Praises to God!

Well I'm alive still, after talking in chapel today. This was the first time I have ever done something like this. I have given my testimony and written lessons for teenage girls. But I have never written a lesson for my peers and for such a large group.

I kept wondering if I was doing the right thing by sharing what God has been teaching me through Psalms 23, a much common chapter to many Christians. Last night I thought about just scratching it and giving my testimony, that's much easier to do. But God wouldn't let me. And then this morning as I questioned Him about being for sure, He gently reminded me through a daily Bible verse that is sent to me via e-mail that talked about Him being the Shepherd. I knew that this was exactly what He wanted.

I felt like it had started a little rough as my voice trembled. I'm sure people thought I was about to cry. But God calmed my nerves rather quickly so He could speak through me. I was encouraged at how He was so in it. I was rather certain me the ability to recall what He had given me and just to share from my heart. I was encouraged by the words as well. It was as if I was talking to myself...I am in the midst of learning from this after all.

Afterwards I quickly was blessed and shown by God why He wanted me to share this particular Psalms. I had several people who told me that they really needed to hear the things that I shared and be reminded of some things. One has been struggling with God's love for them and God reminded them of His love for them. I am just blown away by how God would use me, someone who doesn't have this down and share it to a group. But that's the awesome thing about our God, He uses us if we are willing.

I thank you all for your prayers. I could sense them as I prepared and spoke. All glory to God for His words do not come back void!

Tomorrow is the Day

Please be in prayer with me as I am teaching in chapel at my school tomorrow. I'm very nervous about it and have a lot left to do this evening. This will be the first time to actually speak in front of a group for more than a few minutes to share. I am excited about what God has been teaching me as I have studied the beautiful picture of Psalms 23. Please pray that God's words will be heard and nothing of me is put into it. Pray that those in attendance will be receptive to it. Pray that I will follow the Spirit's leading throughout the time tomorrow. Thank you for praying with me.

Desfile de Los Caballos

On Sunday 22 March, Amanda and I were enjoying another day of culture. Several months ago our Lengua teacher, Marlene, was telling us about the popular festivals of the Desfile de Los Caballos (Horse Parade). They have these through out the year in all seven providences of Costa Rica. It's suppose to be a big weekend of events, a carnival, and much more. We were excited to see the advertisement for it at the bus stop when we headed to Heredia.

We met on Sunday morning and headed downtown to the parade. It was a perfect summer day, with the sun shinning and a few clouds lingering over the mountains in the distant. When we got to Parque La Sabana, we saw only people dressed up in the traditional dresses and we saw no horses. We were a little concerned that some how they forgot the horses. We knew it was a celebration of el campo (the country) but how can you not have horses! We hoped that somewhere in the back of the giant park the horses awaited.

We returned to the parade route and found a sunny spot. (We even saw Superman there!) The parade began with the traditional dancers in their array of colored, flowing dresses, and the men in their matching outfits. Each dance told a story and was beautifully put together. The dresses swirled through the air, the men had handkerchiefs that swept through the air; a colorful display for the pure enjoyment of my eyes.

Dance group after dance group paraded by. There were even groups of little kids. There were also some strange plastic dolls that some guys had over their heads as they danced about with arms just swinging about. I do have to admit, I was a little weirded out by it. There were also a group on stilts. One of the guys loved working the crowed and even held babies in his arms, up on his stilts. Not sure if that was the smartest thing.

Finally, we saw the horses! There were so many of them of all different types. They pranced in a rhythmic beat, forwards, sideways, and backwards. They were incredibly beautiful. There was a trick rider who had two horses, who stood with each leg on one horse. We were next to the rope so we were sometimes up close and very personal with these gentle creatures. Some of them had their backs towards us and very close to us; all we could do is hope they didn't kick back or decide to relieve themselves. Thankfully none of that happened to us.

It was a great day to experience this part of culture. After the parade we stopped in for a taste of home, Quizzno's.

I have several pictures below but can't put them all of them on here so take a look at some more at: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=147282&id=1208485417&l=eeee575376

Pictures from Brava

Here are some pictures from my friend, Amanda, showing some of our day trip I wrote about in Exploring Our Neck of the Woods.

Amanda and Joel just hanging with the family.

The really weird thing of strange masks! On all four side!

The typical tica food we had at the soda.

