Rebecca

I've had camp food all week. Yum. ? I didn't get photos of all the food, but here's some of it: Mixed veggies, tomato & egg, cabbage, and soup. Second photo: sushi and french fries. There were chicken strips as well but I missed them in the photo. Zongzi, sticky rice with meat/veg filling wrapped in banana leaves.

I've had this conversation many times with many different people. I'm not an expert by any means, but from my observation and in conversations, it's become clear that quite a bit of American Christianity traditions started in the early 1900s: Sunday school, altar calls, passing the plate, tent revivals, order of services, preaching styles, 'three to thrive' etc. Once someone has visited churches outside the US, it really makes you stop and think about the difference between doing something due to tradition or because it's biblical. That doesn't mean the tradition is bad/wrong, just that it may not be necessary when starting a church in a different country. We are called to spread the gospel, not our culture or traditions.

Hi Josie! I have a question about this. My sister and her daughter have been waiting on my niece's passport for a few months now. How long does this process usually take? Does it take longer for a minor to receive a first-time passport than an adult?

Upper right-hand corner, there's an icon that looks like a paintbrush. Click on that and there are some colors you can choose from.

I changed the color to the two shades of green, it's my favorite color and easier on my eyes. I can add one red back at Christmas to make it festive! ?

Best and worse will change depending on how I feel at the time, but here's how I see it now: Taiwan Best: The healthcare is great. Worse: The political situation with China. That's all people ask me about and I"m tired of talking about it.

It's a good idea to have an updated passport if you ever want to travel outside your home country in the future (business, vacations, missions trips, etc) as it's such a hassle to get new ones issued. If it's already updated when you need to make travel plans it's one less problem to deal with.

I hadn't noticed. When we sang in church today I tried to pay attention to how certain words affected my throat, but I didn't notice any difference like that. Probably if I were singing and enunciating properly I would notice. However, when singing in English what I have noticed in a lot of churches is that when singing a word that has an 's' in the middle or at the end people seem to draw it out and makes it sound like hissing. Made me laugh as a kid.

I sing in another language, but not for voice training purposes.

The circle of IFB that I'm in does a lot of fellowshipping -- at preacher's conferences, home missions conferences, men's retreats, etc. Fellowshipping with others of like-minded faith is important. As a missionary, when I'm on furlough, I visit a lot of churches. It's been rare that I visit with a pastor about me sharing my ministry at his church and that pastor hasn't heard of my pastor and home church, even if they don't know each other personally. Reputations get around, pastors do share their experiences with other pastors.

My home church theme this year is "First Things First" -- Matthew 6:33

I have family members who are both democrat and Christian, it's not impossible or shocking. Did you know that there are republicans who support abortion? Did you know that there are democrats who do not support abortion? Did you know that there are many, many Christians who are neither democrat nor republican? This is because most individual people don't blindly follow their chosen party, they each have their own convictions, thoughts, and ideas that may or may not line up with everything their party is known for.

Over the years, I have sat in a pew listening to "sermons" by a few famous IFB pastors that made me feel extremely uncomfortable due to inappropriate stories or sayings. In my opinion, if a sermon is preached then it should be 100% Bible based, and any stories or illustrations should only be used if they align perfectly with the sermon. Any fetishes between a husband and wife should never be spoken of from behind a pulpit, again it's my opinion, but I believe when fetishes are spoken about like this from a pulpit, during a sermon, it's blasphemous. I am now extremely careful who I listen to and whose churches I visit during furlough.

Congratulations! I like the name ?

Merry Christmas! ?

I looked into audiobook narration a few years ago. I was thinking about starting with the free audiobook sites which are done by volunteers (a good one is https://librivox.org/), which means it isn't paid. However, I figured it would help me gain experience and know whether or not it was something I could do long term, and build up a portfolio to help get paid work. Unfortunately I found out fairly quickly that I don't have the voice/talent for it. I realized there was so much more to audiobook recording than simply reading a book aloud. Having the voice for it also includes being able to read with cadence, slightly changing your voice for characters (don't really need to be distinctive, but to need to know how to distinguish between narration and character speech), and so much more. If someone is a natural storyteller, it should be very easy for them to read for audiobooks. Now podcasting is another can of worms. I enjoy listening to podcasts. Some are very scripted and some are off the cuff. Both styles are enjoyable in their own ways. I guess if you have a topic you're passionate about and believe others would be interested in it, than that is something that might be a good option. I've not looked into what it takes to run a podcast and what makes them successful, but it would be a good subject to look into as an option to make some money.

