Asking the Tough Questions

Anno Domini

One year ago, I was just arriving in Denver, Colorado. I was more excited than I've ever been in my life. I didn't know exactly what was ahead of me, but I knew it was good. God had brought me thus far, and I knew He had something amazing in store. I had no idea how true that was.

That day was the start of something. Something that so defined my life, that I feel like this is the beginning of my year rather than January 1.

2011 AD. Anno Domini, "the year of our Lord". I don't know exactly (or partially!) what's ahead of me... but I know it's good. God has brought me thus far, and I know He has something amazing in store. I have no idea how true that is.

And even though this October 11 doesn't look much like last year's, I'm excited.

O Israel, hope in the Lord! (Ps. 130:7)

Ellers

I was flipping through the indexes in my hymnal (The Hymnal for Worship & Celebration), when something caught my eye. In the index of tunes, there was a tune with my name on it. Cool! I'm still not sure why it has my name on it, but the song is "Jesus Is All The World To Me". I'll take it! While still looking at the tune index, I saw a name that made me look twice: there was a tune with the name "Ellers". Two different songs went with it. So I looked them up. Wow... Now I realize that hymns are usually about Jesus, and Ellerslie is about Jesus, so it makes sense for hymns to relate to Ellerslie, but I thought these two songs particularly captured what happened there, especially the first one.

439 - Cleanse Me by J. Edwin Orr

Search me, O God, and know my heart today; Try me, O Savior, know my thoughts, I pray: See if there be some wicked way in me: Cleanse me from ev'ry sin, and set me free.

I Praise Thee Lord. for cleansing me from sin: Fulfill Thy Word, and make me pure within; Fill me with fire, where once I burned with shame: Grant my desire to magnify Thy name.

Lord, take my life, and make it wholly Thine: Fill my poor heart with Thy great love divine; Take all my will, my passion, self and pride; I now surrender: Lord in me abide.

O Holy Ghost, revival comes from Thee: Send a revival start the work in me: Thy Word declares Thou wilt supply our need: For blessing now, O Lord, I humbly plead.

 

604 - Savior, Again to Thy Dear Name by John Ellerton

Savior, again to Thy dear name we raise
With one accord our parting hymn of praise;
Once more we bless Thee ere our worship cease;
With eager hearts we wait Thy word of peace.

Grant us Thy peace upon our home-ward way;
With Thee began, with Thee shall end the day;
Guard Thou the lips from sin, the hearts from shame,
That in this house have called upon Thy name.

You know you're from Ellerslie if...

In honor of the start of the Ellerslie Winter/Spring season starting, I present this lighthearted post. My apologies to everyone who hasn't been through Ellerslie; it's not my intention to make you feel excluded. It was simply a stroll down Memory Lane for me and I hope it brings a smile to somebody.


You know you're from Ellerslie if...

• you know where Windsor, CO is without looking it up.
• you say, "Good job, buddy!" as a quote.
• you know more than a dozen people who pace while they pray.
• you can't describe something as rich without adding dark chocolate rich.
• you laugh whenever someone says something about, "There are three things".
• you know what enunciate and efficacious mean.
• you think Johnson and Falencia are two of the cutest kiddos in the world.
• "God Most High" and "Jesus I My Cross Have Taken" are two of your favorite songs.
• you know what book the Chapter 5 is in.
• "Ono" reminds you of going out for coffee.
• you use odd Greek-English phrases like "No ekkakeo!"
• you're the Big Meanie's Archenemy Number 1.

Coincidence? I think not!

Tell me I'm not just seeing things...

Back from Ellerslie...

I'm back!
Words are insufficient to describe my time at Ellerslie.
But this I will say: Jesus is so good. He is bigger, deeper, nearer, dearer, and worthier than I ever knew before. I saw Him do more extraordinary things than I have ever seen in my life. My life was not simply changed, it was exchanged... mine for His. It's an exciting, joyful, adventurous, hard, supernaturally-enabled life. I love it.


To any new readers who I have the privilege to call an Ellerslie brother or sister, don't forget:

Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ. -Philippians 1:6

That's fact! Go forth with the grace that He gives!

Until we meet again...

Goodbye! I'm off to Ellerslie to become a poured out vessel and a world changer for Jesus Christ. See you when I get back!

~*~Elizabeth

The Scottish Chiefs

I understand better now.

Being a reader of Eric Ludy's blog, and now going to Ellerslie, I could hardly help but hear about the book The Scottish Chiefs. In fact, in my acceptance letter to Ellerslie, there was a recommendation (not a requirement) to read it if I hadn't already, because of the insight it gives into the heart of Eric Ludy. Also, the name Ellerslie originated from it, being the name of Sir William Wallace's estate.

