"Early" to Bed & Early to Rise : )

I have been trying to turn my internal clock backwards.  If I'm not very careful, it is easy for me to stay up a little later every night - all in the name of "I'm not tired yet (or caught my second wind) and I can get lots of important work done" but then get up later and later each following morning. 
It is a tough cycle to break out of. 

The hard part is that I don't have an office outside of the home, so getting lots done is best accomplished when the kids are not awake.  Of course I love them to death and they come before work, yet work does have to be accomplished.  Just because my office is in the house does not mean that I can let it slide all the time. 

So, I tried to go to bed early last night.  It was very difficult to fall asleep and before I knew it, it was after midnight and I stiiiiill had not slept.  Each time I alllllllllmost fell asleep, something would happen.  My phone dinged with incoming texts 2 different times, Aliana came in after having a bad dream and needed to put back to bed and reassured that all was well, Nate followed with the same need later on, I had to use the bathroom, the cat jumped on the bed, the neighbor's dogs started barking up a storm, I doubted if I had remembered to lock the outside doors and had to get up and check them to make sure, etc., etc. 

The good news is that I DID still manage to get up at 5:30 am!  I was so excited to be up and not extremely tired.  I started heating water for some hot yerba mate, booting up the laptop, prepping my study materials, etc.  Just as I was getting things rolling...out came Aliana from the bedroom, 1 hour early.  Ugg!  Then Jonny followed.  Not too long after that so did Nathanael.  Really?!

Not actually one of my children.  Just a fun representation. 

Most days I can't get them up!  Today, when I am finally up early and am wide awake and productive - they pop out of bed, on their own, an hour ahead of schedule and refuse to go back to bed.  Sigh.  Of well.  I still did get lots more done than otherwise & got to spend more quality time with my little ones.
 : ) 

SO MUCH to get done over the next couple of days before heading out to speak/ minister at a Men's Retreat.  - Going to be busy, busy, busy. 



God bless you all
Have a great day & may God help you not only to be productive but to get in lots of quality time with your family too -

Paz, favor, y la ayuda de Dios Altisimo -

Obedience, Intercession, & Divine Inspiration

The other night at church I experienced some amazing times with God.  They are the force behind this journal entry. 

At church, the service had started and we were in the beginnings of the time of praise and worship.  I was clapping, singing and worshiping God.  In that moment of connecting with God I felt like something was "off" in the service.  It was like God wanted to do things in the hearts and lives of His people but there was something in opposition to it, blocking it, slowing it down.  I felt the need to pray for the move of God in the service.  (We should ALL invest in our corporate times like this.  It should not be the work of a select few.  It's YOUR family in God, it's YOUR time with God - fight for it & for them!)

As I began to Intercede for the service I felt God's Spirit prompting me to go to the front of the sanctuary and to worship and pray there.  I started to wrestle with being obedient.  I thought, "Oh, no God.  Come on.  I don't want to go up in front of everyone.  What will they think?  They'll be like, 'oh, there goes Chris - being all "super" spiritual, thinking he's all that!'

In reality, probably no one is ever going to think like that.  But, even if EVERYONE did, it does not cancel out or even have any bearing on the need for my OBEDIENCE to God's will.  I knew this in my heart and even though I cringed at being "showy" or "in the spotlight" I obeyed...it was just the right thing to do. 

When I got up front I continued to worship but felt more and more compelled to Intercede for the service - the fine folks there, and the will of God to be done, both in that moment and in the future of the church.  It was an awesome time!  One of those things you learn - almost always (although not every time) when you obey, you get the great blessing of really experiencing the exhilaration of God's intense presence.  I love being in that place; in HIS presence.  It is awesome!  There's nothing else like in the whole world.

As I continued I felt the need to get on my face on the floor before Him in intercession for the church.  I stayed there for nearly the entirely of the worship time.  Not only did I get to soak in the awesomeness of His presence, but I could feel the spiritual atmosphere in the room shifting and surging ahead as well.  The intensity of the group's worship of God picked up and several people ended up being on their faces up front with me as well. 

