Moses

I just got a great idea from a friend…let's post every day in February…it's the shortest month, after all! (Missed yesterday.... And I will be gone later this month, but will journal and update the blog when I get back.)


So here it goes....
I'm feeling so ill-equipped to do all that God is asking me to do. I have prayed for ministry opportunities and they are falling into my lap. Please pray that I am faithful to do all that I can and to lean on God for strength! I tend to procrastinate when it comes to doing things if I don't know EXACTLY how to do it, so pray for faithfulness to begin and follow through.


I guess I'm feeling and acting a bit like Moses! I guess that's why God had my pastor preach about Moses last Sunday. Three days before I realized it - is that too long? Wonder if God felt like smacking me in the back of the head and saying "WAKE UP!" :) So grateful for His patience.


God will not ask me to do something that He won't equip me for. I guess it's time to get to work!

God is looking for absolute surrender. We must have a willing heart to do whatever He asks, and then trust Him to enable us to do it.... God does love us enough to involve us in His work, and He refuses to leave us where we are when He knows we could be experiencing much more of Him. 

Faithful is he that calleth you, who also will do it. 1 Thes 4:24

Jonah

QT Today - Jonah received instructions from God and disobeyed. He had to be swallowed by a big fish before deciding to obey God. But the heathen king of Ninevah heard God's instructions one time and repented. Let me be more like the king of Ninevah, in that I am quick to repent and obey.

Protect My Life from Fear of the Enemy

I ran across this old post tonight and was reminded of a lesson God taught me almost two years ago. I love when we can see God's hand at work in our lives, in this case, teaching me this lesson long before I would need to put it into action. Thank you, God, for answering this prayer of mine, and for the promise that you will continue to answer my prayers.


I had forgotten about this post.... I couldn't explain after our recent break in how I could have such peace about living in my home and continuing our ministry in South Africa, and here it was an answer to my own prayers!


Jan 18, 2009


Psalm 64:1 Hear my voice, O God, in my prayer: preserve my life from fear of the enemy.

My husband preached tonight. I love to hear him preach - it's fun to see what God is teaching Him and I always am challenged about something new.

This verse wasn't the main focus of his message tonight, but it really spoke to me. There is a lot of crime in South Africa. I am aware of it, but it doesn't control my life. There was a time close to our arrival in the country that I had to battle to keep it from controlling my thoughts, though. God used a beautiful song to teach me to rely wholly on Jesus.

When I heard this verse tonight, I couldn't help but think how applicable this is for so many South Africans tonight! There are many that battle with fear - with what may seem to most like a reason to fear, but David prayed "preserve my life from FEAR of the enemy"! And we know that David had every earthly reason to fear his enemies!

Living in fear can cripple us. It can keep us from serving God and impacting others for Him. I am going to pray that God preserve my life from fear of the enemy. And I will pray that for my friends, as well. I pray that God protect you from harm, but also from fear of the enemy.

News....

This morning we had a break-in at the house. We were all home, and I saw the guys as they approached to break the windows. We are all SAFE! No injuries, and feel at peace - even the kids.... The whole thing only lasted at the most 5 minutes.

I'll start at the beginning - I had just gotten out of bed with Mya at about 6:40. The way our house is setup, it is one long rectangle with the lounge/dining room kitchen at one end, and then the bedrooms down the passage, with a security gate between the two sections. So, I had opened the security gate and sent Mya out to the lounge while I got her stuff to do her hair. As I walked back down the passage the dogs were out back barking and it caught my attention, so I looked Brandon's bedroom window and saw two men. One came through Brandon's window and the other broke the kitchen window. Brandon was woken by the window breaking, but has a tent around his bed, and stayed in it so they didn't even know he was there. When I saw them approaching I screamed to Brad that someone was coming into the house and that Mya was in the lounge, so I ran back to our bedroom to push the panic button and he ran to the lounge and hid her in the couch. She stayed under the pillows and didn't move. 

