Sorry for not updating our blog recently; however, the past 2 weeks have been a littly "bumpy" to be honest. Language class has not been something that I look forward to and just when I think I finally remember something or begin to understand a concept, another is thrown out there in front of me. At the same time, as the Christmas season is right around the corner now, I think I hit a bit of culture shock (we're not in Indonesia anymore!). And then, just as I was realizing that, I was almost run down by a crazy motorcyclist. For some reason, that one small event pulled me deeper into self-pity. No, I wasn't hurt...only my left hand was clipped by the motorcyclist but even that didn't really hurt. It was more of an emotional bump that took its toll.
I opened up a book called "Principles of Spiritual Growth" by Miles J. Stanford and read a chapter titled, "Time". Here are a few excerpts from his book that I'm no stranger to but seem to forget on various occasions.
"It seems that most believers have difficulty in realizing and facing up to the inexorable fact that God does not hurry in His development of our Christian life. He is working for eternity!... God Himself will modify the pace." "John Darby makes it plain that 'it is God's way to set people aside after their first start, that self-confidence may die down. Thus Moses was forty years. On his first start he had to run away. Paul was three years also, after his first testimony... We must get to know ourselves and that we have no strength. Thus we must learn, and then leaning on the Lord we can with more maturity, and more experientially, deal with souls."
This means that there will be much time involved and "unless we see and acquiesce to this, there is bound to be constant frustration, to say nothing of resistance to our Father's development processes for us... When God wants to make an oak, He takes a hundred years, but when He wants to make a squash, He takes six months... In that the Husbandman's method for true spiritual growth involves pain as well as joy, suffering as well as happiness, failure as well as success, inactivity as well as service, death as well as life, the temptation to shortcut is especially strong unless we see the value of, and submit to, the necessity of the time element. In simple trust we must rest in His hands, 'being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ' (Phil. 1:6)"
As my family "waits" here in Nepal for our licenses and approvals, it can sometimes be overwhelming. As Stan and I struggle with learning this language and wish that there was some easier way, we (mainly me) need to learn to just "submit" to what God is trying to teach us and to what He is molding us into. Ultimately, it is as Miles J. Stanford said, we are dealing with souls and I want to be ready for that task...to be fully prepared when the time comes.
Ok, enough of that. Here are some fun pictures of the kids...
Here is Nathan next to our "Charlie Brown" Christmas tree. We have a nice (fake) Christmas tree in our crate so we didn't want to spend money on another tree.I opened up a book called "Principles of Spiritual Growth" by Miles J. Stanford and read a chapter titled, "Time". Here are a few excerpts from his book that I'm no stranger to but seem to forget on various occasions.
"It seems that most believers have difficulty in realizing and facing up to the inexorable fact that God does not hurry in His development of our Christian life. He is working for eternity!... God Himself will modify the pace." "John Darby makes it plain that 'it is God's way to set people aside after their first start, that self-confidence may die down. Thus Moses was forty years. On his first start he had to run away. Paul was three years also, after his first testimony... We must get to know ourselves and that we have no strength. Thus we must learn, and then leaning on the Lord we can with more maturity, and more experientially, deal with souls."
This means that there will be much time involved and "unless we see and acquiesce to this, there is bound to be constant frustration, to say nothing of resistance to our Father's development processes for us... When God wants to make an oak, He takes a hundred years, but when He wants to make a squash, He takes six months... In that the Husbandman's method for true spiritual growth involves pain as well as joy, suffering as well as happiness, failure as well as success, inactivity as well as service, death as well as life, the temptation to shortcut is especially strong unless we see the value of, and submit to, the necessity of the time element. In simple trust we must rest in His hands, 'being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ' (Phil. 1:6)"
As my family "waits" here in Nepal for our licenses and approvals, it can sometimes be overwhelming. As Stan and I struggle with learning this language and wish that there was some easier way, we (mainly me) need to learn to just "submit" to what God is trying to teach us and to what He is molding us into. Ultimately, it is as Miles J. Stanford said, we are dealing with souls and I want to be ready for that task...to be fully prepared when the time comes.
Ok, enough of that. Here are some fun pictures of the kids...
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