A Special Weekend & my BIG Surprise... (Note: I'm almost NEVER surprised!)

After spending several weeks back in Loma Linda, enjoying my friends and working on some ministry projects, I was excited knowing the Lee's were soon coming down from Oregon to visit me. (This is my Korean FamiLEE that I've gotten attached to over the last few months!)

Well honestly...they weren't just coming to visit me...they actually were coming because Jed, otherwise known as "Obba" or "big brother" to Sue & I, had been invited to speak at Advent HOPE. So in anticipation of their arrival...I set to cooking!! And cook I did...for at least 2 days before they arrived. (Whew!!! What a task!)

When Sue arrived...a little before Obba and Irene and the kids....she helped me cook too! Here we are making "Korean pancakes." Yum yum!

However, unbeknownst to me, Sue - along with my Loma Linda girlfriends, had something else cooking up their sleeve. But at the time...I had not a clue! I was just sooo excited to get to spoil Sue and her family and introduce them to all my friends!

Here we are after they all arrived for our first meal together! They had a flat tire and had been delayed, so were very tired...but I was excited to see them all!

This was our dinner - "Lentil haystacks" with rice...something Holland's and I like to make! I hoped that they would like it too...since they eat lots of rice and veggies. Irene usually does all the cooking, and I have grown to love her food (her too!!), so it was nice to be able to make her "sit down" and treat her for a change.

The most exciting part was seeing the kiddos again! I love my little TaeHo and HeeSunny!!!!! And I love being their "American Auntie!"

Aren't they simply the cutest??? I think so!!

So...despite a few setbacks (flat tire) and "scares" along the way - the weekend went as planned! In fact, it went better than I hoped for. Obba preached at Advent HOPE Sabbath morning...and it was POWERFUL!!!!!! (You can hear his series online at Audioverse!) Praise the Lord - I could really tell the Holy Spirit was working. He also spoke again in the afternoon to a full house. His topics centered around one of his favorite themes - that of CREATION! (A significant topic we all really need to re-focus on in this day and age.)

Sabbath evening I had invited a bunch of my Loma Linda friends over for a fellowship get-together. I did this because I wanted to have one more good get together before I left, and also because I wanted to introduce the Lee's to all of them! Amazingly, even though I'd only e-mailed everyone once about it...like 2 weeks before...they all came! (I didn't know until later that "someone" else had also e-mailed them a reminder...plus told them "secret plans.")

It was fun! Everyone seemed to be having a good time...we had plenty of food (remember I'd been cooking for 2 days before)...and I was happy! Happy to have everyone together!!!

Here I am hanging out with some of my favorite Loma Linda gals... As you can see, the evening was successfully fun and progressed along well. However, I was really tired (after all, I had been cooking for 2 days!), so I asked Sue if she'd take care of games that night after we'd finished eating. (But remember....she'd also been cooking too....and suddenly....SUDDENLY....)

I had the biggest surprise of my LIFE!!!! Yes Indeed!!!! My birthday was fast approaching...and my friends decided to use the occasion that "I" had planned to do something special for my birthday!!!! I didn't suspect a thing...I had no clue...for the first time in my life...I can say I was honestly caught off guard! I WAS SURPRISED!!!!!!

And embarrassed too! (Especially when Sue showed us ALL a video she'd taken of my family and their good wishes and my dad was acting like a clown and my brothers announced to the world my age!) Arrrrrghhhhhh ......but then again, what is family for...except to make you happy and embarrassed all at once!!! :-)

I felt very LOVED, SPOILED, PAMPERED....and treated like a Queen!

Awwwwww.....I love all you guys!!! Honestly...my friends are my most valued treasures!!! Thanks for all you do for me!

So....what started out as a "Special Weekend" with my girlfriends and famiLEE turned out to be something even more...a true treat...that will always be remembered!

Thanks Sue, Marlena, Season, Val, Amanda, Cara and all the conspirators!! Like I've often said...my Advent HOPE friends - they are the BEST!!!!!

So as you've guessed by now...I've just turned ONE YEAR older...if you were at my party, you know what number that means (since my brothers so beautifully pointed it out for all to hear)! But if you weren't at my party...well, then...I guess that means you have to keep guessing!!! :-)

Here's to a starting another year together....with God!!

*I wrote this blog awhile back....but am just now posting! So I back-dated it to the date this all occurred. Just in case my readers thought you'd missed something, you didn't!

Afraid of crickets or afraid of SIN...

Last night I was down in the living room innocently folding clothes when I heard a piercing scream from upstairs. "Oh no! Get it away from me! Yuck, nasty! Melody come quick....help!" followed by more shrieks. You'd have thought my roommate was being attacked by tarantula's or something...

