Growing Pains

Do you remember as a kid when your leg would hurt terribly for no reason at all? My parents called them growing pains. I guess they were right; I mean, I am kind of tall for a girl.

Anyway, I am undergoing some serious spiritual growing pains right now. I've always heard the phrase, be careful what you wish or ask for because you just might get it. Well, I've prayed for the Lord Almighty to grow me, and He is answering that prayer. I won't go into details, but an acquaintance of mine put me in my place the other day. I was so embarrassed and ashamed that this person who does not know me very well was able to point out a sin in my life.

Nobody likes to hear the bad things about themselves, but I think it's worse when you realize the bad things about yourself in your own heart. Then you realize how utterly disgusting you are and how phenominally gracious God is to love one such as yourself.

This reminds me of a plan that I've wanted to put into action for some time now. I want to start a speaking ministry called Pearls. My friend Danielle came up with the name. The reason for the name is the connection to the text above. Pearls basically start off as nasty bedsores inside an oyster's mouth. The constantly move the muscle around the grit of sand that has lodged in its mouth until a pearl forms. That is kind of what God does with us. We are like disgusting bedsores until God begins to refine us into something way more beautiful - into Christ's likeness.

Please pray for me as I grow. It hurts, and I could use the encouragement. Also please be in prayer for me and my friends as we consider becoming "Pearls" together to reach out to women.

Thank you for letting me share.

Loving Your City

I was so blessed to attend a conference at the Seminary called Church on Fire led by Dr. Steven Gaines. And by now you should totally know that I can't stand wimpy leaders - women or men, and let me tell you, this guy is no wimp. (Neither is his wife, but she didn't get to talk that much!) He gave us all a good kick in the teeth about a lot of things, and we all needed it. What a blessing.

I felt compelled to share with all my peeps in the Church one of the things he shared.

Jeremiah 29:4-7 (ESV translation)

"Thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, to all the exiles whom I have sent into exile from Jerusalem into Babylon: Build houses and live in them; plant gardens and eat their produce. Take wives and have sons and daughters; take wives for your sons, and give your daughters in marriage, that they may bear sons and daughters; multiply there and do not decrease. But seek the welfare of the city where I have sent you, and pray to the Lord on its behalf, for in its welfare you will find your welfare."

Living in and around New Orleans can be so frustrating at times. I love this city and all its quirks, and yet, even I sometimes feel like I'm in a Babylonian exile. Yet GOD exorted His people to establish themselves in the land of their captivity, and to PRAY for it.

Wow.

How many of us do not pray for the city, region, state, or country we live in because we don't like it? I hated living in Alabama - did I pray for it? I don't remember. That must mean that I didn't, or if I did, I did so half-heartedly. How many people do I know that complain and rant about New Orleans, the tourists, the occult, the sin and vice, the strippers, and the lack of passion amongst God's people? Too many. Myself included.

Shame on us. If we don't pray for our city and region, who will? Who better to pray for New Orleans, Metairie, Kenner, Algiers, Chalmette, Gretna, LaPlace, Houma, Belle Chase, etc, etc, than US??? No one, that's who.

We share a common ground with the poor, the strippers, the politicians - we share a community.

You know, last year I prayed off and on that God would bring thousands of Southeast Louisiana folks unto Himself before the year's end. Did you catch that? I prayed off and on for it.

God forgive me of my laziness and unbelief. You are the God of miracles and second chances. You saved Nineveh even when Jonah, the prophet, ran from You and became angry when You had mercy on them after he did go. God grant me the grace, power, determination, and unwavering faith as I pray for New Orleans and the cities that surround it. And God lead others to pray too.

Back to What I Do Best

At least, I think history is what I do best. I'm getting a Master's degree for it, so I must be decent. (That's right, I said Master's. So you can call me Master Gabrielle beginning on May 15.) What was I blogging about?

Oh yeah, history...it's what I do best. :)

Okay, so my hubby and I were reading some Scripture tonight that again pointed out to me why I enjoy history so much.

