A Little Insight

Hey Gang! I know it's been forever... and I SO apologize for that!

OK... moving on... haha

I found this in a book our High School Ministry (HSM) is doing for small groups and I just had to show it to you...

Today's Treasure: Acts 17:16-34

"At the time Paul entered Athens, the Greeks worshipped as many as thirty thousand gods and goddesses. They were man-made gods but were taken very seriously. They would erect statues and monuments and altars to these made-up gods. The streets were lined with them; they were in every niche, in every window, and at every doorstep. It had been said that it was easier to find a god than a man. They erected statues, carved idols, and created altars for every god they knew so as not to anger any of them. They were so afraid of angering a god that they erected a statue to "the Unknown God" in case they missed one.

Within the population of Athens there were those who lived in two major philosophies: the Epicureans and the Stoics. The Epicureans were consumed with a lifestyle of indulgence, with their main objective in life being pleasure. They believed there was no afterlife and therefore they lived their life in pursuit of pleasures - an 'eat, drink, and be merry for tomorrow you die' attitude. The Epicureans believed the gods to be material but thought the gods were too busy being blessed and happy to be bothered with governance of the universe.

Stoics considered themselves as good as God. God was in everything - rocks, trees, the oceans, birds, every living and non-living thing. The Stoic god is immanent throughout the whole of creation and directed it's development down to the smallest detail. Those who lived according to this philosophy tended not to believe anything and wre dead to feelings and emotions.

The only thing these two philosophies agreed on was that paul's teaching was abhorrent to thier lifestyle and customs. They considered Paul to be a babbler with no real thought or understanding of his own. Paul spoke of jesus and a resurrection. The Greek word for 'resurrection' is anastasis and the word sounded like a female name. It is possible when Paul talked about Jesus and the resurrection in the marketplace, people thought that he was talking about some new god and goddess, Jesus and Anastasis. While Athens was full of religions, a law prohibited the introduction on new foreign gods. So Paul was summoned before the city council to explain himself. This was not a formal trial. There does not seem to be a formal change, a legal defense, or a verdict. This was most likely an inquiry to determine if laws had been broken." - Liquid; five episodes, one story


I read that the other day and almost fell over at the smackdown I got from God. And I think the part that hit me the most is that they mistook God's resurrection as a female goddess... and how the Greek word for LOVE sounds like a female's name.

Ladies, we have been blessed with the ability to LOVE.... to LOVE like never before - let's go out and show it!




I LOVE YOU ALL!
~Susan Elaine

LPL Video Recap

Hey ladies -just recently found this video that LPL made from the Pittsburgh event & Lisa and I made the cut... check it out:

http://vimeo.com/5175520



Much Love!

An Update In Pictures

Hellloooooooo ladies!

It has been a whirlwind in the Lowry world for the past two months so I havn't had much of a chance to sit down and share with you about all of the crazy things that God has been doing in my life... soooooooooo... I decided to show you just what's been happening with us.

I have so much more to tell you but I will save that for another day :) Here are some pics that kind of capture the life of the Lowry's for the past two months:


Acquire the Fire 2009 was AMAZING! We had an awesome group of kids go, the worship by Phil Joel was sick, and overall we worshipped God like we were in Heaven sitting at His feet - soooo flippin' awesome! Would do it again in a heartbeat!!!

Here is a pic of our group that went.... about 43 of us - sooo much fun :)

Okay... so ATF was on Friday & Saturday... then we had church on Sunday and left on this gianormous plane for Hawaii at the crack of dawn on Monday. Good trip. Long trip. But totally worth it!

Our first full day there we went to this place called Goat Island... and you had to "hike" through the water to get there.

t was a really fun day.
We got pretty sun-burnt since the shade was scarce.

And then on the way back, high tide was up and the water that WAS at our knees was now almost over my head!

Kind of scary... but a memory I will take with me to the bank.

We ate shrimp out of the back of this van... kind of scary at first... but ended up being really good :)















Me, my mom, & my Aunt Brenda showing off our new friend The Sea Turtle.

One of only 2 places in the world where they come and beach themselves :)

Later we swam with them and they chased JD because he had green in his shorts - hilarious!















