Put on then, as God's chosen ones,
holy and beloved,
compassionate hearts,
kindness,
humility,
meekness,
and patience...
- Colossians 3:12
... be clothed with humility,
for "God resists the proud,
but gives grace to the humble."
- 1 Peter 5:5
Let another man praise you,
and not your own mouth;
A stranger,
and not your own lips.
- Proverbs 27:2
The unexamined life is not worth living.
- Socrates
Let another man praise you,
and not your own mouth;
A stranger,
and not your own lips.
- Proverbs 27:2
The unexamined life is not worth living.
- Socrates
It is Christmas Day today, my first Christmas spent away from my own family.
Given my own way, I would never have planned to be away from home at this time of the year. In fact, my original plan was to return to Manila and be back home in Bacolod City in time for Ernie's fifth homegoing anniversary third week of November, and to celebrate Christmas and New Year with my children and grandchildren.
But my dental treatment took longer than I expected, requiring me to rebook my return flight and extend my stay in this country (USA) for another two months.
This passage of Scripture has really come alive for me these past months:
A few days after my 60th birthday celebration in March, I returned to Manila for two reasons: to be part of the ministry team for an Ancient Paths seminar in General Santos City in Mindanao, and to attend the Intercessors for the Philippines' 24th National Prayer Gathering.
The month of April was somehow a turning point for me. It was in that month that God gave me a life lesson on relinquishment -- what it means to be on call status, ready in season, and out of season.
Living as a servant who would be found faithfully doing the Master's will when He returns.
Even as a teenager, I have needed to see dentists for my teeth condition. I was not aware of the repercussions of many of the procedures that had been done, and when I reached my mid-thirties I've already had numerous root canals, fillings, crowns and dentures in my mouth.
In the late 1990s, when I realized that we had actually spent a "fortune" in dental fees, and I still needed to make regular visits to the dentist, I knelt before God and boldly asked Him for a creative miracle. I believed for a brand new set of teeth.
Some of my close friends know about this now. But at that time, I never really openly shared this prayer with others - except with one person, a dear friend and mentor named Anna Marie. This dear woman and I met together weekly for many years. She was a strong woman of faith and her influence on my spiritual life goes very deep. We both believed God for this miracle.
There was a Bible verse that meant so much to me, as I felt that this confirmed the faith I was standing on for my healing - the story of the woman with the issue of blood who touched the hem of Jesus' outer garment, and whose faith had made her whole.
Of course, the result was disastrous. (I will spare my dear reader the boring details.)
In April this year, after having been convinced by two dear friends Tina and Rosemarie, I finally decided to consult their biological dentist about a possible course of treatment for my teeth issues. The initial diagnostic x-rays showed that a series of gum surgeries was needed. Howbeit, when I returned to her clinic for my first scheduled gum operation, the procedure could not be performed because my blood pressure was higher than normal.
I had to seek medical attention for this health concern and the gum procedures had to wait until my blood pressure had returned to normal.
That the surgery was postponed was probably a blessing in disguise.
My sister suggested that I go to the US to have her dentist give his second opinion about my dental situation.To make a long story short, I was granted a US visa in June, and on September 2, I arrived here in the USA.
What I thought was a simple visit to the dentist for a professional evaluation of my dental issues turned out to be more than what I expected. Most of my molars were diagnosed as being beyond help and needed to be removed. The wonderful thing is that on the day of my surgery, my blood pressure was a perfect 117/67 - and remained that way while the operation was going on. A six-week period was required for the gums to heal and dry up before impressions for the new partial dentures could be taken.
Meanwhile, reconstruction on the rest of my teeth were done, and all defective fillings and crowns were replaced.
The treatment I received under two very good dentists here was excellent, truly a gift from Abba Father. The timely removal of my decayed teeth has a prophetic significance in my life: God is removing toxic buildup and defilement from my system and paving the way for new life to come in.
