But sometimes God has His own ideas, ideas that come quite unexpectedly.

The first unexpected opportunity came probably the second week we were here.  We had stopped at a small shopping mall during the week taking a look around, noting some of the cultural differences and thinking about possible souvenirs to bring back for the family at home.

A vendor in the middle of the mall pulled us aside trying to sell us some of her products.  We could tell by her accent that she was not from New Zealand and she explained that she was actually from Israel.  Amid the dead sea body scrub sales pitch she told us that the Israeli meaning of her name was Obe, meaning “light”.

This turned into a spring board opportunity for my grandfather to share about the Light of the World, Jesus.

While she did not accept Jesus as her savior that day she did seem very interested and my grandfather was able to point her in the direction of Isaiah 53 which talks about Israel’s Messiah.

Imagine a witnessing opportunity to a Jewish girl in New Zealand.  You never know what God has in store!

God gave me another unexpected opportunity just last week.

My my brother, grandparents and I took an afternoon to tour the Witoma Caves.  We had been told that you could take a boat ride in the cave and see some glow worms.  We did get to see the glow worms, they were amazingly beautiful, like thousands of twinkling stars in the dark cave but before we took the boat ride we got to walk through part of the cave.

(Cave Entrance)

Our tour guide explained about the stilagtights and stilagmights and the rock walls, attributing God’s amazing creation to random evolutionary process.

Just before we got on the boat he took the tour group of about 10 people into a dark spot in the cave they refer to as the Cathedral Room because of the amazing acoustics several famous (and particularly vulgar) singers have performed concerts in that room.

The tour guide wanted to demonstrate the acoustics of the Cathedral Room but told us he has been struggling with a sore throat and could not sing.  He asked if someone in our group would be willing to demonstrate for everyone.

No one said anything.  

He asked again. 

Still silence.

I didn’t want to sing because I felt very unprepared and on top of that my throat had been bothering me for the last couple of days.

He asked again.

Still silence.

A quietness came over my spirit and I knew God wanted me to sing.  

I HAD to sing.  God had ordained this moment and me and my family knew it.

In the darkness my voice sounded out in a God given clarity I’ve not experienced before.  I was able to proclaim the Gospel through song.

“Amazing grace how sweet the sound

That saved a wretch like me

I once was lost but now am found

Was blind but now I see”

The guide seemed happily surprised and made positive comments several times even saying that he was sure that song would be stuck in his mind all day long.

I guess we will never know until eternity what God’s full purpose was in orchestrating these events but He ordained them without a doubt.  Perhaps a seed was planted, a heart was convicted or a soul was encouraged.  God only knows but it’s our duty to be faithful when He graciously chooses to use us.

“For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.  How then shall they call on him in whom they have not believed? and how shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard? and how shall they hear without a preacher?  And how shall they preach, except they be sent? as it is written, How beautiful are the feet of them that preach the gospel of peace, and bring glad tidings of good things!”  -Romans 10

Most of the time when Christians address the subject of purity we discuss the importance of staying pure, the commandments to stay pure, particular ways to help us remain pure or the consequences of impurity.

While these aspects of the purity talk are extremely important what about those who have’t remained sexually pure either by their own choice or because of the choices of others?  Is all lost for them?

Joshua 2 tells the story of Rahab and the two spies.  The two spies had been sent by Joshua to scout out the land of Jericho before the Israelites went in to claim it like the Lord had commanded.

The men needed a place to lodge for the night, a place where they would not be easily noticed.  They chose to stay over night in the house of the prostitute Rahab.  This would be a discrete hiding place as she no doubt had many strange men visit on a regular basis.

The story goes on to say that despite their secrecy spies had been noticed and the king of Jerico sent his men to arrest them.  Rahab courageously hid the spies on her roof and sent the king’s men on a wild goose chase.

After the men had left, Rahab went back on the the roof and explained to the Israelite spies why she had rescued them.  She had heard of the amazing miracles displayed by their God and it caused her to fear the Lord.

Rahab then let the men out through the window of her city wall home with a scarlet rope.  The men promised that if she left the cord tied outside of her window it would be a sign and she and her family would be spared when the people of Israel came to conquer the land.

Rahab and her family were spared.  We read in Hebrew 11 that Rahab became converted.  She trusted in God and her faith was counted as righteousness.

“By faith Rahab the harlot did not perish along with those who were disobedient, after she had welcomed the spies in peace.”  -Hebrews 11:31 {NASB}

And that scarlet cord of blessing that hung from her window metaphorically continued on through the generations.  We read in Matthew that Rahab is mentioned as one of the women in the lineage of Jesus.  The red cord continued through her family line all the way to Jesus and ended at the crimson blood He shed on the cross.

