Since arriving home (Malaysia), I have been impacted a number of different times. The first one was this past Sunday. The sermon in church was about worship. Pastor was discussing how sadly worship has become more about us instead of glorifying the Lord. Worship is about recognizing God for who He is! Often times, especially in the U.S., people pick a church based off of the music they play. Some say that the music is too loud, too soft, too upbeat, too slow, etc. Perhaps it's time we examine our hearts. Why are you at church? To get a feeling? Worship is NOT about us: it's about recognizing God for who He is! That last statement was worth repeating. When I look for a church to attend, it is about hearing the Truth preached from the Bible. Whether or not the music is exactly to my liking is beside the point.
Also, worship is NOT just music. We should strive to worship God all the time. We can worship God through our daily tasks because it is an attitude. I can cut out my laminated name tags and worship Christ while doing so. The Bible says whatever you do, do as if unto the Lord.
In addition to thinking about worship, this morning in our combined staff gathering I was impacted by something I had heard before. Our director was discussing themes from years past. Then it hit me: humility. Stop and think about what that word means. Humility is self worth without arrogance. Humility is NOT self denigration, lack of confidence, etc. Humility is the opposite of entitlement and pride.
What struck me was the phrase, "not self denigration..." Simply stated, being humble does not mean you put yourself down. One way we try to be humble is we say that we are not good at things. This whole notion threw me into a whirlwind. This is something I have struggled with since middle school. I have been walking the fine line of being humble and putting myself down. It all started back in middle/high school. As hard as it may be to believe, I was not popular. When I started attending the public school it was hard for me to find where I fit in. When I finally was able to get into a group of friends, I realized I was the butt of many jokes. Because I was naive, I made an easy target. Then I figured that it was better to join them and beat them to the punch. When I did that, it did not hurt as bad when they said it. It was a coping mechanism that still is with me today. While I have grown up and changed, it is still ingrained. Sometimes I catch myself putting myself down. How dare I do that? When I put myself down in any way, I am insulting God's creation. In Jeremiah we read that we are wonderfully and fearfully made, knitted together in our mother's womb. God created us with purpose and design. My personality, looks, intelligence, etc. were not given to me by accident.
As I thought about this through the day, I realized I needed to ponder this more. Humility. With the Lord's help, I will be able to break the cycle of self denigration. He is the Healer and can heal even me.
Tuesday, August 7, 2012
Friday, August 3, 2012
A Day Late and Jet-lagged
This summer, I had the privilege of traveling back to the United States. Those seven weeks were well spent talking, laughing, and sharing life with my family, friends, and church family. God knew this trip was exactly what I needed. He provided opportunities for me to have good conversations with many different people. I cherish each person I was able to talk to this summer.While many people said those seven weeks flew by, I felt differently. In my opinion, the time was perfect. It wasn't too long; it wasn't too short.
On Monday, July 30, my dad brought me to the Des Moines airport. My good friend Faith made it to say goodbye as well. As I headed up the escalator to go through security, I turned and waved a final goodbye. My first flight of four began at noon. The forty-five minute flight to Minneapolis went smoothly. Upon arrival, I decided to eat lunch before my twelve hour flight. What better to eat than a blizzard at Dairy Queen?! :) Along with the blizzard I had a bacon burger with onion rings. Unable to finish all the food, I cleared my place and headed toward my gate. As I sat near the gate, I heard someone call my name. I looked up to see Alisa Lawrence, from Dalat! She was on the same flight as me to Tokyo. We were talking for a few minutes and heard an announcement for our flight. It was delayed one hour for maintenance. Alisa left to go eat with her daughter, who was flying elsewhere.
The hour went by quickly and it wasn't long until the boarding time approached. Just then, the following announcement came over the speakers: "Delta flight 621 to Tokyo has been cancelled due to maintenance problems. We're sorry for any inconvenience." There I sat, shocked to hear that my flight had been cancelled. I immediately called my dad to share the news with him. Our call was interrupted by another call my dad was getting. So, I decided to get in the long line to get my hotel voucher. Stepping into line at the same time was Alisa! We ended up talking almost the entire time we were in line.