Our hike up Diamond Head - really fun :)



















Me & Mike showing off our climbing abilities...
Almost to the top - incredible view!















We grilled out one night on top of Ryan's apartment building.... and killed the cheesecake afterwards :)



















*Pearl Harbor*

This was one of the anchors from a ship that was attacked during Pearl Harbor... how crazy big!















Getting ready to have brunch at the hotel where Ryan and Tracy got married - beautiful hotel!














Some of The CRUX who painted the funnel cake booth - never looked better if I do say so myself :)















*Our new home in Dover, OH*

We took this pic the weekend we came up to scout it out and see if it would work....

I am now writing to you from that kitchen... how wierd is that?














Flo - one of our many neighbors!














Saying good-bye at Jumonville... one of the saddest moments of my life!

The students were so incredible and God just moved through them in ways that I have never seen before!

They could definitely rival the disciples in Acts when the Holy Spirit came down!















Leader's meeting at Jumonville...
Lisa - so silly!















Pastor Larry came up to camp one night to check out how things were going and support us - what an awesome coach!














Us with Bubba Smith - our speaker for Jumonville '09
He did an awesome job... as usual :)















Waste no time!

The Friday that Jumonville was over Lisa Labon and I headed straight from camp to Pittsburgh to worship God and hear Beth Moore speak at a conference - it as a blast!

We were "Encouragers" so we had the opportunity to pray with women during the "altar call" time... it was seriously one of the best experiences of my life.















Lisa and I showing off our beautiful blue vests that the Encouragers got to wear!




















Beth praising God - can it get any better?



















*Beth Moore*
she was incredible...




















Jumonville Sunday
- the best service I've ever experienced at Concord... no joke!

The CRUX had a powerful drama that they did... and JD gave a relevant, real message that really hit home :) (I'm not biast or anything... haha)















The Last ABLAZE for us....
Really sad, but a great night!















Me & JD with the cakes that they got us :)















Broke down on the way to Dover, OH :(
Is this a sign? Nahhhhhhh!















So the jeep has black smoke pouring out of it, and this semi-truck pulls over on the other side of the highway...

We see a man running toward us and we think - oh how awesome... someone to come and help....

The man finally gets to us and says:
"Can you give me directions?"

And we're like..... seriously?

God taught us patience that day... hahaha

JD on his first day at NewPointe!

Bills.... blah!
But at least I am doing them in our new home :)















Steve petting Fletcher - another one of our neighbors... he is sooo fun to have around.















Student Ministry meeting at the LeeAnn & Daryl's...

Notice the food that we are shoving into our mouths :)

Totally necessary!















Dave (the boss.. haha) and his four year old son Nico




















Dave's wife Brooke and thier other son Gino
He's out like a light! Ha ha :)




















Joey & Teddy Miller... being themselves... hahaha



















Teddy, Joey, Matt, & I chilling out and getting ready to eat pizza before going to see the movie UP.
A really good movie by the way!















*Welcome To Our City*
How sweet is that sign?! Love it!



















Matt showing off his skills at Tuscora Park...
We were bored after the movie... but I am just now realizing how truly bored we were! haha



















JD... testing the limits of the playground...
He's always testing limits... :)



















So that is the latest update that I have! I hope the pictures helped :)


Please know ladies that even in the midst of chaos I am still loving you and parying for you always! Just this week God was screaming at me that I have made myself so busy that I havn't spent enough time just with Him and Him alone. Let me encourage you not to get to the point where God has to scream at you.. :)... I love you girls - keep worshipping Him with everything you have!



All My Love,
Susan Elaine


p.s. I have something really amazing to share with you on the next blog, but I don't want to overload you with information :)

First ABLAZE Tonight

Hey darlings! I only have a few (literally) seconds, but I wanted to ask for some much needed prayer - Tonight is the first night of ABLAZE for the summer of 2009 and it our (me & JD) 2nd to last time with the students before we move to Ohio. Please pray for us - that God would come upon us in power and show the students His unimaginable love for them. They need it so much!

Thank you girls!
-Susan Elaine

P.S. I can't wait until I have a night free to blog to you about going to the Living Proof Live Conference with Beth Moore in Pittsburgh last weekend! It was amazing!!!

Godly Reassurance!

