i am kicking myself for never having gone on a short-term mission to Africa. True my man has only been a Christian for a couple of years now and I have been with him since we were 21....but still!!!!
I'm 38 years old about to have a child and another next year...when will I actually be able to go? When the kids can walk and talk - 3 yrs time? My mum would shoot me if I said I was taking the kids to Africa.
My first step would be to go to Watoto and see all the great stuff they are doing over there and volunteer if possible.
I have lots of dreams and visions about missions in Africa and yet I've only been there once and not on a mission. I'm one of these dreamers who thinks we can remove poverty from Africa. I say that to some people and I can see from their faces they think I've lost the plot.
Oh well, as Joyce Meyer says I would rather ask for a lot and get some of it, then ask for nothing and get all of it :-)
If I end up standing in front of the LORD not having fulfilled one of these I will be very disappointed with myself. I'm not sure how the LORD will feel...disappointed too :-(
Friday, September 29, 2006
God's chosen people
Had a bible study last nite - talked about the relationship the LORD has with the Jewish people.
It was great to hear that most people in our group believed they were still his chosen people.
To me, they are still his first born, his beloved children. Even though the majority of them rejected Jesus, our faith still stems from their faith. Jesus and all the disciples were Jewish.
I don't believe the LORD ever abandons those he loves. I believe he has a plan to save them. You just have to look at the history of his relationship with them - they were disobedient, he disciplined them, forgave them, they were disobedient, he disciplined them, forgave them....when they were unfaithful he was and always will be faithful.
There relationship is a perfect example of Father and child. Our God is the ultimate Father - he will always try to save his children. He is generational and eternal...I believe he is waiting for that generation of his children to set free and fulfil a key role in his final master plan.
I have a special place in my heart for the LORD's chosen people. They have struggled for survival and still they survive. Israel is surrounded by enemies and still it survives. Jerusalem still stands and is sacred to all three of the major religious groups. God still has a plan for them.
It looks like the LORD has set them up to struggle - I use to wonder why he would pick a home land for them surrounded by enemies...what is he trying to teach them? I think he is embedding in their very character a determination to stand in the midst of adversity. A mentality to never give up and to persevere against all odds like no other race. A spirit of unswerving faith in their one true God. To me, it seems he's preparing them for battle - perhaps at the end of days.
They have now until Jesus returns to turn to him. When he comes back the second time it will be like they imagined it would be - all powerful and all conquering. I hope then they will recognise their Messiah and ours is one and the same. Now that would be another great reunion!
It was great to hear that most people in our group believed they were still his chosen people.
To me, they are still his first born, his beloved children. Even though the majority of them rejected Jesus, our faith still stems from their faith. Jesus and all the disciples were Jewish.
I don't believe the LORD ever abandons those he loves. I believe he has a plan to save them. You just have to look at the history of his relationship with them - they were disobedient, he disciplined them, forgave them, they were disobedient, he disciplined them, forgave them....when they were unfaithful he was and always will be faithful.
There relationship is a perfect example of Father and child. Our God is the ultimate Father - he will always try to save his children. He is generational and eternal...I believe he is waiting for that generation of his children to set free and fulfil a key role in his final master plan.
I have a special place in my heart for the LORD's chosen people. They have struggled for survival and still they survive. Israel is surrounded by enemies and still it survives. Jerusalem still stands and is sacred to all three of the major religious groups. God still has a plan for them.
It looks like the LORD has set them up to struggle - I use to wonder why he would pick a home land for them surrounded by enemies...what is he trying to teach them? I think he is embedding in their very character a determination to stand in the midst of adversity. A mentality to never give up and to persevere against all odds like no other race. A spirit of unswerving faith in their one true God. To me, it seems he's preparing them for battle - perhaps at the end of days.
They have now until Jesus returns to turn to him. When he comes back the second time it will be like they imagined it would be - all powerful and all conquering. I hope then they will recognise their Messiah and ours is one and the same. Now that would be another great reunion!
Wednesday, September 27, 2006
aunty
My Uncle's wife died thurs 14 sept in New Zealand. She outlived my uncle who died back in 1989. They had her family service last week. I found out recently that none of my aunties or uncles spoke at her service. This is very sad because in my family, at least one person needs to get up and speak to represent our family.
It made me wish even more that I was there. I couldn't go but I desperately wanted to go to be with my cousins. I have been waiting for the busyness of the funeral preparations and family visitors to be over so I can ring them again and see how they are coping.