While in line, my phone rang. My caller ID flashed: Geoff! I immediately picked up to talk to my brother. He lives only about an hour from Minneapolis. Thankfully, Geoff and my sister-in-law Meghan did not have plans that night. Geoff said that they would come take me out for supper. Yay!
Alisa and I finally got our hotel vouchers, along with three meal vouchers. It was such a blessing to have Alisa there with me. I had a working cell phone and we were both able to use it to call family. Alisa called her parents, who were still in town, to come pick us up and take us to our hotel. As Alisa was talking to her parents, I looked over and thought I recognized someone. I looked and looked again to realize it was who I thought it was! It was my dear friend Charlotte Kern! :) She had just arrived in Minneapolis and was headed out. What another blessing!
Later that evening, Geoff, Meghan, and I all headed to the Mall of America for some supper at Buffalo Wild Wings. We were able to catch up on the few weeks we hadn't seen each other this summer. After supper, my cousin Curtis joined us at the hotel to hang out and talk.
Once they left, I decided to stay up all night long. My flight was supposed to take off at 10am the next morning. Since that would be 11pm in Malaysia, it would work out perfectly! I would be able to sleep a lot of my long twelve hour flight...or so I thought.
Arriving at the airport, we went to check in with Delta. I stood there for nearly twenty minutes before I realize I was the only one still there. The lady checking me in did not know what she was doing. She constantly asked for assistance from a colleague of hers. After thirty minutes, she finally gave me my boarding passes and assured me everything was okay. Believing her, I took the boarding passes and headed for security. It wasn't until I arrived at the gate that I noticed my boarding ticket had the same flight information as the day before. I thought surely it was a mistake. It was just printed not even an hour prior to that.
About 9am, they started boarding the flight. I reached the front where they scanned my ticket to find out it was denied. The lady asked me to step into a long line to figure out the issue. Graciously, Alisa stepped out of line with me. After we prayed about it, we stood there waiting to see what would happen. While waiting, the boarding line was gone. I told Alisa I would be fine and I would see her on the flight. Only when I got to the front, the lady informed me that I was booked on the afternoon flight to Tokyo, not the morning one. With many people still behind me, I took my boarding tickets and walked to find a seat. I called my dad crying. After being up for 26 hours at that point, I was tired and wanted to sleep.
My flight from Minneapolis to Tokyo was on time and went smoothly, as did my flight from Tokyo to Singapore. I didn't expect to see anyone else I knew, but right before boarding my flight to Tokyo, I saw the Weidemann's! They were on the same flights that day.
In Singapore, I checked into the transit hotel. The Lord worked it out for Delta to honor my voucher, even though I was a day late. In the morning, I went to the Delta counter to find out that I need to check in with SilkAir. Once I talked to SilkAir they informed me that Delta did not rebook my flight. I turned around to talk to Delta, except they were no where to be found. I eventually had someone point me towards Delta employees. The short story is that I ended up on stand-by for the morning flight and got on. Therefore, my entire trip was elongated by 24 hours, but it felt like longer because of all the mishaps.
One thing that this trip reminded me of is God's provision. He has always provided for me and always will. He knew what was going to happen all along this trip. While in the midst of those hiccups and frustrating moments, God granted me peace and I prayed that He would guide me. I chose to trust that there was a purpose for the way everything worked out. It was a blessing to spend extra time with my Geoff, Meghan, and Curtis.
Also, His timing is perfect. While I have plans, God sees the bigger picture. I am so thankful to have a loving Lord and Savior who I can fully trust. That's a rarity in this world. People will let you down, but your Heavenly Father will NEVER let you down!
On Monday, July 30, my dad brought me to the Des Moines airport. My good friend Faith made it to say goodbye as well. As I headed up the escalator to go through security, I turned and waved a final goodbye. My first flight of four began at noon. The forty-five minute flight to Minneapolis went smoothly. Upon arrival, I decided to eat lunch before my twelve hour flight. What better to eat than a blizzard at Dairy Queen?! :) Along with the blizzard I had a bacon burger with onion rings. Unable to finish all the food, I cleared my place and headed toward my gate. As I sat near the gate, I heard someone call my name. I looked up to see Alisa Lawrence, from Dalat! She was on the same flight as me to Tokyo. We were talking for a few minutes and heard an announcement for our flight. It was delayed one hour for maintenance. Alisa left to go eat with her daughter, who was flying elsewhere.
