The Journey

     How would you rate your journey thus far?  Smooth, bumpy, full of detours?  We are each a product of our individual journey and it has shaped us in many ways.  I personally am an 'A to B' type of traveler.  I like to know where I'm headed and the shortest way to get there.  Life doesn't work that way, does it?  It is said, 'A truly happy person enjoys the scenery on a detour.'   Okay, that's never happened in my life..lol.
     If we don't learn from the pitfalls of our journey, we are most likely to end up in a rut.  The lessons of life are meant to teach us in our weakest areas.  I would say 'patience' is a big theme of mine and these two weeks of flu sickness is not a detour I would've chosen.  It has taught me to put my agenda on hold and let the Lord work on me...in His timing.
    Don't rush your journey and the process that is working in you.  You're right where you need to be.

Again?

     Do you ever think 'oh great, here we go again' when you face a problem for the second or third time?  I think we often remember how hard it was to overcome and how long it took, rather than the steadfastness of the Lord's faithfulness.  We remember the pain or hardship of a problem and not the glory that shined through it.  Strength shows itself stronger through our sufferings.
     'The Lord will provide' in all circumstances.  Our clearest view of the future is reflecting on God's past work in our lives.  Have you ever really done without?  Doubtful, unless a prideful heart interfered.  Everything happens for a reason, it's not coincidence.
     I encourage you to take a look into your past and see how trusting God overpowered any worry or fear you had with a problem.  It's like in the Footprints poem, 'Where were You when I needed You most?  I carried you.'

It's a God Thing

     Do you ever stop to think about where you were born and raised?  Of all the places in the world I could have been placed, I know 'It's a God thing' that I was born in the USA and the South.  There is no other country more free and blessed by God, despite the attempts to shut Him out.  It is the land of opportunity and people flock here to make their dreams come true.
    Being in the South has it's blessings too.  Seasons change but are here just long enough to make you ready for the next.  Southern hospitality is embedded into daily life that is a true southern comfort.  Sweet tea, how could I live without it?
    Hearing the struggles of third world countries, like Haiti, helps me be more thankful that God put me where I could thrive for Him best.  I was born in a small town, Conway, and I prefer being a lil fish in a lil pond.

Not Lonely

    I am a people person but that doesn't mean I dislike being alone at times.  We should all learn to handle being by ourselves and we will then be even better when around others.  I can feel more alone in a crowded room than an empty house.

    A lot of people feel the need to have some sort of distraction present to fill the silence of a room, like constant tv or music.  I think that can be a negative thing.  Are you ever alone with your thoughts?  Can you hear God's whispers above the noise?  Some people sleep with earplugs to get a good night's rest but sometimes we should try a daytime pair to block out the world.  

    Only when we are happy with ourselves can we make others happy.  I encourage you to 'be still' and get to know yourself and your thoughts in some quiet time.  God is with us, so we're never really alone.

Adversity

    When things are good, it is easy to go with the flow.  When faced with a challenge tho, it can take your whole armory to get you through it.  If you're smart, you know what things work for you and what works against you.
    I understand what this caption is referring to but it is hard to put into words.  Maybe because that heavenly spark is not all about us and our determination.  Peace from the Spirit can calm the storms in you enough to keep you from drowning.  Hope is a good promise to keep our focus on the positive side of the adverse conditions surrounding us at the moment.  Trust reaffirms our faith that 'the good work He began in us, will be completed.'
    Now if your spark evolving from strife isn't so heavenly, then impatience, anger, slander and harshness will surely follow.  We've all been there because 'no not one' of us is good.
    Should your spark be snuffed or put on the top of a hill?
     [Be careful what you blog about, you may get tested.  Our power went out while I wrote this...  adverse conditions to say the least]

Heart?

    I am reading a new book called 'The Almost Christian Discovered' by Matthew Mead from the 1600's.  It is as relevant now as way back then.  I've touched the topic of head knowledge recently but this book has a few ideas I'd like to share.
    Knowledge is two-fold, there is common knowledge and saving knowledge.  You can have knowledge without grace but not grace without knowledge.  What does that mean?  It means if your heart isn't in it and changed then the value of the knowledge is of little worth to you.  God may use it tho to benefit another person tho.  'Till the affections are made spiritual, there is no affection to things that are spiritual.'  It's just going through the motions.  It's like getting in a car, pushing the gas and turning the wheel but if you don't start the heart of the engine... you go nowhere.  'Saving knowledge joins affection and application.'
    'The preciousness of knowledge lies in its usefulness to the soul.'  The book uses Judas as an example.  All that he knew didn't affect his betraying heart. Take time to figure out where your heart is and then pursue the godly part into your life.
 