The reason for the screams was actually quite small though. It was a poor little frightened cricket that was racing around the bathroom counter trying to find a hiding place. (I'm sure he was half scared out of his mind by the shrieking giant that huddled as far away as she could get!)

As I went to catch him she shrieked some more. "Nasty! Don't touch him....kill him! Smash him, get rid of him!" She was definitely out for extermination...SHE just didn't want to do the job!

But why kill an innocent little cricket. He wasn't meaning to do anyone harm was he? He was just trying to eat spiders and kill flies and find a nice warm home. No, I didn't want to kill him. Against more shrieks and protests, I picked him up and gently carried him outside where I set him free.

Then I washed my hands and went back to folding laundry as I mused... "I guess every now and then it pays to be a country girl! At least I can handle the crickets...."

As I was thinking about it all though...I started thinking about our walk with God and how carefully we should guard our sacred relationship with him. What if we had the same reaction to "compromise" and "sin" as my roommate had to that cricket. What if our reaction was immediately to run away and cry out to God for help.... "Quick quick....help me, God! Get it away for me! I don't want to even touch it. Please....get it out of here!" Wouldn't our lives be so much more victorious and filled with God's glory and grace???

But no....most of the time, we deal with "sin" so casually, it's as if we're with neighbors that have only a few weird quirks. "Oh, watching this movie may not be the best...but it's not really a big deal. God knows my heart and that I would never live like the actors on the screen." Or, "My friends are kinda crude and don't really care about God, but I need to hang out with them so I can help when they want to know more."

Or...we ponder over "sin" as if studying a microscopic specimen in biology lab. "Let me see here....well...it looks like it has rods....but maybe those are cones??? Hmmm.....I'm not sure what to think. Maybe I should have a closer look, or maybe I should invite some others to look as well..."

Our senses have been numbed by our habits and the world of sin in which we live...and nothing is outrageous, scary, or startling anymore. We not only spend time contemplating "sin"...we often stop and take some time to "converse" with it...when in reality...we should be racing away shrieking, "God help me....get it away from me! Exterminate it!!!! Ooooh, yuck....I don't even want to touch it. Help!"

Satan, and all his subtle schemes, are nothing short of a roaring lion (in disguise) just waiting to destroy us. We can't talk to him, we can't reason with him, we can't play around with him...we must RUN!!!!!!!!!!! No compromise....no conversation!! Period, STOP!!!!

"Flee youthful lusts..." II Tim 2:22

"Flee from fornication, flee from idolatry." I Cor 6:18 & I Cor 10:14

"Closed ears to the Word of the Lord and godliness, pride, envy, strife, evil surmising, perverse disputings, listening to those destitute of truth, allying yourself with those that only care about riches and gain and the love of money - which has pierced them through with many sorrows - from such oh man of God, turn away. FLEE these things..." Paraphrase of I Tim 6:3-11

"Resist the devil and he will flee from you." James 4:7

"Deliver me oh Lord from my enemies. I flee unto you to hide me." Ps 143:9

As I think of all these sobering thoughts, triggered by a little cricket, I'm reminded...that it doesn't matter the SIZE of the "compromise" or "sin" in our life. If it is there, it is dangerous and it will eventually KILL us if we don't run away. It may be no bigger than that cricket in our minds eye...but we should be as afraid of it as if it were a herd of attacking bulls.

Let me share some challenging quotes I read recently:

Through the gospel, souls that are degraded and enslaved by Satan are to be redeemed to share the glorious liberty of the sons of God. God's purpose is not merely to deliver from the suffering that is the inevitable result of sin, but to save from sin itself. The soul, corrupted and deformed, is to be purified, transformed, that it may be clothed in "the beauty of the Lord our God," "conformed to the image of his Son." "Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him. [However]...In order for us to reach this high ideal, that which causes the soul to stumble must be sacrificed.

Men may have excellent gifts, good ability, splendid, qualifications; but one defect, one secret sin indulged, will prove to the character what the worm-eaten plank does to the ship, utter disaster and ruin!

In closing, I encourage you to watch the challenging call...

RUN

And while I don't condone most movies now days, there are a few still worthy of recommendation. "Time-Changer" would be one...as it in a upright and godly way shows us how far we in the modern Christian world have fallen. It's a must see...and very inspirational!!

We may not be scared of crickets, but we must RUN from the world, from compromise, and from sin!

When I see the morning sun light...

...and I breath in fresh air,

I sing praise the Lord, praise the Lord!

When I spend time in God's word, talk to Jesus in prayer!

I sing praise the Lord, praise the Lord!

Good morning Lord I love you, I just wanted you to know!

Here's my heart, my life, my will, myself I give it all to you!

Take my life and use it, guide my feet along the way.

May your words my mind renew, your spirit fill me each day!

