God is a good gift-giver and loves blessing His children. That's who He is.
We have been a little discouraged at the price of things here in Uruguay. If you know me, I hate to spend money, and everything we are looking at - from outfitting our house, to buying a vehicle, to going out to lunch - is extremely expensive. It's almost as if you went to JCPenny and tried outfitting your home from their selection of show room material - and that's the low end stuff. For some of you, this may not be a problem, but for me, raised on garage sales and, more recently, spoiled with things like Craigslist, it is difficult. I like getting nice things at a fraction of the cost, which is nearly impossible here.
Sunday morning, I was sitting having a little quiet time with my Jesus, sharing my concerns with Him. All along, we have known that God would supply us for this assignment He has given us, I was just having a hard time getting my mind to accept what my heart was believing. I read about how Abram went after Lot when Lot was captured, how Abram recaptured Lot and brought back the goods and people that had been seized, and how the king of Sodom told Abram that Abram could keep all the goods he captured. Abram responded by making it clear that man would not be receiving the credit for Abram's blessings, but that God would get the credit for providing, and it would be clear that God was responsible. With that, I rested. I asked God if there was anything He wanted me to be doing as I waited. I listened for a few minutes and heard God's voice instructing me to look up the ex-pat community (i.e. English speakers that have moved here from other countries) here in Montevideo. I looked it up and posted something about our arrival and asked if anyone was selling anything.
I left it at that and went and enjoyed my Kayden's birthday. Late last night, I returned to the computer and discovered someone had written me about a moving sale from 4:30-6:30. I had missed it and felt the sting of frustration. I e-mailed the people and asked if they had anything left over. This morning I awoke to an e-mail that they had a lot of things left and that I was invited to come take a look. I called a colleague, and he graciously took me to the other side of town to look at the stuff. We entered the apartment and began looking around. Everything was very nice, and the prices I was hearing were good, but expensive. Two bedroom sets, a fridge, washer/dryer combo, a big flat screen tv, a coffee table, end table, lamps, towels, rugs, paintings, floor scrubber, 5 chairs, desk, leather office chair, coffee grinder, plus a bunch of house decorations. A bunch of stuff that was all within two years old. The people are wealthy and are selling their apartment and needed everything gone by tomorrow. I asked them to give me a price for everything. They went into their office and returned in ten minutes with a price of $3,500 for everything. My jaw dropped, and I hope it wasn't too obvious. To buy things separately would have been outrageous. The fridge itself, new, costs $1,000, the washer/dryer, new, about $900, beds run around $1,000 each, not to mention the set that came with it. I called Timbrel, and we agreed to the price.
Then the part about moving it all. They live in a high-rise apartment, and the elevators here are tiny. They need it gone by tomorrow (Tuesday), and we are not supposed to sign on our apartment until Thursday. To move things can be very expensive, and we are going to have to do it twice, since we are moving it into storage (storage location also provided by God) for a few days until our apartment is ready. We went and spoke with a moving company, (conveniently located right next door to their apartment building) and the price they gave us will move it twice for less than we thought it would take to move it once. Tomorrow morning at 9:30 the pick-up begins.
God is good, and His word never fails. His timing is right. Seek Him, listen, and obey, no matter how hard it is to wait or obey. Our strength is renewed. Now we wait for a vehicle and the rest of the things we will need. On paper, we need more money for both outfit and vehicle funds, but God is not limited to paper, as today proves. Wait, pray, and trust with us.
Montevideo
La Rambla, Pocitos
Monday, January 7, 2013
Wednesday, November 14, 2012
a synopsis of this moment...
Here's what's on my (perhaps our) mind right now...
1. We are starting to look at houses/apartments in Montevideo via e-mail. This is exciting but scary at the same time. The main concern we have is safety for our very busy little boy. We also want to be able to enjoy having people over to our house/apartment.
2. We take our final tests in Spanish in just a few weeks. We are so ready to really use well all that we have learned. We ready to be done with classes and at the same time trying to drink in all the instruction that we can while we still have our wonderful teachers here to help us.
3. We are bracing for the impact of another international move on our family. We can already see our kids, as young as they are, feeling the stress of the change. Change is almost never easy. In our case it is wonderful - something we have looked forward to for so long - but it is change, and change is hard.
4. We are dreading the packing that is going to have to happen in the next few weeks. Tonight I packed for a 2 night trip (our first with 6 people), and that was hard enough.
5. We are thankful for all that we have learned this year that had nothing to do with Spanish. Perhaps another post will come later about this, but for now, to try to sum it up...
We have learned that stressful times do not have to produce a spirit of stress. On the contrary, times of stress are actually gifts to us, calling us to cling to the peace of His Presence.
