Зима

This will be a quick post and very soon within the next couple of days I'm going to sit down and post an actual update for all the crazy busy times I experienced during the past 2 months.

So until then I'll leave you with 2 things. The first is a poem we had to memorize for our Russian class. Sometimes it's hard enough to memorize english, needless to say it took some time memorizing this. When it came time for me to recite said poem, I did an ok job. So enjoy:

Зима
Белый снег пушистый В воздухе кружится И на землю тихо Падает, ложится.

И под утро снегом Поле забелело,Точно пеленою Всё его одело.

Тёмный лес что шапкой Принакрылся чудной И заснул под нею Крепко, непробудно...

Божьи дни коротки,Солнце светит мало. Вот пришли морозы, И зима настала.

И. Суриков

The second thing is a song we sung this past month, well actually just the first 3 verses. It started with our Russian teacher teaching us the song and telling us it's about a bunny, a christmas tree, and a wolf. Little did we know almost everyone knows the song. So that was pretty cool to be able to sing it with other students, especially during our christmas parties. Also the tune is so catchy that once you start singing the song, it stays in your head for some time. So enjoy:

В лесу родилась ёлочка, В лесу она росла, Зимой и летом стройная, Зелёная была.

Метель ей пела песенку: «Спи, ёлочка, бай-бай!» Мороз снежком укутывал: «Смотри, не замерзай!»

Трусишка зайка серенький Под ёлочкой скакал. Порою волк, сердитый волк Рысцою пробегал.

Everyday here is a privilege...

I've been here three weeks, and praise the Lord for adjustments. I need to update about life, but first I need to sit down and process the past three weeks.

So until I update (which I hope to be real soon) I'll leave you with a few things:

A song that's been recently on my mind
I come and bow down to worship, to clothe You in worth. I come to offer my life again, as my act of sacrifice. I don't come based on anything that I've done, but only through Your finished work on the cross.

My God, my Savior Lord Jesus, I want to love you forever. You are the Lamb that has been slain. One day I'll praise You in glory, with all of the angels. Joining Your saints around Your throne.

All praise, all glory, all honor to You my King.


Words that have been on my mind in no particular order
Thankful. Awkwardness. Patience. Awestruck. Majestic. Grace. Humility. Grateful.

Sunsets

I can't get enough of sunsets. I have this fascination with them. I've seen some of the most amazing sunsets when I least expect them.

When I'm lucky enough to drive from Huntsville to Dallas late, God never fails to create a beautiful masterpiece. Plenty of times I've pulled over or slowed down just to take in His glory. Then I think, since I never tire of seeing them, God never tires creating them. Each night He gets a blank canvas to blow us away with. How amazing is that???

It makes me excited about Heaven. A sunset is only a glimpse of His beauty, His glory, how radiant He is. I'm so fascinated, so blown away, so captivated by a mere shadow of who He really is. There's something about watching a sunset and listening/singing to worship. It makes me think of the Throne of Heaven, and creatures surrounding God singing: Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty, who was, and is, and is to come"...."to him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb be praise and honor and glory and power, for ever and ever!"

I was listening to this song on the last drive from Huntsville to Dallas for a long time. Once again God blew me away, and I was sure this was the best sunset I've witnessed. BUT every time I say that He creates an even better one another time.

Enjoy and give Luke Wood a listen.

Heart After You

Luke Wood

I want to stand in Your counsel to sit at Your table

And speak to You face to face as a friend
I want to stand in Your fire wherever Your eyes fall
May You find me faithful to Your heart
Let me be found...
With a heart after You
May Your eyes find this heart loyal to You
May You be all that's on my mind all of the time

Let my heart be torn in two until your will is mine

Dearly Beloved of my soul

.....I will not be silent, I was born to worship. I will not be quiet, the voice of fear, you can't hold me back no more. Worship is the key. Worship is my destiny. Worship is the victory that releases the glory! I will not give up what is my Inheritance. I was born to do great things, God is alive, He lives inside of me.....

Complacency

I have been thinking of the word complacency.

First I wanted to look up what it meant. By definition complacency means: a feeling of quiet pleasure or security, often while unaware of some potential danger, defect, or the like; self-satisfaction or smug satisfaction with an existing situation, condition.

Bare with me for a bit, this idea makes me think of the movie Groundhog Day. Where he relives the day over and over again. At first he likes it because he can relive the day over and thinks he can change the outcome. Something isn't done right, and he relives the day over. Soon he becomes discouraged, and finally becomes content that his life will always be stuck on this day. He has lost the feeling of getting to experience a new day, getting to experience new adventures, nothing is new anymore. He has been lulled into this quiet security of reliving the day unaware of the danger.

To be in a state of complacency, it's as though we're living our very own Groundhog Day. At first it seems like change can occur, mirrors make it seem like we have accomplished something, but soon just living becomes our life. We wake up, go about our day, eat at some point, then sleep...only to do it over and over again...never expecting it to change. It is at this point, complacency has replaced expectancy. Coming to this point as a Christian can be deadly to our walk, and to those around us. I would be living my day as though nothing new will happen, and never expecting God. Or more arrogantly that I have learned it all, so what can God show me, I have seen it all...

....Expectancy is what brings the rain.....