Hey ladies! I have to hit the sack because I am completely exhausted, but I just had to pop in for a few minutes and update you on the NewPointe situation. Well, I titled this pot "Godly Reassurance" because that is exactly what JD and I have been given! Tonight God completely confirmed that we are following His calling by stepping out on faith and into a church environment that is healthy and thriving.
Darlings, if there is anything I want you to get out of this post it is this: When you take a step (tiny or large) for our Savior... He will, and I mean WILL, reaffirm your Godly actions and dismantle any doubts that Satan will try to put in your heart.

I love you girls!
-Susan Elaine

New Places and New Faces

Hello Darlings!

I literally only have minutes to chat with you, but I wanted to thank you all for your prayers this past weekend! Yesterday, JD and I announced to our church congregation that we would be leaving them and moving to a new church. Wow - it was incredibly hard. Working as the youth ministers at my home church has been such a blessing to JD and I and we have loved the students so much over the past few years, but there are times when God just has different plans than we do I guess! It is bittersweet to leave my hometown, but I am so excited about the opportunity that God has placed before us. In fact, I want to share with you the verse that we shared with our church yesterday - it is Revelation 3:7-8 "...What He opens no one can shut, and what He shuts no one can open. I know your deeds. See, I have placed before you an open door that no one can shut..."

Ladies, I encourage you today to pray about where you are in life versus where it is that God wants you to be. In fact, I want to share with you some incredible words of wisdom - - the first time JD and I sat down with our new senior Pastor, Dwight Mason, he said to us, "I know that am living dead center in the middle of God's will for my life." - How awesome is that?!

Ladies we need to be able to say that very same thing with certainty in our hearts! I will pray for you today that if you are not living in the middle of God's will for your life, that He will open a God sized door - just as He did for us!

All My Love,
Susan Elaine

Will you wait on ME?

Helloooooooo Ladies! Wow - this has been a crazy few weeks. JD and I just got back from our family vacation to Hawaii yesterday, so needless to say we are totally pooped! Anyhow, I just had to get on here because I have a question for you that the Lord has been posing to me for the past year or so, and that question is "Will you wait on ME?"

Let me explain, there is a song on the Fireproof soundtrack that is called "While I'm Waiting" and the basic gist of the song is a declaration that I (or you) will serve the Lord, even while I'm waiting... waiting for anything - it may be an answer to prayer that you are waiting on, or it may be a change in the direction of your life, or may be anything that you are hoping for from God... but you and I will choose to serve the Lord while we are waiting.

Over the past year, if there is anything that I have learned, it is patience. Waiting on God can be one of the most difficult things that we are called to do - not because waiting is difficult in nature, but because we often expect our wants and desires to come quickly or at least in our own time frame. Let's face it - we live in our culture where we want it exactly our way and we want it now! But my friends, our God is so much wiser than that and He knows exactly when to open doors for us!!

We lovelies, I am here to tell you that the wait is worth it! Hold on, stay strong, clench your fists, don't let go, hold fast to the place God has called you to be and wait on Him to lead you out of those valleys and beside pools of living water! Remember - the wait is worth it!

I love you darlings!
-Susan Elaine

The CRUX

Hello darlings - Wow... God could not have blessed us with a more beautiful day in Western PA! It's so funny how once the sun comes out (since we soooo rarely see it) we jump up and down and talk about how much we want to get done. Well, today has been one of those days for me - praise the LORD!

Speaking of praising the LORD - I have a huge praise to lift up, and it is for our Student Leadership Team - The CRUX. They are a group of 14 students who are on fire for the LORD and want grow in their leadership ability while serving our community. These students are just inspiring to me! To be a part of The CRUX team, they had to fill out a 9 page application, get 3 references, and go through a face-to-face interview with JD, Chance, and myself. And after all that... they are now working hard to become the best God honoring leaders they can be. I was laughing at myself the other day as I thought about how much this team is like a baby to me! I want to nuture them and help them grow in any and every way possible.

Anywho, last Thursday we went to Shirley Teck's house (a woman from our congregation) and we helped to clean up her yard and mulch around her house. Shirley is an awesome woman and we were just as blessed by her pepperoni puffs (which she so generously served us after we were done working), as she was blessed by the students' hard work! You can see (to the left, above and below) are just a few pictures of the students working hard to make Shirley's house look beautiful!

