Life Competes with Writing and Posting

It feels like it has been ages since I have been able to share my heart and thoughts on this blog. Life has been very full and very busy for many weeks. My hope is that in 2010, God will grant me more time to be able to spend in writing about the things I have been learning and living. My life and my time are in His perfect hands.

Stay tuned and thanks for your patience.

Take New Steps to Free Gao!

Today, I received a new email from China Aid regarding Gao Zhisheng. It reads as follows:

Even after delivering over 106,000 signed petitions to the Chinese embassy, officials there have refused to provide any further details of human rights attorney, Gao Zhisheng's whereabouts or physical condition.

As reported last month, we know Gao is alive. He was able to make a quick phone call to his brother where he simply stated "I'm ok" before being disconnected - presumably by the Chinese police.

During recent committee hearings in Washington D.C., six Chinese human rights legal defenders spoke on the human rights abuses in China, including the specific case of Gao Zhisheng.

A number of concerned US government officials, including Rep. Frank Wolf and Rep. Chris Smith, committed to continue putting pressure on the Chinese government. Thirty U.S. House Representatives then signed a Congressional Letter to President Obama on November 10th, calling on him to raise awareness of human rights issues while in China - listing the treatment of human rights lawyers first.

China Aid thanks all those who have stood with us in the campaign to free Gao. And now we humbly ask for your continued help. We need for every USA citizen who has signed the petition to now contact their state representative. This initiative will help concerned Congressional leaders gain a stronger voice in Washington and before the Chinese government. Please consider the following:

Most U.S. Representatives remain unaware of the kidnapping and brutal torture of Gao, a man nominated for the Nobel peace prize in 2008.

And they will remain unaware unless we take action.

We have set up a special page on www.FreeGao.com to assist you in contacting your state representative by email and making him or her aware of Gao Zhisheng's tragic situation.

After entering your email address, you will receive complete instructions from China Aid on how to send your message. The whole process will take you less than 10 minutes.

You will also have the opportunity to make a financial contribution to help China Aid keep this campaign and others like it moving forward and ultimately to free wrongly persecuted individuals like Gao Zhisheng.

Please remember to share this campaign with your friends and family. The more voices we add to the petition and hold our US Representatives accountable through our emails, the greater the volume of the outcry and the stronger chance we have of helping return Gao to his family.

For complete instructions on contacting your state representative on behalf of Gao Zhisheng, please follow the link below.

www.FreeGao.com/actionsteps

A Time to Rejoice!!

I awoke this morning saying with joy, “LIFE IS GOOD!” This joy bubbled up in my heart last night as I drove home from another night of volunteer training at the crisis pregnancy center. It is ABSOLUTELY MARVELOUS to have this season of such exciting, joyful, fun, happy, and adventurous things taking place!!!!

Oh God, thank you, thank you so much for this season of fullness. Thank you for this “morning of dancing”!!!! And so God has brought a song to my mind that fits perfectly with how I feel this morning. It is a song called “This Is How We Overcome” by Hillsong:

Your light broke through my night

Restored exceeding joy

Your grace fell like the rain

And made this desert live

You have turned my mourning into dancing

You have turned my sorrow into joy

Your hand lifted me up

I stand on higher ground

Your praise rose in my heart

And made this valley sing

You have turned my mourning into dancing

You have turned my sorrow into joy

This is how we overcome

GOD is how we overcome!!!! Hallelujah!

“The LORD'S lovingkindnesses indeed never cease, for His compassions never fail.

They are new every morning; great is Your faithfulness.

"The LORD is my portion," says my soul, "Therefore I have hope in Him."

(Lamentations 3:22-24)

Abortion: A Failure to Communicate

I am currently participating in a 21-hour volunteer training at a local crisis pregnancy center. After the training is over, I will hopefully be taking on the role of lay counselor for people coming into the center facing unplanned pregnancies. This is all extremely exciting for me and something that God has been orchestrating in my life for over a year. I again stand in total awe of His work as I look back over the past year and the events that have taken place for me to be at this point in my life. He is more than amazing!

The homework assignment given to us last night was to read an article called “Abortion: A Failure to Communicate” by Paul Swope in 1998.

