As I head back to China for a 5th year, I've been thinking a lot about what to share on my blog. It hit me that, other than pictures on facebook and a few lunches with people who pursue it, I haven't adequately shared about my life in China.
So, my faithful followers (I'm up to an official 10 now!), what would you like to know? Ask me questions, or give me an area of life about which you would like to know more, and I shall do my best to answer you and give you a better idea of what I'm doing and how I do it in China.
What are you most curious about? Leave a comment!
Thursday, July 28, 2011
Tuesday, July 26, 2011
Woman, Cover Thyself!
About most things in life, I have an opinion. And like many people, there are a few subjects which are my "soapboxes". Modesty is one of them. Growing up, I remember my mother training me how to buy clothes which actually fit my body as well as covered it. I remember hating when she would make me show her every item I tried on, but looking back on it now, I am so grateful that she forced me to do that. As an adult, I know how to dress modestly and I understand the reasons for dressing modestly. Modesty is not just a matter of clothing. It is a matter of the heart. A heart that belongs to Christ will reflect Christ in every area of life. Modesty should be a lifestyle.
Now, I tend to get wordy in my soapboxing, so I'm just going to choose bits and pieces from a podcast by Nancy Leigh DeMoss. She expands on one aspect of modesty, using 1 Timothy 2:9-10.
"[Paul] talks to women about their appearance or their attire, and then he talks to them about their attitudes, and then he talks to them about their actions. He says that the way these women dress is a reflection of their heart and their character. And if they have right attitudes, that will produce a right appearance. But what I think he is saying is, "You can't separate the inward from the outward."
We say that "God looks on the heart. That means the way I dress doesn't matter." No, because God looks on the heart. The way we dress does matter. Because the way we dress is intended to be a reflection of our hearts.
So Paul says, let's read these two verses, 1 Timothy 2:9 and 10, "Likewise also that women should adorn themselves in respectable apparel . . ." That's their appearance. Now their attitudes, ". . . with modesty and self-control.""
The program is Revive Our Hearts, and the title of the cast is "A Woman's Influence in the Church". For more of Nancy on the issue of modesty, you can click here.
Now, I tend to get wordy in my soapboxing, so I'm just going to choose bits and pieces from a podcast by Nancy Leigh DeMoss. She expands on one aspect of modesty, using 1 Timothy 2:9-10.
"[Paul] talks to women about their appearance or their attire, and then he talks to them about their attitudes, and then he talks to them about their actions. He says that the way these women dress is a reflection of their heart and their character. And if they have right attitudes, that will produce a right appearance. But what I think he is saying is, "You can't separate the inward from the outward."
We say that "God looks on the heart. That means the way I dress doesn't matter." No, because God looks on the heart. The way we dress does matter. Because the way we dress is intended to be a reflection of our hearts.
So Paul says, let's read these two verses, 1 Timothy 2:9 and 10, "Likewise also that women should adorn themselves in respectable apparel . . ." That's their appearance. Now their attitudes, ". . . with modesty and self-control.""
The program is Revive Our Hearts, and the title of the cast is "A Woman's Influence in the Church". For more of Nancy on the issue of modesty, you can click here.
Monday, July 18, 2011
Pardon my Hiatus.
It amazes me how I can swing from nothing to do to uberbusy. (side note: did you know that "uber" is a prefix, and thus can be stuck on the front of a word to denote a supreme or outstanding example of something? No hyphen or dash necessary.)
I spent the last 9 days or so on vacation to Chincoteague Island, off the coast of Virginia. Spent some good quality time with my sister and her family, and got some good tan on my poor white self. This is the most sun I've gotten in the last...oh, you know...2 years. Needless to say, the sun doesn't shine too much in my fair city of Chengdu.
A few quick thoughts from the mind of Catie, before the Koffee Klutch closes. (another side note: I really hate businesses who spell things wrong on purpose. It's just tacky. But they have free internet and $1.38 bottomless cup of coffee, so I don't complain too much. Plus the owner calls me 'hun' and I have a 'usual' order.)
