Thankful Thursday

It’s been a while since my last post for Thankful Thursday, not that I don’t have nothing to thank for it’s just that life has been a roller coaster ride for me in the past weeks. As you all know, my husband went to Malaysia initially for ten days mission trip but it became 23 days after much debate, arguments and overseas phone calls. I finally gave in to his extension and somehow I am glad I did.

I am thankful for the test we’ve been trough because of this trip. We both learned a lot and realized a lot of things about us, about our marriage, about God’s leading to us.

I know God did something in Him for this trip and he has become more mature and more sensitive to God’s voice.

While me in my solitude had more time to talk to God, to ponder, to meditate, to cry, to just stare at the ceiling and think.

The mission trip has been hard for both of us but we know in our hearts that our efforts are not in vain.

Visit Laurie of Women taking a stand for more thankful entries.

Hubby still in Malaysia

And he will be back on December 8 so he still have 7 more days to spent in the mission field, we're still counting for your prayers. This mission trip has brought a lot of changes in our lives, we can truly say we've given up our own will and happiness for this. It is not easy being separated for three weeks. I've learn a lot of things and the same with my husband.

I saw some of their pictures when they sang in "Fly high Youth Conference" in Kota Kinabalu and seeing that makes me feel more at peace that we did the right thing. Yes we have had loads of arguments about him extending his stay for that event but Praise God everything is ok now.

The house is till empty without him, the ministry we are both doing here is still not the same without him but I am coping. In fact one advantage that it gave was I don't need the best diet supplement anymore, somehow I loss appetite and would only eat if I am really really hungry.

We will have loads of talks when he got home, his plans, what the Lord had taught him on that trip, where we will go, what to do, shall we go full time now in the mission field? AM I leaving my day job soon? That I have to find out when he comes home. So please keep on praying for us, for direction and for God's guidance.

Have a nice week everyone!!

Run the race, put your shoes on!

"Let Us Run With Perseverance The Race That Is Set Before Us..."
(Hebrews 11 and 12:1,2)

Are you tired of running? Are you on the brink of stopping and just forget the race altogether.

I know how you feel, I was just right there for the past few days. Sometimes I get too tired of running and all I want to do is just stop, walk away and never return. But God is so good!! When I am about to slip, HE HELD MY HAND TIGHTER (Psalms 73:24) and helped me stand up again and again and again.

So if you are tired right now, it’s ok, let your Father know how you feel and help is on the way.

Stay strong and run the race with perseverance.

And speaking of running, the husband is still not here at the moment and I am thinking of establishing a simple form of exercise while he is away. And since I can not run yet, I’ll start walking and hopefully be able to run/jog when hubby gets home. I hope to do tennis or badminton too but women\'s tennis shoes I think is a bit expensive, and also if we do that hubby needs to buy one too, now I don’t think men\'s tennis shoes is less expensive but who knows we might be blessed along the way and be able to get our exercise gear.

We need to be healthy, God has been opening up opportunities and we need to be fit to be able to follow those.

Have a nice day everyone! Will be posting my Thankful Thursday too later..so watch out for it!

Utility Van for the ministry

Christmas is just around the corner, 32 days to go and everyone seems to be excited, people are buying gifts already, some are even finished with their list while me on the other hand hasn’t started anything yet. I just don’t feel it yet at this moment. Oh wait, last month I wrote my wish list and posted it in my other blog and guess what? a good blogger friend said she now knows what to get me. That’s the advantage of having your wish list published.

And talk about wish, the husband and I have the ultimate wish list for next year or the next year or the in the future years to come. It is something that we can use for the ministry, something that we really need for the ministry. We are actually praying for a car, nope not the expensive chevy but we are praying for this utility van.

photo from sulit.com

It is perfect for the ministry because it is very spacious, we can carry all our stuff, children’s tables and all the materials we need for the Saturday feeding and literacy program. This cost roughly 600 to 700 thousand pesos or $16,000.

But wait, that’s nothing compare to this yellow 2010 audi s4,

look at that! It is so beautiful but the I guess the price is beautiful too! but then again taht's a real beauty. And here’s another one, it’s the 2010 audi a4. Wow!! If you have the resources and you want it, why not drive one yourself. If not, there's nothing wrong in dreaming. let's dream together.

Your Faithfulness

By : Brian Doerksen

I don't know what this day will bring
Will it be disappointing, filled with longed for things?
I don't know what tomorrow holds
Still I know I can trust Your faithfulness

I don't know if these clouds mean rain
If they do, will they pour down blessing or pain?
I don't know what the future holds
Still I know I can trust Your faithfulness

Certain as the rivers reach the sea
Certain as the sunrise in the east
I can rest in your faithfulness
Surer than a mother's tender love
Surer than the stars still shine above
I can rest in your faithfulness

I don't know how or when I'll die
Will it be a thief, or will I have a chance to say goodbye?
No, I don't know how much time is left
But in the end, I will know your faithfulness

When darkness overwhelms my soul
When thoughts and storms of doubt
Still I trust You are always faithful, always faithful

Certain as the rivers reach the sea
Certain as the sunrise in the east
I can rest in your faithfulness
Surer than a mother's tender love
Surer than the stars still shine above
I can rest in your faithfulness

I don't know what this day will bring
Will it be disappointing, filled with longed for things?
I don't know what tomorrow holds
Still I know I can trust Your faithfulness




I WILL TRUST IN YOUR FAITHFULNESS LORD...

