Taking a day with the Lord is...

...necessary, but easy to put on the back burner in this job. I usually find that I need two days with the Lord in a row, because it usually takes a full day for me to finally quiet down enough to let the Lord speak to me. I'm realizing that it's a lot harder for me to be still and quiet before the Lord than it used to, but I haven't yet figured out why that is. - Laurie

My sleep, exercise and eating habits are...

...ma ma hu hu (that's "so so" in East Asian).

I generally get 8 hours of sleep a night, which I have to have to function. I eat pretty well most of the time, but sometimes I get tired of cooking and live on pb and honey sandwiches for a few days. Exercise is definitely the area where I'm struggling. I was really good about going to the gym 3 days a week last semester, but this year I'm finding it hard to carve out that time, and I've definitely noticed a difference in how I feel. -Laurie

Taking a day with the Lord is . . .

. . . refreshing. - Alan

My financial partners know...

...what is going on in our ministry on a weekly basis. Each Thursday I send out an e-mail with highlights of the previous week. They also know how they can be praying for our ministry and that I pray for them. Each month they receive a prayer letter that tells one big story from the previous month.

-Laurie

My sleep, exercise and eating habits are . . .

. . . improving. This semester has been one of learning that I need to start going to bed a lot earlier than I am used to doing. My body no longer can stay up as late as it used to be able. Exercise is not where I want it to be right now. I am lifting twice a week with one of the guys I disciple which has been good. I want to start swimming three times a week, but I need to get a Rec center membership. My eating habits have taken a dive since we found out that Steph is pregnant. - Alan

My financial partners know....

...that we have had a busy semester! We just recently sent out our EOY explaining how we've lost several thousands in support this year. We also explained our car troubles. - Alan

Walking in the power of the Holy Spirit...

I always desire to be walking in the spirit. Of course when I am meeting with students and what not I desire to be 'filled' with the Holy Spirit. A lot of my time has been doing new staff training and other things and I am trying to broaden my student horizon. I would like more oppurutnities to be able to really need to be 'filled' with the Holy Spirit. I strive to always to be walking in the spirit throughout my life and in my ministry by praying throughout the day and always asking for the spirit to use my in particular situations.

My walk with God has been...

I feel like my walk with God lately has been a bit uninvolved. I pray to God. I read about God. I talk about God but I think lately that is about it. I haven't really been in the Word persay and that of course doesn't help. I have been relying lately on the usage of authors and the like to speak to me about God and I guess then I hope to experience God that way. Althought the question wasn't about "experiencing" God it was about my walk. So then maybe since I am learning a lot about the Lord through the use of books and other authors doesn't mean that my walk hasn't been growing. But I would like my seeking of the Lord to be that through the bible and not of others.

I took the initiative to share the gospel, leaving the results to God, and..

it was awesome! Last week it was great being able to go sharing with Alan in Brady Commons. It was something that I wasn't able to do for a while probably since I was last volunteering early last year. It felt great to be able to innitiate with others and to hear what others had to say about Christianity. I realized that many were agnostic and I need to figure out a response to that in my evangelism technique otherwise it was great to trust the Lord in that and seeking His will and asking Him to use me in those situations. I hope that those students that Alan and I talked to will somehow come to Crusade and we are trusting that the Lord will speak to them and hopefully somehow bring them closer to Him.

I am praying that God will use me as His servant by...

Bringing some students into my ministry. Once getting on campus I thought that it would be a bit easier to begin to meet with students. As of right now I am meeting with two students regularly and I'm praying that somehow these will be leaders for the movement. I'm praying that the Lord will also use me to begin a ministry in a certain location on campus as well. This is also something that needs a great amount of seeking in terms of finding the Lord's will.

Rybo

My Walk...