Yes, the "Morning Song" is one of my favorite songs to wake up with! And here in Southern California, after almost a week of solid rain, it's such a blessing to have the sunlight again. I got up early and went walking this morning, just as it was rising over the hills, and it was such an uplifting encouraging feeling....I couldn't help bursting into the morning song.

But today, there's more reasons to sing the morning song then just the rising of the sun! Was reading about the "Divine Nature of Christ" and His life on earth uniting divinity with humanity, and what an inspiration it was. I simply must share a few thoughts...

In Christ, divinity and humanity were combined. Divinity was not degraded to humanity; divinity held its place, but humanity, by being united to divinity, withstood the fiercest test of temptation in the wilderness. Christ withstood the temptation, through the power that man may command. He laid hold on the throne of God, and there is not a man or woman who may not have access to the same help through faith in God.

So the question arises...how might we partake of this power...how might we be partakers of this divine nature that can withstand the fiercest storms or temptations??? I've studied this topic out before, but it's always inspiring to read again...

Well, as I started looking up a few verses on the divine nature...that set me off on quite an inspirational Bible verse trail that I hadn't been originally planning to take...but when you follow the spirit's leadings, He often takes us places we wouldn't have known to go. So again, let me share.

"According as his divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of him that hath called us to glory and virtue: Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises: that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust." II Pet 1:3,4

Both verses are powerful...and the second really gives the KEY - filling our mind with the promises in the Word of God. But for the moment, I'm gonna just share about verse 3. I've spent two days alone, just looking at the cross references on this verse (II Pet 1:3) and it's powerful. So here's a few of the best ones:

According as His divine power...

• "And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth." Matt 28:18
• "As thou hast given him power over all flesh, that he should give eternal life to as many as thou hast given him." Jn 17:2
• "And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me." II Cor 12:9
• "And what is the exceeding greatness of his power to us-ward who believe, according to the working of his mighty power." Eph 1:19

Hath given us ALL things...

• "For the LORD God is a sun and shield. The LORD will give grace and glory: no good thing will he withhold from them that walk uprightly." Ps 84:11
• "He that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also freely gives us all things." Rom 8:32
• "Therefore let no man glory in men, for all things are yours. And ye are Christ's and Christ's is Gods..." I Cor 3:21,23

That pertain to life and godliness...

• "And this is life eternal that they might know thee, the only true God..." John 17:3
• "Godliness is profitable unto all things, having promise of the life that now is, and of that which is to come." I Tim 4:8
• "But godliness with contentment is great gain." I Tim 6:6
• "And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness. God was manifest in the flesh, justified in the Spirit, seen of angels, preached unto the Gentiles, believed on in the world, received up into glory." I Tim 3:16
• "I call heaven and earth to record this day against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing. Therefore choose life that both thou and thy seed may life." Duet 30:19

Through the Knowledge...

• "Grace and peace be multiplied unto you through the knowledge of God, and of Jesus our Lord." II Pet 1:2
• "But grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To him be glory both now and for ever. Amen." II Pet 3:18
• "For God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ." II Cor 4:6

Called to glory and virtue...

• "But the God of all grace, who hath called us unto his eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after that ye have suffered a while, make you perfect, stablish you, strengthen, settle you." I Pet 5:10
• "But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people, that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvelous light." I Pet 2:9
• "Who hath saved us, and called us with an holy calling, not according to our works, but according to his own purpose and grace, which was given us in Christ Jesus before the world began." II Tim 1:9
• "For God hath not called us unto uncleanness, but to holiness." I Thes 4:7
• "Who can find a virtuous woman, for her price is far above rubies." Prov 31:10
• "Finally brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of a good report; if there be any virtue, if there be any praise, think on these things." Phil 4:8

I could go on and on! I'm not even expounding upon meaning of verses, or meaning behind words, or even looking up the Greek and Hebrew (which I love to do) but just looking at cross references. But just reading alone...Wow...such living water and inspiration in the Word of God!

And we haven't even gotten to II Pet 1:4 yet...(smiles) ...maybe next time!!

Some things NEVER CHANGE...

Wow - talk about a powerful sermon - we just heard!! You want some powerful Biblical inspiration and a sobering wake-up call to to evaluate where you are in your walk with God...

Listen to "Some Things Never Change" by Pastor Randy Skeete

This is a MUST HEAR...and MUST HEAR it NOW!!!

Whatever it takes...

Whatever it takes to keep me tender toward you

Whatever it takes Lord, I beg you to do!

Whatever you must lead me thru

Whatever it takes Lord, do....

Whatever you must lead me thru

Whatever it takes Lord

There's too much at stake Lord

Whatever it takes Lord, do!

Memories from the mission field...

Bible Stories in the Village

River Rides...

I can't believe it's been almost 9 years since I spent my adventurous months deep in the jungles of South America. While small in comparison with eternity, these months have dramatically impacted my life!

