"Ouch! That's gonna leave a mark! "

Lately, I have been pondering on how God allows us

 to go through and grow through the trials in our lives.

In my church (and probably in yours), there are all kinds of people. 

 The ones who are my heroes & encouragers are those who have grown through their trials.  

How easily we can sit in a pew thinking -

 "That person is a super christian. It must be because their life is easy". 

 The opposite is usually true.  

Those "great" Christians are usually the ones who have the biggest scars and deepest hurt, but by God's grace and power they have not allowed Satan to have victory over their lives.

What got me thinking on all of this? 

Well, I'll tell you.

I was looking over my pictures from before I left South Africa in February.

As I was getting my house in order and ready to pack everything up, 

I decided to do a big "spring cleaning" to make the house look great

 for the next people who would move in.

One of those cleaning chores involved taking down this huge "curtain box" 

(you know, the wooden frame that your curtains or drapes are hung in).

That thing was huge and heavy!

After almost killing myself, I got it loose and lifted it up.

The weight was too much for me, so the beam of wood slipped out of my hand 

and hit me right on the face.

But, I didn't give up, I wanted to get everything clean, 

so I gathered what was left of my strength and got ahold of it.

Finally, I was able to set it on the floor.

I was reveling in my victory over the "curtain box"

(ha ha ha, you thought you won, but I tackled you down!),

 when I realized that when it hit me in the face it almost knocked me out.

My head hurt and my face was numb.

I put my hand up to see why it was so numb.

When I looked at my hand, there was blood.

Yep, that "curtain box" got me right in the face.

Not only did it hit me hard, but it hit me so hard 

that 2 of my teeth went right through my upper lip.

"Ouch! That's gonna leave a mark!", I said.

Well, don't they say that 'a scratch adds character?'

Actually, it healed rather quickly and the scar on my face is unnoticeable.

Sometimes, things do happen in our lives that hurt us badly and may even leave a scar.

What do you do about those things?

Do you use that experience the rest of your life as an excuse for not obeying and serving God or do you allow that "scar" to be healed by the Balm of Gilead?

It may leave a mark, so ask yourself,

"if I am going to go through it, will I grow through it?

Ps 6:2 Have mercy upon me, O LORD; 

for I am weak: 

O LORD, heal me; 

for my bones are vexed.

Ac 28:27 For the heart of this people is waxed gross, 

and their ears are dull of hearing, and their eyes have they closed;

 lest they should see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, 

and understand with their heart, and should be converted, and I should heal them.

My Faithful Prayer Warriors

 I am so thankful for all of the people who hold me up in prayer.

Some of the dearest people to me are those who don't have much, 

but choose to give for the furtherance of the Gospel.

After hearing about a few youth groups and Sunday School classes that have taken me on for support, the 4&5 yr olds from my Master's Club class have decided that they too could support me for $5.oo a month.

You may say, $5.oo, how can that help a missionary?

I might reply, "Every little bit helps". 

That may seem a very simple answer, but it is very true.

Do you realize that if 500 people would pledge just $5.oo 

like these little children, that would cover all of my support 

needed for the mission field ($2,300per month).

Many times we do not give financially to our church or our missionaries because we think that what God has led us to give is very insignificant.

These little ones have given thier best.

Every week they look at the map on thier classroom wall.

 They pray for the Zulu people, 

that Miss Gina's support will grow so she can go,

for my saftey as I travel,

for the churches I am visiting to catch the burden for South Africa,

and many other pure hearted requests.

Each of the children are excited when I am able to attend thier class on Wednesday nights.  They want to personally hand me thier pennies, nickels, dimes, and quarters (which usually come with a hug).

Ryan, is such a playful little boy, but is always 

ready to reciprocate any love that you share back to you.  

Last week, as he hugged me, he said, "I hope you get to Africa soon".

Jessica, is a talkative and very busy little girl.

She is always so inquisitive and ready to talk about everything,

including South Africa.

Evelyn, is such a joy to have in class.  

Her smile and happy nature are so fun and refreshing.

She is always ready to learn new memory verses.

Every time I see her, she comes over to me with a few cents in her hand.

With a smile she gives her "best" to me and says,

"Is this enough for you to go to South Africa?"

What simple faith!

Truman, has a sweet heart.

He truly cares about the needs of others.

When we have prayer time, he faithfully prays for 

"his daddy's job to not be too stressful".

I can only imagine how sincere his prayers are for me.

