Quirks

It's so funny to me how I'll hear teenagers, psychologists, counselors, etc etc all talk about "finding yourself"...discovering who you are. Though there may be a certain amount of truth to that, I think perhaps we (only speaking for Christians at this point) spend too much time trying to get to know ourselves, that we don't spend enough time just getting to know our Lord. Perhaps there is a way we can do both...appreciate the way God has made us.

"So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them." -Genesis 1:27

"Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own? For you were bought at a price; therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God's." -1 Corinthians 6:19-20

How amazing to be made in the image and for the joy of a Holy God.

With that, I decided to share some of the things that make me...
Uniquely me.

* My favorite M&Ms are the brown and green ones.

* One characteristic my father gave me was a love for bookstores--new or used (preferably used...character added to every page)

* My mother encouraged my love of music...piano is my 2nd voice.

* I'm 20 and I still don't like mushrooms.

* I like crab, but not shrimp.

* I enjoy the sophisticated and elegant but also the casual and laid-back.

* My favorite memories are with the Obera cousins at Noni and Papa's house or at Christmas cabins.

* I'm a fake artist...sketching on napkins or in journals, but never taking the time to learn how to do it well :)

* I get excited about making an excel spreadsheet.

* I crave two things (not simultaneously): milk chocolate and orange juice.

* When I meet people, I like to find out how they drink their coffee.

* I'm nearly convinced God intended all people to eat while sitting on the floor.

* The best summer Saturday would be: a picnic on the beach or buying fresh foods at the farmer's market and napping in the sunshine.

* Kite flying and archery are amazing.

* My heroes are my grandmothers, Ruth Bruckart, Beverley Obera and Marjorie Cohoon.

* I was born into a family whose history is covered in God's grace.



What makes you uniquely you?

Blessings, dear friends.

Internship Update #3

Make that $1,242.00 :)

Internship Update #2

Just a quick note to let you know...

I am at $1,142 of raising $4,160!

Keep praying! God is providing!!!

Blessings to you all,
Emily

Stone of Remembrance

Psalm 27

The LORD is my light and my salvation;
Whom shall I fear?
The LORD is the strength of my life;
Of whom shall I be afraid?
When the wicked came against me
To eat up my flesh,
My enemies and foes,
They stumbled and fell.
Though an army may encamp against me,
My heart shall not fear;
Though war may rise against me,
In this I will be confident.

One thing I have desired of the LORD
That will I seek:
That I may dwell in the house of the LORD
All the days of my life,
To behold the beauty of the LORD,
And to inquire in His temple.
For in the time of trouble
He shall hide me in His pavilion;
In the secret place of His tabernacle
He shall hide me;
He shall set me high upon a rock.

And now my head shall be lifted up above my enemies all around me;
Therefore I will offer sacrifices of joy in His tabernacle;
I will sing, yes, I will sing praises to the LORD.

Hear, O LORD, when I cry with my voice!
Have mercy also upon me, and answer me.
When You said, "Seek My face,"
My heart said to You, "Your face, LORD, I will seek."
Do not hide Your face from me;
Do not turn Your servant away in anger;
You have been my help;
Do not leave me nor forsake me,
O God of my salvation.
When my father and my mother forsake me,
Then the LORD will take care of me.

Teach me Your way, O LORD,
And lead me in a smooth path, because of my enemies.
Do not deliver me to the will of my adversaries;
For false witnesses have risen against me,
And such as breathe out violence.
I would have lost heart, unless I had believed
That I would see the goodness of the LORD
In the land of the living.

Wait on the LORD,
Be of good courage,
And He shall strengthen your heart;
Wait, I say, on the LORD!

Just for fun...

Summer 2009

Blessings to you all.

Since I've put this link on my missions support letters, I think it's about time I gave a MISSIONS UPDATE (or perhaps just any sort of update). :)

Last summer, I attempted to piece together a trip to fulfill the requirements for my school internship. I tried to go with Every Child Ministries to Ghana to do slave liberation, however, God made it (and continues to make it) abundantly clear to me that it was not His will for that trip to take place.

I'm now a senior at Moody (graduating December 2009) and this is my last summer to do an internship. In truth, I was dreading the process of looking, applying, training, support-raising, and doing an internship again. I felt so embarrassed and upset with the Lord for not doings things MY WAY that I did not begin with an attitude of openness and gratefulness. Both qualities are tremendously important for missions and the Christian life in general.

Let me tell you how God gave constant mercy and grace to me, a sinner with a horridly selfish attitude...

**Without me realizing it, God had used last year's process to train me and show me the responsibilities that needed to be met. I have been more knowledgeable and prepared to step into this experienced because of having tried and failed once already.

**When I had hardly began to look for a new possibility, the doors of ONE agency flew open. The Lord knows how much I love options, but hate decisions. He gave me few options, but only one that obviously fit.

**God is expanding my interests. Though I've always been passionate about ending injustice in terms of slavery and abuse, the last few years of study have intrigued me regarding Muslim culture, religion, and their need for Christ. This opportunity was completely geered toward this aspect in such a way that I can learn by observing and participating in a safe and supervised context.

**One of my greatest fears was that the agency I went with would expect me to do all the inter-cultural work (i.e. visas, plane tickets, contextualizing, understanding the culture and the ministry, etc). SEND International REQUIRES each missionary (short or long term) to go through very detailed training and debriefing for their trips. They desire to provide their members with proper care as their people are experiencing completely different situations that weigh heavily on faith and heart. My time at SEND's training in March was one of the best experiences of my life--studying the Scriptures with other missionaries, receiving help in the media aspects and planning, learning how to support raise and keep donors well-aware of what was going on, and building tremendous friendships.

**I have a very difficult time raising support. I dislike asking others for money. It requires vulnerability and admittance that there is no possible way I can go without the involvement of the church. During training, God impressed on me that I couldn't ask for help because of pride (wanting to do this on my own), and fear (that no one would actually support). After much prayer and convincing by close advisers, I chose to ask for help in my two needs: prayer and finances.

THUS FAR, GOD HAS PROVIDED THROUGH DEAR PEOPLE 5 OF 15 REGULAR PRAYER PARTNERS AND OVER $1,000 OUT OF $4,600!!! WOW. (Keep in mind, letters only went out 2 weeks ago!)

I can't deny His goodness.

For those that have not heard, here are the details of what God has provided for my internship this summer:

Where: Maharlika Village, Metro Manila, Philippines
When: June 8-July 20, 2009
With Whom: SEND International (www.send.org)

More to come later. Thank you for your prayers and your influence on my life.

Peace, blessings, and God's truth be always with you.
Emily

Texas...I never thought I'd like you...

When I was in high school, I would talk with a few of my friends about how much they loved Texas and would never leave and how much I disliked it and would be leaving ASAP. Funny how you change your mind so quickly. Reasons for this change of heart...
* Texas has no negative degree weather...
* People in Texas ARE (in general) more friendly...
* Food portions are bigger...
* They know the importance of Dr. Pepper...
* They have REAL Tex-mex...
* The Alamo Cafe...
* You can drive faster...
* If there's traffic on the highway, there are usually backroads...
* You can wear flip-flops everyday except it's one ice-day...

I concede...Texas IS a good state. :)

A couple of fun pictures...Jesse came to Texas for a week over our spring break where he experience some of the above joys (notice the alamo cafe tortillas).





Enjoy your Saturday!!!