Wow, so, I just have to share with you guys a neat story. Yesterday I went to another college library here in town with my friends Esther and Victor. We're in a TESOL class together and are working on research papers for different countries and wanted to find some more resources. It's a very nice library cosmetically - very open and spacious, with a fireplace and some cozy chairs...but their cataloguing system is rather pathetic and we didn't find much of what we needed, but we did have fun. :D
Anyway, we had to get ID cards for the library to check books out, so I took my college swipe card out of its plastic holder to show them. Well, when I put it back in its holder I thought that I'd better make sure it was secure, because it does have a tendency to fall out sometimes. Well, I wasn't as careful as I should have been, because when we got back to the school and were almost in the door, I realized it was missing. I retraced my steps and looked for it in the school parking lot but it wasn't around. Arg. I knew it would be $20 to replace - not nice. :(
This morning as I was getting dressed, I talked with the Lord about it. I said, "Lord, I know it's my fault I lost the card, and I wasn't very responsible, and I could go down to the front desk and tell them that I lost it and pay the money to get it back, but I also know that YOU could get it back to me somehow, some way. Would you do that, Lord? Please?"
Today as I was walking out of the dining hall, a girl named Linda came up to me and said, "Liz!" She held out my card to me! One of the maintenance guys found it outside on the parking lot! Yay!! What a gracious God I serve! He didn't have to do that...but He wanted to. How kind He is. :)
Tuesday, February 19, 2008
Saturday, February 16, 2008
Open doors
Just wanted to update you all on the plans for Peru...and share some amazing stories about how the Lord is working things out.
But first, here is a picture. (front) Hannah, Victor, Naomi, Celina (back) Christina, Jason, Marshall, Caleb, Tom, Willy, me
Oh, and Victor is holding the computer with Diego on webcam. Diego is from Columbia, and he's meeting us in Peru, so meanwhile, we talk to him over the computer during our meetings. :)
I just thought I would share some more of what the Lord has been doing in my life as of late. At Christmas time, a friend reminded me that "we walk by faith, not by sight," and I am learning so much about that. If we choose to step out in faith and obedience and seek the Lord's will regardless of what common sense tells us, He WILL guide and direct us and He will make our paths straight (Is. 45:2). So often when we think of a possibility, we say, "no, I don't have the money," or, "no, that wouldn't be very practical" or "it's too presumptuous of me to ask the Lord for that." How can we reconcile this attitude with a walk of faith? James says, "Ye have not because ye ask not." Mark 9:23 says, "If thou canst believe, all things are possible to him that believeth." All things are POSSIBLE - the things we want may not happen like we plan them, but anything is possible if we believe and seek the Lord first of all. Belief is stepping out, sometimes nudging open the door that the Lord has cracked open for us and taking that one step that shows we are seeking Him. "Seek ye FIRST the kingdom of God and all these things will be added unto you."
The reason all of this is so present on my mind is because of our Peru trip. I'd like to tell you a little about our team. Caleb and Victor are brothers from Japan whose dad is a teacher at a missionary school. Hannah's parents are missionaries to Mexico, Celina's parents are missionaries to Bolivia. Naomi's parents work at a Bible camp in Kansas, full-time workers for the Lord. One student's parents just underwent bankruptcy. Willy works at McDonald's, Jason works at KFC. And me, well, you know me. Some of us work, some of us don't, but we all have school bills and expenses and none of us can exactly write a check to buy plane tickets to Peru. We started praying about this trip and asking the Lord's will concerning it. We all told Him, "Lord, you know we don't have any money - we're asking you to show us if this is your will, and asking you to provide if you want us to go." We didn't stop there and sit back, either. We started preparing and planning and continued praying. That was two months ago...now, our tickets have been purchased and paid for, with the exception of some details, we all have the finances to travel 3,577 miles from home to spend 9 days in Trujillo, Peru, serving the Lord with our brothers and sisters down there. For 12 people who had nothing, really, to pay the way, God has provided almost $10,000 dollars for a trip to South America.
