Sunday Night Wipe Out, the Unseen Battle

After the doors are locked, the pastor goes home, he walks through the door and colapses in his chair.
He stares blankly at the wall, his mind working, busy still, going over every encounter, every word, every face.
He remembers hardness when he preached against sin, knowing some are fighting a losing battle against temptation.
He remembers brokeness in some whose lives are filled with pain they've only told him.  He hurts with them.
He feels joy at the liberty he had to preach the gospel, and a deep sense of thankfulness for everyone who responded to it.  He thinks about them.
 Where he senses disunity he is especially concerned, thinking through the dangers of gossip and the damage that it causes.
On his heart is each person in his flock.  If he's been shepherding for long, he knows that some who smiled and shook his hand today could try to hurt him and his family another day.  He prays to keep loving them when that happens.

Why am I going over this?  I'm bringing a burden many church members have no idea about.  Many do not have any idea about the battle that takes place after the lights are turned off and everyone is safely home.  But a battle is taking place!

Satan has a plan for this man who slumps, exhausted in his easy chair.  He wants him to quit.  He wants him to give up the fight against temptation.  He wants him embittered, hopeless, and dispirited.  And most of all, he wants him to just quit, give up, walk away from the ministry forever.

To accomplish this, he prepares lies that, if believed, will tear the faith from your pastor's life, and with it, all his hope and fervor for Christ.  Your pastor knows these lies are of the devil, but at this moment, he is spent.  He has poured out his heart from the moment his knees hit the carpet of his prayer closet in the morning to the moment he said goodbye to the last saint as they went out the door.  His heart is weary, and his mind is weary, and his spirit is weary.  There are few times more vulnerable for a pastor than this moment.  And at this moment, Satan starts to pour his lies out into his mind.  Suddenly he feels like a failure, like his work is pointless, like it makes no difference. He is hit hard with temptation to worry about the people, the church, his family, and finances.  I can't stress this enough.  I've seen it, and I know.  I've been in a pastor's family since I was five, and I have many family members working in the ministry.  This happens to every pastor. Some feel more pressure than others, but the fact remains that Satan will hit God's servants when they are tired, every chance he can get.

Would you do something?  Would you fight the battle with him, and take some time after church on Sunday night to pray for your pastor and his family?  If you pray for him at any time of the week, and you desire to uphold him like Aaron and Hur held up the arms of Moses, uphold him in prayer on Sunday night after church! 

Love yourself?

I often hear people say, "You can't love others until you love yourself."  Love of one's self is encouraged, and expected for a healthy mindset.  The logic is, if you don't love yourself, you won't respect your own self worth, or take care of yourself, or be able to value anyone else.  You won't think you deserve anything good, so you will let people abuse you, and take advantage of you. 

Honestly, I don't disagree with the basic premise. When someone hates themselves, wants to hurt themselves, and goes about to destroy their own lives and bodies, it is evidence that something is wrong.  It is not normal or natural to live in self-loathing, or for a human to have a wish to end or ruin their own life.  Normal humans feed, adorn, bathe, and cherish their own bodies without even thinking they are doing something loving for themselves, but caring for the needs of someone is the surest way to love them.  We entertain ourselves, and try to protect ourselves from harm, and hurt.  These are all actions of self-love.  Even people with no respect for themselves will snatch their hand away from an open flame.  Why would someone do that if there was no love for themselves in their lives?

I do have a problem with the statement, "You can't love others until you learn to love yourself."  What's my beef with that?  It's the focus of that statement.  It is completely absent of God and His love.  Why is this important?  It's important because God's love blasts any little love we might have for ourselves to smithereens.1   You can never take God's love for us out of an equation and have a complete picture of reality.  And reality is this; our true value, as God values us, is beyond our own comprehesion.

