I got to meet our quarterback after the Spring
game this weekend! He was super kind!
Froyo fun!
I finished my table and chairs!
And a birthday shout out to my sweet friend Heather!
Have a great weekend friends!!!
Mere
4.26.2013
4.24.2013
My Frustration in Tragedy
Happy Wednesday, friends!
In the midst of the tragedy in Boston last week anyone and everyone was posting about it on social media. From condolences and sadness, to frustration and confusion, some even felt the need to make bold statements about life and society. These things aren't what I was frustrated with. Where I have a problem is with the response of a man named Patton Oswalt. His response was shared, reposted, reblogged, retweeted and any other way people knew to pass it on. All you have to do is google his name and "Boston" in the same search bar and his response will come up on every major news website. I'll let you read it and try to figure out why I became frustrated by it.
Okay here's the deal… I can respect the idea here. I get it, he's trying to bring out the positive side of this incredible tragedy. He's trying to point out that some good has come from it. People have helped, people have loved, people have pulled up their bootstraps and served one another. I love that! I'm glad we are recognizing the fact that it's not all bad.
But hear this… We are inherently evil. This is where my beliefs (and hopefully yours if you love Jesus) get offensive. The Gospel is offensive, and it MUST be or it ceases to be the Gospel. We are born sinners, and we are NOT. GOOD. We are bad. We are completely undeserving of EVERYTHING the Lord has done. It's when we begin to view ourselves as "good people" that we no longer see our need for a Savior. Convincing people they are "good" is one of Satan's biggest ploys here in the States. He makes you think you're good and you can do it all on your own, therefore causing you to believe that you don't need Jesus! This is vital to understanding salvation and the Gospel of Jesus Christ. He came and died for us not because we deserve salvation… but because He gets Glory through Christ's death and resurrection! This is GOOD NEWS! No, we are not good. No, we are not deserving. DESPITE our sinfulness and DESPITE our rejection of God, HE STILL CAME. HE STILL SAVED ME. Isn't that SO MUCH BETTER than just thinking I'm good? I sure think so!
I'm so thrilled to have landed an awesome babysitting gig. I get to hang out with 7 year old twin girls part-time all summer! It pays well and works with everything I've got planned! I'm overjoyed with how the Lord so sweetly provides for me! Time and time again, He provides.
So I plan to get a little bit real today. Sorry in advance for my offensive beliefs. Not really that sorry, actually.
In the midst of the tragedy in Boston last week anyone and everyone was posting about it on social media. From condolences and sadness, to frustration and confusion, some even felt the need to make bold statements about life and society. These things aren't what I was frustrated with. Where I have a problem is with the response of a man named Patton Oswalt. His response was shared, reposted, reblogged, retweeted and any other way people knew to pass it on. All you have to do is google his name and "Boston" in the same search bar and his response will come up on every major news website. I'll let you read it and try to figure out why I became frustrated by it.
Boston. ******* horrible.
I remember, when 9/11 went down, my reaction was, “Well, I’ve had it with humanity.”
But I was wrong. I don’t know what’s going to be revealed to be behind all of this mayhem. One human insect or a poisonous mass of broken sociopaths.
But here’s what I DO know. If it’s one person or a HUNDRED people, that number is not even a fraction of a fraction of a fraction of a percent of the population on this planet. You watch the videos of the carnage and there are people running TOWARDS the destruction to help out. (Thanks FAKE Gallery founder and owner Paul Kozlowski for pointing this out to me). This is a giant planet and we’re lucky to live on it but there are prices and penalties incurred for the daily miracle of existence. One of them is, every once in awhile, the wiring of a tiny sliver of the species gets snarled and they’re pointed towards darkness.
But the vast majority stands against that darkness and, like white blood cells attacking a virus, they dilute and weaken and eventually wash away the evil doers and, more importantly, the damage they wreak. This is beyond religion or creed or nation. We would not be here if humanity were inherently evil. We’d have eaten ourselves alive long ago.
