Transitioning to a New Blog.

Hey there! So I am trying out a new blog site, Check it outttt!

I am trying it because it seems easier to maneuver (for myself), as well as easier to organize my thoughts, stories, & photos, so I am testing it out! I hope you don't mind :)

I don't have any blog posts up yet (which is on the "Home" page), but try clicking on the other tabs. . .I have photos from Costa Rica, Japan, there is also Support Info., & a little bit about myself :)

I will be leaving this blog up so people can continue reading my past entries :) I hope this transition goes smoothly. . .let me know what you think too! Love you all :)

My Heart's Desire.

Last week during our prayer breakfast meeting, we had a guest, Gary Ham, give a short message before we began praying. He spoke about our need for the Holy Spirit every single day & as he continued speaking about this, God reminded me of one of my favorite stories in the Bible; I love the story of Moses talking with the Lord on top of the mountain & he demands that God show His glory. Ever since I explored this story in the Bible for the first time, I have had a desire to be like Moses & stand before God in the presence of His glory. As the years have gone by & continue to go on, that desire deepens.

"The Lord replied, 'My presence will go with you, & I will give you rest.'

Then Moses said to Him, 'If Your presence does not go with us, do not send us up from here. How will anyone know that You are pleased with me & with Your people unless You go with us? What else will distinguish me & Your people from all the other people on the face of the earth?'" 

-Exodus 33:14-16

Moses pretty much told the Lord that they weren't going anywhere without God's Spirit. I am nothing without God's Holy Spirit. . .I cannot clearly communicate the Gospel without His Spirit, so in everything I do, before I do anything I should be seeking His Spirit. Making decisions, meeting new friends, discipling my Life Group ladies, ministering to people. . .my life should be ONE with HIM. Moses goes on to say, "What else will distinguish us. . .." What else will set us apart? Without the Spirit of the Lord, we blend in, but God wants us to stand out! At this point Moses is desperate for the Spirit of the Lord!

Here comes my favorite part. . .I'm so excited. . .

"Then Moses said, 'Now show me Your glory.'" -Exodus 33:18

Time to be a little silly. Click play to see my reaction. . .

I think it's awesome that Moses did not go forth into the presence of God trembling or begging, but instead he went in demanding to see God's GLORY!!! & then God actually gives Him a taste of His glory:

"& the Lord said, 'I will cause all My goodness to pass in front of you, & I will proclaim My name, the Lord, in your presence.' 

-vs. 19

WHOA! But the story doesn't end there. . .

"'Then the Lord said, 'There is a place near Me where you may stand on a rock. When My glory passes by, I will put you in a cleft in the rock & cover you with My hand until I have passed by. Then I will remove My hand & you will see My back; but My face must not be seen.'" 

-vs. 21-23

God says there is a place NEAR Him. . .He will not reveal Himself to us if we are not near to Him. I think it is so cool that He desires us to be near Him. Also, when I read ". . .you will see My back. . .," I think of following God's Spirit (I can't answer why God's face cannot be seen on a theological/historical level). Never should we be living life leading & guiding Him. We must always be behind, following the Lord through life. 

I am still processing some stuff & God is bringing understanding & deepening my desire to see more of His glory! I won't quit seeking His Spirit & I won't refrain from demanding His glory to be revealed & I pray you won't either. Best of all, God also desires for us to see His glory; He longs to reveal Himself to those that seek His presence. We can see His glory in the little things too. . .I see a little of His glory every day when I wake up with a heart beat in my chest & breath in my lungs. Thank You, Father.

I also see God's glory in His sunsets (I live in a beautiful country).

Congrats Meg (:

CONGRATULATIONS!!

One of my best friends, Meghan, just got engaged! I could not be more excited for her & I still cannot believe that she is getting married! It feels like just yesterday that her & I were dreaming & talking together about our future husbands. I will never forget the amazing memories we share: 

• being caked in mud (while camping, we went four-wheeling through mud puddles 3 days in a row) & we washed off by swimming in the river
• late night Denny's runs
• skipping my Chemistry class to hang out with her
• eating lunch at her house everyday
• Toxic. . .enough said
• our "If I wasn't a high school student," skit
• late night chats & laughter with her & Tina
• my car breaking down in the Chuck E Cheese parking lot
• dancing like fools (:
• eating a whole loaf of bread & eating Ben & Jerry's ice cream while working out, ha ha!

