To get you through another day

It’s Wednesday of a 4-day work week, and my first day in the office in two weeks.  Here’s how I plan to get through the day:

Romans 12:11 says:

¹¹Never lag in zeal and in earnest endeavor; be aglow and burning with the Spirit, serving the Lord.”

 Then, Colossians 3:23-25″

²³Whatever may be your task, work at it heartily (from the soul), as [something done] for the Lord and not for men,

    ²⁴Knowing [with all certainty] that it is from the Lord [and not from men] that you will receive the inheritance which is your [real] reward. [The One Whom] you are actually serving [is] the Lord Christ (the Messiah).

 

It is Jesus who I get to serve today at my job!  Yee. THAT truth makes it all ok.

 

This morning I awoke at 4:30 am

Could be for any number of reasons I suppose

But if I tell myself it’s because I’m sick, or hungry or something else

Then I’ll try hard to fall back asleep

And instead, lie awake

Then eventually roll out of bed at 6:30

As my friend Peach has said, there is a difference between sleep and lying in bed, eyes closed.

 

So today I got up–not right away, but sooner than I might have

To ask Him why He woke me up so early

As the Good Book says, “The Lord gives to his beloved sleep”

I reminded Him of this

But it appears He also gives to his beloved sweet verses in the Scriptures that can get us through the day better than sleep can

And that is more than ok by me

Though if He wants to let me doze off again while praying

That is more than ok too

I’m my beloved’s and He’s mine

Best place to be

 

House of Hope

http://www.houseofhopemd.org/child-sponsorship.html
Can we talk about how cute these kids are for a second?  Today I really missed them, and I missed Subha (since her photo is on a mobile where I am working from home under my loft bed).  I jumped on skype at lunch and had a talk with Sami Badra, my friend who introduced me to Subha, and he told me that this week she was asking about me.  So was Aiman (you can see his photo on the website).

 

How is it that they still remember me, and I them, at the same time, randomly, years later in other parts of the world?  I hope to return to Palestine to visit.  Stupid passport laws around Israel and the Arab world .  God, bless Sami, heal his shoulder and watch over my friends. I really miss my friends over there in Bethlehem!

Finished another book

I finished another book.  This one was called “Chasing the Dragon“.  Yes, I just linked to a wiki article about heroine and not the book itself, which is found here.

I’ve been writing when I finish books, but this one required a lot of thought first.

Jackie left on a slow boat to China (literally) when she was young and single. She wanted to tell everybody about Jesus. And as she ministered in possibly the worst slum on earth, she learned a lot about Jesus and his Holy Spirit.

When she began to pray in another language for 15 minutes a day on her own time, she noticed a change in the number of kids and poor women she was able to help.  Also..when teens wanted to come off heroine, they would pray in the Holy Spirit (even if they had not even understood the whole Bible yet) and they would be set free from any pain during withdrawl.

It was amazing to read stories of lives that were transformed and STAYED transformed.  I learned a lot from her mistakes and triumphs in Jesus. I recommend it to anybody who wants to see miracles and know Jesus more, but i recommend going in with an open heart if you’re not used to this stuff — I do not yet pray in tongues, but i’d like to after reading her story—and i find that people who tell me to slow down and be more careful and stick to the straight and narrow didn’t see thousands of addicts leading their gangs to Jesus.

 

As usual in biographies I read, the heroine did not really sleep.  Fascinating.  Still praying for balance and all with that one.

Better Resolutions

http://www.desiringgod.org/resource-library/articles/the-resolutions-of-jonathan-edwards

Better resolutions by Jonathan Edwards.

New Year’s Resolutions

Who has resolutions? If i put mine here, I may more seriously commit.

1.) Fast on a scheduled basis more faithfully.
2.) Memorize Scripture.
3) Unsubscribe from the majority of emails I get.

I seem to make too resolutions many a lot, so this is the year of making a memorable, manageable amount.

I’m also realizing (after seeing MONEYBALL) that I don’t have any real GOALS in my life, at all. I think that’s good, actually.

Goal: 1.) to know him and make him known. and 2.) take the lowest seat at the marriage supper of the lamb and hear him say “come up here!” .

I know we shouldn’t publicize fasting. I didn’t put details here because we’re not supposed to fast in public like hypocrites do. But I do hope this encouraged you to also fast some. It’s in the Word that we should! And we want to see His Spirit move in our city. Let’s do it, people!

Best thing I learned this month

Last week, a new friend and I went to Downtown Crossing to look for a woman he had seen daily begging. We brought her the food she asked for and we sat with her while she asked passerby to help, trying not to look like we knew her (might impact her chances to get more).

As we sat with Pam, she explained that she had neuropathy and lots of other ailments. I realized 45 minutes in that her legs were covered in dried blood and sores, and then she knocked over some of the milk we brought her, much to her own dismay, explaining that she can’t control all her movement because of her nerve problems. She uses crutches and wears a sign. She’d slept the night before in an ATM booth after looking everywhere for a place to go and finding zip.