Eric, was quiet when he first came to our class.

Now he fits in as "one of the boys".

He refused to smile for this picture because he wanted to be silly.

I love having him as a part of our class!

As Ryan worked with Jessica on her verses,

 and as the teachers worked with their students

on memory verses, I was again reminded about how blessed 

I was to be one of the teacher in this little class.

They are my faithful prayer warriors!

There is a song that we some times sing called, 

Give of Your Best to the Master.

These little ones are giving thier best to Him.

GIVE OF YOUR BEST TO THE MASTER

by Howard B. Grose 1902

1. Give of your best to the Master;
   Give of the strength of your youth;
   Throw your soul’s fresh, glowing ardor
   Into the battle for truth.
   Jesus has set the example,
   Dauntless was He, young and brave;
   Give Him your loyal devotion;
   Give Him the best that you have.
   • Refrain:
     Give of your best to the Master;
     Give of the strength of your youth;
     Clad in salvation’s full armor,
     Join in the battle for truth.
2. Give of your best to the Master;
   Give Him first place in your heart;
   Give Him first place in your service;
   Consecrate every part.
   Give, and to you will be given;
   God His beloved Son gave;
   Gratefully seeking to serve Him,
   Give Him the best that you have.
3. Give of your best to the Master;
   Naught else is worthy His love;
   He gave Himself for your ransom,
   Gave up His glory above.
   Laid down His life without murmur,
   You from sin’s ruin to save;
   Give Him your heart’s adoration;
   Give Him the best that you have.

Proverbs 3

⁹ Honour the Lord with thy substance, and with the firstfruitsof all thine increase:

Ecclesiastes 12

¹ Remember now thy Creator in the days of thy youth, while the evil days come not, nor the years draw nigh, when thou shalt say, I have no pleasure in them;

A Lesson in Silence

I have been working on a post that I have written in the course of the last 4 days.  

It has been something that has been deep on my mind and heart.  

Yesterday, I printed it off to proof read it.  You see, I wanted it to say 

exactly what it should say.  

I was very meticulous about making sure no one could read anything into it, 

that is was God-honoring, encouraging to the believers, and an inspiration for us to press on for Christ.  

After days of work, I finally felt it was at the place where I could post it.  

So again I reprinted it.  

The post was 5 pages long with scribbled notes here and there.  

I had some friends read it over.  

They started reading and said to me, "who did you write this too?.  

I said "Oh, I told you I am going to post this on my blog".  

They looked at me and then back at the pages and continued to read.  

"Well, what do you think?", I said.  

"Wow" was their remark.  

"You certainly were honest and brought out the truth, 

but I am not sure that your readers can handle this".  

After a bit of discussion, I decided not to post that article.  

It was too controversial.  

I know, by now you are intrigued and want to know what it was about.  

Well, in a nutshell - I shared my heart.  

The article concerned my disgust with 

the typical Christian singles "victim mentality", 

my personal struggles with being taken seriously as a missionary, 

the joy and peace that God gives you as you serve Him in your singleness, how He is with me in the lonely times, 

encouragement to all woman  to obey and serve God no matter your life situation (married and single), ....  and much more.

As you can see, the subject was very heavy and at times very personal.  Maybe one day I will publish it, but for now -

(as my friends say-) "the world is not ready for it". 

(Ecclesiastes 3:1,7 "To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven:"..."a time to keep silent and a time to speak.")

This is just not the season.

What made me desire to write such an article? 

The words from the mouth of a fellow missionary 

(kind of like the straw that broke the camel's back) 

gave me the desire to "set the world straight".  

It is sad how even God's people can 

hurt and discourage others with their words.

I know that there are people that I have hurt with my words.  

Lord, forgive me if I have ever been 

negative to Your leading in someone else's life.  

Each of us know how words can hurt.  

May we be sensitive enough to God, 

that we encourage the fellow believers, 

instead of harming them in the name of good.

There were even times in Christ's earthly ministry 

where He was so sensitive to God, 

that He did not even utter a word (Mt 27:12;Mk 15:3).  

God knows that these issues are heavy on my heart.  

Lord, help me to know when it is honoring to You 

that I speak and when to keep silent.

A Lesson in Obedience

Last week as I prepared to leave the house for the weekend, I did my normal routine.

Put the laundry away, did the dishes, and tried to tidy up a bit.