The hour went by quickly and it wasn't long until the boarding time approached. Just then, the following announcement came over the speakers: "Delta flight 621 to Tokyo has been cancelled due to maintenance problems. We're sorry for any inconvenience." There I sat, shocked to hear that my flight had been cancelled. I immediately called my dad to share the news with him. Our call was interrupted by another call my dad was getting. So, I decided to get in the long line to get my hotel voucher. Stepping into line at the same time was Alisa! We ended up talking almost the entire time we were in line.
While in line, my phone rang. My caller ID flashed: Geoff! I immediately picked up to talk to my brother. He lives only about an hour from Minneapolis. Thankfully, Geoff and my sister-in-law Meghan did not have plans that night. Geoff said that they would come take me out for supper. Yay!
Alisa and I finally got our hotel vouchers, along with three meal vouchers. It was such a blessing to have Alisa there with me. I had a working cell phone and we were both able to use it to call family. Alisa called her parents, who were still in town, to come pick us up and take us to our hotel. As Alisa was talking to her parents, I looked over and thought I recognized someone. I looked and looked again to realize it was who I thought it was! It was my dear friend Charlotte Kern! :) She had just arrived in Minneapolis and was headed out. What another blessing!
Later that evening, Geoff, Meghan, and I all headed to the Mall of America for some supper at Buffalo Wild Wings. We were able to catch up on the few weeks we hadn't seen each other this summer. After supper, my cousin Curtis joined us at the hotel to hang out and talk.
Once they left, I decided to stay up all night long. My flight was supposed to take off at 10am the next morning. Since that would be 11pm in Malaysia, it would work out perfectly! I would be able to sleep a lot of my long twelve hour flight...or so I thought.
Arriving at the airport, we went to check in with Delta. I stood there for nearly twenty minutes before I realize I was the only one still there. The lady checking me in did not know what she was doing. She constantly asked for assistance from a colleague of hers. After thirty minutes, she finally gave me my boarding passes and assured me everything was okay. Believing her, I took the boarding passes and headed for security. It wasn't until I arrived at the gate that I noticed my boarding ticket had the same flight information as the day before. I thought surely it was a mistake. It was just printed not even an hour prior to that.
About 9am, they started boarding the flight. I reached the front where they scanned my ticket to find out it was denied. The lady asked me to step into a long line to figure out the issue. Graciously, Alisa stepped out of line with me. After we prayed about it, we stood there waiting to see what would happen. While waiting, the boarding line was gone. I told Alisa I would be fine and I would see her on the flight. Only when I got to the front, the lady informed me that I was booked on the afternoon flight to Tokyo, not the morning one. With many people still behind me, I took my boarding tickets and walked to find a seat. I called my dad crying. After being up for 26 hours at that point, I was tired and wanted to sleep.
My flight from Minneapolis to Tokyo was on time and went smoothly, as did my flight from Tokyo to Singapore. I didn't expect to see anyone else I knew, but right before boarding my flight to Tokyo, I saw the Weidemann's! They were on the same flights that day.
In Singapore, I checked into the transit hotel. The Lord worked it out for Delta to honor my voucher, even though I was a day late. In the morning, I went to the Delta counter to find out that I need to check in with SilkAir. Once I talked to SilkAir they informed me that Delta did not rebook my flight. I turned around to talk to Delta, except they were no where to be found. I eventually had someone point me towards Delta employees. The short story is that I ended up on stand-by for the morning flight and got on. Therefore, my entire trip was elongated by 24 hours, but it felt like longer because of all the mishaps.
One thing that this trip reminded me of is God's provision. He has always provided for me and always will. He knew what was going to happen all along this trip. While in the midst of those hiccups and frustrating moments, God granted me peace and I prayed that He would guide me. I chose to trust that there was a purpose for the way everything worked out. It was a blessing to spend extra time with my Geoff, Meghan, and Curtis.
Also, His timing is perfect. While I have plans, God sees the bigger picture. I am so thankful to have a loving Lord and Savior who I can fully trust. That's a rarity in this world. People will let you down, but your Heavenly Father will NEVER let you down!
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