Theology has always been important to me. I really value what I learned in high school through a church Bible study and all I learned at Covenant College. In the last two years I’ve wanted to see theology have practical implications. In the face of life, hardships, death, disappointments how do the truths of theology make a difference in the way I live?

My pastor in Philly gave me a book called The Practical Calvinist. It’s a book that colleagues of D. Clair Davis put together upon his 30 years of teaching at Westminster Theological seminary. Clair Davis wrote an article for the Presbyterian Journal on December 3, 1986 titled "What's so good about being a Calvinist?"

Davis writes that Calvinism applies the Bible where we need it most. "Think through the basics. Jesus died for you personally (Personal Atonement). He loves you, not what he can get out of you (Unconditional Election). He pours out his love on every bit of you, not just on what you think is your sweeter and nicer side (Total Depravity). His love is stronger than all your doubt and foolishness and fear put together (Irresistible Grace). He keeps on loving you, all the way through to the end (Perseverance of the Saints). That's the Five Points of your Father's love!"

Unconditional Love

I was faced with real ugliness in my heart tonight. Talitha, my roommate, allowed me to talk, cry and process. As Talitha prayed I realized I didn't want to pray to my Father because I felt so horrible. But wait... Jesus always sees my ugly heart. It's me who is blind to my dark heart. Grace is so undeserved and yet amazing. Why does our Father love us? Not because of who we are or what we do, that's for sure. The Gospel logic isn’t logical at all. But that’s the point, right? Thank you, Jesus!

Jesus I Am Resting, Resting

You can hear one of my favorite hymns at: http://www.purevolume.com/matthewsmithalliowe

Jesus I am resting, resting
In the Joy of what Thou art;
I am finding out the greatness
Of Thy loving heart.
Thou hast bid me gaze upon Thee,
And Thy beauty fills my soul,
For by Thy transforming power
Thou hast made me whole.

Chorus: Jesus, I am resting, resting
In the joy of what Thou art;
I am finding out the greatness
Of Thy loving heart.

O how great Thy loving kindness.
Vaster, broader than the sea!
O how marvellous Thy goodness,
Lavished all on me!
Yes, I rest in Thee, Beloved,
Know Thy certainty of promise,
And have made it mine.

Simply trusting Thee, Lord Jesus,
I behold Thee as Thou art,
And Thy love, so pure, so changeless,
Satisfies my heart;
Satisfies its deepest longings,
Meets supplies its every need,
Compasseth me round with blessings;
Thine is love indeed!

Ever lift Thy face upon me,
As I work and wait for Thee;
Resting 'neath Thy smile, Lord Jesus,
Earth's dark shadows flee.
Brightness of my Father's glory,
Sunshine of my Father's face,
Keep me ever trusting, resting;
Fill me with Thy grace.

Discovering Jackson Pollock

David Letterman recently had an older woman on his show who believed she had an original Jackson Pollock painting. If it's a true Pollock, it's worth a lot of money. I enjoy art but didn't know much about Pollock. I "googled"him and found out he was an American, abstract impressionist who lived from 1912 to 1956. There's this great website that allows you to paint in a Jackson Pollock- manner. Go to this link and then drag your mouse over the screen. A double click changes the paint color. Have fun! http://www.jacksonpollock.org/

The Philadelphia Art Museum has his "Male and Female" painted in 1942.

Two weddings in one day...

Megan, Liz & me at Trippy & Lisa's wedding

Emily, Megan, Susan, me & Christian at Susan & Justin's wedding

Peter Gay, me & Megan at Susan's wedding

1998 Toyota Camry- with a sunroof!!!

Praise God for providing the perfect car for me. It was a HUGE added blessing to have my mom in town the weekend that I went to look at this car. I sent out a prayer request to over 150 people on the 16th, looked at this car on the 21st, made an offer that night and picked up the car on the 23rd. Just in case you don't realize it- the 23rd is exactly a week after I asked for prayer. God doesn't always work such an amazing deal out so quickly. I'm glad He did though because my car has stalled on me at least 5 times in the last week. God is faithful to His daughter!

