A Starry Crown

“Everyone they have been the means of saving, adds stars to their crown in glory, and increases their eternal reward.” 1T 197

“It is their privilege to have stars in their crown because of souls saved through their instrumentality.” 3T 94

“There will be no one saved in heaven with a starless crown. If you enter, there will be some soul in the courts of glory that has found an entrance there through your instrumentality.” ST June 6, 1892.

I vividly remember as a young child my parents telling me that when we get to heaven, each of us will have a crown. Some crowns would be heavy with stars and jewels while others would have just a few. They went on to explain that these stars represented each of the people we had brought to Jesus. I always thought, “Wow! I want a crown heavy with stars! I want lots and lots of them! I want it to have so many that it glistens brightly in the sunshine.” It might sound like a prideful wish from a little child. After all, it seems very “unheavenlike” to go around showing others all your stars and how many people you had won to Jesus. But it wasn’t the pride and glamour that was going through my head. I guess I just couldn’t bear the thought of getting to heaven and when looking at my crown with few or no stars realize that I had done so little for Christ and His kingdom. I couldn’t imagine what it would be like to have to tell Christ that I never shared His love with anyone, that I never shared with others what He meant to me, and that I had never brought someone to know Him. How could I really enjoy heaven to its fullest when I realized that though I had gotten there myself, I had brought no one with me? I resolved in my mind that in light of all that He had done for me, I wanted to do something for Him and the least I could do was to tell someone else about Him. But I didn’t know where to begin. Of course, I could witness in my own childish way, but I wanted to do something bigger and better. I wanted to be able to see that I had made a difference in someone’s life.

As I grew older, the thought of wanting to win someone to Christ never left my mind. I remember when my sister began doing Bible work and told me that the absolute best experience one could ever have was seeing someone you had studied the Bible with and prayed for make the stand to follow Christ is baptism. Oh, how I wanted that, but being rather timid of meeting strangers, feeling that I didn’t have the talents and skills of some, and realizing I didn’t always know the “right thing” to say, I wondered if I would ever be able to experience that childhood dream.

As most of you know, after graduating from college, I went to ARISE to attend their 3 ½ month Bible worker training program. I was determined in my mind that I wanted to be used by Christ to win souls—even if it was just one—to Christ. It wasn’t easy knocking on stranger’s doors. I realized that I didn’t always have the “right things” to say and I often wished I had the knowledge and skills of others. But I was determined to use whatever talents and gifts God had given me to His glory for the salvation of souls. The results? Well, they would just be up to God.

After the 3 ½ month course, I stayed on for a year to continue doing Bible work. Throughout the year, God led me to study with so many wonderful people. I began seeing that while not everyone was at the point in their life to make the full surrender to Christ in baptism, the little decisions along the way were just as important and were what was needed for that larger step. With many of my contacts, I saw those little steps that daily reminded me that God was working and that as long as I continued to allow God to use me, then He would bring about the results. But in the back of mind, I still had that childish dream—I wanted to see one soul make that full surrender to Christ in baptism. But that was something only God could do. I would just have to be patient.

In my last post, I wrote a lengthy section about Anne who I had been studying with over the past year. While I didn’t know it at the time, Anne would be the answer to my longtime, childish dream. She was the soul God had in mind to be the first star in my crown. I can honestly take no credit for what God did in her life. It was all Him that did it. The only thing I did was allow Christ to use me. Oh, what an awesome privilege.

One week ago today, I went back to Troy to experience Anne’s baptism. As can be expected, the devil was mad and did what he could to prevent her baptism. Anne’s husband Jay had been struggling at first with her decision for baptism. We postponed her baptism a couple of months to give him time to accept her decision and support her in what she felt God was calling. God is good and Jay finally agreed for her to go through with it. He even agreed to support her by being there Sabbath morning. However, early that morning, he got seriously ill and had to check himself into the emergency room. When I got to church, Anne and her children where there in spite of all the morning’s events. Her faith was strong and she insisted that she was going through with her decision. We only prayed that Jay would be released from the hospital in time to make it back to her baptism. Miraculously, he showed up in time for it and was there to support her. God is amazing!

The baptism was beautiful…one of the most incredible ones I have experienced. The look on Anne’s face was radiant—one filled with peace and happiness. After her baptism she told me, “Autumn, this was one of the best days of my life. I will never forget this day. I cannot begin to describe to you what it felt like to be in that water. It was amazing!” And it was truly amazing —not just for her, but for me as well. The pastor asked me after the baptism what it felt like to see someone you had studied with and prayed for make that decision. I told him it was incredible, but also very humbling. I realize I am not the most qualified individual out there. I realize I make mistakes. I realize there is so much need of growth in my own personal walk with Christ. But in spite of all these limitations, God saw it fit to use me to share the love of Jesus with someone else. That indeed is humbling!

