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Posted in Malawi by Will Miller on 3/10/2010
As a squad we have heard the call to respond and help Malawi, but we need more help! This is a post from a squad mate explaining more about the challenge and how we can all come together as a body to provide support...
How can YOU help Malawi????
Well thank you for being curious and stopping by. YOU can help Malawi by donating money (to the account below) for Bibles. The believers there do not have the money to buy Bibles and our squad has this amazing opportunity to raise money to send to them for Bibles. Please be praying that we would be able to raise as much money as possible to send to them. Also be praying to see if God wants you to help out with this cause. I know this is short but if you read this and want to help please follow the steps below right away so you don't put it off and forget about it. PLEASE help out Malawi and our fellow Brothers and Sisters in Christ to get them God's Word so they can grow in their relationship with Him.
Thank you for your prayers and your support
Here are the easy steps to follow to get the money in the right account. PLEASE DO NOT PUT MONEY IN MY SUPPORT ACCOUNT SINCE IT WILL NOT BE ABLE TO TRANSFERRED TO THIS ACCOUNT.
www.theworldrace.org
Please click the tab "Donate" on the top right side of the page.
Click on the link "Click Here To Give!" This will take you to the donation page.
In the box that appears, you will see:
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ONLINE DONATION INFORMATION
Please select "Support a World Race Project" under Choose Program.
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Please enter "2010Mar I Squad" in the Project field provided in order to be sure your funds will go into the account designated for this ministry.
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These gifts are tax-deductible.
If you wish to send a donation by mail, please make your check payable to Adventures In Missions and mail it to:
Adventures In Missions
P.O. Box 534470
Atlanta, GA 30353-4470
Please indicate "World Race Project Fund – 2010Mar I Squad" in the memo section of the check.
Again Please do not put money in my support account. Please follow these easy steps for a tax-deductible donation.
Thank you
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Posted in Philippines by Will Miller on 3/9/2010
I wonder if I'll
be weightless in heaven?
Seriously, I've
been thinking a lot about this question the past couple of days. Because every time I have some
incredible "God experience" or "Christian high" something quickly follows it to
remind me of the weight and gravity of this fallen world we live in. Sometimes it just feels so heavy that I
literally cannot breathe and all I want to do is just be done.
Honestly, I'm
coming off one of the most incredible and challenging months of the race with
tons of clarity and joy. However,
the crushing weight that comes with gravity has quickly returned me back to the
earth's surface and jumbled all my thoughts.
When we arrived
in the Philippines, we were able to meet the January squads and spend a night
with them. While prior situations
and conversations had already started my descent back down, speaking with this
group began to apply more than enough pressure to finish the job. It wasn't that they were directly
pushing me, but as I recounted the stories and memories from our past year the
weight of loss, betrayal, and doubt began to take their toll. Why have so many people been sent
home? Why has our squad dealt with
so much strife and discord? Why do
we argue more than we worship?
Of course our
whole squad has had to walk through this, but it weighs a little differently
when you're a leader. I know it's
good when things are messy because people can be real and vulnerable, but when
does freedom and unity come? Why
face all this if it just brings up more mess and strife? I feel the weight of gravity pressing
in all around me and I'm really just crying out for relief.
I listened to a
talk this morning on this subject and it was crazy how right on it was. It all culminated in the life of
Jesus. Surprise, surprise. It went through many different
scenarios where Jesus felt the weight of loneliness (in the garden), betrayal
(with Judas), loss (of Lazarus), persecution (on the cross and almost every
other day). It all ended in
Hebrews 2 with, "Therefore, He had to be
made like His brethren (us) in ALL things, so that He might become a merciful
and faithful high priest in things pertaining to God, to make propitiation for
the sins of the people. For since
He Himself was tempted in that which He has suffered, He is able to come to the
aid of those who are tempted."
Why did Jesus
have to feel the weight of gravity and face all that He had to face?
So He can look at
us in times like these and say, "I know..."
This realization
doesn't make things any easier but it does bring some comfort. Sometimes the weight of everything
around me is so heavy. There are
times that I just find it so hard the breathe under this gravity. I am thankful for the things I have to face,
but sometimes the memories are just as, if not more painful than the actual
events because we should "be over them" by now. So we face them alone.
