Tuesday, December 20, 2011

Good JuJu

20 years ago I was born, but that is beside the point.

Incase you don't know me well, I cook...a lot. This year for my birthday I made Vietnamese Spring Rolls, vegetarian for me, and bbq pork for my family, and fried rice.   Like they hopefully say it in Vietnam, 'Thưởng thức'  


We finished off the evening with my wonderful family all sitting around and watching George of the Jungle, you know, with Brendan Fraser. My Absolute Favorite Movie Ever Made. Period. Hands Down.  






One thing I've come to realize just in the past 20 years is, 


today is an ordinary day. 


The Lord made this day, like the rest of days.  Today 20 years ago, He took a new lump of clay, and slammed it on His pottery wheel. Been sculpting me ever since.   


December 20th is always a good day, but ordinary. 


Thank you all for loving me unconditionally. 
And You up there, Lord, thank you for this day. Thank you for walking with me every step of this road. You are my Co-Pilot. 






Carpe Diem. 

Wednesday, November 30, 2011

Dear Baby Jesus.....and Charlie Brown....

Soft flames are reaching beside me, toasting my the blanket that is curled around my body.  A smooth creamy caffeinated drink is by my side, smiling as it were.  Oh! Also, my dear friend, the gingerbread house watches as I write about him. I guess Charlie Brown said it best,

"Christmas time is here
Happiness and cheer
Fun for all that children call
Their favorite time of the year

Snowflakes in the air
Carols everywhere
Olden times and ancient rhymes
Of love and dreams to share

Sleigh bells in the air
Beauty everywhere
Yuletide by the fireside
And joyful memories there

Christmas time is here
We'll be drawing near
Oh, that we could always see
Such spirit through the year
Oh, that we could always see
Such spirit through the year..."

This is the only season that I turn on the radio. I do not want to miss out on Christmas music, old and new. 

But besides all of this holiday bliss, something inside me stirs. 
Simplicity maybe? 

                                                                             Gentleness perhaps? 
                                                          Love?
All three I believe. 
What my heart really feels around this time, is the birth announcement of a wee babe. A simple yet courageous and beautiful boy. The Bible doesn't say that Jesus was a beautiful or handsome baby, in fact Isaiah said, "For he shall grow up before him as a tender plant, 
      and as a root out of dry ground. 
      He has no form or comeliness; 
      and when we see him, 
      there is no beauty that we should desire him." See. Not beautiful or handsome. A simple baby.

But for me, just him once being here, is a beautiful thought. 

When I was a little girl, every year around December, I could feel Christmas coming. You know what I'm taking about. When you were young, you could really feel Christmas. In your nose, heart, in the very depth of your bones you could feel it. Christmas has these funny sweet smells, tastes and joyous sounds and captivating sights that make you want to smile and laugh all the time, just out of pure jolliness. (new word) 
At about age 12, I could start to feel a difference. Christmas was getting harder to feel.   
Then, one December, it happened..... when I was 14, I glumly told my aunt , "It's really really hard for me to feel Christmas this year." Her "encouraging" response was,  "Yep, that's right kiddo. And it will only get worse." 
Honestly, I wanted to cry. Christmas is the best feeling ever, how could I go the rest of my life without it?

Well, here I am, almost 20 and that old Christmas feeling is completely gone. Or is it? 
That old feeling has been replaced. Replaced with wonderful new feelings. 

Gentleness,
                                                                 Simplicity.....
                                                                  and Love.

My new Christmas feelings come when I think of a little dark skinned baby boy. So gentle. So simple. So much love wrapped into one little baby bundle. These feelings come rushing inside me like a warm cup of hot coco .  I just wish sometimes that I could have been there that night. I just wish that I could have held him in my arms on that night the angels sang from the heavens.  To hold Jesus in my arms...wow... :)  I am just so in love with him.
 He is my Beloved, and I am His
(but that is for another Blog Time With Beth.) 

