I will post details tomorrow!
Goodnight!
Megan
I will post more tomorrow because we have OFF! We just got back a little bit ago from Istanbul and I am tired, so I am going to hit the sack. We lost against Gala, but it was a close game throughout. We were actually up by 18 going into the third quarter and ended up losing by around 9.
I will post details tomorrow! Goodnight! Megan
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Just wanted to write a quick blog and let you all know that we made it safely to Istanbul. We flew in this morning and practiced this afternoon. We will be playing Galatasaray tomorrow at 3:00 p.m. which is 8:00 a.m. EST.
What I am thankful for: I am thankful for the opportunity of being able to meet new people on a daily basis. You never know who you will come in contact with every single day. What a great opportunity to be a light for Jesus :) **************************************************************************************************************************************** Verse of the Day: Blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked or stand in the way of sinners or sit in the seat of mockers. But his delight is in the law of the Lord, and on his law he meditates day and night. — Psalm 1:1-2 (NIV) Thoughts on Today's Verse...I get to choose which sources of information I feed my mind. But this privilege and freedom is also a responsibility. God longs to bless me, but that blessing remains dormant until my heart delights in knowing and doing his will.My Utmost For His Highest: The great miracle of the grace of God is that He forgives sin, and it is the death of Jesus Christ alone that enables the divine nature to forgive and to remain true to itself in doing so. Our Daily Bread: O child of God, guard well your life Our loyalty to Jesus should be seen and heard in our lives. ____________________________________________________________________ I hope you all have a wonderful weekend :) I will post more tomorrow when I get home after Today we got back into things full swing today. We had lift this morning at 8:30 a.m. and then we did shooting after that. This afternoon we practiced as well. My day was great, but went by super quick! This afternoon I spent most of my time working on school work, but I finished everything for the week which is nice. Thankfully the first week in both classes wasn't too bad, but the rest of the weeks are going to keep my busy! This evening I plan on relaxing. Tomorrow we head to Istanbul to play Galatasaray at 3:00 p.m. on Saturday. I will write more in my blog tomorrow. God bless, Megan Verse of the day:
Sanctify them by the truth; your word is truth. — John 17:17 (NIV) Thoughts on Today's Verse...God's promises, God's Scripture, and God's clearest message of all, his Son, are truth. But only the last of these is truth, grace, deliverer, friend, Lord, Savior, brother, Redeemer... My Utmost For His Highest: “If the Son makes you free . . . .” Do not substitute Savior for Son in this passage. The Savior has set us free from sin, but this is the freedom that comes from being set free from myself by the Son. It is what Paul meant in Galatians 2:20 when he said, “I have been crucified with Christ . . . .” His individuality had been broken and his spirit had been united with his Lord; not just merged into Him, but made one with Him. “. . . you shall be free indeed”— free to the very core of your being; free from the inside to the outside. We tend to rely on our own energy, instead of being energized by the power that comes from identification with Jesus. Our Daily Bread: To be spiritually healthy, we have to avoid “spiritual junk food” as well. Some religious teachers proclaim “a different gospel” (Gal. 1:6), ranging from health-and-wealth to a counterfeit spirituality. And some Christian music and books also contain false teaching. Taking in this kind of “food” may seem to satisfy spiritual hunger, but it will not lead to spiritual health. Hebrews warns us: “Do not be carried about with various and strange doctrines. For it is good that the heart be established by grace” (Heb. 13:9). False teaching is detrimental to our health and is not profitable, because it cannot cleanse from sin nor give power for spiritual growth. But biblical content that is based upon grace and truth does both. Avoid “spiritual junk food” and instead feast on God’s Word to promote your spiritual health. Eating a gyro :) Today we had practice from 2:00-4:00 in the afternoon. I slept in until around 10:00 a.m. (still recovering from not sleeping Saturday night) which was great!! Practice went well...it wasn't too hard which was nice. On the way home today from practice I stopped by the store to get a few things. This evening I put all my stuff away and organized my room. I also