LISTEN UP!

Well here we are in a brand new year.  Happy 2020!

  I realize it has been five years since I posted a blog!  That is crazy.  I had no idea it had been that long. Life has been busy.  

As I began thinking about what I want this new year to look like the one thing that stood out (once again) is the desire to draw nearer to My Lord.  While shopping for Christmas gifts I picked up Priscilla Shirer's book "Discerning the Voice Of GOD" on a whim.  Then I decided at the last minute to take it with me on a trip to AZ.  

During the first few days in AZ I was to ill to do much other than sleep and skim Facebook.  On January 1, 2020 I came across a post by Margaret Feinberg where she talks about asking God to give her "One Word" for the coming year.  (link to the post is below)

The idea is to have the Lord give you one word you can study, one word that will lead me closer to Christ. One word that causes my ears to perk up and pay attention every time it appears.  I was intrigued by the idea and wanted to do it, but didn't really act on it.

  

Then on January 3rd I was watching a Beth Moore video on Taking Happy Back. During the video break two young ladies actually mentioned this discipline of asking GOD to give you a word for the year.  Well, since I don't believe in coincidences my spiritual ears perked up and I was like,  "Hmmm.... that is very interesting.  I think the Lord wants me to do this." 

So I asked him,  "Okay Lord, what will it be? I'm asking you to give me one word for this year.  Please make it clear to me what it is to be.  I'm thinking it is supposed to be the word "hear", yet not in the English way we think of it, but in the Hebrew way of understanding words.  Where the word for "hear" is still a verb but means to hear, listen, AND to obey.  Please confirm this for me if it is indeed the word." 

This morning when I finally sat down to read the next bit of Discerning the Voice of GOD (I had already read part of the first chapter), I attempted to read the first paragraph on page 21 at least three times.  However, I had received phone calls or been distracted each time.  Finally, as I headed to refill my coffee cup and returned to try again the heading of the page caught my eye.

  

LISTEN UP

I began to chuckle to myself.  When I had refilled my cup and sat back down I read "One of the most common reasons why we don't hear from God is perhaps the most obvious: We're not listening."

Over the course of the next five pages I read the words listen & hear (with the understanding that if you have listened and heard you will obey!) no less than 37 times.
THIRTY SEVEN times.  WOW! 

Oh my goodness; laughter shook my body as I realized the number of times the word(s) appeared on those pages! He totally cracked me up.  😂

Then I looked at the bottom of page 20 and saw this verse: 

Take into your heart all my words

which I will speak to you and listen closely

Ezekiel 3:10

Oh the joy that fills my heart to overflowing; it splashes and sparkles filling my soul and spirit! 

HE is so very good, kind and loving.  Jesus took my request for clarity seriously and responded in a humorously whimsical way. 

How I love my Heavenly Papa!  I just want to worship, dance and sing His praises. 💖

I am so excited to see how He will grow our relationship over the next year.  

Are you willing to ask Him for a Word today?

Here's the link to Margaret Feinberg's post.  (It's free).

https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0178/8093/files/One_word_2020.pdf?13&fbclid=IwAR2y_nzUz6bX1MIbCpGzxcQ6nV8-2ugLPI8sMUR_pzI5yQIZREws4RU8Nx0

Hanging Onto Old Things

                    As Elsa would say, Let It Go…

The other day I was looking up my grandparents names online and their obituaries came up on their cemeteries website.  Strange I know, but there it is.  One name lead to another and another; mothers, fathers, siblings, spouses etc….  I began to look at the pictures of great-aunts and great-uncles that I didn’t know, nor had I even heard of.  Some of them didn’t even have a picture,they only had a gravestone and their name & dates on them.  I realized that I didn’t have to go back very far to find people who are related to me, yet are complete strangers.  They had stories and history and lived lives that I would never be able to find out about or know.

Now my husband and I have been going through the birth pangs of home redecorating the last 5 months and it has been crazy!  New floors, new blinds, new paint on the walls, including new paint on the window jams (and doors & windows door jams too because after painting the walls everything else looked dirty).  We sold off most of our bedroom furniture as well and have slowly been buying replacement pieces.