Looking back I still have many fond memories! Teaching little wild Amerindian children, playing guitar and teaching them songs, hiking through the rain forest, cooking over outdoor fires, beating wild vermin out of my outhouse, washing clothes in the river while listening to monkeys, picking swarms of flying termites out of my cooking (finally gave up, cooked it....turned out the lights and ate!!!), getting lost in the jungle, praying away evil spirits, delivering babies and sewing up spear wounds....and etc etc etc. I just stumbled along this cute list of a friend of mine that recently spent some time in Guyana...and I couldn't help but laugh and be reminded...Yep...I've been a missionary in Guyana....because I understand everything that she says here!

In fact, just for fun, I added a few of my own thoughts as well...see if you can guess which ones!!

You might be (or have been) a missionary somewhere in Guyana if...

…Your definition of running water is: grabbing a bucket, running down to the creek, filling it up, and running back up the hill

…You’ve ever had someone try to barter with you for your sibling while you were in the market place (for the record I refused=)

…You are now qualified to write a cookbook called “101 ways to cook pumpkin”

…You’ve ever been tanning out in the jungle

…You have become an expert at cooking over fires

…Your idea of hitchhiking includes boats instead of cars

…You’ve ever uttered the phrase “ hey, look, there’s white people” (and you’re white yourself)

…You remove your shoes before entering any house without a second thought

…You discover that your favorite music comes from the Howler monkeys across the river

…You’ve ever had the thought cross your mind that it might be cool to get malaria once just so you could say you’ve had it

…You beat the walls of the outhouse before entering, and look down the hole before sitting...you know...just in case there might be something alive inside!

….You can now nonchalantly pick a worm out of the piece of fruit you’re eating and continue eating it

…You've been awakened in the middle of the night to go settle drunken brawls and pray away evil spirits

…You’ve nearly been stoned for preparing a meal one day that did not include rice

…You know the difference between a star apple and star fruit

…You find that a favorite pastime is picking "jiggars" out of your feet

…You are aware that a pineapple plant will only produce one pineapple…ever!

…You no longer care when people hang in your windows watching your every move or constantly asking questions

…You’ve ever turned the room upside down looking for a giant centipede that disappeared under someone’s bed

…Your idea of entertainment includes running to the airstrip to watch the mission plane land and take off

…You love talking on the ham-radio and can't wait to hear the daily news from the village across the valley

…You’ve ever put buckets out to catch the rainwater

…You’ve ever climbed up into the rafters trying to extricate bats in the middle of the night

…You find yourself using words like vexed, jeer, fatigued, and gaff in your everyday vocabulary

…You’ve ever gone to the internet and been disappointed because you didn’t get a single email

…You cry with joy when someone decides to be baptized and accept Christ...After all, that's why you came!!

…You find that when you finally come home...you don't know what to do! Western culture is now the real shock!

What fun!!! Now I bet you ALL want to go be a missionary in Guyana!!!!

Happy New Year 2010!!!!

Thanks to Alden Ho for so many great photos!

What better place to spend New Year than with 6,000 other young people, worshiping and praising our Lord?!

Yes, this year found me again making the annual trip to the Generation of Youth for Christ yearly conference. (This is my 6th out of the 8 years they've been doing it!) And once again, as the opening day began, I found myself behind the long registration tables helping people get details works out. We had a crowd before we even opened the doors, and I knew it would be one long exciting day. As it turned out, I didn't leave my chair for the next 12 hours straight as we registered people...one after another. For that opening night, we had about 3,500 in attendance. (A record for GYC.) By the weekend we had over 6,000 young adults worshiping and praising God together. Wow!!

The theme of this years conference was "unASHAMED" and was based on Rom 1:16

"For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek."

As the controversy between good and evil increases, even upon that of Christian universities and campuses, we were inspired by the many Biblical Christ-centered messages reminding us to be true and not bow down...except to the one true God. I think the evening messages by David Asscherick were my favorite, as he challenged us boldly to be unAshamed of the Crucified Christ, the Creative Christ, and the Coming Christ! Everything was good, but Wow!!!

On Friday they loaded up 37 school buses to take the kids out into the communities to share Christ. 400 people did not find room on buses, so just walked the streets looking for opportunities to witness. As a result 22,000 doors were knocked on and almost 1,000 people actually requested Bible studies. Some even shared with those that came to their doors that they'd been praying God would send someone to them to share Him. (Isn't God amazing??)

Instead of partying away until midnight on New Year's Eve, after the meetings my friends and I knelt in our motel room to pray in the New Year. (Many others did the same!) What a special time it was...just opening our heart before our Savior! Outside our hotel window, the limousines came and went, and the secular party goers yelled and screamed. In the distance you could hear fire works...but for us, our hearts were aglow with the excitement of starting the New Year with our Lord! What a privilege and honor...