started up two more classes this week for my Masters. I am taking a Sport Ethics class and a Sports Medicine class. These classes are going to require a lot of time, but it will be good. I spent a couple hours this morning watching videos, and then a couple hours this evening doing some stuff for them. I also did a skype conference call with 5 different people. Technology is amazing! We are working through a book called "God Space" which is a book about evangelizing. When I say we, I mean we had people on the line from Ohio, Alabama, Belgium, and two people from Turkey. There were five of us total, and we were all able to talk to one another. The Bible Study was a great success and encouragement to me. RECAP of my time in Greece: So I set out Sunday morning at 2:15 a.m. to being my trip to Athens, Greece. I walked about 5 minutes from my apartment to get a taxi. The taxi took my to the airport which is only 5 minutes away. I got to the airport in Adana and checked in. To my surprise, there was a couple from the church that I go to here in Adana on my flight. They decided last minute to go to the States to visit family. I secretly kind of wished I was going with them ha :). They were flying into Raleigh, NC which is not far at all from Virginia! No in all seriousness, I was excited about my trip to Athens. I landed in Istanbul at 5:00 a.m. Sunday morning. My next flight was not leaving until 9"45 a.m., so off to Starbucks I went with my friends from church. I ordered a chai tea latte and a muffin that his the spot :). My friends flight was leaving earlier than mine, so around 6:30 a.m. we departed ways. I couldn't check into my flight until around 8:00 a.m., so I tried to rest my eyes a little bit until then. Once I checked into my flight, I still had over an hour to kill time. I started reading one of my books for class - "Ethics 101" by Maxwell. Soon it was time to board for my flight to Athens. My flight to Athens was smooth. I even got to enjoy authentic Greek yogurt which you will see a picture of in my album...so good! I eat Greek yogurt in the States, so it was nice to taste the real mccoy :) Once I landed in Athens, Erin met me at the airport to pick me up. Erin and her husband live about 20-30 minutes from the airport. When we got to Erin's house, we decided to meet up with Stratos (her husband) at church. I was able to listen to the message because they have headphones you can put on and listen to the sermon translated into English. I have to say the Greek pastor was pretty fiery! After church Stratos and Erin had to stop by the hospital where Erin will be delivering. Erin is pregnant and is due to deliver in about 3 weeks...crazy!! After the hospital we were off to get some lunch. One pattern I noticed in Greece, is that they eat their lunch around 2:00 or 3:00 in the afternoon and then they eat supper around 10:00 p.m. For lunch we ate at an amazing seafood place! We had fresh fish, squid, and crawfish...so good!!! On a side note, the food in Greece is AMAZING!! After lunch we headed to the house for a little bit. I was pretty exhausted from not sleeping the night before, so I took a little nap which was great! We hung around the house a little bit, then we headed out to eat dinner at a Mexican restaurant. Yes, I know you are probably wondering why we ate Mexican, but I had not had that in awhile and they both said it was quality. I ordered a chicken quesadilla and then also had some awesome tortilla chips and guacamole. By the time we got home from the restaurant we were approaching midnight, so it was time to get some sleep. Monday morning I slept in until about 9:30 a.m. When my alarm went off, I felt like I had only been sleeping for a few hours. Erin and I set off to go see the Acropolis and Mars Hill. We had breakfast at a cafe and then walked up to see the Parthenon. It was pretty amazing to see such a vast structure. I was able to take quite a few pics which you will see in the link below. After we went to the Parthenon we walked over to Mars Hill. Mars Hill is where Peter would talk and debate with numerous people. Erin and I read Acts 17 while on the top of Mars Hill which was AMAZING :) To think we were sitting and standing where people did from Biblical times...WOW!! We then walked around the center of Athens a little bit and checked out different shops and touristy places. For a break we went and got some hot chocolate at a cafe called "Faces". It was pretty interesting because the cafe had Bible verses on the ceiling which was pretty neat (I should have taken a picture). Stratos then met up with us for dinner at a really nice Italian restaurant. We shared an amazing Greek salad and then I had penne pasta with cheese and tomato sauce. Erin and I were pretty tired after walking around most of the