My walk with God is still continuing to grow. I am continually learning more about his character, love, and grace in my life. There have been three major milestone times in my life where I have seen significant growth in my life. The first time of deepening my walk occured in high school where I first learned what a personal relationship with Jesus looked like. At that time I learned the idea that God did desire to be close to me and that relationship happens through trusting Him. My next large time of growth happened freshman year of college when the Lord really pressed upon my heart surrendering my life to Him. This time, freshman and sophomore year, I really grew in becoming obidient to the Lord, becoming a self feeder, and understanding what walking with the Lord is characterized by. At this time in my life now, I am experiencing what has been the third segment of intense growth in my life. I'm learning what freedom in Christ means, giving up my ambitions and desires to please others. It's a fine tuning of my being and has reflected God in a way I never thought imaginable in my life.

So when I think about my walk with the Lord, I can't help but have an overwhelming sense of gratitude at the idea that he continually seeks to refine and grow me closer to Him. The idea that he would continue to reach out tom, to grow mw according to His timing, to never be done with where I'm currently at but to continue to pursue a more intimate relationship does everything for my heart and allows me to believe that I have a God that can never be reproduced and will only ever satisfy my deepest longings.
~jWags~

I took the initiative to share the Gospel, leaving the results to God, and...

I remember sharing with this amazing gal named Julie. It was the easiest and most unawkward conversation. It was so fun...and I had just been through the evangelism training at CRU U and those tools were so helpful. It made the conversation interactive and easy and fun. It has also been so cool to see how the Lord has worked through Abby. I shared with her how to share the 4 Laws and she then is just multiplying. It's so cool. God is good.

Walking in the power of the Holy Spirit is...

abiding in Christ and walking with Him. If I am walking in the power of the Holy Spirit He has the control rather than me. It is coming to the unquenchable fountain when I am in need rather than choosing my less sufficient resources. It's knowing that precisely what the Lord desired occurred, because I let His desires be mine, and His words be mine. It's a beautiful thing really...thank you Jesus.

Gospel Initiative

I took the initiative to share the gospel and it went okay. I'd like to continually be learning how to share the gospel in a more effective way. In general I'd like to share the gospel more.
~jWags~

My walk with God has been...

sustaining. I feel like I am experiencing His sustaining grace so much at this time in my life, but in different ways than I would've expected. I haven't been in the Word a lot, but the times I am are so sweet. He's providing me with time to sleep and still enough time to get things done, He's worked in my schedule so that I can go to bed at 9:00. That's crazy!! He also has provided me with a husband who has been helping out so much!!! He's just been near, and I am so thankful for His presence and blessing.

Holy Spirit

Walking in the power of the Holy Spirit is ....

Remembering that your abilities are not enough to accomplish bringing glory to God in your everyday life and your ministry. Asking God to work through you and surrendering your life to Him when you notice you are trying to live in your own power. Living in confession and repentance and then accepting grace.
~Emily

Walk with God

My walk with God has been ....

Exciting, but slow. I have been getting more and more excited about diving into the Word to learn more about God as a whole and the history of Christianity. I love having verses to go to for my own issues and the questions that students have. It's great to be excited about reading the Bible again...it's been about 9 months since I have felt this kind of excitement about the Word. I'm still working on acting out this feeling by spending more than 15 minutes at a time reading. I also feel that my process forward has been slow and continues to be slow. It feels good to at least be moving forward, though. It feels good to feel like I am actually walking WITH God, instead of walking on a path parallel to Him, but not with Him.
~Emily

Initiative

hey, that last post was by Emily

Initiative, leaving the results to God

This semester, while having the definition of succesful witnessing memorized, taking initiative in sharing the gospel as a lifestyle has become much more natural and less awkward. As a person who loves to see results and enjoys admiring a finsihed product, sharing your faith and pouring into others for a majority of your time during the week can be frustrating and less than satidfying. Having a mindset of leaving results to God is a step of faith in itself. Its hard to be at ease when you feel your own self-worth is challenged when you cannot see the fruits of your labor instantly. By allowing the Lord to be responsible for the results, I am free. It is something that I have to continue to remind myself of though.
I shared my faith earlier this semester with a student named Brian who showed intrest in spiritual things. he later came to Crusade and excepted Christ at a weekly meeting. I talked to him afterwards and saw that he was excited and told me he wanted to come back and be a part of the movement. However, since then he has disappeared and been unreachable. I saw him once downtown at the Blues festival with friends having a good time. It didnt seem to be a good time for me to approach him but I saw him and realized that I had been a vessel for the Lord in his life. What do I do now?
This is where its tough and I struggle to trust that the Lord is working. I know that he is and I may not see the results for sometime. Maybe He will respond to our encounter later this year or down the road, but the Lord is asking me to trust Him for Brian's future and be ready when He wishes to use me in His life again.
- Dustin

Walking in the power of the Holy Ghost is...

