Pray and think and dream and plan and work.  Are you?

 I love it.  I well remember the day one of the sweet ladies at work quoted that verse to me.  I looked it up, highlighted it, and have often referred to it. 

But Proverbs 10 has so much more to offer than that one verse.  I think I often excitedly skipped down to that verse and missed a lot of wise advice.  Here’s a highlight:

Prov 10:2-3: Righteousness delivers from death. The Lord will not allow the righteous soul to starve.

Prov 10:4: The hand of the diligent makes rich.

Prov 10:7: The name of the wicked will rot.

Prov 10:8: The wise in heart will receive commands. (Be teachable!)

Prov 10:9: He who walks with integrity walks securely.  (No fear of being caught.)

Prov 10:11: The mouth of the righteous is a well of life. (This verse makes me evalute what I say…and wonder if I am all that righteous?)

Prov 10:12: Love covers all sins.

Prov 10:17: He who keeps instruction is in the way of life. (Again, be teachable, hear instruction.)

Prov 10: 18-21: Whoever spreads slander is a fool.  The tongue of the righteous is choice silver. The lips of the righteous feed many.  Fools die for lack of wisdom.

Prov 10:24: The fear of the wicked will come upon him.  The desire of the righteous will be granted.

Prov 10:28-30: The hope of the righteous will be gladness.  The righteous will never be removed.

Prov 10:31: The mouth of the righteous brings forth wisdom.  The perverse tongue will be cut out. 

Reading the entire chapter offers me some perspective on verse 22.  If I hear the instruction of the entire chapter, if I seek righteousness, if I guard my tongue, then the promise of verse 22 is mine.  If I am diligent, if I am teachable, I will find my life richer.

Proof that God is faithful.  And that graduation hats are ridiculous.

Anyway, I suppose it got in my blood because I really enjoy going to an amazing chorale service!

Which is definitely what we had in Austin, Texas.

It was simply incredible.  The band did amazing.  The soloists were top notch.

They brought the house down with a medley that ended in a song that took me back to my Youth Camp days – “Just Like the Day of Pentecost.”

And most importantly, the anointing was present and God moved.

Pretty much the best chorale concert I’ve ever attended.  (Excluding, of course, the 1985 chorale trip which I cannot remember and therefore cannot judge properly.)

I may be a bit biased toward my roots, but I firmly believe that God is doing great things at Texas Bible College.  I am excited with them about the future!

If you would like more information about TBC, visit www.texasbiblecollege.com or view the promotional video here.  You can also catch some clips of the chorale performing.

*Pictures credit of Texas Bible College.

Remember as in remember reading it.  Okay, good.  The stones were to serve as a rememberance of how God had been faithful to His word.  The Jordan river stood up in a heap on both sides and they all passed over on dry ground.  Just as God had promised them.  (Josh 3:13-4:8).

Sometimes we need memorials in our personal lives.  We need to mark the moments when God’s promises come true.

Today is such a day in my life.  It’s my last day of classes.  I’m through with medical school.  I made it. 

God came through on His promise to me. 

I clearly remember the Sunday morning when I felt the calm, quiet reassurance that I was going to make it through medical school.  I was at my parents’ for the weekend during my very first semester.  The minister had preached a sermon about God being able to meet our needs and that we needed to trust in Him.  A simple message, a tall order.  I gathered around the front with the others and presented God with my one overriding need at that moment: medical school.  It was a simple prayer, but it came from an overwhelmed heart.  I actually just reminded God that He had called me to do this, and that I needed Him to help me make it through.  By “make it through” I meant pass.  And just as quickly as I presented my need to Him, His promise came echoing back.  It wasn’t an audible voice, but it was an absolute certainity that I was going to make it – and that I was going to make it whole and intact spiritually, physically, and emotionally.  I asked to make passing grades; He said I was going to come out of it whole. 

And I have.  I’m standing here today, more certain than ever that God is faithful and that He will carry you when you can’t move forward on your own. 

It hasn’t been without cost.  I’ve seen a lot of pain and I’ve had some low times.  The mountain top highs have been shorter than the low valleys in some ways.  I’ve paid a bit of a price.  But I made it.  I’m whole.  My walk with God is stronger than ever.  I even have a GPA I’m okay with. 

