Philippians

My quiet time a few mornings ago was amazing. I woke up not wanting to get out of bed and start the day. Thankfully my attitude would soon improve. When I arrived at the place where I have my quiet time which is a quiet place where the morning sun shines brightly, I was thinking about the fact that I was very cold, the cough that I still have, and the fact that my nose was running which has become a daily thing from either having a cold or the weather being cold. I had things that I could complain about but then I remembered that I was to "count it all joy." And these "trials" were hardly trials at all when I really thought about it. I decided to read Philippians. When you want to be reminded to stop living for yourself and start living for God, read Philippians. The whole book. These are just some of the incredible reminders I received as I read these four chapters of the Bible.

"To live is Christ, and to die is gain."
"Only let your manner of life be worthy of the gospel of Christ,"
"in humility count others more significant than yourselves."
"Do all things without grumbling or questioning."
"Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ,"
"Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, Rejoice.
"do not be anxious about anything."
"whatever is true, whatever is honorable..... think about these things."
"for I have learned in whatever situation I am to be content."
"I have learned the secret of facing plenty and hunger, abundance and need."
"I can do all things through him who strengthens me."
"And my God will supply every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus."

When you read through these verses you can obviously see how God intends us to live. He desires that we see his worth. Sometimes going through trials and uncomfortable situations are what God uses to help us see more clearly. We can choose to grumble and complain or we can choose to be content in every situation, with thankfulness in our hearts. Please read Philippians, God can use it to change your life.

Count it all Joy

Therefore, as you received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in him, rooted and built up in him and established in the faith, just as you were taught, abounding in thanksgiving. Colossians 2:6

"Lord, please teach me how to walk with you and to be abounding in thanksgiving." Sometimes my life is too easy and too comfortable. Even though my experience here does not even begin to compare to other places where life is even harder and more uncomfortable, I have experienced less comfort than I am used to. While living here in Zambia sometimes I complain to myself and I am tempted to grumble about the situation I'm in. When I compare life here and at home the things I have to be thankful for at home are obvious. But maybe that is only the first step in realizing how blessed I am. Setting aside comparisons to my life in the US, I am starting to realize how much I have to be thankful for here. Its easy to be thankful for the food choices I have at home compared to here. Its easy to be thankful for reliable water and electricity that I have in the US when compared to here. But when I look at it with a different perspective I am able to be thankful without even having to compare. Taking showers and having wet hair during the cold mornings are not my favorite...but I have running water. Three pieces of bread and a cup of tea is not my ideal breakfast...but I have food to eat. Having a cough for the past month is not my idea of fun...but God is taking care of me. I have much to be thankful for. I have a God who never fails me. I have a God who stays by my side urging me to "Count it all joy" even when things are not going my way. I have people who care for me and are looking after me. God's blessings are abundant and overflowing. "Saints who are abounding in thanksgiving"... let this be said of us.

Victoria Falls!!! :D 
Upper Zambezi

A rainbow can always be seen at the falls.

There are tons of baboons at Victoria Fall. Baboons of all ages roamed the park. They can be aggressive and they especially love to steal food from women. One of them started following me and grabbed onto the small backpack that I was wearing. I started jogging away from it and got free. I did not feel like freely handing over my passport and money. :P

Beautiful double rainbow

Biscuit Jar!

I thought this was great. I got invited to someone's house and glanced at this jar over and over while I was helping in the kitchen. Then it clicked. It said "Biscuits!" As in, a cookie jar, except they call them biscuits. Oh Zambia... :)

In ? I Trust

Last Thursday I had the opportunity to join the outreach team that is here from South Africa during their visit to the hospital in town. We went to pray over and be an encouragement to the patients who were there. The hospital, as you can imagine, is very different from the ones we are used to in America. People do not have privacy but are placed side by side on the beds that are lined up against the wall. Some patients were sleeping on mattresses on the floor. We broke up into teams and visited the different wards going from bed to bed just talking and praying with the the people. Some looked pretty miserable and I was sad when I tried to imagine how I would feel if I were in their position. Here in the Kabwe hospital, the comfort and the resources are limited and I realized how much trust I have in our hospitals and doctors at home.

As I was driving back with the leaders of the team I was asked how the visit went. I told him it was depressing but a good experience. I mentioned how it seemed like there was little hope in the place. He asked me if it was hopeless. I replied that no it wasn't and he went on to say that in Africa they don't have as many resources and material things so one has to trust in God. This hit me really hard because it became more clear to me how much I put my trust in things. This conversation that I had began to change how I looked at certain places and situations in Zambia. It reminded me that even in the poorest places God is working and that just because some people don't have money, medicine, enough food, and comfort, does not mean that there is no hope. My hope and trust should be in God, not so much in things. God's ways are higher than our ways and he can take care of people whether they seem to live in desperate situations or in nice comfortable houses. Either way, we should be putting our trust in Him and realize that everything we have is from Him. This seems like an obvious thing to learn but it really became more real to me after the visit to the hospital and after the conversation that challenged me to consider what I was actually putting my trust in.