I feel like this question is much like the previous one, but it's been good. I am excited to be trusting Him for a lot, and expecting a lot, while I step out in faith. I have still had trouble experiancing the Holy Spirit and enjoy his presence in my life through the times I am still, or times when I am not active. It's funny to think I can have faith in Him showing up when I take steps of faith... but I can't when I am still, and alone...
-David

Holy Spirit

Walking in the power of the Holy Spirit is...a learning experience for me. Some days I am more aware than others of asking Him to fill me, to guide and direct me as I go about my day. It is very easy for me to rely on my own strength, since this is how I have lived most of my life. But, I am excited to experience Him more and more as I continue to live out a life of surrender to Him. ~Mik

Initiative

I took the initiative to share the gospel, leaving the results to God, and ...

...it felt amazing. I got to share the 4 laws with a student named Kaitlin Foley. She is a freshman from Omaha, NE (an instant bond for us). I was informed by other students who care for her that I should talk to her about her faith because she had a lot of questions that they were having trouble answering. I had talked to her a bit about those questions at the Lee Strobel event with other students around. Then, I asked her to meet with me alone so I could get more in depth. We ended up going through the booklet and it definitely challenged her idea of what a Christian technically is (a believer vs. a church-goer). I am still leaving the results to God. She has not yet "received Christ" in the way that the booklet says to do. I am waiting for the Holy Spirit to convict her heart and that she will give her life to Him fully instead of focusing on all of the questions that she has. She is learning that she can have faith in something without knowing everything.

My walk with God has been...

never been more alive. Even though my times in 'QT' haven't been all that great, I am discovering my relationship with God doesn't solely depend on those times. I can exeriance God through multiple avenues. In fact, this was a lessoned I learned while in college, and is as freeing now as it was then. -David

Walking

My walk with God has been...more vibrant than it has been in a long time. God has given me faith to trust Him more completely with my life, even when I can't see. I do not feel as close to Him as I'd like, but I will continue to walk by faith, trusting that His promise in Hebrews 13:5 is true. ~Mik

Taking the Initiative

I took the initiative to share the gospel, leaving the results to God, and...it was amazing to watch Him work. A few weeks ago, I sat down with an athlete that I had just recently met. As we were getting to know each other, I asked her if anyone had ever explained the gospel to her. She was excited to hear it, and God had readied her heart to desire to trust Him completely with her life. Not everyone we share with will make this decision, but what a joy to be a part of someone crossing from death to life!

Mik

I took the initiative to share the gospel...

It is hard to not judge the result by immediate fruit. I have been sharing the gospel multiple times with a group of guys, and its hard to not call them, and expect them to leave everything behind and persue God whole hearted. I need to remember that growth doesn't happen over night. -David

Walking in the power of the H.S. is...

a new concept for me in a lot of ways. Trusting him to work through me instead of trying to muster up the strength in and from myself is really liberating. I fail to walk in step with the spirit often and am still trying to understand really what it means. But of late I have learned much about this area and am excited to teach others what I know.

-Will

Walking in the power of the Holy Spirit is....

...refreshing. I've been enjoying seeing the Lord work through me on campus over the past several weeks. I like not having the stress of assuming that it's all dependent on me. Instead, I walk in the Spirit and get to see Him bring His provision. - Alan

My walk with God has been...

