Winds of Change

God sent a wind to dry the land after the flood. It seems like such a small thing, just a God-sent breeze to drain a flooded earth. If I were Noah, I'd be looking for the big thing - the snap of God's fingers that would dry the ground in a single second; the clash of a trembling earth opening up to swallow the excess moisture in one big gulp. But instead, a wind blew over the earth. Just a wind. And the ark floated.

Noah must have looked at the wild and dangerous animals, smelled the effects of months aboard the ark, measured their dwindling supplies and wondered if the day would ever come when God would open the door and let them out.

It happened... months later. Much longer than Noah and his family thought it should have taken. The winds of the Holy Spirit blew over the earth and accomplished God's purposes in His perfect timing.

Today I feel boxed in, hemmed into a corner, without choices. My situation has the smell of hopelessness, the odor of death. I want things to happen now. I'm impatient with God. Has he abandoned me? Has He forgotten his promises to me?

In the midst of my situation, I smell a fresh breeze blowing over me, that God-breathed current that makes all the difference. That Holy Ghost discernment that opens locked doors, changes closed minds, and reverses impossible situations.

Come Holy Spirit!

But God remembered Noah and all the wild animals and the livestock that were with him in the ark, and he sent a wind over the earth, and the waters receded. Genesis 8:1 NIV

- Candace Simar -

Renaissance Faire now!

So I looked up the Renaissance Faire on the web, and it's going on now!
It will end in May 21st, so we better hurry if we want to go at all!

From my experience, we can just download the coupons and buy the tickets
there on the spot, which will come out to be the same price anyways...

The Original Renaissance Faire
2006 ** April 8 - May 21 ** 2006
Saturdays & Sundays 10:00 AM - 6:00 PM

Santa Fe Dam Recreation Area
Santa Fe Dam is a unit of the United States Army Corps of Engineers,
maintained and operated by the County of Los Angeles Department of Parks and
Recreation

For more information, here's the website:
http://www.renfair.com/socal/

one of those days...weeks...months...

sisters,
i just wanted to thank you for all that you bring to my life. i feel so blessed and so ashamed that i am not daily thanking Him for these blessings. this is something that i have been going thru this last week and something that happened today made me realize how wrong i have been to keep it in..

i don't know if you all know, but while i was in berkeley, the last kitten in the litter died. i was so frustrated and felt so helpless as my dad told me he didn't know what to do and that the kitten was dying. i hung up and prayed and prayed for a miracle. a few minutes later, my dad called to tell me that it died. i cried in the shower and all i could thing was: "i prayed so hard, and God didn't answer my prayer." when i came out of the shower, my tears had dried and all that hurt turned into anger. i was so angry and so bitter at God, while knowing that i really have no say in it. all i could think was: why?? why did he bring 6 innocent kittens into the world and let me watch each and every one of them suffer as they died? why did he give me hope that the last one would survive and then the one moment i was gone, take her too? it was such a small miracle i asked for and He didn't grant it. i knew that i had no right to be angry at God. He gives and He takes away, right? so i settled on reasoning that i was confused, and that was ok..

then i got food poisoned (along with debora) on sunday night. i thought it would pass within a couple of days at most, but i'm not yet 100%. my mom kept telling me that i did something to anger God and that i need to pray, but i kept brushing that comment off nonchalantly giving myself much more credit than i deserve. thinking, i go to church, i serve in kindergarten. i'm trying to read the Bible daily. i'm trying.

i guess until today, i didn't realize how angry i was at God. but looking back even at the last 2 or 3 days, i've rebelled in my own way--i stopped reading the Bible justifying it with my illness. i stopped really praying (unless i was doubled over in pain, and just praying that God take the pain away). i kind of turned myself off because being on was just too painful. when i'm off, i tend to be very cold about everything.. so of course i got into a fight with my little sister today. then something happened today, and it was a wake up call.

i've been giving myself too much credit. justifying my laziness on my illness, which isn't really so bad that i should be out of commission for so long. i've just been giving myself excuses to distance myself from God, and that always makes me unhappier. i need to be ok with the fact that i was and probably still am angry at God for taking the last kitten. but i also have peace knowing that someday, He'll answer those questions for me. maybe i'm just not ready to hear the answers quite yet.

whew~ what a long-winded post, but i guess i just wanted to share how God is showing Himself in my life today. and i wanted to thank you for all the encouragement and all the things that you share that make God even more real in my life.

thank you sisters! and i hope you have a wonderful day!

-haejin

hello~

I wanted to apologize for missing last week as well~ same reason as Jae, but I was actually at church from 9-12.. then I went home to sleep. I was so exhausted.

 

I was wondering if you guys could lift up a prayer for a friend of mine. Her parents were in a serious bus accident in Israel just yesterday. Although her parents came away relatively unhurt, several of the other passengers, all moksanim's and samonim's were injured very badly, and one moksanim lost his life. If you could just lift up a prayer for their families during this tragic time, and for my friend's parents' safe arrival today, I'd really appreciate it.

 

Thanks guys!

-haejin

[EDIT]
Here is an email update from my friend on the above prayer request:
------
Thank you all for your prayers.

My parents arrived safely this morning (along with half the group). My dad's face is puffy and there are stitches all around his eye, but he says he has no trouble with his sight. My mom is bruised up and her back is still in some pain, but they were very lucky.

Thank you again for all your prayers. Please keep the other pastors and wives in your prayers, as some were more seriously injured.

Chris Son

My Lovelies~

Hello girls~!
sorry we couldn't make it to life group today.. we drove down from Berkeley and arrived home
around 5am and the 2pm service sounded too tempting to pass.... ^^
Hope you girls had a wonderful time though!

Here's a pic for you girls to enjoY~!
- Jae -

Life Group

Life Group

Hi everyone~

I just wanted to share that I got a job~! yay~ If you remember me in your prayers, it would be great if you could just send up a quick word of Thanks to Him :) And also, thank YOU. I know I wouldn't have been able to look for a job, much less get a job had it not been for this group.

It seems that every day is a miracle when I feel God's presence in my life. Nothing new has happened (except for the new job), but I can feel God calling to me, drawing me nearer to Him... and even though I'm still a little resistant and unwilling to fully give up my "throne", just the fact that He is calling to me is ... miraculous to me.

You are all a great blessing to have, and thank you for your prayers. God bless you~!

Debora

RE:Hello

Dear sisters,
I hope everyone is having a good week so far. You are
in my thoughts. We'll meet this coming Sunday at our
regular time and place. We are finished with our book
and we can discuss the next book we'd like to go read.

God bless,
Patricia

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