One of my "boys"

A local church had an evangelistic outreach on Saturday afternoon and part of the "program" was a testimony given by one of "my boys" who grew up in the children's home. I've written about Laci before...in previous blogs...and how God brought him out of a life of drugs, alcohol and punk life to Himself! I could not wipe the smile off my face as he stood up in front of people and shared about his journey in coming to Jesus! Be encouraged, those of you who have supported me and CEO and English camp throughout the years because Laci explained how one of the "lights" that God used to lead him to a personal faith in Jesus was the American teams coming to the children's home and doing summer camps with the kids out there. Our lives, lived for Jesus and loving on them were seeds planted in his heart, which God watered and grew! Now Laci is actively involved in the church and is part of a small group of young men being discipled by the pastor! All glory to God for His great work in this young man's life!

ICF Friday night

Mary Jill trying out Eszter's cool new shades!
Eszter's very cool new shades!!!

Arden, Francesco (Franci) and Klari.

Blessings continue to abound as God builds our community of International Christian Fellowship here in Szeged! Friday night we worshipped, received a wonderful word from John 7:1-13 through Mary Jill, and enjoyed laughter and fellowship time! We are praying for Francesco, pictured above, who will marry Klari in August! They need to find an affordable apartment to live in and he needs a job! We're looking forward to students coming back from spring break, and seeing what the Lord has in store for us this next month at ICF! Keep up with us at http://www.icf-szeged.com/

Feeding the soul

Boys' choir from Piarista High School in Szeged.

A young harpist! Wow!

Youth orchestra from Perrysburg, OH

It's important to feed our souls with things we enjoy! A colleague of mine at school let me know about a concert last week; turns out it was a "Youth" concert at a local high school featuring young musicians from Szeged and young musicians from our "sister" city of Perrysburg, OH. Above are some of the pictures from that concert which really did feed my soul with wonderful music!

My back...

Agi and her massage table, oils and creams!
Sweet Agi, who has a living relationship with Jesus!

Every so often, some of you ask about my back, knowing that in years past, I've faced some major issues with it. Well, glory to God for not only spiritual inner healing, but also His grace in giving me His wisdom, my back is doing very, very well. Part of that physical healing is a direct result of this woman's ministry, which is therapeutic massage. Pictured above is Agi, from whom I receive regular, full body massages, and through whom I have learned about adjusting my diet, both of which have combined with spiritual healing to produce a much healthier back! Glory to God for HIS great work, through His Spirit, His servants and most importantly, His grace! Thanks for all your prayers re: my back...I continue to pray for health and continued healing, and I thank you for agreeing with me in that prayer! May we ALL walk in His perfect healing!

Spa day

Pedicure anyone?
MJ getting a manicure

Good Friday was a "good" Friday for me and my friend, Mary Jill! I travelled to Debrecen and we enjoyed a "spa day" at a place within walking distance of MJ's house...gotta love europe!

Definition of "EXCUSE"

Heard a great message today. In it, two good definitions of "excuse" were presented. You know what you used to say to your parents when you came home late and they asked, "What's your excuse for being late?" You came up with something really clever in order to avoid taking responsibility, usually. Well, this message really hit the nail on the head and I believe every one of us should ponder the following:

Excuse: A reason put forward to justify an offense.

Excuse: Me, removing myself from the path of blame. (Creflo Dollar's definition)

If I first look at myself, which I try to do each time I hear a message that I also think could relate to someone else, I see that I have multiple excuses for things I do or say. Why? Because I'm not ready to take the blame for my own bad choices. I'm not ready to own up to what I have done in a particular situation. My carnal nature automatically moves into "excuse" mode: "I have to keep myself safe"; "I had to say that in order to save face"; "I didn't know"; "I am simply protecting my own life". The ONLY test to see if we have moved into "excuse-land" is to see if what we have done lines up with Scripture or not.

Excuses...I've learned first-hand that giving excuses truly IS trying to remove myself from the path of blame. But, it always catches up with me, you, us. I've found God won't let me, you, us, live in a world of excuses for long, IF we are completely open to Him showing us our true hearts and open to hearing HIS voice. The beauty in "owning up" is that when we do, THEN God can bring healing. As long as we "make excuses", for whatever reasons, we shut out His healing power in that area of our lives. Yes, it hurts like crazy to "own up", but the healing balm and growth that follows is well-worth the Surgeon's knife.

Acute hearing

This afternoon, I went into my kitchen and looked out the CLOSED window to see one of my cats, Toby, sitting quietly outside, about 30 feet away and one floor below me. I grabbed the plastic bag which holds the Whiskas food, and I saw Toby's head pop up and look up toward the window. Then I put the two plastic bowls down onto the tile in the window sill. Finally, I tore open the foil Whiskas bag...remember, the window was CLOSED! Yet, Toby heard it all and came running for his dinner!!! Now THAT is acute hearing!