In 2 Kings, beginning in chapter 18, you will find the story of Hezekiah. He became king of Judah when he was 25, and "he did what was right in the eyes of the LORD...he removed the high places, smashed the sacred stones and cut down the Asherah poles. He broke into pieces the bronze snake Moses had made, for up to that time the Israelites had been burning incense to it." Vs. 2-4 (NIV) This was one of the few good kings of Judah. He wasn't perfect, but he did his best to live for God. Later he became incredibly sick, but he prayed and wept. God took mercy on him, and He allowed Hezekiah to live and reign for 15 more years.

2 Kings 20:20 (NIV)

"As for the other events of Hezekiah's reign, all his achievements and how he made the pool and the tunnel by which he brought water into the city, are they not written in the book of the annals of the kings of Judah?"

You know what? That is not the first time in the Old Testament, or the last for that matter, where the "annals of the kings of Judah" are mentioned. You know what else? Nobody knows where the annals are. There are miles and miles of land in what was Isreal and Judah that have never been properly excavated. One of my dreams is that one day someone (maybe me?) will find the annals of the kings of Judah and many other Biblical relics. Part of my reasoning is to give a big "what you got now, fools?!" to those who would disregard the Scriptures. However, we are not to call people fools, nor should I be thinking in terms of vengence for all the flack I've taken as a Christian and historian. The other part of me just wants to see something of our past. What a marvelous way to commemorate God's fantastic mercy.

You see, history is not simply looking at old stuff and keeping it safe for other people to look at. That is only one tiny smidgen of history. There are so many things that we still don't know or can't find! As I say all the time, history is ever changing and ever moving. It is HIS story, not ours. The story of God's grace, mercy, and glory is not boring or mundane. It is exquisite.

Also, how cool would it be if I could be a female (Christian) version of Indiana Jones?

Easier Day

So...thanks for all the encouragement and prayers. Today was sooooo much better than I thought it would be. As I told some of my friends, I was ready to give up last night. Today, I felt only a smidgen better, and I was NOT looking forward to the tasks ahead.

But you know what? I was able to finish all my assignments except one, and that one is almost done. I'm still waiting to hear back from the Col., but again, what can you do with a Colonel except wait? So anyway, I'm doing much better. I even got to wash some clothes and pick up some in the house before giving Scooter a bath!

So again, thanks to all who prayed for me and offered encouraging comments. You are a blessing.

Hard Week

I've kind of neglected my blog for a little while because of numerous things that I could totally use some prayer for! The 1st draft of my thesis is due before the end of Carnival, and I am so not finished with the research. I feel like I have to wear hip-waders in order for me to be able to get through some of the information. Have you ever sat for three hours straight trying to decipher faded nineteenth century handwriting? It's fun, like, the first time you do it.

I have another class I'm taking on the methodology of Oral History. My project is on my husband's National Guard unit. There are four other students participating in this project, so who automatically got chosen to be project coordinator? That's right, yours truly. So now, I'm having to communicate with the Colonel about getting soldiers to interview. Have you ever needed the help of an Army Colonel? Let me tell you something, you don't take long in your request, you make it as clear and concise as possible, you thank him/her profusely, and then you don't ask for anything else. Dude is busy. Okay, the people in my group don't seem to get that. It's understandable as they weren't raised in the military like me nor did they marry into the military like I did. However, even when I try to explain it, they just expect me to ask him to do everything and get answers like...now! (Starting to sense some of my frustration?)

In this same class I have one take home test to complete, journals to write, three homework assignments I'm behind on, one book and ten articles to read, arrange a class meeting with the unit chaplain, find a soldier to interview, and the transcription of the interview to finish. (Transciptions usually take 10-15 hours for every one hour of interview conducted.) I'm still working 5 hours a week and spending a little over 20 hours a week in the archive for my thesis. (which technically is so not enough) Then when we get home, hubby and I have to budget out time for school work, sermon writing, family time, etc.

