You Are For Me

So faithful, so constant and so true

So powerful in all You do

You fill me, You see me

You know my every move

You love for me to sing to You

I know that You are for me, I know that You are for me

I know that You will never forsake me in my weakness

And I know that You have come now even if to write upon my heart

To remind me who You are

So patient, so gracious, so merciful and true

So wonderful in all You do

You fill me, You see me

You know my every move

You love for me to sing to You

Lord, I know that You are for me, I know that You are for me

I know that You will never forsake me in my weakness

And I know that You have come now even if to write upon my heart

To remind me

Lord, I know that You are for me, I now that You are for me

I know that You will never forsake me in my weakness

And I know that You have come now even if to write upon my heart

To remind me who You are

To remind me

- Kari Jobe

Mother Teresa: In her words

"There is a terrible hunger for love. We all experience that in our lives - the pain, the loneliness. We must have the courage to recognize it. The poor you may have right in your own family. Find them. Love them."

"Give yourself fully to God. He will use you to accomplish great things on the condition that you believe much more in His love than in your own weakness."

"I pray that you will understand the words of Jesus, “Love one another as I have loved you.” Ask yourself “How has he loved me? Do I really love others in the same way?” Unless this love is among us, we can kill ourselves with work and it will only be work, not love. Work without love is slavery."

"Little things are indeed little, but to be faithful in little things is a great thing."

"Do not wait for leaders; do it alone, person to person."

"Speak tenderly to them. Let there be kindness in your face, in your eyes, in your smile, in the warmth of your greeting. Always have a cheerful smile. Don't only give your care, but give your heart as well."

"If you judge people, you have no time to love them. "

"Kind words can be short and easy to speak, but their echoes are truly endless."

"Peace begins with a smile."

"Spread love everywhere you go. Let no one ever come to you without leaving happier."

"The most terrible poverty is loneliness and the feeling of being unloved."

"The success of love is in the loving - it is not in the result of loving. Of course it is natural in love to want the best for the other person, but whether it turns out that way or not does not determine the value of what we have done."

"We shall never know all the good that a simple smile can do."

"Do not think that love, in order to be genuine, has to be extraordinary. What we need is to love without getting tired."

A Harsh Reality

"The LORD is know by His justice; the wicked are ensnared by the work of their hands."

Psalm 9:16

I remember you today, the beauty you radiate...

" The lamp of the LORD searches the spirit of a man, it searches out his inmost being."

Proverbs 20:27










Blessings and Peace.

Don't Forget What Really Matters

Carl was driving to work one morning when he bumped fenders with another motorist. Both cars stopped, and the woman driving the other car got out to survey the damage.

She was distraught. It was her fault, she admitted, and hers was a new car, less than two days from the showroom. She dreaded facing her husband.

Carl was sympathetic; but he had to pursue the exchange of license and registration data.

She reached into her glove compartment to retrieve the documents in an envelope.

On the first paper to tumble out, written in her husband's distinctive hand, were these words:

"In case of an accident, remember, Honey, it's you I love, not the car."

~~~

What a beautiful story...

Let that be His voice to you.

In case you have forgotten... just a little reminder:
It's you He loves.

"Be imitators of God, therefore, as dearly loved children and live a life of love..." Ephesians 5:1

~~~

Somehow that story reminds me of another that shows the same unconditional love...

At dawn he appeared again in the temple courts, where all the people gathered around him, and he sat down to teach them, The teachers of the law and the Pharisees brought in a woman caught in adultery. They made her stand before the group and said to Jesus,

"Teacher, this woman was caught in the act of adultery. In the Law Moses commanded us to stone such women. Now what do you say?"

They were using this question as a trap, in order to have a basis for accusing him. But Jesus bent down and started to write on the ground with his finger. When they kept on questioning him, he straightened up and said to them,

"If anyone of you is without sin, let him be the first to throw a stone at her."

