He is, therefore I am.

Can I just say that God is good? Can I just say that? Yes, I can. God is good! He has brought me to this place with a plan and placed me in a family of fellow believers. I have a growing support system with similar interests. Beautiful.

Tonight, I joined a group of 4 Christians for dinner before going to a Bible study at one of the church members homes. There were probably 12 people at the Bible study. We talked about examining our lives through a process called ‘examen’ (yes, I know it’s spelled weird). It’s a series of questions you ask yourself to look at the presence of God through your daily activities, relationships, etc. It’s pretty neat. Maybe after they send me the email on what we discussed tonight, I can remember to post some of those questions up here for you guys to look at. If not, remind me! We also exchanged prayer requests with 2 other people—mine were Winnie and Angie—both very sweet 20-something girls that love the Lord J.

They opened Bible study with a NewWorldSon song about pride and worry. It’s one that I’d heard back in the states when I was in college.  I remember listening to the song over and over online when I got stressed during exam time. It was amazing to hear that over here—picked out by a New Zealander who lives here. God constantly reminds me, “hey, remember me, I had control then too,” “hey, why don’t you talk to me a little more…after all, look at all I’ve done for you,” and “see what you thought was such a big deal was really just a tiny part of my plan—remember this next time you stress…and just don’t.” A song can say a lot, and this one took me to fretting at my kitchen table. God is so good. He is sooo good beyond compare. I cannot explain to you the things that He has done and is doing all around us. So examine (examen too) your life today—where is God in your day, your relationships, etc.? Where do you keep Him out? …then what do you need to change?

Work today was lesson planning and meetings. We are drafting some questions for the next round of the speech competition. We were brainstorming topics, which we will expand on later. Although Macau is a place with religious freedom and pretty much free expression, we still have to be cautious on asking political questions concerning the mainland because many college students and workers are from there.

An interesting fact on superstition, which I’ve mentioned briefly in the past: so 8’s are good luck, 4’s are bad luck, remember? My boss was telling us today that the way the license plate system works is letter letter number. During the time they are on 8’s, the cars are selling like crazy, and when the license plate order reaches 4’s, like one car sells a month. Really superstitious, huh? Makes me wonder what people do when their child turns 4? I guess that makes reaching 40 and going ‘over the hill’ just that much worse.

I have to admit that my weakness is grocery stores. Okay, I'm not sure 'weakness' is how to say it, but I absolutely LOVE trying new things--especially healthy stuff (which is generally expensive...ouch). I'm going crazy having fun trying new cereals and things over here in the groceries!! I will say that I am more grateful for my dad keeping plenty of fresh fruit in the house though--free, fresh, and for all! I'm realizing what a balance buying fruit is...you have to predict the exact amount you'll eat before it goes bad, but bulk is cheaper...certainly a balance when eating for one and fending off bugs in the kitchen.

Everyday is a new opportunity to learn.
May His love be with you from this side of the world to your time zone.