My Medley of Praise to God

My heart is overflowing with emotion as I have just finished cleaning my house! Surprised? This week, I found a CD of Spanish music and while I cleaned, I played it. I had to stop and start as my eyes would fill with tears. I reflected back on things in my life as well as looked forward to what may lie ahead. Besides the Spanish music, songs in English went through my mind as well as one song in Thai!!! Let me back up a little. This week, our family took a trip to Hat Yai in southern Thailand. We saw many new things like monkeys jumping in trees for example. Of course, the children loved that!!! For me, seeing the city from the top of a hill was breathtaking! And yet, behind us, was a giant standing Buddha overlooking it. God has placed a huge burden in our lives for the people of Thailand.

Needless to say, when we returned home, the house needed cleaning! We have friends coming to visit for a few days, so I took advantage of Randy having all the children except William at his English class, and cleaned - while singing in three languages! My mother gave me some advice when I first started singing in church. She said, "Don't ever sing something unless you really mean it." I thought about that every time I would sing and I still think about it now. Right before my church took a missions trip to Mexico, I sang the song "Whatever It Takes." I had already surrendered my life to full-time service for God but this song was my way of renewing my promise to God. "For whatever it takes to draw closer to You, Lord, That's what I'll be willing to do ... Take the dearest things to me ... Let the disappointments come ... lonely days ... take my houses and lands, change my dreams and my plans for I'm placing my whole life in Your hands. And if you call me today to a land far away, Lord, I'll go and Your will obey." During that missions trip is when I met Randy! And, as you know, we served God in Mexico and then God changed our land! I know my mother is probably crying her eyes out while reading this, but I want her to know how much her advice meant to me and how much more it made me sing for Christ and not the approval of man.

While singing along with the Spanish CD, God brought things to mind and many emotions flooded my soul. One of the first songs that played said, "What would have come of me if You hadn't touched me? Where would I be today if You hadn't pardoned me? ... If it wasn't for Your grace and love." That hit me like a wall of bricks. That was one of those moments I had to stop and thank God for many things. It is still only by the grace of God that I am where I am, doing what I am doing. I thank the Lord that I grew up in a Christian country with Christian parents and adults to help guide me through life. It if wasn't for the grace of God, I could have been born somewhere else without much of a chance of hearing of His matchless grace. As another song I heard said, "My life depends on You ... like the rain needs clouds, like the river needs the sea ... You're my daily bread, You're the reason for every dream in me." As a teenager, I dreamed of one day visiting the country of Thailand, and not only has God fulfilled my dream but given me more than I ever dreamed of!

A resounding message in many songs was God loves me! Yes, I know this. But I think many times, we need to be reminded of that simple truth. We get so wrapped up in our lives and what we are doing that we forget the simple fact that God truly does love us. "He tells me He loves me when I hear the rain. He tells me He loves me with a sunset. He tells me without words using the waves of the sea. He tells me in the morning with my first breath. He tells me that He loves me and wants to spend time with me ... He tells me He loves me when I see the cross, with His arms outstretched demonstrating how much. He says it with the wounds of his hands and feet. He tells me He loves me over and over again." GOD LOVES ME!!!!!!!!

The second message I kept hearing was that I can see God everywhere if I just open my eyes. Not just in creation and nature, but in the little things. I can see Him in the good and the bad. He is there for me always, faithful and true. I only have to reach out. "I see You in the moments of pain, I see You in the night ... I see You in my dreams. I see Your hand guiding me. You're always there ... I feel Your hand over me. I feel Your love ... I see You in the desert and in affliction, I see You in the valley ... I see You in every step I take, I see You in my plans. I see Your hand guiding me." I can most definitely say that I wouldn't be where I am if it wasn't for God's leading in my life. How peaceful it is to live in the center of His will! For this reason, I serve Him. He loved me first and I desire to be like Him and serve Him to show my gratefulness for all He has done for me. I don't want to give only part of my life. I want to do His will and not mine although that may seem difficult at times. What I do for Him that is difficult doesn't even come close to the "difficult" He went through for me. One of my daddy's favorite songs is "It's My Desire." As the song says, "It's my desire to live for Jesus. It's my desire to live for Him. Though oft I've failed and brought Him much shame, it's my desire to live for Him." Another song I pondered tonight says, "By His love, I live. Of His love, I sing. With Jesus I will walk. Because He loved me, I will follow Him."

