I read this e-mail from some friends of ours in Haiti and just had to share it with you. I hope it blesses you, as much as it has blessed me.
Hello Friends,
Well here we are back in Haiti. Only the Lord knew we were coming back and He did not tell us until recently. We are here relieving a wonderful Missionary couple, Wanda and Bobby Temple so that they can get some home time. We plan to return for May and August.
So much has changed and so so much remains the same. We are not doing construction anymore so our teams are just small medical teams. In fact we do not have a team this week. Janet and I did something on Sunday afternoon that we had never done in the two years that we have been coming to Haiti. We took a nap. ( that's sleeping in the day time for you young people). At first the light work load felt good, but after a few days we began to miss the volunteers. Mostly we miss seeing their joy grow each day in the service of the Lord. The weather is cool for Haiti mid to high 80's some days. Very different from the Haiti that I know where you melt away several pounds each day then some more each night. Much of the earthquake rubble has been cleaned up, but there is still trash everywhere and more tent housing along the road from the airport. The poverty, sickness, hunger, lack of education, and neglected children are still as common as the smoke and constant dust of Haiti.
"My little children, let us not love in word or in tongue, but in deed and in truth. And by this we know that we are of the truth, and shall assure our hearts before Him." 1 John 3: 18-19
While in the US we are sometimes blessed to be invited to speak at Churches about the work of Baptist men. Sometimes the Churches would give us a cash gift. At first this was embarrassing. We did not need the money and were accustomed to giving to the Church... not receiving from it. Then from time to time friends and family would do the same thing. So we realized that God had a plan for these funds. We started taking any gifts we were given along with us on mission and sure enough the Lord always revealed the intended purpose . As we arrived this time in Haiti, we talked with the doctors about any special need that they may know about. We then got busy in the day to day operation and forgot about money that had been given us.
On Friday noon, out of the blue our trusted driver and friend Jude Belzey turned and said to me " When are you going to Emmanuel's (orphanage)?" Now you must understand that I had not planned to go to Emmanuel's Orphanage but the question went so deep to my heart and I felt as if God had just spoken to me. So, I said "When do you think would be a good time?" Jude immediately responded.
" Why not today?" I told Janet what had happened and we went right then to the local street market to buy a lot of rice, beans, oil, pasta,tomato paste, soap, and, of course, cookies. As we moved from stall to stall we made several vendors very happy at their good fortune to make such large sales.
We proceeded unannounced to Emmanuel's Orphanage. Evon (the director) was not there, so about fifty very happy children gathered around us as we unloaded the food. We passed out the cookies making sure each child got a whole package. The children then stood and sang an amazingly beautiful French version of " How Great Thou Art". We stood with tears in our eyes as each one of the kids from two to ten stood and prayed for the people that had provided the food ( in many cases that was you). By then it was late afternoon (supper time) and Jude noticed that there were on cook fires, no cooking pots boiling. So we looked into their store room and sure enough there was no food supplies. Soon Evon returned and we found out that the kids had eaten their last meal that morning and that he had been out looking for a way to get some food. "Why not today", kept repeating in my mind.
Some of you may believe that this incident was just good timing, but I hope not. I do trust that most will see that this was God's hand and nothing short of His good plan. As I finish this story, I feel led to ask each of you " WHEN ARE YOU GOING TO EMMANUEL'S?" When are you going to take that church job, join a disaster relief or recovery effort, or go on that mission trip, etc.. I am convinced Jude has the same answer God would give. "WHY NOT TODAY?"
In Christ's love and service,
Scott and Janet Daughtry
Titanyen, Haiti
2.16.2012
Monday, February 20, 2012
Monday, February 13, 2012
God Doesn't Need Coffee
Before I got married to my wonderful husband, I used to sing with a small Christian contemporary group of 4 guys and two girls. The group's alto had recently left the road to get married, so the "new girl" joined us. I will never forget our first morning at a host home. I rolled over in bed, and sang out, "Good morning, Sunshine." Without even opening her eyes, she turned to look at me through her eyelids and said in a not-so-nice voice, "Don't talk to me, until I've had my coffee." Needless to say, I never did again.
We became great friends over the course of our tour together, and our relationship stayed strong...as long as I let her have her coffee first!
Now that I'm older, I, too, have developed quite an affinity for coffee and its eye-opening benefits. But one particular morning, there was no coffee to be found. We were staying in a hotel, while our home was being remodeled - compliments of a hot water leak. In order to get some coffee, I would have had to pull on some jeans, comb my disheveled, graying hair, dart out the door, ride the elevator down to the first floor, and hope no one would see me. Obviously, I was in no mood to do that, so I sat down to read, trying to shake off the sleep and concentrate.