On top of all this, my house is an absolute wreck. Not the normal "oh my goodness, I'm sorry my house is a mess!" kind of wreck either. There are piles of dirty clothes, stacks of dishes, papers every where, a pet stain from Scooter (just happened this morning), dust covering every surface, and random electronic devices scattered here and there. Now, my hubby and I tend to slightly be clutter-ers. He hates for the house to be a mess - me...I can live with it for a short while. We have surpassed that time limit, and I have no idea when it is going to get done. If we were to take one day off just to clean, we would put ourselves behind in school work and church stuff.

Obviously typing on my blog is not any sort of work that needs to be done, but it is definitely therapeutic as I wait for Thomas to get out of class. I don't think I spelled that right. Anyway, there is a lot that needs to be done, and there just doesn't seem to be enough time in the day or night. It's been a hard week. Thank you for letting me share.

What I Value Most

There is a web site, http://www.whativaluemost.com/, which shares individual's testimonies about what they valued before meeting our Christ and after. I've just uploaded mine, and it should be ready to view in a few days!

I highly encourage anyone who wants to share their testimony to go to this site - especially those who feel they are not well-spoken enough to share their story in person. You never know who may see it and begin their journey with Christ because of something you have to share.

Weekly Prayer Concerns

1 Thessalonians 5:17 "Pray Continuously." (NIV translation)

You know what this verse means? PRAY...all the time. I've been lacking in my prayer life for too long, and I have a heart for other countries, as well as my own. So every week I am going to post a different country and different US state for us to pray for. Every day, every week, let's pray for the Christians, politicians, missionaries, teachers, children, the lost, anybody and everybody.

I chose to start this week with Iraq. Please, please do not forget to pray for the troops - ours, our allies, and our enemies. We all are in need of Christ.

I also chose Washington D.C. No matter how you feel about our new president, please pray for him, his administration, Congress, and all decisions that are currently underway - not to mention everyone else living there!

God has always been and still is in complete control. Let's give Him great glory and honor through our prayers for the saints and for the redemption of the lost.

John Piper Book Club

I've discovered a new blog in my blogger wanders, and this one is truly a blessing. It is http://thepreachers-wife.blogspot.com/. There are so many fabulous things I could say about this lady's blog, but there is one aspect that I like the most. The encouragement of deep, meaningful theological discussion. One way she is accomplishing this right now, is the John Piper Spectacular Sins Book Club.

By now you should know of my affinity for the teachings of John Piper. I've been wanting the read this book for some time now (ever since the True Woman conference to be exact), but I haven't picked it up due to my present student circumstances. After finding this "book club" I realized that God is sovereign even over graduate school, and I want to share all my extra time with Him. If you would like to join this book club, click on the banner and join in! I was a few weeks late, but that's totally okay. To give you an idea of what this book is about, I figured I would insert a couple of paragraphs from the Introduction, full citatation listed below. I hope you are blessed with God's grace today, and I hope to see you as a member of the club soon!

Piper wrote:

"Jesus Christ, who was in the beginning with God, and was God (John 1:1), created the universe. He did this as God the Father's equal and as his agent. 'All things were made through him' (John 1:3; 1 Cor. 8:6; Heb.1:2). And he did it to display his glory. 'By him all things were created ...and for him' (Col.1:16). By him and for him. All things were created by Christ and for Christ. The Son of God, who has become a human being - the God-man, Jesus of Nazareth - in perfect concert with his Father, created the universe for the display of his all-satisfying glory.

Not only that, he holds it all together with total authority. 'He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of his power' (Heb. 1:3). How this massive power - to create and uphold the universe - is weilded to display the glory of Christ is the great issue of our time, and of all time.

THE GREATEST DISPLAY OF THE GLORY OF CHRIST

The apex of the glory of Christ is the glory of his grace - treating people infinitely better than they deserve - giving himself for the everlasting joy of the worst of sinners who will have him as their highest Treasure. And the apex of this grace is the murder of the God-man outside Jerusalem around A.D. 33. The death of Jesus Christ was murder. It was the most spectacular sin ever committed.