The article begins by stating:

“For twenty-five years the pro-life movement has stood up to defend perhaps the most crucial principle in any civilized society, namely, the sanctity and value of every human life. However, neither the profundity and scale of the cause, nor the integrity of those who work to support it, necessarily translates into effective action. Recent research on the psychology of pro-choice women offers insight into why the pro-life movement has not been as effective as it might have been in persuading women to choose life…”

Swope goes on to make the point in the article that the reason for that could very well have to do with the fact that in an effort to preserve the life of the unborn, the pro-life movement has forgotten to address the life of the woman who finds herself unexpectedly pregnant. The pro-life movement’s main focus has been on the unborn child and has not been as attentive to the woman’s emotions, circumstances, fears, and her struggle to choose between the “three evils” that stand before her. In focusing so much solely on saving the baby, the pro-life movement has forgotten to address the concerns of the woman carrying the child and possibly have made her feel insignificant.

You can read the article in its entirety at this link: Abortion: A Failure to Communicate.

The Eons Explained

In a previous post of a year and a half ago called God, The Savior of All Mankind, I mentioned the following words:

aiōn – Greek noun

aiōnios – Greek adjective

owlam – Hebrew noun

Those words have been translated “eternal”, “everlasting”, “forever” and various other ridiculous words in the majority of today’s English Bible translations. However, they truly mean no such thing. It has taken me a long time to get back to the subject of God being the Savior of all mankind and addressing the meaning of those words, but the day has finally arrived. Those two Greek words and one Hebrew word mistranslated into our English language have become the cause of great confusion and a foundation to the false belief that THE God of ALL things, YHWH, will doom a great majority of mankind to an eternal and terribly painful torment as a price to pay for not believing in His Son, Jesus Christ, during their earthly life.

Today's Song - "He Is"

Father, let the world just fade away
Let me feel your presence in this place
Lord, I've never been so weary
How I need to know you're near me
Father, let the world just fade away

Till I'm on my knees
Till my heart can sing
He is, He was, He always will be
Even when it feels like there is no one holding me
Be still, my soul, He is

Father, let your Holy Spirit sing
Let it calm the storm inside of me
As I stand amazed
Lift my hands and say
He is, He was, He always will be

He lives
He loves
He's always with me
Even when it feels like there is no one holding me
Be still, my soul

Through every fear
And every doubt
And every tear I shed

Down every road
I'm not alone
No matter where I am
He is, He was, He always will be

He lives, He loves, He's always with me
Even when it feels like there is no one holding me
Be still, my soul
Be still, and know
Be still, my soul
He is

Today's Song - Heal the Wound

I used to wish that I could rewrite history
I used to dream that each mistake could be erased
Then I could just pretend
I never knew the me back then

I used to pray that You would take this shame away
Hide all the evidence of who I've been
But it's the memory of
The place You brought me from
That keeps me on my knees
And even though I'm free

Heal the wound but leave the scar
A reminder of how merciful You are
I am broken, torn apart
Take the pieces of this heart
And heal the wound but leave the scar

I have not lived a life that boasts of anything

I don't take pride in what I bring

But I'll build an altar with

The rubble that You've found me in

And every stone will sing

Of what You can redeem

Heal the wound but leave the scar

A reminder of how merciful You are

I am broken, torn apart

Take the pieces of this heart

And heal the wound but leave the scar

Don't let me forget

Everything You've done for me

Don't let me forget

The beauty in the suffering

Heal the wound but leave the scar

A reminder of how merciful You are

I am broken, torn apart

Take the pieces of this heart

And heal the wound but leave the scar

Here I Am

The third and final song I want to write about this week is “Here I Am”.

Do you need someone you can really trust? Is there someone that can truly take your loneliness away? Can someone be found who will carry you through the most difficult or painful moments of life?

I know Someone Who can be and do all those things perfectly.

Do you need a place or a person whom you can always run to and freely cry on their shoulder knowing they will accept you as you are, love you unconditionally as you are, and never leave or forsake you?

I know Someone Who promises to be that for you.

When you need some shelter from the rain
When you need a Healer for your pain

He will be there every time. With Him you will never ever walk alone, even if you were to find yourself on a completely deserted island.

Do you have broken dreams or things in your life that threaten to overwhelm you with despair?

You can lay them on Him and He will bear the weight for you. He understands completely what you have gone through in the past and are going through now in the present.

Do you feel an aching emptiness or loss?

He will fill you up with His perfect love.

I speak of Jesus. God’s son, Jesus Christ, is The One I speak of above.

