October 31. It was well into the morning before my feet got warm in bed last night. I guess they got too cold at the girls’ house. Since Daddy had to take Connie to Gastonia again today for a follow-up visit with the doctor, I got to thinking before rising time that I could stay here until they get back. Daddy was agreeable to that so around 8:30, he left for the girls’ house with a stop to get gas. After my prayer time, I went to work translating more lessons for the culture course. For stretch breaks, I walked around the house and did more praying. When Daddy and Connie returned, we loaded up the car and headed for the girls’ house. It was already after 12:30. After nap, I got the shopping list made and then worked on the culture lessons for the rest of the afternoon. This evening Pastor Ogle preached on the character quality of boldness. The difference between boldness and brashness has to do with the work of the Holy Spirit in our lives. II Timothy 1:7. Boldness vs. fearfulness: confidence that what I have to say or do is true and right and just in the eyes of God. Learning how to base words and actions on the authority of scripture; being willing to stand alone on the side of right even if it requires personal sacrifice. When did you last stand alone for something you were confident is right? Fear is one of Satan’s most frequent and effective weapons. You must have Biblical boldness to accomplish what God wants for your life. Luke 2:46-49. Jesus was bold because this was what God wanted Him to do, because He knew the word of God. (I Peter 3:15, we must always be ready to give an answer.) And because He rested in the Holy Spirit. Jesus also utilized questions. Questions stir the conscience; accusations harden the will. Luke 4:1-4, Jesus was filled with the Spirit and with the word of God. Proverbs 28:1. How well do you know the Bible? Can you defend your position? Are you daily walking in the Spirit? Are you moment by moment walking in the Spirit? Where does boldness in witnessing come from? Acts 1:8. How bold are you in your witness? The Lord was bold in facing human fears—Calvary, John 12:23-26. Jesus knew He was facing Calvary; nothing could stop Him. Boldness in facing the soldiers, John 18:1-11. Boldness in facing Pilate. None of His boldness was based upon the physical; it was based upon the spiritual. The same power that the Lord had is at our disposal. Christ Himself said that we would do far greater works than He. The disciples didn’t pray for deliverance from persecution but for boldness to go through it. Boldness is motivated by enlightening others of God’s truth; brashness is seeking to belittle them or convince them of my truth. Boldness is done in the spirit, brashness in the flesh. Boldness is based on Scripture; brashness on my own thoughts and words. How could boldness be gentle? Boldness is under the control of the Holy Spirit of God. Boldness comes when I know the Word of God and am directed by the Spirit of God. “Because thine heart was tender, and thou hast humbled thyself before the LORD, when thou heardest what I spake against this place, and against the inhabitants thereof, that they should become a desolation and a curse, and hast rent thy clothes, and wept before me; I also have heard thee, saith the LORD.” (II Kings 22:19) Lord, that our hearts might be tender and humble before Thee, that Thou mayest hear our prayers. November 1. Right after breakfast, we left to go shopping. A short stop at Lidl’s first. Then a longer stop at WalMart. Got a fair amount of groceries there, and Daddy had new wipers put on the car. At the checkout, we were surprised and happy to see a former neighbor from where we lived previously. Actually, she saw us first and came over from the next checkout to say hello. Would have liked to have talked with her some, but she hurried on her way. Then Mary M happened by and asked for a hug. I was delighted to give her one. From there, we went to Aldi and there I was able to get a hug from Carolyn and spend a few minutes talking with her. Another man, named Pat, I think, came along, and he, in spite of his aches and limps, found something to praise the Lord for. By the time we left there, it was after 10:30, and we headed straight home. Put away groceries, had a snack, and did some work on the culture lessons for MTP. Enjoyed a nice nap, and then worked more on the culture lessons. After supper, I did some crocheting, prepared a pot full of veggies and cooked them for coming meals, washed the dishes, listened to a missionary message by Dr. Baker, did a little bit more on the MTP lesson, and did more crocheting. Later in the evening, I did some reading.