As I set the bowls full of food onto the floor, the Lord spoke very clearly into my heart: "Your hearing of MY voice needs to be THAT acute." There is only one way to develop that kind of hearing and that is by spending time with God, in His Word and in prayer and worship, so that even when we are sitting idly by, just relaxing and enjoying life, we can hear His voice, even "from a distance" and "through a 'closed' window".

Easter musings

Earlier this week as I was praying through a very challenging situation, I received this "word" in my spirit: "Let God be God!" Seems simple, but as I proceeded through the week, I had to be reminded time and time again, "let God be God!"
What a great Easter message...during passion week, we see all the events surrounding Jesus; we see at the end of the week, the literal brokenness of relationships, lives, hearts, dreams, hopes, friendships, and Jesus Himself; and when all seems "lost", it's then that we "have to" let God be God, because there is nothing else we can do.
The women coming to the tomb have in their minds and hearts this thought: "who will roll away the stone?" In essence, they are saying, "WE have to do something! WE have to figure all this out!" They arrive at the tomb, "look up", and find a GREAT surprise: God has been God! ALL of their plans (to annoint the body, to grieve, to try to go on with life minus Jesus), have been shattered because God was God and in His grace and mercy, HE rolled away every stone over every heart and has healed everything broken! God did it...in His way...which is always perfect and always good. So, this Easter and every day following, may we look up, and let God be God, because He is more than capable!

Thursdays at the Library cafe

Because I've moved to "part-time" status in my teaching job at school, I've got Thursdays and Fridays "off" to devote more time to people and ministry. The Lord put on my heart in January to begin going to the University Library cafe for a couple of hours each Thursday and "be available" for those interested in coming to talk, seek counsel, or whatever! These days have been a true blessing for me as our relationships are being strengthened, and most importantly, relationships with God are being encouraged and strengthened.

These three beauties, Sara, Judit and Klari are precious women of God. Sara, from Sweden, is studying medicine and is on the leadership team of ICF. Judit, from Serbia, is also on the ICF leadership team, was my student for 4 years in high school, and is studying English at the university. Klari, from Hungary, was my student for 3 years in high school and is studying Spanish and Italian at the university...she will get married this summer to a wonderful Italian man, Francesco! We hope Francesco gets a job in Szeged and Klari and he can be an active part of ICF from September!

I love that we can share our lives in Christ together during this season God has us together!

ICF this past Friday!

Tanya, Arden and Jennifer leading worship.
Emmi, Aron, Toby and Jennifer during worship.
Fellowship...and chocolate chip cookies, of course!
Jim teaching on the last section of John 6.

Jim and Tanya Person and family made the trip to Szeged from Erd, outside of Budapest, to bless us with their presence and with a great message from God's heart through Jim. Tanya brought her flute to join in with the worship team, and Jennifer added her sign language skills while we sang "Come, Now is the Time to Worship".

We were nearly all students this week, from 7 different nations and worship and fellowship were sweet! We're taking a break this Friday as it is the beginning of Spring Break, but will be back again on the 28th!

Subway in Szeged

Ok, so Subway has been in Szeged for months now, but this is the first time I've gotten to take a picture of this truly American fast-food sandwich shop, which, by the way, is a hit, especially with the international students at the university!

New baby!!!!!

Anita and Denes - one-week old!
Denes and big brother, Tamas!
Arden, Eszter and Anita, visiting mom, dad, brother and new baby!
Gabi, a mom herself of 3, shows her expertise with Denes!

Welcome to Denes (pronounced Day-nesh) Lauko!!! In these pictures, this little one is just one week old! Look how good he AND mom look!!! God gave Anita the most amazing delivery anyone could ever imagine. It was two hours long and she did not have to be cut, and little Denes came out perfectly...but the miracle was Anita experienced NO PAIN throughout the entire delivery! Glory to God!

Spring beauty in Serbia

I visited my friend Laki in Novi Sad, Serbia, and we got to take a walk through this beautiful park.

The Surrendered Life

Thoughts to ponder:
"To become one with Jesus Christ, a person must be willing not only to give up sin, but also to surrender his whole way of looking at things. The first thing we must surrender is all of our pretense or deceit. Once we have done that, the Spirit of God will show us what we need to surrender next. Along each step of this process, we will have to give up our claims to our rights to ourselves. Are we willing to surrender our grasp on all that we possess, our desires, and everything else in our lives? We will suffer a sharp painful disillusionment before we fully surrender. If you are faced with the question of whether or not to surrender, make a determination to go on through the crisis, surrendering all that you have and all that you are to Him." (Oswald Chambers)

If I've learned anything in the last 6 months, it is that the above thoughts are incredibly true. Truly, in our heart of hearts, no one wants to surrender. A soldier, an army, a nation...none of these wants to say, "I surrender." It's seen as a losing of face, an admission of weakness or some sort of failure. In the natural realm, there will always be someone standing there "gloating" over the surrender, ready to pour lemon juice on the open wound.

