Love

Three things will last forever-faith, hope, and love-and the greatest of these is love. I Corinthians 13:13 NLT

How do explain my day today. Well,mostly I read, studied, prayed, sought, and loved Jesus because He first loved me. I am ashamed to say that I don't spend more days the way I did today, completely in Love with and loved by my Lord. I could share so many ways God's love has been shown to be practical in my life (just see yesterday's post) But there is so much more to it. Being loved by Jesus is spoken into my heart with the voice of God through Scripture, prayer, and fellow believers. Today the Lord used Scripture and prayer to speak to my heart. In love, I was chided and told to stop being selfish but rather to focus on Him. In love, I was cherished, the Father reminded me that I am His daughter, His dearly loved child, whom He is molding and growing to be like Him. In love, I was challenged to submit to God's purposes and plans for my life (again:) In love, God revealed His power to me through His Holy Scriptures that tell of the miracles He did through His Son, Jesus Christ. In love, I was told to have greater faith, to believe God and trust Him with my entire being. In love, God met me where I was/am, sinful, broken, human, unworthy, but because of Jesus' blood, God allowed me to enter His throne room. In love, the Father reminded me that the greatest command is to love Him with all of my heart, soul, and mind. Today, I'm left singing, "How Great Is Our God," yet knowing that I can't even begin to tell of how great He truly is.

Dear Friends, let us continue to love one another, for love comes from God. Anyone who loves is a child of God and knows God. But anyone who does not love does not know God, for God is love. I John 4:7-8 NLT

Live in Faith...
Live in Hope...
Live in Love...
Live in Christ.

Thankful Friday

Praise the Lord! I made it through today, now I have some Holiday, Yay!!!!! Today, was such a great day. Class wise, ok, but everything else was great! Tonight I am thankful for:

Holiday Time

Friendships that are growing with the grace of God

Time to write encouragement cards

Getting a flat tire at church where there were people to teach me how to change it, rather than getting a flat tire in the dark on the side of the road somewhere.

Having a dead battery in my car while at home, so that I could jump it with Ferne, again, it could have happened anywhere, but the Lord was watching over me.

Going out for dinner with Ferne on Thursday night

A new book to read over the holiday

E-mails from friends and family at home that encourage me and remind me of all the people praying for me. Praise the Lord!

Youth Group at Shore Grace tonight

Knowing that I am going to sleep past 7am in the morning!

Life with Jesus every day!

The beauty, love, joy, and peace that comes from knowing Christ died for my sake, so that I may live with Him in glory someday.

Studying God's Word.

God's perfect timing for all circumstances in my life.

I could go on and on tonight, but I think I'll stop there for now and go do some reading, then I'm going to bed for an incredible sleep. Thank you all for your prayers!

Made it through Wednesday!

I made it through today! Praise the Lord. We had a large rehearsal at school today with like six other schools. This morning I was distracted and I didn't know how I was going to get through my morning classes until God took care of that for me. My outside school didn't come today! That totally made my day. I had the morning to prepare myself (mentally) for the afternoon, and also do some picking up and organizing my classroom. Ahh, I can't tell you how much of a blessing that was. The rehearsal went ok, but I was not pleased with the performance of most of my students. Some of them did a very nice job and I told them so, but many slacked off and were too comfortable in our school. I like having these big rehearsals at other schools so that my kids don't know anybody nor do they know the building. It keeps them on their toes and more dependent on me to give them directions. Well, I have two days left until holiday. I can do it! (with Jesus' help:)

So far today...

I sang with the Pmwambwa Singers at Titirangi Baptist Church. It went really well and I enjoy singing with this group so much. It is such a blessing to sing such wonderful music and glorify the Lord with this gift of music. Being part of this choir was a huge answer to prayer for me as I came to New Zealand. I prayed that God would let me use my love for singing for ministry and to glorify Him. This choir has helped that happen. Praise the Lord! Though this choir is a wonderful way to use the gift of singing for the Lord, it means that I miss some services at Redoubt North. I love worshiping with the Redoubt family as well. However, I think that its ok for me to sacrifice that in order to participate in the ministry of this choir. I'm pretty sure the rest of our performances wont conflict with Redoubt services, so that is great.

After the service, I went to the Titirangi village market. It was so neat, it's kinda like art in the park, but smaller and more variety. I went with another member of the choir and Sri Lankan friend, Heranti. We had so much fun checking out each tent of unique art and jewelry. We also had a light lunch at a little cafe..mmm it was nice. While we were enjoying lunch, a choir came out to sing and I was really excited to hear them. The first song they sang was a song that I was familiar with and have sung in the past. The second song was introduced as an arrangement of the 23 Psalm and I thought, "O good, this should be nice." But then they started to sing and they used she as the pronoun to discribe God instead of He!!! At first I thought, no, I just heard them wrong, but then it continued!! I wanted to take out my Bible right there and read the proper 23rd Psalm so people could hear the true Word! I looked at Heranti and we thought it was a good time to leave, so we did. After we left, Heranti told me that many of those people were Spiritualist, Yikes! It was a huge eye-opener for me to see just how far Satan goes to decieve people and lead them away from the truth.