Fast forward a couple of days… So we finally have the last piece of furniture-a chest of drawers-in place and begin to empty boxes and containers & finally putting things back in order.  As we are going through these items we find little boxes of teeth the tooth-fairy bought and left in our drawers, perfume bottles (man I’ve needed those!), pocket watches, long lost keys, and a couple of little silver boxes that say “My First Curl”.  I bought one for our son and one for our daughter.  I remember buying them about 14 years ago.  Our daughter has her first little lock cut in her box and our son’s is empty.  Why?  Because his was cut 3 years before we bought those cute little containers and it’s in a baggie in his baby book.

ANYway… so Mark hands me this little box and I’m looking at it like, “Really?  Am I really going to go locate Izaak’s lock of hair and put it in here?”  The reality is “NO”, no I’m not.  In fact, who is really going to even be interested in those little locks of hair?  (Okay, well if we are talking scientifically/conspiracy theory you could maybe use it for DNA testing or something, but let’s not go there.)  The kids aren’t going to care about that hair.  I’m sure their children and children’s children aren’t going to be interested either.  So the reality is, that tiny bit of hair is solely for my benefit. Yet I’ve finally realized that while I’m sentimental, I’m just not really that anal about such things.  I mean, for Pete’s sake, I rarely look at their baby books these days.  I’m simply too busy living life to focus on the past.

Now back to those obituaries… In fact, the reality is my great grand-babies and great great grand-babies very likely won’t even know who I am.  They may look back and discover old obituaries or pictures of me, but they won’t know the heartaches and joys I’ve known.  SO WHY DO I WANT TO HOLD ONTO SOMETHING SO FLEETING?  I don’t think I do anymore.  I think I want to simplify life to the point that what I do now has eternal value to me and to those I have the good fortune of meeting.  I want to be a blessing to others right now.

Lord, help me recognize when I’m grasping onto this present world in hopes of holding onto to that which will be burned in the fire.  Please help me move back to You.

As that song Trailer Hitch by Kristian Bush says, “We all end up with nothin’…Everybody tries, tries  to fit it into that ditch, you can’t take it with you when you go, I’ve never seen a hearse with a trailer hitch.”  I wanna leave it all on the field.  :-)

Anna Scantlan
5/21/2015

Daughter of the King

Well, it's time for this years Ladies Luncheon again. Some years I can come up with a skit from online and some years I ask the Lord to give me one. This year was one of the latter. :o)

So here is the rough draft of the skit for this years Luncheon. Hope you enjoy.

Greetings, My name is Beloved. I am a daughter of the King.

You see me now dressed in beautiful clothes, my hair done up, fingers and toes painted, makeup on. See my crown? Isn’t it pretty? My Father gave it to me. I usually have pretty manners and walk with my head held high. I tend to be considerate, thinking about other people: their needs, how they feel, and asking if they need help. I have admittance to the throne room of the King. Freely I can share with him my thoughts, feelings, and fears. I can tell him about the things that hurt me and if I’ve hurt someone else, things I’ve felt ashamed of and He never turns me away. He’s always willing to spend time with me.

But this creature you see before you now is not the same as the one twenty years ago. I shudder to think about who I was and where I’ve been. But I want you to see, to know how good and loving the King is.

You see, before the crown, fancy clothes, and pretty manners—I was Mary. Before JESUS.

Before Jesus I was messy, dirty, broken and living in a pit. I had a debt I could never pay. I looked for love in all the wrong places: a bottle, a book, a man’s arms—well, many men’s arms actually. None of them could satisfy my hearts needs. I was sure one of those men would have the kiss that would break the cursed spell I was caught in, but none could.

Then, one day… Oh that precious day! The Son Of Man came to the very pit I lived in. He looked so ordinary, but when He spoke my heart—Oh my heart—it skipped a beat! He called me by name. As he spoke, I tried to smooth my hair and act sophisticated, but He saw right through my charade and called me on it. He knew who I was and where I had been. Somehow, He knew all about me. He offered to show me a new way to live. He said that He had paid that debt I owed and if I would accept that, I could be free from it. I was so ashamed and embarrassed that he knew all about me and had still chosen to save me, that I fell to my knees at his feet. Head bowed & tears flowing all I could say was, “I’m so sorry.” But do you know what he did then? He reached out to me. He lifted my head and said, “Daughter, your sins are forgiven, go and sin no more.” I told him I had no one to help me and I didn’t know what to do or where to go. That was when Jesus made me an offer I could scarcely believe! He led me to his Father, who promptly offered to adopt me into the family. Well, I’d made a lot of fools choices in my short life up to that point, but there wasn’t any way I was going to turn this one down. My newly adopted Father, himself, showed me to my new rooms and beautiful clothes. I was able to get cleaned up and rest in my room for a while.