My roommate, Talitha, introduced me to a crazy website full of random quizzes. I took the "What Kind of Intelligence do You have" quiz. (http://www.blogthings.com/whatkindofintelligencedoyouhavequiz/) Here's the result. I think it's pretty accurate...

Your Dominant Intelligence is Interpersonal Intelligence You shine in your ability to realate to and understand others. Good at seeing others' points of view, you get how people think and feel. You have an uncanny ability to sense true feelings, intentions, and motivations. A natural born leader, you are great at teaching and mediating conflict. You would make a good counselor, salesperson, politician, or business person.

God, enter into our joy and pain with us. Show us we're your sons and daughters who can climb up into your lap and be loved and accepted completely by You. This is my prayer today.

Netflix has allowed me to expand my movie watching. I never would have put the three following in my queue if it wasn't for friends recommending them to me.

The Lost City (Peter Gay)
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0343996/

The Chorus (KJ Macha)
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0372824/

Ellen DeGeneres: Here and Now (Janine Anderson)
http://movies2.nytimes.com/gst/movies/movie.html?v_id=289407

A Lazy Sunday Afternoon

After church today I headed downtown. The weather was perfect- 80 degrees, the sun was shining and there was a slight breeze. I parked on at Boathouse Row (see left picture), grabbed my 1970's yellow-flowered blanket and found a grassy spot in the sun. I read Girl Meets God in-between dozing on and off.

Bethany and Rachel joined me two hours later. We rested on my blanket for a while and then Rachel and I checked out the waterworks (http://www.fairmountwaterworks.org/) and walked up to the art museum. The girls left soon after to take Rachel to the airport.

Bethany, Rachel, Monica

I put on my running shoes and went for a nice long run/ walk downtown. I ran from Boathouse row, past the art museum, up the steps (like Rocky) and down the Ben Franklin Parkway, around Love Park (http://philadelphia.citysearch.com/review/11568924) and back to my car at Boathouse row. The weather couldn't have been better for a run and my shins felt fine. I felt God's presence with me as I ran. The joy in my heart could only come from my heavenly Father.

The Philly art museum became famous after Sylvester Stallone ran up these steps in Rocky

Logan Circle with City Hall in the background

9-11

Everything in my being fights against death. It’s so unnatural. It makes me so uncomfortable. I hate death. God, enter into this uncomfortableness with our family today. I Corinthians 15:54 Death has been swallowed up in victory. Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting? Amen and amen.

My grandpa Linde has gone to be with the Lord. He had a stroke about two weeks ago that left him paralyzed on the left side. Thankfully his mind was still strong and he recognized my aunt and grandma. Over the last two weeks his circulatory system had weakened and he caught pneumonia and a slight bladder infection. He had a heart attack this past Wednesday morning and never regained consciousness. His heart stopped beating around 3:00pm that same day. God allowed him to live to be 85 years old before calling him to his heavenly home.

Please pray for my Grandma, Gladys; Dad, Orin; Aunt Marlys and Uncle Wayne as they mourn the loss of my grandpa, Lawrence Linde. Please pray for the whole Linde family as we gather these next few days to mourn the loss of a gentle, godly man yet rejoice that he has been set free from earthly pain and is worshiping our Savior face to face. Please pray that the funeral on Monday at 11:00am will point us all to Jesus and will bring praise to the Father. Thank you in advance for your prayers.

God's already answered my prayer these past two weeks... that He would take my grandpa quickly or allow him to get well enough to move back to the apartment with my grandma and not need to go into a nursing home. The reality was he probably wasn't going to get well enough to move home so the Lord was gracious to take him quickly.

The pictures I attached were taken this past July when I was in Minnesota visiting my grandparents. We had sweet times together and made more memories. I'm so thankful I was able to see him so recently.

