The Changes Life Brings

Well, here I am again! It's been a long while. I didn't write for some time because I didn't have time, and then I didn't write because I still didn't have time, and then I didn't write because I didn't know how to pick things up where I'd left off. These past months have been months of great change. I have been struggling to find my footing in it all, still haven't gotten there, but my God is a big God and He's helping me to persevere.

In February we left Mexico on our Spring furlough. We had a great trip. God proved Himself faithful time and time again through everything that happened. As of right now my family is back in Mexico gearing up for Semana Santa (Holy Week) and I am in Oregon.

Some of you might be thinking "what???? When did this happen?" The decision was made in December, right after my birthday. I still can't believe that it actually happened, but it did! I have now been here a month. I have two jobs. I work weekends at the Wildlife Safari selling tickets (just for this month) :) and I am also teaching Spanish classes.

It's been such a drastic change for me. I am saddened by so many things that have changed, but excited by what is yet to come. This is a poem that I wrote one morning as I meditated on everything that had been happening. God's been doing some hard things in my heart, but I'm so in love with Him!

STEPS

Take a step, take a leap
As the years go by the steps seem to become more and more like leaps.
Life is like a dark road;
Sometimes you can barely make out what's right in front of you.
The road draws you forward into the unknown.
Going back is impossible, but what is hidden in the darkness ahead?
Take a step, take a leap
Staying put is ever so much easier than moving on.
Most prefer known hardships to stepping forward into unknown possiblilities.
But just imagine those possibilities!
Take the steps and see what they bring.
The girl becomes a woman
The boy becomes a man
The steps we take make us who we are.
Take a step and trust God for the rest.
Who knows, this next step could be the first step of a new adventure.

So, I am going to pick things up here. My mission hasn't changed, just the country :) . As I undertake this new challenge I could really use all of your prayers!
This has been my passage for the month. I hope that it encourages you as much as it has me!!

Romans 8:26-39
In the same way the Spirit also helps our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we should, but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words; and He who searches the hearts knows what the mind of the Spirit is, because He intercedes for the saints according to the will of God. And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose. For those whom He foreknew, He also predestined to become conformed to the image of His Son, so that He would be the firstborn among many brethren; and these whom He predestined, He also called; and these whom He called, He also justified; and these whom He justified, He also glorified.
What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who is against us? He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him over for us all, how will He not also with Him freely give us all things? Who will bring a charge against God's elect? God is the one who justifies; who is the one who condemns? Christ Jesus is He who died, yes, rather who was raised, who is at the right hand of God, who also intercedes for us. Who will separate us from the love of Christ? Will tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?
Just as it is written,
"FOR YOUR SAKE WE ARE BEING PUT TO DEATH ALL DAY LONG;
WE WERE CONSIDERED AS SHEEP TO BE SLAUGHTERED."
But in all these things we overwhelmingly conquer through Him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, will be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

In Everything give thanks

Well now, it seems as though I missed a few weeks there.... oh, bother! I did intend on writing such a lovely post on Thanksgiving. When that didn't happen I figured that I would still write the post only I would do it the Thursday after Thanksgiving (makes sense, right?)... obviously, that didn't happen either. Now I can't really undo what I didn't do to begin with, but I am thankful, and even though I missed the holiday, I can still express it!

It would take more of your time than you have to give me to tell you all I am thankful for. My God is SO BIG that to write down everything that He has done in my life and in the life of my family would be next to impossible! That said, know that the following is merely the overflow of a grateful heart:

God built our house this year! I will never forget the amazing way God caused everything to fall into place. I praise the Lord for the lives of everyone who was involved in completing the project. It has been such a blessing to us!

Praise God for changes. It's been a year full of them. Lots of shifting of focus ministry-wise and in our weekly schedule has caused some interesting results. Though at times changes can cause pain, like building muscles, in the end we come out stronger and more complete. For this reason, I am confident that, "He who has begun the good work will perfect it." (Phil 1:6)

Praise God for languages! I have loved and continue to love the intricacy and beauty of written and spoken language. The French lessons I was able to continue during part of this year were an unhoped-for blessing. It's so amazing how God knows all of our deepest wishes and desires!

Praise God for friends. There is no greater joy than to worship the Lord in unity with your brothers and sisters! Aren't you so glad that God didn't create us to walk life's road alone?
For all you, my friends: You guys are awesome and amazing sons and daughters of God! You have all been such an encouragement to me over the years. May the Lord return to you tenfold the blessing you have given to me!