Stay with me! I'm almost done "singing!" An English song that came to mind was "Can The World See Jesus In Me?". This is another desire I have - that the Thai people will see the love of God in our lives and will then be drawn to Christ. God has placed our family here for a reason - to tell them that He loves them! "Are you walking in the footsteps of the One that you call Lord? Are you living each day by His Holy Word? Surrenedered completely, are you His through and through? Can the world see Jesus, see Jesus in you? Can the world see Jesus in you? Can they see His love in the things that you do? Are you living the life, are you faithful, are you true? Can the world see Jesus, see Jesus in you?"

The song I want to leave with you, is the Thai song that I am learning. When I first heard the song, it sounded beautiful. However, I had no idea of the depth of meaning it held. It has been translated into English! Yay!!! I pray that just as I, your desire is to serve God to the best of your ability. No matter what happens, we should continually show the love of Christ. "Let me walk each day in the love of the Lord. Through each night I'll rest in the arms of His love. And each step I take in the path that He leads. Till I know and feel the full depth of His love. Overflowing with warmth in the arms of His love. His joy has no end, you can't hold it in. God loves you! Let my life be a stream of His love. Let the Light of the World shine through me. Tell the story of love throughout all of the world. That's the story of Christ in my life!"

Thank you God for loving me!!!

Perpetually In His Care

Yesterday, my devotional started off like this:

"I AM PERPETULLY WITH YOU, taking care of you. That is the most important fact of your existence. I am not limited by time or space; My Presence with you is a forever-promise. You need not fear the future, for I am already there ... Your future is in My hands; I release it to you day by day, moment by moment. Therefore, do not worry about tomorrow." What a reminder to wake up to!!! He is "perpetually" with me! What an uplifting and comforting thought. I admit, I have succumbed to the feelings of "aloneness" and "does anyone even remember I exist outside my family?" Yes, I am a missionary's wife but I am also human. Just because I am a "missionary's wife" does not make me more spiritual although it probably should. My daily life consists of taking care of my husband and children, homeschooling the children, and being the secretary for my missionary husband. Many times I have thought, "Shouldn't I be out sowing the seed and reaping the harvest?" It seems when I go through these selfish times that God reminds me that my mission field for now is in my home. I, along with my husband, am training my children to go out into the world. I have five little lives in which I can have a huge impact. I can't do this alone. I can't have selfish times. I must remember my Creator and Saviour and allow Him to have full control of my life every day. This is difficult for me many times. I have to remind myself every day that God is in control of my life and I am doing what He wants me to do, where He wants me to do it. No, I may not have many of the comforts that I had in the U.S. or in Mexico, but He has given me different things to meet my needs - and some new comforts! I just need to reach out to Him more and allow Him to fulfill my life and my joy. I need to rest in the promise I have that He is PERPETUALLY with me and I need to let go and let Him lead me. My future is revealed to me daily as I follow Him. My goal: strive to PERPETUALLY follow as He PERPETUALLY leads. I can't be distracted by what is to come tomorrow, next month, or next year. Every day that God gives me is a gift in which I should use to honor and glorify Him. How can I do that if I am fretting about the future and feeling sorry for myself? I must spend my energy living in the will of God for my life for that day. God wants us to live each day to it's fullest in His will. Only He knows what tomorrow will bring and only He can prepare me for it.

Autumn???

As I was looking for a new template for my blog today, I couldn't believe how many were decorated in fall colors! Autumn is still so far away - or so it seems for me. I looked up online when the first day of autumn is this year and it is September 23rd! Yep, this month! It's hard to believe it is already fall in the United States. It's still hot here!!! The leaves are still as green as green can be. Mangos are still growing on the tree outside my window. It is rainy season for us. This is one of those times that I miss being in the States. No fall decorations here in the malls! For the first time in my married life, I am not decorating my house for fall. I miss the smell of cinnamon and spices. I miss the changing colors of leaves on the Blue Ridge Mountains in Virginia. I miss the feel of winter setting in. I would enjoy that today! As I sit here in the quietness of my room, the windows open and the fan blowing, I can hear the sound of frogs and geckos. Through the stillness of this evening, my mind wanders back to playing in mounds of leaves with my brother, raking leaves with my Daddy, and making pumpkin pies with my Mother. These are the sweet memories that God has given me.

