I haven't written a blog since Easter. I'm still getting 'caught up' after being gone for three weeks. It's good to be home and I'm grateful for my safe return. I treasure the memories I'm left with and will share some of these. One stand-out memory will be writing a blog on Chinese Google while on a cruise ship in the Gulf of Thailand on Easter Sunday. That day, the whole atrium of the ship was filled with the smell of chocolate Easter eggs.
All my children know I have a very poor sense of direction. I get lost, a lot! I would text our daughter about where I was and she'd text back, "Just come home safe". I was really amazed at how many people thought traveling alone was 'brave'. Each time someone mentioned this I wanted to say, 'I'm not alone, the Lord is with me all the time wherever I am in the world'. Sometimes I did say this, other times I just thought what a blessing it is to have no fear and feel 'safe' all the time! I used a little safe in my room and used this code, 3314 to remind me everyday that Exodus 33:14 says that God's presence will be with me wherever I go and better yet, He'll give me 'rest'. When we rest in the Lord, we have peace, not fear or worry.
Where exactly did I go?
* Singapore
* Ko Samui, Thailand
* Bangkok, Thailand
* Ho Chi Minh, Viet Nam
* Nha Trang, Viet Nam
* Hong Kong
* Shanghai, China
* Busan, Korea
* Dalian, China
* Beijing, China
And you find God's people everywhere! I also saw a lot of Buddhist Temples and statues which reminded me of what the Bible says about 'idol worship'. We had a sweet young man as a tour guide in Thailand and he told us that there are five 'rules' you must keep if you are a Buddhist.
1 - You cannot kill
2 - You cannot steal
3 - You cannot commit adultery
4 - You cannot lie
5 - You cannot drink liquor
When he mentioned the last one, about drinking, he laughed and said, "I had two beers with my friends last night, it's very hard to be perfect". No kidding! He's right, it's very hard to be perfect. I told him we Christians had ten laws to follow. God knew we would fall short, but He gave us 'the law' so we could see we needed a Savior. Our Savior, Jesus Christ, fulfilled the Law for us.
"Before this faith came, we were held prisoners by the law, locked up until faith should be revealed. So the law was put in charge to lead us to Christ that we might be justified by faith. Now that faith has come, (believing in Jesus), we are no longer under the supervision of the law." Galatians 3: 23 - 24.
Do you know that some Christians don't understand this, let alone people who worship idols? It's a difficult concept, especially in a world where 'works - being good' reign supreme. We always seem to look to ourselves and see what we are doing instead of to Jesus Christ and see what He has done!
I need to rush off to a class now. I'll be celebrating my birthday tonight with family and friends. I can't believe how old I'm getting....oh well, with age comes wisdom! I still have much to learn and experience.
Thank you Lord that YOU are able to keep me from falling and will present me before His glorious presence without fault and with great joy! Jude 24
