I think Gabe has mentioned in one (or more) of his weekly update blogs about how God has been providing, but I'll chime in as well for this week's update.
I've been reading in Isaiah with the angle of looking at what God is revealing about his character and who he is. So far I'm about 10 verses into chapter two and this is what I've been picking up from what I've been reading:
God: is the creator, the Father, emotional/feeling oriented, caring, sees our need for a savior, compassionate, allows us choice, gives mercy, sees accurately, has preferences, knows and judges the value of the gifts we give, personal, vulnerable, perceptive, inviting, conversational, rewarding, unchanging, unwavering, warrior, worker, finisher, purposeful, intentional, patient, restorer, cleanser, hope, supreme above all others, security, worthy of exaltation.
In addition, Gabe and I and some other students and staff have been studying the book of James twice a week, and we've been going back to James 1:17 - talking about how God is the giver of good and perfect gifts.
One principle in our marriage that Gabe and I have always tried to live by is generosity. Jesus said a lot of things about giving, but two of them that sticks is that it is better to give than it is to receive, and that the measure to which we give it will be given back to us - pushed down, shaken together, and pouring over.
We have been the recipients of SO much giving over the past few years - really, from the onset of our marriage. We've been met with generosity everywhere we turn. We've tried to steward what God entrusts to us and, in turn, give generously to others, of course, but you know how people say, "You can't out-give God?" I think that's ringing true in our life!
We sent a box to New Zealand from Thailand with our warmer clothes - I don't remember all that was in there, but a couple pair of shoes, some sweaters, long pants, long sleeve shirts, socks, dresses, and other practical stuff for life in a winter climate. Our box hasn't shown up yet, so for the last 4 weeks, we've been making do with what we packed with us through Europe (i.e.: spring/summer appropriate clothes, which are also beginning to wear thin and/or break from a lot of use!). We've had the opportunity to go shopping, and even found some good sales, but each time we've thought about biting the bullet (financially) and purchasing something to make the strain of laundry/inconvenience of being frequently chilly a little less, we've felt like the Lord was challenging us to trust him, so each time we've walked away and said, "OK, Lord, we think this would be more convenient, but we're trusting you to provide what we need!"
So far, to date, since arriving in New Zealand we've acquired the following pieces of clothing without it costing us a dime:
A big, cozy, wrap sweater (for me)
boots (for me)
2 t-shirts (for me)
2 t-shirts (for Gabe)
a sweatshirt (for Gabe)
a vest (for Gabe)
ballet flat shoes (for me)
Mary Jane style shoes (for me)
a wool performance/athletic shirt (for me)
2 pair of socks (for both of us - we share!)
a towel
This is in addition to a pair of jeans and a long-sleeve thermal shirt I purchased for less than $10 US at a 2nd hand store in the Solomon Islands when I went shopping with Megan, and a free sweater, another wool long sleeve shirt, and a pair of leggings that I acquired for free in Greece. In addition, we've been loaned a set of sheets to use for the duration of our time here, so we didn't need to go purchase a new set.
Is it obvious that God is taking care of us? It is to us! In fact, it feels like every day bring some new sweet gift from someone (some of which we've even been able to pass on to others, which is super fun!) that tells us, "I think the Lord is prompting me to give this to you."
Last week we learned about hearing God's voice, and there were some awesome things that came out of it for us, but one of the biggest lessons we're learning has been ongoing throughout the school so far:
1 - we have tendencies toward pride, but as we are learning to recognize when we're walking in pride, stop, repent, and choose to be humble (for me, that has been a relatively intense process of learning to graciously accept all these gifts! I'm much, MUCH better at giving gifts than receiving them - and I'd much RATHER give them than receive them! So it's a challenge for me to realize that someone is offering something I do, in fact, kind of need and I have nothing to give back to them), God pours out blessing.
2 - God provides - really, truly. He knows what we need (often even better than WE know what we need!) and he has faithfully been providing for those needs - but he hasn't stopped yet, he's provided over and above what we need. We've gotten to the point where we don't really care what we look like, being warm and dry is far more important. But God knows what we like and he's been meeting our needs in ways that not only take care of the actual physical need but also encourage and bless our hearts. My new boots? Adorable! A merino wool shirt? Exactly what I've been looking forward to getting for 2 years in New Zealand. Gabe's sweatshirt? Totally what he'd been dreaming about. Gabe's vest? Totally a style/color/size he's wanted. And on and on! It's been so, so, SO much more than we imagined, and God's blown us away with his provision.
This week we're learning about submission to authority from God's perspective. It's contained many little nuggets to ponder. Maybe we'll be able to share more about what we're getting from it later, but for now, it's reinforcing things we've already learned or casting new light and new perspective on ideas we've had. As always, we're so privileged to be here and we're wanting to just soak up as much as we can from this atmosphere and the teachings and the life-lessons we're learning.
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