Camping

One thing that I miss about college is going camping.

Camping in November and freezing our butts off.

Camping in May right before we graduate and declaring “Good Morning Campsite”.

It was a fun thing to do and it wasn’t that expensive since most of us didn’t have a lot of money. We were able to all sleep together in a massive tent, chat out under the stars late at night and grow our friendships even more.

As the weather warms up here in Japan, I just think about all of the great times that I had when I was camping with my friends in college. Thinking that I wish I had a tent and could go camping here in Japan and make some more memories.

But lately, I am camping out in a different way. I have been camping out on God’s goodness and His love. How he is always there and he never leaves us. Even though our situations change and we find ourselves in different parts of the world “camping” out in new situations; the Lord always remains faithful.

Really?

Today as I was out shopping at the Daiso, it is like the dollar store but much better, I was walking around thinking about the past month.

Thinking about how the Lord spared my life. How he protected me. How he provided me with food, water and a place to sleep. How I was able to have friends to be with during all that went on. How he provided me with new friends when old friends left.

All I could think about is how thankful I am.

After I was finished I checked out and started to wrap my stuff. Here in Japan, they give you newspaper to wrap your breakables in. I don’t normally look at what is printed on the newspaper but, today I did. My heart felt ripped open all over again. It was pictures of Ishinomaki and Minamisanriku. Pictures of the devastation from the tsunami; people living in the shelters; caskets lined up in rows upon rows.

I was once again thankful all over again. But then, I started asking the Lord… why did you spare my life? Why was I not harmed? Why did I not lose anything? Why did you provide me with food, water and shelter?

Then it all comes back to…

Why did you send your Son to die for me? I am a sinner. I sin every day. I am not perfect. I am not worthy of Christ’s love.

Then I have to remember…

The answer: Because I love you.

Closer

Here lately, I have found myself changing.

Changing what I have been listening to. Changing how I act. Changing what I say.

God has been doing some major heart surgery on me. I feel like this earthquake is God not only telling the Japanese to wake up, but He was telling me to wake up. He is wanting me to draw closer to Him.

Some amazing people have come into my life since March 11th. People that I wouldn’t have gotten to know if the earthquake didn’t happen. People who are very precious to me. People who I think, WHY have we not been friends?

The best way to describe my heart thoughts, right now, is in a song by Shawn McDonald. It is called, Closer.

Have a listen…

What is your heart’s song right now?

Bible Talk

Today at school we had Bible Talk.

This happens about once every 3ish months or so.

While I was sitting with my kiddos on the floor listening to our principal talk about how Jesus healed the paralytic; my heart was broken.

Broken in a way that a mother’s heart breaks for her child to know Jesus.

This is how I broke for my 14 kiddos.

I love them so much. I cannot tell you how much I love them. They may be ornery at times but I still love them.

What made my heart break, was when I looked over and saw Sylvia crying.

I asked her why she was crying and she said that she is so sad that the man could not walk. She also told me that she was so happy that Jesus healed him. (This was all of course in broken English)

I know that Sylvia cares about people. I know that all of my kids care about people.

But do they know how much I care about them?

I have said this before but I would feel like this year would be totally successful if only one of my kids came to know the Lord. I want this so badly for their lives. I want them to know and love Jesus just like a child in America would. I think I want this even more because here in Japan, Christ is unheard of. Only 1% of all of the people in Japan claim to be Christians.

I want my children to be apart of that. I want them to learn to read the Bible in English. I want them to love Jesus as much as I love them.

 

I hope and pray that I am making and impact in their lives and I am turning them towards Christ.

Grow up?

Many of us were asked this question when we were younger:

What do you want to be when you grow up?

Now that I have “grown up” and I have graduated college I still honestly have no idea what I want to do with my life.

I have all of these crazy ideas running through my mind. Do I want to be a teacher? Do I want to be a nanny? Do I want to go back to school? Do I want to be married? Do I want to be a mother?

What in the world DO I want to be?

I think that the question we should ask children is:

What do you want to do with your life?

I can answer this question.