6. We are very aware of the high cost of a vehicle and everything else we will need to outfit our house/apartment. We are also very aware of the results of the last election and how this might impact giving, both to our support funds and to the individual accounts that will help us buy a car and outfit our house/apartment.
7. We are sure that the assignment hasn't changed. We know that the resources for this assignment are already in existence. Somewhere there are Kingdom workers who have already been supplied with the resources that we need to complete our assignment. We are trusting that those workers are going to walk in obedience, releasing the resources and being blessed and transformed in the process.
8. We want to hear from those who consider themselves part of our team. Your encouragement and exhortation are invaluable, letting us know that we aren't doing this alone.
I wish I could think of a way to close, but the fatigue is getting to me at the moment. Time for bed. Thank you so much for taking the time to read this.
1. We are starting to look at houses/apartments in Montevideo via e-mail. This is exciting but scary at the same time. The main concern we have is safety for our very busy little boy. We also want to be able to enjoy having people over to our house/apartment.
2. We take our final tests in Spanish in just a few weeks. We are so ready to really use well all that we have learned. We ready to be done with classes and at the same time trying to drink in all the instruction that we can while we still have our wonderful teachers here to help us.
3. We are bracing for the impact of another international move on our family. We can already see our kids, as young as they are, feeling the stress of the change. Change is almost never easy. In our case it is wonderful - something we have looked forward to for so long - but it is change, and change is hard.
4. We are dreading the packing that is going to have to happen in the next few weeks. Tonight I packed for a 2 night trip (our first with 6 people), and that was hard enough.
5. We are thankful for all that we have learned this year that had nothing to do with Spanish. Perhaps another post will come later about this, but for now, to try to sum it up...
We have learned that stressful times do not have to produce a spirit of stress. On the contrary, times of stress are actually gifts to us, calling us to cling to the peace of His Presence.
6. We are very aware of the high cost of a vehicle and everything else we will need to outfit our house/apartment. We are also very aware of the results of the last election and how this might impact giving, both to our support funds and to the individual accounts that will help us buy a car and outfit our house/apartment.
7. We are sure that the assignment hasn't changed. We know that the resources for this assignment are already in existence. Somewhere there are Kingdom workers who have already been supplied with the resources that we need to complete our assignment. We are trusting that those workers are going to walk in obedience, releasing the resources and being blessed and transformed in the process.
8. We want to hear from those who consider themselves part of our team. Your encouragement and exhortation are invaluable, letting us know that we aren't doing this alone.
I wish I could think of a way to close, but the fatigue is getting to me at the moment. Time for bed. Thank you so much for taking the time to read this.
Saturday, November 3, 2012
a day trip...to the other side of town
This morning we decided to visit the coffee shop that our friends here in San Jose have started. This coffee shop would be about a 20 minute drive in a car. We, of course, do not have a car, and to take a taxi that far would be pretty expensive, so we took (including the trip there and back) 4 buses, 2 taxis, and we walked for about 20 minutes.
We left our house at about 9:45 this morning, walked to the bus stop, waited over 20 minutes for the bus, took the bus to one bus stop downtown, took a taxi from that bus stop to another bus station, then took another bus, which dropped us off about a block from the coffee shop.
Once there, we visited with our friends (this was definitely the best part) while enjoying some awesome coffee and desserts (Micah had fallen asleep on the second bus so he slept through the desserts - shhh, don't tell him), and then we walked down the road a bit to eat lunch at Subway. After lunch we repeated the entire process - bus, taxi, bus, then walk. Fortunately we didn't have to wait long for either bus on the way home because by this time we were all a bit tired. We got home at 3:00 p.m.
Did I mention that we did this with 4 kids ages 6 and under? Yikes! But it was great to get out of the house and go somewhere.
Can you tell that we are excited about getting to Uruguay (in less than 2 months!!) and getting a car???
Because of the incredibly high cost of vehicles in Uruguay, our vehicle fund still needs about $20,000.
We are asking you...
to pray with us for the release of these funds
to consider what part of this assignment God might be giving you
to pray that God would send us just the right vehicle for us after we arrive
To make a donation online to our vehicle fund, click here.
We cannot begin to say just how excited we are to be so close to living in Montevideo, Uruguay. This year has been incredible for so many reasons (future blog post coming).
Thank you for being on assignment with us.
We left our house at about 9:45 this morning, walked to the bus stop, waited over 20 minutes for the bus, took the bus to one bus stop downtown, took a taxi from that bus stop to another bus station, then took another bus, which dropped us off about a block from the coffee shop.
Once there, we visited with our friends (this was definitely the best part) while enjoying some awesome coffee and desserts (Micah had fallen asleep on the second bus so he slept through the desserts - shhh, don't tell him), and then we walked down the road a bit to eat lunch at Subway. After lunch we repeated the entire process - bus, taxi, bus, then walk. Fortunately we didn't have to wait long for either bus on the way home because by this time we were all a bit tired. We got home at 3:00 p.m.