Tonight I'm going to go to Cession Community Church again and this afternoon I am going to rest. Praise the Lord for this wonderful day of rest and worship.

Thoughts in a day

I was up bright and early this morning opening my windows to blue skies and sunshine, it was so lovely that I left my coat hanging on the door, not a great idea. During my first class of the day the rain started pouring so hard, it was crazy! Then it started to hail, I was thinking good grief, I have lunch and after school duty, this is not cool! Then the sun came out again, then more rain, then more sun! It was a ridiculous day weather-wise.

Well, I wouldn't say that I'm homesick but I would say that I miss my deep relationships on the home front. Tonight I talked to one of my really good friends back in the states for at least an hour. It felt so good to talk to someone who knows me so well. I have some great friends here in NZ and the Lord has truly blessed my relationships here in wonderful ways but building deep relationships takes time. I value relationship and quality time with others so that part of life here is going to take some time. That's OK.

This afternoon I was catching up on a couple e-mails that I wanted to get sent out and I was challenged in sharing a few bold prayer requests with specific individuals. After I sent out these e-mails, I had to go outside for after school duty (making sure the kids get on their way home) and there was an absolutely beautiful double rainbow across the sky. It was the boldest rainbow I have ever seen. I felt so blessed. Praise the Lord!

Most urgent prayer needs:

New flatmate for a month who doesn't know Jesus!
Last week of school before two weeks of holiday.
So many students who don't know the real Jesus, they are deceived by Mormonism.
How to use the time God has given me.
Where is God working around me, so that I can join Him in what He is doing?
Every part of my life being lived out to glorify God and grow His kingdom.
Me seeking God with all of my heart everyday.

Thank you for your prayers!

what can I say in six minutes...

well..this morning the sunrise was super! the whole sky was full of many shades of pink and red..."pink in the morning, sailors take warning" now it's raining.

I feel like a safe driver, I don't worry about what side of the road I'm on or what way to turn. I'm learning my way around the city much better too, not perfect but improving.

It's wednesday and I have two days left this week, then one more week, then I have holiday for two weeks!! yay!. I need a holiday! I've been teaching since last August when school started and we don't have summer break over here. We have Four terms a year with different amounts of holiday time between each one. Needless to say, I ready for two weeks!

Umm...let's see what else oh yeah, I bought a small heater for my room the other day and now I can heat it up in no time, so I'm not freezing my bum off all the time.

Well that's six minutes so I've gotta go, have a great day!

Hola amigos i familia

Hello friends and family,

I went to a great ladies night out last night with a totally fun Mexican theme. We enjoyed some Mexican food and music then Julia shared about here experience serving in a Mexican orfanage. This fun night was put together by Michelle Yates from Shore Grace Chruch. We had about 12 to 13 ladies come to this party and it was just a nice time of getting to know other ladies from the church and a few friends that came along too.

My favorite thing about this night is that I was able to bring a non-believer with me! Ferne and I have just had a student come to stay with us for about a month. She is from South Korea and is here studying English. She is 20yrs old and both her parents are Christians but she is not. While we were at the Yates' house their daughter Anna was showing me and Myeung chin some of her birthday gifts. One of them was a devotional journal that had a Bible verse at the top of the page and then some questionas about that verse. As Anna and I were reading the verses and talking about them, Myeung chin was also reading them (whispering out loud) It took everything in me not to start jumping up and down because God was beginning a work in Myeung Chin. God's Word tells us in Isaiah that His Word will not return back to Him void, but will accomplish the purpose for which it was sent.

I know that God had placed this young woman with Ferne and I for a purpose and I pray that we may be His instruments and that she will see God in us. I pray that before she leaves, she knows Jesus as her personal savior and can have a personal relationship with Him. Please Pray!!! with me that God continues to do amazing works to reveal Himself to this young woman. Please pray that I am observant and see what God is doing so that I can join Him and be used by Him to further His Kingdom.

Currently...

I have a new favorite music artist here in NZ, Brooke Fraser. Her music is part of the secular music culture, but she is definitely a Christian and her lyrics are definitely Christian. I was listening to one of her cds today during my quiet time before school. I was studying what it means to be a servant of God and remain in Him.

John 15:5 “I am the vine and you are the branches, those that remain in me and I in them, will bear much fruit, apart from me, you can do nothing. (NLT)

How do I remain in Jesus? Well, I decided it was like knowing Jesus is with me All the Time: when I sleep, when I get ready, when I teach, drive, hang with friends, go to church…you get the picture. I decided that for me to remain in Jesus I had to think about being with Him all the time.