So when you spot violence, or bigotry, or intolerance or fear or just garden-variety misogyny, hatred or ignorance, just look it in the eye and think, “The good outnumber you, and we always will.” - Patton Oswalt
Okay here's the deal… I can respect the idea here. I get it, he's trying to bring out the positive side of this incredible tragedy. He's trying to point out that some good has come from it. People have helped, people have loved, people have pulled up their bootstraps and served one another. I love that! I'm glad we are recognizing the fact that it's not all bad.
But hear this… We are inherently evil. This is where my beliefs (and hopefully yours if you love Jesus) get offensive. The Gospel is offensive, and it MUST be or it ceases to be the Gospel. We are born sinners, and we are NOT. GOOD. We are bad. We are completely undeserving of EVERYTHING the Lord has done. It's when we begin to view ourselves as "good people" that we no longer see our need for a Savior. Convincing people they are "good" is one of Satan's biggest ploys here in the States. He makes you think you're good and you can do it all on your own, therefore causing you to believe that you don't need Jesus! This is vital to understanding salvation and the Gospel of Jesus Christ. He came and died for us not because we deserve salvation… but because He gets Glory through Christ's death and resurrection! This is GOOD NEWS! No, we are not good. No, we are not deserving. DESPITE our sinfulness and DESPITE our rejection of God, HE STILL CAME. HE STILL SAVED ME. Isn't that SO MUCH BETTER than just thinking I'm good? I sure think so!
Okay, off my soap box. On a completely different note, I GOT A JOB TODAY!
I'm so thrilled to have landed an awesome babysitting gig. I get to hang out with 7 year old twin girls part-time all summer! It pays well and works with everything I've got planned! I'm overjoyed with how the Lord so sweetly provides for me! Time and time again, He provides.
Hope your week has been stellar, people! Wednesday is the new Friday!!
Mere
4.19.2013
Three weeks left!
Well today is supposed to be Insta Friday… But I haven't posted anything since the last Insta Friday! Eeek! I usually post pretty often so if you're on Instagram follow me! I'm meremoorman.
Anyway, Happy Friday people!!!!
This weekend should be a fun one for me! Tomorrow is the spring football game…can't wait! I miss football season so much! It will be a lot of fun to see the players dressed out and have all the spirit squads there! Today is fun because I got the day off of work! I went to lunch with my friend Abby and then I was getting ready to go pick up Morgan from preschool when his mom called and said she got off work early and would pick up the kids! It's such a nice surprise to get the afternoon off, especially on a Friday! Since I have the afternoon off Abby and I are about to go get some ice cream and then come back to my house and finish up painting the chairs!! No I still haven't finished…eeek!
I really can't believe it! I'm about to be a SENIOR in college. What. The. Heck. It has gone by so incredibly fast. I can remember the days and days I spent packing up my bedroom at home to come out to Lubbock. I remember the very first time I made the 5 1/2 hour drive all by myself! I remember the first friends I made…my Foundation buddies Heather and Christine! My freshman roommate Megan, and my sweet friend Amanda who lived next door. I'll never forget my first hall meeting, the first time I met my CA Leah, my first time at the Wesley, and so much more. I remember thinking…these are going to be the best four years of my life! And they have been so fun. But I know the Lord has even more in store for me! I know that as time passes I will see more of the Glory of God! I know that He has a specific plan for my life…I love that He is already bringing some of that to fruition through my time here in Lubbock. Here are some throwback pictures from my first year as a college student!
So graduation is only a year away! But in the short term…I get to go home for the summer!!! I'm SO excited. I'm ready to relax for the summer! I can't believe it's only three shorts weeks away!! And guess what…I get to see these people…….!!!
All. Summer!
Anyway, Happy Friday people!!!!
This weekend should be a fun one for me! Tomorrow is the spring football game…can't wait! I miss football season so much! It will be a lot of fun to see the players dressed out and have all the spirit squads there! Today is fun because I got the day off of work! I went to lunch with my friend Abby and then I was getting ready to go pick up Morgan from preschool when his mom called and said she got off work early and would pick up the kids! It's such a nice surprise to get the afternoon off, especially on a Friday! Since I have the afternoon off Abby and I are about to go get some ice cream and then come back to my house and finish up painting the chairs!! No I still haven't finished…eeek!