When I really think about it, I enjoy this new Christmas feel much more. It's not based on smells and tastes and sounds and sights that come along with a season.  It is eternal, and it's much stronger than my childhood feelings.  I can still feel Christmas with Gentleness, Simplicity, Love, and the occasional Charlie Brown Christmas carol. 

So, I guess Charlie Brown did sing it right, "Hark the herald angels sing

"Glory to the newborn King!
Peace on earth and mercy mild
God and sinners reconciled"
Joyful, all ye nations rise
Join the triumph of the skies
With the angelic host proclaim:
"Christ is born in Bethlehem"
Hark! The herald angels sing
"Glory to the newborn King!"

Christ by highest heav'n adored
Christ the everlasting Lord!
Late in time behold Him come
Offspring of a Virgin's womb
Veiled in flesh the Godhead see
Hail the incarnate Deity
Pleased as man with man to dwell
Jesus, our Emmanuel
Hark! The herald angels sing
"Glory to the newborn King!"

Hail the heav'n-born Prince of Peace!
Hail the Son of Righteousness!
Light and life to all He brings
Ris'n with healing in His wings
Mild He lays His glory by
Born that man no more may die
Born to raise the sons of earth
Born to give them second birth
Hark! The herald angels sing
"Glory to the newborn King!"





Friday, November 11, 2011

Feasting On This Mana. One Day At A Time.

One day at a time....


Because the Israelites ignored God, and listened to their own fear, they were kept in the desert. Trapped there to just survive. And God provided for them, every day. Even though they turned their backs on Him over, and over, and over, for the whole 40 years that they were there. 


Manna..... is a sweet bread of sorts.  It's the food that God dropped from the sky, every day for the Israelites to eat during their time in the dry heat and sand. He faithfully let it(manna) rain from the sky daily. 
Like worry warts though, the Israelites would gather as much manna as they could hold, to keep for the days to come. You see, they worried that God might not give them food for the next days. Such little faith in the One who just rescued them from Egypt....
But over and over again, God shows us just how faithful He is. 


What would it look like if we just ate the manna God gave us today? 
How hard would it be to leave that other manna on the ground, and just know that God will make more fall tomorrow? We don't even need to worry about it.


Ha....worry..... is something I want to live without.  I'm working on it.


Fear....
                  ........... is the opposite of Faith.  
Did you know that my spiritual gift is Faith? Yep, this is truth. So then why do I fear? 


Because I am a sheep. 
Because I sometimes struggle with the knowledge that I am no longer holding the yolk to this plane. 
Because, the enemy knows that fear will wear and tear on my spiritual gift, faith
   
These things alone, are needing to be remembered in my life:
God is my Shepherd.
God is my Co-Pilot.
God is so much bigger than my fears.

            God gave me enough manna for today.

That is enough.....                                          


   God is faithful, all the time. He proves it to me daily. Maybe I don't know what tomorrow holds.... but hey :) If I already knew, then where would faith hold its place in my life? 


I know, without a doubt, that We Were Made To Be Fearless. God designed us to be fearless. 


Adam and Eve were fearless for a time.  


                                                               


                     I can feel it in my bones.
                                                              Fearless.
 How can I go on from here? To become fearless starts where? 
                                                        


Well, I can start by raising my eyes to the heavens, and watching manna fall right into today's basket, that is enough...


.......I know that fearless is on my horizon.....
Just watch for that sunrise....





              









Saturday, July 9, 2011

Closer Than My Skin

Howdy doo from the P.A. of the AK!! (Port Alsworth Alaska)
Weeeell I obvy haven't blogged in a long while. I have found it so hard to put all of my experiences into story form for you, but I'll give it a shot now.

