"I cannot claim to be living by faith unless I'm living in obedience." (Love has a price tag, pg 55). This word obedience makes some people turn their heads because for some being obedient is not something they like to do. Some people say, "I just want live my life" or "I live by faith knowing that everything will work itself out".
Well, sorry to burst your bubble but not everything is going to work itself out. Your bills won't some day come alive and pay themselves. Your kids won't some day wake up and say, "I am going to listen to everything my parents say". Sorry that dream won't come true by itself.
If we claim to live by faith then we need to be living in obedience. This means you are going to have to make an effort. "Even the miracles Jesus performed were contingent on somebody's obedience, on somebody's doing some little thing such as filling up a water pots, stretching out a hand, giving up a lunch" (pg 55). You see we do need to make an effort and work, but the work we do needs to be transformed. We need to be obedient to God by putting our worldly desires behind us. We can't expect God to do everything for us.
The truth is He doesn't even need us, but He wants us because He loves us. Wasn't dying on the cross enough for us? God's grace is enough so lets live out our faith by being obedient.
I firmly believe that people turn away from God and the church, not only because of their sin, but because of our sin. Because many of us are still living in disobedience. We can't claim to be living by faith unless we are living in obedience to God.
May 07, 2011
May 06, 2011
New Student Fiesta!
| Today we had a fiesta! Here are some pictures of what we did...  |
| To begin the fiesta we played a trivia game. Who knows Costa Rica's day of independence? |
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| Then we were serenaded by our teachers. They were great! |
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| We also had door prizes...my friend Sarah won one! |
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| To surprise the students we had a piñata! Alli was the first one to try =D |
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| Pam went up and gave it all she got. Although, the guy controlling the height of the piñata kept moving it. |
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| Of course, it was the guys who broke it! In Costa Rica they fill the piñatas with candy and peanuts. |
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| Then as Gabby said, "Fetch!" Candy and peanuts went everywhere! It was fun! |
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| This my friend Sarah, another student at ILE, and me |
May 05, 2011
Bring on the Rain...
The rainy season has begun! Today it has consistently rained on and off, but mostly on. I love ran even though the temperature has dropped. The rain echoes off the tin roofs and the sound is great. Imagine sitting in your car and hearing the rain hitting the roof that is almost exactly what it sounds like.
School has been going good. I have been studying alot today. I have alot of verbos to learn. I do at least 3 hours of homework a night because I really want to do well in my classes. It is such a blessing to be here and I feel so motivated to learn because of God, all of my supporters, and the children and families I hope to work with in the future. This Saturday I am going to begin working with a children's ministry that is very much like the one I worked with in college. I am so excited to begin working with children =D
School has been going good. I have been studying alot today. I have alot of verbos to learn. I do at least 3 hours of homework a night because I really want to do well in my classes. It is such a blessing to be here and I feel so motivated to learn because of God, all of my supporters, and the children and families I hope to work with in the future. This Saturday I am going to begin working with a children's ministry that is very much like the one I worked with in college. I am so excited to begin working with children =D
May 04, 2011
School.....
Today, I officially started my classes. I am very excited for this coming semester and I am looking forward to being back in school. I actually really like school and I am looking forward to starting a new routine and learning new things. For the first two weeks of school in class we will be going over basic spanish and refreshing our memories on the spanish that some of us already know. My favorite class so far is my phonetic class because we get to speak in Spanish for the whole class period, of course our teacher is correcting our poor Spanish.
All of my teachers are Ticas (Costa Rican woman) and they are very sweet. They all see their teaching as a way of ministering to others and using it to glorify Christ. All of the classes are for about one hour or more. My school day is set-up like this....I wake up at 6:10 or 6:00am get ready for school (which of course includes a shower every day because all of the ticos smell very nice all the time, a little to nice if you know what I mean), eat breakfast at 7:00am (which Mami sets out for us, cereal, bananas, or sometimes some bread and pico de gayo), then at 7:10am I walk 15 minutes to school, and start classes at 7:30am which go until 12:00pm with a 45 minute break between 9:30 and 10:15am. You would be surprised at how tired you are by 9:30am and hungry even though you already ate breakfast. Drinking water is also very important here because as the weather man on tv says it is ´´Hot, Hot, Hot¨ almost every day. It hasn´t rained in two days and I am so looking forward to the raining season. Mami also loves the rainy season because it cools down and the flowers really start to bloom and everything gets greener.