Here are two of the girl's (Jenna and Molly) trying to spread out the mulch perfectly. The funny thing about that mulch was how it left both of your hands a nice stained-red color!

After we finished mulching, weeding, etc. we headed inside and did a short leadership training will the team, where we talked about an idea called "The Hollywood Effect". In short, The Hollywood Effect says that it is a lot easier act your way into a feeling, than feel your way into an action. For example, there might be someone in thier life that they don't respect and are even annoyed by... but if they act (with the right heart-attitude behind that action) as if they like that person for long enough, they will eventually start to feel that way. Often times when we follow our emotions, we are drawn off course by satan because he works his way into our emotions. Anyhow, I must get going... but here is one last picture of the whole crew at Shirley's house:

Love You!

~Susan Elaine

THANK YOU!

Hey Ladies! I only have about 10 minutes until the kids get here... but I just wanted to send out a quick thank you for all the prayers you have been sending up for JD and me! We have been so blessed by the LORD and I can seriously feel his voice calling me - something I have been begging him for, for the last 8 or 9 months! God is good baby! whoot whoot :)

Hurry Up and Wait!

Hey ladies! I am so glad to have a few moments with you this morning :) Most often I am rushing from here to there and just can't sit down and put my thoughts down... but today is different. Make no mistake, I still have an entire day planned out, but I was able to steal a few moments to ask for prayers. I titled this post "Hurry Up and Wait!" because that is truly what God has been calling me to do - wait. How boring! haha But I know that I am waiting on the Lord for something great. My prayer for you today (and I hope yours for me) is that God will end any periods of waiting that we might be going through. You know, often I will pray to see God's will in my waiting period - but I truly think I have seen it and now I am just eager for the next step He chooses. Anyhow ladies, I have to go fight for the bathroom, but I love you and have you on my heart always!

-Suz

Forever & A LIfetime!

Wow ladies - it has simply been forever since I have been able to get on here and share my thoughts with you... and I have missed you so very much!

Well, jumping right into what has been going on in life - - JD and I have just reached the information age. Let me explain: My whole family is on a phone plan together and my oldest brother manages our plan for us. Well, he had been doing some calculating and figured out how we could get a better deal for our money. Needless to say, I now have unlimited internet access on my phone! I know for most people this is not very exciting, and you are probably muttering "what a drok" under your breath. Well, you'd be right - that I am! Never the less, I am completely amazed at what I can do from basically anywhere in the U.S. and I keep finding new stuff every few hours... it's like a new adventure for me :) With that said, it is my hope to learn how to access my blog from my phone so that I can update you ladies more often. There are probably 20 to 30 times a day that I feel God put something on my heart, but carting those thoughts home and typing them out on a screen just isn't conducive to my busy lifestyle. Therefore, with this new found informatiom... I am hoping to be able to connect with you more.

And since I have such a crazy lifestyle, I want to share with you some thoughts that I was having on Saturday... (I told you it was hard for me to get to the computer!)

Saturday, being the day after Good Friday and the day before Easter Sunday, was such an amazing day of in-betweens for me. In fact, I was just telling JD this morning how much of an impact this Easter has had on my life. I think that this past week has been the most meaningful Holy Week that I have ever experienced... God did a major work in my heart... a work of explanation. You see, there are so many things going on in my life that I just don't undrstand and where it is so difficult to see God's hand at work. But starring at the cross this past Saturday... He really just showed me that I am in-between two very special times in my life. I am not sure exactly what He has planned for me, but I know it's gonna be good!

Are you at that time in your life beloved? Are you in a time of in-betweens? Well, if you are I want to encourage you to take heart and know that Jesus Himself has already overcome the world (John 16:33) and cannot wait to show you what lies at the end of this season of your life!

I love you dear ones, and my prayer for you today is that you will find hope in our Savior who indeed also had a time of in-betweens.


All my love,
Suz

Precious Trials

Hello darlings!

