Counting Spots

The last two days I've been studying the story of the ten lepers (found in Luke 17).  It's a familiar story but the study book brought out some new thoughts.


First of all, because Jesus made a point to call the one who returned to give thanks "a foreigner", we can probably safely assume that there were at least some Jews in the remaining nine.  Geographically, this was very likely since this scene took place in a border village between Samaria and Galilee.  But these ten had been drawn together because of their similarity - not their differences - they all had leprosy.  Which made them outcasts of their societies.


Leprosy is often compared to sin.  And I think it can be applied here.  Sin is sin.  A sinner is a sinner.  Sin separates us from God.  Here is an excerpt from my study that grabbed my attention: "Lost is lost.  [But hallelujah] - FOUND is FOUND!  All of us in Christ have received the free gift of salvation in one way only: grace.  When we judge a brother's or sister's sin as so much worse than our own, we are like lepers counting spots." [emphasis mine]


How many times have I found myself doing this? "I know I did this wrong, but look at her!  Her sin is far greater!"  Counting spots.  But my mind goes back to the old song:


Sin can never enter there,
Sin can never enter there;
So if at the judgment bar
Sinful spots your soul shall mar,
You can never enter there.


As with leprosy, there is no natural cure, only God can cure leprosy.  And only His blood can cleanse sin.  I want to be like the "foreigner" and give thanks for His grace and cleansing.  Unworthy tho I am, He gave His life to save me.  Thank you, Jesus!


And the next time I'm tempted to "count spots" - let me be reminded that a spot is a spot.  Sin is sin.  Lost is lost.  And found is found.


One last thought from my study book...could it be that the one who returned to give thanks was the one with the most spots?  (I'll be pondering that one for awhile!)


**Study book notes from the Jesus the One and Only.

Sunday afternoon ~ family time!

I'm BACK!!! :) Today's photo: gorgeous rice fields!!

Jacaranda Time!

In Mada, this time of the year is beautiful with the jacaranda trees blooming (actually, pretty much everything is blooming!  :D).  So pretty.  This one can be seen just outside my dining room window.

POTD

A little bit of heaven on earth. Yes, there will be caramel corn in heaven!!

Musings from Luke 12

My Bible study homework was from the 12th chapter of Luke yesterday.  So much wisdom and teaching packed into one chapter!  Thought I would share some of my thoughts...


In the first few verses, Jesus is cautioning His disciples to guard against hypocrisy.  If you continue reading the chapter, He then begins to give a little insight on just how VALUABLE we are to Him.  We are His treasure.  If we can understand that, I believe this is a great weapon against hypocrisy.  When I am secure IN Him and understand my worth TO Him, then I am free to live FOR Him.  The need to impress others or live to please others is diminished.


Then in verse 15, Jesus cautions, "Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; a man's life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions."  Wow, if that isn't a contradiction to what the world is trying to tell us??!!  Colossians 3:5 calls greed "idolatry".  What are you idolizing?  What am I idolizing?


And then we are told not to worry about what we will eat or what we will wear.  {Ouch!}  I have often struggled with the great importance we as Pentecostals have placed on clothing.  So much conversation, so much effort, so much pride in what we are (or are not) wearing.  Don't get me wrong, I'm not talking about holiness here...I'm just wondering if we are truly living these verses like Jesus encouraged us to live them.  Some people go to the other extreme and just slap on whatever clothes are handy and off they go.  I'm not talking about that either.  Ha!  I mean, just a few verses down, in verse 35, He tells them to be dressed and ready for service.  So obviously SOME thought should be going through our heads in the morning when we are standing in front of our closet getting dressed...but I guess I'm just thinking it should not be an obsession, or a matter of pride, or something to draw attention to yourself.


Finally, the great wisdom of verse 34: For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.


Hmm...I think I'll go ponder that a bit longer.


No photo today...and we'll be traveling the next few weeks so the photos may not be daily, but I'll post when I can!

Grocery shopping

This is the produce aisle of our local supermarket. Veggies, anyone?

Lord, You are Majestic!

During our trip this weekend, the words of this song kept coming to my mind:

Oh Lord, Our Lord, how majestic is Your name in all the earth
The heavens declare Your greatness
The oceans cry out to You
The mountains, they bow down before You
So I'll join with the earth and I'll give my praise to You!

Crusade!