God has broken down walls and made our crooked paths straight in so many ways. For instance, Hannah is our main Spanish speaker, and when we bought our tickets, we didn't get one for her, because she didn't have any money, or any visible prospects of getting any, and didn't feel at peace about it. The next day, a friend and fellow student told her, "Hannah, I feel like the Lord wants you to go on this trip and I want to pay for your entire trip." Also, the church some of us go to gave our team $1000 and the Lord provided another $500 for our team from another church. Tom's church from home has paid for him. One of Naomi's friends sent $200 for Victor and Caleb after hearing about them from her in passing. Folks, finances and other seeming obstacles are NOTHING - the Lord has been showing me that over and over again. If He wants something to happen, He makes a way! Don't doubt Him. And don't presume that because you want something, it will happen. Seek Him first - try those doors and obey Him and pray and pray and pray and He will show you the way.
So, please, please continue in prayer for our team. Some requests:
~ Unity on the team, that it would continue and even be strengthened
~ Leadership of the quieter guys - that they would step up and that we girls would stand behind them and encourage them without taking over (as three of us five girls have very strong leader personalities)
~ Boldness, excitement and passion to share the gospel with others
~ Physical strength, as we'll be traveling for about 28 hours, spending about 15 hours in various airports between O'Hare, Chicago and Trujillo, Peru
~ Continued provision and the working out of various details
~ Caleb, who is leading our group, has a lot on his mind right now besides the trip - please pray that he would be able to focus and be able to lead our group in a Christ-like way
~ Micah and Amy Tuttle, the couple we are visiting
~ ABOVE ALL - that God would be glorified in our lives and in this whole trip - that He would be praised and honored and that many people would be touched with Christ's love as a result of this trip - that it would be HIS trip, not ours
Thanks so much, everyone, for praying, and for reading my rambling. God is so much bigger than we think. "Fear not, stand firm and see the salvation on the Lord, which He will work for you today...the Lord will fight for you, and you have only to be silent." Ex. 14:13-14.
But first, here is a picture. (front) Hannah, Victor, Naomi, Celina (back) Christina, Jason, Marshall, Caleb, Tom, Willy, me
Oh, and Victor is holding the computer with Diego on webcam. Diego is from Columbia, and he's meeting us in Peru, so meanwhile, we talk to him over the computer during our meetings. :)
I just thought I would share some more of what the Lord has been doing in my life as of late. At Christmas time, a friend reminded me that "we walk by faith, not by sight," and I am learning so much about that. If we choose to step out in faith and obedience and seek the Lord's will regardless of what common sense tells us, He WILL guide and direct us and He will make our paths straight (Is. 45:2). So often when we think of a possibility, we say, "no, I don't have the money," or, "no, that wouldn't be very practical" or "it's too presumptuous of me to ask the Lord for that." How can we reconcile this attitude with a walk of faith? James says, "Ye have not because ye ask not." Mark 9:23 says, "If thou canst believe, all things are possible to him that believeth." All things are POSSIBLE - the things we want may not happen like we plan them, but anything is possible if we believe and seek the Lord first of all. Belief is stepping out, sometimes nudging open the door that the Lord has cracked open for us and taking that one step that shows we are seeking Him. "Seek ye FIRST the kingdom of God and all these things will be added unto you."
The reason all of this is so present on my mind is because of our Peru trip. I'd like to tell you a little about our team. Caleb and Victor are brothers from Japan whose dad is a teacher at a missionary school. Hannah's parents are missionaries to Mexico, Celina's parents are missionaries to Bolivia. Naomi's parents work at a Bible camp in Kansas, full-time workers for the Lord. One student's parents just underwent bankruptcy. Willy works at McDonald's, Jason works at KFC. And me, well, you know me. Some of us work, some of us don't, but we all have school bills and expenses and none of us can exactly write a check to buy plane tickets to Peru. We started praying about this trip and asking the Lord's will concerning it. We all told Him, "Lord, you know we don't have any money - we're asking you to show us if this is your will, and asking you to provide if you want us to go." We didn't stop there and sit back, either. We started preparing and planning and continued praying. That was two months ago...now, our tickets have been purchased and paid for, with the exception of some details, we all have the finances to travel 3,577 miles from home to spend 9 days in Trujillo, Peru, serving the Lord with our brothers and sisters down there. For 12 people who had nothing, really, to pay the way, God has provided almost $10,000 dollars for a trip to South America.