A biblical point of view gives us a complete picture of ourselves.  In the mirror of God's Word, we see that we are born in sin,2 something abominable to God, but that He took upon Himself our own nature so that He could bear the payment for our sins on His body.3 This shows us that God's value for us was His own blood.  When we see that truth, a poor self-image is just a lie we believe, and so is self-importance and pride. Truth?  I am precious to God.  I can love myself with all my might and main, but I could never love myself like He does.  And the focus of the Bible, the greatest commandment in the Bible, is not to love myself with all my might.  It's to love Him with all my might.4  Why?  Because His love is enough.

For many of us, the problem comes when we look at our faults and failures, we often read our own worth through them.  God has given us something to do with our faults, and it is not ignore them, pretend they don't exist, or pretend they don't matter. (I believe that's called denial) God never valued me based on my goodness.  If that were true, He would have tossed me out a long time ago.  He values me because of Who He is, He saved me from my sin because of His love for me, and the more I know Him, the more peace and confidence I can have about my position before Him.

I am so thankful for the love of my God!  His love is worthy of being talked about, lifted up, and researched.  During this month, when we are seeing little lacy hearts everywhere, and eating cute, pastel, heart-shaped candy, remember God's love for you, and how precious you are to Him.

1.)  1Jn 4:9  In this was manifested the love of God toward us, because that God sent his only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through him. 
2.)  Rom 3:23  For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;  
3.)  2Co 5:21  For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.
4.)  Mark 12:30  And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength: this is the first commandment.

A little compassion...

A new family came this morning, their second visit.  They have a baby girl and a two year old boy, both of whom came to the nursery with me.  Victor had been pretty good in Sunday School, which surprised me, because I had watched him last week, his first visit, and he had squalled 80% of the time.  It's so hard for a small one to get used to the idea that these strangers won't keep you forever, they will be nice to you, give you crackers, and then give you back to mommy pretty quick.

I took the nursery for the church service, and he started to protest when he noticed the Changing of the Guard.  The nice lady he was used to was leaving, without his permission, and I was taking her place.  He was not amused.  He started to shriek when she closed the door, he shrieked when I looked at him, he shrieked when I offered him a toy without making eye contact, and he really raised the roof when Moises, the other toddler, decided he wanted some of the toys Victor was hoarding.  I put Moises in the middle of some other toys, and turn part of my back on Victor, where I could see him out of the corner of my eye.  Sitting on the floor, we began making towers with blocks.  This is usually irresistible for small boys, as they always want to help building, or see what happens when you knock it down.  The shrieking subsided to a miserable whimper, as Victor began to be interested in the project.


Then I noticed something.  As he mumbled complaints against me and Moises, Victor was pulling his ear and twisting his pinky inside constantly.  Light bulb!  I said, "Your ear hurts, doesn't it?"  He looked at me and nodded seriously.  I said, "I'm sorry, ears hurt a lot when they hurt."  He nodded again, then offered some advice on the construction of my tower.  I told him he'd better show me what he meant, and he reached over and began to build up my tower.

After that he was my buddy.  Yes, his ear hurt, but what he really wanted was to know that someone understood, and was on his side.

Jude 1:22  And of some have compassion, making a difference:

Fear of Death

"In perfect health I went from home,

Not knowing that my race was run,

As flowers grow and then decay,

A sudden death snatched me away.

Little thought my time so short,

In this world to remain,

When from my home I went away,

And hoped to return again.

The stroke of death did end my time,

And cut me off just in my prime,

Short was my life, sharp was my pain,

Great was your loss, much more my gain."

Farewell my wife and brother so dear,

I am not dead, but sleeping here.

My debt is paid, my grave you see,

Therefore prepare to follow me.

"Jesus lover of my soul, let me to thy bosom fly."

 "One by one life's chain on earth is broken.  One by one it's linged again in heaven."

We see a lot of gravestones this time of year.  Mexico celebrates the Day of the Dead this time of year also.  There are "death" things everywhere.  Here, Halloween is for Children, and the Day of the Dead is for adults.  They believe that the spirits return to the earth on this night, and they need to leave an offering for them so they won't take vengence.  While it is treated like a game, under the surface there is real fear among so many; fear of the dead, fear of devils, fear of the unseen spiritual world all around us.

