Our church in South Sudan has several outreach ministries, including primary and secondary schools, orphanages, military barracks, a blind school, and the community as a whole during visitation.


I love all the services we're in. But for me, there is one service that seems to stand above the rest. The men there sing triumphantly of Jesus' power and love. Their voices are deep and strong, and resonate in my soul long after I leave. The images there are carved into my mind and heart.


I have to fight back the tears literally every single time because the presence of God is so strong it's overwhelming.


Where is this place?



The prison.



"Wherefore I say unto thee, Her sins which are many, are forgiven; for she loved much; but to whom little is forgiven, the same loveth little." Luke 7:47



Maybe that explains it, I'm not sure. I just know these men know what it means to worship God.



They understand freedom in Christ far more than I probably ever will.



I pray I can learn from them.

I love smiles. I love them even more since coming to Africa. I may not yet know Juba Arabic well enough to carry on a conversation, but I can sure smile a big cheesy smile :) Smiles, my friend, seem to be a universal language.



Here's some things that made me smile today:



1. Watching my husband boldly proclaim the gospel to hundreds of teenagers at a school (after facing opposition from a Muslim teacher there) and seeing about 75 of them trust Christ. All I can say is WHAT A BLESSING! :)



2. Our maintenance man. Let me explain. Our power strip that charges all of our devices met an untimely death this morning. Somehow the leg of the metal bed frame made its way onto the cord and basically sawed it in half (shocking us in the process, lol). We thought we'd have to buy another and they aren't cheap! But our maintenance man was able to quickly fix it and now it looks (and works) as good as new :)



3. A little girl. During our Juba Arabic lesson today, baby Providence (one of the national pastors' daughter) came to me all by herself and crawled up in my lap with no coaxing from me or anyone else. She's very young and will shake my hand but she's never came to me all on her own. She sat with me for probably an hour and was good as gold :)



4. Sugar cane. Yum. Enough said. :)



5. A simple answered prayer. Our national pastor Charles and his wife and baby had to go home and it looked like rain was immenient. Their transportation is a motorcycle (boda boda). We prayed God would hold off the rain until they got home. He did. :)



6. Having a husband to laugh with. We talked today about how certain parts of being here sound so romantic, but they really aren't at all, lol. But having someone to share the good AND hard times with makes life a lot more enjoyable. :)



7. My own Bible in my language, and the ability to read it without fear of persecution. So many people don't have this luxury and would give all they own to have what we take for granted.



Now I could have listed all the things that went wrong, like starting the day off with shattering a bowl (my ONLY bowl, lol), a disrupted schedule, hot weather, bug bites, and on the list could go. But look at all the blessings I might have missed out on sharing!



What are you facing today that's threatening to steal your smile ? Be thankful instead, and go find a reason to smile.



And if you can't, go give someone else a reason to smile...and you just might find your smile in the process ...



"The liberal soul shall be made fat: and he that watereth shall be watered also himself." Proverbs 11:25

I dare say there are few things more comforting than having a husband who believes in the power of prayer.

Prayer has pulled us through some tough days. It has led us to a new continent ... a new world, really.

Prayer has changed our life.

But lest you think prayer itself is the answer to all life's problems, let me clarify by quoting my husband : "It is not our prayer, but the God OF our prayer that changes things."

Praying to a statue, a dead god, a mirage could never save a person. But praying to Jesus, my friend, that can transform even the filthiest of creatures into something beautiful...

What a thought, that we have the privilege of a direct line of communication to the Creator, Redeemer, and King!

I often wonder what might happen if only we cared enough to make good use of it ...

7. David remained humble after the battle was over.

When David reentered town, he had women dancing and singing for him, giving him even more honor than even the king! And yet, when King Saul gives David his daughter to marry as he said he would, David responds humbly in 1 Samuel 18:18, “Who am I….that I should be son in law to the king?” 

APPLICATION: When you overcome your giant, remember who defeated it. To become prideful after a victory is one of Satan’s most effective traps. Don’t forget what it’s like to be on the other side of the giant. Reach out to those still fighting.

Remember that you are nothing . . . you are absolutely useless without Jesus.

Then go live your life in humble adoration of what He has used you to do, and encourage others that God wants to do the same thing through them.

