Eastport, Maine

June 29, 2011


I began a new chapter in my life today as I waved goodbye to my family and turned to face my new life in Eastport, Maine. I am confident that it is God who has placed me here as His light in this small fishing community. The town itself is pretty small as it only takes about five minutes to walk from one end to the other. As I write, I am sitting in my small motel room, enjoying a quiet day. The temperatures a slightly colder here, seeing as how I am wearing my winter coat right now in the middle of June!!! I am excited about the new life I have ahead of me for the next two years. I do not know what God has in store, but I commit everything to Him that He may receive all the honor and glory.

I know that God will be teaching me many lessons here, stretching me in my faith, challenging me in my dependence on Him, and preparing me for the work and ministry He has in store for me in the future. This is my ministry now, but I know that God will use this experience to prepare me for new challenges that lay ahead. He will teach me deeper lessons in trust, surrender, humility, patience, and so much more. I know that what He has in store will exceed my wildest imagination, and so I step forth in His strength, ready to take on this new challenge.

I will be reporting into my new duty station on July 1 and also moving into my new and first apartment. I am excited and nervous, but most of all sure and confident that God is with me, leading me forth. I am His sheep and He is my shepherd. He leads me and I follow. And my soul cries out for a deeper walk with Jesus, a deeper love for my Savior, a deeper trust in the Almighty One as I follow Him and learn to trust Him more and more. I am nothing, but Jesus is my all and He sustains me by His grace. I do not walk on from here alone, but with the Shepherd of my soul leading me forth down this path that leads HOME.

A little Update

It has been a while since I last wrote an update on all the happenings of my life here at school. I am nearing the end of my time here in Yorktown. I will be going into week nine of training, and I only have four more to go. Yesterday I took my final test, which covered everything we had learned thus far...so now I am all done with the classroom portion of my training. Now we will be going out on the small boats putting everything we have been learning about navigation into practice. I am excited that we get to do the practical part of training now…no more long days in the classroom!!!


I received my orders this week to my next duty station. I will be going to Station Eastport, Maine. Eastport is the east-most city of the United States. It is a very small town…the kind of towns where everybody knows what you are doing before you do! I hear it is beautiful country though, and I will be enjoying lots of snow!!! I know this is where God wants me to go. I am a slave of the Lord Jesus and I want to serve Him with all my heart, enthusiastically.

So I pray and commit this new chapter in my life to the Lord and I am excited to see all that God shall do. I am excited to see God’s name glorified. And that is what I want to do---GLORIFY THE LORD!!!

I am so blessed…God continues to strengthen my heart and fill me with joy in Jesus Christ. My life is His and I surrender to His plan joyfully. I love Him with all my heart; He is everything to me! So I press on today in the strength of the Lord, rejoicing in my God and Savior, and so very happy to be the slave of Christ.

The List

Once upon a time, lived a man who struggled with the weight of guilt. He did everything he could to keep from feeling so guilty, but nothing seemed to work. So in desperation, he went to the house of a wise old man who lived at the edge of town.



The man explained his problem to the wise man and waited for a reply. The wise man gazed at him intently and stroked his pointy beard. “So why do you feel so guilty,” he asked. “What have you done?”


“Sir, I am weighed down by all my sin.”


“Have you turned to Christ to forgive you of your sin?” The wise man asked.


“Oh, certainly I have, Sir, but I still feel guilty. I try to live a life that pleases Christ, but even when I am doing good things my motives are so wicked and sinful.”


“I see. Do you believe that you are saved by grace and not by works?”


“Oh yes, of course I am saved by grace, but I cannot seem to live up to the grace God has given me.”


The wise man smiled at the troubled man. “Oh, I see, there is only one thing that can be done.”


The troubled man listened attentively as the wise man explained his solution. “For the next thirty days you must write down everything you do and say and think. You must keep a detailed record of it all whether it is good or bad. And then at the end of the thirty days I want you to bring the list to me.”


The man felt puzzled and confused. “Why must I keep a list? It grieves my heart already without keeping track of everything I do.”


“Just do as I say.”


The man shook his head and walked away, but because he was so troubled by the feelings of guilt and sorrow he decided to try it just in case it helped relieve his pain. The days passed ever so slowly. He kept a detailed record of it all just as the wise man had said. Some days He felt almost elated because he felt that surely he was improving, but then just as soon as his elation reached it’s peak he would sink again realizing his heart was gloating in pride. His list seemed to go on forever.


