Saturday, March 27, 2010

BONUS

ha... you all probably thought it was money. nope. my bonus today was having A gone all day. this morning, the family we live with invited A to join them on their outing. A was eager to leave. she was out all day and got home at like 8. my friends called me to come get her because she was OUT in the car.

i, therefore, had a very productive day. i got a lot of my e-mails out, finished taking care of the things i still hadn't from my purse being stolen, made some phone calls to the states, took care of finances, got work done, and went to the gathering at work. the original plan was to have A dropped off at the gathering, but she didn't want to come, so i ended up going out to dinner with my girlfriends from work. it was great!!! i got home, called my sister and finished off some other things before she even got home.

now i have to say, i totally enjoyed my day without A and hope to have another one soon. i think it should be a weekly thing. it was an awesome feeling. i know all you moms out there know exactly what i'm saying.

so that was my bonus on top of a great relaxing week.

as i carried A to our room, she was half asleep, i asked her if she missed me and she said no... i thought, wow me too. we both just needed some time away from each other. :)

Friday, March 26, 2010

Refreshed and back to life...

I have had the most relaxing, energy gaining, motivating, regaining focus week. We went to AB and TB's place. It was so much fun. We stayed at our own house, the one made in memory of P. It was great.

My favorite part of the week... sleeping 9 hours at night and also taking at least and hour and half nap with A. I really needed all that sleep. It was absolutely heavenly.

The other great thing about the week was that we were surrounded by creation and we would wake up to the curtains dancing with the wind, in between their beats of dancing, we could see the trees and beautiful blue sky from the bed. It would be such a sight, until A would toss the curtain over her head and call our for Uncle A. I would just laugh thinking how I'm just enjoying this scenery and she's all ready to go and play.

I wanted to see what their life was like as much as resting, so we followed TB's schedule during our time there. But then she became my hero and I remembered why I told God I did not want to be in the tropics or is it just manual labor in the tropics since I do fine with my kind of work. :) TB one morning goes out to the field and works the beds of vegetables with the women. A and I joined. They work from 6:30am-1pm. A and I went and worked hard... After an hour and a half, I was feeling a little heat stricken and had to stop. TB went on til midday. Wow... She is my new heroine. She not only worked the beds, but carried big sacks of things over her head. I'm telling you either something is wrong with my cooling system in my body or I need to like have an electric fan blowing on my face. Heat and I just don't do well together. But I had a great time for that hour and a half... For every half bed I worked, the farm ladies did a bed and a half. I laughed at myself and they told me it's because it's their daily life they could work so fast. I would love to do that again some time. I think if I could get out on the field quicker, I could last longer since it's cooler in the mornings. I think I could at least do the morning shift before the break and then do something in shade after that. :)

The other morning we went on a hike down the mountain to visit some people and hiked back up. TB and I took turns carrying A on our backs. You could imagine going up and down mountains with an extra 18 kilos on your back. But TB and I both thought it was good exercise and had a grand time on the hike. I think that was a highlight for me or at least one of them.

In the afternoons, around 3, A went to a farmer's family's house and stayed their with her new friends. They really aren't friends, they are in high school, but those girls thought A was so cute, after they worked the fields all morning, they wanted to spend the afternoon with A. So A would be gone from 3-6. The girls, 3 of them, would take her around the farm to look at goats, fish, kittens and play doctor. A also became their English tutor. They would practice their English with A and she would talk to them in English. Usually the next morning, the girls would share with us what they did the evening before. A loved her time with them so much that when it was time to come home, she cried because she wanted to stay with them.

So our vacation time was great. We really needed it, enjoyed it and now feel refreshed.

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As I was there, I finished reading Acts, Crazy Love and thought of something.

After the flood, the Lord led me to Acts. As I read the first chapter, I had a desire to live a life like those in Acts. So I read a chapter a day and just studied it a little. I wanted to share some things I've learned.

