September 18, 2014 1 Peter 5:11 Not Brainwashed...Really is God.

1 Peter 5:11

To Him be the power for ever and ever. Amen.

This is all about Him....the Kingdom. There was a time in my life when it was all about me, my family, my desires, my wants...me, me, me, me and during that time, I found (and this is where I should say despair and unhappiness) but truthfully, we were happy during this time. Striving on to the next step in life, and the next and the next. God had no part in our thoughts.

And then we began to understand more about Christ and who He really is...this world, this universe became much bigger than I ever imagined and life took on a completely different meaning...it was no longer about me, us or we but rather about Him.

There are those that aren't believers that will read this and scream CRAZY. Some will go as far to say brainwashed. I was there once, too, and thought your same thoughts. I also know that no amount of defense or arguing from any man was going to change my mind..... I watched the lives of those who were real believers and I found God where they were serving....

And once I experienced Him for who He is.....I knew.....

And I could easily say.... All power to Him forever....

Even in the midst of seemingly human "tragedy"....All Power to Him forever.

One of my favs of Tae....that was an awesome night.

Want to tag Taellor Stearns? 

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September 16, 2014 1 Peter 5:10

1 Peter 5:10

And the God of all grace, who called you to His eternal glory in Christ, after you have suffered a little while, will Himself restore you and make you strong, firm and steadfast.

Lets read that again..... And God, of all grace, who called you to His eternal glory in Christ, after you have suffered a little while, will himself restore you and make you strong, firm and steadfast.

And that is a promise that comforts me, that gives me the strength to continue on, to look past the reality and solidly hold onto His promise. Amidst the hunger, trash, dirt, disparity, broken promises from this world, hurtful words and glances....God tells us that this will only last a little while and He, himself, will restore us....

Some of us by death, some, in the future, by His Second Coming....

Hold on. It's coming. It seems as if the darkness will last an eternity....satan's lies will tell us it will....but the only thing that will last an eternity is eternal life found through Christ.

I know so many are suffering now...I'm sorry for your pain. I am. I'm sorry we are in a world that would continue to almost revel in brokenness but we are where we are....and in this brokenness, the only Light that can break through the despair is Christ's. Seek Him full-on.

This blurred picture from the dump this morning shows the many colors of this tapestry set amongst the details.....There is beauty here....there is hope....there is God.

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Slaton's World- Slaton-Style PE....MMA Training in Managua

PE Slaton-style..... MMA training in Managua

I continue to be amazed at God's provisions......

We have been searching for a martial arts school for Slate...and on an "off chance", we run into a missionary that this is his mission field MMA training and fighting AND he has Asperger's himself! As we were talking about the possibility of him and Slate meeting I wanted him to know up front that Slate had Aspergers... In my mind, I had decided that if he flinched at all, he wasn't the guy and before I got the whole word out, he responds, I have Aspergers, too! Wow!!

So Slate and Trav are in class together.... Love it. And, yes, in Spanish:)

I have to say that homeschooling is going very well... Yes, I am thoroughly surprised. He serves with me when he can and we split our lessons up in the morning and afternoon....and he is thriving. We knew he was behind, we knew he struggled and we had convinced ourselves that was okay....he would just be behind.... But we have been shown a way, that he will learn, learn it all with a good foundation at his pace....and never be behind in his class...along with learning to serve alongside us in the field. He is the happiest and least stressed that I have ever seen him.

Wasn't ever my vision, amazed. Blessed.

1 Peter 5:9 "Bucketlist"

1 Peter 5:9

Resist him, standing strong in the faith, because you know that your brothers throughout the world are undergoing the same kind of sufferings.

In light of the news today, this humbles me greatly.

Our brothers and sisters in Christ are facing persecution ranging from isolation to death. Families are standing strong in their faith. Faith that was built on a strong foundation. Faith that can only come by a true relationship with God.

We are building our foundations today. In a time that seems almost restful, we are to be building the kind of faith that will stand when persecution comes our way. True faith.

We ask, "What can we do?" when we hear the news of persecution around the world. Here Peter tells us: Resist the devil and stand strong.

What does that look like in our world? Stand strong. Make a daily commitment to pray. Daily read our Bibles. Fellowship with other believers. Encourage one another in our faith. Be Christ's hands and feet.....show love to a world that is starting to not recognize the purity of love.
Resist the devil. Don't give in to his temptations whatever that might be in your world. The first step is the hardest. Begin today. Beware, he comes. Yet, we serve the One who has overcome all.
As we continue in a world that has already been foretold, it is past time to prepare. It is what it is. Are we ready? Is our faith strong or are we struggling daily now? At some point in time, it will be too late to make our faith a priority.

