What Would You Say?

     What people do you surround yourself with? Are they mainly Christians? Are you able to talk logically with an atheist?
     Living in the ‘Bible Belt’ and having mainly Christians in my life, I tend to be sheltered from those to whom I must defend my faith. I have recently read a book called “Unexpected Journeys”. It is a book I would HIGHLY recommend all Christians to read. It is testimonies from 13 people, all from different religions, sharing their journey to find Jesus. There are several common threads between the stories but one is that Christians don’t know their Bible and beliefs enough to share Christianity to a person of a different faith. I have really been pondering the things I learned from this book and plan on reading it several more times. Yesterday, while getting online, I saw an article on Haiti. I am very attentive to Haiti these days because Brittne’s boyfriend, Parker, serves as a missionary there. So, I read the article and for some strange reason read the comments. At first, they made me numb and sick. Then I was shocked as I was being dragged out of my sheltered world to face the reality of the beliefs of others. People are walking away from God as Christians are becoming more and more lackadaisical with our faith. We can’t change others until we mature as Christians and know why we believe what we believe. Though I realize that it will make the devotion really long today (hey, I have been really good lately with short devotions), I am including the story and some of the comments I am referring to. May it encourage you as it did me, to equip yourself to be able to love people to Jesus with knowledge and not have to rely on slanderous words.
msnbc.com updated 7/29/2010 7:01:21 AM ET LONDON — A mother broke down in tears as she was reunited with her baby girl six months after the earthquake that devastated Haiti. "I had thought Landina was dead and when I heard she was alive I was in shock," the eight-month-old infant's mother, Marie Miracle Seignon told Britain's Channel 4 News. "This is very emotional for me." Doctors said the January earthquake that killed hundreds of thousands in the Caribbean island nation actually saved Landina's life. Last December, a house fire caused by candles left Landina seriously injured and suffering burns to her skull. She was undergoing treatment at La Trinite hospital in the capital when the devastating temblor struck and was buried in the rubble for two days. When Landina was pulled from the debris, she was moved to a field hospital run by Doctors Without Borders. Her right arm was badly injured in the quake and had to be amputated.
     It was during her stay there that British surgeon David Nott realized that Landina would likely die within days if she did not receive an operation, Channel 4 News reported. Her skull had been so damaged by the house fire that it left her brain exposed to the risk of a fatal infection. Since the complex operation could not be carried out in quake-ravaged country, the doctor helped to set her up with a British charity that specializes in craniofacial reconstructive surgery. The charity, Facing the World, did not know where Landina's family was or if any of her relatives were even alive. With her medical records destroyed in the quake, they didn't even have names to work with. Facing the World brought the baby to London, paying for her travel and medical costs and acting as her temporary guardian. In March, Channel 4 News' Inigo Gilmore returned to Haiti to help the charity hunt for Landina's family. With the publicity surrounding the story, several people pretended to be family members, thinking they could benefit from the relationship. Gilmore interviewed people at the first hospital Landina had been treated at and was told that her mother was possibly living in a slum area of Port-au-Prince called Bizoton. He put out a radio announcement and located Seignon, a 26-year-old mother of four. Seignon had an admission card from the hospital bearing Landina's name, Channel 4 News said. "When the notice was put out on a radio, a friend raced to my house and said, 'Please sit down.' She said, 'This may sound like something from the movies but sometimes movies do come true. I need to tell you that Landina is alive.'" Seignon added: "I didn't believe at first, and even after the reporter came and showed me the pictures, it was still hard to believe." After a DNA test proved that Seignon was Landina's biological mother, the charity helped her travel to London to spend six weeks with the baby she hadn't seen in half a year. Visiting Landina at Chelsea and Westminster Hospital in the U.K. capital, the mother told Channel 4 News: "Seeing her now in reality is a shock to me because I last saw her as a little baby with two hands, now she has only one. Even though I had seen her in pictures I didn't believe it. Now it's real."
Comments
Linda/ Stories like these confirm in my heart that there is a God, there is a reason for that little girl to live after going through so much. Truly this is a miracle. God bless the Doctors and the Organization that helped her.
Hoosier/ Great story. Wonderful picture. However, do you blame science for the hurricane and god for the miracle that the baby was alive?
Mike\ Why the hell can't we just give the credit to the hard work and efforts of the folks that made this possible without some jackass stepping in and giving the credit to God? We humans are capable of making good things happen all by ourselves you know. Save your illusions for Sunday coffee hour church chat please.
Laura/Everything comes from God.
Tiredofnegativity/ Mike why can't u shut up!!!
Thetrix/ Mike has a valid point. The rescuers, doctors and organizations did this. They should get credit. Not all people believe in fantasy and can see reality for what it is. Reality saved this child. Real people did the work
Donna/ If this does not verify the existence of a higher power, nothing will. God bless you Mom and Landina.
Joe/ What does this story have to do with a higher power? How many people died in the quake? This story is 1 in a 1,000,000... where is the higher power for the other 999,999? Where was it when the fire burnt the baby's skull? Where was it when rubble crushed the baby's arm and left her in debris for 2 days alone? It seems that if a story is happy (and don't get me wrong, this story is extremely joyous) someone claims that it is because of "god." If a story is sad, it is a learning lesson from "god." Either way you spin it, you still have nothing to base that presumption on. There is no verification of a higher power in this story... it is happenstance... as is life. I am tickled to see these two get to reunite. We have luck to thank for the fact that rubble crushed her arm, not her head. We have man's developed brain, hard work, and determination to thank for finding mom!
Joyce/ All good things come from God.
Mike/ All good things come from God. You make me want to vomit up a belly full of butterflies, puppy breath and sunshine. What ... are we humans not capable of good without God taking the credit?
Handgunner/ Mike - not to worry, I will pray for others who are more deserving. God gave man free will so you can believe what you want to believe - I will not call you names or smear you for your beliefs but why must you smear others?
Mike/ I thank you for not praying for me. That way, my good deeds will be attributable to nobody other than me, thus reinforcing the reality that humans are capable of good without the intervention of Him. If you choose to believe, then so be it and more power to you. But when you bring your ideology into a public forum, you are a target for those of us that prefer to give credit where it is due ... instead of giving it to something that is unseen, unheard and leaves no tracks of its existence.
Maria/ Mike ---So because you don't believe, nobody should? If you don't want to believe then don't, but by the same token, don't try and explain away or demean the beliefs of others just because they differ from yours.
JustAThought08/ Mike, no matter what you say or do there are always going to be people who need to have a parent figure, and need to believe in a God who is running everything and who occasionally intervenes in human lives with assorted miracles. It is not worth getting upset or arguing about it. It is like arguing with someone who is not quite sane, since their attitudes and beliefs are not predicated in reality. You may as well be speaking in Chinese. Just be happy you are not one of them...In the meantime, I, too, am blown away by the sheer persistence and dedication of the people who brought this little girl such a long way from devastating injury to health and her mother’s arms, especially since you know that for every success like this there were probably dozens of heart-breaking failed attempts. What an incredible achievement to have the heart to persist in the face of such odds!
Laura/ So... if God has love for "His" people, why put them through this? You're confusing love with cruelty, folks. Take God (and any diety) out of the equation and just be happy for the mom whose kid was found.
Mike/ This is a wonderful, feel good story. I am overjoyed for mother and child. However .... God has love for Haiti?? One good earthquake story for every 5,000 bad ones. With that kind of friend, who needs enemies? Personally, I strive to do good and be good on my own accord, and I don't need God to make it happen. However, I fully expect someone to come back with "you poor soul, I will pray for you" ... thereby attributing my future good deeds to your intervention. Excuse me while I go floss the butterflies out of my teeth.
Checkmate/ Agreed, Laura. I'm an atheist and the only thing I care about is the mother and the kid. It is awesome that she made it thanks to the paramedics.
Christina/ What an amazing story! It is so nice to see that miracles do happen! May god bless the people who helped make this happen and mother and child!
Ann/ AMEN!!! I just sat here shaking my head thinking how awesome God is to display His grace from this horrific disaster. Through this story I could "hear" HIM say "though the world has forgotten you - I have not"! May all those who love HIM be encouraged to know that in the "rubble" of life HE has not forgotten you! He has love for Haiti and He has love for you! PRAISE HIS NAME!!! HE LIVES FOREVER!!
Angelica/ For all the non-believers out there, this just shows that there is a power beyond all understanding. Seen and unseen. For all the believers out there, the Lord still lives and He's alive and working. Miracles do happen every day. What a wonderful story.

