Another day that I will never forget. :) I feel that it will best be explained by words and verses that God showed me today while we were at Point Deny.
"Beautiful words stir in my heart."
Psalms 45:1a
I find myself in a place of peace and joy as I sort through all the truths and thoughts that the Lord continues to reveal to me.
"Be still and now that I am God!"
Psalms 46:10a
I have struggled throughout the last few years with being content in the person that the Lord has made me. And I have always tended to worry about what others think of me. I feel that the Lord has gently reminded me that He is the only one I should strive to please and that He has made me who I am for a reason. And I ought to give myself over to Him to be used to bring Him praise and glory out of complete devotion and obedience to Him. He wants me to praise and worship Him as I am even if I don't have the greatest voice or amazing dancing skills. So I am learning to embrace who God has made me. Because honestly its not about me anyways its about who He is and what He offers us.
"Come, everyone! Clap your hands! Shout to God with joyful praise! For the Lord Most High is awesome! He is the great King of all the earth." Psalms 47:1-2
This morning we headed out to the coast and caught a small motor boat, wore neon orange life jackets and took a fairly short boat ride out the Point Deny. I "wisely" chose an outside seat so my face felt like it went through a car wash when we got to our destination. Point Deny is a beautiful beach on the coast. I am continually amazed at the beauty that God has poured into this country. When we were got off the boat and onto the beach it felt like paradise. :) We set up our stuff on these lawn chairs under a covered area and went exploring up the point. It felt great to just talk and walk with the soft white sand squishing through my toes. We played some soccer and relaxed before lunch. Which consisted of sandwiches with Pringles.
After lunch I spent some time in God's word. I was blown away by His words. Even though I have probably read these verses multiple times in my life today I saw them in a new light.
1. Our God is our Redeemer! He literally plucks us from the grave to spend eternity with him. He wants to redeem each of us if we allow Him to. How beautiful is that truth!
"But as for me, God will redeem my life. He will snatch me from the power of the grave."
Psalms 49:15
2. He promises His followers that His holy spirit is with us now. I don't think I have every really processed how real the holy spirit can and should be in our lives. We have God's advocate in us and with us at ALL times! How marvelous is that, and what a promise from our Father in heaven.
"When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all truth. He will not speak on his own but will tell you what he has heard. He will tell you about the future. He will bring me glory by telling you whatever he receives from me. All that belongs to the Father is mine, this is why I said, "The Spirit will tell you whatever he receives from me." " John 16:13-15
3. There is POWER in the name of Jesus Christ. I have always heard people pray in the name of Jesus but never really grasped for myself why they did that and why I should. But we are talking the name of our Savior! The one who took on His shoulders all of our sins and rose again so that we can be with Him again someday! There is power in His name! I think we may have watered down the real power in His name in the busyness of our lives. I pray and hope that we really do believe in the holy power of His name and that we never underestimate what Christ can do. He still heals, speaks, and interacts with us. It may feel distanced and watered down in the states but I have seen and felt God here in so many new ways.
"So you have sorrow now, but I will see you again, then you will rejoice, and no one can rob you of that joy. At that time you won't need to ask me for anything. I tell you the truth, you will ask the father directly, and he will grant your request because you use my name. You haven't done this before. Ask, using my name, and you will receive, and you will have abundant joy." John 16:22-24
4. As believers we are called to live as one in Unity. I think that the greatest example that God has provided in my life most recently is this second family He has given me here during my time in Gabon. I have never felt so unified in Christ. The community and fellowship here are so uplifting. The worship is never ending and I have learned so much from the conversations I have had with my brothers and sisters about how God is working in their lives. I am consistently encouraged to seek God every moment of every day and you can feel God's presence here. It makes me extremely excited for what heaven will be like one day! With no sin! I can't even begin to imagine how INCREDIBLE that will be :)
"I am praying not only for these disciples but also for all who will ever believe in me through their message. I pray that they will all be one, just as you and I are one--as you are in me, Father, and I am in you. And may they be in us so that the world will believe you sent me. I have given them the glory you gave me, so they may be one as we are one. I am in them and you are in me. May they experience such perfect UNITY that the world will know that you sent me and that you love them as much as you love me." John 17:20-23
5. Our God NEVER changes. As I look ahead and realize how much my life will change in the next three weeks. I have found myself incredibly nervous about all the familiarity being stripped from my life. I was reminded today that I have one thing that remains constant. And that is that God will be the same here in Africa and in California. He is unchanging what an incredible concept. I find comfort and peace knowing that He will be with me through this transition and new chapter of my life. :)
I hope that maybe in some way these verses were different for you too. I am so excited by the words of the Lord and I look forward to all the learning and growing that God wants to write on my heart and in my life. I think the term patient endurance best describes how we are to daily pick up our crosses and follow the Lord. God should be in our every day. He wants to be there for us in the little things and big. He's there in the heart ache and the joy. He wants us to praise and go to Him with our broken hearts and thankfulness. God doesn't want to be put on a back burner for when we need Him. He wants to actively be involved in our every day as we draw nearer to Him. He deserves all of us. We are His.