What is your spiritual "bucket list"? Are you searching to cross off the items on it as you are experiences in this world? When was the last time someone came to you and said, "I want the peace that you have. How do I find it?"

Stand firm. Stand strong. Stand real.

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September 16,2014 "The Cowardly lion"

1 Peter 5:8

Be self-controlled and on alert. Your enemy, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.

When I was younger, I read this verse and thought of "the great and mighty lion" prowling for its prey....but as I have gotten older, I've looked deeper...behind "the lion".

Lions typically will forgoe the strongest animal when there is a more "surer" kill...a weak, injured or hurting prey. They search with calculating moves to seek out those that have been seperated from the pack...taking them away from the only protection that they might have had.....

I have seen in my life that Satan acts this way in our lives. When I am down, sick, feeling lonely or in seemingly despair, this is when I feel most vulnerable to his attacks....his lies...his twists on the truth. When I am strong, I have the energy and confidence to tell him to step aside, yet, when I am weak in flesh....my resistence is low.

I will never forget....we were at the lake one day fishing. Trav and I were arguing about something and I let my emotions get the best of me and decided that I'd show him and go off on my own. I found a place in the cliffs where I could sit on a towel and my feet would touch the bottom of a ravine (a chair of sorts...yes, a "short chair"). As I stood in the ravine positioning the blanket with my mind racing through the "fight" between Travis still playing in my mind, I heard the warning rattle of a snake...looking down quickly, I had a large rattle snake by my feet. A snake who wasn't there when I had first checked the area, who moved in as my mind was distracted, whose intent at that moment was to hurt me....and being that we were in Pontiac, Mo deep in the lake area...I would be in trouble. I jumped out of the ravine screaming for Travis....running to him for safety (like the snake was really chasing me:))

But that afternoon, I realized the parallel....the isolation, the assumption that all is well, the distraction, the deadliness that waiting.

I know when we are hurting the worst, we tend to want to isolate ourselves, because of embarrassment, sadness, hurt feelings....pride. And in our weakness, satan begins his attack in earnest. Picking at us, hurting us when we are the most defenseless.

And, dear ones, we need to be reminded that he doesn't come to use as a lion or serpant but in any manner thay we might be most deceived....be careful. When you are most weak, when you struggling and the darkness is closing in....

Run to God. Run to those who you know are Christ-like......

September 14, 2014 1 Peter 5:7 Cast Your Cares

1 Peter 5:7

Cast all your anxiety on Him because He cares for you.

How much time and energy do we spend on anxiety? On worry? On sleepless nights? On worldly craziness?

Simply because He cares....He cares so I can give them all to Him. Praise His Name.

No longer do I have to lay awake at night going over a multitude if possible scenarios.

No longer do I worry about it all.

I lay it at His feet and I walk in His obedience. I choose to serve Him instead. Walk faithfully day by day.

I don't have to control it all...only do the part He has given me....and only me to do.

And in that I find peace.....finally.

Because He cares.

Even in the days and nights when it seems the very hounds of hell are at my door....

He cares.

September 14, 2014 Tae's grave side...Change

I was asked a couple of days ago how have I changed since three months ago tomorrow.... I haven't responded because it is difficult it seems to put into words....

First of all, it doesn't seem to be only months ago...it seems a lifetime ago and yet, it seems like just yesterday.

Second, I seem to always have one ear open and on alert for the trumpet call....that I know is coming. So, there's an added urgency to share Christ, be real and deepen relationships.

Third- I have changed. There is a different pulse on life that I didn't have before.... I think I was heading this way, maturing towards this way....but experiencing Tae's death reminded me of what truly was important. There is so much that frankly doesn't really matter....it doesn't.

Fourth- I have less energy to deal with certain things at the moment. I think it will return but I do feel as if I now have to ration my energy....and petty, annoying things, I don't have the ability to even consider.

Fifth- God is faithful.... I know beyond all that I am. I have experienced His provisions so much more than I deserve....in the midst of our greatest storm, He was ever present and He continues to be today.

There is so much more....from living every second purposefully because for all of us...the day will come. We had no regrets with Tae and that was such a blessing...God is good.

