Before our times of intercession we've been having everyone take turns and share about different characteristics of God and aspects of His heart. I have a passion for this because this is our glory in this life, to know Him more deeply. He is our reward, He alone satisfies our heart.
Today one of our staff shared, and it was about grace. I loved it. This was the definition he used: "Grace- In spite of our many failings, He delights in us and gives us far more than we deserve." He shared about his life and told how God changed his heart radically and it was purely because of His grace. He told of a time when he was sitting, full of shame in a corner, not even knowing how to pray. He said the life that he lived was so bad, he didn't know if God could or would ever forgive him. He only knew that God was real and he whispered, "God, if you can forgive, please forgive me." He said that he didn't hear the audible voice of God, but in that instant He felt in his heart His presence and he started weeping, knowing all that he had ever done had been forgiven in an instant. It's so incredible because now he is one of our most mature staff and a worship leader and has plans to go to minister in a different country. It is by the grace of God that our hearts can be changed. He alone gets the glory for all of it, plus He delights in us in the midst of the process.
One of my favorite things these days are the small groups that we have. Sunny has been gone this week, so I have her small group also. So all of the girls come to my house and we share what is going on in our lives and what God is teaching us, and then we pray for each other. Plus we have tea and snacks. Tea is a must for any visitor that comes to your house. I look forward to this time.
Last Friday a group of us went to visit the Tibetan Monastery on the hill. We've been trying for a long time to build relationship with them and they are often in our prayers. I told the group it was going to be a long walk, but I think they didn't believe me. On our journey one of the boys said, "We're not going to the monastery, we're mountain climbing," and we all laughed like crazy. It's a bit of a journey, but I love the walk. We pass some waterfalls and see some beautiful places on the way. It was neat this time because we had a boy with us who speaks a launguage that they fluently understand. There are 13 monks who stay there and they spend the large part of their day chanting their scriptures and praying. Their perserverance and devotion always moves me and challenges me to pray and study more.