Praise God for family! I love my family to pieces, and I am so glad that God saw fit to lend them to me for awhile ;) !

God has been so very faithful in everything over the past year that I couldn't express it adequately with words. I am truly so joyful in the knowledge of my God. Day by day my Heavenly Father has been teaching me to find my everything in Him, to take joy in the simple things and "be content with such things as I have". I have fallen more and more in love with my Creator each and every day. The joy I have inside just makes me want to jump and yell and cry and then go hug someone! It's at these moments that I realize that this world really is rapidly fading, and I ask myself, "Why are you so caught up?" I am reminded of the words of Paul the apostle writing to Timothy and admonishing him to run with endurance the course/challenge/life that had been set before him. "Don't get entangled in the affairs of this world," said Paul, "Run like an athlete. Discipline yourself and run so as to win!" (2 Tim. 2)

So, as we go into the Christmas season and the new year remember this.

Life is a journey and no matter which road you take you'll end up in front of God in the end. Every one of us will give an account of his travels. The Bible says that many are called and few are chosen. Rest assured in the forgiveness of God, but RUN SO AS TO WIN! (1 Cor. 9)

May all the glory be to God forevermore!!!

We're here!

Hello, blogger buddies and faithful readers! I am glad that you stopped by!
As of my last post we -- my family and I -- were preparing to leave for the States. Well, we are now in the States and staying with some very good friends in Tucson, AZ.

Our trip was wonderful! We had no incidents, no excessive heat (praise God!), no delays, pleasant company and great sermons to listen to all the way up! The night before we left Mexico several friends stopped by to send us off. After they left I stayed up for a bit cleaning and getting food ready for the trip (just so that I don't take all of the credit, Annette did help with the food :P ). I think that I ended up going to bed at like 12am ... though it might have been 12:30am ... I don't remember *smiles sheepishly*.

About 15 minutes after I fell asleep -- it was more than that, but it sure felt like 15 minutes -- I felt my Mom shaking my shoulder telling me that it was time to get up. IT should have been quick to get out of the house, but there are always those "last minute details" that seem to take forever! We finally left the house at 4:30am.

Later that day I was commenting to my Mom that it always seemed so much easier to get out of the house when she and my Dad would get everything done and then wake me up when the van was running and we were ready to walk out the door. Now that I am older my Mom wakes me up earlier so that I can help her do the last minute stuff. Don't get me wrong, I love being able to help out and I really do like organizing... but not so much at 3am! ;^D

Anyhow, we arrived in Tucson at 7pm, just in time for supper, and got settled in. The next day we had volunteered to help some friends of ours move. We had a great time getting to know all of the people who showed up to help and just fellowshipping with the friends who we hadn't seen in months. I firmly believe that the best way of getting to really know someone is working beside them... it can show you what the person is really like when they are sweating and out of breath yet still have a smile on their face!

On Sunday we rose early to attend church. My Dad was teaching that Sunday so I had the privilege of hearing the message that God had given him. God used his Word powerfully and I know that more than a few lives were touched and challenged. After the service some friends of ours invited us over for lunch. We had American style taco salad... it really tastes nothing like what I now consider a true "taco salad" but I liked it equally well, if not more! Annette (she is another missionary from Mexico who "hitched a ride" up with us. She'll be staying with us for a week or two) and I decided that as long as you don't consider the food that is called "Mexican food" as authentic, it tastes great!

Anyway, back the events of the day! At four o'clock all of us went over to the church for a picnic. I for one had an absolute blast! We played games, hung out, made new friends, caught up with old ones, ate hamburgers (I liked that part :D), and had a great time! Some of the games that they played were very interesting. There was the water balloon toss -- you can't have a picnic in the summer without that -- then the water balloon fight -- I still have a big bruise on my back where someone pegged me with a balloon that didn't pop -- then a game called "Wink'em" in which you make a fool of yourself by diving to the ground to avoid getting tagged (if you want a more detailed explanation than that you'll have to write me and ask me to explain it better! ;P ). Finally, we played a game called "Kijawbie" (don't quote me on the spelling). In this game everyone (well, we divided it into a team of boys and a team of girls) forms a circle with a little piece of rope with a know on each end between every person.
In the center of the circle you place a garbage can (plastic). On the count of three the whole group starts rotating around the can while trying to make someone else either lose grip on one of their ropes or touch the can. The object of the game: be the last one standing. The rules: no yanking, biting or kicking; anything else goes. The game was brutal! To my great surprise I ended up the last of two standing. The other girl won, but by the time the game was over all I wanted to do was flop down on the grass and stay there -- which I did ;) . If you will believe it, the game that I participated in lasted almost 20 minutes. Can you imagine? 20 minutes of feeling like you hands were going to fall off! I am sure feeling it today! Still, it was enough fun to make up for the aching shoulders and sore legs that I woke up with this morning!!

