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