if we are the body...

To get where I am going, I feel that I have to lay some foundation. It is a lengthy bit of scipture, but bear with me, and give it a read through.

1 Corinthians 12:12-26
The body is a unit, though it is made up of many parts; and though all its parts are many, they form one body. So it is with Christ. 13For we were all baptized by[c] one Spirit into one body—whether Jews or Greeks, slave or free—and we were all given the one Spirit to drink.

14Now the body is not made up of one part but of many. 15If the foot should say, "Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body," it would not for that reason cease to be part of the body. 16And if the ear should say, "Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body," it would not for that reason cease to be part of the body. 17If the whole body were an eye, where would the sense of hearing be? If the whole body were an ear, where would the sense of smell be? 18But in fact God has arranged the parts in the body, every one of them, just as he wanted them to be. 19If they were all one part, where would the body be? 20As it is, there are many parts, but one body.

21The eye cannot say to the hand, "I don't need you!" And the head cannot say to the feet, "I don't need you!" 22On the contrary, those parts of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable, 23and the parts that we think are less honorable we treat with special honor. And the parts that are unpresentable are treated with special modesty, 24while our presentable parts need no special treatment. But God has combined the members of the body and has given greater honor to the parts that lacked it, 25so that there should be no division in the body, but that its parts should have equal concern for each other. 26If one part suffers, every part suffers with it; if one part is honored, every part rejoices with it.

wow...can you imagine. the last verse there really just hits me over and over. God's intention was for us as believers to live so intimately with one another that we literally suffer and rejoice in harmony. His vision for brothers and sisters in Christ (members of the body) is like that of a Christian marriage, that we would literally vow to one another "your hopes are my hopes, your fears my fears." It is an all out sacrifical life. Not only to the creator but to one another. A total setting aside of any personal agenda for one another's sake. It is so clear in the ten commandment's "love thy neighbor as thyself." Most of us understand this to mean just as it says, love. I believe we are really to take it much deeper. We are to love intimately, unconditionally, and desperately with Christ, so that He provides us with the love we need for an unloveable world. I long for realtionships and friendships in which i can love and be loved so wholly. Where I might actually suffer someone else's pain as Christ did for me, so that maybe their burden will feel only half as heavy. Not as some twisted desire for pain and suffering, but for the sweet reward of sacrifice and a humble heart and for the great return of that same love coming back to me.

Casting Crowns, a Christian band, does an amazing job of portraying the great need for more agape love. The absolute requirement of our faith...to love the people of this world, the children of god, just as He first loved us. Here are their lyrics...

It's crowded in worship today
As she slips in
Trying to fade into the faces
The girls' teasing laughter is carrying farther than they know
Farther than they know

But if we are the Body
Why aren't His arms reaching
Why aren't His hands healing
Why aren't His words teaching
And if we are the Body
Why aren't His feet going
Why is His love not showing them there is a way
There is a way

A traveler is far away from home
He sheds his coat
And quietly sinks into the back row
The weight of their judgmental glances tells him that his chances
Are better out on the road

But if we are the Body
Why aren't His arms reaching
Why aren't His hands healing
Why aren't His words teaching
And if we are the Body
Why aren't His feet going
Why is His love not showing them there is a way

Jesus paid much too high a price
For us to pick and choose who should come
And we are the Body of Christ


If we are the body
Why aren't His arms reaching
Why aren't His hands healing
Why aren't His words teaching
And if we are the body
Why aren't His feet going
Why is His love not showing them there is a way

Jesus is the way


Matt and I adopted a child today through Compassion Ministries. We will be helping to sponsor her education as well as her physical needs and spiritual growth. We are very excited about being involved in her life and honored that the Lord has chosen us to do so. Please help us in praying for her. She is a beautiful young lady and lives in great poverty in an AIDS infected area. I have included more information about her below. I will post updates on her from time to time and would appreciate your prayers for God to reign in her life.



Niyokwizerwa Eliroh (her name)
Birthday: May 5, 1999
Age: 9
Gender: Female
Region: Africa
Country: Rwanda
Program: Rweza Student Center


Personal and Family Information:
Niyokwizerwa lives with her father and her mother. She is responsible for carrying water and cleaning. Her father is sometimes employed as a farmer and her mother is sometimes employed as a farmer. There are 6 children in the family.

Niyokwizerwa participates in church activities and choir. She is also in primary school. Jumping rope and playing ball games are her favorite activities.

Please remember Niyokwizerwa in your prayers.


Blessings....M & J living in faith

deeper

if god is the giver of all good things; (and he is) i owe him my utmost praise. matt and i have been attending a great church in the woodlands, tx (www.woodsedge.org)for over a year now. we moved to conroe in 12/06, looked around at a couple of different churches, but almost immediately fell in love with woodsedge. it is a love that continues to grow stronger. a love for our church and for our lord. our pastor (jeff) is such a great man of god and challenges us without fail each sunday. however, there has been a continuous search for more. a way to really plug in.

this friday we attended our first small group. it is a group of mostly mid to upper 20 something couples that meet in the homes of the group members. we were apprehensive (matt more than i) about stepping into an already well formed circle of friends, but excited too, u know? anyway- we could not possibly have stepped into greater love. everyone was incredibly warm and welcoming, and honestly, each person was so unique and all quite interesting in character and career alike (a real -in my opinion- rarity). we ate dinner, discussed work, talked about absolutely nothing, held beautiful babies (of which there were several, London stole my heart)fellowshipped, prayed for eachother, read from the bible, and shared testimony. how is this for friends...shelby and jeb, one of the couples, have just returned from a year of missions in iraq and shared some stories with the group. oh and we caught a little of nancilea foster (another of our small group members) on the olympics...shes a diver. hows that for friends! ill claim a talented bunch of friends like this any day!! so long story long (i know, i dont skip detail) it was a rather impressive friday evening on the god scale. we (dh and i) left feeling so very blessed, which we most definately are, and with strong hope for some amazing realtionships. on the same note of going and growing deeper in the lord, we are attending a class next sunday at woodsedge that allows us to officially join. we are very excited. soo...praise him!!! and please pray for us we move forward in his will.

catching up

it has already been over 2 months since my original post. it is clear that blogging is going to require a bit more focus that i had anticipated. so first my apologies, and secondly a brief catching up!

since we last spoke i have had a transformation of sorts. i am officially a blonde! i decided to dye the do on july 5th. 7 hours in an aveda salon chair and lots of chemicals and wha-la...a new me. or at least a new hair color! it has been fun being a blonde...but i have to admit i am not sure how long it will last. aside from the root maintenance that is already screaming for attention, i just plain miss my dark locks. i wonder what fall holds for my mane...perhaps a visit back to the black gypsy look.

even more exciting than barbie blonde hair was our first ever abernathy vacation! that's right...VACATION! i think matthew and i were beginning to forget that word even existed. as most of you know we never went on a honeymoon trip and have never traveled farther than frisco, tx (near dallas) to see my sister and dustin (brother N law). so...to travel together was very exciting. it was not exactly a honeymoon, but it was amazing. randy and nancy (matt's mom and dad) took me, matt, jimmy and holly (matt's brother and sister N law) to Cabo San Lucas, Mexico. it was absolutely beautiful. it was such an amazing time and really gave dh and i time to relax and reconnect. we feel truly blessed to have such great family and a god that created all this beauty just for us! we laid by the beach, listened to the waves, ate awesomely fresh seafood, and just goofed off. it was seriously great! we decided we are really into this whole vacation thing and are already planning our next getaway! enjoy the pics...