morning and afternoon, so we went back home with Stratos. Erin and I made some banana bread, then we just talked and relaxed. In the evening we made a run to the grocery store in their SMART car. Yes, they have a white SMART car which is amazing! You really can't tell it is so small once you get in it. Over in Greece you see smart cars everywhere!!!! I really liked their grocery store! They have peanut butter (what I went there to get) and they have granola bars. Over here in Turkey you can't find granola bars or peanut butter. So, I picked up a few jars of peanut butter to take back with me to Turkey. Stratos finished practice late, and then we met up with him at a Greek restaurant to finish out the trip. I had an authentic gyro from Greece...so good!!! By the time we got home it was closing in on midnight again, so I chatted a little bit, then it was off to bed for me. Tuesday I woke up and packed all of my stuff up. Erin took my by the Olympic Stadium and I was able to see where the 2004 Olympics were held...pretty neat! After seeing where the Olympics were held, it was off to the airport! I had an AMAZING time in Athens visiting Erin and Stratos. I wasn't sure if the trip was going to work out, and I am so glad it did!! WOW...unforgettable :). I checked in at the airport and had to give up my peanut butter. I didn't think they would confiscate it, but they did...that was a huge bummer! I should have checked my bag in as luggage, but I was checking it in as a carry on. They were pretty thorough in their checking because they even had me open up my lap top and everything which I have never had anyone do before. I thought I would be okay with the peanut butter because it is not liquid, but I guess not. Thankfully not too much longer until I am home for Christmas :). My flight from Athens to Istanbul was great! I had a short layover and then I actually had to fly from Istanbul to Ankara (where I was last year), and then Ankara to Adana. I got in last night around 8:00 p.m., so I was able to get a good night of sleep last night. Well, that pretty much raps of my travel time to Greece and back. It was a great trip!! Here is a link to check out the pictures I took: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2360140&id=55710205&l=001f54fe76 WHAT I AM THANKFUL FOR: I am thankful for the trip I was able to make to Athens, Greece...so FUN!! Isn't it hard to believe that November is already half way over...wow! I only have 32 days until I am home...unbelievable! ____________________________________________________________________________ Verse of the day: Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light for my path.— Psalm 119:105 (NIV) Thoughts on Today's Verse...God's promises, God's Scripture, helps us find our way in a pluralistic world of competing voices and lights our path in a time so given to cynicism and despair. What such great grace we have to know God's will in our own words! Now if we will only walk in the light! My Utmost For His Highest: The promises of God are of no value to us until, through obedience, we come to understand the nature of God. We may read some things in the Bible every day for a year and they may mean nothing to us. Then, because we have been obedient to God in some small detail, we suddenly see what God means and His nature is instantly opened up to us. “All the promises of God in Him are Yes, and in Him Amen . . .” (2 Corinthians 1:20). Our “Yes” must be born of obedience; when by obedience we ratify a promise of God by saying, “Amen,” or, “So be it.” That promise becomes ours. Our Daily Bread: Philippians 3:9 tells us that we are “found in Him, not having [our] own righteousness, which is from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which is from God by faith.” When we receive Christ, His death and resurrection sets us free from the penalty and the power of sin, thus enabling us to say no and yes in everyday life. We can say no to the desires of the flesh, or “youthful lusts” that Paul mentioned (2 Tim. 2:22). And we can say yes to “righteousness” (right behavior), “faith” (right belief), “love” (right response), and “peace” (right focus). As we’re cleansed daily, we’ll be “useful for the Master, prepared for every good work” (v.21). Lord, help us to think of the right and the true, The pure and the noble—it all points to You; For if we consider what’s worthy of praise, We’ll then want to live for You all of our days. —Fitzhugh Right thinking leads to right living. ______________________________________________________________________________________ I think that is enough typing for me for one day:) We have lifting tomorrow morning at 8:30 a.m., a shooting practice in the morning, and then practice tomorrow afternoon. Oh and I think we will be watching film as well.
