Just keeping things in perspective!

For the choir director. A Psalm of David. A Song.

There will be silence before You, and praise in Zion, O God, And to You the vow will be performed. O You who hear prayer, To You all men come. Iniquities prevail against me; As for our transgressions, You forgive them. How blessed is the one whom You choose and bring near to You To dwell in Your courts. We will be satisfied with the goodness of Your house, Your holy temple. By awesome deeds You answer us in righteousness, O God of our salvation, You who are the trust of all the ends of the earth and of the farthest sea; Who establishes the mountains by His strength, Being girded with might; Who stills the roaring of the seas, The roaring of their waves, And the tumult of the peoples. They who dwell in the ends of the earth stand in awe of Your signs; You make the dawn and the sunset shout for joy. You visit the earth and cause it to overflow; You greatly enrich it; The stream of God is full of water; You prepare their grain, for thus You prepare the earth. You water its furrows abundantly, You settle its ridges, You soften it with showers, You bless its growth. You have crowned the year with Your bounty, And Your paths drip with fatness. The pastures of the wilderness drip, And the hills gird themselves with rejoicing. The meadows are clothed with flocks And the valleys are covered with grain; They shout for joy, yes, they sing.

(Psa 65:1-13)

additional thoughts on mother's day and stress

first posting: Happy Mother's Day!

Mother's Day for me is also like a sort of New Year's Day. I consider my influence, my attitudes, and my interactions with my children. Do they point my kids to Christ? Am I doing Deuteronomy 6:4-9? What are my shortfalls? How can I improve? And I'm always stricken at the level at which I am so unqualified to be "mom" to these precious little lives. And yet, God has called me to the task . . . a task that only HE is qualified to fulfill.

Whew!

In my evaluation this year I realize that there is too much stress in our home: stress from moving from homeschooling to children being at school 9 hours a day 5 days a week; stress from being in a new country and learning the language; stress from being so far away from many who we love so dearly and who would be excellent influences in our children's lives; stresses of our belongings being in crates somewhere between Dallas and Fort Worth Texas; stress of constantly saying goodbye to people God puts in our lives and who become so very dear to us and to our children; tremendous stress of much sickness in our family and then just the everyday stress of the busy life of a family of 6.

We have little to no control over these circumstances - - but letting these produce anxiety in our homelife is a choice. It may not always seem like a choice because anxiety/distress is a default of our sinful natures, but it IS a choice. And it is a choice that robs our lives of joy. And, as Nehemiah said, the joy of the Lord IS our strength.

So my Mother's Day resolution is that, even in this very stressful environment, we are filled with His joy . . . the joy of knowing Him, the joy of being His own possession, the joy of opening His Word and being filled with Him. And to be filled with the peace that passes all understanding. God is a God of peace, He Himself is our peace, and we are to let the peace of Christ RULE in our hearts.

I want my kids to learn the power that can be theirs in Him! The Lord grants us peace in every circumstance - - and I am guilty of robbing myself and thereby robbing my children of that peace when I have chosen to be anxious. Sorry God for limiting my children's perception of your power by allowing stress in our home.

And so my "Mother's Day resolution" is for peace.

(Robert's going to think I've gone all hippie now!)

Happy Mother's Day! (CALL YOUR MOTHERS!)

Happy Mother's Day

For me, Mother's Day will never be about me, but about my mom. Even if she beats me to heaven, Mother's Day will be filled with thoughts of her. My mom is a godly woman, and my prayer is that I can have the influence on my children that she had on me. Love you mom!

Quick thought on pride

Pride flies in the face of God’s glory more than any other wrongdoing. It is an absolute abhorrence to who God is. It is NOT a hindrance or obstacle to the glory of God itself . . . as if any malefaction of ours could in any way impede His glory. But it IS most certainly a total detriment to the one who possesses it because the prideful are blinded to the fullness of His glory and the sin that pride is causes separation from God. And we are all susceptible to it . . . we are all tempted by our fallen natures to be puffed up with pride - - to think more of ourselves than we should, and to desire others to do the same. What beauty there is in a life lived humbly before God - - and how lovely it is to look upon a brother or sister in Christ and see humility and, in turn, to see more of God’s glory.

A Belief That Has Been Granted

I came across a verse in my normal Bible reading (and many other verses as of late) that has led to my reexamining my long-standing non-Calvinistic position.

First, a few givens:

• Salvation is of God . . . it is His work of grace through faith . . . a gift to us that we in no way deserve. In fact, on the contrary, we all deserve God's judgment and wrath. This is a Biblical fact that is held by regenerate Calvinist and non-Calvinist alike. (the whole Bible!)
  
• God does elect and predestine. The Bible clearly states this and both the Calvinist and the non must believe this as well. (It is the basis of His election that is debated as there are different definitions of the word "foreknowledge".) (Rom. 8:29-30; Eph. 1:3-14)
  
• It is God's desire for none to perish but for all men to be saved, know the truth and repent. (I Tim. 2:3-4; 2 Pet. 3:9; Ezekiel 18:23)

Okay, so here's the verse I found: Philippians 1:29 which says - For to you it has been granted for Christ's sake, not only to believe in Him, but also to suffer for His sake,
The things that strike me about this verse:

1. our BELIEF in Him has been granted to us (it doesn't say our salvation, or our ability to choose Him, it says our actual belief)
2. it has been granted to us for Christ's sake - - NOT ours! (I take to mean His name sake . .. His glory and renown and his purpose)
3. it has also been granted to us to suffer (again this is for His sake)

I have done word studies on the words "granted" and "believe" and they mean just what we would normally take them to mean. Granted - (χαρίζομαι) to be permitted or granted something/to give or bestow something willingly. Believe - (πιστεύω) to believe, have faith in, trust.

Alrighty then, well if this is true, where is choice? Arguably you could say that God has granted us the possibility for belief. But Paul is writing to believers telling them that their belief in Him was granted to them (it doesn't say the possibility of it).

Interesting!!! - - don't want to get too long so . . . .

more to come:

1. a closer look at the word "granted" and a look at where else it is used in the Bible,
   
2. thoughts on reconciling God's expressed desire that none should perish with His election of some for salvation (and, logically following, His election of others for judgment)
3. thoughts on how the above can fit with who God is (His attributes and character as revealed to us in Scripture)
4. thoughts on the word "foreknowledge"
5. personal testimony

Who Am I?

Who am I that God would forgive me?

Who am I that God would extend His grace to me?

Who am I that God would chasten me?

Who am I that God would justify me?

Who am I that God would sanctify me?

Who am I that God would call and send?

Who am I that God would indwell?

Who am I that God would bless me?

Who am I that God would reveal more of Himself to me?

Who am I that God would love?

Unworthy of His forgiveness

Unworthy of His grace

Unworthy of His chastening

Unworthy of His justification

Unworthy of His sanctification

Unworthy of His calling

Unworthy of His sending

Unworthy of His indwelling

Unworthy of His blessing

Unworthy of His revealing more of Himself to me

Unworthy of His love


When I consider Your heavens, the work of Your fingers, The moon and the stars, which You have ordained; What is man that You take thought of him, And the son of man that You care for him? Yet You have made him a little lower than God, And You crown him with glory and majesty! You make him to rule over the works of Your hands; You have put all things under his feet, All sheep and oxen, And also the beasts of the field, The birds of the heavens and the fish of the sea, Whatever passes through the paths of the seas. O LORD, our Lord, How majestic is Your name in all the earth! (Psa 8:3-9)

It's Been A Long Time!

I began blogging in August of 2007 when we first felt called to go overseas. Since training in Virginia and coming to Brazil in November, I've stopped . . . but am beginning again today. A friend of mine has just begun blogging, and it helped me realize how important a communication piece it is.

A QUICK UPDATE: We've been in language school for almost 3 months now. We've learned a lot of Portuguese, with much more to learn. All four children attend the same private school. But best of all, God is faithful, His Word is essential and our purpose here is clear.

A QUICK APOLOGY: to those who were faithful readers of my blog and were anticipating keeping connected through it after our going abroad. Sorry for the lapse in time . . . I'm back!

A QUICK VERSE: But you are a chose race, A royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for God's own possession, SO THAT you may proclaim the excellencies of Him who has called you out of darkness into His marvelous light; (1Pe 2:9)

and (just for fun) A PORTUGUESE LEARNING DUCK:

Feliz Natal!

Then I began to weep greatly because no one was found worthy to open the book or to look into it; and one of the elders *said to me, "Stop weeping; behold, the Lion that is from the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has OVERCOME so as to open the book and its seven seals."
(Rev 5:4-5)

Celebrating Christ this Christmas!

Hello from Brazil

Sorry for the lapse in posting anything. The internet connection I have tonight is actually an unsecured one that I could tap into from my bedroom. We're awaiting our own internet access. We arrived safely in Brazil this past Wednesday and have settled in pretty well. I'm sitting up in my bed with the bedroom window open from our downtown apartment on the 13th floor, and I can see lights out my windows from the city below. It's amazing! We are doing very well.

So far, we have experienced grocery shopping, visiting the local padaria (bakery) and even to some specialty stores in the couple of blocks close to our apartment. Everyone we meet is very friendly, even though we are quite obviously unable to communicate apart from the very small handful of words we know now.

On Saturday we visited the private school that our four children will be attending. They start at this bilingual school in the morning (Tuesday), and Robert and I begin formal language training tomorrow as well. Please pray for the kids as they are a little nervous about the new school.

Our apartment building has a swimming pool and our family went swimming on Saturday. It was a wonderful time. After about 30 minutes of it being just us, two other families (moms with children) came out. The children made instant friends with our kiddos, and I was able to communicate with the moms (named Virginia and Gabriella) who spoke some english. It was a very fun time for everyone, and the children are confident that they will have many friends here. Both ladies gave me their apartment numbers and expressed interest in helping us in any way with language, finding doctors, etc.

While we are a long way from our people group (the Italian-Brazilians of southern Brasil) we ask that you continue to pray with us for their salvation. As for our time here and now, please pray for our ability to quickly acquire enough language for basic communication and to share Christ with those whom we are developing relationships with in our apartment building.

Some differences that you might think are the most weird - -

1. there is no hot water in the kitchen, so dishes are handwashed with cold water and soap. This is the most common way of washing dishes here.
   
2. there is no clothes dryer . . . NO ONE has a dryer . . . all clothes are hung to dry
3. slightly warm water is available only in the showers with an electric heater that is located right in the shower head
   
4. no air conditioning . . . just ceiling fans - - WHEW!!!
5. no tap water on toothbrushes before brushing
   
6. everyone speaks Portuguese and we don't understand it (yet!)
   

These differences are already becoming less weird to us. . . we are adjusting well . . . (except for Samuel (2 years old) - - but maybe the school routine will be good for him).

Thank you again for your prayers. There is just no way to express the deep gratitude we have for them.

I would love to hear from any of you. Email anytime - my address is kerri@hamiltonsinbrazil.com. I'll check email and answer as I can find internet connection!!!

in His AMAZING love & grace,
Kerri

Flying Out Today!

This is my last posting from this side of the equator . . . at least for 3 1/2 years or so. This adventure began in August of 2007 . . . and today we get to go!!!

Our children are excited to be riding their first airplane. With backpacks loaded with favorite toys, activities and snacks, they are soon to be international travelers. The rest of the Hamilton stuff is partly in crates in a warehouse in Texas (of which we will see again in Brazil in about a year) and 13 duffle bags in the front room of the missionary house we have been living in for the past 2 1/2 weeks.

We will be met at the airport in Sao Paulo, Brazil, by our director of language studies and our friend Chris who we met and grew to love during our training time in Virginia.

More than all else, we are very blessed that God has called us to a specific task, we are privileged to follow Him in obedience and we are UNQUALIFIED for the task of reaching the Italian-Brazilians of southern Brazil with the gospel of Jesus Christ. So, more than all else, we ask for your prayer support. God is already there . . . we're just following Him. He is the One qualified to win the hearts of the people there who are so deceived. Please pray for God to use us in whatever way He desires in reaching these people, and please pray for us to learn to speak Portuguese quickly!!!!

On The Road Again: From Alabama to Texas

What will YOU be doing tomorrow morning at 5:00 a.m? We will be driving to Tupelo, Mississippi for breakfast with kids in pajamas. After clothes, brushed teeth and breakfast in Tupelo, we will drive to Memphis, TN for gas and a potty break. After Memphis, we will drive to Little Rock, AR where we will eat lunch and go the the Little Rock Zoo!!! After the zoo, we will drive to Texarkana, TX where we will spend the night. The next morning we will leave at 7:00 to arrive in Bells, Texas in time to have lunch with my dad.

Our time in Alabama has been great . . . very memorable for us and the kiddos. We have more goodbyes to say here, and then onward to family and friends in Texas.

WONDERFUL news! - our visas have arrived. They are waiting for us in Texas as well. We hope to soon have a leave for Brazil date - - it will most likely be first week of November.

How Could God's Glorification Have Anything To Do With My Satisfaction?

Okay, a verbal comment was made to me after my last hosanna post . . . that I must have been reading John Piper lately. What I wrote at the end of my post was this:

"what an amazing thing that we find such pleasure and fulfillment from God getting praise. It seems that it should only be for His pleasure, doesn't it?"

I was merely pointing out the vast, immeasurable abundance of grace that God has toward us . . . that in our glorifying Him we would experience such fulfillment and pleasure. That's an amazing thing . . . astonishing and humbling.

What I wrote is not the same as Piper's famous line that "God is most glorified in us when we are most satisfied in Him." I don't understand or subscribe to this viewpoint. (Hedonism is it?) Maybe I don't have a full grasp on it. It just seems too much about my satisfaction in God - - which is a bonus. It's really all about God and His glory. I truly think God's glorification is not contingent on our satisfaction in Him. He is glorified in everything . . . in all creation and created beings. Even through those who choose not to worship Him!! I believe God is equally glorified by both the execution of His wrath on sinful man as He is by the pouring out of His mercy and grace and love upon the redeemed.

Now don't take me wrong. I'm not bashing Piper. He has tremendous insights, he's written some incredible books and it is my great desire to one day be able to cross reference Scripture as half as well as he does.

I'm just one who is struggling with the right approach to God . . . not as one desiring to be satisfied in Him, but as the wretch that I am - - saved by His grace that I in no way deserve, and approaching Him in confidence as an inadequate, obedient servant. The satisfaction in Him that I find is a product of His grace, but not a motive of my heart.

I would love to hear from others on this.

Hosanna! (part 2)

"Hosanna" . . . . it is first used in Psalm 118:25-26:

O LORD, do save, we beseech You; O LORD, we beseech You, do send prosperity! Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the LORD; We have blessed you from the house of the LORD.
(Psa 118:25-26)

John Piper has this to say about it:

And that Hebrew phrase is found one solitary place in the whole Old Testament, Psalm 118:25, where it means, "Save, please!" It is a cry to God for help. Like when somebody pushes out off the diving board before you can swim and you come up hollering: "Help, save me" … "Hoshiya na!"

But something happened to that phrase, hoshiya na. The meaning changed over the years. In the psalm it was immediately followed by the exclamation: "Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!" The cry for help, hoshiya na, was answered almost before it came out of the psalmist's mouth. And over the centuries the phrase hoshiya na stopped being a cry for help in the ordinary language of the Jews. Instead it became a shout of hope and exultation. It used to mean, "Save, please!" But gradually it came to mean, "Salvation! Salvation! Salvation has come!" It used to be what you would say when you fell off the diving board. But it came to be what you would say when you see the lifeguard coming to save you! It is the bubbling over of a heart that sees hope and joy and salvation on the way and can't keep it in.

Man oh man, what it would have been like to be there at that moment - - as Jesus entered Jerusalem and received praise for who He is and why He was there . . . the very town who SO rejected Christ (Luke 13:34-35). What a moment in history His entry into Jerusalem was, with the laying down of coats and branches and shouts of Hosanna. I would love to have seen it. I would love to have been there throwing down branches and getting down on my knees to shout Hosanna with hands lifted high!

But what better time it is now! As believers, we have the Holy Spirit alive and active in US. We are living in this dispensation of grace and it is a time to proclaim to all that salvation has come!

What was from the beginning, what we have heard, what we have seen with our eyes, what we have looked at and touched with our hands, concerning the Word of Life-- and the life was manifested, and we have seen and testify and proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and was manifested to us-- what we have seen and heard we proclaim to you also, so that you too may have fellowship with us; and indeed our fellowship is with the Father, and with His Son Jesus Christ.
(1Jn 1:1-3)

Another thought - - in light of the joy that comes from looking at this moment when Christ was celebrated with shouts of Hosanna for who He really is - - what an amazing thing that we find such pleasure and fulfillment from God getting praise. It seems that it should only be for His pleasure, doesn't it?

Hosanna! part 1

Oh the beautiful word that Hosanna is! - - and one, like so many others, that is only fitting for our Lord.

