by Emily Howsden | Apr 10, 2017
In case you haven’t heard, today is National Sibling Day. I don’t generally participate in all of the Facebook holidays, as I like to call them, but today I think I will participate because I am crazy about my siblings!
I am the youngest of a bunch of kids who are now adults. There are six of us for those who like to count. Three boys and three girls. Not quite the Von Trapp family, but more than the Cleavers.
Here we go in age order: Jared (top left) – 35; Daniel (top right) – 32; Grace (middle left) – 30; Joel (middle right)– 27; Abby (bottom right) – 24; Emily (Me, bottom left) – 24. (Yes you read that right, I have a twin sister who is eight minutes older than me, no we are not identical.)
Growing up with so many siblings has shaped the person I am today. I consider myself extremely blessed and fortunate to be able to have grown up with all five of them. They are all my built-in friends for life, and I don’t know what more I could ask for than our big, loud and crazy family.
Let me introduce you in the shortest way possible to each of them.
First, there is Jared. Jared is a war veteran, having served in the Middle East, protecting our country and standing up for the rights of us as Americans and fighting for others to have those rights. He is a hero and a father to creative Chase and Colt the firecracker. He is an exceptional husband to my amazing sister-in-law Jennifer and a darn hard worker. I could go on. But I’ll stop there.
Next on the roll call is Daniel. Daniel is a scholar and voice for the voiceless. He is a middle school principle at Tulsa School of Arts and Sciences where he excels at leading and teaching the future of our great country. He is a passionate husband to another incredible sister-in-law, Amanda, and father to sweet little Adrian. I could go on. But I’ll stop there.
Grace, the oldest girl of the bunch is next. Grace is one of my role models in life and best friend. She is married to my super creative brother-in-law Nathan, and the mother to rambunctious Roman and Charlotte the cutie. Watching her be a mother and work a job she is passionate about (elementary music teacher) while giving her children all the love in the world gives me hope for my future as a professional woman and mother! I could go on. But I’ll stop there.
Joel is the youngest of the boys. Joel keeps us all laughing. He is passionate about anything that he does, whether that is watching and commentating on sports, especially when OU is involved, playing a game during family game night or loving his family and girlfriend Kelli. Joel does all things full speed ahead. He is also a cancer survivor and one of the strongest people I know. I could go on. But I’ll stop there.
Abby. She is my twin and built-in best friend for life. She was born eight minutes before me but has always been my second mother. Being a twin has been one of the biggest blessings in my life. Abby has been my rock and all of the above for the past 24 years. She is married to my awesome brother-in-law Caleb and mommy to Theodore, my precious nephew. She also makes the best peanut butter and jelly sandwich, ever. I could go on. But I’ll stop there.
Obviously, I can’t begin to adequately describe all of these people and how special each one of them is to me in a couple of sentences. I could write a book about the things I admire and love about each of them and still have more to say.
With this many people and differing personalities, there is friction at times. But what’s important is each one of us were raised to know the love of our Lord and Savior, and for that we have our parents to thank. Don’t get me started on how obsessed I am with them…that’s for another day.
The Lord is the constant in all of us. He is our glue, he is our rock and he is who made each one of us to be the person we are today. He knit us all together in our mother’s womb.
It’s Holy Week, which means on Sunday, we will celebrate the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Because he went to the cross for each of my brother and sisters’ sins, we are not only biological brothers and sisters, but we are brothers and sisters in Christ, which is the closest and most precious sibling relationship the world has ever known.
If you don’t have any biological siblings this National Sibling Day, know that you have a body of believers that are your Heavenly brothers and sisters, and we have one thing in common: we all praise our faithful and loving heavenly Father.
by Emily Howsden | Apr 3, 2017
All too often, college-age people, whether in college or not, can be forgotten in the church.
I’m jumping right into this topic. It is a topic I am passionate about for many reasons. First, I’ve been there and done that as a college student. Second, my husband is a college pastor, and I take his call to ministry and supporting and serving alongside him seriously. Third, no one age group should be left out of the church or not prioritize the importance attending a church.
I recently read an article that said, “Saying you like Jesus but hate the church is like saying you like your best friend but can’t stand to spend time around them.” Too often, college age students say this about the church as a cop out. I’m here to say why loving the Lord and his people, the church, and attending the church is an integral part of your relationship with Christ.
At this season in life, young adults are faced with making decisions that will affect the rest of their lives. This is a time that the Lord is needed in every aspect of their lives. To lean on, to pray to, to seek for guidance, to seek for comfort, should I go on? He does it all.
This is why finding a church home while in college, as well as some sort of on-campus ministry, is of the utmost importance.
Some students struggle with the feeling that they are cheating on their home church if they start going to a new church in their college town. This couldn’t be more wrong! I did this, myself, for a little while, and often times, making the 45-minute drive to church didn’t happen, as I first intended. So, not finding a local church resulted in me just not going to church on Sundays. Honestly, I was just being lazy and fearful of the unknown.