I hope everyone's week is going well so far!! Happy "Hump Day" today :) Megan I just wanted to write a quick note and let you all know I made it back safe and sound from Athens! I had so much FUN and it was definitely a trip of a lifetime :)
I am headed to bed here shortly, but wanted to update you all and let you know the trip was great! I will write more tomorrow. I put up a few pics, and then tomorrow I will give you all a link to check out the rest of the pictures. I hope you all are having a great week so far! Megan Bridge you can see from the Hilton Hotel! First off, I have to give a shout out to Emily Frazier from the Liberty Women's Basketball team. Another Lady Flame has a birthday :) I hope you have an awesome day!! Game #2 of the season for the Flames today at 6:00 p.m. EST. http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2359798&id=55710205&l=7ec9c5e7f5 We met our goal as a team of winning four in a row! As a reward, coach decided to give us 3 full days off from practice. In case you were wondering, that is super rare to get that many days off at this point of the season; we have Sunday through Tuesday off. The game was a hard fought game, and we came out on top!! After the game I went over to a family's house from church for dinner...the food was amazing!!! :) I have actually decided to go to Athens, Greece to visit a friend who I played with down in San Antonio. Erin Perperoglu and her husband live in Athens. I am excited to see them and get to go to another country I have never been to before. It was pretty amazing how the Lord worked everything out. I will for sure take pictures :) As a result of going to Athens for a few days, I will not be blogging until I get back. So, expect a blog Tuesday night or Wednesday. It is going to be a mini-vacation for me all the way around :) I hope you all have a great rest of the weekend!! Megan Verse of the day: It is God's will that by doing good you should silence the ignorant talk of foolish men. Live as free men, but do not use your freedom as a cover-up for evil; live as servants of God.— 1 Peter 2:15-16 (NIV) Thoughts on Today's Verse...What does the world most need to hear from me today? A life tuned to the melody of grace that I claim I believe. Doing good, being like Christ, is Peter's answer to opposition, cynicism, and even persecution. We are free in Jesus, but being free means that we don't have to pretentiously prove we are free. Instead, we can live for him who died to conquer death and renounced absolute heavenly freedom so we could find it. We are free to serve others, and most of all to serve God. My Utmost For His Highest: Jesus Christ wants our absolute, unrestrained devotion to Himself. We can never experience Jesus Christ, or selfishly bind Him in the confines of our own hearts. Our faith must be built on strong determined confidence in Him. It is because of our trusting in experience that we see the steadfast impatience of the Holy Spirit against unbelief. All of our fears are sinful, and we create our own fears by refusing to nourish ourselves in our faith. How can anyone who is identified with Jesus Christ suffer from doubt or fear! Our lives should be an absolute hymn of praise resulting from perfect, irrepressible, triumphant belief. WOW!! Our Daily Bread: We were so valued that He sent His Son to pay the price for our sins and to allow us to have a relationship with Him. We were created in the image of God (Gen. 1:27), and He has designed us and been involved in every detail of our life since before we were born (Ps. 139:1-16). Whether or not we always feel significant, we are deeply loved by our Father. Of all creation’s treasures rare, Not one compares in worth with man, In God’s own image we were made To fill a place in His great plan. —D. De Haan The God who created the universe is the God who loves you. How is everyone doing today? It is FRIDAY :) I first want to give a shout out to Devon Brown (a member of the Lady Flames)...happy birthday!!! Today also marks the first game of the Liberty Women's Basketball season. I hope you all have a great season this year :) We had practice at noon and then off to the Hilton to hang out and spend the night. For lunch we had chicken and pasta with tomato soup. This afternoon I spent relaxing and watching an English movie on TV in the hotel :) For dinner we had some steak and rice as well as an awesome salad bar...so good! This hotel reminds me of the States :) I hear people speaking English which is awesome. Well, tomorrow is game #4 for BOTAS!! We play Ceyhan who is undefeated as well so it will be a good game. We play at 2:00 p.m. tomorrow which is 7:00 a.m. EST. To God be the glory for the outcome!! I hope you all have a wonderful weekend! I will let you know how the game goes tomorrow sometime :) Verse of the day: Since the day we heard about you, we have not stopped praying for you and asking God to fill you with the knowledge of his will through all spiritual wisdom and understanding.