Again he stooped down and wrote on the ground. At this, those who heard began to go away one at a time, the older ones first, until only Jesus was left, with the woman still standing there. Jesus straightened up and asked her,

"Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?"

"No one, sir," she said.

"Then neither do I condemn you," Jesus declared. "Now go and leave your life of sin." John 8:2-11

"For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him." John 3:17

~~~

"He was nothing special to look at. He could walk down this street today and not one of you would even notice him. In fact he had the kind of face you would shy away from, certain he wouldn't fit in with your crowd. But he was as gentle a man as one would ever know. He could silence detractors without ever raising his voice. He never bullied his way; never drew attention to himself nor did he ever pretend to like what vexed his soul. He was real, to the very core of his being. And at the core of that being was love."

The stranger paused and shook his head.

"Wow! Did he love!" His eyes looked far past the crowd now, seeming to peer across the depths of time not space.

"We didn't even know what love was, until we saw it in him. It was everyone, too, even those who hated him, who wouldn't extend to him the simplest of courtesies. He still cared for them, hoping somehow they would find a way out of their self-inflicted souls to recognize who stood among them."

"And with all that love, he was completely honest. Yet even when his actions or words exposed people's darkest motives, they didn't feel shamed. They felt safe with him. His words conveyed not even a hint of judgment, simply an entreaty to come to God and be freed by him. There was no one you would trust more quickly with your deepest secrets. If someone were going to catch you at your worst moments you'd want it to be him."

"He wasted no time mocking others, nor their religious trappings." He glanced at those who had just done so.

"If he had something to say to them, he'd say it and move on and you would know you'd been loved more than anyone had ever loved you before."

Here the man stopped, his eyes closed and mouth clenched as if choking back tears that would melt him in an instant if he gave in to them.

"I'm not talking about mamby-pamby sentimentalism either. He loved, really loved. It didn't matter if you were Pharisee or prostitute, disciple or blind beggar, Jew, Samaritan or Gentile. His love held itself out for any to embrace. Most did, too, when they saw him. Though so few ended up following him for those few moments his presence passed through their life, they tasted something they could never deny even years later. Somehow he seemed to know everything about you, but loved deeply all that was true about who he made you to be."

He paused and scanned the crowd. In the last couple of moments perhaps as many as 30 people had stopped to listen, their gaze firmly on the man and their mouths suspended open in bewilderment. I can record his words here, but am bereft of an adequate description of their impact. No one within earshot could deny their power or their authenticity. They rang from the very depths of this man's soul.

"And when he hung there from that filthy cross," the man's eyes looked up into the trees that towered over us, "that love still poured down--on mocker and disillusioned friend alike. As he approached the dark chamber of death, wearied by his battle with sin, there was no finer moment in all the world. His anguish became the conduit for his life to be given to you. This was no madman. This was God's Son, poured out to the last breath, so that we could live free."

- Jake Colsen

LIVE IN LOVE.

They tell the stories

Trust

Commit your way to the Lord; trust in Him and He will do this:

He will make your righteousness shine like the dawn,

the justice of your cause like the noonday sun.

Psalm 37:5-6

Trust and rest when all around thee

puts thy faith to sorest test;

Let no fear or foe confound thee,

wait for God and trust and rest.

Trust and rest with heart abiding,

like a birling in its nest,

Underneath His feathers hiding,

fold thy wings and trust and rest.

The Rock that is Higher than I

O sometimes how long seems the day,

and someetimes how weary my feet;

But toiling in life's dusty way,

the Rock's blessed shadow how sweet!

O then to the Rock let me fly, to the Rock that is higher than I.




O near to the Rock let me keep

if blessings or sorrows prevail,

or climbing the mountain way steep,

or walking the shadowy vail.

O then to the Rock let me fly, to the Rock that is higher than I.

- Erastus Johnson

Dear Readers,

Will you forgive me? I completely left you hanging somewhere back in October! I'll have to say life was a whirlwind of change and constant activity while in Cambodia and as much as I desired to keep up on my blog... well, we can all see that it just didn't happen. My limited time at the internet cafe was spent responding to emails.