A bit up and down of late. I had a really long day last Thursday and on Friday wanted little to do with people and was moderately depressed about some failures I've seen in myself in ministry. I tried to run to God in the midst of my weakness and have faith that he was there, but still felt rather distant. I feel like I was in a funk for the rest of the weekend. On Sunday night I was on the phone with a friend from college relaying to him where I was at. He asked me if I was thankful in the midst of my situation. I responded that I didn't really know if I had been, really realizing that I had failed miserably in the area of thankfulness. A few minutes of conversation later, I confessed this to my friend and in my heart chose to be thankful to the Lord for what he was doing in my life, and almost instantly felt his love in my life. In general over the past couple weeks I feel like I have been growing a lot and my walk with God has grown in consistancy. It's far from where I would like it to be, but I am greatly encouraged by what he's doing.

-Will

My walk with God has been...

...really good lately. Last week was a mixture of highs and lows. Some days I was filled with the Spirit and seeing a lot of cool things happen in ministry. Other days I felt like the worst person in the world. Through all of it, I've been learning a lot about how Jesus is the fulfillment of the Old Testament prophecies. It's been really cool to see the connections in the Gospels with prophecies throughout the Old Testament. I really want to put what I've been learning into a talk for Cru. - Alan

I took the initiative to share Christ in the...

So I've been doing a lot of following up of contact cards the past couple weeks. I'll describe a couple of times which I would consider "successful witnessing." One time I was in Laws and me and Alan went through the worldview questionaire with this guy named Tim. At the end of the survey we asked if it would be okay to go through an outline of the main points of Christianity. He agreed so we went through it. Tim said he had grown up in the church but had never made a personal decision to follow Christ. When I asked him if he wanted to, he declined. When I asked what was keeping him from doing so, he replied with a really vague answer about "the world." When I pressed him further, I realized that he knew that the accepting Christ as his Lord would involve giving up the life he was currently living. I let him know that I cared for him and that he had options if he wanted out, but he couldn't see his need, so we left.

Another time I was in laws I talked to this guy named Jesse, shared the gospel and he said he wanted to pray to receive Christ. I don't know where he's at right now, because it just happened days ago. But I pray that his decision was sincere and that he will continue to respond to the Lord in his life.

-Will

Walking in the Power of the Holy Spirit is...

umm... it's kind've like this:



~Eric

My Walk With God Has Been...

Ok. It's been kind of strained. I feel I haven't gotten alone with him regularly, but I feel him blessing my ministry and near when I pause for prayer. ~Eric

Sharing the Gospel

I took the initiative to share the gospel, left the results to God... and somebody came to faith...several somebodys. Not recently, but once upon a time that happened. It was totally awesome! ~Erwick

Holy Spirit

Walking in the power of the Holy Spirit is amazing. I have really been on a discovery of what it means to walk in the power of the Holy Spirit every day. I have been really excited about this because it totally opens up new and different areas of my life that need to be surrendered to the Lord. Walking in the Spirit has been great for me to really reach out for the Lord for His help knowing that I am not able to do anything on my own. It is freeing as well because I no longer have to struggle and fail at all of my own feeble attempts at serving Him or avoiding temptation. I have a long road ahead on truly walking with the Spirit, but these last few weeks have been amazing. ~danny

I took the initiative to share the gospel, leaving the results to God, and...

...the Lord used my testimony to really connect with the two students we were talking to. They each shared they were agnostic and that they had grown up in churches. One was from a Roman Catholic background and the other from a Presbyterian. Neither had spent really anytime reading the Bible, but they spoke about it as if they had. At least, in so much as they felt like it couldn't be trusted and so forth. After listening to their spiritual experiences I asked if I could share mine. Thats when I started sharing how I came to enter into this relationship with Jesus. They seemed really engaged as I shared with them the message. At the end, I challenged them to investigate whether they really believed Jesus is the Christ. They were not at a place to receive Christ as their Lord, but I pray that one day they will. - Alan

What I'm trusting the Lord for...

I am praying that God will use me as His servant by....

Growing me personally and in my ministry. I desire to be use to work in the lives of women at the University of Missouri. I want to bring the Lord into their situations. I want to look back at the end of the yar and see how the Lord has used me to grow them closer to HIm. I pray that they would discern Him more clearly.