At the all-important pivot of human history, the worst sin ever committed served to show the greatest glory of Christ and obtain the sin-conquering gift of God's grace. God did not just overcome evil at the cross. He made evil serve the overcoming of evil. He made evil commit suicide in doing its worst evil.

Evil is anything and everything opposed to the fullest display of the glory of Christ. That's the meaning of evil. In the death of Christ, the powers of darkness did their best to destroy the glory of the Son of God. This is the apex of evil. But instead they found themselves quoting the script of ancient prophecy and acting the part assigned by God. Precisely in putting Christ to death, they put his glory on display - the very glory that they aimed to destroy. The apex of evil achieved the apex of the glory of Christ. The glory of grace."



John Piper, Spectacular Sins and Their Global Purpose in the Glory of Christ (Wheaton: Crossway Books, 2008), 11-12.

To Youth Group, or Not to Youth Group?

If you grew up in church, or joined as a teenager, what was your youth group experience? Was it good, bad, not worth the time you spent there? Sometimes I feel like the last one. While I was in the youth group I thought it was the best thing ever, but as I look back on my time spent in the youth group, all I can think about are the trips I took, games I played, and songs I sang.

Youth pastors have a hard job. Anyone who has dealt with teens knows that, and I appreciate what my home church attempted to accomplish with my youth group. They brought kids in from the outside and taught them just enough to make sure they were saved and not committing the "big" sins, like drugs, sex, or suicide. (I know there is no difference in the severity of sins - I'm just trying to get a point across.) However, looking back I see that getting kids in the fold and keeping them there is not enough.

I recently heard a pastor from TX talking about his youth group, or his so-called "youth group". His church, in fact, did not endorse "youth groups", but family gatherings that focused on the teenagers. You see, this pastor saw many kids going through a normal youth group with mission trips, concerts, game nights, etc, and he found that the parents were completely not involved. He decided to step out on a limb and create a new sort of youth group, in which the teens go with their parents to church to learn God's Word - in the teen's language - and talk over what is going on in their lives and hearts with their families. (Novel idea, huh? Families talking to each other.)

This pastor from TX found that in the home, parents did not feel like they could teach the Word and just relyed on the church to take care of that. When parents step out of the picture, especially with teenagers, a huge problem can develop. So instead of having an outragous party with a cool Christian band, 4 square, and ice cream bar, this pastor invited the parents to come talk to their kids about Christ. The parents learned just as much as the kids, and the families (thus the entire church) became stronger.

And let me be very clear. Mission trips, concerts, games, etc are not bad things. Youth groups are fantastic, but if there is no deep theological teaching and sharing going on, there is a problem. If the parents are not involved and have no idea about how to communicate and relate to the teenager in Christ's love and fellowship, there is a problem. Let me share one final story.

I worked in the French Quarter for some time, and while there I met Johnny Balloons. Johnny is a sinner saved by grace who lives his life as a street evangelist in the Quarter. This guy has had quite the life. He was a homosexual drug and pornography addict and attempted to take his life (I think more than once.) He almost died more than once when he wasn't attempting suicide. In 1984, God opened his heart, and Johnny gave his life over to Christ. He is a good friend of the seminary and works with the mission lab there. As we talked one day, he told me of his intense frustration with the youth that come down to do missions.

He said, "You've got all these kids coming down here without any idea of what they're getting into! These cute little girls are going up to strange men, holding hands with them to pray, and they have no idea that he's just doing that so he can touch them!" This was not his most shocking phrase, but one that definitely hit home with me, being a woman and former "cute little girl" who wanted to do great things in the church. Johnny saw what so many others have seen, America's Christian youth are not being prepared for fighting the spiritual forces which we constantly battle.

So is the answer going to a program like the one in TX? I don't know. To Youth Group, or Not to Youth Group? I think we can totally youth group, as long the youth are being prepared for the kingdom and NOT brought into the church just to be entertained. Youth pastors should not be reduced to baby-sitters.