I want to say a huge THANK YOU to everyone who supported me financially to be able to do what I did these past five months. Family, friends, and lovely people from The Bridge. You sowed good seeds into my life and I pray the Lord blesses you in return!!! "Give and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap." Luke 6:38 And to everyone who prayed... I am humbled by your kindness and care. Thank you for thinking of me and heaping blessings over my life through your simple requests to our Father. I pray you can see the fruits of your prayers, because I know He heard them all.

So - I'm back. Back in the Tri-cities. Arrived on the 5th and have been adjusting ever since. Life was so different in Switzerland. And even more so in Cambodia. Both cultures so different from America. From the Tri-Cities. And both so extremely different from one another. To go from one of the wealthiest, cleanest and beautiful country - to one so in need of a massive clean up crew, medical team, moral government, parents... you name it. Shocking. To have God show you the beauty in people and relationships and the meaninglessness of all this other stuff we worry about daily. And to find such a peace and simplicity in the truth of just loving one another. Extending grace for weaknesses, failures and love for aching hearts. Why does it take being stripped away of everything you own, every false foundation you've built your life upon, everything we find our security in to realize that there is such a beauty in the people around us. Even in all their imperfections. To look at them with the eyes of God and really begin to understand. While we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. Why? He has eyes that see past the filth, past the sin, and into the very heart of the man He created. And He deems it Worthy of Love. "The Lord is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and rich in love." That's Real. That's our Living God. He is full of grace. "God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God and God in him." 1 John 4:16

Coming back takes some adjusting. Life here doesn't have that same simplicity. We have all this stuff and it's just how we live. But it becomes our distractions... from the ones that matter most. God - and people.

Just a reminder to place value on the things that matter most.

We were ALL made in His image.

Take joy in those around you and try seeing them through His eyes.

Past the imperfections and straight into the man or woman that God sees when He looks at them. The very one He loves.

Adventures in Cambodia

Friends,

It's been awhile! Sorry to keep you waiting on an update. This should be an interesting post... a collection of emails that I have sent people and a list that my sister friend Stephanie made of Cambodia. Enjoy :)

(Steph's list) - YOU KNOW YOU'RE IN CAMBODIA WHEN......

- The waitress is picking her nose while taking your order
- When you adjust the shower and it falls off the wall
- When your vegetables are being washed in the same bucket that the person's feet are in
- When Raid becomes your new deodorant
- When the bathroom sink falls off the wall (...it was a really lucky catch)
- When you have to ask if the meat on your plate is snake or chicken
- When your lungs have to siphon the oxygen out of the air
- When your Tuk Tuk driver doesnt care if you dont make it to your destination alive
- When Jelly Grass Drink becomes the new Coke
- When you become a little toooo regular....
- When sweat starts acting like God.... it never leaves you
- When cockroaches chase you
- When you mistake a rat for a cat
- When it takes half an hour to load your hotmail (!)
- When you run around with dogs and naked kids
- When your street smells like a urinal
- When its ok to stop and poo on the sidewalk (yes this one happened after church)
- When your shoulders and knees become 'private parts'
- When your supermarket groceries come to a figure of 290,000 (ie 70 US$)
- When your skin forgets what hot water feels like
- When you pray protection over your bed each night (from rats, cockroaches, lizards & mosquitos)
- When hand sanitizer replaces your moisturiser
- When ants swim in your cereal
- When driving up the wrong side of the road is fine
- When people wash their dishes in the mall bathrooms
- When amonium and charcoal tablets become your multi-vitamins

And this is just the first week.. :)

So more serious stuff thats been happening... We've been to an aids orphanage, it was really hard but so rewarding to be able to put a smile on those little faces and bring dancing to the lifeless bodies. We're planning to pump some money into the orphanage and buy them things to play with.

