Showers of Blessings

 I love hymnals.  I think that they soothe the soul.  When singing them, they are like prayers to God.  One hymnal that is particularly in my mind goes like this:

1. There shall be showers of blessing:
   This is the promise of love;
   There shall be seasons refreshing,
   Sent from the Savior above.
   • Refrain:
     Showers of blessing,
     Showers of blessing we need:
     Mercy-drops round us are falling,
     But for the showers we plead.
2. There shall be showers of blessing,
   Precious reviving again;
   Over the hills and the valleys,
   Sound of abundance of rain.
3. Of course, the song is a few more verses longer, but I only wanted to put a few up (did not want to make my whole post about the song! lol).  I love this song, because it speaks of God's love for us; he wants to shower us with his blessings.  He has truly blessed me.  I want to share all of my Showers of Blessings with everyone:
4. 1.  A week before coming to Taiwan, I was treated to lunch and/or dinner almost everyday with all of my friends and family!  Love!!
5. 2.  My church family blessed me with videos, goodbyes and a sending off prayer.  They also enjoyed fellowship with me, as we continued to praise God even more.  Not to mention the gifts they gave me :) :) :). 
6. 3. I made it to Taiwan safely. 
7. 4. I spent time with my family, cousins and aunts before leaving.  Anytime spent with those you love is truly a blessing. 
8. 5. I was able to sale my car for more money than I thought it would be worth.  I still ended up owing money, but I was still very blessed.  
9. 6. Got a free phone when I set up my phone account in Taiwan.  It's a really nice one too, a new one (they don't even have cases for it yet! lol). Also, I paid for the bill up front and do not have to worry about a phone bill for the next 10 months.  Then too, phone bills are way cheaper in Taiwan!!
10. 7. I came to Taiwan to a nice house, a large room, a beautiful bedspread with my favorite colors, and a nice roommate!
11. 8. I have truly been blessed to not have to go through this adventure alone.  So many people have been helping me to get acclimated to the country, teaching me everything they know!! Truly a blessing, most people are just thrown in!! God always knows what you need. 
12. 9.  A category 3 Typhoon hit Taiwan which was pretty bad, but I still found a blessing in it!! We ended up getting a whole extra week to prepare for school.  I surely was not too ready for school to start Monday (though I did at least have a lesson plan ready :). 
13. 10.  I was sad that I could not go to church on Sabbath because of the Typhoon, but I was able to spend Sabbath with my roommate.  I read my bible, we sang hymns, listened to a Sermon by Stephen Bohr and prayed.  The night before, we also had worship with the Pastor and his wife who lives in our compound.  It was truly a blessing, because I always pray for a closer relationship to God. 

11. My classroom is small, but praise the Lord I have my own classroom.  In Jamaica I had rooms to use but they were not truly mine.

12. I was paid for a month without even working for a month yet!! whoo hoo lol. 

13.  It is a blessing to be able to come together and have worship in the morning with the people you work with.  So many places would be better off if they could pray in the morning together.  So far, I truly enjoy working in a Christian environment. 

14.  A lot of teachers and the staff at the school have helped me in different ways.  

15.  Taiwan is safe enough to feel comfortable walking at night.  

16. Quite a few of the teachers did a Costco trip before the Typhoon, and when we got there, they had almost no bread!! I told one of the teachers about it just in casual conversation, and the next day she brought me a loaf of bread that she made at home.  Truly a blessing.  

17. Also, I was looking for an organizer for my room, and the next thing you know, one miraculously appears at my door!! I was shocked, because I initially had no idea who brought it over.  I found out who and was very gracious.  

18.  My parents have been helping me take care of whatever things needed to be taken care of back home.  Truly a blessing. 

19.  So many people have been praying for me!!! The best blessing of them all!!

20. I have been getting free lunch the past week and a half lol.  Can't go wrong there :D.

21.  I have been meeting wonderful people!!   

Believe me, I can go on about how God has truly been showering me with his blessings. God will assuredly bless those who love him, and even those he does not, for he loves all of us.  Remember to always count your blessings, and you will always have something to be grateful for.  

God is an awesome God!!!

Taste and see that the Lord is good;
blessed is the one who takes refuge in him. Psalm 34:8 NIV

Answering God's Calling

Ever since I was little, I recall a desire to go overseas and explore new countries.  My biggest dream was to be a fashion designer. I wanted to go to Paris, Japan, Italy...all of the countries that little girls who want to be designers daydream about.  I would sit in my room and draw, design, and come up with unique outfits.  But, reality hit me and I never chased after that dream.  God had different plans.

I became Seventh-Day Adventist while a Peace Corps Volunteer in Jamaica.  I randomly met a boy at the beach who was a preacher and also became my really good friend.  He invited me to church to listen to him preach, and I went, I was not doing anything that Saturday, why not go?  He started sharing with me Seventh-Day Adventist beliefs, and I did not take him for his word initially.  My family is Baptist and while I did not grow up in church, I knew we went to church on Sundays and not Saturdays.  I started asking others questions.

At the time, I was attending a Full Gospel church that a student of mine would invite me to.  When my friend started sharing his beliefs about keeping God's Commandments, I asked the Pastor of the church what he believed in regards to them.  He said that we could not keep God's Commandments, they were done away with at the cross.  He had been teaching me as well, and wanted me to baptize in his church.  I started to do my own research, ask different faith groups, look at different scriptures and read the whole New Testament looking for a scripture saying we do not need to keep God's Commandments or keep the Sabbath.  I did not find any.

I discovered that most people believe that you are to keep the Commandments of God.  But if this is the case, why do we only keep 9 of them?  Jesus himself kept the Sabbath, and so did everyone before him and after him.  At that point, I prayed about it and knew what God wanted me to do.  Many times it is mentioned in his word that we are not to follow man or the teachings of man.

I believe that God sends us places and everything that happens in our lives happen for a reason.  I believe that my time spent in Jamaica s a Peace Corps Volunteer was to serve others, but I learned from others, and learned a lot about myself.  I believe also that God wanted me to learn about his true church, and wanted me to be saved.  I am glad for his revelation and calling on my life, for my life now is much better than it was before.  I have a new purpose, a new meaning, and I know I can always count on God to love me when I am lonely and provide for me when I am in need. 

So, being a fashion designer was not God's calling, but something else was.   He called me to be a missionary, to spend my life serving him.  I may not travel to the above mentioned places, but I know God has far better places for me to go, places where people are yet to hear of his truth and love.  I do not know how long God has called me to the country that he has called me to.  But I am a willing servant no matter how long or how short he has called me.