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1 Corinthians 3:4-9

"For when one says, "I follow Paul," and another, "I follow Apollos," are you not mere men?

What, after all, is Apollos? And what is Paul? Only servants, through whom you came to believe—as the Lord has assigned to each his task. I planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but God made it grow. So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God, who makes things grow. The man who plants and the man who waters have one purpose, and each will be rewarded according to his own labor. For we are God's fellow workers; you are God's field, God's building."

1 Corinthians 3:4-9


Monday, January 31, 2011

Multitudes on Mondays

Last week, I missed sharing my endless gift list...We were traveling all day and I wasn't able to post...please forgive me.

Today, I will share from the multidudes of gifts I am counting...one by one...gaining grace with every one, learning to share grace as I go, feeling myself soften, as clay in the Potter's hands.

#180 baptisms- young and the young-at-heart choosing to follow Jesus and publically proclaiming Him as their Savior, telling the world they have decided to follow Jesus.
#181 church on the beach
#182 sharing God's goodness with others, reaping their encouragement and praising Jesus together
#183 church family celebrating together
#184 the joy of finding old pictures on the computer
#185 memories of old of when my not-little-ones were so very little
#186 memories of time spent with Karista
#187 Mom and Dad's 36th wedding anniversary
#188 morning saludos from Doña Elvita
#189 tree full of green mangos=tree full of soon-to-be ripe mangos!!
#190 early mornings with Audrey
#191 unexpected provision- Jehovah Jireh
#192 uniterrupted time to study God's Word and prepare to teach it
#193 INTERNS!!! (HOORAY Sarah and Michaela!)
#194 favorite hymns- sung in both English and Spanish
#195 hearing reports of God's goodness, his work, and his sanctification process in the lives of women in the church
#196 public account of God's goodness and work in Villarreal
#197 "Mommy, I just can't sleep until you sing me a song. I tried but I just can't." ~ Audrey
#198 the privilege of praying for good friends, sisters in Christ
#199 the amazing gift of God's creation and His amazing power and authority over all
#200 -God said, and it was...-

May you be blessed in your journey of counting the multitudes of God's blessings...

Saturday, January 29, 2011

Nicaragua

We were inNicaragua all week for our visa renewal trip. We were without internet several days and now there is so much I want to share I don't know where to start.

We got back late yesterday afternoon and I immediately unpacked, started the laundry, checked the beds for critters, and got a big glass of water to drink. It was a long trip yesterday, but good and the Lord was with us.

We had a visit from Makaela and Sarah, our first Potter's Field interns, who are with us for the next couple of months. What a blessing they are! so sweet those two! God is good!

We were all in bed fairly early last night and are all tired today, but as our morning prayers reflected, all thankful for the trip and to be home again.

We stayed an extra day this time to soak up all the time we could with our dear friends, David and Tamra, who live in the little town we stayed in and are studying Spanish there. It is such a gift to have friends who speak the Truth into our lives. Who are there for us, stop and pray for us in the moment, who just stop and be with us...

These visa trips are little get-aways for us, breaks in the routine, times to stop and reflect and relax. Many time though, I look at them as a hassle due to the preparation involved, the interruption of school and ministry, and the cost involved. However this time, we welcomed the trip and planned to serve with our friends. God is so good and allowed us to be part of his beautiful plan these past few days. He reminded us of His faithfulness, of His goodness, and of His plan for us to continue to bring His good news to all and keep on making disciples.

We enjoyed being back in San Juan del Sur again and at the Hotel Villa Isabella with Mike and his staff. It has become our home-away-from-home. It is great when you go back several times and they welcome you back like family. And it was awesome to be neighbors with Dave and Tamra again for a few days!

We were able to get a good picture of Nicaraguan culture this trip, too. We took of to Rivas on Tuesday with the goal of finding the big Farmer's Market. It took up a good 4 blocks one way and about 6 the other. Rows and rows of wares, everyone with the "best price in town!" It was really fun though and the Nicaraguan people are so kind and hospitable.

