She is Very Beautiful

I was just telling this to a friend the other day, and I wanted to write it down. So, dear blog that very few read (if any), I will write it down on you, for you are my space on the internet to do such things.

My mother is a beautiful person. She is beautiful to look at, but that is not what I mean when I say she's beautiful. That's kind of a side-note. What makes my mother beautiful is not her looks; my mom shines with the brightness of a beautiful heart. And well - When people tell me that I look like her, I am flattered... But when people tell me that I *am* like her, that is a compliment that my heart craves, and it is an honour. A dream come true. Because she *is* a beautiful person.

Perhaps you can relate to this: I find that the most beautiful people I know are thought of that way in my mind for their actions and their attitudes. My heart overflows with love for them, and I am so blessed to be around them, because they are just... well, beautiful people. Beautiful for who they are; not what they are.

I guess that's what Peter meant when he said, "...Let your adorning be the hidden person of the heart with the imperishable beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which in God's sight is very precious," (1 Peter 3:4) and what Proverbs means when it says, "Charm is deceitful, and beauty is vain,  but a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised." (Prov. 31:30)

I know many beautiful women, and I want to be like them. I want to have a heart so full of Jesus that when people look at me, they see Him. I want to have a heart that blesses the people around me by its love, kindness, joy, peace, patience, etc. 

Perhaps beauty was designed by the Creator to be a picture of His grace living inside of people. True beauty shines from the inside out - It is what's inside of the package that matters, not the wrapping paper on the outside. The paper might look pretty, but it is not the substance of the gift within.

We are all meant to be beautiful. To every girl who desires this, I say (myself included)-- Beauty is a gift that's given to us from heaven, as long as we'll accept the person and work of Christ. You're not just meant to look it - You're meant to be it. Just like a princess, a daughter of the King of kings. You can be a person of whom, when you're wrinkled with age, others will think about and say - "She is very beautiful." Because true beauty never fades; and that which flows from your heart comes out in your actions. Actions that you can see on the outside- which do look very beautiful indeed.

My Life in Germany, Part 1

I’ve been meaning for some time to sit down and and write about my time here, but… Well, it’s hard to find the time to dedicate to this purpose, but it’s also hard to know what to say.  It’s been just over 6 weeks since I left home, and so much has happened!  I guess I find myself slightly overwhelmed by the task of updating you on all of the details of my life in these last 6 weeks, on the one hand, and on the other I find myself wanting to go all melancholy on you and tell you all of my little joys, struggles, and the lessons I’ve been learning.  It’s only been 6 weeks, yes; but a lot can happen in that time.  

…Whatever, I’m just going to wing it.  We’ll see how I do.  :-D

First, I’ll tell you about life here.  I live in a little town called Fischbach, just outside of Friedrichshafen, Germany.  My school is located in a large building connected to a dorm building, where I currently make my residence… I just realized today that I’ve been living in my room in “Suitcase” mode (my closet being the suitcase), kind of living there like I’m about to leave at any moment.  That needs to change; I generally like my “House” to feel like a home, and it can’t really when you don’t… you know… decorate.  Or something.  :-P  Anyway, I’d like to work on that.  

Regardless, the school building has a large common room used for lectures, church services, and a dining room, all in one.  The one half of the room is set up for lectures throughout the week, and the other half is set up for meals every day.  As the room is needed for other events or services, we move things around as needed to make it work for other purposes.

Also at the school, we have “The Honeycomb,” a little cafe type room, where we can buy coffee and snacks when they are open, play board games, or just go sit in there to read.  There is also a beautiful wooden patio off of the Honeycomb overlooking the orchard in the back, which is quite lovely, and I very much enjoy sitting out there when it is not too cold.

We also have a book shop/internet room, a computer room, a games room, a library, workout room, sauna, prayer room, laundry room etc… There’s always lots to do!  We can also borrow bikes, canoes, and kayaks anytime we want; which is pretty sweet.

Currently, I am sitting in one of the many little cafes in the area to write about this; I wanted to go for coffee with Jesus, so I did.  He paid, and it’s lovely.  :)  We also have, in addition to lots of cafes, lots of shops to visit in Friedrichshafen (including H&M, which is extremely tempting when you didn’t bring that many clothes, btw…), and there is a large Superstore-esq. grocery store about a 20-30 minute walk from here as well.

Other than all of that, there are lots of beautiful buildings, orchards, and the lake nearby which all make for lovely walks.  I have a favourite walking spot, even - which I will post pictures of…. soon.  Later.  Eh he. :)

My daily schedule looks something like this:

 - Around 7am, I get up and get ready for breakfast, which starts at 7:30 and is mandatory that we attend (not that I wouldn’t anyway, but yeah).  