Rock of Ages is one my favorite hymns. This is the last verse: While I draw this fleeting breath, When mine eyes shall close in death, When I soar to worlds unknown, See Thee on Thy judgment throne, Rock of Ages, cleft for me, Let me hide myself in Thee.

315 Easton Road is now full...

Talitha Brauer moved in a week ago. It's nice to have the house complete. Leah, her 22 month old son (Jonah), Talitha and I are are getting settled in together. Art and English were Talitha's majors at Hillsdale College (http://www.hillsdale.edu/) so we now have lots of great art around the house.

Parking Ticket in Manayunk, PA

Bethany and I are working out of the office today in a cute part of Philadelphia called Manayunk. We had breakfast at LeBus (http://www.lebusmanayunk.com/) and are now at a coffee shop called Bucks Country Coffee Co. (http://www.buckscountycoffee.com/). The weather is so beautiful- it's the perfect day to work off site.

We were watching the meter closely for this whole morning. Bethany went to the car to put in a quarter and there was a parking ticket for $20.00 on my windshield. We probably had missed it by a matter of 2 minutes. Bummer.

My friend, Meg, is serving in East Africa. Her latest newsletter quoted the words that have been in my head and heart recently.

“Why is it that I think I must get somewhere, assume some position, be gathered together, or separated apart in the quiet of my study to pray? What is it that I feel that I have to go somewhere or do some particular act to find you, reach you, and talk with you? Your presence is here- in the city- on the busy bus- in the waiting room; in the home- at dinner, in the bedroom, in the family room, in the car in the parking lot, at the stoplight. Lord, reveal your presence to me everywhere, and help me become more aware of your presence each moment of the day. May your presence fill the non-answers, empty glances and lonely times of my life. Amen" -Robert Wood A Thirty-Day Experiment in Prayer

Meg then reflected, "I used to feel guilty about the fact that I so often doubt God’s presence and power but I’m beginning to realize that I need not fear my doubt. If there was no doubt there would be no need for faith.” These words ministered to me and I hope they do the same for you.

(This picture is of the Schuylkill River in and the Philadelphia Zoo hot air balloon.)

06/07 MOB Planning Meeting

Yesterday we had our annual planning meeting at Chestnut Hill Coffee Company. We did some dreaming for our department for the next year as well as some tangible planning. Our meeting was great but I'm tiered today. It's draining to be thinking creatively for hours. My brain is more tangible, linear and practical. I'm ready to tackle our action items but fellow team members, Matthew and Dan, would have loved to continue to think of how we can improve our department. Our department has a good mix of personalities that work together well. If we didn't have the dreamers the tangible people wouldn't be able to make the dreams a reality.

I went to Liberti Church (http://www.liberti.org/) today with Bethany and Janine. Steve Huber preached an excellent sermon on fear. I felt like he was preaching to an audience of one... me. The rest of this entry is taken from my sermon notes- I hope they make sense and bless you as they did me.

Five things about Fear

1. Fear can cause sin
-The text was Genesis 20. Abraham pretended that Sarah was his sister because he was afraid of the king.
-Being a workaholic & being lazy are both sins. There is fear in failing so we work too hard or because we fear failing we don’t try at all.

2. Fear is close to worship
-What we fear is what we will worship. I want people to approve of me and I work hard to protect my reputation. These are two idols in my life.
-If we fear God we will worship Him. Check out Psalm 130:3-6 & 111:10

3. What we fear shapes us
-I won’t be able to truly love people if I fear what they think of me.
-Isaiah 51:12&13 “I, even I, am he who comforts you. Who are you that you fear mortal men, the sons of men, who are but grass, that you forget the LORD your Maker, who stretched out the heavens and laid the foundations of the earth, that you live in constant terror every day because of the wrath of the oppressor, who is bent on destruction? For where is the wrath of the oppressor?”
-What if we fear God & let him mold us? We would find real joy, real love and real peace
-God blessed Abraham in spite of his fears.

