pruned? or cut off?

I was reading in the life of Jesus and He's talking to His disciples on the night He was betrayed. He tells them (among other things) how He is the true vine and God is the gardener. He tells them that God cuts off branches that do not produce fruit and prunes branches that do so they will produce even more. I know sometimes it's hard to see the fruit that our service is producing, because it's subtle (thing a river carving a path in a rock) and/or takes place over time (think planting a seed, it takes a lot of time and other things outside of your control for it to grow). If you can't pinpoint the fruit in your life, when hard times come and you feel like your in a drought, it's easy to wonder "am I being cut off, or just pruned?" As followers of Christ, we are expected to bear fruit, and if we are following Him with our whole hearts, trust me, brothers and sisters, He will bring the fruit. I know pruning and being cut off probably feel the same to the subject, but take heart in knowing that He will not cut you off if you are bearing fruit. BUT, He will prune you and that might hurt and seem really unfair in the meanwhile ("but God, I'm doing what you asked."). On the other end, however, you will produce even MORE fruit than if you had just kept with "what works." That's my word of encouragement for the day, enjoy! :)

be alert

I was reading in the Gospels yesterday and Jesus was talking about how He would come back at an unknown hour.  He uses numerous parables for examples (homeowner and the thief, the bridesmaids and the lamps, etc.) to show how no one could ever know when the time will come.  He goes on and on about how it will be when you least expect it and no one knows the hour.  Then, He tells us to be alert and always ready.  But, how is one to be ready for something when they have no idea when will occur?  How can you be prepared, but not expecting the event?  To throw a further twist in the story, Jesus also tells us that there will be signs to show when He is coming back (the moon and sun will become darkened and the stars will fall).  So there will be signs, but you won't know when it's coming, but you should always be ready for it?  Confused, I am.

have to balance out the productivity of this afternoon...

Hey there gang! Here's a quick update from the world of Jennifer. New job is still great, I'm learning a lot everyday. The owner/head doctor is a lot of fun and really brilliant. He's taught me and Ruth a lot about casting people's feet to make orthotics. I'm learning more about feet than I ever thought I would, lol. I see patients about 1/3 of the time (trimming back their nails and thinning/smoothing them), then the rest of the time I help Ruth with ordering orthotics and work on medical records, paperwork and computer stuff. The clinic administrator is smart as a whip too. She knows so much about feet/ankles as well as computer stuff. She wants to train me to be the IT person so her time's freed up for administrative duties. The rest of the staff is great, everyone works hard but has fun doing it. Most Fridays I have gotten off early too, to avoid overtime.
In baby news, Jennifer and Erik finally had their baby! Ben Samuel Murphy, born 7/11 @ 2:09am, 8 lbs 3 oz. He is so perfect! Andi, Amanda and I were at the hospital with her parents and sister and his parents when he was born, which made for a rough day the next day with only 2 hours sleep. It was so totally worth it though. Poor Jennifer, she had a ROUGH time. She went into full labor around noon on the 10th after being at the hospital since 2 am that morning when her water broke. She started pushing around 10pm and after 2 1/2 hours he hadn't come out, so they went in and got him via c-section. She was wiped, a whole day of no food and pretty much 2 days without sleep. She's amazing. I got to see them the next day and she was up and walking. I got to witness Erik dealing with a newborn, which was precious. I feel honored and privileged to be able to see his first moments as a father and see the look on his face as he gazed on his son in the first hours of his life. I look forward to seeing what great parents he and Jennifer will be and see how God grows them in this. I'm also super-ecstatic to be a part of this little man's family and see the man God's making him to be. He's already been at work for 9 1/2 months and I love what He's done so far!!

new job

Ok, this one's not as awe-inspiring or deep as my previous ones, more of an update. As the title suggests, I started a new job. It's at a podiatry (foot doctor) office in Durham. It's really been pretty great. I started on Monday. I'm primarily going to be nail tech at the two Durham branches and will help assist and work with the computer system when I don't have appointments. Everyone there seems really nice and easy to get along with. Everyone seems to really like each other and enjoy working there, it's so awesome! My bosses took me to lunch yesterday to get to know me more. There seems to be quite a few really strong Christians which is really encouraging. I think this is really going to work out so I'm pretty excited.
I also got Skype so feel free to hit me up if you see me on. I'm hoping to be able to Skype my family, especially my nieces. Mike tells me Michaela got put in the advanced gymnastics class for her age group, she's growing up so fast! Anyways, gotta hit the hay early since I got a big girl job that starts at 8 in Durham every weekday! :)
Enjoy the 4th and be safe!!!

pearl of great price

I'm still reading in the life of Jesus and I'm in the part with a lot of the parables. Let me tell you, they make me feel like I'm dense sometimes. I can totally see how the disciples needed them explained to them sometimes. I just finished reading about the "pearl of great price." It's short so I'll write the whole parable out:
"Again, the Kingdom of Heaven is like a pearl merchant on the lookout for choice pearls. When he discovered a pearl of great value, he sold everything he owned and bought it!"
I have two questions: huh? and what?
Why would this guy sell everything he owned to buy this pearl? If he had enough to buy the pearl, wasn't he pretty rich anyway? And once he got the pearl, wouldn't he need to just turn around and sell it again to buy food and things to live off of? And how exactly is this Kingdom of Heaven like this guy and his beloved pearl? I am muy confused.
In other news, I think I may try conversing more with my neighbor kids. They need to learn more English and I miss talking Spanish. It's a win-win.

Jesus and baptism

I'm reading in the gospel about the life of Jesus and came across some interesting and puzzling stuff. When talking about John and Jesus, Luke mentions that Jesus never baptized anyone, He left that to His disciples (Luke 4:2). That had me pondering "Why?" I mean, the first, obvious answer is He didn't want anyone getting a big head ("*I* was baptized by Jesus"). But, aren't all believers commanded to baptize? It's right there in the Great Commission (Matthew 28:19-20). I would appreciate any thoughts on the subject.
Another thought from the passages about Jesus and John: when Elizabeth was pregnant with John, Mary came to visit. When she was in the presence of Elizabeth and John, it says John "leaped" in his mother's womb and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit (Luke 1:41). It made me think how the Holy Spirit is like Furbies. When two or more believers are gathered (Matthew 18:20), Christ is among them. The Holy Spirit just stirs inside them. So very cool!!

calm my anxious heart

I'm reading this book and this was something really good I thought I'd share:
In time of trouble, say, "First, He brought me here. It is by His will that I am in this strait place; in that I will rest." Next, "He will keep me here in His love, and give me grace in this trial to behave as His child." Then say, "He will make this trial a blessing, teaching me lessons He intends me to learn, and working in my the grave He means to bestow." And last, say, "In His good time, He can bring me out again. How and when, He knows." Therefore, say, "I am here 1) by God's appointment, 2) in His keeping, 3) under His training, 4) for His time."