The Lord has been teaching me a lot lately about not judging people. I found myself making all kinds of assumptions and judgments of people when I got home, all because I viewed their lives as simple and sheltered compared to my own. Thank Goodness for the Holy Spirit and his conviction--He smacked me in the face with my own stupid assumptions and helped open my eyes to see that while the struggles people have here in small-town America are different from my own, they are no less difficult. Reminds me of the song by Brandon Heath "Give Me Your Eyes".
I saw Transformers: Dark of the Moon last week, and Cars: 2 this week. Both were really good! Transformers 3 definitely outdid #2--the plot improved and the new Megan Fox is WAY better. She manages to run in heals and keep her white clothes clean the whole movie, but at least she's fully clothed. Cars: 2 had me laughing out loud so much, I'm pretty sure I began to annoy the people around me. I think I found some of the humor related to being in Tokyo funnier because the culture shock of going to Asia is relevant for me.
I gave my first English name to a sweet girl named Chen Li Ping at the Bamboo House on Saturday. I named her "Lily". I was so excited to be in a Chinese restaurant with Chinese people, so I asked her where she was from. I was surprised to discover that she had VERY little English, so I had to bust out my Chinese. I got her QQ #, which means I'm going to have to learn to navigate QQ (a Chinese IM/social networking site) when I get back to China.
I leave you with one of my favorite things about summer: sunsets.
I spent the last 9 days or so on vacation to Chincoteague Island, off the coast of Virginia. Spent some good quality time with my sister and her family, and got some good tan on my poor white self. This is the most sun I've gotten in the last...oh, you know...2 years. Needless to say, the sun doesn't shine too much in my fair city of Chengdu.
A few quick thoughts from the mind of Catie, before the Koffee Klutch closes. (another side note: I really hate businesses who spell things wrong on purpose. It's just tacky. But they have free internet and $1.38 bottomless cup of coffee, so I don't complain too much. Plus the owner calls me 'hun' and I have a 'usual' order.)
The Lord has been teaching me a lot lately about not judging people. I found myself making all kinds of assumptions and judgments of people when I got home, all because I viewed their lives as simple and sheltered compared to my own. Thank Goodness for the Holy Spirit and his conviction--He smacked me in the face with my own stupid assumptions and helped open my eyes to see that while the struggles people have here in small-town America are different from my own, they are no less difficult. Reminds me of the song by Brandon Heath "Give Me Your Eyes".
I saw Transformers: Dark of the Moon last week, and Cars: 2 this week. Both were really good! Transformers 3 definitely outdid #2--the plot improved and the new Megan Fox is WAY better. She manages to run in heals and keep her white clothes clean the whole movie, but at least she's fully clothed. Cars: 2 had me laughing out loud so much, I'm pretty sure I began to annoy the people around me. I think I found some of the humor related to being in Tokyo funnier because the culture shock of going to Asia is relevant for me.
I gave my first English name to a sweet girl named Chen Li Ping at the Bamboo House on Saturday. I named her "Lily". I was so excited to be in a Chinese restaurant with Chinese people, so I asked her where she was from. I was surprised to discover that she had VERY little English, so I had to bust out my Chinese. I got her QQ #, which means I'm going to have to learn to navigate QQ (a Chinese IM/social networking site) when I get back to China.
I leave you with one of my favorite things about summer: sunsets.
Friday, July 1, 2011
Story of my life.
I think we can all admit that none of us is perfect. (at least, it's easy enough for me to admit that you are not perfect!) Each and every person has, I think, something that takes a lifetime to learn. Perhaps you learn it once, but in time you forget and God teaches it to you again. And again. And again.
Welcome to my life.
One of the lessons God has needed to re-teach me lately is that of waiting. Patience is not my strong-suit. In college, 75% of the reason I ate breakfast for almost every meal was because I hate waiting in lines. I'll eat cold pizza because I hate waiting for it to reheat. I can get irritated if the phone rings 3 or 4 times before someone finally picks it up.
