Perfectly describes my thoughts right now.....
Thursday, May 19, 2011
Tuesday, May 10, 2011
Haiti
As I mentioned earlier, Phil and I are heading to Haiti. We are going with a team of 16 others from our church. We leave on June 15th and will return June 24th. This is the second of 5 planned trips that our church will be making to this area this year. We will be staying in Port au Prince and traveling about an hour north, along the coast, each day to work in Arcahaie. Here, Pastor Rene Joseph has been able to purchase 80 acres of land that is being developed into a walled community to assist those displaced by the earthquake in the area. We will be partnering with Pastor Rene and Loving Hands Ministry in order to provide construction assistance and simply help meet the needs of the Haitian people. Check this out....
God has been working in our hearts for quite some time regarding missions, and we are so excited to take this step. Please be praying for us and our team as we are preparing for this trip. Pray for our safety as we travel to an unstable area, the courage to be completely open to how God will use us, and the strength to rely on God when Satan tries to interfere.
We have already seen some amazing answers to prayer specifically regarding our safety. One of our team members was eating dinner at a restaurant and telling her family about the trip. A man came to the table, apologized for eavesdropping, and asked if he had heard correctly that she was going to Haiti. She said yes, and he explained to her that he was an ambassador for Haiti. After the earthquake he was relocated to the States. He said he was more than willing to speak to our group to help us prepare. On top of this, he's close friends with the Chief of Police in Haiti. He gave her both his contact information and the Chief of Police's and asked to contact him if we had any trouble arise while there. Praise God! A real answer to prayer and some tangible sense of security!
God has been working in our hearts for quite some time regarding missions, and we are so excited to take this step. Please be praying for us and our team as we are preparing for this trip. Pray for our safety as we travel to an unstable area, the courage to be completely open to how God will use us, and the strength to rely on God when Satan tries to interfere.
We have already seen some amazing answers to prayer specifically regarding our safety. One of our team members was eating dinner at a restaurant and telling her family about the trip. A man came to the table, apologized for eavesdropping, and asked if he had heard correctly that she was going to Haiti. She said yes, and he explained to her that he was an ambassador for Haiti. After the earthquake he was relocated to the States. He said he was more than willing to speak to our group to help us prepare. On top of this, he's close friends with the Chief of Police in Haiti. He gave her both his contact information and the Chief of Police's and asked to contact him if we had any trouble arise while there. Praise God! A real answer to prayer and some tangible sense of security!
A Chance Encounter
Phil and I were in Dick's Sporting Goods this weekend looking for some clearance shirts we could get for an upcoming missions trip to Haiti (yes, Haiti, more on that to come....). We couldn't find anything, so we were in and out within minutes. The nice older gentleman working as a greeter noticed and asked if there was anything we needed but couldn't find as we were heading out the door. I stopped, and simply stated that we were looking for wicking clothes for a missions trip. He instantly started asking questions about the trip, where we were going, and what church we were with. He then simply asked how we had seen God work in our own lives. After sharing, he then began to tell us his story. His marriage of 14 years ended with his wife leaving him. Not only that, but she took everything they had....the home, cars, and money. She then left him with one statement, "We'll see how your God takes care of you now." Goosebumps!
I couldn't imagine being in his situation. But what came next was the true inspiration. While being forced to live in a homeless shelter, he completely surrendered to God who then gave him a true peace about his circumstances. A local church comes to the shelter for a bible study once a week, but he wanted more, so he started his own study with others at the shelter. From this he was able to bring another man living there to Christ. Praise the Lord! This is a man who is truly at peace with his situation, relying on God wholly, and with the courage to share his circumstances to bring God all the glory.
God used this man within my own life as well. I've been praying recently for the courage to share the love of God with others who I do not know. To notice those small opportunities that Christ puts in front of me and act on them. I'm not going to win someone over and bring them to Christ with some great theology debate...it's not appealing to anyone. I don't know all of the books of the Bible in order, I only have a handful of verse actually memorized, and I'm still learning what all those parables mean. I'm a sinner and certainly not perfect. What I do know...that no one can deny the physical, tangible ways that Christ has worked within someones life. It's so raw and true, just as with this employee's story. Would you pray for my continued strength to surrender to Christ in these instances? This is especially important as I prepare to go to another country to share the love of God with people who are hungry for His mercy.
I couldn't imagine being in his situation. But what came next was the true inspiration. While being forced to live in a homeless shelter, he completely surrendered to God who then gave him a true peace about his circumstances. A local church comes to the shelter for a bible study once a week, but he wanted more, so he started his own study with others at the shelter. From this he was able to bring another man living there to Christ. Praise the Lord! This is a man who is truly at peace with his situation, relying on God wholly, and with the courage to share his circumstances to bring God all the glory.
God used this man within my own life as well. I've been praying recently for the courage to share the love of God with others who I do not know. To notice those small opportunities that Christ puts in front of me and act on them. I'm not going to win someone over and bring them to Christ with some great theology debate...it's not appealing to anyone. I don't know all of the books of the Bible in order, I only have a handful of verse actually memorized, and I'm still learning what all those parables mean. I'm a sinner and certainly not perfect. What I do know...that no one can deny the physical, tangible ways that Christ has worked within someones life. It's so raw and true, just as with this employee's story. Would you pray for my continued strength to surrender to Christ in these instances? This is especially important as I prepare to go to another country to share the love of God with people who are hungry for His mercy.