I could not help but feel that my obedience had been part of the key in the "breakthrough" we were enjoying.  It was not "all about me" but rather, as I obeyed God, He then poured out His Spirit in response.  I also have no doubt that it was not confined to only me.  I am sure that as each person in the room followed through in obeying God's direction, He opened up the windows of Heaven more and more.  OBEDIENCE always brings good stuff from God!  (Even if it did not, obedience is still the RIGHT/GOOD/ BEST thing to do.)  The good stuff is just a cool side benefit!  As His children, as part of His Team, obedience should always be quick and with a good attitude. 

Then another very cool thing happened as I was lying there on the floor interceding for the peeps and the future ministry of the church - God burned some Inspiration into my heart/mind/spirit.

I don't know why God does this, but He often speaks to me through images from movies I have seen.  I am a very visual learner so that could be part of the reason. 
Anyways, - God started speaking to me about how we are His sons & daughters, quite literally we have been made Princes and Princesses in His Kingdom. 
My mind flashed to the moment in the 2nd movie of the Lord of the Rings trilogy where Aragorn is speaking to Eowyn - encouraging her to remember that she comes from a Royal bloodline, to draw up her courage & stand in her role and responsibilities.  He says to her, "I do not believe this will be your fate.  The blood kings runs in your veins!" 

Wow!  I started thinking on that.  When God created us in HIS image, when HE knit us together in our mother's womb, when He adopted us back into HIS Family, bringing us back from our prodigal stint in sin's ugliness and REINSTATED the relationship we had lost with Him in the fall in the Garden of Eden, when He covered our sin (and us) with HIS blood - we literally are saved through a spiritual transfusion of HIS BLOOD - > The blood of Kings runs through our veins!  <  And not even that of mere earthly kings, but the blood of the one, true, and only HEAVENLY KING - That of the Trinity: of our Father God, His Son (our big brother) and of His Holy Spirit (our closest friend) - RUNS IN OUR VEINS! 

When in the battles we face in life we are cut and blood seeps from our body - It is His blood, the BLOOD OF KINGS that we bleed on life's Spiritual battle fields.  Wow!  What a powerful, true, and energizing thought! 

- Now...after living so far beneath this in our earthly mess, we still need to learn what it is - to walk as a Prince/ Princess in the family of God on this earth.  Things such as being...noble...upright...just, not to mention humble, kind, generous - etc. etc.  *None of the arrogance of earthly royalty, please!  Lol. 

Have a great day & walk in the newness of "The Blood of Kings runs through YOUR veins" -
Blessings, insight, & ability to you all


Las bendiciones, uncion, inspiracion del Espiritu de Dios Padre sean con todos ustedes

Argentine Weddings, Intercesion & Titles

 Whew!  The last couple of days were looooong.  : )
I don't have time to go into everything, but I can share about a few of the major pieces.

1st - Argentine Weddings
In the US a wedding is LONG if it breaks the 25 minute mark.  (Side note - I did a wedding one time that was only about 7 minutes long.  Seriously.  : )  It was a great wedding but neither the bride or groom liked being in the spotlight.  They wanted it short, sweet, & to the point.  It was.  They're still one of the greatest couples I know.  : )

Fact: In Argentina - only the Catholic church is permitted to do a legal religious marriage recognized by the state.  That's it.

So, what the couples in other churches have to do is - a 2 ceremony wedding.
1st - A judge does a legal ceremony.  It is very short and too the point.  It would be even shorter but they literally "fill" it with details like...
"John Smith, groom, single, engineering major, who works at Jones Construction, who lives at 555 Ramon St, San Salvador de Jujuy, District of the Capital, Jujuy, Argentina - son of... dad (repeat details) & mom... (repeat details), etc., etc."  - It is almost a little humorous.  I guess they want to make sure they have their books straight.  Ha.
2nd - A Pastor performs a religious ceremony and they are now married, both in the eyes of the state & of all who want a religious wedding.  The religious ceremony is not all that different than most of the weddings I have been too in the USA.  The ones I have been to have not had anyone singing or special music, etc - a little different for us.