I urge any and all students reading to get connected in a church body that you can truly make your new home away from home. That doesn’t mean anything bad about your home church; it just means you need a local body of believers to encourage you, miss you if you don’t make it one week and just walk alongside on your journey with Christ.
I will be the first to tell you that on-campus ministries are paramount in your walk with Christ throughout your college years. Baptist Collegiate Ministries was a big part of my time at school, and I look back fondly on those days because of the friends made and growing I did as a Christ follower through the BCM.
You see, college is a liberating time in your life. Things in life that haven’t been available to you before are now there for the taking or to experience. This is why you MUST surround yourself with positive people who will uplift you, make you better and ultimately draw you closer to the Lord.
If you don’t choose wisely, you can find yourself in sticky situations. I know how hard or lonely it can be sometimes to be a Christ follower in a university setting.
So, find a ministry on campus, make friends and spend all kinds of time rejoicing in the wonderful relationships with which the Lord will bless you. Then, you won’t be lonely, and you won’t be alone in your beliefs.
Next, find a church home that you can regularly attend.
Once you find church home, start to serve. As a body of believers, the job of the church is not to serve you. It is so you can serve others and grow together as we go out and disciple others. So whether serving at your new church home looks like holding sweet babies in the nursery, or singing on the worship team, get involved.
The more involved you are, the more people you will know. And, after a while, you’ll begin to find yourself at home away from home. You’ll find comfort in knowing the same smiling faces will be there week after week, and they expect you to be there too!
It might be hard, and you might not find the church for you right away. Stay the course. Allow the Lord to guide you through prayer and an open heart. Whatever church you find will not be perfect. It will be a body of imperfect people, with one thing in common, we serve a perfect Lord. I guarantee you, you won’t regret taking this pivotal step in your relationship with Christ.
by Emily Howsden | Mar 27, 2017
It is early springtime in Oklahoma, and I can’t contain how excited I am for warmer and longer days — summertime!
However, summertime doesn’t mean what it used to mean in my adolescence. As a child, summertime was a three month vacation.
There were no school projects to worry about; I could sleep as late as I wanted and stay up later in the evenings. I spent most of my days outside enjoying the freedom and sunshine.
My siblings and I spent most of our time in the summer in our pool, swimming until we could swim no longer. Followed by jumping on the trampoline to dry off (per our mom’s request). We also took more bike rides than I can now count, all over our small town, pretending we were some sort of world travelers.
We climbed trees, played in streams, it was a great and simple time. Now, I spend my days in an office during the summer doing a job that I love. It’s a different time in my life that makes me greatly appreciate the care-free childhood I spent outdoors.
Thinking back on summertime makes me want to scream from the mountaintops to children today to get outside and experience the great outdoors.
I have gotten progressively worse at this myself. Now I spend my time in the air conditioning, watching television or lounging around rather than getting outside and taking advantage of what the Lord has blessed us with.
Lately, as the weather has gotten progressively more tolerable, I’ve been feeling convicted by this thought. So I have been running in the evenings after work (thanks to daylight savings time, HALLELUJAH).
I have seen the children in my neighborhood out playing in the streets with their friends, balls in hand or at their feet, riding their bikes through the streets, breathing in the fresh spring air.
It has been incredibly encouraging to see. Sometimes, even I get caught up thinking about how “kids today need to get outside rather than sitting inside with their technology,” but I don’t hold myself to the same standard.
So rather than pointing at generations younger than myself and accusing them of things I don’t know to be true, I laced up my running shoes and took off!
Just a run through the neighborhood after work has 1. Pushed me to stay off of my phone or not turn the television on in the evenings and get outside. 2. By exercising, my body releases endorphins which makes me feel better about myself. Sometimes at the end of the work day you just need a little pick me up, am I right? 3. It challenges me. I have been a competitive athlete for most of my life, until I graduated college and that all stopped. So here I am with my competitive spirit, longing for a challenge or some sort of activity, and I haven’t been feeding that. While running isn’t the team sport I’m used to, I race myself nightly to beat my previous time.
As warmer weather quickly approaches, I challenge you to pick up an outside hobby and run with it (see what I did there). I have never in my life enjoyed running, until now. Maybe for you it could be gardening, or just sitting on the back porch reading a good book.
Whatever the activity, enjoy your time spent in the Lord’s wonderful creation!
by Emily Howsden | Mar 20, 2017
I think we can all agree that a collective sigh of relief happened across our great country today with the coming of the first day of spring.
The winter we had here in Oklahoma wasn’t a particularly awful one, but after months of the sun going down at 5 p.m., I am ready for sunshine. My preacher mentioned yesterday from the pulpit, Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD) saying that it is a scientific fact that Ultraviolet rays release endorphins in sunny months that simply aren’t released in winter months.