And yes, it goes without saying (but I will say it anyway) that I have not stopped believing in the creative miracle I have been waiting for.
There is something about waiting for a miracle that infills my spirit with fresh hope everyday.
Even the amount of time required for my dental procedures is in God's perfect hands.
Although I was not too keen on being away from home that long, there was no choice but to remain here until everything was complete. As I had shared in my previous post, everything flowed smoothly for me from the start, including the way the needed finances were miraculously provided.
Which brings me back to where it all started - to the point of surrendering and relinquishing my will to the Father.
When the plan to come here was hatched, I wasn't sure if a trip to the United States was part of God's purposes for me. But when the visa application was approved, and the plane ticket provided, there was no other way but to take the next step.
In my life as a follower of Christ, I always want to be sure I am doing the right thing... going where He wants me to go. But in this journey, there are many times when the road ahead is not clear.
All I have is just enough light for the next step.
And I hold on to several truths that are promised: that if I seek Him I will find Him... that He will surely order my steps... and that He will not leave me or forsake me.
Now, four months later, I no longer doubt that this trip was orchestrated by Abba Father to bless me, not only with a much needed dental treatment, but also to give me a beautiful opportunity to experience Him in a new way through the changing seasons of North America.
Being in a different place for the past four months, I have been given another perspective from which to view my life.
I probably had been suffering from tunnel vision without my knowing it, limiting my perspective to my current ministry opportunities, my family, my home, my personal concerns.
A spiritual narrow-mindedness that may have prevented me from seeing what lies to the left, or to the right, of my path.
In Genesis 13, after Abram and Lot parted ways, the Lord says to Abram, "Lift your eyes now and look from the place where you are--northward, southward, eastward, and westward; for all the land which you see I give to you and your descendants forever."
God had to remove me from my familiar environment to deliver me from tunnel vision.
On this Christmas day of 2013, Abba Father is speaking afresh into my life: the time has come for me to stop living my life within the confines of the familiar and the comfortable... again.
Time and again, it has been impressed upon my spirit that a vital and growing relationship with God means a willingness to leave my comfort zone and go with the flow of the Spirit.
The story of my life has really been chapter after chapter of being removed from what is comfortable for me.
Five years ago, my husband Ernie left this earth, and I found myself entering uncharted territory as a widow.
This brought a deep sense of uncertainty, and a whole new set of personal concerns. But over the past five years, I've gradually adjusted to this new normal, and I must admit that I have begun to be comfortable.
Finding solace and comfort in my family... marking the events and the seasons of my life by celebrating birthdays, and anniversaries, and special occasions like Christmas.
So it is quite something for me to be far away from home during the events that have meant so much to me in the past. And I have no doubt that Abba Father has a message for me in it all.
My times are in your hand, David writes in Psalm 31:15.
More than two thousand years ago, Jesus was born into this world. The only son of God, yet He did not consider Himself entitled to the glory and power of His position as God the Father's equal. Instead He emptied Himself, chose to obey by being born in the likeness of man, and taking the form of a servant.
Furthermore, He humbled Himself and was obedient unto death.
I have always loved these words of Scripture - He did not consider equality with God a thing to be grasped.
It is a far cry from the positions of entitlement that we as men love to assume, in the form and shade of color that suit us best.
We think we are entitled to a comfortable life, well-ordered finances, an untarnished reputation, a secure future - especially if we have done our best to manage our resources well.
But the truth is that there are no guarantees in this life.
These verses penned by the writer to the Hebrews is a chilling reminder:
They did not receive the promise... but waited to be made perfect together with us.
Jesus agonized in the Garden of Gethsemane, a few hours away from a horrible death by crucifixion, pleading with His Father, saying, "Father, if it is Your will, take this cup away from Me; nevertheless not My will, but Yours, be done." - Luke 22:42
Nevertheless not my will, but Yours.
A humble response.
I have understood this lesson of humility and willing submission a long time ago, but today it is a lesson that needs to be understood at still another level.
