Dear Readers,
God bless you, your loved ones and your ministries today!
How do you discern God's will for your life?
My husband called me with joy in his voice from work yesterday, because he had been praying (for a week and a half) about 2 bills that we had looming over our heads and the manager of his shop came out of the office to hand out envelopes for everyone at 10:20 a.m.. Roger opened his to find a bonus check for almost the exact amount of money that we owe on those two bills!!! Can you believe it?!!! It had been forever since his last bonus and this came as a total surprise!
My husband has been feeling the call to the ministry all of his life and like Jonah, has been on the boat headed the other way from Nineveh, but since his hours at work were cut recently, he decided to pursue his call. This answer to prayer confirmed for him that he is on the right path.
It feels so good when we are doing what we interpret as God's will for our lives!!!
Tuesday, February 9, 2010
Monday, February 8, 2010
Lost in the Dominican Republic
Dear Readers,
God bless you, your loved ones and your ministries today.
Have you ever been lost in a foreign country? I don't recommend it!
That happened to us on our trip to Haiti in 1990. There was political unrest in Haiti and the airport in Port au Prince closed just as we were about to leave on our trip, and being the determined mission workers that we were, we decided to go into Haiti through the Domincan Republic. We arrived at the airport in the D.R. at about 8:00 p.m. and everyone else on our fight left the terminal. There we were standing all alone in the dark with no one to meet us and none of us spoke Spanish very well. I had a phone number of the person who was supposed to be our tour guide, so I found a public phone and made the call. A young mother answered the phone and thankfully, she spoke English. She had no idea, that we were coming because our contact person from Haiti was unable to call her because the phone system wasn't working that day. She said, "My husband is gone, my two children are in bed and I'm eight months pregnant. I can't pick you up."
I replied, "What do we do?"
She said, "I'll call you back in 5 minutes," and hung up the phone.
I thought she meant 5 minutes the way we count minutes here in the midwest, but she was talking about Dominican Republican time! She called back in 45 minutes and asked to speak to a taxi driver.
There were two taxi cabs at the curb and I motioned for one of the drivers to come to the phone. He jabbered on with her in Spanish in super speed, so I didn't catch one word. He hung up the phone and motioned us into the two taxis and yelled to the other driver, "Follow me!" Then he took off at what seemed like 90 miles an hour to me, leaving the other cab in the dust.
Our cab looked like a stock car. It did have a windshield, but all of the other windows were missing. We were careening around people, chickens, goats and dogs at breakneck speed. I was panicked because I was the leader of this trip and responsible for the safety of the other people I brought along and they were nowhere in sight. The only way I could cope with the situation was to repeated the words. "Love, joy, peace, patience..." over and over again in my mind. If I stopped for even a second the panic in my chest started to rise into my throat. A young man from our group in the cab with me was telling me about all of the security guards he saw in front of homes with machine guns. I did not appreciate his chatter one little bit and I tried my best to be polite to him while silently reciting my words of faith.
Then our cab broke down.
I started praying with all of my heart for God to help us.
Within minutes our other cab arrived at the spot of our breakdown and I was never so happy to see those people in my whole life!
The drivers worked on the engine while we prayed as a group.
Miraculously, our young mother, who was our tour guide, drove up in a van and took us straight to the guest house where we would be staying that night. When we walked in through the door, we all spontaneously dropped to our knees and sang the doxology!
I vowed in my heart to never lead another mission trip again!
I feel every muscle in my body tense as I am writing this! Later, we laughed and loved to recount the story to one another, but at the time we were downright scared! It was in those moments that I actually felt the prayers of the people back home who were praying for us and it gave me a world of comfort.
God really does work through prayer!
God bless you, your loved ones and your ministries today.
Have you ever been lost in a foreign country? I don't recommend it!