In case you haven't happened to read recently the account of Jesus' entry into Jerusalem just prior to His arrest - -here it is:

When they had approached Jerusalem and had come to Bethphage, at the Mount of Olives, then Jesus sent two disciples, saying to them, "Go into the village opposite you, and immediately you will find a donkey tied there and a colt with her; untie them and bring them to Me. "If anyone says anything to you, you shall say, 'The Lord has need of them,' and immediately he will send them." This took place to fulfill what was spoken through the prophet: "SAY TO THE DAUGHTER OF ZION, 'BEHOLD YOUR KING IS COMING TO YOU, GENTLE, AND MOUNTED ON A DONKEY, EVEN ON A COLT, THE FOAL OF A BEAST OF BURDEN.'" The disciples went and did just as Jesus had instructed them, and brought the donkey and the colt, and laid their coats on them; and He sat on the coats. Most of the crowd spread their coats in the road, and others were cutting branches from the trees and spreading them in the road. The crowds going ahead of Him, and those who followed, were shouting, "Hosanna to the Son of David; BLESSED IS HE WHO COMES IN THE NAME OF THE LORD; Hosanna in the highest!" When He had entered Jerusalem, all the city was stirred, saying, "Who is this?" And the crowds were saying, "This is the prophet Jesus, from Nazareth in Galilee." And Jesus entered the temple and drove out all those who were buying and selling in the temple, and overturned the tables of the money changers and the seats of those who were selling doves. And He *said to them, "It is written, 'MY HOUSE SHALL BE CALLED A HOUSE OF PRAYER'; but you are making it a ROBBERS' DEN." And the blind and the lame came to Him in the temple, and He healed them. But when the chief priests and the scribes saw the wonderful things that He had done, and the children who were shouting in the temple, "Hosanna to the Son of David," they became indignant and said to Him, "Do You hear what these children are saying?" And Jesus *said to them, "Yes; have you never read, 'OUT OF THE MOUTH OF INFANTS AND NURSING BABIES YOU HAVE PREPARED PRAISE FOR YOURSELF'?" (Mat 21:1-16)

The Bible says the scribes and pharisees became "indignant" when they heard the children addressing JC with this word "Hosanna". It's a word worth taking a look at.

First . . . there is NO English or Greek word "Hosanna". It is transliterated from the Hebrew הושענא which is like hoshiya na . What gets my attention is the rage that this word evoked in the pharisees, and Christ's description of this word as praise which God had prepared for Himself - - of which David even prophesied about in Psalm 8:2.

This word has my attention!!!

leaving Alabama

We've been almost two weeks in Jasper, Alabama - - visiting my husbands family. It's been a great time. This Thursday we are headed to Texas where we will stay until we go overseas.

Just tonight we said goodbye to Robert's dad. He's leaving on a business trip early tomorrow morning. The words of his goodbye were incredible . . . fully supporting our obedience to God's calling, warning that times will get hard, and exhorting us to not get discouraged, but keep an eternal perspective. And all of it spoken with a heart of love that is transparent and genuine. Whew! - these goodbyes are tough . . . but what a privilege to follow God. He is abundantly graceful. And what a blessing to have the support of family.

Onward with news . . . . we tracked the overnight package from the consulate and learned that our visas sit in a small post office in Texas, awaiting my dad to pick them up on Tuesday!!!!

As for God's providence . . . . we have a house in Whitesboro to live until we leave for Brazil. It is a house belonging to First Baptist Church of Whitesboro. There are beds for all of us, towels, dishes, internet, even a vehicle if we can sell the Suburban. We will arrive there Friday night and stay through our departure date to Sao Paulo, Brazil, which will most likely be the first week of November.

Thanks for your prayers. I hope to begin blogging regularly now that we have complete our orientation for field service.

But thanks be to God, who always leads us in triumphal procession in Christ and through us spreads everywhere the frangrance of the knowledge of Him. For we are to God the aroma of Christ among those who are being saved and those who are perishing. To the one we are the smell of death; to the other, the fragrance of life. And who is equal to such a task? 2Cor.2:14-16

Hello from Virginia!

It's been a long time since my lost blog. Time to blog is practically non-existent for me for the time being. Our schedule is full, and when we're not attending a session or a special class our children are our priority.

Here is a quick update: I love it here! Our family, along with other families and single adults are attending an orientation to field (overseas) ministry. The training that we are receiving (including our 4 children) is phenomenal to say the very least. We live in a quad with 3 other families . . . each of us having our own apartment, with a joined living area. We eat meals together at a cafeteria. Our children attend a special school designed just for them while we attend sessions from the hours of 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Our quadmates, in addition to 4 singles, make up our small group. On Sunday mornings we meet together, worship and have time in God's Word together. We are all currently going through the book of Acts (go figure, as we are preparing for church planting abroad). It is a great place for prioritizing, learning, fellowhsip and prayer.

On a more personal note, we have been doing very well. The children have transitioned well to the new environment here, and seem to be thriving and sleeping well. We've had illnesses here and there (please pray for Joseph who has been the sickest).

I will be posting in the next day or so some specific prayer requests. I also hope to soon post pictures, and some general information on things we have been learning here. I'm also conspiring a post entitled "Get Over It" - - I'm just needing to work on being a little more tactful!!! I'd also like to blog about witnessing experiences I've had off campus.

May you abound in the richness of the glory of our God! May you rejoice with each new day that we are given to walk in fellowship with Him!

Hello from Alabama

We are on our way to FPO (Field Personal Orientation) with the IMB (International Mission Board) in Virginia. This is our last night in Alabama. We've been spending time here with Robert's folks, sister, niece and other relatives since Monday evening.

A quick update: the sale of the house went very well (praise God). . . we closed on Friday the 25th. Crating was an experience we will never forget. As of today, we have a couch with things packed to ride on the couch at a warehouse in downtown Dallas in great hopes that when the right size crate arrives, it will actually be crated and put with the other crates.

Our last week in Anna, Texas was crazy - - but also very memorable. We had five evenings with very dear friends and a day with my parents. We are outrageously blessed with the dearest of family and friends.

Tomorrow morning bright and early (I should be in bed) it's "Onward Ho" to Virginia. Since we are pulling a trailer we will be going through Atlanta, South Carolina, North Carolina and then Virginia. It would have been nice to go over the Appalachian's, but we didn't want to tug the trailer all the way up. We should arrive in Virginia on Sunday night, and at the International Learning Center after noon on Monday.

until the next internet connection . . . . . . .

What Are You Up To?

We are in the process of moving. Boxing, packing, getting ready for crating, inventorying and assigning value to EVERYTHING for insurance purposes. We are saying farewells, staying on top of the details regarding the sale of our house, garage selling, Craig's listing and keeping up with the Brazil visa application process which is as about as extensive as it gets. It's a whirlwind of a time, but we feel peaceful, blessed with the prayers and kind wishes of friends, sleep deprived for sure, but able to stay focused on the big picture. Exciting times and memorable times for sure. It feels like we're flying by the seat of our pants most of the time . . . a feeling I've become quite accustomed to and strangely even enjoy.

Sunday was our last day at Pin Oaks. It was a odd day, but a very good one as well. Many beautiful and memorable words were said to both Robert and myself. We have a few more farewells and a dire need to spend time with my parents who are almost as busy as we are.

The most bizarre experience to me so far is living in a house where so many memories have been made, but now stands almost barren . . . w/o curtains, pictures, many pieces of furniture.

Please keep especially our children in your prayers during this time of transition!!!! Times of closure are coming for them . . . last times to see certain people, certain friends, and certain places that are dear to them.

What are you up to? I'd enjoy hearing.

Sunday Scripture 3

Hannah's prayer, at the dedication of her son Samuel (whose name means: "because I asked Him of the Lord").

"There is no one holy like the LORD, Indeed, there is no one besides You, Nor is there any rock like our God. "Boast no more so very proudly, Do not let arrogance come out of your mouth; For the LORD is a God of knowledge, And with Him actions are weighed. "The bows of the mighty are shattered, But the feeble gird on strength. "Those who were full hire themselves out for bread, But those who were hungry cease to hunger. Even the barren gives birth to seven, But she who has many children languishes. "The LORD kills and makes alive; He brings down to Sheol and raises up. "The LORD makes poor and rich; He brings low, He also exalts. "He raises the poor from the dust, He lifts the needy from the ash heap To make them sit with nobles, And inherit a seat of honor; For the pillars of the earth are the LORD'S, And He set the world on them. "He keeps the feet of His godly ones, But the wicked ones are silenced in darkness; For not by might shall a man prevail. "Those who contend with the LORD will be shattered; Against them He will thunder in the heavens, The LORD will judge the ends of the earth; And He will give strength to His king, And will exalt the horn of His anointed."
(1Sa 2:2-10)

Contract Pending

Thanks to the many who have been praying for our house to sell. As of about 10 minutes ago, we have contract pending on our house.

What I love best about this is God. It's nothing for Him to bring a buyer in a very bad market to buy the house He has blessed us with these past 4 1/2 years. But additionally, He brought me to the place of faith to be able to say yes, we will go right now even if it means our house foreclosing. I had shared with a number of people (especially my husband) that I would not be willing to move forward in the process of orientation and then going to Brazil until the house was sold. This seemed enormously irresponsible to me . . . even wreaking of poor stewardship.

But He spoke so clearly to us that we were to go NOW . . . and it is ours to obey and then to trust no matter the outcome. Isn't it awesome to serve a God who brings us along to the place He wants us to be? If all goes well with the lending, the inspection, the closing - - praise God! If all falls through at the last minute and we head up to Virginia with house on the market and no way to make the payments - - praise God!

Sunday Scripture 2

For we know that if the earthly tent which is our house is torn down, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens. For indeed in this house we groan, longing to be clothed with our dwelling from heaven, inasmuch as we, having put it on, will not be found naked. For indeed while we are in this tent, we groan, being burdened, because we do not want to be unclothed but to be clothed, so that what is mortal will be swallowed up by life. Now He who prepared us for this very purpose is God, who gave to us the Spirit as a pledge. Therefore, being always of good courage, and knowing that while we are at home in the body we are absent from the Lord-- for we walk by faith, not by sight-- we are of good courage, I say, and prefer rather to be absent from the body and to be at home with the Lord. Therefore we also have as our ambition, whether at home or absent, to be pleasing to Him. For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may be recompensed for his deeds in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad. Therefore, knowing the fear of the Lord, we persuade men, but we are made manifest to God; (2Corinthians 5:1-11a)

For Adoption: Missionary Family of 6

Now how could you resist this opportunity (focus on the children before answering!!!)?

Really and truly, we are looking to be adopted by five churches. By the term adoption, I mean churches who will consider us to be their missionaries by committing to pray for us and our people group. I would even hope for an adopting our people group, the Italian-Brazilians of Caxias do Sul and the surrounding area, and an openness to considering ministry opportunities (mobilization of church members through mission trips) to assist in ministry.

The Italian Brazilians are considered to be an unreached people group, with less than 1% evangelized. Their religion is a mixture of a kind of Catholicism and Mysticism (including witchcraft, voodoo, superstition, etc.). They area a beautiful people, a beautiful culture, in a beautiful land, and yet a stronghold of satan. They desperately need to hear the truth of who Jesus Christ IS.

Most of you who read this blog are active in a church. Please prayerfully consider joining us in the Great Commission - - urging your church to adopt both our family and the Italian-Brazilians of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil. Churches who choose to prayer-support His work to this people group will receive frequent updates, prayer requests, and opportunities to come to Brazil and join in ministry. (In fact, we will be inviting a group from a church to come on a vision/prayer trip after we finish the year of language school and during our first year with our people group.)

Please do give this careful consideration and prayer. Maybe God will break your heart and the hearts of the members of your church for these dear people who so desperately need to hear the truth.

"Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age."
(Mat 28:19-20)

Sunday Scripture 1

I'm starting a new series . . . Sword of the Spirit Sundays! Each Sunday I plan to post only Scripture.

The Lord is not slow about His promise, as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing for any to perish but for all to come to repentance. But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, in which the heavens will pass away with a roar and the elements will be destroyed with intense heat, and the earth and its works will be burned up. Since all these things are to be destroyed in this way, what sort of people ought you to be in holy conduct and godliness, looking for and hastening the coming of the day of God, because of which the heavens will be destroyed by burning, and the elements will melt with intense heat! But according to His promise we are looking for new heavens and a new earth, in which righteousness dwells. Therefore, beloved, since you look for these things, be diligent to be found by Him in peace, spotless and blameless, and regard the patience of our Lord as salvation; just as also our beloved brother Paul, according to the wisdom given him, wrote to you, as also in all his letters, speaking in them of these things, in which are some things hard to understand, which the untaught and unstable distort, as they do also the rest of the Scriptures, to their own destruction. You therefore, beloved, knowing this beforehand, be on your guard so that you are not carried away by the error of unprincipled men and fall from your own steadfastness, but grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To Him be the glory, both now and to the day of eternity. Amen. (2Peter 3:9-18)

It's Official

We have been officially appointed by the IMB as missionaries to the Italian-Brazilian people of Caxias do Sul, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil and surrounding area. It was an amazing week of appointment. There were 72 total missionaries appointed to various parts of the world. 38 of us were appointed in Richmond, VA and the other 34 were appointed in Oklahoma City.

The most enjoyable part of the week for me were the Emeritus that were there for their recognition service. We ate almost every meal with retired missionaries who served in Brazil, and met many others. Oh the stories we heard!!! Hebrews 12:1-2 was swimming around in my head the entire time we were there.

Therefore, since we have so great a cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let us also lay aside every encumbrance and the sin which so easily entangles us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.

Several shared with us about victories, defeats, cultural differences, hardships we're sure to face and many encouraging words. We were certainly blessed. Another blessing . . . I finally know how to pronounce the word Caxias!!!

An incredible event transpired while we were there. We've known that our timeline would have to change due to the lack of prospective buyers for our house in the current, very challenging economy. God clearly revealed to both Robert and myself that it is His will for us to not delay our timeline, but to be at orientation starting August 4. That is five weeks away!! And assuming all goes well with the very complicated application process for Brazilian visas, we will be in Brazil the middle of October. THAT is exciting!

God's direction is a great relief to us both. I am able to confidently say that I have no anxiety. It is our responsibility to obey God and the details are His. We are doing all we can for the sale of the house (we've lowered the price of our house to the minimum amount we can for payoff and our part of closing, and I've investigated leasing options and management companies). We know that some houses sell before orientation, some houses sell during orientation, and some do not sell. When God leads, we do count the cost - - but no matter the cost, we obey. When it comes time to begin orientation we will be praising God whether our house is sold or not . . . knowing that we're being obedient to Him and His timing.

Please continue praying for our house to sell. Please pray with us also during this time of saying goodbye to those we love, crating all of our things (this will happen July 21st & 22nd), traveling by car with 4 children to Virginia (a long way from Texas) and our children transitioning to communal living (I guess that one goes for all of us!!!)

Please pray also for Pin Oaks. Robert's last Sunday as pastor there will be July 13. Pray for the search team and members to seek God for His guidance in finding a pastor.

Quirky

I've been tagged (this has happened before - a sort of closest book to you page number thing). My friend Jana Dingmore in Georgia tagged me this time to spell out 6 quirks that I have. (Only 6?) Jana, let me add, is a friend from long ago whom I wish we lived closer so we could just hang out sometimes.

Here are the rules:
*Link the person who tagged you.
*Mention the rules in your blog.
*Tell about six unspectacular quirks of yours.
*Tag a new set of six following bloggers by linking them

Six "unspectacular" quirks of mine would be as follows:

1. If I find toilet paper that has been put on the roller backwards, I have to change it. In my house, this never happens. But I have, many times as a guest in someones house, changed their toilet paper so that it rolls correctly over the top, out toward the person retrieving it!!!

2. I'm known around here (especially by my husband) as the "thermostat notzy". I like programmable thermostats that have the ability for four time settings. I possess this innate fear that my children go to bed hot if the thermostat is too high, but if it's kept lower through the night they will wake up cold. So from Katherine on (she's 7 now) the Texas summer-time upstairs thermostat starts at 73 at 8:00 pm, goes to 74 at about 1:30 am and then to 75 at 5:00 a.m. and is there for the day. (It's Texas, so the AC runs all night!) I've got to get over this one before going to Brazil, I know!!!

3. I had many years of little to no female friends. I grew up tomboyish and, for some reason, developed a stereotype of my OWN gender (rumorish, gossipy, critical and too emotional). Barring a few exceptions, I sought out friendships with boys. It seemed to work well for me. I am happy to report that this is a quirk (or really a flaw) I eventually developed out of. My husband is my dearest friend, but I have very dear female friends now and am blessed by this.

4. With the exception of occasional fasting prompted only by the Lord, I do not miss meals. I become very grumpy when I am hungry. When fasting is prompted by Him, He shows His power to me in removing this tendency, something I could never do!!

5. 80's music. It pops into my head SO MUCH! Something I hear, a circumstance that we're in, a person I see, and BOOM - -there it is . . . some song from the 80's. I'm thankful that the Holy Spirit brings Scripture to mind in many situations - - if it were nothing but 80's music, I'd be in trouble!