To that I say, “Bring on the sunshine, Lord!” (it’s currently 89 degrees and sunny, praise the Lord!)
However, more than the return of sunshine, my absolute favorite part of spring is Easter. I don’t mean the Easter bunny, chocolate-covered secular holiday. I’m talking about the resurrection of the King!
To some, Easter is the one Sunday a year that the family attends church, mostly centered on the perfect Easter dress, a family brunch and then of course, the Americanization of the Holy celebration, the Easter Bunny and all that comes with it.
It is so much more than that, friends. It is the time where the only perfect person to walk on Earth took up his cross, willingly endured gruesome torture and gave his life so that someday, we, a sinful and despicable people, could join him in Paradise.
One of my absolute favorite songs lately that I think does great justice to the reverence of the resurrection is the song “What a Beautiful Name.” Here is my favorite part of the song that makes me feel downright charismatic:
Death could not hold You, the veil tore before You
You silenced the boast, of sin and grave
The heavens are roaring, the praise of Your glory
For You are raised to life again
You have no rival, You have no equal
Now and forever, Our God reigns
Yours is the Kingdom, Yours is the glory
Yours is the Name, above all names
You see, brother or sister, there is nothing that He cannot conquer. He has conquered the unconquerable, death itself. “They found the stone rolled away from the tomb, but when they entered, they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus” (Luke 24:2-3).
In these weeks leading up to Easter, I encourage you to think about whom you can or will bring to church with you. Palm Sunday, the Sunday proceeding Easter Sunday, is an excellent time to introduce a friend to church without overwhelming them.
Palm Sunday is the day to celebrate the Hosanna! Hosanna! Hosanna in the highest! “The crowds that went ahead of him and those that followed shouted, ‘Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest heaven!'” (Matt. 21:9)
I say all of this not to chastise any who celebrate Easter with an Easter egg hunt or celebrate with chocolate. Both of those things are good, clean fun.
I do say it to get you excited as a believer for the Super Bowl of all Christian holidays! (Yes I believe the holiday is even more important that Christmas)!
Now, go and grab some close friends, shine your best shoes and head to church this Easter Sunday to celebrate the resurrection of the High King!
by Emily Howsden | Mar 13, 2017
Spring Break is upon us which means many will take to the roads, skies and seas for a quick getaway from the daily grind.
Some may head to the mountains; others will make their way to the nearest ocean, and some may spend their time on a mission trip in a foreign environment from their own. One thing those who get to take a Spring Break trip all have in common is a time of rest.
I don’t know if this topic is heavy on my mind due to the loss of an hour of sleep over the weekend. My eyes do feel a little heavier this Monday afternoon, but I do know, especially as a ministry wife, that the Lord burdens my heart with the need to rest.
This is something all people neglect in today’s million miles a minute world. What we forget is, upon creating the world, one of the largest tasks ever, the Lord made time to rest, “God blessed the seventh day and declared it holy, for on it He rested from His work of creation” (Gen. 2:3).
When we neglect to rest, it becomes easier to lose sight of the importance of time with the Lord and to be distracted by the enemy and all of the things he throws at us.
“Remember to dedicate the Sabbath day: You are to labor six days and do all your work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the Lord your God…” (Exo. 20:8-10).
The Lord reiterates continuously throughout Scripture that we are to rest. The Sabbath is an integral part of resting. Not only are we to rest physically, but we are to rest in the Lord.
“I lie down and sleep; I wake again because the Lord sustains me. I am not afraid of the thousands of people who have taken their stand against me on every side” (Psalm 3:5-6).
It can become easy to be overwhelmed with all of our daily tasks.
For students, juggling classes, study time, a healthy lifestyle and relationships outside of school seems daunting and impossible for many. This is where it is imperative to lean on the Lord for strength and comfort.
For the mother, working or keeping children at home, making sure the house is clean, food is prepared and the kids are developing like they should and provided with all they need is often times overwhelming. To tell this mom to rest, she may laugh and tell you to get real. This, again, is where the Lord comes in.
To the pastor, who gives and gives over and again his time, his emotions and all of the above to his ministry, it is equally important for him to rest, and to rest in the Lord.
“He makes me lie down in green pastures, He leads me beside quiet waters. He renews my life He leads me along the right paths for His name’s sake” (Psalm 23:2-3).
The Lord knows we need rest. Following after Him takes work; it takes dedication, then add in the stresses of the sinful world, rest is imperative.
I spent most of my spring breaks on mission trips to urban areas, often feeling burdened and weary after seeing all the work that needed to be done in such little time. However, when I brought those feelings to the Lord, I found rest in knowing He was pleased with my heart while serving.
So whether you are resting away on a beach somewhere, on a snowy mountain, at home with the family or serving Him in a foreign city or country, I hope that this week you intentionally seek the rest we need and are so often reminded of in His Word.