So, we are trying to get a youth group up and going here in Hua Hin, Thailand. The Wimble boys, Bill and I have met and have many ideas on how to reach the youth of Hua Hin.
Bill and I decided to buy a Ping Pong table to use under the carport (it is not like we have a car or anything). The table is actually in two pieces so we can use it as two tables for events at our house. Such as, this past Sunday the Asian Summit was being held in Hua Hin, and we were unable to have our church service at the Hilton as we usually do. Okay, so the question was where can we have church – we were only given one week's notice. Did someone say “How about the Reeser's house?” We decided we could probably fit the average number of people in our house for church. Then someone suggested we have lunch afterward. Our new ping pong table and the chairs that we bought for the church service worked wonderfully for the luncheon after church. There was lots of fellowship as people ate and got to know each other better after the service. What a blessing.
Well, we have been praying for months for the Holy Spirit to go before us and open hearts and minds to hear the Good News of Jesus. We have prayed that our lives would be a testimony to the Lord and that people would see a difference and be drawn to us.
The other night, two of the Wimble boys asked if they could play ping pong, so Bill setup the tables. They had been playing about ten minutes, when four neighborhood boys stood outside our gate, asking to come in and play. I welcomed them in and laughed to myself as one boy displayed his own ping pong paddle. The boys all took turns playing and they all seemed to be having fun. As I watched, I prayed that the boys would come to know Jesus as their Savior. After some time one of the boys suddenly looked at his watch and they all dashed home.
One of the Wimble boys and I started to play ping pong when all of a sudden two more boys were standing at the gate wanting to play. I invited them in and as they played, I prayed.
Wow, Lord you are so amazing! We were trying to think how to reach out to the youth, and instead you brought them to us. We wanted the church to grow into a more cohesive group and they did. Praise God!
Do you know that the boys have come back each day wanting to play some more? What an opportunity! Thank you Lord!
How wonderful that the Lord could see so much potential in the purchase of a ping pong table.
“Clap your hands, all you nations; shout to God with cries of joy. How awesome is the LORD Most High, the great King over all the earth!” Psalm 47: 1-2.
I am humbled again by His might and creativity!
By April
The Time and Weather is for Hua Hin, Thailand where we currently live
Thursday, October 29, 2009
Thursday, October 22, 2009
YES!...Yes?!...yes?...maybe...well, I'll think about it...
I've started a ladies Bible study here in Thailand, and we are studying the book “What Happens When Women Say Yes to God” by Lysa TerKeurst. In the first chapter of the book she challenges us to say Yes to God before we even know what the question is. As she puts it “What God says to do, do it.”
It's kind of like giving God a blank check to our life. It's like we are saying “Lord, I've signed my name, You fill in the rest. You don't have to tell me what the “what” is, I give you my life in full. In other words “YES, YES, YES Lord.” How many of us are willing to do that?
Thankfully the Lord is patient, because sometimes instead of saying a definitive “Yes” I come up with counter offers or I tell the God of the Universe why I do not have time to do what He asks.
Yikes! When I think about it, how dare I respond to the Lord that way.
Sometimes my immediate response is Yes, and other times I waffle, but thankfully I usually come around to Yes.
One time I was coming out of work and the Lord put it on my heart to go to a little store nearby. As I got into the car I began to reason with the Lord that I had been to that store the day before, and I just had enough time to run home let our dog out, gather my stuffed animals and my Winnie the Pooh costume to get to the nursing home on time. I continued to feel strongly that the Lord was telling me to go to this particular little store. As I approached a traffic light I put on my left turn signal (left would take me home), then I switched and put on right turn signal (that would take me to the little store) back and forth, back and forth. Do you know that the traffic light stayed red until I finally decided to make the right turn. As I drove the short distance to the store I told the Lord “All right, but I have no idea what to say. I am putting this in Your hands.” There were three people in front of me in line, and I just kept praying for guidance. Finally, I was up. The clerk said “Hey, weren't you just here yesterday?” I answered “yes”. “What can I get for you?” the clerk asked. As I silently cried out to the Lord for an answer, I heard myself say “Oh, I was going to get a soda next door, would you like one?” The clerk said “No, thanks.” I started to panic...now what? When all of a sudden the clerk started to openly talked about something that was on her heart. We talked for about 15 minutes, all the while it appeared that the Lord had locked the door to the store because not a single person came in while we talked. After we talked, I prayed with her, and as I turned to leave she said “You know, it seems like God sent you.” I smiled and thought “You have no idea.” As I headed for the door a stream of people entered and business returned to normal.
Well, as I got in the car and traveled home I thanked the Lord over and over again. I was so thankful that He had used me, and that I had said “Yes”.
I got home, let George (our dog) out, gathered my bag of stuffed animals and my Winnie the Pooh costume and drove the half an hour to the nursing home and made it on time. As I went around visiting the nursing home residents, giving out stuffed animals and praying with them I continued to rejoice.
As I drove home nearly two hours later, I chided myself and asked myself why I don't always just say “Yes” right away when the Lord asks me to do something. His plans are always so much better than mine, and I am always so glad when I say “Yes” to the one True, Living God of the Universe.
So, would you like to join me in a renewed resolve to say “Yes” to the Lord; before we know He is asking, without having seen the full set of Blue Prints. Lord, I say Yes to whatever You ask of me. YES!
How is that for definitive?
“YES, Lord, Yes!”
