So something else you may want to know as you ALL plan your visit here is this -->
The summer is VERY hot...(don't be deceived that it's "only" 88-91- which brings me to the metric system issue, but that's a whole 'nother post) you get to SWEAT a ton... and you never know when it's going to rain. Since we are in a subtropical climate, and close to the ocean, we get this type of weather... All this to say unless you are into large amounts of moisture... come between September and May.

Also today i want to give a shout out to this guy:












Have a GREAT birthday- Hope Lake-apalooza is all you hoped it would be!

From the recycling bins (remember how we strive in a major way here to care for the environment), to buildings, to the silk flowers in the airplane bathroom, aesthetics are never ignored...

Another interesting point that we learned in our culture lessons is that eastern thought also incorporates relationship and images. The experiment was to show a picture and see how each group described it- the eastern thinkers, when asked to describe a picture of a fish in an ocean would tell about what he's doing, where he's going, and maybe even what he's about to do, and the westerners would say how many stripes he had and what color and what side of the picture he was on. This is very fascinating to me- I am not yet sure the implications yet, but it challenges me to look deeper into things that are seemingly simple. I just desperately want to see life through the eyes of the people here to better love them. I can't wait to make friends here and dialogue about these things! The PEOPLE are definitely a reason to love HK. They definitely get relationship and highly value it- there is just so much more to the relationship thing for us to learn... like WHOSE idea RELATIONSHIP was in the first place...

I am truly looking forward to being in real community with these amazing people, in fact, I got invited to camp with these great people: students that I met through Camp HK 3 years ago! This is a precious community of students. I hope we can grow closer as well. They will be in university not too long from now! It's very competitive so we are praying they will get "good marks" and get into a good HK university eventually.

Another thing: Hong Kong is always concerned for your safety...
When people get sick, they take it upon themselves to wear masks (you probably would too if you had been a part of an epidemic like the one that occured in 2003. ) They are very health conscious and safety conscious, for if something happens, that is very bad and you could have prevented it! That is why our teachers looked like this on our first few days of teaching...

Then there's the British English. You hear it in the accents of the voice recording for the subway, bus, and elevator, you see it on the signs and when kids go to see a "film" or visit the "w.c" Here's an example that combines both of the aforementioned topics: safety and British english. These are just a few things that make HK enjoyable. Can't wait to share more with you all!

Be encouraged that He sustains, provides, covers in more ways than we can ask or imagine. I close with this:
Psalm 145
14 The Lord upholds all who are falling
and raises up all who are bowed down.
18 The Lord is near to all who call on him,
to all who call on him in truth.
19 He fulfills the desire of those who fear him;
he also hears their cry and saves them.
20 The Lord preserves all who love him,
but all the wicked he will destroy.

21 My mouth will speak the praise of the Lord,
and let all flesh bless his holy name forever and ever.

Hey everyone! The first bit of news is that I am healthy and happy after living 10 days in Hong Kong! I am 13 hours ahead of most of you and am having a blast with the 6 teams of English teachers from universities across from America... I have many thoughts to share, but first a light-hearted blog:

Something I have been having fun with is keeping a mental list of is what's different in HK than America...so here we go:
1. The environment is VERY important (when you have 7.5 million people you have to be careful, although we should be as well...) This is evidenced my many things, for example:
-the kid who was so distressed when asked to change his mask (worn because of the H1N1 virus- but will explain that in a bit) because it pollutes this earth. Totally distressed. Refusing to wear the mask required by the school because he is so distraught. Would you rather... have swine flu or pollute the earth? He has made his choice obviously.
-the fact that my plastic cup at this coffee shop is "made of corn" and is sustainable. I do not lie: clear plastic cup. Made of corn.
-Recycling bins galore- divided down to paper, plastic, cardboard, cd's, inkjet cartridges and more
-The stores charge 50 cents per plastic bag to encourage you to use reuseable bags. Good idea i think. And the hold more/are stronger than plastic ones. I am for this for sure.
-NO straw day at McDonalds. What better way to save the environment.

2. Looking right THEN left when you cross the street. This is because they drive on the left side like Europe. I still feel like I'm gonna get hit when I'm crossing and having to look the way I am not used to. (And you don't know you do it until you are in this other place with taxis and busses driving at breakneck speed.)

