Gotta Love Sweets

I have often wondered what good ants are. I mean really. What do they DO? What GOOD are they? Well…besides the obvious answer of annoyance. Ants have become a part of my daily life. I am not complaining. Just stating a fact. And tonight they helped spark my idea about this blog. I have always thought that ants are attracted to sweet things. I mean, I have never see ants get into Tabasco sauce! So I “googled” it and I found that yes, most species of ants are attracted to sweet things. I guess the ones in my bathroom sink like my sweet smelling hand soap? I cannot leave anything out on my counters for any amount of time or any food in my sink. I cannot leave anything in the pantry opened. That is why my fridge is jammed pack with opened boxes of cereal, crackers, and anything from the states…because these ants can eat through packaging from the states. Yeah…these are ants on steroids.

Anyhow…going off the idea that ants are attracted to sweet things, it made me think of the verses in Psalm 19.

7 The law of the LORD is perfect, converting the soul;

The testimony of the LORD is sure, making wise the simple;

8 The statutes of the LORD are right, rejoicing the heart;

The commandment of the LORD is pure, enlightening the eyes;

9 The fear of the LORD is clean, enduring forever;

The judgments of the LORD are true and righteous altogether.

10 More to be desired are they than gold,

Yea, than much fine gold;

Sweeter also than honey and the honeycomb.

11 Moreover by them Your servant is warned,

And in keeping them there is great reward.

Oh, how I wanted to be drawn to His Word like the ants are drawn to sugar. Oh, how I want it to convert my soul, make me wise, and enlighten my eyes. I want to desire it more than fine gold. I want His Word to be sweet to me, sweeter than honey and the honeycomb. That has been my prayer lately. I want to desire more. I want to see more clearly. I want to be transformed by His Word. Daily. I want, in this instance, to be an ant drawn to the honey. I never thought I would want to be an ant. Annoying people on a daily basis is not on my list of things I want to accomplish in life. But being drawn to His Word, yes. It being sweet to my soul, yes Lord. Give me more. Fill my longing with You.

I guess ants are good for something. They serve as a reminder of His Word, His sweet, like honey, Word.

Come What May

I woke up this morning with a burden on my heart.

I woke up and prayed that God would give me “eternal eyes.” I asked Him to help me not focus on what I don’t have but glory in what He has given me and where He has placed me. He knows I have struggled with thoughts of “missing out” on things back home. He knows I have cried tears and tears over what feels like an empty hole. I woke up this morning and prayed for Him to help me fight these feelings. I asked Him to help me stand against Satan’s attacks in this area.

I woke up this morning and did my Bible study.

It was on self-centeredness and God-centeredness. Of course God would do that! It’s just like Him! And I am so thankful! So many times I look with my self-centered eyes or earthly eyes. So many times we put our trust or try and find our fullness in so many other places. We find it in our material possessions. We find it in encouragement from others. We find it in our husbands or wives. We find it in what we are good at. We find it in our ministries…what we think defines us. But what really defines us in God. What really fills us is God. What really heals that longing heart is God.

I just got through watching “Faith Like Potatoes.” Such a good movie with such a powerful story. I would encourage you do watch it! Are we ready to trust that He has it all under control? Are we ready to really and truly give it all to Him? Do we really have faith that He can fill us like we need to be filled? Do we really have faith that He knows our hearts and knows what we need? Do we REALLY believe He can give it to us? I don’t think we do. I don’t think we REALLY understand. I was humbled this morning when I was spending time with Him. And I was humbled again when watching that movie. Man…if only we really understood. If only we really got “it.” I miss “it” so many times. And fall flat on my face. I miss that He is our Sustainer. I miss that He is our Provider. I miss that He sees us…in the darkest of times. I miss that He hears our prayers. Are we ready to trust? Come what may?

“Some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we trust in the name of the LORD our God.” Psalm 20:7

Lessons Learned

These past couple of weeks have been full of learning! What exactly have I been learning? I’m glad you asked!

I have learned how to say several Ilongo phrases that I can use and not be scared if I’m saying them wrong…that’s a big accomplishment, in case you didn’t know : ) I have also learned, for the most part, how to maneuver around Bacolod using the public transportation!

I have learned that I will just have to live with ants. There’s no getting around it. But Joanna did share with me how to make anything ant proof! I was pretty excited about that one!

But more important than all these I learned something else.
I have learned that Satan attacks, but God will always give you strength to fight the battle. The past couple of weeks Satan has been creeping in. And I was letting him have those small victories.