This is what we have been enjoying the last few days. I will have to blog about it later, but it has been a great experience.

Lunch anyone??!!

What a yummy lunch! I love visiting the coast and enjoying fresh fish and seafood. (This was a freshwater fish but still, always tastes better at the coast.)

Today's photo: Landing!

Coming in for a landing in Fort Dauphin.

J-Man Extreme Sports!

Boy + bike + mounds of dirt = FUN!! :)

POTD - Test Day

The Bible School students studying up until the last minute!

Tropical island = strange bugs!

CREEPY mole cricket we found the other day!!!  What a strange looking creature.  God must have been feeling particularly creative when He created this one!  :)

"Got made the wild animals according to their kinds, ...and all the creatures that move along the ground according to their kinds.  And God saw that it was good."

POTD - Go Ye!

We're excited about a new daughter work that is being started from our Headquarters church.  Pastor Emilson and his family (pictured below) will be pastoring this new work, and for the next year they will be sponsored by the 'mother' church.  Excited about what God has in store!

The fields are white, ready for harvest.  Who will go?

Tearing Down Walls

We are tearing down one of the old storage rooms on our property.  Yesterday the guys had a lot of fun knocking down the walls!  :)  

Made me think about walls in our life that might need tearing down.  Maybe someone hurt you in the past or let you down and you built up a wall between you and them.  How about taking out your spiritual sledgehammer and tearing down some walls today!  (And don't worry, I know that some walls/fences are needed...not talking about those kinds of walls!  :D)

 

POTD 10/14

My view for the last few days...and the weeks to come!! Editing a book for printing...and as you can see, there is alot of work to be done!!!  Spacing, punctuation, and formatting, just to name a few.  I go through it then print it out for my "assistant" to do a final spell check (since my computer doesn't do spell check of Malagasy - ha!) then make final corrections before printing.  I have a tight deadline on this one, so pray I get it done!

Today's Photo - 10.13

Duck...duck...goose...no...DUCK!  :)

(Remember, click on the photo for a larger view.)

POTD 10/12

Today I was going through some old filing cabinets at the Bible School office and found some old floppy disks!!!  Made me laugh and I had to share...even though it shows my age to even know what these are!!!  :)

So here is a photo that shows the progression of technology.  When I first started using computers, we used the big floppy disk -- the one pictured here holds about 1.2 MB of data.  Then the 3 1/2 inch floppy came out and it holds a little more - around 1.4 MB.  And then the CD which holds 700 MB.  And now the USB flash drive which, this particular one holds 1 GB (which is 1,000 MB) but you can get them that hold as much as 64 GB (or more??).

Every Little Bit Counts

Jared and I read this story today in his devotional book.  It really struck a cord in me.


"There once was a prince in India who dreamed one evening that he owned a beautiful garden.  The lake in it was different than any other lake in the world because it was filled with perfume.  Its wonderful aroma filled the entire garden and the nearby town.  When the prince awoke, he decided to make his dream come true.  Although he was very wealthy, he didn't have enough money to fill a lake with perfume.  So he invited every person in the country to come to a party.  Each person was asked to bring a small vial of perfume and empty it into the lake. 


People from all over the nation came to the party, and one by one they poured their small vial into the lake.  To everyone's surprise, however, the lake didn't smell any different.  The prince finally asked someone to take a sample of water near the spot where the people were emptying their vials. To the prince's dismay, he discovered the water to be just water!  He realized that everyone thought their little bit wouldn't matter, and had poured water in the the lake instead of perfume."


So this made me think...what is my vial?  Am I giving the Lord "perfume" today?  Or do I feel like my little bit won't matter, and so just giving him "water"?


He deserves our very BEST...whether big or small.

POTD 10/11

Homemade tortillas = yummy fajitas for lunch!!! :)

10.10.10

Oh yeah!!! I do believe summer has arrived!! :)

POTD 10/9

This is a picture of us trying to fill water bottles. The water pressure has been horrible and it can be a slow process. :) Just another one of those things that we should never take for granted!  Here we have to filter or boil our drinking water.  We have a filtering system on our faucet but as you can see, when the water pressure is low, it is just a trickle.  (Actually it was a drip, but my iPhone doesn't have a high quality lens to catch it that way...haha.)  The other day I finally just left the bottle under there and drip by drip, it slowly filled up!  (Surely there's a sermon in there somewhere??)