September 13, 2014 Seek Knowledge Carefully

1 Peter 5:6

Humble yourselves, therefore, under God's mighty hand, that He may lift you up in due time.

After Tae died, I started reading through the books that she had read....books that she enjoyed. I started with the Giver Trilogy and then to the Divergent Trilogy and in the Divergent Trilogy, we are introduced to a "world" divided into fractions. Four in fact...each with its own distinguishing characteristics that they hold most important above all else. Every one fits perfectly into one of the four...except for the divergents which have the good qualities of certain mixtures of the fractions. 

I say all of this to say that one of the groups holds knowledge as the most important of all. Not just knowledge to know but the quest of knowledge overrides everything else. Experiences are collected like pawns...notches on a belt...and if the experience ends up helping someone else, well then that's an added bonus and not for the one being helped. Self-worth becomes defined by all that I know about anything and everything.

Are we not much different if we aren't careful? If we don't humble ourselves before Him? Are we building our own tower of Babel? If we don't leave ourselves out of the whole equation.....Our "Bucket Lists"....Are they for us or for Him? For us or for the Kingdom? For us or for those still seeking?

We will be lifted up....God tells us in His Word that this will happen. Our reward will come in due time....but I have a feeling that the reward that He refers to pales in comparison to any earthly reward that we could possibly fathom.

Seek knowledge humbly. Seek experiences humbly.

Seek Him above all else....always.

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September 13, 2014

Can you say precious!!!!!!! We have been so blessed seeing God work in his life....Today, he had a ball....just a ball.

 For this picture, he yelled "Hey, Mom!" and when I turned this is what I saw.... Love.

This is a little boy that God has brought into our life..... Our Taellor met him in an orphanage and saw him and God saw him.....  Said he needed a family.  That was in December....this is now.  What an incredible journey.

September 12, 2014 "The Box"

1 Peter 5:5
Young men, in the same way be submissive to those who are older. All of you, clothe yourselves with humility toward one another, because, "God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble."

I've never liked boxes.... I am actually quite a rule follower (hard to believe for some I know:)) but boxes for people... I've never fit.

Ever.

I've tried...and failed miserably.... Frankly, before I turned my life over to Christ, I saw Christianity as being the biggest box ever. This is how you sit. This is how you talk. This is where you sit. Rules and regulations that I so did not fit into....I tried, I tried, I tried....and failed. Don't hear me wrong, this is not how it is everywhere or with all Christians but I think satan uses what of this is there and highlights it for those that are seeking....and even as a Christian seeking to find acceptance in church and its people instead of God... he uses it to show us the "box".... satan uses it to detour us from real faith.

Some of us run from "the box" refusing to be put in a box...while others find safety in "the box"...either way, it pulls us from God...

And then I saw God for who He truly is....Christ came and gave us an example to follow...and He didn't follow a "box", He showed us how to live by living according to the Father...humbly. Not prideful, not entitled, but humbly. He showed me that it was okay to choose to blend in a world so much different than my own...to reach into the darkness following His light and the beat of my own drum.

Today, for those feeling squished into a box...look full into God's grace...you will find love there, grace and your creator that will see you as one of His greatest creations.

September 11, 2014 1 Peter 5:14

1 Peter 5:1-4

To the elders among you, I appeal as a fellow elder, a witness of Christ's sufferings and one who also will share in the glory to be revealed: Be shepherds of God's flock that is under your care, serving as overseers-not because you must but because you are willing, as God wants you to be; not greedy for money, but eager to serve; not lording it over those entrusted to you, but being examples to the flock. And when the Chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the crown of glory that will never fade away.

Example. Our everyday lives are examples to the flock....and our actions speak volumes......

But what if we are having a bad day? What if someone just cut us off in traffic? What if someone just upset our child? Stepped on our toes? Crossed the line? What then?

I believe that when it is truly the hardest... When we have to fight literally against our very flesh....that is when the flock notices. Notices that we are different...notices that while we do sin, we do not sin without a heart that is convicted.....and through this they come face to face with God.

Our motives must be pure...at all times... Even when our back is against the wall or we are left in a place of trust...we must like in a way that brings glory to Him. We don't see the big picture or why we are being positioned where we are....we learn, if we let Him that He leads.
So take notice of the flock among you...the are positioned amongst wolves....guide them for His honor, love them for His glory.....they are all His.

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September 10, 2014 Slaton First Day of Homeschooling

And this is what our homeschool looked like today.....among being God's hand and feet...