In the United States, we generally refer to this time of year as "fall." The word "autumn" is normally used only in science. However, did you know that many years ago this season was referred to as "harvest?" People stopped using the term "harvest" as they moved from working the land to living in towns. It is now only used when talking about the actual activity of reaping. I can't help but think of the verse Galatians 6:9, "And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not." I have to admit, I have had my days of weariness but God has always sent something special to me during those times to lift my spirit. But something much greater than this gives me the will-power to press on - the word "harvest" as I see it. I see a great harvest everyday. I am surrounded by this great harvest. Jesus told His disciples in Matthew 9:37, "The harvest truly is plenteous, but the laborers are few." The harvest is still plenteous and the laborers are still few. The spiritual harvest is vast. Many have not come to the true knowledge of God and salvation. Harvest time is when critical decisions are made. Only God knows the exact moment when someone is ready for "harvest" and only He can give the increase. Harvest is the most labor-intensive activity of the growing season. We are living in the harvest time. There isn't much time left! The Lord will soon return and the harvest will end. Pray for us as God continues preparing us for the hard work ahead. We are working hard now learning the language, people, and customs of this beautiful country. We are anxiously awaiting the day when without an interpreter we can work one-on-one with the precious souls here as they become "white already to harvest."

A Visit From Family

It has been a few weeks since I posted, but we have been busy having fun!!! Randy's Mom and Aunt were able to come and visit for two weeks! As I type, Randy has taken them to the airport and they should be boarding their plane sometime within the next hour. We hated to see them go, but as I told Cynthia last night, "If they don't go, they can't come back!" They are already planning another trip.

It was such a surprise for the children. We didn't let them know that Mama and Aunt Mary were coming. Lee overheard Randy telling someone that his Mama was coming but missed the part about Aunt Mary so he was still surprised. What fun we had watching their faces that Wednesday morning as they came downstairs as saw Mama and Aunt Mary sitting in our dining room! I was going to post the video I took, but apparently, my camera didn't record when I pushed the button! I was so sad when I realized this morning that the video didn't work. :(

While they were here, we were able to take them to some of our new favorite restaurants, went sightseeing, visited a temple and the Grand Palace, and, of course, we went shopping!!!

Also, William turned one year old! It is amazing how fast the time flies. Just one year ago, my mother-in-law was with us for his birth - in Mexico! This year, she had to fly half-way around the world to be here for his 1st birthday!

Please pray for them as they have a long flight ahead of them. And then, there will be jet lag as they get adjusted back to their time zone. We are now counting down to the next visit from family in the States. My parents are coming for two weeks in October and my Daddy will be here for his birthday! We are hoping to keep this visit a surprise from the children also but it is going to be hard considering how long it is until their visit.

God bless you all and thank you for your prayers.

Trusting In God Even When You Don't Understand

This was the theme of the Ladies Retreat that I went to last weekend with the church we are going to here in Bangkok. I was asked to be one of the speakers and was told the theme and immediately I thought, this should be easy! Seems like I have had to do a lot of trusting and not much understanding. My second thought was, maybe I haven't really learned whatever lesson God wants me to learn since I am still doing a lot of this! I got my lesson ready and when we got to the motel, I went to my room to go over what I had prepared. Then I realized that with such a hectic morning, I hadn't done my devotions. So, I pulled out my book and went to the date for that day and this is what jumped off the page at me: "When things seem to be going all wrong, stop and affirm your trust in Me. Calmly bring these matters to Me, and leave them in My capable hands. Then, simply do the next thing. Stay in touch with Me through thankful, trusting prayers, resting in My sovereign control. Rejoice in Me - exult in the God of your salvation!" The lesson I was going to teach went out the window and God gave me a different one. I meditated on Proverbs 3:5&6 and the fact that the verse says "Trust in the Lord" with an understood "all the time". Not just when things are going good or when I can handle things but trust all the time in the Lord. If my trust is in the Lord, "I can do all things" because He will enable me to do what He wants. This is something we all know but I believe there are times in our lives when we have to be reminded of these seemingly "easy" things. The devil knows what can distract us from our walk with the Lord. Just as we always need to be in a mind of prayer, we always need to have an unquestionable trust. He will do the understanding for us. I made a list of all the "bad" things that have happened in my life. There were many on the list and I shared most of them with the ladies. I told them, "I am not telling you this so that you feel sorry for me, but all of us have problems, and what I thank God for is the fact that my circumstances haven't been worse than this. I thank God for teaching me something through each situation that He put into my life." Many times I have asked God, "Why me?" or "Why now?". Isaiah 55:8 says, "For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the Lord." How true! There are things that have happened in my life that I wouldn't have chosen but the lessons I have learned and the knowledge I have gained have allowed me to help others through some of the same situations or just helped me deal with other problems that came along later in my life. Some of the reasons I may never know. One thing I know for sure, my faith in God has increased. No matter what I may be going through in my life right now, God is there and He will help me IF I trust in Him. I have learned that if I ask "Why NOT me?" and "Why NOT now?" I will have a clearer judgement on issues and even though I may not have the understanding, it reminds me that God knows what I am going through and that there is a purpose to what I am facing. Life is not always easy but having the understanding that HE does the understanding, makes it so much easier!

