Final Reflections of Gratitude for 2008

Leaving behind the summer Christmas season of New Zealand was bittersweet. The blessing of my Grace City Church family, the relationships with my ‘sons and daughters’ from many nations and ministry of ISM, and the sense of having worked hard makes me treasure each day I have been privileged to serve Christ overseas.Five years have already passed since I journeyed to Middle Earth, and I can testify they have been God’s best for me. As the Lord leads and provide, I’ll return in 2009 and face new opportunities and challenges in ministry and life in New Zealand.

2008 was an amazing year, which began for me in the USA. I am so grateful for the MANY new friends God brought into my life and equally a grateful for the reunions with old friends (internet is an amazing thing). But in 2008 there was a lot of sadness as well as happy times. Many of us lost loved ones – and in some cases those losses were sudden and tragic.

The darkness of mourning is eventually replaced by the light of morning and a new day dawns. It reminds me that even in the chill of the dawn, the light brings hope for a future yet to be lived this side of heaven. That same light shone brightly in Bethlehem 2000+ years ago. The light of hope for a better future! But even that hope wasn’t easy – and before eternal hope could come, mourning once again cast its shadow at the cross of Christ and in His burial.

As a follower of Jesus, I believe the ultimate hope came with the resurrection of Jesus, the firstborn from among the dead. Never before had such an event taken place, yet the promise that came with it allows me to have joy because Jesus was the firstborn of millions who will follow in resurrection as they follow Him. My biggest prayer is that all who have heard the name of Jesus would have that light of hope shine in their hearts, the light that illumines that Jesus IS THE way, THE truth, and THE life. That is my Christmas prayer and the gift I’d like to see everyone I know receive.

Below are a few final glimpses into the last few NZ weeks of 2008 – and as always THANK YOU for your prayers and support – you are a vital part of this ministry and people around the world are thanking God for you!

Some of our Grace City Church fellowship time... how many countries are seated around this table?... (seven + me taking the photo so = 8) Thank you for praying for our church. God has established Pastor Richard Tien as our senior pastor and brought us a wonderful lay minister who is good with helping churches that have gone through trials AND raised up more godly leaders AND given our fellowship the desire to be a disciplemaking and evangelistic church...

Packing for home... Mai-chan lived with me for 3 1/2 years. She finished her degree in November and has returned home. This was her final night (we had a full house - all night farewell time with many friends) as she puts the finished slam on her luggage.

Oh what a night. Still Mai's farewell... from left to right - Mai, Meleane & Sete (Tonga) and Enid (Samoa) who look smiley but lots of tears followed.

Speaking of Enid, here she is at her book launch during Massey University's graduation week. Her family flew in from Samoa for her graduation and were equally blessed to attend the launch of her book of poetry 'Raw Edges' published by the Pasifika Dept at Massey. Left to right: her mom, dad, grampa, Enid and the head of department @ Massey.

More South Pacific Island joy - I call these ladies my power PI's:Tanya (Samoa), Letia (Fiji) and Sesimani (Tonga) - all bold witnessess for Christ and leaders amongst the PI students and communities. Praise God for them (and their awesome husbands).

Ah yes... Feliz Navidad! My flatmate and also the ministry intern I mentor, Claudia (left) and Gloria captured a vision to reach the Latin American community in Palmerston North. The result was over 150 in attendance at a Christmas Nativity celebration en espanol... We all look forward to Claudia's return next year for year 2 of her internship diploma. She is in Guadalajara now with family. Please pray that God will provide for her scholarship and return airfare to New Zealand.

Just last week I travelled to Auckland to visit Pathways Bible College campus (ISM partners with them to provide mininistry training and experience for our interns). It was great to hear the testimonies of the interns, not just our ISM students but students ministering in churches and with other missions organisations. All said they were grateful for how God changed them and their lives through the theological study as well a ministry experience. This photo is me with four of our five intern grads (Yuki was delayed on a plane back from Bangladash - his latest short term mission adventure).

TESTIMONY OF AN INTERNATIONAL STUDENT GRADUATE

Enid, me and Mai at Yvette's wedding
22 November 2008

Hellothere. There are so many reasons that I LOVE being called to this ministry to international students, and more particularly - being able to serve so many young women who are seeking to know Christ and grow in their relationship with God. One of the main focuses of the ISM vision is the emphasis on "helping international students become life-long followers of Jesus... (thereby) reaching their home nations for Him".