— Colossians 1:9 (NIV) Thoughts on Today's Verse...In a world where we can feel so isolated and alone at times, it is so important for us to know that someone is praying for us and for our spiritual needs. As I think of the thousands who are a part of the Today's Verse ministry, I cannot help but pray that each of them, that you, are blessed by knowing that you share a spiritual journey with people all over the world, and that today, we will be praying for each other. And of course there can be no better prayer than the one that Paul prayed for the Colossian friends he had never met -- "I ask God to fill you with the knowledge of his will through all spiritual wisdom and understanding." Let's pray that for each other today. My Utmost For His Highest: What difference has my salvation and sanctification made? For instance, can I stand in the light of 1 Corinthians 13 , or do I squirm and evade the issue? True salvation, worked out in me by the Holy Spirit, frees me completely. And as long as I “walk in the light as He is in the light” (1 John 1:7), God sees nothing to rebuke because His life is working itself into every detailed part of my being, not on the conscious level, but even deeper than my consciousness. Our Daily Bread: Follow Jesus, not just because He can provide “the loaves,” but because He can satisfy your deepest hunger—the quest for eternal fellowship with Him. I came to Jesus, and I drank Of that life-giving stream; My thirst was quenched, my soul revived, And now I live in Him. —Bonar You can experience complete fulfillment if your life is filled with Christ. Have an amazing weekend!!
Megan Today was another great day. We had lifting this morning bright and early at 830 a.m. After lifting I had to stay at the Hilton where we lift to be a part of the press conference for our game this weekend. I got home around 11:00 a.m. and was able to take a little bit of a nap. I also read a decent amount in a book that I am trying to finish up. Practice this afternoon went well...it went by really fast! After practice I went out to eat with Jo (roommate) and Liz...we ate at Great Wall which is a Chinese place. On the walk home after eating supper, Jo and I stopped at Starbucks. Here in Turkey, they are already decorated for Christmas (which I find ironic because they don't celebrate it over here). None the less, I guess they have to follow along with the Starbucks in the States ha, although it is still November Tomorrow we practice at noon and then we head to the Hilton where we will be staying the night before our game. We play at home this weekend, but the coaches want us to get a good nights rest so we are sleeping at the Hilton (very nice hotel). I am excited to have another game coming up :) Will be fun!! Pretty crazy to that we are going to be staying in a hotel in the same city we live in ha. Speaking of staying in a hotel, I need to do a little bit of packing and then hit the sack! What I am thankful for: I am thankful for technology! Being able to communicate while I am over here in Turkey with family and friends is awesome. I can call people's cell phones, text, email, etc. AMAZING!! _________________________________________________________________________________________________ Verse of the day: Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For everything in the world - the cravings of sinful man, the lust of his eyes and the boasting of what he has and does - comes not from the Father but from the world.