Tomorrow we leave for PFO in Mississippi (this is our missionary training for two weeks)! That means half the summer is already over! Yikes! I don’t feel nearly ready for that history class, but I am trying to get some knowledge crammed into my cranium!
I have to recommend a book- Give them Grace: Dazzling Your Kids with the Love of Jesus by Elyse Fitzpatrick. My mom has read the book already, and I have just started it. It is all about NOT raising “good kids”, but kids transformed by the reality of the Gospel. The author asks a good question- how is our “Christian” parenting different from any other parenting that teaches good morals? If you are a parent raising kiddos, this book is a keeper!
Here’s the next thing God taught me(through a Tim Keller sermon) recently: How to see anger in a Biblical light. I don’t often think of God as an angry God. Our society certainly likes to focus on God being a loving God. But if you love someone, you will get angry at things that threaten them. God is the same way. He’s angry at the cancer of sin in our lives. He is still a God of love, but the Bible is clear- God is “…slow to anger, and abounding in love.” (Ps. 103:6; Ex. 34:6) Christ, too, got angry- at the money changers in the temple, and the unbelieving religious rulers to name a few examples. (John 2, and Mark 3) My problem is that I tend to be angry at the person and not the sin. Or that I let my anger spill over into excess or that I want to act upon my anger instead of letting God handle the situation. Keller had a great soul-searching thought- “If you look at the things in your heart that most anger you and ask this question- What am I defending? You will find the answer to what your heart loves the most.” (Because the things we love are the things we defend and get angry about.) Keller points out that individualistic societies put too much emphasis on expressing anger, and communal or moralistic societies tend to tell people to suppress it. Only the Bible has a radically different view- that anger is good, but can be destructive when misused. Even Paul writes in Ephesians “In your anger, do not sin.” I need to recognize anger is not necessarily wrong, but I must be sure to focus it on the right thing- like the sin in my own life.
So while we have been in Texas, God’s been working! What a surprise! I wish I could have great nuggets of wisdom to share all the time, but honestly, my walk with God is not always that exciting! I have prayed that I would grow closer to God throughout this journey. Sometimes I feel like he is stretching me, and other times I feel like I am in a fog. That doesn't mean God is unfaithful- it just means we walk by faith and not by sight- or how things feel. As we have told folks about our move to Indonesia, people asked if we had peace about the decision. And at first, we would tell people about the peace we had. But to be honest, this journey has not always been peaceful- for a variety of reasons- and peace is not what we seek. I am sure Christ didn't feel “peaceful” in the garden of Gethsemane before the Cross. On one level he had a settled–ness about his obedience, but on a very human level, he was stressed! So we don’t look for peace as an indicator of God’s will- but he does give us an assurance that is hard to describe. Perhaps that is what Paul talks of in Philippians when he discusses the “peace that passes understanding…” It’s a different type of peace than what we normally think of…..
Thanks for listening to my ramblings! It’s fun to see how God is working in our lives! Let us know how we can pray for you and how God is working in your life as well! We appreciate your prayers and support. The time is short now. We are excited and sad at the same time! Ready and not so ready! Please continue to pray for the kids as they adjust to being in multiple places every few weeks. Pray too that the visa process will continue smoothly. I was called today and had to send a copy of our itinerary. I guess that means they are working on it! God bless and have a great weekend. Church family- please know how much we miss you all! Sundays are the most difficult days because we are reminded about our family back in New Mexico. Who knew you could miss Crownpoint?? Take care everyone! -mekj
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