6. I used to be particular about the folding of linens . . . both towels and sheets. I have refolded the fitted sheet so many times because there is a perfect way to fold it. I learned this working at a Christian camp that maintained both week-long camping cabins and a retreat hotel for weekends. I folded a lot of towels and sheets on the hotel side of things. Of course, now I'm thrilled to have clean laundry folded in any half-tidy manner and put where it belongs!

Doesn't it make one curious about what "spectacular" quirks might be (the kind of quirks prohibited by the above rules)? I have one that I might deem as spectacular well . . . more of a personality flaw - - although it occasionally has a good side to it. And since I am one who likes to stretch the rules, here it is: It is that I'm overly adventurous and very spontaneous. That can be fun . . . but it can also be very crazy for my family. God put me with the perfect husband and children for such a quirk!

Now the hard part . . . coming up with the 6 to tag! I'm just going to list the blogs I read the most:

Laura (a close friend with a private blog, but she maintains a homeschool blog, too)
Jessica (missionaries who have become dear to us - - soon going to Peru)
Cam (missionaries in Brazil - -not too far from our ministry destination & a phenomenal blogger)
Tony (Rambling Prophet 1 & 2 - some of my favorite internet reading)
Pamela (we've never met, but I've been reading her blog for months - - missionaries to Mexico)
Harriette (my dearest Selah V in Oklahoma whom I love, but have never met in person)

Are you brave enough to blog your "unspectacular" quirks for the world to see?

Our Exciting News!!!!

Last Tuesday we were approved by a sub-committee of the IMB Board of Trustees to be appointed as missionaries to the Italian-Brazilian people of Caxais do Sul, Brazil. WOO HOO!!! Our appointment week is scheduled for the last part of June in Virginia where we will be seeking the approval of the entire board of trustees.


Please pray for our house to sell!!! It's a terrible market in North Texas for selling a house . . . so many forclosures, middle class is hit hard with gas prices and inflated grocery prices. But these odds are meaningless to our God with whom nothing is impossible.
Your prayers are greatly appreciated.

Check out our FOR SALE blog.

Sorry Ladies, He's Taken!

I'm blessed to be married to a husband with a great sense of humor!

No one can make me laugh like him.


Comments are welcome, but no asking how he got his shorts to stay up that high for the picture. I really have no idea!


How many people can you share Christ with this week?



Grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. To Him be all glory both now and forevermore. Amen. I Peter 3:18

Time Change - Funny Story

Robert and I were gone all last week in VA attending a conference. At the conference there were no televisions, computer hookups were not what we needed and time was just better spent doing other things. We didn't even get any news. Robert had arranged for my dad to come and teach this morning, knowing that he would have no time to prepare.

Then came Sunday morning surprise. My mom called close to 9:00 a.m. (actually close to 10:00 a.m.) and asked, what time do you have? I told her it was almost 9:00 and she asked, "Isn't this time-change Sunday?" I told her a confident "I don't think so." And she said, "Well we're on our way."

A few minutes later my brain did a second take and I asked the question to my husband, "is this time-change Sunday?". His response was the same as mine . . . an "I don't think so" followed by "we'd better check and see."

And lo and behold it was the 2nd Sunday of March!

So the pastor (Robert) and family (me and the kids) as well as the guest speaker (my dad) and wife (my mom) walked in LATE into a room full of people who were singing praise songs. Not the typical stressful situation it would be for many others . . . our church is a strong fellowship of believers who are really more family than anything else. But what it turned out to be was just darn FUNNY!

It's little things like this that keep life fun!!!

We're Back!

The IMB Candidate Conference was amazing. We did research on the people group of southern Brazil that we will be sharing Christ with. The library and librarians were very prepared for us and very helpful. There are two libraries - one at the Learning Center and one at the IMB headquarters. They were both pretty amazing.

We did a lot of exercises and interviews in truly exploring and analyzing our individual calls to overseas ministry and looking at the motivations behind a desire to go. We also learned much of the inner-workings of the IMB including care, support, enabling and equipping of personnel. We met many other couples from all over who, like us, have been called to share Christ somewhere on the globe. It is exciting to see God burdening hearts to share the gospel all over the world. And there is need for so many more. There are a multitude of people groups who have yet to hear that there is a God and He loves THEM!

so much more to share . . . . . . . but for another time. It was a phenomenal experience, but at the same time, it's so good to be home!

The coming home part was great! My mom watched the kids all week and our children had a wonderful time with her, and she with them. She's exhausted after 5 days with 4 children.

Samuel (my 21 month old) was sitting up in his crib, wide awake, when I checked on him last night (about midnight). He kept looking to make sure it was me and then just giggled and giggled. I brought him downstairs, laid on our bed and he just rubbed my face and hair with with his face over an over again, giggling the whole time. It was precious.

The other three (who understood why mom and dad were away) awakened to huge mommy & daddy hugs this morning. It's been a wonderful reunion.

I wasn't able to blog while we were away . . . couldn't find the time or the good connection. I plan to blog more about our week, finish my series on pride and about the boy who just turned 6 as soon as I get my bearings!

See how great a love the Father has bestowed on us, that we would be called children of God; and such we are. For this reason the world does not know us, because it did not know Him. Beloved, now we are children of God, and it has not appeared as yet what we will be. We know that when He appears, we will be like Him, because we will see Him just as He is. And everyone who has this hope fixed on Him purifies himself, just as He is pure. I John 3:1-3

more blessings - an update

I'm reading Prince Caspian to my children. They're loving it of course! We have recently finished the Lion, Witch & Wardrobe and I was delighted to learn that the movie Prince Caspian will be released shortly after we finish the book.

And we have begun the New Testament. We've been the entire school year in the OT - - and while we've enjoyed it, the kids are glad to have graduated to the New.

We had our first garage sale and it was a huge success. We made $1600. Thanks to Him who blessed it!!!!

Robert and I are flying to Virginia on Monday to attend the IMB Candidate Conference. We will be away for just 5 days rather than 7 . . . . yet another blessing! What a difference 2 days makes. I went from dreading being away from the children (7 days is just too long) to looking forward to the time that will just be Robert and me.

One of Katherine's ear tubes was removed today and the other is ready to come out as well. We're working on bravery!!! Please pray for her in this. The blessing . . . tubes are ready to come out and one is already out. We have been praying for tubes to be gone before heading overseas!

I'm blogging little, and reading blogs less. I plan to post for Joseph's birthday (turning 6), and again after conference. Then I'll finish the series on pride. But my blogging will be less frequent than in the past. Other things are priority . . . homeschooling, the umpteen things we have to accomplish to sell our house and many other loose end kind of things.

Thanks to those who keep up with us in our time of transitioning.

RPP2 - A Vertical Pride

3nd in a series, "Thoughts On Pride" posted 2/10, "Recognizing Personal Pride" posted 2/16.

We are most like the devil when we are prideful. Pride is exactly what made him the devil. It is the very thing we need to be able to recognize in our lives and root out.

In my last post I addressed pride on a horizontal plain . . . pride toward fellow man. A brother in Christ pointed out in a comment that he believes there are two main types of pride: 1. towards man; 2. towards God. He is certainly correct.

I had a wonderful conversation last night with Robert (my husband) as we were cleaning the kitchen together on the topic of pride toward God, and I'm sharing some of our conversation in this entry, addressing pride on a vertical plain.

Some red flags . . . indicators or ways to recognize this type of pride:

1. a lack of conviction, or even recognizing of sin. We can delude ourselves into the idea that we have spiritually grown and disciplined ourselves to the point that sin is either a very small problem for us . . . or that we've even arrived at a place in which we no longer struggle with it. Either one of these convictions is evidence that we are self-deceived and full of pride.
2. taking credit for things God has accomplished . . . especially in ministry. 'Look what God has accomplished through ME - - the spiritual growth that has resulted in this person or this group of people as a result of MY teaching or mentoring or writing.' This is often a conviction that does give God credit for His work, especially outwardly, but includes a hearty personal recognition that God called ME to do this . . . as if we bring something to the table that God, in fact, needs to accomplish a work. PRIDE!
   
3. a twisting of the privilege it is to be joint heirs with Jesus into a superiority that somehow elevates us above the lost. We are all sinners who have either accepted the gift of eternal life - being mercifully saved by God's gracious sacrifice, or have not. The devastating effect of pride in our position of sinners saved by grace would be a lessened burden for the lost and less effort to share Christ with them because of it. Pride and the gospel have no union with one another.
4. a desire to grow spiritually for selfish reasons - - reasons of benefiting self or even elevating self in the eyes of others. This would be in contrast with the correct desire for spiritual growth: so that we are better able to serve our Master. A correct desire for spiritual growth would stem from a humble disappointment such as Paul expressed in Romans 7:14-25 & Philippians 3.
   
5. crediting ourselves with spiritual growth
6. deluding ourselves into thinking that we are accomplishing God's will when, actually, we are accomplishing our own . . . a personal question of who, in fact, is on the throne

Yikes, huh? Between last post (horizontal pride) and present post (vertical pride) we very human Christians have much to be mindful and maybe even convicted of.

The encouraging part . . . which is really forthcoming in a post later in this series on pride, is that, in spite of the fact that we are most wretched, God still loves us. Something we will never be able to grasp fully. And He has given us the supreme example of humility in Christ - - an attitude that we ourselves are encouraged to possess . . .

Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus, who, although He existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant, and being made in the likeness of men. Phil. 2:5-7

Recognizing Personal Pride

2nd in a series, "Thoughts On Pride" was posted on 2/10

Remember the "compare and contrast" exercises of grade school? like name the similarities and differences between a mountain lion and a billy goat. Great thinking exercises for a very young mind! As adults, we continue to do this. There is certainly benefit to this exercise. A personal example: I like to talk with other homeschool moms and find out how they do school. I can learn from others and perhaps even try implementing new and different activities or approaches for my children.

We seem to be creatures of comparison. We are instructed by Paul to make note of the examples of the apostles behavior and to imitate it (1Ths.3:7). That would involve an element of comparing. So comparison in and of itself is not bad. (Although one exception would be in faultily choosing whom we compare ourselves to and deluding ourselves into a prideful state of superiority. For instance my 5 year old son could compare himself to only 2 year olds and decide that he is, in fact, a giant. 2 Cor. 10:12 warns "For we are not bold to class or compare ourselves with some of those who commend themselves; but when they measure themselves by themselves and compare themselves with themselves, they are without understanding.")

We have to be careful with comparison. We possess just the natures that would be quick to employ an edge of competitiveness in our comparison. And this is oftentimes an indicator of pride. Pride is forever in competition with everyone else's pride.

Now I'm not saying that all competition is bad. Hockey teams compete for the Stanley Cup, there are chili cook-offs, thumb wrestling, photography, spelling contests, every kind of sport, etc. In these cases, it is the sore losing and the sour winning in which pride becomes evident.

When there is a secret complimenting of self in comparison with someone else whom we have sized up, so to speak, or a secret resentment of another for their gain or achievement - - THAT is pride. How aware are we of such thoughts? How recognizable are they? Pride always rears it's ugly head in the mind, indicates a problem with the heart, and, prior to making itself evident through the use of the untamed tongue, is evident in the haughtiness of the eyes (Prov.21:4).

Another indicator of pride would be the idea of "how dare you slight me" or "how dare you not give me my just dues, do you have any idea who I am or what my motives were?" These are all indicators of pride.

We all possess the very nature that makes us susceptible to the addictive and downward spiraling grip of pride. It is almost always a tricky and subtle condition that camouflages itself as a fleeting emotion so we perhaps won't even recognize it is there. And then it leads to jealousy, or greed, idolatry, deceptiveness, selfishness, and every other kind of sin. Is our drive to succeed or to improve a healthy one, or is it prideful? - - a deeper question to ask oneself than it appears on the surface.

My prayer, in this very unpopular topic of pride, is for God to reveal and to help me recognize every smidget of pride within me. I believe it to be the most prolific problem in all humanity, and the most un-Godlike characteristic. Even for a person like me whose personality would not seem to be bent towards pride, it is an issue, as I believe pride is at the root of all other sin (see first posting on this topic).

. . . Clothe yourselves with humility toward one another, for God is opposed to the proud, but gives grace to the humble 1Pet.5:5

MORE TO COME IN THIS SERIES: EFFECTS OF PRIDE, BIBLICAL VIEW OF PRIDE, AND WHAT TRUE HUMILITY LOOKS LIKE

Happy Birthday my dear!

Today, Robert Alan Hamilton is 40!!!

It's impossible for me to fully express into words what you mean to me my dear, but here is my feeble attempt:

You encourage me spiritually and personally in every role in which I am privileged to fill, both in and outside of our family.You are a wonderful husband and friend to me. You are fun, trustworthy, caring, helpful and loving.

You are a caring, nurturing and fun father to our four children. When I asked them what they love most about dad, some of their answers were . . . that he takes time to teach me how to play chess, that he plays Star Wars with me, and that he helps me get points for e-pets. All their answers, spoken with smiles and wide, loving eyes of adoration, attest to the time you spend with them individually and on their level of interest. You play with love, teach with love, discipline with love, and give our children the best hugs they will ever know this side of eternity. I love this about you.

You are attentive to the leadership of God, both personally and for our family as a whole. You lead our family in following God and you're willing to follow at any cost. Your heart is tender toward the lost and inexpressibly grateful for the blessings God so mercifully bestows on us as a family. I love this about you.

You are honest in regards to your struggles and shortcomings. You live transparently and are certainly not one to ever put on airs. You humbly worship the God of the Bible as a fallen, imperfect man who is living his life striving to please his Lord. You humbly teach in your roles as pastor and father, and you are not prideful. I love this about you.

You choose to do what is right, even when it is not easy, convenient or affordable. You are not consumed with how doing the right things will make you look to the eyes of others. THIS is what being a true man of God is about. I love this about you.

You are an actualizer who often sees things for what they are. You keep life in perspective rather than only seeing the moment, and you attempt to help me do the same! You not only accommodate, but join me in sometimes being adventurous beyond all reason. I love this about you.

You approach God’s Word with humility and have tremendous God-given insight into Biblical truths. Some of my favorite moments are those we spend discussing Scripture. I love this about you.

Outside of my salvation and relationship with God, you have been and continue to be God's greatest gift to me.

I LOVE YOU!

Happy Birthday my dear!

Valentine's Day - - FUNNY!

My dear husband of 10 years gave me a Valentine that expresses love in a style that is reminiscent of Las Vegas curtain-call rejects!!!

http://www.clickwishes.com/wifesongs



I have the most wonderful, fun, lovable husband on the planet . . . at least according to ME!

Progress!

An update: as we're preparing for the IMB Candidate Conference the first week in March, we have begun the process of eliminating stuff. WooHoo! This part will be fun! We will need to sell almost everything we own in the next five months. Who knew that selling our possessions, even the ones we still enjoy and are a little fond of, could be this much fun. It's liberating actually! and we feel very blessed!

Sunday afternoon was the first taste of success. We cleaned out the garage!!! This was quite a feat for us. My husband is very handy with wood and quite gifted at computer technology . . . so we had all kinds of wood scraps, old computers and monitors, along with the normal junk that one accumulates in a garage.

Then yesterday was the trip to the dump. There's just something fun about hurling old, bulky computer monitors off of a trailer down into a dumping container. Even the kids enjoying hurling things they could lift. $31 (dump fee) later we are 960 pounds free of junk!!! And for the next week and a half, the garage will be a staging area for the first of our two BIG garage sales.

So make plans to travel (near of far) to our house in Anna, Texas on Saturday, February 23rd. Here's 3 & 1/2 reasons you should make the trip!

1. I'd love to meet the handful of people who occasionally read my blog that I have never met personally.
   
2. Most garage sales are a waste of time . . . but not this one. We're not selling junk, we're eliminating to go overseas with the IMB. (so I guess I could throw "noble cause" in there as well)
   
3. We'll make you a deal! Come buy our stuff!

Psalm 145:3 Great is the LORD, and highly to be praised, And His greatness is unsearchable.
v.10 All Your works shall give thanks to You, O LORD, And Your godly ones shall bless You.

Thoughts On Pride

My mind just can't let go of this topic of pride. It has permeated our earthly existence from the time of the Fall - forward. Proverbs tells us that God hates pride and arrogance (8:13), a prideful heart is an abomination to Him and will most certainly be punished(16:5), pride leads to destruction (16:18 & 18:12), and that haughty eyes and a proud heart are the lamp (glory) of the wicked (21:4).

C.S.Lewis wrote that pride is the complete anti-God state of mind and that pride leads to every other vice (Mere Christianity). I agree with him completely, and here's why.

1. When Lucifer fell to become the devil, his sin was pride/arrogance. A puffed up view of himself in spite of the immeasurable superiority of God. Pride is what made him satan.
   