— 1 John 2:15-16 (NIV) Thoughts on Today's Verse...Love for things, especially temporary ones, can sure get us into trouble. Even worse, we can begin to think they will make us happy or fill the empty places in our hearts. But if we really sink our hopes and dreams in our Abba Father, we are attached to eternity and what we need most is always with us! My Utmost For His Highest: God’s command is, “Take now,” not later. It is incredible how we debate! We know something is right, but we try to find excuses for not doing it immediately. If we are to climb to the height God reveals, it can never be done later— it must be done now. And the sacrifice must be worked through our will before we actually perform it. Our Daily Bread: On December 4, 2007, a 19-year- old soldier serving in Iraq saw a grenade being thrown from a rooftop. Manning the machine gun in the turret of his Humvee, he tried to deflect the explosive—but it fell inside his vehicle. He had time to jump to safety. Instead, he threw his body over the grenade in a stunningly selfless act that saved the lives of four fellow soldiers. This almost unexplainable act of self-sacrifice may help us understand why the Bible tells us that there is a kind of love that is more honorable than having great knowledge or faith (1 Cor. 13:1-3). This kind of love can be hard to find—leading the apostle Paul to lament that more people care for themselves than for the interests of Christ (Phil. 2:20-21). That’s why he was so grateful for Epaphroditus, a co-worker who “came close to death, not regarding his life” in order to serve others (v.30). If we think we could never put our own life on the line for others, Epaphroditus shows us the first step with his selfless example. Such love is neither normal nor common, and it doesn’t come from us. It comes from the Spirit of God, who can give us the desire and ability to feel for others some of the inexpressible affection God has for us. To give up yourself for others Seems like such a tough thing to do; But that’s how you can know for sure That God’s love is working through you. —Branon You can measure your love for God by showing your love for others. ___________________________________________________________________________ I will update more tomorrow from the Hilton hotel. I hope you all have a wonderful Thursday...tomorrow is FRIDAY!!!
P.S. 39 days until home...crazy!! Megan Sikma Today was another great day. I slept in some this morning and then our team headed to the hospital to listen to a sport psychologist. Let me just say, it was very interesting! For the most part it was all in Turkish, with some translation in there for us Americans. I am glad that I didn't here a whole lot of it, because I am not a big fan of that type of stuff. This afternoon we had an early practice and then we watched film after practice of Ceyhan who we will play this weekend. The picture to the left is of a Turkish food called sikma. This is what I ate for supper :) They have people who hand roll out the dough and then they put some potatoes or cheese in the inside and fry it for just a little bit. For on of the tortilla looking things above you pay 1.5 lira which is equivalent to about 1 USD (you can't beat a deal like that). You can eat 2 of these and be stuffed! WHAT I AM THANKFUL FOR: I am thankful for great friends!! I seriously could sit here and name off numerous names. The Lord has graciously allowed me to cross paths with some awesome people, but more importantly people who love the Lord. *One person I want to give a shout out to is Brittany Cook. Her desire to follow the Lord and be used by Him is awesome :) She is currently in her second year of med school. It has been awesome getting to know you Britt and see you passionately pursue the Lord. Looking forward to seeing how the Lord uses you in years to come! Praying for you as you start this new block of classes!! Verse of the day: "God's voice thunders in marvelous ways; he does great things beyond our understanding. He says to the snow, 'Fall on the earth,' and to the rain shower, 'Be a mighty downpour.'"— Job 37:5-6 (NIV) Thoughts on Today's Verse...Isn't that a beautiful phrase! "God's voice thunders in marvelous ways; he does great things beyond our understanding." Rather than spending a lot of time talking or thinking about how marvelous God is, let's praise him in prayer. My Utmost For His Highest: I must learn that the purpose of my life belongs to God, not me. God is using me from His great personal perspective, and all He asks of me is that I trust Him. I should never say, “Lord, this causes me such heartache.” To talk that way makes me a stumbling block. When I stop telling God what I want, He can freely work His will in me without any hindrance. He can crush me, exalt me, or do anything else He chooses. He simply asks me to have absolute faith in Him and His goodness. Wow this is on point! Our Daily Bread: What should we pray? In the Lord’s Prayer, Jesus taught us to ask that God’s name be honored and that His will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Ask Him for your daily provisions, for forgiveness of sin, and for deliverance from temptation and evil (Luke 11:2-4). So if you’re looking for a good place to start, follow the example of the Lord’s Prayer. The Lord has shown us we can pray Wherever we may be; And when we say, “Your will be done,” His work on earth we’ll see. —Sper If Jesus needed to pray, how can we do less? ____________________________________________________________________________ Today is hump day again. Seems like just yesterday I was saying that! I hope you all are having a wonderful week. Remember to "let go and let God". You never know what the Lord has in store for you the rest of this week :)
