Simple Faith

guys.
it's 2015.
what the what!?

i also turned another year older yesterday.
i'm almost not twenty
and that's hella weird. 

i didn't always love having my birthday so close 
to christmas and the new year.
but now that i'm older, i really like it.
i am doubly reminded of all the good that has happened
and am energized with new and fresh starts.

i'm not the biggest fan of "new year's" blogs.
but this year, i really felt the need to write one.
so continue reading at your own risk

i came to india with the theme of "be brave with your life."
i think this is still very much the theme, 
but in 2015, i want to rephrase it.
"live with a simple faith."

i don't know about you, but i have a tendency to over think things.
i want to analyze the situation and all the possible outcomes,
and maybe then i'll make a decision.
maybe.
it's not bad to do that, but when it comes to following Jesus, 
it can be crippling.
 
Jesus told us to have faith like a child. 
we have a patient at the ashram who has developmental delays
and acts like a child,
and i love it.
he is constantly smiling and laughing,
and he is constantly working hard and helping wherever he can.
no questions asked.
he acts in simple faith.
he is a constant reminder to have faith like a child,
serving with joy.

this is what i want for the coming year.
i so long to be the kind of person who just says yes.
    yes to going on sporadic trips,
    yes to zip lining,
    yes to driving into delhi by myself,
    yes to praying for the stranger,
    yes to sharing Christ in whatever hindi i have,
    yes to risk being a fool for the sake of Christ.

the goal for 2015?
live with simple faith,
for Christ's glory,
and my good.


Lord, help me to follow you with a simple faith.
give me the grace to trust you deeply enough to walk
into whatever you call with simple faith.
continue to help me be brave with this life you have gifted.

when God says go

i mean, you gotta go, right?

two weeks ago, i woke up with the clear need 
to go help relief efforts in oklahoma.
i texted my friend to see if she would join me.
she had already applied. through some crazy, 
God-ordained circumstances,
marge and i ended up in shawnee, oklahoma
serving with samaritan's purse (sp).

  
shawnee had been hit with an estimated ef4 tornado
the same day as the close-by town, moore.
due to the large magnitude of moore's tornado,
shawnee has been overlooked by much of the media,
but their pain and hurts are just as deep.

samaritan's purse is serving at multiple locations throughout shawnee.
we ended up in a trailer park that had been pretty much destroyed.
our job was simple: 
clear rubble and look for family keepsakes
with a smile and a glad heart.
  

so that's what we did for four and a half days.
from clearing trees to rooting through glass in the dirt,
we work as heartily for the Lord.

but my favorite part was when we finished a property.
sp gives a bible to every homeowner they work with.
all the people who work on their property sign the front
and write something to the homeowner.
whether the homeowner is a believer or not,
it is definitely an emotional moment as we say thank you for the opportunity to serve them in the name of Jesus.

i could go on and on, sharing funny and God glorifying stories,
but i think i'll ask you to pray, instead.
pray for healing and restoration for those effected.
pray for the families we have worked with, that their hearts would continue to be softened to the gospel.
pray for endurance for those who are still working.
pray that God would use local believers and sp workers to share and shine Jesus.

many thanks to those who were praying while we were away
and will continue to pray!


cincerely,

*prayerful and hopeful* cindy

fighting the good fight

^{"But godliness with contentment is great gain, For we brought nothing into the world, and we cannot take anything out of the world. But if we have food and clothing, with these we will be content. But those who desire to be rich fall into temptation, into a snare, into many senseless and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction.}  

 ^{For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evils. It is through this craving that some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many pangs.} 

But as for you, O man of God, flee these things. Pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, steadfastness, gentleness. Fight the good fight of the faith. Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called and about which you made the good confession in the presence of many witnesses."

1 Timothy 6:6-12

in this new season, the Lord is impressing upon me 

the need to fight this good fight.

in my life, it seems so easy to just go about my day, thinking on the Lord and His goodness and on His cross and simply on Him.

yet my life is not much different than it was a year ago. 

i go to work, i try to sleep,  i go to church, i beat my missions drum, 

and well, that's about it.

i've become so discontent with my life and 

haven't really been able to figure out why.

until this last week.

i started reading "forgotten God."
while the concept scares me, i know it's true.
in essence, mr. chan says that the (western) church often lacks power 
because it lacks the Holy Spirit.
i'm not talking about a second baptism or anything like that, but the church all too often lacks the working of and the reliance on the Holy Spirit.

i had to spend some honest time before God in those moments.
how easily i forget that the Holy Spirit is present, active, and powerful.  
how quickly i forget to fight the good fight, knowing and resting in the power and faithfulness of the Holy Spirit.

i pray in this coming season, i would fight the good fight,
being "strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might" (Eph 6:10).
i pray that i would take up the whole armor of God, remember my only weapon is the sword of the Spirit, (although called the "word of God," it is powerless without the working of the Spirit).
i pray that others would join me in this fight, and that i could join others as they battle against our flesh, this world, and the schemes of the enemy.



cincerely,

cindy