Socrates once wrote that the unexamined life is not worth living.
I believe this to be true. I take time to examine my life regularly because what I want to live is only the life that is worth living.
The life God wants, not the life I want.
Today Christmas 2013, Jesus offers me anew the cloak of humility. And I hear Abba Father saying to me, Give me once again your life as you know it, for I have something better in store for you."
What can I say in response?
My times are in His hands. I want to have a humble servant's heart, relinquishing my life to him, faithful to obey Him in what He asks of me.
He knows that plans He has for me... plans for my welfare, and not for evil... to give me a future and a hope.
In my heart of hearts, I have enjoyed living in the light of His favor. As a daughter of the King. I have royal blood, and I wear a crown of beauty.
I absolutely love the freedom of living this way.
Danny Silk in his book Culture of Honor writes: "Riches or money are external conditions and wealth is an internal reality. Our insides will always manifest on our outsides."
In reality I am an heiress of the eternal riches of my Father's kingdom!
God is opening up a new way for me as the year is about to end. The way of provision, the way of kingdom destiny.
Humility is all about obeying Him, being willing to look at my present life from His eternal perspective.
Human pride, on the other hand, is insisting on running my life based on my own puny efforts of self-reliance and self-provision.
Another favorite quote comes to my mind:
"It would seem that Our Lord finds our desires not too strong, but too weak. We are half-hearted creatures, fooling about with drink and sex and ambition when infinite joy is offered us, like an ignorant child who wants to go on making mud pies in a slum because he cannot imagine what is meant by the offer of a holiday at the sea. We are far too easily pleased." - C.S. Lewis
Yes, Abba Father, I willingly and gladly put on humility today.
Indeed, the barrenness of the winter landscape around me instills fresh hope into my heart...
Thinking warm thoughts of my family back home in the Philippines who celebrated Christmas this year without their Mama... enjoying this photo of our 2013 Christmas tree, a nostalgic reminder of the many beautiful Christmases that my husband Ernie and I and our family celebrated...
Given my own way, I would never have planned to be away from home at this time of the year. In fact, my original plan was to return to Manila and be back home in Bacolod City in time for Ernie's fifth homegoing anniversary third week of November, and to celebrate Christmas and New Year with my children and grandchildren.
But my dental treatment took longer than I expected, requiring me to rebook my return flight and extend my stay in this country (USA) for another two months.
This passage of Scripture has really come alive for me these past months:
A man's heart plans his way,
But the LORD directs his steps.
- Proverbs 16:9
A few days after my 60th birthday celebration in March, I returned to Manila for two reasons: to be part of the ministry team for an Ancient Paths seminar in General Santos City in Mindanao, and to attend the Intercessors for the Philippines' 24th National Prayer Gathering.
The month of April was somehow a turning point for me. It was in that month that God gave me a life lesson on relinquishment -- what it means to be on call status, ready in season, and out of season.
Living as a servant who would be found faithfully doing the Master's will when He returns.
Even as a teenager, I have needed to see dentists for my teeth condition. I was not aware of the repercussions of many of the procedures that had been done, and when I reached my mid-thirties I've already had numerous root canals, fillings, crowns and dentures in my mouth.
In the late 1990s, when I realized that we had actually spent a "fortune" in dental fees, and I still needed to make regular visits to the dentist, I knelt before God and boldly asked Him for a creative miracle. I believed for a brand new set of teeth.
Some of my close friends know about this now. But at that time, I never really openly shared this prayer with others - except with one person, a dear friend and mentor named Anna Marie. This dear woman and I met together weekly for many years. She was a strong woman of faith and her influence on my spiritual life goes very deep. We both believed God for this miracle.
There was a Bible verse that meant so much to me, as I felt that this confirmed the faith I was standing on for my healing - the story of the woman with the issue of blood who touched the hem of Jesus' outer garment, and whose faith had made her whole.