Four days after I got here, I saw the Lake Clark Monster. For serious. It was about as long as a school bus, and it's body was about the size of a family sized pizza from Figaro's. Also it was super duper fast!! It looked like a giant eel or something. Only two people in the whole history of Port Alsworth has seen it before me, Babe Alsworth (the founder) and his son Glen Sr.  I am the third person ever to see it!! National Geographic even came and did some research on it, but they found nothing.... mysterioussss.....

All of my co-workers are really great.  There are seven guys and five girls including the cook.  Jael is the cook and she is so far my favorite. She is from Montana and she cooks like none other. I am learning as much as I can from her, not just in the kitchen but in life as well.  SHE MAKES THE BEST BLUEBERRY TART EVERRRR!!!! I am bringing the recipe back with me so maybe some of you lucky people will get to try a piece.  She is so encouraging and besides making great banana cream pie, she makes the atmosphere in the lodge bright and enjoyable. 
All of my male co-workers are pretty goofy and sarcastic, but they are Godly men, and they are upbeat and great :]
The Farm girls..... welp, I love them. We get along well enough. These three girls I live with are all sweethearts.

My brother, Josh, is up here with me. Our time together here has been a very good thing for our relationship. We get along so well and I for that I am thankful. We are extremely close, and I can honestly say that he is one of my very best friends right now. We are both changing so much, and it's just so helpful and encouraging that we can grow, together.

It's amazing how easy it is to remain close to God up here. The mountains are just such clear proof of how real, how big, and how deep the Creator is. Lately He has been whispering "Abide in Me" in my ear. 
What does 'abide' really really mean? "Closer than your skin, Beth. I want to be closer to you than your skin.  Remain in Me. Abide in Me."  Yes Jesus. Yes Lord. I am so loved. He just wants to be with me in everything I do, even the simple things like skipping rocks.

I miss my family a lot. But I know I will be with them soon enough. If they are reading this: Hey!  I LOVE you guys!

Keep praying for me. In however you feel lead :]
I will try very hard to keep updating you, and hopfully more often. Thank you so much for keeping up with me. I love you.

Grace to all who love our Lord Jesus Christ with an undying love.




This next one is the view from the cabins that I get to clean everyday :]



Monday, April 25, 2011

Then God Gave Me These To Hold On To.

Picture One: Standing in the sand on the Oregon Coast. Jesus came walking up beside me, and I could see that His strides in the sand were bigger than mine. He scooped up my hand and asked, "Would you be my girl?"  He fills me with more love than anyone ever did, how could I even hesitate?! How could I refuse Him? He leads me by still waters, He comforts me. His love for me has NO bounds.


Picture Two: I saw a marble courtyard, and covering the floor of the courtyard was warm rich blood, about two inches deep. Then people slowly started filling the courtyard, little children curiously reached down and stuck their fingers in the blood, then everyone reached down and washed their hands in it. Before I knew it, Blood was smeared all over their arms, faces, legs, and clothes.
Suddenly, the courtyard was completely empty, but the traces of people were still there.  I then left and went walking through the streets of Jerusalem. The walls and houses were COVERED in smears of the blood. Small hand prints covered everything, the roads had blood on them, the animals, the temples, the jails. I left Jerusalem and came home to Salem Oregon, and it was the same! Blood covered everything, and everybody!! We couldn't get away from it, nor did we want to.

So it is the same with the blood of the Lamb.

(Sometimes, God speaks to me in strange/intense pictures)

Picture Three:  So, Jesus and I were sitting in the grass, on a dark starry night.  There was a warm, comforting bonfire between us.  "Give it to me." He whispered.  I closed my eyes and started to let go, but I felt, like, out of control. I started to hesitate and grabbed for my heart! I wouldn't let go! Immediately, He reached for my hand and held it away from my chest. "Let go child... Give it to me." He smiled.  "I'm trying." I told Him. 
Slowly, we both lowered my hand, and my heart area was exposed. Then Jesus did something I would have never imagined. He slowly reached into my chest, grabbed my heart, and pulled it out. The flames flickered in our faces. We met eyes and I realized that I wasn't breathing. Jesus held my heart in Him big Daddy palm. He steadied and gave me His breath in my lungs. My heart pounded in His hands, beating with all of my dreams, secrets and ideas. He held it so gently, so lovingly. He looked into me, and smiled with so much love, how could I have ever not been moved by Him! I then realized that I was totally naked before my God.


