God's timing

"If God is not on site delivering what we want when we want it, our confidence in him lags and we tend to give our hearts to something else. One of the hardest things for sinners to do is to wait. We have little tolerance for delayed gratification. So when we ask God for things we add our schedule for the delivery in the request. But God's sense of timing is infinitely different from ours. God has a perfect sense of timing. His moment is always the right moment. He never gets his schedule mixed up or gets things out of order. Yet the wait confuses us because we reason that if the thing is a good thing then a loving God would deliver it to us in haste." -Paul David Tripp

This quote is definitely a convicting one. I have been struggling the past few days with my own longings and desires and feeling like God is dangling a proverbial carrot in my face that I can't grab a hold of. A friend of mine mentioned tonight that "it's hard to stay open when you feel like a door is closing." This is my struggle right now and I am in desperate need of His grace, comfort and strength. I also would like some clarity from Him. But I understand that He is God and I should seek Him for Him and not for answers or what He can give or do for me. 

O Lord, help me to seek You for You and not for things. 

Gearing up for all things new...with Jesus.

Wow...it's the end of the summer and almost the beginning of a new school year! I guess you could say I am "gearing up" for yet another transition back to Taiwan, to a new school year, and a few other new things to adjust to when I get back (new classes, new students, new staff, new principal, etc.).

I have been asked if I am ready for it? Well, my answer to that is....with Jesus I am. It is only by His sustaining grace can I continue to deal with and grow through the constant of change and transition in my life. Change is hard. Leaving and saying goodbye is NEVER easy. Honestly, I don't like it. I don't think anyone does. I don't think we were meant to. It is often through these difficult goodbyes and emotions we are forced to look up to Him and say, "one day..."

"One day..." there will be no more goodbyes, no more tears, no more pain and sorrow...FOREVER. PERIOD. Hallelujah! What joy to look forward to!

Yet on the other hand, it is in moments of reflecting on this fact that also make me ache all the more for my prayers to be answered for my family members to come to a saving knowledge of the truth and begin a relationship with Christ. O Lord, let it be so.

I'm thankful God is a God that is constantly pursuing after people's hearts. I'm thankful He is the Lifter of our heads and Lover of our souls. I'm thankful for His promise that He will never leave us nor forsake us. May we continue to look to Him, seek Him, and rely on Him for He is the One we will never have to say goodbye to. Thank You, Lord.

Time flies!

I can't believe the school year is almost finished! What a whirlwind it has been! I will definitely update more in a later blog post with some pictures and reflections. But I just wanted to write a quick thing to say that my blog is still alive! haha!

I haven't forgotten about blogging; I have just not made the time to sit down and do it (I've also not had the mental energy!). Anyhoo, please stay tuned for more posts this coming summer hopefully :)

Praying for a refreshing summer, full of time with family and friends and most of all....my Lord.

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas! a little late :)

So I should have posted pictures a while ago of my apartment once all my furniture got here in September, but I let the busyness of the school year keep me from blogging regularly. So here are some pictures of my apartment now with my furniture, personal belongings, walls painted, and Christmas decorations. One of these days I will put some pictures on the walls, but for now this is what I got :)

Living room

Living room

More living room

More living room...looking into the kitchen

Kitchen

Kitchen/Dining area

More kitchen with slight view of laundry room and living room

My "Barnes & Noble" room that my friends here named it 

(the walls are actually a little more of an amber color, but here they look like the yellow that's in the living room, but they're not that yellow)

More "Barnes & Noble" room

and still more "B&N" room

And now below are some close-ups of some of my favorite Christmas decorations:

O Christmas tree, O Christmas tree

The Christmas Coat Rack

The Disco Ball ornament

(I like this one because of an analogy given in my Bible study of Isaiah last year. Let me know if you ever want to hear it. I'll tell you!)

The Nativity 

(my Grandma gave me this last year. My first Nativity set ever!)

My College years Christmas tree 

(it's all of about 6 inches tall, but it was my only tree up until last week when I bought the other one!)

The Taiwan One-Armed Snowman or Snow-woman? 

(just bought this last week because of how random it was!)

The Nativity scene ornament 

(there are 4 of them on my tree, just got these last week also in Taipei) 

it's what Christmas is all about...Jesus!

My first Christmas ornament ever 

(My Grandma bought me Hallmark Christmas ornaments from the time I was born until I was about 21- thank you, Grandma Gilhooley...I love you.)

The Kissing Angels 

(These were my Grandma's and she graciously gave them to me a couple of years ago. I used to play with these as a young child when I lived with my grandparents. Many sweet memories!)

The Christmas Lamp 

(didn't know where else to put all my ornaments!)

