Authentic Worship

Well, I've been listening to Voddie Baucham again, this time about worship. While I do not agree 100% with what he says, I agree with a great deal about it. What I've been able to apply to my life is this definition of authentic worship. (not necessarily just music)

Authentic worship happens when I place my mind's attention and my heart's affection on God, praising Him for who He is and for what He has done.

I find this helpful because even if you have good, godly music, and I think you can and you should,
you must put your heart and mind into its . It can be singing, praying, giving, listening to a sermon, witnessing to others. That's all worship.

Furlough!

Its been a great one so far! We spent a lovely month in So Cal, visiting Churches and family and getting ready to hit the road in our "new" (1983) motorhome. Since then we have driven thousands of miles and are now in Amarillo, TX. We are in a nice hotel with 2 rooms and internet, so, PTL!

The Lord has greatly blessed us. We have met many new people, children of God and fellow-laborers. I love meeting God's people!

The only thing I'm upset about is the new laptop we bought. I think its demon possessed!!!!!!!
It causes me no end of grief!

We have been spiritually blessed as well. We have heard great teaching and preaching. We were given a CD with music and testimony by a man named John Bishop, who had meningitis several years ago. He lost all his memory and had many other physical problems. But he continues to serve the Lord and testify of His grace. His motto is "God is always good, and God is always right" Just let your teeth sink into that one!

More when I can,

rhonda

5 more days

I only have 5 more useful days before we leave for furlough. The house is in a state of flux, my cooking has been limited to what's left in the cupboard. My printers are not working. My vonage phone service is spotty at best. And its COLD!

Still, I am thrilled to be going back. We will be staying in a lovely missions house in Bellflower, CA. for a month before we hit the road in our motorhome.

The church people are sad, and afraid that we might just stay in the US. That's not going to happen unless God moves in a miraculous way. We've had all sorts of tragedies and people problems, many of which were taken care of last night at Lord's Supper.

Just got a call from the dentist and they worked me in for tomorrow at 11 am. Great.

I'll probably have my internet shut down tomorrow as well. So, if this is my last day to blog from home, just know that I'll be back!

Exercise????

So often lately I've read about good Christian women and exercize. Everyone from Candy to Julie Fink to Beth Moore.
So, where does one find good, godly exercize videos? If I put on any old exercize video, my neighbors would think I was having a party!
Any ideas?

Ten more days

We have ten more days before we leave Lanco for furlough. It has been determined by the Powers that be that these will be excruciatingly busy days. This morning around 2 a.m., Sister Miriam's mother passed away. We were on alert since last night. Her son came and got Neil at 2:40, Neil stayed until 5, then came home and got a little rest before going to Mafil. This afternoon after kid's club, he and the guys set up the portable baptistry. It took about 2 hours. Then he came home, had a cup of coffee and we headed over to Miriam's house for the "velorio" which is where everybody sits around the casket. After a few minutes of that, we were ushered into the kitchen. I was there for about an hour, Neil is still there, talking and drinking "mate". Sister Miriam is sad, but no longer hysterical. (I cannot handle "hysterical") This is the third "velorio" I've been to in the past 3 weeks.
I won't be able to attend the funeral on Monday because I have a last-minute dentist appointment (oh joy)

Bro. Jose and has family will arrive next Saturday a.m., so I only have 6 more days of "normal" family life. I will be sooooo glad to get on that plane!

We had 32 kids at club today, which is really great considering the cold and the rain. Actually, I can't believe so many moms let their kids come, knowing full well that they'll get soaked.

Tomorrow night we'll have a baptism, then Tuesday night we'll have the Lord's Supper. As you know, we take the Lord's Supper very seriously around here. Its a big deal to us!


I don't know how much blogging I can do before we must turn off the internet. I already miss it!
Please pray that the Lord will get us through these next few days victoriously and that Neil might not drop dead from exhaustion.

Have a great Lord's Day!

Reading good books

My friend Sarah wrote a very interesting post yesterday. I had also been thinking about books and blogs, both of which I love. But one of the dangers about reading about God (outside of the Bible) is that it does seem like vicarious living, a sort of vicarious Christianity. I remember reading something Max Lucado wrote. He said something about people who live their spirituality through someone else, always hearing about how God is working through someone else, either an author or a pastor. Lucado likened it to always being around and living off someone else's romances, never having a romance yourself. When it comes down to it, its got to be personal! I know it may seem selfish, but I want to hear from God myself. (I am not talking about a new revelation) I want to open the Word and know that God is speaking to ME. So often, we get second-hand spirituality from someone else and that is just not enough.