Finally after fumbling around for the right page, I found my daily Bible reading: "Have you not known? Have you not heard? The everlasting God, the Lord, the Creator of the ends of the earth, neither faints nor is weary." Is. 40:28. All the sudden, it was as if someone shouted "Whoo-Hoo!" down deep in my soul. My eyes perked up and a huge smile covered my sheet-creased face.
God doesn't need coffee!!!
He never gets draggy at 3 o'clock in the afternoon - not even at 3 o'clock in the morning! My God - my everlasting God, my Lord, my Creator - is awake and alert and ready for our conversation no matter what the time and no matter what the details. Nothing tires Him...not my wanderings, not my burdens, not my mistakes, not my endless complaints, not my continual askings....nothing wearies my God to the point that He needs a rest from our relationship. Nothing.
"Whoo-Hoo!!!"
Dear God, thank You that You never tire, nor become weary as I do. Thank You that at any minute of the day...any second...You are alert and attentive to my needs. You are always available...always accessible...and always there for me...no matter what. Thank You that You don’t need coffee! I love You, Lord.
We became great friends over the course of our tour together, and our relationship stayed strong...as long as I let her have her coffee first!
Now that I'm older, I, too, have developed quite an affinity for coffee and its eye-opening benefits. But one particular morning, there was no coffee to be found. We were staying in a hotel, while our home was being remodeled - compliments of a hot water leak. In order to get some coffee, I would have had to pull on some jeans, comb my disheveled, graying hair, dart out the door, ride the elevator down to the first floor, and hope no one would see me. Obviously, I was in no mood to do that, so I sat down to read, trying to shake off the sleep and concentrate.
Finally after fumbling around for the right page, I found my daily Bible reading: "Have you not known? Have you not heard? The everlasting God, the Lord, the Creator of the ends of the earth, neither faints nor is weary." Is. 40:28. All the sudden, it was as if someone shouted "Whoo-Hoo!" down deep in my soul. My eyes perked up and a huge smile covered my sheet-creased face.
God doesn't need coffee!!!
He never gets draggy at 3 o'clock in the afternoon - not even at 3 o'clock in the morning! My God - my everlasting God, my Lord, my Creator - is awake and alert and ready for our conversation no matter what the time and no matter what the details. Nothing tires Him...not my wanderings, not my burdens, not my mistakes, not my endless complaints, not my continual askings....nothing wearies my God to the point that He needs a rest from our relationship. Nothing.
"Whoo-Hoo!!!"
Dear God, thank You that You never tire, nor become weary as I do. Thank You that at any minute of the day...any second...You are alert and attentive to my needs. You are always available...always accessible...and always there for me...no matter what. Thank You that You don’t need coffee! I love You, Lord.
Saturday, February 4, 2012
The Relationship Remedy
Keep on asking, and you will receive what you ask for. Keep on seeking, and you will find. Keep on knocking, 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. Matt. 7:7-8
God is a relational God. He desires a close, intimate relationship with the ones He calls His own...a relationship free from fear, anger, stress, arguments...free from everything but vulnerability and love. So, is it any wonder that the same "oneness" He desires between Himself and us, is the same "oneness" He desires for us to have in our relationships with one another? After all, this "oneness" is the very essence of Jesus' ministry here on this earth as seen in John 17:21 - that they may all be one; even as You, Father, are in Me and I in You, that they also may be in Us, so that the world may believe that You sent Me.
Yet, sometimes this "oneness" seems impossible. Let's face it, this is the real world. This is the place where life gives us a swift upper-cut, without an apology. Friends disappoint us. Family members refuse to speak to us. Husbands no longer "love" their wives and vice versa. Bosses become infuriated with employees, and employees turn on each other with a vengence.
Yep, relationships here are difficult and sometimes, down-right distressing.
That's why I find it quite interesting that Christ would sandwich verses about asking, seeking and knocking (at the beginning of this blog) smack dab in the middle of one of His discourses about relationships. Hmmm...
In the first part of the chapter, Christ deals with judging others and how you can't see clearly to help another person out of their sin, while knee deep in your own. He addresses more relationships, squeezing in these verses about seeking Him, and then finishes off with the Golden Rule - Do unto others as you would have them do unto you. By the way, I have to keep reminding my children that it doesn't say, Do unto others as they have done unto you!
