Weight Watcher Walker

I did it..I finally made it to my first big goal on my weight watcher plan. It feels incredible!! After my meeting this week I talked to this lady that has lost over 110 pounds and she said something very profound. "Im still making peace with the person I used to be" It just stuck with me, it was one of those statements that shakes you to your core and resounds with your soul. I feel the same way about myself, Im still making peace with the person I used to be. The truth is though, I have something so much more powerful than just making peace, I am transformed into the image of Christ. When I vowed to follow Christ with my whole heart, I left behind the person I used to be and am now a new creation. So whether I lose or gain weight, I am still a child of the King of Kings. It brings me so much peace that I dont have to carry the guilt and shame of my sin, that when Christ chose to die for my transgressions he nailed them to the cross and gave me complete peace with the person I was. So, this little statement reminded me of how faithful and forgiving my God is. That is a wonderful thing.

Hospitality of the Soul

Recently I have been thinking about what it means to be hospitable. My mother taught me that it starts in the home. It usually includes things like asking if a guest would like something to drink, making nice conversation and always having an open door for them to return to. It is interesting how our culture never addresses the idea of hospitality that resides from the inside. This foreign idea was blooming inside my mind last night as i was going to sleep, thinking about the church I am going to be working with Garth at in Jamestown. I thought of the people we are going to be serving and how the congregation simply needs a loving shepherd who welcomes them with open and un-judgmental arms. As this idea developed it dawned on me that we are the body of Christ that has been promised the seal of the Holy Spirit which dwells in us as told in  Ephesians 1: 13-14 -

“¹³And you also were included in Christ when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation. Having believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, ¹⁴who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God's possession—to the praise of his glory”

This idea that we have the Holy Spirit on the inside of us brought me back to the idea of hospitality. We are told by God that hospitality to our brothers and sisters is a vital part of having a character that reflects Christ, but what about the environment that we create for the Holy Spirit. On the outside we may present ourselves in a very calm and collected manner, but on the inside we are hopeless, striving and selfish. Having the Holy Spirit live in you and being hospitable to the Holy Spirit is an uncommon idea taught in church. I am not saying that you have to have everything together to have the Holy Spirit reside in you, but wouldn’t it be nice if you treated him as a guest, and made the environment in your heart easy for him to work with as opposed to hard and callus. When we dwell on the love, peace, joy, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness and self control that Paul talks about in Galatians we allow for our hearts to exude hospitality and an inviting place for the Holy Spirit to dwell. When he lives in us, he changes us, and the more he changes the temperature of hospitality on the inside of us, the more we will be inclined to change the way we treat and serve others on the outside I believe that through that welcoming and gentle nature towards the Holy Spirit in our heart, we inherit Gods kingdom. The Holy Spirit is a prized possession that those in the family of God receive. Make sure and treat him with even more respect and reverence than you would a guest in your home, he deserves. Can i take your coat?