 His favorite place today... Blue Bird-where we teach about Jesus by just loving.

Today, I had the gift of serving alongside my Slate...to see his heart....and, oh how big it is.....and yes, that is a sword he is using:)

September 9 2014 1 Peter 4:18-19 Commit

1 Peter 4:18-19

And, if it is hard for the righteous to be saved, what will become of the ungodly and the sinner? So then, those who suffer according to God's will should commit themselves to their faithful Creator and continue to do good.

Commit.

We are back to either we believe or we don't only this time it is either we fully commit or we don't.

I am learning that there is no halfway with God.... It is either all in or out. In our world, we offer so many programs, alternatives, different paths, etc.... But in this, in God, there is only one way and it entails a whole heart not part....

Commit. But what if? But what in case of? No....buts, ifs or ands....but commit. Can we do that?

Can we say, "No matter what God...no matter what. I am fully committed...and not look back.

I think that is the commitment we are all striving for....and I say strive for because it seems to be a commitment that can be found through knowing God more and more. Each step we take, each yes to Him, each time we turn away from the world and full on to Him...we align ourselves to see how magnificent this life can truly be.... Even amidst craziness, death, disappointment and despair...we find joy.

We can stop at anytime, I guess, freewill and all.... But once you've tasted the freedom only found in Christ there is no going back....

Commit. Say full-in. No matter what.....and mean it.

September 9 Homeschooling Slaton

Let's talk about Slaton....

We have been surrounded by prayer warriors committed to pray daily for him.... and for that we are grateful. Today, we made the decision to homeschool him....to use this world that we serve in to be his classroom and stop trying to push his little body and mind into a box that he simply doesn't fit in....and we choose to do that before he realizes that.

We have been blessed by a community of teachers and educational professionals here that have loved on him greatly...and for that we are thankful, so thankful. I can tell that he has touched your lives as much as you have touched his...that makes us smile and warms our hearts.

God has placed on our hearts to involve him more in our ministry...but because of school timeframes he has been limited. He loves serving at the dump and playing with the kids...serving with us at the special needs orphanage...he had a gift like his sister to reach past boundaries and just love....so we walk forward....differently.

This, amongst, several other crossed off things has been on my "never to do list".....so for those out there that homeschool...any words of encouragement would be loved..... And prayer warriors....keep praying, God is listening.....

September 7, 2014 1 Peter 4:17 Less of Us and More of Him

1 Peter 4:17

For it is time for judgement to begin with the family of God; and if it begins with us, what will the outcome be for those who do not obey the gospel of God? And, If it is hard for the righteous to be saved, what will become of the ungodly and the sinner?
Refining discipline.

Godliness, Christ-like, faithfulness, Mighty Warrior..... None of labels come easy but are rather earned through years and years of discipline, trials and trials through life, decision upon decison to be obedient. Day in and day out.
Oh, but we deserve a break today.... You really shouldn't work so hard...serve so much.... Make time for you...... Take time for yourself.... While, these are good in moderation.... We are not a culture that lives in moderation.

This has been hard. Such a test, of sorts, in obedience. The initial steps were so easy but the day in and day out face of obedience is....hard. Real. Raw. And yet, I know by lives told in the Bible that here....in this moment is where faith is strengthened. Here is where God refines us. When our human hearts begin to override our desire to be obedient....and we cry out to Him instead of giving in to the "rabbit hole" of self-pity.....we find He was there all along. Waiting, giving us the freedom of free-will....yet, waiting to be our rescuer when we call.

Every day, I miss her more and more. Every day. I believe just as strongly as I did the day she died that it was simply her time to go.....but in the reality of every day life.... I have to daily choose to be okay. I have to daily choose not to give into the fear that satan seems to be trying to capitalize on......(it is too easy to imagine your other children dead, when you've seen one).... But, yet, I know that each lie we overcome, each rabbit hole, He walks us over.....is one more testament of Who He is....And out of this, our faith will be stronger.

I find the path that we are walking is a paradox of sorts.... We truly are walking in a mountaintop experience in our lives. To serve those He has sent us to serve, to love and share His gift with others.... Wow. Our daughter has been called home away from the darkness of this world.... And this should be the biggest Wow of all.....and although humanly this is a struggle.... Day after day, hour after hour.... We choose Him over the rabbit hole.

We all face "rabbit holes" and we are all given the opportunity to fall head first into despair, grief and self or we can choose Him to walk us through it.

Big or small....... Let us be refined... Less of us.... More of Him.

