Sabbath Rest

We try to take time each week to rest from the normal activities of life and just rest.  This involves extended time in the word and prayer for Walt and I, sabbath blessings for the kids, and times of rest and quiet activities, as well as tag in the dark (which is not quiet!).
This last week I enjoyed taking a few pics during the day.

This is what my bed looked like not long after it had been neatly made.  Thomas knows that on our Sabbath he gets to read longer before breakfast while the rest of us spend time extended time in the word.  It is such a blessing the way he usually lets us all have a longer quiet time.  Maybe that's because he is looking forward to the local breakfast of halwa and puri.

Lately, I've been enjoying coffee from our friends here out of my special birthday mug.  Our sabbath rest is a great time to sit with the Lord and be refreshed from the past week and get ready for the week to come.  Our hearts desire is to live in the power of God and to remember our own weakness.  Life is hard here and the only way to live and survive here is by his power and acknowledging our need for him in the little things and the big.

Here are my two goofie children giving a South Asian pose (no smiles), not an easy task for either of them.

Hope you are able to take time each week to rest in the Lord and be refreshed by his word and presence.  Hope in your circumstance you are able to withdraw and refuel, that he might effectively move in and through you.

resting in the Lord,
m

A Look Inside

Are you inside the way you look on the outside?

Too often I look in the mirror and wonder what on earth I am doing here because I certainly am not on the inside what most people get to see on the outside.  There is a lot of sin and left over "natural man" that needs refining.  This journey of sanctification is only too slow of a process.
I only wish that the inside was more Christ.
Recently I took a few pictures of trucks busting at the seams.

I have renamed this truck, "Me."

Sometimes I feel like I am just holding it together but at any moment I may burst out from the cover of "sanity" and all will be laid bare.  The truth is; life is hard.  Life hurts.
So where do I go from here.

To the cross.
To the promises of God that say he withhold nothing that is for my good. That means the things that we call "good" and those that we may label as "bad."  Both have to be for my good, God says so.
Wow!  Do I walk in a way that demonstrates that I believe that?
Do I respond to the curve balls life throws at me with the confidence that is believing, "He leads me beside still water"?
Do I love others with the faith that says, "Don't grow weary in doing good because eventually a harvest will be reaped"?

God ALWAYS does what he says he will do.
He ALWAYS does right, he alone is righteous.
He KNOWS the hurt.
He KNOWS it's hard.

So, with confidence I draw near to his throne of grace in my time of need.
No need to "bust" just need to trust!

in his peace,
m

All's Well that Ends Well

Well, the day has been over for several hours and W is catching the "zzzz's" as I lay in bed over analyzing every sound in my hyper-alert state. It has been a long day.

We are thankful for a quiet day in the house even though things outside may not have been as peaceful.  We are thankful for another chance to live another day in this place, what a privilege.  

We are thankful for caring neighbors and kind friends watching out for our safety.

We are thankful for the promises in God's word we can hold to. 

See, the protesting may not be over but the outcome is sure:  In this world you will have trouble but I give you my peace. Take heart, I have overcome the world.

Jesus has sealed the outcome with his blood.  The troubles were all around today and they may be tomorrow too.  But Jesus has given his peace and he has already proclaimed the end outcome.

We have so much to be thankful for because we are sure of this: Jesus is victorious, reigning, and not one of his sheep can be snatched from his hand. The end is sure to come but the outcome is already decided!

Thankful to be in Jesus.

m

A FEW MOMENTS OF NEEDED PEACE

Quietness is not really a reality in our house.

Even once everyone has gone to bed, the neighborhood is up till the early hours of the morning. Once the neighbors have gone down for the night, or what's left of it, the local guard wanders around, blowing his whistle at unpredictable intervals and volume.  

So when is it I have those moments of peace?  For me it is in the early morning before my kids wake up, before the neighbors have yet begun to stir their children for school, and when the guard has decided that enough daylight prevails so that he can stop his incessant blowing.  During those minutes, peace reigns. With coffee in one hand and the word of God in the others I can get ready for my day and how desperately I need those minutes. 

I cannot wait for when I can truly enter his rest for eternity.  But for now, may I not be hardened by any sin in my life and may he bring me into his rest, even when my home is not a place of quietness and rest. Even now I can enjoy his peace.

"Be Still, My Soul"

by Catharina von Schlegel, 1697-?

Translated by Jane Borthwick, 1813-1897

1. Be still, my soul; the Lord is on thy side;

Bear patiently the cross of grief or pain;

Leave to thy God to order and provide;

In every change He faithful will remain.

Be still, my soul; thy best, thy heavenly, Friend

Through thorny ways leads to a joyful end.

2. Be still, my soul; thy God doth undertake

To guide the future as He has the past.

Thy hope, thy confidence, let nothing shake;

All now mysterious shall be bright at last.

Be still, my soul; the waves and winds still know

His voice who ruled them while He dwelt below.

3. Be still, my soul, though dearest friends depart

And all is darkened in the vale of tears;

Then shalt thou better know His love, His heart,

Who comes to soothe thy sorrows and thy fears.

Be still, my soul; thy Jesus can repay

From His own fulness all He takes away.

4. Be still, my soul; the hour is hastening on

When we shall be forever with the Lord,

When disappointment, grief, and fear are gone,

Sorrow forgot, love's purest joys restored.

Be still, my soul; when change and tears are past,

All safe and blessed we shall meet at last.

Resting in Jesus, 

m

"DO NOT FEAR WHAT IS FRIGHTENING"

1 Peter 3:6b "And you are [Sarah's] children if you do good and do not fear anything that is frightening."

Do you ever read the WORD and think, "God, is that just for me? Did those people 2000 years ago need to hear this or did you just throw them in there for me?"

Living overseas brings so many challenges and so many blessings.  God has been exposing lately how easily my heart is giving into fear.  My initial response to my fear has been, "Well, maybe it's not really that scary, I just need to trust God more."  But God had an answer just waiting for me!!!

God has freed me in the last couple weeks to just call what is fearful exactly what it is: fearful, frightening and sometimes downright terrifying.  As I sat in the back of a ricky old rickshaw flying down one of the smoother roads here,  Thomas turned to me and asked, "So mom, if the wheel falls off, will we just fall out or will we die?"  I looked him in the eyes and said, "We will probably die or get really hurt."  Because the reality is, I had just been thinking exactly the same thing, confessed it to the Lord as something frightening and been able to release it to him.  I then began to wondered, "When did I get so old to start thinking a rickshaw ride as potentially dangerous?"

I know that God has us here because he wants us here for our good and for the good of the Kingdom.  The dangers may be more apparent here to the Western eye, but that only makes God's power, tender care, and presence all the more apparent to us. It just makes the task of getting the Good News to as many as possible that much more urgent.

So, as I head off to the bazaar this afternoon, who knows what the Lord will bring as far as "frightening" is concerned.  But at least I know that God holds me in his tender care and that he has given me and will give me all I need to respond without fear.  By God's grace he will continue to bring me to a place of rest and peace even when things around me are frightening and use me effectively for the sake of the Kingdom.