Just another statue mixed in with all the masks and other things in the Central Park. I love the confused look on his face.

Amanda and me with the trash can. Amanda does a better impression than I do.

Exploring Our Neck of the Woods

Today was a fun and almost free adventure I got to take with two of my friends, Amanda and Joel. We haven't taken the time to really go out and about to the towns right outside of San Jose. So today we hopped on a bus from San Fransisco (cost: 125 colones, about 25 cents) and headed to Central (downtown). There we walked a few miles to catch a 30 minute bus ride to Heredia (cost 320 colones, about 45cents).

We didn't know what we would find, but the sense of adventure and being out of the city was exhilarating. We walked around awhile and saw some good clothing shops. It really was as if we were in San Jose but on a smaller scale. We ate at a soda inside the market and had chicken casados (this word actually means married) and mora drinks. (I have fallen in love with mora here, it's almost like some form of blackberry type of fruit.) Casados, a typical tico food, comes with rice, black beans, riped plantens (I do not like), chicken, mashed potatoes, and a cabbage salad thing; and the portions are huge! This whole meal only cost 1750 colones(about $3.50).

We asked the guy at the soda where the bus stop was at for the town of Brava and we were glad to find out it was just two blocks down the street. And guess what; for once the directions were accurate!! Our 15 min drive to Brava was only 150 colones (about 30 cents).

Brava really isn't an exciting town, but it has these crazy and scary mask and trashcans around their central park. Of course I didn't bring my camera and so I will have to share a picture from my friend, Brandon's trip there, and yes they are kinda scary! There really wasn't much else to do there so we left and headed back to Heredia, where we got Twix McFlurries and ate them in the central park. YUM! We also watched the police brisk a few guys but sent them on their way.

Then we were done and headed home for the day. But it was great to be closer to the mountains, out of the city, breathing fresh air, and just chillin' with some friends. Where to next week? Maybe Cartago which is about 20 minutes away from me. Stay tuned...

The Weeds of Life

I love nature and its beauty. I am always thrilled, awed, and humbled by it. I love photographing it. I guess this is why God has taught me some amazing lessons through it. On my way to church one Sunday in the States, I noticed the colors that sprinkled the edges of the road. There were so many different plants that strutted their crowns.

However, these crowns were not on the “wanted” plants we long to have strutting their stuff in our garden beds. They were mean, stubborn, nasty weeds. How can something so hated be so beautiful? They come in so many different colors, shapes and sizes! Oh, how they can bring a smile to my face along a boring highway that is shimmering from these jeweled crowns.

This is where God has been teaching me a lesson from a long time. I have weeds in my life that disguise themselves as beautiful and helpful. I allow them to stay because they “add” to my landscape – some willfully and some unknowingly. But these weeds do more than "add" to the my landscape!

Weeds take away the nutrients of the good plants around them. They grow out of control and begin to make the ground awful for growing anything else. Did I mention that they are back-braking to get out! Weeds begin to choke out any new seeds planted. The ground no longer accepts good seeds because it has become so ripped of all nutrients that support real plant life.

Over the past 9 months, God has shown me what things in my life are weeds and opening my eyes to the true ugliness and devastation that comes from them. He has been showing me a little by little, the weeds that were hidden or the ones that I really just saw as decoration. The enemy, satan, is so great at making us rationalize that some of these things aren't weeds; and that it is truly helping to add to the beauty of my landscape. Or satan gets me thinking "well that's just a product of my life and there's nothing that can be done about it."

That's what the enemy wants us to believe but thank Jesus that He is our Gardner. John 15:1-2 "I [Jesus] am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. He cuts off every branch that doesn't produce fruit, and He prunes the branches that do bear fruit so they will produce even more." Isn't our God great! He knows exactly which ones are weeds and He has the remedy for them! All we have to do is give Him permission to prune us, deweed us, and heal our soil (mind and heart). Then the good seed, full of life, can be taken in by the soil and produce real beauty that is nothing less than stunning.

Jan/Feb 2009 Newsletter

Here is a link to my first newsletter of 2009. Enjoy! http://lifepointozark.com/media/pdf/2009-02_lovelandNews.pdf

Refueled!