2. Pride has to be at the root of all sin, doesn't it? Think about it . . . Eve and then Adam disobeyed God because the prideful heart desires to be like God (disobedience is a complete lack of humility and a complete submission to self); Cain killed Abel - pride that led to jealousy that led to murder; the population of the world became so wicked and consumed with self that God destroyed them by flood, pride again; the Tower of Babel; Lots choice of the superior land and what that led to; Abraham taking matters into his own hands in efforts to fulfill the covenant God made with him, hence the birth of Ishmael; Jacob's blackmailing Esau out of his birthright and then tricking his father and getting Esau's blessing - - and let's not forget the conniving of his mother Rebekah, and the sin of both parents in having favorites; Joseph being sold into slavery by his brothers; the constant fuss and complaining of the freed Israelites; the golden calf; more grumbling; grumbling; grumbling; grumbling; complaining; some more grumbling still; striking of the rock by Moses who (according to Numbers 12:3) was more humble than any other man on the face of the earth; idol worship; Achan's theft; the decline of the judges; the decline of Saul; Joab murdering Abner; David's adultery and then murder. I'm exhausted, and I've not even gotten to Solomon, the divided kingdom, the havoc of prideful kings and idol worshiping people. I have to stop here . . . but it goes on and on and on - - all the way to US! Do you see it as plainly as I do? Pride IS at the heart of every sin all through the Bible and beyond. I've really been giving this a lot of thought and believe it to be true. Now where it really hit home was when I began relating the things I have done wrong (including thoughts) to the pride that must lie underneath. I encourage you to do this little exercise as well (Although let me warn you . . . it is ugliness and then humility that is found in this endeavor - - but the ugliness that puts us face to face with the fact that we are nothing in comparison to God is actually quite beautiful, isn't it?)
   

First, the good news . . . God is not, in any way, thrown off course by our pride and sin. He's so very much BIGGER than that. It would be the absolute epitome of pride to think that our selfish pride and what it leads to in any way inhibits God and the outplaying of His purposes. God used the OT characters listed above in great ways to accomplish His will. Whether it is through repentance and humbling of ourselves or in humiliation and the shameful acting out of our pride and its effects, God's will IS accomplished and His glorification in all things is sure.

Galatians 6:7 Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, this he will also reap.

The worst news is that all of us are so darn susceptible to it. Pride can be blatantly obvious, or it can be very subtle. It is always deadly to our own selves and damaging to others. We often don't even recognize it. In fact, we are just the creatures who can become quite proud of our own humility!!!

So I want to know what pride is . . . I want to know what it looks like even when disguised, and I want to recognize it not only in others, but especially and most importantly in myself. This recognizing is a work of the Spirit, but I believe it also involves an educating of ourselves.

MORE TO COME IN THIS SERIES: RECOGNIZING PERSONAL PRIDE, EFFECTS OF PRIDE, BIBLICAL VIEW OF PRIDE, AND WHAT TRUE HUMILITY LOOKS LIKE

A Political What If?

I am opposed to McCain and will not cast vote for him (and this is not because Dobson said so - - my husband and I decided this long before Dobson spoke out - - AND, for those of you who are all over Dobson, lay off will ya? He's a very good man)

ANYWAY, here's my question. What if Romney forfeited, rather than just suspended, his campaign freeing up 298 delegates to realign themselves with another candidate? It's what he should do . . . and I feel sure he won't do this. But what if he did?

A Typical Friday Night

I think I've mentioned before that we are casual PS2ers (surely you know I'm meaning PlayStation2). . . and by we, I really mean the kids and Robert. While Star Wars is the favorite, we now have Dance, Dance Revolution. My fun-loving hubby picked up this along with a dance pad just for fun at his supplemental job for almost nothing. Now I ask you, what is more fun than a device that brings the sound of Funkytown by Lipps Inc. back into the house? Here's a typical Friday night at the Hamiltons.













That's right . . . it's the 7 year old and the 7 days away from 40 year old attempting, with their feet, to keep up with the arrows on the t.v. screen while . ...











the 4 and 5 year old are playing chess.














The 4 year old lost, but good sportsmanship won out in the end.


There's also a 20 month old parading around the house demanding that every endeavor be centered around him, and then there's me . . .enjoying the show immensely, but also wondering how close it is to kid bed time!

A Marriage of Catholicism & Spiritualism

Many of our dearest friends and family have expressed a lot of interest in the group of people God has called us to. So much to learn . . . . really Robert and I have much, much to learn in the next few years in following God's calling to become missionaries to a group of Italian Brazilians in South America. And I'm not just meaning language (Portuguese & Italian).

The IMB job description for the assignment we've chosen depicts a people who are Roman Catholic but very strong practices of spiritualism as well. The mind, at least mine anyway, has a hard time merging the two. But I read a post yesterday from blog by Jeff Dunson, who is missionary 3 hours south of where we're headed. The group of missionaries he represents on his blog are called "Team Gaucho". ('Gaucho', as I shared before, is the title given to the people who reside in the most southern state of Brazil, Rio Grande do Sul.) This post of his, while short, was very educational for me.

Jeff translated a newspaper article that gives a true picture of what this marriage of Catholicism & Spiritualism looks like. It is a quick read: "Just In Case There Was Any Doubt"

While Robert and I are working to build prayer support for us and the Gauchos of Caxias do Sul, I ask that you add the Dunson family, Team Gaucho and the Gauchos of Porte Alegre to your prayers as well. Links to their blogs are on my page (M is for Mud Guy & M is for Mommy) and you can keep up with them and their requests for prayer.

123 Meme

I've been tagged to do a fun little "meme". I was tagged by Alan Knox - - I recently discovered his writing on the Church, and have thoroughly enjoyed it.

I've seen these "meme's" from time to time and had a general idea of what they are, but I wanted to look the word up anyway. It was not in our dictionary, but I found it online. For those as clueless as me, here's a link!

Here are the rules for this one:

• Pick up the nearest book of 123 pages or more (no cheating!)
• Find page 123
• Find the first five sentences
• Post the next three sentences
• Tag five people

Here's the great part. The closest books to me are on my night stand . . . a stack of 7. And the one on top is my Bible! (boy, didn't that work out just right for this pastor's wife!!!) Page 123 is the middle of Exodus 20. After the first five sentences, I begin with verse 18 and type the next three.

All the people perceived the thunder and the lightning flashes and the sound of the trumpet and the mountain smoking; and when the people saw it, they trembled and stood at a distance. Then they said to Moses, "Speak to us yourself and we will listen; but let not God speak to us, or we will die." Moses said to the people, "Do not be afraid; for God has come in order to test you, and in order that the fear of Him may remain with you, so that you may not sin."

From the one Book in which any 3 sentences speak volumes!!

Okay, now for the really fun part, I get to tag five. So here's the list: Laura, Clay, Sacarii, Harriette, Jerry & Jana, and Peter. (I've learned by this exercise that I need to "introduce myself" to some authors of blogs I like to read, and yes I can count . . . but as I was trying to come up with five, seven came to mind.)

If you were tagged from the above list and want to do this, please leave a comment so it will be easy to click on your name and read your post.

And now it's time for . . . household preparations for the watching of the Super Bowl!

One more: Jessica, your blog is private so tagging you this way wouldn't really work . . . but consider yourself tagged, anyway! I know you're an avid reader and it would be fun to see what your closest page 123 says.

A Sad State of Affairs, part 2

There are those who would orchestrate events to center around themselves, make themselves out to be a martyr and implore an outrageous vocabulary of obscure words to over-impress their loyal following.

There are those who thump their Bible publicly, sacrilegiously touting a prosperity gospel that the desperate and unenlightened just may buy ($) into, doing more to send someone to hell than to reach them with the Gospel of Christ.

There are Christian hedonists who think that God is all about their satisfaction, too focused on self-fulfillment and their own experience of God to ever contemplate the vastness of God and His purposes that may in fact include our suffering and brevity of physical life.

There are entertaining churches filled with consumeristic Christians.

There are hyper Calvinists who believe that they are chosen and that others are damned . . . that God's sacrifice was only for some and their focus is personal growth.

There are Arminians who believe that the blood of the lost is on their own personal hands . . . that their presentation of the gospel is paramount, disregarding that the power is in the gospel itself, that the Spirit draws the unbeliever and that God's gift of eternal life is secure.

There are many who practice idolatry under the guise of Christianity.

And, sadly, there are many who blaspheme the Holy Spirit, rejecting the gift of eternal life.

all of this and more in a culture where politicians deceive, unwed mothers abort, married couples divorce, consumerism rules, greed is a way of life, violence and suicides plague daily life; and enjoyment, entertainment and possession are the highest of aspirations

This is pride, and our society, both secular & non, is permeated with it. What happens next? Sure we're in a period of grace, but how far will we as a culture be allowed to go? God only knows. We do know He does not change. He offered much grace to Israel & Judah - - but there came a time to pay a price for the pride of kings and nations. There was even reckoning for the pride of heathen kings and nations (remember Nebuchanezzar & Belshazzar?)

Is pride a sin that is at the root of all other sin? It seems that way to me. So then, how do we combat it? Can we combat it? We all possess the capacity to be totally consumed by it. And to not be is a continual personal choice of emptying ourselves and being filled with the things of God (His Word, namely). And even then, we can fail.

We can't force this choice on the rest of the world. We can pray for conviction, but the humbling of oneself is not just a matter of the Spirit's conviction, it is a matter of responding to it.

So this is where we find ourselves and I guess the conclusion, once again, is that God is God and we are not. He knows where we are right now as a people and as individuals. He knows where we're headed. His glorification and purposes are in no way dependent on us and our choices. So we can love Him, and know Him, enjoy Him, obey and strive to please Him. We can comfort and encourage one another while the day is here.

Thoughts?

The previous posting on pride: Sad State Of Affairs, part 1 was posted on 1/5/08

Help Me, I Can't Stop Running

My children love to run . . . especially IN the house. This is by no means a punishable offense in the Hamilton home. In fact, our house is great for it. The kitchen is situated in the center of the downstairs so that my children can run laps from the front room, down the hall, around the corner of the family room, through the kitchen and to the front room again.

At the age of just 3, Joseph (now 5) created a game that has practically become a rite of passage in our home. He would run laps on the course mentioned above while yelling, amidst laughter, "Help me, I can't stop running!" Of course in no time the other children joined in. It is truly a favorite way of my children to expend a little extra of their unending energy.

A couple weeks ago I was sharing with a dear friend over a cup of coffee how when I see them running and laughing and chanting this phrase, I think of Elijah. He walked so very many miles for God, but he ran also. God strengthened him to outrun Ahab's horse drawn chariot at a distance estimated to be about 16 miles. (My friend wondered if Elijah actually had the thought during this very long run of, "Help me, I can't stop running!"!!! ~ what a great thought!)

Many of us want to have such zeal for our Lord that when He privileges us with a task for Him, we run to do it. (Strikingly opposed to the description of feet who run to evil and are eager for destruction in Proverbs 1. With an over-abundance of feet who hastily run to evil, we should desire to have feet that run to good and are eager to do God's will.) And in running, we want to "run and not grow weary" Isaiah 40:31. God's word tells us to do this:

Hebrews 12:1-2 Therefore, since we have so great a cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let us also lay aside every encumbrance and the sin which so easily entangles us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.

1 Cor. 9:24-25 Surely you know that many runners take part in a race, but only one of them wins the prize. Run, then, in such a way as to win the prize. Every athlete in training submits to strict discipline, in order to be crowned with a wreath that will not last; but we do it for one that will last forever.

And while this is encouraging and motivating (at least to me anyway) I was reminded by another friend this morning that it is essential to rest. Elijah was a go-getter in every aspect of the term. But he rested also. God Himself orchestrated and even forced Elijah into times of much needed rest (at the brook and with the widow, the 40 day journey and Mt. Horeb).

David ran, but David also rested. And the most beautiful of Psalms and praise in our Bible came from both . . . times of resting and times of running.
Paul, Jeremiah, Abraham, Daniel, Jesus - - they all rested.

Running can be fun! (especially if it involves no shoes and socks that slide on the wooden floor!). But running is too exhausting if we're trying to run on our own strength. And even running by the power of God's strength, we all need rest. We're invited by Christ Himself to rest.

Resting accomplishes great things . . . it renews our strength (a prerequisite to running), it gives a much needed fresh perspective, it is a time of focus, adoration and intimacy with our Lord, it is a time of restoring our soul and healing, and it is a time of learning.

God Is The Strength Of My Heart

We are headed to the IMB (International Mission Board) Candidate Conference in March. We are excited about many aspects of this week. Among interviews, medical examinations and a number of classes to attend, we will get to meet a host of people at the IMB. We will also have the opportunity to learn more about our people group in Caxias do Sul, more about the language school in Brazil and the school the children will be attending while we are in language school.

We received the official invitation on Monday (28th) and faxed our information back so that all the arrangements for travel and accommodation can be made.

And now I come to the part about my weakness. In my mind I have been preparing myself for being absent from my four children for 5 days. Five days in which they would have a wonderful time with my dear inlaws who are coming to stay with them. However, five days, for reasons of necessary traveling arrangements, have turned into seven. I'm not sure what dynamic exists here . . . I mean we're only talking two more days. This is not a large number. But upon discovery of this fact came tears, and then more tears, and then some more.

In the midst of my emotional unrest I said to Robert, "I don't have the strength to do this." And then it occurred to me. Ahhh! isn't this just the place God likes us to be . . . a place of relying on His strength rather than ours. I have dear friend who was just here - - in a place of no strength of her own and relying completely on God. And God gathered her under His wings of refuge and completely provided for her in a way that only she can describe.

In comparison to the giant she just faced, my dilemma seems pathetic. I know that so many have much more to deal with than 7 days away from their children. But this remains very hard for me.

So I turn to God's Word. A little time in God's word brings an eternal perspective. And once again I remember that these are not my kids. These are God's kids. He's blessed me beyond any words that I understand or know by allowing me to be a steward of them as their mom. Sure I'm going to miss them like crazy. There is no part of me that desires for us to be apart. But then there's God. I'm His possession, and they are His as well. And if that doesn't comfort the soul, I don't know what would.

Does it make it easy? no, it does not. But it does strengthen and it does stretch . . . and maybe that's just what God is intending.

"Once Upon A Time, God Used A Donkey"

Remember Numbers 22 - - God's use of a donkey in Balaam's disobedience to the glorification of God Himself? I love this story . . . as do my children.

I also enjoy satire. I think the right satire can spur one to great thoughts.

In my opinion, here's satire at it's best:

WON'T GET FOOLED AGAIN by Alan Knox
(from his blog entitled The Assembling of The Church)

Once upon a time, God used a donkey. How foolish! Not today. Today, God has other means of transportation available to him. He uses nice cars - Cadillacs, BMWs, Mercedes, even limos. God even uses jet planes. Why would God want to use something as foolish as a donkey when he has planes available to him?

Once upon a time, God used pagan prophets and philosophers. How foolish! Not today. Nothing good can come from culture. Today, God wants his people to read Christian books, watch Christian movies, and listen to Christian music. If God has something to say, he would never be so foolish as to speak through a pagan.

Once upon a time, God ate with prostitutes, drunks, thieves, and other malcontents. How foolish! Not today. God has enough good people now that he doesn't need to hang out with that sort anymore. It would be foolish for God to be found among the dregs of society today.

Once upon a time, God gathered people in fields, and on a mountain, and in a valley, and in homes, and in a school. How foolish! Not today. If people want to meet with God today, they can come to his house - a church building. Wouldn't it be foolish for people to think that God would come to them when he has beautiful buildings now?

Once upon a time, God spoke through untrained people. How foolish! Not today. There are plenty of college- and university- and seminary-trained people for God to speak through today. He doesn't need to speak through the unlearned. What if they said something wrong? How foolish to think that God would still speak through uneducated people today.

Once upon a time, God called the foolish, weak, and unknown - the nobodies - of society. How foolish! Not today. Now God calls the smart, the powerful, and the celebrities to speak on the lecture circuit, write books, and hold conferences. How foolish to think that we could make it without our Christian celebrities!

Once upon a time, God asked people to drop everything and follow him. How foolish! Not today. God realizes that today we need a steady job with a good salary, a home, two cars, health and life insurance, a good dental plan, excellent schools, vacation, and a retirement plan. Do you foolishly think that God would ask us to follow him without these necessities?

Once upon a time, God expected his people to encourage one another when they met together. How foolish! Not today. Now God has provided us with professionals to handle all the dirty work, to study, to teach, to sing, to deal with problems. How foolish to think that God would expect us to do these things today.

Once upon a time, God wanted his people to trust him completely without relying on their own ability to understand. How foolish! Not today. God knows that people today need to think logically about things, to make reasonable decisions. God knows that we need all the details of his plans, especially the outcome. Do you foolishly think that God still expects us to trust him completely?

Once upon a time, God created and enforced covenants. How foolish! Not today. God now expects us to write our own covenants and to hold people accountable to them. If we don't hold people accountable, then who will? How foolish it would be to think that God is still capable of taking care of his covenants and his children.