Though we prayed with her and I called every single homeless shelter i could, no one could help. When we considered spending 40 dollars for a hostel for the night, we realized the bigger problem…the same thing was going to happen the next day, and the next, and the next. She wasn’t willing to go to the shelters when she needed to to get in, around 3 or 4 to wait and secure a bed…if she did that she wouldn’t be able to beg until 8 or 10 pm. She needed 120 dollars a day to buy her medication (painkillers). We ended up promising to keep looking for programs for her, but eventually left after praying she would be healed..she told us where she would always be and we prayed for her and took off.

The next day at morning prayer, as people left, I asked if some could stay and pray for Pam. I couldn’t help crying as we lifted her up to God, and I wondered why she hadn’t been healed. Then David (our pastor) gave us good advice…and said the more he works with Boston’s homeless, the more he realizes that it’s all about being close to God…the closer we are to God, the more we will be able to help people. The more we hear him, the more we will a.) go to the correct people who he wants to heal, and b.) be able to touch their lives with his spirit. If we do not have his spirit flowing through us though nearness with him and love in Him, we will have nothing to offer these people.

Dreamed about her last night–it was wild, since i never remember my dreams and i realized after i woke up (disoriented in my old bed in NY at home) that it was Pam who I just prayed for in my dream to receive the Holy Spirit. She was so happy.

Dad’s making breakfast and we’re waiting for others to wake up slowly, thankful for life, love, family and friends.
Merry Christmas!

Hannah’s life

At the Christmas eve family party waiting to take the family photo.

Me: ahh. My life is so complicated.
Hannah: My life is not complicated.
Me: ::leans on hannah’s shoulder:::
Hannah: I go to school, I come home, I go to school, I come home.
Hannah: I go to school, I sometimes go to track, I eat, I come home, I go to track I come home I go to school…
Me: :::looking at Christmas tree::::
Me: You sometimes have sleepovers with friends.
Hannah: Yeah. And I go to school.

yawn. Christmas. mmm.

He’ll take care of the rest/How to be blessed

How to be blessed

If I give myself to his work
And I devote myself to action
And I love the poor
And I offer help to those in need
If I listen and pray for direction
And I stop being selfish
And I realize when my thoughts are filled with greed

If my time is filled with two things, loving God and loving neighbors
I’ll be too busy and in awe of Him to be longing
To be wishing, wanting, constantly thinking
About things that I used to think I wanted really badly

Then He can truly bless me
With surprises
It’s like when you’re working really hard on a project, with your head down
And you glance up and realize someone’s brought you a coffee
Never saw it coming
Much better that way
Or when you’re staying late nights to finish something and your boss takes notice
And gives you a couple days off
Not having to ask for a break or wonder if it’s ok
Makes it even nicer to rest or get away
It’s a great feeling when that happens—because a.) you have that sense of finishing something and b.) your boss is happy with you.

Now, they say if the devil can’t make you sin, he’ll keep you busy.
Don’t stay busy, but stay focused on Jesus: knowing him, loving him, listening.
As the eyes of a maid look to the hand of her master, so you watch him, read about him and learn from him. Then spend the rest of your time doing what He says.
Faithful servants in God’s family get lots of overflowing blessings that are better than anything this world offers.

A final story.
My co-worker in Americorps had this fuzzy otter toy with outstretched paws.
And we would stick Americorps stickers everywhere in the office. Each sticker said: “I will get things done for America”.
She ripped one up so it just said “I WILL GET THINGS”.
Next, she stuck it on the otter. It looked hilarious standing there on her desk.

Sometimes, things go poorly and I reflect on what went wrong as I lie in my bed
Then I realize it all fell apart because I was like that otter, paws out, sporting an I WILL GET THINGS sticker.
Oh my soul: do not try to get things. Just look to your Master, love him and serve him. He’ll take care of the rest.

A must watch:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gAe0q21YgTQ

We can’t “be blessed” by God if we are trying to get blessings ourselves.

Isaiah 58:10 says: “and if you spend yourselves in behalf of the hungry and satisfy the needs of the oppressed, then your light will rise in the darkness, and your night will become like the noonday.”

James 1:22 says: “Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says.“

End of Year for Family Focus Foundation

Great end of year for Family Focus Foundation. We’re still working on finding a better way to send money over, and on projects for the women, but look how tall the kids are getting!!

http://www.facebook.com/familyfocusfoundation?ref=ts

Thankful to our sponsors and donors and supporters…you’ve been so patient these past few years and I love all of you.

Dancing

Tonight Sofia and I had a two person dance party.
It was enjoyable, though it ended with a brief conversation on Palestine that made me go read more in my room–

More dance parties should probably transpire before she leaves for paris on January 26.