The fool says in his heart, “There is no God.”

Psalm 14:1

Where Is Your Focus Today?

What took your focus yesterday? Was it work? Was it motherhood? Was it financial problems? Was it errands and chores? If I asked you what are the two top priorities in our lives, you would probably say God and my spouse. If God and your spouse are your top priorities, then they should have had the majority of your focus yesterday. Did they?
     The greatest goal I have for my relationship with God and my husband is intimacy. (I wish we could see Dwayne’s face light up right now with a big smile because his male mind will translate those words to “Tonya wants to be ‘intimate’ with me!” Sorry Dwayne, that is not exactly what I mean.) The definition for intimacy is to thoroughly be acquainted with something or someone through study or experience, or the sharing of private matters to someone. Oh, yes, there is the definition of sexual relations, but that is another day’s devotion! (Dwayne; Thank you Jesus!) I cannot become intimate with anyone, no matter what definition we use, without focusing on them. The definition for focus is the concentration of attention or energy on something. If I want to be intimate with someone, then I need to spend time focused on them. My spiritual intimacy with God depends on the time I spend studying and experiencing Him through study which takes my focus. My marriage intimacy depends on the time I spend getting acquainted with my spouse by sharing private matters which takes focus.
     I have to admit that days can go by without me focusing on what I should. It seems the demands of life and even the ministry to others can so take my focus that it feels impossible to focus on anything else. I wish there was a big caution flag that would wave in front of me when that happens to warn me that my inattentiveness is taking me into danger territories. Every night when my head hits the pillow, I should ask myself these questions: What blessings and struggles did Dwayne experience today? Did I physically touch him today? Did I look him in the eyes today? Did I show him love and respect today? Is there anything I left undone with him today?
     Here is the hard truth of the life of marriage, no matter who you are! When I am not meeting the needs of my spouse, there is someone out there who will be willing to. My spouse's emptiness can sometimes scream louder than their inner voice of commitment and before you know it, they are letting someone else fill their needs.
     I read this story on facebook today and thought it rang out a great warning to all those who are married, or going to be married someday. Read it with focus and let God speak to you.

When I got home that night as my wife served dinner, I held her hand and said, I've got something to tell you. She sat down and ate quietly. Again I observed the hurt in her eyes. Suddenly I didn't know how to open my mouth. But I had to let her know what I was thinking. I want a divorce. I raised the topic calmly. She didn't seem to be annoyed by my words, instead she asked me softly, why? I avoided her question. This made her angry. She threw away the chopsticks and shouted at me, you are not a man! That night, we didn't talk to each other. She was weeping. I knew she wanted to find out what had happened to our marriage. But I could hardly give her a satisfactory answer; she had lost my heart to Jane. I didn't love her anymore. I just pitied her! With a deep sense of guilt, I drafted a divorce agreement which stated that she could own our house, our car, and 30% stake of my company. She glanced at it and then tore it into pieces. The woman who had spent ten years of her life with me had become a stranger. I felt sorry for her wasted time, resources and energy but I could not take back what I had said for I loved Jane so dearly. Finally she cried loudly in front of me, which was what I had expected to see. To me her cry was actually a kind of release. The idea of divorce which had obsessed me for several weeks seemed to be firmer and clearer now. The next day, I came back home very late and found her writing something at the table. I didn't have supper but went straight to sleep and fell asleep very fast because I was tired after an eventful day with Jane. When I woke up, she was still there at the table writing. I just did not care so I turned over and was asleep again. In the morning she presented her divorce conditions: she didn't want anything from me, but needed a month's notice before the divorce. She requested that in that one month we both struggle to live as normal a life as possible. Her reasons were simple: our son had his exams in a month's time and she didn't want to disrupt him with our broken marriage. This was agreeable to me. But she had something more, she asked me to recall how I had carried her into out bridal room on our wedding day. She requested that every day for the month's duration I carry her out of our bedroom to the front door ever morning. I thought she was going crazy. Just to make our last days together bearable I accepted her odd request. I told Jane about my wife's divorce conditions. . She laughed loudly and thought it was absurd. No matter what tricks she applies, she has to face the divorce, she said scornfully. My wife and I hadn't had any body contact since my divorce intention was explicitly expressed. So when I carried her out on the first day, we both appeared clumsy. Our son clapped behind us, daddy is holding mommy in his arms. His words brought me a sense of pain. From the bedroom to the sitting room, then to the door, I walked over ten meters with her in my arms. She closed her eyes and said softly; don't tell our son about the divorce. I nodded, feeling somewhat upset. I put her down outside the door. She went to wait for the bus to work. I drove alone to the office.

On the second day, both of us acted much more easily. She leaned on my chest. I could smell the fragrance of her blouse. I realized that I hadn't looked at this woman carefully for a long time. I realized she was not young any more. There were fine wrinkles on her face, her hair was graying! Our marriage had taken its toll on her. For a minute I wondered what I had done to her. On the fourth day, when I lifted her up, I felt a sense of intimacy returning. This was the woman who had given ten years of her life to me. On the fifth and sixth day, I realized that our sense of intimacy was growing again. I didn't tell Jane about this. It became easier to carry her as the month slipped by. Perhaps the everyday workout made me stronger. She was choosing what to wear one morning. She tried on quite a few dresses but could not find a suitable one. Then she sighed, all my dresses have grown bigger. I suddenly realized that she had grown so thin, that was the reason why I could carry her more easily. Suddenly it hit me... she had buried so much pain and bitterness in her heart. Subconsciously I reached out and touched her head. Our son came in at the moment and said, Dad, it's time to carry mom out. To him, seeing his father carrying his mother out had become an essential part of his life. My wife gestured to our son to come closer and hugged him tightly. I turned my face away because I was afraid I might change my mind at this last minute. I then held her in my arms, walking from the bedroom, through the sitting room, to the hallway. Her hand surrounded my neck softly and naturally. I held her body tightly;

it was just like our wedding day.