Those are all silly things, but in my life they signify a deeper lack of patience. And that lack of patience comes from a lack of trust in my Sovereign, Good, and Holy Father. I struggle to trust that He has not forgotten me, or that He really does know what He's doing. I KNOW He has not forgotten me, and I KNOW that His plan is not just going to be amazing, but that it is amazing right now. But actually living that out is the real challenge.
Some of you know that my life verse has been Isaiah 40:31. "...But those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings likes eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint."
At Ladies Days this year, Angela Thomas spoke on this verse and gave me a new perspective on things. Hoping in the Lord is active--I must put my hope in Him. My problem is that I tend to pick it back up, like a child who is trying to get dad to read her a book. She puts it in his lap, and when he doesn't immediately pick it (and her) up to read it, she picks it up and puts it higher in his lap. Over and over, until he finally pays her the attention she's seeking. That's me. I put my hope at His feet, but when I begin to worry and wonder about the future again, that's me picking it back up. And putting it back at His feet. And picking it back up. So here I am, putting it back again.
Through sermons and Sunday school lessons and such, God has brought a few other relevant verses to my attention. I'll leave you with those.
Lamentations 3:24-26
"I say to myself, 'The LORD is my portion; therefore I will wait for him.' The LORD is good to those whose hope is in him, to the one who seeks him; it is good to wait quietly for the salvation of the LORD."
Psalm 37:3-7a
"Trust in the LORD and do good; dwell in the land and enjoy safe pasture. Delight yourself in the LORD and he will give you the desires of your heart. Commit your way to the LORD; trust in him and he will do this: He will make your righteousness shine like the dawn, the justice of your cause like the noonday sun. Be still before the LORD and wait patiently for him."
Welcome to my life.
One of the lessons God has needed to re-teach me lately is that of waiting. Patience is not my strong-suit. In college, 75% of the reason I ate breakfast for almost every meal was because I hate waiting in lines. I'll eat cold pizza because I hate waiting for it to reheat. I can get irritated if the phone rings 3 or 4 times before someone finally picks it up.
Those are all silly things, but in my life they signify a deeper lack of patience. And that lack of patience comes from a lack of trust in my Sovereign, Good, and Holy Father. I struggle to trust that He has not forgotten me, or that He really does know what He's doing. I KNOW He has not forgotten me, and I KNOW that His plan is not just going to be amazing, but that it is amazing right now. But actually living that out is the real challenge.
Some of you know that my life verse has been Isaiah 40:31. "...But those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings likes eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint."
At Ladies Days this year, Angela Thomas spoke on this verse and gave me a new perspective on things. Hoping in the Lord is active--I must put my hope in Him. My problem is that I tend to pick it back up, like a child who is trying to get dad to read her a book. She puts it in his lap, and when he doesn't immediately pick it (and her) up to read it, she picks it up and puts it higher in his lap. Over and over, until he finally pays her the attention she's seeking. That's me. I put my hope at His feet, but when I begin to worry and wonder about the future again, that's me picking it back up. And putting it back at His feet. And picking it back up. So here I am, putting it back again.
Through sermons and Sunday school lessons and such, God has brought a few other relevant verses to my attention. I'll leave you with those.
Lamentations 3:24-26
"I say to myself, 'The LORD is my portion; therefore I will wait for him.' The LORD is good to those whose hope is in him, to the one who seeks him; it is good to wait quietly for the salvation of the LORD."
Psalm 37:3-7a
"Trust in the LORD and do good; dwell in the land and enjoy safe pasture. Delight yourself in the LORD and he will give you the desires of your heart. Commit your way to the LORD; trust in him and he will do this: He will make your righteousness shine like the dawn, the justice of your cause like the noonday sun. Be still before the LORD and wait patiently for him."
Thursday, June 23, 2011
Kicks and Giggles
I really like to laugh. I think "play" should be the 6th love language. People who laugh together will be friends for a lifetime. So, I thought I'd share a few things (including a few blogs!) which make me laugh.
warning: some of these things may include ridiculous and/or stupid humor.