I took the above pictures of an old cemetery not far from here.  There were some of the early English settlers who came here to work on the mines.  As you can see, death was something that brought sorrow, but it was accompanied by faith and hope.  Nearly all of the very old graves had words of hope and joy.  These people lived an incredibly hard life.  We toured the mines they worked in.  Their testimony of hope is written in stone here and in other places as well.  Remember that, while so many others play with death and fear this month, Death holds no sting for those in Christ;  He took that on Himself.  If we belong to Christ, His Spirit dwells in us-there is no greater spirit than His, and we need not fear other spirits.  This is a good time of year to rejoice in our freedom from fear!

1Co 15:55-58  O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory?  (56)  The sting of death is sin; and the strength of sin is the law.  (57)  But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.  (58)  Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye stedfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord.

So, do you like Mexico?

People are starting to ask me if I really do like it here. We've been here a good six months now, and my Spanish is hobbling along a little faster, so they are curious.

What can I say about Mexico?

I love first and foremost that I was made specifically for what we are doing here and now. God is so good to me to give this privilege, and every day I wake up to work that I don't deserve to do.

If you aren't doing what God made you to do, I pity you.

I love the patient, gracious people, who have been so good to me, helping me learn this language, laughing abundantly at my mistakes with me, but no one has shown me scorn. I know this is not always the case with missionaries learning new languages, but it has been the case with me, and It is something I love about these people.

I love that I can get fresh, warm tortillas at my door every day! This may be selfish to post in a "spiritual" piece, but hey, if you haven't tried them, you have no idea! When I bring them in, I have four little birds chirping around me wanting to eat one right off the stack. Yes, they are that good.

I love watching my kids learning to make friends and speak Spanish. They are coming along great!

I'm glad that God doesn't think I'm Superchristian, and leave me to my own devices. I used to think missionaries were some kind of super mutant minister or some such nonsense-it's kinda hard to surrender to God's will for your life when you think like that.  (If you know what you are.) I had to take another turn through I Corinthians 1, where it says the foolish, weak, and base things are His fist choice.  He's still a workin' on me!

I love being in the ministry.  We get to watch God work. Is there anything more amazing and wonderful?

I love seeing the lights come on in a person's eyes as they see that Jesus paid the price for their sin, and if they repent and believe on Him to save them, He will. I love being a small part in God ransoming a soul.

I really like the pozole. And the huaraches. And the sopes. And the chile rellenos. And the pastes, and the carne asada.

I could go on, but I don't have time. I'm busier than I've ever been in my life, having more to do than I can quite get done in a week, and I'm overwhelmed. but not by the work. It will always be there. I'm overwhelmed by God's goodness, His faithfulness, His power.

It's such a blessing to be in God's will for my life, knowing we are in His hands and He is doing with us what He made us for.

Happy Birthday Mexico!

Ryan and Bro. Ismael

David loves dressing up!

The stripes appeared shortly after we arrived. One of the little girls was sharing.

The girls had fun too!

We celebrated Mexico's independence and freedom, and two people accepted Christ as their Savior. Can you think of a better way to celebrate freedom that receiving liberty from sin?

Bro. Jaimez baptizing Elisabeth!

These aren't the greatest pics, but there wasn't a lot of water in the pool, and since we couldn't wait for another two hours, we just dunked them the best we could. Elisabeth is so light, her feet popped right out of the water!

Joy in the presence of the angels!

This morning I dragged myself out of bed and plunked down on the couch, opened my Bible, and started rubbing the sleepyheads out of my eyes so I could read. I do not like mornings. As far as I'm concerned the only thing good about them is the fact that no one else is up, so I can have some solitude with the Lord before the rush of the day begins. As I peered at the first chapter of Colossians I realized that I was not alone. I heard a pair of little feet slapping down the stairs. My youngest daughter appeared, looking just as sleepy as I was.