Photo Of The Day - 10.8

More of the 'shopping' opportunities on the side of the road!

(**Hmm, I've noticed I need to wait until later on in the day to post these, otherwise the dates are off.  I guess the blog goes by American time.  :D)

POTD - 10/7

Test day!!! When we drove onto the Bible School campus, you could see 2nd year students scattered all over the grounds...last minute cram session! :) :)

POTD 10.6

The road in front of our home...

Bike Seat Observations

So today we took the motorcycle into town to run some errands.  One thing I enjoy about riding the bike is being able to focus more on the surroundings.  When riding in the car, I feel more 'isolated' somehow?  Anyway, so here are just a few of the observations made from the 'bike seat' today.

Tshirt logos seen: Hooters, Planet Hollywood, Arkansas Razorbacks, and multiple Bob Marley shirts.

We stopped at the post office and my husband went in to get a package.  I stayed out with the bike to 'guard' it.  :)  A taxi pulled up and the passenger got out and went into the post office.  Meanwhile the taxi driver gets out, opens his trunk and gets out water bottle with gasoline in it and proceeds to put gas in his car.  :)

Some kids were playing in the street (it's a dead end street)...they were playing soccer with a ball that was a bit 'hungry' for air.  Each time they kicked it you could hear the 'thump' of a partially deflated ball.  I wished I had a whole basket of soccer balls to give them.



One little girl came up and she had a sucker in her mouth.  She gave her sucker to one of the boys and let him have a taste.  :)  I guess suckers are better when shared with friends!

We have our first 'fast food' restaurant now.  It's called "Happy King".  Supposedly it's the Chinese version of Burger King.  :) :)  We haven't tried it yet...but the place looks quite authentic.  :)

Along the side of the roads there are ALL kinds of things for sale.  It's like having a Super Walmart spread out along the sides of the road: bread, veggies, meat (see previous POTD postings), bicycles, toilets, toilet seats, plumbing supplies, shoes, clothes, curtain material, fish, toys, radios, cell phones, candy, ice cream...just a few of the things I noticed for sale on the roadside today.

One thing for sure, our bike rides are never boring!  :)  We get alot of attention ourselves...the bike itself is quite unique here, and then to have two 'vazahas' in matching jackets and all our 'gear'...well, let's just say that heads turn.  :)

POTD - 10/5

Who needs Walmart?? :)

Perception & Impressions

Lately Facebook has me thinking of perceptions and impressions.  How conscious should we be of people's perceptions and impressions of us?

First of all, let me say that fake people frustrate me.  People who say one thing and live another.

However, there are some opinions that are not for "general consumption" either.  Some things are just T.M.I.  Some comments/statuses need to be run through a "spirit-check" before you hit "send".  Perceptions of your typed words are often skewed by the lack of visual confirmation.  That is to say: you can say something in a face-to-face conversation and the humor is conveyed by your facial expressions/body mannerisms.  But when you type it, none of those things are visible.  And while some of your friends may know you well enough to 'picture' the humor/meaning behind the words, not everyone may catch it.  Or when you comment on someone else's page, THEIR friends may not even know you and certainly might not understand the context of your words.

I'm preaching to myself here.  Just a little something that has been on my mind recently.  Thank you, Facebook, for reminding me of the responsibility of my words.  Not just on a social networking level, but in all of my correspondence. And indeed, in my conversations and interaction with other people.  What are my words saying?  Am I sowing seeds of encouragement?  Am I sowing seeds of peace?  Am I sowing seeds of joy?  Am I building up with my words?  Or tearing down.

That train of thought leads me right to Matthew 12:34: "...out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh."

But that's a whole 'nuther blog.

Lord, let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart, be acceptable in YOUR sight!

POTD - 10/4

Well, Mondays are normally "catch up" days (not to be confused with ketchup days :D) and so mostly spent here at my desk. At home. Catching up on the weekend's paperwork. (And no, I do not have two computers - I just use the one screen to "dock" my laptop. :D)

POTD 10/3

Sunday School scripture reading:

"Do not make friends with a hot-tempered man, do not associate with one easily angered, or you may learn his ways and get yourself ensnared." Proverbs 22:24-25

POTD 10/2

One thing for sure -- it is never boring to drive the streets of the city here.  Today's photo is just one example of the many interesting sights to see!  Anyone need a new mattress??