Did I mention that we did this with 4 kids ages 6 and under? Yikes! But it was great to get out of the house and go somewhere.
Can you tell that we are excited about getting to Uruguay (in less than 2 months!!) and getting a car???
Because of the incredibly high cost of vehicles in Uruguay, our vehicle fund still needs about $20,000.
We are asking you...
to pray with us for the release of these funds
to consider what part of this assignment God might be giving you
to pray that God would send us just the right vehicle for us after we arrive
To make a donation online to our vehicle fund, click here.
We cannot begin to say just how excited we are to be so close to living in Montevideo, Uruguay. This year has been incredible for so many reasons (future blog post coming).
Thank you for being on assignment with us.
Thursday, September 13, 2012
Post-baby Musings...Having a Baby in Costa Rica
Everyone wants to know - what's it like to have a baby in a foreign country?
Really, not much different than having a baby in your own country.
For us, there were several helpful factors:
First, we were blessed to have learned a decent amount of Spanish before the birth, so for the most part we understood whatever people asked or told us. The influence of anesthesia was not helpful for my (Timbrel's) Spanish brain, I must admit, though.
Second, the hospital where Lillian was born is incredibly modern. Except for being noticeably smaller, it felt just like any hospital in the USA. Many staff members speak a decent amount of English, also.
Third, this was our fourth C-section experience, and our fourth time to walk into the wonderful world of caring for a newborn. We knew what to expect, what to do with this tiny bundle of sweetness, etc.
Fourth, some gracious family members came to stay with our other three kids while we were at the hospital. Some friends here in Costa Rica stayed with the younger two kids at our house while our oldest went with the family members to be the first ones to see the baby as she made her way to the nursery. No matter where you are in the world, life is easier with friends and family.
There were a few things that were different, some for the better! During our one night stay after the C-section (that's different!), we SLEPT. For some reason the nurses and other medical professionals don't have to do as many things to you or the baby during the night, so when the baby was asleep (which was most of the time), we were, too.
This hospital allowed us to check into the room where we would be sleeping that night before the C-section happened. It was great to be able to put all of our "stuff" away and not have to find someone to tote it around until two hours after the C-section when I am finally escorted from the recovery room to our actual room.
Not sure if it's Costa Rican custom, or just at this hospital, but our hospital had a lady from a local beauty salon that does the hair and make-up of all the new mommies before they go home - fun.
The biggest difference for Jimbo was walking into an operating room where the operation was already, um, in progress. He has never seen so much of the actual surgery. Fortunately he didn't pass out on us:).
All in all, we had the same difficulties that we normally have - my face itched like crazy for several hours afterwards, I couldn't get close to Micah for several days until the stitches felt safe, there's pain in the adjustment to nursing, and I was TIRED. (Ok, I'm still tired, and so is Jimbo - please keep praying for Micah to sleep well at night.) BUT, this has by far been our best C-section recovery and newborn experience. My body is doing amazingly well (especially after four session of physical therapy to help out my back, which mysteriously fell apart after the C-section), and we are enjoying this baby.
Life with four kids is definitely different than life with three - but that's no surprise. There have been plenty of stressful moments already, but this is an exciting time because it's a time for God to craft more mercy and grace into our parenting as the demands on us increase.
Pray for us, that we would choose to follow our Shepherd onto paths of Rest and Obedience instead of paths of frustration and control, especially in moments, or rather weeks, of fatigue. It is a time of molding, of being soft clay in the Potter's hands, and right now the wheel is flying.
Next week we have the privilege of welcoming my parents to their first outside-the-USA experience! Please stand with us in prayer that my mom will receive her passport before she needs to leave for the airport next Wednesday. On paper things do not look good (red tape...), but our God is the God Who placed the waters where they belong - putting a passport where it belongs is nothing for Him.
Maybe my next blog post will be about how complicated it is to get Lillian's US passport...
hopefully not.
Really, not much different than having a baby in your own country.
For us, there were several helpful factors:
First, we were blessed to have learned a decent amount of Spanish before the birth, so for the most part we understood whatever people asked or told us. The influence of anesthesia was not helpful for my (Timbrel's) Spanish brain, I must admit, though.
Second, the hospital where Lillian was born is incredibly modern. Except for being noticeably smaller, it felt just like any hospital in the USA. Many staff members speak a decent amount of English, also.
Third, this was our fourth C-section experience, and our fourth time to walk into the wonderful world of caring for a newborn. We knew what to expect, what to do with this tiny bundle of sweetness, etc.
Fourth, some gracious family members came to stay with our other three kids while we were at the hospital. Some friends here in Costa Rica stayed with the younger two kids at our house while our oldest went with the family members to be the first ones to see the baby as she made her way to the nursery. No matter where you are in the world, life is easier with friends and family.
