Spring Time

Well, what do ya know?! It's alreadly April 2011! Inconceivable! The weather has warmed up around these parts and our massive mound of ice from chopping ice from the horse tank all winter is nearly gone! Now if only we could get some rain. We haven't had any moisture since Christmas!

We've been working hard these past few weeks getting all of the horse poo cleaned up from the winter. Many days I smelled like a beauty queen :) Much of the poop was frozen and/or had ice or snow underneath it. We had to take an ice pick to most of it which I happened to take a liking to. Nothing like sweating, working your muscles, being out in the fresh air, and poop ending up down your shirt or in your eyes and certainly throughout your hair. Yes, I actually enjoy it!

The Special School students are back which makes me so happy! I just love being around them and the sound of "Keira Laoshi" being yelled out still melts my heart every time. As does the long giggle mixed with "Keira Laoshi, weishenme?!" meaning "Keira Teacher, why?!" when I hold their leg in a stretch longer than I said I would joined with a funny face to make it more bearable :) We have a pretty great time in the therapy room. Leaving them, without a doubt, will certainly be the hardest part of my departure.

I actually decided to post this blog because, well, I haven't written in a long time, but mainly because I shared a little message with the team here this past week and I thought maybe others would find the scriptures encouraging.

I don't have any new findings. No new revelations. Today, I just want to talk about something all of us already know. I want to talk about God and who he is. Who he is to us. I don't know about anyone else, but sometimes there's a disconnect between my heart and my mind...my heart forgets what my head knows or vice verse. We all believe that the Bible is the inspired Word of God and that everything in it is truth. It's one thing to say it with our mouths but a totally different thing to let it settle down in the depths of our hearts. And saying it with our mouths...that's the easy part. But for those words to have any power in our lives, we have to believe it – down to our core. So today will be really simple. We are going to take turns reading different scriptures in the Bible that talk about God's promises to us. Some of these verses we know by heart which sometimes makes it easy to forget the power behind it. So lets try and look at them with fresh eyes.

God promises to never leave us:
“Those who know your name will trust in you, for you, Lord, have never forsaken those who seek you. Psalm 9:10

“I have set the Lord always before me. Because he is at my right hand, I will not be shaken. Therefore my heart is glad and my tongue rejoices; my body also will rest secure, because you will not abandon me to the grave” Psalm 16:8-10

“The Lord is near to all who call on him, to all who call on him in truth.” Psalm 145:18

“And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” Matthew 28:20

“For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord” Romans 8:38-39

God promises to guide us:
“I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will counsel you and watch over you.” Psalm 32:8

“The Lord will guide you always; he will satisfy your needs in a sun-scorched land and will strengthen your frame. You will be like a well-watered garden, like a spring whose waters never fail.” Isaiah 58:11

“If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him.” James 1:5


God promises to hear us:
Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all of your heart. I will be found by you', declares the Lord, 'and will bring you back from captivity.” Jeremiah 29:12-14a

“Before they call I will answer; while they are still speaking I will hear.” Isaiah 65:24


God promises to sustain us:
“I lift up my eyes to the hills – where does my home come from? My help comes from the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth. He will not let your foot slip – he who watches over you will not slumber; indeed, he who watches over Israel will neither slumber nor sleep. The Lord watches over you – the Lord is your shade at your right hand; the sun will not harm you by day, nor the moon by night. The Lord will keep you from all harm – he will watch over your life; the Lord will watch over your coming and going both now and forevermore.” Psalm 121

“The Lord upholds all those who fall and lifts up all who are bowed down.” Psalm 145:14

“Do you not know? Have you not heard? The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He will not grow tired or weary, and his understanding no one can fathom. He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak. Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall; but those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.” Isaiah 40:28-31

“So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.” Isaiah 41:10

“But blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord, whose confidence is in him. He will be like a tree planted by the water that sends out its roots by the stream. It does not fear when heat comes; its leaves are always green. It has no worries in a year of drought and never fails to bear fruit.” Jeremiah 17:7-8

“Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have summoned you by name; you are mine. When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned; the flames will not set you ablaze. For I am the Lord your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior.” Isaiah 43:1-2


I have been watching my sister and her family go through the most difficult time of their lives, for a prolonged period of time. At first it was easy to have hope. I recruited people to pray and there were times I had never been so close to praying without ceasing. I was sure God was going to fix the situation. And then another week passed. And another. And another. God wasn't answering our prayers – not in the way I wanted him to. Not in the way I knew he could. It has been heart-breaking and frustrating at times. I've wanted to cry out “why aren't you listening to us?? Don't you care?” But as I talked with God and often times cried, I felt his presence and I knew I could make a choice. I could either become angry and wrongly assume that he had abandoned my family, or I could choose to trust in Him. As Job 13:15 states “though he slay me, yet will I hope in him.” I began to read Bible verses out-loud to remind myself of WHO he is. Life is hard. Our circumstances or those of people we love aren't always great. Sometimes even devastating. If we aren't careful, it's so easy to become discouraged and weighed down by the mess. But there is one thing and one thing alone that we can always be sure of...God. Never. Changes.

I finished by playing a song by Tim Hughes "When Tears Fall" ( http://youtu.be/XkdKJqQkYeo ). Music has always been something that has really registered with me and so often seems to speak the words that I can't seem to find on my own. This song reminds me of Psalm 13. David is crying out to God asking how long will he be forgotten? How long will God hide his face? There are questions and agony but David goes on to say...”BUT I trust in your unfailing love; my heart rejoices in your salvation. I will sing to the Lord, for he has been good to me.”


Love you guys!