That happened to us on our trip to Haiti in 1990. There was political unrest in Haiti and the airport in Port au Prince closed just as we were about to leave on our trip, and being the determined mission workers that we were, we decided to go into Haiti through the Domincan Republic. We arrived at the airport in the D.R. at about 8:00 p.m. and everyone else on our fight left the terminal. There we were standing all alone in the dark with no one to meet us and none of us spoke Spanish very well. I had a phone number of the person who was supposed to be our tour guide, so I found a public phone and made the call. A young mother answered the phone and thankfully, she spoke English. She had no idea, that we were coming because our contact person from Haiti was unable to call her because the phone system wasn't working that day. She said, "My husband is gone, my two children are in bed and I'm eight months pregnant. I can't pick you up."
I replied, "What do we do?"
She said, "I'll call you back in 5 minutes," and hung up the phone.
I thought she meant 5 minutes the way we count minutes here in the midwest, but she was talking about Dominican Republican time! She called back in 45 minutes and asked to speak to a taxi driver.
There were two taxi cabs at the curb and I motioned for one of the drivers to come to the phone. He jabbered on with her in Spanish in super speed, so I didn't catch one word. He hung up the phone and motioned us into the two taxis and yelled to the other driver, "Follow me!" Then he took off at what seemed like 90 miles an hour to me, leaving the other cab in the dust.
Our cab looked like a stock car. It did have a windshield, but all of the other windows were missing. We were careening around people, chickens, goats and dogs at breakneck speed. I was panicked because I was the leader of this trip and responsible for the safety of the other people I brought along and they were nowhere in sight. The only way I could cope with the situation was to repeated the words. "Love, joy, peace, patience..." over and over again in my mind. If I stopped for even a second the panic in my chest started to rise into my throat. A young man from our group in the cab with me was telling me about all of the security guards he saw in front of homes with machine guns. I did not appreciate his chatter one little bit and I tried my best to be polite to him while silently reciting my words of faith.
Then our cab broke down.
I started praying with all of my heart for God to help us.
Within minutes our other cab arrived at the spot of our breakdown and I was never so happy to see those people in my whole life!
The drivers worked on the engine while we prayed as a group.
Miraculously, our young mother, who was our tour guide, drove up in a van and took us straight to the guest house where we would be staying that night. When we walked in through the door, we all spontaneously dropped to our knees and sang the doxology!
I vowed in my heart to never lead another mission trip again!
I feel every muscle in my body tense as I am writing this! Later, we laughed and loved to recount the story to one another, but at the time we were downright scared! It was in those moments that I actually felt the prayers of the people back home who were praying for us and it gave me a world of comfort.
God really does work through prayer!
Friday, February 5, 2010
Happy, Happy, Happy!
Dear Readers,
God bless you, your loved ones and your ministry today!
How did you feel when you woke up this morning? I hope you felt good and if not, I hope you will feel better soon.
Today I woke up happy, for the first time in the last six days, since my husband's hours were cut at work. I attribute this joy to having spent a day painting with my friends at the Art Center of Battle Creek. We have been getting together for over 12 years and love one another unconditionally. We talk, we paint, we offer one another artistic advice, we eat and we pray a Native American prayer of thanksgiving before our meal.
I always feel good the day after we get together, because we support one another artistically and emotionally too. We discuss anything: politics, religion, etc. and we have a rule that anyone may express their opinion, but no one is allowed to criticize anyone else's views.
Some people are naturally cheerful. When our son was a toddler, he used to run around saying, "Hoppy, hoppy, hoppy!" with a huge smile on his face. It made me feel like a success as a mom to have such a cheery kid!
God must feel that way when we are happy too. I love the scripture in the wisdom literature that says, "God delights in his people." Some people see God as stern, but not me, because even we human beings look at our loved one's foibles as part of their charm and we are less perfect in loving than God is. God must love it when we smile, laugh, clap our hands and dance!
Of course, we can't be happy all of the time. But it sure feels good when we get back to feeling joy again after a period of sorrow!
God bless you, your loved ones and your ministry today!
How did you feel when you woke up this morning? I hope you felt good and if not, I hope you will feel better soon.
