Rekindling Joy

Recently the Lord has been reminding me of lessons that I thought I had already learned...and in His sweet kindness is so gracious and patient to teach me again. As I look over my time in the Coast Guard, I see that in that first year right out of boot camp, the Lord really taught me deep lessons in "JOY". I struggled when I first arrived at my boat (as you can see if you go back and read earlier posts from 2009), but the Lord stayed by my side. Even as I was swamped with my first set of quals that I needed to work on, feeling homesick once again, and not really liking where I was...the Lord showed me that it did not matter what I was doing but what really mattered was who I was doing it for.

he Lord has placed me here on this earth to glorify His name and s everything I do in life is for this ultimate purpose. I learned those early days in the Coast Guard that if I am going to paint a wall then I am going to do it for the Lord and because I am doing it for Him I can do it with a smile and joy. God taught my heart joy amidst circumstances that were far from what I would have wanted them to be.

And now as I come to my last year in the Coast Guard, I believe that the Lord is bringing this lesson back to the forefront. He is reminding me to not just endure my last year in the Coast Guard here in Eastport, but to use it as a way to point to Him by being joyful even when I am studying, washing the boats, standing radio watch, etc.

So here is my game plan so to speak(-:

Rejoice and be filled with thanksgiving!
-When I first wake up in the morning, I am going to spend those first few moments thanking the Lord for the new day before me and praise Him for who He is.
-When I go to work I am going to give thanks to God for the new opportunity to shine the light of the Gospel in a dark place.
-At work I am going to study hard and look for was to learn more and more.
-At work I am going to look for ways to show mercy and kindness and not to gossip and destroy people with my words.
-When I am skyping with my wonderful fiance Fidele, and the Internet connection is terrible and all I wan to do is cry, I will rejoice and thank the Lord that He has blessed me with such a good, wonderful man who is waiting faithfully for me to be His wife and who is giving up sleep and trying to skype with me even though it is not working.
-When I feel lonely and homesick, I will thank the Lord for the wonderful friends He has given me here in Eastport and the wonderful church family I have.

Those are just some starters...I find that once you give yourself to rejoicing that it is hard to find a place to stop. The Lord is so good and kind to us and the things that I can stop and thank Him for are endless. His mercies are new every morning! His faithfulness is beyond my comprehension! He is my glorious strength! And my steadfast peace that calms my raging soul. He is always with me so I will not give in to the struggles and worries that weigh upon my soul. The Almighty God is my refuge so I will not fear, but I will trust in Him.

So today I am learning to rekindle the joy that once was burning and alive in my heart. I thank the Lord that He can relight that fire in me and make it even more alive and bright than before. I pray that the joy of the Lord fills me now and transforms me to be about His work and to glorify His name here in Eastport, Maine.

A Most Awesome Thanksgiving!

November 26, 2010

Yesterday, I had a most wonderful Thanksgiving on board my boat. I missed being with family, but God blessed me with good friends to celebrate the day with. I give thanks to my Mighty God who has placed me upon the Midgett as His servant and ambassador. Oh how I love Him all because He first loved me!

So me and my friends started the morning off by watching The Passion of Jesus Christ. My friend Jackie who committed her life to Jesus recently (praise Jesus!), wanted to watch it and a lot of others on board joined us on the mess deck. I also enjoyed some reading, and I was so happy to call my family and talk to everybody! I also got to help in the kitchen, making Thanksgiving dinner...it was so fun! We made apple pie and turkey with all the trimmings. I wish I could put up pics, but my laptop that has those capabilities is at the doctor's right now)-: Soon!!!

But it was an amazing day and I thank God for blesssing me so tremendously!!!

Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving Day 2010

I give thanks to You, O God, for You are holy and good; You are gracious and merciful to me.

By Your great love, You have saved me and called me Your own through the death of Jesus my Savior.

For I was lost, dead in my sin; I completely and utterly hated You above all things. I did not obey Your righteous laws nor was I attentive to follow in Your ways. No, like a sheep I had gone astray, I had turned to my own way.

But in You great mercy and compassion You came to earth and sought me out. You found me and forgave  me my sins.

You lived a perfect life and fulfilled the law on my behalf. You were betrayed and disowned by Your friends and handed over to wicked men. You were mocked and beaten, You were laughed at and scorned by the ones You had made. You held their very lives in Your hands as they spit on You and beat You. Then You were led to Golgotha as You carried Your cross. You were nailed to it and hung upon it. You not only bore the horrible physical torremnt from the hands of sinnful man, but You also bore the wrath of God. You crushed by Your Father and He turned His face away from You because You took upon Yourself the sin of all who would believe. You became sin for us though You had never sinned, and You gave us Your righteousness though we had never done anything good.

You were pierced for our transgressions and crushed for our iniquity and by Your wounds we are healed.

You die upon the cross and gave up Your life as a ransom for many. Then they laid You in the tomb, but You did not remain there for long because on the third day You arose! God was satisfied with Your sacrifice and brought You back from the grave. Our atonement had been made now we could come to the Father through Jesus the Son.

Thank You Lord Jesus for this priceless gift of salvation. Thank You for giving us Yourself and for making peace between God and man.

We are now hidden in Jesus covered by the blood of the Lamb.

So I give You thanks, O God, for apart from You I would be destined for Hell---seperated from You forever---I would never have known true joy and never received abundant life. So I give thanks to precious Jesus and I glory in Your holy name.

O Immanuel has come! God is with us! We are not alone in this world for God is with us. O thank You Jesus Christ!

Thanksgiving

November 22, 2009

I can hardly believe that Thanksgiving Day is right around the corner. I have so much to rejoice and give thanks to God for…I am blessed beyond measure. True I will not be with friends and family per se this Thanksgiving and I’ll also be on duty, but as I was thinking about this earlier I realized that I will not be alone. My dear heavenly Father is always with me and my best friend ever---Jesus Christ---is always with me. He has blessed me abundantly this year, and I will rejoice in Him.

I give thanks to You, O God! You are awesome and beautiful; You are my greatest treasure and pleasure in life. I thank You that You have placed me on the Midgett, that You are taking me through difficult days, and that You are faithfully making me more and more like Your Son. I thank You for the joys and sorrows, for the sun and the rain, and for carrying me through it all. I thank you for the joy You put into my heart. Your love is better than life! I thank You for all the blessings You pour out upon me, but most of all I thank You for Jesus Christ---for the salvation I have in Him. I stand in grace with the hope of eternal life before me. Blessed be Your name!