But her much lighter weight made me sad.

On the last day, when I held her in my arms I could hardly move a step. Our son had gone to school. I held her tightly and said, I hadn't noticed that our life lacked intimacy. I drove to office.... jumped out of the car swiftly without locking the door. I was afraid any delay would make me change my mind...I walked upstairs. Jane opened the door and I said to her, Sorry, Jane, I do not want the divorce anymore. She looked at me, astonished, and then touched my forehead. Do you have a fever? She said. I moved her hand off my head. Sorry, Jane, I said, I won't divorce. My marriage life was boring probably because she and I didn't value the details of our lives, not because we didn't love each other anymore. Now I realize that since I carried her into my home on our wedding day I am supposed to hold her until death do us apart. Jane seemed to suddenly wake up. She gave me a loud slap and then slammed the door and burst into tears. I walked downstairs and drove away.

At the floral shop on the way, I ordered a bouquet of flowers for my wife. The salesgirl asked me what to write on the card. I smiled and wrote, I'll carry you out every morning until death do us apart. That evening I arrived home, flowers in my hands, a smile on my face, I run up stairs, only to find my wife in the bed - dead. My wife had been fighting CANCER for months and I was so busy with Jane to even notice. She knew that she would die soon and she wanted to save me from the whatever negative reaction from our son, in case we push thru with the divorce.

--- At least, in the eyes of our son--- I'm a loving husband....

The small details of your lives are what really matter in a relationship. It is not the mansion, the car, property, the money in the bank. These create an environment conducive for happiness but cannot give happiness in themselves. So find time to be your spouse's friend and do those little things for each other that build intimacy. Do have a real happy marriage! Many of life's failures are people who did not realize how close they were to success when they gave up.

Therefore what God has joined together, let not man separate.

Matthew 19:6

It Has a Purpose!

     Do you have bad situations that have created hurt in your life? Have you let God heal you? Have you forgiven? Have you seen God work it out for good?

     Some of you already know that I have not had the best relationship with my birth father. My mother and my birth father were mere teenagers when I was born. My 17 year old father was not ready to be a father and my parents’ marriage only lasted months. My mother was a wonderful, single mother. She worked hard to provide for me all by herself. She remarried a few years later and her new husband adopted me and became my father; since my birth father was no longer involved in my life. He was a wonderful father to me and I love him very much, but I always felt emptiness in regards to my birth father. My birth father became a successful man and a good father to two children. I met him for the first time when I was a freshman in high school. We have since had an occasional communication but we really never got past the ‘I have done you so wrong’, ‘I forgive you’ stage; until recently. Last September, I met with him face to face for the first time in twenty years. Since then, we have communicated approximately five times and we just had normal chit chat conversations, which is a first. One thing I have always done is to try and forgive him and never let a seed of bitterness grow in me. I think many times he wishes I would just hate him so he wouldn't have to face the issue. My forgiveness of him keeps the responsibility of this relationship on him. One of the hardest things for me is to not know my half brother and sister. They do not know about me and I pray that someday that changes.
     Sometimes, this situation has been very hurtful for me and hard for me to deal with. However, God has always been faithful to help me forgive and heal. Last week in the village, I saw God take this situation and work it for good for His glory! We were asked to share our family testimonies to the Peruvian children at the school we ministered in. Brittne encouraged us to share whatever we felt comfortable sharing and what God laid on our heart. Everyone shared perfect family testimonies except me. I felt very led to share my experience with a father that is suppose to love me but whose actions say he doesn’t. I shared how I have had three fathers and how my first father left. I shared how I had to learn to forgive in order to have peace in my heart. The school teacher followed up our testimonies by encouraging the children to practice forgiveness and to count their blessings for the people God sends to fill in the gap of parents who fail. Peruvian families are in bad shape. They are where our families in America are headed. The school teacher shared with us later that several students came up to him and shared how they had thought they were alone in their situations but now they realized that others can understand their pain. Praise God! Just as he promises to do; He took something bad in my life and used it for good in the lives of others! It at least brings some purpose to the hurt! All I had to do is to trust and love Him!

And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.

Romans 8:28

Judge? Then be judged!

     When we were in Montana, Dwayne and I decided that we wanted to offer a home to a child who didn't have one. We went through the process and classes to adopt a child. Part of the requirements were that we had to be foster parents to the child for 6-12 months before we could adopt them. We selected a girl that was two years younger than Brittne named Becky. Though I had to follow the requirements to adopt her, I did not put any boundaries on my heart and brought her into my home as a child of ours and loved her as such. That was a mistake and was not a good thing for Becky. Getting close to a family, and especially a mother over night, created an emotional fear for her. Her life had taught her that everyone she loved would leave her and so she would test and push the relationship to extremes to make it happen quickly and not down the road. Anytime we showed attention to Bryce or Brittne, she would go into a raging fit which would take both our attention for hours. We tried everything to help her through her fits. We even tried ignoring her and then she threatened the kids and Dwayne's safety. We got her some more counseling but it spiraled down from there. For the sake of Bryce and Brittne and for her own sake we had to let her leave our family. It was one of the most heart wrenching experiences I have ever endured. I felt guilty for being another person in her life that promised her love and yet left her. I haven't seen her in over ten years and yet I still miss her, pray for her, and love her. One of the biggest blows my heart took through this loss was from Becky's softball coach. She cornered Brittne a few days after Becky left and voiced her opinion to Brittne that all Becky needed was someone to love her. She stated that she would have taken her and loved her. I was shocked and hurt that this woman was saying that I just didn't love her enough and to top it off, tell my child her warped opinion! She had never been in our home. She didn't know me. She never saw one of Becky’s fits. She never saw the price my children were paying. She couldn't feel my heart and know how much I loved this little girl.

     It is tough enough to be judged by someone that understands your situation, but to be judged by someone who has not walked in your shoes and, even worse, not have an idea what shoes you wear, is even worse.
     I wish I could say that I have never judged someone, especially someone that I didn't understand their situation, but I can't. That fact shames me because I do what I hate done to me! How much have you let judging become a part of your life? Do you at least get to know them and their life? If people judged you like you judge them, how would you feel? I pray that I grow to never judge anybody's decisions until I take the time to get to know what I don't understand. Above all, I pray that I leave all judging to the only one qualified to judge fairly and that is God and God alone

Don't pick on people, jump on their failures, criticize their faults --

 unless, of course, you want the same treatment.

Matthew 7:1

Well Done

     I am home and trying to settle back in. It has been a full day and I wish I had another day to chill, but tomorrow I am back to work! I didn’t really chill out today because I am preparing for Brittne to come home in nine days! I cannot believe it. Two years has passed and now she is returning. Though I feel I have done well with the separation, it has been a sacrifice for my motherhood. I have not spent a birthday, or a Thanksgiving, or fun shopping day with my daughter in two years. I have missed her! However, I must say that I was moved and awed by my daughter during my mission trip to Peru. She has grown into a mature, spiritual woman. I watched her minister to people, wisely teach God's Word, and graciously share the gospel. She did her God assignment wonderfully and she didn’t need her mama’s help! Our mission trip with her was the last village trip Brittne will make. I watched a new believer cry because she knows she will not see Brittne again and yet she is grateful for the love and teaching Brittne has given her over her time in her village. I saw a couple who run a restaurant struggle to say goodbye to my daughter because they have grown to love her. They promise they are coming to the USA one day for her wedding. (No there are no wedding plans in the works at the time being!) As I was crying watching the people tell her goodbye, I realized that whatever sacrifice I have made as a mother to be away from my daughter was worth it! The impact she has made on people for the Lord in Peru is a blessing to them and to me. I know that the Lord is pleased with her service over the last two years and pleased with the heart in which she did it!