Finally thirty days passed, and one thing the man knew for sure: keeping a list had not made him feel any better or less guilty. If anything it had made things worse. So he returned to the wise man more sorrowful than before.


“Here is my list,” he said as he handed the wise man a thick stack of papers. “But I don’t think it has cured my feelings of guilt.


“Well, is this everything?” the wise man asked.


“Yes it is everything,” the man answered. “My guilt feels heavier than ever now."


The wise man walked over to his fireplace and knelt by the hearth. The man almost gasped in shock as the wise, old man held the list into the fire. The man looked on in horror as the old man’s hand blistered from the angry flames.


“What, what are you doing? Your hand! And my list--- it took me hours to work on the list. Why would you do this?”


The wise man did not answer, but instead took the ash shovel on the hearth and scooped up the ashes from the papers into a bowl. He motioned for the man to follow him as he walked out of his house and over to a river not far away. He took the ashes and threw them into the rushing water which quickly swept the ashes away. The man was dumbfounded as he watched on in disbelief.


The wise man turned back to the troubled man and smiled. “Where has your guilt gone now?”


The man shook his head, “It’s been swept away, my list has been swept away,” he paused. “Your hand is burned.”


“Your list could not have been taken away without a price, and you could not pay it, so I did.”


“My dear friend, what I have done is only a picture of what Christ has already done. He has taken your sin upon Himself and paid its penalty, and now your guilt is swept away. Christ paid the price. So now go your way and stop thinking about your guilt for it is no more---just like your list is gone forever. Instead think about Jesus and how much he loves you and how gracious He is in saving you.”

A True Story to Inspire and Motivate

(Here is a true story a friend shared with me...hope you all enjoy!!!)

Brenda was almost halfway to the top of the tremendous granite cliff. She was standing on a ledge where she was taking a breather during this, her first rock climb. As she rested there, the safety rope snapped against her eye and knocked out her contact lens.  

"Great", she thought. "Here I am on a rock ledge, hundreds of feet from the bottom and hundreds of feet to the top of this cliff, and now my sight is blurry."

She looked and looked, hoping that somehow it had landed on the ledge. But it just wasn't there.
She felt the panic rising in her, so she began praying. She prayed for calm, and she prayed that she may find her contact lens.

When she got to the top, a friend examined her eye and her clothing for the lens, but it was not to be found. Although she was calm now that she was at the top, she was saddened because she could not clearly see across the range of mountains. She thought of the bible verse "The eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth."

She thought, "Lord, You can see all these mountains. You know every stone and leaf, and You know exactly where my contact lens is. Please help me."

Later, when they had hiked down the trail to the bottom of the cliff they met another party of climbers just starting up the face of the cliff. One of them shouted out, "Hey, you guys! Anybody lose a contact lens?"

Well, that would be startling enough, but you know why the climber saw it? An ant was moving slowly across a twig on the face of the rock, carrying it!

The story doesn't end there. Brenda's father is a cartoonist. When she told him the incredible story of the ant, the prayer, and the contact lens, he drew a cartoon of an ant lugging that contact lens with the caption, "Lord, I don't know why You want me to carry this thing. I can't eat it, and it's awfully heavy. But if this is what You want me to do, I'll carry it for You."

I think it would do all of us some good to say, 

"God, I don't know why You want me to carry this load. I can see no good in it and it's awfully heavy. But, if You want me to carry it, I will."

God doesn't call the qualified, He qualifies the called.

Midgett Adventures~ #29 Thoughts

February 21, 2010

Another Sunday has marked the beginning of a new week for me on the Midgett. This patrol is soon coming to a close and before I know it I’ll be back in Seattle for a while. I am excited and looking forward to it.

Oh how God blessed me with another amazing day. I got to sleep in (till 8am!), read in my Bible and in Packer’s book Knowing God (excellent book by the way!), went to church and listened to a great message on prayer, talked to my family, and now I am sitting in my rack relaxing and writing down my thoughts.

As I have been making my way through Packers book, the Holy Spirit has been convicting my heart with how little and small my thoughts are of God when instead they should be great because He is great. I do not give Him the honor and glory He deserves, but treat Him as if He were a god of my own making---small to make it more convenient for Him to fit in my box. Wretched sinner that I am to think such God belittling thoughts; but blessed be the Lord Jesus that He has saved me! So my prayer today has been for the Holy Spirit to teach me to think right thoughts of God.

