Wow! Today was an up and down day.
Job 2:10 says
"Should we accept only good things from the hand of God and never anything bad?"
Good question. Sometimes we act like, if God loves us, that life will be nothing but sunshine and roses. Not a very biblical pattern there. We are so selfish today as North American Christians. : )
Today started off well -
- I was able to have money in the bank to take out in order to prep for our trip to Chile
- Most of my clothes are getting really ratty, to the point that even I had to admit it was time to buy something new. I was able to find some good deals on some clothes downtown and get a couple of new things to wear to the retreat so as not to embarrass my wife or boss
- I was able to get our phones set up to be able to make and receive calls while we are in Chile
- And there were several other small wins as well.
The real downer part: after leaving the mechanics shop with the great expectation that the car would be repaired and ready for travel on Friday morning...he called me back shortly after to say that there had been a mix up with the parts and it would NOT be ready! What?!
Hmmm? How to travel 1,300 miles to the Southern Cone Missionary Retreat on very short notice?
That is the question.
Now, not only do we have to pay for the repair to the vehicle later on, but we still have to either try to take a bus or rent a car to get to the retreat - a ton more money than we were wanting to spend. And I hope there is something available on such short notice.
Not the answer I was looking for.
BUT, as Job said - should we expect only good things from God and not problems as well?
I think not. Besides, God has it all under control and He will work things out.
He already has been doing it.
- He gave us the best tax return of our young lives and so we were able to have money in the bank to be able to do this.
- He enabled us to pay off some debt so we could have room on our credit card to rent a car, hotel, etc.
etc. etc.
I am sure that if I look hard, I will see God's hand all through this thing, even though it is not what we would have wanted. It is still hard, but it is better than it would have been without all of God's provision!
I have to get to bed. Just wanted to remember the ups and downs of this day.
Tomorrow has a LOT of miracles to come together. Better get some sleep so I can get cracking on it tomorrow. : )
Good night all
God bless -
Paz, paz, y provision -
Thursday, January 5, 2012
Wednesday, January 4, 2012
Tuesday, January 3rd, 2012
Played some more musical beds again last week. : ) I am used to it, but it messes up my sleep. I didn't get enough as it was, and musical beds cuts into the too little I did get.
I honestly can't remember when I got up this morning. I do remember that it was not as early as I would have liked. I spent some quality time with God, took care of the kids and tried to keep them quiet so that Heather could get more sleep. She was really sick during the Christmas break and is feeling "better" now, but she has had a headache that she can't get rid of. Thankfully, it is not a terrible one, but it is very annoying and it cuts into her energy and ability to get stuff done.
I took care of the meals, the dishes, the laundry. It was a good morning. Then Jonny and I caught 4 different buses...
#1 - from Bajo la Vina to Chijra to hit the cash machine, get hair cuts & stop by to greet some friends from the church who have a sidewalk stand selling empanadas. Jonny loves empanadas. They are kind of like a different shaped burrito, filled with chicken, beef, some veggies, etc. They rock. Especially when they are hot out of the oven. : )
# 2 - from Chijra to the downtown (Centro) where we looked for some things we need for the trip to Chile & paid some bills.
# 3 - from Centro back to Bajo la Vina where we walked home the last few blocks from the main road and had a late lunch.
# 4 - I then caught a bus from Bajo la Vina back to Chijra and then walked the other 1/2 of the distance to the church for the prayer meeting. After the prayer meeting I walked all the way home to get some fresh air, exercise and to save some money.
At the prayer meeting - it was awesome. It was the first one we have had in a couple of weeks and man did I miss it. I attempt to pray mostly in Spanish, a lot in the Spirit and when I have to, in English. It was long but well worth it. Afterwards I had a good time connecting with the guys who were there and talking with the pastor.