  1. The Holy Spirit is at work. Jesus promises us a helper and the Holy Spirit comes and just shakes the place down. People were being filled with the Spirit and radical things started happening. - Read "Forgotten God" by Francis Chan. LORD FILL ME WITH YOUR SPIRIT!
  2. The Gospel was a part of everything. It didn't matter who, what, where and how, but wherever the apostles were, there was the gospel. Whenever they addressed the crowd, it was with the gospel. LORD LET MY LIPS BE FILLED WITH THE GOSPEL. LET EVERYTHING BE ABOUT YOU JESUS.
  3. After hearing the gospel, people were baptized right after. Many times in the NT it states, they believed and were baptized. LORD LET BAPTISM NOT BE JUST A RITUAL FOR ME, BUT THAT IT IS A SYMBOL OF BEING A NEW CREATION.
  4. People gave and shared everything. Once someone became part of the family, they sold and gave so that everyone may have. - Read "Crazy Love" by Francis Chan. LORD LET ME BE QUICK TO GIVE AND WITH A JOYFUL HEART.
  5. God's people suffered. The people that were proclaiming Jesus were being ostracized, being put to prison, flogged, beaten, killed... Jesus said that following Him ain't going to be easy. He said that if the world thinks your weird, then you are doing the right thing. LORD LET ME NOT THINK THAT FOLLOWING YOU IS GOING TO BE ALL SWEET AND GOOD, LET ME BE READY TO COUNT MY COSTS.
  6. This is so crazy, but I so long for it. After their suffering, after their flogging, the apostles came out rejoicing at the very thought of how great it is to be worthy to be tortured for Jesus. They had joy in all this. They wanted more. LORD TO HAVE JOY LIKE THIS. LET ME BE SOMEONE TO REJOICE EVEN IN DARKEST DAYS OF MY LIFE.
  7. The apostles were performing miracles left and right in the name of Jesus. LORD LET ME BELIEVE THAT YOU STILL ARE CAPABLE AND WILLING TO DO THE SAME MIRACLES. LET ME NOT JUST PASS THIS AS SOMETHING YOU DID BACK THEN.
I really enjoyed reading that book and long so much for the Lord to do the same and for His people to be that fervent in doing as He desires.

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Please invest in the book "Crazy Love". I do not know Francis Chan and I am not getting paid to say this, but really if you want to read one book this year I think this should be it. I also ask that you read the book prayerfully. You could read the book and just say "oh that was good" and never think about it again. But I believe that if you go into this book prayerfully and really hear what he says, then this could change your world. I mean literally, you could be anywhere but where you are after you read this book.

I had thought about putting down the things I like about the book, then I think people wouldn't go out and get the book. So I won't do it now. Maybe in a few months, hoping that some of you have bought the book, I will jot down some of the points that I particularly enjoyed and was convicted on.

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A thought I had while I was at my friends' house. There is a term "ikut suami" here. It is almost like a phrase that all feminists would be attacking. It means you "followed your husband". So like on our visa here as a family, I was "ikut suami", which just meant that I am under my husband's visa and I wasn't really doing anything here.

After P died, I had trouble with that term, because people were using that on me. Saying that I just followed my husband, like I didn't have a conviction of my own. That bothered me for some time and I really didn't like that people were not seeing me as an individual that the Lord wanted overseas also. The thing is, I know that if I was not comfortable with going, P would have not gone. I also know that if I had any doubts P would have not gone. P knew that it was not just him, but that God was asking us as a couple to make the move. Yes he just happened to be on the way when we met, but that doesn't make it any less my obedience in what the Lord asked me to do.

So when the Lord asked me to go again, I honestly had some doubts. The things people had said became the lies Satan used to hold me back. The Lord worked me through that... and I came with A with God leading every step of the way. So no more "ikut suami", just me...

The other night, I was lying in bed thinking of my time here and thinking of what's next. I thought of how easy it was to just "ikut suami" and not have to do all the thinking on my own. Then the Lord said to me, "but you are "ikut suami" remember I'm your husband". Wow... I was just floored with what the Lord said to me. That's right, Jesus says that He desires to be our friend, our Savior, and even our husband. So here I am again, "ikut suami" and the best "suami" I could ever ask for.

