Garlic Beef 🧄

Garlic Beef

My mom made this for the first time a couple of years ago, and it immediately became a family favorite! 

After looking at the ingredient list, and reading the name, you would get the impression that this dish is strong in garlic flavor. Surprisingly, it isn't. The garlic adds a certain richness, a specific sweetness that is so unexpected from the name. 

We like to serve this dish with rice, (coconut rice is my favorite.) and a side of broccoli. But you could also serve this with noodles or even potatoes! 

Heat pan over high heat. Add the oil, and then add the garlic once the oil is hot. The garlic will probably dance a little. Stir the garlic and cook until it is all golden brown. Add the cubed beef. Stir for 2-3 minutes. Add the vinegar and allow to reduce a little bit. Add the salt, sugar, soy sauce, and broth. Bring to a boil, and reduce. Let this simmer for at least 1 1/2 hours. If it starts to look a little dry, add some water. 

Right before serving, bring to a boil again, and add the dissolved cornstarch and green onions. Cook for a minute. 

Serve! 

This dish is perfect for if you have some meat that is very tough. I made this for dinner last night, and made it with some tough kangaroo meat that we have. The long cooking process, along with the vinegar, helps to break down the meat, and make it extremely tender! Like fall apart in your mouth tender! 

I hope you enjoy this dish! 

Amber Wells 

Papua New Guinea 🇵🇬

For more pictures, recipes, and videos, follow my Instagram page

@thirdculturecook 

Her Story Silhouettes {#26 Gladys Aylward / Whatcha' Need?}

Go to www.sharihouse.com to read more "Her Story Silhouettes"

Silhouette:     

Gladys Aylward was born on February 24, 1902 in London, England. Not known for being a scholar, Gladys left school at the age of 14 and entered the work force as a domestic worker in a wealthy home. She aspired to become an actress, but much to her disappointment, her dark black hair and black eyes along with her small stature were not conducive to that job. At the age of 18 she went to an evangelistic meeting somewhat against her will. She had no time for the “fear” tactics that often accompanied these types of meetings and left as soon as she could. As she was leaving someone asked her name and said, “Miss Alyward, I believe God is wanting you.” It wasn’t enough to make her go back inside, but later on she returned to speak to the preacher and got saved. From that point on, her focus in life changed.

At the age of 26, after reading of the millions in China who had never heard the Gospel, she applied to the China Inland Mission to be a missionary. She knew the Lord was calling her to this work, but she struggled to grasp the Chinese language. After her 3-month probationary course, she received this news: “It is with great regret that I have to recommend to you that we do not accept Miss Aylward. She has a call to serve God – she is sincere and courageous – but we cannot take the responsibility of sending a woman of 26, with such a limited Christian experience and education to China.” She was very disappointed and was sent instead to another town to be a housemaid for a retired CIM missionary couple who had served in China. She learned much from them, and it only strengthened her resolve to go to China and fulfill her calling. From there she worked in several ministries including being a “Rescue Sister” who went out to the docks at night in South Wales talking to the homeless women and girls working the streets. With her mind always on how to get herself to China, Gladys decided to return to London where she was able to once again secure a paying job as a parlor maid. With only a few coins to her name, she cried out to God, “Oh God, here’s my Bible! Here’s my money! Here’s me! Use me!” At that moment the mistress of the house came to her room to give her three shillings to reimburse her for her travel to London. She took that as a sign from God that He would provide the rest.

Gladys wasn’t sure where in China she was going to go but had heard of an elderly missionary lady named Jeannie Lawson who was looking for someone to help her in her work. Saving for the 90£ it would cost her to go by boat was going to take too long, and so instead she opted to go over land and enter China through Russia. This would be a long and arduous undertaking and even the officers at the railway station tried to dissuade her, especially since China and Russia had been in a state of undeclared war for some time, but she would not be swayed. Each week she took her earnings and put it towards her ticket. On October 15, 1932 at the age of 30, Gladys boarded the first of many trains and was finally on her way. She passed through Holland, Germany, Poland, and finally crossed into Siberia. From this point her trip took perilous turns including being detained by and subsequently escaping from Russians soldiers, hitching a ride on a Japanese ship, riding numerous trains and buses, and finally taking two days to cross three mountain ranges and ford numerous rivers on the back of a mule. Her trip over thousands of miles long took her a month, but when she arrived in Yangchen, she felt she was finally home.