 - After breakfast, most of the students scatter to do their daily duties (my previous duty was supper dishes, so I couldn’t do it in the morning, obviously).  My current duty is table setting, so I am responsible to help about 5 other students wipe tables and chairs, and the set the tables for the next meal at the end of each meal every day.

 - Once your duty is done in the morning, you have until 9:20 to do whatever you like - At which point we have our first lecture of the day for about an hour.  

 - After that, we have a 15 minute coffee break together, and then back to lectures for 2 more hours with a 5 minute break in between.

 - Then, lunch!  (And setting tables…)

 - After lunch, we have free time until supper.  During this time, you can go into town, study, take a walk, or go to a cafe, which is what I decided to do today.

 - Supper is at 6, so we all meet there, and then we have free time again (unless we have duties) until 7:30, when we have 2 evening lectures.  

 - The evening is then free, usually, to do whatever you like - there is a sauna offered for either guys or girls almost every night, and lockup is at 10:30pm, at which point you have to be out of the main building and in the dorm, headed for bed preferably.  

That is my day-by-day.  We often have other events planned in the evenings instead of lectures, or special outreaches to attend instead of lectures, in which case we get the audio given to us so that we are able to catch up.  We have had one test on lectures so far, and there is one more tonight - So we’ll see how that goes!  We have also had one book report to hand in already, 2 memory verses every week, and now we have 2 more large writing projects and one more book report due before Christmas at various times.  

Hm, what else can I tell you about daily life… It is interesting living with 105 other people every day, that’s for sure.  And the food here is fantastic.  :)

Other than that, you might be interested to know… 

 - We hiked in the Swiss Alps (BEAUTIFUL - And hard.)

 - We went to visit Neuschwanstein Castle, Walt Disney’s inspiration for Cinderella’s castle at Disney World.  :)

 - We have had an “International Night” (each country represented by the student body prepares and shows a presentation of their country), a pumpkin carving contest, a “Film Festival Night” (we divided into groups and made videos for a movie night - so fun!), and “K-Group Olympics,” which was all of the school small groups (Or K-Groups, “K” standing for Koinonia) working together to compete in a series of games… This was a lot of fun as well, and I enjoyed it very much.

Annnd… I’m sure that doesn’t even begin to cover it.  But that’s all I’m going to say for now.  If you have questions, feel free to post them in the comments, or send me an email.  Short emails get answers faster, FYI.  ;)

Thanks to all who take an interest, and especially for your prayers.  I appreciate it so much.  I am a little sad about how quickly the time is slipping through my fingers, but I’m excited to feel that I am exactly where God would have me be… it is so good to walk with him.

He is good!

Love you all and bye for now,

—Naomi

Spread Your Wings, Little Bird

On September 10, 2014, Mom, Becky, Deborah, and Micaiah dropped me off at the Windsor airport, where I met up with Grace Bauer, my travel companion and now, good friend.  Sitting there, it kind of felt like standing on the edge of a proverbial cliff, arms spread wide, taking a deep breath.  Time to fly.  I’ve never left home like this before, and though I’d been planning this flight for about 2 years, I could hardly believe it was here.  6 months on my own.  Wow.

Grace and I arrived in Munich in the morning of September 11, 2014, where our luggage took a very long time to find us, and then we were picked up by Achim’s friend Thomas, who flagged us down with the Canadian flag that my family had given him when he came for Leah and Achim’s wedding last summer. It was pretty great.  :)

From the airport, we went to Dinzler (an AMMMMAAAAZING coffee shop), which if you’ve ever talked to me before, you’ve probably heard me mention… with a lot of exclamation points. I love that place!  I took a couple of pictures, but not enough.

Then, on to Austria.  Thomas dropped us off at Nike and Manfred’s house, where we spent the next 8 days; 8 of the most magical days of my life.  Seriously, we were so spoiled, and I couldn’t be more thankful for all of the time, money, and love that those people poured into us.  Every minute of it will be a treasured memory to me.  

To go into all of the details, well, you’ll have to ask me in person when I come home.  In the meantime, however, here are some pictures from Austria!

(Note: I was going to post most of my pictures on here, but I have decided, Facebook is faster and easier.  And in the interest of staying away from my computer as much as possible, Facebook wins.)

Love and bye for now,

—Naomi

Step 1 - Austria!