That being said, I still love books. And I believe that not all books are for every season of your life. My mom admitted to having "My Utmost For His Highest" for years and never read it. Now she reads it daily, and gives it as gifts to everyone she knows. There are books on my shelves that I did not enjoy greatly, but who knows? Maybe in another time, another set of circumstances, I will be ready to read them and get the full benefit.

Praising God

This week our Bible reading schedule has us in 2 Chronicles, the stories of the kings of Judah. The kings of Judah were somewhat better than the awful kings of Israel.
I find the life of Jehoshaphat so interesting. Especially 2 Chro. 2o.
It tells of when the Ammonites and Moabites came against Judah.
After the king prayed and fasted, here is what the prophet said:

17Ye shall not need to fight in this battle: set yourselves, stand ye still, and see the salvation of the LORD with you, O Judah and Jerusalem: fear not, nor be dismayed; to morrow go out against them: for the LORD will be with you.
18And Jehoshaphat bowed his head with his face to the ground: and all Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem fell before the LORD, worshipping the LORD.
19And the Levites, of the children of the Kohathites, and of the children of the Korhites, stood up to praise the LORD God of Israel with a loud voice on high.
20And they rose early in the morning, and went forth into the wilderness of Tekoa: and as they went forth, Jehoshaphat stood and said, Hear me, O Judah, and ye inhabitants of Jerusalem; Believe in the LORD your God, so shall ye be established; believe his prophets, so shall ye prosper.
21And when he had consulted with the people, he appointed singers unto the LORD, and that should praise the beauty of holiness, as they went out before the army, and to say, Praise the LORD; for his mercy endureth for ever.
22And when they began to sing and to praise, the LORD set ambushments against the children of Ammon, Moab, and mount Seir, which were come against Judah; and they were smitten. (emphasis mine)


Don't you just love a passage like this? I thrills me to no end. I am not a highly demonstrative person, but this makes me want to shout!
Our greatest problems can be met with the highest praise so that the Great God Almighty can fight our battles.

How I long to live in the beauty of holiness! Oh God, give me the words of praise that you long to hear. Not just during the song service at Church, but all day, all week. May the meditation of my heart be of worship and praise. May my behaviour, my deeds and my words, reflect a worshipful heart. For the Lord is good and his mercy endureth forever.

Artist Brian Jekel

Remeber the painting I posted a while back of the Boy Jesus in the Temple? I love it, and a print I have of a painting of Jesus and Peter on the water, also by Brian Jekel.

Anyway, a few days ago, I spent several hours organizing Sunday School material at Church. We have a great many flash card Bible stories by A Beka Book. They are fabulous. The lessons are great, as is the art.
So, as I am sorting through the flash cards, I read the titles. "Written by so-and-so...... artwork by Brian Jekel"! I was so surprised, and then I wasn't! It is great artwork.

I am so glad that there are such good artist serving God's Kingdom. This missionary thanks you!

I am so glad....

....to be serving the true God!

Last Fourth of July, I put my American flag in the window. It was rainy and cold, but we had a little celebration. Later that afternoon and I was heading out to Ladies Bible Study, some mormon missionaries had stopped by to see who the other Americans were in town. Neil had just come home and was talking to them. They talked for quite a while. Neil told them of how we had visited the temple square in Salt Lake City. He challenged them with the truth and to read the Bible. After 1.5 hours, all the poor gringo could say was, "My parents are mormons, my grandparents are mormons......." Neil pointed to my mom and said, "She used to be a mormon, her grandparents came to America with the mormons, but she found the truth".

It would be so easy to believe that we're all getting to Heaven some day, that our sincerity in any religion would count for something. We'd like to think that these nice young people giving two years of their lives for their god would be counted to them for righteousness.

Neil's favorite verse is John 14:6. If Jesus said the he was the way, the truth and the life, why would we think there could be any other way? If there were any other way, than Jesus is a liar. But He's not, because he cannot lie. That means somebody else is lying and a whole lot of people are deceived.

That's why we are here. To proclaim the truth of the living God to every creature, one soul at a time. We are few, but we are doing our part, which is all He asks of us.