God has broken down walls and made our crooked paths straight in so many ways. For instance, Hannah is our main Spanish speaker, and when we bought our tickets, we didn't get one for her, because she didn't have any money, or any visible prospects of getting any, and didn't feel at peace about it. The next day, a friend and fellow student told her, "Hannah, I feel like the Lord wants you to go on this trip and I want to pay for your entire trip." Also, the church some of us go to gave our team $1000 and the Lord provided another $500 for our team from another church. Tom's church from home has paid for him. One of Naomi's friends sent $200 for Victor and Caleb after hearing about them from her in passing. Folks, finances and other seeming obstacles are NOTHING - the Lord has been showing me that over and over again. If He wants something to happen, He makes a way! Don't doubt Him. And don't presume that because you want something, it will happen. Seek Him first - try those doors and obey Him and pray and pray and pray and He will show you the way.
So, please, please continue in prayer for our team. Some requests:
~ Unity on the team, that it would continue and even be strengthened
~ Leadership of the quieter guys - that they would step up and that we girls would stand behind them and encourage them without taking over (as three of us five girls have very strong leader personalities)
~ Boldness, excitement and passion to share the gospel with others
~ Physical strength, as we'll be traveling for about 28 hours, spending about 15 hours in various airports between O'Hare, Chicago and Trujillo, Peru
~ Continued provision and the working out of various details
~ Caleb, who is leading our group, has a lot on his mind right now besides the trip - please pray that he would be able to focus and be able to lead our group in a Christ-like way
~ Micah and Amy Tuttle, the couple we are visiting
~ ABOVE ALL - that God would be glorified in our lives and in this whole trip - that He would be praised and honored and that many people would be touched with Christ's love as a result of this trip - that it would be HIS trip, not ours
Thanks so much, everyone, for praying, and for reading my rambling. God is so much bigger than we think. "Fear not, stand firm and see the salvation on the Lord, which He will work for you today...the Lord will fight for you, and you have only to be silent." Ex. 14:13-14.
Friday, February 15, 2008
Funny quote of the day
Liz: (sitting at table in library working on research about Chile) How can I read this silly newspaper if it's in Spanish?!
Gordon: (sitting at computer 3 feet away) Did you know that Google has a translation thingy?
Liz: No, really?!
Gordon: Yeah! (proceeds to show Liz how it works)
Liz gets excited and starts reading El Mercurio in English. Then she clicks on a link to a teen magazine.
Liz: (under her breath) What? This isn't in English...
Gordie: Huh?
Liz: Oh, I was talking to myself.
Gordie: Oh, sorry for interupting. :cheesy grin:
:D HeHe.
Gordon: (sitting at computer 3 feet away) Did you know that Google has a translation thingy?
Liz: No, really?!
Gordon: Yeah! (proceeds to show Liz how it works)
Liz gets excited and starts reading El Mercurio in English. Then she clicks on a link to a teen magazine.
Liz: (under her breath) What? This isn't in English...
Gordie: Huh?
Liz: Oh, I was talking to myself.
Gordie: Oh, sorry for interupting. :cheesy grin:
:D HeHe.
Wednesday, February 13, 2008
My Valentine
Guess what? I've finally got a Valentine date! :D Isn't he cute?
Have a happy Valentine's day, everyone! :D
Have a happy Valentine's day, everyone! :D
Wednesday, February 6, 2008
SNOW DAY!!!!!!!!!!
I'm experiencing something today that I've never experienced once in my life....
A SNOW DAY!
At chapel this morning, Dean Glock announced that we wouldn't have any more classes or anything today! Hooray! The whole school is slap-happy. :) It's been snowing since yesterday afternoon and it's coming down very hard still...I hardly know what to do with myself. :D HeHe...not really...I have lots to do... I just finished reading the rest of John and I'll probably get started on some studying for my first OT unit exam and do a little Bible geography homework and also some homework for Ministry of Women.
See how deep the snow is?
(just kidding...that's Amy on her knees... :) )
Lotsa snow...piled high
Helen and I having laughs :)
Oh, I also thought you might like to see some new pictures of my dorm room and of Jim. :)
Smile! Have a wonderful day with Jesus! He is good!
Saturday, February 2, 2008
We're going....
...to Peru! Praise the Lord! The tickets are purchased and plans are coming together more and more. I'll give more updates as we keep planning. Please, PLEASE pray with us for this trip. As our team leader, Caleb, pointed out today, if the Lord isn't in this, there's no point in going down. May it all be for God's glory ALONE!
Saturday, January 26, 2008
Laughter...
...is good.