Okay now to the real subject of this post… THREE WEEKS LEFT OF JUNIOR YEAR!
I really can't believe it! I'm about to be a SENIOR in college. What. The. Heck. It has gone by so incredibly fast. I can remember the days and days I spent packing up my bedroom at home to come out to Lubbock. I remember the very first time I made the 5 1/2 hour drive all by myself! I remember the first friends I made…my Foundation buddies Heather and Christine! My freshman roommate Megan, and my sweet friend Amanda who lived next door. I'll never forget my first hall meeting, the first time I met my CA Leah, my first time at the Wesley, and so much more. I remember thinking…these are going to be the best four years of my life! And they have been so fun. But I know the Lord has even more in store for me! I know that as time passes I will see more of the Glory of God! I know that He has a specific plan for my life…I love that He is already bringing some of that to fruition through my time here in Lubbock. Here are some throwback pictures from my first year as a college student!
So graduation is only a year away! But in the short term…I get to go home for the summer!!! I'm SO excited. I'm ready to relax for the summer! I can't believe it's only three shorts weeks away!! And guess what…I get to see these people…….!!!
Happy Weekend!!!
Mere
P.S. THIS IS MY 100TH POST! Yippppeeeee!
P.S. THIS IS MY 100TH POST! Yippppeeeee!
4.17.2013
Wordy Wednesday, the life of Christ, and the dreaded M word!
Happy Wednesday, friends! (decided to sprinkle some Haiti pictures through out this post!)
So I have quite a few things on my mind and I'm pretty sure I know what I need to write about. Bear with me as I sort through them all!
I've mentioned it before but every Monday and Wednesday I go to bible study at 6am. It's an awesome study! Last semester we studied Torah (the first 5 books of the Bible) and it was super great! I learned so much and loved being able to really dig in and begin to understand scripture. This semester we're studying the life of Christ! We've been using a harmony of the gospels to walk us through Jesus' life chronologically. It's incredible how much we've learned by reading all four of the gospels together! They really are all there for different purposes and offer a full picture when studied in conjunction with one another.
So this morning we started talking about passion week. We just finished talking about the triumphal entry and next week we'll cover Monday and Tuesday of passion week (passion week = the week before Easter…or the days leading up to Jesus' crucifixion). Something super crazy that blew my mind this morning was a specific prophecy that Jesus fulfilled at the triumphal entry. Zechariah 9:9 says, "Rejoice greatly, O Daughter of Zion! Shout aloud O Daughter of Jerusalem! Behold, your King is coming to you; righteous and having salvation is He, humble and mounted on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey." Jesus rode into Jerusalem on a colt, intentionally. Obviously we know He is the Messiah, but the Pharisees didn't. They hated Jesus and wanted him killed. But they would have known this verse. They knew the law and the scriptures so well that they would have known this prophecy and realized Jesus was fulfilling it.
It blows my mind because they watched the Messiah ride in on a colt, fulfilling perfectly the prophecy laid out in Zechariah, yet they did not believe. Their hearts were hardened and they rejected the Christ, the Son of God. I never realized a lot of things about the Pharisees, about Jesus, about the 12 apostles, and just about the life of Christ. I would strongly encourage everyone to dig deeper into His life. Study the scriptures and get a grasp for all that went on while He was here. It is fascinating!!
After bible study, as I was walking to class I started watching a YouTube video on my phone. It's a sermon by Francis and Lisa Chan, and it's about Christ-centered relationships. They talk about a ton of things (it's a 50 minute video) and had so much truth to share. It was great, I love watching/listening to sermons. He used a passage out of 1 Corinthians 7 that speaks to the unmarried and the widowed and explained some crucial things. A few things I took away from it are as follows…
1) My oxygen tank is Jesus!
