Good morning to all on this glorious Sunday morning. Freddie had his surgery on May 6th and is recovering without difficult. He is able to walk without a cane and is only taking Ibuprofen for pain control. He will get 2 more weeks of home PT and then outpatient rehab for another 4 weeks for his hip replacement. Apparently the surgeon had to take a chisel to release the head of his femur from this hip. When I saw my son hobbling it brought tears to my eyes. My brother Koichi is also recovering from his surgery. God is so good. The fear and worry about both of these surgeries took a toll on me and at the end of the day God prevailed. His protective cloak jus covered us. Hallelujah and amen. It has taken me a while to chose a chapter in the New testament and I am lead to 1 Thessalonians this morning.
Our journey begins in 1st Thessalonians verses 1-16, "Paul, Silas[a] and Timothy. To the church of the Thessalonians in God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ:Grace and peace to you.
We always thank God for all of you and continually mention you in our prayers. We remember before our God and Father your work produced by faith, your labor prompted by love, and your endurance inspired by hope in our Lord Jesus Christ. For we know, brothers and sisters loved by God, that He has chosen you, because our gospel came to you not simply with words but also with power, with the Holy Spirit and deep conviction. You know how we lived among you for your sake. You became imitators of us and of the Lord, for you welcomed the message in the midst of severe suffering with the joy given by the Holy Spirit. And so you became a model to all the believers in Macedonia and Achaia. The Lord’s message rang out from you not only in Macedonia and Achaia—your faith in God has become known everywhere. Therefore we do not need to say anything about it, for they themselves report what kind of reception you gave us. They tell how you turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God, and to wait for His Son from heaven, whom He raised from the dead—Jesus, who rescues us from the coming wrath." Amen and may the Lord add a blessing to the reading and hearing of His Word.
What beautiful WORDS! Before God I want to be remembered for my work produced by FAITH. My labor prompted by LOVE. My endurance inspired by HOPE. Our practice ZOe is an example daily to me of this passage. Waine and I have been blessed because we went forward in faith with ZOe. We acted on faith and faith alone. We had no financial backing, we were in debt and had faith. The faith the size of a mustard seed that God instilled in both of us. We had to ACT on our faith in tangible ways. Secure a lease for a building, hire staff, purchase a billing system and in each step God parted the waters. With each step of faith He not only showed us the next step He gave us the next step. In retrospect we only took the first step and God provided the rest. ZOe is a labor of love. There are days when both Waine and I feel overwhelmed and at times question whether we are doing the right thing. There are days when the road map is not as clear and those are the days we go back to basics and lift our prayers to the ONE whose VISION we are promoting. ZOe is God's vision for our family and the communities we serve. ZOe is God's vision for the staff we hire and this is what I am learning to keep in front of me. When I don't do that then fear and anger have their way with me and the true lesson of ZOe is for me to concentrate on my faith so that God's vision is fulfilled.
At the end of my journey I am looking forward to God telling me to sit down and take a rest for I have fought the good fight. I have endured the extra mile. I have remained faithful to His vision and hope that all men will come to know Him through my faithfulness. At the end of the day nothing else matters. Today join me in giving thanks for all things for today is set before you the BANQUET TABLE that God has set. Release yourself from doubt and sin so that you can enjoy the life God has in store for you.
Now may the Lord bless you and keep you. May the Lord make His face shine on you and be gracious to you. May the Lord turn His face toward you and give you peace.
Stephanie
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