4. To heal our fear we must look to God & His love
-Are we ready for great liberation?
-We must look to Jesus, who died for us & rose again.
-We must look at our fears in the reality & in the face of Jesus.

5. God wants us to grow by meditating on His promises
-Let God speak to us in his word
-We often don't do what we should with God's promises. For example: Steve gave his 2 year old daughter a beautiful pearl necklace, worth about $20. She thanked her dad for it but didn't realize the value of the bracelet. She lost it 5 minutes later. This is how we treat God’s promises. We thank Him for them but then loose sight of them soon after.
-We will always find what we look for the hardest. If we want to be bitter or judgmental, we will find material. Look for God’s promises and they will be found.

"Isn't life rich when you're thrown into the tornado of God's glory?? "
Grace Haymes (wise friend from Philly)

You Tube is new to me so a few days ago I tried to upload a video. Check it out. The one I really want to put online is the one that Peter beat me really bad in arm wrestling. It's too long so I need to figure out how to shorten the video.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jqx6GdjMoI8

Caught in the rain

I landed in Minneapolis, MN and was greeted by the Linde Family. After a good dinner we met up with my grandpa and his wife, Jeanne. We all walked across the Mississippi River on a historic bridge. The clouds were looking a bit dark but we didn't it would start to rain right away. Boy! Were we wrong. Large drops started to fall every few seconds until it was raining very hard! My mom, sisters and I didn't see the point of running off the bridge so we squealed as we got soaked to the bone.

We all crowded under a large tree while the men went to get the cars. What an adventure!

A Butterfly Experience that Makes Me Smile... Daily

Without sunlight my toenails are silver and as soon as they get sunlight they change to a bright pink. It's like magic- I love it! I don't know why but I smile everytime I watch them change color.

If you'd like your own color-changing nail polish you can order some at http://www.delsolsandiego.com/nailpolish18.html

Pictured: Swaminarayan Mandir is the first traditional Hindu Mandir in Europe. Visiting this temple was the first outing the WHM team took us to last summer.

We prayed for LEAP (London Evangelism And Prayer week) in our Tuesday prayer time this morning. It was this time last year that I was at LEAP. It’s amazing to see where I am now... working at the sending center at World Harvest. My experience at LEAP is the main reason I’m here. God weaves the tapestry of our lives. What a comfort. To read more about LEAP check out this link: http://www.whm.org/conferences/leap.html

Young Lives
I've started to volunteer with Young Lives. This is a a branch of of Young Life. I'm in training to be a mentor to a teenage mom in Philly. The mentors and moms meet once a month for club where we eat dinner, play games, have a Bible and parenting lesson. Once a month the mentors meet with the Young Lives leader for training. In addition to these meetings, mentors meet with their moms once a week. Last week I was matched up with a teenage mom. Latosha is 17 years old and graduated from high school in June. Her son, Terrell, was born the beginning of May 2006. I'm excited to spend time with them but I also feel the weight of responsibility. God's entrusted me with the opportunity to be her friend and in time, speak into her life. Please pray for us if you think of it. Thanks. http://www.younglife.org/Pages/YoungLives.htm

Don't Mess with Texas!

My cousin, Ashley Anderson, graduated from Regents (http://www.regentsschool.com/) High School in Austin, Texas. Christie and I flew to Texas a few days ago to celebrate in the joyous occation. Our grandparents and Aunt Ginger and Uncle Dan also flew down.

Left to right: Kirsten & Ashley Anderson and Monica & Christie Linde pose for a post- graduation picture. We miss you, Sara! Wish you could be here with us.

WHM Family taken in Greece

Ponderings from Greece...

