Language learning next door and lice inspection in our kitchen. :)
Occasional "coffee breaks," right in front of our house with great snorkling. Wow.
Tuesday, February 26, 2008
Life
Language learning next door and lice inspection in our kitchen. :) Occasional "coffee breaks," right in front of our house with great snorkling. Wow.
Pursuit of God, by A. W. Tozer
Over the past few months I read this with a long-time family friend. Thought I'd post some quotes from some of the chapters....
"It is inherent in personality to be able to know other personalities, but full knowledge of one personality by another cannot be achieved in one encounter. It is only after long and loving mental intercourse that the full possibilities of both can be explored.... This intercourse between God and the soul is known to us in conscious, personal awareness. It is personal: that is, it does not come through the body of believers, as such, but is known to the individual, and, to the body through the individuals which compose it. And it is conscious: that is, it does not stay below the threshold of consciousness and work there unknown to the soul,… but comes within the field of awareness where the man can "know" it as he knows any other fact of experience" (1).
"To have found God and still to pursue Him is the soul's paradox of love" (1).
"God wills that we should push on into His Presence and live our whole life there....
God is so vastly wonderful, so utterly and completely delightful that He can, without anything other than Himself, meet and overflow the deepest demands of our total nature, mysterious and deep as that nature is" (3).
"Promoting self under the guise of promoting Christ is currently so common as to excite little notice.... Self is the opaque veil that hides the Face of God from us. It can be removed only in spiritual experience, never by mere instruction" (3).
"…we have in our hearts organs by means of which we can know God as certainly as we know material things through our familiar five senses.... More and more, as our faculties grow sharper and more sure, God will become to us the great All, and His Presence the glory and wonder of our lives" (4).
"He promised much, but promised no more than He intends to fulfill" (5).
"[God] is by His nature continuously articulate. He fills the world with His speaking Voice.... The why of natural law is the living Voice of God immanent in His creation.... [it] is the only force in nature.... The tragedy is that our eternal welfare depends upon our hearing, and we have trained our ears not to hear (6).
"The second Person of the Holy Trinity is called the Word" (6).
"Faith is a redirecting of our sight, a getting out of the focus of our own vision and getting God into focus. Sin has twisted our vision inward and made it self-regarding. Unbelief has put self where God should be, and is perilously close to the sin of Lucifer who said, 'I will set my throne above the throne of God.' Faith looks out instead of in and the whole life falls into line" (7).
"It is inherent in personality to be able to know other personalities, but full knowledge of one personality by another cannot be achieved in one encounter. It is only after long and loving mental intercourse that the full possibilities of both can be explored.... This intercourse between God and the soul is known to us in conscious, personal awareness. It is personal: that is, it does not come through the body of believers, as such, but is known to the individual, and, to the body through the individuals which compose it. And it is conscious: that is, it does not stay below the threshold of consciousness and work there unknown to the soul,… but comes within the field of awareness where the man can "know" it as he knows any other fact of experience" (1).
"To have found God and still to pursue Him is the soul's paradox of love" (1).
"God wills that we should push on into His Presence and live our whole life there....
God is so vastly wonderful, so utterly and completely delightful that He can, without anything other than Himself, meet and overflow the deepest demands of our total nature, mysterious and deep as that nature is" (3).
"Promoting self under the guise of promoting Christ is currently so common as to excite little notice.... Self is the opaque veil that hides the Face of God from us. It can be removed only in spiritual experience, never by mere instruction" (3).
"…we have in our hearts organs by means of which we can know God as certainly as we know material things through our familiar five senses.... More and more, as our faculties grow sharper and more sure, God will become to us the great All, and His Presence the glory and wonder of our lives" (4).
"He promised much, but promised no more than He intends to fulfill" (5).
"[God] is by His nature continuously articulate. He fills the world with His speaking Voice.... The why of natural law is the living Voice of God immanent in His creation.... [it] is the only force in nature.... The tragedy is that our eternal welfare depends upon our hearing, and we have trained our ears not to hear (6).