      Life is not always easy! Sometimes it feels like the sacrifice we are making isn’t worth it and regrettably sometimes we feel that way about our spiritual walk! At times it feels like we are sacrificing and getting nowhere. We never arrive at a point of perfection because our sin continues to trip us up. Even if we do get some control of our sin nature, when we look into the face of Jesus, we always come up short. However, if we continue to sacrifice ourselves to the control of Jesus and do so with a heart of gratitude and love, we will please the Lord!
     Think about the feeling you will feel when you stand before the Lord and He says the words, “well done my good and faithful servant”! Is there any sacrifice too big if the sacrifice brings praise from our Lord?’

“His master replied, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master’s happiness!’

Matthew 25:23

Life is in God's Hands

     Yesterday, I got to visit the 100+ woman I have shared about previously. It is heart wrenching to see a woman dying in a bed without family, friends, or medical care beside her. She can no longer get out of bed and she cannot sit in the sun because the light now hurts her eyes. She barely eats broth and her digestive system isn’t really working. She barely can see or hear. She is a native, Quechua, village woman. They have their own language; it is not Spanish. A man, who is the only male believer in the village, took us to see her. He is the one that takes food to her and looks after her. She would talk to him in Quechua, he would talk to Brittne in Spanish, and she would talk to us in English. It was an assembly line of communication. As she spoke, I took her hand and held it for the entire visit. With my other hand, I would stroke her face to comfort her and soothe her pain. My prayer for this visit was that this woman would feel loved. I know she must be lonely and feel forgotten at this needed time in her life. I just wanted her to feel love. God answered my prayer very specifically. The first words the woman spoke was how much loved she felt by these people! She also said that I was her mother, which to me tells me she felt comforted by me. I don’t know why it awes me so when God answers my prayer but it still leaves me awed, humbled, and amazed at God’s love for me. She continued to share how people would come in and steal from her while she was sleeping. She talked about all her pain and asked the questions, “What have I done so badly in my life that God would not let me die? How long do I have to live like this? Why can’t I just die? Please, bring me something to kill me!” These are haunting questions and ones that nobody but God has the answer too.

     I have known people who wanted to live and couldn’t; and I have known people like her who wanted to die and couldn’t. In my human mind and heart, I cannot understand this. I cannot find the answer anywhere. This is not an issue of knowledge but of trust.
     There are questions in this life that I will never have the answer too. Neither am I meant too. My lack of knowledge and understanding needs to lead me straight to God and rest in His character and His sovereignty. Though I do not understand why this Quechua woman has to lay in a bed, by herself, hurting and lonely, day after day begging to die, I totally trust God for His perfect timing in her life. The days of her life are in His hands and those are hands I totally trust.
     Do you have questions in this life that you are trying to figure out? Can you come to a place where you know you can accept the fact that you may never have all the answers to every question? Can you trust God for all the things you do not understand? If you cannot trust Him for the unknown, then can you really trust Him?

For the life of every living thing is in his hand and the breath of every human being.

Job 12:10

Protecting the Family

    Today we went to school. We worked in two English classes and helped the students with their English. We taught them their body parts, left and right, and in and out by teaching the hokey pokey! It was a hit. The girls especially love putting the hips in and out! lol We then shared stories of our families and then what God says about family from scripture. The teacher then added encouragement to what we said. We learned that the majority of these students do not have parents living in the home and some even live by themselves and take care of their siblings. We shared how God says in scripture that if your father and mother abandon you, that He would always be with you. Every face was glued to the words Brittne would translate and speak. When we closed, the teacher asked the students if they had any other questions and a boy raised his hands and asked how you find Jesus. Brittne was able to share the complete gospel with the children and the teacher who is so close to understanding.

     I realized when I was hearing about how Satan is attacking the families in Peru, how he works the same everywhere. His character, his style, and his tactics do not change. The only difference is how strong the Christian stronghold is where he is attacking. If America doesn’t wake up; if Christians do not wake up and protect the family; our world will fall even more so into the hands of Satan.
      I am sure that all of us have been affected by the blows of destroyed homes. We must stop the cycle. However, to make a difference in our homes, Jesus has to make a difference in our individual lives. Not on the surface; in the deep core of our soul. He has to change us!
     Does Jesus really make a difference in your life? Does He really make a difference in your home? Why settle for anything other than the best Jesus can give?

My father and mother walked out and left me, but God took me in.

Psalms 27:10

Are we known by our love?

     After fifteen hours of traveling through airports and an eighteen hour bus ride through the night and then a two hour ride in a truck, we made it to our village. It is like being in another world. It doesn’t take long to develop an appreciation for those who live around us but do not fit in. When you are the only white people (gringos) in a village, everyone stares. There is no blending in. Also, the average height is approximately five feet and one of the guys with us is 6’4. Everyone looks at him as if he is Goliath! The faces of the children when he walks in are priceless. As far as we know, there are four believers out of about 400 people in the village. We have so many differences: nationality, skin color, language, economic status, occupations, culture, and knowledge of the world. The hardest difference for me is the language. I struggle tremendously. I wish I could remove this hindrance of the language barrier and yet, the Lord reminded me that He was the who created it to begin with. At one time we all spoke the same language and I believe that we will once again return to a single language in Heaven or at least we will all be able to understand each other. That will be an awesome time. Having the hindrances of language keeps us humble and dependent. When people became too prideful and too united, God separated the people and formed different languages. They were going to build a stairway to heaven. God didn’t go for that idea and so He separated them both physically and verbally.

     I must admit that if I could speak the language of the villagers I would depend on my words more than my actions to show the love of Jesus to them. When I do not have the words, I must rely on my smile, my touch, my hug to show love. That is my goal this week, to show the love of Jesus without words.
     So many people are sick of our words. Even God in Revelations tells us He is sick of our words. We have always heard the saying, ‘Words without actions are dead”. What are you speaking to the people around you? Are you saying one thing and being another? If your life was a silent movie without any sound, how far into the movie would it take someone to know that you were a Christian?

A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another.

By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.

John 13:34-35

Got A Ticket?

     As I spent hours yesterday sitting in an airport watching people, I thought about how each person I saw was on their way to a gate. Gates spread out over what sometimes seemed miles. Some people were frantically running to their gates, some were searching for their gate, and some were waiting impatiently to go through their gate. Some pass the time by reading, working on the computer, talking on the phones or to traveling friends, eating, walking around, sleeping, or just watching people. The one thing that all these people had in common was they were all going to walk through a gate and be taken to a destination. Some destinations were paradises and some were far from it; but they were all going somewhere. All they had to do was to have a ticket and an ID. They would hand those to the attendant, walk down a plank, take a seat, lean back for the flight, and find themselves somewhere else. I entered a gate at 10:30 a.m. yesterday in Tulsa, Oklahoma, and walked through my destination gate at 12:39 a.m. in Lima, Peru.