"How great is our God sing with me how great is our God and all will see how great is our God!"
Imagine the impact if every believer in Langley C&MA or on Whidbey or in the United States or even bigger the world! Surrendered themselves to the Lord and actively pursued God each day of their lives. Imagine the fire and power of the hands that would be reaching out and boldly sharing God's love. But the truth is we can only decide for ourself whether we will walk with God each day. To really think about all the time we pour into other things I think we might all see that there should be time for God. I am ashamed when I think of all the time I waste when I could be spending time with the Lord and humbly serving Him. As I get ready to go back home I know that I have some reprioritizing to do in my life through the strength of the Lord.
A little later in the afternoon we walked down the beach to a pier. The objective: to jump in... I have never jumped off a high dive or any other high object into the water. And as I may have mentioned I am not fond of heights. So as we walked down the dock I just prayed that God would take all the fear out of me and fill me with His strength because there is no way by my own strength I was going to jump off the dock. So as someone counted one, two, three I took a leap of faith and went off the side with all my siblings! It was incredible! Such an adrenaline rush.... God removed the fear and provided me with His strength and I loved it so much I did it again and again! We took some wonderful pictures and videos of us jumping and screaming. Then we went back down the beach and headed on another walk to the point. Our boat came to get us around 5 and we headed back to Libreville.
It was such a wonderful day full of so many blessings. :) For dinner we ate Chicken Picante and celebrated Zach Kelly's (An MK here) 15th Birthday with cake and homemade cookie dough icecream! Yum Yum! Then we bonded and sang some worship songs.
I feel so blessed to have been given this opportunity. Only two days left. It feels surreal. I pray that God is alive and working in your heart and life. Have a wonderful night! God Bless
With Love,
Natasha
"Beautiful words stir in my heart."
Psalms 45:1a
I find myself in a place of peace and joy as I sort through all the truths and thoughts that the Lord continues to reveal to me.
"Be still and now that I am God!"
Psalms 46:10a
I have struggled throughout the last few years with being content in the person that the Lord has made me. And I have always tended to worry about what others think of me. I feel that the Lord has gently reminded me that He is the only one I should strive to please and that He has made me who I am for a reason. And I ought to give myself over to Him to be used to bring Him praise and glory out of complete devotion and obedience to Him. He wants me to praise and worship Him as I am even if I don't have the greatest voice or amazing dancing skills. So I am learning to embrace who God has made me. Because honestly its not about me anyways its about who He is and what He offers us.
"Come, everyone! Clap your hands! Shout to God with joyful praise! For the Lord Most High is awesome! He is the great King of all the earth." Psalms 47:1-2
This morning we headed out to the coast and caught a small motor boat, wore neon orange life jackets and took a fairly short boat ride out the Point Deny. I "wisely" chose an outside seat so my face felt like it went through a car wash when we got to our destination. Point Deny is a beautiful beach on the coast. I am continually amazed at the beauty that God has poured into this country. When we were got off the boat and onto the beach it felt like paradise. :) We set up our stuff on these lawn chairs under a covered area and went exploring up the point. It felt great to just talk and walk with the soft white sand squishing through my toes. We played some soccer and relaxed before lunch. Which consisted of sandwiches with Pringles.
After lunch I spent some time in God's word. I was blown away by His words. Even though I have probably read these verses multiple times in my life today I saw them in a new light.
1. Our God is our Redeemer! He literally plucks us from the grave to spend eternity with him. He wants to redeem each of us if we allow Him to. How beautiful is that truth!
"But as for me, God will redeem my life. He will snatch me from the power of the grave."
Psalms 49:15
2. He promises His followers that His holy spirit is with us now. I don't think I have every really processed how real the holy spirit can and should be in our lives. We have God's advocate in us and with us at ALL times! How marvelous is that, and what a promise from our Father in heaven.
