Jesus is in the Valleys

For a week now I've been finding myself physically tired ... and at times kind of having an overall feeling of weariness. I did get a nap yesterday ... although I'm not sure it was enough. I should be able to get some good rest this evening ... and it's nice, too, that Friday is July 4 so I can sleep in. :) I kept forgetting about that ... so it was a fun surprise today!

Last night I did have a good prayer time with a friend ... It was amazing the sense of peace I was left with as we parted ways. Meeting with her and praying with her was just what I needed last night! Then today I had a thoughtful note from another good friend, reminding me to keep my eyes fixed on Jesus. That reminder was just what I needed today ... Jesus is incredible ... and no matter how weary I may feel at times, His presence is still a refuge where I can find indescribable joy.

I am finding myself constantly reminded lately of my need for Him. That's a good thing in the sense that it drives me to His feet. I was excited to receive in the mail an old Caedman's Call CD I ordered off Amazon. I think this excerpt from their song "Down in the Valley" says it well ...

Down in this wasteland I miss the mountaintop view
But it's here in this valley that I'm surrounded by You.
Though I'm not here by my will it's where Your view is most clear.
So I'll stay in this valley if it takes 40 years.

Now, I do hope I'm not feeling as weary for the next 40 years as I was from this past Monday to today ... :) But I do so much love the whole theme of these lyrics ... the willingness the songwriters express to "stay in the valley" for as long as it takes if that means they are drawn closer to Jesus through it. I totally love that! And I love that anything we go through as believers in Christ is for a purpose ... none of it is wasted.

Jesus and the Island of Patmos

Yesterday's message in church was really interesting and made me want to research the Island of Patmos. The guy who taught shared from Revelation 1:9,10 and brought out some really cool points ...

In verse nine, we find John was on the Island of Patmos where there was no Christian fellowship for him. This was also a place where hardened criminals were "dumped off", to fend for themselves. You could say, at least in an earthly sense, this was a definite trial in John's life.

Yet the next verse goes on to talk about how John was in the presence of the Lord. What better place to be than with Him? If we know Him as Savior, He is our Friend, our dwelling place, our portion. Oh, how I love Him ... everything in life fits in its proper place when we know Him ... Even if it's something hard for the moment ... because we know He is bringing about eternal good through it. So amazing.

As the guest speaker brought out yesterday, the Lord used John's time of exile in Patmos in an incredible way ... It wasn't a surprise to the Lord; He used it greatly, and now we have the book of Revelation. :)

Well ... I should go because I am sleepy and still wanting to get in a walk with a friend and get a few things done before calling it a night ... I am just so grateful for Jesus ... and that He works everything out for good in our lives. :)

Savoring the Savior's Sweetness

I have felt a bit weary at moments this week ... doing a bit better now, I think. I have been thinking about how knowing Jesus puts every part of life into proper perspective ... I have been reading a great book by John Piper about savoring the sweetness of the inexpressible joys found in Him. This is my prayer ... that the world around me simply fade away in the light of His incredible presence ... to be with Him, praising Him and seeking His face, is just wonderful. Everything else really does start to fade away in the light of the incomparable joys He offers ... :)

How refreshing is the light of His presence ... close to Him is where I want to always be ... abiding deeply in Him ... there is no joy like that of knowing this incredible Savior.

I love this passage from Isaiah ...

"Come, all you who are thirsty, come to the waters; and you who have no money, come, buy and eat! Come, buy wine and milk without money and without cost. Why spend money on what is not bread, and your labor on what does not satisfy? Listen, listen to me, and eat what is good, and your soul will delight in the richest of fare."
--Isaiah 55:1,2

Oh yes ... Jesus is the "richest of fare" that passage talks about. And this is a wonderful constant, regardless of what is going on around me, or even simply the challenges sometimes of day-to-day life. I am glad.

A Tale of Redemption

Last night I watched The Last Sin Eater. It was a pretty powerful allegory of redemption ... especially once you get past the strong Appalachian accents. :) (At first, I thought the main character in the story was saying "Sunitra" instead of Sin Eater ... :-D) Set around the 1850s in the Appalachian's, it highlights a mountain community held bondage to years of superstition and tradition. There was an interesting twist in all that at the end as well.

Parts were hard to watch because of the violence ... more than anything, the sense of, "No, this shouldn't be happening." But overall it's a well-made movie that vividly portrays redemption as it follows the life of a community ... most specifically a young girl ... seeking atonement for sins in the tradition of a "Sin Eater", only to find that he is as empty and broken as she ... she needs the One who is the true Sin Eater!

It's definitely a movie that makes you think because of the great lengths people go to in hopes of redemption. It really reminded me of the traditions and superstitions followed by so many in Asia, when if only they knew ... true redemption and peace are found only in Jesus. I finished the movie with a fresh appreciation for redemption in Christ. What an amazing gift that we could never put a price on ... eternal redemption! How grateful I am for Jesus!

