7 Days to Go...

7 Days, WOW, that means next tuesday at this time, I will be on my way. Actually, at 7:45am, right now for me, I will be trying to figure out what to do in Portland. We will be leaving Redmond Airport at 5:50am, (that means we will be meeting at 4:30am BTW) and then get into Portland, have 6 hours of Layover, then on our long flight to Frankfurt Germany, overnight layover there, then to Riga, Latvia the next morning. So All that is One tiny week away, very exciting.

Well, today's reading is Ephesians 6:19-20

Pray also for me,
that whenever I open my mouth,
words may be given me
so that I will fearlessly
make known the mystery of the Gospel,
for which I am an ambassador in chains.
Pray that I may declare it fearlessly,
as I should.

The only way that I can make a difference in the lives of these people is to listen for what God has to say through me. I cannot do it AT ALL on my own, God, and the Holy Spirit, is the one who moves in the hearts of people. If it were all up to me, nothing would get done, all I have is words (and not even eloquent words at that).

8 Days to Go...

Today's scripture is 1Chronicles 16:23-33

Sing to the LORD, all the earth;
proclaim his salvation day after day.

Declare his glory among the nations,
his marvelous deeds among all peoples.

For great is the LORD and most worthy of praise;
he is to be feared above all gods.

For all the gods of the nations are idols,
but the LORD made the heavens.

Splendor and majesty are before him;
strength and joy in his dwelling place.

28 Ascribe to the LORD, O families of nations,
ascribe to the LORD glory and strength,

ascribe to the LORD the glory due his name.
Bring an offering and come before him;
worship the LORD in the splendor of his [a] holiness.

Tremble before him, all the earth!
The world is firmly established; it cannot be moved.

Let the heavens rejoice, let the earth be glad;
let them say among the nations, "The LORD reigns!"

Let the sea resound, and all that is in it;
let the fields be jubilant, and everything in them!

Then the trees of the forest will sing,
they will sing for joy before the LORD,
for he comes to judge the earth.

The part that stands out to me is in the first verse.- Proclaim his salvation DAY AFTER DAY!
Often times we are so caught up in our own business, and the things going on around us that we forget that we are called to Proclaim what He has done for us, EVERYDAY! I can guarentee you that I do not proclaim his Salvation to Him, or others for that matter, everyday. There are many times that I think of God and tell Him how wonderful He is or bask in the amazing world that he has created, but its not a daily thing, I am saddened to say. I will have to work on that, and this is a good reminder for myself.

Thank You God, for all you have done, do, and will do in the future for me as well as everyone else that you have created.

9 Days to Go...

Well, I didnt get to the post yesterday because I was incredibly busy with Church in the morning, then we went on the river, long story, and when I got home (around 9ish) I was so tired I couldnt do anything. So, here it is;

The reading today is Genisis 12:1-3

The Lord had said to Abram,
Leave your country
your people
and your father's household
and go to the land I will show you.
I will make you into a great nation
and I will bless you;
I will make your name great,
and you will be a blessing.
I will bless those who bless you,
and whoever curses you
I will curse
and all peoples on earth
will be blessed through you.

This is a great encouragement for me. It shows that God blesses people who obey him and do as He asks. And that awesome thing is that God did exactly what He said He would to Abram. Abram obeyed God and left what he knew, family, friends, country he lived in, and listened for God to share with him where He would like him to go, and it was counted to him as Righteousness. Abram, who eventually was called Abraham, is known throughout the Bible and the Christian faith.
This is very pertinent for me, because I recently had to wait on God for direction in my life. Not for Latvia, but for a Yes by God saying, Western Oregon University is where I want you to go, and this is what I want you to do. Sometimes it's difficult to wait, but we all need to make sure that we are listening to where God would have us go, not just what we want, or the whole way, we will be fighting for the drivers seat.

10 Days to Go,...

Ten days seems so soon. WOW, I can't wait. Well today's passage is:

For we do not preach ourselves,
but Jesus Christ as Lord,
and ourselves as your servants for Jesus' sake.
For God, who said, "Let light shine out of darkness,"
made his light shine in our hearts
to give us the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ.

But we have this treasure in jars of clay
to show that this all-surpassing power is from God
and not from us.
We are hard pressed on every side,
but not crushed;
perplexed,
but not in despair;
persecuted,
but not abandoned;
struck down,
but not destroyed.