I just finished my first homework assignment, does anyone what to know the alfabeto in spanish? I can tell you now, this is something I practiced in the states but here the pronunciations are different. Like how you learned to say I in the states is different here, Costa Ricans pronounce it Jo not yo even though it is still spelled yo. There is your Spanish lesson for the day. I am learning much more but one thing at a time.
Today was a good day. Also, thank you prayer warriors I was able to sleep through the night last night so much so that I slept through my alarm. Please continue to pray that I stay sleeping well, it es muy importante. Gracias!
All of my teachers are Ticas (Costa Rican woman) and they are very sweet. They all see their teaching as a way of ministering to others and using it to glorify Christ. All of the classes are for about one hour or more. My school day is set-up like this....I wake up at 6:10 or 6:00am get ready for school (which of course includes a shower every day because all of the ticos smell very nice all the time, a little to nice if you know what I mean), eat breakfast at 7:00am (which Mami sets out for us, cereal, bananas, or sometimes some bread and pico de gayo), then at 7:10am I walk 15 minutes to school, and start classes at 7:30am which go until 12:00pm with a 45 minute break between 9:30 and 10:15am. You would be surprised at how tired you are by 9:30am and hungry even though you already ate breakfast. Drinking water is also very important here because as the weather man on tv says it is ´´Hot, Hot, Hot¨ almost every day. It hasn´t rained in two days and I am so looking forward to the raining season. Mami also loves the rainy season because it cools down and the flowers really start to bloom and everything gets greener.
I just finished my first homework assignment, does anyone what to know the alfabeto in spanish? I can tell you now, this is something I practiced in the states but here the pronunciations are different. Like how you learned to say I in the states is different here, Costa Ricans pronounce it Jo not yo even though it is still spelled yo. There is your Spanish lesson for the day. I am learning much more but one thing at a time.
Today was a good day. Also, thank you prayer warriors I was able to sleep through the night last night so much so that I slept through my alarm. Please continue to pray that I stay sleeping well, it es muy importante. Gracias!
May 03, 2011
My Mind and Feet are tired...
Today and yesterday have been very long. Don't get me wrong I love going out and exploring but man I am tired. There is so much to take in every day and learn. Those of you who know me really well know that I am not very good at remembering things but here I have been trying to remember everything. Also, I have never been very good at directions and here that is all there is. No one will ever ask you for your address because they will just ask for your directions. Most of the streets here are not named and not all of the houses have numbers so you have to remember the directions to your house or at least the landmarks near your house.
Today, I felt a little bit overwhelmed with going from school to the artisan market, but it was fun. I just took in alot of information in one day. At the market everyone was trying to sell you something and today only you could have a discount (yeah I have heard that before). Although, I did end up buying a purse for $6 because my other purse broke, and I did meet some very nice people. I really did enjoy the market but what I loved the most was the street it was on. The street it was on had a long sidewalk full of people and stores. Oh it would be such a great place to go people watching, I loved it. I am realizing more and more that I really do have to figure out how the bus line works. Kelly has been explaining it to me but I need to ride the bus a few more times to figure it out.
Tomorrow I start my classes! I am so excited! I have four classes language, phonetics, and two grammatical classes. With the way the classes are designed I will have the same classmates in all of my classes, and there are only two other students in my class. So in each class I will be with Matt and Sarah, both very nice people. The classes are designed to be small in order to maximize our learning experience.
Also, at least for the first trimester I am our class representative so I will be helping out with the student council. I am excited about it. We have our first meeting tomorrow during recess. Yes, we do have a 25 minute recess in the morning after our first two classes in order to let our minds rest. It is also a good time to get to know other people. On Friday the director of the school Julie Chamberlain will be hosting a singles night for everyone to get to know one another, basically it is a girls night out because there is only two single boys on campus. It will be alot of fun. I really love our director and the other girls are super nice. It has been so interesting hearing everyone's stories about where they are going and what God is doing in their lives.
Prayer Request:
Please pray that I get a good nights sleep. I have been unable to sleep through the night since I arrived. I think it is because I am adjusting to going to bed early and getting up early, plus all of the new sounds so please pray that I can start sleeping well. Thank you =D
Today, I felt a little bit overwhelmed with going from school to the artisan market, but it was fun. I just took in alot of information in one day. At the market everyone was trying to sell you something and today only you could have a discount (yeah I have heard that before). Although, I did end up buying a purse for $6 because my other purse broke, and I did meet some very nice people. I really did enjoy the market but what I loved the most was the street it was on. The street it was on had a long sidewalk full of people and stores. Oh it would be such a great place to go people watching, I loved it. I am realizing more and more that I really do have to figure out how the bus line works. Kelly has been explaining it to me but I need to ride the bus a few more times to figure it out.