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October 29. Thank you, Lord, for such a lovely day with beautiful blue sky and warm sunshine. After breakfast and quiet time, I looked through my suitcases to try to find things that I had apparently left packed after we did our “practice” packing. Was thankful to find everything that I was looking for. Spent the rest of the morning finding suitable greeting cards for various individuals and writing notes on the cards. Just before lunch, Daddy and I went out for a welcome walk in the fresh air and sunshine. Then it was time for lunch. During lunch hour, I worked on gathering more visuals for the outreach lessons. I just had a couple more visuals to go before we lay down for nap, and finished those right after nap. So now that part of the course is complete. Praise the Lord! Afterward I swept the floor. Then Daddy and I went out for a walk in the warm air and sunshine. Ahh, how good it felt to get out. Thank you, Lord. The rest of the afternoon and a good part of the evening, I worked on course three of the MTP (Missionary Training Program), the culture course. Then I did the dishes, and afterward we listened to another missionary message from MBC. My finger was too sore to do crocheting this evening, so I gave a little time to reading a book. “6And I also have given you cleanness of teeth in all your cities, and want of bread in all your places: yet have ye not returned unto me, saith the LORD…. 8….yet have ye not returned unto me, saith the LORD. 9….yet have ye not returned unto me, saith the LORD. 10….yet have ye not returned unto me, saith the LORD. 11….yet have ye not returned unto me, saith the LORD. 12Therefore thus will I do unto thee, O Israel: and because I will do this unto thee, prepare to meet thy God, O Israel. 13For, lo, he that formeth the mountains, and createth the wind, and declareth unto man what is his thought, that maketh the morning darkness, and treadeth upon the high places of the earth, The LORD, The God of hosts, is his name.” (Amos 4:6-13) How God desires that His people return unto Him! Five times in verses 6-11, the LORD declares what He has done to awaken His people so that they will return to Him; yet, sadly, they did not return unto Him. Therefore He told them to prepare for judgment. God has done much to try to awaken His people in America too. Yet they refuse to return unto the LORD. How long will God withhold His judgment? October 30. Went to bed somewhat early last night, with sore throat and voice starting to change. Thankful for a fairly good night’s rest and not to be feeling worse this morning. After we arrived at C&C’s house and had greeted Connie (oops, I almost forgot Fred, but said good morning to him a bit later), I put away some food items in the fridge, made a smoothie, sat down for more prayer time while I was drinking it, turned on the computer and looked at e-mails, got journal notes set up for Connie, transferred and edited pictures, and sent an e-mail to Connie. I had no idea that time had taken wings, and it was already 11:40 by then. I thought it was about 10:30. 😊 Hastened to get carrots ready to cook. In the mean time, I cut the rest of the chicken up into small pieces. Added some peas and corn to the pot of carrots and made sure they were done before adding the leftover chicken and rice. Voila! Soup for Daddy’s lunch. Upon starting work in the kitchen, I had noticed that yesterday’s dishes had not been washed so after Daddy’s dinner was ready, I got busy doing the dishes. It was 12:40 when I finally sat down to eat my own lunch. After that it was nap time. This afternoon and into the evening, I worked on the culture course for MTP and completed one section of that. After that I did the dishes. and then started a new crochet project. “6Seek the LORD, and ye shall live…. 8Seek him that maketh the seven stars and Orion, and turneth the shadow of death into the morning, and maketh the day dark with night: that calleth for the waters of the sea, and poureth them out upon the face of the earth: The LORD is his name…. 14Seek good, and not evil, that ye may live: and so the LORD, the God of hosts, shall be with you, as ye have spoken…. 15Hate the evil, and love the good, and establish judgment in the gate: it may be that the LORD God of hosts will be gracious unto the remnant of Joseph….” (Amos 5:6,8,14,15) God’s solution to national, and personal, problems—seek the LORD, seek good and hate evil.