In my hurry to leave by a certain time, I opened a cupboard 

and one of my favorite glass bowls fell out and broke. 

 I probably paid a dollar for the bowl at a yard sale, 

but it was the perfect size for my mixing needs.

Mom & I on Christmas day

Of course, I was on the phone with my mom while I was scurrying to leave and she told me, "Gina, you had better clean that up before you step in it and get glass in your foot".  My reply was, "Sure mom, I need to go now".  

So I picked up the big stuff and swept the tiny pieces along the edge of the cupboard to be cleaned up when I returned on Monday

(don't you just love procrastination?).

Mom was right!
On Monday, I was making my coffee and stepped right in the glass.
Nothing got in my foot (my feet have very tough skin on the bottom
 because I am always barefoot).
Oh, that reminded me to clean it up.

Do you think I cleaned it up?
NO!
I got sidetracked by another project and walked away.


Later that day, I was walking down the hall and something very sharp hit my foot.
It was a piece of glass.
I lifted my foot and examined the calloused bottom.
I pulled the fragment out.
Only a scratch, but it still hurt.
Oh, well.  Momma always says, "You'll live till you get married!"
Not married yet so I have a few more years to live :)


I sat down after walking back down the hall and later glanced down at my foot.
Blood was trickling down the side and dripping on the other foot.

I knew I should have listened to my mother!


Col 3:20 "Children, obey your parents in all things: 

for this is well pleasing unto the Lord."

Isn't that how we are with God sometimes?

"Yes, God, I hear you", we say.  

Only then, we walk away and forget what we should have obeyed Him in.

Sometimes, I know I am so preoccupied with what needs to be done, 

that I fail to obey Him in the simplest things.

Then I step where I shouldn't and pay the concequences for that disobedience.

There is still a small piece of glass in my foot that I can't see and can't get out.

Every time I step, it reminds me of my disobedience.

I know eventually it will work its way out.

Just think, I could have avoided the misery if I had only obeyed.

(But then, I would not have learned such a valuable lesson.)

God knows my sinful nature and He even uses it for His glory.

What a God we serve!

Bible Lessons on Obedience~

•  For those under authority:  Col 3:22 "Servants, obey in all things your masters according to the flesh; not with eyeservice, as menpleasers; but in singleness of heart, fearing God:    Heb 13:17 "Obey them that have the rule over you, and submit yourselves: for they watch for your souls, as they that must give account, that they may do it with joy, and not with grief: for that is unprofitable for you."                                                                             
• For everyone: Acts 5:29 "Then Peter and the other apostles answered and said, We ought to obey God rather than men."  Deut 13:4 "Ye shall walk after the LORD your God, and fear him, and keep his commandments, and obey his voice, and ye shall serve him, and cleave unto him."  1Sam 15:22 "And Samuel said, Hath the LORD as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the LORD? 
  Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to hearken than the fat of rams."
• For wives: 1Peter 3:1 "Likewise, ye wives, be in subjection to your own husbands; that, if any obey not the word, they also may without the word be won by the conversation of the wives;"
• If the wind & sea can obey Him, why can't I?  He sent His Son to die for me! Luke 8:25 "And He said unto them, Where is your faith? And they being afraid wondered, saying one to another, What manner of man is this! for He commandeth even the winds and water, and they obey him."

Am I Sticky Enough?

     The other week my friend posted a Christmas craft project on her blog.  She gave instructions for the project and new ideas.  During her posting she asked if anyone had any other ideas for a better adhesive.  She needed something that would stick to anything and hold permanently.
      I sent a suggestion to her of an adhesive that will stick to anything.  This all happened the same week that I found out that my support was growing to 80%.  I was rejoicing over all that the Lord had done for me and at how far I had come.  There are times when you are raising support and it seems like you are getting nowhere/at a stand still.  Then, as usual, the Lord proves His faithfulness.  I sat and took inventory of all I have learned so far on deputation.  The Lord has allowed me to grow so much in my spiritual life.  
     As I looked back I was reminded of those tough times.  Times when it was hard to "stick to it".  I am sure there will be more of those hard times.  I wonder, what makes me "sticky enough" to last this long (in April I will be on deputation for 2 years.)  Two years is a long time to raise support.  Though it is a long time, there are many missionaries who go as long as 3-5 years raising support till they get to the mission field.  I am not sure how much longer it will be till I can leave for South Africa, but what really makes a person "stick" to God's will.  
      It certainly is not me that makes myself "sticky" enough to continue on.  I can only say that it has been the Lord who has been there as my Strength, Guide, Deliverer, and Provider.  I am able to faithfully rely on His leading because of all that He has faithfully done for me in the past.  Because He has brought me through hard times in the past, He has been making me "sticky" enough to continue trusting Him into the future.