As much as I would love to do this, I fear that I can't. Just when I think I've learned a ton on
the body of Christ, something happens to challenge my thoughts to become
reality. Who knew I wouldn't just
be taught something, but be called to live it out as well...
I'm so thankful
for the family that is the body of Christ (no knock on my own family, they're
incredible).
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Posted in Malaysia by Will Miller on 2/27/2010
HAPPY FIRST BIRTHDAY
ELO!!!!
Sorry I missed it, but I'll make it up next time around...
You'll be so big when I get home and I can't wait to be your official manny...
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Posted in Malaysia by Will Miller on 2/23/2010
I can't believe
another month is already coming to a close on our trek around the world. I feel like each country I go to I fall
deeper in love with it, but I think I'm just beginning to see what it looks
like to fall deeper in love with Jesus and to have a heart for his people. Malaysia will be a difficult country to
leave but who knows what God will have in store...
So this past week
we went out to the jungle to visit a group of people known as the "Orang Alsi". This just means that they are the
original people of the land and they make up a good chunk of the Malay
population and are all over the country.
This particular group considers themselves to be "free thinkers" and
have not been heavily swayed by Muslim or Christian influences. The good part of this is that they can
still be open to our messages, but the tough part is breaking through years of
stubborn pride and a blatant disregard for any message we have. Good thing God never promised this
would be easy...
During our few
days out there I faced something that I very rarely ever have to deal
with. I got sick. Fortunately it wasn't malaria or
anything crazy like that, but it still took a heavy toll on my body. I found myself running around with the
children one second and literally past out in the back of the room just a brief
moment later. I despise being sick
and the weakness it brings.
So my team
started to pray for healing over me and I genuinely believed it would come
because I was doing God's work, and the last thing He needs is a sick missionary...Right?
How often do I forget that
when I am weak, He is strong?
The healing
wouldn't come, so I resigned myself to resting and lying on the bed until I was
back to feeling better. The heat
was nearly unbearable at times in the jungle and the last place I needed to be
while I was sick was outside. It's
funny how God seems to contradict everything that makes sense sometimes. As I was lying in bed one night trying
to "feel better" God asked me, "Do you
really believe my strength is more than enough?" My immediate answer was, of course, I just need it to heal
me. I wasn't expecting what
followed. God told me to trust
Him, go out tomorrow no matter how I felt and truly rely on Him.
I know my mom is
cringing at this point because her "sick baby" was out in bad conditions in the
middle of nowhere. I told my team
and they didn't really put up a fight, which is rare when it comes to sickness,
but we pushed on. It was crazy
what happened that day. On the way
to our village for the day, I was told I would be delivering a message for the
village that night. Looks like I
wouldn't be able to hide behind anything even in the midst of sickness.
As the day went
on, I realized God continually brought me strength when I needed it. A sudden spurt of energy here to kill
some down time, then to the back for resting (we even had a spur of the moment
worship service that the whole village just watched as we worshipped). I'm actually still sick even as I write
this, but when I've needed strength it has come. Thirty minutes before I was supposed to speak I had no
voice, a horrible cough, and was just completely dizzy. When the time came, I stood up and
delivered one of my strongest teachings on the race and then crashed shortly
after. It was incredible to hear
my team praying over a couple of the girls that came as the sickness crept back
over me.
I know God is
still teaching me through this sickness, but one thing I'm learning is that the
Christian life isn't one of earthly prosperity. I hear tons of teaching on God not being a God of sickness
or despair, but this is in complete contradiction to the Gospel, the first
church, and really everything the Bible says. It makes me think that while so many Christians try to "What
Would Jesus Do" their way through life, they never allow themselves live a life
anything like His.
We are promised strength, not health...
We are promised power, not invincibility...
We are promised a treasure, but it's not always here...
We are promised life, but this always begins with death. To this world, to ourselves, and to our desires.
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Posted in Malaysia by Will Miller on 2/12/2010
Over the past
week, this idea of walking in spirit AND
truth has been heavy on my heart.
