In a little house round' the corner...

In a little house round' the corner live two who's hearts awake daily beside the love of their life.
Nestled cozily in their house on the corner, the two frosty topped lovers, committed forever rest, work, clean and dine together in a routine that seems no less special as the days march on. Years ago they might have wondered or dreamed of days like these, but then again they were young and had years until this time would come. For many it'd been a surprise that a love could last quite so long, but not them. Their hearts had been captured from the beginning.

One never grows too old to love, rather, the older one grows the more fond they are of love and more aware and honoring to the precious gift it brings a life. Young lovers are sweet to watch as the beginnings of a lifetime to come are developing...but older lovers are amazing, a testimony of commitment and years of dedication, loyalty and of course, love.

Oh to be old and nestled comfortable beside your spouse of 40+ or 50+ years, resting assured that though your days are unknown and possibly few, possibly many, that you've made it, that love truly exists and that true love can and does stand the test of time.

Falling in love is a rather adventurous thing.
Being in love is a grander adventure.
Committing to that love is the adventure of a lifetime.
(christy l. zbylut 11/30/06)

*This afternoon canvasing the hill my heart was filled with a smile of inspiration, a breath of promise and encouragement. An older couple live in the house round' the corner and this cool November afternoon they were decorating for the holiday season. Canvas bags were placed over bushes as the man placed his handcrafted, tee-pee looking covers over them...the lady was by his side, smiling and patient with her black yarn ready to do her part. A short time later I was passing by to see the two once more lacing their home with red bows and green garlands, reindeer now stoof in their yard beside the covered bushes. I smiled inside knowing that to watch them work was perfectly okay...to ask if they needed assistance would be interrupting in a precious moment of their teamwork. They were doing a fine job...just the two of them. A little earlier this year as the tree shook their leaves to the ground, 200 Bible students trudged up the hill after chapel, all passing, and few acknowledging the older couple bundled up, raking leaves together.

How precious are the examples and lessons we can gather from those who've walked the roads of love for many years.

God is so creative to have created someone special just for us to love...someone to love us like Him...setting an example of His love.

Should the Lord ordain it, I am excited to one day clean up the yard and decorate for Christmas with my husband, bundled up with our frosty tops, or cotton ball hair peeking beneath our caps. Oh to be in love for a lifetime. This simply and absolutely makes my heart smile.

God bless you today as you take a moment and smile about all those He has blessed your life with to love.

laughter: the best medicene

photo by:Christy L.Zbylut 11/24/06

home sweet home

There's nothing quite like being home.
Even when you go away for a long while, or even a little while and things are great, exciting and new...there is nothing like that familiar comfort of home.
Presque Isle & Caribou Maine are home to me...God is alive in northern Aroostook County and what a refreshing treat is was to be home for a long weekend.
God has blessed me with a neighborhood and community to grow up in and to call home where He is radically stirring up and preparing for great things.

Though it's well past Thanksgiving, I'd like to take a few moments and ponder some things I'm very thankful for:
*restoration
*devoted parents
*adorating sisters
*a loving and God fearing man who blesses me daily with his heart for Christ
*smiles
*the unchanging nature of God
*His truthful Word
*God's promises and plans
*hugs & kisses
*peace that surpasses understanding
*opportunity
*unknown futures
*friends that live on faith alone
*God's grace being enough
*late evening walks
*the ability to see, hear, taste, and touch daily
(smelling-most of the time)
*freedom
*God's provision, mercy and unfailing love
*water that quenches all thirst
*God's timing (even when it's not idealy my timing)
*Guidance & so much more...

God knows every desire and need. He always provides accordingly in His timing, by way of His plans and for His glory. It is all about Him. I am blessed to stand in His presence, to be a child of the King...to be daily pursued by the One who is above all names. I'm so thankful for Christ's sacrifice and constant love. Tis' so sweet to walk with Jesus, to trust Him everyday and take Him at His word. He is mighty and good. He is everything that we need!

thoughts

"The easiest way to look up to God is when you're flat on your back."

Why?

because: "greater is the fire within us than any fire the enemy could bring against us!"

-Our college chorale ministered at Kings Valley Wesleyan this weekend and President Medders spoke a word about God taking us through the fire. I found these two thoughts both intriguing and so simply true...in my mind they fit together.

nineteen years of life have I...