Later that day, after a quick dip in the pool, we took off with Dave and Tamra to a little area called Ojochal. The darkness is an undeniable reality here. There are no power lines to this area, so they live without any form of electricity. Just recently, an organization came through and built latrines for every home. There are about 35 homes in this little barrio, but have 2 plus families living in them. There is a water source, but during different parts of the year the source dries up and they must go the the river to bathe, wash clothes and dishes, and to gather drinking water. When the sun sets, it is pitch black dark. The nearest town is a good 3/4 of a mile walk. The people live off the land and trade with their neighbors what they have to get what they need.

Dave and Tamra have been studying Spanish for about 6 months in San Juan del Sur. Several of their teachers have come to know Jesus during Dave and Tamra's  time at the school. They have also started discipleship groups with several of their teachers. What the Lord does in our lives during periods where we think othing much is going on is really quite remarkable, if we open our eyes to it. The Lord is working through Dave and Tamra as they learn the Spanish language and speak His Truth into the lives of the teachers at the school. The teachers organized a Christmas party for this little barrio called Ojochal and thus begins the story and their connection to these people.

We drove to the house of peace Dave and Tamra have found to park our car and got out to visit with the first family. We first met Maria and her son and daughter and older daughter living their with her young daughter. We sat and visited with them for some time and found out information about the area and the people. Maria told us about her young son who had broken his arm years ago. She had never taken him to the doctor because she knew he'd had to have surgery and she just couldn't handle that. So, it reset itself, but he now has a large bump near his elbow where it has set itself in the incorrect position. It is movable and functionable although he lives with pain.

Then we went to the house across the street. We had to squeeze through the barbed wire gate and approach the house with caution as we called out our greeting. Our goal was to cross through this yard and trek back into the woods to begin the journey to Ana's land and home. After we gained permission to cross through the first land, we set off down a hill, through a woods, across a dried up river, up a hill, through another barbed wire fence, up a smaller hill, across a field, where Tamra kindly warned us to watch out for snakes, down another steep hill and then immediately up another steep hill until we finally came to the clearing of Ana's land. It was beautiful at the top of the hill. You could see for miles- the rich green land of Nicaraguan country side. The cows roaming, the birds flying, hardly a sound to be heard. It was so peaceful. The reality of Ana's life is a stark reminder of the poverty that exists in our world, however. Ana has birthed 10 children, one who died very young. One of her children cannot see, but has never seen a doctor. One of her children has a serious condition in her brain, but the thought of taking her daughter to the doctor terrifies Ana, so they try to live as normal as possible. Most, if not all of Ana 's children live within a rock's through of her home. They each have their own little shack about the size of a small spare bathroom. We are not even sure you could fold out a mattress in the space of their homes. We are not sure of the number of grandchildren Ana has, but there were several little shacks spread out along the land. She was cooking a few pieces of meat in a small charred black skillet on an open fire as we walked up. The smile that came to her face was something I'll never forget. Tamra asked her if it was ok if we visited her for a few minutes and Ana's repsonse was one of pure joy. "Of course, You came to see me!"

The walk was not necessarily strenuous, however, it was quite the walk to get to her home. You'd never know it was there if someone didn't tell you and point out the way for you. I'm not sure Ana ever had a visitor before the first time Dave and Tamra visited with her. She talked with us quite awhile, all the time very friendly and full of animation as she talked. It was such a joy to visit with her and be there with Dave and Tamra as they strengthened their relationship with her. Only one of her girls were there as the others were all in town.

 Since it is summer vaqcation, all the kids had 'jobs' in town. The government actually gives them jobs sweeping around the town and things like that. We joked that in Nicaragua "there's a job for every child!" But that sad reality is that this is the way of life in may Latin American countries. The children get sent out to the work for the family, at very young ages. Some are sold, their innocence taken from them. Some are sent to beg, humiliated, degrated. It is no joke. It is real and it is is unjust. It is their life. Their reality.

But in the midst of that reality, is Ana. Maria. Ojochal.

and we are thankful for the opportunity to be there for those few hours. To be a light in the darkness. To go where no one else would want to go. To trek through the woods and glimpse a bit of God's goodness in the midst of the darkness of the world. The ugly-beautiful that is all of us.

Ana and in front of her home

Matt, Ethan and Isa with the family cow and several of the homes Ana's oder children live in
We asked if there was anything we could pray for for Ana. She said she would appreicate prayer but that she didn't have the words for that she needed prayer for. it was all such a heavy weight she couldn't even begin to express it. So, we took turns praying for her. Time seemed to stand still. It was a beautiful moment with the Lord. I am thankful for it.