If you too, would like to share in some of the powerful talks, testimonies, sermons and inspiration that we were all blessed with, visit: GYC 2009 Audio

Be Blessed my friends, and Happy New Year, again!!!!

Are we in the RIGHT line...the one to see Jesus?

My parents never took me to see Santa Claus (I always thought he was rather silly anyway, to be honest) yet this story touched a special cord in my heart. Inspired by a young child's innocent question...amid all the Christmas and holiday rush, and when dozen of kids are lining up to see the big red man with white beard...we are reminded by a child of who we should really be looking for.

So enjoy as you watch this brief Youtube:

Where's the Line to see Jesus

Obviously Christmas has passed now, but as you rush and hurry through the business of this coming new year...ask yourself... "Am I waiting in the wrong lines? Rather than doing this or fretting about that, should I be seeking Jesus?"

Obviously, there are no waiting lines for Jesus...all we have to do is COME...and it's as if there's not another soul in the whole world! Wow!! No waiting line to see Jesus...

My quiet Holiday in Ohio...

Well, as I implied before...Christmas this year was rather quiet and laid back for me. I flew out of Arkansas on Dec 24th, just before a big storm and blizzard hit the Central midwest region. It was so bad in Oklahoma, in fact, that they closed the airport, highways and Interstate. Thankfully I missed all that excitement. However, when I got to Chicago, everything was in a hub-bub! Traffic was being delayed, flights cancelled....people were getting bumped. Initially I was hoping I'd get bumped too....because then maybe I could get a free airline voucher. (Last year I got TWO of them!!) But no such luck...my flight was as scheduled...and only a few minutes late in departing for Dayton, OH. Later as I was watching the news, I realized that God was actually looking out for me, for bad weather was predicted to hit Chicago later that night. I didn't need to be stuck in Chicago!

It was good to be with my sister Sunny and her husband Tim again. Tim is a Internal Medicine resident at Kettering, so he was on call. So we spent our Christmas eve having supper with him at the hospital in the doctor's lounge. (Wow - they treat the doctor's good! I had no clue!) They even had a beautiful tree set up in the lounge...as pictured here. That was cool since we didn't have our own tree this year. When Tim had to go back to work, Sunny and I came home and talked and listened to Christmas music. We wished more of our family (Hollands & Arakawa's) could have been with us...but we were thankful that at least we could be together!

Christmas day we slept in, had a late breakfast, and then began cooking for Christmas dinner. Sunny is quite the little "home-maker." I'm soooo proud of her!! Tim came home from the hospital and then slept for awhile as he'd been up all night answering the frantic calls of "agency nurses." (I can only laugh!)

Christmas dinner began about 6:30pm. Sunny and Tim had invited a couple friends over. It was small, quiet and nice. Sunny had prepared the American traditional: turkey roast (vegetarian of course), green beans, mashed potatoes and gravy, salad, rolls, stuffing, cranberry relish....and I helped her make her first apple pie. It was all scrumptious...and we had enough left-overs to invite everyone back for Sabbath lunch the next day.

Christmas evening, after our company left, we opened a couple gifts. Tim's parents had sent them a beautiful personalized calender with his mom's beautiful photography. Wow...we ooohhed and ahhhed over that for awhile. Then Mom and Dad Holland had sent Sunny a cool recipe book (which now I'm gonna have to get) and Tim some home-made wheat-sticks. (These unfortunately were too good for us to allow him to eat all by himself!) They had sent me a sweat shirt from my favorite Botanical Gardens in OKC. Then Sunny and Tim gave me a new heart.....just what I've been praying for! (Actually...it's a silicon heart-shaped baking dish. But it was something I'd been looking for for a couple years...so that was exciting!)

The big moment of the evening was when Tim gave Sunny a Vita-Mix!!! He'd told Sunny not to get anything, because they weren't gonna do gifts this year. (I guess he knew he was getting his own gift as well as Sunny's!) Needless to say, Sunny was pretty excited. (The picture below is of the gag-gift Tim gave her to start with. It was a box of Vita-Mix "spatula's"...the real blender was TOO BIG to wrap...but it was funny, because Sunny saw "Vita-Mix" written on the box, and she knew a "Vita-mix" was around somewhere. She's like, "So WHERE is the rest of my gift???????" We were all laughing...) So, as to be expected, all our meals since then have been made using the new Vita-mix!! :-)

And so my Holiday here in Ohio has gone...nothing fancy or too dramatic...(besides the "Vita-mix" entrance!) Just balanced and restful! Just quiet and simple. Time to talk and share, cook, rest, spend time with God, read...watch a few cute "Youtubes" and enjoy the gentle falling snow, which finally reached us yesterday.