Thoughts for the Middlebrooks

Here we go...another post that i have been thinking about for some time. It is dedicated to two special people in my life that have impacted me in such a way that the evidence is clear. The two out of three of my followers on this blog and people that believe are supporting what God has already ordained. Seth and Sarah Middlebrook, i thank and applaud you for the work you have done in the Switch Youth Ministry at New Hope. Recently I heard a quote from John Piper that goes like this "God is most glorified in you, when you are most satisfied in him." For you two i see that this glory is well obvious in the lives that you lead. Thinking back to the summer of 2008 it is amazing how far God has brought you two on your journey. From graduating from LIFE which is an amazingly scary thing in itself to getting married which also is hard in itself, to trusting God to relocate your lives to sunny Southern California for good, although the pains of missing the seasons overtook you at times. (that was for Sarah ;) You truly show the example of people who trust God enough to put it all on the line. The first time i met you guys i wasnt sure what to think, from my perspective you were two very polite LIFE students from Idaho, but as time passed I realized that you two are some of the most amazing people I have come across in my time at New Hope (Sonrise). Which says a lot considering I have been there for 14 years now. Anyhow, although our relationship has had its trials, i would like you two to know that i really respect what you have done with the ministry you have been given. With the grace of God, you helped heal the wounds so deeply inflicted in the past by the church and honestly gave us a sense of New Hope, no pun intended. Despite everything that happened i still consider you guys friend and i seriously thank God for all those hours you opened your home to me so you could pour into my life. If there was anything i truly want you to know before you take another leap of faith into what God has for you it would be this : to Seth- You are an amazing teacher and gave so much insight on the bible and practical application to go along with it. Your passion is so clear and i would encourage you to never be afraid to challenge the next generation in the things God has for them, it is amazing how much you impact them to do so when you do it with a smile on your face and time enough to hear them out. You truly were an impact in my life and thanks for always laughing with me about nothingness, they were some of the best laughs of my life; to Sarah: You seriously are precious to my heart. I see the gentle spirit of the Lord within you and the rightousness of a woman who does not compromise the Lords will. I cannot thank you enough for the hours and hours on any given Monday night that you gave to me, listening to my pain, my joy and my just plain random. You seriously helped heal a lot of wounds i had in my heart and poured a lot of wisdom and insight into my life. God uses you in such amazing ways and I know that you have a lot of love to spill over into this next generation as we all grow together. So to end this blog dedicated to the Middlebrooks... I love you guys and the impact you have made in the youth of Simi Valley is evident, we are all going to miss seeing your smiling idahoen faces! God bless you in your future together and I pray you l eave New Hope knowing that we love you and you were just what God wanted at the right time.

Peace and Love in Christ,

Courtney Farybaryer Harpoon a Deer Im gonna miss you guys Frybarger

Words That Lose the Race.

The other day i decided that i wanted to write a few encouragement notes to some of the girls in my youth group and throughout my life. The words were merely praising them for their attributes and encouraging them in their walk with the Lord. On the opposite sides of the cards i would write a scripture for the girl to just back up the encouraging words, but this struck me. When looking at the cards i saw God's words sitting right there next to mine, but how could they even compare? I thought about it for a second and the holy spirit reminded me that my words will fade. They will try to run the race of time and they will fail. But God's words are forever, their meanings never change and their motives will always be pure. Me on the other hand, my words will hurt people, i will burn forests down with the spark of my tongue and my motives will not always be honorable. Doesn't it bring you immense hope to believe in a God that is so steadfast, even his words will outlast your very own life? Do you know anything else in your life that lasts longer than you do? And have been before you? Just ponder what forever looks like and let the words of God narrarate the story. Its a great story.

Wake Up America.

What is America thinking? How could we just sit back and watch the rest of the world starve and die of hunger when we are complaining whether or not we should get Togos or Subway for dinner? How is it that so many of our churches preach the "good news" and when push come to shove never step out of the comfortable air conditioned offices that they have been so used to doing Jesus' work from? Didnt God call us to lay down our lives for a friend because there is no greater love than that? How many of you know someone who would sacrifice everything they had just to see a friend have a decent meal? How is it that this "great" nations leaders are so involved in finding oil in the middle east that they fail to look not even a couple of thousand mile to the east and the west to see little children and whole tribes of people are being persecuted and annihilated for just existing? How is it that we are so focused on who is going out with Britney Spears and whats on our itunes playlists that we miss the whole point of life, this glorious thing that we were made to glorify God? If we are Christs bride and he is our groomsman how ugly of a bride are we? Stained with the shame of selfishness topped with a vail of hypocrisy! It says in the word of God that we are all brothers and sisters in Christ, that we are one body under the name of Christ...Do you know that when we all fail to provide to the least of these we are failing to serve Christ? I mean Jesus even told us himself that if we serve the least of these it will be unto him..YET WE MISS THE POINT! Didnt Jesus tell us to lose our lives so we can gain it? How much of your life are you really losing? A couple of half hearted minutes to pray? I dont escape this same conviction but hear my heart in this...we are going down fast. The enemy has put scales on our eyes, deceiving us from our selfishness. I dont know about you but this is a serious problem, one that we cant just sit back and ignore any longer. If one of our brothers or neighbors or people around us falls...we all fall, whether that is in Iran or England or Down your street. WE are all a net, and if there is a hole in the net, everyone is gonna fall through. The bottom line in this is Love..because without that, there would be nothing else..nothing would have purpose..SO seriously ask yourself this question...What can i sacrifice for Christ? Pray about how God can use you to help change this huge problem. None of us can do it alone, but together..we can spread the Love of Christ to all People everywhere.

