Happy Birthday Elizabeth!

8 years ago the Lord saw fit to gift Ruth and I with a little girl. Ruth and I were so young at the time! (29 years old) So now we are all a full 8 years older. (you can do the math)
Elizabeth has had a very full year. Only one week after her 7th birthday we left Michigan to move down here to Chile. The first couple of months were a difficult transition for her as she really missed her friends and family in Michigan. Thankfully she now has adjusted well and has made new friends down here.
There are many things for which we are thankful for our daughter Elizabeth. She is an obedient daughter and a very loving and responsible big sister to her four younger siblings. But over all of these things we, as her parents, are most thankful for the spiritual insight that the Lord has given her. Of course this has a lot to do with how well that she is doing in other areas as well. Please pray along with us for her further understanding of the Lord and His Word and that she would be empowered through His Spirit to put His Word into practice.

Crying over spilled milk

If only slow motion replay could be applied to real life. As I was walking behind the one year old milk toting Tabitha, I noticed that her shoestring was undone. "I should tie that so she doesn't trip over it", I said to myself. And before I got that thought out of my head, my big foot stepped on her untied shoelace and she and her cup of milk went crashing to the floor below. A big cry went out as she noticed that her precious drink had been so ruthlessly taken away. I was not looking forward to cleaning up the milk but knew that I needed to do it. While Tabi cried about her spilled milk I couldn't help but think about that oft-used phrase, "don't cry over spilled milk." Of course this little one would not understand my rebuke nor consolation in this matter. However it did reinforce in my mind the importance of always trusting in the Lord and focusing on His faithfulness and immutability. Whatever has happened to us has happened. We can't change it. But God can heal from whatever wound we have suffered from. What is happening right now is happening right now. We may not be able to change it, but we can rest assured that the Lord will give us the grace that we need to get through it. What will happen is going to happen. (rest assured no nihilism nor fatalism found here) We can trust that God is good and that He does all things right and has, is, and will use all things for His glory and for the good of those who love Him. So don't cry over spilled milk. If His eye is on the sparrow and not one of them falls to the ground without Him knowing (and allowing it to happen!), He knows what's going on with your milk. Just clean it up and trust in the Lord for His provision of another glass.

Beef chops and bread

We are in the waning moments of our local political race. A new mayor and seven city councilmen will be chosen tomorrow. (Sunday) Just last night Ruth and I were talking about the political process and how we would like to see things done differently. We lamented the fact that we know so little about the candidates and concluded that it sure would be nice to ask them personally "why do you want to hold this office and what makes you different from the other candidates?" So we prayed about it and went to sleep.
Early this morning I ventured out to buy some fresh bread and noticed that the butcher was just bringing in the fresh slaughter of beef. (sorry, my vegetarian friends) Sometimes it takes an hour to place your order at the butcher so I took advantage of the fact that there was only one person in line before me. So, as I am waiting for the butcher to cut up the beef in walks one of the candidates for city council. I ask him, "Don Carlos, are you nervous about tomorrow?" He responds that "no" he is not nervous, he is tranquilo. After a little bit of small talk I throw out the big question, "Why do you want to be a city councilman and what distinguishes you from the other candidates?" (maybe I could have been a reporter, but on second thought I am already a herald of the good news!) He looked a little surprised, but then gave a very good answer to my question. I thanked him for his time and paid for my beef and proceeded on to the bread store. I bought the bread and then went home. Ruth asks, "What happened? Did you go to buy the bread or to make it yourself?" Then I told her the story that I just related to you all. It is like another post that I had from the other day "opportunities". Sometimes we pray for, sometimes we wait for opportunities, and sometimes they just fall into our laps. I wanted to talk to one of the candidates and ask him (or her) some direct questions. I wanted to buy some bread. I "always"am ready to buy some fresh beef. The Lord gave me the opportunity to do all three.
"Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened." (Matthew 7:7-8)
The Lord is so intimately involved in our lives. Our God is not the god of the deist, our God is the Living God, the Maker of heaven and earth and the One whose eye is on the sparrow and how much more important to Him we are than they. (Matthew 10:29-31)

Easier than a birthday cake

Happy 37th Birthday Ruth!

Please join me in wishing my wonderful (and only) wife a very happy birthday. Leave a quick note if you get a chance. Thanks.
Daniel

This could be a postcard ("thanks for the new camera, it takes great photos!")

Opportunities

Have you ever prayed to the Lord and asked for opportunities to share with people? Maybe it is even praying for an opportunity to share with a specific person. Of course the Lord is always listening to our prayers and He answers in ways that sometimes are surprising to us. But when we have those opportunities thrust in our laps, may we also trust in the Lord's power to follow through with what He would have us to do.
Without going into much detail, today was one of those times for me. There were some people that I wanted to talk to and I wasn't sure how it would all work out. We met up on a street corner and ended up at their dining room table talking for a good while. Please pray as well for a Bible study that we have scheduled for Thursday. (Another opportunity)
Opportunities abound. May our faithfulness as well.

Where have you been?

For the last few weeks I have been off the blog radar. Truly I don't know why. I suppose I just got busy with other things and didn't take the time to write anything new. So here's a quick update....
The transportation strike is over. It only lasted about three or four days. We were at the point of running out of gas and food, but disaster was averted.
I travelled to the U.S.A. for a couple of weeks. This was a very productive time and I had the privilege of meeting up with some (but not all, sorry) very near and dear people.
I am now back in Curaco with Ruth and the kids and excited about preaching and teaching at Grace Baptist Church tomorrow morning.
Please pray along with us for our God to be glorified in and through our lives.