October 4. Got up early to take shower and wash hair. Went to living room for quiet time so I wouldn’t have to turn on the heat in our bedroom. Heat was on in there to keep Fred warm. After breakfast, I got the shopping list made and printed out; and around 10:00, we headed for Belue Farms Market in Boiling Springs, SC. It was a really nice market with lots of organic foods and other special products. Most things were quite expensive, but we did find a number of items to suit our needs. We were hoping it might take the place of Trader Joe’s, but it doesn’t have things like we get there. So looks like we’ll still have to make a trip into Charlotte. After the market, we stopped in Gaffney to get C&C’s raw milk. It was about 1:00 when we got home and after 2:00 before we lay down for a nap. The rest of the day, I worked on the slide presentation, besides doing dishes, and listening to the Wednesday night service livestream. Connie and I didn’t go out because Connie has been quite sick with sore throat and mold allergy. Did some crocheting while I was listening. “And Amaziah said to the man of God, But what shall we do for the hundred talents which I have given to the army of Israel? And the man of God answered, The LORD is able to give thee much more than this.” II Chronicles 25:9 Even though King Amaziah would lose a significant amount of money by obeying the LORD, he was assured that the LORD could give him much more than what he would lose. We don’t need to be concerned about what we may lose. We only need to be concerned with obeying the LORD, and He will give us much, much more. October 5. Up by 6:00 this morning. It was shopping day. Had quiet time in the warm living room again, and after breakfast, we headed for Aldi and WalMart. It was around 11:00 when we got back home. Put away groceries, and then worked on the presentation until lunch time. This afternoon, I completed the presentation. Praise the Lord! Also rehearsed the timings, making a nine minute presentation, with the words included on the screen, and the program now ready to be shown, except that Connie is going to try to hep me download some songs and see if we can import them into the slide show. “But when he was strong, his heart was lifted up to his destruction: for he transgressed against the LORD his God, and went into the temple of the LORD to burn incense upon the altar of incense.” II Chronicles 26:16 When the Lord blesses us with great victories, we must be careful to give God all glory and not to lift ourselves up with pride. “O love the LORD, all ye his saints: for the LORD preserveth the faithful, and plentifully rewardeth the proud doer.” Psalm 31:23 “Pride goeth before destruction, and an haughty spirit before a fall.” Proverbs 16:18
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October 2. Another chilly morning. After breakfast and quiet time, getting the bed made, etc., Daddy and I went out for a little walk. It felt so good to get out. After we got back, I got my weekly soup made and transferred pictures to the computer. Daddy went out to Subway for lunch, and I worked on the weekly journal notes for Connie while I was waiting for my soup to cool so I could puree some for my lunch. After nap, I sent the journal notes and pictures off to Connie, wrote notes in my Bible with a few cross references on knowing God. The rest of the afternoon, I worked on collecting pictures of people groups, hoping to improve our slide presentation before our trip to Michigan the end of the month. “3The voice of the LORD is upon the waters: the God of glory thundereth: the LORD is upon many waters. 4The voice of the LORD is powerful; the voice of the LORD is full of majesty. 5The voice of the LORD breaketh the cedars; yea, the LORD breaketh the cedars of Lebanon. 6He maketh them also to skip like a calf; Lebanon and Sirion like a young unicorn. 7The voice of the LORD divideth the flames of fire. 8The voice of the LORD shaketh the wilderness; the LORD shaketh the wilderness of Kadesh. 9The voice of the LORD maketh the hinds to calve, and discovereth the forests: and in his temple doth every one speak of his glory.” Psalm 29:3-9 October 3. After doing laundry, putting clean sheets on the bed, and doing a few other little jobs, most of the day was spent working on the slide show presentation. “Oh how great is thy goodness, which thou hast laid up for them that fear thee; which thou hast wrought for them that trust in thee before the sons of men!” Psalm 31;19 Thank you, Lord, for Thy great goodness.