When I arrived home it was get to work in the office time. I have a huge "To Do" List and even though I crossed a lot of things off of it today, I still have a long list. I kept thinking of other things that I had to add to it. : )
Now it is late at night and again, I am going to bed about 2 hours later than I would have liked. It's life. : ) Good night all and God bless -
Paz, favor, bendiciones -
I honestly can't remember when I got up this morning. I do remember that it was not as early as I would have liked. I spent some quality time with God, took care of the kids and tried to keep them quiet so that Heather could get more sleep. She was really sick during the Christmas break and is feeling "better" now, but she has had a headache that she can't get rid of. Thankfully, it is not a terrible one, but it is very annoying and it cuts into her energy and ability to get stuff done.
#1 - from Bajo la Vina to Chijra to hit the cash machine, get hair cuts & stop by to greet some friends from the church who have a sidewalk stand selling empanadas. Jonny loves empanadas. They are kind of like a different shaped burrito, filled with chicken, beef, some veggies, etc. They rock. Especially when they are hot out of the oven. : )
# 2 - from Chijra to the downtown (Centro) where we looked for some things we need for the trip to Chile & paid some bills.
# 3 - from Centro back to Bajo la Vina where we walked home the last few blocks from the main road and had a late lunch.
# 4 - I then caught a bus from Bajo la Vina back to Chijra and then walked the other 1/2 of the distance to the church for the prayer meeting. After the prayer meeting I walked all the way home to get some fresh air, exercise and to save some money.
At the prayer meeting - it was awesome. It was the first one we have had in a couple of weeks and man did I miss it. I attempt to pray mostly in Spanish, a lot in the Spirit and when I have to, in English. It was long but well worth it. Afterwards I had a good time connecting with the guys who were there and talking with the pastor.
When I arrived home it was get to work in the office time. I have a huge "To Do" List and even though I crossed a lot of things off of it today, I still have a long list. I kept thinking of other things that I had to add to it. : )
Now it is late at night and again, I am going to bed about 2 hours later than I would have liked. It's life. : ) Good night all and God bless -
Paz, favor, bendiciones -
Tuesday, January 3, 2012
Monday, January 2nd, 2012
Last night was a long night. After staying up so late on Christmas Eve & New Year's Eve and most of the nights in between, it has been difficult to wind the clock back. Last night I was in bed by 11:30 but could not fall asleep! My mind was still racing and wanted to stay up until 3 am like it has been.
I did finally fall asleep and slept through the night in 3 shifts:
1. in my own bed
2. in Jonny's bed
3. in Aliana's bed
Often the kids will wake up and want me to come to lay down with them until they fall asleep. It helps them to feel safe and secure. The hard part is that often I fall asleep too, maybe even before them. Ha! Or, as in the case with Jonny - I woke up to find him wedged between Heather and I. It was very sweet but hard to sleep like that. So, I finally just got up and just went to sleep in Jonny's bed. After all, it was open. : )
I did manage to get up at 6:30 am & spend some quality time with God. It was great but difficult. I was very tired and I think "rusty" at spending time with God so early in the morning. It has been too long. The nice thing was that I had the living room to myself so there were no interruptions.
After the kids started getting up, I took care of them and allowed Heather to get more rest. She has not been feeling well (headaches). Eventually she got up and this freed me up to do some bible study on line and work on my language skills. Amazing how you can literally learn several new words a day - day after day - and still there is an endless supply of more words to know. It is a life-long process.
I prepped some materials for the kids as well, but did not get the opportunity to go over it with them. Heather took it easy most of the day & we laid in bed from time to time watching "Leverage" on line.
I worked hard this afternoon doing laundry, dishes, cleaning up after the kids (teaching them to do that for themselves, but it is a work in progress) and completely cleaning out and de-icing the refrigerator and freezer. It was a longer than expected process, but went very well. Looks so nice now, inside and out, & just feels good to have it done.
In the early evening I ventured out to run some errands while Heather watched the kids. It was better than I thought. Today was a holiday since the 1st fell on a weekend and so I was worried that most places would be closed. The good news is that most places were not closed! I got several things done, although I will have to complete several others tomorrow. Not everyone was open.