There are so many more memories with her & our other friends & I thank God for them everyday! It's been awesome to see the Lord transform Meg into such a beautiful woman of God who desires to serve not only Jesus, but also her future husband.

we were probably talking about it here in this photo, haha!

Meg, after all that time we spent talking about this day (& the days to follow) & here it has finally arrived, & it's only the beginning of this awesome new chapter! I can't believe it, but know that I am so full of joy & honored to be a part of your life, sharing in this experience. I'm so excited for you & Joel; I am praying for you both daily! Congratulations :) AH! YOU'RE GETTING MARRIED!!!!! Love you.

Proverbs 31.

"She is clothed with strength & dignity;

she can laugh at the days to come.

She speaks with wisdom,

& faithful instruction is on her tongue.

Many women do noble things, but you surpass them all.

Charm is deceptive, & beauty is fleeting;

but a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised."

-Proverbs 31:25-26, 29-30

hope.

Abigail's Photography.

"Hope." 

1.  to place trust; rely

2. to look forward to with desire and reasonable confidence

3. the feeling that what is wanted can be had or that events will turn out for the best

4. a person or thing in which expectations are centered

Seems like this word is used quite a bit nowadays (e.g. political campaigns). Sometimes I think people's hope has ended up just like this pack of cigarettes. . .tossed. I look around and I can see the loss of hope in people's faces and I can hear the loss of hope in the way people talk about current situations (personal, economical, political situations, the list goes on). It breaks my heart!

Whenever something bad happens we all get into this hype of "hope,". . .we get a high off using the term "hope," but then it seems as if after awhile, the effect of the word fades; it's as if we have run out of hope. I think it's because we are finding our source of hope in all the wrong places. There is nothing wrong with having hope and all coming together in hope, but it is wrong when we are seeking only things or people to provide hope. Eventually that thing or person fails to consistently provide hope causing a loss of it.

I have to admit, I have lost hope in a lot of things in the past, but what I have come to know and am still learning is to hold tightly to a hope that never fails, a hope that never ceases, a hope that is abundant, and a hope that lasts forever. It is a hope that can NEVER be tossed out, abandoned, or used up. . .its source is Jesus. I am speaking from experience. . .He consistently provides this hope that we desire, this hope we long for, an unfailing and everlasting hope. Jesus provides hope for the broken. Not only is He our source of hope, but He is the only thing and person we should place our hope IN! He will never fail us.

"Find rest, O my soul, in God alone; my hope comes from Him."

-Psalm 62:5

"Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall; but those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint."

-Isaiah 40:30-31

"Command those who are rich in this present world not to be arrogant nor to put their hope in wealth, which is so uncertain, but to put their hope in God, who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment."

-1 Timothy 6:17

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"We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure."

-Hebrews 6:19

I LOVE my Japanese Family!

I am in awe of the miracles the Lord is performing here in Japan. He never ceases to provide & He never ceases to reveal Himself!! I am so filled with joy that I do not even know where to begin. . .Jesus is bringing freedom to these beautiful people, true freedom that only the Lord can provide! His freedom & goodness has been overflowing this week & His power is being revealed here in Japan through community. I am so blessed to be a part of a community that loves Jesus & desires to not only serve Him, but also desires to serve others. I am making such wonderful friends that do not even realize how much they are impacting my life already. I cannot thank God enough for my Japanese family.

Every Friday night we have a dinner & we invite as many people as we can. We not only have friends (new & old) from Japan come, but also we have had friends from England, the Philippines, New Zealand, Germany, & the States join us! It is such an awesome opportunity to meet some amazing people & it always ends up being such a blessed time. This last Friday night we had a Nabe Party! (Nabe is a Japanese stew) My friend Saki organized the get together & Mami & Sachiko helped her cook. We had to use the second floor of the building because there were so many people (some of the photos attached to this post are from that night)!! Saki, Mami, & Sachiko, the food was delicious & we cannot thank you enough for all of your hard work! Saki, you did an amazing job of organizing & leading the party. God has truly equipped you to be a powerful leader :)

These Friday nights are a highlight of my week because I love hearing the unique stories these people have, I love seeing the smiles & hearing the laughter. . .In all of those things I see the love & life of Jesus springing forth. He has blessed us with LIFE in community!! Despite being tired by the end of the night, I always go to bed full of life because of these awesome people; overall God has blessed me with such an amazing Japanese family.