Great. There went my devoes. I thought. I said, "Hi, sweetie, come sit with me." Maybe I can get some reading in this way. She snuggled up, and I commenced reading out loud, so she wouldn't feel the need to squirm or talk to me. I got to this part:

Colossians 1:12-13 Giving thanks unto the Father, which hath made us meet to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light: (13) Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son:

And I began to think, she has no idea what this means. I read the next verse;

Colossians 1:14 In whom we have redemption through his blood, even the forgiveness of sins:

Then the Holy Spirit prompted me to ask, "Do you know what redemption means?"

"Uuuuuh, no."

Again, the Lord pushed me to explain this word to her. There is a wonderful story about a little boy who made himself a sail boat, that he loved, and when he went to the river to play with it, the wind blew it away. He saw it go in to the rapids, where there was a big fall, and he thought it was lost to him forever. Then one day he saw his sail boat in a store window. Not only had it survived the falls, someone had found it! When he asked the store owner for it, he found out that it was still lost to him, because in order to get it, he would have to pay the full price for it. He loved his boat so much that he brought money to pay for it, and redeem it.

I told her this story, and explained, that was what Jesus did for us. He made us, and He loves us. But our sin will take us to Hell, and we will be lost to Him, so He paid for us to be redeemed back to Himself, to take away our sin, and the price he paid wasn't money, it was His own blood. That's why it says, "In whom we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins." All we have to do is repent of our sins and receive His gift of eternal life!

"I want to do that! Right now!"

Thank God for this! Isn't it wonderful to see His Spirit working in the lives of our children? Elisabeth had made a profession of faith, but I sensed she didn't understand everything she had done, and last week, the Lord put a burden on my heart to pray for her, that God would make clear to her if she was saved. My prayer was answered a couple days ago when she told me frankly that she was not saved and going to hell, because she was a sinner and couldn't stop sinning. At that time, she didn't accept Christ. Sometimes it takes time for the Holy Spirit to work each part of the gospel through our hearts. I didn't push it. This time, I could see the lights come on. No, she didn't want to wait another minute, Jesus had paid for her sin, and she wanted to receive eternal life right now! I told her to tell Jesus! She did, very simply and frankly, ask Jesus to forgive her, and take away her sin so she could live in Heaven with Him. Then she jumped up, eager to tell everyone, "How do you say 'I got saved' in Spanish?"

I don't think I'll ever complain about having my personal devotions interrupted!

Two verses and a thought:

Psalms 27:4 One thing have I desired of the LORD, that will I seek after; that I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the LORD, and to enquire in his temple.

1 Corinthians 6:19 What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own?

Can I possibly understand the blessing it is to dwell in the presence of the Almighty God? David longed to live in the house of God! What would he say if knew God’s people carried around His Temple on their feet, and then did not bother to seek out God’s face at least once every day?

Seek His Face

Seek His face at the start of your day.
Giving Him your moments.

Seek His face at the end of your day.
Resting in His peace.

Look for Him when you make plans.
Finding His will.

Seek His strength under heavy labor.
When you are burdened and overwhelmed.

Seek Him when you feel weak.
It is a reminder to depend on Him.

Find Him especially when you feel strong.
We are never so weak as when we depend on our own strength.

Look for His glory when you think you've succeeded.
Because it was His plan, and His strength,
And His opinion is the only one that really matters.

Look for His glory when you think you've failed.
Because His is able to bring glory out of all your circumstances.

Look for His forgiveness when you've sinned against Him.
If you humbly repent, He offers it freely.

Look for His Spirit when you find yourself in bondage to sin.
He alone holds the path to freedom.

Search Him out when you are confused or deceived.
Jesus said, "I am the truth..." Find Him!

Find the Comforter when pain draws a blazing path of agony through your life.
The Holy Spirit will take you to the arms of your loving Father.

Just seek His face. Set your heart to look for Him in all things. Find His pleasure, find His friendship, find His strength. Find His glory.

When thou saidst, Seek ye my face; my heart said unto thee, Thy face, LORD, will I seek.
(Psalms 27:8)

Rejoice with me!

The Lord never ceases to amaze me. He did a wonderful work, one that I could never do in the past month.

