For the last month, we have established a few friendships that are really special; friendships from the past have been growing lately, as well. We have been going to Abiding Love Fellowship every Sunday and Wednesday, also.
A new friend that Callum made at Starbucks is Gaston. He works at Starbucks and makes really good coffee. The friendship Callum has with him is truly a blessing. Gaston is neat; he spent three years in Australia and as you can imagine, talks with an Australian accent. For Callum, it is good because talking to Gaston strengthens his accent (who would have thought, an American helping an Aussie get his accent back). Another really awesome fact about Gaston is that he will be going to Australia in October, which is AWESOME because we are heading back in October. How awesome is our God? He provides us with friends that can relate to us, so that we are always surrounded by people that support us and help us to get through our times of waiting. Gaston is a good friend for us to have during this season!!!
Being at Starbucks so often has allowed us to get to know some of the people on staff. One sweet young lady, Summer Franklin, is a shift manager & she is my favorite. It is cool, because I think of her so often as if we are good friends. Tonight we were able to talk a bit, and that blessed me so much. I am thankful for Summer.
Two friends that I have appreciated a bunch lately are Mrs. Susan Poos (who works in the office at Camp Baldwin) and Mary Cate. They have been around to support me and bless me. Mrs. Susan recently blessed me with a ring. She was wearing a gorgeous cross ring in the beginning of the week & I mentioned it yesterday at lunch; I told her that her ring was very pretty. She then slipped it off her hand and gave it to me. How precious? It is not very often that you find selfless friends; she said that ever since she bought it she has been trying to justify getting it. Giving it to me blessed her and she made that clear. I am so thankful for her and her gift. Many people know this, but for those who do not, two summers ago Susan made me a prayer shaw; that prayer shaw has been the most special gift to me and I have brought it with me every where that I have gone. Just as the shaw reminds me, the new cross ring reminds me, Jesus died for me and His love and provision cover me in all things. Amen.
We have been attending Abiding Love Fellowship on Sundays and Wednesdays. The church is really the place for us to be. If any of you are wondering why we are going there, or what led us there, I would love to tell you. Our friend Rusty invited us when we mentioned being in a place that called for "damage control" when someone fell out in the spirit. He said it sounded like we need to do some damage control ourselves. For those who do not know, Callum & I feel very strongly that the gifts of God are for our time. We even feel strongly that EVERYTHING the Bible says is true. Nothing that has been given cannot be given again. God is not a respecter of man (Romans 11:29; Acts 10:34-48; Romans 2:11). His Word stands firm from generation to generation (Psalm 33:11). For us, believing that every Word of God is true means that we leave NO room for unbelief. While others are debating the meaning of the gift of tongues, the truth behind the words "heal the sick", or the foolishness in dancing before God... We are praying quietly in tongues, laying our hands on the sick & watching them be healed, and dancing alone before God. Others have tried to force their beliefs on us, but we never trusted man to begin with, so we choose not to start such irrational behavior now. You see, both Callum and I are in love with God. We are not in love with man; we love man, because God loves man. Our decisions are not made based on pleasing man, because the only outcome that ever had was bad (ex: the death of our Saviour- check out Mark 15:15). Honestly, we are disgusted with the thought that so many Christians are led astray by other Christians. I believe that the only things that have been stolen from me and lead me away from God, where things/disputes within the church (1 Corinthians 11:18- seems to me that this age is not the first to experience such things); as terrible as it sounds, I lost more within the walls of the church than I did in the world. See, Satan has no hold on me. There is no way for him to reach in and steal from me, because I stand against his ways & disagree with all that he has to say. Now the church on the other hand, they are the ones I trusted- my safety- and sure enough they are the ones that made me question what I believed. Thankfully, our God is stronger than the opinions of man and has faithfully reminded me of who I am. Something you should know is that I have not always been faithful to God, nor was I raised in church, and no man taught me what I really believe. My mother faithfully prayed for me my entire life and lived a life so quiet and hidden in Cheist, that even when I was against her, I desired what she had. After years of rebellion and death, I asked God to save me. A group of friends laid hands on me and prayed for me. That night, I received the Spirit of God; no matter how many people tell me not to add this detail, I will stand firm in making Gods power known- my body shook when I received Holy Spirit. From that day, I have seen so many miracles, that I could not write them all down. Since that day, I have felt the Spirit of God lead me and protect me in all things. My God is strong- our God is strong! People try to tell me that God doesn't heal cancer today, or that He used to heal the sick by the laying on of hands, or even that the gift of tongues is not intended to be an unknown tongue, but a known tongue (if your under that impression, I suggest you read 1 Corinthians 14:2 & pray to God- ask Him to show you truth). It's embarrassing to think that the body of God attempts to control what God can and cannot do. As if that wasn't enough, they make assumptions that what God did 2,000 years ago ---> He won't do today! In prayer, God tells me over and over again "I love my Bride the same" ... And if He remains the same ALWAYS (Hebrews 13:8), why would His love be so limited that He would not heal today? Heartbreaking thoughts. Our God is still love. Our God is still healer. Maybe it's not that God won't do it, but maybe it's that your faith is not strong enough to see Him do it? Because, I see Him do it ... Callum sees Him do it. We know many people who have let go of control & let God be who He is--- and as we provide the faith, He proves faithful! Every time. All to say, we believe in God and we are so blessed to be surrounded by others who trust in Him the same. We are so blessed to be around people who see fruit when they pray. We are so blessed to be around people who seek God. We are so blessed to be around people who love God. Worship is good. Corporate worship with Abiding Love Fellowship is good! From all the churches we have attended, we have learned and grown. God always shows up and reveals Himself to those who seek Him (Proverbs 25:2).
