Ning-ih enjoying his rice when he was just beginning to eat several months ago.:)
Since then we've made sure that he's had a bit of assistance...
Ning-ih, Josiah, SawGwihLee, JooJoo, MeMeWa, MooWaWa.
Worship at the school.
Tuesday, September 14, 2010
Our Kiddies!
Ning-ih enjoying his rice when he was just beginning to eat several months ago.:)
Since then we've made sure that he's had a bit of assistance...
Ning-ih, Josiah, SawGwihLee, JooJoo, MeMeWa, MooWaWa.
Worship at the school.
"For I know the plans that I have for you..."
...says the Lord.
It's always been important to me to have plans for my future. In fact, I think I nearly always have, and although through the years my plans altered slightly from when as a little maybe 5-year-old I unswayingly decided I would be a nurse to when I was 12 and equally adamant that my future lay in the cockpit of a plane as a bush pilot in Alaska (incidentally, a desire that has never completely diminished...), it was a great comfort to me to be so certain of what I wanted to do and where I was headed. I was completely passionate about what I wanted to do! Never for a moment did I doubt that I would accomplish my dreams! They were all good plans, right?
Let's just say that Thailand did not fit in with my plans. When my family decided that this was where we were going and were determined that we would go together, saying I was dismayed would be an understatement! But still I only viewed it as simply a temporary delay.
Soon it became apparent though that my life was not going to just fall into place and allow me to follow through with my well-layed plans the way I'd hoped.
Mercifully, I'll shorten all the ins and outs and ups and downs of the story to simply saying that God had a course in surrender in store for me... It was not an overnight process.
I realized that this was the first time in my life that I didn't "know" where I was going. And I didn't like it. At all. I felt as though I'd lost my purpose.
I had to come to the point where I could understand that God has a perfect plan for my life and that I would never experience it or be anything like the person He made me to be 'til I was willing to trade my plan for His own.
More recently, I was listening to someone speak and in the context of surrender the question was asked, "Is there anything in your life that you can't imagine living without?" I found it deeply disturbing to realize that I instantly knew that there was something in my life that I did feel that way about and and even more disturbing to realize that I knew what it was. I may have decided to wait on God for the right timing when He would open the doors so that I could fulfill my plans, but I still hadn't completely surrendered my plans to Him, accepting that they may not be His. I couldn't picture, or was even sure that I wanted a life without them fitting into it in some shape or size... It took me hours of struggling and soul searching before I was able to view it from an eternal perspective and count the cost, finally giving it completely to God. What a relief to simply let it rest in God's hands!
Shortly after that decision I felt deeply impressed to go ahead and take an online EMT-B to Paramedic course, which I can start over here, completing the vast majority of it online on my own time before traveling to Texas towards the end of the course for several weeks of hands-on practice, testing, and clinical hours.
I find myself thirsting for knowledge... There's so much I don't know and so much I want to know. But, while I have nothing against education in a campus college setting, I don't believe that it's God's plan for me right now to put the rest of my life on hold in order to go spend the next several years of my life in some city somewhere simply for the sake of traditional education.
This way I can continue to serve where God has placed me at the same time as continuing my education and opening up the door for possibilities for greater service in the future.
I don't think I've ever been more certain of having heard God speak to me! Since that day there's been times when I've struggled, feeling as if there's no way that it can happen and not wanting to get my hopes up only to have them dashed... but I always come back to the fact that I serve a God that opens doors that no one can shut and shuts doors that no one can open! I trust that He will provide the funds...
My long-term plans are no more. I still have strong interests and I still have hopes and dreams that I'm looking forward to seeing how God will use... But If you were to ask me what I'll be doing three months from now I'd have to tell you that I'm not certain what I'll be doing three days from now. All I know is that I'm where God's placed me at this moment in time and that this is the next step in my life!
"...Behold, I have set before you an open door, and no man can shut it: for thou hast a little strength, and thou hast kept my word, and hast not denied my name." Revelation 3:8
It's always been important to me to have plans for my future. In fact, I think I nearly always have, and although through the years my plans altered slightly from when as a little maybe 5-year-old I unswayingly decided I would be a nurse to when I was 12 and equally adamant that my future lay in the cockpit of a plane as a bush pilot in Alaska (incidentally, a desire that has never completely diminished...), it was a great comfort to me to be so certain of what I wanted to do and where I was headed. I was completely passionate about what I wanted to do! Never for a moment did I doubt that I would accomplish my dreams! They were all good plans, right?
Let's just say that Thailand did not fit in with my plans. When my family decided that this was where we were going and were determined that we would go together, saying I was dismayed would be an understatement! But still I only viewed it as simply a temporary delay.
Soon it became apparent though that my life was not going to just fall into place and allow me to follow through with my well-layed plans the way I'd hoped.
Mercifully, I'll shorten all the ins and outs and ups and downs of the story to simply saying that God had a course in surrender in store for me... It was not an overnight process.