And then the King sent for me.

With my hair brushed, lovely clothes and being squeaky clean—I’d never been that way before—I nervously followed His servant to the throne room. I walked in and slowly made my way to the throne. When I was close enough to really see the King, I gasped! It was JESUS! “Jesus? He’s the King?!”, I thought to myself. He radiated in His beautiful robe. He had a sash that read: King of kings and Lord of lords! Once again I fell to my knees, stunned that the very King HIMSELF had come to rescue me. As I knelt there, I could feel Jesus approaching me. Then I felt Him set something on my head. It was a crown. I was now declared a part of the family before all.

I later found out, that as soon as I chose to follow Jesus, I had become a part of the Kingdom. The crown was my witness to all, telling them to whom I now belonged.

Oh, and did you know that I have many brothers and sisters? Yep. All adopted into the family. Jesus wants you, too. He’ll meet you where you are and his desire is to save you, too. He longs for you to know him, follow him, and join our family. You will know love and acceptance and find the satisfaction your soul has always desired. He’ll even give you a new name.

Greetings, my name is Beloved, I am a daughter of The King!

She Speaks Scholarship Entry

I've been following Lysa Terkeurst's blog for a few months now after reading her "Becoming More Than a Good Bible Study Girl." It was an excellent book that I would recommend to anyone who desires to experience God everyday.

Well this last Sunday she posted a Scholarship Contest on her blog for the 2010 She Speaks conference coming this summer.

http://lysaterkeurst.blogspot.com/2010/03/she-speaks-scholarship-contest.html

This conference is designed to teach women who desire to speak, write, lead and/or influence those around her and to answer God's call on her life. Here's a link to the event if you are interested:

http://www.shespeaksconference.com/conferenceInfo.htm

Anyway, my first inclination is to disregard this as something not really meant for me. I mean, sure I co-lead our Sunday School class, and lead worship for the kids on Wednesday evenings, and organize our Ladies Tea event in the Spring (during which I've spoken, acted out skits and directed), but I'm not really a speaker, leader, writer kind of person, right? So there isn't any reason for me to sign up for this. RIGHT? (slight edge of panic in that last word.)

So I decide to think about it, pray about it, and go listen to Beth Moore on her once a week radio show. This weeks (and last) was "How Wisdom Looks on a Wife, 1 & 2." I chose to listen to the first half of that lesson so I would know what she was talking about. "Wisdom on a Wife" does NOT sound like it would have anything to do with "She Speaks," so I'm thinking this is a safe thing to do. Ha! Uh, Huh-uh, no, not with our GOD. (Man, He makes me laugh.)

It's about Proverbs 20:4 & 22:13, the Sluggard. Lazy people who do no succeed at work say: 1) I don't want to, & 2) I'm scared to. But the first thing I truly heard was Beth saying this, "Listen, God wants you good at something you are scared to do." And then she repeats it. "God wants you to be good at something you are scared to do. God wants you so far outside of your comfort zone you are going to know it's the Holy Ghost, you understand what I'm saying to you? He wants glory."

I have to tell you that as soon as I heard this I just fell on my face and cried. Oh my, I knew that was so meant for me. Then she went onto speak about plans, perseverance, and organization. Beth even mentioned my life verse, Jeremiah 29:11. She said, "You and I have to get out of the cycle of procrastination-pressure." You all, I know God was using her words to speak straight to me. I KNOW this was meant for me to hear when I did. I love how God works.

Oh Lord, I receive it. I hear you. I am responding.