Just the other day, Callum said to me "I promise you there are more people out there who really love God," and as I sat there crying I remembered there are. I invisioned all of the special moments with Gods children that I had from 2010-2012 & remembered that the faithful do exist. He told me that church in Australia is different- people are expected to love God & it is okay to express that in worship! The thought of going to Australia with my husband really blesses me and has been my hope these last few months.
Although we believe in the extreme, we are still very practical people. We are very human. There are things that bother us and we are capable of being exhausted. Through all, I feel confident in saying, God lifts us up on wings like eagles! He makes us strong when we are weak (Isaiah 40:29-31).
Saying so, I would like to discuss a few things. Two to be exact. One has to do with cleaning up after yourself and the other has to do with, well, cleaning up after yourself.
How many of you have never cleaned a toilet? How many of you have never gotten on your knees and scrubbed a bathroom clean? How many of you have? Well if you have, I will assume that you would never leave a restroom a mess. Working at the camp has been a lot of fun at times, and at times it has been VERY nasty. I am once again embarrassed that the body of God would leave such a mess. Regardless of where you are, if you are at home, on vacation, visiting a friend, at school or out eating- if you are not cleaning up after yourself, someone is!! I suggest that any woman wanting to be a wife should learn to clean before ever entering a relationship. If you want kids, learn to clean. If you want to have guests over, learn to clean. Learn to enjoy cleaning. It's important to really enjoy cleaning. Growing up, mom was all about making me a "house keeper". She wanted me to enjoy cooking, c,earning and serving as much as she did. At the time, I did not understand and even rebelled against her gentleness. For the last two years, I have thanked mom & praised her for her patience! Cleaning has really become something I rejoice in. I have realized these last two years, that while you are cleaning, you can pray over each area that you touch. You can pray over beds as you make them, showers as you scrub them, toilets as you clean them and mirrors as you windex them. You can pray over every thing! When God first taught me this, I rejoiced. Can you imagine praying over a room that whoever stays in it would receive salvation? A running your hand across the bed and praying for dreams from heaven- all to find out the next morning that the person staying in that room received Jesus as their Lord and Saviour? There is no way to explain it other than GOD ANSWERS US WHEN WE PRAY! God loves when we partner with Him- it blesses God when He can answer your prayers. Saying so, it's very important that we pray in all things. It's very important that we rejoice in all things! Even in cleaning, it is crucial to learn to pray!
God loves when we partner with Him. What would a relationship be if it lacked a partner? It would not be a relationship at all.
More to clean!!! The more I work in retail, the more I see that people should not be allowed to ship unless they know what they are doing! :) If you have never worked in retail, you have no idea the work that it takes to keep a store clean. Every time that I am at work, I see some one pick up an item off of one rack and leave it sitting on another. It doesn't make sense. Callum & I have come up with the idea that if you wish to shop you must have a shopping license. How do you obtain such a license you ask? Well, you must be trained in retail for an entire month before ever being allowed to shop. As you enter a store, you must show your license :) hehe! Okay, okay, it's not practical-- but you get the point, like I said before LEARN TO CLEAN UP AFTER YOURSELF!! If you are not doing it, someone is! Learn to clean up with joy!!! It'll change your life!! Pray as you shop, pray for the employees, for the store and for the shoppers. It'll change you. It'll bless God. Learn to pray!!
Callum & I have agreed to teach our kids to clean early on. We hope now & pray that they will bless God & others with all they do! Oh & while I have your attention- for ALL who have asked- WE ARE NOT PREGNANT! When we are, we will be sure to tell you & we will be so joyful!!!! :)
Thanks for letting me catch you all up- think you for following! Thank you to all who have been praying! Enjoy this day! Enjoy The Lord! :)