Gladys found Jeannie Lawson, the 73-year old missionary lady she would be helping, living in an old run-down inn in a poor part of town. Yangchen was a stopping point for the mule caravans that traveled the dusty roads peddling their wares of coal, cotton, pots, and other things. Gladys went immediately to work helping her restore the dilapidated inn, and they named it The Inn of the Eight Happinesses. The hope was that if they could get those travelling on the mule trails that passed right in front of their property to stop in for a bite to eat and a dry place to sleep and lodge their mules, the missionaries might have an opportunity in the evenings after dinner to share the stories of Jesus with them.

Besides the work Gladys and Jeannie did at the inn, the ladies visited villages outside the city each week and brought the people the Gospel and whatever medical help they could offer. It didn’t take long for Gladys to adopt the traditional Chinese clothing and noticed that with her dark hair and eyes and short stature, she fit right in. Gladys practiced Chinese for hours a day, and by the end of the year, she was fluent enough to take part in the story-telling after the evening meals. By this time Jeannie had become very frail, and she passed away leaving Gladys to carry on the work by herself.

In 1936 Gladys became a Chinese citizen and was known as an honest, caring person. Once she was called on to stop a large prison riot and was instrumental in instigating prison reforms. She was greatly respected in her town and was asked by the government officials to be a foot-inspector. This job required her to patrol the district and enforce a decree that had been made outlawing footbinding. It gave her untold opportunities to share the Gospel and show love and care to the people as well. Many times she risked her life to help people in need, and the people began to call her “Ai-weh-deh” or “Virtuous One.” Gladys adopted her first child, a girl about 5 years old, from a lady using her for begging, and named her “Ninepence” since that is what she paid to obtain her. A year later Ninepence brought a young orphan boy to Gladys, offering to share her food with him. Gladys adopted him, as well, and her family began to grow.

By July of 1937 the official Sino-Japanese War was underway, and Gladys’ life became in danger as the Communist were specifically targeting missionaries. One day the Japanese bombed Yangchen, and Gladys found herself buried beneath the rubble. She was rescued and immediately set up an improvised hospital. She would secretly visit villages under Japanese occupation and report any observations on her travels to the Chinese officials. The war left many children orphaned and most were brought to Gladys to care for. She eventually found herself with 100 orphans and had to beg from everyone to provide food for them. She got word that there was an orphanage in Sian, a province many miles away in Free China, that would take the children in if she could get them there. One of her converts was tasked with the job of taking the orphans to the Yellow River which they would cross and then reach Sian by train. After five weeks, Gladys had another 100 orphans, ranging in age from 3 to 16, that she was caring for. She was waiting for the gentleman to return to help her get them to safety when she received word that he had been captured by the Japanese and was presumed dead. She knew she had to get the rest of the children to safety, and so she made preparations for them to travel to the next town over with the Chinese General’s wife. Gladys herself insisted on staying behind to care for those still left in Yangchen. By this time the Japanese army had learned of her intelligence work and had put a price on her head. As she prayed for guidance from the Lord, she opened her Bible and read the words, “Flee ye; flee ye into the mountains . . .” She took that as direction from the Lord. The Japanese soldiers arrived that very night and the next morning she narrowly escaped amid flying bullets, one of which grazed her.

Gladys caught up to the children by the next night. She determined she must get them out of the war zone and to safety if she was to save their lives. They had no food and no money, but she knew the Lord would take care of them. Every road was controlled by the Japanese, so they had to make the 100-mile journey through the mountains and down the Yellow River. Their perilous journey lasted 30 days, but Gladys brought them to safety before collapsing in delirium from typhoid fever.

It took Gladys several months to recover from her sickness, but when she was well, she continued to work with the refugees until the war neared its end. In 1944 she moved to the village of Tsingsi in northwestern China and worked there for a time and also spent 4 years in Szechwan in southern China working with missionaries from the China Inland Mission. From there she moved to Chengtu and was appointed Biblewoman at the Chinese Theological Seminary. As the Communists’ hold on China continued to get stronger and the dangers for missionaries grew greater, she was persuaded to leave for the first time since her arrival 17 years prior. She arrived in England in the Spring of 1949, and while there, she was used by the Lord to speak to many large audiences about the plight of the Chinese Christians and encourage them to have a part in missions.

It pained Gladys to hear how the Chinese suffered under Communist rule, and she longed to return to help them. In 1957, when Gladys was in her mid-50’s, she finally felt free to return to missionary work after her mother passed away.  Communist China would not allow her to return, so she opted to work for a time in Hong Kong with the Chinese refugees until in 1958 when she settled on the island of Formosa, currently known as Taiwan. It was here she spent her remaining years running mission halls and an orphanage. She made many trips around the world telling the stories of the need for missionaries and raising funds for her orphanages and the people she loved so dearly. 