3. The supreme importance of disease control. Temperatures are taken at schools each morning, masks worn, we got a "special 7 day extended culture time" in HK before we could have contact with the kids, and many people wear masks anyway. It's not uncommon. After the SARS epidemic you can't be too careful, especially when you have 7.5 million neighbors. It's also become a way to sell a product: my clorox wipes have an ad: Protect agains h1n1. Hm. And I have also notices exponentially more antibacterial handgel dispensers, and most elevator buttons are covered in plastic that is sanitized every 2 hours at least. Wow. No one is sick yet, thankfully.

4. If you shop a lot at a place you get stickers to collect so you win a toy. I find that the Chinese LOVE toys. Some think it's because they have studied so much their young lives that they got deprived of playing toys. I can understand that. Part of me would LOVE to receive a Barbie for my birthday too. They even have turned toys into competition- I wish I had a video camera- there was definitely a RUBIX CUBE RACE in the bottom of the mall I was in today. It was an entire tournament. Young and old were clicking those things at an extreme pace. Wow again.

5. H E A T !!!! No lie I have never felt heat and humidity like this. This summer especially, I am often soaked! Hopefully it will cool off when we have our...

6. TYPHOON!! Tomorrow it's possible that we will have a level 8/10. Kinda like a Hurricane for those of you in the southeast. I am just glad it might help cool the place and wash away some pollution so my asthma will calm down. (Asthma that I think I developed here last year... oops. Don't worry Mom, it's really ok. I just say this for dramatic effect.)

I am sure there are many more things I could share, and I can't wait to tell you more!
I hope this whets your appetite to visit this fun city. Can't wait to see you here!

My heart in writing this blog is simply to chronicle what God's doing and maybe give a little insight into what it's like to move overseas, and hopefully encourage more people in the corner they live in or to make the leap to do the same as I, if the Lord is leading in that direction...

So I made it to the airport, got on my (first class, thanks Jesus) flight, and arrived at what I like to call "limbo." God has been generous in letting me transition slowly to life in another place. It is a blessing to be in Colorado, and meet people (mostly college students) from all over the country who love Asia until I board the plane to HK on Tuesday at MIDNIGHT!! We have been spending the week learning how to function as healthy teams, teach English to young Asian students, and live as people who love others well and walk with humility, maturity, and wisdom. This summer's camp will be incredible because of the tools we have been given, the hearts behind it, and the Source from which it all comes.

For me, it is a different experience than the last two summers I have participated. I get the joy of being the site coordinator for 6 Hong Kong ("Xiang Geng" in Mandarin!) Teams. It feels different to not have my own team, but the fun is I have one HUGE team! (about 50 folks!) While they have been learning all the above mentioned things, I have been making plans and corresponding with many people from HK to enrich our language and culture training when we arrive. This is something else I am passionate about: you can't really love people well until you really seek to understand their culture and where they are coming from. Eastern culture is fascinating to me- it's a communal culture which means it highly values relationship above all things-- a challenge for us task-oriented and time-oriented Americans, but I love every minute of it because I know it's causing me to know the Lord as I am stretched in unique ways.

What God is doing...

A couple of months ago I was anticipating what it might be like to leave home, family, and friends for the first time. I didn't know how I would respond but I asked the Lord to get the most mileage possible out of it. I told Him I wanted Him to take me deeper in our relationship. Moving away from the country I've known all my life is the hardest thing I have ever done in my life, but He has been gracious to get many many miles out of this move. Not to mention that this time in my life has also been one of the MOST exciting!

I have had the privilege of rooming with a woman who has served in Japan for the past 30 years, and you can imagine that I have picked the poor woman's brain so very much. The reality of this move hits in waves, and when she asked me how I was doing this morning another wave of emotion hit- I miss my family. I have never been one to "miss" people but I can be sentimental. I cannot tell you how strange it was to step away, not sure when I would hug them next. In talking to her, I think she put a word on it: separation. As we talked we connected the dots- she said she came to know God. She had a hint of how Jesus might have felt when God had to turn His head as Jesus hung on the cross. Jesus felt the separation, I feel it too, but the cross is good news for me today for these reasons:

1. He knows how I feel being separated from those I love to an incredibly high degree (so I find intimacy and fellowship & intimacy with Him in that).
2. He achieved victory over these "griefs and sorrows" in the resurrection.
3. This is an experience of hope I have to share with the world, were my faith is my VICTORY! (1 John 5:21)

There's a depth of fellowship found in that point of suffering. I realized for about the tenth time this week that He is swiftly answering my prayer to know Him deeply by stripping me of the comforts I rest in. I want JESUS to be my Savior and the one I rest in. I KNOW that is His best for me and He is giving me the privilege to walk it out. I have found that in the suffering (Click the link to read an incredible article that resonates with me personally.) and sacrifice that the Word says we will do, He extends grace all the more and He moves His kingdom through it. This is how LOVE is demonstrated! We magnify Christ when we endure such things unto Him. May you endure today and shine brightly with His life and light!

