What Am I Willing To Give?

When I was in Nashville, the topic of Gary's ministry came up on several occasions. He runs a non-profit called Hope Network that works with the persecuted church in Asia. Each time that we talked about how it's extremely difficult and risky to be a Christian in China, it challenged me to think about how seriously I take my faith and what I am truly willing to give for it. In a country and culture where anything is acceptable, it becomes easier to take my faith for granted and forget what hardships so many of my brothers and sisters in Christ around the world are going through for the sake of the Gospel. In Matthew 5:11-12, Jesus said, "Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you."

I think that I can know to certain extent what this passage means, but for someone living in a country where they will be thrown in jail, beaten, and possibly killed for following Christ, I think this verse must really hit home. The pastors and their families that Hope Network works with works with have to literally live out this persecution daily and have and have to trust that they really are blessed for their suffering on a level that cannot be understood by someone who hasn't suffered in the same way.

I wonder how many people living in a free country right now would give up their faith if they were to be beaten or put into prison because of it. I asked myself am I willing to go through anything, to give up everything, for Christ's sake? When I hear stories about these pastors and families clinging to their faith and service to God amidst such persecution, I see what an authentic faith looks like and what I need to be ready to endure for Christ. The entire purpose of my life is to live for the glory of God, so it is my prayer that I can keep an eternal perspective in mind and know that if I am to prosper or suffer, it is for the glory of God and I am blessed to go through whatever comes my way.

Hebrews 13:3 says, "Remember those in prison as if you were their fellow prisoners, and those who are mistreated as if you yourselves were suffering."

For those of us who do not suffer as many of our fellow believers do, I pray that we will remember them as if we were in their position and that we will continue to pray that God would give them the strength, courage, and hope that they need to continue growing in their faith.

I'm so thankful to know Gary and this amazing ministry Hope Network that is not only changing lives in Asia, but so many more, including me.

My family's friend Chris also runs a stellar organization called Alpha Relief that works mainly in North Korea. So awesome to see what God is doing in these nations! Please continue to pray not only for the believers in these countries, but also for the leaders, that they will turn their hearts to the Lord.

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In other news.....

I swam in the lake for the first time this year yesterday! We went in again today and it's BEAUTIFUL! I think the kids (at least our neighbor's kids) have been swimming since there were ice chunks still in the water, but I haven't been swimming since Sanibel, about a month ago, so it's really nice to have this great weather... and the lake is WAY better than the pool! :)

Cappy and Willow have a new buddy, Dash. Mariah really wanted this little miniature pony and he is GORGEOUS. Willow and Cappy are cute, but he is just so beautiful with his black coat and long, dark mane (and he pulls a two-person cart which will be really fun for the kids!). I think it will be a lot to have three horses around, especially when Willow has her baby and there will be four. If I was going to be here the whole summer to help Mariah care for them it wouldn't be such a big deal, but I'm afraid that if mom gets busy then all of the work will fall to Mariah and that's a lot! I know that Nathan has been loving to help her with the minis and Abby and Katie sometimes help, but they aren't committed caretakers like me and Mariah, so I'm hoping that mom will do the work with her while I'm gone. It sure is fun to have these cute ponies here, but the more there are the more work we have!

My sister Sarah and brother-in-law Dan have recently become the legal guardians of my new BEAUTIFUL NIECE OLIVIA! They will be going to Ethiopia in June or July to bring her home, and I CANNOT WAIT! Sadly my summer is so busy that I will most likely not be able to travel with them. I have been wanting to go back to Ethiopia ever since I went two years ago, but I guess this will not be the time for me to go back, so I'll eagerly wait for them to get home!

AND.... I am VERY excited to say that in 8 days I leave for China with a Show Hope team!!! My friends Katie and Wendy are leading the trip, and I am thrilled to be going with them and a team of 16 others girls. Ever since I went to Hope Healing Home about two years ago in Beijing, I have been praying and waiting for when God would have me go back. I am thrilled beyond words to finally be able to go back, and also to go to Maria's Big House of Hope in Luoyang! I know this trip is going to be amazing and I'm so glad that I will be going with my dear friend Wendy and Katie, who lived in China for six years!

ShowHope.org

Thanks for a great weekend, Wendy. You're the best! Even though Gary's and my travels home so far has been a nightmare (totally delayed and cancelled flights...what in the world?!) it was so worth it to see my Show Hope peeps!

Funny story that I have to share... Cole's 8th birthday was on Saturday, so we went to a Japanese restaurant for dinner. Afterwards as we were walking out, we walked by the bar to find that Cole had left a few minutes earlier and was sitting at the bar, just chilling out, watching the TV. As if that wasn't a funny enough sight to see, when were walking to the car, Gary jumped in a puddle, totally soaking his foot (it had been rainy all weekend) and Wendy said, "he jumped in a puddle!! I think Cole sitting at the bar was more mature than him!"
You might just have to know Cole and Gary for this to be funny, but we were cracking up!

toms.com

For every pair of shoes that are purchased, TOMS gives a pair to a
child in need.

Where are your TOMS taking you?

Mine are taking me to Nashville for a Show Hope event! (showhope.org)
I am so excited to see all my Show Hope friends and my friend Gary who
is flying in from California!

Mom and Dad are in Haiti this week, so a big THANKS to Grammy for staying at the house with the kids so I could go to Nash. Also to Tammy, Sarah, and the Rodriguez family for taking such good care of them while Mom and Dad are gone. THANKS guys! (and thanks to Uncle Robby for taking them to a play in Philly!)


One last thing before I go: I drove Dan to the Philadelphia airport a couple weeks ago, and on the way there the GPS was telling us to get off at EVERY exit. Dan kept telling me that I put in the wrong address, but I assured  him that unless there's more than one Philly International Airport, we definitely had the right address! Thankfully he knew how to get there without the GPS. Well, on my way home I had no Dan and a GPS that was giving me wrong directions! So I had to call Dad several times to make sure that I was on the right track. That was a nerve racking experience! When I got home Dad checked out the GPS to make sure it was working right.
WELL, when I began my drive to Philly this morning, the GPS told me to turn right at the end of our road when I knew I was supposed to turn left. So I called Tammy to make sure that I was supposed to go to the turnpike. She told me that I was going the right way but that one GPS wasn't working... I told her though that my dad had fixed this one. Just when I didn't know what to do because I knew very well that it was going to keep telling me to go the wrong way, I remembered- the SETTINGS! It's default setting was to avoid toll roads, thus taking me the long way around and not on the turnpike! I quickly disabled all avoidances and it took me the RIGHT way! So made it safely my first time driving alone to the Philly airport.... The moral of the story is ALWAYS check your GPS settings OR know your way around and don't have to rely on technology!

listen to this....

My sister-in-law Jen sent me this video of one of our friends, Josh, who composed this song. What a gift! Definitely one of the most beautiful songs I've ever heard.