Computer Time

   Some people find computers a challenge in their lives but I find it challenging to do without mine.  I have the flu but the world doesn't stop and I need to keep in touch.  My laptop is my relay to my sphere of the world since I don't use the phone.  I am receiving prayers, well wishes and encouragement through my laptop so it's a blessing in many ways.
    I know we've all felt like Cliff at times, but just be patient with yourself and ask for help if needed.  There is never a dumb question.  There are clues that will point out your lack of computer savvy.. like saying 'www' before every website, pushing the keyboard keys like an old typewriter, or not knowing computer shorthand like 'lol' or 'idk'.  It's okay, none of us knew at some point.
    Part of staying young is keeping our minds sharp, so keep after it.

It's a God Thing

     I guess you've heard in the news about the Carnival Triumph being stranded in the Gulf of Mexico without power or common necessities.  I've been on two Carnival cruises and with stories like these, I think I'm done with them.
     In 2003 or 2004, Charlene and I took a 5 day cruise with some friends.  We left out of Galveston, TX to go to Cozumel, Playa del Carmen and Cancun.  Oh yes, you may be thinking beaches, sun and fun.  While that is true, it was not an incident free trip.  The night before arriving at the Cancun port, my breathing machine [my old bulky one that had to travel in a huge Rubbermaid tub] that I use to sleep with QUIT.  So here we are in the middle of the ocean and there is no sleep for me until we get a replacement machine.  We did have a spare one at home.. miles and hours away.  We called my parents and my dad took the first available flight out to Cancun.  He had to get there before the ship deported and headed back out to sea.  The 'God thing' is 4 fold... God gave me the strength to stay awake after a long day, my dad arrived safely and in time with the machine, God allowed me to postpone my needed sleep till that night so I could enjoy the one day in Cancun, and my true friend was by my side all along.
      Our plans may not always go smoothly but the One who directs my paths will see me through it.

The Narrow Way

     'The Way is narrow that leads to Life.'  We are all born onto the broad road of life but it will be few who choose the narrow path.  ''Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.''  Matthew 7;13-14
      I think the caption above depicts a few things about the narrow path.  Although some may conclude that it's boundaries are confining, it instead provides a sheltering protection from the world.  It is easy to follow the crowd but it takes true strength to stand alone.  To turn your back on the chosen path for you, takes a decision and effort on your part.  No one can walk or choose the road for you.
     Which road have you taken?  Are you headed for destruction or to eternal life?  Yes sometimes our journey has involved an exit ramp or two, but the U-turn involved is often stressful as we try to get back on the right and narrow road.  Look ahead and don't get distracted.

To Do List

     I think a good way to start off a new week is to have a plan or a to-do list.  It organizes our thoughts, sets our priorities and helps motivate us to get those things done.
    What if we remembered the above caption as an every day list?  I think our days would go alot smoother and definitely less stressful.

    Blessings are provided to us each and every day.  Shouldn't we recognize them with a grateful heart and not with an entitled heart?
    Kindness should be shown more than it is deserved.  God's compassion is our best role model to follow because the world is often not fair or kind.
    Control is not ours to claim.  We never had it nor will we ever.  Let the urge to control go and you'll enjoy a peace that comforts.
    A believer's heart is guided by the Holy Spirit so listen carefully.
    Your degree of productivity should be measured more by the quality of how you did it than how much you did.  'Do all things as if doing them for the Lord.'
     Breathe.........your breath rate can tell you if you need to slow down or calm down.  In any stressful situation, the first advice you'll get is 'just breathe.'

    What's on your to-do list for today?  We will get done what is important to us.

Princess Party

     It has been a very good Saturday morning.  Karla came over for the morning.  I received a very encouraging email from a friend who had read my blog book last night.  Then I got a visit from a houseful of princesses in their gorgeous formal wear.
     This month the tea party that Gloria and Charity put together was a Princess party.  The theme was outreach to others.  The girls all did their catwalk on the runway to show off their pretty dresses.  Twirls with flair, for sure.  As if their visit wasn't enough of a treat, they brought cookies and muddy buddies...yum.  I wasn't their only stop but they visited three other people.  I am glad I was a blessed recipient.
     Life lessons can be taught and include fun for all.  The effort it takes to teach manners and the importance of shining your light into the lives of others will reap rewards that are priceless.  Plant seeds of blessings in your life and you'll reap the rewards.