1. Wiggle face pictures
2. MadTV's Stuart sketches
3. Anything highlighting the stupid things people do
Hope you giggled with me. :)
warning: some of these things may include ridiculous and/or stupid humor.
1. Wiggle face pictures
3. Anything highlighting the stupid things people do
- Brian Regan, Bill Cosby, and Ellen DeGeneres
- the blog, Photoshop Disasters
- Sarah Haskins' videos in the series, "Target Women"
Hope you giggled with me. :)
Tuesday, June 21, 2011
Jehova Jireh
My Provider!
The last few months, God has been teaching me ever-so-subtly that He is enough. When I was in a relationship, He reminded me that regardless of the presence of a man in my life, He alone is enough. This was easy enough for me to say (of course God is enough--He's God!), but not until I actually began to put it into practice did I realize how hard it is to believe it. But, as usual, God has proven Himself faithful.
In the last few weeks, I have made conscious effort to be satisfied in God and in His plan for my life. He has surprised me at every turn with glimpses of Himself in my everyday life. I turned on the radio and heard songs like Laura Story's Blessings:
Cause what if Your blessings come through raindrops
What if Your healing comes through tears
What if a thousand sleepless nights
Are what it takes to know You’re near
What if trials of this life are Your mercies in disguise
I went out to Gull Lake Ministries to volunteer for Ladies Days, and He gave the speaker (Angela Thomas) some words meant specifically for my heart about surrendering my hope to Him. He also surrounded me with some of the sweetest, funniest ladies I've ever met. Throughout the week, I could literally feel Him pouring into me, filling me with His sweet presence.
His peace truly is beyond human understanding. I wouldn't want it any other way!
I leave you with song lyrics which paraphrase some of Psalm 119
"Lord I come into the light and listen as your Word shines it rays of Truth. Let your law be my desire, your might my soul inspire, swift to hear and do."
Be blessed!
The last few months, God has been teaching me ever-so-subtly that He is enough. When I was in a relationship, He reminded me that regardless of the presence of a man in my life, He alone is enough. This was easy enough for me to say (of course God is enough--He's God!), but not until I actually began to put it into practice did I realize how hard it is to believe it. But, as usual, God has proven Himself faithful.
In the last few weeks, I have made conscious effort to be satisfied in God and in His plan for my life. He has surprised me at every turn with glimpses of Himself in my everyday life. I turned on the radio and heard songs like Laura Story's Blessings:
Cause what if Your blessings come through raindrops
What if Your healing comes through tears
What if a thousand sleepless nights
Are what it takes to know You’re near
What if trials of this life are Your mercies in disguise
I went out to Gull Lake Ministries to volunteer for Ladies Days, and He gave the speaker (Angela Thomas) some words meant specifically for my heart about surrendering my hope to Him. He also surrounded me with some of the sweetest, funniest ladies I've ever met. Throughout the week, I could literally feel Him pouring into me, filling me with His sweet presence.
His peace truly is beyond human understanding. I wouldn't want it any other way!
I leave you with song lyrics which paraphrase some of Psalm 119
"Lord I come into the light and listen as your Word shines it rays of Truth. Let your law be my desire, your might my soul inspire, swift to hear and do."
Be blessed!
Wednesday, June 8, 2011
Adjustment Bureau
Note: "bureau" is a difficult word to spell.
On the plane home from China this time around, I spent most of my time listening to Dracula and cross-stitching. When I finished the book and had almost killed my iPod, I started paying attention to the movies to see if anything was worth watching. First up: Big Mommas: Like Father, Like Son. Wow. Dozed through that.