There were a few things that were different, some for the better! During our one night stay after the C-section (that's different!), we SLEPT. For some reason the nurses and other medical professionals don't have to do as many things to you or the baby during the night, so when the baby was asleep (which was most of the time), we were, too.
This hospital allowed us to check into the room where we would be sleeping that night before the C-section happened. It was great to be able to put all of our "stuff" away and not have to find someone to tote it around until two hours after the C-section when I am finally escorted from the recovery room to our actual room.
Not sure if it's Costa Rican custom, or just at this hospital, but our hospital had a lady from a local beauty salon that does the hair and make-up of all the new mommies before they go home - fun.
The biggest difference for Jimbo was walking into an operating room where the operation was already, um, in progress. He has never seen so much of the actual surgery. Fortunately he didn't pass out on us:).
All in all, we had the same difficulties that we normally have - my face itched like crazy for several hours afterwards, I couldn't get close to Micah for several days until the stitches felt safe, there's pain in the adjustment to nursing, and I was TIRED. (Ok, I'm still tired, and so is Jimbo - please keep praying for Micah to sleep well at night.) BUT, this has by far been our best C-section recovery and newborn experience. My body is doing amazingly well (especially after four session of physical therapy to help out my back, which mysteriously fell apart after the C-section), and we are enjoying this baby.
Life with four kids is definitely different than life with three - but that's no surprise. There have been plenty of stressful moments already, but this is an exciting time because it's a time for God to craft more mercy and grace into our parenting as the demands on us increase.
Pray for us, that we would choose to follow our Shepherd onto paths of Rest and Obedience instead of paths of frustration and control, especially in moments, or rather weeks, of fatigue. It is a time of molding, of being soft clay in the Potter's hands, and right now the wheel is flying.
Next week we have the privilege of welcoming my parents to their first outside-the-USA experience! Please stand with us in prayer that my mom will receive her passport before she needs to leave for the airport next Wednesday. On paper things do not look good (red tape...), but our God is the God Who placed the waters where they belong - putting a passport where it belongs is nothing for Him.
Maybe my next blog post will be about how complicated it is to get Lillian's US passport...
hopefully not.
Monday, August 27, 2012
Redemption: August 31
I'm having a baby in four days.
After walking through the maternity ward at the hospital in downtown San José today, it is starting to feel a bit more real. (Doing 30 minutes of prenatal monitoring while listening to a set of new parents learning how to feed their baby didn't hurt either.)
Emotions (and probably hormones) are flooding me from all directions. I can almost tangibly feel it - I start to get excited, to feel the joy of this moment, and then something in me tries to put the brakes on the excitement, to hold out on the amazement until I actually see my beautiful baby girl. It is a constant battle to embrace the moment, to feel the joy of anticipation.
What makes it hard to feel joy is that almost-gone-but-still-there nagging feeling of "What if?" What if I am walking into pain? What if there is an unknown, extremely difficult assignment just ahead?
What if what I think (and have every reason to believe) is going to happen doesn't?
Disengaging from emotion is really the only way to keep from feeling the painful what ifs. The problem is, the only way to feel life's joy is to first know life's pain. Shutting myself off from pain also keeps me from experiencing joy.
When God gave us this pregnancy in this time in this place, He continued His work of redemption. We wanted to have a pregnancy of peace - of faith - of resting in Him without a constant struggle with anxiety and fear.
Lillian's name represents who God has told us she would be: our child of peace.
Lillian: means God is my vow
Faith: for us, this name represents peace - peace that is only possible through resting in Him by faith
Today we learned that God is working even more redemption through this pregnancy than we knew. Since our language school classes start next week (don't worry, I'm not starting until October 1, but Jimbo has to start ASAP), and since the sonograms reveal that Lillian is very ready for life outside the womb, my OB agreed to move the C-section date from next Tuesday to this Friday! This is great news.
The redemption factor: this Friday would have been the 28th birthday of my brother, Troy, who died almost three years ago. Troy died on our sister Tamra's birthday - my sister the fifth born. Lillian will be born on Troy's birthday - Lillian is also a fifth born. Both Lillian and Tamra will always have birthdays that include joyfully painful hole - a Troy-sized hole.
Since Troy died in 2009, many of our friends and family have, on his birthday, gone to Krispy Kreme (or other available donut shops) for a Boston cream donut to remember Troy. It looks like this year I will not be finding a donut shop with a Boston cream donut (it was already going to be very interesting to pull this off in San José, Costa Rica, where I'm pretty sure Boston cream donuts do not exist).
