OUCH!

Do you ever read something and feel like you someone has stepped on your toes and rightly so? Here is a blog called the Treasure of Leftover Food. Every day I see people and sometimes goats going through the dumpster by our house looking for some treasure. I don't stop often enough to thank God that I not only have plenty of food to eat but usually food that I enjoy. It reminded me of the need to give thanks everyday. So I decided to start a list. I would love for you to join me in the comments in adding things you are thankful for.

1. For a husband who loves God, his family and his job.
2. For kids who still like to hang out with their parents.
3. For the opportunity to be in a different culture and work with a great team.
4. For all the people who are patient with me as I try to communicate in a new language.
5. For friends and family who encourage us and keep in touch.
6. For tears that draw me closer to God.
7. That it is all about God and not about me.
8. For fun finds at the Bush Bazaar that help make life more fun.
9. That my teenage daughter loves the fashion here except maybe the head covering.
10. For all the friends my son has made here. Sometimes I think he is at the neighbors more than our house.
11. For our shipment being delayed reminding that things aren't as important as we sometimes make them to be.
12. For opportunities to provide work for different ladies, even if it is just sewing missing buttons on my curtains.
13. For peace in the craziness of life.
14. For good books and authors who speak the truth in their books.
15. For an opportunity to write down my thoughts.

Dear God, Thank you for all of the above and so much more. May each day be filled with thankfulness. Amen

Quotes: March and April 2010

Here are a few quotes that have caught my attention that last few months.



From a blog called Study in Brown and attributed to Albert Einstein

Three Rules of Work

1. Out of clutter find simplicity.

2. From discord find harmony

3. In the middle of difficulty lies opportunity


From EM Bounds: " How we estimate and place prayer is how we estimate and place God. To give a secondary place is to make God secondary in life's affairs."

From Created to Work by Bob Shultz
"Hasty people miss God because God is never in a hurry. He doesn't change pace to walk with people. He requires people to change their pace to walk with Him. A man rushing through life, running over everything and everyone that gets in his way, will not hear the voice of God. His hurried efforts create too much chaos for him to enjoy God's presence.

What Obstacle are You Facing?

Life brings us obstacles. Some are small and are just a nuisance. Others build character in us. Many are so big we know that without God it would be impossible. In Isaiah 43:1,2 God gives some life giving words to Israel and to us.
"But now, this is what the Lord says--he created you, O Jacob, he who formed you O Israel; Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have summoned you by name you are mine. When you pass through the waters I will be with you; when you pass through the rivers they will not sweep over you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned; the flames will not set you ablaze."
I am doing an online study of Isaiah and the author pointed out that the analogies of the waters, rivers and fire may point to events in Israel's history. For example, in Exodus the Israelites passed through the waters of the Red Sea and then 40 or more years later they passed through the Jordan River. In Daniel, we have the story of Meschach, Shadrach and Abednego in the fiery furnace. God has literally done what he is promising here. My obstacles are not water, rivers or fire. In fact my obstacles are not very big in comparison with those. Right now, my main obstacle is not knowing the language as well as I would like. Other obstacles of mine include: the fear that comes when my son is late coming home from school and I can't find out why; trying to stay on track in training my children in the way they should go; how do I do what God has called me to do. Sometimes I find myself forgetting that God can overcome and work through these things. I need to be reminded that God has a great record of keeping his promises. If he can part the Red Sea, He can surely help me communicate in a new language. If God can hold back the flooding water of the Jordan, He can hold back the fear that overtakes me and replace it with His peace. If God can keep three guys safe in a fiery furnance, then He help me as I train my children to navigate a world that needs God desperately. As I take this verse to heart, I am calmed that God is with me in all things big and small. I am redeemed. I am summoned by name.
Almighty God, you have proven yourself time and again. No problem or obstacle is too big or small for you. May I not give in to fear but believe in all things that you are with me and will work through the situation even if it means you have to part the waters. Thank you for your leading and guidance. Thank you that you have redeemed us and called us by name. Amen

What to Wear?

My DH hates it when I ask him what I should wear especially if I don't like what he suggests. I am sure I am not the only wife asking her husband this question. Here in Central Asia, I seem to have this question more often. I am still learning what is and what is not appropriate. In this culture, what I wear reflects what kind of woman I am. Am I modest or not? Modest means a headcovering and pretty much only my hands, face and maybe feet showing any skin. When it was cooler, I had less problem since layers work well. As it gets warmer, I am finding my wardrobe is limited. So currently I am in the process of figuring out how to add a few pieces to my wardrobe so I can be both cool and modest. When I say cool, I am meaning the opposite of warm.

As I stress or try not to stress over my wardrobe, I am reminded that just because the outside looks good or modest doesn't mean the inside of me is as it should be. One of Jesus's problems with the pharisees was that they looked good on the outside but not on the inside. According to Colossians 3, God wants me clothed with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. If that isn't hard enough, three verses later Paul tells us to also put on love. I need to be spending as much time thinking about these things and how they fit into who God is making me to be as I do about what I am going to wear today.

So yes, it is important what I wear and how I represent myself in this culture but I also know Jesus can only be seen in me when I am clothed with his righteousness. By God's grace, I will try to do both.

Dear God, May you help me as I navigate this new culture to focus on You and what You have for me not just all the externals. May I have compassion, humility, gentleness, patience and kindness but most of all let me love the people that I meet each day as you would love them. May You be glorified in all things. Amen

Easter Musings

This morning my husband left for the airport at 5:00 am. I was not quite ready to get going for the day so I snuggled down and listened to a podcast instead. The podcast was from Desiring God and was called Global Issues Facing the Global Church. In the podcast, John Piper and his colleagues addressed issues such as the prosperity gospel and how the center of Evangelical Christianity is shifting to the southeast. I am not going to comment on any of that but I did really like a comment that was made by one of John Piper's colleagues. He said, "The cross has to be central to the gospel and the saving grace of Christ. I would put the two together and say that the gospel is big enough to address all the bigness of the problems of the world in the cross." As we are in the midst of the Easter weekend, it was good to be reminded that the cross was not only for our salvation but for so much more. No problem is too big or small to lay at the foot of the cross. Remembering also that without Jesus, there would be no cross. Colossians 3:11b,"Christ is all and is in all." (NIV)

I have been learning the Easter story in my new language. I still have a long way to go but it has made me think about Mary Magdalene and what she must have been feeling. On Friday, she saw her dear Lord die. And though we aren't told about Saturday, I can imagine that she felt without hope. Her Lord was dead and all she could think about was that his body needed to be prepared for burial. In John's account found in John 20:11-18, we find Mary Magdalene just weeping outside the tomb. She is overcome with grief. Mary does not remember that Jesus said he would rise again. Mary is too overcome by her emotions to process that the missing body means that Jesus is alive instead of thinking the body was stolen. It is only when she comes face to face with Jesus and he says her name that she remembers that she has hope and it is in Jesus.

So many times I am like Mary Magdalene. I am in a situation that seems without hope. My emotions take over and I forget the promises that God has given me in His word. But then Jesus faithfully calls my name either through his word, a song, a whisper in my mind or through a friend. I am reminded that Jesus conquered death and hell. If he can do that, then no problem is too big for him.

I pray that this Easter you will find hope in your situation and the place where God has you. Blessings, TJ