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No matter where we are or what we are doing, our purpose is to serve the all-powerful One.
He is the only reason for living.
You are All Powerful
(Eres Todo Poderoso)
by Daniel Montero
The only reason for my adoration (La unica razón de mi adoración)
is You, Jesus (eres tú, mi Jesús)
My only motive for living (Mi unico motivo para vivir)
is You, my God (eres tú, mi Señor)
My only truth (Mi unica verdad)
is in You (esta en ti.)
You are my light (Eres mi luz)
and my salvation (y mi salvación)
My only love (Mi unico amor)
is You, God (Eres tú, Señor)
and forever I will worship You (y por siempre te alabaré )
You are all powerful (Tú eres todo poderoso)
You are great and majestic (Eres grande y majestuoso)
You are strong, invincible (Eres fuerte, invensible)
and there is no one like You! (y no hay nadie como tu)
1 Chronicles 29:11,12 (NIV) Yours, O Lord, is the greatness and the power and the glory and the majesty and the splendor, for everything in heaven and earth is yours. Yours, O Lord, is the kingdom; you are exalted as head over all. Wealth and honor come from you; you are the ruler of all things. In your hands are strength and power to exalt and give strength to all.
Your turn to share: What song and/or Bible verse has God given you to meditate on this week?
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Do you have someone in your life that always seems to have connections – that “knows somebody”?
Max and I just laugh at our friend and fellow pastor, Eduardo. He is one of those guys. You need some drywall? No problem. Eduardo knows somebody that can give you a good deal. You need 150 pens, with a personal message printed on them, for your women’s conference? Sure. Eduardo has a friend that can hook you up.
Well, the connections continue. The other night, at about 11:30pm, our phone rang. Max and I looked at each other and simultaneously said, “Must be Eduardo!” Sure enough, it was. (more…)
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“Play nice.”
“Flush the toilet and wash your hands.”
“Chew with your mouth closed.”
“Take off your sneakers.”
“Behave.”
…etc.
Proverbs 1:8 (NIV) Listen, my son, to your father’s instruction and do not forsake your mother’s teaching.
Which “parental reminder(s)” popped into your head as you read these examples?
P.S. The last lesson for our Bible study has been posted.
Someone came up to me today and said (in broken English), “You don’t look like four children! You look too young for that!” (Obviously, she meant to say that I don’t look like I have four children.) I just smiled and said, “thank you”. I get that a lot when I am out in public by myself. When meeting someone for the first time, I find that I am looked at quite differently, depending on whether I am alone or with my children. When I am alone and I meet someone, that person usually uses the word “señorita” (meaning young, unmarried woman) throughout our conversation. It is kind of fun to play along, actually, because I just wait for the opportune time (usually when s/he gets to the question of asking if I have any children), and then I wait for the shocked expression when I reply that I have four. On the other hand, when I meet someone when my children are with me, the person will automatically use “señora” (the title for wife and/or mother) without hesitation. (more…)
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(I am sorry that I am late in posting this week’s Bible study. These last few days, I have been helping Max with preparations for his trip and presentations.)
Thank you SO much for your thoughts and prayers while Max is away from us for these next six days.
I want to be honest with you. Have negative thoughts crept into my mind at times, with the thought of Max being so far away? Yes. Have feelings of fear snuck up with regard to being in a foreign country with my four young children, having all the responsibility and decision-making falling solely on me? (If an accident occurs, what hospital do we go to? How do we get there? What if the car breaks down on the way to soccer practice with my four children in tow, in the middle of rush hour traffic? What if the kitchen sink’s leak gets worse, what do I do?…etc.) Has fear snuck in at times? Yes. (more…)
Just this morning, I was reminded again of the difference in use of certain appliances and housing utilities here in Chile versus the States. It is amazing what you just get used to. (Once again…”it’s not better, it’s not worse, it’s just different!”):
- The definition of “dishwasher” has taken on a whole new meaning. I grew up having a machine in my house and had one in almost all the houses that Max and I lived in. Now, “dishwasher” means the person that is standing at the sink with hands full of soapy water and a scrubber.
- Since it takes our clothes dryer about 2 hours to dry just one load of laundry, we have learned the art of hanging our clothes on the clothesline in the backyard. Thankfully, here in Chile, there are 8 months of bright sunshine and decent temperatures. I love the fresh, clean scent it gives to my wardrobe!
- We do not have a bread machine, but that doesn’t bother us one bit since we can get fresh, (cheap!) bread every day at the bakery down the street.
- On the weekends, while taking a shower, be prepared to have to hold the shower knob in place with one hand because the water pressure is so low due to the fact that everyone is home using it at the same time. (SUGGESTION: Most people sleep in, so if you give up your extra hour of sleep and get in early enough, you won’t have to hold the knob!)
