People who know me well

 

 My friend told me not to do something, but I did it. Now I regret doing what I did and confessed to her that I did what she told me not to do....

The last four Sundays

The work of our hands. It was really fun.

 

 

 

From a Nigerian brother

"It's difficult to see through tears," -- African proverb, Mike O.

But you have to keep doing it anyway. That, and to keep resting through all the doubts and storms.

Well, God made me laugh today.

God's creativity

Me to an extroverted friend at church: I'm going home to nap.

Extroverted friend: And then?

Me: There is no "and then".... 

Friend: Oh, it's "take a nap full stop" .....

from Y__'s you know who

Everything God says is true—-and it’s a shield for all who come to him for safety.  Proverbs  30:5

She started this joke "you know who" and now it's a long-running joke. I love it. I do know who.

Thankful for friends

My friends and their kids

It was nice to have a temporary distraction...

Hearing

I've been concerned about not hearing from God, and told Him about it when I was brushing my teeth. God spoke through two others even before I woke up.

I woke up about 7ish, and worried for two hours that everything I’ve done in the past was a waste of time. I finally got up to brush my teeth, and I prayed, “Lord, I’m afraid I won’t be able to hear from You, not because You don’t speak but because I can’t hear so You’ll have to be very, very clear.”

After I brushed my teeth, I checked email and saw emails from two different friends. Friend 1 said, “This is very odd, but I think this is for you.” It was a devotional she was reading, and the message was more or less, “Nothing is wasted. In the midst of trials, God is doing something in you, and not just for you.” 

Friend 2 said that he was meditating on Ecclesiastes, and thought of me. This is what he wrote:

“I pray that God guards you against thinking of your efforts there as meaningless. They weren't, because I trust they were done in obedience. I pray that God will lead you to take the next step, whatever it is, in joyful obedience.”

Friend 2's email was sent at 1am, and Friend 1's email at 12:10am. God knew that I would be worrying about this for two hours after I woke up, and he knew the request on my heart when I brushed my teeth. 

So, He decided to set up His answer to me a few hours before while I was still asleep.

Neither friend is in the habit of sending me their devotionals, and neither friend has their spiritual eyes fully opened.

However, that's not all. Here are my sermon notes from yesterday on the Christmas story. I thought it spoke to me powerfully. 

Genesis 12: 2-3

God may not show you the goal until you are willing to go. 

God is like a father holding our hands as we learn to walk. The baby may fall but the father is always willing to help.

A promise from God created a great deal of tension. The promise of a child at 75.

Genesis 15

God comforted Abram by reaffirming his promise. The opposite of uncertainty is not certainty but faith and trust that God will do what He has promised. In the meantime, we learn patience. A delay is not a delay at all but divine timing.

Abram chose to believe.

Having faith God doesn't prevent Abram from asking for evidence. But the sequence is belief first, then questions.

What we see in Abram’s situation:
“Faith seeking understanding.” -- Thomas Aquinas

God honors Abram’s question and settles him by making a covenant.

The consequence of violating the covenant will be like the animals who have been torn in half. Death and destruction.

During that time, if the covenant is made between two parties of unequal power, the covenant is one sided, and it is the weaker party who has to walk in between the animals.

However, God walks in between the animals instead of Abram because he knows Abram will fail. He chooses to bear Abram's failures even when he knows that Abram will fail to uphold their covenant, and He chooses to honor His promise to him anyway.


During the 400 years of silence between the OT and the NT, God was preparing a new covenant, and a new son, God's own son. God's son was the payment when Abram broke the covenant.

Thankful that God has surrounded me with friends during this time

Old friends and new ones

So creative

LB2 is special because we have grown to love one another. Our friendship is not at all natural, but rather learned as we walk together. Sometimes it does feel awkward to me, but I would not give it up.

Thankful to be outside again

Finally made it to the Instagram pier. It was nicer than I thought actually. I didn't take pictures of the pier itself. It actually looked industrial but nice because so many locals and expats were hanging out with friends, family, pets, or just alone.

God and his very, very mysterious ways

I've been struggling the last few days, and I asked God to speak to me in a special way because I felt distant from Him. I know it's not His fault, but I still felt quite upset and sad. This morning, I received this email. The person who wrote it was an admissions officer at my college and was one of the first two people to welcome me to campus and make me feel better during my first horrible 9 months. Because he was so impressed with my badminton, he introduced me to the squash coach who taught me how to play squash and then put me on the varsity team. I traveled to many different New England colleges to play for the team and that's how I visited many parts of the East Coast (for free!). I remember the conversation in the computer lab that he described, but I don't remember writing the email at all. God set up the different pieces of the puzzle a little over twenty years ago so that He could give me some encouragement today. He has really set the bar high for my future expectations!

This came late, but it couldn't have been more timely.

Human kindness reminding me that Christ has not forgotten me or my family.

things that are said

Colleague: Sign it, sign it! Come on!

Me: Nooo......

Also me: Don't read it!

Colleague: Don't read it?!!

Me: Well, you might find errors ....

#doneanddusted

Huh

Beach day