My bedroom

More of my bedroom

My bathroom 

(my favorite part of this bathroom is the shower curtain!)

So that's the grand tour for now! Thanks for coming! Wish I could have many of you come visit. But this will have to do for now, I suppose.

Special thanks to those that helped me pack all of this stuff and unpack it as well.

Thankful to God for all of you and for a home.

Christmas 2011

Being away from home during the holidays is definitely not easy. I have spent several holidays in the past away from home for various missions-related reasons, but for some reason the older I get the harder it gets. I will say, however, I am thankful to so many of the Morrison staff members that graciously opened up their homes and invited me to join them and their families and friends for delicious meals, fun games, and great fellowship. Special thanks to the McGills, Falks, Senners, Moons, Johnsons, and soooo many more! Thank you all.

Here are a few pictures from Christmas eve night at the McGills with some new sweet friends:

The McGill boys (missing 1)

Ellen and Dee being silly

Love them!

Ellen and me :)

God never ceases to amaze me on how He continually fulfills His promises over and over....and over again. He doesn't have to. He doesn't owe me or anyone else anything. But He is the Ultimate-Giver. He loves to give us good things, for He Himself is good. Thank You, Lord, that You are good and what you do is good.

Psalm 119:68 NIV


You are good, and what You do is good; teach me Your decrees.


And thank You, Lord, for Your gracious fulfillment of the promise to set the "lonely" in families, especially this "lonely" one.

Psalm 68:5-6 NIV
5 A father to the fatherless, a defender of widows,
   is God in His holy dwelling. ⁶ God sets the lonely in families,
   He leads out the prisoners with singing;
   but the rebellious live in a sun-scorched land.

It's December already?! Where has the time gone?!

Well, hello there, friends and family!

I have been meaning to update this blog since my last post in September, but obviously I let time slip away from me! Sorry about that!

I am currently on Christmas break and the first semester of school is almost over. Wow! It has been quite a whirlwind! It's difficult being far away from home and not being able to just pick up the phone and call anyone at anytime with a 12-15 hour time difference. But thankfully, the transition of living in Taiwan again has been a lot easier than I had anticipated. That has been in large part due to your prayers and the community here at Morrison. The staff here have quickly become like a family to me- with their gracious invitations to eat with them, go to the store, site-seeing, and much more. Thank you, Lord!

I have been terrible at taking pictures or rather, actually uploading the pictures I have taken to show what I have been up to these past few months. There are quite a few uploaded on facebook by some of my new friends here- so you can check some of those out.

I will post some pictures on here soon...in my next update, which will hopefully be in the next few days.
Thank you for your patience and prayers! I appreciate, love and miss you all more than you know. Please feel free to email or facebook me to keep me updated on your lives....that will continue to help me in my adjustment here- is to know that I am not forgotten over on your side of the world :)

Merry Christmas to all and to all a good....night....err....day....wherever you are!

Stay tuned...more pictures to come  :)

"I love you to pieces..."

Just a few days ago, my Great-Grandma Sammie turned 90! What a neat privilege to have a great-grandparent still living. I called her via Skype (I love technology!) the other day to wish her a happy 90th birthday. It was so neat to hear her voice and know that I surprised her!

This past Easter (April 2011), I got to visit her out in New Mexico where she lives. That was the first time I had been out there since I was around 3 or 4 years old! I also hadn't seen her in about 8 years. We went site-seeing a little each day and stayed up fairly late talking each night. I learned so much about my family history as well as about her and her faith in God. I found out that one of her favorite books in the Bible is Isaiah, which is also one of my favorites! I cannot find the words to describe how encouraging it was to spend time with her. It was a HUGE blessing to be able to visit her in her 90th year of life.

She is still pretty sharp mentally and has a fabulous sense of humor! She and her friends were cracking me up that whole weekend. At one point, Grandma and her friend Joni were taking me on a drive around their little town of Hatch, New Mexico. This town is so small that it doesn't even have a stoplight! The "rich" part of town consisted of about 4 or 5 homes on one little street. As we were driving down that street, Joni was explaining who lived in each home and what they did for a living. Then Grandma piped in from the back-seat and pointed out one of the homes and said, "Yeah, and that one over there has 5 bathrooms and I've peed in all of them!" Needless to say, I burst into laughter!

Some of the stories they told about the town and its shops were also very funny and interesting. Here are some pictures:

Signs like this crack me up!

This is a controversial town icon- owned by the guy that owns Sparky's bbq, burgers, and espresso. 

Grandma with Tigger at White Sands, NM

Joni, the Colonel, and Grandma. I think the Colonel was trying to make a move on Grandma!

Tigger had to get in the picture. Colonel Sanders was smitten with Grandma!

