Wow. I don't really feel discouraged anymore. It's as if the Lord came in and just lifted my discouragement ... it sure feels that way! I am so glad. Thank you to all of you who prayed for me! :o)
It's beautiful outside! I love the fall season. In a few minutes I am going to lunch with several friends from work ... several fellow bloggers. :-D
Looking forward to spending this time with y'all.
Welcome, dear friends! Here you will find an assortment of snippets and reflections ... and hopefully some encouraging quotes from people like John Piper and C.S. Lewis and ... most of all ... the Scriptures. :-) Leave a comment if you'd like - I would love to hear from you! Have a GREAT day.
Friday, November 16, 2007
Monday, November 12, 2007
This afternoon I found out some wonderful news about my dad, that many of you reading this blog probably already know: After a diagnosis of cancer on July 18, a follow-up CAT scan showed my dad to have no sign of cancer now! This is a huge praise, nearly four months after his initial diagnosis.
Even as I greatly rejoice and praise God for this incredible news, I somehow find myself in general battling feelings of discouragement at times ... and today was one of those times. I have experienced many moments lately in which my life feels in some respects pretty "ordinary".
I know the life of no believer should seem ordinary really, when God is always doing incredible things in and around us no matter what -- and in some ways that feels especially true when I have the wonderful privilege to serve Him in full-time ministry to reach people in Asia -- but there have been moments lately when it's still a struggle to not feel that things in my life are "ordinary" ... but if I am in the Lord's will, ultimately I am complete in Him and not lacking in any good thing regardless of how I may sometimes "feel" ... and He is all that ultimately matters.
Deep down I so much want to know Him more and grow deeper in Him. Oh Lord, give me a heart to always REJOICE in the cup You give me ... to rejoice in hardship and even feelings of "ordinary-ness" if it means Your name is hallowed in me and Your likeness becomes a little bit more noticeable in me. Oh, Lord, thank you!
I read this verse today and was encouraged and felt God had pointed me to it for a purpose ... I highlighted the part that especially encouraged me today.
"There, in the presence of the LORD your God, you and your families shall eat and shall rejoice in everything you have put your hand to, because the LORD your God has blessed you."
- Deuteronomy 12:7
Even as I greatly rejoice and praise God for this incredible news, I somehow find myself in general battling feelings of discouragement at times ... and today was one of those times. I have experienced many moments lately in which my life feels in some respects pretty "ordinary".
I know the life of no believer should seem ordinary really, when God is always doing incredible things in and around us no matter what -- and in some ways that feels especially true when I have the wonderful privilege to serve Him in full-time ministry to reach people in Asia -- but there have been moments lately when it's still a struggle to not feel that things in my life are "ordinary" ... but if I am in the Lord's will, ultimately I am complete in Him and not lacking in any good thing regardless of how I may sometimes "feel" ... and He is all that ultimately matters.
Deep down I so much want to know Him more and grow deeper in Him. Oh Lord, give me a heart to always REJOICE in the cup You give me ... to rejoice in hardship and even feelings of "ordinary-ness" if it means Your name is hallowed in me and Your likeness becomes a little bit more noticeable in me. Oh, Lord, thank you!
I read this verse today and was encouraged and felt God had pointed me to it for a purpose ... I highlighted the part that especially encouraged me today.
"There, in the presence of the LORD your God, you and your families shall eat and shall rejoice in everything you have put your hand to, because the LORD your God has blessed you."
- Deuteronomy 12:7
Tuesday, November 06, 2007
It's been two weeks since I've posted! Yikes! What a goober I am. :-D Hope all of you are doing well ... and that I haven't lost my wonderful, devoted audience? :)
So I had a few pretty funny things happen to me all within this last week ... definitely served me well for some comic relief ... so I thought I would share them with you my Blogger buddies in the hopes that perhaps they would brighten your day, too, with a good laugh or two. :-) [For those of you who are also Facebook users, this is also on my Facebook!]
