A grain of sand

While I was in St. Lucia a few days ago, we spent a bit of time at the beautiful beach playing in the water. But as all trips to the sandy beach go…you must walk away in sandy shoes! No matter how hard you try, it’s nearly impossible while at the beach to get your feet AND your shoes de-sanded before the time to walk comes!

On this particular day, we had a bit of walking to do from the beach to the place to get a taxi and then more walking from the taxi drop to our hotel. Now, don’t get me wrong, I love to walk! But this day….or that time exactly, I would have preferred not to do quite so much walking!

And here is the reason why.

In my flip-flop strap there was a tiny piece of sand. It rubbed against my foot as I waked. At first it was just there…I mean my whole foot was sandy! But as I kept walking, it did not fall away as did most of the sand.

It stayed there….and rubbed and rubbed and rubbed against my foot.

I tried to shift my foot around as I walked but that did not help. So I just ignored it as best I could and enjoyed the rest of the lovely walk home. When I got home, I got all cleaned up and then noticed something. It was a tiny blister worn on the top of my foot…right where that tiny grain of sand rode home!

And then I got to thinking.

Sin.

It’s like sand.

It’s tiny.

It looks no different than all the other grains of life.

What happens when sin rubs against us? At first it makes a blister and it is avoided at all costs.

Sin is like that.

If we let that grain of sin into our lives and let it stay there, then eventually it becomes a callous, and not a painful blister. We begin to accept it as part of life and think nothing more about it.

But God cannot be happy with that!

Isaiah 59:1-2 states that sin separates us from God. We think we are fine with a callous because that is what Satan wants us to believe. But we need to step back, look at all our callouses and get rid of the bad ones! Just as I washed that tiny grain of sand off my flip-flop, so we must do with our spiritual life.

Do you have a callous that needs a good scrub?

Then open your Bible and spend time in God’s Word. He through the Bible can take that callous away!

Mother's Day Memories

Today we celebrated Mother’s Day for Mom. Yes, it’s a bit late….but better late than never. (This was the first free weekend in the last several weeks!) We have taken Mom on a picnic for the last few years for Mother’s Day and taken some pictures. So this year we did the same. Being in Trinidad provides some beautiful picture settings! So we picked up a snack on the way to the chosen picnic area. We got fried beef pies and some pastries, one kind was cheese and one was raisin. We drove up to the top of San Fernando Hill, a local attraction. This is the first time that our whole family has been up there…and WOW! it is so beautiful! We had our snack and some fresh made Lime-Aid…with fresh off the tree Limes. After we ate and enjoyed a bit of a sit and rest, we headed off to take some pictures. We had a blast! The weather was lovely and we found a very cool playground to take some pictures. After we took pictures, we drove down to the seaside and watched the sun set. Then home by way of some local BBQ (It was de-lish!) and a family movie to finish off the lovely day.

As I was sitting on the Hill, I got to thinking about something. We don’t go all out for Mother’s Day (as in spending a lot of money-not that that is bad) but we had a very fun time…and most importantly Mom had a great day. And what I was thinking was this. If one looks constantly to heaven and does not put all their time and effort on things of the earth, then simple things like a picnic and a beautiful sunset are worth so much more than what money can buy. God made such a beautiful world for us to enjoy! Why spend so much time and effort chasing after things that will pass away at the end of all time? We should learn to enjoy and take pleasure in the world around us and not what money can buy. Spend time with family, take some pictures and make precious memories. You will not be sorry that you did!

“While we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen: for the things which are seen are temporal; but the things which are not seen are eternal.”

2 Corinthians 4:18

Psalm 19

"The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament sheweth His handiwork. Day unto day uttereth speech, and night unto night sheweth knowledge."

Psalm 19:1-2

Proverbs

I have been reading through Proverbs the last few days. It’s one of my favorite books! (Among all my other “favorite” books of the Bible.) Within its pages you will find wonderful and truthful tips for everyday living, for children, for wives, for almost anything of which you can think. Solomon, being the wisest man to ever live, had so many things to pass on to his son. We would do well to listen to his wise words and apply them to our lives.

Here are a few things that I noticed reading through this time. Throughout the book, Solomon pleas with his son over and over to listen and hear. In the first 3 chapters alone Solomon uses the phrase “My Son” seven times! But he does not stop there! During the remainder of the book he continues to use words (or phrases) like “incline thy ear,” “receive,” “hear,” “attend,” and “hearken.” Another word that Solomon used over and over is “wisdom.” In fact, in the KJV translation alone “wisdom” is in 54 verses! We all want a hefty dose of wisdom! The best place to get it is the Bible! Yes, secular wisdom is there too…but it’s not going to get you to heaven. Only Biblical wisdom will! Go read Proverbs. You won’t be sorry!

My son, forget not my law; but let thine heart keep my commandments. Proverbs 3:1

Habits

Everyone has habits. Habits are those repetitious things that we do without much and sometimes any thought. Habits can be good, but at the same time bad. I am a very habitual person. It’s not very hard for me to make a new habit…but yet, like most, breaking them is harder.

Habits can rule our lives if we let them. Most of us probably let some habits depict what we do day by day without even knowing it! In some ways that is good. But at the same time….if it’s not something that we ought to be doing all the time it can be detrimental.