This is what He says to you and me each day:

This is a crazy world
These can be lonely times
It's hard to know who's on your side
Most of the time

Who can you really trust
Who do you really know
Is there anybody out there
Who can make you feel less alone
Sometimes you just can't make it on your own

If you need a place where you can run
If you need a shoulder to cry on
I'll always be your friend
When you need some shelter from the rain
When you need a Healer for your pain
I will be there time and time again
When you need someone to love you
Here I am

If you have broken dreams
Just lay them all on me
I'll be the One who understands
So take my hand

If there is emptiness
You know I'll do my best
To fill you up with all the love
That I can show someone
I promise you, you'll never walk alone

Well, if you need a place where you can run
If you need a shoulder to cry on
I'll always be your friend
When you need some shelter from the rain
When you need a Healer for your pain
I will be there time and time again
When you need someone to love you
Here I am

Everybody needs somebody who
they can pour their heart and soul into

If you need a place where you can run
If you need a shoulder to cry on
I'll always be your friend
When you need some shelter from the rain
When you need a Healer for your pain
I will be there time and time again
When you need someone to love you
Here I am, Here I am

Thank you, Jesus, for pouring your life out for us and into us and always being there…

Glorious Grace Flowing Down

The second theme song God has given for this time has come to have a very special meaning. Like “Footprints in the Sand”, I have known this song for some time and have even previously posted it on this blog before. But right now, this song has taken on a much deeper meaning. And through current circumstances and this song, God has brought me to a whole new level of appreciation and understanding of His amazing, boundless grace that covers us through Christ Jesus.

“For Christ, while we are still infirm, still in accord with the era, for the sake of the irreverent, died. For hardly for the sake of a just man will anyone be dying: for, for the sake of a good man, perhaps someone may even be daring to die, yet God is commending this love of His to us, seeing that, while we are still sinners, Christ died for our sakes. Much rather, then, being now justified in His blood, we shall be saved from indignation, through Him. For if, being enemies, we were conciliated to God through the death of His Son, much rather, being conciliated, we shall be saved in His life.” (Romans 5:6-10)

Christ died for us while we were still all messed up. He didn’t wait for the world and all mankind to get our act together and then decide we were worth dying for. No, to Him, we were worth dying for while we were all messed up; it was because we were messed up! He died for all the offenses we have committed, are currently committing, and will commit in the future against each other and against Him. And through Christ’s sacrifice, God’s amazing, boundless, and overwhelming grace has poured over all of us. What an incredible treasure this is!!

When I look back at my past, feeling regret and sorrow over certain things that happened or that I did, I can find comforting peace in the truth that His grace has poured over all of that and covered it completely. Oh, glory, glory to the great YHWH and His beautiful Son, Jesus Christ.

Amazing Grace
How sweet the sound
Amazing Love
Now flowing down
From hands and feet
That were nailed to the tree
His Grace flows down and covers me
It covers me….

Being comforted by His glorious grace…

His Footprints in the Sand

God often uses music to minister to my soul and spirit. He deeply touches my heart with song and speaks to me through it. I’ve always taken to heart the Scripture that says He sings over His people.

“Yahweh, your Elohim, is in your midst; The Masterful One, He shall save. He shall be elated over you with rejoicing; He shall renew you in His love; He shall exult over you with jubilant song.” (Zepheniah 3:17)

Time and time again, during the ups and downs of life, God has sung over me and to me. He has brought songs to speak to me and assure me of His presence and work in my life. Over the past week, He has sung to me three particular songs. I will share them in this and the following two posts.

With this first song He reminds me that He has been with me and has loved me always. Even when I ignored Him and went my own way, He was never far from me. He has seen every moment of my life—the great, the good, the bad, the ugly, and the painful to Him and to myself. He assures me none of it has been or will be a surprise to Him. And especially during this season of life, He assures me that He is with me, carrying me every step of the way—this way that He has chosen for me to walk at this time.

Christ is my Friend. He is THE Friend that “sticks closer than a brother” (Proverbs 18:24). Through all weariness, sorrows, despairs, mistakes, unknowns, weaknesses, and overwhelming fears, He is there with us and He is willing to carry us. Will we relax ourselves into His arms and let Him?

You walked with me, footprints in the sand

And helped me understand where I'm going

You walked with me when I was all alone

With so much unknown along the way

Then I heard You say

I promise You, I'm always there

When your heart is filled with sorrow and despair

I'll carry you when you need a friend

You'll find my footprints in the sand

I see my life flash across the sky

So many times have I been so afraid

And just when I have thought I'd lost my way

You gave me strength to carry on

That’s when I heard You say

I promise you, I'm always there…

When I'm weary

Well, I know You've been there

And I can feel You when You say

I promise you, I'm always there…

One Day "GLORY!"