Upon arriving home I found the kids still eating a late dinner. I spent a little more time with Heather as we ate dinner (spaghetti) and then put the kids to bed. Finally we had a bit more alone time and now I am catching up on line and getting ready to go to bed. It is going to be a big day tomorrow and I am about 2 hours behind (past midnight now) when I wanted to go to bed. : )
Good night all.
God bless you and help you get the "stuff" you have to get done so that you can get back to family and ministry -
Paz, poder, uncion -
I did finally fall asleep and slept through the night in 3 shifts:
1. in my own bed
2. in Jonny's bed
3. in Aliana's bed
Often the kids will wake up and want me to come to lay down with them until they fall asleep. It helps them to feel safe and secure. The hard part is that often I fall asleep too, maybe even before them. Ha! Or, as in the case with Jonny - I woke up to find him wedged between Heather and I. It was very sweet but hard to sleep like that. So, I finally just got up and just went to sleep in Jonny's bed. After all, it was open. : )
I did manage to get up at 6:30 am & spend some quality time with God. It was great but difficult. I was very tired and I think "rusty" at spending time with God so early in the morning. It has been too long. The nice thing was that I had the living room to myself so there were no interruptions.
After the kids started getting up, I took care of them and allowed Heather to get more rest. She has not been feeling well (headaches). Eventually she got up and this freed me up to do some bible study on line and work on my language skills. Amazing how you can literally learn several new words a day - day after day - and still there is an endless supply of more words to know. It is a life-long process.
I prepped some materials for the kids as well, but did not get the opportunity to go over it with them. Heather took it easy most of the day & we laid in bed from time to time watching "Leverage" on line.
I worked hard this afternoon doing laundry, dishes, cleaning up after the kids (teaching them to do that for themselves, but it is a work in progress) and completely cleaning out and de-icing the refrigerator and freezer. It was a longer than expected process, but went very well. Looks so nice now, inside and out, & just feels good to have it done.
In the early evening I ventured out to run some errands while Heather watched the kids. It was better than I thought. Today was a holiday since the 1st fell on a weekend and so I was worried that most places would be closed. The good news is that most places were not closed! I got several things done, although I will have to complete several others tomorrow. Not everyone was open.
Upon arriving home I found the kids still eating a late dinner. I spent a little more time with Heather as we ate dinner (spaghetti) and then put the kids to bed. Finally we had a bit more alone time and now I am catching up on line and getting ready to go to bed. It is going to be a big day tomorrow and I am about 2 hours behind (past midnight now) when I wanted to go to bed. : )
Good night all.
God bless you and help you get the "stuff" you have to get done so that you can get back to family and ministry -
Paz, poder, uncion -
Sunday, January 1, 2012
2012
The New Year has arrived! It got to Argentina at 10 pm Eastern Standard Time. It was announced here by the sounds of thousands of fireworks being exploded. And we are not talking the ones we use in the States. No, these are serious, industrial grade fireworks! It truly sounds like howitzers are going off!
When we went shopping for them we had almost no idea what we were getting. Everything looked a little different from what we were used to but we managed our way through the purchase with lots of questions and explanations. But, when we got home, all was still not as expected. We lite what looked like a little fountain - fun right? Something small and easy for the kids to enjoy. It shot out a tiny shower of sparks, started to fizzle out and then exploded so loud it literally shocked Heather and I. Thankfully, after the moment of initial shock, the kids all screamed with joy. We tried out lots of new things, but basically everything just blows up - incredibly loud and powerfully. It was a night that was painful to the ears.
From midnight to 1 am the fireworks lite off all over town. It sounded like you were in downtown Baghdad during the "Shock & Awe" campaign of the war. : ) Needless to say, there was no sleeping. We finally fell asleep around 3 am. It was tough to get up and get going this morning, but I was determined.
2012 - a NEW year, a new start. A chance to right the course of your life after reflecting on the way the last year went. That is actually a good thing for me. I am a creature of habit. I thrive on routine and schedule. No, really. It's true. I know I seem a bit impulsive and to be sure, I do have that side of me. But in the long run - I love to know what I am doing, when I doing it, have time to prepare for it and do it, etc. I need routine over the long run to accomplish that and I have lost much of mine over the last few months. My schedule has been shifted and controlled by things other than my own will. I had gotten lazy on some things, justifying it due to the forced changes. Now is the opportunity to change!