I have to be honest, the last 6 months of language learning has taken a lot out of me. Recently, I have lost a desire to really apply myself, above and beyond with my studying. "So what if I don't pronounce it exactly the way it's suppose to be." I love school but this is a whole different thing. I also have been missing work; putting my costly degree into action. (Although I know that language learning is my job at this time.) The Lord and I have had discussions about this. Thankfully He is so good at providing that needed fuel just when we need it most!

Today I got to meet with the director of Renacer (the drug and alcohol rehab center for teen girls.) I felt a new excitement growing as I learned more in-depth of what they offer and what could possibly be my responsibilities. As he talked and I asked question upon question, I felt that leap in me saying "This is so me. This is where I belong." It was nice to once again hear that I'm not here for only learning Spanish, but hear about the reason why I am daily giving myself headaches over this Spanish stuff.

Through this the Lord is also refueling my vision for why I am here and what I am doing here. Honestly, at times I do ask myself the question "What in the world am I doing here? Can't I do this in the States, in my comfort zone, with my friends?" Which the answer is yes, but I do sincerely believe that this is where God has me for this time period.

I hope to spend some time up at Renacer during Semana Santa (Holy Week - which is for Easter) and also during the two week break I have between trimesters. I will also be meeting with several other programs in CFCI to see exactly where God wants me. Also I hope to spend time with these programs during those weeks off as well.

Will you pray with me for:

• Wisdom and discernment from God about where I am to serve after I finish school.
• A renewed vision serving here in Costa Rica.
• A strong desire to learn Spanish and use it effectively.
• Wisdom to where I serve until I'm out of school. If I continue at the Women's Restoration House or at another ministry.
• And a desire to daily seek out and listen to my Lord and Savior.

My Date with God

Last night I encountered my awesome God! It was a time of challenge, recognizing sin, repenting, being encouraged, and Him providing guidance. How incredible it was. I regrettably did not want to spend time with Him. I wanted to just drift away into a fantasy world of my book, yet He wouldn’t let me.

I read the beginning chapter session in my study No Other Gods by Kelly Minter (if you haven’t done this study, you should!). I then began to tackle my course work on Biblical Counseling: Self-confrontation…wow who knew just wanting to complete my assignments would turn out to be a wonderful time with my Savior!

There was one more thing different about this evening; I had music playing that had lyrics. Usually I only have some instrumental music on when spending time with God otherwise I can get caught up in the words. Yet this time I left things as is, my computer playing through my music.

God began showing me some areas in my life that I have been believing lies once again, idols that I have placed up to function as a god for me, and He opened my eyes to some new things that have been around forever yet just haven’t seen or have avoided. I saw in certain areas of my life how I have been serving and feeding my idol of self-worth and acceptance, my idol of unworthiness and identity, my idol of what I can do to achieve whatever it is. God also showed me some areas of where I have been sabotaging myself (unknown to me) because of the lies that I have allowed to seep ever so deeply into my mind.

Ouch! I began hurting and was sad for how I have turned out. Now here is where I could quickly turn to condemnation; which I did go there for a few. But God is so good and He wouldn’t allow me to stay there. He reminded me of how happiness is just a fickle feeling but joy, joy that surpasses all understanding is what He wants to give to me.

His joy of His salvation that came through the death of Jesus Christ on the cross for a sinner like me. How this has lost meaning for me and has sadly become at times something that Jesus did and with a very lackadaisical thank you and I go on with my life. What sorrow this produces in me, to know that I can easily overlook something so powerful!

Jesus took me to the place of desiring Him to take me through whatever fire He had to so that He could melt away the impurities and then mold me more into His image. I am ready to say goodbye for good to these lies and functional gods that have been crowding Him out of my heart.

As He and I discussed this, He began to take me on a journey through the scriptures to remind me of who I am in Him, what He has done for me, who He is, what He is able to do, what His part is and what is my part. One of the verses was 2 Corinthians 5:17 “What this means is that those who become Christians become new persons. They are not the same anymore, for the old life is gone. A new life has begun!” Wow! And as I finished reading this truth I heard the words of the song Come Awake by David Crowder Band. “Come awake from sleep. Arise. You were dead and now come alive. Wake up. Wake up…climb up from your grave to truth and life….Shine! Shine! Shine!”