The Touch
by Connie Baten
Because I was believing for the miracle to manifest anytime, after having prayed for probably more than 15 years already, I got tired of seeing dentists - literally. My last dental appointment was probably in 2010. I simply stopped going to my dentist.Of course, the result was disastrous. (I will spare my dear reader the boring details.)
In April this year, after having been convinced by two dear friends Tina and Rosemarie, I finally decided to consult their biological dentist about a possible course of treatment for my teeth issues. The initial diagnostic x-rays showed that a series of gum surgeries was needed. Howbeit, when I returned to her clinic for my first scheduled gum operation, the procedure could not be performed because my blood pressure was higher than normal.
I had to seek medical attention for this health concern and the gum procedures had to wait until my blood pressure had returned to normal.
That the surgery was postponed was probably a blessing in disguise.
My sister suggested that I go to the US to have her dentist give his second opinion about my dental situation.To make a long story short, I was granted a US visa in June, and on September 2, I arrived here in the USA.
What I thought was a simple visit to the dentist for a professional evaluation of my dental issues turned out to be more than what I expected. Most of my molars were diagnosed as being beyond help and needed to be removed. The wonderful thing is that on the day of my surgery, my blood pressure was a perfect 117/67 - and remained that way while the operation was going on. A six-week period was required for the gums to heal and dry up before impressions for the new partial dentures could be taken.
Meanwhile, reconstruction on the rest of my teeth were done, and all defective fillings and crowns were replaced.
The treatment I received under two very good dentists here was excellent, truly a gift from Abba Father. The timely removal of my decayed teeth has a prophetic significance in my life: God is removing toxic buildup and defilement from my system and paving the way for new life to come in.
And yes, it goes without saying (but I will say it anyway) that I have not stopped believing in the creative miracle I have been waiting for.
There is something about waiting for a miracle that infills my spirit with fresh hope everyday.
Even the amount of time required for my dental procedures is in God's perfect hands.
Although I was not too keen on being away from home that long, there was no choice but to remain here until everything was complete. As I had shared in my previous post, everything flowed smoothly for me from the start, including the way the needed finances were miraculously provided.
Which brings me back to where it all started - to the point of surrendering and relinquishing my will to the Father.
When the plan to come here was hatched, I wasn't sure if a trip to the United States was part of God's purposes for me. But when the visa application was approved, and the plane ticket provided, there was no other way but to take the next step.
In my life as a follower of Christ, I always want to be sure I am doing the right thing... going where He wants me to go. But in this journey, there are many times when the road ahead is not clear.
All I have is just enough light for the next step.
And I hold on to several truths that are promised: that if I seek Him I will find Him... that He will surely order my steps... and that He will not leave me or forsake me.
Now, four months later, I no longer doubt that this trip was orchestrated by Abba Father to bless me, not only with a much needed dental treatment, but also to give me a beautiful opportunity to experience Him in a new way through the changing seasons of North America.
Being in a different place for the past four months, I have been given another perspective from which to view my life.
I probably had been suffering from tunnel vision without my knowing it, limiting my perspective to my current ministry opportunities, my family, my home, my personal concerns.
A spiritual narrow-mindedness that may have prevented me from seeing what lies to the left, or to the right, of my path.
In Genesis 13, after Abram and Lot parted ways, the Lord says to Abram, "Lift your eyes now and look from the place where you are--northward, southward, eastward, and westward; for all the land which you see I give to you and your descendants forever."
God had to remove me from my familiar environment to deliver me from tunnel vision.
On this Christmas day of 2013, Abba Father is speaking afresh into my life: the time has come for me to stop living my life within the confines of the familiar and the comfortable... again.
Time and again, it has been impressed upon my spirit that a vital and growing relationship with God means a willingness to leave my comfort zone and go with the flow of the Spirit.
The story of my life has really been chapter after chapter of being removed from what is comfortable for me.
Five years ago, my husband Ernie left this earth, and I found myself entering uncharted territory as a widow.