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September 6, 2014 1 Peter 4:15-16 Why Do We Suffer?

1 Peter 4:15-16

If you suffer, it should not be as a murderer or thief or any other kind of criminal, or even as a meddler. However, if you suffer as a Christian, do not be ashamed, but praise God that you bear that name.

Why do we suffer? For what reasons do we suffer?

Think about that.... If you aren't suffering now, think of the last time that suffered, and why was it that you suffered.

Do we suffer because of our own actions? Consequences to choices that either we have or haven't made..... Often times, we read through scripture and see words like murderer, thief and criminal.....and we think "not us" and we gloss over.... But this verse says "or even as a meddler". Have you meddled before? Have our actions fallen any where between being a murderer or a meddler? And if so, and then we may suffer because of it....and probably rightly so.
But when was the last time we suffered for Christ? I know, most of us that are reading this live in "the land of the free".... Límited suffering. No persecution. Límited opportunities to suffer in Christ's name.

If only that were true..... We've allowed prayer to be taken out of our schools. We've allowed the Ten Commandments to be removed. We've allowed millions of lives to be extinguished before even one breath is taken. We've allowed our circle of Christian influence to decrease instead of increase. And all the while, we have encountered no suffering in Christ's name? Of course we haven't.....we have relinguished ground. I'm afraid that we have had ample time to suffer in His name.....but we chose a different path.

If you suffer as a Christian, do not be ashamed.....but what of those of us who have choosen not to suffer. What of us who look the other way or bury ourselves in smaller kingdoms of our own making? Maybe we aren't as lucky as we might seem......

What is God prompting you to do today? Do it. Praying as we each continue on our paths of obedience.......

September 5- 1 Peter 4:14 Stand Ready

1 Peter 4:14

If you are insulted because of the name of Christ, you are blessed, for the Spirit of Glory and of God rests on you.

Amen. May we stand worthy......

It seems that we spend more of our time bring "politically" correct with our beliefs so insults don't come our way. I believe it is time to stop and really take a look at how we live our lives.....and the influence that we allow others to place upon it.....

Stand firm, stand ready.

September 4, 2014 1 Peter 4:13

1 Peter 4:13

But rejoice that you participate in the sufferings of Christ, so that you many be overjoyed when His glory is revealed. 

I am humbled by this verse and not the least bit qualified to even speak on its behalf....

Christ has blessed us beyond measure....beyond measure. In 2002 when we were decided to come to this country called Nicaragua, we had no idea how our lives would be impacted...changed in an instant.  God gave us a glimpse of the future land that He would call us to.... From 2002-2007, He allowed us the privilege to return again and again, each time reaffirming the call...each time leaving a part of it seemed my very soul when I would leave.... Then in 2007, it stopped.  We spent the years from 2007-2011 being prepared....we didn't know that at the time but there was strengthening in those trials....and we were changed.  We didn't know at the time that He was preparing us to live here during those times....it might have been so much easier (in human hindsight, yes?) to have walked through Travis almost dying, Slaton being born 3 months premature, my mother's diagnosis and death to cancer...all happening amidst life..if we might have known that Nicaragua was the plan....that in 2012 we were going to be given the opportunity to move here....to serve Him here....but He had a plan and He saw the big picture the whole time.

Our serving here..is not a sacrifice in our mind...not at all but rather the greatest privilege that we have ever known.

We, as humans, don't have the big picture...we have what we can see for today...this instant...and even that isn't always a clear picture but rather a picture seen through our perspective.  We have no idea what the future will hold....we have conjecture, hope and dream....but the reality is He knows....we do not.  It is a world that if you are not a believer you will have much difficulty even fathoming...a world that you can finally say...I live for today and today alone.  God prepares tomorrow....not I. 

Our son, Slaton, has Aspergers and one of the traits that he has is that he thinks that you are thinking as he is...so if he thinks something, it is so.  Not exactly.  Just because he thought that he wanted a glass of chocolate milk doesn't mean that I should be handing him one...and we work on this..making him aware that the reality is not what he simply thinks.  And the same is true, I'm afraid, for us.....the reality of our world is not what we simply think it should be....it is what it is.  Period.  Sure, we can plan, day dream, plot and make elaborate themes....but reality is that we must hold all of this loosely knowing that our blueprints are our human desires...not reality.  And we mustn't be let down when they don't come to fruition......