We spent a day cleaning up the streets. This was a really cool experience and made a big impact on the local neighbourhood. (I might have to show you a photo sometime so you have a concept of the amount of rubbish, scraps, poo that is all over the place). While we were doing this we came across a lady sifting through a dumpster so we bought her some groceries for her and her little son.

We did maintenance on a tiny local church here in Phnom Penh... there were a few little surprises that we're still getting used to! (rats and man-eating cockroaches). While we were there they asked us to run their service on Sunday.

We saw some of the sights a few weeks ago... the killing fields and the torture centre that was used by the Khmer Rouge during the 70s. And the temple of skulls from some of the 2 million that were brutally murdered. It was a really heavy day. We're hoping to go see Angkorwat on a day off its one of the 7 wonders of the world and only 5 hours away.

Email 1 -

We went to church this morning, I lead two worship songs while Luke played the guitar. I am hoping to have more opportunities to do this, I like it a lot! Right now we are at the mall in a nicer internet cafe. I am using my leaders laptop. This week... there is trash everywhere here, all over the streets. We didn't have any ministry set up on Thursday so we prayed about what we should do. We felt like we should walk the streets and pray and pick up the trash. In the bigger picture, the whole city is littered with trash, we walked maybe a handful of small streets. Made a very small, temporary impact... the streets we picked up would be covered with trash again within the day. I don't think that was the reason why we did it though. It was more to set an example to the people who witnessed. That we aren't any better than them, we here to help. In the afternoon we visited an Aids orphanage. We walked into a small room that had three windows with decorative bars over the windows. Small children were sitting all over the floor. I sat down next to three of them and one of them sat in my lap. I played with him for a while but I couldn't help but notice a little boy just sitting in front of motionless. staring off at the wall. I reached forward and tickled him a little bit but he didn't even respond. The two kids on my lap left and I pulled the other boy towards me and held him in my lap. He wouldn't look at me. Stood up and he laid his head on my shoulder. So sweet. We looked out the window together and I was finally able to get him to look me in the eyes. I decided to throw him in the air and when I did he burst into a smile and laughed! So I did it again and again. There were little paper animals hanging from the ceiling and I lifted him up to touch them. Long story short by the time we left he was playing on his own, smiling and happy. The transformation was beautiful. I won't forget him. We will be having bible studies with local small groups this week. I think I am going to lead one about the book Esther.

Email 2 -

We are doing bible studies with each other yesterday and today to get feedback from the group before we start tomorrow teaching Cambodian small groups. I went yesterday morning and we read the book Esther, I focused more on the verse about how Esther became a Queen for such a time as this, to save the Jews. She was a Jew who through God's favor became a Queen and in turn saved the Jews. Beautiful story of our lives... God's grace welcomes us into the royalty of the kingdom of God and He determines the time and the place in which we shall live... we aren't given this position only for our own benefit but for a greater purpose. I can't imagine the boldness and trust in God it took for Esther to go before the King and plead for the lives of her people. Very inspiring. I then shared a bit of my testimony and correlated it to the story of Esther. I think it was effective and I'm excited to share with the Cambodian people.

Yesterday afternoon it rained so hard. The streets were flooding. Some people from our team went to the store to buy things for dinner and had to take a tok-tok back because the water was up to their knees! Thunder was really loud too. Exciting!

SO... A tuk-tuk is a motorbike with a carriage type sitting thing (haha) attached to the back of it. Two benches to sit on. We are able to fit four of us on each bench and then someone else sits on the floor with their legs hanging out the back. Its fun :) The driving is so crazy here, but you don't feel unsafe because its normal! The lanes in the road really don't mean much, two lanes going different directions can become three going on way and one another, because of people trying to pass each other. No street lights at intersections, you just put yourself out their and cross in between the oncoming traffic. People stop and let you go because that's just how it is! Quite humorous :)

Email 3 -

