Humbly approaching the cross is something that has been on my mind lately. This weekend I finished Galations and read Ephesians....both have amazing lessons about being crucified with Christ and its not us living, but Christ living in us... being rooted in Christ's love and approaching HIM with peace and confidence....
This morning I listened to a podcast that reminded me of this...."God doesn't show us our whole path for life, He takes us step by step because He wants to be in relationship with us and honestly- if we knew the path God is going to lead us on then we wouldn't need him..."
Okay so we need God, we know that and we hear that ALL THE TIME.
But how often do we live our lives in complete surrender, in complete humility where we are constantly on our knees relying on God's strength...on HIS timing...on HIS understanding...on HIS peace.
I wish I could say that I'm at this place where I'm in complete surrender in front of my Savior. But truth be told I am slowly opening up my hands and allowing my HIM to take my burdens, my pain, my anger, my brokeness...
Praise God that He desires to heal us and make us whole again. Praise Him for giving us everything. I believe he is victorious over all our pain and depression and has already defeated those things.
He will bring me through, in His timing...I just need to trust.
Tuesday, November 29, 2011
Wednesday, November 23, 2011
The best things in Life aren't things....
Jon took Grace out to fly kites last weekend at Shenzhen University. I went along of course to take some pictures but really it was a special afternoon for Grace and her dad! One of those days that make you stop and realize that life is about moments like this....
LOVE how much they enjoy each other!
Tuesday, November 22, 2011
Tuesday Night Chaos
In case you are wondering what Tuesday Nights look like for us when we invite 6 extra Children into our home...Here are a few pics. 6 five year olds + one 3 year old equals = excedrin migraine. KIDDING!! Well kind of ... But we really love it, they are SO much fun. And Grace thinks it's time to party down every Tuesday night. My ears are still ringing from tonight. Take a look :)
Walter, Ray-Ray (love that name), Julie, Yancey, Snow, and Grace
BESTIES
Snow, Grace, Julie, and another Grace!
Tonight I gave them these "awards" for sitting through English tutoring before they ran into Grace's room to play...As you can see they are pretty stinkin' proud. Grace got one too for being my assistant!
I posted this blurry picture to show you the energy that comes from this group of crazy 5 year olds... this is not for wimps people! Oh and by the way - this was taken last Tuesday night... and YES that cute little guy in the middle named RAY RAY is wearing a cape to English Tutoring. Don't try him, he is not playing around!
Me with Julie - This little girl is HILARIOUS and Such a sweet girl!
Hope you enjoyed the peek into our madness!
Walter, Ray-Ray (love that name), Julie, Yancey, Snow, and Grace
BESTIES
Snow, Grace, Julie, and another Grace!
Tonight I gave them these "awards" for sitting through English tutoring before they ran into Grace's room to play...As you can see they are pretty stinkin' proud. Grace got one too for being my assistant!
I posted this blurry picture to show you the energy that comes from this group of crazy 5 year olds... this is not for wimps people! Oh and by the way - this was taken last Tuesday night... and YES that cute little guy in the middle named RAY RAY is wearing a cape to English Tutoring. Don't try him, he is not playing around!
Me with Julie - This little girl is HILARIOUS and Such a sweet girl!
Hope you enjoyed the peek into our madness!
Thursday, November 17, 2011
Rainy Day Fun in Shenzhen
Grace had a blast making english muffin pizzas and cupcakes on our rainy saturday last weekend! They were sooo good and she had a blast! Great idea if you are stuck in the house with little ones, and not all that messy either :)
Followed by cupcakes...
Love this picture... she is ROCKIN the peace sign!
Followed by cupcakes...
Love this picture... she is ROCKIN the peace sign!
Friday, November 11, 2011
Blessed by four little angels
Saturdays are our orphanage days. We have 4 kids named Louis, Tommy, Pat and Olivia. We get to act as their foster parents on these Saturday's taking them on outings that they would not get to do otherwise without the help of volunteers here in Shenzhen. They get to see the outside world and experience things like the park, mcdonalds, dinosaur exhibits, etc. which is a HUGE treat to these precious kids.