I pray the Lord would use me to cultivate realtionships on the staff team. I want to be used in such a way that I contribute to the growth of our team and the friendships we have been blessed with within. I'm asking the Lord to teach me to be a better friend and tot each me how to take the initiative in relationships on the team.

I'm praying that I would use the resources Crusade has given me to learn how to launch effective movements on campus. I'm going towards in faith a goal of having movements started in five different areas of campus. So far, I've only seen the beginning stages of a Greek movement...probably need to get on that.

Looking forward to a year of seeing the Lord grow me and my ministry at Mizzou!



~~~~ jWags~~~~~

Walk

My walk with God has been really challenging. I have been growing in my understanding of what it means to spend time with the Lord. Since I have been challenged on what it means to spend time with the Lord it has made it difficult for me to spend time with the Lord. I generally spend time by reading and journaling and praying, but in light of breaking out of a mold of how and what it looks like to spend time with the Lord I have been struggling to find what it means to grow and connect with Him. I pray that the Lord continues to meet with me wherever and whatever I am doing. It has been a joyous month but like I said also a challenging month as well. ~danny

Initiative

I took the initiative to share the gospel, leaving the results to God, and it scared me to death. I am pretty intimidated by sharing the Gospel, but it has been truly amazing to watch the Lord work powerfully in my own life to push me past my fears. I have often fallen on my face when sharing the Gospel, but it has still been interesting to see the Lord give me the strength to attempt, and then to share the Gospel. I pray that he will give me more opportunities to struggle through it.
~Danny

Walking in the power of the Holy Spirit is...

...one of the most freeing concepts I have ever been taught! It is so simple, yet so many Christians don't know/understand about the Spirit-filled life. There are so many instances each day where I walk in my flesh instead of walking in the power of the Holy Spirit. When I have been intentional about walking in the Spirit, it's noticeable. It's easy for me to get caught up in trying to perform or work for fruit in ministry, but when I'm trying my hardest is generally when I feel the farthest from "success." It's humbling to realize how broken and imperfect I am, but I always love getting to that point, because it's then that I truly learn how to walk in the Spirit and allow the Lord to use me as a vessel to bring glory to Himself. - Laurie

My walk with God has been...

...rough, but good. During the 2-3 weeks leading up to Fall Retreat, my walk with the Lord was really rocky. I felt very empty, sterile, dark, pointless, selfish. Perhaps I had somewhat of a desire to connect with Him, but lacked the energy or wherewithall to actually do anything about it. Spending time in the Word was difficult, and my prayers were mostly a plea with God to "feel" Him again. As we talked about in How People Grow, I felt like I really came to the end of myself. It was as if all of the fluff of faith, religion, Christianity, ministry, etc. had been stripped away and I was left with the bare bones of my relationship with Christ...and it was pretty feeble-looking. Experiencing such a huge disconnect with the Lord caused me to really examine why I believe what I do and come back to the basics of Christ's grace and love. I am still in the midst of "figuring it all out," but the darkness that hung over me for a while is gone, and I am experiencing the freedom to be full of questions and frustrations right now. I feel like I am chipping away at a dense wall, but have finally gotten past the surface and am actually making some progress. -Laurie

I took the initiative to share the gospel...

...leaving the results to God, and had the opportunity to walk a girl through the assurance of salvation. I met with Samantha Genochio because she filled out a contact card at the Lee Strobel event. On the card she indicated that she wanted to learn more about developing a personal relationship with Jesus. When we met, I asked her if anyone had ever walked her through the gospel or explained what Christianity is all about, and she said no. As we went through the Four Laws booklet, we discussed her background (grew up Catholic, but never really went to church)and the hesitations she has about the Church. At the end, she told me she had prayed to receive Christ at Lee Strobel, but didn't know what came next. As I shared about the assurance of salvation and the Spirit-filled life, it was exciting to see everything "click" with her. She doesn't have a Bible, but is anxious to learn, so we're going shopping for one on Monday, and then we're going to start the 5 follow-ups with Ashley Volmert, who was her roommate last year! It's really exciting to be able to include another student in this process. I'm really looking forward to watching what the Lord does in Samantha's life as she grows in her relationship with Him! -Laurie

