Abandon to God

It seems that a lot of my posts recently have been quotes from books. I love books!! I learn from the words of others. Even a simple sentence in a fiction book can stop me in my tracks and give me cause to think on the words. I even have a collection in my bullet journal where I record quotes that give me pause.

One word that keeps coming up in my reading is abandon, specifically abandon to God and His will. This total abandon is something for every Christian to meditate on, not just the missionary. The following quote by Oswald Chambers on Mark 14:6 is one that I had to read and reread. So many times we focus on personal holiness when in reality it is our total abandon that God wants.

For context, I have included Mark 14:1-6. This woman exhibits that total abandon.

After two days was the feast of the passover, and of unleavened bread: and the chief priests and the scribes sought how they might take him by craft, and put him to death. But they said, Not on the feast day, lest there be an uproar of the people. And being in Bethany in the house of Simon the leper, as he sat at meat, there came a woman having an alabaster box of ointment of spikenard very precious; and she brake the box, and poured it on his head. And there were some that had indignation within themselves, and said, Why was this waste of the ointment made? For it might have been sold for more than three hundred pence, and have been given to the poor. And they murmured against her. And Jesus said, Let her alone; why trouble ye her? she hath wrought a good work on me.

"Abandon to God is of more value than personal holiness. Personal holiness focuses the eye on our own whiteness...fearful that we will offend Him. Perfect love casts out all that when once we are abandoned to God. We have to get rid of this notion-- 'Am I of any use?' and make up our minds that we are not, and we may be near the truth. It is never a question of being of use but of being of value to God Himself. When we are abandoned to God, He works through us all the time."   ~Oswald Chambers on 

Mark 14:6

*photo taken in the gardens of the Imperial Palace in Kyoto, Japan

Mc Donald's Hash Browns

McDonald's Hash Browns 

To start things off:

I haven't had a McDonald's hash brown in at least 5 years. 

But, I think these taste pretty amazing, and very similar to the real thing. 

Like I said before, I haven't had one in forever though. 

Either way, these are delicious and super easy to make! I made a recipe while I was cooking dinner tonight! They're super easy, and quick, and since they go in the freezer, it's ok if you forget about them for a couple of weeks. 🤦🏼‍♀️ 

Combine ingredients in a bowl, and gently mash while mixing. To make sure the hot potatoes (assuming you just boiled them me) don't cook the egg, rinse the potatoes in cold water after you drain them. 

Roll mixture out between two baking sheets on a cookie sheet, or between a bottom  sheet of baking paper and top layer of plastic wrap. 

Freeze until solid. Overnight should do the trick. 

Cut hash browns to the desired shape and size. 

Fry in enough oil to come up halfway the hash browns.  Flip and remove when golden - about two minutes. Flip only once please! 

Drain. 

Once cooled, fry again for 30 seconds to get an extra crispiness! 😋 

Enjoy!!! 

For more pictures and videos, follow my Instagram page

 @thirdculturecooking 

Amber Wells 

Papua New Guinea 

Honoring BMW 2020 Graduates - Free t-shirt giveaway winner!

In our last post regarding our 2020 BMW graduates I mentioned a giveaway for one of our college grads who had to have their graduation ceremonies postponed or canceled due to the COVID-19 restrictions. 

I promised to send a t-shirt from one of the designs below (of their choosing) to one randomly chosen Senior from our 2020 Grad post whose graduation was canceled/rescheduled/virtual in order to honor this historic moment in their lives!

Our randomly chosen Senior was...

Congratulations, Aaron! 

I will be contacting his Mom to find out which style of shirt he would like to receive!

Thank you to all of our 2020 Grads who participated in this post! We are praying God continues to lead and guide you in your future plans!

Discouraged??

I failed to keep my commitment to post in June and for that I am sorry. There are times when it is difficult to find the words to say. Now is one of those times. There is so much going on in the world. From corona virus to quarantines to travel bans to protests and violence, if you watch the news at all it will make your head spin.

I know many missionaries are discouraged. Some are stuck on their field of service and had to cancel furloughs and other travel plans. Some are stuck in their home country and cannot return to their field of service. Being confined to your house for weeks and months on end adds its own kind of discouragement.

I mentioned on my personal blog recently that my devotional this year is New Morning Mercies by Paul David Tripp. The author had no way of knowing what would be going on in my life the year I chose to read his book. He had no way of knowing what I would be enduring on a daily basis as I read his entry for that day. But God knew. I have no doubt this year was the year God wanted me to read this devotional. The entry for today, July 1st, was so fitting for this time. God is faithful. He knows our need. He plans in advance to meet those needs before we are aware we will have them. I thought I would share the entry here with you. It is my prayer that it will be an encouragement to you.

__________

Does discouragement preach to you a false gospel that causes you to forget that your future has already been written into the pages of God’s book?

It is discouraging to face:

     your struggle with sin;
     the disloyalty of a friend;
     the rebellion of your children;
     the souring of your marriage;
     the division of your church;
     the temptations that seem to be all around you;
     the injustice that lives in this fallen world;
     the pain and worry of physical sickness;
     the loss of your job;
     the hardship of old age;
     or the death of your dreams.

Yes, it’s hard to face all of these things. It’s easy to lose your way. It’s tempting to wonder what God is doing, if he cares, and if he hears your prayers. It’s hard to hold on to his promises. It’s hard to stay committed to good spiritual habits. It’s hard not to give in to discouragement and give way to the desire to quit.

But in the face of discouragement, there is one thing that you need to remember. It is captured in just a few powerful words from Psalm 139: “Your eyes saw my unformed substance; in your book were written, every one of them, the days that were formed for me, when as yet there were none of them” (v. 16). It is vital to remember, when trouble comes your way and discouragement begins to grip your heart, that every single day of your life was written into God’s book before you lived the very first of them. None of those days and none of the things that you have faced or will face in those days are a surprise to your Lord. He carefully authored the content of every one of those days with his own hand. He controlled every twist and turn of the plot that is your story. He introduced all the characters and determined all of the locations. Nothing will happen to you that he has not written into his book. And he has already determined how your story will end.

You see, what discourages you doesn’t surprise him because he authored it all with a glorious combination of wisdom and grace. Nothing is out of his control. Your Savior is sovereign. He knows what is best and will do what is best. This is where rest and courage are to be found when discouragement shakes the resolve of your heart.

For further study and encouragement: Psalm 135

Tripp, Paul David. New Morning Mercies . Crossway. Kindle Edition.

*The photo was taken at a flower park in our city in Japan.  It is wisteria, but in Japan it is called 'Fuji Flower.'