When I think about leaving tomorrow I feel like I will come back to good ol' Auburn like I always do in a month. It's weird to think this is my last night in Alabama, but here I sit, in my room since I was in 5th grade, trying to wrap my mind about what's about to take place but I cannot. Yet again, I take deep comfort in the Sovereignty of God, how He sees all and He gives generous glimpses of what's to come so that I will move forward. I am humbled to take this step and that He has made a way for me when anyone could be in this place. What an honor!

Please pray for this transition and for all that will ensue as I leave this place. Please lift up my family as well. My heart in this is to know Him and for those who are affected by my leaving (humbling, very much so) to know Him in a fresh way as well. My heart craves to be wooed by the Savior and He does just that as we share in this journey, just the 2 of us, on an adventure for the sake of His glorious name.

by HIS grace; for HIS glory...

In Daniel 7, the vision of the prophet shows and explains who Christ is, and what it's all about. Christ the crowning GLORY of creation, the greatest, the highest, and the Holiest one and only God. He has not come just to wipe our slates clean but to reign perfectly and righteously (the kindest, most fair, most beneficial way for all), that ALL should serve Him, thus serving one another and living life as He has designed it to be! (1 John ²This is how we know that we love the children of God: by loving God and carrying out his commands. ³This is love for God: to obey his commands. And his commands are not burdensome, ⁴for everyone born of God overcomes the world. This is the victory that has overcome the world, even our faith.)

I love imagining today what it would be like to witness the Ancient of Days bestow the Glory of Creation on His Son, who laid down His life that we may know the greatness of God.

¹³"I saw in the night visions,
and behold, with the clouds of heaven
there came one like a son of man,
and he came to the Ancient of Days
and was presented before him.
¹⁴ And to him was given dominion
and glory and a kingdom,
that all peoples, nations, and languages
should serve him;
his dominion is an everlasting dominion,
which shall not pass away,
and his kingdom one
that shall not be destroyed.

So these last few days I am blessed to be at the beach with my family, but I dream of the day they could possibly hang out with me on another beach on the other side of the world, hopefully with new brothers and sisters, and experience His creation like I do in that place. My prayer these days is just that He'll give me vision for this next place. Since I am journeying to Hong Kong, to me it's like walking towards the promise land, trusting that the Lord will reign there as we walk faithfully.

If we are sons and daughters of God, and our families (blood or spiritual) are one of the many ways that He expands His kingdom, (therefore bringing blessing to people) can we claim these words as a promise to us? Sometimes He asks us to do hard things, yet He knows the outcome . I PRAY we will be a blessing to this place.

Now the Lord said to Abram, "Go from your country and your kindred and your father's house to the land that I will show you. And I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you and him who dishonors you I will curse, and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed."
Genesis 12:1-3

We'll never know the impact that we have on the world, and the ripples of the Spirit's work in and through our lives are incalculable. Walking in faith, knowing the journey to the promised land is not always easy, He imparts a taste of the promise to us along the way. This is our reality as believers: His Kingdom come here on earth as it is in heaven.

Lord may we be a blessing to all we encounter- for your name and your renown or the desire of our souls! (Is 26:8)

Where will I live? A little history lesson...

Sha Tin was originally known as "Lek Yuen" or "the source of clear water"** – a reference to the Shing Mun River. During the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644), many farmers settled in the area, taking advantage of the excellent water supply. More than 50 villages were located here, the most famous was Sha Tin Village. When the New Territories were leased to Britain in 1898, a British Commissioner surveyed Lek Yuen and asked the name of the area. A villager told him it was called Sha Tin and since then the name has been used to describe the entire area. In 1970, the Government began building satellite towns in the New Territories to provide housing for the growing population. Sha Tin was the first new town to be developed and was built on land reclaimed from the sea.

**May this place be true to the meaning of its original name and be the source of clear water, symbolizing TRUTH and LIFE from THE LIVING WATER...