But then things are just getting started.  The reception is reeeeeeeeally long.  : )
That is collective culture for you.  It is an event.  So people come & are there to hang out.  They stand around and talk.  Then we sit around and talk.  Then we sit around and eat.  Afterwards we sit around and talk some more.  Later we stand around and talk even more.  (Are you getting the COLLECTIVE part yet? : )
Our first Argentine wedding, we came prepared to stay for 1 hour & stayed for 3.  When we left everyone was like, "What?  You're leaving already?  Is everything ok?"  - Lol.  Yes, we're okay - just need to let the kids get home and relax.  - This time we were there for 5 hours before we left.  We still got the same questions.  Ha.  We're getting there - adjusting to the culture.

It was a great time.  Now that we know what to expect and are adjusting to the culture we enjoy hanging out, talking, taking pics, and being part of the whole.  The people are beautiful; precious to us, and we are blessed to be here with them.  I even came back later to help take the bride and groom to their home with all the gifts, balloons and more.  Most people do not have a car so ours is a huge blessing and well used to help out at times like this.  It would have taken 3 taxis to do what we did in 1 trip with our SUV.  : )

2nd Intercession - 
Afterwards, I hopped on a bus with a group of people from the church to travel an hour to San Pedro, Jujuy, Argentina to go to a Training Session on Intercessory Prayer.  In Argentina, they don't mess around.  The session went for 3 hours (6 - 9 pm) and then afterwards we had 3 hours to put it into practice.  (9 - midnight : )  It was a great time, lots of great material.  I had a hard time writing everything down in Castellano fast enough.  And my favorite part was the time of prayer and worship afterwards.  It's amazing how FAST 3 hours can go by when you're really getting after it.  And our part of Argentina needs a LOT more people who will "get after it" in intercession for spiritual breakthroughs. 

3rd Titles -
Much of the church world in Latin America (like their culture in general) is super into "titles."  Everybody has to be a "somebody."  I think it lends credence to listening to what they have to share.  I suppose it makes people feel important and like they have a place in the world as well.
At the same time it can be a point of concern and even argument.

Last night there was much talk from "Apostle so & so" or "prophet so & so."
Let me say, I believe in the positions.  They are Scriptural, important, and extremely valuable to building up and encouraging the Body of Believers as a whole. 
I also think that perhaps in N. America we have lost sight of these positions too much.  I believe we have people who operate in their roles, but they prefer to use the title of "pastor" and not draw so much attention to themselves.  I am also quite sure that we have seen too many FALSE Apostle/Prophets destroy the image & people don't want to be associated with that.

Here, I think it is the opposite.  I think titles are applied and flung around too quickly, too easily.  To be sure, there are people here who are the real deal; wonderful leaders who bless and help the Body of Christ in great ways.  I just worry that too many people get all emotional and ASSUME titles or BESTOW titles where no title should be given or received - at least not so easily or "flippantly" at times and in certain circles.   

I was wondering where the title "SERVANT" has gone.  After all, while the Apostles/ Prophets in Scripture did not shy away from their position, responsibilities, or title - they were very quick to refer to themselves over and over in much more humble terms - IE. "Servant/ Bond Servant/ Slave" - of God.
Wow!  What if we all put as much time into thinking of ourselves, and referring to ourselves in this manner - "Who me?  Yep.  I'm just a servant.  Nobody special."
After all, Paul the APOSTLE who wrote 1/2 the New Testament referred to himself as 'the least of these."  Why shouldn't we?  I think it would be a Good Thing.  : )

Do I want to do the work of an Apostle (leader in the church/ father of multitudes) - Yes!  I just don't want to get a big head.  After all, PRIDE still comes before destruction & an ARROGANT SPIRIT before a fall!  : )

Have a great day, be blessed by God in order to be a blessings & Stay Humble -
Paz, bendiciones, uncion, y poder en Dios - 

Our Ministry Passion

Yesterday, I wrote about the passion we have to help build up the existing churches here in NW Argentina including in regard to their giving to foreign missions and supporting their own Argentine Missionaries.