Stress

     Oh yes, that has been me on many occasions.  Even with the inability to drive now, I can be just as impatient from the passenger seat. Come on already, geez!!  I am a clock watcher and slow drivers are a common interference with that aspect of me.  I think driving under the speed limit is as bad or usually worse than driving over it.  Can I get an Amen?
     Do you know what the source of most of our stress comes from?  Ourselves.  Yes, it's a bitter pill to swallow but it's true.  The things that get under our skin may not even be a factor with others.  It can be odd when you're about to go postal and the person with you is as cool as a cucumber.  Don't they realize the urgency of the situation?
     Our priorities can help us put stress in its place.  Ask yourself, 'is this really worth getting all worked up over?'  Pick a phrase to embrace, 'love one another' or 'forgive them for they know not what they do' when your patience, over someone's actions, has reached its limit.

It's a God Thing

     How well did you sleep last night?  Did you toss and turn all night?  Often a bed that has been slept in overnight looks like a frazzled mess by morning.
     I started having to use a breathing machine to sleep at night about twenty-one years ago.  The type of machine has changed over the years.  The one thing that has remained the same is having to sleep on my back in one position all night long. Yes, every night for over two decades. You might be saying 'I couldn't do that I have to sleep on my side or move around or how ever you like to sleep.'  I thought the same things back in 1992.  The 'God thing' is the peace and rest He has given me each of these 7,665 nights to let go of my body's desire to move around.  This is what 'Be still and know that I am God' means in part to me.  He is in control and can give us the rest we need, when we turn our burdens over to Him.

What You See

     We've all been there with something on our nose, mouth, teeth, etc.  We've also all probably seen the evidence on others and pondered whether to tell them.  'Do unto others as you'd have them do unto you.'  Yes, tell them.. it should be a law.  Who hasn't been out and come home to discover some obvious embarrassment and thought 'why didn't anyone tell me?'
     What do you see most in people?  The flaws or the good qualities.  Colgate has a new ad out that proves people will notice something in your teeth before a physical deformity.  I looked at it myself and never even noticed the 7 fingered hand.
    Where is our focus on what we see and think of others?  Most people want to hide their weaknesses but it's not always possible.  Therefore, you embrace your weaknesses and they will make you stronger.  Our reactions to what we see as out of our norm says more about us than them.
     God cares more about the inside than the outside of each of us.  Is my body of 40-plus years and any physical hardware that helps me really going to matter in an eternal timespan?  No, but how you handle any suffering will.  So if anyone thinks more of your physical flaws than of you then they really don't know you at all.  It's their problem and loss, not yours.

Critical

    What was watching the Super Bowl like at your house?  We all can get high-spirited and enthusiastic about different things, some more than others.  I love to be around people that are excited and passionate about whatever they love, as long as it isn't disagreeable to me.
    The caption above sends more of a message to me about our criticism of others.  I know I've used the phrase 'what an idiot' more times than I can count.  I'm not saying it wasn't true, but it does speak arrogance.  When we think 'they should have done it this way, not like that' then we can come across as a know-it-all.
     Some people confuse criticism as advice.  They are not the same.  Advice is well intended and hopefully preventative to a downfall.  Criticism is negative, accusatory, and a hindsight opinion.
     I know we all have opinions and there is nothing wrong with that. When they become harsh and judgmental, maybe we should stop and take a look at our heart.  Not everything we think should come out of our mouths.

To Know Him

     I started a new book the other day called 'Not a Fan.'  It is about becoming a follower of Jesus, not just a fan.  The caption above relates to what I just read in chapter 3.  Simon the Pharisee knew all 'about' Jesus but didn't 'know' Him at all.  He had memorized books of the Bible but yet there was no application in his life, just knowledge.  Jesus was snubbed by him and not given the proper greetings for life in those times.  Who would be the one to show to be the true follower of Jesus?  The prostitute who walked up to the table uninvited, washed His feet with her tears and hair, and used up all of her oil on His head.  She surrendered all she had in pride, fear of embarrassment and valuables to show her heart was His.
     Knowledge without application is just facts on a shelf.  In Matthew 15;8, Jesus said the Pharisees honor me with their lips but their heart is far from me.  Do you have head knowledge without heart usage in your life?  What if you went to your child to show them how to use a fork and they said 'oh I know what to do, I'm just not going to do it.'  Yes, it'd be a teaching moment.  Jesus wants us to go on and do what we know to do too.