Other info:
Hong Kong (“Fragrant Harbor”), a Special Administrative Region (SAR) of the People's Republic of China (PRC) since July 1, 1997, enjoys a high degree of autonomy, except in the areas of defense and foreign policy, and retains its own currency, laws, and border controls. Lying at the southeastern tip of China, Hong Kong adjoins the province of Guangdong (Canton), and is just south of the tropic of Cancer. The total land area of Hong Kong is 1,078 square kilometers, comprising Hong Kong Island (77.5 square kilometers); Kowloon (45.5 square kilometer); and the New Territories, including 235 outlying islands (955 square kilometers). Today Hong Kong has become a great international trading post, a powerful manufacturing base and one of the world's largest financial centers.

The climate is tropical with hot and humid conditions. The temperature may rise to 33°C (92 °F) with humidity up to around 90%. Average temperature: 28°C (82°F), humidity 80%, sea temperature 28°C (82°F).

Not that I'm really wrestling with doubt today, but I am standing in a place (18 days from moving away from this place I've always known) where the TRUTH MATTERS. His word is everything to me, and literally the bread of LIFE- It's what empowers me to walk forward and when I ponder the hugeness of the truth I grow my roots deep into the confidence that comes only for Someone bigger than myself. It's good to be the recipient of the revealed Word specifically to me, His precious daughter, for each moment if I will simply LISTEN.

Tom Skinner, who was chaplain of the Washington Redskins said this,

“I spent a long time trying to come to grips with my doubts, when suddenly I realized, I had better come to grips with what I believe. I have since moved from the agony of questions that I can’t answer, to the reality of answers that I cannot escape. And it’s a great relief.”

This really connects with me as I am passionate about answering the hard questions, but there comes a point where you MUST exercise faith! You WON'T experience the benefits of our faith if you don't genuinely exercise it! Regardless of how you feel or what your circumstances appear to be, we must cast ourself in faith on the reality of God's unfailing love and character. Doubt happens, but thank goodness God gives us His WORD to rely on! I like what Tim Keller says in his book The Reason for God: "A person's faith can collapse almost overnight if she has failed over the years to listen patiently to her own doubts, which should only be discarded after long reflections." The enemy would have us stuff the doubts, be shamed by them, or ignore them but then we're at risk for collapse. It's important to examine our doubts, to be open and wrestle together as a community with the tough questions, that we will reap the benefits of faith. It may not always say what we want it to say, but it's amazing when we rely on it, the supernatural change in heart attitude that comes about thanks to the power of His word. This is NOT mind over matter. This is of God- something that we can consistently have is we just place our faith in Him, and it's the TRUTH that will set us free, and that's found in His word!

I heard the above quote on our local radio station and it is an amazing story of a man walking through suffering. This is a man who had extensive training and was a pastor with a terrible disease which took him to the point of not wanting to even pray, yet it was the TEXT that lifted Him up: the living powerful Word of God. It's alive, and it counsels us into truth and godly perspective.

Last night my mom and I were given a special gift: women, young and old, showed up to encourage and bless us both and send me out to Hong Kong. We were given cards from them all with blessings and verses on them, we were prayed over, and we left as different people, encouraged and blessed beyond what we could ever ask or imagine. And when it gets hard, mom or I can take that ring of cards and read the verses written on them to be infused with strength and endurance once again. What a beautiful picture of the body, emboldened with prayer and God's loving words to us through His loving people: stronger than steel! I pray His word is life for you today and if you do doubt that you will turn to His infallible word to life you up. Do not despair- He has provided a way for you today!

Here's the bread--the sustenance-- for the day:
1 Thessalonians 2:
¹³And we also thank God constantly for this, that when you received the word of God, which you heard from us, you accepted it not as the word of men but as what it really is, the word of God, which is at work in you believers.

If you've receive Him, bank on it, it's at work, changing and shaping you for His glory.

We (Grace Campus Ministries) don't want to be a program but a MOVEMENT. Having a program is not sustainable, but the ripples from a movement cannot be contained. (Think about waves, dropping a rock in the middle of a pond, etc...) That is why I can truly relate to the video on the blog link below... this little article really spurs me on. I like Sivers' first statement about a movement...

http://sivers.org/dance-lessons




(thanks to taylor brooks for posting this article)

I'm thankful to Jesus for the little things lately:

-Extra time at home with the family- dinners together, an upcoming vacation together.
-Extra chances to pray, be prayed over, and share hearts when the days here are dwindling.
-Extra energy to make these days count.
-Extra special time at the beach with old roommates. There's just something about them that does the heart good. It's good to be known and good to just be together.