Yes, once upon a time, God used a donkey. But we can all see how foolish that would be now. We won't get fooled again.
Won't Get Fooled Again, posted by Alan Knox on his blog entitled The Assembling of the Church, January 16, 2008


"but God has chosen the foolish things of the world to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to shame the things which are strong, and the base things of the world and the despised God has chosen, the things that are not, so that He may nullify the things that are, so that no man may boast before God." (I Cor. 1:27-29)

The foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men!!! (v. 25)

Pin Oaks Christian Fellowship

Yesterday was the day we shared with our church that God is calling us to full-time mission work in Caxias do Sul, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil.

Let me first share a little about Pin Oaks. It will be six years old this year. Robert is the founding pastor, and, truth be told, Pin Oaks was God's will, not ours. We wanted out of this area, but God told both our hearts to stay. And then through our obedience to Him, God began a work that He has continued to grow and bless in such a way that He, and only He, can receive the glory. It is a spiritually vibrant and healthy church. Everything about it is genuine. It's people are earnest in their desire to know, and please, and worship and serve God with their lives. It has truly been a joy, and will continue to be a joy to us . . . like a chapter in a favorite book that has been highlighted and marked and creased and corners folded over.

Having made the big announcement today, we're left with a mixture of emotions: from great excitement, privilege and humility in God's calling us to a new work - - to great sadness of heart at leaving the family of believers we love so dearly. The words of Paul in in the first part of Philippians 1 where he is expressing his affection for them and his thankfulness for their fellowship ring true in our hearts.

We are eager to go to the place that God has called us. We are eager to learn the languages and become a part of the culture where God desires to use us. We are eager to begin this new work for Him. But we are thankful, also, for the time we have had here and the few more months we will have with the brothers and sisters we love so dearly. The support, encouragement and prayers of our church family are overwhelming. It is a blessing, and joy upon joy.

All praise belongs to Him who has given us so great a salvation!

Prayer Request for family of Tristan Hostetter

Tristan Asher Hostetter surprised the doctors and lived 56 days. His short life made an eternal difference in the lives of a family in Florida, and in many, many more. He went to be with our Lord today. Please keep his family in your prayers.

In case you aren't familiar with him or his family, I wrote and posted about him on January 2nd.

You can learn most about him and his family from their blog which is listed under "Favorite Blogs" in the lower right side of my blog page. Or you can just click here.

How To Be An "Engine Turtle" part 2

A continuation of "Engine Turtle" part 1 posted on January 24.

It's sometimes easy to forget that we have an enemy . . . one who goes around like a roaring lion seeking who he may devour (I Peter 5:8). But we most certainly do! This enemy is also referred to as the father of lies (John 8:44). his flaming arrows are often aimed right at us (Eph. 6:16). he is our adversary. he wants our lives to be complacent. he wants us to think that we can't make a difference. he wants us to just bump along in this life, never really getting into God's Word and having a perspective that is eternal. This realization can be discouraging . . . as if our own sinful natures were not enough to contend with.

But the good news is that victory can be ours! We are encouraged to "be strong in the Lord and the strength of His might." (Eph. 6:10) The strength of HIS MIGHT! There is no end to the strength of His might! We are then instructed (verses 11-17) to put on the full armor of God. (A relatively good website to share with kids on the specific pieces of armor is here (only that this website is wrong about the foot covering . . . it's not "sandals of peace", but having our feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace which means our knowing and presenting and sharing the gospel of Jesus Christ with the lost world.)) There are also coloring pages w/verses, and Armor of God crafts for the craft lovers.

This armor is more than just a protective covering. Romans 13 tells us "The night is almost gone, and the day is near. Therefore let us lay aside the deeds of darkness and put on the armor of Light." This armor of Light is defined in verse 14 as "putting on the Lord Jesus Christ." This act would of course begin with a repentant heart, seeking forgiveness and professing Christ as Lord and Savior, after which, we stand dressed in His righteousness. But I think this also includes our, through a steady process of walking with God, being transformed to be more and more like Christ.

And Christ Himself admonishes us to "be DRESSED IN READINESS, and keep your lamps lit. Be like men who are waiting for their master when he returns from the wedding feast, so that they may immediately open the door to him when he comes and knocks." (Luke 12:35-36).

We're given a reason for the armor, for the putting on of Jesus Christ and being dressed in readiness. Ephesians 6:12 says "our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places". If, as God's children, we laid aside the deeds of the flesh . . . the sin that entangles and ensnares us, and put on Christ, think of the souls that would be drawn to Him through us!!!!

Yes, we do have an enemy, but in Christ we have no cause to fear.

Psalm 91 . . . we do not have to be afraid of the terror by night or the arrow by day - - He is our refuge and dwelling place; He gives the angels charge concerning us . . . to guard us and bear us up in their hands; we will tread upon the lion and the cobra; we are delivered and secure simply because we have known His name . . .
I John 5 - whatever is born of God overcomes the world
All of Psalm 121
and so many more verses that I would never be able to name here . . . suffice it to say we have the prophecy of how all this ends . . . God wins! (in fact, He has won already). What a blessing He's given to us through His Son to allow us to not only witness His victory, to be partakers of it through His unexplainable grace and mercy, but to even play a part as the cracked pots He graciously shines His Light through.

Yes, we have an enemy. An enemy that one day soon God will crush under our feet (Romans 16:20). But victory is right now for those who don the proper attire!


"but thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your toil is not in vain in the Lord. " I Cor. 15:57-58

How To Be An "Engine Turtle" part 1

This last Friday night Joseph, my 5 year old, had the privilege of spending the night with my parents . . . a treat my 3 oldest children get on a monthly, rotating basis. While he was away, the girls did play. And of all things, they played "Engine Turtles".

Now anyone with children will understand that this is a four year old gross misinterpretation of "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles" . . . a program that none of my children have ever seen, but are strangely fond of none the less. Joseph does have a couple figurines that he somehow obtained from happy meal boxes that he never ate. And while I'm on the subject, who in the world would ever think of such a thing - - Teenage (I guess for the aspiring elementary age boy) Mutant (the one descriptive word that I understand completely) Ninja (aren't these agents of Japanese guerrilla warfare?) Turtles (common reptile). ANYWAY, there is occasional, innocent play revolving around these mutated tortoises at our home.

With what would typically be the head turtle away for the evening, the girls raided Joseph's toy chest, donned the acceptable attire and began a girl version of "engine turtles". This endeavor was led by the youngest of the two, Elizabeth. She explained that all engine turtles were boys, but that now there would be girls also. She would have a pink mask and would be "engine turtle Carol". Play ensued, consisting mostly of posing for pictures at the discovery of a camera in the room.

And then it happened. I was instructed on how I too could become an "engine turtle". According to Elizabeth, all I would have to do is raid Joseph's toy chest for dress up, pick an imaginary mask color, come up with a name and then just "use my style" (I guess this last part had something to do with the flash photography.) I wondered how I could ever come up with a name as foreboding as "engine turtle Carol". It was well after bedtime, so I quickly adopted the name "engine turtle Marla" because of how well I thought it would go with Carol.

The evening wound down, teeth brushed, prayers prayed and then bed for the girls. Robert and I very much enjoyed Friday night's "engine turtle" production in the girls room. But what I love most is how God will use my children as an object lesson for me. He did just this in reminding me that it is my job to don the proper attire in order to successfully navigate the time He has graciously given me here on earth.

The Sinful Nature of the Homeschooled

This topic has been churning around in my mind over the past few weeks. I have intended to write about this, but was beat to the punch so to speak by a fellow blogger named Tony Sisk, aka the "Rambling Prophet". What he wrote has been published on the collaborative blog, SBC Impact, and is entitled "Character Formation in Children: Not A By-Product". It's a very good article and I encourage you to read it.

There is a common misunderstanding or assumption (or maybe a little of both) by homeschooling parents. It is assumed that because we are homeschooling our children that the development of godly character will be a natural result and that many of the temptations that ensnare other children will not entrap them.

My children are very young . . . but I can see in each of them the same sinful nature that every other child possesses, homeschooled or not. My kids inherited it from me and my husband, who inherited it from our parents, who . . . . . . . . . Adam & Eve. And man oh man, is it a human default, or what? My 20 month old began showing his sinful nature 4 months ago. There will be temptation to lie, to boast, to hoard, to not control anger, to not control self, to say the words they shouldn't say, to do the things they shouldn't do, to put their selfish desires first, to expose themselves to things that are not good for them, and I'm not even contemplating with this list the things that must come with hormonal changes in adolescence.

The truth is, we're all plagued by it our entire lives. Choosing a homeschool or private school may shield our children from certain influences and peer pressures that we see as harmful and just too risky. But it does nothing to eradicate the innate desire to put self first and do the things that are wrong.

I truly think our best tool is God's Word. That's what works in the lives of Christian adults. How do we resist temptation? It is knowing God's Word, being filled with the Spirit and yielding our stubborn, prideful natures to His Kingship. And we adults fail at this . . . and our children will fail as well. But we can disciple them, we can teach them what God's Word says, we can gently lead them into a faith and relationship with the Father that is their own. That is our highest calling, and I'm asking God to make me better at fulfilling it!

Going Public

Today I have opened my blog to public access rather than invitation only.

This really is more of an experiment . . . making my blog more user-friendly to those who have had trouble accessing it. (The disclaimer is that I may shut it back down to invitation only if I decide I'm uncomfortable with sharing so much with those I don't know!)

I began blogging on August 10th of 2007 . . . the day that God revealed His will for us to serve Him in the capacity of long-term missionaries with the International Mission Board.

The purpose of my blogging is to share with others our journey from here to there, and to share other, more personal things as well . . . our family, my thoughts on varying topics, scripture, struggles, prayer requests, other blogs of interest that I come across and occasionally some things I find to just be funny.

You and your comments are quite welcome here, and I'm honored by your visiting and perusing around.

For those of you who have been reading for some time, you can now load the RSS feed and have a handier pull down menu of posts in your tool bar rather than having to load my entire page to see if there's anything new.

Happy 40th Anniversary to my Mom & Dad!

This day commemorates 40 years that my parents have been married. Below I am pasting the surprise article my dad ran in the local paper that he owns.

All 40 years of their marriage they have devoted their lives to serving the Lord. What God has accomplished through them in the past 40 years amazes me. (and I'm not just referring to their survival of my teenage years !!)

I'm truly blessed to have them for my parents . . . my brother and husband would say the same.

Augghh! Intermittently throughout the day I have tried to convert the pdf I have of the article my dad wrote about their 40th anniversary to a jpeg so I could post it here . . . all to no avail. If I gain the know-how anytime in the near future, I'll return and add it below!!

A Tale of 3 Stitches

My bolt and run, tough and tumble, pugnacious 19 month old boy got a trip to the ER yesterday and received 3 stitches above his lip. In short, he pulled a very small television down from a playroom bookshelf onto his face. From downstairs I heard the “thud” and came thundering up. This tough guy, blood rubbed all over his little face, was fine from the moment I picked him up. Nevertheless, the episode dominated the day.

Robert, who was testing computers at the time and whom I could only contact by text message, had to stop what he was doing and come home to escort Sam to the ER while I tried to continue our homeschool day.

Samuel, by the way was a trooper. God answered mine and my oldest 3 children's prayers to make this a very gracious ER visit. Samuel's behavior was remarkable and made it easy for Robert; and the nurses and doc who attended him were outstanding.

What Kind Of School Am I Running Here?

Talk about unorthodox. The Hamilton homeschool is it. I have 3 current pupils with a 19 month old contender up and coming. We fly by the seat of our pants most of the time. But learning does take place . . . and even discipleship.

Truly I think we are somewhere between homeschooling and unschooling. Those who would subscribe to the idea of unschooling would say I'm not an unschooler. We do have curriculum, but it is unscheduled and done when it works for us. Those who are more structured homeschoolers would think I'm just nuts.

I started the school year with a schedule, some 'teacher books' that accompany the curriculum and a routine. Soon after the schoolyear began the schedules, the teacher books and the routine were toted out to the curb with the diapers and other garbage we escort to the sidelines of our suburban street on a regular basis.

But I guess that's what homeschooling is all about . . . doing what works for us regardless of the opinions, successes or failures of others.

Case in point was today, which began with a rough start. I was diagnosed with hip bursitis yesterday and given a cortisone shot in the right hip. (that's right, even 38 year olds can have bursitis . . . I went online to find some hip bursitis jokes . . .there are none. but i did find one thing funny:a link that says "Find Hip Bursitis Coupons, Deals and Discounts.") Anyway, I awoke with some soreness this morning.. . . enough to warrant an over the counter pain pill. (In hindsight . . . the Motrin would have been a wiser choice.) I took the Aleve. And for some reason it, and what I ate for breakfast, refused to stay in my stomach!!

Needless to say, the kids found extra free time this morning and made the most of it. Then we did Bible study. After Bible study I still wasn't feeling quite right so I put a movie on for them: The Veggie Tales version of Jonah. It's a movie that they haven't seen in such a long time, and have been requesting to see again for weeks.

After lunch we cleaned house. Then we did math and language arts. We signed cards for aunt and grandmother who are soon to have a birthday. Afterwards was outside playtime, followed by reading. Elizabeth (4) actually read to Katherine (7) today while Joseph (5) read to me and Samuel napped. I'm so proud of Katherine. She did very well. She was patient and careful to not tell any words to Elizabeth, but to just encourage her to try again if she sounded out a word incorrectly.

We did not do science or hand writing or history or spelling or read-a-louds (of which is rarity . . . we NEVER skip read-a-louds). But I'm proud of the day we did have. I'm proud of most of the days we have . . . but a camera hidden in our house somewhere would most likely warrant ridicule and possibly even interference from the nosiest, most opinionated of today's homeschool culture. I'm okay with that!

A Quote - Resting on His Blood & Righteousness

Here's a quote I read on a blog today . . . one that I frequent on a regular basis just from interest. I'm pasting it in to save my readers from outclicking to yet another blog.

I don't know anything of the author . . . but I sure do like the quote:

"There is nothing in us or done by us, at any stage of our earthly development, because of which we are acceptable to God. We must always be accepted for Christ’s sake, or we cannot ever be accepted at all. This is not true of us only when we believe. It is just as true after we have believed. It will continue to be true as long as we live. Our need of Christ does not cease with our believing; nor does the nature of our relation to Him or to God through Him ever alter, no matter what our attainments in Christian graces or our achievements in behavior may be. It is always on His “blood and righteousness” alone that we can rest."

B. B. Warfield on why the gospel is needed for believers

This and That

So little time for blogging these days . . . but here's some updates!

• Samuel has reached, in his sweet 19 month old mind, a pinnacle of accomplishments. He can climb to the top of the dining room table. (Mom needs to be a little more on top of making sure everything gets cleared off the table after breakfast!) We grabbed camera and giggled as we watched him truly enjoy himself for a "second breakfast"?

Hallelujah, I've made it to the top of the table!

Ahh! it's the sugary good stuff!

Second breakfast!

• We have shared with some of our friends from church about God's leading in our lives to the Italian Brazilians of Caxias do Sul, Brazil, and our process of appointment with the International Mission Board. Those with whom we have been able to get one on one with so far are encouraging and supportive, but at the same time a little saddened to lose pastor and pastor's wife, and of the future long-distance friendship vs. the close fellowship we enjoy now.

• QUESTION: Are you as disgusted as I am in Bush calling on Israel to end their "occupation"? In case you've missed this, check out this story . There is also an interesting post on a blog I frequent that gives what this "request" specifically means for Israel.

• Here is a great way for memorizing Scripture. You join for free, pick your program or design your own program for Scripture memory. Then you receive an email daily to help you in learning the verse you're on (1 verse a week). If it is a verse you already know, you can advance to the next. The brilliant way to use this is to review, review, review. I'm in my 6th week of using this program and have memorized 10 verses so far. There are many other tools out there for reading, studying, hearing and memorizing God's word that are free.

• And, last of all, "Dance, Dance Revolution". We are PS2ers, when time allows, and through Robert's supplemental job he acquired a dance pad and game disc. It is fun . . . although I have proven to my family (I've been telling Robert this for years) that I am the most uncoordinated person when it comes to things like this. It's fun all the same. We have dual dance pads and can compete against one another. (Pictures are forthcoming!)

Sharing Christ With Those Who Don't Know Him

Here is a useful post I came across today put out by Lifeway. It is viable research on the unchurched of the good ol' U.S. . . . what theunchurched think about church, what they think about someone sharing their faith, etc. all conducted by USA Today. I share it here on my blog for anyone who is interested in reaching the lost of our culture (that should be ALL of us)!

The emphasis of it is our being relational and sharing our faith.

Here's some methods for sharing Christ with others. It's enormously useful to be familiar with the methods, but the most important thing that God keeps impressing on my heart is to just know His Word and be led by the Spirit.

One Verse Evangelism - (The Navigators) - good, very simple evangelism method, but a little rewording needs to be done as anyone without Christ needs to be led to repentance. It might be good to add this where the word "trust" is discussed.