Today my parents and I went and applied for my passport. It didn't really take very long except for getting my photos. My Dad took me to Walgreens early to do that. I liked how the picture turned out, but my Dad says that it looks like a mugshot because I didn't smile. I replied that if he would have told me that you could smile, I might have! Then again, if I was completely content with the picture it would be just weird! lol

Alright, I think that I have got you all pretty much up to speed. I will only add that God has been wonderfully, amazingly, completely faithful in my life! He is so good and I can naught but praise Him! I hope that you have a blessed day!

Isaiah 40

21 Do you not know? Have you not heard?
Has it not been declared to you from the beginning?
Have you not understood from the foundations of the earth?
22 It is He who sits above the circle of the earth,
And its inhabitants are like grasshoppers,
Who stretches out the heavens like a curtain
And spreads them out like a tent to dwell in.
23 He it is who reduces rulers to nothing,
Who makes the judges of the earth meaningless.
24 Scarcely have they been planted,
Scarcely have they been sown,
Scarcely has their stock taken root in the earth,
But He merely blows on them, and they wither,
And the storm carries them away like stubble.
25 "To whom then will you liken Me
That I would be his equal?" says the Holy One.
26 Lift up your eyes on high
And see who has created these stars,
The One who leads forth their host by number,
He calls them all by name;
Because of the greatness of His might and the strength of His power,
Not one of them is missing.

Everyday goings-on!

And so the time goes by! I cannot believe how fast the weeks seem to pass. I honestly didn't realize that it had been so long since I'd last written!
No much has happened really. Days come and go, it is still very hot and humid and GOD IS GOOD!

Right now my Mom is preparing octopus for lunch... I have never had octopus, but everyone I have asked says that it is very tasty. Still, I would prefer to come to my own conclusion after I eat it. It makes me laugh to think of what I might have said three years ago if my Mom had told me that we were going to have octopus for lunch... very funny! I don't think that anyone in my family would have gone for it, me least of all! But now, I think that everyone except for Evie will eat it without comment (or at least without complaint. A favorite habbit of ours is to comment on the food; my Mom doesn't mind as long as all that we say is positive ;P ). Evie has never liked sea food. Oh well, that just means more for us!

The boys have been working on cutting wood for my Mom's new brick oven -- which, by the way, is now finished. It's sort of hard work, but it keeps them occupied and that means that I have some quiet time to, say, write a blog post!

Yesterday we went to a party for a friend's little boy. It was fun and it was only a few blocks from our house which means that we didn't have to worry about the distant storm clouds catching us on the way home! It was another pool party and the boys spent most of their time trying to climb a rope swing that was stationed above the pool. I think that Jessee holds the record, something that Caleb laments. He really takes pride in being the strongest boy. I wager he'll be doing push-ups for the next few days! Well, I might be exagerating a little bit, but it is true to some extent.

Alright, before I call it a day I want to share a passage in 1 John that I have found quite challenging these past few days:

1 John 3:5-9

You know that He appeared in order to take away sins, and in Him there is
no sin. No one who abides in Him sins; no who sins has seen Him or knows
Him. Little children, make sure no one deceives you; the one who practices
righteousness is rigthteous, just as He is righteous; the one who practices sin
is of the devil; for the devil has sinned from the beginning. The Son
of God appeared for this purpose: to destroy the works of the devil. No
one who is born of God practices sin because His seed abides in Him, and he
cannot sin because he is born of God.

A party, a storm and three days of horrible heat!

Dear faithful readers,
As always, I have to excuse the lack of movement on this blog. And, as always, I do have an excuse. These past few days here have been nice and horrible at the same time. We had a huge storm which knocked down a good number of telephone poles and even more trees. The result of this was that we had no electricity for almost three days (this is my excuse). I was desperate by the third day -- mostly because I hadn't realy been able to sleep without at least having a fan. I slept enough so that I wasn't falling over, but not enough to avoid a headache. Thanks to God, we now have electricity, but the days without it are still fresh enough on my mind to make me quite happy and not at all discontent in the heat... I suppose that means that something good did come of the trial... but at what cost? lol ;^)
There's a really cool story to go with all this, though. I was trying to think of the best way to start, but I guess that the best is always to start at the beginning. Here goes nothing!