This brought a deep sense of uncertainty, and a whole new set of personal concerns. But over the past five years, I've gradually adjusted to this new normal, and I must admit that I have begun to be comfortable.
Finding solace and comfort in my family... marking the events and the seasons of my life by celebrating birthdays, and anniversaries, and special occasions like Christmas.
So it is quite something for me to be far away from home during the events that have meant so much to me in the past. And I have no doubt that Abba Father has a message for me in it all.
My times are in your hand, David writes in Psalm 31:15.
More than two thousand years ago, Jesus was born into this world. The only son of God, yet He did not consider Himself entitled to the glory and power of His position as God the Father's equal. Instead He emptied Himself, chose to obey by being born in the likeness of man, and taking the form of a servant.
Furthermore, He humbled Himself and was obedient unto death.
I have always loved these words of Scripture - He did not consider equality with God a thing to be grasped.
It is a far cry from the positions of entitlement that we as men love to assume, in the form and shade of color that suit us best.
We think we are entitled to a comfortable life, well-ordered finances, an untarnished reputation, a secure future - especially if we have done our best to manage our resources well.
But the truth is that there are no guarantees in this life.
These verses penned by the writer to the Hebrews is a chilling reminder:
... Others were tortured, not accepting deliverance that they might obtain a better resurrection. Still others had trial of mockings and scourgings, yes of chains and imprisonment. They were stoned, they were sawn in two, were tempted, were slain with the sword. They wandered about in sheepskins and goatskins, being destitute, afflicted, tormented-- of whom the world was not worthy. They wandered in deserts and mountains, in dens and caves of the earth. And all these, having obtained a good testimony through faith, did not receive the promise, God having provided something better for us, that they should not be made perfect apart from us.- Hebrews 11:35-40
They did not receive the promise... but waited to be made perfect together with us.
If my life, despite all the efforts I have exerted to be a true Christ follower, managing my home and resources to the best of my ability, spending hours with God in worship and intercession, living a life of radical obedience... still turns out differently from the way I expect it, then what does that say about the faith I have put in my sovereign God?
Does it make Him less of a good, promise-keeping God if my financial situation is reversed through no fault of my own?
Or if my prayers for the healing of a loved one from cancer or diabetes results in physical separation?
Or if a calamity destroys everything I have worked for in life, and I am back to square one?
There really are no guarantees.
Only in God do I dwell secure.
My times are in His hand.
And on this Christmas day, thousands of miles away from the usual comfort of the familiar, I meditate on God's perfect plans for me. He knows the way that I take, when He has tested me, I shall come forth as gold. - Job 23:10
Nevertheless not my will, but Yours.
A humble response.
I have understood this lesson of humility and willing submission a long time ago, but today it is a lesson that needs to be understood at still another level.
Socrates once wrote that the unexamined life is not worth living.
I believe this to be true. I take time to examine my life regularly because what I want to live is only the life that is worth living.
The life God wants, not the life I want.
Today Christmas 2013, Jesus offers me anew the cloak of humility. And I hear Abba Father saying to me, Give me once again your life as you know it, for I have something better in store for you."
What can I say in response?
My times are in His hands. I want to have a humble servant's heart, relinquishing my life to him, faithful to obey Him in what He asks of me.
He knows that plans He has for me... plans for my welfare, and not for evil... to give me a future and a hope.
In my heart of hearts, I have enjoyed living in the light of His favor. As a daughter of the King. I have royal blood, and I wear a crown of beauty.
I absolutely love the freedom of living this way.
Danny Silk in his book Culture of Honor writes: "Riches or money are external conditions and wealth is an internal reality. Our insides will always manifest on our outsides."
In reality I am an heiress of the eternal riches of my Father's kingdom!
God is opening up a new way for me as the year is about to end. The way of provision, the way of kingdom destiny.
Humility is all about obeying Him, being willing to look at my present life from His eternal perspective.
Human pride, on the other hand, is insisting on running my life based on my own puny efforts of self-reliance and self-provision.