Thank you God for speaking so personally to me.

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I ask for prayer in the area of revival. Ask for revival in the hearts of believers here and for those who do not know that they would come to know. Pray for His spirit to pour down on the people here!!!

Saturday, March 20, 2010

in need of vacation...

we have had quite a journey these past couple months... moving, stealing, flooding, moving, saying good-bye, computer problems... all of these things have make me think i need a break. my brain doesn't work sometimes and i just realized mid-week last week that A will be on a break for a week as her term has ended. so before the new one starts, she gets a break. so we are taking a vacation to grandma and grandpa's house... ha ha... it's really not grandma and grandpa, P and i used to call it that, since that's what it felt like, but they are way to young to be anyone's grandma and grandpa. A and i are taking some time, don't have an exact date on when we are coming home, but we will be leaving on monday morning. we are just going to go and enjoy some loving and beauty of God's wonderful creation. i think i need some time to cry and relax. it's been an overwhelming period of my life.

PLEASE PRAY FOR MY HELPER. actually her husband. he has been sick for a while and has been okay for the past about 6 months. tuesday he went to the ER again... i'll make the story short, but it looks like the doctors were treating him for the wrong thing. 4 in the morning this morning, i was awaken by a phone call from our helper, Y, that her husband is doing really bad and asked what she should do. she sounded so scared... told me that his body was turning cold... that did it for me... it took me back and hit right at home for me. again long story short.... please pray for this situation that the Lord will show Himself to them through this. please pray that i could be of help and give wise counsel. please pray for his health... he is only 36. we have been talking about how Jesus is the great healer and about heaven. Please Please Please pray!!!

Please pray for me too... i fell today... i hurt my left hand, primarily on the knuckle and my left knee is feeling a little sore. i will take some ibuprofen before i sleep and hope that will be all i need.

Please pray for A as she has had a cough for about three weeks now. no other symptoms, but please pray.

Please just lift us up daily... physically, emotionally and especially spiritually as we live out a spiritual war!!!

hopefully i will be more refreshed after my vacation to write some more things on my mind.

Tuesday, March 16, 2010

external

I'm so glad that I finally have my laptop back... although now, it has an external keyboard attached to it. I got it looked at and the keyboard disengaged for $10 and a friend had an extra keyboard. So no need to buy a new laptop. I'll just keep doing this until it's time to buy a new one. Maybe for when I go back to the states.

My heart has been burdened by some overwhelming things and how do I put that all down... I can't do that all on the first day I get my laptop back. I mean come on, I've been off for like more than a week. ha ha...

Well, I do want to say that, God is definitely working in and through and around my life. I pray that He will use all this for His glory.

I'm glad to be back on!!!

Lots to catch up on.

Wednesday, March 10, 2010

Out of Touch

My laptop is in the shop. May have to either change the keyboard or get a new laptop. It's already three years old and I hear that's about the lifespan of a laptop.

Please pray for a quick resolution.

Sad.

Friday, March 5, 2010

Break Down

Have any of you ever asked the question "why?" to God? Have any of you said, "Okay God that's enough?" Have any of you almost broke down like a little kid and threw a tantrum?

Well today was that day. I asked God all the why questions I could come up with... It started yesterday afternoon when I went to go turn on my computer and it wouldn't work. It turned on and the screen came on, but when I went to type, it wouldn't type... then the screen went black. I tried several times to restart it with no success... I was kind of depressed last night thinking about how I would be "cut off" from the world for who knows how long. I prayed and threw a little tantrum... "God what else do you want to take from me?"

Praise God that in the midst of my poor attitude, God still loves me and had JM call me all the way from Macau. I was so blessed. We talked and then she prayed for me. What a good sister huh? I felt so much better afterward. Then my sister called, my real sister, and we talked. Thank you Lord for that.