"When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all truth. He will not speak on his own but will tell you what he has heard. He will tell you about the future. He will bring me glory by telling you whatever he receives from me. All that belongs to the Father is mine, this is why I said, "The Spirit will tell you whatever he receives from me." " John 16:13-15
3. There is POWER in the name of Jesus Christ. I have always heard people pray in the name of Jesus but never really grasped for myself why they did that and why I should. But we are talking the name of our Savior! The one who took on His shoulders all of our sins and rose again so that we can be with Him again someday! There is power in His name! I think we may have watered down the real power in His name in the busyness of our lives. I pray and hope that we really do believe in the holy power of His name and that we never underestimate what Christ can do. He still heals, speaks, and interacts with us. It may feel distanced and watered down in the states but I have seen and felt God here in so many new ways.
"So you have sorrow now, but I will see you again, then you will rejoice, and no one can rob you of that joy. At that time you won't need to ask me for anything. I tell you the truth, you will ask the father directly, and he will grant your request because you use my name. You haven't done this before. Ask, using my name, and you will receive, and you will have abundant joy." John 16:22-24
4. As believers we are called to live as one in Unity. I think that the greatest example that God has provided in my life most recently is this second family He has given me here during my time in Gabon. I have never felt so unified in Christ. The community and fellowship here are so uplifting. The worship is never ending and I have learned so much from the conversations I have had with my brothers and sisters about how God is working in their lives. I am consistently encouraged to seek God every moment of every day and you can feel God's presence here. It makes me extremely excited for what heaven will be like one day! With no sin! I can't even begin to imagine how INCREDIBLE that will be :)
"I am praying not only for these disciples but also for all who will ever believe in me through their message. I pray that they will all be one, just as you and I are one--as you are in me, Father, and I am in you. And may they be in us so that the world will believe you sent me. I have given them the glory you gave me, so they may be one as we are one. I am in them and you are in me. May they experience such perfect UNITY that the world will know that you sent me and that you love them as much as you love me." John 17:20-23
5. Our God NEVER changes. As I look ahead and realize how much my life will change in the next three weeks. I have found myself incredibly nervous about all the familiarity being stripped from my life. I was reminded today that I have one thing that remains constant. And that is that God will be the same here in Africa and in California. He is unchanging what an incredible concept. I find comfort and peace knowing that He will be with me through this transition and new chapter of my life. :)
I hope that maybe in some way these verses were different for you too. I am so excited by the words of the Lord and I look forward to all the learning and growing that God wants to write on my heart and in my life. I think the term patient endurance best describes how we are to daily pick up our crosses and follow the Lord. God should be in our every day. He wants to be there for us in the little things and big. He's there in the heart ache and the joy. He wants us to praise and go to Him with our broken hearts and thankfulness. God doesn't want to be put on a back burner for when we need Him. He wants to actively be involved in our every day as we draw nearer to Him. He deserves all of us. We are His.
"How great is our God sing with me how great is our God and all will see how great is our God!"
Imagine the impact if every believer in Langley C&MA or on Whidbey or in the United States or even bigger the world! Surrendered themselves to the Lord and actively pursued God each day of their lives. Imagine the fire and power of the hands that would be reaching out and boldly sharing God's love. But the truth is we can only decide for ourself whether we will walk with God each day. To really think about all the time we pour into other things I think we might all see that there should be time for God. I am ashamed when I think of all the time I waste when I could be spending time with the Lord and humbly serving Him. As I get ready to go back home I know that I have some reprioritizing to do in my life through the strength of the Lord.
A little later in the afternoon we walked down the beach to a pier. The objective: to jump in... I have never jumped off a high dive or any other high object into the water. And as I may have mentioned I am not fond of heights. So as we walked down the dock I just prayed that God would take all the fear out of me and fill me with His strength because there is no way by my own strength I was going to jump off the dock. So as someone counted one, two, three I took a leap of faith and went off the side with all my siblings! It was incredible! Such an adrenaline rush.... God removed the fear and provided me with His strength and I loved it so much I did it again and again! We took some wonderful pictures and videos of us jumping and screaming. Then we went back down the beach and headed on another walk to the point. Our boat came to get us around 5 and we headed back to Libreville.
It was such a wonderful day full of so many blessings. :) For dinner we ate Chicken Picante and celebrated Zach Kelly's (An MK here) 15th Birthday with cake and homemade cookie dough icecream! Yum Yum! Then we bonded and sang some worship songs.
I feel so blessed to have been given this opportunity. Only two days left. It feels surreal. I pray that God is alive and working in your heart and life. Have a wonderful night! God Bless
With Love,
Natasha
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