And to be honest, this was just what I needed. As I've been contemplating life...and my life from the last year, I've realized the hazardousness of my natural tendencies to live on the edge of my endurance and capabilities. I don't know if it's my type "A" personality that doesn't know how to stop, if it's the urgency of the times in which we live...or just the fact that I like to be involved in everything that comes along. The fact is...it's been too busy of a year, and I'm tired!!

Of course, I know that our lives here on this earth aren't meant to be a relaxing vacation. God has called us to a life of active service for Him. But as I read Mark 3:14, I'm reminded again that all those deeds, all that "doing for God," all those commitments, all those acts of service - even though they may be good...they are fruitless unless we have FIRST taken time to really "be still" and be with Him! This balance we must have in order to not just survive, but THRIVE!!

Recently some quotes I read really convicted me afresh of times in which we live, how the enemy is constantly working to control and distract our lives (anything to keep us from God) and yet how our only safety is our continual "abiding in Him."

“An intensity such as never before is taking possession of the world. In amusement, in moneymaking, in the contest for power, in the very struggle for existence, there is a terrible force that engrosses body and mind and soul. In the midst of this maddening rush, God is speaking. He bids us come apart and commune with Him. “Be still, and know that I am God.” Ps 46:10

"We are to love God with all our hearts, and if we have an eye single to His glory we shall eat, drink, and clothe ourselves with reference to His divine will. Every one who has a realizing sense of what it means to be a Christian will purify himself from everything that weakens and defiles. All the habits of his life will be brought into harmony with the requirements of the Word of truth, and he will not only believe, but will work out his own salvation with fear and trembling, while submitting to the molding of the Holy Spirit."

Wow!! So as I prepare to leave this little haven of peace and take on the next "deeds of service" for Him (assisting with our yearly GYC , and helping run our ARMe booth), I am again refreshed and reminded what being a Christian is all about. This Christmas wasn't all big and full of family fanfare, like some have been. No tree, no home-made popcorn strings, no big parties or games. I didn't even send anyone cards or gifts, or get to put together a "giving Christmas" for those in need, like in years past. But I guess God had something more important in mind for me this year.

This year He gave me some time out...and He gave me a "new heart" and some quality time with Him. And that's exactly what this girl needed!

So what is Christmas really suppose to be about???

The following quote and story really inspired me...and reminded me of the fun we had last year with our Advent HOPE Christmas party, raising money for orphans and the needy over seas. Unfortunately this year I haven't had time to do much of anything for anyone, not even my family, let alone the needy. However, I am reminded, "What I do isn't really that important! For truly CHRIST is the REAL GIFT of the season!" He's given to us so we can give to others...but that gift may not always be "tangible." The gift He has given us, we cannot begin to comprehend or repay!!

Nevertheless, here's some inspiring thoughts on "giving" and how this commercialized holiday might could be more profitably spent:

"Let your Christmas tree be dedicated to God, and let its boughs be laden with offerings for Christ. Do not give as though it were a task, doling out your donations with a niggardly hand. Good works are no drudgery. In giving to us his Son, God has poured out to us all Heaven in one gift. Let us with an overflowing heart, with gratitude and joy because of Christ's matchless love, bring him our offerings. Teach your children by your own example the blessedness of doing for Christ. Train them to go on errands of love for him, and in all their gifts to remember the gracious Giver. If there are any who are in need of food or comfortable clothing, they should be remembered; we are not to neglect Christ in the person of his saints. But let us be constantly seeking to make God and his cause first in our thoughts and plans.

Many hardly, know as yet what self-denial is, or what it is to suffer for the truth's sake; but none will enter Heaven without making a sacrifice. Yet self-denial will not make us joyless; it will not cast a shadow upon our holidays. It is not what we have, not the abundance of the things of this life, that will make us happy. Our happiness depends upon the relation we sustain to God. An approving conscience, a contented spirit, sweet communion with Jesus, will make us the happiest beings in the world." {ST, December 8, 1887 par. 18}

A Christmas Story

It's just a small, white envelope stuck among the branches of our Christmas tree. No name, no identification, no inscription. It has peeked through the branches of our tree for the past 10 years or so.

It all began because my husband Mike hated Christmas---oh, not the true meaning of Christmas, but the commercial aspects of it... overspending...the frantic running around at the last minute to get a tie for Uncle Harry and the dusting powder for Grandma---the gifts given in desperation because you couldn't think of anything else. Knowing he felt this way, I decided one year to bypass the usual shirts, sweaters, ties and so forth. I reached for something special just for Mike.