On Saturday we all woke up at the normal time, did our chores and other various odd jobs that were to be done around the house and then we had a few hours to spend as we so desired. I spent most of it practicing my guitar and clarinet... and, of course, reading, but I didn't really do much of that. At 1:00 we all got ready and left to a party for one of our friend's cousin's daughter's birthday (say that five times fast!) in Guamuchil.

It was a swimming party and they had rented a pool for the occasion. We had a great time hanging out with our friends and keeping cool (very important!). At about 6:00pm we started seeing a large storm system rolling in, but we didn't really think much of it. We ended up leaving about an hour later and by then the sky looked really dark. Still, it didn't look like the storm was going to hit us for a good hour and we knew that by that time we would almost be home.

After a bit of consideration, my Dad decided that we would take the back roads in order to get home sooner (just so you know, most of those roads are dirt or gravel). We drove for a ways on the road and then, all of a sudden, it got crazy still without even a little bit of breeze. It was like that for a moment and then SWOOOSH! the wind came blowing in. It was a lot like the movie Twister (if you have ever seen it. If you haven't just imagine the harshest wind you have ever seen and that's probably about where it was).

The trees whipped around like crazy and the dust swirled up making mini tornados. It was INSANE! After a little while, the dust got so bad that we could barely see the road, so my Dad had Esteban (a friend of ours who knows the roads really well) change places with him. The wind was so strong that when my Dad opened the front door of the van the wind grabbed it and flung it so hard that it almost came off the hinges (that's the next project that my Dad has on his list, fix van door).

I was a little worried by that time. Not the kind of worried where I was scared, but worried enough to begin constantly praying. We weren't more than 20 minutes from home on one of the gravel canal roads when the rain came. If it was hard to see in the dust, it was twice as hard to see in the rain. Garbage and tree limbs were flying everywhere and the rain was falling almost horizontally. We were driving about 10 miles per hour, but even at that pace we had to stop constantly in order to make sure that we weren't headed into the canal. We were about 5 minutes from the highway when we glimpsed the lights on a car ahead of us. It seemed like the car wasn't moving and as we got closer we realized that not only was the car not moving, but there was a tree on top of it!

From the looks of it, the tree had fallen a matter of minutes before we arrived. It was kind of weird how it happened, but we hadn't been there a minute and my Dad and Esteban were still discussing the best way to be able to help them when three girls (well, more like youth) and a lady carrying her baby rushed out from the bushes where the car was stuck and into our van.

They were all soaked, but no one seemed to really mind since all four of the women were hysterical (I have never actually seen someone go into hysterics, but this was really close). I tried to calm the girls down the best I could. After about 30 minutes of the two men who were in the car trying to get the car out from under the tree, we decided that it would be best to take the women back home and then have them send someone back with help to get the car out.

By this time the rain had calmed down and the road was clear enough to be able to drive on. We backtracked the way we had come and about 2 hours later, after having dropped the women off at their house, we arrived in Las Glorias. Not much of our stuff got damaged by the rain (mostly just some books of mine that were on my desk under the window). Nothing that couldn't be replaced. God really protected us and I hope and pray that we were able to be a testimony to that family. They even invited us to come by and visit them any time!

It's cool how God uses those kinds of circumstances for His glory and to bless us. We kept commenting that, "If we had only left 5 minutes earlier we would have made it through the storm." or "If we had only left 5 minutes later we would have chosen a different road." Then we realized that God used everything and worked it all together so that we would take that road and so that we would arrive at the tree a mere minute after it had fallen. Who knows why it happened, but I do know that it did happen for a reason. Maybe someday I'll know why, but even if I never do I can trust that God is capable and willing to take care of everything!

Alright, I am now going to release you, but only as long as you promise to come back -- or are you too scared? Mwahahaha!
Seriously though, I hope to see you around here again!
Blessings!

God is in Control!