I'm unsure if King James was evil, and I'm not really willing to dig through all things historical to find out as I dislike politics in general and have no desire to read about it. However, just from casual glances through history books, it's clear that he was a mediocre king at best, and was who I would consider a bad person, but "bad" and "evil" are two different things. King James didn't write the KJV Bible, he simply authorized it, gave permission for it to be translated. He did write a few other books, including "Daemonologie" in 1597. You can order it on Amazon or a Barnes and Noble if you want to read it. https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/daemonologie-king-james-vi-i/1129474843 Overview of the book: In 1590 three hundred Scottish 'witches' were tried for plotting the murder of their King, James VI of Scotland (soon to be James I of England). James is known to have suffered from a morbid fear of violent death, and the trial heightened his anxiety over this apparently treasonous 'un-Christian' sect, and stimulated him to study the whole subject of witchcraft. 'Daemonologie' is the result of this royal research, detailing his opinions on the topic in the form of a Socratic dialogue between the sceptic Philomathes and witch-averse Epistemon, who reveals many aspects of witch-craft. The book consists of three sections, on magic, on sorcery and witchcraft, and on spirits and ghosts, and ends with a lurid account of the North Berwick witch trials, based on the evidence of Dr John Fian, the alleged head of the coven, whose 'confession' was obtained with the aid of thumbscrews, the Boot, and by the ripping out of his fingernails.

There's nothing wrong with enjoying sports or cheering on a favorite team or whatever hobby someone has. It only becomes a problem when that sport or hobby is elevated above family or God, which I've seen a few times, although fortunately not very often. Usually it's just annoying to be around someone when their preferred sportsball team is doing well/poorly in whatever tourney is currently going on, but annoying is better than downright rabid, haha!

Matthew 24:35 - "Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away."

As a single woman, I could say the same of Christian men, where are they? But I already know the answer. They are out there serving God. The same is true of Christian women, we are out there serving God. If you can't find us, it's because you're not looking in the right places. Remember what God told Elijah when he despaired that he was the only one left serving God? God said there were 7,000 others out there serving Him faithfully. (II Kings 19:14-18) The world may seem to us as if there are no good Christians left in the area in which we live, but God knows the truth. He knows the number of people around the world and in your town who are faithfully serving Him. Just like in Elisha's day, we aren't the only ones. Also, the attitude that "head of the home" = "control" is offensive and unbiblical. Of course I don't want someone controlling me, that would be oppression, not freedom in Christ or a loving marriage. The two terms are not equal.

Scientifically speaking, all rainbows are circular, it's just that they don't always form completely because the ground interferes, or the conditions are not right to allow the entire formation. Here are a couple of videos that show a complete rainbow, one has the scientific explanation.

That's scary, glad you're okay!

Taiwan is not arming their citizens. Taiwan does not ban guns, they just have very strict gun control. Shooting ranges have already been popular here for a long time, but yes, because of the Ukraine situation more and more people are signing up at these shooting ranges so they can be better prepared just in case China stops strutting around like a peacock and actually does attack. These shooting ranges use airsoft guns, not "real" guns. https://www.taiwannews.com.tw/en/news/4557817

A pastor can give advice, or counsel, but I believe there is a limit in what he can or should do within the confines of a pastorate. I'm not a pastor, but I do work in ministry with ladies and children. Several years ago I was teaching a ladies Bible study when a lady privately asked for counsel. I quickly learned that what she needed was a doctor, and I was not and am not qualified to counsel someone with that level of needs. Unfortunately the situation ended sadly. This taught me to always be very careful with the advice I give and to understand when I am at my limit and the person needs professional help, not spiritual help. I would hope every pastor knows their limits and to know when to advise the person seek a medical professional.

If this was the pastor from Ozark, Missouri, he shot and killed the man he thought was having an affair with his wife. If it was a different pastor, then there were two this recently, it's quite the coincidence.