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 - 

The Fight Continues

Hello all.  Can you believe it?  Two days in a row!  I'm on a roll. 

Today is Saturday, June 23, 2012.  Ah Saturdays.  A day to rest and relax. ...well, sometimes.  : )
The day started warming up slowly, first one child, then the next, and finally the last, all crowding into bed with me.  It's not a bad way to wake up. 

After breakfast, cleaning up, and the other usual household chores, it was time to run errands and prep for the mission team's coming on Monday.  As often happens, things did not go as planned - I could not find an office I needed to make contact with, then after finding it, it was closed for some reason, I need to get to a store, but stopped by a friends house to drop something off and stumbled onto a birthday party, got invited in - you can't refuse, that would be bad Argentine etiquette, and while having a great time, ran out of time to get to the last errand, the store closed.  Oh well.  Better to have a crazy busy Monday than to harm a dear relationship.

Then it was time to get done what I could at home.  Afterwards I made dinner, bathed the kids and am now watching Star Wars III with Nate.  Being the oldest he needs less sleep than the little two, a fact that they both hotly debate.  Lol.  Anyways, if I put him to bed at the same time as the younger ones, he keeps them up talking and goofing off.  So, I have found it better to put them to bed earlier and then watch a movie with him.  Good bonding time.  Right now we are working our way through the 6 Star Wars movies.  It is fun, but boy does he ask a lot of questions.

Soon we will go to bed as well.  I will fall sleep praying and interceding for Heather and the team in Buenos Aires.  Tomorrow will be another long day of necessary prep.  : )

Good night all -
Love you and pray that the God who loves you more than any other ever could, will help you to understand His incredible love for you -
Bendiciones y paz del Padre -

Fighting Forward

Wheeeewwwwww!  I'm back!  : ) 
Amazing how easy it is to get busy and not have time to write in your on-line journal. 

It is Friday, June 22, 2012. 
Heather is in Buenos Aires (about 1,000 miles away) working with another missionary, Brandy Wilson, and a Missions Team that is here from the states.  On Sunday they will hop on a bus and travel for a full 24 + hours to Jujuy.  How good it will be to have Heather back, and to have our 1st ever missions team to come and work with us here in the far NW. 

In the meantime, I am trying to do 2 jobs on my own...
1. Being full-time parent to the kids - and yes, it is a full time job!  : )
2.  Being a full-time missionary who is prepping to host their first ever missions team. 
It is very taxing.  Ha. 

I have to get work done of course, and am working as hard on it as I can. 
But, family comes before ministry.  Ministry changes places, people, situations, but your family always remains.  : )
The hard part is that on top of the double duty, I have gotten sick and been fighting hard against it as well.  I would love to say that I have always done things right, but when exhaustion & sickness pile on, it can be a tough load to carry while at the same moment trying to do the double duty of ministry and children.  Whew!  I have fallen short of what I should have been more than a few times. 

Thankfully, God is gracious, I am making it through.  With His help I will get all the details pulled together over the next couple of days.  : )

Pray for my health, the kids to behave well, and for the details to all come together before the team arrives Monday night -

Thanks and God bless -
Have a good and blessed night
Paz, salud, bendiciones