Many times when we talk about the subject of purity we forget to include the grace that God offers to those who have committed sexual sin or have been sexually sinned against.

I want to encourage purity but I also want to encourage those who have not always been morally pure.  If you come to God by faith, the blood He shed on the cross will cover your sin.  Just as Rabah the prostitute was mightily used by God to rescue the Israelite spies and even was granted the incredible blessing of being included in the line on Christ, so can anyone who has sinned be forgiven and also be mightily used by God.

Strive for purity.  Glory in His grace.

Some other lovely ladies are writing on the topic of purity.  

Please take a moment to read their testimonies and words of hope here.

Do you know how to protect your fertility?

I’m posting over at The Better Mom with a few ways women can strive to protect their ability to conceive children.

Join me?

(My brother Tyler and Dean an elder from the church)

Today I would like to feature an amazing ministry I and my family have had the opportunity to be involved in, here in New Zealand.

The church my grandfather is leading, while the missionaries are back home on furlough in the states, is beautifully strong.  I have been encouraged by their love for Christ and their heart for sharing the Gospel.

One way they continually share the love of Christ is through the Bible in School Ministry.  The Lord has opened a door in the public schools and the government actually allows Christians to come in once a week to lead a Bible class for the young children!  I am completely blown away by this blessing.  Imagine, a public school in a widely secular country allowing Jesus to be taught on a regular basis!  We struggle to have this right in our schools in America, a country founded on Christian principles.

The Bible in School ministry reminded me very much of a Vacation Bible School class.  The 30 minute class has a Bible story that tells deep doctrines of the Faith in a way young children can understand.  The children are captivated by these stories that they have never heard before.  I was amazed at how attentive they were and the depth of the questions they asked after each lesson.  The children’s hearts are very soft and open to the Gospel.

During the weekly class there is also a song time where the children hide God’s Word in their hearts through music.  I had the pleasure of helping to teach them a new song last week.  There is also a Bible memory verse and the kids are SO excited to learn the scripture.  It’s absolutely amazing!

Before the class ends they are given a work sheet to take home that has a Bible theme or they play a Q&A game with Bible questions.  The kids really look forward to this!

I have greatly enjoyed being able to get involved in this ministry.  It’s been such a huge blessing seeing the way the Lord is working through Bible in School.

Every year the school board has to re-approve Bible in School.  The children and teachers love it but some people are apposed.  Some are working to try to shut down this ministry.  I would love to ask you to pray for this ministry to remain open, that the seeds of the Gospel would be planted and that the children and teachers listening in would be harvested for Christ.

I was able to add my own pictures, text style and personalized message.  The card was shipped quickly and I was very happy with the quality and professional printing.

The sweet friend who gave me this opportunity would also like to give YOU the opportunity to win a free customizable card!

You can pick from any style or template for any occasion!  Father’s Day is soon approaching, maybe you have a friend with a birthday coming up or perhaps you just want to send a special “I’m thinking of you card”.  Whatever the case may be I’d encourage you to enter this giveaway opportunity!

The card pricing is very reasonable and I would definitely want to keep this in mind for myself in the future.

Visit the Card Store to purchase one today or view their beautiful collection!

Giveaway finished!  :-)  Winner:  Cathi Katie Updike

I know it’s been a long time since I’ve posted anything but I have been very busy getting ready for the New Zealand trip.  Packing for 5.5 weeks is a big task!

Last Monday my brother, grandparents and I started the 30 hr. trip to New Zealand.  We had many unexpected delays, plane maintenance problems and we even managed to miss one of our three flights but the Lord was good and we finally made it, only 1 hour behind schedule.

(Fixing the plane with green duck tape?  Seriously!?)

After we arrived Our missionary friend picked us up from the airport and we drove for a few hours before we reached the home we will be staying in.  The country landscape was beautiful, rolling hills, green mountains, bright skys, lots of cattle, unique trees and flowers.

As we drove I was talking to the missionary and he told us that amid this beauty and all of the elaborate church buildings that only about 5% of the population are born again Christians.  What a sad percentage for a country that clearly displays our creative God through nature.

Over the last few days we have been acquainting ourselves with the country and people and trying to adjust ourselves to the 16 hour time difference.  My grandfather has been learning to drive on the opposite side of the road which has been a very different experience.

The Prestons (the missionary couple that has asked us to come) have introduced us to the various ministeries they are involved in along with showing us the church Mr. Preston pastors.  They have taught us many details so that we will be prepared to care for the church while they go back to the States.