When I think of expectancy, I think of when a woman is pregnant. She has this beautiful glow about her, knows that after a certain time, she will get to see her beautiful child. First she must be patient, but in the end all she has to do is push. Of course there's more to it, but that's a basic concept. She doesn't just wake up every day, going about her routine, and satisfied with how her life is going....no she has this sense of great expectancy.

So when I sense satan trying to suck me into a dull life, I go back to the picture of the pregnant woman, I wait on God, and know that after due time I will see what He has placed inside of me. I will patiently seek God, expecting the rain.

Randomness

So in an attempt to create a blog for my central asia adventures....alas...I've failed at updating my blog. My reasoning, I haven't left the states yet so I forget to update. Anyway I feel now would be a good time to update on my life. This will be random, but knowing me I'm pretty random with my thoughts.

Random thought #1

I enjoy putting my ipod on shuffle. I enjoy the feeling of rediscovering songs I've long forgotten I had. I don't know if you do this, but when that occurs I try to think back to when I first heard that song, or a particular memory tied to that song. Then as I'm singing, I begin to imagine what the next piece of life tied to this song will be.

All this to say, the other day I had my ipod on shuffle, and I was looking up song lyrics and chords for songs I one day hoped to play (I've slowly been learning to play the guitar, not so much this summer but while I'm gone I hope to get better). Of course a song came on I forgot I had, so I looked up the lyrics. Well in that process I stumbled over the following song:

I Put On Christ- Laura Hackett

The battle is raging
The devil is raging
I don’t want to be sleeping
While the battle is raging (yeah)

I don’t fight as one who beats the air
Give me eyes to see and ears to hear

I put on Christ, make no provision for my flesh
Put on the whole armor of God
Leave no open door to darkness

And I take the scroll, I eat the scroll
I open up my mouth and speak forth Your word
I take the sword of the Spirit

Blessed be the Lord my Rock
Who trains my hands for battle, who trains my hands for war

Needless to say I thanked God for letting me discover this song. How amazing is our God that He gives words like these to be sung by His children. I believe I was even thinking about this next year, and how I've been training for battle, gearing up to take on the seen and unseen.

Random thought #2

The reality of me leaving, has in fact become reality. I know that statement is confusing. Let me walk you through my thinking. I've known that one day I would eventually have the support raised to leave, one day I would board a plane to leave the US and be gone for 11 months. BUT it was never real to me. It seemed like this far away dream that God-willing would someday no longer be a dream. Last weekend it hit me. I'm almost done raising support, I'm close to filling out and sending away for my visa, soon the day of me boarding a plane will happen. I know it won't happen today or tomorrow or later this week for that matter BUT it's about to happen. Granted I still need a little support, but I'm believing God to bring the rest of that in by the end of this week. Then the countdown would begin, and having to say see you next year will begin. I've been preparing myself for those days, but of course I know it will still be rough....good...but rough...

Random thought #3

I just finished reading this book which I highly recommend. She writes about her life after The Hiding Place.

Random thought #4

Ok so there's really not a need for another random thought. I'm weird about numbers...I don't like odd numbers so ending with 3 random thoughts wouldn't do....weird I know. There's actually a little more to the story, like how I sometimes count numbers, words, sentences...but that's another story for another time.

Well Here Goes Nothing....

Well it's time for another change in my life...updating a blog. I know it doesn't sound like a big change, but to me creating a blog and keeping it updated, is out of my comfort zone. I'm not used to sharing my thoughts, adventures, or whatever with the world...well not the world but you get me. And it's not like I'm going to be putting my deepest secrets on here, but still....it's different. However, since the current season of my life is changing, and I'm about to start a new season, change will be good. I'm currently experiencing this strange yet exciting roller coaster ride. Preparing myself, my family, my friends, my comfort zones, everything I'm used to, and moving to Central Asia for a year.

---"To the weak I became weak, to win the weak. I have become all things to all men so that by all possible means I might save some." 1 Corinthians 9:22---

This verse has been on my heart for quite some time now. I was just in Missouri, and got to hang out with some incredible brothers and sisters. One in particular said some stuff that left me chewing on her thoughts, which got me thinking of the following.....some of her words are mingled within mine.

.....It's not by our might or our strength or anything we can produce, it's only the Holy Spirit that can change hearts and can change a nation. Then I think well can I become all things to all men, and well no I personally can't but the Holy Spirit in His grace helps me become all things in the right moment so that I might save some.....I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me....He gives us strength in the moment...just like He gives us grace in the moment! That's how much God loves us...that He just doesn't give us a stored amount of grace and when it's used it's done. No he gives us to some extent an amount of grace, but provides abundantly the amount needed for a certain situation. Like when we're nervous to share with others about a particular situation, but once we let the Holy Spirit move through us, sharing becomes easy. We might wonder, how was I just able to talk about that without crying, or feeling angry, well it was God and His grace. Much like brokeness releases the power and annointing of the Holy Spirit. So when we struggle wherever God calls us rather it be the university, the marketplace, or the world, we need to hold onto this brokeness which releases a Holy power, and remember the place we're at isn't going to change without brokeness. Because if brokeness releases an annointing, and an annointing brings the Holy Spirit, and the Holy Spirit brings light and life, then even in the midst of our struggle, His grace which is overflowed in needed times will help us to stay aflame. So instead of hating the darkness which could lead to hating the people or their character, pray for the backbone of the darkness to be broken.

So let's gear up, and get ready for an adventure. Are you ready to join me?