Superintendent Sergio [leader of the FM Church in Chile] just told me of a lovely moment in Talcahuano recently, while he was headed to deliver food and water supplies to our pastors in that most distraught of areas.  Along the road, Superintendent Sergio and his team noticed an elderly man seated on the curb of the sidewalk, head hung in despair and hopelessness.  A teen on the truck called out, “Sir! Please come over here!”  The gentleman slowly lifted his head with a blank stare. No reaction.  The teen shouted again, “Sir! Please come!”  The man slowly rose to his feet and hesitantly walked in silence toward the vehicle. The teen handed him a large grocery bag and said, “Here, this is for you!”  The elderly man peeked into the bag stuffed with food and water and a huge smile came across his face. “Margarita!,” he called loudly.  ”GOD sent us food!  We have food!”  From the old, now mostly-destroyed, house appeared his wife.  As she took in what was happening, she joyously made motions of great thanks and gratitude. The team continued on their way to a part of the city called Centinela Hill, where a church is being planted.  Bet the team will be back to visit that dear couple and make sure they´ve had a chance to know the Bread of Life and Living Water.

*REMINDER: To receive the latest updates on our ‘Chip in for CHILE’ project, please CLICK HERE and click on the “Sign me up!” button located in the side bar.  I will be consistently blogging on that site these next few weeks to keep everyone informed with how God is at work! For instance, be sure to read about the team that keeps growing for this project (see the post titled, “The team is growing!”)

For more details, please click here: Chip in for CHILE

Once there, be sure to click onto the ‘Sign me up!’ button in the right-hand column to have all the latest updates sent to your email inbox…

We are receiving bits and pieces of information from several people and are trying to understand how best to help.  We are praying.  We are communicating.  We are translating.  Of course, we want to do more.

Last night, our 6-yr. old Jacob came up to me, gave me a big hug, and starting crying, while saying that he wished he could go and help his friends.

Yet, I need to remind myself that by praying, we ARE doing more…  We trust in a God who is in control.  We believe He is right there with our Chilean friends.  In fact, our Chilean friends are reminding us of that very thing even as they gather in the street to sing praises to our God!

I am trying to keep my facebook page updated with information.  Please visit… please pray with us.

(Ephesians 3:16-21)  I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with powerthrough his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge–that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.  Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen.

My list of goals are grouped into three different categories: personal, home (family), and work.  Once I have a realistic listing of 5-6 goals for each group, I decide on specific deadlines for each one.  Then, I print my list out and keep it in my journal.  At the end of each month, I take a couple of minutes to read through the list again to see what I have accomplished – I love checking things off! – as well as see if I am on track to accomplish those goals that are more long-term in nature.

One of my personal goals for 2010 is to continue to memorize Scripture, so I have updated that SK webpage and will attempt to list each month’s passage.

Have you taken the time to list your goals for 2010?  If not, I would encourage you to do so!

Commit to the LORD whatever you do, and your plans will succeed.  Proverbs 16:3 (NIV)

For us as a family, this autumn brought a new ‘season’ of life.  All four of my children are now in school all day.  What a change that has brought to this home and to me, personally!  Gone are the days of having to attempt to get household chores and projects done while changing diapers, reading A-B-C books, taking morning walks, preparing lunches, getting home in time for afternoon naps, etc.  But then again, maybe not…

No, no, this is not where I write an announcement about being pregnant again!  However, after having the idea in the back of our minds for many years, Max and I have finally started the process of becoming foster parents.  We are excited, and yes, even a bit apprehensive, about this new family endeavor!  Our children are fully on board and can’t wait for the first child to arrive.

During the summer months, Max and I attended the 10-week training course that is required of all prospective foster parents.  Unfortunately, Max had to miss a couple of classes so he will be making those up in late November.  After he does so, and after we complete the mound of paperwork and other requirements (fingerprinting, fireplace inspection, etc.), we hope to be officially certified as foster parents through the Monroe County DHS by early December.

So… I will be sure to keep you updated!  Thanks for your prayers as we tread down this path that the Lord has led us on as a family!

Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world. –James 1:27

I have been looking forward to having our oldest child read the book, The Boy in the Striped Pajamas, and then take the time to watch the movie together.  [That's the rule of the house - you have to read the book before watching the movie. ]  What a creative, unique way to take a look at the Holocaust.  It is a vivid, heavy look at the atrocities of that time in history, shown through the “innocent” perspective of two young boys.  This story offers a wonderful opportunity for today’s children to “put themselves in their shoes” and envision what it might have been like to grow up as a Jewish or German child during the years of World War II.

I look forward to the discussions that this story will bring to the dinner table as well as to the trips to soccer practices.  I pray that God will, once again, help us as parents to weave His truths into those conversations.

Deuteronomy 6:4-9 (NLT)  Listen, O Israel!  The LORD is our God, the LORD alone.  And you must love the LORD your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your strength.  And you must commit yourselves wholeheartedly to these commands that I am giving you today.  Repeat them again and again to your children.  Talk about them when you are at home and when you are on the road, when your are going to bed and when you are getting up.  Tie them to your hands and wear them on your forehead as reminders.  Write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.

….but, I have to admit, there are a number of times when I feel like this woman as I attempt to balance all that life has for me…

One day at a time, sweet Jesus!

Know that you are not alone in your quest to juggle and balance all that life has to offer.  May you be encouraged that He will not give you more than you can handle.

Let me encourage you (and me!) to give everything to God each morning.  He is faithful to help us to prioritize and handle each one.

I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. (Philippians 4:13)

Because of these conditions, I am especially thankful, then, for the mysterious warming of my heart as I read God’s Word.  His words keep me from depression, from anxiousness, and from self-pity.  Each time I sit to read, He fills me once again with the daily bread I need.

As I finish the Christmas carol devotional book I have been using (okay, okay, so it has been a month since Christmas, but the words of the carols have been wonderful to continue reading even after the “season” of celebration), some of the words within this poem/hymn struck me profoundly as I read them this morning:

How lovely shines the Morning Star!

Thou mine, I Thine

Keep me kindly in Thy favor, O my Savior!

Thou  wilt cheer me; Thy Word calls me to draw near Thee.

(How Lovely Shines the Morning Star!, Philipp Nicolai, 1597)

There is always hope and joy that is found when we rest in Jesus!  Thank you, Lord, for carrying me through the dark, dreary days.

Life itself was in him, and this life gives light to everyone.  The light shines through the darkness, and the darkness can never extinguish it.  –John 1:4,5 (TLB)

Take a few slow, deep breathes…

(Seriously, take 30 seconds and do that.  It’s amazing how well it works in helping you to slow down!)

Now grab a hot cup of coffee, tea, or hot chocolate and then come right back (don’t let ANYTHING distract you in the process!) to read the following excerpt from a devotional book I have been reading throughout this Advent season:

What is Christmas?  Is it simply a yearly excuse to engage in extended spending frenzies?  Is it nothing more than an annual exercise in overindulgence?  Is the holiday season merely a chance to cut loose and party?  While Christians are quick to answer these questions with a resounding “no”, we too often miss the real “reason for the season”.

Christmas is more than just a day set aside to mark the birth of an ancient religious leader.  It does commemorate Christ’s birth, but it also has a much greater, more practical significance.  In Christmas we find a unique opportunity to celebrate a two-thousand-year-old birth with the birthday boy himself.  The message of Christmas is that Jesus is alive to celebrate with us.  As this carol ["The Happy Christmas Comes Once More" by Nicolai F.S. Grundtrig, 1817] reminds us, he is the guest of honor at this wondrous yearly feast.  He is the star attraction and central focus around which all the festivities should revolve.  Even now Jesus is patiently waiting to gain entry to our hearts, homes, churches, and cities, so that he may celebrate this joyous occasion with us.

In the flurry of activity that we call Christmas, our attention is easily distracted from the one we seek to honor.  Yet the heavenly Guest continues to call to us.  He patiently raps on the door of our heart, ready to come in and fellowship with us.  What will our response be?  Will we hear him?  Will we welcome him in?