But then... today I as I mentioned before, my heart was full of "I've had enough God". I really was on the verge of breaking down. I knew that if someone said one thing wrong, I would just start crying. I knew that if probably someone even looked at me wrong, I could cry... It was not good. I sent out a text to my friends asking them to pray for me. I couldn't handle it.

Some people are probably like "what seriously over your computer?" but I've had a few hard weeks and on top of that was my computer... So yes over my computer.

Anyway... I tried really hard to keep myself together and I did... I didn't break down, although I really wanted to with all my being... But if you read the book, "BIG GIRLS DON'T WHINE" big girls in Christ are a consistent being, even through hard things, so I just kept talking to God throughout the day... even though it was a little childish my conversation, I wanted to talk to Him and no one else... I told him all that I felt... How I thought it was unfair and I just had enough and don't think I could handle anymore for right now...

As you are reading, you could probably tell that I am typing... and Yes it is on my own computer. I got home and took a nap with A, exhausted emotionally from my discussions with God. When I woke up, I looked at my computer and thought, I'll just try and see.. MIRACLE. It's working. I mean seriously... yesterday I was banging on my keyboard... today, it's typing so smoothly. Praise God...

I am reminded about what God had spoke to be earlier this week. I was thinking about suffering earlier this week. Just thinking how God gives different sufferings to different people and the amount of it is even different and even how some sufferings are something to laugh at to some people... like my computer could be a laughing matter to some people, but to me it was a true suffering for the day... but to others, it is a true heart wrenching struggle.

As I was thinking, praying and just reading through some scripture about suffering, I was reminded of the story of the talents. How the master gave each of his servants different talents, one he gave 5, the other 2, and the last 1. When he came back, the one with 5 doubled his and he was rewarded. The one with 2 also doubled and he was rewarded. Yet the last one, hid his 1 talent and brought it to his master and he was rebuked.

Then to think of the blind man, when people asked Jesus if the man was blind because of his sins or his parents sins, Jesus responds by saying it was for the glory of God and heals him.

Put those two stories together and I thought how God gives us suffering, it's part of being a follower of Christ, we are guaranteed to suffer. But God allows us to experience suffering, every one to his own ability to handle, in order that we could bring glory to His name.

I thought how if after P died, I just hid myself in some apartment in Chicago and never let people see what the Lord is doing for me, God would be terribly sad. He for some reason, let me experience this suffering, and like the talent, I don't think He desires for me to hide it and just wait for His return to give Him back what He gave me... I sense that He would like to use it for His glory. And like the blind man, I have heard people ask questions about people who are suffering, if they had sinned. Yes, it could be, but I also believe, like that of the blind man, God allows things to happen for His glory. That's all He cares about and that's really all we should care about...

So yes, sad to say, I had a break down today, not as bad as I thought it was going to be, but nonetheless a break down. I don't think that will be the last one. I mean come on, growing in Christ is a process and sometimes we just throw a tantrum, BUT... I surrender my life back to the Lord and trust that He will only give me what I can bear and ask that I will continue to grow and not fall weary.

Please continue to pray for us... please don't forget. I got a chance to talk to one of our prayer warriors right before reading this, LN, and He was telling me how much he and his wife prays for us. Really prayer is all that gets us through life, so please don't forget to pray for A and me.

Pray for safety and health. Please continue to pray for our future, that I would be ever ready to listen to what the Lord has for me.

Also pray in areas the Lord brings to your heart.

Please Please Please pray coverage over us spiritually that Satan will have NO, ABSOLUTELY NO HOLD IN ANY PART OF OUR LIVES.

We love you and really appreciate your prayers.

Monday, March 1, 2010

more to come...

i don't have much time to expand on this, but if you have like $20 to spare, please go out and buy "crazy love" by francis chan. i really think it will turn your world around... or as my friend TT said, "it whacked me up." i'm pretty sure that's what he said. ha ha... but really... it's a good book that will get you thinking...

i have a lot to say about what i'm learning about this book, but if you go out and get it, then maybe you could let me in on some insight.