 Today I thought I would share about our Passion for NW Argentina
- in a nutshell.

NW Argentina, especially the Province of Jujuy is one the most unreached parts of the entire country and one of the most unreached parts of all of Latin America.  Statistics say that any people group who are less then 2% Christian are still considered an Unreached People Group.
That is NW Argentina.  The stat's here put us at less than 1% evangelical Christian.
Here are our Jujuy Stats & our A/G numbers -

The Province of Jujuy has 700,000 + people and is steadily growing everywhere you look.
The capital city of San Salvador de Jujuy has a population of 300,000 + people and is growing greatly
- There are only 2 A/G churches for all of the capital - 31 neighborhoods (barrios) with +/- 10,000 people each & we still have 29 without a single A/G church.
- There are only 4 A/G churches for the entire province.
This leaves about 100 cities, towns, & communities with no A/G church whatsoever.

Our passion is to see at least 1 A/G church (many more if possible and where applicable) planted in every neighborhood of the capital city, and in every city, town & community in the entire province.

It is a massive dream.  : )
We are prepared to pay the price for as many years as necessary to see it come about. 
We know that it can not be done all by ourselves.  It will require a massive number of people to make it a reality.


Therefore, we are praying hard every day for...
1. God to send more missionaries here - they can come from ANY country outside of Argentina, it does not matter to us, just that there are more workers here.
2. God to send church planters from within Argentina to Jujuy - right now we know of no one, but we are praying for God to change that in a massive way
3. God to raise up leaders from within Jujuy to branch out and plant daughter churches - this is a long slow process, but it must be done to prepare solid leaders.  Only leaders who are solid can produce churches that are stable.

- So far, we have met 1 new missionary to the region (from Columbia).  We rejoice over this & are praying for a great many more.
- We know of 1 couple who is away from Jujuy at a Bible College preparing for future ministry & don't know if they will be coming back - but we're praying they will.  : )  - Also, heard a rumor of a pastor's son who has a burden to plant a church in a city in Jujuy; still trying to verify the report.
- And we finally know a few couples who have a burden to plant daughter churches here in Jujuy - yeah!!!  Now we are working on not only God calling more, but how to effectively train them and help them prepare.
It is a work in its beginning stages. 

Please pray for Jujuy!
It is a terribly unreached area.
It is home to great spiritual warfare - a graveyard for pastors and church plants.
(Example - the church we are a part of went through 16 pastors in a period of only 19 years!) 

Thank you for your partnership with us.
God bless you and do awesome things in your life for the sacrifices you make for the people here -

Paz, poder, y uncion de Espiritu Santo -

NW Argentina & Missions Burden

Hello everyone -

My apologies for having left such a gap in my on-line journaling.  I was try to do it at night, the last thing before I went to bed.  I thought it would be a good way to think through and recap the events of the day.  BUT, I find that often I tend to be so wiped out come bed time that I don't think clearly or have the desire to follow through and write on line.  SO, I have decide that perhaps it would be best to journal in the morning - when I have a little more in the tank.  ha.  : )

For the past two weekends I have been hoping on a bus and traveling 3 hours to the SE to preach in Missions Conventions in Metan, Salta, Argentina. I preached in the church "Casa De Dios" (House of God) a couple of Sundays back and in the church "Jesus Es El Camino" (Jesus Is The Way) this last weekend.  Both are small, semi-struggling churches with a long history of fighting forward.  This is a very common trait here in NW Argentina.  Both have great pastors who have suffered in their positions, but have continued to fight for more ground and have amazing attitudes.  It is reflected in their people, who are incredibly kind and warm.  I loved speaking at both churches & would go back N-E-TIME! 

On a personal side note: I am suuuuch a creature of habit.  I will not be traveling and preaching about missions this weekend and it is weirding me out!  I am trying to figure out what to do with myself.  lol.  (No worries though.  I have a very busy schedule)

I was excited to speak in their Missions Conventions because, obviously, missions is a great passion of ours.  There are few churches here in NW Argentina and the vast majority of them are very small.  This also means that the vast majority of the pastors are bi-vocational and/or have learned how to get by on almost nothing.  This also makes for a tough environment for giving to foreign missions. 

