I blog this every year and now know this hymn by heart. And every year this hymn gets stronger in my heart as a lifesong, a truth undeniable that humbles me to reflect on His goodness.  By His grace, “since He lives, I also will live.” (john14.19). The longer serve Him, the sweeter He grows, The more that I love Him, more love He bestows; Each day is like heaven, my heart overflows, The longer I serve Him, the sweeter He grows. The longer serve Him, the sweeter He grows, The more that I love Him, more love He bestows; Each day is like heaven, my heart overflows, The longer I serve Him, the sweeter He grows. Since I started for the Kingdom, Since my life He controls, Since I gave my heart to Jesus, The longer I serve Him, The sweeter He grows. Ev’ry need He is supplying, Plenteous grace He bestows; Ev’ry day my way gets brighter, The longer I serve Him, The sweeter He grows. “The Longer I Serve Him” Thank you Lord for the love you have started in me, and have shown me through the years.  Ever since I surrendered my heart to you, You […]

hi team. we’re about to leave in a couple of hours, so I just wanted to encourage you with an incredible verse that is dear to my heart while I was in college: Zeph3:17 “The LORD your God is with you,  the Mighty Warrior who saves.  He will take great delight in you;  in his love he will no longer rebuke you,  but will rejoice over you with singing.” It resonates now as a promise that God’s love over me is active and not just a passive thought or emotion. He will fight for me. And as every woman will attest, that act of devotion only comes from those that love you the most. Not only will he stand by you, and fight for you, He delights in you, in every crevice of what makes you you. And His love will cover even the parts that hurt Him the most. He covers that with audible adoration.  What I love most about this verse is that it is one of the very few Biblical verses that connotes the imagery of God in all of His glory, singing. Singing over us. His song is what captures me. I hope the weeks we’re not […]

Today, the coast of Japan was hit by tsunami waves, brought about by an earthquake measuring 8.9 magnitude.  In our part of the world, the Friday measured an ordinary medium from 0-10, still too early to gauge and rate what the day will be like.  But, along with the morning breakfast came the devastating news.  And along with the devastating news, always likely, came the Facebook statuses.  We’ve become a generation of commentators, summing up catastrophic world events in 240 characters or less.  As I carefully composed mine, several thoughts hit me, all probably very true, and some assumptions, but I had to filter my thoughts before I could bare ideas that would eventually permeate through people’s computers, thoughts that too will reach the same commentators. Of course, almost everyone requested for prayers for those affected, while some expressed grief and concern.  Some offered outlets for help, links for donations. Not one smirked out of satisfaction, because who indeed could "like" the deaths of so many, the displacement of families/orphans who were relocated?  Moments like this can unite humanity in the worldview that life has extreme value. Admittedly, I had passing thoughts that agreed with the statuses warning people that […]

Today’s life lesson with emma is: "People who don’t clean don’t know where things are.  People who clean are those who know where things are." This applies to adults as well, not just in the literal sense of cleanliness within the house, but within the primary home- one’s body.  It says in Romans 12 that our bodies and minds are living sacrifices, not intended for our own selfish uses, but the holiness it imparts is one pleasing to God, one given to glorify the Maker.  This is further supported in the first book of Corinthians,  "Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God You are not your own, for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body" (6:19-20). Look, I’m not talking about drugs here, or specifically drinking alcohol, cheating on your taxes, perversion, or being sexually immoral, debating with passerbys on the legality or illegality of substances as portals to sin, although those stated aren’t necessarily excluded.  I’m not here to micro-manage your life and choices and have them justified while being on the fence whether we should limit grace or […]

I love a good concert as much as the next person, but for some reason, I’m so turned off by the hype. I feel like sometimes, we treat these concerts like a huge lollipop, that the concert just becomes a sugary rush, but no substance, no nourishment. Being in the concert, we’re so on fire…but a flame that dies out the next day.  Promise me it’s not about the hype. It says in Ephesians 3: 16 I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, 17 so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, 18 may have power, together with all the Lord’s holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, 19 and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God. The words "rooted" and "established" connotes a sturdy foundation, a working of some sort rather than a flippancy of emotion.  I believe that sometimes, these concerts are events we can use to put in our FB statuses rather than be […]