Today I woke up happy, for the first time in the last six days, since my husband's hours were cut at work. I attribute this joy to having spent a day painting with my friends at the Art Center of Battle Creek. We have been getting together for over 12 years and love one another unconditionally. We talk, we paint, we offer one another artistic advice, we eat and we pray a Native American prayer of thanksgiving before our meal.
I always feel good the day after we get together, because we support one another artistically and emotionally too. We discuss anything: politics, religion, etc. and we have a rule that anyone may express their opinion, but no one is allowed to criticize anyone else's views.
Some people are naturally cheerful. When our son was a toddler, he used to run around saying, "Hoppy, hoppy, hoppy!" with a huge smile on his face. It made me feel like a success as a mom to have such a cheery kid!
God must feel that way when we are happy too. I love the scripture in the wisdom literature that says, "God delights in his people." Some people see God as stern, but not me, because even we human beings look at our loved one's foibles as part of their charm and we are less perfect in loving than God is. God must love it when we smile, laugh, clap our hands and dance!
Of course, we can't be happy all of the time. But it sure feels good when we get back to feeling joy again after a period of sorrow!
Thursday, February 4, 2010
To Everything There Is a Season
Dear Readers,
God bless you, your loved ones and your ministry today!
When we stayed near a small village in Haiti, our dormitory rooms had no ceilings, so it was like the Walton family. We could talk at night which we did when we heard the voodoo drums, because it was our first night there and we were scared by them.
The open ceilings made it impossible to not overhear conversations in the next room. Now I will admit, that my husband and I love to eavesdrop in restaurants on the people sitting at nearby tables, but other than that, I am not known to intentionally listen to other people's conversations.
I couldn't help but overhear a young woman on our trip who was a PK (pastor's kid)complaining about how she felt like she had to make an appointment to speak to her dad. My heart went out to her and I made a vow to myself that my future children would never have to feel that way.
I was one week away from entering seminary at Boston University, and though I was single, I had a very dear wish to marry and have a family.
Since that time, God has blessed me with a husband, a son (who turned 14 yesterday), 3 stepsons, 3 daughters-in-law and 5 grandchildren. My cup runneth over!
While I pastored a church, I was diligent about my time, being fair to everyone, God, myself, my family and my church. I was trained for good boundaries by punching a clock for 10 years as a jeweler.
Now that I am passionately painting prayers for Haiti, I find it hard to quit work at the end of the day and spend time with my family. Yesterday was our son's birthday, which meant taking time to create a party, (which we all enjoyed!) Plus my grandson wanted me to paint his face with multiple eyes like Jack Sparrow in Pirates of the Caribbean, because his youth group was having a pirates' night.
Looking back on yesterday, the birthday party and the painted face were the most memorable and meaningful parts of my day, even though I feel my work is important. I must keep in mind the wise words from Ecc., "For everything there is a season..."
God bless you, your loved ones and your ministry today!
When we stayed near a small village in Haiti, our dormitory rooms had no ceilings, so it was like the Walton family. We could talk at night which we did when we heard the voodoo drums, because it was our first night there and we were scared by them.
The open ceilings made it impossible to not overhear conversations in the next room. Now I will admit, that my husband and I love to eavesdrop in restaurants on the people sitting at nearby tables, but other than that, I am not known to intentionally listen to other people's conversations.
I couldn't help but overhear a young woman on our trip who was a PK (pastor's kid)complaining about how she felt like she had to make an appointment to speak to her dad. My heart went out to her and I made a vow to myself that my future children would never have to feel that way.
I was one week away from entering seminary at Boston University, and though I was single, I had a very dear wish to marry and have a family.
Since that time, God has blessed me with a husband, a son (who turned 14 yesterday), 3 stepsons, 3 daughters-in-law and 5 grandchildren. My cup runneth over!
While I pastored a church, I was diligent about my time, being fair to everyone, God, myself, my family and my church. I was trained for good boundaries by punching a clock for 10 years as a jeweler.