The inspiration came in an unusual way. Our son Kevin, who was 12 that year, was wrestling at the junior level at the school he attended; and shortly before Christmas, there was a non-league match against a team sponsored by an inner-city church, mostly black. These youngsters, dressed in sneakers so ragged that shoestrings seemed to be the only thing holding them together, presented a sharp contrast to our boys in their spiffy blue and gold uniforms and sparkling new wrestling shoes. As the match began, I was alarmed to see that the other team was wrestling without headgear, a kind of light helmet designed to protect a wrestler's ears. It was a luxury the ragtag team obviously could not afford. Well, we ended up walloping them. We took every weight class. And as each of their boys got up from the mat, he swaggered around in his tatters with false bravado, a kind of street pride that couldn't acknowledge defeat. Mike, seated beside me, shook his head sadly, "I wish just one of them could have won," he said. "They have a lot of potential, but losing like this could take the heart right out of them."

Mike loved kids-all kids-and he knew them, having coached little league football, baseball and lacrosse. That's when the idea for his present came. That afternoon, I went to a local sporting goods store and bought an assortment of wrestling headgear and shoes and sent them anonymously to the inner-city church. On Christmas Eve, I placed the envelope on the tree, the note inside telling Mike what I had done and that this was his gift from me. His smile was the brightest thing about Christmas that year and in succeeding years. For each Christmas, I followed the tradition---one year sending a group of mentally handicapped youngsters to a hockey game, another year a check to a pair of elderly brothers whose home had burned to the ground the week before Christmas, and on and on. The envelope became the highlight of our Christmas. It was always the last thing opened on Christmas morning and our children, ignoring their new toys, would stand with wide-eyed anticipation as their dad lifted the envelope from the tree to reveal its contents. As the children grew, the toys gave way to more practical presents, but the envelope never lost its allure. The story doesn't end there.

You see, we lost Mike last year. When Christmas rolled around, I was still so wrapped in grief that I barely got the tree up. But Christmas Eve found me placing an envelope on the tree, and in the morning, it was joined by three more. Each of our children, unbeknownst to the others, had placed an envelope on the tree for their dad. The tradition has grown and someday will expand even further with our grandchildren standing around the tree with wide-eyed anticipation watching as their fathers take down the envelope. Mike's spirit, like the Christmas spirit, will always be with us.

May we all remember Christ, and "give" in a Christ-like manner. After all, he is the reason for the season, and the true "Christmas spirit" this year and always.

Merry Christmas Friends!!! And remember...we shouldn't just be giving at Christmas...Giving should be our WAY of LIFE...all year long!!!

His Strength is Perfect...

With only a few more days at home, I've been rushing to help my mom finish some big cleaning projects, trying to get some Christmas gifts finished, preparing for the "Generation of Youth for Christ" conference, and packing for my return to Oregon. Whew...I can't believe my time at home is almost over, and I must return to life in the fast lane. (Not that I ever completely left it!) Anyway, the break away from work and the craziness of my life has been a blessing.

As I woke up this morning, I lay in bed for a bit just thinking about life and talking to God. I was up til 2:30 this morning working on a project, and so after only a few hours of sleep, I guess it's only natural that I didn't feel like getting up. But when the sun comes up, my brain wakes up...so here I was at 6:30am wide awake, with a body that didn't want to move!

After some time with God, I turned on my iPod...and this song came on. It's one of my all time favorites, but I thought it was very fitting for where I am today. I don't feel very strong right now...and as I listened, the tears just poured down my cheeks! Thankfully I don't have to be strong. His strength truly is PERFECT...it's just too bad that many of us wait to claim it until we've reached the end of our own resources! :-) For truly, it's been there all along...what a blessing!

"His Strength is Perfect"

I can do all things, through Christ who gives me strength

But sometimes I wonder what He can do through me.

No great success to show, no glory on my own.

Yet in my weakness He is there, to let me know...

His strength is perfect when our strength is gone.

He'll carry us when we can't carry on.

Raised in His power, the weak become strong.

His strength is perfect...His strength is perfect!

We can only know, the power that He holds,

When we truly see how deep our weakness goes.

His strength in us begins, where ours comes to an end

He hears our humble cry and proves again.

His strength is perfect when our strength is gone.

He'll carry us when we can't carry on.

Raised in His power, the weak become strong.

His strength is perfect...His strength is perfect!

"God is my STRENGTH and POWER: and He maketh my way PERFECT!" II Sam 22:33

Humbled by my baby brother...

Yesterday....I was truly humbled by my brother!

We'd all gone together to this Bible Study where a number of our friends meet regularly. And even though it wasn't like church, everyone always looked nice and well kept. But this particular day, one of the teenage guys came in wearing old dirty tattered jeans, and and a grimy shirt that looked like he'd just come in from working in the barn. I don't know this kid real well, to be honest. I know that his family struggles financially, but the rest of the members of his family were wearing appropriate clean clothing, and I've seen him in better clothes before. So in my mind, I was thinking, "So why wasn't HE?" It kinda bugged me. I mean, I know this isn't church or anything, but this is Bible Study, and this is a time when we all get together to meet our God, and to pray and fellowship and spend some deep time in God's word...why couldn't this teenager have just a little more respect????