      It made me ponder about spiritual destinations. If our life here on this earth is an airport; we have only two gates and they are miles apart. As we watch the people in this airport, the one thing that all these people had in common is that at different flight times they will all walk through one of those two gates and will be taken to new destination with no return flight. One destination is paradise and one is hell! Everyone has been given a ticket to hell the day they were born but some have exchanged their ticket for a ticket to paradise which was purchased for them by Jesus Christ. Yet, some (probably most) have never accepted their new ticket that Jesus offers to them! When the boarding call begins there are no more opportunities to exchange. You will walk to the gate for Heaven and if you have a ticket and your name is on the passenger list (the Book of Life), you walk through the gate. If it is not, you go to the other gate. Now in this airport, there is one major difference. There will be people screaming and fighting and pleading to be allowed through the Heaven gate, but they will be dragged through the gate of Hell. It will be is a heart wrenching sight.
     One day our final boarding call will be announced. What ticket do you hold in your hand?

And anyone whose name was not found recorded in the Book of Life was thrown into the lake of fire.

Revelation 20:15

All In God's Hand

    I am sitting in the Houston airport waiting to board a plane for Panama City and then on to Lima to begin my week of missions in the Andes mountains. As every event in my life, it has been a journey to even this point. We woke on time and I was feeling pretty good since I was able to clean my house and even shampoo my carpets. We left at 7:30 with the two girls that were riding with us, on time and in the truck. Our next stop was to pick up the gentleman that is going with us on the way to the airport. We were going to pick him up at 8:15. It was between those two destinations that we started feeling the attack from the enemy. First we ran into a little traffic on our two lane road. Then I randomly asked the sister of one of the young women from Fusion going with the group, how old she was. She said she was 16 years old. Instantly, I felt sick. I knew from previous experience that to take a minor out of the country you need a notarized letter from the parent giving permission. Now, when you have the letter, you are not always asked for it, but if you don’t have the letter, the odds are you will be asked for it. We were on the phone talking to the mother of the teenager asking her to fax a letter (while we're driving to the airport). Our friend of ours owns a company by the airport and we had her send the letter to him. As Dwayne was on the phone trying to get things worked out, he saw red lights in his rear view. Yes, he was being pulled over by a highway patrolman. He knew he wasn’t speeding and was very confused as to why we were going to have this delay. Within a minute into our visit at the window with the officer, he informed Dwayne that he had pulled him over because when he had passed him on the left lane and then signaled to get into the right lane, he did not keep his signal on during the complete lane change. I think we both thought, “Are you kidding! Are we being videoed on candid camera or something?” Dwayne followed the officer to his vehicle where he was given a warning for improper changing of lanes. Now we were 15 minutes past our second destination point to pick up our guy. Due to some error in communication as to the exact point, we drove pass them. Thankfully, they saw us drive by and called. We pulled over again to wait (it was faster for them to come to us than for us to turn around and go back). Now we had the decision to make rather to go check in at the airport and then go get the fax or go get the fax and be past our 2 hour check in time for international flights. Again, thank God for great friends, our friend drove the fax to us at the airport and we did not have to risk being too late. Most of the time,it doesn't taketoo much time to get through the security lines in Tulsa; right? Well not today! We had sat and drank coffee before the security point because there wasn’t a line and literally minutes before we went to get in line, it magically became a really long line. After around 30 minutes we made it to the security officer and as I handed him my passport, the doors to the security area closed and he looked at me and said, “This isn’t good!” At first I thought it was that the x-ray machines went down but he told me that it was because they had found something that wasn’t good! Luckily the doors reopened before I had time to panic. Once we got through the gate everything went smoothly.

     We all need to be reminded that anytime we start a journey of obedience to God’s calling, Satan will try and trip us up. However, Jesus Christ has overcome Satan and He has no real power in our life. He can cause some irritation but the will of God always prevails. Going into the next week, I know that whatever Satan tries to throw our way, God’s will for us to be in Peru will win! All we have to do it to rest in Jesus and go with the flow of the Holy Spirit! Resting in the direction and timing of the Holy Spirit is better than any tranquillizer we can take! (love ya Bev!)
     I have no idea what is in store for me this week, but I don’t need too! I am in the hands of the potter of my life and it is up to Him of what will become of it. I just have to stay on the wheel!

And let the loveliness of our Lord, our God, rest on us, confirming the work that we do.

Oh, yes. Affirm the work that we do!

Psalm 90:17

P.S. I am going to do my best to write everyday but the timing of the post may be irregular and if internet decides to disappear, so will the devotions. Please pray for our team this week as I will pray for you!

Compassion; Is it in you?

     I think it is interesting to see the last two virtues I have waited until last to share. After some self evaluating, I am wondering if I put them last because they are the hardest for me to achieve. When I was young, I wanted to save the world. I wanted to be a social worker and help people with destroyed lives get better. All they needed was some love and direction from me! lol I majored in Family Service in college and ended up taking the first job I could get when I graduated which was managing a preschool. I was able to stay home when Bryce was born and didn't go back to work until we went to seminary. At that time I became a manager of a temporary service. I was excited to have a position where I could help people find work with the possibility of it working into a full time position. Soon, that excitement turned to frustration when people lied to me day after day. I started out in this position having compassion towards people needing help but after a year in this position, I became hard and mistrusting. I realized I had become a person I didn’t want to be and I sought the Lord to help me find a balance between overly trusting and having a hardened heart. After entering the ministry with Dwayne, I have continued this roller coaster. At times I am very compassionate and giving and at other times I am far from it! So many times I have been fooled by people telling me they want to improve their life. I invest myself and my time to help them, only to find out they didn’t really want to change. Often, I would end up being the only one fighting for their goals, or fighting harder than they did. To top it off, in the end, I lose their relationship because they pull away from me because my presence reminded them of their failure to change. It can really hurt! It is these times that squeeze out my compassion and charity..

     I have pondered this week when I feel compassion and when I don’t. When others are innocent victims, I feel compassion. When they are striving to change their situation, I feel compassion. When others are seeking, I feel compassion. I do not feel compassion when they will not work at changing their circumstance, when they stir the pot until it explodes in their face, when they keep going back to their pit, or when they refuse to listen to anybody. Often words such as, “they got what they deserved”, “I knew it was going to happen", “I tried to tell them”, are words that show we have lost our compassion.
     I have pondered this week when I feel compassion and when I don’t. When others are innocent victims, I feel compassion. When they are striving to change their situation, I feel compassion. When others are seeking, I feel compassion. I do not feel compassion when they will not work at changing their circumstance, when they stir the pot until it explodes in their face, when they keep going back to their pit, or when they refuse to listen to anybody. Often words such as, “they got what they deserved”, “I knew it was going to happen, “I tried to tell them”, are words that show we have lost our compassion.
     I have pondered this week when I feel compassion and when I don’t. When others are innocent victims, I feel compassion. When they are striving to change their situation, I feel compassion. When others are seeking, I feel compassion. I do not feel compassion when they will not work at changing their circumstance, when they stir the pot until it explodes in their face, when they keep going back to their pit, or when they refuse to listen to anybody. Often words such as, “they got what they deserved”, “I knew it was going to happen, “I tried to tell them”, are words that show we have lost our compassion.
     Compassion means to have empathy and sympathy (for the suffering of others). It is considered a part of love and is expressed in the ‘Golden Rule’: Do to others what you would have them do to you, (meaning to suffer together). When that compassion moves into benevolent giving, it becomes charity.
     I would love to pat myself on the back and say that many times I have compassion, empathy and sympathy for people and I try to love others. However, it is the times I don’t that keep me from gloating. I am either really good or I really stink. It comes down to who is ruling in the situation: Jesus or me! I need to surrender in every situation and let the Lord’s compassion flow through me. I have a saying that hangs in my house.  It states that people need love when they deserve it least. I think we could substitute compassion and say that people need compassion when they deserve it least. After all, how many times do I deserve it?  Read what Scripture says when the people came to Jesus one day. I'm sure there were some with bad motivations, some who could have helped them self.