When we suffer for Him, we suffer knowing that He will be revealed.  Not if He does, not maybe...but that He will be revealed.  Our brothers and sisters in Christ who lay down their very lives for Him know the ultimate earthly price...and, yet, this is where we find the body of Christ growing..not waning.  This is where we find Truth being held as the most treasured prize....not in lukewarm gratitude. 

Response to The Happy Life....

I've been asked my thoughts on this but through friends back in the states and Nicaraguans here.... I've been hoping that there would be a recant.... A message that would follow that would say...this was only a clip taken out of context...here is the real message....but I guess we all knew it probably wasn't coming. It is what it is.

The night this first aired I had just finished a Bible Study in the dump...surrounded by some of the worst living conditions I have ever experienced...k we talked out our choices that we made in life and the good and bad consequences that come with them...and then we talked about when things come our way...even when we don't choose them. We talked about how in this world...we won't fit in...as Christian's..we will not ever feel at home here...and if we do...then we need to reevaluate how we are living and who we are serving. We talked about how the closer we live for God the more trials and bad things will probably come our way....and that's okay because our eyes will be on Christ and He is all the encouragement that we need.

And then I came back to Hope Central and saw this.

We need to pray...pray for a real revival. Smoke and mirrors eventually clear away and what will be left is what is real....pray that what is left is Truth and doesn't burn away with the smoke.
We need to love...love as Christ as loved us. He is the judge...the fair judge...we are called to extend His love so that they might know Him....and we never really know who the "they" might be.

We need to be real...It is time as believers that we, ourselves, need to drop the "Christian facade" that our lives are beautiful and perfect thus we be thought less than and be real with one another so that when we encounter trials....we can help one another, shouldering the burdens together.

Yes, he who casts the first stone......but sometimes, the stones seem to speak for themselves....

Bill Cosby responds to Victoria Osteen

September 3, 2014 1 Peter 4:12 Sheep Amongst Wolves

1 Peter 4:12

Dear friends, do not be surprised at the painful trial you are suffering, as though something strange were happening to you.

Do not be surprised.....and, yet, we always are when painfulness comes our way. We seek and seek to make heaven on earth...to make happiness here...and then we feel betrayed when evilness slips through the cracks of our happy facade.

This world, this earth is not our home....this is not it. We are told in Matthew 10:16 "I am sending you out like sheep among wolves. Therefore be as shrewd as snakes and as innocent as doves."

Imagine sending sheep out into a pack of wolves.....that is how we have been sent. We have a Shepherd who is protecting us and watching over us.....but this will be messy and painful....so we mustn't be surprised when it comes our way. I vividly remember the first time that I experienced "being amongst wolves". Many years ago....I was in church and was being witness to incredible wrongness....Wrongness from a worldly business standpoint and undoubtable wrongness from a Biblical viewpoint. As I sat literally in disbelief, I was assured that this is quite common and this is how it simple is done..... Okay, but I can tell you in my world of corporate America that this would not fly....and, yet, under the disguise of "the Church" I was being told it was common. As a relatively new believer experiencing how the body of Christ worked, I can tell you that this was not what I expected to find.

Yet, I am thankful that God allowed me to see that experience when He did. I didn't understand it at the time but He taught me early on that being sheep among wolves is everywhere....and just because you find yourself among wolves, you don't ever stop being sheep. Ever. For while you are treading amongst the wolves, there are other sheep traveling your same path needing encouragement, fellowship and reaffirmation that God is in control...even in this.

Too often, we experience "bad things" within the church. We get hurt...and often rightfully so. Expect it. In heaven, we will serve in a place where there is no evil...we won't get hurt there. Here, we will. And I believe satan revels in this....There is no better way to distract a Kingdom builder than to create issues within the church itself....Hurt feelings can fester for years and years...and all the while instead of placing our energy on Kingdom building, we are focusing on getting even with our sister or brother in Christ....or at least waiting until they make the first move to apologize. Or better yet, we stop going all together. We walk away from it all. And truthfully, the way I have seen some treated by "Church people", I get it...but when we walk away, when we say the persecution is too much satan wins....every time.

I think of our fellow brothers and sisters in Christ who face persecution in the form of death....and then think....really, we let ourselves be ran off from our Father's house because of simple words in the form of gossip and haughty looks? Shame on us....may God strengthen our desire to know Him more that nothing could keep away....nothing.

Be the peacemaker. Be the sheep. Follow where the Good Shepherd tells you to go. Expect pain in this world no matter where you are....then when the blessings come of happiness...they are blessings overflowing.