October 1. The night was mostly sleepless. Perhaps I had about two hours of uninterrupted sleep. The rest of the night was toss and turn and turn over the pillow twenty or thirty times. I could not get comfortable at all on my back; and when I rolled onto one side or the other to try to get more comfortable, my heart would "talk" to me. Over and over, my mind kept dwelling on the importance of knowing God and what verses could best be used to teach someone how to know God. Finally, around 5:00 a.m., I was feeling really hungry. Knowing that I would be lying there awake with a gnawing stomach and a headache for another hour unless I got something to eat, I decided to get up and see what I could find to fill that hole. I put some carrots on to cook while I had a drink and reviewed my memory verses. When the carrots were done, I had a bowlful of carrots, amaranth, and walnuts. After eating, and then reading a portion of scripture, I went on back to bed. By then it was 6:00. I was thankful for a little rest, but did not get up until nearly 8:45, too late to get ready for church. Connie hadn’t slept well either and she also hasn’t been feeling well. So the two of us stayed home together and watched the meetings livestream, while Daddy and Christy went off to church. While Connie and I were listening to Bro. White preach, there was a knock at the door. It was “B”. We weren’t able to give her what she asked for, but I told her that what she needs the most and what would help her the most would be to know God. She said she knows that God loves her and will take care of her. But “Do you know God?” I asked. “No.” “Do you have a Bible?” “Yes.” “Do you read it? “Yes.” “What have you been reading in the Bible?” “Isaiah.” “Do you understand it?” “No, I get really confused.” I willingly offered to study the Bible with her if she would allow me to do that. “Oh, yes. I’ll come over this evening.” [She did not come over this evening.] Then she asked me to give her something — she asked for a hug. I was more than willing to do that for this down-hearted young lady and shed tears of compassion for her as I did. How my heart goes out to her. Underneath that deceitful, sinful heart seems to be a heart that is crying out for help. Oh, Lord, that You might give me the opportunity to help her. In Sunday school, Nathan’s text was Matthew 9:35-38, a message very similar to one which Dr. Baker preached at last year’s missions conference which the Lord used to very clearly speak to my heart about going back to PNG. “35And Jesus went about all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues, and preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every sickness and every disease among the people. 36But when he saw the multitudes, he was moved with compassion on them, because they fainted, and were scattered abroad, as sheep having no shepherd. 37Then saith he unto his disciples, The harvest truly is plenteous, but the labourers are few; 38Pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest, that he will send forth labourers into his harvest.” Jesus went about ALL the cities and villages — the big places AND the small places. He healed ALL those that were sick. He had compassion on the people (he felt with them) -- a perfect verse to think on just before “B” came by. The people were like sheep — they needed someone to guide them, to guard them, and to govern them. And He gave the disciples a command — Pray! Bro. White preached from Acts 22:5-15 – perceiving our mission and pondering the multitudes.
September 29. Laundry day. Also looked through information about a store in Boiling Springs, SC, where we want to check and see if we can get some of the special foods and other items that we usually get at TJ’s. It would be quite a bit closer, but looks like it may be quite a bit more expensive too. And looked through the Shelby Shopper to see what might be available for employment for Christy and for housing for both the girls. Daddy went out to WalMart to pay the rent (we forgot to take the papers yesterday), and to Lidl’’s to look around, to the bank, and to the post office. Got home just in time to help me hang out clothes. Spent some time on ladies’ lessons for Owena before lunch and again this afternoon. Praise the Lord for another good meeting this evening. It is just so heart breaking that there are so few answering God’s call to take the gospel to the unreached. Tim Stalcup gave a brief update on how things are going for them. Nathan presented his burden for the Chinese speaking people in Hawaii, and in China. Dr. White’s text was III Corinthians 8:1-5— they first gave the self gift, then the sacrificial gift, then the supernatural gift. From there he went to Matthew 16, beginning with verse 13, bringing out the fact that no place in the Bible tells us to go into all the world and plant churches. Man cannot plant churches. That is God’s business. We are told to preach the Gospel. Jesus promised to build His church. 1.) If we are going to be used of God, we must first recognize the person of Jesus Christ, v. 16. 2.) We must rely on His promise to build His Church. Jesus is the Rock, and He will build His church, v. 18. 3.) We must be ready with His provision, v. 19. He has given us the key. The key is the gospel, v.21. The gospel is the power of God unto salvation. 4.) We must respond to His plea, v. 24. “If any man will” - an act of the will. Then “let him” -- self-denial, death to self, complete dedication. 5.) We will be rewarded with His presence, v.27. “24Then said Jesus unto his disciples, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me. 25For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: and whosoever will lose his life for my sake shall find it. 26For what is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul? 27For the Son of man shall come in the glory of his Father with his angels; and then he shall reward every man according to his works.” Matthew 16:24-27 September 30. Last day of September — three quarters of this year already gone. It was late when we got home last night. The meeting ended a little later, and then we came home via Blacksburg, SC, as we were getting low on gas. Daddy got a free mug of coffee too, as yesterday was national coffee day. Then it was even later getting to bed as I hadn’t had much for supper before we left for church and was quite hungry. Heated up a bowlful of rice, roast beef, and green beans to eat before bed. I was still tired this morning, but there was work to do before noon. Needed to make pancakes for Daddy’s breakfast since he was all out of pancakes. Also needed to cook amaranth for myself since there was only a wee bit of rice left (except for what is in the freezer). Daddy went off to town to get bananas and a couple other little items. I got the pork steaks cut up into pieces and cooked them with the collard greens. The bananas and the pot of pork and greens were the international dishes we took for the missions banquet today. Left here a little before noon for KM. Banquet was scheduled to start at 12:30. Following the banquet was a forum with the guest missionaries answering questions of interest to the audience. It was 3:15 or so when we arrived home. I was very tired, but also very hungry as I hadn’t eaten much. Put away the food first; washed out the pan so Connie could use it to make her yogurt; and then warmed up the rest of my soup to eat before having nap. Was so thankful for about an hour and a half sleep. This evening, I did a little crocheting, starting on a baby layette. “2And the LORD appeared unto him, and said, Go not down into Egypt; dwell in the land which I shall tell thee of: 3Sojourn in this land, and I will be with thee, and will bless thee; for unto thee, and unto thy seed, I will give all these countries, and I will perform the oath which I sware unto Abraham thy father; 4And I will make thy seed to multiply as the stars of heaven, and will give unto thy seed all these countries; and in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed; 5Because that Abraham obeyed my voice, and kept my charge, my commandments, my statutes, and my laws.” Genesis 26:2-5 God keeps all His promises to those who obey Him.