I want to impact others lives with the Gospel. I want to tell them about Christ. I want to do what the Lord has planned for me. I want to be his humble servant who is willing to go anywhere and everywhere He asks me to go.

Living in Japan has opened my eyes to how much people need Christ. They need Him. And they need him BADLY.

Japan is full of materialism. They are trying more than just to keep up with the Jones’ err.. Sato’s. They are trying to do everything in their own power to make themselves look presentable and it is all over the top. Everything.

Going to temples to see people toss their coins in as loudly as possible and pray a short meaningless prayer and then go and pay money to get a fortune is so sad. They are only doing this because other people do it. They don’t do this because it is something that they have a passion for. It is just “accepted” and a part of their culture.

I hope that people don’t just go to church because it is routine or a part of the American culture. I hope they go because it is something that they want to actively be a part in. Something that they want to do.

So now the question is…

What do you want to do with your life?

Ouch.

Here lately, God has been kicking me in the pants and well… it hurts.

On Sunday morning I sat in my “assigned” pew and listened to my pastor talk about Different Values. How we as Christians are set apart from God and how we should be different from the world. You know, all of that stuff that I have heard before.

He got me when he said, “People get confused about Jesus Christ. All other religions are about DO. Our religion is about DONE.”

It got me thinking, this is so true. Everyone who is not “practicing” Christianity are trying to be the best that they can be so that they will please their god or have enough of whatever. But Christianity is about Christ. Christ was the sacrifice that we needed. He did that for us, for all of eternity. DONE.

When I accepted Christ to be my Lord and Savior, I traded in my old life for this new one in Christ. So this means that Jesus is living in and through me. But is He really? Do I act like Christ would? Do I say things that glorify Christ? Do I proclaim Jesus’ name to other people?

My pastor said that in order to be dead to sin and alive in Christ he thinks of it as being dead like a corpse but having a new life.

So when I am tempted to gossip, I need to remember that I should be dead to that because that is of my old life without Christ and then think about what Christ would do. Would He stand there and not say anything and continue listening to the gossip? Or would He say that that is not bringing glory and honor to His name?

I know this is cliche but WWJD?

This week I challenge you to: Speak a word of blessing instead of a curse.

Happy Birthday!!!

I love birthdays and I have been called a birthday snob about it too!

I love my actual birthday but what I love even more, my half birthday.

I love my half birthday because it is a super special day. A day that I will always remember. A day that I hope most people will remember. The day that Jesus became my Lord and Savior. That was 8 years ago today. I thought that I had asked Him to do this before but I didn’t really mean it.

September 9, 2001 was the day that I gave my whole life over to Christ. It was the day that I really understood what it meant to become a Christian. Everyone was shocked. They couldn’t believe that I wasn’t a Christian already. Yes, I had gone to church my whole life. Yes, I had been on mission trips. Yes, I attended Vacation Bible School every year prior. But, I am so thankful that I dedicated my life to Christ on this day.

What makes my spiritual birthday even more life impacting is that 2 days later, the United States of America was attacked. 9/11/01.

I remember people coming up to me and asking for me to pray for them and for their families. I knew from the beginning that Jesus had great plans for me and wow… my spiritual walk started out with a BANG!

I always celebrate my “birth”day with a lovely Starbucks adventure.

When is your spiritual birthday? How do you celebrate it?

My Jerusalem

Yesterday at church, the pastor spoke on Acts 1:8.

I have heard this verse so many times since I started going school at Hannibal-LaGrange College. This is our “Mission” verse.

“But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit come on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”

The pastor spoke about how we need to love on people just in a friendly way and that they will see that there is something different about us. They will eventually see Christ’s love in us.

I want to be this verse as I start my NEW JOB at STARBUCKS. I want my coworkers to be able to see Jesus’ love through me by me being friendly and nice and also caring and compassionate towards them. I also want to be able to build relationships with customers.

I just felt that this was layed strong on my heart today as I met a few of my coworkers. I want them to be able to see Christ in me and in my actions. I want them to be able to question why I am different.

mmm heart tugs… they are the best!