As soon as Jesus heard the news, he left in a boat to a remote area to be alone. But the crowds heard where he was headed and followed on foot from many towns. Jesus saw the huge crowd as he stepped from the boat, and he had compassion on them and healed their sick.

Matthew 14:13-14

Real or Fake?

     Let’s talk about kindness today! To me there are two different kinds of kindness; real kindness and fake kindness! Have you ever known someone that was very kind to you and later find out that it was just an act, or they were just nice when there was something in it for them. I have had that kind of kindness demonstrated to me more times than I can count. I have to admit that it has had its effect on me. I struggle with wondering if a person’s kindness is real and so it takes me awhile to trust. Then I tend to wonder about their sincerity at the first sign of fakeness! The difference for me is whether someone is acting kind or being kind. I have been blessed to know some truly kind people. They would never say an unkind word about anybody and they look for the good in everyone. Anyone can act kind but it takes something other than our fleshly desire to be kind. It takes being filled with the Holy Spirit. Kindness is a characteristic of the Holy Spirit and comes only from living a life in submission to Jesus Christ.
     The definition for kindness is the act or the state of being kind and marked by charitable behavior, mild disposition, pleasantness, tenderness and concern for others, helpfulness towards someone in need, not seeking return for anything, nor for the advantage of the helper himself, but for that of the person helped".
     These definitions are killing me because it is like looking in a mirror and seeing all of my faults and those faults keep me from achieving another virtue and that is purity. Purity is the absence of impurity in a substance or abstinence from vices and/or abundance of virtue. We will never be able to be pure without living a virtuous life. In reality our sin has marred us from ever being completely pure this side of Heaven. However, thank God, He doesn’t see our impurities when we have accepted Jesus as our Savior; He sees Jesus instead of us!
     Do you want to be a virtuous person? Keep trying to get it right on your own and you will keep failing. Surrender each moment to Jesus and He will make you virtuous by consuming you! All we have to do is be filled with His Spirit. If you had a gage to show you how full you are of the Holy Spirit, what would the gage read?

For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; and to godliness, brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness, love. For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.

2Peter 1:5-8 NIV

Be diligent with patience!

     Over the last three years I have worked towards a goal in my life. I have never worked towards anything that long, other than being an honorable child to God and a good wife and mother. The goal is to be healthy and to have a healthy BMI by the time I am 50. I have stayed on course for the most part but I am not totally where I want to be and what seemed to be a long ways off, is now four months away. This journey has taught me diligence and patience like nothing else in my life. I have had times of crying, times of temper tantrums, times of bargaining with God, times of frustrations, times of laziness, times of being lackadaisical with eating, and times of being obsessively strict, but through it all, I have persevered and I actually feel proud of myself. I am so thankful for the strength and teaching the Lord has given me through this. Since the main two things I have learned are patience and diligence , let’s look at their definitions!

• Patience is the state of endurance under difficult circumstances, which can mean persevering in the face of delay or provocation without acting on annoyance/anger in a negative way; or exhibiting forbearance when under strain, especially when faced with longer-term difficulties.
• Diligence is a zealous and careful nature in one's actions and work, exemplified by a decisive work ethic, budgeting of one's time, monitoring one's own activities to guard against laziness, and putting forth full concentration in one's work

     Well, after reading those definitions, let me clarify. I have learned those things in only in my physical life. However, I fall short of those virtues in other areas. Now I need to be diligent to incorporate my growth into the other parts of my life and do so with great patience.

     How do you measure up with these two virtues? Do you act in a positive way or a negative way while you are in times of waiting! Think of the last three things you have said you wanted to do; what are you doing everyday to achieve those goals? Let’s work together to grow our patience and diligence and become virtuous children of God!

 The diligent find freedom in their work; the lazy are oppressed by work.

Proverbs 12:24

Humble or Proud?

     Yesterday I went to Mardel’s to get some stuff for the mission trip next week.  When I walked in, a bracelet and necklace grabbed my attention on the way to the crayons. I have never been able to use this excuse before for buying jewelry but this jewelry is going to help me with my spiritual growth. Dwayne can’t say anything about that excuse! lol The reason I get to claim this excuse is because it is a virtue bracelet and necklace. They each have seven colored glass beads with a cross. Each color represents a virtue to remind me each day to be a virtuous woman. The seven virtues are humility, purity, charity, patience, kindness, diligence, and compassion. To help understand deeper the meaning of my bracelet I am going to write about these virtues this week. Today, I am going to cover humility.
     How often do you hear or say these words, “I don’t deserve that”, “let me tell you what I did”, “I will show them”, “If they treat me like that then I will….” “Who do you think you are” or “I worked hard for what I got”. I wish greatly that I could say that none of those words has ever come across my lips, but I would be lying. I want to consider myself a humble person but when I look into the meaning, I sometimes come up short.
     Humility is described as a quality, character, or virtue.
It is:
• being modest
• reverential
• politely submissive
• egolessness
It is Not:
• arrogant
• contemptuous
• rude
• prideful
• self-abasing
     Humility is defined as: "A quality by which a person considering his own defects has a humble opinion of himself and willingly submits himself to God and to others for God's sake". True humility is distinctly different from false humility, which consists of deprecating one's own sanctity, gifts, talents, and accomplishments for the sake of receiving praise or adulation from others. In this context legitimate humility comprises the following behaviors and attitudes:
1. Submitting to God and legitimate authority
2. Recognizing virtues and talents that others possess, particularly those that surpass one's own, and giving due honor and, when required, obedience
3. Recognizing the limits of one's talents, ability, or authority, and not reaching for what is beyond one's grasp
     That is some pretty hefty standards but scripture tells us that the benefits of humility are honor, wisdom, eternal life, unity, and rewards in heaven. Scripture also tells us in Proverbs, 1 Peter, and James, that God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble. If we look at the definitions above it is easy to see why. If we are not humble we are not submitting to God’s authority. Jesus was the ultimate example of humility. He is God, yet, He submitted to the authority in this world and allowed man to hang him on a cross. It always bewilders me that I struggle with the smallest submission issues but yet Jesus was not too good to summit to the will of God, even to death. If submission isn’t beneath Jesus, why should it be beneath me?