September 27. Was awakened a couple minutes before 6:00 this morning with a bad cramp in my leg. “May as well get up. It’s not going to stop hurting while I’m lying here.” I had planned to cook fish to go with my breakfast this morning, but what an awful smell wafted into to our noses when I opened the package. Spoiled fish would not be a good thing to eat, so wrapped it up in a couple plastic bags and out it went. Ate up the rest of the quinoa and zucchini/ mushroom medley with some sliced almonds on top. Daddy and I went out for a little walk, but the weather was already getting warm and humid so our walk was a short one. Will have to get out earlier next time. After we got back, I wrote a shopping list and wrote an e-mail. Printed out some newsletters to put out with our display this evening and fixed the letters that had come off the display. Had a little time this afternoon to write a few words in The Isles Are Singing. Then I had to do the dishes and get ready for church. This was the first night of our missions conference and we had to be there a little early to get our display set up. There was a good crowd there tonight. I enjoyed talking with Raquel Bonikowsky before the meeting, and just briefly with Jon Speights. In the first part of the meeting, Jon presented his work with a slide show and additional information. Missionary Ron White (former missionary to Japan) is our guest speaker, and preached to us from I Corinthians 6:19,20, starting with the question “What?” and emphasizing “Ye are not your own,” keeping his message in line with our conference theme “Know Him and Make Him Known.” I was impressed by this quotation from his message: “The highest price that was ever paid for any object was paid for the most worthless object ever known.” From Isaiah 43:1 — God created us; He redeemed us; He calls us each one by name. Thou art mine,” He proclaimed. Yes, we are not our own. From verse 2, He is with us. Verse 3 — He is our Saviour. Verse 4 — He loves us. Verse 7 — He created us for His glory; we are to glorify Him. Verse 10 & 12 — We are His witnesses. It was late when we left church as we stood by our table for a while to talk with people. Bro. White came by and talked with us for a few minutes. Also met a young lady named Sara, MK from Japan and student at ABC; and met another school student named Tabitha. Talked a couple minutes with Molly too. “I will instruct thee and teach thee in the way which thou shalt go: I will guide thee with mine eye.” Psalm 32:8 “Righteousness shall go before him; and shall set us in the way of his steps.” Psalm 85:13 “O come, let us worship and bow down: let us kneel before the LORD our maker.” Psalm 95:6 September 28. Didn’t wake up until 6:30 this morning. Hurried and had shower and got dressed. Had a drink of lemon water and sat down for quiet time. Soon Kevin R called and said he was coming by with ice cream. After a while he came by, brought in some ice cream bars, and sat down at the kitchen table for a visit. We enjoyed a goof visit with him before he headed off to work. Fixed a smoothie for my breakfast and had a granola bar. Then Daddy and I got ready to go shopping. I hadn’t planned to go today — was just going to let Daddy get a few things — but the list kept getting longer and longer; and then, in the night, I remembered that we needed to get some things for Saturday’s missions banquet. Went to Aldi first. Didn’t see any other customers in the store, except for one that had just checked out when we got to the checkout. As we were going to the car, we ran into Carolyn, the sweet Christian lady I had talked with at Aldi some weeks ago. It was a joy to see her again. At WalMart too there weren’t very many shoppers, and it didn’t take us long to get our shopping done there and head home. Put away groceries. Sat down for a while and finished yesterday’s journal notes. By then (about 11:30) I was pretty hungry so went ahead and pureed some soup and had a couple cupfuls to fill the void in my stomach. Can’t remember what I did this afternoon besides wash dishes. Left around 6:15 for church so we could be by our table and talk to people before the meeting started. On the way out to the car, I took the chicken, rice, and chips we had bought for Barbara and she came up to get them. Gave her a hug and told her I loved her. Oh, how I pray that these small opportunities will open the door for giving them the bread of life. We enjoyed the presentation of the Bonikowskys ministry this evening. And Bro. White’s message is one that needs to be preached again and again. He started with his text II Peter 3:9, and went on to develop his theme “Pleas for the Perishing” -- pleas from the portals of heaven, Ezekiel 33:8,9,11; pleas from the pit of hell, Luke 16:19 and following; pleas from the pitiful