Self

Several great comments were made about my last post. Michelle said that she believed that the hardest part was dying to "self"
It just so happens that I was reading a book yesterday (no matter how insanely busy I am, I always find a few minutes to read) and I found this poem by Amy Carmichael

God, harden me against myself,
The coward with pathetic voice
Who craves for ease and rest and joy.
Myself, arch-traitor to myself,
My hollowest friend,
My deadliest foe,
My clog, whatever road I go.



Ouch.
Whenever I am feeling super-spiritual, I just have to read a little Amy Carmichael to cut me down to size.

Wives, are we getting it?

A few days ago, Mrs.B posted the Debi Pearl article, "Alone". I had read it of course many times before. As I commented, its a very sobering article.

What I am concerned about is that we still might not be "getting it". I do not consider myself a rebellious wife. But I still find myself doing and saying and thinking things that I know my husband does not find totally submissive, although only he and I can see it.

So, just how far do we have to go? Just how submissive do we have to be? Where is the line? Truthfully, I do not know. What I do know, is that if the Lord Jesus were here in person, I would be humbly bowing before Him. I would be asking his opinion about everything. I would go out of my way to seek out things to please him. Nothing would bother me about him.

Now, I personally don't know any husbands who come near the Lord Jesus, but that's not the point, is it? Aren't we to submit "As unto the Lord?"
If I submitted unto the Lord as I submit to my husband, well, ...........

Am I allowing feminist thoughts to keep me from being submissive "as unto the Lord"? I hope not.

Oh, I hate to be so busy!

First of all, my blogger dashboard is in German today! What???!!!!

Second, last week we had some bad news. A man who has been coming to our mission church in Mafil had a terrible accident at work. A can of varnish blew up on him. He had 65% of his body burned. He died on Monday and we went to his funeral yesterday. He had started coming to our church because he has a daughter who is deaf. He was a pentecostal, but they had no deaf ministry. He told us that he wanted his daughter to "hear" the Gospel, so he started attending our church. According to his testimony, he was saved. Even so, it is a terrible, terrible thing that has happened. Please pray for Kati, his daughter, that we might be able to help her.

The man who will be covering for Neil while we are on furlough arrived with his family this morning for a preview trip. They are resting now, or I wouldn't be able to blog. I don't really enjoy having sleepover company who I don't know really well, so this week will be difficult for me.

We have so much to do before furlough! I feel like just burying my head in the sand!

We had a great prayer meeting last night. There were 63 people there, which is a Wednesday night record. We had several visitors, which is odd for a Wed. night.

I had planned a great birthday for Neil for Monday. We were getting taking the kids bowling, and going for Chinese food, and then we received the news that Jaime had died. Needless to say, it was quite a wet blanket on the B-day plans.

As you know, I have not been writing, but I have been reading, and you all are a blessing to me. Please keep us in your prayers.

The ever lovin' Truth

I've been listening to Voddie Baucham again. My, oh my! I am so glad that Jesus is the TRUTH! There is such a thing as absolute truth. Hallelujah!
I feel so safe knowing that I can trust God to be Truth. I can know Him, and therefore know peace. I can believe in Heaven. I can give my life to Him and for Him. I can trust Him with my children. I can give of myself to others without fear, know that I am giving myself to Him. Wrong will be punished. Justice will be done. I have a home above, in the very presence of the God of Heaven, and He is waiting for ME!

I know that the unbelievers think that we are nuts, ignorant simpletons who need a mythology to "explain" things that our puny minds can understand. Our unsaved relatives think that we are to be pitied. Ah, if they could only see! They don't need to pity me! Oh Lord, open their eyes. May they see your Glory in me.

Furlough

We leave for furlough in exactly one month. I am so excited. I love furlough! We are and will continue to be really, really busy until then, getting everything ready. All the bases must be covered, so to speak. Kid's club, ladies Bible study, Sunday School. Our house, our dogs. Our bills.

Then we get to think about prayer cards and a powerpoint presentation. We need a display. We need to prepare special music, and Neil needs to write a sermon, in English. I get tired just thinking about it!

The only sad thing is that our travels don't take us anywhere near most of you, the dear Sisters I've met here. Most of you are in the Midwest or the Southeast. I'm hoping to meet Michelle and Susan, as they are closer.

I dearly love traveling on furlough. I know, most missionaries dread it. But I love it. I love seeing our supporting Churches. I love seeing other missionaries. I love seeing America. We like sampling the BBQ and Mexican food everywhere. I love shopping in America!!!!

