“David, wearing a linen ephod, danced before the 'Father' with all his might,...”
The king of a nation danced before the Father with all his might!
“The 'Father' is with you,
he is mighty to save.
He will take great delight in you,
he will quiet you with his love,
he will rejoice over you with singing.”
The Creator of Life rejoiced by singing over his creation!
“He will yet fill your mouth with laughter
and your lips with shouts of joy.”
May his heavenly duet continue as the composer conducts. May we sing in harmony with him, and when we miss a beat, his grace will recognize it as jazz.
May my voice be still in the presence of the Father's love. As David danced, may my heart dance to the rhythm of his song, and when my tongue is loosened may it shout for the joy that he has placed in me!
Why we are grateful this week:
1) On Wednesday we spoke with our advisor to tentatively organize next semester's schedule. With 5 American teachers, and fewer students in the spring, our course load should be lighter. As of now it looks like Jessie will only have 12 credits and I will have 16, making it very possible to return to the states for the birth of our child. We are also excited that the fewer classes will afford us more individual time with our students.
2) We celebrated New Year's Eve with Peter, Shannon, and Jess Shamblee. There wasn't anything spectacular about it, but we enjoyed ice cream, cheesecake, homemade egg nog, and a movie together before counting down to midnight. It was a good time of fellowship for our team.
3) Jessie has been using some of her free time this week to cook with her students. It's always fun to invite students to our apartment and watch them marvel at our different style of cooking. This week they made no-bake cookies, and I enjoyed them very much!
4) We also spent some time watching movies with students. On Tuesday night Peter and I watched Sahara with Okay and Cole, and on Friday Jessie watch Seven Pounds with Danielle. Next week Jessie is hoping to organize a large Christmas movie night for the English department.
5) We were blessed by a visit from Andy Nelson and his friend Heather Grise over this past weekend. It was just great to have the opportunity to speak English with other like-minded friends. It's amazing how we are learning to appreciate the little things that we took for granted in the States.
Please continue to “think” about us:
1) We visited the Agape House and Outreach Center today with Peter, Shannon, Andy, Heather, and Jess Shamblee. It's another local Orphanage similar to the Philip Hayden Foundation. They serve many Chinese orphans who have Osteogenesis imperfecta, commonly known as Brittle Bone Disease. They also have a small bakery that provides jobs for some of the older orphans and they are working on a dental clinic.
2) In a couple weeks we will be traveling to southern China (Shenzhen) for our IECS teaching conference. Please continue to think about our travel plans.
3) Please continue to keep our future plans in your thoughts. We are still trying to sort out where the Father is leading us for the upcoming year. There are some opportunities in the States that we are investigating, and we have not ruled out returning to China for a third year. Most of all, we want to follow the Father’s blessing.
Following His Blessing,
Brad