6. David didn’t let other’s opinions of him change his decisions.

 David was just trying to help, but his own brother questioned his motives and called him prideful and naughty. King Saul told him he couldn’t do it. The giant made fun of him.

But that didn’t stop David.

He didn’t go cry in the corner because someone called him names or told him he couldn’t do it. Nope. He just went on in the name of the Lord.

APPLICATION: When you serve Jesus, not everyone is going to like you. That’s a hard one for me to swallow, but it’s true. Pleasing man and pleasing God doesn’t always go hand in hand. If people question your motives, tell you that you can’t do it, or even mock you, just hold your head up and go on for Jesus.

You won’t regret it.

And you might just slay a giant in the process.

5.     David was content to be himself. 
 
David was given the option of using all kinds of fancy weapons and armor when going to fight Goliath.


He would have looked gooooood, like a real warrior.

Intimidating.  Strong.

Instead, he chose to use tried and true methods. He didn’t try to be someone else. He used a slingshot and a stone that he’d used a thousand times before.  He knew his strengths. He knew God had enabled him before to kill a lion and a bear when the situation called for it. And what’s a giant in comparison to wild animals?

 APPLICATION: Just be you. 

God created you to be who you are with all of your strengths and weaknesses. You don’t have to look like a warrior to defeat a giant. Just remember all the
battles God has brought you through before.

Always remember the battle is the Lord’s. This one might look a little more intimidating. But if it’s a lion, bear, or a giant, God’s got it under control.  

Just trust Him to take care of you. Be you. And go fight.

4.      David’s goal was the glory of God. Period.

 David didn’t walk up to Goliath full of pride. He didn’t offer to defeat Goliath so that he would look good in front of everyone else. Instead, he gave credit to God again and again. His motive for defeating the giant wasn’t for his own sake, but rather for God’s name’s sake. He had confidence in the Lord to deliver him from this giant, and that’s exactly what God did
 
APPLICATION: The main motivation you should have for defeating your giant is God’s glory. Not to make yourself look better in front of your friends or on Facebook.

Or to help you have more self-confidence.

Or so you can use your accomplishments as a weapon to cut others down with. Your motive is to be God’s glory.

Your anthem in life should not be “try harder.” Instead, it should be to “lean further” on Him. The more you lean on Jesus, the stronger you will become, and the more your life will point to the One who give you your life in the first place. And isn’t that the goal, after all?

Remember that HE is the vine and YOU are the branch. Without being connected to Him, you can do nothing. Trying to produce fruit when you aren't connected to the Vine is...well...fruitless. 

Connect to Him. Give Him the glory. And stop fighting in your own strength for your own glory. You'll be glad you did...especially when you watch a giant tumble to the ground.
 

3. David did his best.

Several descriptive words stood out to me when I read the story of David and Goliath this time. For example, verse 20 says, “David rose up EARLY in the morning” He knew he had a job to do and he got up early to make sure he got it done. Also, verse 22 says, “and RAN into the army.” How many of us would run? To me, these words indicate that David didn’t take his orders lightly.

2.      David did NOT go looking for a fight.

 David wasn’t planning to defeat a giant that day. He just was following orders from his father. He was a sheep keeper, which didn’t involve slaying giants. He had a monotonous job that he did day after day after day. The orders David received for the day happened to lead him right into a battlefront, but he did not go looking for a giant to fight.

 APPLICATION: Don’t pick fights. Don’t make mountains out of molehills. Don't be easily offended.  Life has enough drama without creating more. Some people seem to find pleasure in a constant state of turmoil, and oddly enough, it's often the ones who claim to "hate drama."

As a rule, if you find yourself wanting to fight, it’s probably best for you to stay quiet. Wisdom is learning to speak out when you would rather stay quiet, and staying quiet when you’d really like to say something.

It’s so easy to hear a familiar Bible story, nod, and think, “Yeah, I’ve heard that story before,” without really stopping to think about the significance of the story. I was struck with several principles while reading 1 Samuel 17, the
story of David & Goliath.  God showed me just how relevant it is to my life right now. I'll post one principle for the next week (so I won't bore you to tears with a ridiculously long blog!) about the familiar story of David and Goliath.

So here’s the first principle in David's approach to killing a giant:

1. David was filled with the Spirit of God before he ever faced the battle.