The day with dianne Louise

““Physical training is good, but training for godliness is much better, promising benefits in this life and in the life to come.” 1 Timothy‬ ‭4‬:‭8‬ ‭NLT‬‬ I love physical exercise, walking and swimming are my favourites. I’ve trained for triathlons in the past and had a life of exercise. However, what is more important to me is spiritual exercise. Daily I spend time reading God’s word, praying in the spirit and singing worship songs. Whilst I have tended to read Bible plans, this year I am using my hardcover study Bible to also study the gospels. I am taking my time and chewing over the scriptures. My time with God is more important than anything else. His thinking, His desires, His power and authority come first. If I live out of Him (abide in Him) then I treat other well. If I abide in Him life is so much better. I am attending a filthy college to learn the Nepali language. The teacher does not speak much English and writes on the board what is written in the text book. As I don’t s...

“My fellow believers, when it seems as though you are facing nothing but difficulties, see it as an invaluable opportunity to experience the greatest joy that you can! For you know that when your faith is tested it stirs up in you the power of endurance.” ‭‭James (Jacob)‬ ‭1‬:‭2‬-‭3‬ ‭TPT‬‬ We face many tests: how will I handle the difficult person; how will I handle a hard experience; how will I handle a good experience; how will I handle a wonderful person? Good and bad, they all test me. This past week had been difficult. I struggled from Sunday to Wednesday to obtain a visa to stay in Nepal. Realistically, many others have been through worse. Monday, I began college with a teacher who speaks little English. We are copying text from a book; many new words and in a echoey room, which plays havoc with my ears. Suddenly we had a test on said text and although I felt overwhelmed, I survived, completed and past, with a little help from my teacher. I finished the week exhausted.  Yest...

“Who stood up for me against the wicked? Who took my side against evil workers? If God hadn’t been there for me, I never would have made it. The minute I said, “I’m slipping, I’m falling,” your love, God, took hold and held me fast. When I was upset and beside myself, you calmed me down and cheered me up.” ‭‭Psalms‬ ‭94‬:‭16‬-‭19‬ ‭MSG‬‬ There is no one like the Lord! He is ever faithful! Other wax and wane, but He is consistent in faithfulness and love. I wax and wane myself, but He is steady beside me. Yesterday I spent the day with friends at church and then lunch together. We retired to my flat for coffee and lemon meringue pie (I had made this for a friends birthday). We played a game called Five Crowns (a card game). We talked about an up coming wedding and enjoyed one another. My flatmates were cooking when we arrived and everyone inspected their fare. My flatmates finished cooking and retired to their room. They give me room to entertain my guests as I do to them. Although my f...

“We can rejoice, too, when we run into problems and trials, for we know that they help us develop endurance. And endurance develops strength of character, and character strengthens our confident hope of salvation.” Romans‬ ‭5‬:‭3‬-‭4‬ ‭NLT‬‬ Being back at college brings trials: I travel by motorbike taxis, I have an App to help find the ride called Pathao. In the morning, sometimes, it is difficult to get a ride. I may wait 15-20 minutes for a rider to pick up my request. We then battle through peak hour traffic for 30-40 minutes. The college is old and filthy, the toilets disgusting. The rooms are cold in winter and boiling in summer, the windows face the sun and the whiteboard reflects the sun making it difficult to see the board. We sit on planks of wood for seats. The room echoes. The lesson is in difficult Nepali describing the geography of Nepal. I return home in bumper to bumper traffic. Why am I there? To learn Nepali and about Nepal, to obtain a visa but most important, there ...

“Yes, God is more than ready to overwhelm you with every form of grace, so that you will have more than enough of everything —every moment and in every way. He will make you overflow with abundance in every good thing you do.” 2 Corinthians‬ ‭9‬:‭8‬ ‭TPT‬‬ When I give my tithe I ask the Lord to stretch my finances and He does. I am able to pay my way, support two translators and now enough to support a work in Sindhulpalchok. I am constantly amazed at God’s provision. I live well and am able to bless the house I live in with good things. I do not think lack but allow God to bring the stretch. We can think lack and we will have lack, we can think abundance and we will have it, overflowing with good measure. More than enough to give. While back in Australia what I had was mostly taken with rent. However, I paid my tithe and trusted the Lord for the stretch. What was left I bought groceries frugally, but was generous with what I had and still had plenty. I did not talk lack and I had plen...

“I know what it means to lack, and I know what it means to experience overwhelming abundance. For I’m trained in the secret of overcoming all things, whether in fullness or in hunger. And I find that the strength of Christ’s explosive power infuses me to conquer every difficulty.” Philippians‬ ‭4‬:‭13‬ ‭TPT‬‬ The ability to hold steady the sail in all weather is a skill that is learned. A good sailor has been taught to sail into the wind and use it to advantage. He has also been taught to maintain security when calm appears because there is always danger only meters away. In abundance the danger is self/importance, greed and selfishness. In poverty it is the same, from a different direction. Self-importance becomes selfishness, the same thing with a different tag. Self-pity is just another manifestation of the same beast, self, or the flesh as scripture would label it. I cannot afford either, for both exalt themselves above Christ. As a Christian, I am called to ‘seek first the kingdom...

“Dear friends, don’t be surprised at the fiery trials you are going through, as if something strange were happening to you. Instead, be very glad—for these trials make you partners with Christ in his suffering, so that you will have the wonderful joy of seeing his glory when it is revealed to all the world. If you are insulted because you bear the name of Christ, you will be blessed, for the glorious Spirit of God rests upon you. If you suffer, however, it must not be for murder, stealing, making trouble, or prying into other people’s affairs. But it is no shame to suffer for being a Christian. Praise God for the privilege of being called by his name! For the time has come for judgment, and it must begin with God’s household. And if judgment begins with us, what terrible fate awaits those who have never obeyed God’s Good News?”  1 Peter‬ ‭4‬:‭12‬-‭17‬ ‭NLT‬‬ It is very interesting that Peter concludes this thought about suffering with a statement about judgement. Where did judgemen...