International Calls

My husband and I were enjoying a weekend away in Canada at my parents' place when the call came. Realizing Jamie was making an international call from his cell phone, I began to scold him a bit when he interrupted me, "But Mom, I have to talk to you. I've been in a crash."

Suddenly the charges incurred from an international call made on his cell phone were irrelevant.

As the story unfolded we quickly surmised that the boys, though bumped around and achy, appeared to be fine. There had been no ambulance rushing them off to the hospital. For that we were most grateful.

The car on the other hand was not so fine. Being sideswiped by a pickup truck failing to stop at a four-way stop doesn't leave the prettiest looking of cars!

Choosing between the two? I'm very grateful it's our car that's sitting in the garage in need of major repairs rather than our boys lying in the hospital in need of the same!

Sourpuss Carlos

Carlos was a strangely odd looking man with a sour disposition and a frown on his face. He wasn't high on the list of prospective believers-to-be. Not that we did not wish to see him saved. It just didn't look very hopeful. He didn't like us. He didn't want to listen.

I remember the day his wife left him for a younger, better looking man with all the flash. Having only seen the sour disposition side of Carlos, I found it interesting to listen to the men in our visiting room discussing what a fool his wife was for leaving him. In their minds, she was leaving a good provider, a great hunter and woodsman...for some flash. It made me sit up and reconsider who this Carlos was.

The upside to the problems in Carlos' life was that, without a family, he began to spend more time with my father-in-law learning to read. Of course, Dad used the Bible to teach him. Admittedly, for the most part, he still maintained his sour disposition.

Months passed. The language barrier was definitely a big issue---but God is bigger than all things. Through Dad's lifestyle testimony and the truths Carlos could not ignore through the reading of the Bible, Carlos leaped from the list of "not hopeful prospective believers-to-be" to having his name written in the Lamb's Book of Life!

Solutions for the Insanely Busy

I've started another blog. It is called "Solutions for the Insanely Busy." I'm posting the introduction entry from there right here so you can decide if it's a blog you'd be interested in reading. If you are, you can find it at:

www.insanelybusy.blogspot.com

If the need to keep sane with an insane schedule describes you, join me in my continuing journey of keeping my sanity in the midst of an insane schedule.

There was a time I would have described myself as organized. I would have said that for the most part I could tell you where what was in my house. I could quickly retrieve whatever document you needed from my organized files. I knew what my schedule was for the next month, probably the next year. I could honestly say I didn't remember being late on a payment.

I loved organization. I loved to organize more than I loved to clean, yet still, my house was clean and tidy. And I kept it so with my busy schedule. At least I thought I was busy. Granted, I was busy--but sanely busy.

The challenge came when I moved from what I call being sanely busy to being insanely busy. Maintaining the same level of organization with a time crunch became a monumental challenge.

The challenge was to find a way to streamline my organizational style in such a manner that I could turn an insanely busy schedule into a sanely busy schedule.

In the days that follow I will be writing of the many aspects of organization. Your input is always welcome!

The Wise Man Built His House Upon the Rock

I've always loved this picture. I can't look at it without thinking of the song, "The wise man built his house upon the rock...."

This was an actual house built upon a rock in the frontier town of Puerto Ayacucho, Venezuela. The rock was definitely a norm for the area, but the only one with a house balanced at the top! I'd never seen anything like it before--and I've definitely not seen anything like it since!

Anybody got any unique house shots to share with me?

Three Men & Three Wild Cats

There were three wild cats taking out the chicken population by night. Losing their fear they became emboldened and started to raid the chickens by day. During this time I found myself having coffee with my husband, our co-workers and our visiting Pastor and his wife when a tribal man came hurrying into the house to let us know the wild cats were back.

It was at this point that I had to shake my head as three men ran out of the house after three wild cats with one shotgun---and one shell. Turning to Elaine, our Pastor's wife, I had to ask if this made any sense.

Several minutes later Pastor Ron arrived back at the house. His bad knee had slowed him down. Finding himself alone in the jungle with no gun he also came to the conclusion that three men chasing three wild cats with one shotgun and one shell didn't quite add up---especially when you're nowhere near the one man with the one shotgun and one shell!

I was thankful to later find out the wild cats were of the smaller version, still vicious and capable of inflicting harm, but not like having jaguars or cougars roaming the village! Oh, and yes, the other two men came home safely as well.

Feeling Relaxed

Imagine five days with no real responsibilities. No laundry, no planning of meals, no work schedule--for that matter, no schedule!

Imagine five days of chatting with your best friend (who just happens to be your sister) during which time you don't solve all of life's problems, but come to the calm assurance that you can't--but that it really doesn't matter. God is in control.

Imagine five days to get to know your great-niece and nephew for the adorable little people they are!