So I leave the maintenance of this tradition to you and other family and friends. Maybe you could even eat an extra one for me (and for Jimbo, and for our kids:). As you relish (or just think about) a chocolate-covered, cream-filled donut, will you pray for us? This is an exciting transition, but it's still a transition. We are thankful to have Jimbo's dad and sister here to be extra hands and feet for the next few weeks. Pray for us and for each one of our kids as we enter this new world of being a family of six together while attempting to learn this language called Spanish.
"For the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh but have divine power to destroy strongholds. We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ." 2 Cor 10:4
After walking through the maternity ward at the hospital in downtown San José today, it is starting to feel a bit more real. (Doing 30 minutes of prenatal monitoring while listening to a set of new parents learning how to feed their baby didn't hurt either.)
Emotions (and probably hormones) are flooding me from all directions. I can almost tangibly feel it - I start to get excited, to feel the joy of this moment, and then something in me tries to put the brakes on the excitement, to hold out on the amazement until I actually see my beautiful baby girl. It is a constant battle to embrace the moment, to feel the joy of anticipation.
What makes it hard to feel joy is that almost-gone-but-still-there nagging feeling of "What if?" What if I am walking into pain? What if there is an unknown, extremely difficult assignment just ahead?
What if what I think (and have every reason to believe) is going to happen doesn't?
Disengaging from emotion is really the only way to keep from feeling the painful what ifs. The problem is, the only way to feel life's joy is to first know life's pain. Shutting myself off from pain also keeps me from experiencing joy.
When God gave us this pregnancy in this time in this place, He continued His work of redemption. We wanted to have a pregnancy of peace - of faith - of resting in Him without a constant struggle with anxiety and fear.
Lillian's name represents who God has told us she would be: our child of peace.
Lillian: means God is my vow
Faith: for us, this name represents peace - peace that is only possible through resting in Him by faith
Today we learned that God is working even more redemption through this pregnancy than we knew. Since our language school classes start next week (don't worry, I'm not starting until October 1, but Jimbo has to start ASAP), and since the sonograms reveal that Lillian is very ready for life outside the womb, my OB agreed to move the C-section date from next Tuesday to this Friday! This is great news.
The redemption factor: this Friday would have been the 28th birthday of my brother, Troy, who died almost three years ago. Troy died on our sister Tamra's birthday - my sister the fifth born. Lillian will be born on Troy's birthday - Lillian is also a fifth born. Both Lillian and Tamra will always have birthdays that include joyfully painful hole - a Troy-sized hole.
Since Troy died in 2009, many of our friends and family have, on his birthday, gone to Krispy Kreme (or other available donut shops) for a Boston cream donut to remember Troy. It looks like this year I will not be finding a donut shop with a Boston cream donut (it was already going to be very interesting to pull this off in San José, Costa Rica, where I'm pretty sure Boston cream donuts do not exist).
So I leave the maintenance of this tradition to you and other family and friends. Maybe you could even eat an extra one for me (and for Jimbo, and for our kids:). As you relish (or just think about) a chocolate-covered, cream-filled donut, will you pray for us? This is an exciting transition, but it's still a transition. We are thankful to have Jimbo's dad and sister here to be extra hands and feet for the next few weeks. Pray for us and for each one of our kids as we enter this new world of being a family of six together while attempting to learn this language called Spanish.
"For the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh but have divine power to destroy strongholds. We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ." 2 Cor 10:4
Sunday, July 22, 2012
Song of the Spirit
First a little news flash: We have just over six weeks left until the arrival of baby Lillian. We have a tentative delivery date of September 4. That is the first day of classes for our last trimester of schooling here, so Jimbo will be missing the first few days of class. Timbrel will miss the entire month of September, but will catch up quickly after that, as she will be working one-on-one with a tutor for October, November, and December. Language learning is going really well for us, and we are excited to be where we are in our learning. Thank you for your prayers and for financially supporting us through this year.
We're very thankful for the convenience of podcasts, as that is our food and drink during this year of language learning. The year of language learning can be a dry year, spiritually, but we've been watered well through these internet ministries. We've enjoyed messages from several churches this year and have enjoyed the "community" it provides, even though we are so far away.
Recently, we have been blessed by listening to Pastor Mike Plunket's podcasts. Mike is the pastor of Risen King Alliance Church in New City, New York. Our lives have been enriched by the Holy Spirit through listening to Mike preach through the book of Nehemiah.
Before the births of each one of our children, God has ministered to us in a special way, teaching us, preparing us, nurturing us. Last week's sermon, A Better Song to Sing (click on title to listen) has given us a theme for the next few weeks before our lives are both enriched beyond measure and turned upside down at the same time.
What stuck out to us was the point Mike made about the song of our heart. What is communicated from the music of our hearts is more powerful than the words of our mouth. This is something the church has struggled with for a long time. Mike quoted the philosopher Nietzsche: "Christians will have to sing better songs before I shall believe in their redeemer."