Who Do We Listen To?

You know I recently discovered that I've had an issue for a while now with women publically teaching the Word. I was driving down the road listening to a Christian radio station, and a woman came on with "an inspiring word." I immediately turned the station. Why did I do that, I thought to myself. I began to analyze my background and found that I am probably one of the biggest hypocrites known to man on this subject. Without going into a lot of detail, suffice it to say that culturally I was taught that women speaking on theological issues in a public sphere was wrong. Then I went to a Christian, all-women's college that showed me my value in Christ. Soon a constant conflict raged within my very being as I realized that God has called me to speak and teach women, but yet I didn't see women as having enough valuable things to say.

Back to the other night. I wanted to figure out for myself once and for all what my problem was with women speaking publically about theological issues and how to overcome it. The following is a conclusion to my thoughts. One reason I felt I didn't like listening to some women is because some of them seem so wimpy. (See my earlier post on wimpy women for a full background on why this annoys me.) The second reason is that for whatever reason, as I explained earlier, I sometimes catch myself thinking that they can't possibly be teaching the right things.

WHAT?!! How could I come to that conclusion?! Where did this thought ever come from? The historian in me wanted to find out the origin, but the student in me said "just think about it for a little while and get on with writing your thesis." So here are my thoughts.: )


One thought is that in our teaching, we sometimes harken too much to the verse in which Paul writes about women not being allowed to teach men - not taking the historical context into account. The other thought is that our cultural and societal trends move us towards thinking that a man absolutely has to be the full authority.


Okay, don't spaz out on me. My husband is the head of my household, and he has the final say here. I don't agree with women being ordained as pastors. The fall of man messed up the equality we had in Eden, thus women are under the authority of their husbands, and in the church, under the authority of a male shepherd. However, there is nothing in Scripture that tells us that women are not capable of teaching the Word. So my conclusion to my thoughts - who do we listen to?


We can't listen to someone just because that person is a man or woman. We must always go back to God's Word. He is the ultimate authority in Heaven and earth; no one and nothing surpasses Him. If someone has been gifted to teach His Word, they defy and rebel against God when they do not use that gift in His service, man or woman. Recognize the folks in the photos? Our beloved American preacher Billy Graham and his daughter Anne - both some of the finest teachers of the Word I've ever heard.

Radical Obediance

My husband just came home from the grocery store with a strange look on his face. He went to buy me some chicken noodle soup since I'm not feeling that well. He went on to pull out an eight pack of juice, still with a strange look on his face. He opens up the package, I ask if I may have some, and as I drink he tells me the following story.

Today during chapel at the Seminary, the speaker challenged the students to radical obediance to Christ. He said that with 4 billion people in the world not knowing the Way, Truth, and Life, the time to act is now. My husband is a great thinker, and I admire him mostly because of his unswavering devotion to our Creator God. After chapel, he began to think and pray, asking God to show him how he can radically obey Him. He then thought, "I need to buy some juice and hand it out here at the Seminary."

Sounds a little ridiculous, huh? That's what he thought too. His actual thoughts were, "That's the stupidest idea I've ever come up with."

While at the store, he came across an elderly gentleman drinking coffee. They started talking, and Thomas was thinking about how to share his faith. They wound up just walking away from each other. Thomas then thought about going to get some juice. He saw the man there as well, and Thomas asked him how he could pray for him. They went on to talk in detail about their prayer lives and salvation through Jesus the Christ. He then checked out of the store with the soup and an eight pack of juice.

I cried when he finished telling me this. Some times we think we have it all figured out, but this story touched me in a very special way. Radical obediance does not necessarily mean healing people, making miracles happen, seeing thousands come to know Christ. Some times radical obediance is doing the little, seemingly ridiculous things - like buying juice.

An Invitation

It is time for me to explain the subtle jabs that go back and forth between some of my blogging pals and myself. It's called, the Blog Wars. That's right. We have nothing better to do than sit around and work on our blogs to see whose is the best. (By the way, Leslye, I have a VIDEO on mine - with sound.) It may seem a little ridiculous, but it is a way for us to keep ourselves occupied when there's nothing else going on! And I think we have pretty good thoughts that need to be shared with the world.

