I Have Arrived!

"Arriving at one goal is the starting point to another." ~John Dewey

As I flew over Thailand and we began our decent into Bangkok, I noticed these flickers of light out my window.  The closer we got to land, I realized the many glimmers of light I was seeing were from the sun reflecting off the gold roof tops of the temples.  I began to pray for Thailand and as I did this metaphor came to my mind. 

As I live in Thailand I pray that my life is like the gold on the roofs of the Buddhist temples.  May I, being a temple of the living God, reflect the Son.  May I be a glimmer of light that attracts others to Christ.  May the true King rule in the hearts of the Thai people.  May this nation come to know the love of Jesus! May their eyes be opened and may they run into His Truth, finding Grace, Mercy, Hope, and Love.  May they embrace justice and may it abound in this nation. Let there be rejoicing in heaven over these lost sheep. 

 So He told them this parable, saying, “What man among you, if he has a hundred sheep and has lost one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the open pasture and go after the one which is lost until he finds it?  When he has found it, he lays it on his shoulders, rejoicing.  And when he comes home, he calls together his friends and his neighbors, saying to them, ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep which was lost!’  I tell you that in the same way, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who need no repentance.

Luke 15:3-7

Sometimes God Even Provides Our Wants

      I want to start off by saying I really dislike the prosperity gospel and hope this doesn't come across as sounding like a prosperity thing but a really cool "God thing" happened today and I want to share it and bring God glory!!!  God doesn't always give us what we want but He ALWAYS gives us what we need.  SOMETIMES He allows us to have the material things we want BUT not always.  I don't know why or how He chooses but that's His business. My job is to be content with what He has given me.

     I've been putting off buying a phone for Thailand because I don't have one (didn't need one in Korea).  I need one that is unlocked and was hoping to get a used one cause I don't have a lot of money and want to be wise with how I spend it since it is His money and I'm not sure of the income I will have in Thailand. Over the past 2 months I have had no such luck.  Getting the phone I wanted would have tapped into the money I have set aside to survive the rest of the year in Thailand.

     Well I prayed and prayed about it the past 2 months and asked God for an iPhone cause it is easier to keep in contact with my family (even though I felt bad about wanting an iPhone and would have settled for anything).  I told God that I wouldn't buy the phone I wanted unless He provided the exact amount I needed.  Today God provided exactly the money I was lacking for the phone I hoped to get PLUS MORE!!!

     I know this may seem like a silly or even superficial thing to some people but one thing I have learned from my missionary friends across the world is the importance of being able to communicate with people back home.  He ALWAYS supplies what we need and not necessarily what we want.  I DIDN'T EXPECT to get the phone I wanted but SOMETIMES God will allow us to have the things we want INSTEAD OF just the thing we need.  So I want to say thanks to God for this gift! I also want to say thank you to those who made a financial contribution to help me with this! I really appreciate your support in helping me stay connected with people back home.

   Ephesians 3:20-21 "Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus through out all generations, forever and ever. Amen"