In the States we tend to have a grasp on this idea of walking in truth
and often times spend more of our "spiritual" conversations on apologetics and
theology than even discussing the idea that maybe the Holy Spirit does still
play a role in modern day society.
On the other hand, a majority of the rest of the world is on the
opposite side of the scale in that they walk in the power of the Holy Spirit,
but are often swayed by false teachings because of a lack of foundational truth.
So where exactly is this balance?
On the race, some
have said that we focus too much on the miraculous workings of the Holy Spirit
and that we need to be more grounded in truth. To be completely honest, part of me believes we need more of
this to drown out all the "truth", more accurately called logic, that too often
silences the power of the spirit within me. I'm not trying to get into a charismatic verses conservative
debate (partly because I still don't know where I would land on this because of
all the misconceptions on both ends), but I am saying this balance is something
that we are poor at even striving for.
We've been on a
college campus this past week with a group of Christian students and this
balance is just as hard to find here.
These students are in the middle of a Muslim culture and face so much
persecution. They are learning to
walk in the confidence of the Holy Spirit, but many have no idea of how to
answer the question, "Why Jesus?"
Aside from him claiming to be, "the way, the truth, and the life", how
can we call him the Messiah?
We had a session
with them tonight where we helped them to answer that question. We were able to walk through what the
Bible says about Jesus and how he could come and make the claim to be the "Son of God" and bring to his followers
complete assurance in their faith.
It was incredible
to watch their eyes open up. It
wasn't that they were excited to have all this new head knowledge; it was that
the assurance they felt in their heart was confirmed in their head. Their passion for the Spirit was
beginning to balance with their confidence in the foundational truth of the
Word. We are scheduled to have an
outreach event tomorrow, and many of the students were very timid about sharing
their faith in such an oppressive society partly due to a lack of truth. While they have been walking in
passion, they have lacked confidence.
I find the opposite to be true in my life as I walk in confidence in the
truth I know, but lack any sense of passion or urgency the Spirit often brings.
How can we find this balance?
What if this moved us out of
our comfort zone?
Could we stand true to our foundational
theology?
And still walk in the powerful, sometimes illogical, Holy Spirit?
I say I love God
but often neglect the third member of his trinity. I don't know where this balance is, but my prayer is that my
self-proclaimed wisdom wouldn't get in the way of God using me in a powerful
way that may not fit into my explanations...
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Posted in Malaysia by Will Miller on 2/5/2010
So it's one of
our first days out here in Malaysia and during this first week we've been given
one major assignment: observe and learn about the culture. We started off with a tour of the city
and were able to see all the major sights, as well as the worship houses of all
the major religions: Buddhism, Thoa, Hindu, and Muslim. It was quite an experience to see a
minaret from one of the mosques overlooking the same street that was home to a
Buddhist, Thoa, and Hindu temple.
Today's
assignment was an interesting one.
We were asked to go and observe the call to prayer at the Federal Mosque
here in Kuala Lumpur. The call to
prayer happens 5 times a day and essentially marks the changes that occur
throughout the day (waking up, going to work, lunch break, returning home,
going to bed). All of these can be
observed on your own whenever you hear the call, except at noon on Fridays, all
the Muslim men are called to the mosque to pray together. So we were able to sit in the balcony
with the women and watch as these men poured in and attempted to cleanse
themselves by washing their head, hands, and feet, and then went through their
rituals.
One thing we were
asked to do was to pray for these men and women before and during this time of
worship and to really feel God's heart for these people. The Muslim religion is so close to
Christianity, but so far off because they deny one crucial fact: Jesus is THE
way, THE truth, and THE life. I
prayed and prayed...
Lord, break my heart for
these people.
As I opened my eyes
and watched the ritual, my heart broke.
The only problem was it wasn't for who I thought it would be for. I watched the men stand up and kneel
down at the right times. I
watched as they listened "attentively" to the teacher. I watched as the time for prayer
concluded, the men stand up, shake hands, and walk out together. Does
this picture seem eerily familiar? I hate to say it, but I feel like I
see this very same picture weekly in the States, but it's just on another day
and we have chairs.
