Vacation

Hi All - just wanted to let you know we are taking the week off so I won't be posting for a few days. But check back next week because I have some news about Jerry from Lusaka that you won't want to miss!

More Nshima!

Hey - guess what! I did it. It took a year but I found a recipe for nshima and I made it for dinner last Monday night. It was yummy and filling. And, yes, we ate with our fingers. The texture was not quite like what we had in Zambia - it was much smoother there. Although, if I made it every day of my life and if I actually used mealie then I think mine could be smooth, too. Maybe. But considering it was my first try.... it was pretty good.

On a side note:

Monday was Botswana day at our home. The children made maps and flags of Botswana, drew pictures on the window of animals found there and we ate traditional food from there. The corn meal mush is found through out southern Africa - in Zambia it is called nshima, in Botswana it is called begobep. So, technically, for dinner Monday we had begobep (nshima), morogo (cooked spinach relish) and diphaphata (stove-top muffins ). I'm not sure what the morogo or diphaphata were supposed to taste like but they were pretty good, too!

the Lord's Army

Many, many years ago in Sunday school I learned a fun song with motions. As I sang the song I was declaring that I was in the Lord's army - even though I will not be serving in our armed forces I am enlisted in fighting in a war on the side of the King of kings.

What does it mean to be in a war? To be part of an army?

An army is made up of a very diverse group of people - and each person has a specific job. No job is better that another as all jobs are needed in order for the army to be successful. It is also important that each member of the army be trained. But not only does a person enlisted in an army need to be trained, have a specific job and perform that job, the person must have access to resources such as weapons. (It is not enough to know how to use a weapon, one must have access to it.) And, most importantly, a person must be willing to fight - to engage the enemy - to die for the cause.

God has given each member of His army a special job and He has equipped us with armor and weapons - it is up to us to get the training needed to use them properly. In Ephesians 6 we read about the armor and are reminded about the importance of putting on the FULL armor of God. In 2 Corinthians 10:3-4 Paul tells us, "For though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does. The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds." So, you see, we have the job and the resources but the question is - are we willing to fight??

Sometimes I think we forget that if we are followers of Christ then we are in His army. We tent to play church - it is safe and doesn't really cost us anything. But as Ron Luce wrote in his book Battle Cry for a Generation, "Jesus didn't give His life to start a social club; His church was meant to be an army."

The battle cry has been heard - the war is raging. May we not only embrace our position, get trained, put on the full armor and wield our weapons... May we fight!

Trusting God with the Unknowns

As Hayley finishes her associate degree and Riley begins his college studies we are filled with much excitement - and worry. Where will they study? What will they study? How in the world can we/they afford to further their education? What if we can't? How will they respond to the world's pull on them? Will their faith and witness weaken or strengthen? Will they find joy in their studies and future careers? Will they put Jesus first, everyday even if they don't understand - no matter what? You get the idea.

We want the best for our children - as most parents do - and this is where trust comes in. We believe God has a plan for them and we are encouraging them to follow Him no matter what - to seek Him first and not worry about the rest. Granted, planning and preparing are needed activities but worry, not so much.

Providentially, I was reading in Matthew 6 today - and verses 25-34 talk about worry. We are reminded that God cares about us and will take care of us. Verse 34 is pretty straight forward, too - "Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself..." Why are we worrying about college? We will be strong and courageous because God is with us.

So whatever you are worrying about - stop. I know - it's not that easy. But be strong and courageous with us and hard as it may be, when we put our worries in the hands of our Father amazing things happen. Try it and see!

"Worry never empties tomorrow of its sorrow, but it does empty it of its strength. Don't let anyone rob you of your confidence in God. Know His word. Hold on to His hand. He will make your impossible mission possible and your life so much more than bearable." Barbara Johnson.

Refrigerators

I've heard that the outside of a refrigerator tells a lot about the people who use it. The refrigerators in some kitchens are spotless - no magnets, no fingerprints. Others are so full of stuff their color is hidden. How about the one in your kitchen? What does it say about you?

Unashamedly, our refrigerator is not void of fingerprints. In fact, our refrigerator is decorated with comics that make us smile, wildlife photos, photos of friends and family, inspirational quotes, letters (because you never get too old to play with magnetic letters), a blurb about Blake Mycoskie - the founder of TOMS shoes, artwork and a produce sticker collection - don't ask. We also have some forks on our fridge. That's right - forks. They are regular forks with magnets glued to the back. And, yes, they have a point. The forks are there to be a reminder to us - a daily reminder of the feast that is to come - the feast with our King - Isaiah 25:6 - Matthew 26:29 - Luke 13:29 - Luke 14:15. The forks remind us this life is not all there is - there is so much yet to come! We look forward to spending eternity together with Christ. I'm not sure what our fridge decor says about us but hopefully it says our home is filled with joy, love and hope - all sprinkled with fun!