On January 3, 1970 at the age of 67, Gladys died from a bout of influenza. So famous was she at this point that memorial services were held around the world to mourn her death. This little woman, deemed not suitable for missionary work by man, was used by God to do a great and lasting work for Him. She is truly a woman of whom it could be said, “She hath done what she could”!

Her Story/My Story:  
Gladys and Jeannie worked hard to prepare the inn at Yangchen which was an overnight stop for the mule caravans that transported goods throughout the area. They knew if they could provide food and a place for people to sleep, it would give them the opportunity to share the Gospel. Because the Chinese people had very little experience with foreigners, they distrusted them greatly and thought they were devils. They often threw clods of dirt at Gladys when she was working in the courtyard of the inn or drug her out of the courtyard to witness a beheading. They tried to scare her off, but they couldn’t. Once the inn was ready, Gladys would try to get the muleteers to come into the inn by yelling, “Muyo beatch, muyo goodso, how, how, how, lai, lai, lai.” “We have no bugs, we have no fleas, good, good, good, come, come, come.” When that didn’t work, Gladys would go straight out into the road in front of their inn and grab the reins of the lead mules that were passing by and pull them inside the courtyard. All the other mules would follow, and the muleteers had no other option but to go in as well. Gladys and Jeannie served the men a delicious meal and fed the mules. After dinner, they provided the men with free entertainment – stories they told them from the Bible about a man named Jesus. The ladies knew that the best way to spiritually reach those that the Lord put in their path was to meet them at their point of need. It was slow going, but they started seeing people trust Christ as their Saviour. As the new converts and even those who had not yet trusted Christ traveled along the rest of their journey, at each stop along the trail, they would retell the stories they had heard. Eventually their inn was filled every night as word spread about this great place that would, for a reasonable price, provide a dry bed for you and your mules, free entertainment, and a delicious meal.

Food has always been an interesting aspect of my missionary life. Doors of friendship and many opportunities to witness have come about while I sat at someone’s table eating the traditional food they served me. Some of it has been delicious while other times it has been interesting to say the least. I remember when I was on a missions trip to Mexico as a 13-year old girl accidentally taking a bite of a red chili popsicle that I thought was strawberry. It was not yummy. While on a summer missions trip in Kenya during my college days, we went to this restaurant called the Carnivore . . . you can imagine what they sold there. I couldn’t handle knowing what I was eating and told them to just bring me a plate of whatever. I know I ate zebra, impala, and wildebeest among other things that day. Then in Nigeria I was offered everything from goat’s head, to street rats, to maggots the size of your thumb. Nigeria was my first experience with people eating raw termites, as well. Anytime it would rain, the termites would hatch. They look like large ants, and they have wings that fall off within the first 24 hours after they hatch. One day, I asked Amos, one of our Bible college students, why he was picking the wings off before he ate the termites. He looked at me like I was crazy and said, “Eat the wings! That is disgusting!” I thought to myself, “Well, to each his own, I guess.” With everything I’d been offered since my arrival in Nigeria, I had to laugh when I recently read one of my journal entries from August 15, 1997 where I recorded that I had to pray for grace for the meal that was set before me. I thought to myself, “What in the world could it have been” and quickly read on. The next few sentences made me burst out with laughter. I wrote that I had been invited to dinner at the Akinpeul’s house, and that she had served me . . . wait for it . . . a salad with chicken!!! My next sentence said, “I ate it . . . even the tomatoes, green peppers, cucumbers, and everything . . . except the lettuce.” I had forgotten that salads used to repulse me, and I guess I just couldn’t bring myself to eat the lettuce. I hope my host wasn’t too offended.

Bible Study:  Whatcha' Need?
I love how the Lord uses things that we can relate to in order to drive home a truth to us. We see in the Bible the Lord use the love shared between spouses to relate to us the love between Christ and the church. There are examples of shepherd and sheep that teach us how much we need to depend on God. Hosea uses the analogy of sowing and reaping and breaking up the fallow ground to show us our need to stir up our heart to seek the Lord, and Matthew likens us to a light to show us the importance of being a strong witness for the Lord to the world. Now most of us can relate at least a little to each of these things even if we’ve never been married, or raised sheep, or planted a field, but there is one thing that every single person can relate to no matter what your situation is . . . food. God uses food many times in the Bible to emphasize a truth He wants us to really understand. Here are some examples:

John 6:35 – “And Jesus said unto them, I am the bread of life: he that cometh to me shall never hunger; and he that believeth on me shall never thirst.”