He has truly orchestrated intentional time with so many of the important people in my life, which makes leaving a little easier and harder, all at the same time. Babies are being born just in time, get-togethers are happening, and boxes are being packed... just in time. Not too early, not too late. I have learned to wait on the pace and step of the Father since HE is orchestrating my life and to that I surrender.

We decided to move to Hong Kong this past fall, and since then we have stayed busy, but at the heart of it we are WAITING-- eagerly anticipating the unfolding of a work of God that has intersected our lives. It's easy to get ahead of ourselves, yet I am FREE from manufacturing "what's next" when I am simply following Him (not just that "plan" I have in mind). Experiencing this freedom also hinges on what we want most, what our ultimate goal in life is, and if you're walking with Him maybe you've seen shadows, or a foggy mirror-view of what's to come, but this** is what we're ushering in. (**HIS KINGDOM!) The work-in-the-meantime comes with following Him unquestioningly. There are tasks He's asking me to do along the way and it happens as abiding happens, otherwise I am lost (having no purpose or direction).

No, it's not easy, but there are definitely no regrets to "forsaking all and following Him" and I am able to live free as I walk in His will, one step at a time, the best I know how, as His daughter. I don't know it all, I DEFINITELY don't have it all together, but I know He's good and He sees the whole big picture at once. My life and your life are woven into that picture for the glory of our magnificent God. He sees all of time at once, with Christ as the center of it all and says this is good.

That's enough for me today. My portion for this moment. Not yesterday, not tomorrow, but here in the present. With Him.

^{Luke 12:28}"But if God so clothes the grass in the field, which is alive today and tomorrow is thrown into the furnace, how much more will He clothe you? You men of little faith! ²⁹"And do not seek what you will eat and what you will drink, and do not keep worrying. ³⁰"For all these things the nations of the world eagerly seek; but your Father knows that you need these things. ³¹"But seek **His kingdom, and these things will be added to you.

³²"Do not be afraid, little flock, for your Father has chosen gladly to give you **the kingdom. ³³"Sell your possessions and give to charity; make yourselves money belts which do not wear out, an unfailing treasure in heaven, where no thief comes near nor moth destroys. ³⁴"For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

There's a plan in motion where God wins and all is made right. It's the plan of God for redemption and restoration that we may truly know what love is and partake in the feast- the best days upon days that we could ever ever begin to imagine... And it starts now when we treasure Him most... It's the little things that truly point us to the big, significant MAIN thing...

What does it look like for YOU to simply follow Jesus today? As children of God who are unique it's going to look unique for ALL of us, Hallelujah!

Well, I'm off to buy some prune juice and wrinkle cream...

I woke up with an excitement but also about every emotion you can feel when I saw "June 1" on my phone.

What does one do when she has 30 days before she leaves to move her life to another country?
1. Feels like the wind was knocked out of her
2. Recovers somewhat by the grace of God, but the soreness is still there to reminder her of her need for God. (The thorn if her flesh? I think so... for today at least!)
3. Stands on the promise of one of my lift verses in 2 Peter:

³His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of him who called us to his own glory and excellence, ⁴by which he has granted to us his precious and very great promises, so that through them you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped from the corruption that is in the world because of sinful desire.

That sinful desire being my flesh begging me to be in control, to be "as God" as the enemy first deceived Adam and Eve, and in my humanity, my believing that it's all on my shoulders. Sooo... next step...
4. REPENT REPENT! (She tells herself- CHANGE YOUR MIND! Don't believe this subtle lie!) GOD is in control. Of course this isn't the first time she's tried to take things into her own hands (search "control" on this blog and I'm sure you'll find many examples!)
5. Believe this: 1 Timothy 6:

¹¹But as for you, O man of God, flee these things. Pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, steadfastness, gentleness. ¹² Fight the good fight of the faith. Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called and about which you made the good confession in the presence of many witnesses. ¹³ I charge you in the presence of God, who gives life to all things, and of Christ Jesus, who in his testimony before Pontius Pilate made the good confession, ¹⁴to keep the commandment unstained and free from reproach until the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ, ¹⁵which he will display at the proper time—he who is the blessed and only Sovereign, the King of kings and Lord of lords, ¹⁶ who alone has immortality, who dwells in unapproachable light, whom no one has ever seen or can see. To him be honor and eternal dominion. Amen.

