from & for

"For in it (the gospel) the righteousness of God is revealed

from faith for faith,

as it is written, "The righteous should live by faith."

Romans 1:17

tally mark 4

the best batch yet.

reasons

After looking at a calendar of June for the better part of the afternoon, I'm starting to get really excited about being in the states this summer. This lovely little photo embodies 2 reasons why:

• MC: my little sister who can makes laugh harder than almost anyone I know, she's just incredible.
• TCBY: oh how I've missed you. (MC, I've obviously missed you too.)

I have a feeling lists of ''reasons" will be frequently appearing in the upcoming month.

pennies from heaven

Bing Crosby says to make sure your umbrella is upside down when it rains and today my umbrella decided to take initiative and catch my fortune of rain drops as I made my way to the MTR station. The wind acted as a guide as it pushed me through the maze of battling umbrellas and ricocheted between myself and the buildings lining the street. My black satin flats tiptoed around puddles until my depth perception failed me (which happens far too often) and my foot landed completely submerged. At this point rain was blowing under my umbrella and I pulled my purse in close to my torso like it was going to help in some way, still holding my lovely little blue brella over my head as some sort of solace. It was at that moment my umbrella, so poetically, did a back flip as I passed a woman buying an umbrella on the side of the street. With the train station in view, I couldn't help but laugh. Yep, out loud. Thankfully, the train was full of other travelers who were dressed in rain as well.

extra cheese please

"As for man, his days are like grass; he flourishes like a flower of the field; for the wind passes over it, and it is gone, and its place knows it no more.

But the steadfast love of the Lord is from everlasting to everlasting on those who fear him..."

Psalm 103: 15-17

This morning was spent in conversation with one of my closest friends using the phrases "time keeps passing so quickly", "it seems like just yesterday", "remember when..." and "Oh geez, we are starting to use those phrases that have echoed around us for years". Our realization was met with reflective laughter and an honest joy. This morning I'm found hopeful. I'm found undeserving of this precious life I've been given. I'm found thankful for this short 'bloom'. It's going to be a beautiful day.

divine mercy

"We know Jesus has saved our lives from divine judgement. Think of it, Christ has taken all of your filth and my filth, all of your evil wicked thoughts and my evil wicked thoughts, he has taken every single one of them and he has put them on his son instead of us. Jesus has taken the punishment due every single one of our sins upon himself he has delivered us from divine judgement. And not only that, not only deliverance, he has freed us. We don't have to go back to our sin like we see over and over again in the book of Judges. We are free from sin, free to walk in victory over sin, not to go back to that from which we have been saved from. So what shall we do then? Shall we sit back with that news? Jesus has saved us from divine judgement. Shall we sit back with that news and just soak it in while we turn a deaf ear to millions upon millions of people who have never heard that? Absolutely not. We are not saved to soak it in, we are saved to spend our lives to proclaim divine mercy. That is what we do. We give ourselves, we give our lives, we give our family, we give our time, we give our money, we give everything we have: our very lives, making this mercy known to the ends of the earth. That is the only response to the one true God."

-sermon Depravity & Deliverance, David Platt

bread for today

During my time in the Philippines, I've been waking up with the dawn. Literally. I really enjoy the early morning, but waking up while it is still dark outside is early even for me. Instead of fighting frustration for an hour before breakfast is ready, the Lord has been good to guide me towards greeting the sunrise over the South Sea with a cup of coffee and the Psalms. This morning Psalm 103 poured refreshment and perspective in front of me to walk in today. This Psalm beckons one into praise from the onset, appropriating our affections towards the hope of our souls.

Praise the Lord, O my soul; all my inmost being, praise his holy name.

Praise the lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits- who forgives all your sins and heals all your diseases, who redeems your life from the pit and crowns you with love and compassion, who satisfies your desires with good things so that your youth is renewed like the eagle's.

The Lord works righteousness and justice for all the oppressed.

He made known his ways to Moses, his deeds to the people of Israel:

The Lord is compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, abounding in love.

he will not always accuse, nor will he harbor his anger forever; he does not treat us as our sins deserve or repay us according to our iniquities.

For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his love for those who fear him;

as far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us.

As a father has compassion on his children, so the Lord has compassion on those who fear him; for he knows how we are formed, he remembers that we are dust.

As for man, his days are like grass, he flourishes like a flower of the field; the wind blows over it and it is gone, and its place remembers it no more.

But from everlasting to everlasting the Lord's love is with those who fear him, and his righteousness with their children's children- with those who keep his covenant and remember to obey his precepts.

The Lord has established his throne in heaven, and his kingdom rules over all.

Praise the Lord, you his angels, you mighty ones who do his bidding, who obey his word.

Praise the Lord, all his heavenly hosts, you servants who do his will.

Praise the Lord, all his works everywhere in his dominion.

Praise the Lord, O my soul.

snapshots 2

[clockwise: i really like this rice bag, demo vegetables for sustainable living, Values/Health/Livelihood class in the slums, lines, sweet souls]

snapshots

Last week I got to experience Cebu with some of my favorite people. And this week I've had a great opportunity to adventure around the Philippines with some wonderful people from ICM . I've really enjoyed seeing a new part of the Philippines, this place is really fascinating. I only have a few minutes on the internet but I wanted to share a couple pictures along the way. [from left to right: looking out from a Japanese tunnel left from war, typical market collection, the Mayon volcano in Legaspi, church ruins after an eruption by Mayon in 1814]. Hope you enjoy, there's more to come.