I realized that this was the first time in my life that I didn't "know" where I was going. And I didn't like it. At all. I felt as though I'd lost my purpose.
I had to come to the point where I could understand that God has a perfect plan for my life and that I would never experience it or be anything like the person He made me to be 'til I was willing to trade my plan for His own.
More recently, I was listening to someone speak and in the context of surrender the question was asked, "Is there anything in your life that you can't imagine living without?" I found it deeply disturbing to realize that I instantly knew that there was something in my life that I did feel that way about and and even more disturbing to realize that I knew what it was. I may have decided to wait on God for the right timing when He would open the doors so that I could fulfill my plans, but I still hadn't completely surrendered my plans to Him, accepting that they may not be His. I couldn't picture, or was even sure that I wanted a life without them fitting into it in some shape or size... It took me hours of struggling and soul searching before I was able to view it from an eternal perspective and count the cost, finally giving it completely to God. What a relief to simply let it rest in God's hands!
Shortly after that decision I felt deeply impressed to go ahead and take an online EMT-B to Paramedic course, which I can start over here, completing the vast majority of it online on my own time before traveling to Texas towards the end of the course for several weeks of hands-on practice, testing, and clinical hours.
I find myself thirsting for knowledge... There's so much I don't know and so much I want to know. But, while I have nothing against education in a campus college setting, I don't believe that it's God's plan for me right now to put the rest of my life on hold in order to go spend the next several years of my life in some city somewhere simply for the sake of traditional education.
This way I can continue to serve where God has placed me at the same time as continuing my education and opening up the door for possibilities for greater service in the future.
I don't think I've ever been more certain of having heard God speak to me! Since that day there's been times when I've struggled, feeling as if there's no way that it can happen and not wanting to get my hopes up only to have them dashed... but I always come back to the fact that I serve a God that opens doors that no one can shut and shuts doors that no one can open! I trust that He will provide the funds...
My long-term plans are no more. I still have strong interests and I still have hopes and dreams that I'm looking forward to seeing how God will use... But If you were to ask me what I'll be doing three months from now I'd have to tell you that I'm not certain what I'll be doing three days from now. All I know is that I'm where God's placed me at this moment in time and that this is the next step in my life!
"...Behold, I have set before you an open door, and no man can shut it: for thou hast a little strength, and thou hast kept my word, and hast not denied my name." Revelation 3:8
Monday, September 13, 2010
Since I've been mentioning learning to read and write in Thai I thought I'd just put on a few pics of what it actually looks like for anyone who might be interested.
The Thai alphabet - that's not including vowels!
That would be numbers 1-9.
Talk about squiggly lines, curly-cues, and miniature donut holes...
There's some of it a little more put together.
By contrast, this is Karen. Oh, my beloved Karen!:) I wish Thai would take a few lessons you!
It's an awesome challenge and, although it's often easy to get discouraged about it, I love it! The effort it takes is definitely worth it! If you could just see my heart glow anytime I pass a road-sign and am actually able to make out the sounds!:)
The Thai alphabet - that's not including vowels!
That would be numbers 1-9.
Talk about squiggly lines, curly-cues, and miniature donut holes...
There's some of it a little more put together.
By contrast, this is Karen. Oh, my beloved Karen!:) I wish Thai would take a few lessons you!
It's an awesome challenge and, although it's often easy to get discouraged about it, I love it! The effort it takes is definitely worth it! If you could just see my heart glow anytime I pass a road-sign and am actually able to make out the sounds!:)
Saturday, September 11, 2010
"...As having nothing
...and yet possessing all things."
In otherwords: you may be sitting covered with a recurring and miserable case of hives (stress? allergies?), you may be so completely exhausted that you have to order your body to move, you may not have more than $3 dollars to your name, or at least have enough for non-necessities such as shampoo (not my current condition, PTL!)...
But it's an amazing feeling to realize that you have what really matters most in life! And once you've experienced it it's something you wouldn't trade for the world! How is it that often it takes us "nothingness" to discover what really does matter and that it dosen't take everything we think we need to have it?
In having what really matters I'm specifically speaking of God and having a relationship with Him, but this is a part of a list I made more recently on a more miserable day and have added to as a way to remind myself of Him and just a part of some of the others things I do have and am thankful for (I'm sure some of these you won't understand unless you know me well):
* The love of God!
* Family that cares enough to be there
* Others who I think of as family (you know who you are)
* Children in my life...