Psalm 119:103 – “How sweet are thy words unto my taste! yea, sweeter than honey to my mouth!”

Matthew 4:4 – “. . . Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.”

Matthew 5:13 – “Ye are the salt of the earth: but if the salt have lost his savour, wherewith shall it be salted? . . .”

Proverbs 16:24 – “Pleasant words are as an honeycomb, sweet to the soul, and health to the bones.”

1 Corinthians 5:6 – “Your glorying is not good. Know ye not that a little leaven leaveneth the whole lump?”

1 Peter 2:2 – “As newborn babes, desire the sincere milk of the word, that ye may grow thereby.”

Proverbs 15:17 – “Better is a dinner of herbs where love is, than a stalled ox and hatred therewith.”

The point is that God in His infinite wisdom uses everyday things to help us understand deep spiritual truths. In this He gives us the example of meeting people at the point of their need in a way that they can relate to. Gladys’ ultimate desire was to see the lost saved, but she knew she had to go about it in a practical way. She had to meet the people at their point of need and wait for the Lord to open the door of opportunity to share spiritual things with them. I have counseled with many women who are frustrated because they don’t feel like they have many opportunities to get out and witness on a regular basis whether that is due to work, family, or health restrictions. My counsel is always the same. Meet people at the point of their need, and you will find that many opportunities to witness will come. 

Copyright 2019 www.sharihouse.com

________________________________
*Disclaimer:

I have chosen to highlight the life of these ladies because of what they have accomplished for the Lord not because I agree with their doctrinal beliefs.  As with all study of man, our focus should be on the character traits they bestowed in their lives that allowed the Lord to use them, how the Lord used them, the methods of ministry they incorporated that allowed them to be effective, etc.  We do not study man to get our doctrine.  Our doctrinal beliefs should only come from the Bible.  To that end you may find you don’t agree with the doctrine of a particular person that I write about, but I believe there is still much wisdom we can gain from studying their lives.

God Strengthens Our Hearts Before Our Hands

Has God ever called you to do something, but you were afraid to do it? Or you weren't sure how you

could do it? You only had the promise that He would be with you?

There are many ways we can still minister to one another during this time of uncertainty. You may be afraid to reach out, and you may hold back because you don't know how, or what to do. There are a lot of people still working and risking exposure to this virus, and I am sure they are doing it with some trepidation. (Perhaps MUCH trepidation!)

Gideon faced similar feelings. He had 300 men to go up against an army that seemed like grasshoppers for multitude, and whose camels were like the sand of the sea in number. God had told Gideon He would be with him to have victory, and he asked Gideon to step forward in faith on that promise.

Judges 7:9-11
(9) And it came to pass the same night, that the LORD said unto him, Arise, get thee down unto the host; for I have delivered it into thine hand.
(10) But if thou fear to go down, go thou with Phurah thy servant down to the host:
(11) And thou shalt hear what they say; and afterward shall thine hands be strengthened to go down unto the host. Then went he down with Phurah his servant unto the outside of the armed men that were in the host.

God wasn't mad that Gideon was afraid. He even gave him a friend to go with him, to help him. And when Gideon decides to take him up on that offer, we don't see God bat an eye. There is no ridicule or censure.

There's another interesting thing here, though. God tells Gideon that his hands will be strengthened after he goes down to hear what will be said by the enemy.

Gideon has to step out in faith and put himself right near the enemy. Close enough to overhear what is being said within their tents.

And when he does that, he overhears one of the enemy say that he had a dream, and his fellow confirms God's promise to Gideon:

Judges 7:12-14
(12) And the Midianites and the Amalekites and all the children of the east lay along in the valley like grasshoppers for multitude; and their camels were without number, as the sand by the sea side for multitude.
(13) And when Gideon was come, behold, there was a man that told a dream unto his fellow, and said, Behold, I dreamed a dream, and, lo, a cake of barley bread tumbled into the host of Midian, and came unto a tent, and smote it that it fell, and overturned it, that the tent lay along.
(14) And his fellow answered and said, This is nothing else save the sword of Gideon the son of Joash, a man of Israel: for into his hand hath God delivered Midian, and all the host.

And when Gideon hears the confirmation, he responds with worship.

Judges 7:15
And it was so, when Gideon heard the telling of the dream, and the interpretation thereof, that he worshipped, and returned into the host of Israel, and said, Arise; for the LORD hath delivered into your hand the host of Midian.