The churches here have a "reputation" for getting all excited about missionaries and their burdens for the different parts of the world that God is sending them to, but in NOT coming through in their monthly pledge of support to them.  This is tough as those Argentine Missionaries are counting on the money pledged to come in each month, but it is not.  So, most missionaries are not excited about traveling aaaaaaall the way to the NW (yes, to pour out their passion for missions) but NO for getting small offerings that can't even cover their travel expenses and for getting "pledges" of support that too often do not translate into reality. 

I have a great passion to see that all be changed, to be transformed into a reality where NW Argentina has churches that are reaching their communities and growing AND that are committed to touching the world as well through Argentina's own missionaries (155 and growing, right now).  My dream is to see EVERY church in NW Argentina praying ardently for their missionaries AND supporting them faithfully each month, living up to their commitment.  It burns in my heart that NW Argentina would become a place where missionaries desire to come to because they know they will be well received, they will be given offerings that way more than cover all of their travel expenses, and they know they can count on their monthly support more than anywhere else in the country!

Over the last year + that we have lived here, I have had the opportunity to speak at 5 churches in Salta & Jujuy regarding missions.  I am praying for the day when I can speak in all 28 of them. 
Here is my desire in a nutshell - sort of the bare minimum to really get the ball rolling for missions in NW Argentina

EVERY single church in NW Argentina would support at least
ONE Argentine missionary at at least
$100 PESOS in financial support
EVERY single month. 

I could keep going on this topic, but we all have lives to get on with so I will let it go for now.
Please pray for this bare minimum to become a reality - and much more - here in NW Argentina.

Thanks and God bless -
May God help you to do the same (reach your neighbors & reach the world) right where you are

Paz, bendiciones, dirección y poder -

S.O.A.P. Method

Today I was fighting to make time to spend in God's Scriptures & Prayer.  I like to use a simple system called - S.O.A.P. 
It stands for Scripture, Observation, Application, & Prayer

This is how it works. 
You read through a passage of Scripture - it could be anywhere from a few verses to various chapters. Then you Observe what it is that God is communicating to the recipients of that scripture.
Next you seek to find out how you can Apply it to your life in your context.
And finally you write out a Prayer to God to thank Him for what He has shown to you and to help you put it into practice. 
It is a simple process but it helps to keep more of what God is teaching you in your focus and live it versus just reading it and then shutting the book on your duty done. 

I have been reading through the book of Hebrews for the last few days and today I was in chapters 11 & 12.  Chapter 11 is so incredible and yet runs so counter culture to your western mindset.  So often we celebrate the "Faith Chapter" by focusing only on the 1st part of it - what we might call the "success stories."  We dream of the victories won, the miracles God worked, the incredible list of things that are "good" in our mind and represent the answer to "faith." 
But what about the 2nd half of the chapter? 

This area lists those who were rejected, abused, wandered about without being able to have a home, lived in caves and had to wear animal skins, were imprisoned or even tortured and put to death.  Where is the "Faith" here?  Shouldn't they have experienced awesome miracles and deliverance if they "truly had faith?"  - How far we miss it in our western mindset of instant everything and our ideas of what success is.

2 key verses leap off the page at me in this chapter with regard to this theme -
Hebrews 11:26b "...he was looking ahead to his reward," speaking of Moses in his willingness to reject the easy life of the palace in Egypt to identify with the Israelites and to go through so much suffering.  and Hebrews 11:40b "...God had planned something better for us..." 

We put so much focus on the here & now and forget that we live in a massive global spiritual battlefield and that it is not just about "us."  Faith/ Trust/ Confidence in God is about more than "winning" in the immediate.  It is about loving God so much and understanding His love and His purposes that we are willing to do whatever needs to be done in order to see His will be accomplished in this earth and with the people God has surrounded us with.  