October 21. Colder this morning, but the sun shone and it warmed up a bit although it didn’t reach the 60’s. It didn’t really feel that bad. We’re thankful for how warm our apartment stays without heat. We praise the Lord for a message from Bro. Gray this morning saying that the immigration department told him they would process our papers and send approval this week to DC. We still keep praying, praying now that they will follow through with what they said they would do. It did not come in as we had hoped, so please keep praying! Thank you! We were a bit late getting to the girls’ house this morning. By the time we got into the house, said our good mornings, put away a few food items, and set up the computer, it was time for the first meeting to start. Pastor Ogle started preaching today on Revelation chapters 2 & 3, The Letters to the Seven Churches. God wants us to receive instructions from each of these letters. Each letter is a letter of reproof, rebuke, and reassurance. God knows us. We must learn from each church their good and bad to enjoy their rewards and avoid their judgment. 1) The church at Ephesus, the church with a love problem. The most prominent city in the province of Asia Minor. They were sound in faith, discerning, patient in difficulties. These were all good things, but love was lacking. Matthew 23:37, Mark 12:30, Matthew 10:37. If you love God supremely, everything else will fall into place. The correction: remember, repent. 2) Smyrna, the church that is poor, but rich. No bad, no punishment. Christ’s eternality is emphasized. Smyrna was a wealthy seaport city. This is the only place it is mentioned in Scripture. The people were in poverty, but were rich in faith. They served God; they endured persecution; they knew the blasphemy of those who pretended to belong to God, but actually belonged to Satan. They were rewarded with a crown of life. Have you asked God to make you faithful unto the end? The second meeting’s sermon was from II Peter 1:12-16, “The Role of Others in Your Growth.” You must allow preachers to remind you of things you already know, and preachers must remind you often. Why? We tend to forget. 1) The preacher’s responsibility: a) put them in remembrance—don’t neglect this. b) establish them in the truth—set fast, make firm. Truth never changes. c) stir them up by putting them in remembrance—arouse the mind to action. d) reject false methods, don’t follow cunningly devised fables. Preachers don’t need to trick people with their methods. I Corinthians 2:1-5; I Thessalonians 2:1-12. 2) the people’s response: a) know the truth—you can’t be put in remembrance of something you don’t know. b) you must be present to be reminded—how can someone remind you of something if you are not there. c) remember after the voice is silent—he being dead yet speaketh. After I ate lunch, I listened to more music and crocheted. Finished all but the last row of the doily, but finished that later in the evening. Praise the Lord for His help in completing that project! Spent the rest of the afternoon and the first part of the evening finishing the painting so I can pack all the painting supplies. Praise the Lord for His help with the painting! We also listened to a message by Pastor Weiss, continuing his teaching from Hebrews 12, dwelling on verses 16 and 17 and the life of Esau. Esau was a profane person. He did not just make one mistake. He was irreverent in sacred matters. He paid the consequences for his attitude toward sacred things. We can blame others, but the truth is that we ourselves are the problem. We can still receive a blessing, but it is just not the same. Let us look diligently while there is still time. Finished the snowman’s scarf after that and started on the hat.