The needs are many, both spiritual and physical, in this area. Please pray for God's wisdom and guidance as our friends move forward in their ministry to this area and these people. Pray for God to open the door for discipleship. Pray for healing, spiritual first and physical as well. Pray for Dave and Tamra as they study Spanish. Pray as they improve and for the Lord to continue giving them His words. Pray for protection of their marriage. Pray for them to be a light every where they go. Pray for the Lord's continued work in the language school with the teacher's there.

Sunday, January 23, 2011

Travel to Nicaragua

Please pray for our family tomorrow as we travel to Nicaragua. Hopefully I will be able to update once we are there.

Tuesday, January 18, 2011

"You are a God's letter"

From my devotional time this morning:

 “Clearly you are an epistle of Christ . . . written not with ink but by the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of flesh, that is, of the heart” (2 Cor. 3:3 NKJV)
"Your very lives are a letter that anyone can read by just looking at you. Christ himself wrote it—not with ink, but with God's living Spirit; not chiseled into stone, but carved into human lives—and we publish it." ( 2 Cor. 3:3The Message) 

Oh that my life may be a book in which all who know me, all who see me, all who hear me, may read the gospel daily. May each page of the book of my life speak of Jesus. Might He be the main character and I be simply the narrator, watching, following His every move. Might He been seen and heard and I only an un-named character...

Monday, January 17, 2011

Multitudes on Monday

Today, as I open up my email I read these words from Our Daily Bread devotional...
Your Word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path. —Psalm 119:105


I’ve always thought that I could get through just about anything if the Lord would tell me what the outcome would be. I believe that “all things work together for good” in the end (Rom. 8:28), but I’d do a lot better in dark times if I knew exactly what the “good” would look like.

But God usually doesn’t show us where He is taking us. He just asks us to trust Him. It’s like driving a car at night. Our headlights never shine all the way to our destination; they illuminate only about 160 feet ahead. But that doesn’t deter us from moving forward. We trust our headlights. All we really need is enough light to keep moving forward.
Isn't that it. We desperately desire to see what's ahead in our life. We want to know. We are so impatient in this journey. Don't we know best?

Yet, while driving an automobile in the dark we only are able to see some hundred feet in front of us in the dark, yet we are totally cool with that...

Doesn't quite add up when you stop and think about it.

If we focus on the Word to be our guide, our path will always be bright and our feet will not stumble.
Lord, may this be so for me today...

Still counting... (and, just so you know, it's not about the number and all about HIM)

#105 holding my Little Man's hand
#106 watching old videos of the kids
#107 the blessing of living in a tropical climate
#108 coming home to the totally unexpected- dinner cooked, table set, Matt waiting all smiles :) what a true gift he is to me...
#109 laughing at nothing, privcate smiles
#110 really enjoying each other again
#111 reading on a beach towel in the dsand at the beach...in Jaunary :)
#112 playing games with Ethan
#113 a peaceful day
#114 worshipping together with the Body of Christ
#115 seeing new faces at church, hardly any empty seats
#116 a quiet night away with a good friend
#117 friends who speak the truth into my life with love
#118 a good night sleep
#119 Daddy date night=movie in bed

Will you join me in counting God's goodness and grace today?

Friday, January 14, 2011

Mighty to save...

This is from this morning's devotional from the Blue Letter Bible 
Mighty to save. Isaiah 63:1
"By the words "to save" we understand the whole of the great work of salvation, from the first holy desire onward to complete sanctification. The words are multum in parro: indeed, here is all mercy in one word. Christ is not only "mighty to save" those who repent, but He is able to make men repent. He will carry those to heaven who believe; but He is, moreover, mighty to give men new hearts and to work faith in them. He is mighty to make the man who hates holiness love it, and to constrain the despiser of His name to bend the knee before Him. Nay, this is not all the meaning, for the divine power is equally seen in the after-work. The life of a believer is a series of miracles wrought by "the Mighty God." The bush burns, but is not consumed. He is mighty to keep His people holy after He has made them so, and to preserve them in his fear and love until he consummates their spiritual existence in heaven. Christ's might doth not lie in making a believer and then leaving him to shift for himself; but He who begins the good work carries it on; He who imparts the first germ of life in the dead soul, prolongs the divine existence, and strengthens it until it bursts asunder every bond of sin, and the soul leaps from earth, perfected in glory. Believer, here is encouragement.. Art thou praying for some beloved one? Oh, give not up thy prayers, for Christ is "mighty to save." You are powerless to reclaim the rebel, but your Lord is Almighty. Lay hold on that mighty arm, and rouse it to put forth its strength. Does your own case trouble you? Fear not, for His strength is sufficient for you. Whether to begin with others, or to carry on the work in you, Jesus is "mighty to save;" the best proof of which lies in the fact that He has saved you. What a thousand mercies that you have not found Him mighty to destroy! "