Eventually it came to "The Adjustment Bureau" with Matt Damon and Emily Blunt. I had never heard of it, but it looked interesting, so I watched. It's like a romantic action blur...romanction? That alone made it unique to me. But then I started analyzing it and pondering the worldview of the movie. It is about the presence of angels in our world, and their place in keeping us stupid humans in the will of God. One of them tells Matt Damon's character that we used to have free will, but we didn't know what to do with it and ended up almost ruining the entire world. Matt Damon's character has gone "off book" and so the angels spend the whole movie trying to keep him away from the woman, which of course makes him want to be with her all the more. In the end, he tries to get all the way to God to plead his case to keep the woman in his life. It ends with God re-writing His will to let the two stay together. Aw, for cute! He fought for her and won! The prince and his princess get to be together, happily ever after!
Wait, what?
The worldview of this movie is one where God is some High Power which sits on High, uninvolved, waiting for his puny stupid creations to mess up. He took away our free will because we couldn't handle the freedom to make our own choices, and sends his angels to make sure we follow the book. Also according to this worldview, if we fight it enough, God will change His will to give us our way.
I am not about to claim that I understand God. His ways and thoughts are higher! (Isaiah 40) But there are some Truths which cannot be denied. One is that yes, God has a will--a plan--for each of our lives. In fact, that plan was written by Him long before each of us existed. That plan is one for His glory and our good. The other Truth is that humans were indeed created with free will. Each and every one of us has the ability to make choices for our own lives. We can choose to walk in the path God has set before us, and in so doing choose the best life we could possibly imagine. We can also choose to walk away from God, and in so doing write our own life story. But let me give you this guarantee: the life you would write for yourself may be wonderful for awhile, but it will end in misery. Not because God wants you to be miserable, but He will allow you to live in sin if you so choose. He will continue to pursue your heart until the end, but if you continue to choose to live for yourself instead of for Him, then the consequences are all yours to bear.
Summary: Predestination and Free Will are both True. Choose Jesus.
On the plane home from China this time around, I spent most of my time listening to Dracula and cross-stitching. When I finished the book and had almost killed my iPod, I started paying attention to the movies to see if anything was worth watching. First up: Big Mommas: Like Father, Like Son. Wow. Dozed through that.
Eventually it came to "The Adjustment Bureau" with Matt Damon and Emily Blunt. I had never heard of it, but it looked interesting, so I watched. It's like a romantic action blur...romanction? That alone made it unique to me. But then I started analyzing it and pondering the worldview of the movie. It is about the presence of angels in our world, and their place in keeping us stupid humans in the will of God. One of them tells Matt Damon's character that we used to have free will, but we didn't know what to do with it and ended up almost ruining the entire world. Matt Damon's character has gone "off book" and so the angels spend the whole movie trying to keep him away from the woman, which of course makes him want to be with her all the more. In the end, he tries to get all the way to God to plead his case to keep the woman in his life. It ends with God re-writing His will to let the two stay together. Aw, for cute! He fought for her and won! The prince and his princess get to be together, happily ever after!
Wait, what?
The worldview of this movie is one where God is some High Power which sits on High, uninvolved, waiting for his puny stupid creations to mess up. He took away our free will because we couldn't handle the freedom to make our own choices, and sends his angels to make sure we follow the book. Also according to this worldview, if we fight it enough, God will change His will to give us our way.
I am not about to claim that I understand God. His ways and thoughts are higher! (Isaiah 40) But there are some Truths which cannot be denied. One is that yes, God has a will--a plan--for each of our lives. In fact, that plan was written by Him long before each of us existed. That plan is one for His glory and our good. The other Truth is that humans were indeed created with free will. Each and every one of us has the ability to make choices for our own lives. We can choose to walk in the path God has set before us, and in so doing choose the best life we could possibly imagine. We can also choose to walk away from God, and in so doing write our own life story. But let me give you this guarantee: the life you would write for yourself may be wonderful for awhile, but it will end in misery. Not because God wants you to be miserable, but He will allow you to live in sin if you so choose. He will continue to pursue your heart until the end, but if you continue to choose to live for yourself instead of for Him, then the consequences are all yours to bear.
Summary: Predestination and Free Will are both True. Choose Jesus.
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