6. Fight the good fight by doing that which He has called me to do... I was asked on a mission application what the role of the gospel is in my life and i'll just paste that here:
In these days I am believing the gospel to walk through sadness in moving away (Lord, give me the grace to walk through this valley with you) and the diligence to prepare by raising support, packing, planning, and praying for what's to come (Lord, I repent of my laziness, the temptation to bow down to overwhelming tasks, and say that no weapon that is fashioned against me will succeed. I joyfully receive the grace to accomplish that which you've called me to and trust you to empower me to do it in a manner which glorifies you). This is what the gospel looks like in my present life as He uses it to make me more like Jesus.
7. She prays.
8. She "be's."
9. She thinks. A lot. About all the possibilities of everything and then does #4-6 again.
10. She waits. In eager expectation for what God's going to do in HK and around the world.

Hope today finds you a little sore, aware of your humanity, but making room for Him to work in and through you. That's what it looks like for me today and whether you are moving or not, whether you're going or staying HE IS WORKING ALL AROUND AND IN YOU AND ME!

Rejoicing-

In my own strength, I am a solution-finder and a "fixer" if you will. I am going to figure it out (I think that's why I love Algebra or Chemistry- there's always a definite answer). At the same time, and as much comfort and satisfaction the "sure thing" brings, it's nothing compared to utterly and totally trusting Him. My fear is that in my own striving and trusting myself, I'll miss the chance to truly rely, depend, and abide on the One to gives real Life. I have to rightly view myself as the one in need and Him as the need-meeter and I'll let the article that encouraged me to this point say the rest of this thought:

“Because,” as Schaeffer explains, “the world is hard, and confronting it without God’s power is an overwhelming prospect.”

...It is shocking to see how far the world is willing to go today — to throw over every moral restraint and to embrace every form of perversion. It was an example of the kind of thing that would often move Schaeffer to tears, in his compassion for the tragic “lostness” of man apart from the Christ.

But there is another related tragedy, as Schaeffer pointed out, that is perhaps even greater — that is, the tendency of Christians to fail to understand the utter lostness of the world and instead to embrace the world’s methods for doing the work of the Lord. Thus Schaeffer wrote, “The real problem is this: the church of the Lord Jesus Christ, individually or corporately, tending to do the Lord’s work in the power of the flesh rather than the Spirit. The central problem is always in the midst of the people of God, not in the circumstances surrounding them.” “If we do not want to waste our lives,” Schaeffer continued, “then we must understand the importance of having a humble, quiet heart and the power of the Holy Spirit.”

Schaeffer’s following summary paragraph has been especially important (and convicting) to me — and something that I pray will always be foundational to the work we do at Crossway. “Is it not amazing,” Schaeffer writes, “though we know the power of the Holy Spirit can be ours, we still ape the world’s wisdom, trust its form of publicity, its noise, and imitate its ways in manipulating men! If we try to influence the world by using its methods, we are doing the Lord’s work in the flesh. . . . The key question is this: as we work for God in this fallen world, what are we trusting in? To trust in particular methods is to copy the world and to remove ourselves from the tremendous promise that we have something different — the power of the Holy Spirit rather than the power of human technique.”

THAT'S MY PRAYER TODAY!

Lord, will you by your grace come upon me so that even the smallest things in my life will be evidence of your Spirit at work in and through me? I want to rely solely on YOU. I want to look different than the world and as I trust you I want your fruit to be so clearly evident in my life! Empower me by your Word speaking over and into my life. Holy Spirit I desperately need your supernatural power- your transforming grace- to carry out your kingdom work in all that I do and say. Be present Lord and Be glorified in my life. May I never turn to my flesh, but place my faith in you- the One who is able.

full text of Schaeffer's article here.

It's amazing how beholding God and His Word releases grace into my life to stand whole and complete in Him... and it's definitely an active choice I must make. It seems there is a dying process going on as I release what I know everyday life to be so that He may start a new life for me when I move to Hong Kong. Death is sad, it's experiencing a loss, it is painful, but I am encouraged by these words that I shared with the girls in the Romans Bible study. Thankful for His grace enabling me to walk through this...

Hey Precious girls!
Just want you to know I am thinking about you as you have your finals. You all are my heart and I hope you know how much I treasure each of you. Today I am walking through a "testing" time as well, just in a different way :) What I know today is that He gives us grace -supernatural power- to transform our minds, thus transforming our attitudes and our emotions as we walk through tests. Don't miss Him in your studies. Draw from HIS life today!

