Simple Pleasures

Today I have enjoyed some of life's simple pleasures...baking in my own kitchen! We've only been back three weeks, so I'm still enjoying cooking. :)

Hope you have a great weekend...and that you, too, get the opportunity to take some time for simple pleasures.

Thought for the Day

More from the study:


When the three Hebrew children were thrown into the fiery furnace, only their ropes were flammable. Could it be that God sometimes allows us to go through a fiery trial in order to free us from some bonds in our lives?

"But he knows the way that I take; when he has tested me, I will come forth as gold." Job 23:10

Martha Hands and a Mary Heart

This morning I received my 'Daughters of Zion' newsletter from Ladies Ministries. One of the articles really jumped out at me. I'm going to put that article here -- at the end of the newsletter it said to share this newsletter with my friends, so hopefully it's okay for me to do this. :) All credit goes to the Ladies Ministries of the UPCI.

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Martha Hands and a Mary Heart
By: Ruth Harvey - DOZ Director

Have you ever heard the saying -"the best thing a father can do for his children is to love their mother"? Truly a family that has a godly, loving husband and father is extremely blessed. However, that concept needs to be taken one step further and applied to each of our lives. The greatest thing anyone can do for their family is to have a consistent dedication to God. Yet, in this fast-paced society, it seems there are not enough hours in a day to accomplish everything. Nevertheless, I have learned down through the years - we all make time for the things that are the most important to us! In light of this truth, think back over the past day, week, or month. Did you consistently make time for God? Was He important enough to include in your daily schedule or has the Lord been pushed to the back burner of your life?

Luke 10:38-42 showcases two women who responded quite differently to the opportunity to spend time with Jesus. Martha, ever the diligent hostess, got all caught up in the services aspect of things. Setting a beautiful table, preparing a delicious meal and creating a hospitable environment became the dominating force in her life. This drive to excel caused her to overlook one of the most amazing opportunities. Just think, Jesus was in her house! She actually had the chance to sit at His feet in sweet fellowship. Sadly, Martha became caught up in achieving her goals and failed to take advantage of this marvelous opportunity. Instead the harried hostess cornered her honored guest and began griping about her 'lazy' sister who was just sitting around listening to Jesus. But the Master's response highlighted the fact that Mary had indeed made the better choice.

In this high-energy generation, it is imperative to set aside a sacred time of daily devotion. As Charles Spurgeon so ably points out, Martha's fault was not that she was busy serving: "Her fault was that she grew "cumbered with much serving," so that she forgot Him, and only remembered the service. She allowed service to override communion, and so presented one duty stained with the blood of another. We ought to be Marty and Mary in one; we should do much service, and have much communion at the same time. for this need great grace. It is easier to serve than to commune."

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Wow! Mary and Martha in one?! Now there is a challenge. I am attending a Bible Study with some of the ladies in the missionary community here. We are doing the Beth Moore study of Daniel together. In the first part of the study, she takes you through parallels between Babylon and our modern-day, fast-paced, self-absorbed world. Isaiah 47:8, 10 shares the mentality of Babylon: "I am, there is none besides me." Does that not portray our world today?

* Daniel 1:4 ~ importance was placed on youth, beauty, and intelligence
* Daniel 1:5 ~ complete over-indulgence (food from the king's table)
* Daniel 1:6 ~ CHOICES

One of the most overwhelming things for me when we first went back for furlough last year was the CHOICES we have. Everywhere you go in the states: grocery store, gas station, restaurant, Wal-mart -- there are so many choices. Our society has become so caught up in having it "my way".

We must be careful. Only God can truly say: "I am, there is none besides me." We cannot afford to get so caught up in "our way" and "our life" that we forget He is the only way. Let us take time to be with Him. Let us take time to commune with Him. We can SERVE and COMMUNE at the same time.

Love you!
Paula

Brr

Brrr! Who knew that 50* could be so cold! :) And in a house with no heat, it is pretty chilly! I'm sitting here at my computer wrapped up in a blanket. Wishing for a fire. But alas, we haven't stocked up on firewood yet. Hmm, I wonder if there are any trees in my front yard that I could chop down?? Haha

It's a Jungle Out There

On Saturday we took our guests, the Poitras', out to visit the Lemur Park. These little creatures are SO cute (the lemurs, not the Poitras'!). It was so much fun to watch the lemurs jumping around, swinging from tree to tree, eating and playing. Here are some pictures.

I'm Here!

Well, after months of resisting the blog stampede craziness, I have succumbed to the peer pressure of the generation. It seems that if you want to be "cool" you MUST have a blog! :)

My main excuse has been that I don't feel like my thoughts are nearly as interesting as Cylinda's or my fellow missionaries: Danan & Vicki. I LOVE reading their blogs. And often finding myself chuckling or wiping tears as I share their thoughts and feelings. There are also some great MK blogs that I enjoy reading. So here I am. I'll try this out and see how it works.

We are back in Madagascar - finally! After 16 months of deputation, it is so good to be home. We have found things to be much the same here. Some things just never seem to change. We are still waiting on our DSL connection. We'll get it eventually!

Last week we had our National Ladies Conference. I was so proud of our Ladies Committee. They had everything arranged and set up. This is the 20th year anniversary of the Ladies Division here in Madagascar. So we celebrated the Lord's goodness as well as giving honor to those who have served faithfully through the years. (Pictured below: ladies committee members - past & present - on the left. To the right, missionary wife with former & current National Superintendent wives.)



Well, I think that is enough for a first post. I still have to figure all the editing out...and get some pictures on here.