How does God speak to you? What has He been whispering in your ear?

Thursday, March 17, 2011

Sore Fingers Are Pleasant Company

Have you ever heard (or maybe experienced first hand) of those crazy devoted obsessed musicians, who play so hard and long that their fingers break open and bleed?  Estupido. You are reading from one who is typing with those fingers.
I recently was given a classic wideneck acoustic Guild Guitar. 


God is so crazy sometimes. He totally knew how I felt about those (only love) and He wanted to bless me with one... or rather have someone else give up theirs for me. Sacrifice. But isn't that what He, God, is all about? Where would I be without sacrifice? HopeLESS.
Where would you be?
Answer:______________

Sacrifice gives me hope. Hope is a vision. "The vision" of hope is different for everyone: better endings, restoration of broken families, freedom, breaking cycles, life, finding true love, making change. The vision can be as simple as a Super Bowl, a birthday, a wedding, a child... a sunrise that you never thought you would be alive to see. These are the visions of hope... 
And Hope is Real. 

This guitar has given me hope of becoming a better, stronger, crazy, devoted, obsessed musician. Who would have thought that such a gift could start turning the cogs and wheels inside of my melon.
In summary: Guitar-sacrifice-hope-vision-sore fingers-musician :]
Food for thought.

Tuesday, March 1, 2011

Seasons Are Changing, Stars Are Falling, and Waves Are Crashing Down.

  There is a time for everything,
   and a season for every activity under the heavens:

  a time to be born and a time to die,
   a time to plant and a time to uproot,
  a time to kill and a time to heal,
   a time to tear down and a time to build,
  a time to weep and a time to laugh,
   a time to mourn and a time to dance,
  a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them,
   a time to embrace and a time to refrain from embracing,
  a time to search and a time to give up,
   a time to keep and a time to throw away,
  a time to tear and a time to mend,
   a time to be silent and a time to speak,
  a time to love and a time to hate,
   a time for war and a time for peace.

Every season in our lives carries new adventures, new people, new feelings, and new trials.  This new season I find myself thrown into, is a season of leaning.  God is taking me away to be alone with Him, to lean on Him, to eat His food, and drink His living water. Ready. Set. Go.

What season are you in? Food for thought.

Tuesday, February 8, 2011

Northbound On the Puget Sound

"Why do seagulls fly over the sea? because if they flew over the bay they would be called bagels."

Road trip! What was your first road trip like? Where did you go? What would you do differently?
For the record, I have lived in Oregon my whole life, and visited Idaho for a few weeks. Never had I been anywhere else.
Washington was on my horizon, and with my two friends, Anna ad Cara, we planned a road trip to visit our dear friend Kyle. We left Friday and were able to spend the whole weekend with him and his amazing family.

 One night for dinner we trekked to Suquamish, a small town south and not far from Kingston, for pizza. Next door to Bella Luna, the pizza place, was a small,colorful, warm Native American shop.  Native American people and their culture hold a special place in my heart. I had the privilege of meeting a lady who belongs to the Black Foot Indian tribe. Though a little crazy from many years of alcohol, she was such a joy to talk to and get to know.  She owned the small shop that was filled to the brim with Native American artifacts, furs, clothes, beads, jewelry, feathers, etc. She and I talked for a little while and I really like her.  Before I departed from the store, I grinned big and told her "May God bless you."  She excitedly jerked her head around to look me in the eyes, and smiled a toothless grin saying "Thank you. May He bless you too. Thank you sweetheart, thank you for coming into my shop today."  She came close to me and whispered "If these other customers weren't in here, then we could have prayed together." I giggled and told her, "Well we can step outside and pray a quick prayer if you want?"  She shook her head and hands and turning around to go back to her chair she said, "Nope sorry hun, I gotta go eat my lunch." Dont forget, she was a little crazy ;)
I decided to pray for her instead of with her :]

On Sunday after church, Kyle took us on a ferry ride on the Puget Sound. We sailed to the very ends of the earth!! or maybe just the shores of a small town called Edmunds.