. . .who, when He was reviled, did not revile in return; when He suffered, He did not threaten, but committed Himself to Him who judges righteously;

1 Peter 2:23

Want Blessing?

     One thing in this life is certain; the hand on the clock continues to turn. Time does pass! I have been pondering that a lot lately because Brittne comes home from Peru in less than four weeks. It is amazing! With the exception of a few holidays, time has really flown by. I am looking forward to having her close for a while but I am also excited for something else as well. I am going to Peru in one week. This time I am not going to just to visit Brittne but to go into a village and work alongside her. Last week my team had to make a decision. If we wanted to go to the village where we could do the most work and make the biggest impact, it is was going to take the sacrifice of enduring a 20 hour bus ride to reach that village. That calculates to 40 hours of a 175 hour trip. The team agreed to sacrifice the time and go where we could do the most work for God. Today, as I was looking through some of Brittne’s pictures, I realized that we are going to the village of the 100+ year old woman whom I shared with you previously. She is the one that Brittne bathed and washed her blankets. I am so honored that I am going to get the opportunity to minister to her. Her story has stirred my heart in a powerful way, and now I get to meet her. If we had not had decided to take the sacrificial path, I would not have this opportunity. I am very thankful for our decision. The other blessing I am going to experience is being able to be with my daughter on her last trip to a village. I know it will be hard for her and I will be able to be there and encourage her. Maybe walking in her shoes for one week will help me to encourage her through her transition back to life in Fort Gibson, Oklahoma. This week of our lives will definitely be one of our ‘Kodak moments’ that we will cherish for the rest of our lives!
     When we make ourselves available to God and we are willing to sacrifice whatever He calls us to do, we are blessed beyond our imagination. Many people go on mission trips with the mindset of making an impact on others for God. In reality, that is the icing on the cake. The real blessing comes from what impact others make on you for God. I already know that I will not return the same person as I am now. I can’t wait to see how God is going to work in me! I also realize, that my daughter is not returning home as the same person she was two years ago.
     Are you available to what God calls you to do? Are you willing to sacrifice some pleasure to be used by God? Are you willing to let God change you?

“If any of you wants to serve me, then follow me. Then you’ll be where I am, ready to serve at a moment’s notice. The Father will honor and reward anyone who serves me.”

John 12:26

A Heart Change

     Today was another funeral day for me. I attended the funeral of a lady who I have grown to love deeply. She was a very unique person and had the unique name of Bronice. I first met Bronice when we went to First Baptist Church in Fort Gibson. I had heard about a 'mean' woman who would tell you like it is. One Sunday, I was going through each of the Sunday school classes to give an announcement. When I went to the older woman’s class, I froze. I wouldn’t go in; ‘she’ was in that room. My husband told me how she wasn’t that bad and I needed to get to know her. I remember thinking, ‘yea, right!’ In time I went with Dwayne to visit her in her home. I started to hear about the difficulties of her life and our hearts soon bonded. Her hardness started fading and I started looking past it! Dwayne and her bantered back and forth continually and brought fun to our relationship with her. Many times she told me how she had never been pretty. When she was young, all the other girls would go to school with their dresses and hair all fixed and she went with overall and pigtail braids. She never did accept any compliment; she just couldn’t believe it. However, to me . . . she became more beautiful each time I visited with her. She taught me many things. She taught me that you cannot judge a book by its cover. She taught me that first impressions are not lasting. She taught me that great treasures can lie beneath hard shells. She taught me that Christians come in many packages. And lastly, she taught me that beauty from the inside is far more attractive than beauty from the outside. I will miss my friend, but I will never let myself be as scared of a person again as I was her.
    If God looks past the surface to the heart, why don’t I? Why do I believe that first impressions are lasting? Why do I believe that I can judge a person by their exterior? May I continue to grow more like Jesus and may I see people with His eyes as I retire mine!

Be honest in your judgment and do not decide at a glance (superficially and by appearances); but judge fairly and righteously.

John 7:24

P.S. Lord, please give Bronice a big hug for me and tell her how beautiful she is!

Why Is It So Hard?

     One of the projects I was going to get done last weekend was to paint the bed in Brittne’s room. The bed was natural wood with spaced planks for the headboard and foot board. I got it from one of my best friends when we were in Montana. It fit into my Montana décor but it hasn’t fit in to well in my current decorating style. I love black furniture so I decided to paint it black. Like everything in my fantasy world, it was going to be a quick and easy process. And, like always I had to leave my fantasy world and enter into reality where it is not easy and usually a big pain! I decided to buy high quality spray paint. I thought this would get in between the planks easier and would not show brush strokes. I even bought two cans of primer to go with my two cans of paint. That gave me one can of primer and one can of paint for each the headboard and foot board. The paint can was the kind you squeeze a trigger which was going to help my fingers which just can’t endure normal spraying. I got through the primer, and then had problems with both cans of paint. One ended up leaking all over me and then I ended up needing three more cans. Back to Lowe’s I went, with paint all over my hands and arms. I decided that I was not buying the expensive can of paint again, so I bought the more reasonably priced one in the same color; black satin. After finishing the bed and with numb fingers, I noticed there was a slight sheen difference in the paints and told myself that it wouldn’t matter out of the sunlight and in the room, but in my heart, I knew I was doing my normal thing of settling for the quick and easy. When I went back to Lowe’s for the spray paint, I was going to get a quart of regular black paint for the side boards and the dresser but I found this great black stain with polyurethane and the sample looked wonderful and just like paint. That is what I bought. When I got home from work today and looked at the bed, it looked very dull. I decided to use the stain on the side boards and it did not go on or look like paint, it looked like dark stain. It did have a shine though, so I painted the bed with a coat of it and thought I would be done. Well, I learned in my Interior Design classes that when you go with the flow, you can have some great creations. I let my creativity flow and decided to use the stain on part of the bed and the black paint on the other part and to mimic the pattern of the bed, on the dresser. In a way, I am two toning the furniture! However, the stain was a little more aged looking than the paint. I decided the paint needed to have an aged effect as well. So, I sanded down the edges. Now, I am going to have to add another layer of stain/polyurethane because I sanded the sheen off the paint. At this point, I don’t know when I will finish the bed. I can tell you though that I will finish and I will love it when I do!
     I often regress to my fantasy world and think that my spiritual growth will be quick and easy. It doesn’t take long to be forced to reality and the realization that it is never easy! What seems to be simple ends up being one set back after another and becomes a long process. I once decided that I was going to spend a year learning discipline in my life. That year has become a twenty year challenge. I am better than I have ever been, but I have not completely accomplished my goal. However, as long as I do not quit and I keep persevering, I will conquer. At times, that hurdle can actually be used to grow us in a deep and unique way if we will not run from it; but embrace it as God’s molding.
     Do you get frustrated when your spiritual goals do not happen quickly or easily? Do you embrace the hurdles and let them mold you for God’s unique purpose? May we all keep our eye on the end results and not on the difficulties! May we remember that we grow through the journey, not by quick and easy ways!

Do you suppose a few ruts in the road or rocks in the path are going to stop us?  When the time comes we'll be plenty ready to exchange exile for homecoming. But neither exile nor homecoming is the main thing. Cheerfully pleasing God is the main thing,and that's what we aim to do, regardless of our conditions.

