12 Days!

12 days until I leave for Japan!!

Support INFO at: 

Supporting the Journey to Japan

&

Electronic Funds Transfer: Supporting the Journey to Japan

"Praise the Lord.

Praise the Lord from the heavens,

praise Him in the heights above.

Praise Him, all His angels,

praise Him, all His heavenly hosts.

Praise Him, sun & moon,

praise Him, all you shining stars.

Praise Him, you highest heavens

& you waters above the skies.

Let them praise the name of the Lord,

for He commanded & they were

created.

He set them in place for ever & ever;

He gave a decree that will never

pass away.

Praise the Lord from the earth,

you great sea creatures & all ocean depths,

lightning & hail, snow & clouds,

stormy winds that do His bidding,

you mountains & all hills,

fruit trees & all cedars,

wild animals & all cattle,

small creatures & flying birds,

kings of the earth & all nations,

you princes & all rulers on earth,

young men & maidens,

old men & children.

Let them praise the name of the Lord,

for His name alone is exalted;

His splendor is above the earth &

the heavens.

He has raised up for His people a horn,

the praise of all His saints,

of Israel, the people close to His

heart.

Praise the Lord."

-Psalm 148

His Love Endures.

beautiful teapot

This past week the Lord really pressed on my heart the word endure. I am the type of person that thoroughly enjoys seeking the meaning of a word, especially words that He speaks to me about. When I say I thoroughly enjoy, I mean I really love it! I look up every verse in the Bible that uses the word, then I look for the definition in the English dictionary, & then I look for the Greek word & its meaning. I'll give you a little taste of what I found:

Endure: 

(verb used with object)

• to hold out against; sustain without impairment or yielding; undergo
• to bear without resistance or with patience

(verb used without object)

• to continue to exist; last
• to support adverse force or influence of any kind; suffer without yielding; suffer patiently

Antonyms: fail, die

Endurance: 

• the fact or power of enduring or bearing pain, hardships, etc.
• the ability or strength to continue or last, especially despite fatigue, stress, or other adverse conditions
• lasting quality; duration

Greek word for endure is hypomeno (hoop-om-en-o):

• to remain i.e. abide, not recede or flee
• to preserve
• to bear bravely & calmly

(Greek word & definition found HERE)

I finally had my disposable camera
developed; love this photo!

I guess where I'm going with this is that so often we pray, speak, & even sing the words His love endures forever, but do we understand the deep meaning of the word? After reading the above definitions I realized the word endure has not yet come alive in my life yet! It's not the Lord's fault, it is written over & over again in His Word; it is my fault because I have not chosen for it to become alive! Replace "endures" with the definitions:

His love sustains without impairment; His love never dies; His love bears with patience; His love continues to exist; His love suffers without yielding; His love has lasting quality; & the one that really twists my heart is His love has the strength to continue & last despite adverse conditions. His love continues despite the way we, as the whole world (including myself), treat others & Him. His love endures despite our selfishness, our hurtful words & thoughts, our hatred, our disbelief, our greed. . .our sin. Whoa. . .praise God for His enduring grace! 

this teapot said on the lid:
Fill me with joy, O Lord

Just some food for thought :). I desire to share more of what God has been pouring into my life currently, but it would be too long of a post so I promise, I will share more in my next post! This past weekend the Lord took me back to my childhood; my cousin Brittney turned 17 & she had a tea party in celebration of it! I haven't had a tea party in such a long time! It was so much fun & we were served 3 different types of delicious tea (in the cutest teapots I have ever seen), as well as soup, sandwiches, & scones; we tried on feather boas & hats; & we dressed up. I had so much fun talking with these women of God & laughing together; I felt like a little girl again & I praise God for giving me that taste of childhood again (I also thank Brittney & her mom for having me). 

my cousin Brittney & I outside of the teahouse

I also was blessed with the chance to speak & play piano at my old church on their missions day yesterday. God is so good & the congregation received me as if though I haven't been gone for 3 years. I saw the beauty of the Lord in their hugs, encouraging words, & obedient hearts; they truly inspired me. I also would like to thank Pastor Kettle for having me & his congregation for being so generous & loving! It went really well & I got a few giggles out of them because as I walked down the stage my mom quickly reminded me that I completely forgot to tell them when I was leaving! So I ran right back up the stairs & shared I only had 3 weeks left here in the U.S.! I also wanted to share a bit about a missionary that also spoke yesterday; he is going to Mozambique, Africa with his family next summer. I am so excited for him & I ask all of you who read this to be praying for him & his family as they support raise!