Another favorite quote comes to my mind:
"It would seem that Our Lord finds our desires not too strong, but too weak. We are half-hearted creatures, fooling about with drink and sex and ambition when infinite joy is offered us, like an ignorant child who wants to go on making mud pies in a slum because he cannot imagine what is meant by the offer of a holiday at the sea. We are far too easily pleased." - C.S. Lewis
What powerful words! If I am relying on my self-provision, holding on to my mud pies in the slum, then this life will always be an unbearable burden. Because the fear, and the effort, of making sure that I have enough provision for the years to come will consume my days.
It is always wise to make prudent decisions... but my preparation is not the source of my security.
I never want to settle for desires that are far too weak in the eyes of God. I choose the infinite joy that my heavenly Father offers to me.
Abba Father offers me the cloak of humility
Asks me to clothe myself with it
Because with it comes His perfect provision
Sure protection
And infinite joy
This humble cloak
Delivers me from tunnel vision
Opens my eyes
Gives me a new way of seeing
A wider vision
A clearer perspective
Of what His perfect will has in store
Sunrise in Central Virginia, USA
December 2013
Photo by Lidia Arbolario
Yes, Abba Father, I willingly and gladly put on humility today.
Thank You Abba for speaking to me through this beautiful winter season.
Mid-afternoon walk at Blackwater Creek Bikeway
Lynchburg, VA
December 2013
Photo by Lidia Arbolario
Indeed, the barrenness of the winter landscape around me instills fresh hope into my heart...
The willingness of all these trees to submit to You, allowing themselves to be shed of their glory, stand seemingly helpless, and vulnerable, and emptied of power...
Is a picture of true humility, they stand secure, knowing that in the next season, the newness of life bursts forth.
Sunset at Blackwater Creek Bikeway
Lynchburg, VA
December 2013
Photo by Lidia Arbolario
Thinking warm thoughts of my family back home in the Philippines who celebrated Christmas this year without their Mama... enjoying this photo of our 2013 Christmas tree, a nostalgic reminder of the many beautiful Christmases that my husband Ernie and I and our family celebrated...
And sharing below two Christmas carols that we sang at the Rivermont Presbyterian Evangelical Church during the Christmas Eve service last night:
One is Candlelight Carol, a beautiful Christmas carol by John Rutter:
And the other one is Lo, How a Rose E'er Blooming, a Christmas carol translated by Theodore Baker from the German text Es ist ein Ros enstprungen penned by an unknown author.
Lo, how a Rose E'er Blooming
Lo, how a Rose e'er blooming from tender stem hath sprung!
Of Jesse's lineage coming, as men of old have sung.
It came, a floweret bright, amid the cold of winter,
When half spent was the night.
Isaiah 'twas foretold it, the Rose I have in mind;
With Mary we behold it, the Virgin Mother kind.
To show God's love aright, she bore to us a Savior,
When half spent was the night.
The shepherds heard the story proclaimed by angels bright,
How Christ, the Lord of glory was born on earth this night.
To Bethlehem they sped and in the manger they found Him,
As angel heralds said.
Of Jesse's lineage coming, as men of old have sung.
It came, a floweret bright, amid the cold of winter,
When half spent was the night.
Isaiah 'twas foretold it, the Rose I have in mind;
With Mary we behold it, the Virgin Mother kind.
To show God's love aright, she bore to us a Savior,
When half spent was the night.
The shepherds heard the story proclaimed by angels bright,
How Christ, the Lord of glory was born on earth this night.
To Bethlehem they sped and in the manger they found Him,
As angel heralds said.
This Flower, whose fragrance tender with sweetness fills the air,
Dispels with glorious splendor the darkness everywhere;
True man, yet very God, from sin and death He saves us,
And lightens every load.
Dispels with glorious splendor the darkness everywhere;
True man, yet very God, from sin and death He saves us,
And lightens every load.