As I have been writing this whole account, my eyes are filled with tears—tears of happiness. My childhood dream of seeing just one person come to know Jesus as the result of God using little ol’ me has come true. But I guess the dream has not completely come true…I still want a crown that is packed full of stars. Not so that I can go around and show them off. Oh, no! It is because I realize that as Paul says, “I am debtor both to the Greeks, and to the barbarians; both to the wise, and to the unwise.” And as Mrs. White states, “To save souls should be the life work of every one who professes Christ. We are debtors to the world for the grace given us of God, for the light which has shone upon us, and for the discovered beauty and power of the truth.” Testimonies, vol. 4, p. 53. I owe it to the world to share the love of Jesus. I don’t want to get to heaven and realize I have done nothing for Christ for the salvation of souls. That would not be heaven! Instead, I want to be able to cast my crown, filled with stars and jewels, at Jesus’ feet, and exclaim, “Worthy, worthy, is the Lamb that was slain. You did all this for me. This was the least that I could do for you.”

In closing, I want to leave you with just a few quotes that have inspired me and challenged me to keep pressing forward in sharing Christ’s love with others.

“God could have reached His object in saving sinners without our aid; but in order for us to develop a character like Christ's, we must share in His work. In order to enter into His joy—the joy of seeing souls redeemed by His sacrifice—we must participate in His labors for their redemption.” —The Desire of Ages, p. 142.

“As His representatives among men, Christ does not choose angels who have never fallen, but human beings, men of like passions with those they seek to save. Christ took upon Himself humanity, that He might reach humanity. Divinity needed humanity; for it required both the divine and the human to bring salvation to the world. Divinity needed humanity, that humanity might afford a channel of communication between God and man.” —The Desire of Ages, p. 296.

“With almost impatient eagerness the angels wait for our co-operation; for man must be the channel to communicate with man. And when we give ourselves to Christ in whole-hearted devotion, angels rejoice that they may speak through our voices to reveal God's love.” —The Desire of Ages, p. 297.

“But those who live for God and heaven, pointing out the way of life to others, will find that the path of the just is as the shining light, that shineth more and more unto the perfect day. And they will hear by and by the welcome invitation, "Well done, thou good and faithful servant; enter thou into the joy of thy Lord." The joy of Christ was that of seeing souls saved in His glorious kingdom; and for this joy He "endured the cross, despising the shame." But soon "He shall see of the travail of His soul, and shall be satisfied." How happy will those be, who, having shared in His work, are permitted to share in His joy! —R. & H., June 23, 1885.

2006 in Review

It is hard to believe that 2006 is gone. It seems like it literally flew by. It was one filled with so many sweet memories. It will be one year I will never forget! After graduating from ARISE in December 2005, I agreed to join the Radiant Living team—a group of ARISE students that stayed in Troy to do Bible work for a year. Thinking I would start teaching in the fall of 2006, I intended to stay only through July. But when July came, I just couldn’t bear to leave. There were just too many drawing factors that enticed me to stay—wanting to continue studying with all the incredible individuals I met with on a weekly basis, anticipating the arrival of the new ARISE class that would come in the fall, wanting to be a part of the soon-to-be televised evangelistic meetings with David Asscherick and 3ABN—I just couldn’t say goodbye to it all. And so, I finished up the year there. I have absolutely no regrets! It was one of the best years of my life!

One major highlight of my year was the team that I lived with and worked with. Of the eight people on our team, five of us went through the ARISE program together the previous fall. It was really fun to come back together and work together for a year. I will always look fondly on the memories of our time with one another. We really became like family. We would pray together, cry together, study together, play together, encourage one another, challenge one another, and I guess like all families, we would occasionally annoy one another. But all that added to the bond that we feel with one another now. To say the least, I guess it is not surprising we had a crying session before we all parted. Here is a picture of the crew. Unfortunately, Sam is missing. He had to leave a day before the rest of us did.

The Gentlemen (l-r): Royce, Matt, Ezequiel, Dan

The Ladies: Chantelle, Sherise, and me


Another highlight of my time there included all the wonderful people I studied the Bible with. I felt so blessed every time I went to study the Bible with these people. Their dedication to God, their willingness to follow truth, their openness to follow what God revealed in his word was an inspiration to me in my own walk with Christ. One especially rich blessing for me was when one of them decided to make the step of baptism and give her life completely and fully to God. Let me just briefly recap the story…it still amazes me every time I tell it to see how God orchestrated the events.