Update: Hubby's mission trip in Malaysia

He left Monday so it's been four days now. I was actually worried when he left because we have heard a lot of missionary being sent back by Malaysian immigration for reasons we do not know but Praise God he is there now and is helping our Pastor in their work there.

We talked over the phone yesterday and he's alright. He knows it is what God wants for him to do, He said they are visiting churches and teaching music mostly musical instruments and reaching out for the non believers there. They have loads of schedule and I'm sure he's overwhelmed but they are fine. He thought of it as order fulfillment or order being fulfilled at some sort.

When he gets back, we will surely talk if we will go there and stay for long term. After all, we've been praying for His direction for us since January of this year and we know eventually that we are going out of our country to be missionaries.

Please continue to pray for him, for God's protection to them and for the provision of their every need.

Beyond Repair, by Rev. Arnel Tan

Beyond Repair
By Rev. Arnel Tan

“Whoever stubbornly refuses to accept criticism will suddenly be broken beyond repair. “
-Proverbs 29:1 NLT

These wise words from the book of Proverbs serve also as a timely warning for those who have cheapened the grace of God as a license to commit sin. We need to transcend our biases so we can see the real intention of the Scripture and to wisely apply its principles into our daily grind. When we are the culprit we seek grace and forgiveness, when we are the victims we switch mode from grace to stern application of justice. I think the balance is achieved when we learn to enjoy grace in the fear of the Lord!

Remember, though God in His grace has allowed us many chances to recover from our fallings and failings, He does not erase the damage or consequences of our choices. Grace equips as to move on as we pay the hard and long consequences of our compromise. In other words while we are rebuked by God let us not harden our hearts. Let’s pay immediate attention and deliberately bring all our weakness to God in prayer. As Alan Redpath would say, “drown it in prayer” and we have a greater chance to enjoy God’s best than spend the rest of our lives paying the consequences.

Consider the word “whoever.” What it really means is that the passage covers anybody regardless of rank or race or spiritual records. We are all included in the possibility of being stubborn and hard or numb. If any body can be in the list of the “whoevers”, it also follows that we can suffer the stage by which we are beyond repair. Honestly, I don’t know the details of being beyond repair. But deep within I can sense an abyss of hopelessness and see the horror of having an unbroken heart. Beyond repair may mean God leaving you to your self, just waiting for the time for you to self destruct, with no sense of conviction and no desire for repentance.

Words are not enough to describe the misery of a life left alone to the custody of self. Here we find no chance at all to change. It’s a different kind of death, something sacred died and it is only a matter of time before the body is buried. All hope for recovery is snuffed out. We can only bow low before God and ask for mercy that God won’t allow us to reach this invisible line of provoking God. Aware of my tendency to destroy myself, I can only cry for grace and more grace that I may still sense God’s presence and delight in His discipline. It’s good to know that, when we can still feel the pain of God’s rebuke and can still cry in brokenness, bowing down in repentance, that we have not cross the line yet. Praise God when we can still feel the piercing of His words and still melt in the fire of his Presence. Hallelujah we are not yet beyond repair!

“Lord my eyes can’t see the line You have drawn before I can be beyond repair. Lord don’t allow me to even come close to that line! Have mercy Jesus. Amen”

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Rev. Arnel Tan is the Senior Pastor of Davao Chinese Baptist Church and station manager of DXFE-Davao

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Hubby's mission trip

It's confirm hubby is leaving on the 16th of November and will be back on the 25th just in time for a friends wedding.

How I wish I could come and do this short mission trip together like what we did last February in Macau and Hongkong but sad to say I can't. First I'm tied up with loads of office work and second we don't have enough funds. we still don't have enough even now for his trip but we are holding on to God's promise. Fort sure He will provide.

And I do hope this would be the first and last mission trip that he has to go through without me. And you bet this would be my 10m longest day. But I am looking forward to his coming back because the next day we will be going out of town for the wedding and will stay there for 2 nights. We will checked in a not so fancy hotel and definitely not one of those myrtle beach vacation rentals but that would be enough to make up for the 10 long days that he won't be here.

Please pray for him, pray for strength and that God will make him safe there. Thanks everyone!

Thankful Thursday

Today’s thankful Thursday theme is about veterans, and Iris is right, we don’t have that here but still I want to include them to my list today.

So here goes mine :

1. Thank you Lord for the bravery of the soldiers who gave their lives for our country and for the people.

2. I want to thank you Lord for sustaining me, my physical strength-I’ve been working like a dog in the office for the past weeks now and it id draining me. Thank God for just being my strength both physical and spiritual.

3. Thank you for the tests of life, I know Lord I don’t pass it with flying colors but I do hope I passed it. Thank you for loving me even when I am at my worst. Thank you for your patience, the way you understand me and comfort me. Thank you so much.

Prayer Request

Please pray for my dear husband as he is about to join a short term mission trip in Malaysia, he will be with a group of musicians (Musicians on Fire) and they are set to leave on the 15th. Right now he doesn't have plane ticket yet at hand nor he is booked but we are leaving it up to the Lord. If it is His will then everything will be alright.

I do not have the details yet of the place they will be staying in, for sure it's not like some nice new york hotel deals but knowing hubby he will be able to adapt to wherever they will be stationed.

They will be working with our Pastor missionary who is based in Kota Kinabalu. I was hesitant to let him go when he first told me this but God comforted me.

Please pray for the provision for this trip, for the mighty moving of the Holy Spirit as they sing to churches there and pray also for their safety.

Thanks everyone!!