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Be Encouraged




"All of my life,
In every season,
You are still God,
I have a reason to sing, 
I have a reason to Worship..."


    You may or may not be familiar with Hillsong Music, which is a well-recognized music ministry based out of Hillsong Church in Australia. I truly believe that God has blessed this ministry and has used it to draw others to Himself.  This music has the ability to capture and speak to the depths of our soul and draw you into a time of worship. For the last several weeks, I've been listening to "Hillsongs radio" on Pandora and I love it! Yesterday morning a song came on that I had heard before but had never honed in on the words or their meaning. The words began to speak deeply to my heart and instantly drew me into the tangible presence of God. By now you may have guessed it, that song was entitled "Desert Song". It talks about continually having a heart of praise, gratefulness and trust in God because, no matter what happens or what we're going through in life, God is still God and He is in control. I love knowing that the Creator of the universe has his arms open wide to me when I'm happy or sad, when I'm hurting, when I'm feeling discouraged, when I'm worried or unsure about the future, no matter where I'm at...He is waiting for me to run into His open arms. It was so cool, this song has been so powerful that I had to share it with all of you (see below). While looking up this song on YouTube, I came across a video of speaker Francis Chan from Passion 2015. His message at the conference was about not losing the wonder of salvation and the wonder of approaching Christ and his presence through prayer. It was the right word at the right moment for me. I think so often I allow myself to get caught up in what's happening around me, good and bad, that I forget to look to the one who created it. It was a great word, I've been so encouraged!
     I think it's good for all of us to take some time to step back from what we have going on and just thank and praise God for our current situation - good and bad. I know that sadly, horrible things happen to people and but God is still God and no matter what He is always a reason to worship!

So, here I go - I'm stepping back with a heart of gratefulness and giving God the praise he so greatly deserves for giving me this life! Give the song a listen and take a look at these pictures from the last few weeks! I can't stress enough how grateful I am that He given me this place and these kids - they're all so dear to my heart!


                                                                       LISTEN NOW! :)


Kayla and Katy are too cute!

Hanging out with Isaac during Chinese New Year!







Watching fireworks with Cody during CNY

Ronny lighting a CNY sparkler


Wes
My new flag! Just a reminder of the awesomeness of God
for knowing me more than I could have known myself!
I'm so in love with China and the work that is being done here!

Lydia

The therapy Ayi's and I at a therapy seminar in Beijing!
Jason

Katy 
Kayla
Kai
Kevin


Beth's smile is infectious! Love her so much!

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