Well, the Winter Retreat is over ~ I am oddly enough flooded with joy and tears at the same time. I can't help but think how wonderful our God is... and how we were all able to experience Him in such a real way over the weekend. Something else that just tickled me... we ended up having 99 students at camp (since some had to cancel at the last minute).... and when I heard that we had 99 going to camp, the Lord threw Matthew 18:12-14 into my mind:

12"What do you think? If a man owns a hundred sheep, and one of them wanders away, will he not leave the ninety-nine on the hills and go to look for the one that wandered off? 13And if he finds it, I tell you the truth, he is happier about that one sheep than about the ninety-nine that did not wander off. 14In the same way your Father in heaven is not willing that any of these little ones should be lost.

How awesome is that? I just love how we can tie that to the youth group - and to our lives for that matter! So though we had an awesome Retreat and I would do it all over again in a second... I cannot wait for this Sunday to roll around and to minister to that 1 student who couldn't come on the retreat! Praise God for what He is going to do in the coming days! :)

Here are some Retreat pics:

(Sara & Liam)

(Josiah - always a ladies man)

(Our whole group - what an awesome site!)

(Cleaning the 9 inches of snow off our cars!)

(Joey during Praise and Worship)

In the meantime, I would like to share how our Beth Moore Bible Study is going. We have our first table of high school girls... and we are just loving the study of Esther! The main point of our Monday night lesson was that we become the women that God created us to be not inspite of the trials we go through... but because of them. It is taking everything I have inside of me not to put an exclamation mark at the end of every single sentence in this blog!! I titled this blog "Precious Trials" because though our trials may not be fun or enjoyable... they are indeed precious - they help mold us into the Christ-Centered Women that we desire to be!

I love you ladies!

-Susan Elaine

Retreatin' With Some New Tunes

Hello My Darlings!!!!

First off, I would like to point out the new tunes that I added to the blog- Some of my favorite songs in the world! I particularly love the first song... I just think it grasps how a woman (or young lady) should feel about her presence in God's kingdom.

Secondly, I would like to ask for prayers for this weekend... In T-minus 2 hours we will be leaving for our 180 Winter Retreat. The weather is extremely cold, and J.D. is up at the camp setting up even as we speak. We have been praying like crazy for the Lord to show up in all His majesty, and if you could pray that with us this weekend it would mean so much to us! Truly, we want this camp to be a time where everyone involved can refocus themselves and get back to the basics with our Lord and Savior. Thank you for your prayers, and I will post some pics of the weekend when we get back!

Serving an Amazing Savior,
Susan Elaine

Bringing in the New Year

Hello Ladies! Wow has the Lord been working like crazy already in 2009!

First off, I would like to start by saying that I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas and New Year and that Christ's Birth is shining on you more than ever before! Secondly, I would like to ask for quick prayer requests - My mom just went through a PET scan on New Years Eve to scan for cancer through the rest of her body... we haven't received the test results yet but we are actively praying for God's guidance and clear result. If you could also keep lifting my mom up as she has been pretty sick for over a year now and is so badly wanting to be better again.

Now... onto the good stuff...

Our first 180 of 2009 was amazing! Our students cam out and worshipped Him with all their energy - it was incredible to watch God moving through that sanctuary! It truly was a place of worship! :) We heard a message about living in the NOW and not missing the moments that God has given us to relish in 2009. JD and I am extremely excited about what God is going to do in 2009!

We were sitting up last night and doing our Bible study... and I wanted to share with you a little bit from what we gleaned:

"Because of the Lord's great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail.They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.I say to myself, 'The Lord is my portion; therefore I will wait for him.'The Lord is good to those whose hope is in him, to the one who seeks him; it is good to wait quietly for the salvation of the Lord." Lamentations 3:23-26

The first part of this verse is the verse that you will see at the very top of this blog, and the reason I love it so much my dears is because of how true it is. Sadly, we often think that we have to wait until January 1st, until the "New Year", to have a "new start"... but the truth is darlings that our LORD gives us a fresh start each and every morning - I love the Casting Crowns song as it states that He has removed our sins "as far as the east is from the west.... from one scarred hand to the other." What power there is in those words!!!

My prayer is that we will use this day as it is the only one that matters... and that in it we will know that the Lord is looking on us with fresh eyes, through the fresh blood of Jesus Christ!

I love you girls - get in the word. study hard. be blessed.

With Everything I Am,
Susan Elaine