To give you a glimpse of one such "returnee" who is making a difference, I'd like to share a testimony with you that was received from on of my daughters and disciples, Enid. "Enido" as we referred to her on the mission trip to Japan in 2006, went through a lot to get her Aviation Management degree here in New Zealand. Without too much detail, due to some serious circumstances with family back home in 2005, she nearly failed out of the degree programme. But, several ISM staff and family got behind her and met with the academic board to support her committment to education, and her heart for aviation. This resulted in a one year leave of absence to care for family in Samoa, and the approval to return to complete her degree. Well, she came back and earlier this year completed her degree, and has started a strong career in Aviation Management. Enid is a blessing, who changes the character of a room by entering in. She's got a missionary gift and makes people from every culture feel like they are important. Here is a praise story from her. By way of introduction, she is a creative writer too, and has some poems published in a book:

Hello academics and friends,

This is an update on what's happening to our 'Raw Edges' book in Samoa. Last week at work (airport), I managed to secure a place to serve the Deputy Prime Minister (Misa.Telefoni.Retzlaff), politician, businessman, writer and family man, since he was the VIP of the day. I served him coffee and managed to sneak him a copy of our book, since he has a reputation for loving literature/any writing.

Mainly, I wanted him to endorse a scholarship to do a Postgraduate diploma with the Singapore Aviation Academy early next year, but remembered to bring a Raw edges copy along. Anyway, he told me he would get back to me about the scholarhsip. Friday of the same week, his secretary called for a meeting with him 2 days ago (monday).

I went along and we spent about an hour discussing poetry! which i don't read a lot of. He asked me if I had given a copy of the book to thier highnesses (Head of State , King Tupua Tamasese and his wife). It all gets interesting because I was a former English student of the Queen while i was in highschool. i told him I intended to see them but have been waiting for thier secretary to get back to me. DPM immediatly had his secretary call the king's secretary if it's possible for me to see the king straight away. God allowed it and so i went to see the king.

we chatted for a few hours and he was proud to have a youngster(me) come to see him about such matters. he encouraged me to continue writing and they (DPM) and King would be happy to endorse the book when it comes out. DPM then told me to go and visit the Prime minister since he is the chairman of the scholarship committe. Evening of the same day, I saw him and was told that his secretary will schedule a meeting for a scholarship interview, so am waiting.

But all things considered, our book has gone the furthest and highest it can go over here. So thank you for all your support and prayers, for God has shown such favours for me to stand in front of kings and leaders all in one day and with open doors.This is evident that coffee serving leads to Kings.

God Bless
Enid

Thankful, Grateful, Humbled, Blessed

As I pause to make this latest post, I imagine families in the USA travelling near and far to gather for Thanksgiving soon. I can almost smell the turkey and feel the after dinner bloating and snoozing during college football.

Despite all the craziness of this past year... losing loved ones, saying goodbye, new leaders in several nations, a national and global economic melt down, wars and rumours of wars - I am still beyond thankful for life and love.

As you read this... stop for a moment and think about what you can thank God for! Sure, there are circumstances and fears and tragedies in our lives that cause us to often be angry at God, or in extreme cases deny that He is loving or even exists. But put that aside for a moment and reflect on your life. Did you wake up today with breath in your lungs? Do you have food in your stomach? Do you have cloths for your back? Do you have indoor plumming? A refridgerator? iPod? Cell phone? Computer? TV?

I could go on, but over the past year I have been reminded that rather than being thankful, I am a whiner! Even though I've learned to make due on very little and my home is falling apart a bit like an old car that needs maintenance, I still hear my own voice saying, "I want a better house. I want a husband. I want a Lexus. I, Me, My..."

I am thankful that God has called me to this life. Every day I wake up in a beautiful place, in the comfort of my own home, with the sounds of the Tui bird haunting me. I am greeted everyday by the love and smiles of people from many nations. I am sorry that I am such a whiner!