Well the other day, Satan wasn’t creeping in he was standing there banging at the door. It was one of those moments that you just feel so defeated. His attacks had been strong and I was getting so tired of fighting. I know Jesus is the only One that can fight those battles for me…but sometimes Satan’s lies are SO loud and feel SO real. I was sitting on my bed feeling so defeated and alone, typing a message to a couple of friends asking them for prayer when all of the sudden it starts pouring outside. This isn’t just a light rain shower. It. Was. Pouring. It was so loud I could not hear anything. I just kind of sat there amazed at the intensity of the rain outside and thinking, “This is kind of creepy. I am typing a message about Satan being so loud. And the bottom is falling out. Weird.”

I finished typing the message and then it hit me. That rain…that rain that was SO loud, was God. It was Him showering His mercy and grace on me. Wow! I had no words. It was so overwhelming I just sat there and worshipped.

Just a couple of hours ago I was skyping with a friend telling her about that experience and she said the same thing. That the rain was God showering…no, pouring…down His grace and mercy. I told her grace and mercy are like patience. You know people tell you all the time not to pray for patience. Because God will give you ways for your patience to grow. Well wouldn’t grace and mercy work the same way? Without those trials, we would not need grace and mercy. It’s in those times of trials when grace and mercy come and we realize what a gift they are from God. And why are we so shocked when He does give us those things? It’s almost like we don’t really believe He will give us exactly what we need and when He does we are just so overwhelmed. We can’t not believe, but so often we do.

Some things are good to learn. Some things are essential to learn.

Egg salad...that's what happens!

What happens when you are boiling eggs for Tuna fish and then you realize you don’t have a can opener? Egg salad…that’s what happens. Just a little something that happened to me today . Random I know. But life here in Bacolod is going super! I am finally moved into my apartment. And I am realizing what all you need to make a home run…even if only for one person. For instance, the can opener.

These past weeks I have been staying with Wade and Joanna Allen. They are another missionary family that live here in Bacolod and they have been a blessing from above! They have taken me under their wing and have helped me ease into life here in Asia. Carly and Caleb, their kiddos, have been fun to be around and have become my little sister and brother! When God takes you away from your family He always gives you another! That I have learned many times over. And I am so thankful for it. It just shows what a detailed, caring God He is. He knows what we need…even if it is a little brother that drives you crazy sometimes! Love you Caleb!!

I am now on somewhat of a schedule for daily life. I have language class every Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. And in the afternoons I go to the market and practice! The other day, after my first class I rode a Jeepney (a form of public transportation) all by myself using what little language I know so far. I was so excited! Even though it may seem like a small feat…in life you must look for those! Sometimes those small victories are what can keep you going! And I have also been looking for the little ways that God shows up in my life here. I got this idea from a book I was reading a couple of weeks ago. The book is called Captivating by John and Stasi Eldridge. I highly recommended it for women. But the idea was to be aware of those moments that God gives you a smile from above. For example, I was in this store a couple of weeks ago and I heard on the stereo, over the loud speakers Nicklecreek playing. Now, I know…that is kind of random and you might be thinking how in the world does that have to do with anything spiritual? Oh but it does! God knew I needed to hear something familiar. He knew I needed to hear something that I recognized. So He gave it to me. Over the sounds of people speaking a language I do not understand, over the sounds of the hustle and bustle of a busy store…He gave me Nicklecreek. What is God giving you to smile about that you so easily overlook? Maybe it’s that random flower on the side of the road, the smile of your child under the dirt and mud from playing outside, or that fresh cool breeze out of nowhere. I challenge you to look and find that smile from Him. Ask Him for one. But be ready to receive it as well! And remember to thank Him for it! Maybe it’s not having a can opener for the tuna when what you really needed was an egg salad that reminds you of mom’s.

Two Weeks

First of all....Rebekah, do not faint! :)

I cannot believe that its possible that I left home two weeks ago today. Life has been a whirlwind of activity just getting over here to Bacolod and settling in. God has been so very faithful in giving me just what I needed when I needed it. I have felt the prayers of you all back home and I am so grateful for them.

My apartment is just about ready for me to move into and that has been fun and exciting fixing up my own place. I feel like such a grownup! Even the electric bill with my name on it was pretty exciting, though I doubt it stays that way. :)

So my apartment might need a "little" mopping! I'll post pics when I get it all finished!

first night at GMAs

My welcome in Bacolod. Made my heart smile!

I travel "light" :)

Its been amazing to see God work out every little detail, from my getting everything ready to leave, to the journey over here, my arrival, just everything! God's timing has been absolutely perfect! I just continue to stand in awe of Him and am humbled that He called me, just an ordinary girl from Mississippi, to carry His light to the Asia Pacific region.

