Abide

Who doesn't like to make plans?  I do.  I am a planner and want to have everything organized ahead of time.  Well, some people don't plan and seem to do well in life and that works for them, but as for me, I am a planner.

I currently live in a country where the antithesis of planning is survival.  Does what I wrote even make sense?  What I mean is planning and being organized is not a survival trait in Ukraine therefore, planning something actually goes against accomplishing your goals.  If you want to survive, then sometimes you have to work against your goals.  That can make life very, very complicated.

Goals? 

Yes, they are important.

I have some.  We all should have some.

"Where there is no vision, the people perish." - Proverbs 29:18 (KJV)

How do you deal with setting and achieving goals in a world full of chaos?

You set your goals and you pursue them.

And when you hit the wall you remember:

"Abide in me, and I in you.  As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me.  I am the vine, you are the branches.  He who abides in me, and I in him, bears much fruit:  for without me you can do nothing.  If anyone does not abide in me, he is cast out as a branch and is withered; and they gather them and throw them into the fire, and they are burned." - John 15:4-5 (KJV)

Before I left for Ukraine, I was drawn to this passage as I sat in my parents backyard reading my Bible in +70F sunshiny weather, working on a tan while the hummingbirds fluttered above me.  Yes, I digress a little to give you some color in this post.  It WAS a bit like a Disney movie.

I like to accomplish things, so I came back to Ukraine very excited and ready to start doing everything that I thought needed to be done.  I had goals.  I had ministry to accomplish.

And then those plans took a sharp turn in the wrong direction.

I found myself sitting in my warm flat with sub zero weather outside and snow falling outside my windows.  I viewed a winter wonderland before my very eyes.  (More color for you)  I then read these verses again.

As Christians,  we need to abide in him.

Abide means:
to act in accord with.

to submit to; agree to

to remain steadfast or faithful to; keep: If you make a promise, abide by it

If we want our lives to bear fruit, and live in ways that show others that we truly know him and are serving him, then we need to abide and stay close to him.  Because people watch each other all the time, and they can tell who is sincerely bearing fruit and who is faking it. Faking it doesn't count.  Faking it means doing nothing.  Faking it means your life is just a show. And the serious part about faking it is that God knows when we do it and he will prune that falseness right out of our lives.  He wants our lives to bear fruit that will bless others around us, not bring people constant problems.

Who wants to be a fake?  Who wants to live out a show all the time?  That's tiring and exhausting and does not really accomplish anything.  It bears fruit to a situation full of striving, strife and confusion.  Who wants that?

Better to abide.

Better to submit.

Better to be steadfast to the one who will always sustain you and never leave your nor forsake you.

Better to accomplish the goals he has for you.

One Year!

It's March 16th!

It's been one year since I landed in L.A. with a sprained back.

It's been one year since my grandma had a stroke.

It's been one year since I began a trip to the states thinking I would only be there for six weeks and ended up staying almost six months.

It's been one year since I unpacked my suitcases and sat down and stared at them and thought that I never wanted to use them again.

A lot has happened in one year!

God is very good.

The Bigger Picture Is More Important

 The following is an excerpt from Part 2 of my March newsletter.  If you would like to subscribe to my monthly newsletter, you can do so in the box to the right on the sidebar.


I am safely back in Kyiv and I appreciate your prayers as I had quite an interesting trip.  Because Ukraine is so far away, I have to change planes in Western Europe and this meant a night in a hotel room.  I woke up at 5am and rushed outside to catch the bus to the airport and was met with what could only be called a "Seinfeldian scene."  About fifteen Africans were holding up the bus to the airport with about 30 pieces of large luggage.  One woman had a cute little sleeping baby strapped to her back.  Half of the Africans and luggage were on the bus which had the luggage holds completely filled.  The rest of the luggage was strewn about the sidewalk and everyone, including the driver was screaming at the top of their lungs.  At the back of the bus sat two miserable looking passengers too afraid to do anything but look at me miserably through the window and send me telepathic signals not to get involved.  This was all happening at 5:45am in the morning.  After about 3 minutes of watching this and then watching the bus pull away with half the group left behind as they continued to scream and throw their luggage around, I realized that I probably wouldn't be getting on the next bus. So, now I had to make an executive financial decision so I wouldn't miss my flight.  I headed indoors to have the hotel call me a cab. The hotel workers told me the group was trying to hijack the bus and get it to go to different airport an hour away!