This was one of the best moments of my short life!!

 I discovered just how much I love ferry rides!!! Sailing on a massive boat, with the wind blowing so hard you can lean into it.....
I'm a sailor now! I sail!!

The Saturday night that we were there, Kyle had a benefit concert for his trip to Cambodia. I had the pleasure of meeting a his best friends.  They were awesome, and I am blessed to now be able to call them my friends.
Our trip flew by, and we were sad to come home, but made it home safe. We could not have made it there and back without those doughnuts. Thank you Christopher Mcfeteragde, your awesome sauce.

Be wise, and sanitize!!

Saturday, January 22, 2011

Northbound, Where The Wild Things 'Are' Found.

I'm going on a journey, northbound.
I pray its the adventure I've searched for but never found.

Moose, bears, wolves with thick gray hair.
Northern lights,
New moons, 
Navy blue long johns.

That's just the way things are..
Oh, and there's gonna be black bears in my
Backyard.

Haiku...

Wind speaks of my song
Northern lights dance on my eyes
Wolf friend at my side.


You've probably guessed it by now, but I just really want to say it.

I'm Going To Alaska....

I hardly believe it, but this is real. I leave May 15, and return Oct 15.  Port Alsworth is where I'll be. A town of 150 people. 
Travelers come from all over to stay at a lodge up there.  I will be working at the lodge, cleaning guest houses and the like. 

For some reason, I feel like...

This is the beginning of the rest of my life.

My whole childhood is filled with dreams of travel, it all starts here.

"Sometimes I see myself as a child in a rain storm, running around, trying to catch all the drops in her mouth. I long for my adventures to be like the raindrops the child saves, and not those that crash to the ground."

Shakespeare wrote this actually, I just like to adapt it to myself. Hehe

Here is one last quote before I head off to sleep...
This is one of my faves :]
"We live in a world full of beauty, charm, and adventure. There is no end to the adventures that we can have, if only we seek them with our eyes wide open."  ~ Jawaharlal Nehru 

I'm excited to meet new people, see new sights, and hear new sounds.
These are the gifts of being Northbound.

Y'all sleep sweet now! :]

Tuesday, January 4, 2011

"Look Up At the Stars. Can You Count Them?"

The last night of the Rising (a service at YWAM that they offer to the public every Tuesday night) God gave me another revelation of who He is.
We were reading the story of Abraham, and God had made a promise to Abraham that he would be the father of nations. "Look up at the sky Abe, see all of those stars? Count them if you can... the number of your children and grandchildren and great grandchildren will be the same as the stars in sky." 

Abraham waited and waited for God to fulfill His promise. When God blessed Abraham with a son, you can  only imagine how excited Abraham was! "Finally God gave me this which I have prayed for!" 

You can only imagine how Abraham must have felt when God said, "Go, take your son, and give to me as a sacrifice." 

So is DTS for me......

God promised me that He would take me places, that I would go to Thailand. He then, took it back, to test me..... Thailand is my son Isaac.

God has beautiful things in store for me, He has my life planned out for me. I just need to continue to give my dreams and hopes up to Him who gave them to me.  

Gen 15:5- The Lord took Abraham outside and said, "look up at the stars, count them if you can." Then He said to him, "That is how many children you will have."

When God saw that Abraham trusted Him enough to kill his own son, He stopped Abraham. God gave him his son, his dreams, his hopes and desires, when He saw Abrahams faithfulness.

God keeps His promises.