So here's the invitation to the Blog Wars. If you are somewhat a beginner like the rest of us, and you think you can do better...[tough whisper] bring it on.

Will Work...Period!

So the economy is going down the crapper. (Vulgar phrase rooted in history, I promise!) What does this mean for historians? Well, it means that those historians just entering the field are having a harder time getting a job that pays...or getting a job at all. I am so blessed to have a job in my field right now, but unfortunately it only lasts to the end of February, possibly March. But after that what's next? What can we do besides stand next to I-10 with a sign saying "Will Work for Food"?


My advise to any budding historian...intern. Find a museum, library, historic house, archive, or other place with historical significance that could use a volunteer and help out as much as possible, learning as much as anyone is willing to teach you - even the boring stuff. The more experience you have, coupled with your education, will open 1000 more doors than just a degree. Believe me I wish someone had explained this to me years ago.The history field is so exciting, but our society is focused more on math and science than anything else right now, and funding for the humanities has gone down drastically. It is not impossible to find a job in our field, but it is harder. Just get in there and volunteer!

By the way, if any of you know of an employer in need of a historian - hit me up!

I love living in New Orleans

Living in New Orleans, or just on the outskirts of it, is so much fun. Every couple of months we need an excuse to stay out of work or school, so we have a holiday! There is usually some sort of festival going on too like French Quarter Fest, Jazz Fest, Strawberry Festival, Tomato Festival, etc, etc. Who wouldn't love to live in a place where you can celebrate anything (or everything) at any given time?!

So here's a little overview of our New Orleans holiday season. Christmas was great, for the most part. Thomas and I were pretty sick the entire time, so obviously it could have been better! We had a party at our house for the church members and neighbors, and a friend from college came down soon after that. A couple of dinner parties led us to New Year's, which we spent in the French Quarter watching the fleur de lis drop and fireworks display. Last weekend we went to New Orleans East in the Vietnamese community for Tet (Chinese New Year). The next night we were in a swank French Quarter hotel for the St. Barbara military ball.

I've got some pictures below for your enjoyment, and I'm going to attempt uploading a video of Tet as well. I don't know if there will be any sound, but just imagine the fireworks being right over your head with a bunch of drums in the background. We felt like we were in the middle of a bunch of cannons going off. Enjoy!

A little joy...

You know, I whine and vent a lot with this blog, but I truly am a happy person. One of the smallest, yet still important, joys in my life is my little dog. (Cut me some slack - we don't have kids yet, and I don't have that many friends!) Scooter makes me smile every time I see him! Especially when I walk in the door after I've been gone for a while. He runs in circles for a few seconds, then runs to me panting heavily, lets me pick him up, pushes away from me, and then wants to be picked up again. This picture is certainly not his best, but I wanted one that shows how he loves to cuddle:)

Also, poor Thomas can't get Scooter to go to him! Scooter definitely has a favorite, and that's me. (Can you see now why I love this little guy?) I mean who doesn't want to be the favorite?! But more than that, Scooter helps teach me about what my life with the Lord is like. I've often thought about writing down "Life Lessons from Scooter", and I guess now is as good a time as ever.

Lesson 1. Scooter doesn't understand when I try to tell him to do, or not do, something. For example, I won't let him run in the front yard on his own because we don't have a fence and the road is close. So many times God won't allow something to happen that we want because in His great wisdom he sees what we can't. (This is not to say that I have such great wisdom, but I know a little bit more than Scooter!)

Lesson 2. Scooter loves being near me, and I love it when he wants to be right next to me. It hurts my feelings so bad when he won't come to me when I call him. How much we hurt God's feelings when we don't go to Him when He calls, we may never understand, but I think it's a lot.

There are other lessons I've learned from Scooter, but I'll save those for another time, another post! (Look out Leslye, I've got post plans!!)