Now, does that mean I'm going to win? Probably not. I rarely win anything. (Grin) But I am going to respond by obediently entering into the contest, even though I am seriously afraid of winning. (I can't help but laugh at myself.) However, I so want to share Jesus with women. I desire others to experience the wild ride life is when we engage God. I want women to know the thrill of the adventure life can be when we stop seeing coincidences as bizarre, but as God's way of speaking to us anonymously.

Let me just say this... If I were to win, I would know-without a shadow of a doubt-it was GOD sending me.

Lord, have mercy. I do love you so!

Flying home

I’m just waiting to be able to get online.  I thought I could have access to wi-fi while on the plane, but they aren’t set up for it yet.  So I’m writing it now and will attempt to send it later.  :o)  We still have about three hours before we land, I think.  Right now I’m just listening to a movie. 

I am SO ready to be home and back with my family and friends.  Mark is picking me up at the airport, for which I am thankful.   But I ‘ll be sad to say goodbye to the team.  :o(   They have become such a part of my heart and soul.  I love them dearly!

What I've found is that I didn’t mind being gone as long as we were helping people, especially since I loved being with the people from Baia Mari.     However, once we were no longer working with the Romanian team & friends, I just wanted to be back home.  My eyes are burning and I probably need to sleep a little bit more, but at this point I think it might be best to just stay awake until tonight.   I believe I’ll be closer to getting back on our time zone faster that way.  I’m hoping I won’t have jet lag too bad.  :o)   One thing I have to say though, the travel is very difficult.  

We had such a nice day yesterday.  Pastor Radu and a deacon from his church, also named daniel, drove us around Bucharest.  I must say that their driving was a bit nerve wracking!  LOL  They drive fast and crazy.   Pat said she thought Daniel drove like he was playing a video game.     After a while, I just decided to trust Pastor Radu and GOD and just not worry about it.  Pastor Radu had borrowed his dad’s car to drive us around because he doesn't own one.  We went to one of the local malls and most things were really expensive.  I was able to find a shirt for Izaak though.  Then he took us to tour The Palace.  It used to belong to the dictator Nicolae Ceausescu and now belongs to the people and serves as meeting rooms for their parliament, as well as their president.  It is really quite beautiful, but was built at the cost of starving the people for many, many years.  Most of what we saw was made entirely of marble.  In fact, marble is used all over the place in Romania.  I guess that’s because they have it there and it is relatively easy to get.  Anyway, Pastor Radu said that when he was growing up they were only allowed very small rations of food.  The incredibly amount was so small.  A 12 or 16 inch link of salami was to last the whole family for a month.  They could only have a little bit of bread a day.  Like 18 eggs a month.  That kind of thing.  Pastor Radu seemed to truly resent all that the palace represents.  There was only one room that he cared for and I think that was because it was finished after they executed Ceausescu and his wife by firing squad.  It was finished with wood and plaster, not marble.  They worked on the building for 5 years and were a year from finishing it when Ceausescu was killed.  I asked how on earth were they able to get so much done in such a small amount of time and Pastor Radu said, “Much can be accomplished when you have tens of thousands of workers.”  I said, “ Ah… good point.”   

Afterwards we went to see his church.  It is beautiful.  I took some pictures there and will try to post one or two somehow.  Pastor Radu said that people take public transportation in from all over the city.  He himself has to ride the bus or trollys an hour to get to it.  Wild, huh?  Then he took us to eat at one of his favorite restaurants.  It was an itallian one.  It was really good to!  I had the veil scalopinni.  (or something like that)  Yes, I know what veil is… I just tried to not think about it.  I was SO tired.  I just couldn’t think straight, so I just ordered something.  Thank goodness it tasted good.  :o)  Then it was back to the hotel.  All in all, it was a rather nice day.  For once I went straight to bed.  :o) 

Okay, so now I think we have about an hour maybe to get to Minneapolis.  Sigh… time is going by so slow right now…  I think I’ll just take a nap.  :o)  I love you all so much.  I feel so blessed to have been able to have gone on this trip.  What a privilege it is to serve our Lord! 

