A Quote To Live By

One of these days, I'm going to get around to writing a blog post about some of the books I've been reading lately. Reading a good book is one of my favorite things to do, and since so many delightful volumes have graced my nightstand of late, I am excited to recommend them to you!

However, until that post gets written, I must at least share this soul-stirring quote I read last night from Eric and Leslie Ludy's book entitled, When God Writes Your Life Story. It is too good to keep to myself!

"We are here on this earth to know God intimately, fully, correctly, and contagiously; to house His holy person in our very bodies, allowing Him to showcase to the world around us His loving nature, His attitude, His thoughts, His emotions, and His actions through the way we live every moment of our lives."

Wow.
What a powerful purpose statement for life!

If you're like me, you'll want to read and re-read that quote, ponder, mull, and pray it into your life!

Laughter is Good for the Heart

Today, as my family has been cleaning out old file cabinets in order to set up a new office area in our house, my dad came across a few pictures that made me laugh out loud! He said they are some of his favorites. *smile*

I thought perhaps my blog readers might enjoy a few chuckles as well...at my expense.

This is Katrina...a long time ago...

"A merry heart doeth good like a medicine." Proverbs

Wishing you all joy today in the Lord!

What Does Holiness Mean?

“Apart.
Sacred.
Separate.
Set apart for God’s use alone.
That which bears the Almighty King’s nature.
That which brings Him glory and honor.
That which reveals the beauty, preciousness, perfection of His majestic Person.
That which does not touch the flesh, imitate the manner of the flesh, listen to the counsel of the flesh, or take lightly the danger of the flesh.
That which is come out of the world, does not imitate the manner of the world, listen to the counsel of the world, or take lightly the snares of the world.
A life which belongs to God and is set apart for His pleasure and His glory.
That is what it means to be holy."
~ Eric Ludy

Today's Meditation

"As He who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct."

I Peter 1:15

A New Sister in Christ

The Lord is so faithful! I stand in awe of His wondrous love...His amazing grace...His redeeming blood...His depth of mercy.

His mighty works never cease to amaze me.

Tonight, at American Chinese Fellowship, where my family ministers together every Friday, I had the incredible privilege of witnessing a precious young lady place her faith in the Lord Jesus as her personal Savior, and become a daughter of the King!

(Photo taken in December, 2007)

Sophia (10) has been faithfully coming to ACF for almost a year now. She could barely speak English when she first arrived here from China. As a result, she joined my junior high/senior high girls' Bible study rather than the elementary class because one of our class members could translate lessons into Chinese for her, and she also enjoyed the smaller class size. Not only has Sophia learned English quickly; she has also proved an eager student of the Bible. As we have been steadily making our way chronologically through Scripture from the beginning (using Michael Pearl's "Good and Evil" illustrated Bible), Sophia has demonstrated a keen understanding of each lesson and a love for learning about God.

This past semester, we have specificully been studying the life of Jesus. I have sensed a tender heart in Sophia toward Him and a child-like faith in Christ, but I was not certain of anything. So, tonight after Bible study, at the specific encouragement of the Chinese pastor who has also been keeping his eye on Sophia, I met with her to discuss the matter of salvation.

It seemed like all the puzzle pieces came together for Sophia during that converasation. While she has "believed" in Jesus since we began reading about Him in the Bible, she said she did not know for sure that she was saved. I asked her if she wanted to know for sure, since the Bible explains it very clearly, and she said yes!

While using several verses from my Bible, I sketched a simple little diagram called the Bridge illustration that clearly conveys the Gospel message. Sophia followed along beautifully and by the end of our discussion, she was ready to "confess with [her] mouth the Lord Jesus" (Romans 10:9), confirming her belief and trust in Him as Savior. She had never prayed before in her life, and at first was a little nervous about "what to say." :-) I told her to just talk to Jesus about what we had been disucussing. What followed was one of the most beautiful, eloquent prayers I think a ten-year-old has ever uttered! Never mind the broken English grammar; Sophia spoke to Jesus from her heart, and it was priceless to hear! We wrote down today, May 16, as her spiritual birthday that she could carry with her as a special day forever.

Truly, there is no greater delight (outside of Jesus Himself), than that of watching a person receive Him as their Savior!

When I think about why the Lord leaves us Christians here on earth after we get saved, the best answer I can think of is because He wants us to spread the Gospel before we depart for heaven; to tell as many people as we can about Jesus and how to have a relationship with Him. There is Kingdom work to be done, and He gives us the immense privilege of being a part! Jesus is passionate for lost souls, and that is something I long to emulate.

To God be the glory; great things He hath done!

The Things I Take for Granted

For Katelin's birthday this year, our family attended The Miracle Worker, the dramatized story of Helen Keller and her teacher, Anne Sullivan, as presented by a local community theater. The story was touching and the quality of the performance quite impressive!