Christ is live giving! He is the only one who is life giving, who rescues me, who saves me daily, who keeps me breathing…it's Him! It cannot be a husband or a family or a happy marriage or a neat home or a healthy family. Those things are not the goal, they are simply byproducts and can be illustrations of Jesus' love for us.
2) Christ-centered marriage starts with a Christ-centered heart
I will never be able to have a Christ-centered, Christ-focused marriage in my future if I haven't first dealt with my personal relationship with Jesus! My future husband cannot fully satisfy or fulfill my deepest needs. He can't and he shouldn't, that is something only Christ can do! And visa-versa, I cannot fulfill his needs completely, only Christ can.
3) Marriage is not eternal
Scripture very clearly says that we will not be married in heaven. This life is about serving Christ and God getting His glory. It's about sharing the Gospel and making disciples. Marriage should come under God. This life is about Him and marriage should come in as a picture of Christ's relationship with the Church. And should be used as a tool to win more people to Christ!
Honestly I could go on for quite a while…I learned a lot! Some of the things they said were things I already understood to be true, but were reinforced in me. It's an awesome sermon and there's a part two I haven't even watched yet! I'll link it to the bottom of this post so that anyone who has an extra 50 minutes in their day can watch too! I'm not sure why but it seems that the Lord is constantly preparing me for marriage…I don't mean that He is teaching me to cook or do laundry or clean or take care of kids (I'm already great at all of that ;))… I mean that He is drawing me close and teaching me to look to Him first, and enjoy marriage as an avenue of ministry to those around me.
Sorry this was so lengthy……long winded today I guess :)
So I have quite a few things on my mind and I'm pretty sure I know what I need to write about. Bear with me as I sort through them all!
I've mentioned it before but every Monday and Wednesday I go to bible study at 6am. It's an awesome study! Last semester we studied Torah (the first 5 books of the Bible) and it was super great! I learned so much and loved being able to really dig in and begin to understand scripture. This semester we're studying the life of Christ! We've been using a harmony of the gospels to walk us through Jesus' life chronologically. It's incredible how much we've learned by reading all four of the gospels together! They really are all there for different purposes and offer a full picture when studied in conjunction with one another.
So this morning we started talking about passion week. We just finished talking about the triumphal entry and next week we'll cover Monday and Tuesday of passion week (passion week = the week before Easter…or the days leading up to Jesus' crucifixion). Something super crazy that blew my mind this morning was a specific prophecy that Jesus fulfilled at the triumphal entry. Zechariah 9:9 says, "Rejoice greatly, O Daughter of Zion! Shout aloud O Daughter of Jerusalem! Behold, your King is coming to you; righteous and having salvation is He, humble and mounted on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey." Jesus rode into Jerusalem on a colt, intentionally. Obviously we know He is the Messiah, but the Pharisees didn't. They hated Jesus and wanted him killed. But they would have known this verse. They knew the law and the scriptures so well that they would have known this prophecy and realized Jesus was fulfilling it.
It blows my mind because they watched the Messiah ride in on a colt, fulfilling perfectly the prophecy laid out in Zechariah, yet they did not believe. Their hearts were hardened and they rejected the Christ, the Son of God. I never realized a lot of things about the Pharisees, about Jesus, about the 12 apostles, and just about the life of Christ. I would strongly encourage everyone to dig deeper into His life. Study the scriptures and get a grasp for all that went on while He was here. It is fascinating!!
After bible study, as I was walking to class I started watching a YouTube video on my phone. It's a sermon by Francis and Lisa Chan, and it's about Christ-centered relationships. They talk about a ton of things (it's a 50 minute video) and had so much truth to share. It was great, I love watching/listening to sermons. He used a passage out of 1 Corinthians 7 that speaks to the unmarried and the widowed and explained some crucial things. A few things I took away from it are as follows…
1) My oxygen tank is Jesus!
Christ is live giving! He is the only one who is life giving, who rescues me, who saves me daily, who keeps me breathing…it's Him! It cannot be a husband or a family or a happy marriage or a neat home or a healthy family. Those things are not the goal, they are simply byproducts and can be illustrations of Jesus' love for us.