We have been given a new song to sing: the Song of the Spirit. The song of peace, faith, praise, and thanksgiving -- music that is eternal! In order to truly be the Song of the Spirit, the song has to be real and genuine, in spite of how badly and clumsily the words may come out (a real encouragement for us when we communicate in Spanish!) That new song takes people who are nothing and makes them valiant!
The problem: the Song we know we should have is often not the song we hear coming out of our hearts (and therefore eventually out of our mouths). And the harder we try to come up with that Song, the more our "music" degenerates. Worse still, we often don't even recognize that the Song we are communicating is nowhere close to the Song we think we're portraying.
Paul explained it pretty well: "For I do not understand my own actions. For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate...So now it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells within me. For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh. For I have the desire to do what is right, but not the ability to carry it out. For I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I keep on doing. Now if I do what I do not want, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells within me...For I delight in the law of God, in my inner being, but I see in my members another law waging war against the law of my mind and making me captive to the law of sin that dwells in my members."
Romans 7:15-23
We know that our identity is in the righteousness of Christ. We know that His Spirit lives in us, filling us with the Song of the fruit of the Spirit as we identify with Him, His death, and His resurrection. Because of this, when we find ourselves flat on our faces, with the song of death resonating around us, we can say, with Paul, "It is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells within me." My identity is in Christ; to identify myself with sin is to claim that I am an "instrument for unrighteousness" (Romans 6). I can repent, be cleansed, be free from condemnation (Romans 8:1)! Even the very process of this is part of the Song. Life in the Spirit is not about perfection; what do I do when I fail in front of others? Often our failures are used for good in spite of ourselves.
We make countless choices everyday about whose instrument we will be in each moment - will I allow Satan to use me as an "instrument for unrighteousness" by listening to the lies that He is constantly feeding me, just as he did with Eve in the garden? Or will I allow the Song of the Spirit to flow through me as I choose to stop and realize the truth in each moment of decision?
Our assignment is to sing this song of the Spirit to people who have never heard. Will you partner with us, and sing with us the Song of the Spirit wherever your assignment is? You, along with us, are living in a world that needs to hear the song of Jesus' love, not just religious words, but a song from a life totally dedicated to God.
Before the births of each one of our children, God has ministered to us in a special way, teaching us, preparing us, nurturing us. Last week's sermon, A Better Song to Sing (click on title to listen) has given us a theme for the next few weeks before our lives are both enriched beyond measure and turned upside down at the same time.
What stuck out to us was the point Mike made about the song of our heart. What is communicated from the music of our hearts is more powerful than the words of our mouth. This is something the church has struggled with for a long time. Mike quoted the philosopher Nietzsche: "Christians will have to sing better songs before I shall believe in their redeemer."
We have been given a new song to sing: the Song of the Spirit. The song of peace, faith, praise, and thanksgiving -- music that is eternal! In order to truly be the Song of the Spirit, the song has to be real and genuine, in spite of how badly and clumsily the words may come out (a real encouragement for us when we communicate in Spanish!) That new song takes people who are nothing and makes them valiant!
The problem: the Song we know we should have is often not the song we hear coming out of our hearts (and therefore eventually out of our mouths). And the harder we try to come up with that Song, the more our "music" degenerates. Worse still, we often don't even recognize that the Song we are communicating is nowhere close to the Song we think we're portraying.
Paul explained it pretty well: "For I do not understand my own actions. For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate...So now it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells within me. For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh. For I have the desire to do what is right, but not the ability to carry it out. For I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I keep on doing. Now if I do what I do not want, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells within me...For I delight in the law of God, in my inner being, but I see in my members another law waging war against the law of my mind and making me captive to the law of sin that dwells in my members."
Romans 7:15-23
We know that our identity is in the righteousness of Christ. We know that His Spirit lives in us, filling us with the Song of the fruit of the Spirit as we identify with Him, His death, and His resurrection. Because of this, when we find ourselves flat on our faces, with the song of death resonating around us, we can say, with Paul, "It is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells within me." My identity is in Christ; to identify myself with sin is to claim that I am an "instrument for unrighteousness" (Romans 6). I can repent, be cleansed, be free from condemnation (Romans 8:1)! Even the very process of this is part of the Song. Life in the Spirit is not about perfection; what do I do when I fail in front of others? Often our failures are used for good in spite of ourselves.
We make countless choices everyday about whose instrument we will be in each moment - will I allow Satan to use me as an "instrument for unrighteousness" by listening to the lies that He is constantly feeding me, just as he did with Eve in the garden? Or will I allow the Song of the Spirit to flow through me as I choose to stop and realize the truth in each moment of decision?
