Bloom!

Dear Sisters, It had been a month since I had seen my kids at the orphanage.  I enjoyed my Chinese New Year break but I sure was ready to see my little friends! Allen* (name changed) ran over and jumped in my arms.  I grinned and asked if he had missed my friends and I who usually come every week.  He nodded seriously and said "It feels like a year since I've seen you!" I suppose to a third grader, one month certainly could feel like a year.  Allen's little statement warmed my heart.  God is surely working in this place and in these kids' lives.  My first time meeting this mischevious, energetic fireball of a boy was back in January 2014.  I fell instantly in love.  Allen has grown so much these past few years.  Sure, physically he's a lot taller as a third grader than he was as a first grader.  But he's also grown in so many more ways than just that. Our first English class at his orphanage...oh my.  The kids went wi...

      I will start this article off with a link to the true story of Easter. One I know you have probably heard many times. The Easter story is one of the most important truths in the Bible, but often we almost skim through it. We don't take the time to really think about the significance of the sacrifice and the glory of the Resurrection. We have heard the same story preached time and time again to the point that it seems to be old hat. "Sure, Jesus died so I could live forever. Blah. Blah. Blah. Big deal. I'd rather be reading about one of those awesome Old Testament battles." That may be taking it a little far, but there is some truth to it. We don't, and never will, truly comprehend the greatness of what Christ did on the cross. He conquered death, all sin, and Satan himself. Let's read the truth of Easter according to John.  Click here to read John 18-20. This tells of the physical torment Christ went through. I can hardly imagine having to suffer...

Recently, one of my girlfriends and I headed out to a local Chinese buffet. The food was great, and the fellowship was even more so, and our conversations flowed easily as we updated each other on what was going on in our lives, and what we have been learning about Christ lately. At the end of our meal, we were given two fortune cookies, and we both excitedly grabbed the little strips of paper in between and fo und joy in sharing these little tidbits of wise sayings and clichés.  Recently, I was thinking to myself  about how convenient it would be to just have a bunch of these phrases on hand to dish out when a friend needs encouragement. This leads me to think that i n our Christian life, whether we interact around our Christian or non-Christian friends,  we feel a need to always have something perfect to say.  There seems to be a pressure to have a piece of advice to offer, a reason to a trial, or a tiny package of hope to give out to somebody who is struggling ...