He Is.

He is my confidant, my best friend, my savior, and my healer, my everything. He is who I confine in, the shadow when I walk, the air within my lungs, the passion in my soul, the love within my heart, he is my significant other, my love, my hero, my provider, the reason I live, the infinite, the hand upon my shoulder, the tissue to wipe my tears, he is my rock, my Shepard, my master, my king, my trust, my heart, my home, my confidence.

The smile on my face, my concern, my life, my sacrifice, my reverence, my humility, my dreams, my hopes, my faith. He is the thought within my mind, the hands to do the work, the words inside my mouth, the food that I live upon, and water to my soul. He is the wisdom, the peace, the kindness of a friend, the past, present and future. HE is the king of kings, the lamb on the alter, the messiah, he is nature, the moments that take my breath away. He is the voice who keeps me still, the spirit that leads my life, the spring in my step, the laughter, the music, and the truth. HE is the way, the truth, the life, the power, the innocence, the everlasting, the ultimate, my protection, the victory, and the freedom. The release from a bondage, the arms waiting for you at the end of a long journey, the fun, the secrets in our souls, the one who understands, the path to travel on, the narrow, my father, my joy.

He is the one I will run to, the one I will give my life for, the compassion for the nations, the love that brings me home, the sight that makes me cry. HE is my plan, my beauty, my suffering, the grace and mercy I find. He is my morning chat, my teacher, my corrector, my spirit, and my worth, my everything.

All that is, Is what he is.

Jesus.

Stolen Identities.

Today i decided to go on a really long walk. As i was walking i came across someone's doctors appointment card lying wet and crumpled on the ground away from someone's mailbox. I knew that those usually contain a lot of personal information and in this day and age people use your information to steal your identities. They tap into your money and investments and reck havoc on your life. I felt like the lord was telling me to pick up the card so i could properly dispose of it and keep evil far from the persons personal life. But i kept walking, why did i keep on walking? I decided that i would just simply loop back from my walk when i was done and pick up the paper if it was still there. But as i started thinking about that card it came to my mind that I myself have a stolen identity. Colossians 3: 3-4 and 9-11 says:

"For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God. ⁴When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with him in glory 9Do not lie to each other, since you have taken off your old self with its practices ¹⁰and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator. ¹¹Here there is no Greek or Jew, circumcised or uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave or free, but Christ is all, and is in all."

This thought just blew my mind! I died and now my life is hidden in Christ. There is no Courtney Frybarger without Christ. He is the image that has taken me captive and made us one in the same. He has taken my hands and feet and made them his own. He has taken my sins and put them on himself, God only sees Christ's atonement when he looks at me. How amazing is that? Christ took on my lowly, humanly image that is so meager and miniscule to him as God and made it his own. God broke all the rules, we are dirt compared to Holy God. He didnt have to make himself a man, but he did and then died in order that he may live in me. He stole my identity and brought me into his glorious kingdom as an heir and daughter of Christ. He has taken my old identity and thrown it away, i am a new creation bearing the glory of Christ which lives inside of me. This world squabbles over their differences and status but Christ is all and is in all! Can you even wrap your mind around that?! I find myself dumbfounded at the thought that Christ would take everything from me to make me his own. He doesn't get the good end of the deal, i do! That isn't even fair, but that is how great our God is. I bear the image of my Creator, his image and identity is sealed in me. I should have no confidence in my own flesh, but lean solely on the name of Jesus Christ who has taken me captive in him, he has taken my identity, by all means i give it to him. What am i compared to Christ? He wouldn't have kept walking from that doctors appointment card, he wants that persons identity to be one with his. He wants to tap into everything that you are and take it as if it was his very own life. That is the glory of Christ, that he would take the nothingness we have to offer him and make it the same power that he possess. I want to serve that God, i am humbled by that God, My identity has been stolen by that God. So who are you today?