heathen, Acts 16:9,10; and pleas from the passionate heart of the missionary, Romans 10:13. In addition there were questions from a pleading heart, Romans 10:14,15. Some quotes from the evening: “Anyone who perishes does so against the will of God. God is not willing that any should perish.” “The command that comes from our Savior should be the first cry of the church: Go ye into all the world. That means everybody should go somewhere.” “It is far better to go to the wrong place than to go no place.” “If you give what you have to the Lord, it will always be enough for Him to do what He wants to do with it.” “He is the Rock, his work is perfect: for all his ways are judgment: a God of truth and without iniquity, just and right is he.” Deuteronomy 32:4
September 25. It’s been a somewhat busy day. This morning, I changed the location of the small cabinet and the bookshelf in the living room to make a little more space for the chairs. Went through all the children’s books and set them out on the coffee table for the Ching children to read tomorrow. Afterwards, I got my desk all cleaned up and looking orderly. Set up journal notes from last week in a file to send to Connie. Took a few pictures and transferred pictures from the camera to the computer. Got those all edited and sent a few to Connie along with the journal notes. After lunch, I did some crocheting on the scarf before going for nap. This afternoon, I got a birthday card ready to go to Martha, worked on John lessons for Mike, enjoyed a bowlful of fruit and yogurt with nuts, washed up the blender and few other dishes so Connie could whip up a banana cream pudding and I could whip up banana tofu pudding, made the pudding, toasted a couple rice cakes and spread them with sunflower butter and peach butter for my supper. Worked a little more on the John lessons this evening before doing dishes. “Commit thy way unto the LORD; trust also in him; and he shall bring it to pass.” Psalm 37:5 “5Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. 6In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.” Proverbs 3:5,6 September 26. It’s been a weary day, but a day of God’s blessings. Praise the Lord for His strength! First job this morning was to get the roast into the crockpot. Next was washing clothes, which also meant remaking the bed since sheets went into the wash today. Daddy went off to WalMart to get the oil changed in the van, but he was already back home by the time the laundry was done washing, and he helped me hang them out. I already had several mosquito bites on my right arm before we ever got out of the house — must have been a mosquito in the laundry room. They don’t buzz, and most of the time they can’t even be seen, but they certainly can give a good bite. I was in the process of putting on my mosquito repellent bracelet when I noticed I had already been bitten. Next job was to take the shovel and go out front to dig some of the grass clumps away from the sidewalk and dig up and spray the anthills again. Also swept the sidewalk again. After that, I swept the kitchen and living room floors; then Daddy washed them, and I dried them. 11:00 already, but we needed a sit down break. So sit down we did with a drink and snack. Then it was back to the kitchen to peel potatoes, cut them up, and put them in a bowl of water until time to arrange them in a casserole dish in the afternoon. Washed the two delicata squash so they could be baked as well and put them in a small casserole dish. Measured rice and water into a pan, ready to cook later, and got a pan ready for cooking green beans. Lunch time now. Pureed some soup and heated up a couple cupfuls for lunch. Before nap, I finished up the gentleman’s scarf. After nap, I got the kitchen table all cleared off and set some things out on the table for supper — paper plates, paper napkins, foam cups, plastic ware, place mats to set the pots and dishes of food on. Opened the Sunday school lessons file thinking I would work on that for a while, but it was hard to concentrate so didn’t get very far at all. A little before 4:00, I turned on the oven and got the potatoes all buttered and seasoned and laid out in the casserole dish. Put those in the oven and put the delicata in too. Then I washed up the dishes. At 4:30, I started the rice cooking. Then made gravy from the meat broth. The Chings arrived a little after 5:00. After greeting them, I got the drinks and fruit set out on the table; and by 5:30, all the food was done and we had our supper. Enjoyed the evening visiting with the family. They left here around 8:15 to take the children back to the Parkers’ house and get them ready for bed. Daddy called Owena this evening, and Nathan had a chance to talk briefly to Amos, Tomas, and Philemon. |
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