Worship Regardless

This morning before I went to my own church, I decided to go to a Khmer speaking church. There was a missionary from the states who spoke there today, so I got to hear him speak in English and then hear it translated in Khmer. I really enjoyed the service. One thing that amazes me and encourages me so much is how Cambodians there worship God. They pour their hearts out! Hands lifted and hearts crying out and no regard for the people around them. It gave me so much joy to see and hear them worship. This country is so broken and in desperate need of Jesus. The things that the people here have to live with and see everyday are so heartbreaking to me. Yet I walk into a church service and see these people praising and thanking God, regardless of their circumstances and environment. Regardless of the brokenness that is everywhere they go.

I thought to myself, "Have I ever truly worshipped God like that?" When I think of any valley I've ever had to walk through, or any hard times or difficult situations I've had to deal with, they seem so minute compared to the things I've seen here. Yet during those times I often find myself struggling to truly worship God. When all is well in my world and I am overflowing with joy and happiness, I find I can't stop praising God. But when the hard times come and all is not well, I dwell too much on the bad that I lose sight of the good and I find it hard to praise God. It's as if I seem to only acknowledge the greatness of God when there are great things happening in my life. But if God is the same yesterday, today and tomorrow, why should I let the changes in my life affect how much I worship Him and give Him praise? When I'm on the mountaintops God is good. When I'm in the valleys God is still good.


                                    "Oh, thank GOD—he's so good!
                                          His love never runs out."
                                                Psalm 107:1(MSG)

Father God,

I thank You for revealing to me my selfishness and sin. I'm sorry Lord that I have only been praising You when it's convenient for me. I'm sorry that I haven't acknowledged who You are all the time, no matter what is going on with me. I'm sorry that I have been so centered on my life that I have forgotten to praise You. I thank You that You never change. You are always good. You are always powerful. You are always loving, kind, and gracious. Help me to praise, worship, and honor You on the mountaintops and in the valleys; through every triumph and trial, through every season of my life.

I ask these things in Jesus' name and I thank You for hearing me when I call to You.
Amen

Who Am I?

Where do I start?

My name is Jessica, but I prefer Jess :)
I love Jesus. He's the bomb!

I'm 25 years old. 

I am married to my oh so handsome best friend, Joshua Aloysius (he hates when I use his middle name...hehe). We will celebrate our 3rd year of marriage next week on the 18th!
Katie & Kathleen keep me sane. Couldn't ask for better friends! 

I'm from Kentucky, but I live in Cambodia. I just moved here 2 months ago.

Josh and I are missionaries through Assemblies of God World Missions(AGWM). We are are currently serving the Lord in the capitol city of Cambodia- Phnom Penh. We will be here for 2 years for our first term, but intend to come back indefinitely. We love this country :)

2 years ago my husband and I had the opportunity to go on a 2 week mission trip to Cambodia. God completely wrecked us (that's a good thing) and broke our hearts for the country. We knew that when we went back home from the mission trip, we could no longer continue living the selfish lives we had. During that 2 week trip, God revealed His call on our lives to become missionaries. When we got home we immediately started the interview/training process to become missionaries through AGWM. We then started the itinerating process. This involved traveling to AG churches around KY (we also visited some in TN) and meeting with friends/family to share about Cambodia and raise funds so that we could move and minister here.

I first started this blog 2 years ago as a way to share our itineration journey and just to unload thoughts and whatnot. Now that the itineration process is over and we are finally in Cambodia, I decided to start blogging about life here in Cambodia and this crazy ride God has us on :) Maybe it will encourage someone along the way. Enjoy :)
Jess

Me and Josh standing next to Cambodia's flag at Pre-Field Orientation(PFO)