I just assumed my mother would say something because she knew Aunty best. And she made a special trip back down to Wellington when she found out she had taken a turn for the worse.
If I had been there I would have said this:
Aunty was someone who spoke her mind and didn't try to hide her feelings. She was a strong woman and reminded me of all my mother's sisters who are also very strong.
She was a no nonsense kind of person - what you saw was what you got with her. If she thought you were a naughty child, she let you know, so all the little ones in our family were very scared of her. That always made me laugh because no one messed with her.
She was always good to me and I thank her for that. I use to wonder what it was about her that captured my uncle enough for him to marry her. I loved my uncle. He was someone I always admired and respected. Actually he commanded respect so you never messed with him. He was the kind of person that you always had to speak the truth to because you knew he would know it anyway. It was the same with my Aunty.
Maybe that's what captured him. Here was someone who was his equal, someone without pretence, someone strong. For me, the greatest compliment I could pay my Aunty was that she was my Uncle's wife. I always thought she had to be an amazing woman to catch my uncle.
My cousins said that she was with the LORD the last few days of her life so they are confident she is now enjoying eternity with our loved ones. What a reunion that will be!
It made me wish even more that I was there. I couldn't go but I desperately wanted to go to be with my cousins. I have been waiting for the busyness of the funeral preparations and family visitors to be over so I can ring them again and see how they are coping.
I just assumed my mother would say something because she knew Aunty best. And she made a special trip back down to Wellington when she found out she had taken a turn for the worse.
If I had been there I would have said this:
Aunty was someone who spoke her mind and didn't try to hide her feelings. She was a strong woman and reminded me of all my mother's sisters who are also very strong.
She was a no nonsense kind of person - what you saw was what you got with her. If she thought you were a naughty child, she let you know, so all the little ones in our family were very scared of her. That always made me laugh because no one messed with her.
She was always good to me and I thank her for that. I use to wonder what it was about her that captured my uncle enough for him to marry her. I loved my uncle. He was someone I always admired and respected. Actually he commanded respect so you never messed with him. He was the kind of person that you always had to speak the truth to because you knew he would know it anyway. It was the same with my Aunty.
Maybe that's what captured him. Here was someone who was his equal, someone without pretence, someone strong. For me, the greatest compliment I could pay my Aunty was that she was my Uncle's wife. I always thought she had to be an amazing woman to catch my uncle.
My cousins said that she was with the LORD the last few days of her life so they are confident she is now enjoying eternity with our loved ones. What a reunion that will be!
Tuesday, September 26, 2006
worth the risk?
that's the amazing thing about this desire to have children of our own....it doesn't matter if we don't have any previous experience. Even teenagers have children.
This desire in me is so strong it doesn't matter that we have been unsuccessful for 5 years, or that we lost a child, or that we were told I would never be able to conceive. We still kept trying because I felt like the LORD kept opening a window for us, and giving us hope to persevere.
It's weird because I have held my nieces and nephews and immediately I know I have no idea what i'm doing. I loved them as much as I would my own. I know this because I didn't think twice about changing their dirty nappies. But I can't cope with other people's babies.
I've never really been into 'babies' like some women are. They go all gooey just at the sight of a baby.
Yet this hasn't put me off. I still want children. I have this desire to shower them with love. Even if I prove useless or they end up being brats. I am more than willing to take the risk.
That must be what it's like for the LORD. Except worse for him because he knows for sure some of us will be children from hell. No matter how many opportunities he gives them to change he knows that in the end they will reject him. Imagine knowing a child would grow up one day to be Hitler. That's a scary thought.
This desire in me is so strong it doesn't matter that we have been unsuccessful for 5 years, or that we lost a child, or that we were told I would never be able to conceive. We still kept trying because I felt like the LORD kept opening a window for us, and giving us hope to persevere.
It's weird because I have held my nieces and nephews and immediately I know I have no idea what i'm doing. I loved them as much as I would my own. I know this because I didn't think twice about changing their dirty nappies. But I can't cope with other people's babies.
I've never really been into 'babies' like some women are. They go all gooey just at the sight of a baby.
Yet this hasn't put me off. I still want children. I have this desire to shower them with love. Even if I prove useless or they end up being brats. I am more than willing to take the risk.
That must be what it's like for the LORD. Except worse for him because he knows for sure some of us will be children from hell. No matter how many opportunities he gives them to change he knows that in the end they will reject him. Imagine knowing a child would grow up one day to be Hitler. That's a scary thought.
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