See, before God would strengthen Gideon's hands to do the work, He first had to strengthen his heart to believe God is a promise keeper, and would give him victory. Then Gideon responds in worship, and is able to encourage those who will fight alongside him.

What is God asking you to do right now that maybe you're afraid to do? What has He said He will give your victory over, and strengthen your hands to accomplish?

If He has promised, He will go before you, and be with you all the way. Don't walk in fear, even when the odds are stacked against you. Strengthen your heart in the promises of God and His Word, and He will strengthen your hands to accomplish His will. Then encourage those around you who may also be afraid.

God is never surprised, or worried, or unsure. He is faithful, and strong, and bold, and true, and just. And He will strengthen us if we step out in faith on His promises.

Our Plans and His Purpose

Have you ever had an unexpected change of plans? (If you are alive and reading this right now, chances are that this has recently happened to you and you are currently rolling your eyes at me for even asking.)

If you’re anything like me, you don’t like when that happens. It feels bad, even sad, and sometimes makes you angry. It can seem unfair, and even mean. Like the universe is conspiring against you.

I have a child that, when something bad happens to her (usually a barfing illness or some kind of injury), she will passionately declare amid her tears “I wish this never happened to me!!”

And I am sure many of us would whole-heartedly agree.

Take for instance, this past week. Jimmy and I were going to GA to spend a week with dear friends at

a missions conference. I was looking forward to fellowship, and hearing the Word. I was also looking forward to time alone with my handsome hubby [nudge-nudge, wink-wink], but turns out my shoulder was injured. Like crazy painful. Like I cried more than once, and I'm not a cryer. (For reference: I burned my eye with a curling iron in 8th grade and didn't cry.)

So I was on meds and resting the first two days at the conference, and didn't see anyone. No fellowship for me. Fun fact: you also can't do 'honeymoon stuff' with an arm screaming in pain.

Was it disappointing? Um, yes.

But the reason why my arm was in pain was totally a God thing. [Jimmy and I had stopped in Ohio when an older woman flagged us down. Turns out she had fallen and could not get up on her own. (Yes, just like the commercials but it's not funny in real life.) I pulled something in my arm while helping her, but didn't feel the effects of it until two days later, and ended up in urgent care unable to move or use my dominant arm.]

Since helping the woman off the ground, I have been praying for her. Before that moment, I didn't even know she existed. I have since written her a long note in a card and mailed it with a Gospel tract, offering to send her Bible studies since she said her son could no longer bring her to church. I am hoping she will write back to me, and we can at least become pen pals.

There have been countless circumstances throughout my life where I plan one thing, and God changes it. He allows a monkey wrench in my oh-so-carefully laid plans, and then I am faced with a choice: will I trust that God is good and has a purpose for this change of plans, or will I, like a child, cry and proclaim in utter disappointment "I WISH THIS NEVER HAPPENED TO ME!!!"?

See, when we're busy counting all the things we don't get to do, or all the ways we've been disappointed, when we're keeping track of how things got 'messed up' in our plans, we're looking down at our fingers or at an ever-growing list in a notebook, and we miss the opportunities that God places in front of us that would make sense of the interruption if we would just look up.

Yes, some happenings will never come again. Graduations, weddings, birthdays, parties and celebrations- many of these are once-off experiences you just can't recreate. I totally get that- I have missed plenty of them too. (Hello, I lived in Africa away from my family for 12 years. We've missed a lot of stuff.)

But can I encourage you to look for the once-off opportunities that God is bringing your way to be the hands and feet of Jesus that could not have happened if your plans had gone on un-interrupted?

Can I encourage you to seek to delight yourself in Him so that you won't be rocked so hard when life (or even moments) don't turn out the way you think they should?

God is always kind. He always has a purpose. He will always work for your good and His glory. Always. Even (and maybe especially) when things don't go your way.

Proverbs 16:9
A man's heart deviseth his way: but the LORD directeth his steps.

Psalm 37:3-4
(3) Trust in the LORD, and do good; so shalt thou dwell in the land, and verily thou shalt be fed.
(4) Delight thyself also in the LORD; and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart.

Psalm 18:30-33
(30) As for God, his way is perfect: the word of the LORD is tried: he is a buckler to all those that trust in him.
(31) For who is God save the LORD? or who is a rock save our God?
(32) It is God that girdeth me with strength, and maketh my way perfect.
(33) He maketh my feet like hinds' feet, and setteth me upon my high places.

Jeremiah 29:11-13
(11) For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the LORD, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end.
(12) Then shall ye call upon me, and ye shall go and pray unto me, and I will hearken unto you.
(13) And ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart.