#1
You may have seen my "Baskin Robbins" blooper hinted at in my status update ... well, here's the full story for your enjoyment! : )
I had a coupon for "buy one, get one free" for a 4 ounce cone at Baskin Robbins . . . and saw that it expired that day (this past Sunday). After already trying to draft a friend who especially loves ice cream (she wished that she could!) I thought I would go down there myself and grab, for a great price, two small cones. After all, who would want such a great coupon to go to waste? :=)
I figured I could transport the cones over the short trip home by putting them in a cup. So here I was, driving with this wide (but not too tall unfortunately!) cup in my lap, only to have ice cream land all over my lap when I made a turn! :=D (I think my ice cream would have remained more intact if I had the ice cream part facing down in the cup actually ... oh well, hindsight is always better than foresight, and I sure enjoyed some good laughs about the whole thing!
#2
My friend Sally gave me a jacket she thought I might be able to use. Since her cubicle is right next to mine in the office, I was holding the jacket up a few feet from me, asking her what she thought would go with it.
Well, in the meantime, a co-worker, Brad, was making a delivery from downstairs. The way our cubicles are set up, he couldn't see Sally! So he grinned really big and was like, "Oh! I couldn't see Sally. It looked like you were talking to a jacket back there." (When he sais that, I think I laughed so hard I nearly couldn't breathe. :o) Sally was laughing, too!)
#3
Last night I noticed I was a bit low on gasoline in my car and had better go get some. Since I was near a Valero gas station, I went ahead and went there. I wanted to pay cash for a couple of gallons, and knew I needed to pre-pay inside. Well, it looked like the part of the store closest to me was closed. So I went next door. When I told the guy what I wanted to do, he looked at me with a really puzzled look ... and I could tell there was a bit of a language barrier. Then as I continued to try to explain it finally dawned on him: "OH! You must mean next door."
I looked around the store for the first time and realized I was surrounded by these huge bottles of every kind of liquor you could probably imagine ... so I kind of giggled and said, "Oh! OH!" and darted out the door. I think my face probably looked pretty flushed at that point!
So I had a few pretty funny things happen to me all within this last week ... definitely served me well for some comic relief ... so I thought I would share them with you my Blogger buddies in the hopes that perhaps they would brighten your day, too, with a good laugh or two. :-) [For those of you who are also Facebook users, this is also on my Facebook!]
#1
You may have seen my "Baskin Robbins" blooper hinted at in my status update ... well, here's the full story for your enjoyment! : )
I had a coupon for "buy one, get one free" for a 4 ounce cone at Baskin Robbins . . . and saw that it expired that day (this past Sunday). After already trying to draft a friend who especially loves ice cream (she wished that she could!) I thought I would go down there myself and grab, for a great price, two small cones. After all, who would want such a great coupon to go to waste? :=)
I figured I could transport the cones over the short trip home by putting them in a cup. So here I was, driving with this wide (but not too tall unfortunately!) cup in my lap, only to have ice cream land all over my lap when I made a turn! :=D (I think my ice cream would have remained more intact if I had the ice cream part facing down in the cup actually ... oh well, hindsight is always better than foresight, and I sure enjoyed some good laughs about the whole thing!
#2
My friend Sally gave me a jacket she thought I might be able to use. Since her cubicle is right next to mine in the office, I was holding the jacket up a few feet from me, asking her what she thought would go with it.
Well, in the meantime, a co-worker, Brad, was making a delivery from downstairs. The way our cubicles are set up, he couldn't see Sally! So he grinned really big and was like, "Oh! I couldn't see Sally. It looked like you were talking to a jacket back there." (When he sais that, I think I laughed so hard I nearly couldn't breathe. :o) Sally was laughing, too!)
#3
Last night I noticed I was a bit low on gasoline in my car and had better go get some. Since I was near a Valero gas station, I went ahead and went there. I wanted to pay cash for a couple of gallons, and knew I needed to pre-pay inside. Well, it looked like the part of the store closest to me was closed. So I went next door. When I told the guy what I wanted to do, he looked at me with a really puzzled look ... and I could tell there was a bit of a language barrier. Then as I continued to try to explain it finally dawned on him: "OH! You must mean next door."
I looked around the store for the first time and realized I was surrounded by these huge bottles of every kind of liquor you could probably imagine ... so I kind of giggled and said, "Oh! OH!" and darted out the door. I think my face probably looked pretty flushed at that point!
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