On our way to the park - Tommy and Pat are the boys in the back
This is Olivia. She is about 4 years old. Absolutely PRECIOUS and so happy. Grace loves playing with her! Olivia kept tugging on my hand calling me ma-ma during our outing this past weekend.
Jon with little Louis
I must say it is quite amazing when we stop and see the world through a child's eyes... But even more so when you have the opportunity to see it through an orphans eyes.
Grace and Olivia blowing bubbles
Time to head back to the orphanage...Until next time sweet children..
On our way back they got to check out bunnies for sale on the side of the road...small things that make children happy!
I hope that these pictures of these 4 precious children will be A reminder to PRAY, A reminder to GIVE, & a reminder that we all have a responsibility to be a VOICE for those that don't have one of their own.
It is estimated there are between 143 million and 210 million orphans worldwide.
Every day an estimated 5,760 more children become orphans.
Each year 14,505,000 children grow up as orphans and AGE OUT of the system by the age of 16.
Studies have shown that 60% of the girls become prostitutes and 70% of the boys become hardened criminals.
Another study reported that of the 15,000 orphans aging out of state-run institutions every year, 10% committed suicide, 5,000 were unemployed, 6,000 were homeless and 3,000 were in prison within three years…
I know for myself it is very difficult to really think about these statistics and what they represent, but when we become PERSONALLY involved and risk HEART ACHE they become MORE than statistics… these 4 orphans we spend time with on the weekends have become REAL children with REAL hearts that ache for parents with REAL bodies that hunger for love and attention.
These precious children need men and women willing to make a difference...
“Defend the cause of the weak and the fatherless; Maintain the rights of the poor and oppressed. Deliver the weak and needy from the hand of the wicked.” Ps 82:3-4
statistics above from:
www.unicef.org/uniteforchildren.org
On our way to the park - Tommy and Pat are the boys in the back
This is Olivia. She is about 4 years old. Absolutely PRECIOUS and so happy. Grace loves playing with her! Olivia kept tugging on my hand calling me ma-ma during our outing this past weekend.
Jon with little Louis
I must say it is quite amazing when we stop and see the world through a child's eyes... But even more so when you have the opportunity to see it through an orphans eyes.
Grace and Olivia blowing bubbles
Time to head back to the orphanage...Until next time sweet children..
On our way back they got to check out bunnies for sale on the side of the road...small things that make children happy!
I hope that these pictures of these 4 precious children will be A reminder to PRAY, A reminder to GIVE, & a reminder that we all have a responsibility to be a VOICE for those that don't have one of their own.
It is estimated there are between 143 million and 210 million orphans worldwide.
Every day an estimated 5,760 more children become orphans.
Each year 14,505,000 children grow up as orphans and AGE OUT of the system by the age of 16.
Studies have shown that 60% of the girls become prostitutes and 70% of the boys become hardened criminals.
Another study reported that of the 15,000 orphans aging out of state-run institutions every year, 10% committed suicide, 5,000 were unemployed, 6,000 were homeless and 3,000 were in prison within three years…
I know for myself it is very difficult to really think about these statistics and what they represent, but when we become PERSONALLY involved and risk HEART ACHE they become MORE than statistics… these 4 orphans we spend time with on the weekends have become REAL children with REAL hearts that ache for parents with REAL bodies that hunger for love and attention.
These precious children need men and women willing to make a difference...
“Defend the cause of the weak and the fatherless; Maintain the rights of the poor and oppressed. Deliver the weak and needy from the hand of the wicked.” Ps 82:3-4
statistics above from:
www.unicef.org/uniteforchildren.org
Love this idea...
Saw this on pinterest..... My new addiction. So inspiring. Now if I could just get off of the website so I can actually make all of the things I've pinned my house would be beautiful and my husbands belly would be happy...
For now I wanted to share this cool idea that I am going to start doing tomorrow. Just wish I would have done it a little sooner.
This woman has a journal for each of her children, filled with letters to the child and thoughts about them. She started each one the day they found out they were having the child. Gave them when the kids moved out. So sweet and sentimental.
For now I wanted to share this cool idea that I am going to start doing tomorrow. Just wish I would have done it a little sooner.