7 comments:
Humbleness looks good on everybody. Unfortunately, to often we forget to put it on. Thank you, Lidia for being so faithful with your blog. My arthritis in my hands has prevented me from keeping mine updated, and I greatly miss being able too. I'd appreciate prayer regarding this.
Your blog is such a blessing to me.I have always loved reading from Proverbs and the verse you used today is one of my favorites. It has become even more dear to me since Johnny died, for like you, my future at times appears quite intimidating. When I get overwhelmed I need only to read the Lord's Words, His promises and
HOPE springs up again, brighter and stronger than ever.
You are in my morning and evening prayers, dear one. Always will be.
I so look forward to meeting you one day. Take care. Love you much.
Oh the many lessons of our Father that have been seeded and are taking root, even blooming in your life, friend. I am grateful for the time spent in surgery (both in the physical and spiritual sense). I have no doubts that you are emerging just as God intends. Your example of trust is one to exemplify. Praying your healing complete and your return to your country a wonderful new chapter in your journey of faith!
peace~elaine
Merry Christmas Lidia, Its funny I was just talking to my son about the word humility on Christmas day. That word kept coming up, something to think about. It's a beautiful way to be, my children all have that character and I feel so blessed to be able to say that. All three do well for themselves and I love to share all the good news about them with family and friends. My kids are always telling me not to say anything and "Mom its just a job, its no big deal". I love that about them. They know that life is full of seasons, good times and bad times. Their Dad's passing has made an impact on them in a good way. I hope you are not in too much pain Lidia and I'm happy that you are being able to address your dental issue. Do your best to enjoy our beautiful weather here. Much love sent your way. xoxo
"God had to remove me from my familiar environment to deliver me from tunnel vision."
Finally...getting a glimpse of His purpose why He brought you here. But I believe there will be more discoveries up ahead. It's awesome when one looks back and see His goodness and in reality, He's truly with His child all the way.
I love the spiritual analogy you had written about the barrenness of surroundings and the trees being emptied only to flourish when season changes. Back then, I used to wonder why we wait so much it seemed for any little thing...But I believe He's molding us to have patience and at the same time, to trust deeper in Him. For eternity surely is endless. Hard to grasp but that's the truth!
May you have a wonderful new year and as another season comes, may your roots go down deeper into His ground of love. Take care sister and may you always remain strong in the Lord's mighty power. Love and blessings to you.
You continue to learn so much on your journey. I appreciate that your share the lessons with us. I realize you didn't intend to stay so long in the US. But it seems like you had some blessings along the way too. May your dental problems be gone!
I thought of you as I've been reading a book on my kindle. It was one that was free for a short period of time. I'd never heard of the book or the author but now I certainly do. Her name is Rose Marie Miller and the book is called "Nothing is Impossible with God". What a blessing to read. She lost her husband Jack of many years and went through a very difficult period. But the Lord taught her through it all and she is still on the mission field at 88 years of age. I love that; life long learning and growing. I want to be like that.
I'm praying for you!
Love,
Debbie
Thanks for all the updates from you. God really provide for children. I am thankful for each and every perfect gift that we receive from him everyday. God is good.
Happy New Year sister.
Sorry sister Lidia. Couldn't find your email address. You can email me at sanrey91@aol.com. I'm not bummed out even if we won't have that chance to meet up. I know everything happens for a reason and that the Lord has a purpose. I'm just happy for you that you are able to have that treatment you needed and praying for all of His richest blessings when this new year comes. I agree. I feel that bond between us always. Why not? For there's unity always when it comes to His bond of love. Whatever this future holds, we must not fear for we have a secure ground we are standing on. It's not a surprise that this place is becoming more evil it seems. Take care always sister Lidia. My hubby is on vacation so not sure if we won't be home time to time. I'm going back to work on Jan.3 but I work nights. Be safe and may the Lord protect you wherever you are. Love you also as my "sister" in His Holy Name.
Post a Comment