On Wednesday the high school girls soccer team and boys basketball team travel to Subic for the International School Athletic Competition. This tournament is being hosted by Brent International School in Subic.
This year, the tournament will be on the web. Want to see how the girls soccer team, which includes Kirsten, is doing? Check out the website - http://www.brentsubic.edu.ph/isac/
Pray for safe travels for the players, coaches and families going to watch.
This hymn is a wonderful prayer to sing at the start of every day.
May The Mind Of Christ, My Saviour
words by Katie Barclay Wilkinson (1859-1928)
May the mind of Christ, my Savior,
Live in me from day to day,
By His love and power controlling
All I do and say.
May the Word of God dwell richly
In my heart from hour to hour,
So that all may see I triumph
Only through His power.
May the peace of God my Father
Rule my life in everything,
That I may be calm to comfort
Sick and sorrowing.
May the love of Jesus fill me
As the waters fill the sea;
Him exalting, self abasing,
This is victory.
May I run the race before me,
Strong and brave to face the foe,
Looking only unto Jesus
As I onward go.
May His beauty rest upon me,
As I seek the lost to win,
And may they forget the channel,
Seeing only Him.
Every year the school our kids attend has a track and field day at the end of third quarter.
And every year as I watch our kids, the line from this hymn runs through my head as I watch races being run, etc.
"May I run the race before me, strong and brave to face the foe
looking only unto Jesus as I onward go.
Hebrews 12:1-3 12 Therefore, since we are surrounded
by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside
every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run
with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to
Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy
that was set before him endured the cross, despising the
shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.
Consider him who endured from sinners such hostility
against himself, so that you may not grow weary or
fainthearted.
We celebrated the news that James's adoption is approved by having pizza, cake, and ice cream after school yesterday. Some of James's friends came over.
We are praising God for James's adoption approval. I was thinking yesterday, as we rejoiced, wept tears of joy, hugged, celebrated, about how the Bible says in Luke 15:10 "10 Just so, I tell you, there is joy before the angels of God over one sinner who repents."
James's new legal name is now James Gonzales Symanzik.
Our Heavenly Father knows each of us by name (Isaiah 43:1) and gives each of us new names (Revelation 2:17, 3:12).
Just a few of the many examples of God changing a person's name can be found in Genesis 17:5 (Abram to Abraham), Genesis 17:15 (Sarai to Sarah), Genesis 32:28 (Jacob to Israel), Mark 3:16 (Simon to Peter).
We each have been adopted by God when we accept Jesus as our Lord and Saviour.
In my mind, to adopt a child here on this earth is to follow my Heavenly Father's lead. True religion, He says, is to care for the orphans and widows (James 1:27)
Other verses about caring for children and adoption - -
Psalm 68:5-6 -
Father to the fatherless, defender of widows-
this is God, whose dwelling is holy.
God places the lonely in families;
he sets the prisoners free and gives them joy.
But he makes the rebellious live in a sun-scorched land.
Matthew 18:5 -
"And anyone who welcomes a little child like this on my behalf is welcoming me.
1 John 3:1-2 -
See how very much our Father loves us, for he calls us his children, and that is what we are! But the people who belong to this world don't recognize that we are God's children because they don't know him. Dear friends, we are already God's children, but he has not yet shown us what we will be like when Christ appears. But we do know that we will be like him, for we will see him as he really is.
Romans 8:14-16 -
For all who are led by the Spirit of God are children of God. So you have not received a spirit that makes you fearful slaves. Instead, you received God's Spirit when he adopted you as his own children. Now we call him, "Abba, Father."For his Spirit joins with our spirit to affirm that we are God's children.
Galatians 4:4-6 -
But when the right time came, God sent his Son, born of a woman, subject to the law. God sent him to buy freedom for us who were slaves to the law, so that he could adopt us as his very own children. And because we are his children, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, prompting us to call out, "Abba, Father."
Examples of Adoption in the Bible - Exodus 2:10 - Moses adopted by Pharoah's daughter; and Esther 2:7 - Mordecai's adoption of Esther.
We got notice from the lawyer today that James' adoption is approved!!!!
We are praising God and celebrating!
Next steps are to get his birth certificate changed to his new name....James Gonzales Symanzik......
and his passport and visa!
We are hoping to be back in the states December 22!
Praise God for His blessings!!!!!