This post is mostly a test to see how my pictures look on the blog.  Here's one I took today, sitting on the top of the mountain, from a hike we took in the alps!

My first stop on this trip, as I mentioned before, is visiting Austria.  So - Beautiful.  And the people are so wonderful; I'm being treated like gold, and I hardly know what to do with myself.  Every day is like Christmas, except that it's sunny (or raining... which is also beautiful) and you can go outside in a sweater... and also, everything is gorgeous and green, and and and... there aren't words to describe how wonderful it is to be here.

God is good - and GREAT.  This place is so majestic - and to think it's just a part of his creativity (a small part) playing out in his creation.  Not to mention all of the wonderful individuals we are meeting and spending time with.

Ahh!  :D  Happy.

Germany, Here I Come

You may have heard, I am going to Germany.  Leaving in 2 days, headed to Austria for a week, and then off to school at Bodenseehof, a Bible school Friedrichshafen Germany.

Wow.  This is happening.

I don't have time to write a whole lot right now, but I did want to say a couple of things.

First, thank you.  Thank you to all who have supported me financially, and in prayer.  I so appreciate it, and your prayers are so needed especially!

Second, I wanted to make an "Announcement" (if you will) to say, I am not going to be online a whole lot while I'm away.  I'm taking some time to distance myself from that... I need to focus.  I am going away to "Sit at the feet of Jesus," to listen to him.

I will be updating on here occasionally (at least that is the plan), and I do want to put some pictures on the blog as well... So you can keep an eye out for that.

If you need to reach me while I am away, you can send me an email - I will be checking that occasionally, though again, I may take a while to respond... If you have to reach me quickly, please send me word through my family.

And finally, goodbye (for now).  6 months really isn't that long, so maybe by the time you notice my absence, I'll be coming home - But if I didn't get to say goodbye to you, this is my opportunity, and I'm taking it!  I am so thankful for all of the people who pour so much into me.  And truly, if you're reading this, I consider you one of them - I feel special that you're taking the time to keep up with me and read this.

Love and bye for now, Canada.  Lord willing, I will be home soon!

--Naomi

Still Loved [Poem]

Sometimes when I'm struggling, I write poems... they aren't great poetry, perhaps, but for some reason I almost find it easier to express my thoughts when I write them in verses, like this.  

This one was written a few weeks ago, when I was struggling... comparing myself to other people, feeling like I'm falling short, like God was disappointed in me, irritated with me, not loving me as much as some other people around me...  This struggle continues, to a point... I'd be lying to say I've come through completely. But God is faithful, and I will cling to his Truth.

I know that regardless of what I say, do, or accomplish, I am still loved.  My Lord knew every thought, word, and action before they ever took place, and he still died for me.  

I am his.

Psalm 139:1-6

"O Lord, you have searched me and known me!

You know when I sit down and when I rise up;

    you discern my thoughts from afar.

You search out my path and my lying down

    and are acquainted with all my ways.

Even before a word is on my tongue,

    behold, O Lord, you know it altogether.

You hem me in, behind and before,

    and lay your hand upon me.

Such knowledge is too wonderful for me;

    it is high; I cannot attain it."

Romans 8:38-39

"For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord."

Still Loved

By Naomi Thomson

Confusion, selfishness, pride, envy

whirling through my mind…

Playing a game of comparisons, 

of every shape and kind.

Thoughts that tell me honestly,

or so I seem to link,

that what makes a person valuable 

is what other people think.

What gives me that idea,

I really am not sure.

I know my Saviour loves me,

with a love alive and pure.

Yet I tell myself I don’t deserve

a good man to love me someday…

When Christ the Lord died for me,

and “You are loved,” I hear him say.

I measure myself strictly

against what others might see of me.

And then I measure other people

against what I think I can see.

All this while, Jesus looks at our hearts,

he knows what is inside;

and “You are loved” he says to us,

though our hearts are filled with pride.

Why do I think I am not loved,

when Jesus Christ can see

all the things I’ve said and done

which nailed him to a tree?

Why do I think that I won’t get

that love I don’t deserve?

When I know that I have it already;

Jesus came to love and serve.

Forgive me Lord, please change me;

make me new from the inside out.

I don’t want to believe these lies anymore,

I want to be free, without a doubt.

Make my heart to know and feel

the Truth that sets me free.

Make my life to mirror you Jesus,

let “You are loved,” be seen in me.

May the comparison I make no longer be 

about my effort to arrive;

but let it be about Jesus; 

how I was dead, and now I’m alive.

There was death, now there is life,

and this life is available to me.

There was confusion, there was selfishness,

but now Jesus has set us all free.