POTD 10/1 (Can you believe it is October already??)

Today's photo is special.  My sweetheart surprised me with roses at the seminar.  He was making an illustration about giving unexpected gifts...and I'll say he made his point!!  :)  Thank you, my love!

POTD - 9/30

Today we have two photos again.  Sorry! I just can't help myself.  :)  Today we were blessed to minister in a marriage seminar for the greater city area.   Here are a couple of pictures from our day.

Above: playing "The Newlywed Game".  Hilarious in any language!  :)

Below: can't have a marriage seminar without young couples...which means BABIES!  :)  This is one of the newest additions to our church.  :)

POTD 9/29

I was invited to speak at a sectional ladies meeting this afternoon...great group of ladies!

POTD - 9.28

Here is where we spend our mornings on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays.  :)

Study to show thyself approved!  We both spend the morning studying.  :)

POTD - 9.27

One of the many meat markets lining the streets of this country. Steak, anyone?? :) (Thankfully, I do not have to buy my meat this way since we do have grocery stores with well-stocked meat counters.)

POTD - 9.26

Well, since it's Sunday, we have two pictures!  :)

Here in Madagascar, we bring our offerings to Jesus!  I took this picture this morning during the offering march...loved the 'generational giving' shown here.

Sunday is a real day of 'relaxation' here in Madagascar.  Very few businesses are open and people take the day to relax and enjoy family ~ and attend church.  Pictured below is one of the big landfill areas where they have HUGE sporting events every Sunday.  They'll have four or five different games going on at once (soccer and rugby) and you can come watch the game of your choice.  :)

(If you click on the picture, it will bring up a larger view of the picture.)

POTD - 9/25

Soft pretzels!!! Yummy! :)

Repentance Fruit

While doing my devos today, this scripture jumped out at me:


"Produce fruit in keeping with repentance." (Luke 3:8)


Often in our sermons we hear references to the "fruit of the Spirit" - and the indwelling of the Holy Spirit will certainly produce fruit in your life.


But this scripture indicates that true repentance will also produce some fruit, too!  Hmm.  Somehow I think it's more than just a few tears when you're "caught" but some true CHANGE.  As my husband often describes it - if you were walking north before repentance, then you make a U-turn and head south as quickly as possible!


So, how about some repentance oranges or apples?  Or a big juicy repentance strawberry?  Some days, I have a regular ole fruit salad with all the repenting I'm doing.  :)

POTD - 9/24

This is our house. It has been "in the family" for 20 years now and we love it!
This is the photo of the day because this is where we are spending the day...doing odd jobs around the place. My job has been primarily DUSTING!! *sigh* I often express my wonder at how there could be any dust left outside when it all seems to be inside!
Ah well. Back to my dusting!

Photo of the Day (POTD) - 9/22

2

This morning it was so foggy! This was our view as we passed the lake.

Rediscovery

“Rediscovery may strike a deeper cord than discovery”

(Philip Yancey - What’s So Amazing About Grace?)

I read this line and then went back and reread it. Here, the author Yancey had been talking about the three “lost parables” in the New Testament ~ the lost sheep, the lost coin, the lost son. Each of these parables talk about the feeling of loss, the search, the rediscovery, and the celebration. I doubt that the woman was all that excited the day she first received the coin. Maybe it was just given in exchange for some goods or something like that. But oh the joy when she found that lost coin after much effort and searching! Likewise the shepherd, I’m sure he rejoices over each addition to the sheepfold but still, nothing like the joy of rediscovery after the pain and anguish of knowing your poor little sheep is lost out in the harsh elements alone. And the father. After months of heartache and feelings of loss and aching to feel his arms around his boy, the JOY of seeing his son coming down the path towards him was far more powerful than the joy he felt on the day his son was born.

Perhaps you, too, have experienced this in life. Maybe you had lost a friendship or relationship in your life. What rejoicing and celebration when you reunite with a loved one, or choose to forgive a wrongdoing of a friend or spouse or family member and that close relationship is restored. Maybe you lost your relationship with God and walked away from Him for a time. What a feeling of elation and overwhelming peace when you once again feel His loving arms around you.

Maybe there is something you need to ‘rediscover’ today. Is there someone you need to forgive? Is there someone you need to ask forgiveness of? Is there someone to whom you need to show grace?