2) Christ-centered marriage starts with a Christ-centered heart
I will never be able to have a Christ-centered, Christ-focused marriage in my future if I haven't first dealt with my personal relationship with Jesus! My future husband cannot fully satisfy or fulfill my deepest needs. He can't and he shouldn't, that is something only Christ can do! And visa-versa, I cannot fulfill his needs completely, only Christ can.
3) Marriage is not eternal
Scripture very clearly says that we will not be married in heaven. This life is about serving Christ and God getting His glory. It's about sharing the Gospel and making disciples. Marriage should come under God. This life is about Him and marriage should come in as a picture of Christ's relationship with the Church. And should be used as a tool to win more people to Christ!
Honestly I could go on for quite a while…I learned a lot! Some of the things they said were things I already understood to be true, but were reinforced in me. It's an awesome sermon and there's a part two I haven't even watched yet! I'll link it to the bottom of this post so that anyone who has an extra 50 minutes in their day can watch too! I'm not sure why but it seems that the Lord is constantly preparing me for marriage…I don't mean that He is teaching me to cook or do laundry or clean or take care of kids (I'm already great at all of that ;))… I mean that He is drawing me close and teaching me to look to Him first, and enjoy marriage as an avenue of ministry to those around me.
Sorry this was so lengthy……long winded today I guess :)
Peace people!
Mere
4.14.2013
And the busyness sets in!
Okay so I missed my Wednesday post AND my Friday post! So sorry, friends!
This week has been just a bit crazy and I've been swamped every moment of the day! After a long week and a full weekend I'm just getting a moment to sit down in my recliner and relax. So here I am, finally getting to post for the week.
I'll start with Insta Friday…!
On our way to Palo Duro last weekend!
Abby and I while hiking!
A lazy Sunday afternoon.
This is what happens when people take
selfies on my phone. They get posted :)
I filed my intent to graduate! Ahhh!
Jen and I made a little treat basket for our friend
Hillary! She was super stressed about school work.
Me and Abby's numbers at McAlisters… Meant to be, I tell you!
#tbt to the drill team days :)
Friday night lights! Open practice at the Jones.
Abby in my favorite chair :)
Happy Hour!!
To be completely honest, the end of the semester is getting crazy and I'm getting tired. I'm so ready for a break from school. I'm ready to be at home in McKinney. I'm ready to see my family for 3 months straight. I'm ready to see some specific friends I haven't gotten see in a while. I'm just worn out and counting down the days until I'm home! And when things begin to get overwhelming, the Lord always makes himself known. After this busy weekend I just had, I would usually have 6am bible study and an 8am class tomorrow morning. But thankfully I get to sleep in!! My bible study got cancelled and for my class we have a work day. I am so thankful! I need a little time to unwind!
As for my weekend, I have been refinishing my kitchen table and chairs! They used to have a blond stained wood with blue painted legs. I have changed the blue to black and given the wood a darker finish. I'm almost finished but still have some chairs to do and some last touches to complete! Shout out to my bestie, Abby, for helping me with this huge project!! So far, here is what one chair looks like done!!!
Before After
I'm excited to get everything completed and back in the house! Hope your weekend was as productive as mine!!
Happy Sunday!
4.05.2013
Insta Friday
Happy Friday people!!!
Easter egg dyeing last weekend!
Deviled eggs for Easter lunch, made by yours truly!
The fam in our Easter attire!
My daddy and my doggy!!
My throwback thursday this week. Phi Lamb 90's party!
Have a great weekend! :)
4.03.2013
Midweek Ramblings
Hi friends!
Have you ever had the feeling that you just need to get some things out? Get something down on paper? Maybe you just need to purge all the things that are crowding your mind? Today is that day for me. I think I just need to get some things out.
This past weekend I got to go home to my sweet family and spend some much needed quality time with them. I loved getting to lay on the couch in my living room, under my favorite Texas Tech blanket while my dad watched the evening news. I loved having coffee at the kitchen table while my parents made breakfast. I loved when night fell and my siblings and I got to chat. I loved going grocery shopping for my mom when she had 10,000 things to accomplish. These are things I never realized I loved until I moved away. I now cherish these simple moments at home!