"The second Person of the Holy Trinity is called the Word" (6).
"Faith is a redirecting of our sight, a getting out of the focus of our own vision and getting God into focus. Sin has twisted our vision inward and made it self-regarding. Unbelief has put self where God should be, and is perilously close to the sin of Lucifer who said, 'I will set my throne above the throne of God.' Faith looks out instead of in and the whole life falls into line" (7).
7.6 Earthquake !
The mad dash for higher ground right after a 2-and-a-half minute earthquake.
On Wednesday I was at the camp taking a shower in the outdoor stalls when my stall began to sway. I braced myself, thinking huh, we’re having a tremor. But then it didn’t stop, and it quickly gained strength. After about a minute I finally decided to get out. As I stood in my towel in the middle of the yard with conditioner in my hair, Colleen came out from her tent and grabbed me. We stood watching the camp, the ground all around us fluid, rolling like a boat on a wave. Our team leader yelled for everyone to head to the truck. “But I don’t have any clothes on!” I protested. I ran into my tent, dressed myself in the first thing I found as quickly as I could (flannel pj’s), and 5 of us piled into the truck, heading for the foot of the mountain.
The whole village had emptied out of their homes already. The road was littered with women carrying children, gas, and sacks of uncooked rice on their head. We got out of the truck and joined the procession up the steep, narrow, muddy mountain trail. People were keeping an eye out to the ocean for any signs of receding water—the predecessor to a tsunami. After about an hour on the mountain with no signs of receding waters, we decided to head back to camp. The local people were not going anywhere, though. After the horror of the 2004 tsunami, they were fearful and planned to remain in the mountains for a few days. Those who returned to their homes were going to sleep outdoors that night.
Once returned, we discovered that in addition to my shower escapade, all 3 guys at the camp had been vulnerably indisposed on the toilet when the earthquake struck (one fell off and scraped his knee). What are the chances??? :)
On Wednesday I was at the camp taking a shower in the outdoor stalls when my stall began to sway. I braced myself, thinking huh, we’re having a tremor. But then it didn’t stop, and it quickly gained strength. After about a minute I finally decided to get out. As I stood in my towel in the middle of the yard with conditioner in my hair, Colleen came out from her tent and grabbed me. We stood watching the camp, the ground all around us fluid, rolling like a boat on a wave. Our team leader yelled for everyone to head to the truck. “But I don’t have any clothes on!” I protested. I ran into my tent, dressed myself in the first thing I found as quickly as I could (flannel pj’s), and 5 of us piled into the truck, heading for the foot of the mountain.
The whole village had emptied out of their homes already. The road was littered with women carrying children, gas, and sacks of uncooked rice on their head. We got out of the truck and joined the procession up the steep, narrow, muddy mountain trail. People were keeping an eye out to the ocean for any signs of receding water—the predecessor to a tsunami. After about an hour on the mountain with no signs of receding waters, we decided to head back to camp. The local people were not going anywhere, though. After the horror of the 2004 tsunami, they were fearful and planned to remain in the mountains for a few days. Those who returned to their homes were going to sleep outdoors that night.
Once returned, we discovered that in addition to my shower escapade, all 3 guys at the camp had been vulnerably indisposed on the toilet when the earthquake struck (one fell off and scraped his knee). What are the chances??? :)
Improvements
New furniture--a counter so we don't have to squat/sit on the floor to prepare meals, and just last week a new corner table for our little stove top, so we can stand to cook! And a divider for our bathing area. It was so great to get rid of the blue tarp. 
Our newest mode of transportation. Now we can zip around like everyone else.
The old look, even before the blue tarp. Didn't get any pictures of that awful thing...
Our newest mode of transportation. Now we can zip around like everyone else.
The old look, even before the blue tarp. Didn't get any pictures of that awful thing...
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