Jun 18, 2013
You know it’s spring when………
The grass starts turning green, temperatures rise, birds fly back from the south and flowers start blooming everywhere!!
These are all wonderful signs of spring and the Lord has given me a new appreciation for them, but they have nothing to do with the sign that I’m talking about. Everyone’s “favorite” sign of spring is when mom says “Guess what? It’s time for Spring Cleaning!! ” Groan!!!!!
If this has always been your perspective of Spring Cleaning then you should try it at the Gospel For Asia Canadian office! The whole family, aka “staff“, takes the afternoon off once a year to clean the entire office. You know what they say, ” Many hands makes light work.” This is such a true statement! We all cleaned our own personal spaces first and then it was off to help others clean the common areas in the office. We had a blast!! I even got to stand on the kitchen counter to clean in and on top of the counters!! It’s not every day that you get permission to do that, now is it?? I didn’t think so!
Now, even though the cleaning was a lot of fun, all good things still come to an end. So, instead of ending our day together with cleaning, we had a barbecue outside and more Gospel For Asia families showed up for a great time of fellowship. The excitement didn’t stop there though, first we got blown inside and rained out by a surprise shower. After rushing inside it was time for some dessert and arm wrestling!! ( I may or may not have participated in those) Okay I did win a few arm wrestling matches, but who’s counting?
Then, we watched Toy Story 2, enjoyed a few laughs and some hyper children, and went home to a comfortable air conditioned house. Praise the Lord for spring and a wonderful loving family at Gospel For Asia’s School of Discipleship!
I wonder what the sign for summer is, don’t you?
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Jun 18, 2013
The stories of Jane Austen are enough to drive any single woman into a romantic stupor. This girl is no different. After a night of Pride and Prejudice, I sat on my couch trying to stay sane or rather hold onto the reality that should always be firm around me. Yet thinking of Mr. Darcy’s ardent love and admiration for Elizabeth causes me to sigh and dream. (I know masses of other young ladies have had the exact same reaction, whether it is Pride and Prejudice or some other tale of love.)
Don’t get me wrong I like being single. There is so much about my life right now that is exciting and I can truly say without a doubt that God is always doing something. So I say this, not to air my desperation to find a husband; because quite frankly this girl is NOT going to do any sort of finding. He (whoever he is) is going to have to be completely reliant on God and then boldly pursue me.
No, I say this with a two-fold purpose.
One-I-like many – have in the back of my mind this thought “Today is a good day to fall in love” or “I wonder when God is going to bring, him into my life.” Many of us are attracted to Mr. Darcy or Mr. Knightley, etc… because they are men who know what they want and are willing to pursue it. I am personally drawn to the story of Elizabeth and Mr. Darcy for the fact that he watched Elizabeth and admired her without her really even knowing. Then after some struggles and changes in both of their hearts he, without any expectations, loved her in thought and deed, even when he assumed the feelings were once sided.
I know it is in the heart of most every woman to be adored and loved by a man. Often times especially in “super spiritual” circles this fact causes embarrassment, so a lot of young ladies like to pretend their singleness makes them closer to God. However I seriously doubt God wants us to be embarrassed for something he created us with. Ha! I’m definitely not!
I AM A SUPER DUPER ROMANTIC!
Two-With point number one still in mind I will add this: While a desire to be married to a most dashing and Godly man ; ) is not a bad thing, thinking your life doesn’t start until him, or being discontent until Mr. Wonderful arrives is not right or healthy. I have seen many a lady so desperate to get married that they settle for something other than God’s Will and regret it. I don’t mean in any way to belittle those times when it is really hard to wait, trust me I have been there, rather I encourage you to simply trust God!
Just think we were bought with the blood of Christ. Once we accept that gift, our ‘Happily Ever After’ is here and now. No, our lives won’t be picture perfect, but Jesus’ love for us is perfect and complete, and whether single or married our purpose is to honor and glorify Him. Just remember ladies that we were pursued by our Creator!
How do you think God feels when we spend our time imagining what could be, when He has prepared for us something so beautiful and so amazing we miss it? The fact is we cannot expect the love and admiration of dashing, but imperfect man (we are imperfect too) to “complete” us (sorry but that is so cheesy). Instead we must live every day on that narrow road with our hearts and minds completely focused on Christ. That is living a life in love!
So my dear sisters, remember it is not wrong to desire a relationship with Mr. (Fill in the blank) but in the meantime remember – we are the Bride of Christ! Our lives aren’t waiting to start, they already have! So live them and live them for HIS glory!
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Jun 18, 2013
Since being placed in the web department in January, I have had the privilege to work on some exciting video projects. Some of these have been connected with the French work here at the Gospel For Asia Canadian office, including a recently finished version of the “Power of the Meek” DVD. This, along with a finished French translation of K.P. Yohannan’s “No Longer a Slumdog”, and a nearly completed French Bridge of Hope Sponsorship website, have all been great reasons to celebrate. So we as a web team decided to do just that. Complete with the appropriate attire and cuisine, we hosted our very own “French day” in honour of all of this finished work!