I am so thankful that the Lord gives us joy and laughter. There's nothing quite like the feeling of joy that wells up in your soul and spills out in contagious laughter. I love being able to laugh at myself, like when I use the wrong words together in a sentence, like telling Caleb that the day is "dreary" when I meant "picturesque" - to laugh at the craziest things that people say or do, like snickering with Craig and Jen when Mr. Sanchez starts reenacting stories in Bible geography - to laugh at things that don't make sense - to laugh at mistakes I and others make - to laugh when something unexpected happens, like me telling Jim that he would probably be scared when I dropped him back into his fishbowl, then screaming myself when he wouldn't come out of the mug he was in, making all the girls on my floor laugh at me - to laugh when God answers prayer in amazing, unexepected ways, like when He gives my friends and I three chances in one week to spend time with the same couple we are trying to reach for Christ (will He ever stop?!).
I love watching people laugh. Something in me goes "Yes!" and pumps a fist when people around me laugh - the kind of laughter that reaches their eyes. You know they are happy and that at that minute they are rejoicing. Oh, how we need to laugh more!
Last night Naomi and I were praying together and she said something and we both laughed - right in the middle of our talk with the Lord. I long to have a confidence in the Lord that brings His joy into my heart no matter what my circumstances. I want to be able to laugh even when I feel like crying, because I know that God is on the throne and that everything will be okay. I want to be able to laugh even when I'm disappointed. I want to smile with my friends who are experiencing things I want to experience and am not. I want to keep snickering at people who laugh at themselves even if they're not very funny, if for no other reason than that it makes them laugh harder. I want to have a merry heart that does good like medicine. I can't wait to see Jesus smile when I see Him face to face. I can't wait to have that radiant, eternal joy that nothing can mar or take away.
Yet, I CAN have it here... "These things I have spoken unto you that my joy might remain in you and that your joy might be full." (John 15) If I abide in Jesus, and draw everything I need from Him, MY JOY WILL BE FULL!!!
Let's draw our sustenance from our Savior and let His joy fill our hearts...let's laugh with the joy of the Lord, for truly, therein lies our strength. It's a confidence that He is in control and that He is making me like Jesus and I can let go of everything that hinders that joy and let Him flood my soul with laughter.
I am so thankful that the Lord gives us joy and laughter. There's nothing quite like the feeling of joy that wells up in your soul and spills out in contagious laughter. I love being able to laugh at myself, like when I use the wrong words together in a sentence, like telling Caleb that the day is "dreary" when I meant "picturesque" - to laugh at the craziest things that people say or do, like snickering with Craig and Jen when Mr. Sanchez starts reenacting stories in Bible geography - to laugh at things that don't make sense - to laugh at mistakes I and others make - to laugh when something unexpected happens, like me telling Jim that he would probably be scared when I dropped him back into his fishbowl, then screaming myself when he wouldn't come out of the mug he was in, making all the girls on my floor laugh at me - to laugh when God answers prayer in amazing, unexepected ways, like when He gives my friends and I three chances in one week to spend time with the same couple we are trying to reach for Christ (will He ever stop?!).
I love watching people laugh. Something in me goes "Yes!" and pumps a fist when people around me laugh - the kind of laughter that reaches their eyes. You know they are happy and that at that minute they are rejoicing. Oh, how we need to laugh more!
Last night Naomi and I were praying together and she said something and we both laughed - right in the middle of our talk with the Lord. I long to have a confidence in the Lord that brings His joy into my heart no matter what my circumstances. I want to be able to laugh even when I feel like crying, because I know that God is on the throne and that everything will be okay. I want to be able to laugh even when I'm disappointed. I want to smile with my friends who are experiencing things I want to experience and am not. I want to keep snickering at people who laugh at themselves even if they're not very funny, if for no other reason than that it makes them laugh harder. I want to have a merry heart that does good like medicine. I can't wait to see Jesus smile when I see Him face to face. I can't wait to have that radiant, eternal joy that nothing can mar or take away.
Yet, I CAN have it here... "These things I have spoken unto you that my joy might remain in you and that your joy might be full." (John 15) If I abide in Jesus, and draw everything I need from Him, MY JOY WILL BE FULL!!!
Let's draw our sustenance from our Savior and let His joy fill our hearts...let's laugh with the joy of the Lord, for truly, therein lies our strength. It's a confidence that He is in control and that He is making me like Jesus and I can let go of everything that hinders that joy and let Him flood my soul with laughter.
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