F. A. I. T. H. - a very good method and the training for the program is done very well. The only hang up is that it could be misconstrued in a way that makes it the "selling heaven" method. Lifeway has apparently re-vamped the training of this program and it was to be released in December. I have yet to see the new materials, but anticipate that it will be very good. The last training program was very good.

Romans Road - tried and true . . .this method has been around for a long time.

The Way Of The Master - street witnessing (to people you don't know) that seems to be connecting with the culture.

The Four Spiritual Laws - another method that claims great success

Evangelism Explosion - tried and true again . . . been around a long time . . . can, again, be misconstrued as "selling heaven" and seems to gloss over the repentance part a little. Faith/trust is key, but repentance is key also.

This list is by no means comprehensive . . . but just the ones I'm familiar with. And again, these are good tools, but they are only tools. God is teaching me that the most important thing is reliance on Him!

A word of caution . . .beware of any program that claims there is only one correct way, or even one most effective way, to share Christ.

Beautiful Feet

That's right. I took a picture of my kids feet the first of this week. And throughout the week we're talking about what the Bible has to say about feet. It's fun, and I share it here not to educate anyone reading, but to just have something my kids and I can go back to and remember our talk of feet.

As an aside, I love the feet of children . . . especially babes. They are just wonderful to me . . . fun to play with and look at.

We started, of course, with the One whose feet were pierced for us. Psalm 22:16. It's a beautiful thing to see such young hearts so tender for the Savior who died in their place.

We talked of the woman in Luke 7 (v. 36-50) who washed the feet of Jesus with her tears. We talked of footwashing: a civility very common in those hot countries, where walking without stockings, and only with sandals, they needed washing. This was usually done by the servants of the house. Jesus had been invited to dine at the home of this Pharisee but had not been given water to even wash His own feet. We talked of the sinfulness of this woman, the love Jesus has for the lost and the example she set in worshiping. The extravagance of washing His feet with her tears and drying His feet with her hair, the extravagance of the perfume all for Jesus. She had no consideration for appearances.

We talked of Mary anointing the feet of Jesus with expensive perfume in the presence of many others at the home of the resurrected Lazarus (John 12).

We talked of Jesus washing the feet of the disciples, illustrating His humility and setting an example of forgiving one another and serving one another sacrificially. (John 13)

We've talked of the "foot of pride" (Psalm 36:11); how God's Word is a lamp to our feet (Psalm 119:105); and a warning that there are feet who run to evil . . . who swiftly and hastily are eager for destruction (Proverbs 1).

Today we will talk of beautiful feet (Romans 10:15) . . . the feet that are shod with the gospel of peace (Ephesians 6) and bring good news of Jesus' love and forgiveness to the lost. We will talk of the promise of satan one day being crushed under our feet (Romans 16:20); And that one day we will be able to worship at the very feet of Jesus (Rev. 22).

And there's much, much more. . . many verses of God's providence . . . of His not allowing our feet to slip, not allowing us to stumble, putting our feet on high places, enlarging our steps so we do not fall, subduing enemies under our feet, and the list goes on, and on.

Have you noticed the trend as of late for (especially in the summer time) of feet that are pampered, manicured, adorned and even massaged? Not that there's anything wrong with any of this. In fact, this last summer I saw some very pretty feet. Although I quickly must add some if this is tied with our cosumeristic and self-centered culture.

I have feet that are, especially this time of year, dry and cracky. I have, what I like to call, chubby toes. I've never thought my feet are very pretty. And, in truth, I have never cared much that they are not.

But I want my spiritual feet to be lovely. I want feet that are shod with the gospel of peace; feet that bring good news to those who are oppressed by simply the fact they do not know the love of our Lord. I want my heart and my lips to be full of praise for the God who sets my feet on high places, who enlarges my steps so I do not fall and who keeps my feet from stumbling. I want my children to stand secure on the promises of God and I want the path of our feet to always be enlightened by the Lamp that is the Word of God.

All the while yearning for the day that satan is crushed under my feet and, most of all, the day that I may worship at the feet of Jesus.

It is my prayer for my family, myself and for you, my reader, that your feet be swift to do the will of God, that your feet carry you to share the good news of our Lord to those who need it and your path forever be enlightened by the Word of our Lord.

A Sad State of Affairs, part 1

A well known pastor blogger in the blogworld has blatantly, falsely and very publicly accused an upright brother in Christ of racism. Taking words completely out of context and then twisting them in such a way as to bring political advantage to himself within his denomination is what he is guilty of doing. This is a "man of God" who is to be a model to the church he pastors and the community in which he lives. I am repulsed by his behavior and await a public apology. I am not giving details of names and webites because I have no desire to draw readers of my blog into the muck and mire of self-elevation, lies and pride. But I do want to use this circumstance to address an issue that is so prevalent in the community of believers, and that would be the issue of pride.

At the heart of slander, attacks, wrong assumptions and accusations is pride. It is arrogance that causes one to think that their interpretation and opinion of another's words is more accurate than the intentions of the author/speaker of them. What if all relationships were like this? What if our marriages, friendships, co-worker relationships, etc. were all based on our opinion of what someone has said rather than ever taking care to learn the true intentions? What if we dealt with Scripture this way . . . our interpretation rather than a hermeneutical effort, our reliance on the Spirit within us and the other Scripture to determine what the Bible is really saying? There are many, many false religions that have resulted from just this very thing. I'm sure you catch my drift here . . . the meaning of words lies with the author of them.

Pride can be exposed as it was by the servants of Naaman in 2 Kings 5. Naaman's prideful heart was offended by being addressed by Elishas's servant rather than Elisha himself. He was offended by even the idea of going down into the dirty Jordan river. However, at the urging of his servants, he had a change of heart. He humbled himself and went into the Jordan 7 times as Elisha's messenger had instructed. As a result, Naaman was was cleansed.

Pride can be exposed, but exposure alone does not accomplish the cleansing and healing that is necessary. There has to be a change of heart. We are given many examples in Scripture of those who were filled with pride and never were repentant and cleansed of that. It is sad, and I pray that this will not be the case in the recent chain of events on the SBC blogworld.

Our job remains living in such a way as to be ready to give an account . . . making the most of our time here on earth. It means encouraging and lifting one another up as the Spirit prompts. It means discerning truth in all circumstances. It means being humble and guarding our hearts against the destructiveness of pride as our inherent sinful natures make all of us prone to it. It also means revealing pride, warning others and holding one another accountable for the damaging effects that pride has on another brother in Christ.

Pride is a matter of the heart. It's effects are damaging and long reaching. A dear friends recent call to prayer is a poignant call indeed. What remains to be seen is whether or not there will be a personal choice, a changed heart, resulting in a repentance, cleansing and healing. I hope so.

Recruiting Prayer Partners

We are looking for prayer partners . . . . people who are willing and committed to interceding for the lost of Caxias do Sul and the surrounding area, and who will pray for us through our appointment process, language school and time in the mission field. The people who partner with us will receive detailed information (probably by means of a monthly email or newsletter) on specific prayer requests. If you are willing to partner with us in prayer, please contact us and let us know.

Prayer is our most coveted and vital objective right now. The best and most effective way you can take an active part in this ministry is through your prayers.

Please join with us in what God is calling us to do and begin praying with us for God to condition the hearts of the people in Caxias do Sul to be receptive to the sharing of Christ. Please pray as well for the elimination of our debt, the selling of our house, the selling of our assets, our health and our ability to keep our eyes fixed on the vision and calling that God has placed before us. Our desire is to have a minimum of 100 intercessors committed to regular prayer for the lost of Caxias do Sul and for us before leaving for the mission field. Would you faithfully partner with us?

Tristan Hostetter

I have, through a recent email, come in contact with a family in Florida . . . the Hostetter's. The purpose of this posting is to ask you to join me in prayer for them. Here's a synopsis of their story. And here's where you can get a better understanding of T-18 or Edward's Syndrome.

What I love about them is that they are celebrating every moment of this boys life. It is beautiful. They are focused on Tristan and on what God is accomplishing in them through this heart-wrenching season of life.

And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose. Romans 8:28

Speed Bumps and Potholes

We have, along with our IMB candidate consultant, developed a timeline that would most likely put us overseas in language school in October. (wondering where we're going? - click here) However, we have had some recent and some current medical issues which are causing the money that would be used for debt elimination to be allocated toward doctors, tests and a visit to the ER (which, as medical things always do, add up to an large amount). This would slow down our process of getting to the mission field. We do have medical insurance which is provided to us by the church, but the deductibles and copays will be hitting us hard and don't fit into our current budget.

So we have a couple of options. The first option is to delay our timeline. I don't know what the alternate timeline would be as of yet, but when I do, I will post it. The other option is to try and raise some support. With the International Mission Board we are completely supported through the Cooperative Program of the Southern Baptist Convention. Our IMB support will begin when we are in Virginia for our orientation (August on the current timeline). But in order to continue on this timeline, we will need some additional support to cover the recent medical expenses and help with the elimination of some debt such as seminary and some past medical expenses.

So in the next few nights, Robert and I will be writing a support letter. We had been intending to write one anyway, seeking prayer support. But now we will share our need for financial support as well. Please keep us in your prayers. (This is an enormously hard task for me, but I'm blessed to be married to a man who, in a situation such as this, is good to ante up and do what needs to be done.)

I share this information on my blog not seeking financial support, but prayer support. Please continue in prayer for debt elimination and the selling of our house. And please add to your prayers our health, and that we would keep our eyes on the vision God has set before us and not get discouraged by the speed bumps and potholes along the way. And, as always, please pray for the people of Caxais do Sul, that God would condition their hearts for the gospel.

A New Year Is Upon Us!

Last year was yet another year of our earthly experience of God's phenomenal grace. It was filled with blessings and trials, happiness and sadness, easy times and hard.

The year starting today holds many challenges for our family and I am comforted by the assurances that we are His possession and our citizenship is in heaven. I am grateful for the time and opportunities we are allowed here on earth and ask God wisdom, discernment and power to make the most of them this year.

Join me in resolution to make this a year for sharing Christ, defeating obstacles that stand in our way and living our lives purposefully for the glory and honor of our most deserving God.

At this start of the new year my focus is on this passage of Scripture: 2 Cor. 3:4 - 2 Cor. 5:9. I hope you are encouraged, strengthened and given a more eternal perspective by it as I am.

Thanks for taking time to peak into our lives through the blog and joining with us in yet another year of Adventuring With God.

Happy New Year!

We Have Become Skypers

Have you heard of Skype? Well I hadn't until I began reading blogs of missionaries and learned of this wonderful, free downloadable software. It allows computers to connect to one another (much like email) but has text, voice and video capability. Robert purchased a web-cam with Christmas money. My parents and in-laws have just purchased web cams as well. And now, we can call each other and see each other live on our computers as we're talking. That may not be amazing to some of you, but it just about knocks my socks off.

What this means is that when we are in Brazil we will be able to SEE and talk to our loved ones all the time through our computers, for FREE! Blessings abound! If you have a skype account and want to add someone else with skype to your list of contacts, all you need is their email address.

My very old computer will not do the video, and it only has a 50% success rate with the audio. But Robert's laptop works great and it works well for our family. However, my computer does very well with text messaging, so if you want to try it out, my email address is kerrihamilton@cebridge.net. Robert's is roberthamilton@cebridge.net.

Happy Skyping!

Another Good Soup Recipe

We're having taco soup tonight. Another one of my and Robert's favorites. Kids?--not so much. They're having Wacky Mac, pineapple and baby spinach.


Here's the recipe (and it's EASY!):

Taco Soup
1 lb. ground beef
1/2 onion
2 cans Mexican stewed tomatoes
1 can Rotel
1 can corn
1 can cream corn
2 cans Ranch Style beans
2 cans Great Northern Beans
1/4 c. taco seasoning

Chop onion and brown with ground beef in skillet. Drain off the grease. Blend Mex. stewed tomatoes & Rotel in blender, then pour into pot. Add meat, corn, crm. corn, Ranch Style beans, Northern beans, and 1/4 c. taco seasoning. That is IT! The longer it cooks, the better. It's done when the flavor is rich and it has a thick soup/stew consistency. You can eat it with cheese on top and tortilla chips or with cornbread. It's great both ways. Fritos and a dollop of sour cream might be good too, if you like those things. (You could actually use almost any type of bean you want, but the recipe as is, is very tasty, and very easy.)

A Wonderful Christmas!

This was a wonderful Christmas for me and our family. If we stay on our current schedule, it was our last Christmas in the states for quite a while, but it couldn't have been better.

Here's some things I loved about it:

• that God loved us so much He became one of us, lived a perfect life and then chose to pay the price for our wrong-doing in giving His life
• Christmas Eve with church family whom we love
• Christmas Day with my parents who are so beloved and precious to all of us
• Christmas Eve day of children opening gifts from our loved ones in Alabama
• Christmas cookies that we made and decorated
  
• how we did gifts . . . our family of six drew each others names and every one put a lot of thought into the gift(s) they purchased for their select recipient
• our time together
• the blessing of many friends who are so dear to us
  
• hot chocolate with marshmallows
• "What God Wants For Christmas"
  
• hay ride and the chopping down of our Christmas tree
• the loveliness of the tree all decorated and lit
• the wonderful Christmas card given to Robert and I by my parents
• Christmas cards we received from friends (especially the ones with pictures)
• our family privately shopping for Christmas angels
• our church family shopping for Christmas angels
• our Advent wreath and the times we celebrated the first advent of Christ together
• the Christmas pageant at our church
• reading our Christmas books
• my dad's steaks
• learning about the "turducken" (a partially deboned turkey stuffed with deboned duck, stuffed with deboned chicken stuffed with stuffing) that my in-laws cooked for their Christmas dinner in Alabama . . . intriguing, isn't it?
  
• the excitement of children at Christmastime
• our children's expressions of love for God in their prayers, their songs and their art

Our Willingness to Just Be Relational

God works through our relationships in drawing others to Himself. Here's a Christmas story of salvation called "An Awesome Christmas Gift". It is a story of God blessing our willingness to just be relational with other people. I hope you are blessed and encouraged by it.

Let's make investments in relationships . . . it's really why we're still here on earth and not home in heaven yet!


For God, who said, "Light shall shine out of darkness," is the One who has shone in our hearts to give the Light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ. 2 Cor. 4:6

Merry Christmas!

See how great a love the Father has bestowed on us, that we would be called children of God; and such we are . . . I John 3:1

May you and your family be overwhelmed and blessed by the love of our Lord!

Very Funny!

Take a close look at this magnetic nativity book set. What about this is just wrong?


No, it's not the wise men . . . although the wise men were never at the manger. Jesus was actually toddler age when the wise men got to Bethlehem, and I doubt Mary and Joseph lived in the stable during all that time!!!

This is even funnier . . . something definitely out of place.

Scroll back up and look again.


Did you find it?

Here it is:

funny!

Tah Dah!

We have done it! We have requested a job assignment with the International Mission Board that has been reserved for us. Knowing where we are going gives feelings of relief, privilege, excitement, sobriety and love.


After running the long, arduous course of education on the lostness of so many parts of the world, we have settled on one place in particular. This has been difficult. Our hearts have been broken for so many regions and people groups in this process.

Before going on with the specifics, let me encourage everyone: educate yourself on the lostness of our world . . . places like South Asia that is referred to as the "heart of darkness" and the thousands of people groups (over 6,000) who await someone to come and tell them about Jesus. The lost are everywhere. Right now our world population is 6.61 billion. The population of unreached people groups is 2.72 billion. That's 41%. Unreached means they don't have the gospel. Staggering, isn't it?

Visit the Joshua Project or People Groups .Visit the International Mission Board and read about opportunities to go . . . short term, long term, ministry teams from your church (from teenagers to retirees), your family vacation, so on and so on. Give to the Lottie Moon offering that goes to support over 5,300 missionaries who are already engaged with lost people groups.

There are lost here in the U.S. - - everywhere, and ministry in the culture in which we are a part is so important. We are blessed to know so many who pastor, teach, lead, foster, adopt, do prison ministry, counsel the unwed pregnant, share Christ with neighbors, co-workers, grandchildren, and the list goes on. But God has asked us to go, and we've said yes. Finally, we know where!

Here's the whole scoop! We are going to Caxais do Sul in Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil, South America. There is much we don't know, but here's some things we do know:

• The city of Caixas do Sul is the center of Italian culture in Rio Grande do Sul, and in southern Brazil. It is also the least evangelized city in the state. It is located in the northern mountainous region of the state of Rio Grande do Sul.

• Brazilians of Italian descent are one of Brazil's least evangelized cohesive people groups. Due to their isolation and density of numbers (about 540,000), Italians in the state of Rio Grande do Sul have proven to be particularly resistant to evangelization, in a state that is known for being the most resistant to evangelization (southern Brazil is one of the biggest challenges)

• Brazilian Portuguese will be the primary language of use and study, but we will be learning Italian as well for the evangelization of the smaller rural communities where Italian is still the "heart language" of the people. Language study and cultural acquisition will take approximately one year.