 

September 2, 2014 1 Peter 4:11 His Strength....Not Mine.

1 Peter 4:11

If anyone speaks, he should do it as one speaking the very words of God, if anyone serves, he should do it with the strength God provides, so that in all things God may be praised through Jesus Christ. To Him be the glory and the power for ever and ever. Amen.

I write this on a day that I am stuck in bed with a fever, headache, respiratory something and a rash on my belly that I am still not quite sure what it is..... I am writing this on a day that I love in my week..a day that I can serve with wild abandonment...a day that we go to HOH for Tuesday morning outreach and share God's love with girls and children caught up in the evilness of sex trafficking.....lunchtime is spent at the feeding center in the dump..sharing not only food but God's word...and the afternoon ends with sharing Christ's love with the ladies at the Cancer Shelter...Encouraging those, who are oftentimes, at death's very door....and yet today...I am here in bed surrounded by tissues.

Tissues being used for more than just sneezes....for tears. Tears for a multitude of reasons...a world of sin, a daughter no longer here, children abused, starving, neglected, sexual assaulted, and the list goes on and on.... I find myself stopped..today anyway. Held in one place, alone. This occurred not without a fight I might add.... I was dressed, ready to go, tubs packed and loaded in the truck...even dropped Slate off at school...all the while knowing.... I could fight through the day....but was I supposed to? Was it my day to fight? Was I pushing on in my own strength or with God's? As I read and reread this verse allowing God's word to surround me, I realized that while God had given me wonderful gifts....today, He had not given me the strength....not today.

As I made my way back to the house and climbed into bed, I knew I was where I was supposed to be today....I knew it before I went to bed last night...yet, in my humanness, worldliness...I knew that I could trudge on, that I could complete the day....but the strength I would have been using was my own....not God's...and in the world we live in, the world we serve in...I do not want to walk this journey in my own strength. There is nothing that needed to be accomplished today that God could not....nor would not accomplish with out me...nothing. On most days, He allows me to walk the journey of His working, He allows me to take part, He allows me to be the recipient of many hugs and loves that are truly His...not mine, but His.

Too many times, too often, we trudge on.... We trudge on out of feeling guilty, we trudge on out of the feelings of necessity, of responsibility, of debt..... or do we trudge on out of feelings of pride or the need to be in control of everything in our world....... yet, God tells us that what we do, how we serve, what we use of the gifts He has given us should be used in His strength....not ours....not ours.

This is a hard one for me. Being still. I do much better than I have in the past....I used to push this earthly body way past the point that it should be pushed....all in the name of completing an assigned task on time. But I have experienced the strength that comes from the Father....and the strength that we have as humans pales in comparison....pales. That's where I want to be...that's how I want to serve...in God's will, using that strength that He provides to accomplish work for His kingdom...and nowhere in that phrase is the word "me"..... We serve as He directs with His strength...not our own.

Where in our lives are we hitting brick walls? Are we hitting them because they are walls we ourselves are fighting? Are we working in our own strength or God's? Do we really think that the our world would cease to move if we took a day off to just be? I can tell you that it doesn't. It won't. Even the day when my world came to a screeching stop in my mind, the moment that Tae died, the world kept moving.....

If you feel like you are going crazy trying to just survive in this world, if you have to numb yourself to make it through the day, if you don't feel the joy that surpasses all understanding.....stop. Find someone who you know that really does. Choose to make a change in your life that will stop the craziness that consumes to many of us.

Today, I was reminded yet again...that this is not my fight, this is His...His glory, His strength....His. Thankful to be a small part of the journey.

September 1, 2014 1 Peter 4:10 Our Talents....God's Gifts

1 Peter 4:10

As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another, as good stewards of God's varied grace......

And this is where we waste a lot of time.... What is our gift? What gift has God bestowed on us? What category does it fit in? What is the best quiz to take to identify it....to reconfirmed it....or to maybe identify us another one....

We analyze and analyze and analyze.....all the while the very gifts that He has bestowed on us wait....and the world moves on in spite of our inaction.

We know when we are amongst someone gifted by the Father...whether it be someone gifted by preaching, teaching or loving to watch them do what God has created them to do is to experience a bit of heaven on earth. Tae's gift was with children...and not just any children but children that were seemingly unloved especially those with special needs. I've seen her walk in a room that reduces most grown men and women into tears and that is where she would shine the brightest....I don't ever remember her taking a test or quiz to figure it out but I remember one time after our Special Friend's Class at Ridgecrest Baptist she said with the biggest smile "That is what heaven will be like!" That is where she felt closest to God.... Always did.