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Jun 18, 2013
Think about it, how often can people say that they live with six other girls who aren’t related to them? Not many!
Some might think it would be crazy (and sometimes it is), but most of the time it is a blast! It is such a blessing, even more so because each of the girls love the Lord and desire to have a deeper relationship with Him. Each one of them challenge me in different areas of my life that need to grow or be refined. They keep me accountable to the lessons that I are learning and are beginning to apply in my life.
When any one of us girls are struggling, the rest all gather around and lift up the burdened one with prayer and encouragement. I have seen it happen many times during the almost five months that we have been here. Such a beautiful thing to see! This is another reason why living in a community of godly gals is awesome!
We cook, clean, sing, learn, work, and almost do everything together! Our discussion times about what we are learning in class is one of my favorite things ever! Every one of the girls see the lessons that we are learning through different eyes. When we discuss what we see and have learned, we all see what each person learned in the certain lesson! It’s great! I get so much more out of our class times that I would have if I was just by myself.
These are only to name a few of reasons why I enjoy being in a community of gals! The Lord has blessed me more that I deserve!
Thank you to my six roommates for making my life six time more exciting!
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Jun 18, 2013
I got to spend my Easter Holidays with the people from Gospel for Asia this year! I was missing my family a lot this time of the year. I haven’t seen them since I came to School of Discipleship but I will never forget the experience I had this Easter.
I’ve grown up knowing that Jesus died on the cross for me, but I think knowing about it for so long made me get used to it so wasn’t really anything that special to me, I was thankful for what Jesus did to save me, but then I’d just think of hanging out with friends. This Easter was different. It started Good Friday, I spent “alone time” with God in His Word and everything I was reading was new to me, it felt like God opened, like really opened my heart. Then me and my friend (another student from School of Discipleship) went to church, the service was so good! I got tears in my eyes when I heard what Jesus went through for me.
On Saturday night two students and I watched “The Passion of Christ”. I had not seen that that movie before and I wasn’t sure what to expect. So I prayed and asked God to prepare my heart so that I would be able to see what He wanted to show me through this movie and it affected me so much! Just seeing a glimpse of Jesus as a complete human, suffering and giving His life broke me into pieces, how many years had I been taking this Holiday for granted? I wasn’t really remembering the REAL reason for Easter at all! It really hit me hard.
Sunday….Christ is risen!! This day was AWESOME! At seven in the morning we all went to the lake for a sunrise service. It was a beautiful morning and I felt overflowed with Joy. It felt real that He had RISEN and now there was HOPE!! I know God drew me closer to Him this Easter and I thank Him for that. I will never forget this Easter and I hope there will be more like it!
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Jun 18, 2013
Two questions that have challenged my heart recently are these:
- Do I try to please God by what I do for Him?
- Do I try to live my own life by my own power?
These were questions my pastor asked during the Easter Sunday service, but they are things that God has already started working on in my life.
I can get really preoccupied with shallow, surface things. How do I look, what food am I eating, what do people think of me? I can get so caught up in appearing to live the perfect Christian life – and I am trying to do it in my own fleshly strength. I guess that’s where those two questions begin to fit together.
During this year as a School of Discipleship student, God has been teaching me about what it means to live for Him. It’s about who I am. Living for Jesus starts first of all with knowing Jesus more fully. When that is the cornerstone my life is built upon, then living for Jesus will come naturally. The fruit of my life will show that I’m rooted and built upon Christ.
Trying to “do things for God” with my own effort will get me nowhere, like a car stuck in a rut spinning its wheels. If I just strive in my fleshly strength to live for God, I’ll never achieve it.
Being a Christian, a follower of Christ, starts with knowing and loving Jesus fully and intimately. Living for Him (and working, serving, discipling, and loving) needs to come out of that first love, and it can be done – through the power of the Holy Spirit.
These are the questions I need to ask myself now:
- Am I seeking to know Jesus intimately?
- Do I desire for Jesus to work in and through me, or am I still grasping for “control”?
- Is my focus on myself, or on Jesus?
As I learn more about Jesus, one thing is standing out to me especially. Taking on the nature of Jesus in my own life is impossible when I try to accomplish it in my own strength. It is possible through the power of the Holy Spirit! His work in my life and heart make this goal achievable – this goal of knowing Jesus more, being like Him, and living for Him.
“…being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.” – Philippians 1:6
When I started following Christ, God began to work in my life, transforming me more into the image of Christ. And God’s promise to me is that He is still at work in me, and He won’t stop working until He’s finished.
And it’s pretty cool to have one year set aside to get to know Jesus more, and to do it with awesome people like my School of Discipleship classmates.
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