Prayers Please

Well... I had some great pictures of our day to share but blogger is not allowing photos again so I guess I'll have to wait until tomorrow.

My FIL had me cracking up today. See I put him to work yesterday to clean our windows (no I'm not a demanding DIL... he offered really since he has longer arms) but we have a large, curved window that doesn't open and is very difficult to reach; that with what we had available was impossilbe to clean. But he was determined! Today he came with me to help Mike finish a few things in his office and on the way we made a stop at Price Rite to pick up some rice bags. As I looked for the bags, he told me he was going to look for something to clean the window. Low and behold, he found EXACTLY what he had in mind. When we got home he was so excited to see if it worked and yeah!!! we have beautiful windows thanks to all of his hard work! I just had to giggle at the challenge to have all the windows so clean.

While Izzy took her afternoon nap, they let me go to the pool (talk about a perfect tanning/swimming day... it was gorgeous!) where I read my book and took a swim. It was so relaxing and I was really thankful for the time to myself.

After that, we headed to the Botanical Gardens. It was very pretty but I was a bit disappointed in the animals. There weren't as many as I expected (don't know what I was thinking... it is HK and the park is in the heart of Central) but it was a great place to get some exercise. Poor Dad with his sore knees... there were a lot of hills and steps on the way out. I think I will go back sometime just to take my time and explore in more detail the animals/gardens that are there. Plus... it's pretty covered with trees so a great place to be outside but not experience too much of the sun and there's a lot for Isabella to explore.

Mike met us there and we walked to the Peak Tram and took it to 'The Peak.' It was a great day/night to go... not too much haze. I'm always amazed at how beautiful it is up there and God really blessed us with a wonderful dinner. We were at the top and I smelled pizza and it smelled wonderful so we located the restaurant and ate there. This restaurant overlooked the city and what a gorgeous view we had as the sun set and the HK lights turned on. What a blessing. I also tried some doughnuts (normally they are SUPER dry and not very good) but these were my favourite! Just plain ole doughnuts... yeah I know I'm boring but that's what I like.

I've been blogging a lot about our desires verses God's desires for our lives and though we may not always get what we want... He sure does shower us with blessings along the way. I never dreamed we could have afforded eating at this restaurant but it was reasonable and it was a very special evening for all of us.

And I got home to the sweetest email from my Hannah who is moving very soon to HK! Can't wait to spend time with you! Another blessing just when I needed it. God just knows what we need and He never fails us.

I'm almost in tears as I write this because I'm just so blessed to be a child of His. I can remember my life before Christ and it was so sad. I was so angry, bitter, unhappy, trying to please others, etc. But now... I find joy, peace, laughter, confidence, etc... and it's all because of the freedom He gives when we commit our lives to serving Him.

I'm feel so honored that He chose me to serve Him in this way (in overseas missions) and I want so badly to please Him... to hear Him say... "Well done, my good and faithful servant." So I've decided to step back and really seek what He has for my ministry here in HK. I know the desires He has given me but I need to be more creative in how I live out those. So if you wouldn't mind praying for me... pray that God would direct me in His plans and that He would show me how to live out those plans most effectively.

Mom, Dad and I had a long discussion today about ministry and giftings and they shared some insights that really confirmed some things in my heart. And they really blessed me by sharing how they really saw Mike and I as a 'team.' I've always loved that about us... I've always been his biggest supporter and love working beside Him but this year hasn't allowed that to happen as much as I'm used to and it's been hard. So to hear those words made me realize that though I may not be able to be as involved as I have in the past... we are still a team... and we will always be a team. Not all pastors and pastors wives work in that way but that's how God wants us to be and I think that's probably the only way we'll continue to be effective in our ministry. So again, I would ask that if you think about us please say a prayer for our marraige. Why? I believe that Satan will attack us because he doesn't want to see effective ministry. In fact... say a prayer for your Pastor and family right now because sadly Satan is at work and is destroying families as we speak.

Well... once again I've written a book. Tomorrow's an early morning so I better get to bed.

Blessings to you on this wonderful day!