I'm praying for you all as you carry His light to whatever part of the world He has placed you, whether that is in school somewhere, at a job, with your family, wherever you are there is where He has called you. Shine your light for all to see and know that I am praying for you.

Please continue to pray for me as well, there is such comfort in knowing that I'm being lifted up in prayer. There are still many adjustment days coming, times of homesickness and feelings of being overwhelmed, but our God has been faithful before, He WILL be faithful again! And I am so excited to be here in this place, at this time!

Hugs to all of you!

~Sarah

in case you didn't know

That's Hadley, Sarah's 2 1/2 year old niece for those who are wondering. She's absolutely a.dor.a.bull. I realize that's not how you spell it, but, I wanted you to get the full affect. :)

Just a little update, Sarah landed in Manila about 9:00 a.m. CST on the 27th (10 p.m. Filipino time, I don't know what else to call it) and was greeted by Joanna, Connie and some others and they then flew to Bacolod Saturday morning CST (Saturday afternoon, Filipino time).

Please continue to pray for her as she gets adjusted to all things Filipino and I PROMISE you'll hear from the girl herself soon. And by promising, I mean, I really can't make her but I can call her out on the blog and have you people annoy her on Facebook and whatever else so that she'll update :)

And, yes, I was a big crybaby the day she left, and every day leading up to it. Twas not good. But, it just means I love her a lot :)

I haven't really cried since then. Praise the Lord for that. I have a theory. But I think I need to be further removed from the situation before I write about it. And if you want to read it, you can check out my blog for updates. Shameless self-promotion? I'd say so. I'll still write here but not as often. (Not as often? I've written here like, twice. I'm ridiculous.)

Thank you SO MUCH for all your prayers. They have definitely been felt and I'm sure that's the only reason I'm not holed up in some mental institution rocking back and forth crying out "Sarah!!! Saaaarrrrrraaaahhhhhh!!!" :)

Love y'all!

God's Perfect Timing

I was talking to Sarah about this and she asked if I would post it on her blog, so here you go!

I just had to sit in amazement at God's timing this morning.  I picked up a book months ago entitled "Voices of the Faithful" (inspiring stories of courage from Christians serving around the World) and was reading today's selection.  God knew just what all of us that knows and loves Sarah Hebert needed today, I found it no coincidence that the devotional today was exactly perfect!

"What Saying Yes Means"  -by Jessica serving our Lord in Central Asia

"He who goes out weeping, carrying seed to sow, will return with songs of joy, carrying sheaves with him" Psalms 126:6

"I read this verse when I was going through the interview process to come overseas for a two-year journeyman term. This verse was specifically for me, because I wept more over the decision than any other decision in my life.  You see, adventure does not appeal to me in the least. In fact, the opposite characterizes me. I like to be comfortable, for my life to be consistent and to sit on the couch with my family. Yet God, in His amazing wisdom, decided to call me to go.

The uncertainity of leaving my family and their security made me cry a lot. This struggle was not with going to the ends of the earth, but simply leaving my family.

Then, as I had been doing all that year, I turned to read in the Psalms; and God, once again in His amazing wisdom, gave me this verse.  God promised even though there would be weeping, there would also be rejoicing.

Since the beginning of my journey, God and His Word have been so faithful. I still miss my family and weep often. But every time, God reminds me that the seed I have to sow is worth it. He reminds me that there will be songs of joy. I look forward to the day when we'll all rejoice around the throne. In the meantime, I've got some sowing to do. Many people still need to hear the story.
No matter the cost, we together need to share Christ with lost people around us.

~Heavenly Father, be especially close to those young women who have left families in order to minister in international lands. Keep them content in the knowledge that You are with them and won't leave them. Help me today to be a witness to others, no matter what the cost. Amen

As most of you know Sarah flies out at 9 a.m. in the morning.  God blessed her with an amazing last weekend in Conway with friends here and He has continued to bless her with a fabulous time back home in Mississippi with her family and friends there.  I've enjoyed looking at pictures and videos posted of her laughing and enjoying good times. He is pouring down grace, mercy and strength to her and for that we are so grateful.  As this young woman shared in this devotional, it. is. not. easy. BUT God is FAITHFUL!!  And there is hope and comfort for our hearts in that statement alone!  Please pray for Sarah's family as they say their "see you laters" and for Sarah as she takes the biggest step of her life...stepping on that plane in the morning. 

We love you, Sarah, and will pray continually for you as you follow our Lord and Saviour to the uttermost parts of the earth. Thank you for opening your heart to loving, your ears to hearing, your feet to following, and your whole life to serving Him!
~Toya
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nnai5kc36bs&feature=related