However, in God's kingdom, surrender is the only way to life. In our weakness, HE is strong. In our surrender, He is allowed to live His life in and through us, bringing all of His life into us and subsequently, through us. It truly is in dying that we live; in laying down our lives to Him, that He gives us His life, which is so much better than anything we could ever imagine.

Jesus Himself cried out the greatest cry of surrender in the Garden of Gethsemane, through tears, anxiety, sweating drops of blood, and even pleading for His Father to take the cup away from him. In the end, Jesus proclaimed, "Father, not my will, but Thy will be done." What followed was excruciatingly painful. A friend's betrayal; the abandonment of nearly all His friends; severe beatings; a crown of thorns pressed down upon His head; mockery; false accusations; horrific physical torture and pain; emotional turmoil; public humiliation; and finally, a brutal death. Note, all of these things came AFTER surrender to the Father's will. I stand amazed at myself and the expectation that I have that when I say, "Thy will be done!" that somehow I will "escape" the fire of His purifying love! There is nothing that you or I will ever face in our lives that Jesus has not felt to the fullest measure. Lord, I cry out to You, have mercy on me, and give me Your grace! More importantly, may YOUR will be done in my life!

The paradox of heaven is that in surrendering, we win everything!

ICF pix

Erik and Aron jamming on guitars after the meeting!
Kimberly and Markus....clowning around!
Becky, and American, and Timea, an ethnic Hungarian from Romania chat after ICF.

Here are pix from last week!

ICF

One of the most important times at ICF each Friday, I believe, is the fellowship time...actually, the fellowship time AFTER the "meeting" is officially over. As is pretty typical in most countries, people stay around, for hours if you let them, week after week, and get into good, deep conversations, building relationships with one another. When I used to have Bible studies in my flat, they were scheduled for 2 hours, but most of the time, I was "kicking people out" 3-4 hours after the start time. We're finding the same thing at ICF...we meet from 7-9, but rarely get out of there before 10 or 10:30 p.m.! It's kind of wonderful that people are not rushing off to the next activity all the time because I believe that wonderful, deep, abiding relationships are being forged in Christ, where He can enter in and do His work in and through His people for His glory!

Fire, water, wind and waves

I know that many out there have passed through raging fires, have faced waves, wind and floodwaters in their lives FAR, FAR beyond anything I have ever faced. I've just come out of a refining fire, and stormy floodwaters, and through it all God was and continues to be so very present. Of course there were times when I wondered "what is going on?" and "why is this happening?" The answer was always the same: "I'm allowing this for your good and MY glory." If we can remember every day that EVERYTHING that God does is good, then we will begin to understand His heart, but the only way to truly know His heart is to be in intimate relationship with Him, immersed in His Word, and surrendered completely to His good, perfect and loving hands and heart.

We used to sing a song a lot in Bible studies and today, this song has an entirely new meaning for me:

"Give thanks with a grateful heart, give thanks to the Holy One, give thanks because He's given Jesus Christ His Son; and now let the weak say 'I am strong', let the poor say 'I am rich', because of what the Lord has done, for us, give thanks."

I used to sing this song as sort of a "feel good" song of giving thanks; but after having been through a challenging, refining fire, I am understanding Paul's admonition to give thanks in ALL circumstances, for this is God's will for you IN Christ Jesus. It's not necessarily God's will that I am IN that circumstance, rather it is God's will for me that I GIVE THANKS!!! God will cause all things to work together for good to those who love Him and who are called according to His purpose. (Rom. 8:28) Even the flames and the floods and the waves....

Pix from my Sunday walk....

What animal do you see???

Sunday, I enjoyed a 2 1/2 hour walk alone with God, my Ipod shuffle full of worship music and my camera. I absolutely TREASURE these times. These are some of the interesting pix I was able to capture along the way. Any comments?

24/7 Prayer room in Budapest

Worship and prayer!
The view out one of the windows from the prayer room!
No audience but God!

I was blessed last Thursday to be able to drive to Budapest and visit the 24/7 prayer room there again! The drive up was fabulous, worshipping the entire way, and the worship and prayer time with these brothers and sisters in Christ was precious!

Friday at 7 - ICF - Movie Night

We had a good turn-out for movie night, with three new people showing up at ICF! No pictures, sorry....but we had plenty of munchies and drinks and after watching the film, I was able to stand up and share some thoughts about friendship, what is THE most important thing in life, and love, three themes present in the film.

Please check out www.icf-szeged.com to see what's coming up next week!