And even when his face is hard to see, I'll choose to believe

It's easy to believe when everything goes our way isn't? 

Depending on the hour right now I am mess of many emotions...  I am sad, broken, hopeful, Peaceful, drained... 

But my feelings don't really matter at this point. 

The promises of God do.

The truth is, I serve a God who remains the same even when the storms are raging.  I feel like he has let this storm rage for the last six months in his attempt to draw me closer to him. 

Today I received an encouraging message from a friend that I wanted to share and also got me thinking.....

One of my favorite things she said to me was this...   "I have finally come to understand that the secret is Christ in me... Not me in a new set of circumstances....."

The last thing she said was .. Jessica, Remember to be still and know HE is God. Sometimes he calms the raging storm... But sometimes he lets the storm rage and he calms the child.

Beautiful.....

As i write this I write this I am reminded of when Jesus was walking toward Jericho, He passed a blind man who was begging at the side of the road. The man was persistent and kept calling out to Jesus, even after many told him to be quiet. But Jesus stopped and asked the man “What do you want Me to do for you?” The blind man replied “I want to see!”

I want to see Him more visibly, to hear Him more clearly, and to know Him more deeply....

But to be able to do that we need to be still.

The bible says we have been chosen to KNOW God.

Even though my heart is broken I am trying to find time in my day to be still so I can know him better....

What do you hear when you read the words be still and know that I am god?? 

I hear this... Don't worry my child... I am here with you and I will see you through.. Stop trying to take matters into your own hands.. Trust in my love for you and that I am able to do more than you could ever imagine... But first you need to be still and know that. That is what I am hearing tonight loud and clear.

I believe there will come a day when this past six months of "storms" will be just a memory and a remembrance of how God was faithful to bring us through it. Somedays this is harder to stand on than other days, but I will continue to believe this and remember it when I am in my darkest hour. 

After all he is the author and the finisher of life.... There is absolutely nothing out of his control. 


Psalm 107:28-30 
"Then they cried to the LORD in their trouble, and He delivered them from their distress. He made the storm be still, and the waves of the sea were hushed. Then they were glad that the waters were quiet, and he brought them to their desired haven." - Psalm 107:28-30

I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us. – Romans 8:18

God Bless

Jessica

Time to get back in Touch!

Wow, it's been quite a while since we have posted. Lots of exciting things are going on in our world since our trip from the U.S. and we are excited about this next year in China. As most of you already know we are expecting our second child in August of 2012 and we are all three thrilled. God has been so faithful and always seems to give us more than we ask for. We also just moved into a much bigger and nicer apartment. Our school provided us with a new three bedroom 2 bathroom on the 17th floor. We absolutely love it. I will post pictures soon of our new home. It is so convenient to our classrooms and is such a safe and peaceful place to live. It is still inside the same community we were living in, but we are in a newer building and moved much closer to our school. Grace LOVES the fact that most of her classmates live either in our building or in a building next to us. Speaking of our sweet Grace.. She just turned 4 and is blowing our minds each day with the amazing things she learns at school (both in english and chinese) and LOVES to talk about Jesus. When our friends come over she is so proud to show them the cross on our wall and tell them what it is all about. There is nothing more precious than that.

This semester we will be busy with teaching, tutoring and volunteering with the Baoan Orphanage. We are beyond grateful for our new home which allows us a more comfortable place to have friends old and new over for fellowship.

Thank you for all your prayers this past year!

God Bless,

Jessica, Jon and Grace