What can I say in response to my God who has saved me from sin, made me into  anew creation, continues to work out that very salvation in my life, daily (a grueling process both I imagine for Him and surely for me), and who is coming back for me soon...what can I say? He is covered with blood to pay for my sin while I am washed clean. He freely offers me grace, while  struggle to receive it or give it. Yet, He is mighty to keep His people holy...

A thousand mercies...a thousand endless gifts...
#86 rainbows
#87 My God is Mighty to Save
#88 the work of salvation in me
#89 freshly squeezed lemonade
#90 homeade coconut helado (ice cream)
#91 opportunities to give grace
# 92 watching worship videos with the kids and hearing them sing along
#93 sleepy eyes in the morning
#94 candles
#95 You-Tube
# 96 those who serve our country with dignity and honor

Wednesday, January 12, 2011

1-11-11; Happy Birthday!; and 500th post (How's that for a title?)

Today was one of those funny date days- 1/11/11...we tend to make a note of these days in our family. Maybe you do this, too? :) No special signifigance, just a cool little fact to share about today :)

This post also marks my 500th post since the beginning of this blog in July 2007! WOHOO! We've come a long way, Baby! I've looked back over different posts from time to time and I contune to be amazed at God's provision, wisdom and timing over these last several years in our lives. The blessings are too numerous to count (although I'm taking note now...keeping track...filling with joy). God is so good, so mighty, so powerful, so just, so GOD! And the ride, the journey, this adventure is the best life ever!

I can think of no better way to mark a 500th post then to share our evening with you.

Today is Dinorah's 32nd birthday. We met for discipleship today and after we had finished she closed in prayer and thanked the Lord for her another year of life, which clued me in that today is her birthday, otherwise she never would have said anyrthing to me. So, I came home after we were finished and started going though cookbooks and looking at the ingredients I had. I decided on making brownies- first time I've ever even attempted to make them from scratch.

Yep.

Every single time i have ever made brownies in my LIFE has been from a box!

GASP!!

:)

Anyway....moving on...

I found a wonderful sounding recipe that called for Hershey's chocolate syrup, which I just happened to have saved back from our last trip to Nicaragua.

(Yes, I totally bought chocolate syrup in Nicaragua because it was cheaper there! Souveniers...no...chocolate syrup- yes!)

So, I whipped up the brownies and had a can of icing left from Christmas time baking and spread them thick with that icing when they were done.

We got out a candle, I cut up the brownies and put them on a plate and we walked over and called everyone out of the house to sing. It was beautiful!

Absoultely beautiful!

We ate (and they were DELICIOUS!) and sat and talked for awhile until it got dark and the mosquitoes came out. Then we hugged, sanpped some photos and came back home.

And I am still full of joy. I have missed so much evenings like this with our family back there it felt so right to celebrate the life of someone I love dearly who is like my family here.


Dinorah and Brooke on Dinorah's 32nd birthday

Matt and Brooke, Ronny and Dinorah


Doña Elvita and Isabelle
When we got home, the kids got showers, I finished up supper, and then we ate. During supper the kids told Matt all about the two chapters of Little House on the Prairie we read today. Then we got the idea to see if we could find them on the internet- which we did on You-Tube. It was great! We watched parts of several episodes for about an hour! It was so neat to see how mush they enjoyed the shows and seeing the characters come to life. Audrey especially enjoyed Mr. Edwards.
I've now got the job to find them on DVD and figure out how to get them here, as a combined birthday present for them all! They will love them! :) And so will we!

