God is Moving!

Praise God for His goodness, and for His wonderful works among the children of men! On Saturday, May 22, I asked Mariela to marry me… and she said, “Yes, with all my heart!” I am in awe. I am unworthy. I am humbled and grateful for God’s love for me and work in my life; and for Mari’s pure, faithful, supportive love and acceptance. God is so good… and I am so blessed! I’ve shed many a tear of gratitude to God for bringing Mari into my life.

Things are happening!

Guess what! *beams*

(It looks like we’re holding hands, but we’re actually not… :P :D)

The date on the picture is the day we “went public”. lol

Sadly, this is the best picture I have of the two of us. I look almost retarded. :( Oh well… she makes up for it. :) :) :)

Her name is Mariela, by the way, and she’s from Bolivia, originally. She was adopted by a family in our church. God works in marvelous ways!

What God Can Do

Jeremiah 46:13-28

Vs. 1 – “Declare in Egypt, and proclaim in Migdol; proclaim in Noph and in Taphanhes; say, ‘Stand fast and prepare yourselves, for the sword devours all around you.’ “

[Our Father in Heaven wants to do a work in our lives, but it won’t be easy. We must stand fast in the Lord and prepare ourselves for the battle that will be waged all around our souls.]

Vs. 2 – “Why are your valiant men swept away? They did not stand because the Lord drove them away.”

[There are “valiant men” in our lives, in whom we have trusted, who are going to be done away with. I do not speak of actual men, but desires of the heart, motivations, or dreams we have trusted in.]

Vs. 3 – “He made many fall; yes, one fell upon another. And they said, ‘Arise! Let us go back to our own people and to the land of our nativity from the oppressing sword.’ “

Vs. 4 – “They cried there, ‘Pharoah, King of Egypt, is but a noise. He has passed by the appointed time!’ “

[The Lord will drive the oppressors away, and they will go and not return. Pharoah, their leader, is but a noise. Though our dreams may seem very important to us, and seem secure, they are nothing but vapor. Yet, at the same time, they keep us in bondage, so that we can’t live in God’s perfect will or serve our Lord with everything we have and everything we are.]

Vs. 20 – “Egypt is a very pretty heifer, but destruction comes, it comes from the north.”

[Many times our dreams are very beautiful: dreams of a godly spouse and Christ-centered home; of reaching the lost and starting churches on the foreign mission field; of starting a Christ-centered orphanage or homeless shelter… the list could go on. But even a beautiful dream can be an oppressor if we begin to place our confidence in the dream instead of in the Lord.]

Vs. 27 & 28 - "But do not fear, O My servant Jacob, And do not be dismayed, O Israel! For behold, I will save you from afar, and your offspring from the land of their captivity; Jacob shall return, have rest and be at ease; no one shall make him afraid. Do not fear, oh Jacob My servant," says the LORD, "For I am with you; for I will make a complete end of all the nations to which I have driven you, but I will not make a complete end of you. I will rightly correct you, for I will not leave you wholly unpunished."

[Though God may take away something that we are very fond of, we can be assured that He is working to bring glory to His name and beauty to our lives. He is our Heavenly Father, and He loves us; and because He loves us, He will correct us when we’re wrong. But no matter what you’re going through, or what you’re losing or giving up… even if your world seems to be falling apart, and the sword devours all around you… remember that God is bigger than anything that’s happening to you, and He will make good come out of it in the end, if you let Him.]