>This one’s for you Fav, you should use it in one of your sermons.

>If you like to read blogs, you should definitely follow my friend Karyn and her blog Girl of Cardigan. She has an honest way of writing that always leaves me pondering the meaning of life. Or the meaning of fashion. Or ways to save money…

>There’s a moment when you suddenly realize that you’ve placed a large portion of your identity in a person rather than God. Unfortunately that moment usually comes when that person fails you. Fortunately there is a God, the only true God, who is waiting to make you feel whole again. How lucky are we?!

>The following is a conversation I just had with Tam on Kik (which is awesome, btw. If you have it, let me know and we can chat.):

>So I’m walking through the mall today and this woman comes up next to me, turns her head 90 degrees and stares at me. I look at her, smile and continue walking but she doesn’t stop staring or walking right beside me. I look at her again thinking that maybe I know her, but I don’t so I stop and smile at her again. She stops also and the following conversation happens (all in Thai but I’ll translate it to English just cause I love you all).

And then we parted ways. I have to say that I like that unknown woman, she made my day.

>

“Ron, just because you have the emotional range of a teaspoon doesn’t mean we all have.” -Hermoine

Every once in a while, usually when I’m caught up in some emotional roller-coaster, I think that it would be a lot easier to be a man. Men seem to be less emotional, more practical. I’m not saying that they all have the “emotional range of a teaspoon” but it’s better than having the emotional range of the Pacific Ocean. So yes, sometimes I wish I was a man. Am I alone in wishing that? Maybe I am, maybe I’m not. Either way, I accept the weirdness of it, and I move on.

This past week was a really emotional week for me. At different points in time I was happy, sad, angry, joyful, frustrated, downright annoyed, thankful, exhausted, excited etc. In the midst of my emotional roller-coasters I tend to want to curl up, fall asleep and not wake up until my emotions have evened out. However, when the ride is finished I like to look back and figure out if I learned anything from it. Was there anything that God was trying to teach me or was it simply circumstances and hormones?

Today I looked back on the past week and once again, God brought Ruth to my mind. He’s been doing that a lot lately. Ruth has always been my favorite woman in the bible and I’ve read her story a million times (okay, I exaggerate a little bit) because she inspires me so much. She was brave, wise, hard working, loyal, obedient and blessed. Ruth had some horrible stuff happen to her but she followed where God led her and He blessed her because of it. She left her country, family, home and moved to a country where her people were not accepted. Even after her husband died, she remained loyal to her mother-in-law and followed God. Out of love, she threw herself into a menial job amongst people who should have hated her and I imagine she did it all with a smile on her face. In the end she was blessed with acceptance and someone to love her and care for her for the rest of her life. I believe that when people looked at Ruth, they saw God.

I want to be like Ruth. I want to be unconditionally loyal to the people in my life. I want to work hard, without being asked, even if the job given me seems menial and boring. I want to be brave (don’t we all!). I want to be obedient to those above me without feeling like I hate being told what to do (something I struggle with sometimes). I want to have God-given wisdom in every area of my life. And I want to look back and know that God has blessed me for following Him wherever he called. And more than anything, I want people to see God when they look at me. I want His presence and love to pour out of me so that the people I come in contact with can’t help but be changed by Him.

That’s not too much to ask for, is it?

I’m not sure exactly why God used this emotional roller coaster to show me these specific things, but I’m happy to be reminded. Lord, feel free to remind me anytime!

“I’m not saying that I have this all together, that I have it made. But I am well on my way, reaching out for Christ, who has so wondrously reached out for me. Friends, don’t get me wrong: By no means do I count myself an expert in all of this, but I’ve got my eye on the goal, where God is beckoning us onward—to Jesus. I’m off and running, and I’m not turning back.” -Philippians 3:12-14 (The Message)

>Each year as March creeps closer, I start cringing in anticipation of another Thailand summer. I’m a winter person at heart. At least I used to be, but after five years in Thailand I’m now a bit of a wimp in the cold. But I still prefer cold to hot. I love layering on clothes and curling up under piles of blankets at night. I love fireplaces and sitting next to the heater. I love the whole process of trying to get warm. I don’t, however, love trying to get cool. There’s only so much you can do, so many layers you can remove before you can no longer leave your house.

>A while back I stumbled across a blog which I quickly fell in love with. The writer and her husband were getting ready to move to Chiang Mai to do missions work so I sent her a quick email to let her know that another Thailand missionary was praying for them. Unexpectedly she emailed back, we became friends on Facebook and now keep in touch. Ericka and Rusty have now been in Thailand for a few weeks and I’m looking forward to meeting them (in person) when I get back to Chiang Mai in a couple weeks.

Under the Red Lights from Rusty Jackson on Vimeo.

>Christmas in Thailand is always an experience. I always get really homesick around the holidays, I miss my family and long to spend Christmas day with them. Unfortunately finances make that impossible so over the past few years, I’ve created my own Christmas traditions.

Every year on Christmas Eve a group from church goes caroling. Caroling is a very different experience in Thailand and consists of lots of plans and lots of food. People from church sign up to host the carolers and the group goes from house to house. After they sing, they are invited in and fed a lot of food, spending 30 minutes to 2 hours at each house. This year I got the last slot of the night and the carolers were supposed to show up at midnight. Aon, Ya and myself prepared food and drinks and sat down to watch movies while waiting. Midnight came and went. 1am, 2am, finally at 2:30am the carolers showed up. They sang, ate, hung out and finally went home before 4am. I decided that I am way too old for middle of the night parties! But over all, it was great fun!

After the carolers left, Aon, Ya and myself decided to go ahead and open our gifts to each other so that we could sleep late in the morning. Guess what? I bought Aon a new watch, Aon bought Ya a new watch and Ya bought me a new watch. It was pretty funny!

This was Isaac when we finally went to bed after 4am. Isn’t he cute?!

One of the best parts about Christmas day is that it is also Ya’s birthday. This year we celebrated with a group of friends at Paul and Donna’s house. We had Christmas dinner and a birthday cake for Ya. But the best part was just hanging out with my Thailand family and enjoying the holiday. Here’s a few photos from the evening:
Ya with her birthday cake.

Me with Gary and Evelyn, a very inspiring missionary couple in their 90s.

The PMI Gang: Donna, me, Ya, Aon, Paul.

My Thai family: Dakhota, me, Ya and Aon.

>On December 18th we headed out to Mae Toh for our annual outreach at the kid’s home/church there. It was a great day of ministry and fun and I’m already looking forward to next year! We gave away 500 pairs of shoes and lots of snacks. Rather than write more, I think I’ll just share some of my favorite photos of the day.