Now that I am passionately painting prayers for Haiti, I find it hard to quit work at the end of the day and spend time with my family. Yesterday was our son's birthday, which meant taking time to create a party, (which we all enjoyed!) Plus my grandson wanted me to paint his face with multiple eyes like Jack Sparrow in Pirates of the Caribbean, because his youth group was having a pirates' night.
Looking back on yesterday, the birthday party and the painted face were the most memorable and meaningful parts of my day, even though I feel my work is important. I must keep in mind the wise words from Ecc., "For everything there is a season..."
Wednesday, February 3, 2010
Encouragement from Little Ones
Dear Readers,
I pray that God will bless you, your loved ones and your ministry this day.
Do you like to cuddle with someone you love and read a picture book? I loved to do that so much when I was little, that I began to dream of growing up, getting married, having a child, then writing and illustrating a book for that child. It took a long time for that dream to come true for me, but last spring when our son came home from school, I handed him a blindfold and told him we were going on a mystery trip. He asked about a hundred times, "Where are we going?" but I didn't say, so when we pulled into the parking lot of the local printer, he still didn't know what was happening.
The sales lady took us into the conference room, then I handed her my camera and asked her to take a picture. She snapped the shot, just as I was handing the first published copy of "Red the Rooster" to our son, Seth.
I wrote the book when he was 7 years old, but it took me until he was 13 to publish it.
Now a 13 year old boy, cannot show a lot of emotion, especially to his mom in front of a stranger! But he was sweet and I could see in his face that he was truly pleased. The saleslady left and Seth sat down next to me and allowed me to read the book to him as if he were still in 2nd grade.
Yesterday, I got to go to Fuller St. Elementary and read the book to the 2nd and 3rd grade classes. The kids were awesome!!! They cock-a-doodle-dooed along with the rooster, they mooed with the cow, meowed with the cat and even oinked with the pig in my story! They clapped and asked me for my autograph! I even received a number of sweet hugs!
I also showed them one of my painted prayers for Haiti and let them touch the surface of the oil painting. I was impressed that every single child in the 2nd and 3rd grade classes I visited knew about the earthquake in Haiti. I told them how sad I felt when I saw the pictures on the news and that painting and praying for the people made me feel better.
I asked them what they did to help themselves feel better when they are sad and I got all kinds of answers! One tough boy said, "I suck it up!" Lots of them play video games, eat chocolate, go to sleep, watch TV or read. Many of them like to draw, sing, dance or write when they are sad. One little boy broke my heart when he said that he drew pictures of his family that he missed, because he was in foster care.
I felt the urge to gather him up in may arms, take him home and adopt him right then and there! Of course my wiser self reminded me that I am 55, struggling financially and already have a son to raise!
Our son was in an orphanage in Vietnam and we were blessed to be able to adopt him when he was five months old, back in 1996. He is the joy of our lives! I thank God every day for him!
Part of me would like to adopt 10 kids if I could, but it would not be wise. So what do we do when we see needy kids that need permanant homes? It's not an easy question.
I find my peace by praying for them, and showing them whatever love I am able to give.
We all want to do more than we can. Instead, we just keep on doing the things we can do and put the rest in God's hands.
I pray that God will bless you, your loved ones and your ministry this day.
Do you like to cuddle with someone you love and read a picture book? I loved to do that so much when I was little, that I began to dream of growing up, getting married, having a child, then writing and illustrating a book for that child. It took a long time for that dream to come true for me, but last spring when our son came home from school, I handed him a blindfold and told him we were going on a mystery trip. He asked about a hundred times, "Where are we going?" but I didn't say, so when we pulled into the parking lot of the local printer, he still didn't know what was happening.
The sales lady took us into the conference room, then I handed her my camera and asked her to take a picture. She snapped the shot, just as I was handing the first published copy of "Red the Rooster" to our son, Seth.
I wrote the book when he was 7 years old, but it took me until he was 13 to publish it.
