Humility - 100% Trust in God

'A humble man is not afraid of failure. In fact, he is not afraid of anything, even of himself, since perfect humility implies perfect confidence in the power of God before Whom no other power has any meaning, and for Whom there is no such thing as an obstacle.' Thomas Merton

 I really like this quote. It's kind of powerful. In my mind anyway, it's saying that the reason a humble man is not afraid of failing is because he knows he won't fail – his trust is so totally in God who cannot fail.

Sometimes the things we see as failures in our lives are really just God trying to work out His perfect plan for us. I'm sure the humble man described above still felt like he had failed at times. I'm sure he would've wondered why on earth certain circumstances happened to him. But because he knew and believed that everything would work out for good in God's time, and through His means; that's why he didn't have to be afraid of anything – he completely trusted God's plan for him, whatever it took him through.

I think this description fits Job well. He had all that money could buy, really, as well as a happy wife and family. But what happened when he lost almost everything he possessed, even his own health? Was he afraid? No, he trusted in God to the degree that he said, “Though He slay me, yet will I trust in Him...” (Job 13:5) And God rewarded that complete trust in Him - “So the Lord blessed the latter end of Job more than his beginning...” (Job 42:12)

Can you imagine what life would be like if we totally, 100%, with all of our hearts, trusted in God? I think it would change my life. What about yours?

More Love Letters?

Today we were wanting to do something different. Something to bless others, while still having a good time together. This is what we came up with (along with op-shopping!) while we were on the way into town...  

 

The main idea of More Love Letters is that this world needs more love! And one way that we can tell people that they are loved is to write them a letter. Yes, we can (and should) write letters to our family and friends and tell them that we love them, but what about everybody else? They need real love too! So this is the idea: write love letters to people you do not know, and leave them in random places around town to be found, as God wills, by the people who need them most.


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What would you think if you were having a stressful day in town, and then you found a letter addressed just to you that read:

 

Dear Friend,

You are special! I love you! And most importantly God loves you! He cares for you, and wants you for His own...

I don't know what situations you may be facing, what trials you may be dealing with; but always remember: GOD LOVES YOU!

 

I am praying for you! Many blessings,

~ A Friend.

Or that looked like this:

 So, exactly what motivated us to write letters like the ones you just read?

 

At first when we started talking about writing 'love letters' and leaving them in random places, it felt weird knowing that someone you never knew might read the letter you wrote and that their lives might be changed completely because of this simple act.... But we got used to the idea pretty fast, and had fun writing things down to encourage, strengthen, and bless others.

 

For many of us the idea of witnessing may be very daunting but writing love letters is an easy way, we found, that fulfils two purposes: 1) sharing Jesus with those who need Him most, and 2) letting people know there are others out there who care about them. And, it's easy!

 

So, practically, how did we accomplish this today? We obviously wrote the letters, but how did we get them out from there...?

 

Our afternoon in town started out at an op-shop that had a free rack with Bibles and other inspirational books. So we stuck one of our letters in between two of the books, and kept looking at all the rest of the stuff... 

Next we stopped at a park for lunch. As we ate our 'smoked' sweet potato curry and rice, we looked around for an appropriate place to leave another letter... We decided to leave on top of the hand dryer in the public toilets.

While walking back to the car, we noticed an open café in front of where we were parked so we slipped a letter in next to the menu on the table most easily reachable!

After leaving a letter in the book section of another op-shop, we were discussing where to leave our last letter. As we were walking into the next shop, we noticed that a black car with P plates, parked right near the entrance, had its passenger window rolled right down. So we dropped it in as we walked past! While we were in the op-shop one of us noticed three dudes, dreadlocks and all, get into the very car we left the letter in! Not exactly the people we were expecting to receive it, but they need love too!

With a prayer on our lips after each letter, we came home, excited with the new mission field before us, and thanking God for the lives that will get touched, just because of our willingness to be a channel for Him!

 

So the challenge for you all... Just try it. Try writing a simple letter, conveying how much God loves the person that will read it... Let them know there is a purpose and a reason they are here on this earth... Check out this website: moreloveletters.com to see more about More Love Letters, and don't forget to write their web address on the letter you write so that the people who find it can write in to More Love Letters, and there may be a chance of you hearing how your letter was a blessing to others! :)

 

Looking forward to hearing how you all share God's love with the world!

 

Written by Kasey, Shanna, Shyla, Rachel & Jessica

Jonquils & Quotes...

I went outside yesterday and took these photos. It has been really windy, cold and wet this for the last week, so everyone was literally excited when the sun shone for a whole day yesterday!  I didn't know jonquils flowered at this time of year, but then i don't really know anything about gardening anyway. All I know is that these are flowers, they are pretty, and I wanted to take photos of them, so I did.

Now, for a totally different topic. Recently I was looking back through a notebook where I write down quotes and things from books I've read, and I thought I'd share a few with you... Which ones do you like best?

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'Wherever the Bible goes, it helps to bring about a feeling of brotherly love. An English trader was reminded of this when he landed on a once cannibal island. Seeing a native studying his Bible, the trader said to him, "Oh, that book is our of date in our country." "It is?" asked the native. "Well, if it were out of date here, you would have been eaten long ago."' 

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'Temptation is an opportunity to conquer. When we eventually reach the goal to which we are all striving, God will look us over, not for diplomas, but for scars.' A Man Called Peter page 55

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' I learned that if we obey God, miracles will happen, no matter what circumstances we find ourselves in.' The Heavenly Man page 172

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'And if we try to influence or elevate others, we shall soon see that success is in proportion to their belief of our belief in them.' Henry Drummond

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'Jesus calls his followers to be a lot of things, but I've yet to find where He warned us to be safe. We are not called to be safe, we are simply promised that when we are in danger, God is right there with us.' Kisses from Katie page xx

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'You've got talent. Thousands of people have talent. I might as well congratulate you for having eyes in your head. The one and only thing that counts is: Do you have staying power?' Noel Coward, Start Here page 135

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'Wherever in His providence God has placed you, He will keep you. "As thy days, so shall thy strength be." (Deuteronomy 33:25)' Counsels to Parents, Teachers and Students page 258