Replying to the prompt, “I’m praying that God would use me as servant by…”

…starting a spiritual movement in Hatch and College Avenue dorms. I have some other dorms as well that have been assigned to me (Mark Twain and McDavid), but I have a big heart for Hatch. I prayed with a guy named James in Hatch to receive Christ and could tell that he was what we call a ‘person of peace.’ His door was open for most of our conversation and about 10 people stopped by just to say hey and see what was happening. I haven’t been able to get a hold of James since, but through people coming into his room I realized that many of them were not believers and had values that would lead away from as opposed to towards reconciliation with the God and judge of all mankind. Since then I have started praying for James and for Hatch that God would do a work and bring many to repentance for the sake of his glory and for the joy of the souls who reside in Hatch.

Another place I would like to see God work through me is to encourage growth in students. I’ve been pursuing a senior named Eric who has a lot of potential to spend his life building into others and I would love to see God use me to bring him to a place where he is more equipped to do so.

I am also praying right now that God would use me as his servant to speak truth to a student named Nicolas who grew up nominally Catholic and has since decided that he believes the teachings of Jesus were of Buddhist nature. I know not what to say to this kid but would like to offer him the truth and life of who Jesus is and for him to discover the wholeness that Jesus can offer.

-Will

Praying for Spiritual Multiplication

I am praying that God will use me as His servant by sharing the gospel with international students and bringing them to a point of decision. For many of these students, living in the U.S. might be their only chance to hear the gospel, and as they receive Christ, they can be sent back to their countries, fully equipped, to share the gospel with their people. Telling someone about Jesus for the first time is exhilarating, but it also brings me back to the simplicity of the gospel, which then helps me focus the rest of my ministry on the gospel instead of getting off-track. Sharing with East Asian students this summer was one of the most life-giving things I have ever done, and I am excited to see how the Lord will use that in my life and in the lives of others this year.
I am praying that the Lord will use me as I disciple women at Mizzou and Stephens. I’ve learned a lot from mistakes I made last year in discipleship, from trying to be a counselor to being too focused on a “curriculum.” I’m learning to model discipleship after the way Jesus discipled people; He took them to the Word and He modeled ministry for them. The key was spiritual multiplication. I get so caught up in the “bigness” of what we’re doing, that I forget that it’s actually really simple. I am praying that this year, as I learn how to keep ministry simple, that I can model that for the women I disciple and teach them how to multiply that in their own lives.

-Laurie

I am praying God will us me as His servant by...allowing me to connect with students in a way that will be beneficial to their growth as well as mine. I really desire for the Lord to open the door to Marching Mizzou. He has provided several opportunities with students involved in the band, and I pray that he continues to open doors to provide more opportunity. I am asking for the Lord to give the students He does bring into my life a fire to reach out to their fellow band members and really start a movement. - Danny

I am praying that God will use me as His servant in a lot of ways. I long to be a more capable staff women. I know that this will occur through continuing on in New Staff Training and becoming more familiar with Crusade resources. I am praying that He will help me to be a disciple who equips her disciples to be sent as Jesus desires. I am praying as well to truly understand how to launch a successful movement. I’m learning more and more each week, through asking questions and just winging it and trying things. I am so excited for what He is doing within the College of Education and how He has equipped Abby and given her a heart for her peers. I would love for it to be efficiently launched and self-sustaining. He’s given me so much grace and is providing me with those who are further along in the journey to guide me along. I need such grace to be patient.

Shtuff

I am praying that God will use me as His servant by growing me in my leadership abilities. I really feel like I have no idea how to train a student, and take them where they need to go to have an effective ministry. I would like to be able to prioritize my time, and carve out prep for discipleship, and make a plan for where I want to take people. I want to pray for students and particular areas of growth. I’d like to see them start movements, etc. -Eric

I am praying that I see the

