One Word Update

This year I decided to choose to live by the word: Delight.

I just sit and laugh right now.

Back here I wrote about some things that I thought I would have to find delight in. In these “hard” times.

I wonder what the Lord thought about when I was writing that post. Thinking about trying to find delight in moving back to America, finding a new job, and feeling lonely.

If you have been reading my blog, you will obviously know that I didn’t move back to America and I didn’t have to find a job.

On March 11th, 2011 at 2:46 pm, the largest earthquake ever recorded in history changed all of my plans. I was in the middle of the biggest unknown in my life. I didn’t know what to do. I chose to be delightful to other people who were scared and afraid because of the unknown. I told myself that I would not freak out and to remain calm and be the ice breaker in this situation.

I wanted to be delightful. This was the time that I had to really live out my word. It was in my face and ready for me to grab it by the handles and go for a ride.

I never, ever, expected myself to be in the middle of one of the worst disasters ever. I was in shock, I still am, that the Lord would spare my life. That he placed me at a school that took care of me and made sure that my health and safety were at the top of the list. I could have easily been teaching at a school on the coast and been washed away by the tsunami. But, the Lord apparently has great plans for my life.

When I called home to talk to my family, I made sure that I was delightful and I was still my normal self. I didn’t want them to worry about me. I wanted them to know that I was safe and well taken care of. Yes, I did only eat two meals a day, but we had snacks in the afternoon and really… I was never really hungry.

When I talk to my Japanese friends in Tokyo, I still choose to be delightful. They ask me, “Why didn’t you leave? A lot of Americans left. Why didn’t you leave?” I told them that the Lord tells me to not have fear. My life is not my own and I am a servant of the Lord. I love the Japanese and I love Japan. I would not want to leave in a time when they need me most. I wanted to show the love of Christ first hand.

I often find myself thinking about my life if the earthquake wouldn’t have happened. I think that I would be lonely, sad, depressed. But I have to be honest, right now I am seriously the happiest that I have ever been in my life. I am not happy that the earthquake happened but I am happy that the Lord is good and he turns everything around to bring glory to himself.

I would have to say that my happiness, or my joy, does not come from my job, my friends or my church. It comes from the Lord. By delighting myself in the Lord, he has truly given me some of the desires of my heart. Right now, that is to be in Japan with the people I love.

 

2nd Year

Well if you don’t follow me on Twitter or you aren’t my friend on Facebook, you don’t know that I will be staying a 2nd year here at MeySen.

I have been blessed with this job. The Lord has made it loud and clear that He wants me to stay in Japan. I mean, I said that I didn’t want to leave.

I have the wonderful opportunity to get to teach the Toddlers class. These precious children are 3 years old. I am SOO excited!

Along with teaching Toddlers in the morning, I will be subbing for almost every other program that you can think of. I will also be teaching High School on Monday and Thursday nights.

Along with getting to teach precious Japanese 3 year olds, I also got to move into a really awesome apartment. It is much bigger than my last one. I feel so blessed.

I think about all that has happened in my 24th year of life. I am seriously blown away.

The only verse that comes to my mind…

“Delight yourself in the Lord and He will give you the desires of your heart.” Psalm 37:4

What is the Lord doing in your life?

Checking in

Well it has been 4 months since I have decided to live by the word, delight.

I always thought that 24 would be a great year. So far, as of this morning, there have been 846 earthquakes since my birthday.

I don’t know why I have always thought that 24 would be a good age. Maybe because I feel like you are old enough, people respect you and it would be a great age to get married.

I never expected the first week of turning 24 to be living in a city where the worst natural disaster was to hit Japan. But, the Lord knew. He knew about me picking to live by the word, delight.

Here are some examples from the past 3 weeks of how delight has been lived out:

I would have to put my delight in Him in order to get through this natural disaster. I would have to delight in Him when I would find out that I would be staying in Japan longer than expected. I would have to delight in the Lord when my heart-strings were pulled and my heart’s motto would change to telling the Japanese about Christ rather than the Africans. I would have to delight in the Lord when He convicts me of things that need to be weeded from my life.

I will need to put my delight in Him because I don’t know what next week holds for me. I will need to put my delight in Him when I am praying about my future husband. I will need to put my delight in the Lord when I think about how He has created and is molding my fh into the man that I will need to do life with. I will need to put my delight in Him when all of my friends are getting married and I am not.

Delight is another word for joy. I want to be more delightful this year. I want the Lord to use me in a way that I would have never imagined. I want Him to show me who He is. I want Him to use me to show the love of Christ to the nation of Japan.

Will you pray with me? Pray that I will choose to be delight(ful) in all situations. Pray that I will delight myself in the Lord.

 

Amazed

I am constantly amazed at the way that the Lord works.

I find myself looking back at the past 5 years of my life and how much I have done in 5 years.

Five years ago, I was finishing up my freshman year of college. It was one rough year if you ask me. It was one of transition, making new friends and learning how to really study.

In the past five years I have learned who I am in my faith. I have been to Thailand, Ireland, South Africa, Japan and Australia. That is a lot of traveling in five years. I have fallen in and out of love. I have acquired a lot of debt in student loans. I have paid off TWO student loans. I have moved to a foreign country to teach English. I have attempted to learn Japanese. I have made lots of friends.

I have been amazed at how the Lord works.

He is good.

He has helped me get over break ups, culture shock, and missing my family.

He has also helped me love on people I have not yet met in real life. Friends who are just online friends, but they are actually so much more than that. They are life friends. Friends that I know that would do anything for me. Friends that if they are hurting, I hurt too.

He has helped me hold onto friendships. Friendships that would have never happened if I didn’t trust in Him. I would not know two of my best friends if I hadn’t trusted in the Lord. If I hadn’t of trusted in the Lord, I would have never been able to go to Thailand or South Africa.

He is good. He is constant. And I will delight in Him.

 

Jobs

Right now I am in a pickle.

Yes, I just said that.

I have been applying for jobs almost every day for the past week. I have applied for jobs all over Kansas City and then I decided heck, why not apply for jobs in other countries.

So my current situation of waiting and waiting and waiting keeps taking me back to my word.

Delight.

I need to remind myself to delight in the Lord because He knows what he is doing. He will provide me with a job. He will help me get my student loans paid off.

But in the mean time if you know of any lovely jobs out there for me… please list away…