Who Am I?

 Who Am I?

• To minister effectively, we must have confidence in two things: 

• (1) Confidence in our Lord and (2) confidence in who He made us to be

• Psalms 139:14 “I will praise thee; for I am fearfully and wonderfully made: marvellous are thy works; and that my soul knoweth right well.”

• Why are comparisons unwise? When we compare ourselves to others, we are being self-centered.

• 2 Corinthians 10:12 “For we dare not make ourselves of the number, or compare ourselves with some that commend themselves: but they measuring themselves by themselves, and comparing themselves among themselves, are not wise.”

• Philippians 2:4 “Look not every man on his own things, but every man also on the things of others.”

• Romans 12:3 “For I say, through the grace given unto me, to every man that is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think; but to think soberly, according as God hath dealt to every man the measure of faith.”

• Philippians 1:6 “Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ:”

• Romans 8:28 “And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.”

Ten unchangeable areas of God’s design are:
1	Our appearance	6	Siblings
2	Aptitudes	7	Race
3	Parentage	8	Country
4	Gender	9	Time in history (also past)
5	Birth order	10	Aging and death

Ephesians 1:6 “To the praise of the glory of his grace, wherein he hath made us accepted in the beloved.”

Who Is God?

 

Who is God?

1. Ephesians 3:16-19 “16 That he would grant you, according to the riches of his glory, to be strengthened with might by his Spirit in the inner man; 17 That Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith; that ye, being rooted and grounded in love, 18 May be able to comprehend with all saints what is the breadth, and length, and depth, and height; 19 And to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the fulness of God.” 

What is this talking about? Christ is the example of love. We can love because He made Himself the ultimate example.

2. Love demands giving and originates from the giver , not the worthiness of the one to it is given. 

Romans 5:6-8 “For when we were yet without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly. 7 For scarcely for a righteous man will one die: yet peradventure for a good man some would even dare to die. 8 But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.” 

3. How does our God affect us? Our view of God affects the way we live and think.

Romans 12:1-2 “I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. 2 And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.”

4. List three common misconception about God.

1. God is just like my earthly father. (John 8:32) How can we know what God is like? Turn to His Word; we shall know the truth

2. God doesn’t really love me. (1 John 4:8) (Jeremiah 31:3) (Ephesians 1:6)  Truth is greater than our feelings.

3. God loves me more when I serve Him. (Galatians 3:11) What interests God more than what we are doing for Him? God is more interested in what He is doing in us rather than what we are doing for Him.

5. The ability to rest in God’s love for me gives me liberty in service. (1 John 4:19) (John 14:15) 

Praise for the Lord's Protection

Lamentations 3:22-23

22 It is of the Lord's mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not.

23 They are new every morning: great is thy faithfulness. 

On April 2, 2022, my two older children were in a car accident. Jason and I were on our way to a missions conference and were not able to immediately be there for our sweet babies, but the Lord placed just the right people at the right time where they needed to be in order to help them. 

A lady was with our children when they called us from the scene of the accident. She stayed with them until the ambulance came to take them to the hospital. She later said this when describing the incident to me: "You should be very proud of them. They were terrified and confused, but they listened to all the direction I gave them so we could get things handled quickly and safely. Your son was incredibly brave and never stopped worrying about his sister first. You have great kids. I am so thankful that I was placed with them in that time yesterday. I will continue to pray for their healing and strength!"

Two local pastors and their wives were able to tend to the children at the hospital. One stayed with them in our home after they were released from the hospital until Jason and I arrived home four hours later. 

The following day, we saw the wrecked van for ourselves. The passenger side was squashed in like a tin can right where my son had been sitting. He walked away with no injuries. The police told us that accidents at that intersection are often fatal. 

We praise the Lord for His protection for our children. Things could have turned out so differently. We know He is not through with them yet and has great plans for their lives.

Similes and Metaphors

    

Do you ever read scripture and think about how beautiful some of the wording really is? While in school, English was my favorite subject. I would thoroughly enjoy the opportunities to write a new poem or craft an original story. I even loved the assignments that included coming up with similes (a comparison that uses "like" or "as") and metaphors (word or phrase for one thing that is used to refer to another thing in order to show or suggest that they are similar). I was reading James and couldn't help but notice how many there were in just that one book:

"For he that wavereth is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed" James 1:6.

The rich shall pass away "as the flower of the grass"  James 1:10. 

"...the grace of the fashion of it perisheth: so also shall the rich man fade away in his ways" James 1:11.

"For if any be a hearer of the word, and not a doer, he is like unto a man beholding his natural face in a glass:" James 1:23.

"For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also" James 2:26.

 

"...the tongue is a fire..." James 3:6.

"For what is your life? It is even a vapour, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away" James 4:14.

Time Drives on By!

Laura passed her driving test on 2/22/22!

    It seems like just yesterday Micah was getting ready to enter kindergarten. The summer prior, he went to Safety Town, a class for children entering school. The class was to help teach the children how to stay safe going to and from school. A gymnasium was set up with a layout of roads and street signs. The children rode around the gym in a car propelled with their feet. Twelve years later, he and Laura are now learning how to drive. Time certainly drives by quickly!

Goodbye to a Friend

Today was the funeral of a friend of mine, Carol. I met Carol during deputation and we became what you may call "penpals" or more accurately, "email pals". Often, I would send her a picture from our travels and she would send pictures of her cherry tree during all seasons, or covered bridges she had seen with her husband, Jim, of 24 years. No matter what was going on, a note from Carol in my inbox always brought a smile to my face. 

Her funeral was a lovely service consisting of her favorite hymns: "Victory in Jesus", "Amazing Grace", "Brethren we Have Met to Worship" and even a video of her telling the story behind "Great is Thy Faithfulness" and singing it after. 

Psalm 23 was read as well as :

Psalms 145:1-3

DAVID'S PSALM OF PRAISE.

1​ I will extol thee, my God, O king;

and I will bless thy name for ever and ever. 

2 Every day will I bless thee;

and I will praise thy name for ever and ever. 

3 Great is the LORD, and greatly to be praised;

and his greatness is unsearchable. 

Psalms 146:1-2 

​1 Praise ye the Lord.  Praise the LORD, O my soul. 

2 While I live will I praise the LORD:

I will sing praises unto my God while I have any being.

What stood out to me the most was how much love she poured into others through her gift giving. At the mention of her quilts and cookies bestowed to others, I thought about Dorcas in the Bible. I could imagine others clutching the quilts she had made just as Dorcas' friends clutched the clothes she had made them as they grieved for thir loss. But we can look forward to te day we are be reunited in heaven:  1 Thessalonians 4:13-14 13 But I would not have you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning them which are asleep, that ye sorrow not, even as others which have no hope. 

14 For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him.

First day of School

     Another school year is underway! I have a junior, and sophomore, and a freshman this year. How can it be that all three are now in high school?! I am so thankful to the Lord for entrusting these three precious lives to me as their mother!