Nineteen years have passed from the moment God released me from my mother's womb.
Nineteen...
Time passes by without the slightest blink.
Winter, Spring, Summer, Fall and Winter again starts anew...
Where do these moments, these treasurable memories go?
Forever vanishing are the days of tire swings, club houses and Christian Rangers.
Gone are the days of school dances, birthday parties with pinatas and even graduation.
Gone are highschool moments, driver's tests and first dates.
Away sweep the movements from dance classes, toe shoes no longer fit, and jelly shoes have been missing for ages.
What replaces these things?
Why nineteen years, of course!
Is this a bad thing?
Not at all!
Nineteen wonderful years of Jesus breathing new life daily into my being.
Nineteen years of sweet kisses from the wind, seasons changing and adventures everyday.
Baby sisters become teenagers.
Daddy's retire.
Mommy's become your greatest friend, listening ear and reference.
Nineteen years of life and wonder cannot compare to the many more to come...to the times to come, the seasons still yet to bear their character before our wondering eyes. They can't compare to the promises yet to be fulfilled, the whispers of prophecy yet to come.
Nineteen years are but a blink when compared to eternity.
Today I look back...thinking...wondering...thanking and praising for the nineteen years I've been given.
Thank you Jesus for a special birthday!
November 13th, 1987, you began unraveling what has thus far been nineteen years.
You knit me together and know every inch of my being...every thought, every desire, You know. Nineteen years of goals, hopes, dreams, harships, trials, sufferings and adventures...You have stretched me, loved me, captured me, captivated me, and moved me in a way unlike any other.

Today is my birthday...the day You chose, ordained and created just for me to enter this world.
May you receive glory, honor and praise for birthdays!

Remembrance Day: Sussex, New Brunswick

Yesterday morning a group of BBC students made their way downtown to Sulley's (a seasonal icecream place) where the town of Sussex would be holding their Remembrance Day Ceremony. Clad in poppies, toddlers to greatgrandmothers flocked the sidewalks some with joyful smiles and other with their imaginary check-lists ready to relieve themselves of one more duty that day. There's a lot you can recognize in large crowds of people and I always find myself awestruck at just how peculiar we all are. Our God is so creative and yet, to see people, in all of their differences doesn't even begin to touch upon the expansiveness of His power or creativity.

So one might be wondering why I, a young American student at Bible College ventured downtown with the town-folk to experience their remembrance day ceremony. I certainly was not wearing a poppy, nor had I the slightest idea what would take place, but something drew me to become part of this crowd as they observed silence for those who'd fallen in times of war for freedom and those still around today. I grew up as an army-brat...but I assure you, my daddy was the best soldier you'll ever meet. I wonder what it'll be like one day to watch Him march in a parade and hold a moment of silence for the year+ of his life he spent serving his country in Iraq...the 20+ years of service he spent daily making decisions for the greater good of our country, all the while being a loving husband, amazing daddy and so much more.

A parade went by with many people to honor the veterans, all of whom were/are probably great soldiers, brothers, daddys, grandpas, uncles, ect.

Following a long chuck of time consisting of older women and men with, adorned with titles I couldn't recall if you asked me to, placing their honorable wreathes into the cold-November ground to remember moments of their life, which have become moments of our history....a middle aged woman approached the mircophone...though I could not see her from my place of standing, the moment her mouth opened something familiar warmed my soul...the words of "How Great Thou Art" rang sweetly, vibrantly, clearly and powerfully on that Sussex town street. Praise the Lord! My heart sang in adoration of the One I was truly there to honor. Sure, the little boyscounts looked adorable in their uniforms, the various officers looked rather sharp, but uncomfortable in their toe pinching boots and the veterans looked brilliant, noble and full of history...but this day, this ceremony it wasn't about them...not really. I found my heart moved to remember the One who'd gently clasped the hands of those who lost their lives during those war times, and the One who surrounded those still marching, still living with His mighty hedge of protection. Now the song wasn't my old reminder of our great God, but at the center of everyone's focus stood a simple cross...a cross on which each Canadian clad in their poppies placed their poppy as a sign of their remembrance. They were placing their remembrance on the cross. I wonder how many took a moment to realize they'd done such a thing....the wreathes resembled crosses too...so I wonder with so many reminders why it is so easy to forget about Him.

How often do we remember that a day of remembrance, is always about the Lord?
He created all things and to every season there is a time and place under Heaven.
I know for sure that I have never stepped back at a ceremony and wondered how I could honor Christ with my silence, my appreciation for the works His hands allowed in those situations....the works His hands have created to place me there at that very moment in time to be mindful of Him.

Take a moment and think about the One through which all things are possible!
Remember where you've come from, where you've been and where you're going...all because of Him!

rain rain rain

I love it when rain freshly coats the earth...filling our shoes with sticky mud...puddles are created in roads we were certain had been paved perfectly straight...
but you know what's sad? the groaning, the complaining...the pants that get soaked and send all inside to a dry place of refuge. Not many venture out in the rain. Why not? Well, they'll get wet, of course!

Something struck me about the rain today.
The Lord loves on us when it rains. It feels like His grace just showers the earth.
Rain is often gentle, refreshing...sometimes it is fierce, much like our Lord...He is all powerful, but He is gentle as well.
Reading through Isaiah this evening I came to chapter 40 and found this "He tends his flock like a shepherd; He gathers the lambs in his arms and carries them close to his heart; he gently leads those that have young."Our God is gentle and oooh how this next part gives me chills of delight "he carried them close to his heart."