(more…)
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Normally, I can not stand listening to my children argue; however, this morning I smiled, even chuckled to myself, as I listened to them bicker back and forth in the next room:
Child #1: “It’s my turn!”
Child #2: “No, it’s not. You already played for 10 minutes. It’s my turn now!”
Child #3: “Well, I didn’t even get a chance to play at all yet. Let me go first!”
Child #4: “Dad, can you tell them that you told me it was my turn for 5 more minutes?”
After a couple more minutes of them going back and forth, Max went into the living room and stated what the “playing schedule” would be for the last few minutes before school started. Once it was all settled, he walked into our bedroom, closed the door, smiled, shook his head, and asked me, “So did you and your siblings fight over who was going to be able to practice piano first?!?”
Ahhh…that’s music to this musician’s ears! (more…)
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Max and I enjoy listening to all different types of podcasts. One of our favorites is from National Public Radio (NPR). They have multiple podcasts to choose from, but the story we found most interesting today was from their “World Story of the Day” podcast. The reason why it was so fascinating to us is because we felt like such experts on the topic they were reporting on: “Transantiago”. They were discussing the new transportation system that they put into effect here in the city of Santiago, Chile, this past February. We have been able to witness (and experience!) the before, during, and after effects of this new system. (more…)
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Hebrews 11:24,25 (NIV) And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds. Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another…
Thanks so much for your thoughts and prayers during the women’s retreat this past weekend. It was a wonderful time to connect with the women from our conference churches; twenty-two churches were represented as well as four countries (Chile, Argentina, Peru, and United States). The women from our churches here in Santiago were the hosts of the event, so, yes, I was a part of the leadership team this year. One of my responsibilities was to help make 300 cookies to share with the women – everyone loves the ‘gringa’, homemade cookies! I thought it a bit funny, though, that they served them at breakfast (although, I guess that’s no worse than having a doughnut or two:-).
There was one, specific time during the retreat when I sensed your prayers in a real way. As it oftentimes happens in our church services here in Chile (and I have learned to prepare ahead of time now!), I was spontaneously called upon to come to the podium, share a brief greeting, and then pray. As soon as I heard my name called, I said a quick prayer asking God to give me His words (in Spanish!), grabbed my Bible, and headed up front. I sensed such a peace as I shared a few verses from my morning devotional time and then had the privilege of praying for our FM churches here in Chile. God used you (and your faithful prayers) to give me that peace. Go, team, go! What a privilege to all work together for His glory!
I enjoyed reading all the comments to the entry, Spring Has Arrived. We were able to get such a world perspective – comments came all the way from New Zealand to Mexico; from Idaho to New York!
Carol and Bev, thanks for your comments on this week’s Bible study: Rebels With A Cause.
It would be great to read more comments before I post week six (of eight) this coming Tuesday.
Enjoy the rest of your weekend!
Well, I’m headed off to the retreat tonight, despite my daughter’s pleading for me to stay – “Please don’t leave me with all the boys for the whole weekend!!” (She will be just fine, though, thank the Lord, because of the friends she now has in our neighborhood.)
Just to give you a little peek at what I am headed to—the first night of last year’s retreat, we started eating dinner at 12:15am…and none of the women thought anything of it! (Do you remember me mentioning about the different time schedule here in Latin America?!?) (more…)
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Yesterday, Max and I went to the Chilean DMV so that I could obtain a Chilean driver’s license. (Up until this point, I have been able to use my International Driver’s Permit from AAA, but that has now expired.)
I began by talking to the receptionist – all in Spanish. Then, I had to fill out the application that was all in Spanish. After waiting awhile, I had an interview to answer the personal medical questionnaire – and had to respond all in Spanish. Then I went onto the physical reaction tests that were explained to me all in Spanish.
Then they called my name and asked me to enter a room to take a written exam. With God’s assistance, I made it through all the other hoops so I thought, “Well, let’s give this a try.” I kind of joked with the test administrator, asking if he would translate it for me and he just smiled. So, I sat down in the room that already had two other people working on the same test. I opened up the test booklet and started my attempt at reading the first question. “Umm,” I thought, “this is not going to happen.” My Spanish has come a long way in the past year and a half, however, I realized that this test included a whole new set of vocabulary words that I had not learned yet. It would take me forever to try and translate each question, then each answer, and then try to pick out the correct answer from my broken translations. (more…)
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Yes, it is still hard for this girl’s New York blood, body, and mind to get used to having spring in September, but I am sure glad it is here…and in full force!
The fresh scent of the air…
Singing birds…
Blooming buds…
Bright sunbeams…
The clear, blue sky…
A sense of new beginnings…
A fresh start to things…
That’s why I love this season.
Come and enjoy these sights (from our backyard) with me– (more…)