Joy, O my soul!  Delight in your God,

he loves to hear your voice.

Though you don’t deserve his love,

you can receive it, it’s your choice.

Follow Jesus, loved one!  

He wants you to be free.

Let go of the thoughts inside you,

that ask, “What do they think of me?”

It doesn’t matter what they think,

the Truth will always stand;

Jesus loves and lives for you,

and he offers you his hand.

It’s not about what you deserve,

or what your efforts can achieve.

It’s all about what he’s done for you,

what he gives you to receive.

Faith Comes By Hearing

Sometimes I feel like I need to see something.  Yes, I ask the Lord to speak to me and teach me… But sometimes, I feel like I need to see a miracle, see Jesus walking among us, see a revival in order for my faith to grow.  Like, seeing is the source of faith - And that’s how it ought to grow… And so, I pray for sight.  “Lord, let me see you!"  "Lord, will you please heal and cause my faith to grow?"  "Lord, will you please give me _____?"  "Lord, please bring revival, and grow our faith!"  "Lord, help me to believe - please give me the thing I’m asking for.”

Yet, the Bible says that faith doesn’t come by sight; it comes by hearing the Word of God.

Romans 10:17

“So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ.”

Thomas wanted to see.  And Jesus said to him in John 20:29,

“Jesus said to him, ‘Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.’”

Paul said in 2 Corinthians 5:7,

“For we walk by faith, not by sight”.

I suppose I write all of this to say, I think I’m learning that my prayers need to be more directed toward, “Lord, let me hear you!” than “Lord let me see you.”  And from a heart that longs to hear, may my prayers be, “Lord, let me believe you.”

We read time and time again, Jesus healed people in the New Testament with the saying, “Your faith has made you well.” I think I have sometimes felt, my faith is not strong enough because I can pray for healing and sometimes, nothing happens.  I’ve typically either chalked that up to being rooted in the fact that my faith isn’t strong enough, or that perhaps my request was outside of the will of God.  Perhaps one, or both, of these things are true.  

Yet, when I pray, do I pray out in faith?  In a sense, yes.  Asking at all is believing that it could happen - that is faith.  Yet, do I believe it will happen?  Not usually… I don’t know the will of God all the time.  How could I have that kind of faith, a faith that knows his will and can ask for it accordingly?

I suppose I’ve been realizing, there are opportunities for me to exercise faith in the Lord every day.  Not just by listening and asking him to speak directly to me individually, but through what he’s already said to all of us in his Word.  He’s already said it, and he is truth.  

John 14:6

“Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”

Faith isn’t something we have because of what we have seen… We believe that God is true, and when he says something, faith is taking what he says as just that - Truth.

He says he will supply your needs. (Phil. 4:19)

Do we believe it all the time?  Do our hearts rest in that?  When we can’t see how he will provide, do we still believe that he will?

That’s one example of many - God tells us a lot of things about how he will work in us and through us.  Do we believe him?  When we ask him for something, even though we can’t see how or why or where or when or whatever, if he said it, it is true.  Do we believe it when we can’t see it?

Hebrews 11:1

“Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.”

When God promised Abraham a son at 75 years of age, and it didn’t happen for 25 more years (longer than the span of my entire life so far), Abraham kept trusting God all through those 25 years of nothing happening… Him getting older… His wife getting older… He kept trusting God as being true.  And he was right to do so.  God is true, and God keeps, and kept, his promises. 

And so I ask myself:  The LORD has promised good to me.  Will I believe him, though I may endure seasons, even LONG seasons of not seeing what he has spoken?  Will I hold fast to what is true?

Proverbs 3:5 says,

“Trust in the Lord with all your heart,
    and do not lean on your own understanding.”

Perhaps in the New Testament, the faith that made people well was not so much a trust in Jesus’ ability to heal them, but in the absolute truth of his Word.  His Word is powerful, and when he said, “Get up and walk,” perhaps rather than feeling a sensation of healing and responding to that physical sign, people heard the WORD OF GOD and responded to his spiritual authority.  “He said walk, so I can walk.”  “He told me I am well, so I am well.”  When he said it, they believed it - and believing it, they received it.

Mark 11:24

"Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours." [Emphasis mine]

He tells us a lot of things about ourselves, about himself, and about how we you ought to live in His Word, the Bible.  He has SPOKEN.  Do we believe what he has said?  Do we live in the fear of what he says, the joy of what he proclaims, and the hope of what he promises?  

Do you hear the Word of the Lord?  Or are you even listening?

Faith comes by hearing the Word of God.