Imagine five days that includes multiple walks on the beach with the magnificence of God's creation awing you.

There's nothing like five days as described above to leave you feeling refreshed and relaxed.

That's where I'm at this morning. Relaxed though back to the world of responsibility.

A New Commander-in-Chief

Our children, even when grown, are still our children. The love in our hearts for them does not change even though our role in their lives changes drastically. We go from "commander-in-chief" to an "advisory role." Presently our two oldest are looking at having a distinctly new "commander-in-chief." They are looking at signing on the dotted line in the military.

Several hours of helping them fill out forms to pass national security clearance requirements and it all seemed very real.

What is my reaction as a mother?

I've been given the distinct impression by some that I'm supposed to be terrified. I'm supposed to be pleading with them to not go. I'm supposed to be telling them that somehow, by serving their country they will ruin their lives, that somehow God isn't big enough to protect them spiritually in the military.

I was raised in what I'd call a protected environment for the most part. You know, "Don't drink, smoke or dance and don't go out with guys that do." And then I took my children to a remote jungle village where the light of Gospel had not yet penetrated....

They witnessed drunken parties that went on for days as children wandered in hunger hoping that soon dad and mom would sober up and feed them. The children were often at our door begging for crackers or something to eat.

They saw wives hiding their husbands' shotguns so they wouldn't get killed in a drunken rage.

They complained during drunken parties that they had to wear shoes because the village through which we walked was wet with drunken vomit.

They lived in a village where culture dictated that reaching puberty meant a celebration where the young woman got all fancied up—and then drank herself into a drunken stupor before the whole village, usually passing out before the homemade booze ran out.

They lived in a village where polygamy was acceptable, where the second wife was called "the wife's rival," where they even had a special verb that meant it was "stingy" for women to say "no" to sexual advances, and where men returned from town and bragged to others of their sexual encounters with prostitutes while their wives listened on with no recourse.

They saw these same people face death by snakebite, by disease, by suicide.

They also saw these same spiritually darkened people as friends in need of a Savior. They were privileged to see the transforming power of God's saving grace in the lives of people once bound in darkness and sin.

We could have not gone. We could have not exposed our children to this immoral culture. But how would the tribal people have heard of God's great love if no one went? How would the tribal people have heard of God's saving grace if we all stayed where it was safe and comfortable? (Check out Romans 10:14!)

We taught our children, we protected them as much as we could, and we entrusted their spiritual welfare into the hands of our Heavenly Father.

They are adults now making adult decisions in a complicated world in crisis. We recognize they are always at risk to be wrongly influenced by the world. We recognize the fact it is up to them to make right choices. Though we have taught them, we realize we won't always be able to protect them, and we continue to entrust their spiritual welfare into the hands of their Heavenly Father...wherever He leads them.

Safely Home From Guatemala!

More stories will follow I'm sure, but suffice to say for now that Matt arrived home safely from Guatemala!

After picking him up at the airport in Rochester, I listened to story after story on the ride home. Stories about the guys getting lost and being an hour and a half late to pick Matt & Doug up at the airport. Stories about all the volcanoes they saw, the drop off winding mountain roads, the warm days but cool evenings. Stories about the people and the opportunities to have input into their lives. I listened---and tried to stay awake!

We pulled into our driveway sometime after 2 a.m. this morning. The alarm this morning was not a welcomed sound!

Time Is a Strange Thing

Time is a strange thing. It seems like forever since Matt left for Guatemala---and it seems like just yesterday! In reality it has been five days. Granted, a lot can happen in five days! Later this evening I will be picking Matt up at the airport. I look forward to not just seeing him, but to hearing of what adventures the Lord has given him in these past five days!

Safe Arrival in Guatemala!

Yesterday I wrote that Matt was on his way to Guatemala. This morning I was semi-bemoaning the fact that I didn't have any contact with him. No phone calls. No e-mail. No texts. Nothing.

And then my phone rang.

"Unavailable" flashed across the digital readout. To answer or not to answer? I decided to answer and was so glad I did! It was great to hear my husband's voice. Admittedly, there was an extravagant amount of background noise, but it was definitely him. He'd arrived safely, had spent the night in the capital city, and was heading to his friend's house as we spoke.

Matt will be in Guatemala until Tuesday. He has been given the opportunity to meet with a group of pastors down there, to speak at a combined service of two of the local churches, plus one other speaking engagement. Please be in prayer for Matt, for safety in all his travels, and for clarity and relevance in what he shares with these Guatemalan believers.

Belief Affects Action

There was a table in the bedroom when we moved in. I didn't want a table in the bedroom but it didn't seem possible to get it out through the doorway! After several failed attempts, I sat down on the bed and thought about it. It seemed reasonable to presume the table had been made elsewhere and brought into the room. If that was true, then it stood to reason that there was a way to get it out of the room! I studied the table. I studied the angles of the doorway. And then the idea came. I tried it out—and it worked!