Or maybe you are the prodigal child. Maybe you need to come back to the Father and give Him the joy of rediscovery.

”But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion for him; he ran to his son, threw his arms around him and kissed him. The son said to him, 'Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son.’ But the father said to his servants, 'Quick! Bring the best robe and put it on him. Put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet. Bring the fattened calf and kill it. Let's have a feast and celebrate. For this son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.' ”

You come walking...He will RUN to you!

Seven Wonders of the World

A group of students was asked to list what they thought were the present "Seven Wonders of the World." Though there were some disagreements, the following received the most votes:

1. Egypt's Great Pyramids
2. Taj Mahal
3. Grand Canyon
4. Panama Canal
5. Empire State Building
6. St. Peter's Basilica
7. China's Great Wall

While gathering the votes, the teacher noted that one student had not finished her paper yet. So she asked the girl if she was having trouble with her list. The girl replied, "Yes, a little. I couldn't quite make up my mind because there were so many."

The teacher said, "Well, tell us what you have, and maybe we can help."

The girl hesitated, then read, "I think the 'Seven Wonders of the World' are:

1. To See

2. To Hear

3. To Touch

4. To Taste

5. To Feel

6. To Laugh

7. And to Love."

The room was so quiet you could have heard a pin drop. The things we overlook as simple and ordinary and that we take for granted are truly wondrous! A gentle reminder -- that the most precious things in life cannot be built by hand or bought by man.

Paula R Richardson...is amazed at how much Facebook has changed our lives.

Anyone else amazed at how Facebook has changed our lives?

It's unbelievable how often FB comes up in conversation nowadays. "Did you see the news about 'so-and-so'"? I rarely look at news websites any more...just look on FB and you'll find all your world news. And many days, the news feed is better than the funny papers for laughs. :] Also, I find myself saying, "I need to take a picture of that for Facebook!" And then check email in anticipation for friend comments about said picture.

Does anyone else "think" in Facebook status sentences, too?

...is wondering what we did before Facebook?

...is praying that we get our car papers signed today!

...is blessed with so many wonderful friends! All around the world!

...thinks a bag of Cheese Puffs and a Take 5 candy bar would taste VERY good right about now.

...thinks that as much coffee as was in that demi-tasse of coffee I had for lunch - I should NOT be yawning!

...should really be up working instead of sitting here blogging about Facebook.

...is awed by the amazing grace of God.

...thinks the love of God is pretty awesome, too!

...is privileged to be a part of His kingdom...and any small part I can have in reaching the lost is worth every sacrifice!

Two Boxes

I saw this online today and thought it might bless you like it did me. Kinda ties in with my last blog. For sure...the joys in life far outweigh the bad WHEN you have Jesus on your side.

This poem is titled: Two Boxes

I have in my hands two boxes

Which God gave me to hold

He said, "Put all your sorrows in the black,

And all your joys in the gold."

I heeded His words, and in the two boxes

Both my joys and sorrows I stored

But though the gold became heavier each day

The black was as light as before.

With curiosity, I opened the black

I wanted to find out why

And I saw, in the base of the box, a hole

Which my sorrows had fallen out by.

I showed the hole to God, and mused aloud,

"I wonder where my sorrows could be."

He smiled a gentle smile at me.

"My child, they're all here with me."

I asked, "God, why give me the boxes,

Why the gold, and the black with the hole?"

"My child, the gold is for you to count your blessings,

the black is for you to let the sorrows go."

My source online said: Author Unknown.

"Come unto me all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light." Matthew 11:28-30 (KJV)

Oops!

Well, good thing the blogworld does not depend on me for posts!! =) My intentions are good...and numerous...but alas, I often think of "good blogs" when I'm away from my computer. Ha!

Here is a thought for today:

"We have no right to ask, "Why did this happen to me?" when a sorrow comes unless we ask the same question for every joy that comes our way."

Saw this quote today and it made me think. So true. We rarely question the good days. It is only on the hard days that we want to sob and moan, "Why me?" and mumble about "Job" and "patience". Why is it we think we have a "right" to the GOOD any more than the BAD? Did God not promise to make ALL things work for GOOD in our life?

So there you go. My determination for the day. To take the good and the bad with a smile.

And to blog more. :)