2 Corinthians 5:8-9

Are Things In Order?

    It was a good three day weekend. I got some desired rest, some exercise, some time with friends and family, and some order by finishing a few projects. Though it is always tempting to fill a holiday weekend with consistent activity; I am always thankful and happy when I get to face returning back to work with a feeling of rest and accomplishment. We got to the grocery store and got food in the fridge for the first time in weeks. I got my weeding completely done with the beds filled with mulch. I am going on a mission trip in less than two weeks and I am completely packed. I got my extra bed painted which I have wanted to do for years. I got some drawers cleaned out which were a mess. I actually ran further than I have in over a year. I spent time with Dwayne and got the checkbook balanced. I feel good about the sense of order in my life; it is a feeling I do not always get to experience!

     Many times we need to stop packing continual activity in our lives, slow down, and get things in order with God. Maybe we need to snuggle up with a Christian book or spend time in getting lost in the Bible. Maybe we need to be still and let God speak to us and give us direction in our life. Maybe we need to do the last things God told us to do!
     When was the last time you slowed down and got your spiritual life in order? What is on your spiritual to do list? When are you going to schedule God into your calendar?

Step out of the traffic! Take a long, loving look at me, your High God, above politics, above everything.

Psalm 46:10

Don't Forget the Foundation

     I love the fourth of July! I love the fireworks! We usually do not have big plans. I don’t always like the heat and the crowds! Dang, I am getting old. This year I am seeing things in regards to the holiday, from a little different perspective. I see a country that is on a path of refusing to acknowledge God. I wonder how long God’s patience will last with America. Especially when his children are sleeping and not paying attention or taking a stand on the direction the country is going. However, this weekend the country from coast to coast will be coming together and celebrating the birthday of America. I cannot fathom the money that will be spent on fireworks this weekend. I know of one man that personally spent $12,000 for fireworks. (I cannot imagine setting fire to 12,000 dollars!). The thing that I am seeing is that we will celebrate our country at any cost, but we do no celebrate and worship the One who made and gave us our country at any cost. I once gave a gift to someone who continues to reap blessing from it but who does not have a friendship with me today! It is a slap in the face when they use the gift to bring rewards to them and portray to others that we have a friendship, when in reality we do not. As frustrating as that is to me, I cannot imagine how it feels to God. We reap so many blessings from the honor of living in a nation that was founded and labeled as a Christian nation. Yet we have a leader that claims we are no longer a Christian nation. How long will we receive blessings; I do not know! I do know that this Fourth of July, I have seen Romans 1:25, come to light in a new way:

They exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served the created things rather than the Creator—who is forever praised.

     Pray for our nation that we will worship our Creator and acknowledge Him as the foundation of our country. Also, pray for you; that if there is any creation you are putting above Him as the Creator, that He will reveal it to you.

Freedom in Christ

      For many, the holiday weekend begins today! Not for me, I have to work today but I am already looking forward to my three day weekend! The older I get the more I focus on the meaning of holidays. The fourth of July, is a time to thank God for the freedom that we are honored with. The majority of the world would love to have the freedom that we often take for granted. However, there is another freedom that everyone anywhere can have and that is the freedom of Christ. I remember an album cover I saw twenty five years ago of a man looking out from behind bars and the title of the album was across the top; “I’m FREE”! We usually do not consider being behind bars a picture of freedom. Four years ago, Dwayne and I started the journey of discovering what freedom in Christ means! We use that term often, but do we really know what it means? If we do not know its meaning, how can we live in the ‘freedom of Christ’? Imagine two different jobs at two different companies. Basically, the work is the same, the policies of the companies are the same, and the pay is the same. The difference is the atmosphere. In one company, you are watched constantly. Every mistake you make is noted and remembered by your supervisor. You are accountable for every minute of your time. You are not allowed to speak to anyone but to keep your attention on your work. You supervisor walks by you throughout the day but does not speak or acknowledge you. They never acknowledge anything positive that you do but will draw attention to any action you do that they do not like and spread it around to anybody. Now the other job, is the opposite. You are expected to do your job and you are not watched. You have the freedom to set your own schedule within reason for your forty hours. You are encouraged to know your coworkers and to look for ‘fun’ opportunities throughout your day. Your supervisor makes it a point to walk through and greet everyone and make sure every person is acknowledged every day. They look for ways to recognize the hard work and dedication of the employees. If there is a problem, it is taken care of in private and it's forgotten. You are encouraged on a consistent basis. You are empowered to do the job you were hired to do.
     The difference you would feel between those two jobs, would be like the difference between serving God through ‘freedom in Christ’ and the bondage of the law. Some people go to church week after week and are beat up with all the man made religious laws. Some go and experience God's grace. It doesn’t mean the scriptural commands and way of life is different. It just feels different. Jesus taught this when He spoke of His yoke. A yoke was the teaching that a teacher taught their students. Some teacher's yokes were hard and burdensome. Jesus said His yoke was light. He continued to say that if you are tired and weary from all those rule oriented, Pharisaical teachings, you can come to Him find rest!
     Are you tired from all the religion in your life? How burdensome does the Christian walk feel to you? Ask God for eyes to see the bondage that we put ourselves under and run to Jesus and take His yoke. Rest in Him! His yoke is easy! Then you will experience the freedom of Christ!

“Are you tired? Worn out? Burned out on religion? Come to me. Get away with me and you’ll recover your life. I’ll show you how to take a real rest. Walk with me and work with me—watch how I do it. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace. I won’t lay anything heavy or ill-fitting on you. Keep company with me and you’ll learn to live freely and lightly.”

Matthew 11:28-30

How Deep Are Your Roots?

     One thing that is growing great this year at my house is the flowers in my well. I have a real well in my yard. It has been cemented up with the exception of the hole that goes down to the water. I built a six inch wall of rocks around the perimeter of the top of the well. I then filled it in with dirt and I have tried to grow things in that dirt for three summers. Whatever I plant makes it for a short time and then dies. It never spreads out or grows, it just dies. There are two problems that are the contributing factors to the death of the plants of the well. One is that I don’t like to water (Dwayne: I'm glad I'm not a plant!). Two, it has to have water every day because the roots cannot grow deep and there isn’t much soil to hold the water. Finally this year, I planted moss. Moss can survive the lack of water better than other plants and as of now, I am very hopeful that I can keep my moss throughout the summer.

     It is important for all Christians to grow deep roots with the Lord. There are times in life that droughts hit. During those times it is important that our roots are deep and that they pull refreshment from God which keeps us from withering. Many Christians can bloom and look good for a while. However, they do not grow deep roots and as soon as the heat hits, they wither away and fall by the way side.
     Are you prepared for the heat droughts of life? How deep are your roots?

A farmer planted seed. As he scattered the seed, some of it fell on the road, and birds ate it. Some fell in the gravel; it sprouted quickly but didn’t put down roots, so when the sun came up it withered just as quickly. Some fell in the weeds; as it came up, it was strangled by the weeds. Some fell on good earth, and produced a harvest beyond his wildest dreams.

                                                                  Matthew 13:4-8