Now a 13 year old boy, cannot show a lot of emotion, especially to his mom in front of a stranger! But he was sweet and I could see in his face that he was truly pleased. The saleslady left and Seth sat down next to me and allowed me to read the book to him as if he were still in 2nd grade.
Yesterday, I got to go to Fuller St. Elementary and read the book to the 2nd and 3rd grade classes. The kids were awesome!!! They cock-a-doodle-dooed along with the rooster, they mooed with the cow, meowed with the cat and even oinked with the pig in my story! They clapped and asked me for my autograph! I even received a number of sweet hugs!
I also showed them one of my painted prayers for Haiti and let them touch the surface of the oil painting. I was impressed that every single child in the 2nd and 3rd grade classes I visited knew about the earthquake in Haiti. I told them how sad I felt when I saw the pictures on the news and that painting and praying for the people made me feel better.
I asked them what they did to help themselves feel better when they are sad and I got all kinds of answers! One tough boy said, "I suck it up!" Lots of them play video games, eat chocolate, go to sleep, watch TV or read. Many of them like to draw, sing, dance or write when they are sad. One little boy broke my heart when he said that he drew pictures of his family that he missed, because he was in foster care.
I felt the urge to gather him up in may arms, take him home and adopt him right then and there! Of course my wiser self reminded me that I am 55, struggling financially and already have a son to raise!
Our son was in an orphanage in Vietnam and we were blessed to be able to adopt him when he was five months old, back in 1996. He is the joy of our lives! I thank God every day for him!
Part of me would like to adopt 10 kids if I could, but it would not be wise. So what do we do when we see needy kids that need permanant homes? It's not an easy question.
I find my peace by praying for them, and showing them whatever love I am able to give.
We all want to do more than we can. Instead, we just keep on doing the things we can do and put the rest in God's hands.
Tuesday, February 2, 2010
Haitian Faith
Dear Readers,
Again, thank you for reading my blog. I pray God's blessings on your day and your ministry, whatever that ministry may be.
How is your faith? Mine is challenged at the moment, because my husband had his hours cut back at work, and we are in super-scrimp mode. As I pout about this, I am reminded that half of the world's population doesn't have adaquate food, water, clothing, shelter and access to medical care. Only 7% of the world's popualtion has coins in a jar or money in a bank account.
I also am reminded about a man I met in Haiti, who had incredible faith. He said that Jesus was with him every day; if he needed food, Jesus would give him food; if he was sick then Jesus came and did surgery on him. I was in awe of his faith and the glow from his face!!!
I shared this story at a church gathering one time and someone interpreted it to mean that I was romanticizing poverty. That is not my intent. My aim is to inspire myself and others to have faith when we meet needs in our own lives.
Before I started painting yesterday, I felt depressed about our financial situation, but as I painted my prayers for Haiti, the knot in my stomach eased and I began to feel whole again. This morning the knot is back and I find if I sing the song, "Rejoice in the Lord Always, Again I Say Rejoice" then I feel better.
Do you find it amazing when the Haitian people gather in the street to sing hymns and praise God in the midst of their tragedy? I certainly do!!! It's awe inspiring to me.
Now that I too am facing my own challenges, which are puny in comparison to those in Haiti, I am doing like the Haitians and singing praise in response to my troubles. It truly helps!
Again, thank you for reading my blog. I pray God's blessings on your day and your ministry, whatever that ministry may be.
How is your faith? Mine is challenged at the moment, because my husband had his hours cut back at work, and we are in super-scrimp mode. As I pout about this, I am reminded that half of the world's population doesn't have adaquate food, water, clothing, shelter and access to medical care. Only 7% of the world's popualtion has coins in a jar or money in a bank account.
I also am reminded about a man I met in Haiti, who had incredible faith. He said that Jesus was with him every day; if he needed food, Jesus would give him food; if he was sick then Jesus came and did surgery on him. I was in awe of his faith and the glow from his face!!!