Homemade Sourdough Bread 🍞

Sourdough Bread

We can’t keep this around at our house. I can make a double batch (4 loaves) and it will be gone within 24 hours. The texture is amazing! Its easy to make, and tastes so much better than any other homemade sourdough bread I’ve had or made. 

Combine your ingredients in a large bowl (one that you won’t be needing to use for about 24 hours).

Stir until ingredients are combined. The dough will look dry, that is ok! Trust me, it will moisten up soon!

(If your starter is on the wetter side, you may need to add more flour. If you can't mix the dough with hands, add flour little bits at a time until you can)

Let the dough rest for one hour. Then, (this is the hardest part) fold your dough every thirty minutes. I like to wet my hands, so that the dough doesn’t stick, and I just fold the dough in half two times. 

After you’ve folded the dough, cover it with a towel, and repeat in another thirty minutes. You’re going to want to repeat this process 6-10 times. I rarely actually keep up with folding every thirty minutes. I know, I’m terrible! I normally mix this dough up in the morning, and fold it whenever I get to the house. When I finally get home for the day, I fold every thirty minutes. After you are done folding, cover dough with a towel, and put in the fridge for 12-24 hours. 

After the 12-24 hours, it’s time to shape the dough. Cut the dough in half, and shape it into a smooth ball. Put your dough in a heavy pot (our lodge pot is my favorite). You may want to put parchment paper or tin foil in your pot to make removing the bread once it’s baked easier. You could also oil your pot. This is where knowing your equipment comes in handy. Allow to rise for at least an hour. Bake covered for about 30-45 minutes. Remove lid/tin foil, and bake bread for about 15 minutes, or until the top of the loaf starts to brown. Remove bread from pot, and allow to cool. We rarely do that by the way. Normally it’s sliced up and buttered as soon as the bread is cool enough to not melt our knife. 

Sometimes we like to put herbs and garlic in the bread and make it into a savory Italian loaf.

Sometimes I divide the dough into four, and use my hands to spread it out on a cookie sheet, and bake it as a focaccia bread. 

I hope you enjoy this amazing loaf of sourdough bread! ❤️

Amber Wells

Papua New Guinea 🇵🇬

Singing and Making Melody in Your Heart

The Lord has often used music to encourage my heart. The words of Scripture based hymns have often stayed in my mind and I find myself singing them in my mind. Many times the Lord uses these hymns to remind me of something I have been studying or a lesson that He wants me to remember.

Before we came to Japan for the first time, I spent some time meditating on truths about God. I knew that I needed to know my God if I was going to serve Him in this strange, new land. That very first Sunday that we were in Japan I was feeling overwhelmed with all the newness surrounding me and I was having a hard time controlling my thinking. Why would God choose to use someone like me? That Sunday one of the hymns that was sung was I Know Not Why God’s Wondrous Grace. It ministered to my heart that Sunday. There were so many questions that I didn’t have answers to, but one thing I knew…the One in Whom I believe!!

I know not why God's wondrous grace

to me he has made known,

nor why, unworthy, Christ in love

redeemed me for his own.

But "I know whom I have believed,

and am persuaded that he is able

to keep that which I've committed

unto him against that day.”

We recently had another first Sunday in Japan since we have just returned from our furlough. It shouldn’t have surprised me when I Know Not Why God’s Wondrous Grace was announced as the hymn we were to sing. The Lord used it once again to minister to my heart.

I know not what of good or ill

may be reserved for me,

of weary ways or golden days,

before his face I see.

But "I know whom I have believed,

and am persuaded that he is able

to keep that which I've committed

unto him against that day.”

I know not when my Lord may come,

at night or noonday fair,

nor if I'll walk the vale with him,

or meet him in the air.

But "I know whom I have believed,

and am persuaded that he is able

to keep that which I've committed

unto him against that day.”

~D. W. Whittle

During our furlough, I spoke often of the fact that meditating on God’s faithfulness was what helped me to remain faithful to what He has called us to do. It’s not always easy, but I want to remain faithful as my God is faithful. That prayer was on my mind when another hymn was announced during that first Sunday back.

May the Lord Find Us Faithful

God has not given us the spirit of fear,

But has given us the strength to obey.

With power and sound mind, with love, the unfailing kind, 

O be not ashamed of His way.

No man that seeketh after things of this life 

Is a soldier who passes the test.

Be faithful, be working, be running, be serving,

Be searching His Word for His best.

Living or dying, may honor be Thine,

From this wretched life, you loved and forgave.