We went to a church service on May 20th, the day a precious little boy by the name of Josiah Herring, age 5, was born into eternity to be with his "Best Friend". This church had been praying for Josiah, and his death was announced in the service, along with requests to pray for his family. My two young girls, Elisabeth and Rebecca, were sobered by this. We had shared the gospel with them, but they both didn't really think it was important to deal with it right away. When they asked me again how old he was, my husband and I took a moment to talk about death. We told them that, just like everyone has a day to be born, they also have a day to die. God knows this day, and we do not. It's important to be ready for eternity! Both of them were under conviction.

About three weeks passed. Then one morning while I was fixing Rebecca's hair, Elisabeth announced, out of the blue, "I'm ready to die now!" Well, those are words that make a mommy take notice! I asked her what on earth she was talking about. She repeated herself, in a matter of fact way, with a big smile on her face. When I asked her why, she said, "I'll go to Jesus!"

"How do you know that?"

"Cause Jesus took my sin away!"

"How do you know He did?"

"Cause I asked Him to!"

"Why did you want Him to take your sin away?"

"Cause it was going to take me to Hell, and I don't want to go there!"

She was so happy and content, and I had not seen her like that in a long time. I continued asking questions, and learned that the night before, June 9, She got out of bed, knelt down and asked Jesus to take away her sin and save her. She told Him thank you for dying for her, and for saving her. Then she went back to bed and slept.

I was, and still am amazed by this work the Holy Spirit did on my daughter, while I did not even know about it. This is not the end of the story though! A few days ago, my second daughter, Rebecca, came storming into our room about two hours after I had sent her and her sisters to bed. She was gasping and sobbing broken heartedly. She choked out, "I want to accept Jesus as my Saviour!" Again, we started asking questions to make sure she knew what she was doing, but that was just foolishness on our part. She knew exactly what she was doing, and this senseless delay was upsetting her even more. She cried, "I'm gonna die and go ta Hell! I wanna get saved!"

What can you say to that? We said, "Go ahead then!"

I watched my daughter drop to her knees and cry out, "Oh God! I'm so so sorry for all my sins! I've done so many bad things! Please, please forgive me!"

That was it! When she raised up her head, a smile started to shine. Ryan asked her, "Did He do it?" She said loudly, "Yessss!"

Rebecca and Elisabeth are two different little girls today! They have peace with God, and it shows. Do you have peace with God? Do you know what will happen to your soul when you die? God is not willing for you to perish!(2 Peter 3:9) Are you willing to repent of your sins and accept His gift of eternal life? If you are, then He is ready to save you! "For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin, that we might be made the righteousness of God in him." II Cor. 5:21--John 3:16 says it better than I ever could, "For God so loved the World that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life."

My heart goes out to the Herring family, I can't imagine what they've been through, and even though they don't know me, I've been holding them up in prayer. I'm so thankful for the life of their son. One day, I'm going to see him in Heaven, and I'm going to give him a hug and tell him "Thank you for your testimony!, here are two precious souls that were brought to Jesus!"

I just found this in archives, and I had to share it!

I went back and found this in draft-it's a glory story! I didn't want to post it at the time, because I didn't want anyone getting the impression we were in need, so I just put it in draft and waited. Now I dragged it out and dusted it off, because I love sharing how God provides!

Some time ago we took an trip to the states for a family matter, and on the way back we picked up 2,000 lbs. of beans someone had donated to the orphanage? We got a 60 lb box. Well, because of that, we will not lack beans for quite some time. We have used about 30 lbs of them so far. (Oh good heavens, it's not just us eating-I make them for potlucks too, and hand it out to some missionary friends we know who need them!) We have 30lbs left, which should last us a while.

Man does not live on beans alone though, does he? (For the curious, the digestive system gets used to it after a bit, and the emissions become less vitriolic.) Someone is giving the church tortillas for the orphanage. hundreds of them every week. They told us not to buy tortillas any more, but come and get them from the kitchen. They just recently reminded us, asking us to please help them get rid of all these tortillas. (Don't you know we try to be a blessing and help out any way we can!) They aren't those little thin tortillas we're used to, either. They are thick, with a strong corn flavor. YUM!