I feel kind of bad though… I’m afraid I may have seemed obnoxious to the men who have had to sit next to me.  I’m messy, my gadgets have tons of wires, I'm fidgety, have to go to the bathroom a lot, and I constantly having to get something out of my bag in the overhead…  Ugh… I even spilled some soda onto Dave Watson’s seat and some onto a few of his things. (He’s the poor unfortunate soul who is currently sitting next to me.)  I shouldn’t ever have any drink that doesn’t have a lid!  While on our flight to Bucharest early on in the trip I fell asleep and dumped an entire cup of water on my lap.  My pants were drenched and it looked like I had wet my pants.  Sigh.  Thank goodness it was water!  Anyway, he’s been very nice and rather uncomplaining about it all.  :o)  It's just that I know how I can be.  sigh.

Alright.  Enough.  We must be getting close to Minnesota so I’m going to start putting things away.  Take care!

All for the glory of GOD

Anna

Wednesday's Mission Adventure

Good evening! Or is it afternoon for you?

Today was incredible. I can see now why you don't want to spend money on more things. I would much rather save our money to pay for mission work every year. You realize that I have to come back next year, don't you? Well, we've really done it now. A monster has been created. HA! I am committed to doing missions. I keep wondering how soon we will be able to begin going together and/or with the kids.

Today was so wonderful. We went to that little village. I don't know what the numbers were from today. I know we saw over a hundred people. We had 24 children and I think most, if not all, of the townsfolk were there for the service. I believe there were perhaps 35 people saved and I absolutely love the people of the town. They were so nice. They were so kind. I love the way they (the ladies) would come up to me and kiss me on each cheek. Such a friendly greeting. I got some wonderful pictures. They had a well for drawing water! A real live well with a bucket and everything!

Did I mention that I was Zacheuss each day? I think I did. Well, I have to tell you that I had an absolute blast being overly dramatic! I also had many complements on playing my part. I told them I can over-act anything. Even many of the adults stayed to watch us (and a couple joined in) with our playing with the kids. They really seemed to enjoy our stories.

Matthew, the man who was instrumental in finding this town for us to visit today, saw me taking pictures of some of the beautiful roses and asked me which color I wanted. I said, "I didn't know. Yellow perhaps." So he brought me back one of each! He was so sweet. He is perhaps 70 something? I'll show a picture of him to you sometime... he and his wife were at dinner this evening.

My testimony went very well. I wasn't even nervous. It must have been everyones prayers.  One thing that I found incredibly encouraging was how GOD orchestrated something.   I gave my testimony today.  At the end of my testimony I shared what I consider my life verse with them, which is Jeremiah 29:11-14b  

It says, "For I know the plans I have for you," says the Lord, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you a hope and a future.  Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me and I will listen to you.  You will seed me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.  I will be found by you and will bring you back from captivity."   

So anyway, later when I looked at the scripture from KLOVE that day it was this: The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, for he has anointed me to bring Good News to the poor.  He has sent me to proclaim hat captives will be released, that the blind will see, that the oppressed will be set free.  --Luke 4:18  NLT 

I thought, "Wow!  Okay now that has God's fingerprints all over it!"  The "Good News to the poor" symbolized my sharing my testimony.  The "Blind will see" was our sharing the glasses. The "Captives will be released" and "Oppressed will be set free" symbolized the freedom we find in salvation that Christ gives us.  Isn't that awesome?  See why I am so crazy in love with our LORD?  It makes me want to jump up and down and clap my hands!  LOL  How I praise Him!  

We had a lovely dinner with everyone this evening. It was so nice and yet bitter sweet. I miss Mark and the kids and am ready to be with them again. Yet, I have fallen in love with the people of Romania. They are just so generous! There was someone everyday who provided a lunch for us. They were so thankful we came, they wanted to do something for us in return. I have to say I have likely gained some weight. But how could I refuse when they made such a kind gesture--and the food was so good!

John did so well with his testimony. I really enjoyed hearing what GOD has done in his life. I noticed tonight that our testimonies and Charles' sermons somehow fit together. Like they were meant to be done exactly that way. As if it were planned. I know he must be good at preaching spontaneously, but I was still very impressed. God has truly been at work. HE amazes me.

One other thing I noticed was that so many of the women I became friends with this week have also lost their father at an early age, as I did. What a sad thing to have in common. Yet I think that truly added to our bond. I'm looking forward to staying in touch with them.