"My people have committed two sins: They have forsaken me, the spring of living water, and have dug their own cisterns, broken cisterns that cannot hold water." Jeremiah 2:13. This verse really spoke to my heart in Greece as I strived to work & minister out of a broken cistern. I try so hard to do life from a broken cistern and truly believe it will hold water. I have such a hard head! Lord, teach us that only your cistern will hold water- not only water but living water.

Christy and I testing the Greece cuisine. Christy is trying an anchovy and I'm trying some kind of crawfish. Not bad at all, actually they were quite tasty.

Last night three girls and I went dancing downtown Philly. Bethany (in the picture) is my friend at WHM that I've mentioned before on my blog. We had a lot of fun together even though drinks started at $8. Expensive!!! I love living in the suburbs and then being able to stay with Bethany for a weekend of "city life."

The Haymes Family has become one of my adopted families in Philly. I sat down with them at church this morning and Bob said, "Welcome home." I looked at him and realized Philadelphia is home. As I drove around Center City this afternoon I was proud of my new city. It's good to be home.

Jet lag hit me really hard this overseas trip. The fact that a few of us stayed up all night the night before we left Greece probably didn't help. I was up for 48 hours straight. When I finally was able to sleep at my home in Philly I slept for 22 hours. I woke up and was all discombobulated. I felt like I was on drugs. (I don't have any experience to know what that feels like; I'm just guessing what it feels like.) I was up for 2 hours to eat some food and take a walk and then I went back to bed for another 9 hours. Crazy. My body was fighting some kind of sickness as well so that should factor into the equation. Well, I think I'm over jet lag now. Praise the Lord.

Mars Hill

Mars Hill is the location in Athens where Paul preached his famous sermon about the alter to the Unknown God found in Acts 17. I got goose-bumps as we read the passage aloud from the same place Paul stood thousands of years ago.

Kim, on the left, Kimiko, on the right are WHM missionaries who I became good friends with during the retreat in Greece. Click on the link below to read Paul's sermon to the men of Athens.
http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=acts%2017:15-33;&version=31

World Harvest rolled out our new mission and vision statements at the retreat. Rewriting our mission and vision statements has been a long process involving members of the board, sending center and leadership team, field directors, team leaders and missionaries. The statements came alive in Greece as the missionaries really grabbed on to them. As a mission we were united as we agreed that these statements describe what we do in our jobs and what we continue to strive towards. These statements aren't abstract but very tangible.

World Harvest Mission is a missions sending agency that has over 140 missionaries in 13 countries. We believe the motive and power for mission is the gospel of grace at work in the life of a believer. We are guided by the following mission, vision and values…

Mission Statement: Laying down our lives to proclaim the Kingdom of Jesus Christ through preaching, healing and equipping.

Vision Statement: Movements of churches empowered by grace for the world’s good and God’s glory.

Greece Sunset

I've done a lot of thinking since I returned from Greece. My mind is swirling from places I saw, missionaries I talked to, worship experience, prayer times and the emotions of reentering the USA. I'm going to post a series of details about Greece in the next few days.

Today's post is some ramblings of mine that I shared with a friend in an email yesterday. God wants us to enter the mess of life with us. I strive so hard to get my ducks in a row and to figure out my life. I think I'll have more people over when I'm in my new house; I'll start to run again when I have a running partner; I'll have my quiet time with the Lord when I know I can spend a large amount of time with Him, the list goes on and on. Our father doesn't care that we don't have our ducks in a row. He loves me right now- "Monica, who's not in control." He takes my bundle of mess and loves me. Yes, God continues to sanctify us but he loves us amidst the mess. That blows my mind!!! I'm thankful for the God we serve even though his actions towards us don't make sense.

Some of my pictures from Greece are posted on this link. I will post more pictures on flickr as I go through the 400 pictures I have on my camera. http://www.flickr.com/photos/monicatulip/

HANDLE’S Messiah at 10^th Presbyterian Church

Some of my new friends and I went to a concert at 10^th Presbyterian Church downtown Philly on Good Friday. Their choir and orchestra performed part two and three of Fredrick Handel’s Messiah. The concert was absolutely wonderful. All the musicians were in the balcony. My friends and I sat on the side balcony so we could see their faces and hear the music well.