I shared this story at a church gathering one time and someone interpreted it to mean that I was romanticizing poverty. That is not my intent. My aim is to inspire myself and others to have faith when we meet needs in our own lives.
Before I started painting yesterday, I felt depressed about our financial situation, but as I painted my prayers for Haiti, the knot in my stomach eased and I began to feel whole again. This morning the knot is back and I find if I sing the song, "Rejoice in the Lord Always, Again I Say Rejoice" then I feel better.
Do you find it amazing when the Haitian people gather in the street to sing hymns and praise God in the midst of their tragedy? I certainly do!!! It's awe inspiring to me.
Now that I too am facing my own challenges, which are puny in comparison to those in Haiti, I am doing like the Haitians and singing praise in response to my troubles. It truly helps!
Monday, February 1, 2010
Hard Times
Dear Readers,
How are you surviving the recession? I hope you are able to live, be satisfied, and confident about your future.
We received difficult news on Friday; my husband's hours have been cut back indefinately at his job. It's good that the owners chose this option over laying some people off from work altogether, but it's still hard.
I guess our mission trip to Haiti that I mentioned in my last blog, is unlikely, as any money I earn will be needed to put rice and beans on the table. I am disappointed about the hope of taking the trip, but that is a small concern.
Fortunately, we bought a pre-paid tuition package for our son, when he was a toddler, so he will be able to go to college. I am soooo glad that we did that! He is very gifted and self motivated, so he will do well throughout his life.
My concern for the future is to have enough money to live in our old age, since our nest egg is more like a pigeon egg than an ostrich egg. We will have to scrimp enough to save for the future, so we won't be a burden on our kids.
My immediate concern is keeping the freedom to paint. Right now I paint 5 days a week, all day. It is my true love in terms of my vocation. While I'm painting I love my life and feel that I am doing what God created me to do. I know in my gut that this is the work that is not only my passion, but my destiny.
I worked a "day job" throughout my 20's so that I could live and paint on the side. God called me into the pastoral ministry and I gave the next 20 years of my life to serving God in that way.
When I turned 50, I felt that God was calling me from the pulpit to the easel. I believe that I can have more influence for God with my art than with preaching. (I do pastoral care with or without an appointment. It's who I am.) A painting can last for 500 years. If it speaks eternal truths, it will continue to inspire viewers for as long as it lasts.
I am praying and painting with all of my soul, not only for Haiti, but also for my ministry of painting prayers for others in need.
How are you surviving the recession? I hope you are able to live, be satisfied, and confident about your future.
We received difficult news on Friday; my husband's hours have been cut back indefinately at his job. It's good that the owners chose this option over laying some people off from work altogether, but it's still hard.
I guess our mission trip to Haiti that I mentioned in my last blog, is unlikely, as any money I earn will be needed to put rice and beans on the table. I am disappointed about the hope of taking the trip, but that is a small concern.
Fortunately, we bought a pre-paid tuition package for our son, when he was a toddler, so he will be able to go to college. I am soooo glad that we did that! He is very gifted and self motivated, so he will do well throughout his life.
My concern for the future is to have enough money to live in our old age, since our nest egg is more like a pigeon egg than an ostrich egg. We will have to scrimp enough to save for the future, so we won't be a burden on our kids.
My immediate concern is keeping the freedom to paint. Right now I paint 5 days a week, all day. It is my true love in terms of my vocation. While I'm painting I love my life and feel that I am doing what God created me to do. I know in my gut that this is the work that is not only my passion, but my destiny.
I worked a "day job" throughout my 20's so that I could live and paint on the side. God called me into the pastoral ministry and I gave the next 20 years of my life to serving God in that way.
When I turned 50, I felt that God was calling me from the pulpit to the easel. I believe that I can have more influence for God with my art than with preaching. (I do pastoral care with or without an appointment. It's who I am.) A painting can last for 500 years. If it speaks eternal truths, it will continue to inspire viewers for as long as it lasts.
I am praying and painting with all of my soul, not only for Haiti, but also for my ministry of painting prayers for others in need.
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