The temptation will often be to live from your own strength, but here's what the Word says:
2 Cor 15:56The sting of death is sin,(remember Rom 14-anything not from faith is sin?) and the power of sin is the law. 57But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. 58Therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain.

2 Cor 6:1 Working together with him, then, we appeal to you not to receive the grace of God in vain. 2For he says, "In a favorable time I listened to you, and in a day of salvation I have helped you." Behold, now is the favorable time; behold, now is the day of salvation.

He is working out your salvation through testing! Will you trust His unfailing abundant resources (daughter) or your own? (orphan)

He wants to rescue you THROUGH the week (as opposed to snatching you out of it or removing the obstacle). You are going to find victory walking right through it, empowered by HIs spirit!

He's faithful... I am thanking Him, for this is how we enter His gates (Ps 100:4).

Psalm 100 (The Message)

A Thanksgiving Psalm

Psalm 100 (Amplified Bible)

A Psalm of thanksgiving and for the thank offering.

¹MAKE A joyful noise to the Lord, all you lands!

²Serve the Lord with gladness! Come before His presence with singing!

³Know (perceive, recognize, and understand with approval) that the Lord is God! It is He Who has made us, not we ourselves [and we are His]! We are His people and the sheep of His pasture.^A)">(A)

⁴Enter into His gates with thanksgiving and a thank offering and into His courts with praise! Be thankful and say so to Him, bless and affectionately praise His name!

⁵For the Lord is good; His mercy and loving-kindness are everlasting, His faithfulness and truth endure to all generations.

Jesus, you are everything.

I was encouraged by a friend of mind to think about expectations of what it will be like when I get to Hong Kong. Do I expect people to keep up with me? What will I do if it doesn't happen like I envision? How I will deal with the distance and maintaining the relationships I have now?

All are important questions to think about, but I am encouraged that maybe the technology we have these days frees more people up to go. We studied the history the Church as a staff team and needless to say, we have come a long way. No longer do we have to write letters to make plans and wait for responses a few weeks later. Neither do we have to ride on a boat for 4-6 months to cross the ocean! (Thank you Lord!) The means are readily available and for this I am thankful.

I hope to be more consistent on this blog- knowing that we may not be able to communicate all the time in "real time" but still know each others lives thanks to the technology we have to share life through satellites, wires, and screens.


Here's a fun video of how we have already been using this technology and I hope it will encourage you to keep up with me! This is a team meeting we had a while back where Mary Reading was in Dallas and Maik was in Hong Kong and we still shared and prayed together... (if you want to know more about these team members check out our website.)





All this to say, everyone needs to download skype and become bloggers too... I look forward to journeying with you all in this way. I can't wait to share about His faithfulness in the days to come. I have much to share as my time here is flying by! I cannot belive it's almost time to go!

Praying for these opportunities... to be an "Isaiah"...
(thanks to North American Mission Board for the Video)

...our new website...
you get to see some great pictures and learn a little more about our venture to Hong Kong...

http://www.gracecampus.net/

(make sure you have flash on your computer!)

Here are some excerpts from some articles I've read recently (thanks to the Desiring God blog).
I am so excited to be a part of what God is doing in China and cannot wait to see what doors He opens for us to serve Him. I am overjoyed in anticipating what we're stepping into: a forward moving Kingdom, of which we are a part becuase of Christ! Praying for more to know the Life that comes from Him alone...

¹ In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. ²He was in the beginning with God. ³ All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made. ⁴ In him was life, and the life was the light of men. ⁵The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it. John 1

Jesus in China

"We [had been] taught not to learn from God, that God is a fake," said Wang Qingying, a 37-year-old member of Jin's church who grew up the daughter of a Communist Party member. "After I started to believe, I realized that everything that happens is a part of God's design.

Great Leap Forward

In April 2007, 70 leaders of the urban house-church movement gathered in Wenzhou to discuss their common identity and challenges.

The Hong Kong–based missions agency Asian Outreach, and particularly its former president David Wang, have taught many of these new urban leaders. At their conference last year, the leaders identified seven core values:

• Practice "kingdom first." They acknowledge and work with other churches in each city and across China. Urban Christians, like most Chinese believers, are intentionally nondenominational.

• Be "Bible based." Theologically, they are conservative and evangelical.

• Believe in the "five-fold ministries." They acknowledge the roles of apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors, and teachers as spelled out in Ephesians 4:11.

• Equip the saints. Rather than relying on the emergence of charismatic leaders, they follow a mentoring model to disciple people.