How do I bear fruit? If Jesus is with me all time and I am remaining in Him and He is in me, then naturally He will work in and through me bearing much Spiritual fruit and continuing to grow His Kingdom through me. This gave me tons of encouragement because I realized that it’s not me, it’s all Jesus. I can do nothing apart from Him. I must dwell in Him, know Him, love Him, be molded by Him, be obedient to Him, and then I will begin to see the fruit that He is producing through me. As I was coming to these conclusions at the end of my time, the song HYMN began to play.

HYMN

If to distant lands I scatter,
if I sail to farthest seas,
Would you find and firm and gather ‘till I only dwell in Thee?
If I flee from greenest pastures, would you leave to look for me?
Forfeit glory to come after, ‘till I only dwell in Thee.

If my heart has one ambition, if my soul one goal to seek,
This is my solitary vision ‘till I only dwell in Thee.
That I only dwell in Thee.
That I only dwell in Thee.

Let’s just say, that was pretty sweet!

Before this time of study even began, I felt Jesus with me in the morning. He was preparing my heart for this lesson. It was like He was following me around all morning, through my morning routine, as I drove to school, and then as I opened my Bible and study to intentionally enter His presence. The thing is, I was already with Him and He was with me. I felt this all day. Even now actually, I’m sitting at Starbucks reflecting on my day and I feel like Jesus is sitting across the table. I like it. There is so much more that I learned this morning but I think this is intense enough for now. I hope that you are encouraged by reading this and knowing that God is at work in you as you remain in Him and He in you.

Sunday Sunday

Yesterday was a wonderful Sunday! In the morning, I was back at Redoubt North. I heard a great sermon from the book of Acts and was reminded of the power of the Holy Spirit. I love that book (well the whole BOOK really)! Terry talked about the mission of Paul and Silas and the way the Holy Spirit worked through them. He also reminded me that ministry is always a matter of education, prayer, partnership and guidence. Praise the Lord!

In the evening I went to Shore Grace. I enjoy worshiping at Shore Grace too. I loved the time of singing in the evening, even though I still have that yucky cold. The message was also great. Pastor Mike preached on God's will and being in the center of it. Praying to discern what God is doing in your life and so on...The church is beginning a study called "Experiencing God." Because I won't be able to go to many more services (service time change that conflicts with Redoubt) I will do the study with Julia. I started it last night and it is going to be so good. I'll deffinitely be posting on what I'm learning.

So all in all, praise the Lord for a good weekend and time rest. Praise the Lord for His Word and all that is revealed in it. Praise the Lord for pastors who are willing to teach and be obediant to the task of caring for God's people.

Colds are Yuck!

So I've got my first cold since being in NZ. I don't like it much really. It's an absolutely beautiful day outside and all I feel like doing is sitting and every now and then emptying my nose. Colds are yuck! I thought that maybe if I got ready for the day and made myself feel nice, I would feel better. Umm...nope. I felt light headed from being up and walking around, good grief. I'm not one who likes to sit and stop for any long peroid of time, especially if it's sunny outside. Grrr..well that's how I feel right now. I'll get better, this cold won't last forever, and when I do I'll get up and go for a nice walk, hike, or something outdoors.

Where I Reside

Well I've been meaning to post pictures of the house I'm living in and the car I'm using to get wherever it is I want to go. So now is your lucky day! It's finally happening. I live in the suburb of Meadowbank in Auckland, NZ. NZ does not use zip codes so there are tons of suburbs to identify what area your street/house is in. The car I'm driving is a 19yr. old Merc. It belongs to a couple from church, but they often loan it out to people who need a car, I'm the lucky recepient of that blessing right now. Praise the Lord. I live with a wonderful Sri Lankan woman who is a strong Christian and a huge encouragement. I am so blessed to be taken so well care of. God is Amazing!

WMCNZ Convention

This past weekend was the Queen's Birthday weekend, so we had an extra day off on Monday. It was a great weekend. I went to and participated in the Wesleyan Methodist Church of New Zealand family convention. I participated by running a drama seminar for the youth on Saturday and then putting a drama together for the Saturday night rally. I had so much fun, God did everything really. In my last post you'll notice that God was encouraging me through Hebrews 12:1-2, so I decided to plan the drama to incorporate this verse. On Saturday afternoon, I was walking past the main marquee where the adults were listening to the guest speaker, He was using the same passage! How cool is that?! God is so awesome! The teens did a great job with the drama and I was really proud of them for being so flexible and putting the drama together in such little time.

I loved worshiping with the body of Christ from so many different cultures, it was a such a blessing. That is what I remember most about the last time I was here as well. It reminds me that Scripture says that people from every nation, tribe, and language will praise the name of the Lord.

Another highlight was connecting with friends. I was able to connect with some other young adults and begin some new friendships. A bunch of us went to Huka Falls and Sunday afternoon and saw some beaufiful sights. I was also able to reconnect with people from churches I visited two years ago.

I'm going to try to do a picture post after this one to show you some pics from the weekend. I don't know if I'll be able to write next to them to explain what or who is in them, but I'll do my best.