Changing the lives of anyone I brush shoulders with. Whether big or small, I will be fully committed to allowing the gospel of reconciliation flow from every part of my being. I will sacrifice my will for His, and submit to His sovereignty. Practically I don’t know how this plays out, but I know God is on the move and He will ultimately be the one orchestrating and bringing about His perfect plan in not only my life, but the lives of others. -- David

Servant

I am praying that God will use me as His servant by...

• loving students with unconditional love (even the VDPs...which can only be loved with strength given by God)

• challenging students to grow in their faith and in sharing their faith (stepping out of my boundaries of comfort in order to encourage them to do the same)

• loving the community (Mercy Ministries with Karis)

• showing me how my spiritual gifts will benefit the Body and growing me in the areas where I'm not gifted

I want God to show me how to be more like Jesus (Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus--Phil. 2:5-11) so that I can grow in my knowledge of God the Father and open up my life for the Holy Spirit to guide me and use me as His vessel. I want God to show me how to have patience and motivation in my life. I so often will resort to laziness or doing what I want to do instead of fulfilling what I know to be my responsibilities because I'm scared to start work on a large pile of "need to do" things when I don't feel I can finish it in the time I have open at the moment. I pray that God would remove this fear of failing so I can move towards stewardship of my time and energy that will glorify Him.

-->Emily Doll

I am praying that God will use me as His servant by….

…allowing me to communicate His care for His people throughout history. Recently, I’ve been reading a book by Vaugh Roberts called God’s Big Picture. In the book, the author shares the purpose of the tabernacle as described in the Old Testament. The tabernacle was to represent God’s presence with His people and serve as a place for His people to get themselves right with God. He went on to describe some of the elements that were within the tabernacle, like the show bread and the lamp stand and the altar of incense. I have read about these things in Scripture before this, but never really understood exactly what purpose they served. The author talks about how the show bread was to remind the people of Israel that God provides for His people. The lamp stand was to represent God’s constant watch and protection over His people. The altar of incense was to remind God’s people of His nearness. After reading this, I was overcome by how good our God is. I responded with thanksgiving to Him for his constant provision for us, for his constant watchfulness and protection, and for His continued nearness even when I don’t feel like He is near. Moreso, I see how Jesus is the ultimate fulfillment of the truths that were foreshadowed in the tabernacle. Through Him we find redemption, forgiveness of sins. Through Him, we experience God’s provision of grace and love. Though Jesus we are grafted into God’s family and no one can take us away from Him. He has placed His Spirit within us so we are able to experience God in a way that goes beyond the tabernacle experience. My prayer is that God would continue to remind me of these truths throughout my week in such a way that I would be able to point students to them; to remind them of God’s provision, protection, and nearness through Jesus. And that by learning about these truths, they would want to enter into a relationship with Him. -- Alan

Dear Lord,

I am praying that God will use me as his servant by.....
Opening doors for me to make a difference in the lives of students in the College of Education and the Athletic department through Fellowship of Christian Athletes. I feel like these are the two areas that the Lord has given me to focus on this semester and they are areas that I have spent a lot of time and gained experience in. When I look back at the things the Lord has done in my life, its great to see that He has led me to a point where I have a chance to serve him in these areas I have a passion for. Who knows, maybe the only reason that I got a degree from the College of Education is so that I could come back and help bring the gospel to this place that I am familiar with.
I’m praying that the Lord will continue to use me as his servant in the lives of those people who are on my support team. I pray that the letters I send and the calls I make will open the eyes to certain people in my life that God is alive and moving in the world around them. I pray that they would realize that by being on my team that the Lord wishes to use them as well and that there are plenty of opportunities to serve the Lord all around them.
I’m also praying that the Lord will use my interests and abilities to serve Him in our upcoming outreaches (Lee Strobel and Fall Retreat) in a unique way. Building a giant “if” sign, planning outdoor activities, and planning bonfires. Things I love to do in the context of ministry!

Dustin Shryock

Up And Running

Hey Everyone,

The blog is up and running.

Go ahead and cut and paste your first blog into this one.

Thanks!
Chris