So in keeping with the season, I encourage you to reflect on all that you have been given. And, if things have been taken away (and this year that has included 401K$, money, loved ones, jobs, etc.) stop for a moment and realise - you are still alive! Thank God for the strength He has given you to survive the hardships. I want to encourage you with this passage from the Bible (James 1:2-12):

Dear brothers and sisters, whenever trouble comes your way, let it be an opportunity for joy. For when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow. So let it grow, for when your endurance is fully developed, you will be strong in character and ready for anything. If you need wisdom – if you want to know what God wants you to do – ask him, and he will gladly tell you. He will not resent your asking. But when you ask him, be sure that you really expect him to answer, for a doubtful mind is as unsettled as a wave of the sea that is driven and tossed by the wind. People like that should not expect to receive anything from the Lord. They can't make up their minds. They waver back and forth in everything they do. 9 Christians who are poor should be glad, for God has honored them. 10 And those who are rich should be glad, for God has humbled them. They will fade away like a flower in the field. The hot sun rises and dries up the grass; the flower withers, and its beauty fades away. So also, wealthy people will fade away with all of their achievements. God blesses the people who patiently endure testing. Afterward they will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love him.

Meeting the Grinch

October 15 may seem to early for a Christmas party, but not when you are ministering amongst international students. Over this past semester we have hosted News_Watch here in Palmerston North.

It is an English conversation programme that helps second language students learn Kiwi culture, English and increase their vocabulary and listening skills. They watch two pre-recorded NZ national news stories (two times), writing down what they understood from the story. Then we split into small groups or one-to-one and have them tell us when they understood, then define the words, phrases, talk about culture, etc. It is a wonderful programme founded by ISM staff, Rey & Liza Enriquez, in Wellington.

One of the stories early this semester was about the NZ dollar exchange rate, and they said, "don't let the Grinch steal your Christmas joy". That led to discussion about the famous (in America and the west) children's story and we decided early on to have a Grinch Christmas party as the last gathering before exams.

Yes, my Christmas tree is up! It is beautiful! And the students LOVE it. A great time was had by all. 7 mainland Chinese students, an Iranian PhD couple, and two firey Brazilians along with our helpers had a great time. One of the Massey University International Student Office members came (Olive) and her hubby (and previous ISM intern) Denis. What a blessing. It was fun to talk of our Christmas customs, as well as explain more of what Christmas means to the follower of Christ.

They particularly enjoyed a look at some of the lines in the song from the Grinch. Whether Dr. Suess wrote the song, or someone else - whoever wrote it had a pretty strong grasp on the condition of man's heart!

You're a rotter, Mr. Grinch. You're the king of sinful sots.

Your heart's a dead tomato splot with mouldy purple spots, Mr. Grinch.

Your soul is an appalling dump heap overflowing with

the most disgraceful assortment of deplorable rubbish imaginable,

mangled up in tangled up knots.

Just as the Grinch's heart must have been two sizes two small (and the heart of man is really just a stone), so understanding the Way, the Truth and the Life that Jesus brought into the world in His birth, life, death and resurrection - changes the heart and definitely makes it grow three sizes on the day when faith enters the new heart of flesh.

They are all looking forward to attending News_Watch next year. Please pray for this special ministry, and for our relationships to grow, that they may come to know the love of Jesus personally - not just through us.

A Time for Everything

If September was a time to grieve, a time to cry, a time to die, and a time to be quiet... Then October is a time to heal, and to be born, and to dance, and to dance, and to speak up. The 'Teacher' in Ecclesiastes 3 says:

1 There is a time for everything, a season for every activity under heaven. 2 A time to be born and a time to die. A time to plant and a time to harvest. 3 A time to kill and a time to heal. A time to tear down and a time to rebuild. 4 A time to cry and a time to laugh. A time to grieve and a time to dance. 5 A time to scatter stones and a time to gather stones. A time to embrace and a time to turn away. 6 A time to search and a time to lose. A time to keep and a time to throw away. 7 A time to tear and a time to mend. A time to be quiet and a time to speak up. 8 A time to love and a time to hate. A time for war and a time for peace. 9 What do people really get for all their hard work? 10 I have thought about this in connection with the various kinds of work God has given people to do.
11 God has made everything beautiful for its own time. He has planted eternity in the human heart, but even so, people cannot see the whole scope of God's work from beginning to end. 12 So I concluded that there is nothing better for people than to be happy and to enjoy themselves as long as they can. 13 And people should eat and drink and enjoy the fruits of their labor, for these are gifts from God. 14 And I know that whatever God does is final. Nothing can be added to it or taken from it. God's purpose in this is that people should fear him. 15 Whatever exists today and whatever will exist in the future has already existed in the past. For God calls each event back in its turn.