I am overjoyed to have an assignment reserved for us through the IMB. We still have many steps to complete prior to actually engaging this group of people known as the Gaucho. Thanks for your prayers.

k

Our Meeting Yesterday

This second meeting with our IMB Candidate Consultant went very well.

We were asked a lot of questions based on the written materials we have submitted (life sketches, autobiographies, and Christian belief statements) medical questionnaires, etc.

We talked in detail about the rest of the process and about the job assignments we are contemplating.

We are choosing between two jobs: one is in Brazil and another is in South Asia . . . opposite sides of the world to be sure.

We will be doing much research in the next several days. Please keep us in your prayers as we are continuing to seek God.

Let me share a blessing: The friend I had lined up for childcare ended up needing to tend to her sick child. I called another dear friend of ours at about 8:00 a.m. She tweaked her plans for the entire day to stay with our children. It was a tremendous blessing, and our children had a wonderful day. We drove 2 1/2 hours both ways to a meeting that lasted 2 1/2 hours. She cared for our 4 children ages 7 and under for 7 1/2 hours. (It was very hard for me to not share our news with her. But we're close to being able to share this with everyone, and I'm pleased about that!) I'm thankful for dear friends who will sacrifice to help a friend. If you ever read this Tamara, thank you!

"O Katherine! My Katherine!"

She hears this occasionally from me . . . and one day, when she's a little older, I'll read her the poem that I loosely take it from. (written by Walt Whitman in homage to U.S. President Abraham Lincoln after his assassination: "O Captain! My Captain!") I hope she likes it as much as I do.

Today is my Katherine's birthday.

Wow, I cannot believe my girl is seven years old. She was just close enough to 5 pounds when she was born . . . close enough for the hospital to let us take her home. She was born just a couple weeks early, but I had pre-eclampsia and she had lost weight prior to her birth. She was born fast, beautiful, healthy and as tiny as a baby doll.

Katherine is intelligent, reserved, enormously helpful, service oriented, creative, artistic and very conscientious. Did I say artistic? That is an understatement!

She also is brave when she wants to be, loves any kind of adventure and can run longer (without tiring) than anyone else in our family.

She is a writer of love notes . . .to everyone in our family and to God.

She is a reader . . . 7 years old today and starting her 4th chapter book (she's reading the Magic Tree House series, a chapter each school day.) She reads the Beginner Bible as well in conjunction with where we are in our Bible study and then various other books.

She accepted Christ as her Savior on September 26, 2006 at the age of five. She has a hunger for God's Word and delights in the Bible training she receives.

She struggles with mothering her siblings and employing honesty in all circumstances, but has grown leaps and bounds in these areas and continues to grow.

She is burdened for the lost and continues to pray daily for a boy she met at Chick-Fil-A named Sebastian that does not know God.

I'm blessed to have her for my daughter.

I love you Katherine! Happy Birthday!

(sorry for all the changes in font . . . editing trouble)

Join Me For a Cup of Hot Chocolate, part 1

As I sit here enjoying my marshmallow laden cup of hot chocolate my thoughts are many. I'm thinking about the privilege it is to be God's child . . . adopted by Him at such a high price. That, in and of itself, is an outstanding reality that necessitates other mentionable blessings to be listed separately.

Those blessings would be many such as family, children, friendships, the surrounding beauty of God's creation, innocence, laughter, music, balloons, a cozy bed, a comfortable couch, water for bathing and drinking and swimming, a good cup of coffee, an icy cold diet coke and, yes, a marshmallow laden cup of hot chocolate. We enjoy these things because God has made us capable of enjoying them.

So here's my question: When is it that we become consumers rather than just recipients of God's immeasurable graciousness? It is when we turn our eyes on ourselves instead of keeping our focus on God. We are intended to live the Christian life with an eternal perspective. Living our lives most definitely IN the world, engaged IN the world, but never OF the world. It is a complex calling that is ours. Our citizenship is in Heaven. We have to be purposeful in our lives . . . moment by moment, looking for every opportunity.

Jesus said “The eye is the lamp of the body; so then if your eye is clear, your whole body will be full of light.” This means we keep our eyes fixed on Jesus, the Author and Perfecter of our faith. When we do this, we see things as God wants us to see them. When we do this, others are drawn to Christ as we are full of His light.

These are the things that matter most: knowing God, time in His Word, talking with God, and people who are dying every day and do not know Him.

Heb 12:1-2 Therefore, since we have so great a cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let us also lay aside every encumbrance and the sin which so easily entangles us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.

Change of Date, Change of Heart & Coveting Your Prayers

Our in-depth interview with our IMB Candidate Consultant will be tomorrow instead of Wednesday. It just happened that this change worked better for him and works for our "babysitter" as well. As you pray for us, please pray for our dear friend Pam who will have our children. Caring for four children ages 6 and under all day is no small task!

As you know, we have been intently looking at opportunities in the South Asia region. As we learned more about this area, often referred to as the "heart of darkness", our hearts were broken for the predominance of lostness in this area. We've reviewed a host of people groups and IMB job descriptions. But we have yet to find the one group of people that God tells our hearts "YES! - I want you here." In case we are confusing just a general burden for the lost with the specific area God wants us to go, we are beginning to include other parts of the world in our search. Please pray for us. God has told us to go, and we've said yes. But in choosing where we will go, we are seeking God's clear voice and a God-given, inexplainable, deep love for a particular people group.

After prayer and much conversation we have sent off for some other job descriptions. One of them is to the unengaged, very secularized Jews of Brazil. Those of you who know us very well know that we already have a strong love for the Jews (many stories about the history of this, but must wait until another time). We will be considering as well a couple of opportunities to share Christ in the Pac Rim region to animistic catholics, an opportunity to the Italian-Brazilians in Brazil and another to non-muslim South Asians who are in the UK.

One of my original prayer requests was prayer for where in the world God wants us to go. Partner with us in continuing to pray as we feel God prompting our hearts to be in tune with His in finding the place He would have us to go.

Sore Throats and Winter Recipes

It's another "sick day" for us . . . school continues to be out. The 3 oldest have sore throats and sporadic fevers. The doc determined it was viral, not strep. So we're waiting it out with Motrin & Tylenol as needed.

We did make some hot chocolate mix today. This is the best hot chocolate EVER! Here's the recipe:

HOT CHOCOLATE MIX
3 2/3 c. Nestle Quick
10 2/3 c. dry milk
3 3/4 c. powdered sugar
4 2/3 c. dry coffee mate

Heaping 1/3 c. mix to one coffee cup hot water. Top with marshmallows (of course) and enjoy!

Tonight, by special request, we're having chicken and dumplings. It is very good. But I'm looking forward to potato soup. Last year I trial and errored until I came up with this recipe. It is very good.

POTATO SOUP
1/2 onion chopped very well
1 clove garlic minced
6 c. chicken stock (can use broth if no stock)
2 T. butter
2 T. flour
diced potatoes to desired amount (depends on the size of your pot!)
salt
pepper
chopped baby spinach leaves (to desired amount)
2 c. half and half

Cook onion, garlic, butter and potatoes with salt and pepper in stock until done. Take some stock out, add 2 T. flour to it and then add back in. Add chopped spinach and cook a little longer. Add 1/2 & 1/2 at the very end and serve.


Nothing about either of these recipes is low in calories, but oh, are they tasty! Enjoy!

School's Out!

Second day of no homeschool this week . . . sick kids. My guess is strep throat. I'm taking the sickest (Elizabeth) to the doc this afternoon to see if he will confirm my hypothesis. If so, we'll get meds for all 3. Elizabeth & Joseph have fever and soar throat, Katherine, who started symptoms later than the others, is sure to follow suit.

(We'll do some Bible and read favorite books, but that's about it!)

Samuel is doing better with ear infection. It is my understanding that 18 month olds don't get strep, but I'm not certain about that. The earliest any of the others had strep was 3. If you know different, let me know!

Exposure: would have to be Target or Toys R Us . . . shopping for Christmas "angels"

And now for something completely different: Huckabee is climbing up in the polls. I'm excited about that. He's actually the only candidate with a shot at the Pennsylvania Street address that I would be able to vote for. (I could never vote for anyone who is pro-abortion or someone who is married to a cultic religion . . . casting a vote for the lesser of two evils is not something I feel comfortable doing.)

Share Christ's love with someone today!!!

My Long Hiatus.

It's been a month since my last entry. I have so many ideas for blogging, but so little time. There's much to tell of kids, our progress of becoming missionaries through the IMB, and my current personal thoughts on God's revelation of Himself through Elijah (the kids and I are currently studying him, and he's about to pass the baton on to Elisha).

I have one with ear infection and two with mystery high fever at the moment so this will be sketchy at best! (make that 3 - - Katherine has fever now as well). Poor kiddos!

1. Thanksgiving was wonderful . . . our last in the states. My parents, brother & his family along with Robert's parents, his sister and daughter were all here. It was a blessing to have everyone together.

2. We're meeting with our IMB consultant on December 19^th for our first in-depth interview. We've both written and submitted autobiographies, life sketches, Christian belief statements, reference forms for us and our children, and transcripts from universities and seminaries.

3. Our family has stumbled on the opportunity this Christmas to shop for 30 children who have been designated as needful this Christmas season. That has been a blessing to all of us. Our church shopped for a total of 80 and for a local crisis family center.

That's us in a nutshell . . . please pray for our 4 kiddos who are sick with high fevers at the moment.

Listen Up Neighborhood, Jesus Loves You!

My daughter Elizabeth, who just turned 4, has spent this afternoon in the backyard on the trampoline shouting every song she knows about Jesus. She has especially spent time shouting the words to the song “Shout To The North & The South . . . . Jesus is Savior to all, Lord of heaven & earth“. She stopped at one point and came inside to ask me if it was bad manners to be shouting so loud in the backyard. I told her she could be as loud as she wanted to outside. I also added that maybe others in the neighborhood would enjoy hearing her sing songs about God, and that certainly God enjoyed it. She then went outside and shouted the above title, "Listen up neighborhood, Jesus loves you!". She sang a little for the possible invisible audience of our neighborhood, and then resumed singing just to God.

So simple is the faith of our children. We could learn so much from them. We complicate things and analyze things to the minute detail (when “the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men” I Cor. 1:25) . . . but that Jesus loves us, that it's joyfully fulfilling to praise Him and that God loves everyone else too are the most profound of truths that we have. I watched her and I recalled David - - praising God amongst the sheep and then dancing before the Lord as the Ark was led back into Jerusalem. God is glorified and we are edified by our adoration of Him . . . and our praising Him is a testimony.

May our adoration of our precious Lord be perpetual . . . and when it is not, may we be convicted into a right perspective once again.

two more joining in the chorus
left to right: Elizabeth, Joseph & Katherine

Cracked Pots

We have much that lies ahead of us. The area to which we currently think God is leading us (South Asia) is an area which we will not be bringing anything but us and our clothes. So we would have ahead of us the liquidation of everything!

No matter where we go, ahead of us as well are the interviews, conferences and training with the IMB, the sharing of our being called to full-time missions with our church, of which Robert is the pastor, and the goodbyes to our beloved family.

We have ahead of us the learning of another language and another culture.

Our hearts are eager to do what God is calling us to do. Parts of it will be very hard . . . but our hearts are thrilled with His directing us to a particular region of the world that He wants us to go to.

We embrace all the changes that lie ahead, knowing that many of them will be difficult for us and those we love. We embrace whatever degree of sacrifice God is calling us to as well, knowing that it may possibly be more than we ever imagined. We are humbled and privileged by His conditioning our hearts to obey the Great Commission and go where He directs us. How can we not obey God?

(An important aside: We are no greater than any other Christian who is following God. I am personally so afraid of being elevated in the eyes of others. We want God to receive all the glory. It belongs to Him. He is the One who accomplishes great things, according to His purposes through us. We are all just the cracked pots He graciously shines His Light through. We are sinners saved by the amazing grace of God, just like every other believer. We have no calling different or higher than the calling to every other believer. It's only the location of where God is leading us that may be different.)

Since God's revealing His will for us in August of this year we have learned much . . . we have grown much. We've been encouraged through God's Word and through the stories of others following God as well.

There is one family in particular (the Phams) who have given me the okay of putting a link to their blog, which is a journal of their journey of God's leading them to Lima, Peru. I think the entries on their blog may be a help to those loved ones who would like a more knowledgeable glimpse into many of the things that lie ahead in the leaving of this culture and going to another. They are currently in Costa Rica at a language school. Although our destinations are most likely different parts of the world, there are many similarities between our family and theirs. I hope you are encouraged as we have been by what you find on their blog. And I hope that you will find yourself in prayer for them and their ministry. I've listed their blog in the margin under “Favorite Blogs”.

If you don't have or take the time to acquaint yourselves with our new e-friends, the Phams, please do at least view their slideshow. It gives a great picture of where God is leading them!

IMB News

International Mission Board News worth checking out:

82 new missionaries appointed by the International Mission Board Nov. 7

See story

New budget, successes and goals after the November meeting of the IMB

See story

Pecan Gathering & Tractor Riding

We went to my parents house Sunday afternoon for the best steak on the planet (my dad is very gifted in grilling steaks, chicken, sausage, mushrooms, onions, peppers, hot dogs, WHATEVER to complete perfection. It is a gift, I'm sure of it!). We also gathered pecans from under their pecan trees. And each of the kids got a turn with pop on his little tractor (a riding lawn mower, but a tractor to my kids!) It was wonderful fun. Some pictures I wish I would have gotten: Robert up a pecan tree shaking it to get more pecans to fall, my kids getting to be up in the tree with Robert one at a time, and my mom picking up pecans with my kids. But here's some pictures I did get:

Robert and the girls cracking & shelling pecans on the porch.

Pop with Katherine & then Joseph!

Pop with Elizabeth & then Samuel!

Calvinism in the SBC

What's all the hullabaloo in the SBC convention about Calvinism? Don't take the word “hullabaloo” and assume I don't know anything about Calvinism, or Armenianism for that matter. I've studied the two. But what I know for certain is this: These are non-essentials.

As for words like predestination, free-will, foreknowledge . . . these words are certainly in the Bible. We should study them and discuss them, and hopefully grow from our discussion of them. But let's also realize that these are non-essentials. There are in fact ramifications of both Calvinistic and Arminian positions that can be very hazardous to us as believers and to the perception of who God is. My plea is for us, as a family of believers, to stay focused on who God IS and engaged in culturally relevant ministry . . . careful to know God's Word and always keep it in context. Let's not waste time and effort on taking sides, drawing lines and adamantly defending positions against one another.

First, let's consider God. And let me start this with my favorite phrase: “God is God, and we are not.” Free will and election are His to give or not give to whatever extent He desires, and His sovereignty is not dependent on either. The same of His foreknowledge. All of these are His alone, and our hypothesis about any of it makes no difference. The Bible addresses both free will and election, and when an honest, contextual look is taken, good arguments can be made for both sides. For a Scripturally based glance of the two positions, go here. (This is from a church named Xenos up in Ohio somewhere that usually has some pretty good resources. This particular series of pages is very good in my opinion and worthwhile for review.)

To the Calvinist I would ask the following: If the Spirit prompts every heart (which, according to the Bible is true, ie:“all men are without excuse”Rom.1:20, “it is not God's will that ANY should perish, but that ALL should come to repentance”2 Peter 3:9; "And I, if I am lifted up from the earth, will draw ALL men to Myself." John 12:32) and it is up to the individual to accept or reject according to a God given free will, how does that diminish God's sovereignty? Just because free will in our minds limits God's sovereignty doesn't mean that it actually does. Catch my drift here? We are not God, and we cannot figure Him out. If we could, He certainly wouldn't be my God. Isn't God big enough to give us complete free will and remain completely sovereign at the same time? Really chew on that one for a while. It may be a bigger concept of God than you have ever considered!!

My concern also is that the position of Calvinism can lead to spiritual arrogance, self-centeredness and complacency. Bear with me here as I explain this. 1. Arrogance comes from the idea that I am chosen and “you” (whomever that may be) are not, to be God's child. Which would have to mean: the Bible says Christ died for all, but not really . . . He died for the salvation of the elect and the damnation of the rest. YIKES! 2. Complacency is also a real danger for this theology because “everyone God calls is going to heaven no matter what I do.” - - so why “do”? Although I do not see many signs of this one in the Calvinists that I know, it is still a logical concern. 3. Self-centeredness is a bedfellow to complacency because if the focus is not on reaching the lost, than individual, personal discipleship is what matters most, which would feed the consumer mentality already so prevalent in our churches. I see this just about everywhere I look. Let me be quick to say that our relationship with God and our spiritual growth should be paramount to each of us. But there has to be a fervent desire, ardent prayer life and impassioned sharing of our faith in hopes that ALL will come to know the Lord as Savior. Calvinism itself does not teach or promote
these ideals directly (arrogance, complacency & self-centeredness). But the logical following of this theology can have these results. I'm not making a presumption here. I have first hand knowledge of this. I also have Calvinist friends and acquaintances who are plagued by this in their spiritual lives as well as confessions I've read from former Calvinists.