God’s promises are true.  I’ve seen them come to pass in my life.

This is my memorial, these words.  That diploma will serve as a nice reminder as well; not of my success, but of God’s faithfulness.

About 2 years ago, God gave me another promise for the entirety of my medical training and career.  This is the promise that I’m claiming and expecting to see fulfilled as I go forward:

“And I will restore to you the years that the locust hath eaten, the cankerworm, and the caterpillar, and the palmerworm, my great army which I sent among you.  And ye shall eat in plenty, and be satisfied, and praise the name of the Lord your God, that hath dealt wondrously with you: and my people shall never be ashamed.” Joel 2:25-26 KJV

I’m planning on building some more memorials in the future.

My last hoorah in medical school is a 2 week rotation on the Chemical Dependance/Addiction team.  I am half way through the rotation and I am completely heartbroken by what I have seen.  This world is a cruel place.  And sin is a cruel taskmaster.   The consequences are certain and harsh. 

I am so thankful my hope is not in this world. 

“They shall see His face, and His name shall be on their foreheads. There shall be no night there: They need no lamp nor light of the sun, for the Lord God gives them light.  And they shall reign forever and ever.”  Rev 22:4-5 NKJV

Even so, come, Lord Jesus.

It was just 8 years ago that I donned a graduation gown for the first time, put on the funny hat, gave a speech, and was granted freedom from high school.  4 years ago I donned another hat, and said good bye to college.  In three weeks I’ll be putting on an even weirder hat and saying so long to medical school. 

Graduating is good.  Leaving behind the familiar is good.  Entering into a new season in life is good. 

It’s just hard.  It can even be really, really hard.

During my four years of college, I was a freshman for one, and a freshman mentor for the next three, and from my experience, the majority of new college students have this same experience.  Going off to college is a huge adjustment.  And even if you end up attending a local college, things change a lot. 

I attended a private, christian university.  It was actually located in my hometown but halfway through my first semester my parents moved away, and I moved on campus.  Even though I was in the same town, nothing was really the same.  I had a new pastor, a new home, and the majority of my close friends had moved away for college.  That first year was fun and it was not fun.  I enjoyed making new friends, having new freedoms, and staying up all night studying (yeah, not so much).  But at the same time, I missed the familiar, I missed my friends that knew me so well, and I so wanted to go back to my old, easier life. 

The only thing that truly kept me going was that I had no idea what else I was supposed to do.  And that is really all that matters, in college and in life in general.  You just figure out what God wants you to do, and then go do it.  And keep doing it, even when it gets hard. 

Once I was a freshman mentor, I told every single one of my freshmen students that the most important thing was to just come back after Christmas break.  And then to come back after summer break.  And then it would get remarkably easy to keep coming back.  Pretty soon you’d be graduating and they would have to force you to stay away.  This wasn’t just my experience either; it has been proven time and again by research in higher education. 

But perhaps this is more applicable than to just those of you who are headed into the circles of higher education this coming fall.  We all, me included, need to be reminded that when things get tough or unpleasant, we should just keep heading toward where God last pointed us. 

It was the summer between my Freshman and Sophomore year when I hit a really low point.  Through a series of events, I became completely confused about where I was supposed to be and what I was supposed to be doing.  I was lonely.  I was very uncertain about the future.  I cried on the phone to my mom a lot.  I thought about changing my major.  I prayed a whole lot and I didn’t hear anything.  Not knowing what else to do, I decided to keep my same major and go back for my Sophomore year. 

Boy, am I ever glad I did.  Within a few weeks, I had no doubt that I was doing exactly what I was supposed to be doing.  I was just going through a period of adjustment.  God’s will for my life hadn’t changed and I simply had to endure that season of change.

And sure enough, four years later I cried when I drove around campus for the last time. 

Just keep this in mind as you head to college, or into any new adventure God has planned for you.

“But now, thus says the Lord, who created you, O Jacob,  and He who formed you, O Israel: “Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by your name; you are Mine.  When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overflow you. When you walk through the fire, you shall not be burned, nor shall the flame scorch you. For I am the LORD your God, The Holy One of Israel, your Savior; I gave Egypt for your ransom, Ethiopia and Seba in your place.” Isa 43:1-3 NKJV

I’m not an amateur photographer.  I’m not even an amateur amateur photographer.  But I think snapping interesting pictures is fun.  So here you go.