It is only the 14th of October and I have seen God replant and harvest so many fresh beginnings. We've seen birth (physical and spiritual)... praise God that Minami-chan (with the guitar on the right), one of Mai's disciples, confessed Jesus as Lord on October 9th... And later that same day, Mai and Daniel Meyer became engaged to be married!

The J2 camp over October 4th weekend focussed on "Worship"... at one point over 30 attended the camp - including some Kiwi's who are learning Japanese or interested in Japan missions. It was a wonderful time of exploring not only 'forms' of worship, but getting to the heart and point of worship - that our entire lives should be an offering of worship to God (Romans 12:1-2). We sang, we played instruments, we prayed, we danced and we wrote poetry - all to the glory of God. What a blessing to see the J2 students leading - Masa, Mai, Koyo, Yuki, Nobu, Atushi, along with Greg and the Doi's... Please pray for Nonoka, Miyumi and Asami. Mai continues to disciple them and each are at different places on their road to faith.

Earlier in the month we received the great news that Nozomi (one of our grads back in Osaka, Japan and my dear sister and former flatmate) had just been accepted to study for a masters degree at Westminister Seminary in Escondido, CA (yes, I wish I were going with her). Lord willing she will begin in July 2009 (Nozomi & I in Japan last December).

The Bible college ministry internship is winding down for the year, and I have enjoyed this year's classes so much. Jing Xiu and Lewis will complete their 2nd year diploma in November! Please pray for them as they face their future. Lewis will return to Japan, where he hopes to study graphic art and design. He is a talented artist.

Jing Xiu (in the NZ jacket) is exploring options. She'll remain in NZ and get a full time job, and remain involved in ministry to international students. At the same time she hopes to find a good school of dance for ministry in the USA. If anyone has ideas, let me know.

The year one students have been such a delight for me too! This semester's "Making Disciples" course has been a learning process for each of us. For me in preparing the course and making sure they understand and can apply it in their own cultural and ministry contexts, as well as being able to discern whether they are living the life of a disciple by example. Which means I must do the same as their lecturer and mentor.

One of our interns, Ken from Taiwan really touched my heart with this comment: "Spending daily time with God is like having personal one-to-one discipleship with Jesus Himself, where we can talk to Him through prayer, hear from Him through His word, and follow Him according to what He is showing us."

What more could a 'teacher' ask than to know their student is "getting it" and that what we are doing is making a difference in their relationship with God! Pray for Ken. He returns to Taiwan at the end of 2008 to begin his required military service. He has been captured by God's love and in turn is so passionate in his love for others. May he be protected in Taiwan, and lead many to know Jesus!

One thing that struck me in our discipleship course is that there are five of us sharing... from five different nations (USA, Scotland, Taiwan, Mexico and Japan)... and the five of us are discipling people from Viet Nam, China, Japan, Chile, Malaysia, New Zealand, Indonesia, Singapore, and Mexico... reaching the nations from our doorstep!

So, October is only half way through and already I've had a lot to share. Thank you so much for your love and support. I look forward to being in the USA over the holidays. Most importantly to spend time with family as we deal with the loss of Carey... please continue to pray for Bruce, Sean & TJ. Pray for my dad too, as he considers whether to undergo hernia surgery. I am also looking forward to my "Sanju" high school reunion (if you know Japanese, you know how many years it's been, hee hee).

This weekend is another reason to celebrate as I throw a bridal shower for Yvette Koo (one of our internship grads... I'm her maid of honour).

Before I forget, thank you also for praying for Grace City Church. God has been blessing us this year. Pastor Richard Tien (from Singapore) has really settled in as our senior pastor. Both of our congregations (English speaking & Mandarin speaking) are growing and involved with discipleship. It is so exciting to see some of our Chinese internship graduates (in this photo) serving in leadership amongst the congregations!

I have been praying for the world a lot of late. With the politics, the economics, the ecological, and the social turmoil... I am all the more convinced God's timeclock is winding down. It is during these times that I am grateful that my trust is not in riches or in man, but in God who knows all things, has written every day in His book before even one of them came to be, and history is really HIStory... put your trust in heaven's KING of kings, not in the things that surely will pass away.

The Many "S's" of September

Much can happen in one month. September 2008 once again proved to me that the 'health & wealth' doctrines so often preached aren't based in the Bible or the real world.