So now we have this nearly unlimited supply of beans and tortillas. This is basic Mexican fare. Millions of Mexicans eat this for breakfast, lunch, and dinner every day. Together, they form a complete protein, and provide calcium as well. I know lots of people who grew up strong and healthy on this stuff. And we got it for free. Did you know the kids love it?

Ok, ok, you pulled my arm!!!

I can't stand keeping good secrets like this. I'm going to spill it, even though I don't have a picture because the item in question is getting resized.

Ok, I must go back two years to the sad day that I realized our wedding rings were really and truly gone, along with several items from our van. I was hoping I had not been so stupid as to leave the little pouch with my ring in the van. I hoped that for months. (It's called denial.) It was my fault; I should know better, but a day hasn't gone by that I haven't thought about my empty hand with a touch of sadness. I'm not one to wallow deeply in my pit of self pity, but I felt BAD about this.

So on Valentine's Day this year, my husband asked me to make a picnic lunch, and he drug out the picnic basket I used the day he asked me to marry him-he said the kids would think it was fun, or something. We piled into the van, and he said that since it was Valentines Day, he thought it would would be a good idea to show the kids "the place" where he proposed, since we were in the area. This was a good idea-even though it looked like rain, we set out to the redwood grove, where a little stream rushed near the road.

I love the redwoods. I love the clean, wet smell, and the feeling of being so small surrounded by straight, dark posts of the trees. No rain reached the floor where we walked, and I was just delighted that the kids could enjoy this too. When we reached the stream, and the small gravel bank where I accepted my husband's proposal, he started to tell the kids how it had happened. They were more excited by the running water, and plunk of the rocks they were throwing into it.

You've guessed what was next, I'm sure, but I was taken completely by surprize! When he got to the point in the story where he gave me the ring, he got down on one knee and gave me a ring!!! (Please pardon my overuse of exclamation points. I can't help myself.) Then I squealed, and jumped around, and hugged my sweet husband while the kids threw more rocks in the water. Someday they are going to say to themselves, "Wow, I was there when Dad gave Mom her ring! That's cool!"

I'm so thankful for my husband, for his love, and for his care of me. This action turned something that hurt just a little every day into something that makes me smile every time I think about it.

Oh, and I LOVE IT. (Sorry for yelling, I can't help myself!!!!!)

I've been away from my blog for a few weeks because the internet blinked out on us and we only just got it fixed.

My uncle passed away two weeks ago after a ten year battle with cancer, and we took a trip to his funeral. I'm so thankful for the promise of Heaven that my dear Saviour has given. About fifteen years ago, Jesus saved my uncle. My parents had prayed for God to open his eyes to the gospel for nearly thirty years. What a sweet hope it is to know I will see him again!

Happy 4th of July!

God bless you all on Independence Day, and may God have mercy on my country and bless her. If you've never seen all the words to America's national anthem, take a moment to read them .

The Star Spangled Banner
By Francis Scott Key

Oh, say can you see by the dawn's early light
What so proudly we hailed at the twilight's last gleaming?
Whose broad stripes and bright stars thru the perilous fight,
O'er the ramparts we watched were so gallantly streaming?
And the rocket's red glare, the bombs bursting in air,
Gave proof through the night that our flag was still there.
Oh, say does that star-spangled banner yet wave
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave?

On the shore, dimly seen through the mists of the deep,
Where the foe's haughty host in dread silence reposes,
What is that which the breeze, o'er the towering steep,
As it fitfully blows, half conceals, half discloses?
Now it catches the gleam of the morning's first beam,
In full glory reflected now shines in the stream:
'Tis the star-spangled banner! Oh long may it wave
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave!

And where is that band who so vauntingly swore
That the havoc of war and the battle's confusion,
A home and a country should leave us no more!
Their blood has washed out their foul footsteps' pollution.
No refuge could save the hireling and slave
From the terror of flight, or the gloom of the grave:
And the star-spangled banner in triumph doth wave
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave!