Once at the airport, security found my carry on that I have been using as a standard size bag for six years "too big," even though it is within the size limitations listed by my airline on my ticket.  They made me check it.  I was then informed I had to pay an extra $60 for this extra security I was providing for them.  I was in near tears as I had already had to pay for an extra checked bag and did not have the extra money to spare, but no grace was going to happen this early in the morning.  Then the lady punched her computer and told me that the computer would not accept a fee for my bag, and since she didn't know what to do, she let my bag get checked for free.  Nowadays, computers are kinder than customer service agents!

I then headed to a different security gate to avoid the very grumpy agents.  After entering the security area, I was told get in the "family security line" which is a special line for people traveling with large amounts of children.  Now, as you all know, I LIKE children, but I could see shorter security lines behind the guard with very travel smart, business type people who know how to go through security really quickly without having to unpack all the juice to be dumped and slowly get their four children to take off all their clothes and shoes so they could be patted down like convicts.  I asked if I could get in one of those lines as I stared at them lingeringly. "NO."  "But I'm not a family.  I'm single! I don't have any children. There's only one of me."  "NO! GET IN THIS FAMILY LINE!"

An hour and a half after I had left the hotel, which was located right next to the airport, I actually entered the passenger waiting area.

Why do I share all this?  Hopefully to make you laugh.  But I realized as I sat down drained, to wait for my flight to be announced, that all this crazy stuff is the details.  They are details of what I go through to get to the bigger picture.  The bigger picture is being able to be in Ukraine.  The bigger picture is to be able to help young moms change their lives for the better.  The bigger picture is to help orphans have a chance to grow through sports. The bigger picture is to tell babushki in the market that Jesus loves them and hand them a loaf of bread when they are hungry.  The bigger picture is advocating for orphans and at risk children.  When I take my eyes off of the details of the hassles I am going through, then could see the bigger picture that God has for me.

Whatever crazy hassles you are going through today, know that God has a bigger picture for you.  I encourage you to take your eyes off of the crazy and inane details and put your eyes on Him!  Put your hope in him, not in the stupid details whirling around you.

"I will lift up my eyes to the hills, from whence comes my help?  My help comes from the Lord, who made heaven and earth.".......Psalm 121 1,2 (NKJV)

Seasonally Confused

 

I arrived back in Ukraine this week which meant that I left weather as shown in the above photo....

And arrived to this lovely snow scene........

Yes, it's still snowing and icy in Ukraine even though it's "spring."  Temperatures are hovering around zero degrees.  It's been pretty weird to travel from 80F spring weather to this cold, but It's also kind of fun.  My heart is content but my head and body are screaming, "WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!!!!"



I got off to a pretty rough start when I arrived and today is only the first day that I've been able to use my computer.  I am behind in answering emails, so if you have emailed me, please know that I will be answering everyone as I have time to do so.  Thanks for understanding.

This Is How We Do It

I can't do what I do without the support of family and friends, sponsors who share my heart for ministry, and prayer warriors who consistently pray for me.  I have been busy the last few weeks trying to meet with as many people as I can.  Here are two special ladies, Misuzu and Silkie.  Both have ministered to me and prayed for me through some tough and complex times.  I love ethnic food, so it's a special day when I go to Misuzu's house for a Japanese meal.

Misuzu cooks the meal right at the table.  This is a no salo zone!

Super yum!  And it's very healthy as well, so it's a guilt free feast!

Got Dodger Hats?

My quest for baseball equipment for Youth of Ukraine Phoenix Project is going very well.  My church presented me with these hats which were sent to me from the Los Angeles Dodgers. Being a life long Dodger fan, I was pretty darn thrilled!

If you are interested in helping with a glove drive or with other equipment needs, please shoot me an email.  semkee@yahoo.com

Well, Hello There Peeps!

I haven't updated my blog since the end of December and that fact has been bothering me and niggling the back of my mind so here's a short post!  I made the decision to visit home earlier this year than usual because of ministry projects and so I've been busy traveling and meeting up with people/networking.  Everything is fine, in fact everything is awesome!  I will try to post more this month!