Thursday, May 5, 2011
Finally!
Phil got a job! (yes, it's full-time with benefits)
It all happened quite fast, but perfectly. Phil told me about a company that had a few listings in the Charlotte Observer recently, with one in particular that he was interested in. He emailed in his resume and within an hour they had called! After a bit of phone tag they finally touched base and wanted to set up an interview. He was then offered the job on the spot. Words can't describe how much of a blessing this is. The position is one we've prayed for since day one, a supervisory role with a company that is excited to use his degree to its fullest. Best of all, my husband comes home happy!!
"Delight yourself in the Lord, and He will give you the desires of your heart."
Psalm 37:4
I've been thinking a lot about the verse above. I've read it often, but recently I have been understanding it much better....
Delight yourself in the Lord - Boy has my understanding of this drastically changed! Often, I don't give the word delight enough credit. Sometimes I think of it as a half-hearted emotion you fake every now and then to show interest. Oh so wrong! If I truly take delight in something, I'm passionate about it. I can't stop thinking about it, learning more about it, and talking about it to others. I've learned that really delighting myself in the Lord means living all out for Him. It's more than church on Sunday and prayers at meal-time...that's the half-hearted, fake emotion kind of delight that's so far from the mark. I have to instead challenge myself to always think of Him, learn more about His Word, and build a relationship with Him.
, and - That comma before 'and' is important to me now. It reminds me that there's a pause before the second half of this verse...a humbling pause the makes sure I'm focused on all that delighting myself in the Lord means. Only then can the rest make sense.
He will give you the desires of your heart - I used to have major trouble with this part of the verse. I never understood how, as sinners, Christ would just give me the desires of my heart. Of course I now know that is not the case at all. But, coupled with my inadequate understanding of 'delight', it now makes sense why I have felt so much frustration with Christ and His seeming lack of willingness to give me the desires of my heart. You see, God is not my servant. This is why He makes it clear that I must first delight myself in Him. Ultimately, it is God's purpose that is accomplished, and through prayer our desires are intertwined with His.
I mentioned before that Phil and I have prayed for a long time for a position like the one he found. I know Christ heard those prayers, and I'm confident that a year ago it was one selfish prayer we had been praying. We wanted a position like this for Phil, to better himself, his career goals, our happiness, and our finances. But nothing happened. God didn't deliver. Satan was sure trying, but we thankfully began to relentlessly delight ourselves in the Lord. Over that year, we abandoned ourselves and followed Christ. We started to see the real meaning of this verse as many of our desires radically changed in order to live a more obedient life for Christ. While we still prayed for a position like this one, we instead only wanted it if it would honor His plans. A drastic difference from before. It is such a peaceful, secure feeling to place your heart in Christ's hands and experience your desires intertwining with His.
It all happened quite fast, but perfectly. Phil told me about a company that had a few listings in the Charlotte Observer recently, with one in particular that he was interested in. He emailed in his resume and within an hour they had called! After a bit of phone tag they finally touched base and wanted to set up an interview. He was then offered the job on the spot. Words can't describe how much of a blessing this is. The position is one we've prayed for since day one, a supervisory role with a company that is excited to use his degree to its fullest. Best of all, my husband comes home happy!!
"Delight yourself in the Lord, and He will give you the desires of your heart."
Psalm 37:4
I've been thinking a lot about the verse above. I've read it often, but recently I have been understanding it much better....
Delight yourself in the Lord - Boy has my understanding of this drastically changed! Often, I don't give the word delight enough credit. Sometimes I think of it as a half-hearted emotion you fake every now and then to show interest. Oh so wrong! If I truly take delight in something, I'm passionate about it. I can't stop thinking about it, learning more about it, and talking about it to others. I've learned that really delighting myself in the Lord means living all out for Him. It's more than church on Sunday and prayers at meal-time...that's the half-hearted, fake emotion kind of delight that's so far from the mark. I have to instead challenge myself to always think of Him, learn more about His Word, and build a relationship with Him.
, and - That comma before 'and' is important to me now. It reminds me that there's a pause before the second half of this verse...a humbling pause the makes sure I'm focused on all that delighting myself in the Lord means. Only then can the rest make sense.
He will give you the desires of your heart - I used to have major trouble with this part of the verse. I never understood how, as sinners, Christ would just give me the desires of my heart. Of course I now know that is not the case at all. But, coupled with my inadequate understanding of 'delight', it now makes sense why I have felt so much frustration with Christ and His seeming lack of willingness to give me the desires of my heart. You see, God is not my servant. This is why He makes it clear that I must first delight myself in Him. Ultimately, it is God's purpose that is accomplished, and through prayer our desires are intertwined with His.
I mentioned before that Phil and I have prayed for a long time for a position like the one he found. I know Christ heard those prayers, and I'm confident that a year ago it was one selfish prayer we had been praying. We wanted a position like this for Phil, to better himself, his career goals, our happiness, and our finances. But nothing happened. God didn't deliver. Satan was sure trying, but we thankfully began to relentlessly delight ourselves in the Lord. Over that year, we abandoned ourselves and followed Christ. We started to see the real meaning of this verse as many of our desires radically changed in order to live a more obedient life for Christ. While we still prayed for a position like this one, we instead only wanted it if it would honor His plans. A drastic difference from before. It is such a peaceful, secure feeling to place your heart in Christ's hands and experience your desires intertwining with His.
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