Source: ashleyannphotography.com via Jessica on Pinterest
This woman has a journal for each of her children, filled with letters to the child and thoughts about them. She started each one the day they found out they were having the child. Gave them when the kids moved out. So sweet and sentimental.
Friday, November 4, 2011
What are we doing here?!
I try to keep up with this blog, and i post a lot of stuff on Facebook but I thought I'd post what a regular day/ week looks like in our world in case anyone is wondering what we do day to day other than teach cute little Chinese children....
So here goes...
Sundays - we are apart of two fellowships here in shenzhen... One is pretty small, mostly Chinese Believers and the other is quite big (hundreds of people from all cultures) .. We LOVE being apart of both of these families of faith. Wish I could write more about that on here ... Anyway we usually spend sunday afternoons having lunch out somewhere as a family or with church friends, napping, and then preparing our lesson plans for the kindergarten that are due for the week.
Mondays... Back to the grind ;) We start the day by dropping grace off to her kindergarten class. They always have breakfast ready for the kids when they arrive at 9:00 - which is usually some vegetables, fruit, noodles... Healthy and filling. There's no fruit loops going on in there haha. We kiss her goodbye and usually watch from the window for a few minutes. She is the only American in the class and her classmates welcome her with open arms. Usually screaming "GRACE IS HERE, GOOD MORNING GRACE, GOOD MORNING GRACES MOMMY!!!! "
Monday evenings I help one of our Chinese teachers with her English. She is one of my favorite people here, and I absolutely love that we can finally communicate with each other.
Tuesday- we teach in the mornings at the kindergarten, grace goes to her class, then in the evenings I host an English tutoring session for 5 year olds in our apartment from 7 to 8pm. Jon takes grace outside to the community court yard/ playground where EVERYONE gathers in the evenings. Moms, dads, our students, grandparents... You name it. Chinese people love to be outside, and everyone is like one huge family. The kids in our neighborhood usually run up and tackle Jon when they see him. When Jon is not breaking up scooter fights you can find him chasing kids around the playground, or playing basketball with the dads... Basketball games that involve 3 year olds that like to ride their tricycles right through the middle of the games with not a care in the world.
Wednesday- We all start off at the kindergarten, then I usually get to have a lunch date with Jon by this time in the week. Wednesday nights Jon has a tutoring session for some of his 5 year olds from our school, then he comes home we have dinner. Later on in the evening I leave for a ladies bible study that I recently put together at one of our local coffee shops. There are lots of Chinese women who are new believers that come, and there are also some amazing American girls that come who are going to help lead these new friends in their faith.
Thursdays- pretty tired by now!! More teaching at the kindergarten, usually a staff meeting during lunch. Jon tutors a Chinese teacher at school from 5-6. Then he recently started a men's bible study with a few friends that goes from 7:30-9:00. Thursday night used to be date night, but that is now Friday night.
Fridays - I teach in the mornings, Jon has Fridays off!! We have Friday nights free to go out with friends, hang out in the neighborhood or do whatever comes up unexpectedly. Sometimes our neighbors invite us over for dinner with about 5 minutes notice ... Doesn't hurt our feelings :) We love when they invite us into their homes, and they LOVE to feed us until we can stand it any longer.
Saturdays are spent sleeping in, except for Jon he tutors 5-6 year olds from 9-1030 every other Saturday, the class is crazy it's 13 boys and 2 girls and boys don't exactly Iike foreign language training on early Saturday mornings! Saturday is also our ORPHANAGE day. We get to take 4 orphans each time on a family outing to places like the park, dinosaur exhibits, grocery store, mcdonalds, movies, play lands, pizza hut etc... these kids take turns going on outings in groups of 4. Some have never been outside of the orphanage so it is a way for them to see the outside world and also get some special attention that they don't receive inside the welfare center.
I know I left a lot out but at least you get the gist of what our week usually looks like. In between all this craziness we have ALOT of family time, lots of time for Hong Kong and Disney Land and lots of time to get to know our new friends that we are making all the time in Shenzhen. We have a pretty normal life ... Most of the time ;)
So here goes...