One of the girls, Amailia, (16) gave Zoe a gift. That first day we were here she was with us as we shopped to help translate. Anyway, I was looking for a traditional doll from here. I never did find one I liked. Well today she gives me a gift for Zoe. It was a baby doll! I took a picture of her with it. I later found out that this doll was a gift Amalia received for Christmas this year! That she very fond of it, but thought that Zoe would love it more. Okay, I have to tell you, this just slayed me. I began bawling right then. Poor dear. I upset her with my crying. But I couldn't help it. How precious she is! How utterly unselfish! Bless her heart. How I love and adore her!

I'm sure there is more to share but I probably should be going to bed soon. I am so thankful for this opportunity and for Mark holding down the fort there at home. What a blessing he is!

Tomorrow we will be leaving to catch the plane at 5:oo and then will have a day to sight see and perhaps shop. Then we will be getting up at 3:00 to get on the plane to fly to Amsterdam, have about a three hour layover, and then get on a plane to fly to Minneapolis (I think) It is supposed to be about a nine hour flight. Then it will be another two or three hours and we will fly home to st. Louis.

Good night!

All for the Glory of Christ Jesus!!!

Tuesday's Mission Adventure

Today was a good day. We saw 286 people, gave out 238 Reading glasses and 190 prescription glasses. 18 of those seen didn't need anything. We had 30 children today in the children's ministry. There were 100 people who attended church this evening and about 65 of them made decisions for Christ. It was kind of sad, because there were 10-20 people who had had a cataract surgery done on one of their eyes and they were now completely blind in that eye. Obviously the Doctor didn't have a clue as to how to remove cataracts! So horrible. The people were different today though. They were very pushy. One woman was pushed down and came in crying. They had the few policemen who were there for eyeglasses stay to help keep order after the incident. I think these poor people were just afraid they wouldn't get glasses. The Mayor was a retired general (who had been very high in the Romanian army is the one who asked the officers to stay and help. He was very nice.

The kids were funny and very polite. Sweet natured and darling. My heart is so torn... I'm wanting to come home to you and the kids, but the thought of leaving these people that I've come to love so dearly absolutely breaks my heart. I cry every time I think of leaving them. I can't believe tomorrow is our last day!

Speaking of tomorrow... The village we were going to be going to has been changed. The one to which we were going will be having a funeral because a man died. Apparently when they have a funeral they invite the whole town to the dinner afterwards proceed to get utterly drunk. Daniel says there won't be any way to take readings on their eyes when they can't see because of that, plus they will be having the "funeral party" in the main hall we were going to be in. So Daniel sent out a man to go look for a village that would want us. After two hours of driving he finally found one... the people were so excited! The said they couldn't believe it! They thought God, as well as the people, had forsaken them. They said they will be going to knock on the doors of the 90 homes to tell everyone that we are coming. Amazing!

Another story of God at work was one about our bus driver. The first day he was playing secular music on the bus. Then today when we got on he was playing Christian music. We later found out that after being with us and Daniel's son Paul all day (Paul talked to him about Jesus, heaven, eternity, and being saved) he wanted to know Jesus. We found out that after dropping us off last night he went and bought some Christian music! He and Daniel spoke this evening and he told Daniel that he was ready to repent! He lives here in Baia Mari and will likely attend Daniel's church. Amazing! Did I mention Paul is 11?

Tina and Jack presented their testimonies tonight. They were so good! Tina's was a tear jerker and such a wonderful witness. Jack's was also good. I told him later that perhaps he could be a preacher, because he sure was preaching it tonight! Charles sermon was equally moving. I like the way he reaches out to the people here with such warmth and care. It was just an awesome service. There was one man who spoke with Daniel after the service today who said that he was a Christian when he a young man. However, the Jehovah's Witness stole him away from the church. Now he wants to come back to Jesus.

All in all, it's been a rather incredible day. God is so good! He just stuns me.

We have one more day of service (which I can't wait for) and then we will have dinner here at the hotel. Afterwards it will be time for us to pack up, go to bed, and get up at 5:00 to begin working our way back home. Thursday we will sight-see and try to go to sleep early so that we can get up early and head home.

I'm looking forward to seeing our friends and family. May you be blessed this week, know you are being prayed for, and that the hand of the living GOD is upon you.

All for Jesus!