Hello everyone! Interesting title, right? It doesn't have a lot to do with what I am going to write, but it's the thought that has been most prominant in my life over the past few days. I figured, why not make it into a post title? So, I did! :^D

As of right now it is 4:15 a.m. . Some of you might be wondering what in the world I am doing on the computer at such an insane hour... well, there is an easy answer for that too! We are being hit be a storm. Like most nights when we are hit by storms, the power is out, the roof is leaking in places -- there is one right over my head that is dripping constantly. I am already wet, though, so it doesn't really matter too much. I am wet mainly because I had to step outside to find the mop... took me a little bit because the only light I had was a cellphone and the occasional flashes of lightning.

Still, even though storms here do have their downsides, I can't help but love the wildness of them. There is something so magestic about the rolling of the thunder -- that is the perfect word; "rolling". It does sound like it is "rolling" across the sky... BEAUTIFUL!!

Anway, aside from the fact that it is 4 oclock in the morning and the power is out, lets just pretend that this is a normal update. Sound good?

My days have been pretty full this past week. If I am not doing one thing I am doing another. I have been trying to keep my hands busy. I find that when I have my hands busy I am less likely to fall into temptation.
The principal filler of my time has been the memorization of verses. I am trying to memorize the book of 1 John. Right now I am on chapter three. It is very fulfilling to be able to quote passages of scripture; it's nice to know that what I am putting so much time into is something that's going to be of lasting importance. I have also found that when you are memorizing passages of scripture it really helps in your understanding of it. Kind of like the "meditating on His word" that Psalm 1 talks about. I believe that when we take the time to really think about what a verse means, the Holy Spirit gives us understanding.

The best way I have yet found for "meditating on His word" is memorization. For those of you who feel up to it, I would like to challenge you to learn a book of the Bible. After 1 John I am thinking about beginning on the book of Romans. I know that it is a long book, but don't you think that it would be worth the struggle? I do! Take up the challenge, and don't put it off another day. It's a trap that we fall into, procrastinating. Live every day as though it were your last... such a hard motto to live by, but if we want to live lives that will leave a lasting mark on this world, we will have to do more than just plan. It's going to take action and sacrifice...

Luke 9:22-23
"If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, take up his cross daily and follow me"

... are you going to take up that cross? Then take it up! And follow HIM to the end!! And this isn't just about memorizing verse -- thought that's a good thing -- it's about what you are going to do with the grace and mercy that you have been given through the blood of Jesus Christ.

God bless you guys! I hope and pray that you have a wonderful week! May te peace of God which surpasses all understanding be with you!

This is the day that the Lord has made!

You know what I just realized? I have been on this blog for more than a year and I just now realized that my blog's 1 year anniversary passed without me even being mentioned! In fact, I didn't even notice until my Mom made a comment about having a "blog carnival" for her second year anniversary... funny, all those things seemed so important just 6 months ago and now everything seems to fade in comparison to my God and His marvelous works. I am not upset about this, I think that it is the best thing that could have ever happened to me. Still, at the same time it seems weird looking at your life in retrospect.

So, for the celebration of my year (and some) old blog I will merely say this, it's been a great way to learn more! It's funny, you think that you know something, but when you sit down to write it out it's a lot harder to get your thoughts to sound right on paper. In a way you learn more by teaching than by being taught. God's showed me so much through this small corner in the great scope of the Web!

Anyway, that aside, I know that I told you all that I would post pictures of our river trip, but I lied. Well, I didn't really lie, I just decided that since my Mom already posted about it over at OUR FAMILY BLOG, I would do just as well to send you over there! So, click HERE to read her post! (ps- click on the link and at least look at the pictures, it doesn't take THAT long to load!)

This week has been rather full. I have kept busy with homework and guitar lessons and just the everyday occurences that make up life.
The guitar lessons are something that I had been promising for weeks, but that just hadn't worked out on any of the days we had planned. This week I resolved that I would try my utmost to give the lessons and, like most things that you throw yourself into, they guitar lessons got done. Interesting note: it seems that so many times we say that "we just didn't have time" or "I was just swamped" when in reality we didn't try as hard as we could have a probably should have. Like the Bible says in Col. 3:23. We should do everything as unto the Lord and not to men; that includes giving guitar lessons or, say, homework ;^D . It's one of the greatest challenges that we receive as Christians, "Do all as unto the Lord." That pretty much covers any doubts you might have about how to live a life that glorifies God!

Back to the guitar lessons though, they went great! I think that both of the women that I am teaching are learning quickly and (most importantly) have a desire to learn. I am teaching them the keys of G and D. Next week me might add C, depending on how much they practiced what I gave them!