I got to go to Good Friday service at my parents church, which was AWESOME. It was an incredibly visual service and had me in tears most of the time. It was heart breaking to be reminded of the brutality of what Jesus endured for us. I watched a video clip of David Platt speaking recently and he said something really cool. He was talking about how it wasn't the nails driven into Jesus' wrists or the crown placed on His head that saved us from our sin. He said what saved us was the very wrath of God that Jesus endured. Okay, so I already knew that and I'm sure a lot of you did too… but to hear it explained so well and emphasized was refreshing! It was an incredible reminder of what Jesus really did on that night.
I'm reading through The Explicit Gospel by Matt Chandler right now, and it's totally rocking my world! I love it. I'm an avid podcast listener so I'm pretty familiar with people like Matt Chandler, David Platt, Mark Driscoll, etc. who have tons of sermons online. I super enjoy just soaking in knowledge from such great teachers. Any who… Here's an excerpt from the book that I have been chewing on and thinking about for weeks now! Enjoy.
Isn't it crazy how much we try to make it about us? We are all about what makes us feel good and comfortable. That is not the Gospel of Jesus Christ. The Gospel is offensive, uncomfortable, scandalous, and about Him, for His glory…and it MUST be that! Amen!
Have you ever had the feeling that you just need to get some things out? Get something down on paper? Maybe you just need to purge all the things that are crowding your mind? Today is that day for me. I think I just need to get some things out.
This past weekend I got to go home to my sweet family and spend some much needed quality time with them. I loved getting to lay on the couch in my living room, under my favorite Texas Tech blanket while my dad watched the evening news. I loved having coffee at the kitchen table while my parents made breakfast. I loved when night fell and my siblings and I got to chat. I loved going grocery shopping for my mom when she had 10,000 things to accomplish. These are things I never realized I loved until I moved away. I now cherish these simple moments at home!
My family on Easter! Without my sister Callie and both my sister's husbands.
I'm reading through The Explicit Gospel by Matt Chandler right now, and it's totally rocking my world! I love it. I'm an avid podcast listener so I'm pretty familiar with people like Matt Chandler, David Platt, Mark Driscoll, etc. who have tons of sermons online. I super enjoy just soaking in knowledge from such great teachers. Any who… Here's an excerpt from the book that I have been chewing on and thinking about for weeks now! Enjoy.
"If we don't understand the bad news, we will never grasp the good news. The bad news is not just that we don't measure up to the law but that by the works of the law none of us will be justified before God (Gal. 2:16). What alternatives to the cross are there? Be a good man? Be a good woman? Be a good Boy Scout or Girl Scout for Jesus? This is what it boils down to for many in the church: replacing the centrality of the cross with something more appealing, something we think is more weighty. In fact, all across the evangelical landscape, people want to get away from the shame and the blood and the guts and the horrific slaughter of Jesus Christ and focus on something else with the cross out on the margins.
But the reason we do this isn't so much to rectify an imbalance but to idolatrously elevate ourselves. It's like the charismatics who want to make the day of Pentecost central to the Christian faith. Or to the calvinists who want to make TULIP central. Liberals want to make social justice the center. Fundamentalists want to make moral behavior the center. (Their motto is, "Do, do, do," but the cross screams out "Done!") All of those things are good things, biblical things. But to make any of them the center of the Christian faith, the grounds of our hope is to disregard the only power of salvation--the message of the cross." - The Explicit Gospel by Matt Chandler
Isn't it crazy how much we try to make it about us? We are all about what makes us feel good and comfortable. That is not the Gospel of Jesus Christ. The Gospel is offensive, uncomfortable, scandalous, and about Him, for His glory…and it MUST be that! Amen!
I think I've almost over stayed my welcome with this post.
Happy Wednesday, friends!
Happy Wednesday, friends!
Here's that David Platt video I was talking about! :)
