them a good one. (This is true, it's the message of salvation, but not the Holy Spirit). He also said that man was born good natured with eternal life and that men choose against Christ, when the truth is we are born eternally damned and we receive the free gift of the Christ's salvation.

He said that there were no Christians on the earth today because Christians were the one's who did works, and we didn't need to do works anymore because we were out from under the law. That is true that we are not under the law of Moses anymore and don't need to offer sacrifices because Jesus' blood covers all. But I believe he was wrong about there not being Christians on the earth. True, there are people that claim they are Christians who are not and many of the churches do teach heresy, but not all. There are true Christians on the earth who give up their lives for Christ and true churches who teach the exact words of scripture.

He was so smart. He was able to back up some of what he was saying with correct scripture left and right. He said that he had studied with the Jehovah Witnesses, the Mormons, the Catholics, and many others......no wonder the deception on his mind! He does say that they are not teaching the correct truths of the scriptures, so he is right about that. He said that he was so grateful that I listened to him. He said that most people will just combat everything he said with a statement and not even listen to him. So I was so grateful that the Holy Spirit had allowed me to shut my mouth and just listen and inquire; and not teach. This way the Holy Spirit was able to plant a seed through me in this man.

This man's name is Fred L. Please pray for my newly encountered friend. He is so close and yet so far. And due to his age, I'm not sure how much time this man has left. Please join in with me in praying for this man!

Also please pray for me. Today was the first time I have ever had to really defend my belief in Christ....on my own without my parents or others with me. I had to depend on what I had learned from Scriptures and what I had learned by spending time with Jesus. And while I feel like I was used by the Holy Spirit, I also feel like I failed miserably. After the McDonald encounter, I came home and sobbed for about 2 hours telling my family of my day. How could I profess to be a Christian when I clearly came up short in reciting verses to back up my theology when this man was quoting scripture left and right and most in context. He even knew the verse address! My calling of being a missionary was very squashed too. I spent 1 1/2 hours with a man who was so hungry for the truth, and I felt like I couldn't convincingly state what I believe.

McDonald's on October 19th, 2010, was a divine encounter set up by the Lord. I'm so grateful He was able to use this to teach me how much more I need Him. I press on towards the goal He has set for me!

Thank you for praying with me for the salvation of Fred! He is blinded and needs to see the truth! Come Lord Jesus!

Blessings,
Ashton

AP: October 15th.....a special day in history!

AP writes:

Well, my October 15th has been great for multiple reasons! I worked this morning at the Holiday Inn and it was incredibly busy. It was hard work but very enjoyable. Today was also my cousin (well, half cousin) Kaeo Skeele's birthday. =) Also on this glorious day I am getting together with some of my friend (Kawase's, Kimberly, Stan, Dacia, and some others) to watch the movie How To Train Your Dragon. It will be good to hang out with them outside of dance. In addition to all of these, I found out from dictionary.com that smithereenes is a real word that means small pieces or bits. That practically made my day. =)

But, let's get to the real news. =) So today I took another test. Well, actually the same test I took before and failed. History of the United States 2. Again. Not cool for a girl who can't stand history and would rather be doing algebra all day. It took me down the first time but I conquered it the second time gaining the 3 credits I should have earned before. Adding these credits to my already earned credits gives me 90....which means.......

I'M A COLLEGE SENIOR!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! OH YEAH!!!!!!!!!!

I'm so super excited and pumped!!! I only have 7 more tests. Technically I would only have 5 but two other tests have gotten the best of me as well. But I will conquer them too! =) I was so excited I was doing a party/happy dance in the car driving back and this lady in the other lane saw me and pointed me out to her husband who was driving and they were laughing at me. But I just smiled and waved at them cause my day was going great and it gave them something to laugh at. =)

October 15th, the day I became a senior in college........................while technically still a freshman in age! =)

~Ashton =)