Tuesday, October 28, 2008

How Beautiful is the Love of Christ...

Well this past weekend was so exciting for many reasons....

1. One of my best friends got engaged to a guy that is so wonderful! Garrett is like a brother to me and I couldn't be more happy for them! I was so thrilled that I got to be a part of their first of many celebrations! God is so good and has been the center of their relationship from the very beginning. I can't wait to see how God uses them to further His name!! Anyways, they will be getting married some time in the Spring and I am so honored to be a part of their Big Day!
* The Bride-to-be...future Mrs. Stephanie Peters!!

* All the girls at Steph's Engagement Party!

* My dear friends are getting married!

2. I have been working on the LIFEWAY KIDS. Basically I am reading through recommendations of children who have been through our Camp LIFE Program in the summer and who need to be taken our of their current living situation and put into one of 6 other homes we have in Lusaka. These homes each have 8-10 kids with some of our Zambian staff as house parents. Each child gets to attend school, have full meals, and be discipled daily. My sweet Emma is one example of many children who are given the chance to begin a new life! Anyways, I spoke with Holly on the phone, since she is in Zambia working on things, and she told me we have 10 openings for NEW Kids to come into the homes!! PRAISE THE LORD!! Ten more children will be rescued!! So...please be in prayer over the new kids. I am so thankful that the Lord provided spots because the stories of these kids are horrific and I cried over each one!

3. God has been faithful! He is providing what is needed for the moment. As I have sent out support letters He is gradually supplying my daily need. As of today, I have received 10% of the amount needed in monthly pledges and several one time gifts that are meeting my immediate needs. Thank you so much for all of you who have given! God is doing what He said He would do as being my Jehovah-Jireh -- "the Lord who provides". I am so humbled and honored to be where I am!! THANK YOU!

4. Learning the Love of Christ. (The meaning of my title of this post) God is definitely taking me on a journey with understanding more and more of who He is. I begin studying the Song of Solomon a couple weeks ago. I have studied it several times throughout college, but I decided to do it again. Mike Bickle is the one who teaches and breaks down every verse in order to understand the meaning, see the significance, apply yourself to it, and most importantly embrace the beauty and love that our Lord God, the bridegroom, has for us! I am only on Session #5 and I love it! I love how the Lord constantly pursues us with His word and moves our hearts to love Him more and more! God is taking me through a process that only He can lead me through and I couldn't be more excited about what is to come!

That's it for now! Hope you all are doing great!! Keep praying for my dad, he hasn't progressed that much. He really needs to gain weight and he doesn't really have a desire to eat. I don't mean to end on a negative note, but just thought you should know.

Thanks again for staying up-to-date on my life!!

Loving Jesus with all my heart,
Joy

1 comment:

Mindy Rives said...

Love your blog, Joy! Hope you're doing well. Have a great day!