Tigger, me, Ronald, and Joni

Interesting...very interesting...

Not sure I'd eat all of these at the same time.

So Great-Grandma Sammie has always told me how she just "loves [me] to pieces," and she still does to this day. I was reminded of her telling me this a few weeks ago as I read the Our Daily Bread devotional for August 26, 2011. It talked about two women who literally loved God's word "to pieces." They read their Bibles so much that the bindings and pages were literally in shreds and pieces. Oh how I yearn to love God and His word like that.

Here is the link to that very devotional reading. I think you'll find it very encouraging and challenging:

http://odb.org/2011/08/26/the-goodness-of-the-lord/

At the end of Grandma and my phone call the other day, she so preciously ended it by saying, "You know what? I still just love you to pieces."

Well, Grandma, do YOU know what? I still just love YOU to pieces!

And may we all learn to love God's Word to pieces too :)

Jeremiah 15:16 (NIrV)- "When I received Your words, I ate them. 

      They filled me with joy. 

      My heart took delight in them. 

   Lord God who rules over all, 

      I belong to You."

Teach us to pray, Lord...

Wow, it has been a whirlwind first 3 weeks of school! So far, things have gone really well. I am enjoying getting to know the students and staff here at Morrison, as well as the climate and pace of Taichung. Teaching seems to be going surprisingly well. Although, I haven't quite mastered getting into a set routine where I actually plan ahead for my classes. I still have that "flying-by-the-seat-of-my-pants" kind of feeling at this point, which I don't really like. I hope to be able to start preparing for my lessons more than an hour beforehand soon. God, help me!

I'm also still trying to learn the names of all my students. Mind you, I teach Kindergarten through 8th grade. That basically means I need to learn around 240 names. Since I only see most of my students (K-5th) about once a week, this is a difficult task. Again, God, help! 

Aside from that, like I said, I am enjoying being here, which is a huge answer to prayer! The last time I lived in Taiwan was very difficult for me, especially in the beginning. But these first 5 weeks or so of being here, I have seen so many of the Lord's precious promises fulfilled over and over and am sustained by His faithfulness. 


One of His promises in particular that He has continually proven faithful in throughout my life is Psalm 68:6 (NLT)- 

God places the lonely in families;

      He sets the prisoners free and gives them joy.

   But He makes the rebellious live in a sun-scorched land.

And He certainly has done this for me once again. He has placed me here in a great "family"- the Morrison family- which is comprised of my brothers and sisters in Christ. I love how God has His family spread out all over the world- so that in any country you visit just about you have a "family member" there. How cool is He?!


What a powerful, loving and faithful God we have! One Who answers prayers and gives and fulfills the desires of our hearts!


One final thought that I want to be careful to pray for over my students and the wonderful staff is found in a few verses I have come across in the last few weeks. They are: 


1 Thessalonians 2:13 (NIV)- 

And we also thank God continually because, when you received the word of God, which you heard from us, you accepted it not as a human word, but as it actually is, the word of God, which is indeed at work in you who believe.

1 Thessalonians 3:12-13 (NIV)-

May the Lord make your love increase and overflow for each other and for everyone else, just as ours does for you. May He strengthen your hearts so that you will be blameless and holy in the presence of our God and Father when our Lord Jesus comes with all His holy ones.

As I was writing this blog, I was reminded of the orphans in India I had the privilege of meeting when I went there on 2 mission trips back in 2005. I was encouraged, humbled, moved, and challenged by these precious prayer warriors. There are no words to describe being ushered into the presence of God with 2500 orphans praying out-loud, all at the same time, to Him with a fervor and true childlike faith that I had never seen before and hope to see again...here in Taiwan...and America...and in all nations. Yes, Lord!  

Father, please do as Your word says here in the hearts and lives of the students and staff here at Morrison and teach us to pray without ceasing and seek You earnestly and passionately. Let it be so, Lord, Let it be so.

In memory of my Great-Grandpa Al

Just found out a few days ago my great-grandpa Al passed away- on August 11. This was not something that I expected and am sad to hear. However, I think he knew Jesus so if that's the case then I am thankful that I will get to see him again one day.

I had the privilege of seeing him this past summer after not having seen him for many years. He still had a wonderful sense of humor in-tact even though his memory was slipping because of Alzheimers' disease. His smile was adorable as well. I know my family and I will miss him greatly.

May you rest in peace. You will be missed, Grandpa. 

I love you.

Death is such an indescribably horrible thing. But thanks be to God that when you have a true, saving relationship with Him through Christ life does not end for you when you take your last breath on earth.