I will give you an update on our ministry along with some pictures in the near future but so far I am greatly enjoying being here in New Zealand.

I was blessed to meet the spiritually deep believers at the Preston’s church and thrilled at the openness to the Gospel that I see in some of the outreach ministeries.

More updates and pictures to come soon!  Your prayers would be much appreciated!

“New Zealand?  They don’t need you guys (presumable Christians) over there!  They have plenty of money in New Zealand.  Go to Uganda where the poor people are.  They’re the ones that need you!” 

After I got over the initial surprise I began to think critically about the question:

Why New Zealand and not Uganda?

Why would we even bother to pick up and go across the world for 5.5 weeks to people who speak English and by worldly standards are “rich”?  Why do THEY need us?

Well, the truth is they don’t need us and neither do the people in Uganda.  They need Christ not primarily our money because it’s not about the money, it’s not about lack of education, it’s not even about starving children.  It’s about Jesus and His saving Gospel.

Should those who are in the Gospel be attending to the poor and needy in our world?  Yes, absolutely!  If you name the name of Christ but have no concern for these who are hurting among us, I would question if you really are in Christ because the fruit of the Spirit is love and kindness.  We DO need to care for the sick and hungry.  We DO need to show them Christ’s love not only through our words but through our actions but we can’t forget that the people of America, Britain, Astralia, France, New Zealand and the like.  They need Christ just as much as the impoverished child in Uganda.

Poorness of soul is unequivocally poorer than poorness of means because material wealth or lack thereof will end at our last breath but wealth or poverty of soul will live eternally on.

We should not neglect the material needs of the world but let us be careful not to turn missions into merely feel-good clean water and new shoes operations.  Are these things needed?  Yes!  But the need for the Gospel and encouragement in faith is far greater.  This need stretches farther than just the poor in Africa.  It reaches to every corner of the earth, America and New Zealand included.

So, why New Zealand and not Uganda?

Because both places need Christ and the encouragement of fellow believers but New Zealand is where God has opened the door for me and my family to serve at this time.

God has called all Christians to use their spiritual gifts to build up the body of Christ and further the Gospel.  We should not discriminate between those who He has called to serve in deepest Africa or those He has called to serve in New Zealand or the US.

“And he said unto them, Go ye into ALL the world, and preach the gospel to every creature.”  -Mark 16:15

“But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.”  -Acts 1:8 

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I was shopping a few months back and I was unable to find a pair of flats that I liked and that were in my price range.  I was scanning the women’s shoe rack  to no avail.  I happened to turn around to glance at the girl’s shoe department.  There, I was surprised to find the shoes I had been looking for and they were only about $6!  The only problem was that I wear a sie 7.5 women’s and wouldn’t be able to fit into the girl sized shoe…. or would I?

I  decided to give it a shot and that’s when I made my big discovery.  Size 4.5-5 girls is actually the equivalent of a women’s size 7-7.5!  This opened a whole new world of options up to me!

Many times girls flats, sneakers and sandals look nearly identical to woman’s shoes only the sizing is written differently and the prices are usually a good bit lower.

Now when I go shoe shopping I look in the both the women’s and girl’s section.  Sure you’ve got to weed through a few pairs of obviously girly shoes with sparkles and butterflies but you can often find some good “grown up” looking pairs.

I realize that this tip won’t work for everyone as girl’s shoes typically only go tup to size 6 (the equivalent of probably a women’s size 8-8.5 depending on the shoe) but I thought I share it any way.

Here is a picture of the new sneakers I bought at target the other day.  The two shoes are the same brand and style with the only difference being a slightly different coloring.  I chose the shoes from the girl’s section and saved around $10 without even using a sale or coupon!

What do you think?  Could this money saving tip work for you?

While it saddens my heart to think of where our nation as a whole is spiritually, I rejoice that we still have this freedom and a formal encouragement even from our liberal leaders to go before the Lord in prayer.  While I am greatly disappointed in our current leadership you may be interested to read what President Obama said in these his 2011, 2012 and 2013 calls to prayer.

While President Obama’s “calls” to prayer are distinctly ”politically correct” and do lack theological soundness, at times I was a bit surprised at the decentness of his formal proclamation.  Surely other countries do not even have this amount of religious openness.  

As Christians we should not wait only for this time of year to go before the Lord in prayer but let this be a special reminder and a day to encourage others to seek God’s face.

Below I’ve created a FREE printable prayer target list to help bring to mind the many things we have to pray for.  Please feel free to use this for your own personal use, to pass out to others or use to lead a prayer group.

{Click Image to Download Printable}

Share this free printable with others on this Day of Prayer!

If you have any additional prayer requests please leave them in the comment section below.