So we started bible studies this week... it was a bit different than we all expected. The small groups weren't small groups, they were actual families and our idea of teaching in a classroom in a church was completely off. We have been doing two sessions a day one at 8 and then one at 2. We have two tuk-tuks come and pick us up and then we drive out to a family's home and sit with them in their house, give a testimony from one of us and then someone else teaches something from the bible and then they tell us their testimonies and what God is doing in their lives and we pray for them and then leave. It is so amazing! The first day was a shock. We were all expecting to pull up to a church building and go inside to teach young people but the driver stops on the side of the road next to all this trash and the rice fields in the background and tells us to get out. We all were a bit confused but we got out and the pastor was over by this shack. He motioned for us to come in. The family was sitting up on this wooden platform that had a straw mat laying across it. Flies were everywhere. I have never seen so many in my life. The family was smiling at us and then they just started to sing Khmer songs. David preached about the Law vs. Grace and rats were running around in the garbage about 10 feet from us. Welcome to Cambodia... We went to about 8 homes this week and each one was different. The first was probably the poorest. I lead the bible study on Friday afternoon and I felt like I was suppose to talk about the power of praise instead of talking about the book of Esther. So we drove out to the house of of the main roads and the road was extremely bumpy. Ruts filled with water, we were all laughing and bouncing everywhere. We got to this massive puddle/lake in the middle of the road and the driver revs the engine and floors it... we made it half way :) Two people got out and pushed the rest of the way. The bible study went great. God really gave me peace and it just felt like we were a huge family sitting down and sharing together. A Cambodian lady shared with us that she lives out in a home that gets flooded when it rains and she has to walk through the water to get to her house. She has a little girl and is pregnant as well. Her husband is having affairs and doesn't let her leave the house. Only on Fridays and Sundays to meet with her Christian friends. She sometimes doesn't have money for rice and is worried she won't have enough money for a good hospital for her baby. After church yesterday we went out to visit her. Walked through water up to almost our knees to get to her house and she cooked us a small meal. Felt so blessed. Small home with water marks on the wood where the water came up to during monsoon season. There is another team here from Kona, Hawaii that is part of the health care school and they were able to find a midwife here in Cambodia that is willing to help this woman. We told her this and she was so blessed. Her eyes would get all watery and she said, "I am so happy today, thank you, thank you." Other families we visited had prayer request that they wanted their kids to go to school but it was too expensive and they needed that money to buy food. They said school was 1000 reil a day per child. That's only 25 cents. And yet even the education system can be corrupt. Those who pay more get better grades. It is so hard to know where to start in such a corrupt, unorganized, needy country. Need is literally everywhere, just like the trash. It has been such a blessing though to build relationships with these families we are visiting and knowing that we are making an impact on their lives and encouraging them. On our way home from her house yesterday we floored it through the massive puddle again and then some random lady on the side of the path was holding two crabs. She started walking towards us and holding them out. I thought she wanted us to take a picture so I got out the camera, nope, she throws them into the tuk-tuk and stands there smiling and laughing to herself as we scream and wonder what is going on? haha. We rode the whole way home with our feet up on the seats and two crabs running around on the floor. Then our tuk-tuk stops working and 5 guys immediately swarm us seeing if they can help while another guys stood at the back saying "one dollar" and pointing at his motor bike, haha. That's the culture, if you stop people just come over and hang around to help. We have our nightly entertainment of leaning over the balcony and watching the rats run all over the alley. We bought some rat traps a few nights ago and put oreos in the middle and it was a huge event. They were huge sticky plates so when they stepped on them they would get stuck. A guy ended up trapping one in the corner. Shows how much there is to do at night when we resort to messing with the rats...

So today is our day off and I'm not sure what will happen. That's usually how it goes... We leave in a week for the life center. I might preach at a church next Sunday? God is completely stretching me!

Thanks for all your prayers and love, until next time... xoxo


LOVE YOU ALL!!!