"Ok", I thought, "I'll look into it." Instead of buying the book, I looked it up at the library. They didn't have an unabridged version in the entire interlibrary system but they had the above edition (edited by Kate Douglas Wiggin and Nora A. Smith, 1949), so I put it on hold. Before too long, it had arrived, and I checked it out.

It didn't take me very long to realize that I had uncovered a treasure! It has everything: adventure & old-fashioned romance, vice & virtue, history & battles, vivid characters both good and evil. It is pretty fast paced (at least in this edition), with many exciting plot turns, yet it lasts for 500 pages! That's something I like, because I don't like a good book to be over quickly!  Men are manly, and women are feminine, and both are valiant and honorable... the good characters, anyway. It wasn't till the end that I caught on to the allegory in it as well.

I haven't seen the movie Braveheart (I know you love it with a passion, Shane) but I think I have just discovered the better alternative. The book's always better than the movie, right? (Star Wars being the exception.) This book is the most incredible, majestic novel I've ever read. I don't think I knew what honor was before I read it.


If you have a mustard seed of tolerance for old books and rich vocabulary, I heartily recommend that you read The Scottish Chiefs. You won't be sorry.

A Melodious Blog

I just came across the blog of a young lady known as Melodious Echo. She is a set-apart woman who has been well-acquainted with the Ludys. She often writes articles for Leslie's online magazine for girls. God has taken her lots of places so far, and most recently, to Ellerslie this summer! That summer session is over (released into the world!). However you can read about a lot of what went on there in her recent posts.

http://melodiousecho.blogspot.com

41 days till Ellerslie! 

Ellerslie!

I'm going to Ellerslie!!!!!

I could've used about a hundred more exclamation points there. With every day that goes by, my anticipation and excitement grows. The more I learn about what goes on there, the happier and more amazed I get that I am actually going.

It's not "just" a Bible school. I usually tell people that I am going to a "little Bible school in Colorado", because that's something they will understand. But it's so much more than that. It's a set-apart time and place (I can't avoid the Ludy-isms, lol) where real people meet with our real God in a real way. When I heard about what was happening during the summer session, my flesh got nervous. It's not going to thrive there. In fact, according to the summer students, it's going to be put to death there. About time, I say.

Some more things I am looking forward to at Ellerslie:

1. Experiencing God's presence.
2. Learning how to pray.
3. Meeting and getting to know like-minded believers. There are only about 50 students, and they are from all across the US and even other countries.
4. Meeting the Ludys and Annie and Sandi and the rest of the staff. As much as I like and respect them, I have never idolized the Ludys or their books. But it will be a privilege to meet them in person.
5. Being in an environment where men and women are encouraged to be ladies and gentlemen.
6. Lord willing, there will be orphans at Ellerslie! That will be so neat! See their website for details on that.
7. Visiting Colorado again. Everyone tells me it's beautiful out there.
8. Flying "by myself". Of course I am tempted to be nervous, but the Lord will take care of me, and I am looking forward to the adventure!

Blessed be the Lord,
Who daily loads us with benefits,
The God of our salvation!
Selah
Psalm 68:19

When God Writes Your... College Story?

A thought occurred to me one day.

You know, I have given God the pen to write my love story. I believe He is going to "write" something really good. I am waiting with anticipation and watching for His lead and direction. I am trusting Him without too much of a struggle. But there are other stories in life besides romance. Am I trusting God with my college story?

I realized that even though I had given my love story over to God early on, there were other things that I was still anxious over. Namely, college. The normal route of finishing high school on time and going straight to college or at least community college, didn't fall into place for me. When I was younger, I always thought I would go to college. My parents both went to college, and that's just what people who were good at school and wanted to make something out of their life did, right? Maybe not. I didn't believe in going to college just for "the experience". I really didn't want to invest any time and money unless I knew it was worth it. So I didn't enroll anywhere. True, a big part of that was some unfinished homeschool business. But I believe that God has been leading me even with that.

Last year, I heard about a school out in Colorado called Ellerslie School of Honor. It was started this year by Eric and Leslie Ludy, authors of When God Writes Your Love Story and many other good books. They were offering a 10-week summer course for this summer. I was very interested, but the dates interfered with our already-planned trip to Washington, and I knew it wouldn't work. Still, I couldn't forget about it. It really felt like God wanted me to go. Maybe next summer? Then they announced that because of the high demand, they would be holding another 10-week session this fall. That was when I knew God wanted me to apply. As I've been praying, I asked Him to make everything fall into place if He wanted me to go. And they have been. Even finances! So yesterday I submitted my application. It's in God's hands.

Are you giving God the pen for all the stories in your life?