Midgett Advenutres~ #24 Know Christ

February 16, 2010

The past couple days I have thoroughly enjoyed rereading Hudson Taylor’s Spiritual Secret. The book truly challenges and encourages my heart as it causes me to think deeply about my walk with the Lord. Hudson was a man who knew his God and loved Him. Christ was most precious to his heart, which is why he spent his life serving the Lord in China, enduring suffering and trials that I have never even imagined undergoing. His passion was fueled by God’s great love and faithfulness in saving sinners and bringing them into His awesome presence to know Him. Hudson’s life was real and full of spiritual blessing because his eyes were fixed upon that which is unseen.

How much I think we miss as we live our lives upon this earth grasping for all we can fit in our hands yet caring so little for what is truly important. We are content to make Christ a part of our lives, but we do not realize that He is not content to being just another trophy on our wall---He must be our life. All our energy, strength, time, passion, and zeal must be used to glorify His name. Our hearts are so often empty and wanting because we do not turn to the Lover of our soul to fill them. Instead we search for joy in all the wrong things and all the wrong places when Christ stands by calling to our hearts to find rest in Him. We shrug Him off though with excuses: I’ll get more serious about my faith when I am older, I just want to have fun, Jesus is boring, etc. We buy into Satan’s lies and step farther and farther away from the Cross.

I plead and urge you, my Brothers and Sisters in Christ, not to linger any longer from His presence. You are missing the very best and your lives are becoming empty because you are pursuing that which is empty. Oh, run after Christ! Treasure Him and know Him! He is the only One who can satisfy your hearts.

Midgett Adventures~ #20 Losing Track

February 12, 2010

I think I have nearly lost all track of time and days out here in the deep. Looking back over this week, I feel like it flew by super fast. Today started as usual with boat lowering, then some more sanding and priming, more boat lowering, and then I did some studying and cleaning. I did go work out this morning before work, which was amazing! It was not easy to get out of bed at 5:30am, but completely worth it.

Now I am drinking a nice cup of coffee in my special “Africa Mug” that my family brought back for me from Africa. I love this time of day when I can relax in my rack, drink some coffee, write down my thoughts, and do some reading. I truly am blessed beyond my wildest imagination and am sad that I give in to complaining so easily. One thing I have been challenged and convicted about lately is the food situation on board. True some nights are scary with what we are served, but I am just blessed to have three meals a day---I should not resort to complaining about food along with everyone else. What is the point of sitting down, thanking God for the food, and then complaining about it?! It makes no sense at all, but the bottom line is God says in His word not to complain and so I should not complain. Instead I have been making a point to go back to the different FS’s (food service specialists) and mess cooks and thank them for their work and the meal they prepared. That has been my challenge for the past couple days.

Tomorrow I am back on schedule for helm and look out watch (not a break in this time though!). So I will be a little more busy. I just hope I remember how to do it all!

Rejoicing in the Living Spring that satisfies my thirst within.
Forsaking all to follow Christ to mortify sin and find true life.
Marked with the Name that is above all names
Called to suffer while darkness reign.
But someday soon I’ll be at my Savior’s side---finally home with Him who died.

3x5 Cards

"Your word I have treasured in my heart, that I May not sin against You."

--
Psalm 119:11

What am I treasuring? How am I spending the moments God has given me today?

Lately, I have been convicted by how easily my mind wanders to worthless thoughts that take my eyes off Christ. I spend far too much time listening to myself rather than talking to myself and reminding myself of the cross. Sin subtly sneaks into my mind when I am not constantly filling my thoughts with things that please God. The battle rages, and at times I feel overwhelmed and hopeless; but God has not left me alone and without help. He is always with me and will never forsake me, and He has given me His Word as a sword to destroy my sin.

I know I am not the only one struggling with such a spiritual battle. Do not give up if the fight is fierce (take courage---it is supposed to be fierce), but keep fighting. Here is what God has challenged me to do in my battle in order to capture my wandering thoughts. I take 3x5 cards and copy down verses (I especially enjoy the Psalms) and try to carry them around with me everywhere I go. Then when I find my thoughts wandering from Christ, I pull out one of my cards and meditate upon God's Word. By treasuring God's Word in this way, I capture my wayward thoughts and fix my wandering eyes upon Christ.

Treasure God's Word today and meditate upon His promises. Do not lose sight of the cross amidst your battle against sin or you will grow weary and lose heart (Hebrews 12:3). Fight hard!