Sundays - we are apart of two fellowships here in shenzhen... One is pretty small, mostly Chinese Believers and the other is quite big (hundreds of people from all cultures) .. We LOVE being apart of both of these families of faith. Wish I could write more about that on here ... Anyway we usually spend sunday afternoons having lunch out somewhere as a family or with church friends, napping, and then preparing our lesson plans for the kindergarten that are due for the week.
Mondays... Back to the grind ;) We start the day by dropping grace off to her kindergarten class. They always have breakfast ready for the kids when they arrive at 9:00 - which is usually some vegetables, fruit, noodles... Healthy and filling. There's no fruit loops going on in there haha. We kiss her goodbye and usually watch from the window for a few minutes. She is the only American in the class and her classmates welcome her with open arms. Usually screaming "GRACE IS HERE, GOOD MORNING GRACE, GOOD MORNING GRACES MOMMY!!!! "
Monday evenings I help one of our Chinese teachers with her English. She is one of my favorite people here, and I absolutely love that we can finally communicate with each other.
Tuesday- we teach in the mornings at the kindergarten, grace goes to her class, then in the evenings I host an English tutoring session for 5 year olds in our apartment from 7 to 8pm. Jon takes grace outside to the community court yard/ playground where EVERYONE gathers in the evenings. Moms, dads, our students, grandparents... You name it. Chinese people love to be outside, and everyone is like one huge family. The kids in our neighborhood usually run up and tackle Jon when they see him. When Jon is not breaking up scooter fights you can find him chasing kids around the playground, or playing basketball with the dads... Basketball games that involve 3 year olds that like to ride their tricycles right through the middle of the games with not a care in the world.
Wednesday- We all start off at the kindergarten, then I usually get to have a lunch date with Jon by this time in the week. Wednesday nights Jon has a tutoring session for some of his 5 year olds from our school, then he comes home we have dinner. Later on in the evening I leave for a ladies bible study that I recently put together at one of our local coffee shops. There are lots of Chinese women who are new believers that come, and there are also some amazing American girls that come who are going to help lead these new friends in their faith.
Thursdays- pretty tired by now!! More teaching at the kindergarten, usually a staff meeting during lunch. Jon tutors a Chinese teacher at school from 5-6. Then he recently started a men's bible study with a few friends that goes from 7:30-9:00. Thursday night used to be date night, but that is now Friday night.
Fridays - I teach in the mornings, Jon has Fridays off!! We have Friday nights free to go out with friends, hang out in the neighborhood or do whatever comes up unexpectedly. Sometimes our neighbors invite us over for dinner with about 5 minutes notice ... Doesn't hurt our feelings :) We love when they invite us into their homes, and they LOVE to feed us until we can stand it any longer.
Saturdays are spent sleeping in, except for Jon he tutors 5-6 year olds from 9-1030 every other Saturday, the class is crazy it's 13 boys and 2 girls and boys don't exactly Iike foreign language training on early Saturday mornings! Saturday is also our ORPHANAGE day. We get to take 4 orphans each time on a family outing to places like the park, dinosaur exhibits, grocery store, mcdonalds, movies, play lands, pizza hut etc... these kids take turns going on outings in groups of 4. Some have never been outside of the orphanage so it is a way for them to see the outside world and also get some special attention that they don't receive inside the welfare center.
I know I left a lot out but at least you get the gist of what our week usually looks like. In between all this craziness we have ALOT of family time, lots of time for Hong Kong and Disney Land and lots of time to get to know our new friends that we are making all the time in Shenzhen. We have a pretty normal life ... Most of the time ;)
Wednesday, November 2, 2011
Thinking..
How heaven is one day closer than it was yesterday....
Some times we are given things and they are taken away from us... With thanksgiving coming up I am reminded of the gifts we will never lose...
LOVE
JOY
THE ASSURANCE OF GOD'S GRACE
AND THE NEARNESS OF HEAVEN
What are you thankful for today?
Hope your day is great!
<3 Jess!
Some times we are given things and they are taken away from us... With thanksgiving coming up I am reminded of the gifts we will never lose...
LOVE
JOY
THE ASSURANCE OF GOD'S GRACE
AND THE NEARNESS OF HEAVEN
What are you thankful for today?
Hope your day is great!
<3 Jess!
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