Our "reward" and our thoughts can not be just in this life, in the immediate.  They must look forward to the reward, the GREAT REWARD that lies ahead of us.  These thoughts must fuel our drive and our passion, or we will not endure much hardship in this life.  But if we can be like Jesus, "who, for the JOY set before Him (knowing about all of us He was going to save!) ENDURED the cross, SCORNING its shame - and is NOW (finally) seated at God's right hand!  
It IS going to be worth it!  

Good night all & God bless - 
May you draw power from the Great Reward set before you & do great things in God's plan in spite of what the opposition may be 
Paz, poder, habilidad sobrenatural -   

A Long Day - An Awesome Day

Today is Sunday, June 24, 2012.

It was a good day, but man was it ever a looooong day.  : )
I sleep best by myself.  I toss and turn a lot and it is easier to do so when I don't have to take anyone else into account.  But late last night Aliana had a bad dream and came and joined daddy in the security of his bed.  Sigh.  What could I say?  Of course I said, "Yes."  She is my precious little girl.  She slept soundly in the warm of my strength...I had trouble doing my tossing and turning.  Ha.

The kids got up a little later than normal & then started eating.  Then they continued to eat while watching TV, ate more while playing games on the computer, ate more while putting puzzles together, and just kept on eating all day long.  I think they are having a growth spurt.  Weird that all 3 of them are having it at the same exact time. Hmmm?   : )

We finally got changed and went to the store to stock up quick before everyone closed for the day.  Most grocery stores are open in Argentina on Sunday, but only until about 2 pm.  To me this is a weird thing as technically it is a Catholic country and the Catholic Church has it's services in the AM.  You would think it would be the other way around.  I think it shows you just how Catholic the country really is - in name only.

Anyways, we stocked up, did lunch, did laundry, did dishes, did more feeding, refilling drinks, rescuing the kitty from the kids, rescuing the house from the kids, and rescuing the kids from themselves.  : )  - Then I finally started cleaning the house for real.  I cleaned, and I cleaned, and I cleaned some more.  I cleaned until I was literally exhausted and then took a short break.  Afterwards I cleaned the bathroom...my dreaded nemesis.  I would rather do dishes and laundry all day long than clean the bathroom for an hour.  Well, by the time it was all said and done, the house was so clean, I wanted to cry.  Now if only I can keep it this way another 24 hours until my beautiful love gets home from Buenos Aires.  We'll see.  : )

In the process, I spent much time in prayer and fasting for the team, for the week to come, for their journey to Jujuy (24+ straight hours on the bus - whew!) and for the church service tonight.
- I don't know how we have arrived here, but it appears that so many followers of Jesus view our corporate time together in the church building as a "professionals only" time.  You just show up and take it in.  The pastor and staff have been working hard, prepping, and praying for God to touch peoples' lives.  That is good & should be so, but what about THE REST of THE CHURCH?

I hate that somehow we have lost sight of the fact that WE are the CHURCH - and not the building.  That WE are the Bride of Christ and that we should be dying to get together with our LOVE.
That WE are His BODY in the world & that while their may be a "professional" clergy, we are ALL part of the TEAM - called to be HOLY, called to be FAMILY, called to be in the fight TOGETHER and not just spectators or consumers.

I felt so moved by the Spirit that I sent out a text to everyone in the church that I had their cell phone number - encouraging them that NOW is the time to prepare ourselves, to pray for the service, to get ready to meet with God and see what He would do in and THROUGH us to touch the lives of those around us...and not just expect that Pastor would take care of everything on his own.  (There is so much POWER in TEAM!!!) 

I think it impacted.  Tonight's worship was rocking!  The message felt like it was in the middle of a spiritual battle, but the altar went on for long afterwards.  And one of my favorite parts - several people got up to share how God was impacting their lives and/ or working through them to minister to those around them.  AWESOME!  THAT is what the Church is!

I could belabor this point, but it is nearly midnight and tomorrow is going to be a very big day.  There is still a ton of prep to do for the team coming & then to host them upon their arrival tomorrow night.

May you all have a great sleep & remember to Take Your Place in God's Business.
Don't just sit around and watch someone else doing it.

God bless, inspire, guide, & empower you -
Que Dios los bendiga, inspira, guia y les da su poder -