I actually met Anne’s husband at the door in October 2005 during my studies at ARISE. He agreed to study the Bible indicating his wife would be very interested as well. Anne, having no idea her husband agreed to have studies with two complete strangers, was rather leery of us at our first meeting together. She drilled my partner and me with the all-so-familiar questions: who are you, who are you with, what is your purpose here, etc. But we soon built a strong friendship and began meeting together on a weekly basis to study the Bible. I was amazed at every study how Anne’s faith in the Bible began to grow and her desire to follow God became deeper and deeper. Due to her intense night work schedule as a paramedic, she was unable to attend the evangelistic meetings in the fall of 2005. We continued studying through 2006 and I kept hoping and praying that God would work something out for Anne to attend David’s meetings in the fall. God worked in an unusual and amazing way where Anne had to temporarily quit her job. Perfect, I thought, now she can come to the meetings! And come she did…missing only one or two nights from the whole series. As can be expected, some of the topics were very difficult for Anne to swallow. We sat together many late nights just going back to the Bible to answer the questions she had about what she was learning. But one thing Anne never wavered on—if the Bible said it, she would believe it no matter how difficult it was to accept. What faith! I was so encouraged every time we studied together! At the conclusion of the series, Anne told me she found what she had been looking for. She had never been happier in her life. In addition to her own growth in Christ, her two children loved the children’s meetings and began praying for the first time and singing Christian songs around the home. Anne was thrilled to see the impact the meetings made on her children as well. Anne has requested baptism and I plan to travel back to Troy in the next few months to experience her rebirth in Christ. I cannot express to you the joy of seeing someone make that decision for Christ. That is what made this past year all worth it!

Anne, Ben, Haley, and myself











After leaving Troy on Dec. 20, I came home and enjoyed a wonderful Christmas with my family. I love my family! Then on the 27th, we flew to GYC. It was a wonderful conference this year! I especially enjoyed Peter Gregory's morning worship talks and David Asscherick's evening devotionals. It was an incredible way to end a power packed, spirit-filled year. It was also a blessing to see friends from old times. Here are just a few photos of some of the people I saw there.

Claus and Theresa, two of my friends from Sweden









Staci, myself, Reuben (an ARISE 2006 graduate from Sweden), and Dan (Reuben's cousin from Norway)






Dan and I (one of my team mates over the past year). Am I short or what?















Staci, Melanie (one of my best friends from Andrews University days), and myself.















Joe and Shannon, the soon to be newly weds!






2007 and beyond
On January 2, I moved just west of Chicago to start teaching at Broadview Academy. Thankfully, the second semester doesn't start till the 17th, so it has given me about 2 weeks to lesson plan. I am so excited to see what this next year is going to bring. God worked it out that a whole team of Bible workers have come to work with Broadview Academy. In addition to teaching, I will also be working with the new team. God is so good! Now I can do both things I love--teach and do Bible work! I feel very blessed.

I would like to think I can keep you posted during the new year, but the internet access at Broadview is very frustrating!! Because of the proxy server for the campus, all blogsites are blocked when using the wireless internet. It's sometimes impossible to do anything on it. (While I am at my parent's home this weekend, I am taking advantage of their internet just so I can post something...) So if you don't hear from me in a while, that is most likely why. But I can check my email, so you can always send me a note. I would love it!

Well, I do pray that God blesses each of you in 2007. May it be a year of spiritual growth and deeper commitment to God and his work. Let's make sure we live the year in such a way that Jesus can come quickly!

Joining the club!

Hear ye, hear ye, everyone. I have the most amazing, incredible, hard to believe news to tell you! I have actually created a blogspot. No kidding!! After all these months and years of reading and enjoying all my friends' online sites, I have finally decided to join the club and allow my voice to be heard along with the others. You're probably thinking...miracle of miracles, why didn't she do it sooner!

Now the next miracle will be whether I actually post any blogs here! Yes, I know, it shouldn't take too much time to occasionally say hi and write a short something about what is happening in my life. But for those of you who know me well know that I am one horrible communicator! And for those of you who don't know me that well, my lack of communication is probably the very reason why you don't know me very well!

Ok, before I sound like a bad person, I must say something in my defense. Maybe it is just that my modes of communication are very limited. Let me review the list with you...

Snail mail, who ever heard of that?...
Email, what is that again?...
Telephone calls, few cell minutes available...
Text messaging, get charged for everyone...
Posting blogs, now that's a novel idea! Maybe I should try that!

So here it goes... my new mode of communication. Only time will tell if it is any more effective than my other modes. Just one word of caution: Don't hold your breath while this experiment is in progress! It may be hazardous to your health!

Well, I really should end this post here. I have business that I really should attend to (like always!!). So perhaps in my NEXT post, I will give you the long awaited update on what has been happening in my life! Until then, take care and God bless!