October 19. It was quite chilly this morning, but didn’t take long for the day to warm up into a lovely fall day. Arrived at the girls’ house around 9:00. Got food put away in fridge. Started laundry. Made and drank smoothie. Had more prayer time. Hung out clothes. After mid-morning, Daddy took Connie and me out to Hobby Lobby to get a few items. Then we stopped at the apartment so I could get a snack because I had forgotten to pack one to take to the girls’ house. Then we went back to the girls’ house because Connie had forgotten to bring a drink and snack in the car. By then it was after 11:45, but we went ahead and went to Dollar Tree before lunch so we could get some greeting cards and pencil sharpeners. Connie bought a few items too. After lunch and a long nap, I researched anti-inflammatory supplements before writing out the shopping list for tomorrow. Had supper. Set up more pictures for the outreach lessons. And worked a little on the crocheted doily. Daddy had a good talk with Amos… Details cannot be shared at this point; but, please pray about this talk. It may have wonderful results in the future for the ministry in Owena if God is in it. October 20. Left for shopping around 8:30 this morning. Only two stops today—WalMart and Aldi. It was very cloudy when we left and raining when we came out of WalMart. It was around 10:30 when we got home. Don’t know what took us so long. Put away groceries and had a drink and snack. Then we started reorganizing our suitcases and deciding what needs to go with us and what can be shipped. I was glad for lunch time and a chance to sit down for a while. My feet were hurting quite a bit by then, so I soaked them in an Epsom salts bath while eating my lunch. During lunch hour, again after nap, and again during supper time, I worked on gathering pictures for the outreach lessons. We also did more sorting and packing this afternoon. This evening, we went over to C&C’s house for our weekly table game. A nice card had come in the mail from Brenda M thanking me for the painting I had given her. It was a sweet reminder of the goodness of God and the joy of giving. Last night, I finished crocheting the snowman’s other arm and attached it to the body. This evening, I started crocheting the scarf.
October 17. Had to cook veggies this morning for my breakfast so cooked up a big pot full—carrots, celery, mushrooms, onion, and summer squash. By the time that was done and I had eaten a bowlful with a little quinoa and seaweed, I needed to do a little cleaning up in the kitchen before we packed up a few things to take to the girls’ house. After we arrived at the girls’ home, I made a smoothie, and then sat outside to drink it and to pray. It was a little warmer this morning and comfortable for sitting out as long as I had a light jacket on. Right after coming inside and starting up the computer, I got busy acknowledging the rest of our supporters and sending updates to all those who don’t receive them by USPS. A little before I finished, Daddy left for Gaffney to get the girls’ milk. Shortly thereafter, I completed the e-mail writing and then made some coleslaw so it would be ready for Daddy’s dinner. Spent the afternoon searching for pictures and working on the coloring pages for the outreach course. Pastor’s message this evening started with Philippians 2:20,21, speaking on Availability. Timothy was commended for being totally unselfish. Availability—making my own schedule and priorities secondary to the wishes of those whom I am serving. Rejecting ambitions that would hinder me from delighting in God-given priorities. Standing by a task until it is fully completed. Are you available to God? You must make yourself available to do whatever God wants you to do. Samuel was available. I Samuel 3:10-18. Samuel did not know what he was making himself available for. Josiah, II Kings 22:8-20, It was obvious that Josiah had never seen or heard the words of this book. He immediately repented when he heard the words of the book. David, I Samuel 17. Immediately makes himself available to his dad. Eventually makes himself available to his God. Isaiah, Isaiah 6:1-10. God gave Isaiah a 50-year ministry when he volunteered. Philip, Acts 8:26-40. Jesus, I Peter 2:21. On this point, pastor asked for input from the members of the congregation, giving them opportunity to point out different ways in which Jesus made Himself available. October 18. Took a few pictures again of the early morning clouds. Most of them were low on the horizon, however, so it was hard to get them without getting a lot of cityscape too. I was thankful to have enough time this morning to cook fish. It tasted good to add that to my breakfast. Shortly after breakfast, we went out for my appointment with Dr. Cook. On our way home, we made a stop at the post office to get some overseas stamps. Upon arriving home, I fixed a cup of coffee and started right in making the weekly soup—green soup today—spinach, arugula, celery, and kale, plus some carrots and onions and spices too. After that, I turned on the computer and deleted a bunch of e-mails before getting the September progress report written. I felt quite tired this morning so took a little extra time for nap this afternoon. Felt much better after that. Spent most of the afternoon and a good part of the evening finding pictures for the outreach lessons. Daddy and I took time for an afternoon and an evening walk in the fresh air. Took some pictures of the evening clouds too. I also pureed and bottled the soup and put it in the fridge. Had a fair stack of dishes to do this evening since I had done extra cooking today. The toilet handle broke this afternoon, and Monty had to come and fix that for us. Daddy also went out to WalMart to get a new mouse. The mouse he had was eating up batteries like candy. Just had a little bit of time for crocheting this evening. Started the snowman’s other arm. “2And many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt. 3And they that be wise shall shine as the brightness of the firmament; and they that turn many to righteousness as the stars for ever and ever.” (Daniel 12:2,3) Lord, help me to be wise, and to turn many to righteousness.