I love that all the words Handle used came directly from the Bible. You’re bathed in Scripture as you listen to the Messiah. My favorite part of the Messiah is “oh death where is thy sting, where is your victory?” Praise God for the Resurrection!

Coffee's my best friend today...

It was a 14 hour drive from Chattanooga to Glenside, PA. Bethany and I did it in one day. Crazy. The weather was perfect, the scenery was beautiful and the time flew. Even after 13 hours of sleep last night I still needed 4 cups of coffee so far today to make it.

The MOB (mobilization) team goes to VA for an intern retreat

Below left to right: Bethany (I wrote about her a few posts ago), me, Heather (recruiter for MOB), Dan (senior recruiter of MOB), Matthew (recruiter for MOB)

The MOB team from World Harvest met the WHM summer interns in Virginia for a weekend of praise and worship, sharing, eating around the fireplace and playing team building games. WHM is sending about 30 interns to various countries this summer for two months. Below are the interns that were able to come to a retreat. It was so much fun to get to know these college students who have a heart for the Lord and are exploring missions.

They will be heading to countries such as Uganda, England, Ireland, Prague and Romania. To read more about the internships go to

During one of our times of praise and worship...


This was a team building trust game we played outside in the snow...


The cabin we stayed in was on top of a mountain overlooking this beautiful valley...

50 “United” States?

Getting your driver's license and new car plate is always an adventure when you move to a new state. My experience was no different. I thought I had done excellent research before going to the Pennsylvania DMV but I soon learned I was wrong. I drove at least 25 minutes one way to be told I was missing some pertinent information.

On my way back to Glenside, PA I contemplated these “United” States of America. The 50 states are united in so many ways but when it comes the DMV, our country functions as 50 separate states. I’m not sure why the Pennsylvania DMV wasn’t able to take my valid, up-to-date Georgia driver's license and transfer it to Pennsylvania without having to prove my U.S. citizenship. Does anyone have any answers as to why the DMV is such a challenge?

At least the PA license plates are good looking: http://www.dot4.state.pa.us/license_plates/index.shtml

My birthday weekend started with hanging out with Bethany and some of her friends from church. Some background on Bethany: she is a friend and co-worker and lives downtown Philly. Bethany returned from Uganda a few months ago. She works at the Sending Center of World Harvest Mission (WHM) and is also going to Westminster for her counseling degree.

One of the first things Bethany did when she moved to Philly was pierce her nose. She says it was an outward sign that symbolized all the other kinds of changes going on in her life. I resonated with what she said and had been thinking about piercing my nose for a while. When we were downtown during my birthday weekend she asked if I wanted to pierce my nose and I said “sure.”

Now those of you who are shocked that I did this don’t worry I did think about it for a few hours while we were shopping on South Street. It was late in the afternoon that we went to the body piercing store. The place I went was a very clean, sterile place. The procedure was painful but I think it was more uncomfortable to have watering eyes for the minutes following the procedure.

To complete the “Philly Monica” I bought an outfit, including cool shoes, which were outside my typical style. Nothing too wild, just not the “Banana Republic- Ann Taylor Monica”. Since Philly is a new place for me it’s been freeing to think I could change my physical appearance and no one would know the difference. Don’t worry, I’m not going extreme- just experimenting a bit.

This picture was taken the afternoon I dropped my parents off at the Glenside train station after a weekend of moving me in to my new home

We'll, I've joined the world of blogging!!! This is going to be a new adventure that I'm sure will prove itself to be enjoyable.

When you have a blog there seems to be pressure to be creative and thought-provoking in your postings. (At least I feel this way because so many of my friends who have blogs are very creative) I will do my best to succeed in this challenge.