Oh! thus be it ever, when freemen shall stand
Between their loved home and the war's desolation!
Blest with victory and peace, may the heav'n rescued land
Praise the Power that hath made and preserved us a nation.
Then conquer we must, when our cause it is just,
And this be our motto: "In God is our trust."
And the star-spangled banner in triumph shall wave
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave!

I just found this in my archives, and I had to share!

I went back and found this in draft-it's a glory story! I didn't want to post it at the time, because I didn't want anyone getting the impression we were in need, so I just put it in draft and waited. Now I dragged it out and dusted it off, because I love sharing how God provides!

Some time ago we took an trip to the states for a family matter, and on the way back we picked up 2,000 lbs. of beans someone had donated to the orphanage? We got a 60 lb box. Well, because of that, we will not lack beans for quite some time. We have used about 30 lbs of them so far. (Oh good heavens, it's not just us eating-I make them for potlucks too, and hand it out to some missionary friends we know who need them!) We have 30lbs left, which should last us a while.

Man does not live on beans alone though, does he? (For the curious, the digestive system gets used to it after a bit, and the emissions become less vitriolic.) Someone is giving the church tortillas for the orphanage. hundreds of them every week. They told us not to buy tortillas any more, but come and get them from the kitchen. They just recently reminded us, asking us to please help them get rid of all these tortillas. (Don't you know we try to be a blessing and help out any way we can!) They aren't those little thin tortillas we're used to, either. They are thick, with a strong corn flavor. YUM!

So now we have this nearly unlimited supply of beans and tortillas. This is basic Mexican fare. Millions of Mexicans eat this for breakfast, lunch, and dinner every day. Together, they form a complete protein, and provide calcium as well. I know lots of people who grew up strong and healthy on this stuff. And we got it for free. Did you know the kids love it?

Help! I'm in over my head!

Psalms 61:2-4 "From the end of the earth will I cry unto thee, when my heart is overwhelmed: lead me to the rock that is higher than I. (3) For thou hast been a shelter for me, and a strong tower from the enemy. (4) I will abide in thy tabernacle forever: I will trust in the covert of thy wings. Selah."

When Peter stepped out on faith into the middle of the Sea of Galilee during a raging storm, he quickly began to feel his own inadequacies as a person in control of what he was doing. I believe every Christian comes to a point some time, if they've been obedient, when they realize they are in over their head, out of their depth, in the middle of a raging storm. In other words, without outside intervention-powerful intervention `-the situation is hopeless.

While God promises to provide a way of escape so that our temptation to sin in trials will not be greater than we can bear, He doesn't say that we won't face situations that are greater than we are, greater than our strength can handle. Instead of relying on our own strength though, He wants us to rest in Him, and bear us up over those mighty waves in the power and control of Christ, so that when we are on the other side of the trial, we can say, "Wow! See what God has done!"

Jesus did not have to carry Peter back to the boat. Peter, in his moment of weakness (Don't we all have 'em?) knew exactly what to do, and he cried, "Lord, help!" Jesus was right there, just as He always is when we start to sink in our temptation or trial. Peter got to walk with Jesus on the water back to the ship. What an experience that must have been!

Sometimes when I am tempted, I do get scared because I see my own personal strength is no match for my situation. Isn't that silly? I could never do it on my own in the first place! And even if I could find some success in my own power, I would steal all the glory for it. It's so much better when Jesus can do it through me, and when He can be glorified at the end of it!

Gethsemane

This poem was in the Baptist Voice, a newspaper put out by WCBC. I cut it out and put it next to my desk.

Gethsemane
By Ella Wheeler Wilcox


In golden youth when seems the earth
a summer-land of singing mirth,
When souls are glad and hearts are light,
And not a shadow lurks in sight,
We do not know it, but there lies
Somewhere veiled under evening skies
A garden which we all must see--
The garden of Gethsemane.