October 15. Thankful for a pretty good night’s rest. After breakfast and quiet time, Daddy called Dr. Cook, and he took me right in for an adjustment. The rest of the morning (after we got back) and on through lunch hour was spent preparing the October update for churches and other supporters. This afternoon, I got journal notes ready to go to Connie, transferred pictures to the computer and edited them, and then got the e-mail ready and sent it off. I was about to start working on the outreach pictures when "G" called. He wanted to know if we would come over for a few minutes, so we did. He wanted to apologize for not offering us a drink or something when we went over there the other day. But we also spent more time talking and answering questions. It is just hard for me to imagine that we are the first missionaries he has ever met, and he has been saved since 1989, he said. When we got back to the apartment, we had supper. Afterward, I worked for a good while on finding and setting up coloring pictures for the outreach lessons. After I washed dishes, we listened to a message from MBC and I finished crocheting the snowman’s first arm and attached it to his body. October 16. Not quite as chilly this morning. After I had made my second vitamin drink and put some quinoa on to cook for my breakfast, I took up my camera and headed out the door. There was a glow in the clouds, and I wanted to take some photos. Around 9:00, Daddy and I went out looking for some items we still need to pack with our stuff for shipping. Went first to Mighty Dollar and found crayons and clipboards. Then to Big Lots and found crackers (not on list) and a large spray bottle. Last of all to WalMart where we purchased water, reinforcements, erasers, and moth balls. Back to the apartment to drop stuff off and pack up a few things to take to C&C’s house. Half way there, I remembered that I had forgotten the pasta sauce. Turned around and headed back to the apartment. Daddy went in and grabbed the pasta sauce. This time we made it all the way to the girls’ house. By the time we arrived, it was time to start dinner. Made goulash today for Daddy. After nap, I went through the realigning process for the printer because it was printing with stripes. Then I prepared updates to acknowledge supporters who receive their updates by mail. Printed them all out and addressed envelopes for them. Now they are in Connie’s hands for folding, stuffing, adding return address labels, sealing, and mailing. After doing dishes this evening, I crocheted several rows of the doily. Then we had sharing time and prayer together before Daddy and I came home. “3And I set my face unto the Lord God, to seek by prayer and supplications, with fasting, and sackcloth, and ashes: 4And I prayed unto the LORD my God, and made my confession, and said, O Lord, the great and dreadful God, keeping the covenant and mercy to them that love him, and to them that keep his commandments; 5We have sinned, and have committed iniquity, and have done wickedly, and have rebelled, even by departing from thy precepts and from thy judgments: 6Neither have we hearkened unto thy servants the prophets, which spake in thy name to our kings, our princes, and our fathers, and to all the people of the land…. 19O Lord, hear; O Lord, forgive; O Lord, hearken and do; defer not, for thine own sake, O my God: for thy city and thy people are called by thy name.” (Daniel 9:3-6 & 19) Daniel, in reading Jeremiah’s writings, understands why his people are living in captivity and pleads with God for forgiveness and for His mercy. I was impressed that Daniel, a man greatly blessed and used of God, included himself in the sins that had brought God’s judgment. As I read the chapter, and specifically the prayer, I thought of my own country and included myself in the sins of God’s people in this country. How we need to see the greatness and the dreadfulness of God as Daniel did, to fear the Lord and to confess our sins and to plead with the Lord for His mercy and forgiveness! |
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