Some habits are simple and useful things like brushing your teeth after you get up. Somehow it just makes the whole day go better. There are also things like closing doors and drawers after you are done with them, putting cooking things away as you use them, finishing a project before starting another one and the list can go on. There are things that are habits that we don’t even think about. Like what you do with your hands while you read or watch a movie. This reminds me of Mr. Deeds in “Mr. Deeds goes to Town.” (The Frank Capra one) He points out that everyone has little things that they do without thinking when they are doing seemingly mindless things. This is so true! Try to pay attention to what you do when watching a movie…you might be surprised!

So we now get to habits that are purposeful. These things are very important. Things like eating three times a day, exercising regularly, having good cleanliness and so on. We would turn into perfect slobs if we just lived each day with no goals or structure. Habits are what keep the day going as it should.

But now, I’d like to take this to the next level. As a Christian, one should have good Bible study and prayer time habits. We should gather for worship on a regular basis with other faithful Christians. If we only do these things “on a whim” basis we will not be the kind of strong and faithful Christians that we ought to be.

I have learned that when one adds regular Bible study and prayer time to one’s daily schedule not only does the day go better but we draw closer to God and His will. I have tried for the last year to make daily Bible study (Yes, some days I only read a few chapters) a part of my daily routine. I like to do it best in the morning when my mind is fresh but you know how life goes! Some days it takes all I can do to make sure it gets in there, much less in the morning! Satan wants me to not be able to study every day. But he’s not going to win that one!

While we have these habits that help (or sometimes hinder) our lives we must not get caught up in them to the point that we are not flexible. Some days don’t go anything like what we planned…and sometimes nothing like we have done in the past! Living in the mission field you soon see that “normal” means that every day you have a different set of challenges to face and the only thing that stays the same is…well that things keep changing! If we let habits rule our lives to the point that we are not flexible when we need to be, we will not be happy. But at the same time there has to be a balance. We need to have some kind of structure to our daily life or we will never accomplish anything. This is where flexibility comes in. As the days go by, have plans, but also know that those plans may change or be pushed out of the way for a day or two. It’s all about how we handle those hurdles of life that matter! We can get all stressed out and make ourselves and those around us miserable or we can do the opposite.

In conclusion, give thought to the habits that you have-big or little. Are they the kind of habits that you need to have or want to have? If not, change them! Replace them with better habits, habits that will better your life. And above all, make sure that God is high on the “to get done daily” list! It will make every day that much better!

Bits of Life

It's been a while since I have posted. I thought I'd share some pictures that I have taken over the last 3 months for you to see just a bit of our daily life.

This is our Crown of Thorns plant. It's so pretty when in full bloom!

Last Sunday's beautiful rainbow! I love getting to see rainbows!

Beautiful white, fluffy clouds in a blue sky!

More.....

And another rainbow! God's Creation is so beautiful!

Taking a break from a fun game with some new friends to roast mini marshmallows on skewers over candles=so much fun!

A sunset over the bay....

and the beauty of marriage!

Noah, our van that hauls us on all our grand adventures!

One of our favorite Trinidadian meals of Bus-up-shut Roti, Stewed Chicken/Pork and Channa and potatoes. And yes....we did not forget the silverware...it's a eat-with-your-fingers meal!

Silas is the man for clean-up jobs....when the opening is small! He's the only one that fits inside the water tanks!

What?! Lying down on the job?

This is what we typically get at market every Saturday morning! We enjoy so much the fresh fruit and veggies!

One of our plants after a lovely rain.

Cheyenne, on a hot afternoon....

We live very close to one of Trinidad's Petroleum refineries. Nearly every week right AFTER we have cleaned house they burn this horrid black stuff off...this means three things....either we have a dirty house in a day or two, should switch house cleaning days...or (my vote) stop cleaning house! *wink*

Have a broken kitchen sink drain? No problem! Dad can fix it!

Some guys pouring cement at a building project behind out house. We have enjoined watching them!

Purple and white Vincas.

And last....one of the many lizards that lives in our lime tree!

Garden update

It's been about a month since I posted anything about my little plot of garden. Everything is MUCH bigger now and we have even eaten some of the Pak Choi. (It's Pak Choi here...not Boc Choy). Here are the pictures!

This is what the garden looks like from the back porch. (Looking down)

Pak Choi, Lettuce and Cabbage

Cabbage in black and white...

Tomatoes...that have gotten BIG! They have been tied once and need it again!

Tomato blooms...

The cucumbers are finally climbing. There are a few baby cucumbers on there...but many have fallen off. I don't know why...and I don't like it!

Remember that row of tiny little beans that had just come up? Well...a month later they are climbing their fence....

and have gone OVER the top! It will be fun to see how tall they will get!

My newest addition...Eggplant.

This is another new thing...it's pumpkin! We have been getting slices of these huge pumpkins at market (they are yummy) and we throw the seeds out in our scrap pile. Well...a few weeks ago I found them growing! So now I have pumpkin plants too! I can't wait to see how big the pumpkins will grow!

One of our little Mandarin Oranges!

That is the one month update on the garden! I have had fun working in it. I did have help from my Nathan, Miles and Silas brothers! They put the stakes in and hung the bean fence and the cucumber fence. I'm so glad I have such helpful brothers! Silas has been a big help too! He has helped me fertilize the plants every two weeks. Tomorrow I am hoping to add a few more plants! Oh...and if you were wondering about the pepper plants...they are a sad story! They were too wet where we had them...so Nathan and I moved them and they still are not growing! I don't think they want to get their picture taken anymore! =)

Mom has been prettying up under the lime tree. It looks really nice!

I don't know what the name of this plant is but it's one of my favorites!

And this picture has nothing to do with plants or gardens....but I thought you might enjoy seeing something we see almost every week!

God's creation is so beautiful! Have a blessed day!