May your home be filled with love, joy and hope, too. And may you hang a fork on your fridge and be reminded daily of what is to come.

Hanging a fork on your refrigerator is also a good way to share the hope you have in the Lord as your guests will ask why it is there. So go ahead, grab a fork, glue on a magnet and prepare for the feast!

The Dance of the Dead

Although I do not get a lot of time to read I do enjoy it. I was recently without a book so I borrowed one from Riley. And I never expected to be so deeply impacted by a fiction book - especially because I am only half way through with it. Riley and I both like the way Ted Dekker writes but the book of his I am reading now is more than just well written; it is subtly powerful. It is making me think and, hopefully, changing the way I think.
"What a terrible thing it is for children to see death, you say. We have it all wrong. If you make a child terrified of death, he won't embrace it so easily. And death must be embraced if you wish to follow Christ..." Janjic Jovic, When Heaven Weeps. Think about that for a moment. How many of us do not embrace death? And yet if we follow Christ, isn't death gain - isn't it a good thing - something to look forward to? So why do we not embrace it? Why do we not encourage our children to embrace it?
"The love that I saw in the priest and in Nadia was a sentiment that destroyed desire for anything less than union with Christ. If you say you love Christ, but are not driven to throw away everything for that pearl of great price, you deceive yourself..." Janjic Jovic, When Heaven Weeps. Yikes! That is to point and quite powerful - not to mention a wee bit painful! But how true it is!!
Now add on to that the article I just read in the latest VOM newsletter. It is about Asia Bibi and her family. Asia was arrested in Pakistan two years ago and has been sentenced to death. Her crime...telling co-workers about Christ. And Asia said she will not denounce Jesus Christ. What about her family? Her husband and daughters have had to move numerous times because they are constantly being threatened. But her daughters are in full agreement with Janjic Jovic. Isha, 12 and Isham, 8, continually say, "If they kill us for Christ, that is okay. We are ready."
May we all be ready.

Shattered

Have you ever had your hopes and dreams shattered? Have you ever cried out to God from the depths of your soul? What happened? How did you feel? My mom recently told me about a song that is heard on the radio - and since I am not an avid radio listener I had never heard it. The song asks some very thought provoking questions - I don't know them well enough to quote but they are something like these - What if His blessings come through raindrops? What if a thousand sleepless nights is what it takes to know He is here with us? Let's think about those for a minute. Would we willingly have our dreams shattered or eagerly accept a thousand sleepless nights if it meant a deeper relationship with the Lord of the Universe? For blessings? Shatterings produce such pain that I am not sure we would. I mean, I think we want to say we would but unless we knew the end result ahead of time I don't think we would embrace the shatterings in our lives; we don't even seem to embrace our trivial, daily challenges. And yet, we do know the end result - for those who have accepted Jesus Christ - God has promised to be with us here and now and He has promised us a home with Him for all eternity. What greater blessing could there be?
May we remember to place all the pieces of our shattered dreams in the hands of God and may we begin to see blessings where we once saw pain.

Dandelions

When was it that we lost our affection for the bright yellow flowers that visit our yards every summer? We once thought dandelions were flowers fit for a queen, picking as many as we could hold and running with such excitement and joy to give them to our moms. When she filled a cup with water, put the dandelions in and carried it over to be the table centerpiece we beamed with pride. Yet, now we spend time and money on new ways to get rid of them. We get frustrated and irritated when they show up in our yards uninvited. We don't seem to care that they are edible and delicious along with being bright, cheery and beautiful. They are a nuisance and not a treasure. So what happened?

Was it that we grew up and got too mature? Are we simply bowing to a cultural norm without even thinking about it? Or are we afraid of what the neighbors might think if we allowed our yellow visitors to stay?

Just think about them for a minute. Dandelions awaken with the sun. Their color is eye-catching and gorgeous. Honey bees gather pollen from them and make delicious honey. They, in and of themselves, are a food source - a much needed free food source. No yard work is needed to grow them. And they close up in the evening. God made amazingly wonderful flowers - but when we see them we see weeds. Isn't that how it works with people, too? We judge them; we count some worthy of love and others we discard. We see potential in some and others we view as hopeless. Beauty is seen here but not there. We forget that God knit each and every one of us and that Jesus Christ gave His life to save us all. We forget that God is perfect and that what He makes is beautiful. May we strive to change our perspective and see things like Jesus - may we, too, see flowers instead of weeds.