All the while I was standing there thinking critical thoughts in my heart, my little brother Daniel (who actually isn't soooo little anymore - he's like 6'2'') came up and starting talking with this guy. They were just visiting about life, and Daniel was making him feel warm and welcomed. I'm not really into teenage boys conversations, so I walked away to find another conversation.

However, a little while later, I noticed this guy disappear, and a few minutes after he came back wearing a nice clean set of dress clothes. He looked fresh and clean and definitely much more in line for a Bible study. And I was thinking, "Wow!!! So he did bring clean clothes after all. He must just not have had time to change before he came in. Well, good for him!"

Incidentally, my brother had also changed. He was now wearing his overalls. They are brand new, so look nice, but I was thinking in my head, "What? Why did Daniel change?? I guess he must have wanted to show-off his new overalls or something..." but there were people all around, so I just kept my thoughts to myself. It didn't dawn on me why the significance of the switch, nor did I realize that the clothes this troubled teen was now wearing looked strikingly similar to what Daniel had been wearing...

Later on, as we were driving away, my mom gave Daniel a hug.

"That was sooooo unselfish of you to think of giving Ben, your nice dress clothes! I'm proud of you!" she affirmed. "They looked like they fit about perfect too!"

Now I was aghast...

"WHAT???? YOU gave that guy your clothes??" I asked in amazement????? "I had no idea???" Daniel just smiled. "Yep, and he gave the family $200 to help with expenses too!" my mom added. (Insert note: my brother isn't making much of any kind of pay-check right now, so his money is limited too! Yet, nothing seems to stop his generous heart!)

"Wow...." I continued in amazement. "I had no clue. I just thought Ben had some other clothes he hadn't had time to change into. And actually, it was because of YOU!!! I am sooo amazed!!! No wonder you changed into your overalls Daniel? I was wondering why you did that when you already looked soooo nice in your dress clothes!!!"

I sat back in silence...

Here the whole time I'd been thinking critical thoughts in my heart about this poor boy. He surely wasn't ready for any Bible study. And my little brother Daniel had just marched into the scene, seen the need, and done something about it....even if it meant giving the shirt of his own back. I was truly chastised. In fact, I think it's pretty obvious...I was the one that really wasn't ready for Bible study that day. "God forgive me! I have been humbled and reminded once again...what matters most is not the outside, but the heart!"

Next time, I may not give the poor teenage boy my clothes (I don't think he would wear them anyway) but I will seek to do what I can, and I will be more careful about my critical heart towards others.

Thanks Daniel, for the important lesson!

We can Trust Him...

"But He knoweth the way that I take...when He hath tried me, I shall come forth as gold..." Job 23:10

I've been singing this scripture song a lot recently...and am reminded of God's faithfulness, even when we cannot see His plan, even when we cannot understand what He is doing, and even when our journey includes pain.

God is faithful....He knows what He is doing...We can trust Him!!!!!!!

The following are some quotes that I've found especially uplifting recently. I hope they will be the same for you...

Our Heavenly father requires no more nor less than He has given us the ability to do. He lays upon His servants no burdens that they are not able to bear. All that He claims from us, we through divine grace can render. COL 363

God never leads His children otherwise than they would choose to be led, if they could see the end from the beginning, and discern the glory of the purpose which they are fulfilling as coworkers with Him. Not Enoch, who was translated to heaven, not Elijah, who ascended in a chariot of fire, was greater or more honored than John the Baptist, who perished alone in the dungeon. "Unto you it is given in the behalf of Christ, not only to believe on him, but also to suffer for his sake" (Phil. 1:29). And of all the gifts that Heaven can bestow upon men, fellowship with Christ in His sufferings is the most weighty trust and the highest honor. CC 278

Ouch....really?? Ok, God...so even when nothing makes sense...help me (all of us) to count it but JOY that we are called upon to endure pain for YOU!!!

"Come unto me, all ye weary and heavy laden; give Me your load; trust Me to do the work that it is impossible for the human agent to do." Let us trust Him. Worry is blind and cannot discern the future. But Jesus sees the end from the beginning, and in every difficulty He has His way prepared to bring relief. Abiding in Christ, we can do all things through Him who strengthens us. AG 113

And at last....one of my very favorites....

Our heavenly Father has a thousand ways to provide for us of which we know nothing. Those who accept the one principle of making the service of God supreme, will find perplexities vanish, and a plain path before their feet. MH 481

Truly He does make ALL THINGS BEAUTIFUL....In His time!!!! Ecl 3:11

So my dear friends....if there is some burden upon your heart, some care, some sorrow....some trial. Know that our God is faithful...and all things are in His hand. And most importantly...we can trust HIM!!!!