The day with dianne Louise

“Father to the fatherless, defender of widows— this is God, whose dwelling is holy.” Psalms‬ ‭68‬:‭5‬ ‭NLT‬‬ I am not father to the fatherless but mother to the motherless. I am grateful that the Lord is Father. He is a good Father. He trains us in His ways. His training is not brutal, but lovingly persistent and kind. The Lord defends me. I am not a widow but a divorcee. He still defends me. Praise Him! He does not discriminate.  There are many orphans in Nepal. Either through desth or neglect. However, the government is not allowing any more children’s homes due to wanting to  exclude Christian organisations. Those who have permits are doing all they can. Still, many children are neglected. There are families where existing fathers are drunks. They steal all the money they can for another drink. This robs the children of food, clothing and schooling. A way around this is to empower the women to create businesses that support them and the children. However, they need help wit...

“Commit your actions to the Lord, and your plans will succeed.” Proverbs‬ ‭16‬:‭3‬ ‭NLT‬‬ I have many plans! However, I trust the Lord that they are in His hands and will proceed according to His directions. I have learned over time that my hands on my plans frustrate the plans, my yielding to His ways bring about the right result. I had been willing to go to Sindhulpalchok and speak to children about trafficking but found my God had given me my heart’s desire to preach His word. He gave me equal opportunities to preach His word.  I searched for the right entity for our work and discovered an NGO (non-government organisation) would be best and He gave us one, free of charge. This organisation does not give me the right to a visa. I humbly accepted that I will still have to do a student visa to stay in Nepal. However, I think my God has a plan there also. I am aware that I am having to set my my beautiful Nepali friends to continue the work of ministry after I am gone. Whether it is...

“Instead, be kind to each other, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, just as God through Christ has forgiven you.” Ephesians‬ ‭4‬:‭32‬ ‭NLT‬‬ My attitude is probably the area I struggle with most. I have to be so tough on myself that I become somewhat impatient with the frailties of others. Grace and patience is then needed. Praise God He has it in abundance and I can access it. Being tender hearted means I reall must seek God’s love for people. Fortunately He has it in abundance. Jesus remonstrated with the disciples for their impatience and lack of grace. James and John wanted to call fire down on a group of people who would not accept Jesus.  “But Jesus turned and rebuked them. So they went on to another village.” ‭‭Luke‬ ‭9‬:‭55‬-‭56‬ ‭NLT‬‬ If He was present with me He would be giving me the eye, which would say, “seriously, I am patient with you, you be patient with others!” It is easy to overlook our own faults, but they are still there. Forgive one another. Not only am I ...

“Do not be afraid or discouraged, for the Lord will personally go ahead of you. He will be with you; he will neither fail you nor abandon you.” Deuteronomy‬ ‭31‬:‭8‬ ‭NLT‬‬ People may abandon us, but God does not. People may be disinterested in what we are doing but do we do it for them or God? I will spend enternity with the One that matters and whose opinion really counts. It is His ‘well done’ I seek, not man’s. When we expect close friends to rejoice with us and mourn with us and they are not there, we can be disappointed, however, God was with us when we went and He was vitally interested in what we did. It was He who used our simple efforts for His glory. I notice that God is moving ahead of me in the work He wants me to do. I anticipate a need and He goes before me to provide, miraculously. I have researched many entities for the work in Nepal and realised we needed to create an NGO (non-government organisation), I am excluded from being named because I am a foreigner, but I can...

“Trust in the Lord always, for the Lord God is the eternal Rock.” Isaiah‬ ‭26‬:‭4‬ ‭NLT‬‬ Always is something we promise in wedding vows, but seldom is it something we abide by. I rejoice when I see marriages that last the distance. Mine didn’t. The enemy of our souls knows how to lay traps. During a time of extreme pressure the attacks come. However, our God is eternally faithful. He does not depart. No matter what I endure, my God is faithful. I am not alone in the problems I face. Many are here in this place. Not having an easy life is not an excuse to abandon our faith. Jesus told His disciples to take up their cross and follow Him. This they did with most dying at the hands of those who hated the gospel. As I write this many in Nigeria are losing their lives because they follow Jesus. Many in India, the country below Nepal, face the same fate. We cannot expect a cushy life from following Christ. However, we can expect the beauty of the Lord to be with us. He is worth any sacrifice...

“His preaching will turn the hearts of fathers to their children, and the hearts of children to their fathers. Otherwise I will come and strike the land with a curse.” Malachi‬ ‭4‬:‭6‬ ‭NLT‬‬ I had to get out my Bible and a commentary to discover who ‘He’ was. This verse refers to the previous Vera about a Elijah the prophet coming again. Now, John the Baptist was referred to a second aelijah the prophet, but did he reconcile sons to fathers? He was more about repentance from sin as a whole. The Bible does not mention healing of relations between fathers and sons.  My Bible commentary and the Bible Hub commentary indicate another figure coming who will reconcile sons and fathers. May that be so! I have some reconciling to do myself. I have been away on a weekend mission to Sindhulpalchok in northern Nepal. I saw families living in community and saw my colleague meet his mothers sister and his mothers brother on a bus when we were travelling to a school to conduct a presentation. It...

“But those who trust in the Lord will find new strength. They will soar high on wings like eagles. They will run and not grow weary. They will walk and not faint.” Isaiah‬ ‭40‬:‭31‬ ‭NLT‬‬ Yesterday, I was up early and ready to preach at two churches. I had one message, but in the first service the Lord gave me one word, ‘faith’’ for the second. Fortunately, I am an avid blogger and used to writing sermonettes on the spot. At the first church I preached about us being salt and light. The Lord ensured it was a humorous message. The pastor got up after me and built upon my message. In the second church I taught on faith. Fortunately, it all went well as it is what I have had to live. The people responded well. I have been asked back to teach a group of pastors on faith. Last night I presented the Jesus movie to a third church high up in the hills. I had arrived early and they were just finishing their service. Some stayed on all afternoon, mainly children. I could see the small two had n...