It was as Jesus, Himself, was reiterating my prayer to be renewed and calling me forward to arise and do as He has called me to! What incredible joy He has given me. Then again He brought my attention back to another song playing by David Crowder Band You Are My Joy. “As He sets me on fire, I am burning alive. With this breathe in my lungs, I am coming undone. I can not hold it in and remain composed. Love is taking over me and so I propose that I am letting myself go. You are my joy. You are my joy. You are my joy.” What incredible words to describe my heart’s inner desire and a wonderful reminder of where my joy comes from and who my joy is. I couldn’t help but smile and He began to encourage me after the hard work we had done together.

He took me to Ephesians 2:8-9 “God saved you by His special favor when you believed. And you can’t take credit for this; it is a gift from God. Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it.” Through this He reminded me that I have nothing to do with my salvation. I have done nothing to obtain it and I can do nothing to retain it and/or earn more favor or love with God. I’m so selfish and I believe the lies that I can be put on God’s “naughty list” and therefore loose some of His love and will have to do more to obtain it back. (Though I don’t go around thinking like this, my actions and thoughts point to this very attitude.)

Yet there is nothing that I can do to separate myself from His love! Romans 8:38 "And I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from his love. Death can't, and life can't. The angels can't, and the demons can't. Our fears for today, our worries about tomorrow, and even the powers of hell can't keep God's love away." God took me to 1 John 4:10 “This is real love. It is not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son as a sacrifice to take away our sins.” I just loved how He was working in this progressive step and walking me through His Word with every step. Pointing to the lies I have in my head and showing me, once again, what He has done and what He will do.

He took me through the conversation of change and how. This is where I tend to get prideful and try to change on my own or feel like such a failure that I can’t change. The great thing is that I don’t have to do it alone, nor in my own strength! Thank you to Jesus for this! God spoke through His Words once again.

John 17:3 “And this is the way to eternal life – to know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, the one you sent to earth.” I have heard a lot of great teaching on this verse and they all flooded back to me of the intimacy we have in Christ and knowing.

I am free, yet I live too often as a captive. I claim this freedom through the Holy Spirit that lives within me and whom gives me the power to live as a free Christ-follower!

Romans 8:28 “And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to His purpose for them.” This verse has so much power over me every time I read it. I can get caught up thinking about all the crap in my life and wonder how it makes a difference and why. Yet God is perfect and He can and has made them work together for His good. Yet I have to remember I must give Him control over all these things.

Philippians 1:6 “And I am sure that God, who began a good work within you, will continue His work until it is finally finished on that day when Christ Jesus comes back again.” Yes! I’m so glad that it’s not me who has to do the good work in me because I have tried, and every time I have failed! This is such a wonderful reminder to me that God is always working in me, if I allow Him to, and that I will never “arrive” until that day when I see my beautiful Savior face to face in Heaven. What an incredible day that will be. The good work that He does in me won’t always feel good as He does it but oh the reward of growing closer to Him and saying goodbye to things that are hindering me from becoming more intimately involved with Him! 1 Thessalonians 2:13 (last part) “And this word continues to work in you who believe.” I am so thankful that God’s word is not useless and doesn’t return void because it is always searching through my heart, mind, and soul identifying things that are in line with Him and also things that aren’t and need to be burned away to make more room for Him! I am thankful that it’s Christ’s powerful word that is the truth and does the searching because I am so blind.

2 Peter 1:3-4 “As we know Jesus better, His divine power gives us everything we need for living a godly life. He has called us to receive His own glory and goodness! And by that same mighty power, He has given us all of His rich and wonderful promises. He has promised that you will escape the decadence all around you caused by evil desires and that you will share in His divine nature.” Wow what a way to end my date with God. A promise that as I fall more in love with Jesus His divine power gives me everything I need to live a godly life. I don’t have to go searching for it or find something within me out of my useless power. I get hunged up so many times by trying to live a godly life in my own strength which is impossible. Yet it’s not impossible when I live in His power of the Holy Spirit, who lives within me! And that evil desires and sin will not hold me captive if I live in Him.

What an incredible God I serve! I look forward to seeing what He will show me tonight during our date. I know that there is a lot to obtain here yet I’m not going to allow myself to get bogged down. However I will learn to trust daily in His power and provision to help me live the life that He has called me to live because I want to please Him and love Him!

I know this was a long post but I wanted to share with you my heart and the incredible things that God is teaching me here as He is preparing me for my new work here in Costa Rica. I pray that you are encouraged and inspired to run to Jesus and see what He wants to share with you and how He wants to love on you today!