I don't have the usual bounce in my step these days. Praise God that as a follower of Jesus, my hope and and joy do not depend on circumstance. The passage preached at our church last Sunday was Psalm 46; and the title was "A Mighty Fortress is our God". It summed up September for me:

1 God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble. 2 Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea, 3 though its waters roar and foam and the mountains quake with their surging. Selah 4 There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God, the holy place where the Most High dwells. 5 God is within her, she will not fall; God will help her at break of day.
6 Nations are in uproar, kingdoms fall; he lifts his voice, the earth melts. 7 The Lord Almighty is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress. Selah 8 Come and see the works of the Lord, the desolations he has brought on the earth. 9 He makes wars cease to the ends of the earth; he breaks the bow and shatters the spear, he burns the shields with fire. 10 "Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth." 11 The Lord Almighty is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress. Selah

I must admit, I wasn't fully listening to our pastor. Instead I felt like I was reading the headlines from the past month. There have been a few earthquakes, hurricanes, and volcanic hiccups around the world a lot lately, so verses 2 & 3 were like watching the news. Nations are in an uproar (thanks to the USA's economic drama and our presence on the world stage of war), kingdoms fail (and so do kings), it just goes on.

But on a personal level, I experienced so many "S's". Spring Slowly Seeping in, Sickness, Sadness and Sorrow... I sat and watched the memorials for September 11th as I fought a nasty flu. A few days later I got the news that my sister (in law & in Christ) had died suddenly. That news sucked the wind out of my lungs and broke my heart as the sense of deep loss to my brother and nephews arose within me. Thank you to all who have prayed for Bruce, Sean and TJ.

Even though verse 5 is about the city of God... as I sat in church on Sunday it spoke dearly to my heart: "God is within her, she will not fall; God will help her at break of day." --- What an encouragement. God IS within His children, and though we stumble we will not fall. He will help us every single day... He truly is our fortress. Though sickness and sorrow and tragedy and disaster and calamity pound at us like an ocean tempest, GOD is our fortress. The waves and winds break on Him as He shields us from their ultimate destruction.

With all that has changed in the world in just one month, with all that is impacting each of us every day - it is of great comfort that our hope is sure, that God is never early or late, His will is always on time. I may wish things were different, but I find comfort in the fact that God's plan does not bow and bend to my foolish and weak will. He is our fortress. May we run to Him and find that the joy if the Lord is our strength. More updates to come...

A Busy (and muddy) Doorstep

In the northern hemisphere we say, "April showers bring May flowers". In New Zealand we say, August rains bring muddy pain, but spring is soon to follow! (I made that up!). I have a lake in my front yard ready for fishing!

The catch phrase for ISM is "reaching the nations from our doorstep". Our home (lovingly known as the 'Cardiff Chateau') has always been an international place. But these past few weeks it feels even more so. We are happy to welcome a new nation into the Chateau. For me, it is like having my next door neighbour move to New Zealand. CLAUDIA is from Guadalajara, Mexico! She came to NZ in early 2008, and joined ISM as a Ministry Intern. God has brought Claudia and I together, so now I am her internship supervisor as well as her house 'mom'. As Providence would have it - Claudia studied Japanese for awhile in Mexico. She and I are learning together now! She has had experience in media and TV production in Mexico, and hopes to use those talents in mainstream (praying to be a part of the pre-production on The Hobbit starting next year), and doing documentary/promotion production for ministry overseas.

MAI (left on this photo) has been busy lately - using her gifts of hospitality and cooking skills to serve J2. Our home has been a hive of well fed Japanese students (boys need fed too). She leads a Friday night girls Bible study - there are now FIVE not-yet-believers in the Bible study. Please pray for her, as she faces the challenge of many tough questions and opinions. We truly believe this is God's personal 're-entry' training for her as she will face the same challenge as she reaches out to girls back in Japan. Praise God for His plan! As she was struggling to get through the study about heaven the other night, the Lord kept bringing into her thoughts, "I am not ashamed of the gospel of Jesus Christ"... and she had the strength to carry on.

Speaking of MINISTRY INTERNS (bottom photo: back row Claudia, Mexico; Victoria, Scotland; Ken, Taiwan; front Jing Xiu, Malaysia; Lewis & Yuki, Japan)- this has been a challenging year for me (in a good way). I have been putting a lot of effort into making sure our curriculum can be understood and apply to many cultures, which means having a critical eye to cultural expressions and prejudices and assumptions. Sounds complicated, eh? In December, the ISM Ministry Internship Coordinator and I will review all of our curriculum and make any changes necessary in order to best equip international students to reach their communities and countries for Jesus Christ.