A life that is on fire, be only our hearts desire. 

Be faithful from now to the grave.

Chorus:

May the Lord find us faithful.

May His word be our banner held high.

May the lord find us faithful 

Ev’ryday, though we live, though we die.

~Mac Lynch

Has the Lord used music to minister to your heart during difficult, unsettling times? Please share in the comments below in order to encourage one another.

Perspective is Everything

Have you ever thought you saw something, but you really didn't? Perspective is everything. Sometimes we see something we are convinced is true, or right, but then on closer examination, we find it to be false. Our eyes can be tricked in lots of ways. I mean, look at optical illusions. (If you really want to see some, visit this link: https://michaelbach.de/ot/) We think we are seeing one thing, when our brain is really seeing another thing. We can’t determine what is true because our eyes think they know what we’re looking at.

Take the first picture for instance. You look at it and wonder how they made that huge boulder float in the air. "Photoshop" may be your first thought. But it really is as simple as turning the photo right-side up. There was no trick, you are just not seeing it the way it was meant to be seen.

  

Now the next one. I love this one! So clever!! It looks like the woman is in an airplane appreciating a nice view on her way somewhere amazing. But when you step back, you realize she just put a plastic step-stool over her head and taken a close-up photo. It got me!

There's another aspect of perspective too. Perspective determines outlook. See the photo that says “You Matter Don’t Give Up”? There isn't any punctuation to help us know how it is meant to be read.

If you read it normally from left to right it looks like it says “You Don’t Matter Give Up!” This was posted in a hallway of a school, and I am sure that is NOT the message they were trying to convey! But for a student whose mind is in a bad place, that’s exactly what it could be saying to them. The information provided is the same, but how we read it will influence our course of action. 

How about this sentence: 'Woman without her man is nothing.' There are a few ways we can punctuate it that actually make it say two completely different things. 

1. Woman, without her man, is nothing.
2. Woman; without her, man is nothing.

It's all in what we believe, and what we're trying to convey. Our perspective shapes how we approach these phrases, and what we see when we read them.

If we aren't careful, we can do the same thing with the Word of God. If we come to God's Word anticipating it will tell us something, (like a Magic 8 Ball: perhaps we want confirmation for a decision we are making), then we will surely find what we are looking for. Every verse we read, in some way, confirms our decision. Even the ones that don't, we can rationalize, or convince ourselves that it DOES say what we want. We read what we WANT to be there rather than what actually IS there.

If we are going to have a proper perspective on anything in life (even those things we're convinced are right and good for us but might not be), we must come to the Bible as a student. We must ask the Holy Spirit of God to teach us, to show us what He wants us to learn. Not come with preconceived notions, or with all the sermons we've ever heard on a passage pulled to the forefront of our minds before we read. We have to be open to being taught something new, because God is the best one to tell us what His Word means.

This comes with maturity. There's a humbleness of heart and mind that must be in place before we can be taught. If we approach the Word of God like we would a political debate with someone, we aren't open to listening. We're preparing rebuttals for everything we hear, rather than taking it in and thinking on it. Especially if we're convinced we already know what they believe and what they're trying to say. 

Is that not the epitome of arrogance?

God wants us to have discernment. The ability to judge between right and wrong, or right and ALMOST right. There are a million issues floating around out there that we need to wade through. Having the wisdom of the Word of God behind us will make it easier to stay the course, and walk on the right path. We won't be swayed to the wrong by what we THINK is the right way, or lead others in the wrong way.

God has given us everything we need to know to navigate through life, to have the right perspective, and discern what is good and true. But we have to be a student to receive it!

2 Peter 1:3-9
(3) According as his divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of him that hath called us to glory and virtue:
(4) Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises: that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust.
(5) And beside this, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue; and to virtue knowledge;
(6) And to knowledge temperance; and to temperance patience; and to patience godliness;
(7) And to godliness brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness charity.
(8) For if these things be in you, and abound, they make you that ye shall neither be barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.
(9) But he that lacketh these things is blind, and cannot see afar off, and hath forgotten that he was purged from his old sins.

1 Thessalonians 5:21-24
(21) Prove all things; hold fast that which is good.
(22) Abstain from all appearance of evil.
(23) And the very God of peace sanctify you wholly; and I pray God your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.
(24) Faithful is he that calleth you, who also will do it.