Today we had a large group over for lunch. The main purpose of the get together was to reach out to the families of some of the boys that my Dad has been discipling. Most of their families are non-Christians, so keep them in your prayers. As Americans, a lot of the people who live here see us as "Super-Christians" or "above them", but not in a good way. It's a steriotype that we struggle every day to get rid of as it can become an obstacle when ministering to the people in our village. Through inviting people over to hang out and get to know us we hope not only to share the love of Jesus, but also to help them realize that we are people, just like them, and we care about more than just money. So if God leads, you please pray that HE would be opening doors and showering down HIS blessing in this area.

Now I think that I am ready to go take a shower and then go to bed. It's been a long day and tomorrow will be even longer!
Blessings to you all! Leave me a comment... please!

Semana Santa (Holy Week)

Hello dear readers! I apologize for my absence, but I have been very busy. God has been doing some awesome stuff though, and I want to share it with you!

This last week was Semana Santa (roughly translated, Holy Week). For those of you in the States it probably just meant another normal week until the service on Resurrection Sunday, but for Mexicans it means an entire week of vacations. The only thing that I can really compare it to and be accurate is spring break at Palm Beach, Florida. On our beach, it is basically one whole week of drinking and spending money (and earning money for others).

On a normal day Las Glorias is a quiet town with little to no activity. There are only about 13 families that live here year-round. Needless to say, during Semana Santa those numbers swell to thousands and the beach becomes a beehive of vendors and families on vacation. These two pictures will give you a little bit of an idea...

Cars line up for miles near the entrance to our town and it literally takes hours to navigate the streets and get out. For this reason, those of us who live here either walk or stay at home during the week. Sometimes I cannot believe that this mess of cars and people is my home. It is so different! Still, while there are many down-sides to living on the beach during Semana Santa, there are also many benefits, one of which being that it is a wonderful opportunity for ministry!

Over the years, we have experimented with many different kinds of outreaches, showing Christian movies, giving out water with memory verses taped on the cups, evangelizing and handing out tracks, but none of them have worked as well or had such a tremendous response as the one that we did this year. I first saw this drama three years ago when my Dad was involved in the Bible school (A.D.A.P.T. International, located in Boca Del Rio). For the past two years we have been unable to do it for lack of the sufficient number of people.

This year, however, our pastor brought a team down from the States providing us not only with the right number of people, but a team of people who were willing and able to serve God by helping organize the drama. It was a bit last-minute and we had to rush to get the props together, but with the help of Annette and the other girls on the team, we got through it okay, even if the helmets did smell a little... that's just what you get when you rush paper maché!

[I really should stop now to make a special note of Annette. She directed the whole thing and really threw herself into it 150%! Great job, girl, couldn't have done it without you!]

The drama portrays the death of Jesus Christ in a way that literally takes your breath away. I know that there is no way that anyone would ever be able to comprehend the rejection and suffering that Jesus bore, but this skit brought it more into focus than ever before.

We walked the length of the beach and performed the skit 7 or 8 times. At the end of the skit one of the Mexican leaders would stand up and share the gospel message, then lead all those who so desired in a prayer of salvation. After each time we took 20-30 minutes to pray with those who had accepted Jesus as Lord and to share with those who were interested, or with whomever the Spirit lead us to talk!

It was amazing watching God touch lives... grown men breaking down in tears, elderly women coming to us and asking for prayer, and more precious still were all of the children who came up asking us why we were beating the man carrying the cross.

There was one woman in particular whose hands were crippled who came asking us for prayer. One of the brothers (Jose) prayed for her and then we left. The next day when we were walking along the beach, the same lady came running up to the Jose and thanked him for his prayer. God had healed her hands. For man, this might be impossible, but for God all things are possible! Praise be to God!

By His Wounds: Brian Littrel
(ISAIAH 53:5)
He was pierced for our transgressions
He was crushed for our sins
The punishment that brought us peace was upon Him
And by His wounds
By his wounds we are healed

We are healed by Your sacrifice
And the life that you gave
We are healed for you paid the price
By Your grace we are saved, we are saved

What can wash away my sin
Nothing but the blood of Jesus
What can make me whole again
Nothing but the blood of Jesus

Indescribable God

Psalm 8

How majestic is Your name in all the earth,
Who have displayed Your splendor above the heavens!
2From the mouth of infants and nursing babes You have established strength
Because of Your adversaries,
To make the enemy and the revengeful cease.
3When I consider Your heavens, the work of Your fingers,
The moon and the stars, which You have ordained;
4What is man that You take thought of him,
And the son of man that You care for him?
5Yet You have made him a little lower than God,
And You crown him with glory and majesty!
6You make him to rule over the works of Your hands;
You have put all things under his feet,
7All sheep and oxen,
And also the beasts of the field,
8The birds of the heavens and the fish of the sea,
Whatever passes through the paths of the seas.
9O LORD, our Lord,
How majestic is Your name in all the earth!