Our assignment is to sing this song of the Spirit to people who have never heard. Will you partner with us, and sing with us the Song of the Spirit wherever your assignment is? You, along with us, are living in a world that needs to hear the song of Jesus' love, not just religious words, but a song from a life totally dedicated to God.
Tuesday, May 22, 2012
Redemption: the Saga Continues...
"He has made everything beautiful in its time. Also, he has put eternity into man's heart, yet so that he cannot find out what God has done from the beginning to the end." Ecclesiastes 3:11
Today we had another doctor's appointment. Twenty four weeks into the pregnancy and baby and mommy are doing fine. Daddy is too, for that matter.
We wanted God to do something special in this pregnancy. We wanted a pregnancy redeemed. With Madeline and Oliver, the pregnancy was "fun." It was a time of anticipating life and preparing for it, in spite of the aches and pains and antojos (cravings).
Since we lost Oliver in January, 2008, we've had two full pregnancies. These two pregnancies, which gave us Kayden and Micah, were not "fun." There was plenty of nervousness and anxiousness, even apprehension. So we asked God to redeem our next pregnancy, thinking it would come after we got to Uruguay.
Fast-forward to January, 2012. We just made an international move, were just beginning to live in a new land, with a new culture, new language, and new life. God picked this year and this setting to answer our prayer. This pregnancy was completely unexpected, and, in fact, is happening during what most people call the most stressful year of a family's life. The year of language study definitely has enough challenges and transitions in itself without a high-risk pregnancy.
We have to admit, life has been so busy, we have not had a lot of time to think about the pregnancy, except for the occasional doctor visit. Well, now the pregnancy is forcing itself into awareness. You could say it's coming into full view. The Latinos have no problem letting us know how big Timbrel is getting. It's great in this culture to comment on the size of the pregnant mommy. The physical discomfort for Timbrel is making it hard to sit in classes or lay down or stand or sit. A phrase we often tell our teachers and Latino friends is "a Timbrel le duele todo el cuerpo," literally, Timbrel's whole body hurts. So baby "L" is making herself a topic of discussion, making the pregnancy come to the forefronts of our minds on a more permanent basis.
So this week, I (Jimbo) have been thinking more about this pregnancy. The old fears and shadows of anxiety have been poking their heads up on occasion. I began to think about all that God has done in our lives over the past year and a half through emotional healing in spiritual places. Why is the anxiety returning?
Is it a matter of faith, in that I find myself lacking and thus falling into old traps? Do I just somehow need to have more faith? Or is it that I do have faith, but have it in something I don't and can't know, a mystery, and thus don't have a box sufficient for my fears? God I know, but His heaven I don't. These ponderings over my current situation and over eternity filled my mind.
Then a question came to mind, "If God were to open heaven and show me all that He is preparing for me, would I be afraid of or anxious for anything in this life?" As I thought about this question and discussed it with Timbrel, a boldness and courage came over me. There would be nothing to fear. Life would have nothing in it with any power to rock my world. There would be no such thing as personal bad news (sad news, yes, but bad news, no.) Even the most earth-shaking news of impending death could not move me. Dying would be a sad time to say good-bye, but a joyous time of transition and victory. Death would have no sting, no hold over me. The pain would not bring fear, but greater anticipation, for I would soon be entering the rest of God.
Today in the doctor's office we had a sonogram. The nurse came in and prepared Timbrel and did whatever it is she does. Then the doctor came in and the nurse shot him an uncertain look. An all too familiar feeling overwhelmed me. It was the same feeling when I saw the nurses and doctors look at each other on the cold night of January 20, 2008 before telling us the baby was no longer with us. That icy feeling came back today and I felt myself wanting to bolt. I stood up, but there was no place to run. No place to get away to. The doctor then proceeded to do the sonogram, and I heard the baby's heart beat and saw her moving around. I saw a 3-D image, and she even appeared to be smiling at us. Everything was good and well in her little world. Nothing was out of the ordinary.
As I stood there, the question came back into my mind, but it was a little different, "If God were to open heaven and show me all that He is preparing for my children, would I be afraid of anything in this life?" That boldness and courage came back. The cowardliness I just felt turned into peace. Why would I not want my children to be in that wonderful palace, in the physical presence of the King of kings, where there is no fear, no pain, no hurt, and with nothing or no one to ever harm them again. Would that really be bad news? That's where Oliver is already, in reality.
I walked out of the doctor's office and waited for Timbrel to pay the bill. I walked to the elevators and there painted on the entire wall was the verse that started this blogpost: "Todo lo hizo hermoso en su tiempo, y ha puesto eternidad en el corazón del hombre, sin que este alcance a comprender la obra hecha por Dios desde el principio hasta el fin." Eclesiastés 3:11 God really does speak Spanish and He was speaking directly to my heart in this new language. He has put eternity into my heart. His ways are mysterious. From our earthly perspective, He is not safe. He is redeeming this pregnancy. There is joy in His presence. He has made all things beautiful in its time. SO THAT in the coming ages He might show the immeasurable riches of His grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus FOR ALL ETERNITY!!!
