A wonderful thought

Zephaniah 3:17 (Amplified Bible)

¹⁷The Lord your God is in the midst of you, a Mighty One, a Savior [Who saves]! He will rejoice over you with joy; He will rest [in silent satisfaction] and in His love He will be silent and make no mention [of past sins, or even recall them]; He will exult over you with singing.

What an awesome thought to think of the Lord rejoicing over us and doing it with joy as His Word says! Knowing that He has forgiven and forgotten our sins, if we've confessed and repented of them, also provides great comfort. I can't even imagine the next part of the verse...He will exult over you with singing. Webster's defines the word exult as being exceedingly joyful, or to leap with joy. So not only does the Lord rejoice over us, He does it exuberantly and with great joy. Isn't that wonderful? See how great the Father's love is for us!

Certified to teach!

I'm officially certified to teach English as a Second Language now. After completing 14 1/2 hours of training, the North American Mission Board has issued their approval for me to actually teach. I will have to come up with my own lesson plans for our trip to China, but with the help of our training manual, I should be able to develop some information teaching lessons that will be suitable for high school graduates and college freshmen.

This week we'll be submitting our applications for VISAs to China. Please pray that the process goes smoothly and that our passports or our VISA applications don't get held up in a lot of government red tape. I can't believe it's only 59 days until we go!

It's not your light

Matthew 5:16 says "Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Fahter who is in Heaven."

God has commanded us to shine our light before men. The light He commands us to share is not our own light, but the light we receive from the indwelling of the Holy Spirit.

The light of the Holy Spirit in our lives should be so bright that it illuminates every corner of our soul and exudes out of every tiny pore of our being! No matter where you are or what you're doing, people should be able to see that there is something different about you.

For this very reason, it's important that we allow our light to shine in a way that glorifies our Heavenly Father. The light others see is not our own, it's our Father's...therefore, it must be allowed to bring glory to His name.

Ephesians 5:8 says "For you were formerly in darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light." Are you walking in the light? Are you ready to illumine the world with His light? Will you be ready if someone responds to the light you project?

He who guides, will provide!

Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, 21to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen. Ephesians 3:20-22

God is amazing! A couple of months ago when I first heard that little whisper inside my head that this was going to be a year of great blessing and challenges; I never dreamed that I would be going on a trip to Southeast Asia to share the gospel. When I learned the cost of the trip, my first thought was "there is no way on earth that I can raise that kind of money." My thought was true! There was no way on earth that I could raise the money...but there was a way in heaven and nothing is impossible for Him!

Two months have gone by since that first thought popped into my head. During that time, I've watched God miraculously prompt people to give financially toward this trip. He's raised over $3000 through people who were willing to be obedient to His leading. He's used both people I know well and those I've never met!

Throughout this, God has taught me that if He calls you do to something, you don't have to worry about the details because He will take care of those for you. I know that those who've partnered with me will receive abundant blessings and those who've chosen not to join in, missed out.

I am thanking Him and praising Him for His abundant blessings! I could never have done this on my own, and I think that's exactly what He wanted to teach me...I couldn't, but He sure could!

Ready to learn to teach

Teaching is not my spiritual gift, but I'm determined to learn to teach English as a second language. This Saturday and next, I'll be taking an all day class to be able to get certified throught the International Mission Board.

Being able to practice teaching before I go on my mission trip will help me refine and hone my skills, but there's another reason for going too. The country we're going to will more than likely require proof of the fact that we're teachers so, the teaching certificate we'll be presented at the end of our course, will provide necessary documentation just in case it's necessary.

This weekend, I had an opportunity to hear what being in another country might be like. I was having my hair done in a little salon very close to my home. I knew that I could go anytime of day, with no appointment and get a permanent. Now that's unheard of in most American salons because they usually require you call ahead and schedule to have one done; but since this was an oriental salon, I knew I didn't have to worry.

In the salon, the hairdresser spoke and understood just enough English to get by, and while she was working on me, I began to really listen to what was going on around me. There was Vietnamese music playing on the radio and though I couldn't understand a word of it, I listened for repetitious words and intonations. As I listened, I learned that their language is full of gutteral sounds and strong inflections. All of the hairdressers in this shop were Vietnamese, so they conversed freely with one another.

Sitting there for over an hour, during the process of my perm, many other nationalities came in to have their hair done. That's part of the beauty of living in Clarkston...it's an international city. I listened to people from Ethiopia, Iran, Bosnia, and Somalia speaking. All of their languages unique and different. While I couldn't understand them, I prayed and asked God to give me a genuine concern and love for each of the people represented in the shop that day.

When I was ready to leave, there were several people sitting in chairs waiting their turn to have their hair done. I realized as I left that a smile is the same in any language, so I smiled a big smile and walked out feeling blessed.

He's getting me ready

Wow! When I asked God earlier this year to stretch my faith, little did I know that He was going to continually use taking me out of my "comfort zone" to do it! At work this week, I was asked to help out with the senior adult ministry. Of course, I said I'd be glad to. Little did I know that I was about to learn to let go of my fear of performing in public!

A small group of our staff had been asked to help provide the entertainment for this monthly senior adult gathering. We thought we were going to help provide backup singing while one of our pastors led the group singalong. Well, that was partly true. We did provide singing, but they wanted us to go a step farther and add dance steps to it, too!

Well, most of my family and friends know that I'm not the most coordinated person on the planet. In fact, I'm pretty much a klutz. My mother always told me, when I was growing up, that she should have named me "Grace" because I was always having some sort of mishap due to my clumsiness. So you should have seen my shock and surprise when I found out that I was to participate in this! Overwhelmed is an understatement...I was mortified!We had about five minutes to practice 3 mini dance routines before it was time for us to "go on." I tried to smile as I watched the feet of those next to me. They didn't seem to have any problem at all and it seemed to come naturally for them. As for me, I was struggling to keep from stepping on someone else's toes. All I could think was, "I am going to look like the biggest fool ever up there. What will they think of me?"

It was time for us to begin. The music started to play and everyone spread out across the room in front of about 50-60 senior adults. The singing started and we had our que to begin..I watched very carefully the person next to me...I whispered I can't do this and she said "just smile really big...they won't be watching your feet anyway, they'll be watching your face!" I prayed she was right and smiled the biggest smile ever. All of a sudden, I found out that I was enjoying being out there. My fear was gone! I focused on the faces of those in the audience and suddenly I didn't care anymore whether my feet were doing what they were supposed to or not!

Are you willing to be a "fool" for Jesus, letting Him take you out of your comfort zone so He can use you in places you've never been used before? I wasn't, but now I am! I figure if He can take someone as uncoordinated as me and use something like that to show me that He loves me so much that He wants me to trust Him in everything, that I am willing to take the next step (no pun intended) and follow anywhere He leads me...lookout Broadway - HERE I COME!

Feasting at His table

Today I chose to fast and pray for my trip to China. Fasting is a discipline that I've chosen for each Wednesday between now and the time I leave on the trip. God has honored me by allowing me to do this in His strength.

As I was thinking about going without food today, I was reminded that we constantly have a beautiful, bountiful table set before us each day covered with the various fruits of the Spirit...love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness and self control. God gives us overflowing mounds of each of these if we will choose to partake of them. Along with the abundance of these fruits, He gives us the bread of life and living water. How blessed we are! Even without being able to physically taste food on Wednesdays as I fast, I am full and satisfied with the abundance my Father provides for me. Are you full? Have you tasted His bounty today? Reach out, it's right in front of you...