I didn't understand the perplexed look on my father-in-law's face when he came over to visit and saw the table in the living room—until he explained. When they were cleaning the house for our arrival, since he couldn't get the table out through the doorway he'd presumed it had been made in the room and would have to stay!

How we view life could be paralleled to how we view the table in the bedroom. What we believe to be true will affect our actions. That being true, what do our actions say about our beliefs?

And He's Off to Guatemala!

As I write this my husband is boarding a plane for Guatemala! Yes, he is temporarily escaping the cold! (Am I jealous or what?!)

Having a ministry predominantly to Hispanic men who are migrant workers here in Central New York, they have often expressed a desire that he visit their country, that he preach in their church, that he see where they are from. And the opportunity arose!

My husband will be in Guatemala for five days, staying in the home of one of the men we know. He has been given the opportunity to meet with a group of pastors down there, to speak at a combined service of two of the local churches, plus one other speaking engagement. Please be in prayer for Matt, for safety in all his travels, and for clarity and relevance in what he shares with these Guatemalan believers.

And the Purpose for Mosquito Nets?

Mosquito nets are multipurpose. Thankfully, when my parents were visiting us in the village of Toki, their minds immediately went to the presumed use behind mosquito nets—to keep out mosquitos.

We were sleeping in hammocks at the time but I didn't know how they would handle that. Not having the necessary supplies to make a real bed, we put together a low frame on the ground that would support a queen size foam mattress. Lovingly I made the bed in preparation for their arrival with a mosquito net hung above it.

That first night as they prepared for bed I gave explicit instructions on how they had to be sure the mosquito net was tugged in on all sides. Lying against the side of the mattress was not enough. It had to be tugged in.

They probably thought we had the biggest and worst of mosquitos. We did not. What we did have were an overabundance of rats! Toki, I'm sure, was where the Pied Piper led all the rats to!

Thankfully they are good listeners and the mosquito net did the trick. They never encountered any uninvited guests in their bed during the night!

Not My Will But Thine

While living in one area of Venezuela we faced the threat of guerrillas. It was unsettling to think that Colombian guerrillas/terrorists known to have killed other missionaries in the organization we then worked with could possibly come to where we were, could possibly kill outright or kidnap and hold for ransom some of our friends—or ourselves.

Under those circumstances you reach the point where yesterday's posting, "Being Safe Isn't all It Is Cracked up to Be," has to become a reality in your life. You know beyond a shadow of doubt that you are living in the center of God's will. You also know you can't console your coworker with false words of hope. You can't say that it won't happen because God just wouldn't allow it. You can't say that since we're living in the center of God's will that we're invincible!

It's a matter of acceptance. It's a matter of saying, "Not my will but Thine be done!"

Jesus got it. Jesus could have stayed in heaven and been invincible. Instead He was obedient to His Father's will. He left heaven. He was born in a dirty manger. He lived what we'd now call an impoverished life without all the modern conveniences we take for granted. He spent three years teaching people and His disciples.

In the end one of His disciples sold Him out—and the world at large rejected Him. They mocked Him. They beat Him. They hung Him on a cross to suffer unimaginable pain. And HE gave up HIS life to make a way possible for mankind to be reconciled with His Heavenly Father, to make His Heavenly Father their Heavenly Father.

Jesus was man, but He was God. He knew all this was going to happen. He knew, but He still came. He knew, but He still submitted to the will of His Heavenly Father. He agonized in prayer in the Garden of Gethsemane before being arrested. His ending prayer? "Not My will but Thine be done!"

As we face trials that we'd prefer not to face, I pray we will be imitators of Christ, that we will pray, "Not my will but thine be done!"

Being Safe Isn't all It's Cracked up to Be

I've heard it said more times than not that the safest place to be is in the center of God's will. It sounds good, but what do they mean by it? Is it even scriptural? Does it mean that if I'm in the center of God's will that I am safe from harm? Safe from danger? Can I claim invincibility if I'm in the center of God's will?

If we only read the first part of Hebrews 11 we'd be ready to don that cloak of invincibility! There we read of men who through faith stopped the mouths of lions, quenched the violence of fire, and escaped the edge of the sword. We read of women who had their loved ones raised from the dead!

Doesn't that sound great? Doesn't that sound like invincibility?

But then there's part two. Suddenly we're reading of men and women who remained faithful to God despite facing affliction, torment, torture, imprisonment and death.

Doesn't sound so great, does it? Doesn't sound much like a cloak of invincibility, does it?

Being safe isn't all it's cracked up to be. Being in the center of God's will is! I don't want to be invincible, but I want to serve a God who is!