Shanghai in 1990 and Shanghai in 2010

What I've been meditating on lately:

Romans 10:13-17

 ^"for WHOEVER WILL CALL ON THE NAME OF THE LORD WILL BE SAVED."

 How then will they call on Him in whom they have not believed? How will they believe in Him whom they have not heard? And how will they hear without a preacher? How will they preach unless they are sent? Just as it is written, "HOW BEAUTIFUL ARE THE FEET OF THOSE WHO BRING GOOD NEWS OF GOOD THINGS!" However, they did not all heed the good news; for Isaiah says, "LORD, WHO HAS BELIEVED OUR REPORT?" So faith comes from hearing, and hearing by the word of Christ. 

Luke 9: 57-62 ESV

 As they were going along the road, someone said to him, “I will follow you wherever you go.” And Jesus said to him, “Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head.”  To another he said, “Follow me.” But he said, “Lord, let me first go and bury my father.” And Jesus “Leave the dead to bury their own dead. But as for you, go and proclaim the kingdom of God.”  Yet another said, “I will follow you, Lord, but let me first say farewell to those at my home.”  Jesus said to him, “No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God.”

 

I applied for a summer missions project yesterday. I heard about this project a few months ago. Two speakers were talking about the trip and the hope there. They were talking about how millions of people are being saved in the area we're going. They were talking about a huge revival that is happening unlike an I've ever seen or heard about before. I was shocked because this was the first time that I had heard about there being hope in this part of the world at all. My passion for the area started there, but I was being practical. I know that I"m called to be a missionary, but now? I've never even been out of the country before. It makes much more sense to go on a trip to San Diego first. Let me get my feet wet before I jump into the ocean. Then I went to the leadership overnight where I heard a mini lecture about this project. In between these two meetings God has been bombarding me and stretching me in preparation for my decision to apply for the project, but like usual I was being practical by I was planning a Trip to est Asia in a year or so. God broke down my barriers with the verses above. If you see the Romans text one can infer the following: God sends his servants. His servants preach. People hear. Hearers believe. Believers call. Everyone who calls is saved.  God has given us the great commission. He calls us to go. God sends his servants, and I am his servant. I am acting out this Romans passage. Also, when you look at the Luke text, there ate these people who are willing to follow after Jesus, but this is what he says, To be a follower of Christ I will need to abandon my family for the cause of the Lord. I will need to give up my comfort and family for the advancement of the Gospel. I will need to take up my cross and follow Him abandoning all else. Is this crazy? Well, yes, but I"m willing to give up my earthly things and desires in order to see the advancement of the Gospel and to see lives changed.  I have committed to abandon my desires, my comfort, my life, and my family for Jesus. God will be using me to changes the lives of students in there, and in the process he will be changing me.

Craftyness

http://thecraftsdept.marthastewart.com/2010/07/paper-gift-topper.html

http://www.marthastewart.com/portal/site/mslo/menuitem.0e0eb51a2e6b5ad593598e10d373a0a0?vgnextoid=34b12e912b11f010VgnVCM1000003d370a0aRCRD&autonomy_kw=crayon%20hearts&rsc=ns2006_m1 

 

http://ruffledblog.com/diy-string-wedding-chandelier/

http://smallestforest.net/2009/11/23/a-quick-tutorial-book-beads/

Father's Love Letter

My Child,

You may not know me,
but I know everything about you.
Psalm 139:1

I know when you sit down and when you rise up.
Psalm 139:2

I am familiar with all your ways.
Psalm 139:3

Even the very hairs on your head are numbered.
Matthew 10:29-31

For you were made in my image.
Genesis 1:27

In me you live and move and have your being.
Acts 17:28

For you are my offspring.
Acts 17:28

I knew you even before you were conceived.
Jeremiah 1:4-5

I chose you when I planned creation.
Ephesians 1:11-12

You were not a mistake,
for all your days are written in my book.
Psalm 139:15-16

I determined the exact time of your birth
and where you would live.
Acts 17:26

You are fearfully and wonderfully made.
Psalm 139:14

I knit you together in your mother's womb.
Psalm 139:13

And brought you forth on the day you were born.
Psalm 71:6

I have been misrepresented
by those who don't know me.
John 8:41-44

I am not distant and angry,
but am the complete expression of love.
1 John 4:16

And it is my desire to lavish my love on you.
1 John 3:1

Simply because you are my child
and I am your Father.
1 John 3:1

I offer you more than your earthly father ever could.
Matthew 7:11

For I am the perfect father.
Matthew 5:48

Every good gift that you receive comes from my hand.
James 1:17

For I am your provider and I meet all your needs.
Matthew 6:31-33

My plan for your future has always been filled with hope.
Jeremiah 29:11

Because I love you with an everlasting love.
Jeremiah 31:3

My thoughts toward you are countless
as the sand on the seashore.
Psalms 139:17-18

And I rejoice over you with singing.
Zephaniah 3:17

I will never stop doing good to you.
Jeremiah 32:40

For you are my treasured possession.
Exodus 19:5

I desire to establish you
with all my heart and all my soul.
Jeremiah 32:41

And I want to show you great and marvelous things.
Jeremiah 33:3

If you seek me with all your heart,
you will find me.
Deuteronomy 4:29

Delight in me and I will give you
the desires of your heart.
Psalm 37:4

For it is I who gave you those desires.
Philippians 2:13

I am able to do more for you
than you could possibly imagine.
Ephesians 3:20

For I am your greatest encourager.
2 Thessalonians 2:16-17

I am also the Father who comforts you
in all your troubles.
2 Corinthians 1:3-4

When you are brokenhearted,
I am close to you.
Psalm 34:18

As a shepherd carries a lamb,
I have carried you close to my heart.
Isaiah 40:11

One day I will wipe away
every tear from your eyes.
Revelation 21:3-4

And I'll take away all the pain
you have suffered on this earth.
Revelation 21:3-4

I am your Father, and I love you
even as I love my son, Jesus.
John 17:23

For in Jesus, my love for you is revealed.
John 17:26

He is the exact representation of my being.
Hebrews 1:3

He came to demonstrate that I am for you,
not against you.
Romans 8:31

And to tell you that I am not counting your sins.
2 Corinthians 5:18-19

Jesus died so that you and I could be reconciled.
2 Corinthians 5:18-19

His death was the ultimate expression
of my love for you.
1 John 4:10

I gave up everything I loved
that I might gain your love.
Romans 8:31-32

If you receive the gift of my son Jesus,
you receive me.
1 John 2:23

And nothing will ever separate you
from my love again.
Romans 8:38-39

Come home and I'll throw the biggest party
heaven has ever seen.
Luke 15:7

I have always been Father,
and will always be Father.
Ephesians 3:14-15

My question is…
Will you be my child?
John 1:12-13

I am waiting for you.
Luke 15:11-32

Love, Your Dad
Almighty God

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