So, I got up as early as I could, took care of the kids so Heather could sleep in, started laundry and did the dishes all while praying hard as I worked. After Heather got up I got right down to Bible study and then caught up on line. I took care of the kids, took care of Heather and got a couple of errands done. I took care of all the meals for the day, watched a movie with the fam & put the kids to bed. We continued a new study on God's Life Lessons for us. It is going good. : )
Now it is late and I am finishing up my on-line work and getting ready for bed. I have a huge To Do list for tomorrow and I hope to continue getting up earlier and earlier, spending more and more time in intercession with God, and doing more and more prep for future and current ministry. There are so many things bouncing around in my mind. I have to figure out how to be organized and disciplined enough to get to all of them, regardless of what may "come up" in life.
2011 was a great year - full of new places, people, and experiences. It had some tremendous highs and difficult lows. There were many struggles and a few trials, but a TON of answered prayers and God doing cool stuff. I feel like I fell short in many areas, learned a lot and picked it up a notch or two in many areas.
I am really looking forward to 2012. I believe it will be an even better and more impacting year!
I am trying to hit it hard right from the start of the year, get into and maintain, a great rhythm.
God bless you all -
May Good things come your way this year -
Paz, uncion, y bendiciones -
When we went shopping for them we had almost no idea what we were getting. Everything looked a little different from what we were used to but we managed our way through the purchase with lots of questions and explanations. But, when we got home, all was still not as expected. We lite what looked like a little fountain - fun right? Something small and easy for the kids to enjoy. It shot out a tiny shower of sparks, started to fizzle out and then exploded so loud it literally shocked Heather and I. Thankfully, after the moment of initial shock, the kids all screamed with joy. We tried out lots of new things, but basically everything just blows up - incredibly loud and powerfully. It was a night that was painful to the ears. From midnight to 1 am the fireworks lite off all over town. It sounded like you were in downtown Baghdad during the "Shock & Awe" campaign of the war. : ) Needless to say, there was no sleeping. We finally fell asleep around 3 am. It was tough to get up and get going this morning, but I was determined.
2012 - a NEW year, a new start. A chance to right the course of your life after reflecting on the way the last year went. That is actually a good thing for me. I am a creature of habit. I thrive on routine and schedule. No, really. It's true. I know I seem a bit impulsive and to be sure, I do have that side of me. But in the long run - I love to know what I am doing, when I doing it, have time to prepare for it and do it, etc. I need routine over the long run to accomplish that and I have lost much of mine over the last few months. My schedule has been shifted and controlled by things other than my own will. I had gotten lazy on some things, justifying it due to the forced changes. Now is the opportunity to change!
So, I got up as early as I could, took care of the kids so Heather could sleep in, started laundry and did the dishes all while praying hard as I worked. After Heather got up I got right down to Bible study and then caught up on line. I took care of the kids, took care of Heather and got a couple of errands done. I took care of all the meals for the day, watched a movie with the fam & put the kids to bed. We continued a new study on God's Life Lessons for us. It is going good. : )
Now it is late and I am finishing up my on-line work and getting ready for bed. I have a huge To Do list for tomorrow and I hope to continue getting up earlier and earlier, spending more and more time in intercession with God, and doing more and more prep for future and current ministry. There are so many things bouncing around in my mind. I have to figure out how to be organized and disciplined enough to get to all of them, regardless of what may "come up" in life.
2011 was a great year - full of new places, people, and experiences. It had some tremendous highs and difficult lows. There were many struggles and a few trials, but a TON of answered prayers and God doing cool stuff. I feel like I fell short in many areas, learned a lot and picked it up a notch or two in many areas.
I am really looking forward to 2012. I believe it will be an even better and more impacting year!
I am trying to hit it hard right from the start of the year, get into and maintain, a great rhythm.
God bless you all -
May Good things come your way this year -
Paz, uncion, y bendiciones -
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