Ashcraft Children

The children have had a wonderful idea of having their own blog! To see what we have created, you can go to http://www.ashcraftchildren.blogspot.com/. Please subscribe to their blog to keep up with what goes on in their world "through their eyes."

Last History Lesson

As our History month of July came to an end, our last history lesson was about Uncle Sam, the bald eagle, and our national flower. I didn't know we had a national flower! It happens to be the rose. President Ronald Reagan declared the rose our national flower on November 20, 1986.

The bald eagle has been our national symbol since June 20, 1782. Did you know it is only found on the North American continent? Also, you can find them in every state except Hawaii but about 80% of them are found in Alaska! And as we all know, bald eagles aren't bald. So, why do we call them bald? An old English word "balde" means white. Something I found quite interesting about eagles is that they can only lift 4 pounds of weight! When the bald eagle was chosen as our national symbol, there were quite a few people who didn't like the idea because they said the bald eagle was a bird of bad moral character because they steal a lot of their food instead of catching it on their own. Believe it or not, one of them was Benjamin Franklin. So, what was the bird he suggested instead? The turkey!!! Can you imagine our Great Seal having a turkey instead of an eagle?! Ultimately, the bald eagle was chosen because of it symbolized freedom and independence. By the way, another who disagreed with having the bald eagle as our national symbol was John James Audobon.

(The children had a great time making bald eagles. They made the body out of their footprint and the wings are their handprints. Naturally, Caleb had to get involved because he loves tracing his foot!)

Uncle Sam has been a symbol of the USA since the World War I "I Want You" Army poster. Actually, Uncle Sam "was born" most likely during the War of 1812. There isn't an exact origin, so to speak, but most believe he came about as the result of the initials U.S. A man named Samuel Wilson was the inspector for meat purchased by the government. There are several different story beginnings but they all end with the fact that there were barrels of meat sent to the soldiers during the War of 1812 marked with the initials U.S. Someone asked what the initials meant and the facetious reply was "Uncle Sam Wilson, our meat inspector." A resolution was passed by Congress in 1961 recognizing Samuel Wilson as the inspiration for "Uncle Sam." Interestingly enough, many of the portrayals of Uncle Sam strongly resemble Samuel Wilson. However, Uncle Sam hasn't been the only symbol of American government. Before him was "Brother Jonathan." British loyalists used this term to describe the Revolutionary Patriots. Jonathan Trumbull was the governor of Connecticut in the 1700's. When George Washington was faced with a difficult decision, it is recorded that he would say, "Let us consult Brother Jonathan." Brother Jonathan and Uncle Sam were used interchangeably for a while. At the beginning of the Civili War, Brother Jonathan was predominately used, but by the end of the War, Uncle Sam emerged the more popular and Brother Jonathan has basically become a forgotten symbol.

The last day of the month of July was a wonderful day for us. Some friends of ours from South Carolina came to visit!!! They have family that live in India, so our friends flew to Bangkok to meet up with family that was flying in from India. Although we only had a few hours together, we had a great time! The kids all received a bag with games, puzzles, and toys and we were given Kool-aid, taco seasoning, more school supplies, and various other little things we had asked for. We thank the Lord for His many blessings, but most of all this week, fellowship with special friends and good Christian fellowship!