By April
It's kind of like giving God a blank check to our life. It's like we are saying “Lord, I've signed my name, You fill in the rest. You don't have to tell me what the “what” is, I give you my life in full. In other words “YES, YES, YES Lord.” How many of us are willing to do that?
Thankfully the Lord is patient, because sometimes instead of saying a definitive “Yes” I come up with counter offers or I tell the God of the Universe why I do not have time to do what He asks.
Yikes! When I think about it, how dare I respond to the Lord that way.
Sometimes my immediate response is Yes, and other times I waffle, but thankfully I usually come around to Yes.
One time I was coming out of work and the Lord put it on my heart to go to a little store nearby. As I got into the car I began to reason with the Lord that I had been to that store the day before, and I just had enough time to run home let our dog out, gather my stuffed animals and my Winnie the Pooh costume to get to the nursing home on time. I continued to feel strongly that the Lord was telling me to go to this particular little store. As I approached a traffic light I put on my left turn signal (left would take me home), then I switched and put on right turn signal (that would take me to the little store) back and forth, back and forth. Do you know that the traffic light stayed red until I finally decided to make the right turn. As I drove the short distance to the store I told the Lord “All right, but I have no idea what to say. I am putting this in Your hands.” There were three people in front of me in line, and I just kept praying for guidance. Finally, I was up. The clerk said “Hey, weren't you just here yesterday?” I answered “yes”. “What can I get for you?” the clerk asked. As I silently cried out to the Lord for an answer, I heard myself say “Oh, I was going to get a soda next door, would you like one?” The clerk said “No, thanks.” I started to panic...now what? When all of a sudden the clerk started to openly talked about something that was on her heart. We talked for about 15 minutes, all the while it appeared that the Lord had locked the door to the store because not a single person came in while we talked. After we talked, I prayed with her, and as I turned to leave she said “You know, it seems like God sent you.” I smiled and thought “You have no idea.” As I headed for the door a stream of people entered and business returned to normal.
Well, as I got in the car and traveled home I thanked the Lord over and over again. I was so thankful that He had used me, and that I had said “Yes”.
I got home, let George (our dog) out, gathered my bag of stuffed animals and my Winnie the Pooh costume and drove the half an hour to the nursing home and made it on time. As I went around visiting the nursing home residents, giving out stuffed animals and praying with them I continued to rejoice.
As I drove home nearly two hours later, I chided myself and asked myself why I don't always just say “Yes” right away when the Lord asks me to do something. His plans are always so much better than mine, and I am always so glad when I say “Yes” to the one True, Living God of the Universe.
So, would you like to join me in a renewed resolve to say “Yes” to the Lord; before we know He is asking, without having seen the full set of Blue Prints. Lord, I say Yes to whatever You ask of me. YES!
How is that for definitive?
“YES, Lord, Yes!”
By April
Wednesday, October 7, 2009
Lukewarm . . .
It hit me today as I was washing dishes in lukewarm water, how I have had to adjust to things being lukewarm since I have come to Thailand as a missionary. You see the sinks do not have temperature controlled water. All of the water is… well, lukewarm. The water sits in a huge holding tank under our front porch and it flows through the house and out the tap at one temperature…yes, you guessed it…lukewarm.
It has taken some getting used to on my part. The first time I did laundry here I was trying to find the dial or button to choose the temperature of the water. Ha, ha, ha. Okay, so there is only one temperature…lukewarm.
Often the word lukewarm has a negative connotation, and I can see why.
Have you ever:
*Wanted to go for a cool dip in a pool or the ocean, only to find out that the water felt like lukewarm bathwater?
*Thirsted for a refreshing drink of cold water only to find it lukewarm; and not so refreshing?
*Longed for a nice hot bubble bath and stuck your toe into a lukewarm, not so inviting abyss of water?
I remember going through a time of complacency (lukewarmness) in my Christian walk years ago. I would go to church, sometimes read my Bible, but pretty much not seek to serve the Lord unless the opportunity dropped in my lap. I look back on that time with deep regret, and so I try to actively avoid becoming lukewarm ever again in my faith walk.
And so as I have to deal with lukewarm water everyday here in Thailand, it is a wonderful reminder to me that I do not want to be lukewarm in serving the Lord.
“So, because you are lukewarm—neither hot nor cold—I am about to spit you out of my mouth.” Revelation 3:16
By April
It has taken some getting used to on my part. The first time I did laundry here I was trying to find the dial or button to choose the temperature of the water. Ha, ha, ha. Okay, so there is only one temperature…lukewarm.
Often the word lukewarm has a negative connotation, and I can see why.
Have you ever:
*Wanted to go for a cool dip in a pool or the ocean, only to find out that the water felt like lukewarm bathwater?
*Thirsted for a refreshing drink of cold water only to find it lukewarm; and not so refreshing?
*Longed for a nice hot bubble bath and stuck your toe into a lukewarm, not so inviting abyss of water?
I remember going through a time of complacency (lukewarmness) in my Christian walk years ago. I would go to church, sometimes read my Bible, but pretty much not seek to serve the Lord unless the opportunity dropped in my lap. I look back on that time with deep regret, and so I try to actively avoid becoming lukewarm ever again in my faith walk.
And so as I have to deal with lukewarm water everyday here in Thailand, it is a wonderful reminder to me that I do not want to be lukewarm in serving the Lord.
“So, because you are lukewarm—neither hot nor cold—I am about to spit you out of my mouth.” Revelation 3:16
By April
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