One day eyes that are blind will see you clearly

And one day all who deny will finally believe

One day hearts made of stone will break in pieces

And one day chains once unbroken will fall down at your feet

So we wait for that one day come quickly

We want to see your Glory

Every knee falls down before thee

Every tongue offers you praise

With every hand raised

Singing Glory

To You and unto You only

We'll sing Glory to Your name

One day voices that lie will all be silent

One day all that's divided will be whole again

One day death will retreat and wave it's white flag

One day love will defeat the strongest enemy

So we wait for that one day come quickly

We want to see your Glory

Every knee falls down before thee

Every tongue offers you praise

With every hand raised

Singing Glory

To You and unto You only

We'll sing Glory to Your name

We know not the day or the hour

Or the moments in between

But we know the end of the story

When we'll see

Everything To Me - For Birth Moms

There is a song written and sung by Mark Schultz that touches my heart deeply every time I hear it. Today, I finally had a moment to find the story behind the song. It is a song written to his birth mom who entrusted him to adoptive parents. This song and this post is for all moms who "lovingly placed their baby in the arms of God and in the arms of adoptive parents" (as my friend, Melinda, has so well expressed to me). Thank you, to all of you, for your self-less act.

First is the video where Mark tells the story behind the song.

Next is the video of the song.

I must have felt your tears
When they took me from your arms
I’m sure I must have heard you say goodbye
Lonely and afraid had you made a big mistake
Could an ocean even hold the tears you cried

But you had dreams for me
You wanted the best for me
And you made the only choice you could that night

You gave life to me
A brand new world to see
Like playing baseball in the yard with dad at night
Mom reading Goodnight Moon
And praying in my room
So if you worry if your choice was right
You gave me up but you gave everything to me

And if I saw you on the street
Would you know that it was me
And would your eyes be blue or green like mine
Would we share a warm embrace
Would you know me in your heart
Or would you smile and let me walk on by
Knowing you had dreams for me
You wanted the best for me
And I hope that you’d be proud of who I am

You gave life to me
A chance to find my dreams
And a chance to fall in love
You should have seen her shining face
On our wedding day
Oh is this the dream you had in mind
When you gave me up
You gave everything to me

And when I see you there
Watching from heaven’s gates
Into your arms
I’m gonna run
And when you look in my eyes
You can see my whole life
See who I was
And who I’ve become

For LIFE…

God Has Conciliated the World to Himself

“Yet all is of God, who conciliates us to Himself through Christ, and is giving us the dispensation of the conciliation, how that God was in Christ, conciliating the world to Himself, not reckoning their offenses to them, and placing in us the word of conciliation.” (2 Corinthians 5 :18-19)

In these two brief verses we are given precious gold nuggets of truth. We are assured that all is of God. And I believe all means all.

We are also told that God has conciliated the world to Himself through Christ. God was in Christ and He was conciliating the world to Himself! God was calling and drawing the world to Himself in peace and friendship. Through Christ, He has put aside the enmity between Himself and the world, not counting the world’s offenses against Him. And He has put that word of conciliation in the hearts of believers that we may beseech others to “Be conciliated to God!”

“For Christ, then, are we ambassadors, as of God entreating through us. We are beseeching for Christ’s sake, “Be conciliated to God!” For the One not knowing sin, He makes to be a sin offering for our sakes that we may be becoming God’s righteousness in Him.” (2 Corinthians 5:20-21)

Conciliation is a one sided action. There are those now who have already conciliated to God; and therefore, there now exists reconciliation between themselves and God. They have a mutual conciliation which translates into reconciliation. God has conciliated the world to Himself through Christ. And ultimately, all in the heavens and on the earth will be reconciled to Him through Christ, “the Son of His love…the Head of the body…Who is Sovereign, Firstborn from among the dead, that in all He may be becoming first, for in Him the entire complement delights to dwell, and through Him to reconcile all to Him (making peace through the blood of His cross), through Him, whether those on the earth or those in the heavens.” (Colossians 1:13, 18-20)

Glory be to YHWH!

RELATED POST: God Conciliates the World to Himself

His Beautiful Redemption

Life seems to be running away with me. I long for peace and acceptance of where God has me, but at the same time, I do not want to be content in areas where I should not be. I can't decide if I'm looking for a contentment that is unhealthy or if God is trying to teach me a lesson in contentment.