FBF MISSIONARY PRAYER REQUESTS..FEB 2013

FBF MISSIONARY PRAYER REQUESTS.......FEB 2013


TED AND PRISCILLA CLARK

1. Please pray that our little school at the camp will continue to be a blessing for all who attend.
2. We have had a record number of unsaved men working in the cappucino business this season.  Please pray
that this opportunity to share the gospel with them will have a daily and eternal influence in their lives.

MONICA SERNATINGER AND QUICO

1. Remember our dear sister Rosi in your prayers. She has been suffering with a sore in her deformed foot for over 25 years. The sore has gotten so big and infected that the doctors are considering amputating it. She begs to the Lord for healing, if it would be his will. Also, please pray for her financial provision. There is a slight possibility that she could get support from the SS since her dad is a resident of the US. She has begun the application process.

2. Recent contacts: We have been so blessed with the Tuohys. Please, pray for Johan and Claudia. Martin has started an evangelistic Bible study with them, and the whole family is so involved in reaching out!!! What a joy!! Also, please pray for my neighbor Vero. Since her mom, a Jehova Witness proselite, came to live with her late December, she has stopped coming to the studies. May their hearts come to Jesus!

LESLEY WOLFE

1.        Sure would be great to have the last three chapters of Mark comprehension checked and then sent to consultant by the end of March.  It’s very doable IF those who help me with the comprehension check are able to come as scheduled.  And I’d like to get as many of the remaining chapters of Genesis comp checked as well, and to my consultant during these next two months (only Genesis 27 thru 36 remain to be comprehension checked).  I have to say that it sure feels good seeing these two books come to this stage!

2.       Amy and Aaron have just had a visit from their language consultant.  Pray that the help and guidance that he was able to give them (Aaron in particular) will be followed, and continued and good progress will be made where language aptitude/ability is concerned.  

MARTIN AND HANSY TUOHY

1. New evangelistic Bible study with couple that seem genuinely interested. Please pray they do not get distracted from studying the Word and that the seeds would fall on good soil. 

2. We continue to seek God's will as to if we are to return to Denmark to stay or prepare to come back to MX long term.

 

BOBBY AND NAMATHA AVILEZ

 

1)      Please pray that we find the right builder that has his own tools. If you are not careful some people will pose as builders when they know fully well that they are expecting to sub-contract out the work making it more expensive.

2)      Pray that our kids would respond more to the prodding of the Holy Spirit than to peer pressure!

Don't Hesitate

     Well Karla and I were out saving yesterday.  That's our code word for shopping.  We had been in Target  buying our needs and wants.  While unloading our basket, she found my emery board that I intended to purchase.  She asked me if she should take it back in to pay for it.  I hesitated with my answer, even tho I knew the right thing to do.  Yes, I thought about how much time we had left and was it worth the trouble to have Karla go back in.  The devil was working quickly with my mind.  Karla interrupted my hesitation with 'you know God doesn't like ugly.'  We then agreed for her to go back in and make it right.
      Right is right and wrong is wrong.  There is no in between.  Sin tries to justify a wrong into an acceptable form but that doesn't make it anymore right.  Be quick to say yes and make all actions involving you pleasing to God.  Hesitation is only needed when preventing a wrong decision, not when doing what is right.

Remember

      We are so forgetful.  Who hasn't gone to the store and forgotten what you went for?  Who can remember the name of that familiar face without a panic moment of fear of embarrassment?  We need reminders for these trivial things.
      The list above is what God wants you to know, believe and remember.  His will is looking out for your behalf.  What is on your list to God?  I will trust You.  I will call on You.  I will praise You.  I will rely on Your Word.  I will follow You.  I believe in Your Son's saving grace.  The list is endless.
      Remember, where your heart is there you'll find your treasure.

It's a God Thing

     We are supposed to think of other's needs before our own.  Sometimes that is an easy task but other times it is a true sacrifice.  I don't know if I could do what was done for me in this story.
      When we moved into our house about 30 years ago, the previous owner, Mr. Finch, had a dog but couldn't take him immediately with him.  My parents agreed that the dog could stay and be picked up when he was able to.  Well if you know me at all, you know I can fall in love with a dog in less than 30 seconds.  Bosco and I were best buds immediately.  About 2 months later, Mr. Finch told my dad's uncle across the street that he was going to take Bosco home with him.  My uncle told him 'if you do, you're going to break one little girl's heart.'  I know it was a God thing that moved his heart to think of me before himself.  Mr.Finch lived alone and was a former POW veteran.  I'm sure it was quite a sacrifice to give up his long loved companion to me.  What a generous gift I received.  Bosco lived many years after that and was loved like family.  He was the first dog to get to come into the house.  He met me every day as I got off the bus and I looked for him as much as he did for me.