after a much needed phone chat.

'For the Lord's sake, yield to the people who have authority in this world: the king, who is the highest authority, and the leaders who are sent by him to punish those who do wrong and to praise those who do right. It is God's desire that by doing good you should stop foolish people from saying stupid things about you. Live as free people, but do not use your freedom as an excuse to do evil. Live as servants of God. Show respect for all people: Love the brothers and sisters of God's family, respect God, honor the king.'
1 Peter 2:13-17

i am not a robot.

they're gone. diminished. completely conquered. this victory is a strange feeling. its almost like its not a victory. and now that i'm thinking that, its not, not for my flesh anyway. and here comes the separation again. i want to feed my flesh, but this victory is so much better. God is good.

completion.

God is good.

We cannot question His perfect timing or ways. He is good.

Lately I've had several 'testimony swaps' with some great new/old friends of mine. And in the case that one does not follow me on twitter or have befriended me on facebook, God is teaching me so much about community. It is so important to build good relationships with people that are actively pursuing God and to talk about it! God built us for relationships to not only encourage, but to learn from one another. If I can manage to be taught through the hardship of another rather then having to endure it myself, why not take advantage of the story that God has given someone else?
In my case testimony swaps are rather spontaneous things. And they have a way of making us all think about our lives and consider what God is teaching us so much more than we do when we are thinking about things on our own. With being as verbal as I am, I often say things when telling my story that I did not even realize about myself or about God's character. He is so good about revealing himself in His own mysterious timing and way.

Lately I've felt a serious separation. an absolutely painful one. like the reconstruction pains. The closer that God draws me near to Him the farther my sin feels away from who I am. My King is molding me into a being so like Him that I can literally feel the separation that sin causes from His wholeness. That separation is painful. It tears from the inside. I am the problem. Its a strange thing, to be disgusted with yourself and with sin. But its such a right thing, if we allow God to be in control of redeeming our lives into something so much better than what we think we could make for ourselves.

He is good. And I'm so thankful for everything he is doing in my life.

authoring.

excellent. i think i'll write children's books one day.

because i love story time with community and tales about my superhero detective friends, Tim and Lacie.

we know not why.

'I find I must borrow yet another parable from George MacDonald. Imagine yourself as a living house. God comes in to rebuild that house. At first, perhaps, you can understand what He is doing. He is getting the drains right a stopping the leaks in the roof and so on: you knew that those jobs needed doing and so you are not surprised. But presently he starts knocking the house about in a way that hurts abominably and does not seem to make sense. What on earth is He up to? The explanation is that He is building quite a different house from the one you thought of—throwing out a new wing here, putting on an extra floor there, running up towers, making courtyards. You thought you were going to be made into a decent little cottage; but He is building a palace. He intends to come and live in it Himself.' -C.S. Lewis, Mere Christianity

The process of this remodeling isn't pretty. Pulling the old rotting foundation that we have built the house that we are on is not anything close to beautiful. It hurts. This is happening now. I do not have a clue what He is up to. But I wonder.
I want to fast forward through this process of knocking out walls and adding new things, but I cannot skip steps. This house would not be quite as stable if I was to hurry or skip things. And sometimes projects are left unfinished, but they will be completed when God is ready. Nothing is mine to direct.
But apparently I do have work to do inside of it. Do I have a choice?

This pile of words represents the confusion that I am in right now. Not only is the foundation moving, but the whole house is being relocated to a different destination. And I don't know where that is. .

honest dreams.

if i could do anything in the entire world, i would play bass in an indie band and hit up waffle house after shows. then sugar up on coffee and stay up until morn talking about important things in life, like politics and music, with the most quality of folks. ; )

that sort of always been a secret dream of mine. i'm not so sure why it was secret.

shaking

your general complexities leave me trembling.

the difference.

'Therefore, my dear friends, as you have always obeyed---not only in my presence, but now much more in my absence---continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you to will and to act in order to fulfill his good purpose
Do everything without grumbling or arguing, so that you may become blameless and pure, 'children of God without fault in a warped and crooked generation.' Then you will shine among them like stars in the sky as you hold firmly to the word of life.' Philippians 2: 12-16a

That's the issue, you don't hold firmly to the word of life. We hold on to the death that this life presents. We hold on so tightly that we cannot even glimpse at His word of life. We're far too busy looking at ourselves and how to satisfy others, when God is the one we need to both look to and attempt to satisfy.