      My heart was humbled and yet overwhelmed by God doing a mighty work in me.  I know that there are times in our lives when we want to move on, feel like giving up, or become impatient (if you haven't experienced any of that, then you are not human).  Praise God that He changes us to become more like Him.  I know without a shadow of doubt that He will make me so "sticky" that I will be like that adhesive that I recommended to my friend.  I can be that adhesive that will "stick permanently", but only if I am willing to be made "sticky" by Him.


Here are a few verses that show us how our adhesive can "hold fast", "stand fast", and "be strong"-
Job 27:6 My righteousness I hold fast, and will not let it go: my heart shall not reproach me so long as I live. 

 Heb 3:6 But Christ as a son over his own house; whose house are we, if we hold fast the confidence and the rejoicing of the hope firm unto the end.
 Heb 10:23 Let us hold fast the profession of our faith without wavering; (for he is faithful that promised;)

 Re 2:25 But that which ye have already hold fast till I come.

1Co 16:13 ¶ Watch ye, stand fast in the faith, quit you like men, be strong.

 Eph 6:10 ¶ Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of His might.

My "Constant"

When I was a little girl, 

my mom would often repeat a cute little rhyme to us 

when we saw the moon.

"I see the moon and the moon sees me,

God bless the moon and God bless me".

Even now that cute little rhyme brings a smile to my face.

We know of course that the moon really can't see us because it is made of cheese, right? 

Just kidding!

This past week, while driving home from a meeting, 

and then yesterday, while taking an evening walk -

the Lord used the moon to remind me that He is "constant" in my life.

Webster's 1828 Dictionary says that the term "constant" means 

"fixed; not varied; unchanged; permanent; immutable."

Isn't God all of those things in your life?

I know He is in mine.

He especially seems "fixed and unchanged" in my life when I need Him most.  

As a single person, there are many alone times.

There are also times when it seems like no one really knows what you are going through.

It is during those times when God brightly shines His light on me 

to remind me that He is always there.

The "constant" in my life.

Last night, as I walked by myself in the still of the night, I glanced up at the bright shinning moon.

It seemed so far away.

If our personal relationship with God is lacking, then God will also seem far away.

 James 4:8 "Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. 

Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double minded".

Sometimes the moon looks like just a little sliver.

You may not even see it, but we know it is there, just like our God!

Other times, the moon is hidden behind the shadows.

What shadows are in your life?

Maybe you can't see God because the shadows are clouding your view.

Give it all over to Him, He cares.

 1Peter 5:7 "Casting all your care upon Him; for He careth for you."

Here are some verses I found about the moon -

Psalm 8:3 " When I consider thy heavens, 

the work of thy fingers, the moon and the stars, 

which thou hast ordained;"

-God gave us the moon.

 Psalm 72:7 "In his days shall the righteous flourish; 

and abundance of peace so long as the moon endureth". 

-No wonder I take comfort in the moon, it was given as a sign of peace.

Psalm 89:37 "It shall be established for ever as the moon, 

and as a faithful witness in heaven. Selah."

-That "faithful witness" points me to my Faithful God.

 Psalm 104:19 "He appointed the moon for seasons: the sun knoweth his going down."

-Thank you Lord, for the seasons, made possible only by the moon.

(By the way, did you ever stop to think of all of the things 

that God's creation of the moon makes possible? 

For example: the seasons, high tide & low tide, plant growth, animal growth, 

... just to name a few.)

 Psalm 148:3 "Praise ye Him, sun and moon: praise Him, all ye stars of light."

-Even the moon, as God's creation, praises Him.

 Isaiah 60:19 "The sun shall be no more thy light by day; 

neither for brightness shall the moon give light unto thee: 

but the LORD shall be unto thee an everlasting light, and thy God thy glory."

Revelation 21:23 "And the city had no need of the sun, 

neither of the moon, to shine in it:

for the glory of God did lighten it, and the Lamb is the light thereof."

-No need for the moon in heaven.  Christ is the Light!  Lets share that Light with everyone around us.  May we each be reminded that God is "constant" in our lives.

(Pictures taken by me.  I love photography!)