Attending the show reminded me of the things I so often take for granted. Here is the story of a little girl who could neither see nor hear, but lived in both a dark and silent world...until Annie came along and oh-so patiently discovered how to communicate with Helen. How often do I roll out of bed in the morning without giving a thought to the fact that I can walk, see, hear, and talk?

Seeing this performance and learning about the 15,000 deaf blind children who live in our country this very moment has greatly deepened my gratefulness to the Lord for the daily gifts of sight and hearing. Every morning, I am trying to wake up with a prayer of thanksgiving on my lips for the immense blessings He has given of such seemingly simple things like hearing and seeing, but which, in reality, are enormous privileges.

The next time you enjoy a glorious sunset or hear the cheerful chirping of birds, I encourage you to take a moment to thank the Lord for such blessings!

Gratefulness Goes a Long Way

Almost every day we have heard from attendees of the Dallas MQ retreat sharing gratefulness, testimonies of what the Lord did, and excitement for the joy of walking with Him! Their notes are too precious to keep to myself. I hope you enjoy reading the feedback of dear sisters in the Lord as much as I have!

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I attended the Maiden's Quest retreat and I had so much fun! Two of my friends were able to come. I have decided to surrender my life to Christ. Your talk was amazing and helped me so much. Thank you so much!!!!!!

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I deeply appreciate that you all give of your time to put on such a lovely retreat. When [my duaghter] got home she was joyful and so happy to have attended. Thank you for infusing each session with Scripture and being so transparent and unapologetic about your love of Christ. This was exactly what I was hoping for! It's now my job and delight to pray for application!

Bless you all as you recover from these last two retreats and look ahead to what He has next for you!

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I just wanted to say THANK YOU so much for a wonderful Maiden's Quest Retreat on Friday and Saturday! I felt so encouraged and challenged throughout the weekend. I found the session called "Before you kiss that frog" especially practical. Thank you so much, and may God bless you all as you follow His leading!

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Hey, well there is so much to say about this Maiden's
Quest.... I have learned so much... in how treat myself as a girl, I do play softball at school so I wear uniforms to school which I dont mind because you dont have to worry about looking imodest!! But I have learned so much and put my full life in Jesus Christ and don't care what any body else thinks about what I do and or what I say!!

Thanks a whole lot!

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Thank you! My heart was so encouraged by the time spent receiving your inspiration and encouragement, and witnessing your radiance in the Lord! Wow! I could tell all of you are just on fire for our King~ you are living testimonies of the joy that comes from His presence!

I enjoyed the weekend so much~ if I were to pick the favorite, most influential and delightful time of my life, the Maiden's Quest conference would definitely be one of my top choices! The messages were so inspiring and encouraging, the worship so Spirit-filled, and I could just tell that all of you love the Lord so much. Your joy in the Lord is contagious!

I loved each and every aspect of the conference so much, but most of all, I want to thank you all for your examples. Above everything else at the retreat, seeing the four of you full of passion and joy, life and love for the Lord was amazing. I can't tell you enough how much the Lord touched me through your examples~ on stage and mingling with all us girls. I am so proud of you, my older sisters-in-Christ, and I pray for God's storehouse of blessings to just be poured out upon you in its entirety.

I will always remember you, and lift you up in my prayers. Thank you so much for being such pure channels of His message and love, and for directing so many hearts to Him.
Please stay strong in and intimate with our Lord~ you are doing a wonderful work for girls like me, and your obedience and devotion to Him are truly making a difference in many lives. I am so privileged to have attended the Maiden's Quest retreat. I just know God smiles every time He looks down on you and your team! God bless you all so much! May His presence be real to you every day of your lives, and may He always, always strengthen your hearts as His eyes look to and fro throughout the earth, seeking those committed to Him.

I love you in the love of the Lord!

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We are praying you all will come next year to minister to us again. It was such a delight to see God at work in your lives. Our girls came away so encouraged to wait on the Lord for their husbands and to do their best and give their best for Him while waiting on the Lord for His perfect timing! We continue to pray for all of you and ours, as you each wait on the Lord in His service, while he is preparing young men to be your husbands. Thank you again for blessing us!!

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Thank you so much for the special weekend you gave me! I can't tell you how greatly I enjoyed the Maiden's Quest Conference. It was so motivating and challenging. I'm excited about growing in my walk with the Lord in the coming days! You truly are having an eternal impact. For a very long time I had planned on going to the typical four year college, but after this weekend I am seriously considering staying home and taking classes at a community college and learning how to do domestic things. Thank you for your encouragement in that area. I'm still not sure what I will do when I graduate but you helped me to think a little more clearly about the joy of being a homemaker and serving others.
Again, thank you for blessing me in such a huge way!

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I cannot find words to describe how much I enjoyed the conference!! It was just fantastic! It was so inspiring and encouraging! I am amazed at how well you and Tara know the Bible by your teachings! Your teachings were so convicting! I can't wait for y'all to have another conference nearby!