Showers of Blessings

I am sitting on the floor in my hut listening to the rain's constant pitter-patter on the dried-leaf roof.

It's raining really hard out there.  I can't even see the tall mountains in the distance, because of all the rain coming down. This reminds me of a song. 

There shall be showers of blessing, precious reviving again; 

Over the hills and the valleys, sound of abundance of rain...

I'm thankful for the rain, even though sometimes I wish it were sunny. The cooler temperatures and the vivid green plant life are great side effects.  

I want to experience an outpouring of the Holy Spirit so that my spiritual life will be living and vibrant too. 

I have been experiencing showers of blessings in more ways than one here. Lately in my devotions, the idea of ​​giving praise and thanksgiving keeps popping up.

To give... the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness... Is. 61:3

So the Lord God will cause... praise to spring forth before all the nations. Is. 61:11

I will mention the lovingkindnesses of the Lord, and the praises of the Lord according to all that the Lord hath bestowed on us... Is. 63: 7

...Abounding therein with thanksgiving... Col. 2: 7.

You know, I think this is the reason why we feel discouraged or discontented sometimes. We have a spirit of heaviness, because we're not actively thanking our Heavenly Father for all He is doing in our lives. I want to cultivate an attitude of gratitude in my life... One that bubbles forth with praises to God.

We all know there are times when it's not easy to think of things to be grateful for... when circumstances are not happening like we want them to or when we are in the middle of a difficult situation.

But Colossians 2: 7 says we should abound with thanksgiving. This means we should be overflowing with gratitude to our Creator, no matter what.

I've been realizing in my own life that I usually ask God for many more things than I thank Him for. So often we forget how blessed we really are as God's children.

For example, one of the little girls from the children's home said sweetly, "Tank you, Teesha," before going to lunch after playing with the puzzles we had brought with us. I noticed that, especially because none of the other girls had said anything before walking off my porch. I appreciated that and I'm sure God does too. It's such a little thing that can make a big difference.

 I'm thankful for godly friends and that we can learn how to weave together. (Hannah Steck just started teaching us the first step in weaving today.).

I'm thankful for simple beauty in nature. 

 I'm grateful for sunshine to dry wet clothes and for our little hut in the jungle. 

(Our hut is the one at the top of the hill.).

       

I'm thankful for sweet little kids who make friends easily. (They love to color pictures!).

 I'm grateful to have this opportunity to be a teacher at this school. (This is the boy's dorm on the other side of the road.).

I'm glad for the greenery & tall mountains. (Another view near the boy's dorm).

 I appreciate the Steck family and their ministry at this school. (This is their house.).

 I'm glad we have food to eat everyday. 

(Cooked cucumbers, noodles & rice. This does taste better than it looks. :). 

We have yellow beans almost every morning. Avocados are really good here!

 I especially enjoy the new kinds of fruit. (Finger bananas, longans, mangosteens, rombotans ...).