Psalm 66

2Sing the glory of His name;
Make His praise glorious.
3Say to God, "How awesome are Your works!
Because of the greatness of Your power Your enemies will give feigned obedience to You.
4"All the earth will worship You,
And will sing praises to You;
They will sing praises to Your name." Selah.
5Come and see the works of God,
Who is awesome in His deeds toward the sons of men.

Job 38

12"Have you ever in your life commanded the morning, And caused the dawn to know its place,
13That it might take hold of the ends of the earth,
And the wicked be shaken out of it?
14"It is changed like clay under the seal; And they stand forth like a garment.
15"From the wicked their light is withheld, And the uplifted arm is broken.
16"Have you entered into the springs of the sea Or walked in the recesses of the deep?
17"Have the gates of death been revealed to you, Or have you seen the gates of deep darkness?
18"Have you understood the expanse of the earth? Tell Me, if you know all this.
19"Where is the way to the dwelling of light? And darkness, where is its place,
20That you may take it to its territory And that you may discern the paths to its home? Our God is indescribable! He is beyond all that we can ever dream or imagine.

“I can understand how a man can look on the world and be atheist; but I cannot understand how a man can look up to the heavens and say there is no God.” Abraham Lincoln

I can’t comprehend how some people say that God is dead! God is not by any means dead! We are dead!! And in our deadness we have become unable to see Him. He is still there and He is moving in our nation and world. It takes a blind man not to see. But then again, the Bible does prophesy this very thing:

Matthew 13:14

“In their case the prophecy of Isaiah is being fulfilled, which says,
'YOU WILL KEEP ON HEARING, BUT WILL NOT UNDERSTAND;
YOU WILL KEEP ON SEEING, BUT WILL NOT PERCEIVE;”

I thank God every day that He allowed me to see!

I am so glad that God is bigger than my troubles and failures! So much bigger! I hope that by the time you finish reading this post you will have been reminded just HOW big God is! We are so small (I mean, really, really, really, really small) in the bigger picture which is the universe and all that is in it-- which, btw, God made.

I’m going to share some pictures with you… Be ready to be blown away! (pictures found at Hubble Telescope Pictures)

THE MILKY WAY GALAXY
This is our galaxy. And that little arrow is pointing to the approximate place that our sun is located. It doesn't have a point because there is no point small enough to give even a partially accurate size ratio.

OUR SUN
Okay, if that's how big our sun is in our galaxy then how big does that make the earth?

RED RECTANGULAR NEBULA IN THE MILKY WAY

PHANTOM GALAXY

HOURGLASS NEBULA
He's got all time in His hands, no?

EARTH CAUGHT IN SUNLIGHT
This picture was taken by voyager as it traveled away from Earth. The streaks of light in the picture are a result of the Sun reflecting off of Voyager. That teeny-tiny little dot is us! Wow!!

CAT'S EYE NEBULA

WHIRLPOOL GALAXY

X-SECTOR AT MIDDLE OF WHIRLPOOL GALAXY
This picture deserves a moment of your time. Just look at it and think on this verse...

John 1:1-5
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
He was in the beginning with God. All things came into being through Him, and apart from Him nothing came into being that has come into being. In Him was life, and the life was the Light of men. The Light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it.

YOU MADE IT ALL
by Chris Tomlin

Mountain maker
Ocean tamer
Glimpses of you burn in my eyes
The worship of heaven
Fills up the skies

You made it all
Said let there be
And there was all that we see
The sound of your voice
The works of your hand
You do all things well
You do all things well

Star creator
Wind breather
The strokes of your beauty
Brushed through the clouds
Light from the heavens
Touching the ground

Imagination runs wild
Breathes the breath of life
Across the fields
Across the miles

You made it all
Said let there be
And there was
All that we see
The sound of your voice
The works of your hands
You do all things well
You do all things well