Once they were in there was no screaming/yelling. I had run back to make sure Brad got to Mya and the kids were ok, and the men approached me in the passage. I just shrank down and hugged my knees and said a couple of times that I had pushed the panic button and they left me and went to the lounge and approached Brad, so I went back down the passage and locked the kids and I in the bedrooms. Marissa got up to see what was going on and I sent her to Brandon's bed. Brad just told them take whatever you want, and they took our 2 laptops and Brad's wedding ring. Brad told them he had some nice tools out back and tried to convince them to go out. One guy came back to the security gate and tried it, but realized it was locked and went out the kitchen window. The other guy stayed by Brad and "threatened" him with a broken bottle, but Brad says he in no way felt threatened. He felt that there was no way that the guy would follow through on his threats. He had time to unlock the back door while the guy was looking around and push the panic button there. He let the guy out the back door and they jumped over the side wall and back down the street.

The police and security were here within minutes. They looked for them but didn't find them.

We are taking the opportunity tomorrow to start putting electric fencing around the side wall of the house. We already did the front, but they came through the neighbors garden and jumped their wall. We are also installing security bars on all the windows, so that they can't break through that way again.

Living in Johannesburg, we knew that it was not "if" it would happen, but when, and basically have had the opinion that they could take whatever they wanted.

I and am so grateful for God's protection. God made His presence so real to us through it all, and we really feel at peace. 

Pumpkin Pie Squares

Rating:
Category:	Other

Crust:
1 C Flour
1/2 C Oatmeal
1/2 C packed Brown Sugar
1/2 C butter

Combine in 9x13 baking pan and press all over bottom. Bake at 350F (180C) for 20 min.

Filling:
2-15 oz. Pumpkin canned (or 4 1/2 C pureed Pumpkin)
2-12 oz. cans evaporated Milk (1 1/2 C)
4 Eggs
1 1/2 C Sugar
2 tsp Cinnamon
1 tsp Ground Ginger
1/2 tsp Ground Cloves
1 tsp Salt

Mix together and pour over crust. Bake for 45 min. Remove and sprinkle on Topping.

Topping:
1/2 C packed Brown Sugar
1/2 C chopped Pecans
2 Tbsp Butter

Mix together and sprink on top of pie squares. Return to the oven to bake 15-20 min longer.

Pumpkin Pie (Better Homes & Gardens)

Rating:
Category:	Other

http://www.bhg.com/recipe/pies/pumpkin-pie/

Saying Goodbye

I grew up in the "city" of Lapeer, population of around 7,000 when I graduated in 1990 at 17 years of age. For those 17 years, I lived in the same house, went to the same school, and attended the same church. I only ever remember saying goodbye to one person that meant a lot to me, and though it wasn't easy and the memories of my sadness are very clear, there wasn't a lot of change in my life.

Since that time, I have lived in numerous cities and states, and have ended up in another country. We currently live in Johannesburg, South Africa, estimated population of 4,000,000! The number of relationships built that have ended in goodbyes are too numerous to count, and I treasure each one! This is the life of a missionary. 

Long ago I decided that I must love fully, give freely, and not hold back just because I'm going to have to say goodbye, maybe even soon. I won't shut you out, I won't build a wall, I will cherish every moment. (and this applies to all of my friends, not just this situation)

So now, as I approach another goodbye with a very close friend, I covet your prayers. She is a missionary preparing to leave the field so that her husband can take a pastorate in the US. They are so excited about the next step in their ministry! But change isn't easy. We don't know when she's leaving yet, but it could be as early as December. Some days I am in denial, yet I find myself clinging to every moment we can spend together. I also find myself being hit with a wave of emotion from out of no where - a "last" we experience together, something one of the children says (as our children are each other's best friends), something said by a mutual friend, etc.

I love James & Ella. God brought them into my life at a time when I needed them and provided a family away from home through them. They are precious, and I will cherish their friendship forever - from near and from far away!

James & Ella playing Wii at our house

Fun times on a girls' day out

But another goodbye isn't easy. 

And I have started even now to look around to see how God will provide a way to comfort, who God will use in my life to ease me into this change. Is there someone new that I need to pour my life into? Is there a current relationship that I need to focus on strengthening?

Thank you, God, for loving me, for being my Rock and my Redeemer! Help me to remember to rest in You.