God gave us gifts and talents to go and do.....to use them to serve others...to further His kingdom....His Name. I'm not saying that it is wrong to seek guidance and help if you are having difficulty finding where you fit....but I do think most of us have a pretty clear idea where that is......it is that place when you feel like this is what I was created to do....and truthfully, it is probably not the most glamorous, worldly popular nor worldly recognizable deed....but it is the deed that is recognized by the King...... I find that it is in moments apart from others, in quiet corners, cardboard houses or amongst mounds trash....day in and day out.....that I see God's hand upon my life.... Perseverance, when no one is looking, when the days run together...yet, the faces become more and more familiar..... Does the desire to reach beyond normal boundaries count as a spiritual gift? I don't know......but I do know that God has blessed me with this desire from as young as I can remember.....and this is where I feel closest to God. This is where I feel in my spirit.... This is what I was created to do.

So what is it? What talent do you have that God has given you to further His kingdom? If you already know it, are you using it to its furthest potential? Do you hide it waiting for the perfect opportunity to use it? Do you help your children identify their talents and help them explore ways that they can use them for God's glory?

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August 31, 2014 1 Peter 4:9 Unexpected Guests......

1 Peter 4:9

Offer hospitality to one another without grumbling.

I'm too busy. Our house isn't big enough. We've had a long week. The kids are cranky. We haven't grocery shopped this week. I haven't had a shower yet. The games on TV....... and so we don't offer hospitality to our friends and neighbors.

Yet, real hospitality....the hospitality that Peter talks about isn't entertaining guests in our home it is hospitality.... It is inviting them in when they come to our door and offering them what we have to offer...... It is inviting them over when the Holy Spirit prompts us even when we have a million personal reasons not to.....

We focus on them....their needs and not our own. Of course, this is what we do when we entertain people at our house, yes? We bring out our best food, plates.....our best for them to experience. But what about when you haven't planned, when it isn't your idea, when your best isn't ready to be presented.....or can't even be found?

House is messy? Kids unruly? Only water to drink? What about then?

This is when I believe true hospitality comes alive.... For some of us, it comes easy...for the rest of us, we must allow Christ to work through us in order to allow it to happen.

I've seen vast differences in hospitality while living here. For those who have come to serve with us down here, you've experienced it. The hospitality extended even though material possessions are greatly limited. The warmth extended even though furniture is sparse. The sharing of food even when it isn't plentiful. Is this how we do hospitality? All the time?
Yes, some of it is cultural....but that is only found in the type of offering-tortillas as opposed to pie:). We are all called to help meet the needs of those God sends our way.... A place to stay (even if just for a moment), something to eat or drink (even if it is all we have) or just a listening ear....and we are called to it without grumbling....

We are called to be Christians, salt of this world, light in a dark world, His hands and feet 24 hours a day, 7 days a week..... It is not a 9 to 5 gig.... It doesn't end with the evening news....

Hebrews 13:2 reminds us that we shouldn't forget to entertain strangers for in doing so some people have entertained angels without knowing it....and that's pretty cool. Remember, it really isn't about us at all.....never has been.

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August 30, 2014 satan's lies.....

I remember vividly the night that Tae died.... I remember hearing among many things satan's lies trying to weave their way into my heart and mind... Trying to distract me, discourage me....kick us while we were down. I remember thinking that night that I would never laugh again, that there would be no more joy in this world, that I should find the closest corner, curl up and never come out.....and with each of those thoughts, I'd go to God's word....sometimes I couldn't see through the tears so I would just hold His word knowing that the Holy Spirit would intercede for me.... I write this tonight to encourage anyone walking a journey that is difficult to turn to God's word....first. Not as last resort but first. It is the only constant in an ever changing world with the power to cause satan to flee... Stills the noise and calms.....

I remember when Jesus was in the storm on the boat with his disciples.....He was sleeping and they thought they would surely die in that storm....a storm that He didn't seem to care about.... And He calmed the storm with His hands to calm His disciples but all the while saying .... Don't you guys get it? I think that was us.... He has this storm....and has been faithful again and again.
With each lie from satan, God reaffirmed Truth....and we have laughed, experienced unspeakable joy, experienced ministry deeper than we would have ever imagined and have seen His greatness throughout.

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