Before I came to Japan I did not realize that the Lord was going to stretch & increase my capacity to love my new friends; He is deepening a desire to serve & love them. . .these are my brothers & sisters in Jesus & I cherish them. I can only pray that He will use me to encourage & bless them as much as He has used them to bless & encourage me.

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I want to share with you some exciting news that has filled me & the rest of FUSE with such joy! My beautiful best friend, Ayana, accepted Jesus yesterday! Even though I have only known her for a few months, I have come to truly love her & the beautiful heart God has given her. She is such a fun girl & I thank God for her friendship everyday. I am so excited for her to know the freedom & abundant love that comes with believing in Jesus. Ayana, we love & cherish you, but more importantly God loves you with an unfailing love & He values you. He is the source of pure joy & freedom; I am excited for you to experience this joy, this love, & this freedom. Jesus loves you like nobody else can!

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Thank you for your prayers & support for not only me, but also for the Japanese people. They are huge & I know God is answering & has already answered our prayers, as well as providing!

Love, 

Abigail

<<I wanted to also thank Janine for sharing the last of her peanut butter with me; I literally licked the jar clean. O how I have missed peanut butter. . .absence makes the heart grow fonder. Love & miss you Janine - praying for you always!

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"But I am like an olive tree flourishing in the house of God; I trust in God's unfailing love for ever & ever. I will praise You forever for what You have done; in Your name I will hope, for Your name is good."

-Psalm 52:8-9

a small tour.

< These are the train tracks right next to where I live.
Below is a cute little girl taking a walk in the rain with her mom :)

Here comes the train! Those two arrows mean that there are trains coming from both directions.

This is the little neighborhood I walk through to get to Life (a grocery store here in Japan).

 On my way to the river. Since I can't run (because I don't have appropriate running shoes & also because of my knee), I try to walk to & along the river every day as my form of exercise. I miss exercising :(

 << At the river. I really enjoy walking along this river because there is always a lot of new & interesting things to see. I see mostly people, but they're always doing something different. . .sometimes the river is lined with fishermen, sometimes there is a boyfriend & girlfriend chatting, sometimes there's cute little old women taking photos of something (I have yet to figure out what they're taking pictures of), sometimes there are cute kids riding their bikes, sometimes there are a ton of cats wandering around, & so forth! Always something different.

Hotel Yesterday. . .haha I think it's so funny, I don't know why, I just do!

This train is headed towards Shinjuku (Tokyo). The train is pretty much my only form of transportation, other than walking or riding my bike (which I love), but I do miss driving a car. Despite my nostalgia for driving, I really do love the train. There are so many people on the train. . .you never know what kind of person you're gonna meet!!

^^^^There are cats EVERYWHERE in Japan. It's weird, but kind of cool at the same time. I like to go down to the river & take photos of them. As I got closer to take a photo, I noticed this poor little guy was hurt & bleeding.

<<< BEAUTIFUL! I love walking this in the rain!
Below is a photo of a playing field; I can't wait to start playing ultimate frisbee & soccer there! Bring on the warm weather :)

 This walk is not only a good way to exercise, a great time to take photos, & a great chance to see some interesting things, but also it is a great opportunity to pray! It's so beautiful & I can't wait to see what it looks like in the Spring.

 On my way back!

 < This is my home (Noborito Church); I live on the 3rd floor.

This is the bicycle I use to get around; very useful for going grocery shopping >>

 2nd floor kitchen!

 ^^ Shoes off! Taking my shoes off before entering a home & other certain buildings took me some getting used to.

Over there >> is our toilet! It has a heated seat, which some of you may think is rather strange, but when the room is freezing cold, you embrace the heated seat :)








 < Light switch on the outside. . .made for an awesome prank. 

< Our little washing machine :)

A literal BATHroom, separate from where the toilet is located (also the place I was baptized!!) >

 Now I am going to get ready to use my new toothpaste. . .it's Japanese Aquafresh! Thank you for joining me on this small tour. Sorry it took me so long to show you around. Next time I will show you my room & other areas of where I live :) I can't wait! Thank you for your support & prayers! God is performing some amazing miracles here in Japan & He is so faithful.

HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY from Japan!!! :)

Love you all.

I also added a new photo on my Flickr. check it out: www.flickr.com/pianoplayinabby