THINK HOME is a RE-ENTRY resource we highly recommend for international students to go through before they leave New Zealand. I am having such a blessed time with two of our interns, going through the workbook and hearing their hearts on how they've changed, what they expect, the difficulties they may face, etc. I've also been spending time with Mai every week, going through the workbook and having quality one-to-one time with her. Mai has lived with me since May of 2005 (not long after she became a follower of Jesus)... and she returns to Japan in November to begin the next chapter in her life.

Last week completed the Spring 2008 ISM NEWSLETTER and hope to get it posted to our supporters in NZ this week. One of the young women in my church is an amazing graphic designer. She works at Massey University printery (Grace Lin - you RAAWK!). She really has a gift from God to understand the vision and heart of what people are trying to communicate. She designed our ISM brochures last year, and has hit the ball out of the park again with our new ISM Newsletter image. It certainly makes my job rewarding, working with someone who takes my kindergarten graphics and turns them into the real thing.

NEWS_WATCH @ Massey Palmerston North is well under way and we are enjoying making new friends and helping the students with their English. As a result, I have been privileged to help one girl in particular ("Jy", a muslim post grad student from Malaysia) with her assignments on parasitic nematodes and anthelmintic resistance (diseases in livestock). From watching the news to reading about how they test for disease in animals - life is never dull when you are sharing your life with others, eh?

Finally, I am excited to have been a part of launching "PURPOSEFULLY ACTIVE DISCIPLESHIP" at our church. It will be held fortnightly (every other week) after church on Sundays for about 7 workshops. Yesterday was our first session and we had a diverse mix of church members, including the youth group. There were some who could not attend who are keen to go through the course, so I may be asked to hold a small group for international students on a different day. Pray that God will continue to help me develop the curriculum. I thank God for SANCTUARY Int'l, for Pastor Bob's Intense Studies course... for the Navigators and their great resources on disciplemaking, and for all who have discipled me.

The View is Worth the Climb

During one of my final days with the Navigator short term mission team ladies, we stopped along our journey at the "World's Steepest Street". Of course, there is some controversy over whether it is TRULY the steepest street, Baldwin Street is listed in the Guiness' book of world records. If you're keen to know more, go to http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baldwin_Street,_Dunedin

Meredith, our official "Legolas", sprang up the street like it was flat. Still, Alycia, Sarah and I followed not too far behind and were thrilled to reach the top.
As I've had time to reflect over that experience (and the pain has left my legs) it brought to mind the Christian experience. You start out excited at the prospect of making it to the top. Yet, the road in front is often more like a wall than an actual way. If you look all the way to the top as you climb, you lose balance and tend to tip backwards a few steps, or fall altogether. It is only knowing that Jesus faced an even steeper climb to complete His mission in life that gives us hope that we too can do it, with His help.

The passage that God has brought up from the depths of my heart of late is, "I thank my God every time I remember you. In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now, being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus." Philippians 1:3-6

Being with young women who gave up their summer to come to New Zealand and partner in the gospel with ISM during the bitter winter causes me to be grateful. In fact, serving alongside so many who sacrifice "self" for the sake of Jesus is humbling and encouraging.

The climb up the 'steepest street' reminds me that God will carry on the work He began in us! Once a soul is awakened by God's amazing grace, and through faith comes to Him... a new work has begun. God has changed us. He has given us a new heart and put a new spirit in us... not given us a weak spirit, but filled us with His Holy Spirit, Who's role it is to glorify Jesus. That means that the work God will carry on in us will continue to change us to become more and more like Jesus - every day. He changes our desire to please "self" and gives us a passion to please Him.

So often it feels like a climb, and at various points in that climb our lungs seize up and its hard to catch the next breath. So we pause, bend over a bit to drink in air. Finally it comes and as it flows into our bloodstream, we can carry one. So it is with our daily walk with God. There are times when we hit those lows, spiritually and physically. But, by stopping to breath in God's Word and pause to rest in Him, we can regroup and continue to climb.

He WILL complete the work He began in you... for His glory and for our delight!

In the words of the apostle Paul, I pray for you this prayer: "that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight, so that you may be able to discern what is best and may be pure and blameless until the day of Christ, filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ--to the glory and praise of God." Philippians 1:9-11