We always carry around in our body the death of Jesus,
so that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our body.
For we who are alive are always being given over to death for Jesus' sake,
so that his life may be revealed in our mortal body.
So then, death is at work in us, but life is at work in you.

This passage reminds me of a DC Talk song. Great stuff. There's alot that Paul is trying to say to the Corinthians here. God has shown himself to us through putting his Light in our hearts. Light is a great thing, even the tiniest bit of light can illuminate the darkness.

11 Days to Go,...

Well, I did not get to a post yesterday for 11 days but I couldn't just skip 11 days to go, so here it is. And just FYI- the scripture for yesterday was

1Peter 1:13-16

Therefore, prepare your minds for action,
be self-controled,
Set your hope fully on the Grace given you
when Jesus Christ is revealed.
As obediant children,
do not conform to the evil desires you had
when you lived in ignorance
But just as He who called you is holy,
so be holy in all you do,
for it is written, Be holy, for I am holy

This passage is powerful for me because it tells us that it is important to work our best at being holy, not so we can show how great we are, or rub others in it, but to try our hardest to be holy, so we can do what is right. We will NEVER, ever, be Holy because of our sinful nature, but it is our duty to work at it and just know that we are forgiven By Faith Alone, through Faith Alone.

12 Days to Go...

Today's Scripture to read has a bit more relevancy to our trip, I think.
Ephesians 2:10

"For we are God's workmanship,
created in Christ Jesus to do good works,
which God prepared in advance for us to do."

13 Days to Go

Today's pre-field bible reading was Jonah 4:1-11. This was the part of the familiar story of Jonah where He went outside of the town to watch what God was going to do to the City because of its disobedience. This was where the plant sprouted up to give him some more shade, then withered and died.
To tell you the truth, I have NO CLUE what this has to do with a mission trip? Does it mean that we should not be like Jonah and hope that God does NOT strike down our missions field? I feel that the first part of Jonah would have more to do with our mission trip- the part where Jonah is asked to go, but he is too afraid, and then go into the ways we serve God. I don't know, all I know is that this one doesn't make that much sense in terms of our Short Term Mission to Latvia.

Well, in preparation for the trip today, I have been working on my packing list. I started an extensive list early so, hopefully, I won't forget anything, and have it all organized. Yes, I like organized ALOT!

The Countdown Begins...

Well, for me, the Latvian Mission Trip has started today. We have been working though a book about Short-Term Missions called "The Next Mile". With this book, devotions are included in the Back and today was the first day of the Pre-Field Devotions.

Today I read- Isaiah 49:1-6- A Light to the Nations.
I want to be used by God to be a Light to the Nations myself. Isn't it amazing that God can use faulted people like us? I just find it so fascinating that even though I sin, and hurt God, He still can, will, and wants to use me for His good. I think of Moses and how he was used. There is a song by an old band called the W's that starts out-

"every once in awhile i start to contemplate how a person like me could be used by the great God.
then i look to those who lived before me, in their imperfections they showed Gods glory.

Moses and the burning bush everybody knows that he was always doubting what God could do.
Gidion could never understand how God could use, an itty bitty man like me.

how can God ever use me.
i'm just a nobody.
he sees everything about me.
what can he see in me.
what can he see in me.
what can he see in me.

Peter said at one time i will not fall away even if the Consequences of death is what i pay.
before the rooster crows you will deny me three times saying i do not know this man
he is no friend of mine.
Paul stood by as Stephen died and gave his support.
even when the rocks were thrown he showed no remorse.
beat down till he was dead.

Paul, what a wretched man i am.
how can God ever use me.
i'm just a nobody.
he sees everything about me.
what can he see in me.
what can he see in me.
what can he see in me."

That song called Moses by the W's sums up what I often feel about God's use of me in His plans. It just seems that, being such a faultering person, God could find someone better, BUT THE AMAZING THING IS THAT WHEN GOD USES PEOPLE LIKE ME WHO ARE INSIGNIFICANT, IT SHOWS HIS GLORY ALL THE MORE. So, I want to be like Paul and Boast about my Weakness, for in my weakness, it shows God's STRENGTH!

So, that is my Latvian Thought for the Day!