I had the opportunity to head down to a south Dallas neighborhood this past weekend for their annual Clean Sweep, where people from the Body of Christ in the Dallas area joined together to pray, pick up trash and plant flowers in the neighborhood ... it was a great time of getting to serve and fellowship with other believers, and truly the highlight of my weekend! I enjoyed it so much. I had the opportunity to reconnect with this really sweet Christian woman in that community that I had gotten to meet before ... it was awesome witnessing her incredible joy and her fervent heart for Jesus. Praise God for how His redemptive story is touching hearts in this community.

Rejoicing some more ...

I do think I'm on Cloud Nine! Or something like it, anyhow! I just got back from Transit (my Sat.nite study) and fellowship with the group afterwards at Baker Bros. Class was great ... the lesson was SO good. Our teacher brought out so many Scriptures about how amazing Christ is and how incredible it is that we can know Him ... that if we are His children, He is even living in us! How awesome is that? One thing that really, really stood out to me was when he said that so often, we settle for so much less than God in our everyday lives ... our desires are such that we have desires for lesser things than God Himself. Than the sweetness of knowing Him more deeply. So true ... and something I want to stop being guilty of. :) Deep down I do so much desire Him ... He is more to me than life itself! Now may I increasingly live and dwell in that mind-boggling reality.

There were so many visitors, too ... or at least, it sure felt like there were! :) I was running around like crazy, making sure our visitors felt welcome and that they each had visitors sheets to fill out ... but I loved every minute of it. :-) I truly love this class and the community of it and getting to serve and fellowship there. I'm so grateful. I also so much love the community of those I'm on staff with at GFA. I have been so reminded lately of how wonderful that is.

So ... right before class tonight, I went to get the folder with the roster and visitor sheets, and was walking down the hall with it. Well, just as I neared the classroom, suddenly the visitor sheets literally came flying out of the folder. And I slipped on some of them and ... totally went sprawling to the floor. Several of my classmates saw the whole thing. ;-D Good thing was, at least they were able to come to my rescue, grabbing the papers off the floor for me as I laughed ... and laughed some more ... and regained my composure. We decided the class folder should come with a warning label ... perhaps ... "Be careful ... could be hazardous to your health if carrying it down the hall". :)

Rejoicing this weekend

After a pretty challenging week, yesterday and last night were incredble! :) I was sharing with a few co-workers, on Thursday night when I sat down to try to have some good time with the Lord, it kind of felt like it took a lot of my energy but yet that it wasn't helping me ... but the Lord gave me the perseverance to press on by faith, trusting Him to use it in my life.

Well, yesterday was a good day, and had a great time at lunch with a couple of co-workers - two really nice girls who have been here for a few weeks as summer interns. They're great and so much fun to get to know! I also introduced them to one of my favorite restaurants and they liked it ... yay! :)

Then last night was great. We had all-night prayer here at the ministry ... I ended up staying until it ended at 5 a.m. and had a blast! It was also really awesome that a few of my friends got to make it out for some of it and seemed to enjoy it, too! It was a wonderful, refreshing time ... and I have had such peace in my heart today and felt refreshed. When I got up this morning ... I mean this afternoon :-D ... I was able to have some good time with the Lord. I am so grateful.

Jesus is better than a magical switch ...

Ever wish you could turn on this magical switch that would make all your challenges and discouragement just disappear? :) I have been finding myself wishing that to an extent lately ... although ultimately I know challenging times are a good thing in that they draw me all the closer to Jesus ... so, really, why should I "wish them away" ... no matter how hard they may be from a fleshly, temporal perspective. Deep down what I need most is to know Jesus more intimately ... so anything that brings that about in my life is a Friend ... even if hard for the moment.

I've kind of found myself battling a good bit of discouragement lately. Part of it could be the spiritual battle we are all in, that I can so often forget about. As believers in Jesus, we are engaged in a very real spiritual battle ... but God wins! Praise the Lord for that! :)

On another note, I did have some nice times of fellowship this weekend with friends, especially with the great group from Transit (my Sat. night BIble study) as we all hung out at Pei Wei Asian Diner after the study. That was really fun!

A humorous note ... as I was sharing with the rest of the staff last night about Myanmar* for one of the segments for prayer, I was encouraging people to engage passionately in prayer ... doing battle for the people of Myanmar. I know that for me, physically getting on my knees when I pray can really help me sometimes ... not that there's anything special about being on our knees, but somehow the Lord just uses it in my life sometimes to get me in the right frame of mind. Well, anyhow, I was like, "Get down on your hands and knees if that helps" ... then I had to laugh (as well as others :)) because I have this picture of everyone on their hands and knees, praying. :-) Too funny! Of course I meant to say "Get down on your knees", but the slip-up gave me a good laugh ... which the Lord must have known I needed. :) Laughter is good for the heart and good medicine in the challenging times of life. So is God's Word. (eternally so!) He was encouraging me this week through Isaiah 58, especially as I was preparing to share about the incredibly hard situation in Myanmar.

*If you have been seeing the news reports on BBC news and other sources, you know the precious people in Myanmar could really use our prayers. Do cry out to the Lord of the harvest for them! I know God has a heart for the people there and we can look to Him in faith to intervene in incredible ways on their behalf to provide for them and draw them to Himself ... ]