Without Him

Romans 12:9-21
1) Let love be without hypocrisy. Be Genuine.
2) Abhor what is evil. Hate Evil.
3) Cling to what is good. Love Good.
4) Be kindly affectionate to one another with brotherly love, in honor giving preference to one another;
Love one another as part of your family.
     a) not lagging in diligence, Be Diligent and Hardworking.
     b) fervent in spirit, Be Enthusiastic and Passionate.
     c) serving the Lord; Serve. 
     d) rejoicing in hope, Rejoice! Have Confidence in the Lord.
     e) patient in tribulation, Be Patient in every circumstance.
     f) continuing steadfastly in prayer; Pray always.
     g) distributing to the needs of the saints, given to hospitality. Welcome and take care of others in need.
5) Bless those who persecute you; Bless.
6) Bless and do not curse. Do not Curse.
7) Rejoice with those who rejoice, and Rejoice with others!
8) Weep with those who weep. Weep with others.
9) Be of the same mind toward one another. Do not consider yourself better than others. 
10) Do not set your mind on high things, but associate with the humble. Do not care what others think, associate with those who are less fortunate.
11) Do not be wise in your own opinion. Do not be conceited.
12) Repay no one evil for evil. Look at #5. Bless.
12) Have regard for good things in the sight of all men. Bless All.
14) If it is possible, as much as depends on you, live peaceably with all men. Beloved, Be Peaceable.
15) Do not avenge yourselves, but rather Do not "get even."
16) Give place to wrath; for it is written, “Vengeance is Mine, I will repay,”says the Lord. Therefore

                                                      “If your enemy is hungry, feed him;
                                                        If he is thirsty, give him a drink;
                                                        For in so doing you will heap coals of fire on his head.”  If you treat your enemy by blessing them and by taking care to be kind, He will be ashamed of his behavior and hopefully see Christ in you.

17) Do not be overcome by evil, but Do not allow evil to overwhelm you and bog you down.

18) Overcome evil with good. Use good to defeat evil.

The closer I am getting to leaving for China, the more excited/nervous I become. I ask myself, "How do I serve those who do not know Christ without mentioning Him?"

As a Christian, these things listed above from Romans 12 is what we are called to do. I am called to do. Others will know that I am a Christian by doing those things above.

That is how I serve; by being genuine, caring for those around me, being hardworking, passionate, etc.  Yet, I cannot do those things without a faith and assurance in God. He alone sustains me and works through me. (Galations 2:20) 

None of those things can happen without Him.

With God all things are possible. (Matthew 19:26)

Without Him I could do nothing

Without Him I'd surely fail

Without Him I would be drifting

Like a ship without a sail

Jesus, O Jesus

Do you know Him today

Do not turn Him away

O Jesus, O Jesus

Without Him, how lost I would be!

Without Him I could be dying

Without Him I'd be enslaved

Without Him life would be hopeless

But with Jesus, Thank God

I'm Saved!

Jesus, O Jesus

Do you know Him today

Do not turn Him away

O Jesus, O Jesus

Without Him, how lost I would be!

Saying Goodbye

Goodbyes. This past week has been nothing but goodbyes for me. I do not look forward to saying goodbye all over again come August, but I am very excited to see where God leads, no matter the goodbyes that have to come. 

Saying goodbye is not easy. Goodbye could mean "See you later," "I may not ever see you again," "See you soon,"etc. The uncertainty that lies ahead is not to be worried about. God knows exactly who I will see again on this earth. I have a joy; even though I will not see some ever again in this life here, I know that if they have accepted Christ as their Savior, I will see them again. How awesome is that!

Each and every person that I have met have been very special to me. I know I do not get to tell each one of you goodbye or thank you, but know that I will miss you all dearly and whether you know it or not, you have impacted my life for the better in Christ ( I am referring to all of you reading this). 

My Aunt and Uncle wrote this in their newsletter, "If goodbye were easy to say then I think it would mean we hadn’t truly been present." Every moment that God gives us to be together should be one that is treasured and a moment that we fully invest ourselves in. If it was not easy to say goodbye then we know that we have not invested in that moment or time. 

Spend every moment, living in the moment, cherishing the memories, and thanking God for every one of them.  


God be with you till we meet again
By His counsels guide uphold you
With His sheep securely fold you
God be with you till we meet again

Till we meet, Till we meet
Till we meet, at Jesus feet.
Till we meet, Till we meet,
God be with you till we meet again.

God be with you till we meet again
'Neath His wings protecting hide you, 
Daily manna still provide you,
God be with you till we meet again

God be with you till we meet again
When life's perils thick confound you
Put His arms unfailing round you,
God be with you till we meet again

An Unexpected Blessing

It truly "blows my mind" how the Lord answers prayer, even the prayers that we may not specifically pray for. These past couple weeks, since accepting this position, I have been overwhelmed by the fact that I will not see friends and family for a long time some I may not even see 2 years from now. Two years seems like an awful, long time. I am not anxious or nervous because of this fact. I am sad, yet hopeful. That is the only way I can explain my emotions. The Lord is preparing me even now, by helping me realize and "come to terms" with the fact of not seeing family and friends. (Thankfully, there is such a thing as skype!)

Sunday, I had the opportunity to talk with my Aunt and Uncle, who are missionaries in Belgium. They were very encouraging and knew exactly my worries and concerns for moving all the way across the world. My Aunt and Uncle asked if I knew anyone else who was teaching at the school. "Well, no I don't. The only people that I have talked too have been the Principal and Assistant Principal." After our conversation, I knew that I needed a friend.

I forgot to look into "finding a friend" later that afternoon. I did not even ask the Lord's opinion in this matter either. Yet, that evening I had an email from a woman, my age, asking if I would be teaching at ZKIS and if so could we email and/or skype. My mind was "blown." "Wow, Lord...you knew my desire to have a friend, specifically another woman, whom I could talk to. I never even asked and I am sorry for not asking. Thank you for this special, unexpected blessing!"

What do I expect from the Lord?  Do I not realize that He cares for me and wants to bless me in ways that "blow my mind"?

There are 3 things that I have learned, so far, during this time of preparation:

1) I have come to realize that God loves us beyond what we could ever expect. Why then would I ever let that love go? God wants to love us! Why not accept that love and lay down your life at His feet? I am made to serve and love those who God created! 

2) Trust God! Pray! Know that He understands. It sounds so simple. There are days that I am so overwhelmed by how much God knows us. I know you are probably thinking"...um...Tabitha...He created you. You should know that by now." Yet, are you not overwhelmed at times by how much God cares for us and desires the best for us in our lives here on earth? "I know, I am." I am so overcome that I want others to know and come to be overwhelmed by these same thoughts. My desire is to love Him in the same way that He knows and loves us.

3) There is no greater blessing than to know that I am surrounded by believers who love me and care for me.
"Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God." Hebrews 12:1

There is a song that I remember singing as I was growing up. Mom and I would sing this together. It is by Patch the Pirate a.k.a. Ron Hamilton. Jesus knows, longs, and loves us so much. His love has washed away our sins and He, the righteous, holy, and faithful One, will always stand by us.

Jesus knows my every word and deed
Jesus longs to meet my deepest need
He lives now to intercede
He will surely stand by me.

My God is a righteous God
My God is a holy God
My God is a faithful God
He will surely stand by me.

Jesus’ love has drawn my heart to Him
Jesus’ love has washed away my sin
His word makes me pure within
He will surely stand by me.