Tomorrow I start my classes! I am so excited! I have four classes language, phonetics, and two grammatical classes. With the way the classes are designed I will have the same classmates in all of my classes, and there are only two other students in my class. So in each class I will be with Matt and Sarah, both very nice people. The classes are designed to be small in order to maximize our learning experience.
Also, at least for the first trimester I am our class representative so I will be helping out with the student council. I am excited about it. We have our first meeting tomorrow during recess. Yes, we do have a 25 minute recess in the morning after our first two classes in order to let our minds rest. It is also a good time to get to know other people. On Friday the director of the school Julie Chamberlain will be hosting a singles night for everyone to get to know one another, basically it is a girls night out because there is only two single boys on campus. It will be alot of fun. I really love our director and the other girls are super nice. It has been so interesting hearing everyone's stories about where they are going and what God is doing in their lives.
Prayer Request:
Please pray that I get a good nights sleep. I have been unable to sleep through the night since I arrived. I think it is because I am adjusting to going to bed early and getting up early, plus all of the new sounds so please pray that I can start sleeping well. Thank you =D
May 02, 2011
A Joke I Heard the Other Day...
There was this American and Italian, and they walk into a bar. Both of them are arguing about what language there will be in heaven. The American says, "we are all going to speak English in heaven" and the Italian says, " we are all going to speak Italian in heaven". Well the next week they both die and as Peter opens the gates to heaven he runs out saying "Bienvenidos!" (Welcome in Spanish).
Haha so just so you know we will all be speaking Spanish in heaven. =) This was how one of our professors welcomed us to language school.
Haha so just so you know we will all be speaking Spanish in heaven. =) This was how one of our professors welcomed us to language school.
What I am reading lately....
Lately I have been reading "Love has a Price Tag" by Elisabeth Elliott. The different articles featured in her book have really been making me think. The section I read yesterday was on personality tests and how she did not really like them, because according to them anything goes. You are fine the way you are and if anyone tells you different then they are the ones who need help (pg 25).
Well, I do like personality test but I think it is important to use them to help improve oneself. Don't just be another type or American, but be the person God has made you to be. Strive to learn about others and share ideas, and know that not everyone has to agree with your thoughts or ideas. I actually like it more when people disagree with me because then it gives me the chance to grow änd understand something different.
It also important I believe to make distinctions. As Elisabeth mentioned and I agree that is important to make distinctions between race, color, and sex, because the difference in people is something to be embraced and can help us understand something outside of ourselves. The God I worship is a diverse God. Just look at all the different types of flowers, trees, and birds. All of them were made by Him and for Him.
Does this mean then that anything goes? That everything needs to be embraced and is permissible? Absolutely not! If we identify the distinctions, then we also can identify the distinctions between good and evil. No one is perfect. In fact everyone has some evil in their life, but that is why we look to what is good. We look to God and His word for guidance.
Our God is a diverse God but He is also a jealous God. He hates that which is evil. This is why we hate what is evil and cling to what is good. In every race and sex we will find some evil, but we will also find some good, no matter how small it may seem. This is why it is important for us, no matter our race, color, or sex, but we all must "be trained by practice and taught by the Spirit of God to make the strong and sharp distinctions so essential to Christian character" (Elisabeth Elliot).
Well, I do like personality test but I think it is important to use them to help improve oneself. Don't just be another type or American, but be the person God has made you to be. Strive to learn about others and share ideas, and know that not everyone has to agree with your thoughts or ideas. I actually like it more when people disagree with me because then it gives me the chance to grow änd understand something different.
It also important I believe to make distinctions. As Elisabeth mentioned and I agree that is important to make distinctions between race, color, and sex, because the difference in people is something to be embraced and can help us understand something outside of ourselves. The God I worship is a diverse God. Just look at all the different types of flowers, trees, and birds. All of them were made by Him and for Him.
Does this mean then that anything goes? That everything needs to be embraced and is permissible? Absolutely not! If we identify the distinctions, then we also can identify the distinctions between good and evil. No one is perfect. In fact everyone has some evil in their life, but that is why we look to what is good. We look to God and His word for guidance.
Our God is a diverse God but He is also a jealous God. He hates that which is evil. This is why we hate what is evil and cling to what is good. In every race and sex we will find some evil, but we will also find some good, no matter how small it may seem. This is why it is important for us, no matter our race, color, or sex, but we all must "be trained by practice and taught by the Spirit of God to make the strong and sharp distinctions so essential to Christian character" (Elisabeth Elliot).
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