* Although "poor", certainly not destitute
* Music
* Choices
* MANGOES
* Inspiration
* Determination
* Diversity
* The word "no"
* The Source of peace in the midst of chaos
* Writing as an outlet
* A desire for more
* People who smile when things go wrong
* Forever and always a child of God
* Today
* That I cannot see the future
* That I can learn from the past
* Purpose
* Adventure
* Fellow adventurers
* An unconventional life
* People who hug
* A growing appreciation for the Bible
* Love for the unlovable
* Toothbrushes
* Mountains
* Wilderness
* Guitars
* Non-Chevy vehicles:)
* FB
* Things not always going my way
* Colors: such as green and sunset orange
* Healing and beauty that can come from ashes
* The occasional glimpses of enduring love
* That life isn't always fair
* Undeserved grace
"...As having nothing, and yet possessing all things." 2 Corinthians 6:10
In otherwords: you may be sitting covered with a recurring and miserable case of hives (stress? allergies?), you may be so completely exhausted that you have to order your body to move, you may not have more than $3 dollars to your name, or at least have enough for non-necessities such as shampoo (not my current condition, PTL!)...
But it's an amazing feeling to realize that you have what really matters most in life! And once you've experienced it it's something you wouldn't trade for the world! How is it that often it takes us "nothingness" to discover what really does matter and that it dosen't take everything we think we need to have it?
In having what really matters I'm specifically speaking of God and having a relationship with Him, but this is a part of a list I made more recently on a more miserable day and have added to as a way to remind myself of Him and just a part of some of the others things I do have and am thankful for (I'm sure some of these you won't understand unless you know me well):
* The love of God!
* Family that cares enough to be there
* Others who I think of as family (you know who you are)
* Children in my life...
* Although "poor", certainly not destitute
* Music
* Choices
* MANGOES
* Inspiration
* Determination
* Diversity
* The word "no"
* The Source of peace in the midst of chaos
* Writing as an outlet
* A desire for more
* People who smile when things go wrong
* Forever and always a child of God
* Today
* That I cannot see the future
* That I can learn from the past
* Purpose
* Adventure
* Fellow adventurers
* An unconventional life
* People who hug
* A growing appreciation for the Bible
* Love for the unlovable
* Toothbrushes
* Mountains
* Wilderness
* Guitars
* Non-Chevy vehicles:)
* FB
* Things not always going my way
* Colors: such as green and sunset orange
* Healing and beauty that can come from ashes
* The occasional glimpses of enduring love
* That life isn't always fair
* Undeserved grace
"...As having nothing, and yet possessing all things." 2 Corinthians 6:10
Tuesday, August 31, 2010
Sunday, August 29, 2010
Another Prayer Answer!
Last night as I was on the phone with my mom I heard another call coming in and looked down to see that it was my sister calling. Nothing could have surprised me more! Here we thought that she was still possibly without a way out trapped in no-mans-land... (I didn't post about the situation, but some of you may have heard through the grapevine of prayer chains.) In the excitement I yelled to mama that I had to go and hung up to call Emily back, but couldn't reach her so I called mama back to quickly tell her that Emily had tried me only to have her shout at me, "Go! Go!" I tried Emily again finally reaching her. It nearly put me in tears (of joy, no doubt!) We talked and talked and talked some more and later at night when I couldn't sleep I rather sheepishly called her up again. (What else are good sisters for?:)) You'll never know how wonderful it is to be able to call someone up to tell them good morning just because you can 'til you can't...
God is so good! Thank you so much to everyone who's heard of the situation at her location and has been praying! [Please keep praying though for the situation and others who are still there though.]
I'll get to see Emily this evening here in Chiang Mai and, not only that, but today is her birthday which makes it a doubly special occasion! It will be wonderful to have most of our family together again! God is good!
Happy Birthday, Emily! You're courage and adventurous spirit as well as willingness to serve are inspiring... You are a blessing! You are so loved!
God is so good! Thank you so much to everyone who's heard of the situation at her location and has been praying! [Please keep praying though for the situation and others who are still there though.]
I'll get to see Emily this evening here in Chiang Mai and, not only that, but today is her birthday which makes it a doubly special occasion! It will be wonderful to have most of our family together again! God is good!
Happy Birthday, Emily! You're courage and adventurous spirit as well as willingness to serve are inspiring... You are a blessing! You are so loved!
For That One...
"One day a man was walking along the beach when he noticed a boy picking something up and gently throwing it into the ocean.
Approaching the boy, he asked, 'What are you doing?'
The youth replied, 'Throwing starfish back into the ocean. The surf is up and the tide is going out. If I don’t throw them back, they’ll die.'
'Son,' the man said, 'don’t you realize there are miles and miles of beach and hundreds of starfish? You can’t make a difference, it's impossible!' After listening politely, the boy bent down, picked up another starfish, and threw it back into the surf.
Then, smiling at the man, he said… 'I made a difference for that one.'”
-Unknown
Approaching the boy, he asked, 'What are you doing?'
The youth replied, 'Throwing starfish back into the ocean. The surf is up and the tide is going out. If I don’t throw them back, they’ll die.'
'Son,' the man said, 'don’t you realize there are miles and miles of beach and hundreds of starfish? You can’t make a difference, it's impossible!' After listening politely, the boy bent down, picked up another starfish, and threw it back into the surf.
Then, smiling at the man, he said… 'I made a difference for that one.'”
-Unknown
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