Now, I know if
you're reading this I'm probably preaching to the choir because the average
Christian doesn't actually read Christian blogs, or any Christian materials for
that matter, but I do want to speak to you guys. It's SO easy to
get fed up or jaded with the American church because of its rituals or lack of
passion. It's SO easy to get critical of the teachings because they may be off
theologically or just elementary.
It's SO easy to get bored at
a weekly meeting because we know what's on the docket. It's SO easy sometimes to see what the church is doing wrong.
WHEN WERE WE EVER CALLED TO AN EASY LIFE?
I'm not just
frustrated with or tired of the American church like many missionaries that
come off the field from overseas. I'm frustrated with and tired of all the critics and cynics
that have plenty of ammo against the church but no admiration or love for
her, no matter how "off" her day may be. Which would be more
effective: to plant a church or community with like-minded people? or disciple
an existing church into walking into deeper intimacy with the Lord? I don't have the answer to that
question yet, but if my motives make me more of a critic than a catalyst,
then my answer is clear.
I want the
American church to change.
I long for her to
be intimate with the Father the way she started in the book of Acts.
I want the church
to be dangerous because you cannot leave unchanged or satisfied, instead of a
place to feel comfortable in meeting the "religious status quo".
I want the church
to change the world INSTEAD of being changed by the world.
My heart's cry is
that I just really want the church to be the church.
So I guess for
now until I come home, I'm called to prayer...
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Posted in Malawi by Will Miller on 1/31/2010
Yesterday was one
of the most physically thrilling days I've had so far on the race. I'm an adventurer within and crave the
adrenaline rush that extreme sports and outdoor activities bring, so a trip for
white water rafting was definitely in order. While the rapids weren't quite what we see in Northern
Tennessee, just the feeling of being back in a boat was incredible. Even in the face of an unbelievable
adrenaline rush, I would still have to say that wasn't the best part of the
day.


Matt and I were
together in a two-man boat, and as we were coming down the river, I couldn't
help but think back to our first night of training camp. Before even talking to each other, we
were all led into the woods and had a chance to contemplate of three very heavy
questions. The third and final one
was what came back to me.
"Are you willing to trade
your adventure for God's?"
Well that's an
easy answer. God's plan is so much
better and more creative than mine.
But wait, what if I don't have any fun? What if there's no real adventure? What if I'm stuck in a place with no way out? What if I'm not allowed to do what I'm
wired to do? I'm an adventurer,
and live for this stuff, what if He takes that all away?
I'd be a liar if
I told you I haven't struggled with some of these questions. It's not that I think I have a better plan;
it's honestly that sometimes I doubt that God remembers who I am. I have this picture of what it looks
like to be a Christian and a missionary and the one word that often comes to
mind is...lame.
I mean really,
who gives up everything to do this stuff? Does God really know who I am and care
enough about me to know how I'm wired?
In the wake of
one of the greatest adrenaline rushes of the race so far, I was rocked upon
returning home. No adrenaline rush
can even compare to what I was about to experience. One word: intimacy. Outside of marriage how many of us
truly know what this word means?
Even if we include marriage, have many of us truly experience this?
We prayed a
prayer of intimacy as a squad last night and God answered. I've never realized how selfish I
really am. Sure, I'll pray, but in
the back of my mind, what thoughts dwell there? I'll go serve, but secretly is there anything I want out of
it? I walked outside to lie on the
driveway for a while and realized how much I was missing. I may be on the mission field, but I
haven't even tapped into all the God has to offer.
Too often
satisfaction overrules hunger and I'm left standing with questions and doubts
because I forget about the infinite power and love that comes from the God I
serve; the very same God that longs to hear me call Him "ABBA Father,
Dad". I think too often we wait
until we have to cry out for Him, that we never hear His cry for us. We never see Him personifying the
father in the story of the "Prodigal Son" as He runs at the first glimpse of
His boy on that hill. I mean
really, how often do I just go to Him without a question, or a doubt, or a
fear, or a problem?
What would happen if I went
to God with nothing on my agenda but Him?
I don't know a
lot about this word intimacy yet, but it's an adventure that no adrenaline rush
can even begin to tap into...