Today we had another doctor's appointment. Twenty four weeks into the pregnancy and baby and mommy are doing fine. Daddy is too, for that matter.
We wanted God to do something special in this pregnancy. We wanted a pregnancy redeemed. With Madeline and Oliver, the pregnancy was "fun." It was a time of anticipating life and preparing for it, in spite of the aches and pains and antojos (cravings).
Since we lost Oliver in January, 2008, we've had two full pregnancies. These two pregnancies, which gave us Kayden and Micah, were not "fun." There was plenty of nervousness and anxiousness, even apprehension. So we asked God to redeem our next pregnancy, thinking it would come after we got to Uruguay.
Fast-forward to January, 2012. We just made an international move, were just beginning to live in a new land, with a new culture, new language, and new life. God picked this year and this setting to answer our prayer. This pregnancy was completely unexpected, and, in fact, is happening during what most people call the most stressful year of a family's life. The year of language study definitely has enough challenges and transitions in itself without a high-risk pregnancy.
We have to admit, life has been so busy, we have not had a lot of time to think about the pregnancy, except for the occasional doctor visit. Well, now the pregnancy is forcing itself into awareness. You could say it's coming into full view. The Latinos have no problem letting us know how big Timbrel is getting. It's great in this culture to comment on the size of the pregnant mommy. The physical discomfort for Timbrel is making it hard to sit in classes or lay down or stand or sit. A phrase we often tell our teachers and Latino friends is "a Timbrel le duele todo el cuerpo," literally, Timbrel's whole body hurts. So baby "L" is making herself a topic of discussion, making the pregnancy come to the forefronts of our minds on a more permanent basis.
So this week, I (Jimbo) have been thinking more about this pregnancy. The old fears and shadows of anxiety have been poking their heads up on occasion. I began to think about all that God has done in our lives over the past year and a half through emotional healing in spiritual places. Why is the anxiety returning?
Is it a matter of faith, in that I find myself lacking and thus falling into old traps? Do I just somehow need to have more faith? Or is it that I do have faith, but have it in something I don't and can't know, a mystery, and thus don't have a box sufficient for my fears? God I know, but His heaven I don't. These ponderings over my current situation and over eternity filled my mind.
Then a question came to mind, "If God were to open heaven and show me all that He is preparing for me, would I be afraid of or anxious for anything in this life?" As I thought about this question and discussed it with Timbrel, a boldness and courage came over me. There would be nothing to fear. Life would have nothing in it with any power to rock my world. There would be no such thing as personal bad news (sad news, yes, but bad news, no.) Even the most earth-shaking news of impending death could not move me. Dying would be a sad time to say good-bye, but a joyous time of transition and victory. Death would have no sting, no hold over me. The pain would not bring fear, but greater anticipation, for I would soon be entering the rest of God.
Today in the doctor's office we had a sonogram. The nurse came in and prepared Timbrel and did whatever it is she does. Then the doctor came in and the nurse shot him an uncertain look. An all too familiar feeling overwhelmed me. It was the same feeling when I saw the nurses and doctors look at each other on the cold night of January 20, 2008 before telling us the baby was no longer with us. That icy feeling came back today and I felt myself wanting to bolt. I stood up, but there was no place to run. No place to get away to. The doctor then proceeded to do the sonogram, and I heard the baby's heart beat and saw her moving around. I saw a 3-D image, and she even appeared to be smiling at us. Everything was good and well in her little world. Nothing was out of the ordinary.
As I stood there, the question came back into my mind, but it was a little different, "If God were to open heaven and show me all that He is preparing for my children, would I be afraid of anything in this life?" That boldness and courage came back. The cowardliness I just felt turned into peace. Why would I not want my children to be in that wonderful palace, in the physical presence of the King of kings, where there is no fear, no pain, no hurt, and with nothing or no one to ever harm them again. Would that really be bad news? That's where Oliver is already, in reality.
I walked out of the doctor's office and waited for Timbrel to pay the bill. I walked to the elevators and there painted on the entire wall was the verse that started this blogpost: "Todo lo hizo hermoso en su tiempo, y ha puesto eternidad en el corazón del hombre, sin que este alcance a comprender la obra hecha por Dios desde el principio hasta el fin." Eclesiastés 3:11 God really does speak Spanish and He was speaking directly to my heart in this new language. He has put eternity into my heart. His ways are mysterious. From our earthly perspective, He is not safe. He is redeeming this pregnancy. There is joy in His presence. He has made all things beautiful in its time. SO THAT in the coming ages He might show the immeasurable riches of His grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus FOR ALL ETERNITY!!!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)