1 John 4:1-6
(1) Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world.
(2) Hereby know ye the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesseth that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is of God:
(3) And every spirit that confesseth not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is not of God: and this is that spirit of antichrist, whereof ye have heard that it should come; and even now already is it in the world.
(4) Ye are of God, little children, and have overcome them: because greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world.
(5) They are of the world: therefore speak they of the world, and the world heareth them.
(6) We are of God: he that knoweth God heareth us; he that is not of God heareth not us. Hereby know we the spirit of truth, and the spirit of error.

Pace Car

Have you ever spent a morning reading about the children of Israel and what ridiculous whiners and complainers they were, and almost rolling your eyes (or literally doing so) at them for being so petty and juvenile?

And then God sends you a situation where you respond the exact same way they did? But you don't realize it until you're waist deep (okay, fine, forehead deep) in griping?

This happened to me recently. We woke up to an unexpected snow storm: blowing wind, heavy snow, unplowed roads. My handsome hubby was driving behind SLOW people and refused to pass because he didn't know how soon our exit was coming up. We were going 30mph on 490W. When we passed the sign reminding us of our exit, it was still one mile away. And he still refused to pass them.

Good times.

I spent at least five minutes during that trip giving my husband verbal advice (he is Deaf and can't hear me), saying things like “If I were driving…”, literally shifting around in my seat in frustration (alternately looking out the side window, and then glaring at the people in front of us, and then glaring at my husband) like a toddler who didn’t get my way, and complaining about the people in front of us and how he should just pass them already because I was pretty sure I could walk faster than we were driving. I may or may not have mentioned my grandmother as well, and her driving or walking abilities. Sorry, Nan.

Finally our exit was in sight- yes!!!

And then the slow person got off on our exit.

I thought I would die. I threw myself back in my seat and cried out "God PLEASE don't let them turn left!"

And in that moment the Lord reminded me of what I'd read just that morning and how disgusted I was with the children of Israel and all their petty complaining, wishing they’d been left back in Egypt, wishing they had died in the plague the Lord sent, etc.

Oof. I am a mess.

I believe there are times in our lives when God sends us a spiritual pace car.

In motorsport, a pace car is a car which limits the speed of competing cars on a racetrack in the case of a caution period such as an obstruction on the track or bad weather. At the end of the caution period, the safety car leaves the track and the competitors resume normal racing.

In our lives, it could literally be a car in front of us that is keeping us from speeding and getting a ticket, but most of the time (at least for me) it comes in the form of a person or experience that forces me to slow down.

And I usually hate it.

I keep a schedule and try not to waste time. So when I get a spiritual pace car that changes my plans, I sometimes rebel. It feels like wasted time to explain things over and over, or clean up dog poop right before leaving the house, or stand patiently while someone spends 25 minutes at church in the lobby talking about themselves when I could be doing…I don’t know what, but not that.

When I realize that God has a reason for the pace car, I do a way better job of just following it. Maybe there’s a hazard up ahead that I don’t know about. I would do well instead of charging ahead, to take stock and see why God has slowed me down.

Or maybe I’m just filling my schedule too full of things, and I no longer have the time I should to dedicate myself to prayer and being with the Lord, or truly minister to other people on a soul level, and not just tossing money in the plate at church.

The truth is, I need pace cars. I need those people and situations that slow me down, that cause me to reflect, to pray more, to put myself and my desires aside, and follow the plan God has laid out for me rather than my own. If we are to truly be ministers to one another, we need to meet people where they are, be patient with their needs, and not try to hurry them along for the sake of self.

And you know what?

Sometimes I’m someone else’s pace car. And so are you. You just might not know it. If the person is filled with the fruit of the Spirit, you will never know it. And that’s okay.

By the time we arrived at our destination that day, the Lord had completely changed my heart. I had a good time of repentance for my attitude, and I thanked my husband for driving so carefully and getting us there safely. The Lord loves me, and pace cars are a sign of His love, just like my husband loves me and his safe driving is a sign of his love for me, too.

Romans 12:9-15
(9) Let love be without dissimulation. Abhor that which is evil; cleave to that which is good.
(10) Be kindly affectioned one to another with brotherly love; in honour preferring one another;
(11) Not slothful in business; fervent in spirit; serving the Lord;
(12) Rejoicing in hope; patient in tribulation; continuing instant in prayer.
(13) Distributing to the necessity of saints; given to hospitality.
(14) Bless them which persecute you: bless, and curse not.
(15) Rejoice with them that do rejoice, and weep with them that weep.

Ecclesiastes 7:8-9
(8) Better is the end of a thing than the beginning thereof: and the patient in spirit is better than the proud in spirit.
(9) Be not hasty in thy spirit to be angry: for anger resteth in the bosom of fools.