I guess I've always thought about Matthew 7:7-8 as a complete section of their own...standing by themselves to meet my every request. Yet, if you put them in the context they're written in, Christ seems to be implying that even in the best relationships, rocky times occur. He implies that relationships can be difficult. Yes, some relationships can really try your patience. Yes, some of them hurt like nobody's business. BUT Christ doesn't leave us hanging on the edge of the cliff of despair. There IS an answer, and it's through asking Him to heal those wounds and show you your own shortcomings. It's in praying for the other person or people involved to allow God to heal and change them, just as He is healing and changing you. It's in seeking to find God's will for your life regarding them - whether that means continuing to build a close friendship or to remain an acquaintance. It's in knocking at heaven's door over and over and over again, until you finally get His answer.
Now, you might say, "But God doesn't know my family. He doesn't know how hard it is to live with her/him. He doesn't realize how hard I've tried to get along with them, and they keep pushing me farther and farther away. He doesn't realize how hurt I am and how I feel as if I'll never recover from their wounding." On the contrary, He knows all of those feelings and even more, AND He knows your family. As a matter of fact, He knows ALL the relationships you are involved in right now and how they will turn out - how they will grow you...and make you more like Him, if you let them.
Ask Him for help in your relationships. Seek Him to find His will and knock until your knuckles are sore, glorifying God in your waiting and proving to the world that God, truly, sent Jesus to be its Savior.
We need You, Jesus, to be Lord of our relationships. Help us focus more on You, than we do on the problem people in our lives. Help us to ask, seek, and knock until we get an answer...and then respond to what we have heard. Thank You, Lord, for Your remedy for our relationships. Thank You, Jesus. Thank You.
God is a relational God. He desires a close, intimate relationship with the ones He calls His own...a relationship free from fear, anger, stress, arguments...free from everything but vulnerability and love. So, is it any wonder that the same "oneness" He desires between Himself and us, is the same "oneness" He desires for us to have in our relationships with one another? After all, this "oneness" is the very essence of Jesus' ministry here on this earth as seen in John 17:21 - that they may all be one; even as You, Father, are in Me and I in You, that they also may be in Us, so that the world may believe that You sent Me.
Yet, sometimes this "oneness" seems impossible. Let's face it, this is the real world. This is the place where life gives us a swift upper-cut, without an apology. Friends disappoint us. Family members refuse to speak to us. Husbands no longer "love" their wives and vice versa. Bosses become infuriated with employees, and employees turn on each other with a vengence.
Yep, relationships here are difficult and sometimes, down-right distressing.
That's why I find it quite interesting that Christ would sandwich verses about asking, seeking and knocking (at the beginning of this blog) smack dab in the middle of one of His discourses about relationships. Hmmm...
In the first part of the chapter, Christ deals with judging others and how you can't see clearly to help another person out of their sin, while knee deep in your own. He addresses more relationships, squeezing in these verses about seeking Him, and then finishes off with the Golden Rule - Do unto others as you would have them do unto you. By the way, I have to keep reminding my children that it doesn't say, Do unto others as they have done unto you!
I guess I've always thought about Matthew 7:7-8 as a complete section of their own...standing by themselves to meet my every request. Yet, if you put them in the context they're written in, Christ seems to be implying that even in the best relationships, rocky times occur. He implies that relationships can be difficult. Yes, some relationships can really try your patience. Yes, some of them hurt like nobody's business. BUT Christ doesn't leave us hanging on the edge of the cliff of despair. There IS an answer, and it's through asking Him to heal those wounds and show you your own shortcomings. It's in praying for the other person or people involved to allow God to heal and change them, just as He is healing and changing you. It's in seeking to find God's will for your life regarding them - whether that means continuing to build a close friendship or to remain an acquaintance. It's in knocking at heaven's door over and over and over again, until you finally get His answer.
Now, you might say, "But God doesn't know my family. He doesn't know how hard it is to live with her/him. He doesn't realize how hard I've tried to get along with them, and they keep pushing me farther and farther away. He doesn't realize how hurt I am and how I feel as if I'll never recover from their wounding." On the contrary, He knows all of those feelings and even more, AND He knows your family. As a matter of fact, He knows ALL the relationships you are involved in right now and how they will turn out - how they will grow you...and make you more like Him, if you let them.
Ask Him for help in your relationships. Seek Him to find His will and knock until your knuckles are sore, glorifying God in your waiting and proving to the world that God, truly, sent Jesus to be its Savior.
We need You, Jesus, to be Lord of our relationships. Help us focus more on You, than we do on the problem people in our lives. Help us to ask, seek, and knock until we get an answer...and then respond to what we have heard. Thank You, Lord, for Your remedy for our relationships. Thank You, Jesus. Thank You.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)