With joyous steps we go our ways.
Love lends a halo to our days;
Light sorrows sail like clouds afar.
We laugh, and say how strong we are.
We hurry on; and hurrying, go
Close to the border-land of woe,
That waits for you, and waits for me--
Forever waits Gethsemane.

Down shadowy lanes, across strange streams
Bridged over by our broken dreams;
Beyond the misty caps of years,
Beyond the great salt fount of tears,
The garden lies. Strive as you may,
You cannot miss it in your way.
All paths that have been, or shall be,
Pass somewhere through Gethsemane.

All those who journey, soon or late,
Must pass within the garden's gate;
Must kneel alone in darkness there,
And battle with some fierce despair.
God pity those who cannot say,
"Not mine but Thine," who only pray,
"Let this cup pass," and cannot see
The purpose of Gethsemane.

Spiritual truths are beginning to sink in!

You never know when your little ones can make practical application of spiritual principals.

I was standing at the sink, washing dishes (It's amazing how many of my stories start with me washing dishes.) and teaching a lesson on temptation. It went something like this.

"The Bible says we need to resist temptation, and the God gives us a way to escape it. Think about temptation this way; Let's say Mommy made up a plate of cookies, left it on the counter, and said, 'don't touch the cookies' on my way out. Then you were standing in the kitchen thinking, 'MMMMM! Those look good! I want one! I want to take one!'

That's temptation, and you should resist it. Say, "I'm not going to disobey!" Tell yourself a Bible verse that can help you like 'Children obey your parents...' and then go find something else to do. Pray and sing a song, and that temptation will stop."

As I was finishing up the last of the dishes, David came up to Ruth, who was standing on a stool helping me. He began making a general pest of himself, pulling at her socks and her dress and whining. Suddenly Ruth shouted, "MOMMY! IS THIS TEMPTATION?"

"Why, what do you want to do?"

"I want to kick him in the face!"

"YES! That's temptation! DON'T DO IT!"

Ruth jumped off the stool and said firmly to David, "I'm NOT going to kick you!" Away she flounced whistling a tune.

Nice to know the lesson made a difference!

Joy In Heaven!

A young lady came to me several weeks ago, concerned about the state of her soul. She was young, but you don't need to have a college degree to understand the gospel of Christ. That she was under conviction was no doubt. She told me that her sins were going to take her to a place called hell. She wanted to know what she needed to do in order to be saved. I had been dealing with her for a while, helping her to understand these things, and now I could see that the Lord was opening her eyes. I felt a strong check not to tell her to pray. Instead, I showed her from the Bible how she needed to call upon the name of the Lord, confess the Lord with her mouth. She asked me what she should say, so I asked her what she wanted Jesus to do for her. She said, "I want him to take away my sins so I can go to heaven!" I asked, "Do you believe He will do this?" She looked uncertain. I said, "That's what it means when it says 'whosoever believeth on him shall have everlasting life'. You believe Jesus saves you, and you repent, or turn away from your sins." After a moment of thought, she asked, "Didn't you tell me Jesus hears my thinking?" I perceived that the one thing that was holding her back was being embarrassed to pray out loud. I said the first thing that came into my mind, which was from Matthew 10:32, "You know, one day Jesus is going to confess my name to the Father when it's time to judge my sins, and He's going to say, 'That's Sarah! I saved her and paid for her sin to be removed with my blood!' Why wouldn't I speak His name with my mouth when I asked Him to save me?"

I waited and she did something extraordinary. She laid down flat on her face and clasped her hands in front of her nose and began to pray loudly and earnestly. The only problem was, I couldn't understand what she was saying because her face was pressed so close to the ground. But Someone did hear her, and He understood her perfectly! She got up after about thirty seconds of prayer, and her face was shining. I asked her what happened. She said delightedly, "Jesus saved me!"

There is joy in Heaven over one sinner that repents, and there is much joy in our house at the salvation of this soul, because we are called to win our own children to Christ every bit as much as we are to reach the souls of Mexico for Him. I'm so thankful my Ruth has found peace with Christ. Our Lord is good, is He not?