Tomorrow we have lifting early in the morning, and then practice in the afternoon. Oh yeah, and I was informed a little bit ago that I have to go to a press conference after lifting tomorrow morning with the captain of our team, so that will be interesting. Today marks only 40 days until home...tomorrow it is into the 30's...crazy! I hope you all have a great rest of the day. Goodnight, Megan Hey ALL!! How is everyone doing today? I have had a great day today. Started out the day waking up around 7:15 a.m. for a morning lift at the Hilton. After lifting we watched game film from our game against Istanbul. This afternoon I did a little bit of relaxing for the little time I was home, and then before I knew it, it was time to head to afternoon practice. Practice went great! Then tonight after practice I went out to eat with Liz (our director of operations), Whitt, and Jo. We went to this really nice fish restaurant that was quality! I got this fish that was cooked in a pot type thing with cream sauce and mushrooms (and rice on the side)...it was AMAZING! It was great because the owner knew perfect English and they even had English menus :) Come to find out the owner went to school in the States. Then Liz ordered a banana split and chocolate soufflé for dessert to share...so good! Oh and did I mention they had delicious wheat bread :) I ate that up!! Hardly ever find wheat bread over here...put some honey and butter on it...so good!! Oh the little things in Turkey that I appreciate so much. Tomorrow we head to the hospital to see a sport psychologist. I am not really into that type of thing, but our whole team is going so not really something I can get out of. Maybe they won't have someone to translate from Turkish into English ;)...either way I figure it won't kill me lol. What I am THANKFUL for: I am thankful for a place to stay and a roof over my head. I know that I take this for granted so much. I am reminded of how thankful I should be for this, when I see beggars on the street and little kids who look like they have not take a shower in weeks. WOW! What a blessing to be able to come home and take a warm shower, while knowing that if it rains or if the sun is shining, I don't have to worry about it. Verse of the day: 'Come now, let us reason together,' says the Lord. 'Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red as crimson, they shall be like wool.'— Isaiah 1:18 (NIV) Thoughts on Today's Verse...Nothing stains quite as sin. It not only leaves a stain in our heart but a residue in our minds. But God's grace is shown in that he doesn't just forgive our sins, he doesn't just forget our sins, he banishes them. They are gone. The stain is removed, the guilt is taken away. We are clean by his grace. My Utmost For His Highest: If a person attracts through his personality, that becomes his appeal. If, however, he is identified with the Lord Himself, then the appeal becomes what Jesus Christ can do. The danger is to glory in men, yet Jesus says we are to lift up only Him (see John 12:32). Our Daily Bread: For the believer, temperance, or moderation, does not derive from sheer human willpower. Instead, it comes from the Holy Spirit who gives us self-control: “The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control” (Gal. 5:22-23). Self-control is the Spirit-produced quality that enables us to be “temperate in all things” (1 Cor. 9:25). Overindulgence in food, rest, work, recreation, ministry, and a variety of “good things” can be corrected only through the balance of self-control. Take a few minutes to ask God to produce that special virtue in you. Here is a link to a few more pictures that I took while in Istanbul:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2350747&id=55710205&l=721798d033 I hope you all have a great Tuesday!! Megan |
Info:I am currently playing basketball professionally. The Lord has blessed me with so many opportunities. I hope to be able to share some of my experiences with you! Archives
February 2017
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