Christ in the Carols (Thirty-One Devotionals for Christmas and Advent) by Christopher and Melodie Lane, 1999

Friend, there is still time to celebrate in this way.  Don’t feel like a failure if you are realizing how much you have been running around like a crazy woman these last few weeks.  Start right now…start today and really enjoy and bask in the real reason for the season.  Spend time with the birthday boy.

Look!  Here I stand at the door and knock.  If you hear me calling and open the door, I will come in, and we will share a meal as friends.”  (Revelation 3:20)

If you click above, on the title of the song, you will see a video showing people on international missions trips – working on construction sites, feeding the poor, as well as hugging the orphans.  Of course, for those of you that know me, you know my heart draws close to those opportunities and life experiences.  However, my mind does not keep playing that song over and over again because of those types of moments.

It is the holiday season – family, busyness, vacation, shopping, reflection, gift exchanges, food, music, cards, photos, picturesque landscape, parties, sledding, preparations, late nights, early mornings, concerts, celebrations, hustle and bustle, remembrance.  Yes, it ALL comes together during this time of year.

This morning, my children were all excited about the first snowfall actually sticking to the ground.  What a joy to see flakes falling as the wind pushed them side to side.  How clean and fresh everything looks.

Then my mind turned again to that song – “They will know we are Christians by our love, by our love.  Yes, they’ll know we are Christians by our love.”  There are so many people just 3 miles away in the inner city that did not feel joy at the sight of snow fixed to the ground.  There are many sick and elderly that did not jump up and down with excitement at the picturesque view out the window.

And then other thoughts came rushing in:

I hope the waitress will sense Jesus’ love flowing through me

…and the store clerk

…and my neighbors

…and the toll booth worker

…and the maintenance man that comes

…and my children’s schoolteachers

…and the shopper that cut me in line

…

“God, show me what I can DO, but even as I wait for that revelation, help me to BE a radiant light that shows Jesus’ love every moment of every day.”

Colossians 4:5 (NIV)  Be wise in the way you act toward outsiders; make the most of every opportunity.

[Our] Asia Area Director called from India on Tuesday, November 4, to report that a Free Methodist pastor was recently beaten to death in front of his family because he would not renounce his faith. Also, five other Free Methodists were badly beaten and had to be taken to the hospital. The doctor’s life was threatened if he treated their injuries, so they were refused treatment. These attacks took place in a state which neighbors Orissa State where Christians have been facing severe persecution. Please pray for the victims’ families. Also pray for 300 refugees from Orissa who have fled…

I try to stop and imagine but I just can’t.

This is not a story from centuries ago – it’s not the retelling of the Biblical story of Stephen or Paul.

This is happening today.

Please be in prayer… even right now.

“Remember the words I spoke to you: ‘No servant is greater than his master.’ If they persecuted me, they will persecute you also. If they obeyed my teaching, they will obey yours also.”

John 15:20 (NIV)

First would come a few of the “ouch, ouch!” and “that’s too hard!” comments, then the wincing would be added, and finally, to top off the daily event, the tears and angry facial expressions would follow. Yes, mean mom would attempt (with constant failure!) to gently but quickly brush every knot out of her hair until, after what seemed like an eternal, all-out, torture session, the bristles would smoothly run through each section of hair on her head. What was once a knotty, nappy mess became a beautiful, finished hairdo.

That doesn’t happen anymore.  My daughter can now get her hair all ready by herself every morning.  Once in a (great) while , I am a bit saddened by the fact that I don’t do her hair anymore, but on the other hand, it is just one more baby step of the continued pursuit of her full independence.

I have been thinking about that as it relates to God being our Father.  In many ways, the definition of the word “father” is very similar in both the earthly and heavenly perspectives.  God is our provider, our protector, our guide, and our example, just as we want our earthly fathers to be.  Yet, when it comes to this “dependence vs. independence” thing, the earthly and heavenly definitions of “fathering” (or parenting) seem to take on opposite meanings.  As parents, we want our children to, little by little, grow in their independence, whereas, we, as God’s children, should learn to have more and more dependence on Him.  To our children, we say, “Try to do it by yourself.  You can do it!”.  However, God says to His children, “I am here for you to lean and depend upon.  You’re right, you can’t do it by yourself, but nothing is impossible for me!  Let me do it for you.”

