For a Lifetime

This morning on my way to work, I cried... Not because I was sad, but because I was listening to a story on the radio that really touched a place in my life that I have really struggled with.

Have you ever known a person that just doesn't get it? There are several people that come to mind when I think about this. Family and friends... How do you get people to understand how great our God is? How do you share Gods love to a closed door?

This morning on the radio I heard a testimony about this. A man and his wife had been married for several years, and had attended church regularly with their children. Until one Sunday the husband decided he was done. He had witnessed to much hypocrisy and guilt and judgement within the church, and he had had enough. He had closed the door.

For the next 40 years this wife fasted and prayed for her husband, going to the Lord when she didn't know what to do next. The man that was supposed to lead her, had all but given up. At the age of 69, the husband had a series of strokes and new it wouldn't be much longer until he passed.

One morning, his youngest daughter was taking care of him; feeding him, giving him his medication, when she realized he was crying. Never, in all of her life had she seen her father cry. She asked him what was wrong, and he explained to his youngest that he knew he was dying, and that he had accepted that, but that all he felt was darkness and emptiness. He asked his daughter to to get her mother.

His wife rushed to his bedside, asking what he needed her to do? He simply said, "I need you to pray for me." She had spent 40 years waiting for him to ask her to pray for him. He died two weeks later knowing that his heavenly Father was waiting for him.

So what do we do when we come across a person in our lives that walks away, or never really knew Him in the first place?

We pray and have patience.

Our God is so BIG, and He works in His time!

When you come to a valley and you don't know what to pray, use scripture as your guide:

"For this reason, since the day we heard about you, we have not stopped praying for you. We continually ask God to fill you with the knowledge of his will through all the wisdom and understanding that the spirit gives, so that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and please him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God, being strengthened with all power according to his glorious might so that you may have great endurance and patience, and giving joyful thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of his holy people in the kingdom of light. For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought is into the kingdom of the Son he loves, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.

~Colossians 1: 9-14~

When we seek God with all of our hearts, He will listen, and He will make Himself known.

"Then you will call on me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. I will be found by you,' declares the Lord, 'and will bring you back from captivity.'"

~Jeremiah 29: 12-13~

Like I mentioned, their are several people I pray for on a regular basis. I have at times begged God, "Please! Change their hearts. Help them to seek you and know you. Help them to understand!" I have lost patience and been all but graceful to them, begging them to try harder! But, no matter how much I beg and plead with God or that individual, I see no change.

But, God is working! He is always at work in someones life. Even mine. When I lose patience with someone, He calls me back and works on me. Do not ever give up on a person. Spend your whole life praying and being an example to that person. We are all A Work in Progress.

It may take minutes for some, but a lifetime for others. Be patient and pray. Knowing that your prayers aren't ignored. God is hearing them, and He is building beautiful testimonies.

Patiently Yours,

Symone Lin







Grown Up Things

Never did I realize that I would be to the point in my life where I would be saying and doing grown up things.

Now, I'm only 19 years old, but I am to the point where I am saying, "I remember when I was your age...." or, "When you grow up..." or even holding a mature conversation with a grown up about politics. Yuck!

Now, as far as doing grown up things, that is why I am up at the time I am, on my day off. Rarely am I up before 10 am, sometimes even as late as noon, on my day off. This morning I was up at what seemed like the crack of dawn (8 am), to go and have my car inspected. Not only that, but this afternoon I have to run errands. Errands such as, going to the chiropractor, getting new tags for my car, picking up my prescriptions for the upcoming mission trip, and gathering other assorted items for the trip.

I can hear it now, real grown ups everywhere saying, "You call that running errands? Try grocery shopping, paying bills, taking your children to the doctor!" I admit, these errands aren't all stressful and time consuming, but they are things that fill my day with running.

In the midst of the chaos, it is hard to find time to dwell on the blessings that these errands really are. I am blessed to be able to do all of these things. In some countries, such as Haiti, people can't drive cars, or go and get a back adjustment when they feel out of whack, or go and purchase prescriptions to prevent malaria. I am blessed to have these things to fill my day.

In fact, most children in other countries are doing much more adult like works in order to support their families. All I am required to spend my hard earned money on is myself and the things I need. I say "hard earned," as if I were farming in the hot, dry sun with no real equipment to make the job easier.

I am so blessed in fact, that even though it seems as if I have plenty of things to do to fill my day, I am still able to find time to dwell on the Maker who offered these blessings to me. I am able to sit down on my soft quilted bed, with a warm cup of coffee and the cool air conditioning to add to the comfort of it all. And to top it all off, I have the day off from working. I am so truly blessed to be able to seek the peace and stillness my Savior has to offer me. I have the time to be a child of God in a world that constantly says, "Grow up!"