I am not looking for contentment in being spiritually stagnant or character growth. I am looking for a peace and acceptance of things in my life that I am not be able to control whatsoever. There are things I long to do and accomplish, and yet, there are other responsibilities in my life which daily take precedence over those desires. Daily life runs off with me and I can't seem to be able to spend time in other things I long for. There are circumstances that I wish I could change for the better. But what do I know about what’s better and what’s best? God is the (only) one that knows. I don’t know (and doubt) that if I changed things according as to how I think they should be, it would actually be an improvement. My thinking is finite, and I am certain that in the midst of difficult circumstances God is doing a mighty work in our lives. A work that cannot come about if I were able or allowed to change things according to the way I think they should be.

What is the Lord teaching me? What am I supposed to be learning? I feel like I am getting a lesson in FUTILITY. The futility of man planning this or that when only if the LORD wills can we do this or that. The futility lesson reminds me how I am not in control of things. It is God alone who is in control of ALL things, and He is surely showing me that each day.

“The steps of a man are established by the LORD…” (Psalm 37:23)

“The mind of a man plans his ways, but the LORD directs his steps” (Proverbs 16:9)

“Come now, you who say, "Today or tomorrow we will go to such and such a city, and spend a year there and engage in business and make a profit." Yet you do not know what your life will be like tomorrow. You are just a vapor that appears for a little while and then vanishes away. Instead, you ought to say, "If the Lord wills, we will live and also do this or that."” (James 4:13-15)

In the midst of all the struggle He reassures me that I am His beautiful redemption.

We are all HIS beautiful redemption....

I've had my forty days and forty nights at sea
I've had forty years in the wilderness, or so to speak
I've walked with sand from the ocean floor on my feet
To turn and say you left me

I'm a doubting Thomas needing to believe
I'm a perfumed sinner just like Magdalene
I'm Judas kissing on your cheek eager to deceive
I am all of these

Chorus:

I cry, Father, Father, forgive me
You say, Child, I already have
You are beautiful
Beautiful Redemption
You are Beautiful
Beautiful Redemption

I'm the guilty thief that's hanging by your side
And my shame is dying with your sacrifice
And all my fears come crashing down

As I look in your eyes I see paradise

Chorus

Hallelujah (we all, we all, we all fall down)
Hallelujah (we all, we all, we all fall down)
Hallelujah (we all, we all, we all fall down)
Hallelujah (we all, we all, we all fall down)

You are beautiful
Beautiful Redemption
You are Beautiful
Beautiful Redemption

Chinese Embassy says "Take it away!"

I received the following email yesterday from China Aid:

DAY 168: Gao Zhisheng Petition Delivered; Chinese Embassy Says "Take it away!"

Because of your efforts, on July 9 and 10, ChinaAid was able to deliver the petition with more than 100,000 signatures to the Congressional-Executive Commission on China (CECC), the U.S. State Department and the Chinese Embassy.

American attorney David E. Taylor, a ChinaAid volunteer, delivered the petition for Gao's release to the Chinese Embassy. However, when the embassy staff saw the petition was from ChinaAid for Gao Zhisheng, she said, "I'm sorry, Sir, I'm sorry! Take it away!"

Taylor left the petition at the front door of the embassy, stating that: "The Chinese Embassy was legally served with the petition even though they tried to avoid it."
Read full statement from Attorney Taylor regarding the petition delivery.

The Chinese government simply wants us to give up. They refuse to comment on Gao Zhisheng's whereabouts or well-being. But, we will not give up. With your help, ChinaAid will continue to travel to Washington and meet with concerned U.S. government officials and continue to gather signatures from around the world for the petition to free Gao.

Please continue to share the petition drive with your friends. Encourage them to learn about Gao's story and to take action at www.FreeGao.com.

Please also continue to financially support this critical effort. Gao's story of persecution is only one of many. But it is also a key story in exposing the truth behind China's Communist regime and its abuse of human rights.

Make a donation.

As a result of the petition, several Congressional leaders have agreed to send a letter to Chinese Ambassador Zhou regarding Gao Zhisheng's current whereabouts and condition. It has become clear that the efforts on behalf of Gao Zhisheng are not only important for Gao, but, also, for all human rights attorneys in China.

Your prayers, financial contributions, e-mails and phone calls to Chinese government officials and sharing this campaign with family and friends are sending a cry for justice and freedom that is having impact in China and in America. We will continue to grow the petition and will not give up until Gao's whereabouts and safety are known. Please continue to "speak out" within your sphere of influence and, especially, in prayer, until Gao Zhisheng's freedom becomes reality!

To see the latest information, make an online donation, view the latest signature totals on the petition, and see photos, go to www.FreeGao.com.