I want God to keep brushing my hair.  Yes, it will hurt at times – it will be uncomfortable – I might get angry and want to cry – but I know that He is brushing it in a way that, when He is finished, it will be a beautiful hairdo that can show off His glory in a way that I could never make it do by myself.

Philippians 2:13-15 (NIV) …for it is God who works in you to will and to act according to his good purpose.  Do everything without complaining or arguing, so that you may become blameless and pure, children of God without fault in a crooked and depraved generation, in which you shine like stars in the universe.

Your turn to share:  Does anyone else join me in having a hard time, at times, being a fully dependent child of God, especially in our “independent-minded” culture?

(Just to give you a little background: This past weekend, my daughter and I were out of town for a special reception. We were not flying home until Sunday afternoon, so we were able to go to church with a group of friends in the morning.)

Okay, back to the story…

It came to the part of the service where we, as a congregation, read the section of Scripture that the pastor was going to be preaching on later in the hour. I realized that one of my Spanish-speaking friends, whom we were sitting with, was not able to follow along because it was an English-speaking service. Since I had my parallel, bilingual Bible (one side of each page is in Spanish and the other side of each page is in English) with me, I decided to hand it to him to use and read from. My friend is not a Christian (YET!) so I wanted to be sure that he had the opportunity to, at the very least, read the word of the Lord.

And that’s when the debate began.

All of a sudden, I felt God asking me to give my Bible to my friend as a gift. God wanted me to just hand over my very special, very personal Bible to him. Obviously God did not realize this particular Bible was the one that held so many memories. This was the one that I bought the year before we moved to Chile so that I could do two things at once: learn Spanish and read His Word at the same time. This was the Bible that was by my side through every moment of my life in Chile. This was the Bible that gave me such peace in those difficult moments of learning a new language – of sitting in the many Spanish-speaking services and allowing me to, at the very least, understand the passage of Scripture which was being preached about because I could read it in English. This was the Bible that was used during church services time and time again by those Chilean friends that did not have a Bible of their own. I can still see their faces and picture their precious hands holding onto it.

This was the Bible that had so many of my notes from past sermons… so many memories.

Sitting there in the church pew, the whole debate was really throwing me for a loop because, as some of you may know, I am not a very sentimental person when it comes to things. I am not one that is emotionally attached to many personal items.

And that’s when I knew I was being ridiculous. God graciously, yet strongly, convicted me right there in that pew by whispering to me, “It’s not the Bible, Kristin, that has been with you and given you all those memories and opportunities – it has been ME. Share my words.”

That is all I needed to hear. No longer was it the precious, leather-bound, parallel Bible full of memories. Instantly, it became so much more – it became the necessary food that my friend so desperately needs in his life. At that point, I turned to him and whispered, “I want to give you this Bible, (friend). Please use it and read it.”

I am praying for my friend and am so glad I had the privilege of giving him God’s Word. May it penetrate every part of him. May his heart be softened, and may he realize the true Joy that he can possess in his life.

Psalm 119:105 (NIV) Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light for my path.

Your turn to share: Please tell us about the latest time you have had an opportunity to share God’s word with someone – maybe it was sharing a specific verse or even a life application. (When sharing your story, please just use “friend” instead of a specific name(s). Thanks.)

All my fellow townsmen know that you are a woman of noble character.

noble (Oxford American Dictionary) – having or showing fine personal qualities or high moral principles and ideas

As I read the story of Ruth once again, not once did I think of her as an outgoing person or an extrovert. On the contrary, I considered her quite meek and mild-mannered – one that went about her business without much conversation, debate, or uproar. She did not seem to try to draw attention to herself.

So, if my assumptions about her are accurate, how would “all the…townsmen” know of her “fine personal qualities and high moral principles”?

She led a simple life of quiet servanthood. A life that spoke volumes.