Speaking of 3 weeks. . .CAN YOU BELIEVE IT?! I can't. . .it is coming so quick & I am beginning to get nervous, but the Lord is really calming my heart & reminding me of His grace & strength. It's also been really encouraging to instant message back & forth with one of my directors, Christine Huber. Although I haven't officially met her, her love for the Lord shines & she is such a blessing & so encouraging!

I am still in the process of raising support so if you would like to know more about supporting me go to: Supporting the Journey to Japan & Electronic Funds Transfer: Supporting the Journey to Japan

Gigi, my neighbor's dog
captured on my film camera

I no longer have a cell phone so if you need to get a hold of me you can on good ol' facebook & if you need to call or text me just message me on facebook or you can e-mail me at: abigaillafleur_s@live.com & I will reply with the phone number :)! Please continue to be praying for not only my new adventure, but also for the missionaries that are already in Japan & please be praying for the country of Japan overall! THANK YOU!

my dog Blue & I :)

Love,
Abigail

"May His name endure forever; may it continue as long as the sun." 

-Psalm 72:17

(amen!)

thank you Jesus

http://courtlil.tumblr.com/post/10156564285

"He raises the poor from the dust & lifts the needy from the ash heap; He seats them with princes. . ." 

-Psalm 113:7-8

Electronic Funds Transfer: Supporting the Journey to Japan

So me being kind of absent-minded, I did not think about transaction fees when using one's credit card to make a donation; I apologize for that!

After e-mailing back & forth with Gail Hodel (executive secretary of PAZ headquarters in Peoria, IL) she told me about EFT which is a way of donating with no transaction fees; when a person donates via credit card, they do not get charged an extra fee on the credit card. . .it charges me, meaning whatever amount has been donated to me gets charged (does that make sense?). 

• Monthly Donation via EFT: every month on the 25th, the donation is transferred from one's checking account to the PAZ checking account. One can receive a monthly receipt, annual receipt or both. It's easy to set up & the most problem-free method of automatic donations PAZ offers. Donations are tax deductable.

If you so desire to use the EFT method, there is a form you have to fill out: 

EFT form

If you would prefer to avoid mailing in the form, once it is filled out you can scan it & send it via e-mail to: 

dove@dpc.net 

If EFT is something you do not desire to do, there are other ways of donating, click: 

Other Donating Options


In case of any problems or additional questions, please call our PAZ Japan headquarters at: (309) 263-2299 & ask for Gail Hodel, OR you can e-mail her at dove@dpc.net

Thank you so much everybody for your support & prayers! They are felt & I pray the Lord blesses you all in abundant ways!

My nephew Seth & I doing an art project with bubbles

Love,
Abigail

"'I will bless them & the places surrounding My hill. I will send down showers in season; there will be showers of blessing.'"

-Ezekiel 34:26

guilty.

". . .it is true that over & over again carelessness in conduct, carelessness in speech, carelessness in life & discipline bring shame upon His name, I ask you what value it is to repeat in the house of God on Sunday 'Hallowed by Thy name,' if we are responsible for that name being dishonored in office & home during the week? What value is there in coming piously to pray, 'Lord, hallowed be Thy name,' & then to drag it down by our conduct the other six days?"

-Alan Redpath (Victorious Praying)

Guilty, plain & simple. 

I'm not going to defend myself or anybody else. . .we have all been guilty of this at some point or another & we all have people in our life that do it too. Recently God has been calling me to a life led by prayer & constant communication with Him & His Spirit. Let me rephrase that, He has ALWAYS been calling me to that lifestyle, but more recently, I have had this passionate longing within me for a life that relies solely upon His Spirit. . .to achieve that, I am learning that prayer must be my life.

Along with learning how to live a life full of prayer, I have been reading Victorious Praying by Alan Redpath (thank you Mikey for letting me borrow your book!). Last night as I was reading the chapter on "Hallowed be Thy name," I was convicted of the many times in my life that I have been a participant of the above quote. I have been responsible for my Father's name being dishonored & I can't express how difficult it is to type this because I, quite frankly, don't want to be honest about it. It breaks my heart that I & others are dragging down the name of the Lord, the powerful & gracious name of Jesus, by our conduct & then we feel it is our right to call upon that name in times of trouble.

Let me ask you. . .

Do the people around you know the powerful, gracious, always loving, unchanging, selfless, freeing name of Jesus or do they know the wavering, selfish, hurtful, greedy, sometimes faithful, sometimes loving name of Jesus YOU portray?