So why am I so struck by the rain? I think far too often the enemy rejoices when it rains.
Why? We all cower ourselves inside to do absolutely nothing because it's raining and we dare not venture outside because, well, you guessed it, it's raining. Nothing fits right, works right and your hair, woah, forget about those straight locks my friend, it's a curly ponytail day. We get far too caught up in ourselves on rainy days instead of the One who has granted us the blessing...one more day to breathe, clean air, refreshed land, relaxation from all strenuous outdoor activities.

We become excuse-makers when it rains. When problems arise, the rain is to blame. When things don't get done, the rain gets blamed. When we don't look right, feel right and our attitudes are downright awful, it all falls on the rain.

I don't believe it should.
Next time it rains, take a moment to appreciate the One who created you...the One who loves you, even on rainy days when your feet are soaked and your hair is frizzy. If you're a runner, lace up those shoes and go puddle splashing; if you enjoy walking, pull on your hood or grab an umbrella; if you're a book worm grab a good book.There's a little something for everyone to do on a rainy day. Get out, step out, go out and appreciate the marvelous workmanship of His great hands, the taste of His power He has revealed to you in this storm.

Thank you Lord for rainy-days and the reminder of your grace that falls on us like rain!

God's strength at booster 2006

Here are a few photos from booster weekend and a word of blessing about God's wonderful power!

Rachellie, Sherri, Christy & Nicole
"the picture"
Las hermanas: Sherri & Christy
Lor & Christy

"Praise the Lord I tell myself and with my whole heart I will praise His Holy Name. Praise the Lord I tell myself and never forget the things He does for me. He fills my life with good things, my youth is renewed like the eagles..." Psalm 103 (paraphrased)

Well Booster has come to a close and I have come, humbly and blessed to testify of God's wondrous work in my life.
The Lover of my soul, my Strength, Refuge, Strong Tower and Lord, Yahweh revealed Himself and His mighty power this weekend.
Thursday evening I came down with a cold, a very bad cold, a very sudden cold...a very not conducive to a weekend of ministry kind of cold.

So I trusted the Lord, that His ways are much higher than mine. Every morning since Thursday I have woken up with a throbbing throat and hoarse voice. We ministered in chapel on Thursday and I knew the Lord had rested upon me because on friday Joni Stevenson, the guest-speakers wife, told me she enjoyed watching me sing, because she could see the joy of the Lord as I worshiped.

Praise the Lord.
We ministered as a chorale again on Saturday morning and my voice only "worked" during the service.
Yesterday we led worship at Sussex Wesleyan and I had to minister my solo for the first time ever.
My voice was straining and painful all through the two hours of warm-ups and 3 minutes before we walked on stage I felt a release and for that on song I had my voice.

Sunday evening Chris & I were asked to help lead worship at Encounter.
I sang for probably a day straight this weekend.
My flesh was weak.
My voice was missing in action...but at the moments God desired His glory to shine, He settled in my throat and sang to His children, He settled upon my face, spread my lips in a giant smile and flooded my heart with warmth.
I cannot sing without Him.

I cannot minister to hundreds of teenagers without Him.
I cannot lead a congretation or campus of His beloved children without Him.

This weekend God truly used my weak flesh, filled me overflowing with His spirit and rocked my mind beyond all understanding about what it means to walk in complete control of the Lord.

He is good all the time!
"As water reflects a face, so a man's heart reflects the man." -Proverbs 27:19

pondering...

"When opportunity comes, it's too late to prepare."
- quoted in chapel this morning

my commitment as a leader

I'm part of the fellowship of the unashamed. I have Holy Spirit Power. The dye has been cast. I have stepped over the line. The decision has been made. I'm a disciple of His. I won't look back, let up, slow down, back away, or be still.

My past is redeemed, my present make sense, my future is secure. I'm finished and done with low living, sight walking, small planning, smooth knees, colorless dreams, tamed visions, mundane talking, cheap living and dwarfed goals.

I no longer need pre-eminence, prosperity, position, promotions, plaudits, or popularity. I don't have to be right, first, tops, recognized, praised, regarded, or rewarded. I now live by faith, lean on His presence, walk by patience, lift by prayer, and labor by love.

My face is set, my gait is fast, my goal is heaven, my road is narrow, my way rough, my companions few, my Guide reliable, my mission clear. I cannot be bought, compromised, detoured, lured away, turned back, deluded or delayed. I will not flinch in the face of sacrifice, hesitate in the presence of the adversary, negotiate at the table of the enemy, ponder at the pool of popularity, or meander in the maze of mediocrity.

I won't give up, shut up, let up, until I have stayed up, stored up, prayed up, paid up, preached up for the cause of Christ. I am a disciple of Jesus. I must go till He comes, give till I drop, preach till all know, and work till He stops me. And when He comes for His own, He will have no problems recognizing me --my banner will be clear!

(taken from BBC chapel service "Leaders for the Harvest" Dr. Phil Stevenson 10/31/06)