Secondly there's the problem with double-predestination. If God appointed certain people to Heaven, then the natural following is that God has appointed certain people to hell as well. Ask yourself if this fits with the God of the New Testament and the dispensation of grace in which we are living.

Moving to the other side, there are problems with Arminianism as well. Total depravity, conditional election, unlimited atonement and resistible grace are all biblical. However, the Arminian theology can sometimes lead to a diminished perception of God's sovereignty. This is tragic. However, as I addressed in my second paragraph, if someone has a correct view of God and an understanding that our finite and fallen wisdom cannot begin to grasp the extent of His sovereignty, then this wrong perception of God's sovereignty can be avoided. Gods granting freedom of choice in the area of salvation does not mean freedom of choice in all areas of life. The Bible clearly teaches God's sovereign choice of nations for specific roles (Ezek.38:4; Ps. 33:10; Ps. 2:1-6), and even of individuals for the roles they play in His national strategy (Isa. 45:1; Dan. 4:32,34-35). Other passages clearly teach that God sovereignly decides what spiritual gifts we get (1 Cor. 12:11), and our specific ministry callings (Gal. 1:15,16). (excerpt from the page I linked to above with the word "here")

Second, Arminians can easily put too much personal pressure on their act of service in witnessing to others . . . looking only to results and forgetting the important part that the Spirit has in the timing and drawing of the lost to Christ. The POWER is in the gospel message . . . not in the presentation of it. So the focus for all Arminians has to be sharing, not results. The results are in the realm of the person to whom the Gospel is presented to and God.

And last, the final point of Arminianism (present assurance of salvation) is neither biblical nor logical. Many Arminians, Arminius himself and even John Wesley did not believe in eternal security. However, eternal security is a biblical fact.

My conclusion is: Our theology does not determine God's sovereignty. He's perfectly sovereign no matter what we believe. Our finite minds will never comprehend the things that are in the the realm of God. I will state once again: God is God, and we are NOT! Deuteronomy 29:29 states "The secret things belong to the Lord our God: But those things which are revealed belong to us and to our children forever, that we may do all the words of this Law." We have enough to busy us for a lifetime with the things God has revealed to us!

My plea: Stop wasting time arguing over such issues. Concentrate your energy on sharing the Good News with the lost and in prayer. There's real spiritual warfare going on right on YOUR doorstep. Our enemy probably gets great satisfaction out of seeing Christians bickering over theology rather than engaging in service to the Lord.

Harsh words? Maybe. Necessary? You bet. Let's busy ourselves with the tasks that are most glorifying to the One who has given us so great a salvation.

Now, for the lighter side of things:

Don't Forget to Change Your Clocks

I absolutely abhor the end of daylight savings time every year. Everyone else I know seems to love this time change because of the hour gained. But every year from the end of daylight savings (which is now November) to start of it again (in March), it just feels wrong! (By the way, it was October to April, but a federal law passed in 2005 is in effect that makes it November to March.) My family and I really enjoy the extra hour of daylight. And when we change our clocks, my kids don't change. They will be tired at 7:00 instead of 8:00, and they will be up around 6:00 instead of 7:00. That really throws off my morning - - especially my Bible time. But time change is upon us. Next November we won't be changing our clocks. Are you interested to know what other countries utilize Daylight Savings, and when they change their clocks? Click here.

Don't forget to change your clocks!

this, too, shall be made right

A news story that is heartbreaking:

Baby allegedly used as shield tests positive for meth

Lyrics to a song that is sobering:

Words and Music by Derek Webb (Song and album The Ringing Bell)

people love you most for the things you hate
and hate you for loving the things you can’t keep straight
people judge you on a curve
and tell you you’re getting what you deserve
and this, too, shall be made right

children cannot learn and children cannot eat
stack them like lumber when children cannot sleep
children dream of wishing wells
whose waters quench all the fires of hell
and this, too, shall be made right

the earth and the sky and the sea are all holding their breath
wars and abuses have nature groaning with death
we say we’re just trying to stay alive
but it looks so much more like a way to die
and this, too, shall be made right

yes there’s a time for peace, there is a time for war
there’s a time to forgive and a time to settle the score
a time for babies to lose their lives
a time for hunger and genocide
and this, too, shall be made right

oh I don’t know the suffering of people outside my front door
and I join the oppressors of those I choose to ignore
I’m trading comfort for human life
and that’s not just murder, it’s suicide
and this, too, shall be made right

oh this, too, shall be made right

(I found the above entered on anther blog)

Scripture that describes the yearning for our Lord's return:

Rom 8:19-27 For the anxious longing of the creation waits eagerly for the revealing of the sons of God.

For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of Him who subjected it, in hope

that the creation itself also will be set free from its slavery to corruption into the freedom of the glory of the children of God.

For we know that the whole creation groans and suffers the pains of childbirth together until now.

And not only this, but also we ourselves, having the first fruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting eagerly for our adoption as sons, the redemption of our body.

For in hope we have been saved, but hope that is seen is not hope; for who hopes for what he already sees?

But if we hope for what we do not see, with perseverance we wait eagerly for it.

In the same way the Spirit also helps our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we should, but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words;

and He who searches the hearts knows what the mind of the Spirit is, because He intercedes for the saints according to the will of God.

Scripture that reminds us why we are still here:

2Pe 3:9 The Lord is not slow about His promise, as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing for any to perish but for all to come to repentance.

All of those who belong to God are missionaries . . . right now, right where we are! The Great Commission was given to us ALL!

Samuel Eats Dirt

Now don't act like you haven't eaten dirt yourself . . . you have, even if you don't remember it!!!

I'm having a tough time coming up with stuff to blog about.

Some topics I've thought of: Calvinism in the SBC, Evangelism Training, and some stuff about Moses. But would anyone who reads this blog be interested in any of that?

My real purpose for this blog is to update everyone on our process of becoming IMB missionaries and to train myself to become a “blogger”. I imagine that overseas our computers will be our lifelines to family and friends here in the states. The problem is, we are in a holding pin of sorts right now. We're still awaiting preliminary medical clearance and everything is on hold until we get that.

I can share this: we are looking and looking and looking, and praying and praying and praying about job opportunities all over the globe. Some jobs in Asia seem very interesting . . . unreached people groups coupled with situations that would be optimal for our children. A few places in South America have our attention as well. God will lead us somewhere . . . it will be neat to see where. It may be a completely different part of the world than I even named here!

A blessing to add: In our quest to eliminate debt, Robert's supplemental job has offered him all the overtime he wants at overtime pay. The problem is finding the additional time!

Oh! I have other exciting news as well. Robert and I have stumbled onto the blog of some IMB missionaries (family of 6 like us, kids about all the same ages – 2 boys, 2 girls) who are in language school right now in Costa Rica. Reading their blog has given insights into the transitions we will be making, emotions that we and our children might experience, etc. But the neat part is seeing another normal family like us just following God and getting to share in their journey and pray for them. And by the way, we are normal!!! Just because God asks us to go overseas doesn't mean we're somehow different than any other Christian who is striving to follow God and share their faith with those who don't know Him. I mean look at Samuel . . . he eats dirt like every other 17 month old out there. It doesn't get any more normal than that!

Happy Birthday Elizabeth!

Today our youngest girl is 4.

She came into this world in quite a dramatic way. We were at the hospital, my water had broken and my doctor was just down the hall. He knew from the last delivery that towards the end everything comes fast and hard. I was definitely into the last part of labor. What we hadn't anticipated was the awful nurse that was attending me that night. She was rude and very sarcastic . . . assuming she knew more than me about when to call the doctor. She ended up delivering Elizabeth without even time for rubber gloves. My first glimpse of that sweet little newborn babe is ingrained in my memory for all time. She was so alert, and never cried a tear. Her blue eyes locked on my brown and in that instant we bonded in a mother/daughter relationship that has certainly blessed my life.

There are so many things to tell about Elizabeth. She loves to cook . . . anything from toasting bagels to fajitas. She is very adventurous . . . she's held a snake, gone down the steepest, scariest of slopes, traversed into the darkest of caves and jumped right off the diving board, all with not a hint of fear or caution. And with all of that, she remains the girliest of girls. She is genuinely sweet and quite sentimental. She is also very loving. She can sometimes be a little manipulative in her quest to have things her way!! She is full of zest for life. At 3 and 1/2 years old she was a beginning reader. This was her idea . . . I never would have even contemplated starting her in readers before the age of 4. She is quite independent!

But best of all, she loves Jesus. She's given Him her heart, although I can't say exactly when. At an early 3 she shared with us she had asked Jesus in her heart. And to tell you the truth, we were rather dismissive. How can a 3 year old understand enough about Jesus and sin and forgiveness? But here's what I do know . . . He lives in her heart and she loves Him. When exactly He became Lord of her life is a mystery to me, but certainly one I can live with (as the WHEN seems so insignificant to the WHAT!). And she prays . . . and prays . . . and prays for just about everyone who crosses her path, and seems to never forget a prayer request.

Yesterday we celebrated her birthday together as a family. We are all thankful for God sending us Elizabeth. May we be the stewards God wants us to be as we continue to raise her.

Here's some pictures!

Raising Children To Know God's Word

What can be more paramount than this? It starts with perspective. These are God's kids . . . not ours. He has blessed us in allowing us to be stewards over them . . . but make no mistake, they are His creation and they belong to Him.

Here's some things I do with them:

I go through the entire Bible each year with the kids. Where we are now: Moses has just died on the mountain (Mount Nebo) alone with God, and God buried Him. And we have started the adventure of Joshua and the conquest of Canaan.

We use, as our main text, the book by Catherine F. Vos entitled The Child's Story Bible. It's not watered down like so many other so called Bibles for children. I highly recommend it. Alongside it I choose particular verses from whatever part of the Bible we are in and we discuss them. We get out maps and our globe and see exactly where the Israelites are. It works very well.

Other verses from the Bible I bring up as opportunity presents itself . . . for an example of this, see my blog entry entitled “The Lord Is Special”. We also talk about verses that relate to behavior problems or behavior praises.

Another idea I hope to implement soon is an idea of kids pulling verses out of a hat. I'm going to write down the book, chapter and verse of certain “jewels” in the Bible on card stock paper. Then I'll cut them up and put them in a paper top hot. We'll rotate who gets to draw the verse out of the hat. It will be our special verse for the week for conversation (what does this tell us about God, what does it tell us about us), memorization, links to other verses/stories in the Bible, etc.

I would very much love to hear any of your suggestions on teaching God's Word to to children. What works in your family?

Throwing Up . . . .

the forcible (hopefully involuntary) emptying of stomach contents through the mouth. It goes by many names: vomit, throw up, upchuck, gut soup, ralphing, and barf. We prefer “throwing up”, but I wonder where that term originated.

Anyway, night before last was the the throwing-up-on-the-sheets night here at the Hamilton house. And yes, I'm actually blogging about it. We are just the kind to laugh about the situation even while we're in it. So enjoy with us a tale of puke!

My dear 17 month old Samuel threw up in his crib twice on Monday night. Considering incubation time, we figured he must have caught something from someone at the Saturday night or Sunday morning service of our church.

I became very diligent to make sure the others knew of the potential for virus germs . . . which meant only mom could tend to Samuel and there would be much hand washing.

We were not successful.

Wednesday came . . . a normal homeschooling day for us. Robert was gone all day and I fixed enchiladas for dinner with frozen blueberries that we had picked at the Berry Patch a few months ago for dessert. Bed time came and all was well. But then, at about 9:30 pm, our 6 year old, Katherine, threw up. We missed the whole thing, and upon observation of ground zero, it had been no small event. She came downstairs looking terribly. So came the bath and Robert went upstairs to survey the damage. Did I mention blueberries? The sheets, the light colored carpet and the pink princess rug were quite decorative. When I got Katherine squared away, Robert and I began scrubbing . . . lights on, 3 year old sister asleep in the top bunk, and the careful used of chemicals, wet wipes and rubber gloves. Katherine watched Rikki Tikki Tavi and then Pollyanna until she had finished all she needed to do with the bowl in front of her and was ready to return to a fresh, clean bed.

At 12:30 a.m., our 3 year old, Elizabeth, threw up. Blueberries and enchiladas in the top bunk sheets of the girls room. Robert had gone to bed and I really wanted to let him sleep. I bathed Elizabeth and set her up downstairs with a Little Mermaid movie and a bowl. As I was cleaning the top bunk I heard the sound of her throwing up downstairs. A sleepy 3 year old doesn't always ring the container intended for the collection of gut soup. Sweet, miserable little Elizabeth nailed the couch, her pajamas, and the quilt she was using for a cover. Did I mention blueberries? (This time, amazingly enough, there was not throw up in her hair. I've added this detail for the amusement of all mothers out there who might wonder, as I do, how every child who gets sick to their stomach, no matter the age, gets it in their hair.) Rousing Robert at this point was inevitable. Elizabeth could not be left alone. Of all our children throwing up that night, Elizabeth really had the worst of it . . . eight episodes of vomiting accompanied by painful stomach cramps. After getting the bed changed, Robert was able to attempt more sleep. Three hours from the time of her first throw up, our exhausted three year old was asleep. I carried her up to her bed and was able to go to bed myself a little after 3:00.

At 4:00 we were both awakened by the terrified shrills of our 5 year old Joseph. He had thrown up in his bed, and on the carpet of his room. Did I mention blueberries? I carried him downstairs and began bath downstairs while Robert tended the upstairs mess. Once all was good with him and his room, Robert attempted sleep once again. I sat up with Joseph the rest of the “night”.

On Thursday there was no school. We declared it a family sick day. Temperatures, vomiting and stomach cramps filled the day. Surprisingly, it was really a good day for our family. We did a lot of sitting around, resting, enjoying each others company and watching a lot of movies. Here's some pictures of kids not feeling too good:

As for the mystery of how the germ spread to the others, here's the culprit:

We have discovered that anytime anyone gets water out of the water dispenser, Samuel comes by and sucks the residual water from the dispensers, thus explaining how the other three all got sick at the same time.

Blogging In Spurts

I've not had opportunity to sit and add to blog entries. So below are three new entries with more to follow shortly.

Are You Hearing What I'm Hearing?

All the things coming from the leadership of the SBC . . . at least what I've been able to hear, sounds really good. Is what's being talked at the top going to effectively trickle down? Are we at the brink of an SBC transformation? I hope so! Our lost culture needs it.

Here's a sample of something I recently heard. It is from the 2007 Annual Meeting of the SBC. The guy talking is Ed Stetzer who serves as research team director and missiologist at the North American Mission Board.

Ed Stetzer at 2007 SBC Meeting

More to links follow on this topic at another time!

Blessings Abound

Here's some ways in which God continues to bless us on this journey of serving Him where we are now and journeying to where He wants us next:

• The IMB has granted me 4 credit hours for the 60 hour requirement for long-term missionary service. (Robert must have a Master's degree from seminary (which he has), but I must have at least 60 hours of college. I had 50 hours from a Christian university that I attended, and an additional 6 that I got as continuing education while working at a Christian childcare as a director. The IMB granted me 4 hours for the work I did with Prison Fellowship Ministries. This is a huge blessing to me that I do not have to take a class or two while I'm homeschooling 3 of our 4 children! The 4 hours would have been at my cost since the 60 hour requirement is a prerequisite . . . another blessing!)

• Robert has landed a second job to assist in our paying off debt and school loans. It's a full-time job, but only takes 3 days (Monday-Wednesday, 13 hour days). It is not a fun job by any means, but is a blessing . . . not a burden, and is only for a season. We're hoping that in addition to the income that will go toward eliminating our debt, Robert will have opportunities to share Christ with co-workers . . . outside of the church environment . . . engaging the culture in a way in which he encourages others to share their faith!

• God blessed us yesterday through a dear friend at Pin Oaks. Her gift to us was a blessing that I could only describe as “God blessing our socks off” (one of my mothers favorite sayings).

• In March Robert was told he most likely has degenerative disc disease and definitely had a herniated disc. He was in a lot of pain from it. He had to go to a pain management doctor who administered epidural injections to help manage the pain. Since our journeying into full-time missions, all shoulder and back trouble has vanished! (Missionaries have to meet certain BMI (Body Mass Index) standards, so Robert has shaped and toned up quite a bit.) I guess someone could assume that it is the building of muscle and the loss of extra pounds from tread mill exercise that has helped the problem, but we like to say God! Why would we ever assume otherwise?

The dentist who charged nothing, the Ford Escape selling after having it listed for one day, the ages of our children being so perfect and the timing of God's call coinciding with Robert's graduation from Trinity. . . all blessings. If someone had told me 3 years ago that we, as a family, would be right where we are, right now, I would have thought they were nuts! It's a good thing God leads us the way He does. He doesn't always do things the way we would like, but it's always what's best.

How is God blessing you? I'd love to hear it!