I’m back in St. Louis, in case you missed that.  For a weekend of wedding festivities. 

Coming soon…”So you’re going to college, part 1.”  A post in which Britney shares her limited, but personal, experience about going off to college.

Last Thursday, I matched into a General Surgery residency.  It was an exciting day — for those of you who don’t know, a residency is on-the-job training after medical school.  Getting a residency is a complex process – you submit your application to programs, they offer you an interview (or they don’t), you go interview, and then you submit a rank order list, and they submit a rank order list.  Whatever program is the highest on your list that also wants you, is where you end up going.  Or as we call it, “matching.”

After you submit that rank list, you wait for Match Day.  On Match Day, you are handed an envelope. It literally holds your future, as you only get one offer.  And get this — you are obligated to take it!

It was about 11:45 a.m. on Thursday, March 18th, when the dean finally said: “Okay, you can open your envelopes!”  I fumbled to open mine. I pulled out two sheets.  Opened the wrong one first.  Switched to the other one – and suddenly, there it was!  My fate — and a testament of God’s unfailing faithfulness to me. 

I can’t help but think about how things have come full circle.  It was just four years ago that I had a similar experience — logging in to the computer to discover where I was going for medical school.  It was just three years ago that I, in the midst of some of the hardest and most frustrating days of medical school, literally cried on the floor of my bedroom, and told God I wasn’t going to make it through without His help.  It was just two years that I took my first licensing exam, and walked away knowing that a passing grade would be by His grace.  And it was just one year ago, that I was discovering the wonder of surgery and exactly how few hours of sleep on which one can function. 

God has been faithful.  So faithful.  I really have no words.  I am so grateful.  Grateful for when things were hard, and Jesus was sweet.  Thankful for the moments of clarity when I knew I was doing exactly what I was supposed to be doing.  Incredibly humbled by those times when I have felt that I am a part of God’s grand work here on earth.

And so excited about the next five years.  God is so good.  So sweet.  So faithful. 

“The blessing of the Lord makes one rich, and He adds no sorrow with it.”  Proverbs 10:22 NKJV

P.S.  Can you guess where I’m headed?

But more on that later.

It was the perfect day for a softball tournament.  A Sheaves for Christ softball tournament. 

Yes, indeed, this past Saturday, 12 teams and a host of umpires, concession stand workers, score keepers, and loyal fans swarmed the Harker Heights Baseball Complex for the 2nd Annual Harker Heights Sheaves For Christ Softball Tournament.  Registration started at 7 am, and by 8 am, 3 games were in progress. 

Do you know that of those 12 teams, only 3 were UPCI church teams? The other 9 were primarily composed of guys that played on the city leagues in the surrounding areas.  Guys who brought their families and who saw the name of our church displayed, who ordered concessions from our sweet ladies…and some of who are now wearing 1st and 2nd place t-shirts bearing our church’s name.

I can get excited about that.

And when they asked where our church is, we just pointed out past field 4, where you could see the steeple in the distance. 

The idea of a SFC softball tournament is not original to us, but bringing it to Harker Heights was the dreamchild of Cade Hendrick.  Cade, along with his parents, Bro. and Sis. Robert Hendrick, organized the first tournament last year.  Cade went on to win the Real McCoy Award (see him talk about his experience here!) last year.

Don’t you think his shirt is rather appropriate?

The scoreboard was my forte (to use the word loosely) and the Starbucks was a necessity to make it through that last Championship game. 

It was a long, fun day.  I have the sunburn to prove it. 

But back to the word sacred…

My Chemistry prof in college started every class with a devotion.  When he was especially inspired, he would pump his arm at the conclusion, and exclaim “See, see! Chemistry is worship!” It took me a while to get his point, but after two General Chemistry classes, and one long, loong semester of Organic Chemistry, I think I got it.  Chemistry was God’s purpose for him, and it was God’s purpose for the students in that class.  For him, it was a God-given, lifelong passion to study and teach Chemistry is a Christian institution. For us students, it was a necessary step along our journey toward fulfilling God’s purpose for our lives.  And that is worship. 

So maybe softball can, indeed, be sacred.

I think there might be some missionaries who would agree.