Be Utterly Amazed

"Look at the nations and watch and be utterly amazed.  For I am going to do something in your days that you would not believe, even if you were told.".......Habakkuk 1:5 (NIV)

Are you amazed at what is going on in the world every day?

I am.

Everyday since I've returned to Ukraine, I've been waking up and and saying to myself, "Thank you Lord for allowing me to walk in great faith."

Every day my knees knock when I think about the problems I need to solve or am overwhelmed with the things I am going through.  Doors of opportunity fly closed and others fly open.  Roads that looked good to walk down suddenly don't look as appealing.  I know I chose the "road less traveled" in this life, but does it have to be so chaotic and crazy?  Disaster could strike at any time.  Can I get through this?

I end up much like Habakkuk does, complaining to the Lord about all the unfairness I see daily around me, "The wicked hem in the righteous, so that justice is perverted!" (vs 4) or my paraphrase, "THESE PEOPLE ARE EVIL.  WHAT ARE YOU GOING TO DO ABOUT IT?"

Everyone is wondering at the lack of justice in the world today.  Just read your Facebook newsreel.  Everyone you know is madly pasting reams of political copy on their pages in complete panic.

What is he going to do about it?  What is going to happen?

In Habakkuk 2:4 the Lord tells us what to do: "The righteous will live by faith."

Not live by faith in our bank accounts.  Not walk by faith in our traditions.  Not stump our faith in our political systems but live our lives with faith in God.

When we choose to walk in great faith in the Lord we will rejoice:

Even though the fig tree does not bud and there are no grapes on the vines.

Even though the olive crop fails and the fields produce no food.

Even though there are no sheep in the pen and no cattle in the stalls.

When you can walk in great faith then something amazing happens.  You realize you don't have to do everything by your own strength.  You don't have to figure it out.  You don't have to have all the answers.  When you can look beyond your own strength and stop controlling everything, you will see something amazing.

You will start seeing God working in the world around you no matter how much it is spinning out of control.

You will be amazed.

Back To The Day Center

I finally made it back to our Day Center today to meet with the "Moms Club."

The weather here is changing from summer to fall and summer is not leaving easily.  My body was also in full rebellion of a climate of four full seasons as opposed to beach weather and I have been struggling with a bad cold and who knows what else.  I thought it was allergies or asthma but my neighbor caught the same thing so who knows what it is.  The crud would be a good name.

Having the crud means not being able to hang out with kids so today was the first day I was back at our Day Center and I found that most of the kids have grown so much they are ready for college now.  No, not really, but they are much bigger and we had a new little two month old that I got to hold for a while which was fun.

So everything that can be under control in Ukraine is under control and I'm back in a routine which is nice. 

Mother's Shelter

ChildRescue is opening a new Mother's Shelter which will be a place that young mom's can live and learn life skills.  The last time I saw it they had just gotten started on the building and as you can see it's changed dramatically.  It's almost finished.
 

This might not look too exciting to you but it is to us!  You can't see from this photo, but the walls are actually finished and the electricity is ready to go.

 

The windows have been put in too.  There are two apartments right next to each other.  We are super excited because ChildRescue purchased these flats so we don't have to worry about being kicked out of rented spaces anymore. 

(Don't Be Afraid To) Talk To The Homeless

 

Last week I finished the book, Same Kind of Different As Me which is about the friendship between a rich art dealer and a homeless man.  

The book highlights some things that I've learned in this life about relating to homeless people.  

The number one piece of advice I would give to someone is to just talk to them.  

Just talk to them without making a big thing about their situation and try to connect with them as you would anyone else.  

You would be surprised how this can encourage them to no ends.  Most people walk by them ignoring them which makes them feel invisible and takes away their connection to humanity.  If you breach that wall, you make them feel human again.  They are usually lonely and think no one cares about them.

Try it and let me know how it goes.  It won't only change their life, but it will change yours as well.

Weather Shock

I arrived back in Ukraine and it's taken me a few days to get organized.  My body completely rebelled once it had a sniff of the pre fall Ukrainian weather.  Thus it gave me a rotten cold and sinus infection.  Do you blame it?  I mean, my body wants this:

But now it has this:

But if it didn't have the above, then it couldn't have this:

So, my constitution is just going to have to acclimate to the new atmosphere whether it likes it or not!

I've been curing the boredom of culture shock and illness by reading an awesome book called, Same Kind of Different As Me by Ronald Hall, Denver Moore and Lynn Vincent.  It's the true story of a rich art dealer whose spiritual outlook is changed forever by becoming friends with a homeless man. 

Happy Birthday Ukraine!

Happy 21rst birthday Ukraine! 

Many blessings to the people of Ukraine today! 

Let's Visit Africa

Kisses from Katie: A Story of Relentless Love and Redemption

A friend asked me to keep posting book reviews on books I particularly enjoyed so here is the latest book that I've read which gripped me.

"Kisses From Katie" is the story of a young woman from Nashville who takes a mission trip to Africa and then finds herself falling passionately in love with the children she meets so she returns and starts adopting children. 

She shares her heartache, passion for Christ and the difficulties of adapting and living in a foreign culture.  I so appreciate her openness in sharing her frustration with the overwhelming needs she found and how she relies on God when there is no money to do what God is putting on her heart to do. 

Interesting enough, I heard about this book through my friend Gabi, who is living in Uganda and is also adopting children there.  She is an amazing young woman and her faith has been very encouraging to me personally.   I recommend you check out her facebook page, www.facebook.com/rachamministries or read her blog, "The Simplicity Of Love."