"I Will be a Father to you, and you will be my sons and daughters, says the Lord Almighty."

~2 Corinthians 6:18~

"Therefore, brothers, we have an obligation - but it is not to the sinful nature, to live according to it. For if you live according to sinful nature, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the misdeeds of the body, you will live, because those who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God. For you did not receive a spirit that makes you a slave again to fear, but you received the Spirit of sonship. And by Him we cry, 'Abba Father.' The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit, that we are God's children. Now if we are children, then we are heirs - heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share his glory."

~Romans 8:12-17~

"We are God's children." We are the sons and daughters of the Maker of the Universe, the one who created the world, who knows the beginning and the end. The Father that can give huge blessings to such a tiny me.

I am blessed to be able to cry out to my Abba Father, when the grown up things of this world become seemingly too much to handle. I am blessed to have quiet time to sit down, stand up, sing, dance, and praise my God. I am blessed that I have nourishing food, and a place to sleep at night. I am blessed because I have the power to change someone's life, even if it is just one. I am blessed because I am obligated, not to sinful nature, but to that of the Holy Spirit which gives me this beautiful life.

I am blessed because I am A Work in Progress.

Blessings,

Symone (Daughter of God)

Haiti Relief Trip

In 24 days my best friend and I will be leaving the country, and embarking on our first MISSION TRIP to Port-Au-Prince, Haiti! For me it is the first time leaving the country... Until about a week ago, I was super excited. And then I realzied, I'm leaving the country in a month! The idea that this was actually happening was still slightly surreal to me. And now it's crunch time and I continue to ask myself, am I ready for this kind of adventure? Will my heart be right where it needs to be, so that through Him I can do these great works? Will I be mentally ready to see such devastation? Will every single one of my actions be about glorifying His kingdom?

"Very truly I tell you, whoever believes in me will do the works I have been doing, and they will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father."

~John 14:12~

Can I truly understand that I will do even greater works than my Lord and Savior did??



Relationships
As I began to ask these questions, the panic started to set in. In my first post, I discussed the importance of relationships within the body of Christ. Relationships was another topic, that even after that post, was weighing on my heart. Which is why I am so thankful for the Lighthouse worship team, More Than A Song. For 2 weeks our lead worship pastor was on vacation, and the group was pretty bare. Honestly, I really struggled with making the praises about God and His glory. Instead, I focused more on how I sounded, and how the congregation was reacting to that sound.

So last week when the whole team was back together again, we grew together. Before practice, we sat down; we shared our praises and our concerns. And me being the big ball bag I am, began to cry. This kind of relationship, with the people that I call brothers and sister is what I was waiting to truly experience. I had been singing with these people for a few years, and until then, I had never sat down and grown with them, and praised with them, without singing. I was experiencing a oneness with these people and the Holy Spirit. I was able to share the concerns I had for the trip, and the mission God has for me. And we prayed together... As a group we are moving and changing. God has a plan for this group, and I am so excited to be a part of it.

That being said, once we had spent this time praying together, I felt at ease. Knowing that my God will watch over me, and guide my every action is the confirmation I needed to know that even if I am not ready to leave today, that I will be ready to do and be a part of what He has in store for me.

"He said to them, "Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation."

~Mark 16:15~

Does this make God smile?

When I begin to struggle with whether my actions are pleasing to God, I ask myself, "Would that make God smile? God does this please you?" When I begin to shift my focus from what the world sees me doing to what my God sees me doing, it automatically becomes more about Him. So when singing becomes more about the sound than the praises, I ask. And when a mission trip becomes more about me being thrown out of my comfort zone, I ask. "God, how I can I please you?"

Some people state that there is plenty of hardship here in the U.S., and why don't we stay here and help those people rather than travel to a foreign country where things are so sketchy. Things are sketchy here too! I'm not saying there isn't devastation here, because there definitely is. But when God calls us to go out into the world, He isn't talking about home, where we are comfortable. For me, I felt pushed to go outside my realm of comfort. Originally we were booked to go to Lima, Peru, but not enough people signed up to attend, so we had to be flexible and choose a new mission. That's all part of being God's child. You can make plans, and make plans, but ultimately our plans are not His. Flexibility is the key to serving a God whose plans never change.

Prayers
To those of you who do read this, all I ask that you pray. Pray for safe travels, and for Gods presence to be known. Pray for protection and guidance, and I will pray that through your prayers for my friend and I, you grow closer and reach out further to the arms of God that await you.

I'm just A Work in Progress...

Loving His Presence,

Symone





P.S. - We have been encouraged to bring a daily journal to Haiti. Therefore, you can expect to hear much about my trip when I return!