• Receive the "abundant life." While rejecting the prosperity gospel, they believe God can bless Christians materially, and that blessing can be used to influence others to build the kingdom.

• Desire to "establish the church." They are missionary, including a strong desire to take the gospel "back to Jerusalem."

• Seek "to bless the society." They are newly engaged in social ministry.

DesiringGod Blog

While many challenges still exist for Christians in China, God is growing his church and bringing about a major missionary movement through it. The Chinese church is poised to play a significant role in future missionary endeavors. Some of China’s Christian leaders have a vision to carry the gospel “Back to Jerusalem” through some of the most gospel-resistant lands which lie between China and Israel.

Despite this increasing interest in spreading the gospel, the one consistent thing that we have learned from our partners working in China is that there is a significant need for God-centered, Christ-exalting resources and teaching.

Please pray that God would provide all the teachers and material that the Chinese church needs to continue growing. And pray that Christ would be the fuel and sustainer of this amazing missionary calling he has given to the Chinese church as he seeks to gather worshipers from all the peoples of the earth.

I haven't blogged as I intended for many reasons, but know that the Lord is doing much and has much to say to us all. Below is a note I sent to my Romans Bible study girls group. Every Monday night I never cease to be amazed and how the Lord meets us there and transforms our little community of women by His powerful Word... His grace is unfathomable and I am a humbled recipient. The fact that He rescued me continues to floor me. These days of "heart journey" towards a huge physical journey could possibly more difficult than getting on that plane, yet I wouldn't trade them for anything. There are roughly 6 weeks lefts to GraceCampus Auburn as we know it, but confidence rises up in knowing that there's a remnant staying in Auburn committed to living by grace for the glory of God... He truly is not finished in Auburn...

Lord may these days be consecrated to you for this purpose: to know you and to draw all men to yourself...

As this Spring Break is upon us, my thoughts turn to you all often. I hope and pray that this week you will find delight in the things all around you-the GIFTS that He places in people, environments, situations to stir your heart- for the purpose of knowing God intimately and bringing glory to Him.

Today I made the choice to not be critical or even analytical, but to intentionally seek out qualities to delight in, to be thankful for, and to worship God about. This lifts my spirit in a way that only God can do. I want to cultivate worship in every corner of my life and be a blessing to others. I want Him to fill the places that need His presence where I have been idle minded. I want to step out and expect Him to be there (He promises He will! Isaiah 43) and in the places that are lacking or even rebellious towards the presence of God to feel His heart beat for those places. I want temporal things in which I find delight to increase my affections for Him all the more, because every good and perfect gift comes from Him. (James 1:16-18) That which brings pleasure and sense-invigoration is HIS IDEA. He CREATED pleasure and He fashioned our physical senses and felt emotions, for His glory.

The question is, do I stop at finding pleasure in the "thing" or do I let it stir my heart towards worshiping HIM?

I find that life is lacking if I don't take that latter step. Thankfully there are many, many things to delight in, which reveals His pursuit of us even more. If I see life as anything less, I miss the relationship in it. It's not the delicious meal, a long awaited message or the deep conversation in and of itself that the soul craves (this will NEVER satisfy), but it's Him who made those things. Those are simply the open doors to encountering the Living God- the Person of all Joy, excitement, adventure, and infinitely more.

Unfathomable, unsearchable, uncontained, intentional.

He is capable of stirring in the tiniest things. He is not in the earthquake, or the fire, but the gentle whisper (1 Kings 19), but where we least expect it. Tune your eyes and ears to the Spirit around you. I pray you discover more than enough of these gifts in your week. He's calling you to Himself through the reflections of His true character in our daily lives in unexpected places. I hope that through you the hopeless and hurting world sees a God who loves them and who strategically places moments and people in their lives to show them that they are valuable to Him, ultimately pointing to the ONE moment in time where He gave HIS life for us. Like we talked about in our Romans 8 time- WHAT MORE COULD HE DO TO DEMONSTRATE HIS LOVE FOR US??!! You all are messengers of reconciliation- good news that CHRIST, in His death and resurrection, HAS MADE EVERYTHING RIGHT between GOD and MAN!

I hope you find time in this week to be still with Him. I acknowledge a holy fear of the One who has set this universe into motion and could stop it at any second. He is real and He LOVES you!

When I think of you, my heart grows and grows... and it causes me to worship Him as I consider the fact that He allows me to be a part of your lives... I am humbled, thankful, and blessed beyond words.