1 Corinthians 15:54-57 (NIV)

⁵⁴ When the perishable has been clothed with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality, then the saying that is written will come true: “Death has been swallowed up in victory.”
 ⁵⁵ “Where, O death, is your victory?
   Where, O death, is your sting?”
 ⁵⁶ The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. ⁵⁷ But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.

Therefore, when a loved one dies that knew the Lord, we don't have to grieve in such a way that leaves us in utter despair and hopelessness because we will see them again one day! 

Believers Who Have Died- 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18

 ¹³ Brothers and sisters, we do not want you to be uninformed about those who sleep in death, so that you do not grieve like the rest of mankind, who have no hope. ¹⁴ For we believe that Jesus died and rose again, and so we believe that God will bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep in Him. ¹⁵ According to the Lord’s word, we tell you that we who are still alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord, will certainly not precede those who have fallen asleep. ¹⁶ For the Lord Himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. ¹⁷ After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever. ¹⁸ Therefore encourage one another with these words.


Thank You, Lord, that only in You we have life- not only life here on earth, but also everlasting life with You! For You alone are the Way, the Truth, and the Life. Apart from You there is no savior. 

Fill us anew

Well, the first day of school is quickly approaching. Lots of excitement and anxiety (more anxiety than anything right now) is being felt as I try to mentally, physically, emotionally, and spiritually prepare for Monday. I covet your prayers immensely. Not just for myself. But also for the students, staff, and parents of this school. We are in a country that is imprisoned and oppressed by the very idols and gods (which are no god at all) they worship. We are in the midst of a war for souls. Please pray for and with us that Christ may be high and lifted up so that He may draw these students' hearts (and ours) to Himself.

This school is a great school. Academically, it is one of the top notch international schools in Taiwan. Spiritually, it has a top notch staff- people that love Jesus and are filled with God's Spirit, sent here by Him to know and love Him more and make Him known. I look forward to getting to know them even more and working alongside all of them in this labor of love for His glory.

The past 2 weeks have been a whirlwind- filled with lots of meetings, questions, answers, Chinese, laughs, tears, food, fellowship and preparatory work. They've also been filled with constant reminders of God's faithfulness, provisions, and the sweetest thing of all...His presence.

There are some verses and a song that I have been reminded of that I will probably be clinging to in my prayers as this year unfolds.

A couple of the verses are (I'm sure there will be more to come this year!):


^{Hebrews 13:20-21}
"Now may the God of peace, who through the blood of the eternal covenant brought back from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great Shepherd of the sheep, equip you with everything good for doing His will, and may He work in us what is pleasing to Him, through Jesus Christ, to Whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen."


Psalm 115:1

"Not to us, LORD, not to us
   but to Your name be the glory,
   because of Your love and faithfulness."

And the song:

Consuming Fire by Hillsong United

Praying God would fill us anew and fan into flame a passion for His Name in this precious student body. O God- let it be! Have Your way! 

My new-to-me place

Here are some pictures of the apartment I'm living in. Consider these the "before" pictures since I don't have any of my furniture or belongings here yet (it's all coming on a slow-boat across the ocean right now that won't get here until the end of this month, Lord willing!):

This is the back bedroom that I will turn into my "study/office"

This is the bathroom in the back bedroom. The green walls have quite the story to them. Long story short, I got here on Thursday, July 28 and wasn't allowed to use either shower until Tuesday, August 2. When I got here, the shower walls had pretty, white ceramic tile with dried grout all over it that I thought they were going to come and scrape it off. Not the case. The guy came on Saturday morning put this glue-like, headache-inducing smelly, slime-green stuff all over the walls. Couldn't sleep in my apartment until Tuesday because the smell was so bad. It even made my neighbor's apartment downstairs smell for a while. My food even had this weird taste to it because of how powerful this green stuff smelled! All of that to say, this is the finished product...no more pretty, white ceramic tile walls. Oh, Transition!   

Here is the front bedroom, which is the one I have chosen to be mine. The furniture is basic start up stuff that the school provides until we get our own stuff. 

Here is my bathroom with the same green stuff. I feel like I am walking into Nickelodeon studios or something every time I take a shower...it's like hardened Gak on the wall! 

Another angle of my bedroom.

This is the living room- the left doorway is looking down the hallway where the bedrooms are. The right doorway is the entrance into the kitchen. 

The living room when standing by the front door- looking into the kitchen.

The kitchen. The doorway on the right is looking into the living room.

The kitchen from the laundry room angle.

More kitchen.

And a little more kitchen. Doorway on the left is the laundry room. 

So there it is! A lovely L-shaped, 2-bedroom, 2-bathroom apartment. God is so good in all His ways and how He provides for His children. Praise Him!