God's Word

God's word is so good and full of both knowledge and truth that I continue to read the same books and passages over and over because of it. I cannot get enough of the love He shows just through giving me once verse of scripture that I get lost in awe of the glory He displays through it. I reread these words because He is so alive and his words so active.

'All scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that all God's people may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.' -2 Timothy 3:16-17

nose.

i have a few favorite smells. Cheraw in the fall and the hair dye that i use are two of them. they are absolutely fantastic!

fiction

i've never had that feeling of true numbness until today. its probably the most unwanted feeling i've ever felt. i always thought it was fictional. . .

Sin and the Fact That We Can Do Nothing About It.

We can not, will not, and have absolutely no hopes of changing anyone's way of thinking until we show them Jesus. There are no hopes in trying to tell one to stop acting upon their gay feelings, to stop stealing from their parents, to stop cheating on their husband and wives, to stop lying to themselves until we show them Jesus. There is no reasoning with someone who doesn't agree with or has any reason to be moral. Too many people think of themselves as being completely alone. They're not. I fight hard enough to go against my sinful nature because I have an eternal reason to do so. Until we give those who do wrong the real reason to do so, we can expect no more of them than sin itself.

its mail time!

its camp time! which should mean mail time! i'll be at ambassador camp for the next six weeks and mail is always fun! so feel free to send me something delightful at:

Stephanie Moore
c/o Ambassador Camp
PO Box 200
Lake Waccamaw, NC 28450

And if you're too lazy to send an envelope please at least be praying for our team of staffers that will be working on Lake Waccamaw this summer!

guitar players.

so i recently discovered that i am not in any way attracted to guys that play guitar. i mean, that's cool and all, but it doesn't make a guy hot. now piano, that's a different story.

open your head!

The older I get the more annoyed I am by closed mindedness. That's not to say that I'm a tolerant fool that thinks everyone should get what they want. A huge annoyance grows in me when I read or hear close minded statements. That's not to say that one is not free to express every bit of their opinion, but keep in mind that the more you express, the more room you make for mine! I've been most aggravated by statements with clear prejudices and very little reasoning behind them. Let's not decrease our own intelligence by insulting another's.
I try my very best to keep an open mind, despite my strong political, religious and moral beliefs. We must realize not everyone is going to agree with us, and many people that don't, probably have a pretty good reason for thinking different. I think my roommate put it best when she declared that "you don't ignore your basic values...but you are compassionate and understanding. . . " This should continue. Not only for me, but for those that expect to be respected and have conversations with those who don't agree, in attempt to sharpen themselves.

hardcore.

i wonder why the heck i stay up like i do? what a dummy. i don't have time to make up for lost sleep until camp.

controversial brownies

not really

So brownies are my absolute favorite treats. And these are the best I've ever had-->

being controversial is my favorite. I'm not sure why I'm convinced that its the greatest, but I tried to convince an eighth grade friend of mine that a speech he had to make should have been controversial. not because he cares about anything controversial, but just because it would have made the most impact.

i get stranger everyday.

point.

why in the world are you going to question me going to a church that is an hour away? if i'm happy and that is where i am most fulfilled why would i consider anywhere else?

arrow

the night that rebecca lindsay and i laid together on ceaira's bed discussing what Christ had done for her is a simply beautiful one. and coming into the lodge with ceaira's face joyful, dispite the fact that rebecca had to talk to me makes me happy. with my arm around her, it took every bit of me not to just lay there and cry in gladness.

5 Simple Rules for Living with Brooke Rogers

1)Tell Brooke what you want done or if something needs to be done. This includes taking out the trash, changing the television channel, or playing a game.
2)Don't talk to Brooke when she gets quiet. She knows you care, but asking her about it is not going to make her talk or open up.
3)Unless you are a libertarian or Calvinist, and have an open mind about having more than surface level discussions about such, do not talk to Brooke about politics or religion.
4)Do not insult nerdy things without anticipating a defensive Brooke. She is a nerd and enjoys things like comics, cartoons, and film.
5)Do not expect Brooke to be more than sarcastic in a majority of conversations.