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Posted in Malawi by Will Miller on 1/22/2010
So it's a little
after midnight here and I just got up to go to the bathroom. It was definitely one of those moments
where I stared up at the ceiling for a while, wondering if I could just hold
off until the morning because the walk to the bathroom just seemed a little too
far. For the first time on the
race, I'm actually in a room by myself (privacy? What's that like again?) and
there's even a bathroom right across the hall. So, with no more excuses, I drug myself out of bed and decided it was worth the
walk. Big commitment at this time
of night.
Now unlike most
people with slightly above average intelligence, I decided the best decision
would be to keep the lights off.
It just seemed like too much work to flip the lights on only to turn
them back off in less than a minute, plus it would just ruin my night
vision. So I stumbled to the
bathroom, hurriedly feeling my way along the wall and then one of the worst
possible things that could happen on a late night bathroom run happened: my
pinkie toe met the unmovable object that is the bathroom doorframe. After repenting of the words that may
or may not have slipped in response to the sharp pain now shooting up my leg, I
had a decision to make. Would I
just limp on the toe and tough it out, or rely on the rest of my body to hop
back to the room?
This decision
proved to be a lot harder than I expected it to be, but while I stood there, I
was given a word that I think God has been trying to hammer into me. I'm made to be a part of a body and as
a member of that body, there is a certain interdependency that I need to submit
to. I've always thought it was
just God and me and that's all I needed.
Sure churches are nice and all, but what is really important is just God
and me. Unfortunately, when Jesus
was asked what the greatest commandment was, He didn't leave it at "Love the Lord your God with all your heart,
soul, and mind," which is difficult enough, but followed it quickly with "Love your neighbor as yourself," thus calling us into community
with others. It was then that a question popped into my head...
"What if you were the pinkie
toe?"
In a world that
glorifies it's leaders, heroes, and gifted members, what if the only time I was
recognized was in my pain? What if
I had to actually rely on the rest of the body to carry me or compensate for my
weakness? What if I was completely
immobile because of the pain I was feeling?
I've been walking
through a lot of loneliness and pain this past week or so. I think one of the biggest reasons it's
still there is because I'm just trying to limp through it and be a real man and
tough it out (as if that's what real men do...). We're not meant to
face these pains alone or get through them on our own time. We're a body! We're willing to join together to
celebrate or do good works, but when it comes to our pain, we don't want to be
a bother or a weak link. The good
news is that God uses the weak, and we're all broken, so there goes that
excuse.
There's a reason
you're not the only Christian on the planet. There's a reason God made Adam a helper. There's a reason Jesus called more than
one to disciple. There's a reason
God sent His son to demolish the bondage of sin for ALL who believe.
There's a reason we celebrate when people come to know the Lord.
We're made for
each other. First to bring glory
to God. Second to unify and bring
His kingdom to earth. When I
refuse to be weak, I boast in my own strength and refuse the humility that
Christ set as an example for us. It's
ok to be weak because, one last time...We're a body!
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Posted in Malawi by Will Miller on 1/12/2010
Many times
throughout this race I've wondered to myself if this was anywhere near real
life. I mean, who travels to a new
country every 3 weeks and spends every waking moment in complete community, all
the while spreading the love of Jesus to a lost and dying world? When I sit and think about the
direction my life was headed, I can't help but praise God that He pulled me out
of something I thought was my dream, to take me clear across the world to show
me His. I have to remind myself
often of this fact because some days out here are more like a nightmare.
For those of you
that haven't heard, two of my teammates came down with malaria while our squad
was in Malawi. It happened the
night before we were leaving to go back to Mozambique, so there was no way they
could travel. I knew I needed to
be the one that should stay back but with Tiffany being the other squad leader,
and Cori being a team leader, I felt a since of responsibility, maybe a better
word is pressure, to go on with the squad. However, some of my squad heard the same thing I did, so I
was told I needed to be the one to stay.
Praise God...
