I Love Your Love

This song has been in my head, on my lips, and in my heart since last night.  The words are so true and so calming to my soul.  If you go here you should be able to listen to "I Love Your Love" by Enter the Worship Circle by clicking play.  It may take a minute but something should pop up at the bottom and start playing.  Don't click away too fast, the first 5 or so seconds are of faint voices talking in the background...that's part of the song.  I hope you enjoy it as much as I have been =)

Here are the lyrics!

I've been searching and finding,

There's nothing but searching,

Searching for something to fill.

In all of my finding,

Finding the someone,

Who loves me to sit and be still.

It's in You,

It's in You.

(repeat)

I'm in love with a Savior,

Who saves me to love me,

Loves me to stay by His side.

I love to sing all the songs of His goodness,

I'll sing them the rest of my life.

It's in You,

It's in You.

(repeat)

I love how You know me,

I love how You hold me,

I love how You set me free.

I love your love,

I love your love.

I love your love,

I love your love.

(repeat)

 Hakuna Matata

A Promise to Last a Lifetime

A couple weeks ago we started class on Genesis here at NTBI and I can hardly believe how much I have gotten out of it.  I knew it held a lot, but I never knew just how deep one could go.  It's unbelievable.

We talked a lot about the unconditional covenant between God and Abram (later to become Abraham) which states that God will bless Abram, his family, generations to come, and so on.  So what exactly is an unconditional covenant?  Typically in the Old Testament when a covenant was made the sacrificial animals would be cut in two and the people making the covenant would pass in between almost as in saying, "If I do not keep this covenant my blood will be shed like that of these animals."  Well in chapter 15 of Genesis we see no evidence of Abram passing through but rather God portrayed himself as a smoking firepot with a blazing torch being the one who passed through...the only one according to the text.  This means that the covenant does not rest of Abram and his faithfulness or lack of, but it rests on God and God alone.  He is the only one to passed though the covenant, and He is the only one responsible for keeping His promise.  Of course He wants Abram to trust in Him and be faithful, but in the end God pledges to still be faithful whether that is the case or not.

I was thinking about this the other day when I found out my friend here at NTBI (Ally) and I may soon be working at the same job (still praying!).  I remember just thinking how good God is to me.  There's no reason for Him to be good to me.  He doesn't owe me anything, I don't deserve anything, and yet there He is, day after day, being faithful and kind beyond reason.  What a great Father I have.  I am blessed.  This also reminded me of when I was in India and I realized that my dearest friend Katie and I would be starting NTBI in the same semester, something I never expected, I never even thought I would end up here at all and then to be in the same class even!  How unnecessarily kind of God?  After thinking these things through and asking why I realized that it's because of His unconditional covenant with us that is everlasting, it's still going today, He is still blessing me through His promise to Abraham.  How amazing.

Thank you Jesus for being eternal and kind.  I love you and dream of understanding your heart and yourself more each day.

Hakuna Matata

FYI

I am still alive!! =)

It's been a fair amount of time since being back from India and I thought I'd stop by and let ya'll know that I am still alive.

Right quick like let me show some more pictures from good ol' India.

 

 Waiting at the bus stop...quite the traditional look =)

 A pretty flower in my hair from one of the girls =)

 Here's my shower, my sink, and my toilet...guess which one's which.

 Another traditional man waiting for the train

 Henna I did that took me THREE HOURS STRAIGHT!

 Just drivin' down the street

 Love him =)

And this my friend was a special meal...yes, we ate with our hands!

Love it.

Hakuna Matata

One Week

Okay team...well here I go posting the second post of the month!  Way to go Sarah. NOT.  And I think I might just be real original again and do a pretty simple update blog.  In my defense I don't have much time and have barely had internet access this entire month!  Yeah, that's a good reason.  Okay, here I go...

-I successfully have taken two buses and a sleeper train and made my way 10 hours north east to Tamil Nadu's capital, Chennai.  I am here visiting my friend, Joshua.  He was an exchange student in my home town last year and now it's his turn to host an American.  The only bummer is he has exams this week (fyi, Indian exams compared to American exams are like comparing...okay after sitting here for a few minutes trying to find something nonviolent to compare it to, I can't...so we'll just say they are like gosh darn stinkin' crazy!).  His last exam is tomorrow so after that we will have the rest of the day and the day Thursday to hang out...great!  I'm looking forward to it.  While I have been here in Chennai his mother (who is super kind and great) has been showing me around and taking me to the important places...you know, churches and malls.  Seriously, we have gone to probably 6 different churches and 4 malls/shopping centers.  Dang girl!  It's been fun though.

-I am now short 3 wisdom teeth and praising Jesus about how well it went.  Seriously, the cost was somewhere around $1000 cheaper than it would have been in the U.S.!  C'mon America!  You are killing me!  Anyways, no complaining here because I didn't have to pay that much.  They dentists were really really great, the surgery went super fast, and they told me they even prayed for me the morning of the surgery!  Woo-hoo!  Thanks guys, two thumbs up!

-Right now I am visiting the Oasis ministry in Chennai.  I got to come and see the office and then spend the rest of the afternoon with the girls in their program who have learned how to sew their own clothes.  Wow, I honestly cannot tell you just how delightful these girls are.  I am so sad I cannot spend more time with them here.  We talked for a little while about our families and such, then we played a few games (I guess all those youth group games can be put to good use after all), after that they went back to their work and to finish we danced and took loads of pictures.  I don't have my laptop right now or I would upload them...I will try to do so later.  But really, they were great.

-Ummm I leave in t minus ONE WEEK!  Did I just type that?  I have never felt the way I do right now about leaving a country/mission field.  Maybe I'll try explaining more in depth another time...even then I don't know if it's possible.

-I have henna on my hands!  Love it!  On my right hand it's Rajistan (an area in India I'm told), and the left it's Arabic.  Again, pictures later.

-I'm going to Bible school in January!  Have I told you yet?  Well there ya go!  And yes, I am stinkin' excited.  New Tribes Bible Institute.

-Christmas is soon...like 4 days away.  woo-hoo!

-Aaannnnnnddddd I'm out of this to say.

Love Ya'll!

As they like to say here in India, "Have a Happy Christmas!"