Heaven

In tonight's bible study Corey asked "Do you ever meditate on Heaven?" I think about it from time to time and I think of all those I love that have passed on to be with Jesus but I don't meditate on it. Never really ever thought about doing that.

We are nearly done with our I Corinthians study and tonight in chapter 15 we discussed the resurrection and what heaven will be like - more specifically heavenly bodies. When I arrived home I sat down at the piano to practice a little then I pulled out my easy hymns for piano book. I can't play them very well without hours and hours of practice but I read well enough to play the melody and sing along. However, I will only do that for an audience of one - God. Thankfully He has low expectations in this department. "Make a joyful noise unto the Lord." Psalm 100:1 As long as I can make it joyful He'll be pleased. =)

Anyway, I came across the hymn Must Jesus Bear The Cross Alone.

Must Jesus bear the cross alone,
And all the world go free?
No, there’s a cross for everyone,
And there’s a cross for me.

How happy are the saints above,
Who once went sorrowing here!
But now they taste unmingled love,
And joy without a tear.

The consecrated cross I’ll bear
Till death shall set me free;
And then go home my crown to wear,
For there’s a crown for me.

Upon the crystal pavement down
At Jesus’ piercèd feet,
Joyful I’ll cast my golden crown
And His dear Name repeat.

O precious cross! O glorious crown!
O resurrection day!
When Christ the Lord from Heav’n comes down
And bears my soul away.

If you have trusted Christ as your Savior and you know you will spend eternity with Him in Heaven, I would like to know what are your thoughts about Heaven and if you meditate on it. If you haven't trusted Christ as your Savior and you would like to know how you can spend eternity with Him (and me) =) then send me an email and I'd love to share the good news!

Alliterations

Who hasn't heard the alliteration of Peter Piper?

Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers.
Did Peter Piper pick a peck of pickled peppers?
If Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers,
Where's the peck of pickled peppers Peter Piper picked?

Well I am not so clever to actually make up anything that sounds nearly as cool is that. However, I did have a little fun with my own today.

It all started a couple of weeks ago when Sean invited some of his work mates over for a BBQ. Well for those of you who have never been to a BBQ at my house, let me tell you, that is no small feat. Especially when Sean does the inviting! That is one of the things I love about Sean. He says the more the merrier and just keeps inviting. The problem arises when he forgets who he invited and who is actually coming. hahahahaha

To make a long story short I was getting little bits and pieces of details here and there. At first it seemed like a nice intimate get-together with just a few couples. I thought us and two other couples would be perfect. Then we can all sit on the patio around the table and have a pleasant conversation after dinner while the sun was setting.

As the days went by I begun to realize he invited several more people. I continued to get bits and pieces here and there but nothing to indicate many more guests. Today at work (Friday), I decided to send a quick email to the people I knew Sean had invited to remind them of the time of arrival and directions to our house. That is another thing I love about Sean. He tends to forget what time things start and just makes up a new time.

In my email I told them that my information from Sean has been sketchy so I wanted to confirm who was coming and the time. Sean replied with

"I don't know what she's talking about"

and then everyone started replying with laughs and giggles because we all know how Sean is with information. Then one person replied asking if sketchy Sean was grilling because that is why they want to come to the BBQ. They want to see him grill! I replied with a "yes" and addressed it....

Sketchy Sean's Wife Specific Stacey

For anyone who knows me I am about as organized and specific as they come. It is a blessing and a curse. I believe one of my spiritual gifts is administration. I believe this is one of the reason's God intended me to be Sean's helpmate. =)

Well it is very late because I have been prepping all the food for tomorrow. I like to relax prior to guests arriving so that I may enjoy their company. If I prep most of the food the night before I can be less anxious about getting it done timely.

Are you wondering how many people Sean invited and are coming? I think we are having 14 guests. That is correct. I said I think. When I got home from work tonight Sean said,

"Oh, by the way, I think BK is coming as well."

See, there could be more show up that he just forgot to tell me about. That is ok though. I love entertaining and I am so blessed when I watch Sean having a fun time!!

I wish that you could all come to my BBQ. Maybe one day. Miss you all!

Our Photos

Not to overdo the blog thing but I thought this would be an easy way to share some photos with all of you. I have uploaded some of my wedding photos that I had copied onto a CD a couple months ago. I hope this link works for you.

http://picasaweb.google.com/sstitt04

I would be happy to send anyone prints who would like some. I have discovered a photo shop around the corner from my office and they are awesome! I had all my wedding photos put on CD and my old camera videos (and my wedding video) put on a DVD. Just let me know which ones you would like and what size!

Good night! Stacey

He Speaks to Me

I am eager to share what God is teaching me in my Tuesday night Bible study. It is a study by Priscilla Shirer titled He Speaks to Me. Priscilla starts off by asking us,

“Could our inability to hear God have less to do with His desire to speak and more to do with our lack of preparedness to hear?”

What a great question! I know in my life I often wait around for God to reveal to me His Will or direction. What if God has already shown me His Will and I just didn't listen? I am asking God to help me listen for Him. This study will show us how to prepare ourselves to listen for God, how to listen and how to obey.

First we are reminded that God will speak to us and meet us where we are; just as He spoke to Samuel when he was just a boy. We see in 1 Samuel 3:4 after four hundred years of silence God chose to speak to Samuel instead of Eli. Samuel had little to no education and no fancy title. Why a child? Jesus tells us in Luke 18:16,

"Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these."

He wants us to come to Him in child-like faith. He wants us to need Him completely, trust Him completely and with expectation. (Matthew 18:3)

I need to begin with simple obedience and ask God to show me areas I am not being obedient. Obedience will take sacrifice but as Author Eugene Peterson states,

"You know well enough from your own experience that there are some acts of so-called freedom that destroy freedom. Offer yourselves to sin, for instance, and it's your last free act. But offer yourselves to the ways of God and the freedom never quits." (Romans 6:1, The Message)

I can't fathom what Abraham must have been thinking or feeling when God commanded him to offer up Isaac as a sacrifice. It is a good thing he didn't tell Sarah beforehand! Abraham obeyed and God blessed him abundantly! He spared Isaac's life as well as made Abraham a father of many nations. As for how we might be rewarded for our obedience read Deuteronomy 28:1-14.

I have heard it said many times over the years to "fear the Lord." I never really got what this meant or how to even go about it until now. It isn't to shake in my boots or try to hide but rather to show reverance and respect. If we are going to prepare to hear God and receive His wisdom we must fear Him.

"The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge" Proverbs 1:7
"The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom" Proverbs 9:10

Respecting God allows us to gain spiritual insight and the ability to skillfully apply that insight so it transforms our lives. Ecclesiastes 12:13 tells us that our duty is to fear God and keep His commandments. If we refuse to fear and honor Him then our thinking will become futile, our minds darkened and we will become fools. (Romans 1:21-22)

One of God's greatest blessings in my life is that He has always and will always equip me with everything I need. Please pray for me during this study that I will faithfully obey and show reverence to the Lord.

Stacey

My First Blog

Welcome! This is my first official blog. The purpose of this blog is to catch up and attempt to keep in contact with friends and family. Sean and I have a lot of family and a lot of friends around the world and we have failed miserably keeping in touch.

I can not believe Sean and I have been married over ten years. That means that we haven't seen many of you in a very long time. That saddens me to think how much time has gone by and how many missed opportunities to make memories.

I will do my best to bring you up-to-date in our world and keep you up-to-date with happenings. We love you all and miss you heaps! You are always in my prayers. If you ever have a specific prayer request you would like me to lift up to God just send me a message.

Have a joyous day and happy blogging!!

Love Stacey