Please pray for our furlough plans. Thanks

Now, here's a Meme!

I've been tagged by Michelle . .
It's "The 5 things I dig (love) about Jesus" meme.
Here are the Rules:Those Tagged will share 5 things they love (dig) about Jesus.Those tagged will tag 5 other bloggers.Those tagged will provide a link in the comments section here of their meme so that others can read them and the creator of this meme John Smulo.

I love that Jesus is more patient with me than I am with my own kids!
I love that He is a teaching God, that He will guide me to what he wants me to do.
I love that He works with me and doesn't give up on me even though I must dissapoint Him often.
I love the fact that He is greater than I will ever know, therefore, I can trust Him with my life.
I love that He takes my sin and hides it behind his back, and remebers it no more

I could go on, but I will now leave that for the five (or more if you want, consider yourself tagged) that I tag.

Susan,
Sister Julie
Kristi
Tori
Sarah

I will refrain from tagging my dear Mrs.B,
as per her request, although I would love to hear her answers!

Food for thought

Bro. Preston has this to say.
"If Satan cannot get you to deny a truth, he'll get you to go to seed on a truth"
Either way, you cease to be useful to the Lord's work.
How many times have we seen preachers and layfolk, moms and dads who will not deny truth, suddenly become inefectual beacause they've "gone to seed" on one truth or another?

Facing the Giants

I finally saw it! And I loved it. To quote Larry the Cucumber, "I laughed, I cried, it moved me, Bob!"
I have seen Christian films that were just horrible. I really liked this one.

So, I googled it just now, I wanted to see what others had said. Here are some quotes from Wikipedia:
For such a small budget -- $100,000 -- the film ultimately was shown in over 1,000 theaters and grossed over $10,000,000 as of 2007-01-01.

The film has been given mostly bad reviews. It has only 9% positive reviews on Rottentomatoes.com with many reviewers describing it as "cliche" and "amateurish," to "appallingly bad." [8] The film had a low budget and lack of "professional" talent, yet some reviewers hint that Hollywood often doesn't do as well

Josh Rosenblatt wrote, "its feel-good storyline, shopworn message, and bottomless sermonizing would have played better in Sunday school than on the big screen, which is — let’s face it — Babylon’s turf.
End of quotes

So, lets recap. Apparently horrible, preachy movies makes 10,000,000 dollars after having spent only 100,000. Hmmm
Mr. Rosenblatt clearly sees that Hollywood is Babylon's turf. Hmmm very interesting. Mr. Rosenblatt, you are right! About the Babylon thing, not about the movie. The movie was great. I tried not to cry, but I did anyway.
Oh, and I don't even like football!

I like this painting.

I have it on dispaly in my living room. The artist is Brian Jekel.

It makes me wonder just what was going through Jesus' mind. Did He know then all that He was, and all that He was going to do? Or did He just know that He needed to be in His Father's house?

More great news!

Neil and I are members of the Lighthouse Baptist Church of La Verne, CA. They are a great Church, and we are greatly blessed to be sent out by them.
Our Pastor, Brian Dunlop is a great pastor for missionaries. He calls us periodically and has visited 3 times.(note, as a missionary kid for 10 years, our former home pastor never visited once, and never called once) So we appreciate Bro. Dunlop to no end. He also happens to be a very good preacher and I am pleased to announce that sermons from our home church can now be heard online. Here is the link.
Don't you just love hearing a good sermon?

Housekeeping revisited

I have always been touched by this passage in Little Women. I thought I'd repeat it here, as it illustrates the blessings of our profession.

Other helps had Jo. Humble, wholesome duties and delights that would not be denied their part in serving her, and which she slowly learned to see and value. Brooms and dishcloths never could be as distasteful as they once had been, for Beth had presided over both, and something of her housewifely spirit seemed to linger around the little mop and the old brush, never thrown away. As she used them, Jo found herself humming the songs Beth used to hum, imitating Beth's orderly ways, and giving the little touches here and there that kept everything fresh and cozy, which was the first step toward making home happy, though she didn't know it till Hannah said with an approving squeeze of the hand . . .
You thoughtful creature, you're determined we shan't miss that dear lamb ef you can help it. We don't say much, but we see it, and the Lord will bless you for't, see ef He don't.

The Lord will bless you for it, see if He don't!