Being a somewhat
introverted person, I was selfishly a little excited to hang back. Now that I'm on day four, my thoughts
are changing a little. With the
girls sleeping 15-20 hours a day most days, my alone time has jumped
drastically which is in absolute contrast to the complete community I'm used
to. The big problem with this is
that instead of being able to fill my days with assigned ministry or
conversations, I'm forced to focus on myself in between town runs (alone) and
pill times (hooray for groggy company).
I say this because I'm the type of person that very rarely has any
problems to address or anything that I really need to talk about. It's not because my life is so good, it's
because I'm really good at running just fast enough to not realize all that I'm
towing behind me.
The last few days
have helped me to realize a few things.
First, I'm exhausted. It's
not just the constant travel (I actually kind of enjoy that...), the sleepless
nights, the squad decisions, the complete change of lifestyle, or the steady
outpouring of ministry; it's all of those things and more. Honestly, there are many days that I'm
out here doing "God's work" but I very rarely ask Him what He wants me to
do. How many times in my life have
I been guilty of chasing so many good things when the entire time God is
calling me to just rest in Him? I'm
so tired of all this pressure I put on myself.
Another issue
that is coming up may seem contradictory to the first but sometimes Satan likes
to cover all areas when he attacks.
I'm becoming very complacent.
I'm fine with being exhausted but not really going anywhere. I'm fine with essentially clocking in
and out of ministry until my time is up in April. I'm fine with being one of the least liked people on the
squad because of the crappy decisions I have to make and how many people I have
to send home. But I'm not really
fine with any of that. I don't
want to accept that this is the way things have to work. I refuse to accept that my identity is
anything less than an image bearer and son of the God that gave me this life.
So yea, I'm still
exhausted and wrestling through a ton of things that are too heavy for me, but
every one of Satan's attacks can be used for God's glory and I choose to stand
on that foundation. After all, "He
must increase, but I must decrease." (John 3:30) I guess there are two parts to the verse...
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Posted in Malawi by Will Miller on 12/28/2009
This last week
has been exhausting. We rolled
into Malawi on the back of a flat bed truck after nearly a 40 hour ride and
have nearly doubled that time over the past week. My tailbone is beginning to hate me, but it is getting very
familiar with the ridges at the bottom of the flatbed and the sweet feeling
that each dip the dirt road brings.
I can't imagine what a short commute to work must feel like, much less
driving.
I make jokes, but
the past week has been incredible.
We are working with a ministry out here that connects churches
nationwide. Churches of all
different backgrounds and denominations come together under this umbrella to
help each other out through prayer and support. With this country being so poor, it's very hard for a church
to make it on its own, so these churches must work together. So over the past week, we have been
traveling to different hub sites where several churches are represented by
their pastors and leaders and we have been given the opportunity to teach and
share our testimonies.
Everyday for the past week we have been traveling a couple of hours to these
different hub sites and we have each been called to speak every day. We are all asked to share a part of our
testimony each day and one person is asked to teach a lesson. I'm working with
Team Bamboo, and I honestly expected to do a lot of teaching this month, but
have only gotten the opportunity once.
This team has done an incredible job of hearing from God and not allowing
fear to keep them silent. Everyone
has spoken everyday and no one has preached more than once. Knowing how this team started the race
and the fears that have been around, it's truly something to celebrate each day
as someone new steps up and doubts are silenced.
Unlike the
majority of this team, teaching has become something that I have taken a lot of
pride in and never seem to hesitate turning down an offer to use this
gift. Over the years I have
developed this gift but somewhere along the way I began to hide behind it. I longed to be a good communicator and
often put that above actually learning anything from the Word or spending any
quality time with God. I got
pretty good at this, but fortunately God has this way of calling us out when we
try to hide behind something (it's almost like He's everywhere or knows
everything...crazy thought).
I've spent the
last several months just waiting for my opportunity to teach again but never
really getting one. It's been
tough. Do you ever feel frustrated
because you feel like God won't let you use your gifts? I guess I never really realized how
much pride was in that question until I just wrote it down. This time of silence has been an
interesting opportunity to grow and the humbling lessons are always
"enjoyable", but I'm thankful that God continues to use me.
I'm thankful that
He's given me the opportunity to share His word this week and shown me the
difference between thirsting for His thoughts instead of lusting for mine.
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