Have a blessed week!

Monday, January 10, 2011

Multitudes on Mondays...1000 gifts

Todays gifts...
#'s 41 - 53
41. sleepy days
42. a backyard full of kids
43. kickball
44. housefull of kids, sweaty after a game of backyard kickball
45. joyful reunion between friends (Eden, Ezekiel, Audrey, Isa, Rebecca, Sophia after almost two weeks without seeing each other)
46. the privilege of worshipping my God
47. sound teaching from the Word
48. my husband
49. my three blessings
50. seeing old friends again- Erika at church
51. a washing machine to wash the never-ending piles
52. emails bringing prayers and encouragement
53. listening to FEPC- live!- on the internet and Pastor Tom preaching :)

Would you like to join us...hop on over and share your link...

and watch as the joy of the Lord fills your inner most being and begins to change you from the inside out...


Saturday, January 8, 2011

January 2011 Prayer Letter


Below you'll find our January 2011 Prayer Letter. If you'd like to be added to our email or hardcopy list, please contact me or leave a comment in the comment box.

Potter’s Field Kids (Las Manos del Alfarero)



We thank you who support PFK and our family for the privilege to serve here in Costa Rica. We want to thank Hickory Grove Church in rural Indiana for your special offering which provided a Christmas party for the weekly Bible Club. With the same offering, we were able to feed the families of PFK a meal, give each child a small Christmas gift and each family received a food bag. The kids presented the program they’d been practicing for over a month. THANK YOU for meeting the physical needs of these precious kids and allowing for a special time of fun and games. If you’d like to pray for a specific child or become more involved in this ministry, please contact us. For more about PFK go to www.pottersfield.org.


Next month school will be back in session. Many kids are unable to start school on time due to lack of uniforms, which are mandatory to attend school here. Last year we were able to provide uniforms and/or school supplies for over 50 children. This year we have no funds for this ministry. Would you consider giving this month to allow us to purchase school uniforms for the kids of PFK, the local church and community? If so, please contact us or send your offering to Shepherd’s Staff with our missionary # and earmark the offering “school uniforms.” Thank you for prayerfully considering this ministry.
 
As we begin a new year and a new decade, we realize we, as a family, are due for a new beginning. It is time to allow joy, grace, and thanksgiving to reign in our lives. It is time to be real and honest and allow you, our faithful ministry partners to understand our need for an even deeper partnership, one that goes beyond paper or financial gifts, but one that unites us as the family of God through the blood of Christ, in an intimate prayer relationship. We’ve sought over the years to form a team of prayer partners, a team we can count on to get on their knees in any given moment on behalf of our family, marriage, kids, and ministry. To be honest, the response we’ve gotten has been minimal. The need for this prayer team is urgent, as the battles we face daily grow increasingly tougher. Would you prayerfully consider joining the McClain Family Prayer Team in 2011? If you feel the Lord leading you to this specific ministry for our family, please take the time to contact us directly through email, skype or by phone at the US number listed above that rings in our Costa Rican home and is only a long-distance charge (NOT international). You may think we might already realize you are praying for us daily or that you consider yourself ‘on the team.’ Even so, would you mind contacting us and letting us know? We can then give you a better idea of what our needs are, the goal for this prayer team and find out the best way to contact you with prayer requests and then we will know without a doubt who’s ‘on the team!’





The following are several specific scriptures you can pray for our family and ministry throughout 2011:



Matthew 14:19 1 Peter 5:7 Philippians 1:3-11


Matthew 22:37 Romans 15:13 Philippians 4:4-9


Ephesians 1:15-23 Colossians 1:1-23 Psalm 136:3-7


Ephesians 3:14-21 Colossians 3:12-17 Psalm 50:23


Ephesians 5:15-33 Colossians 4:2-6 Psalm 27:4


Ephesians 6:1-4;10-20 Psalm 100:1-5 John 15:4-14

'Continue earnestly in prayer, being vigilant in it with thanksgiving.” Colossians 4:2





We are thankful for our prayer and financial partners. Please make checks payable to:



Shepherd’s Staff Mission Facilitators, PO Box 53640, Albuquerque, NM, 87153-3640


Please include our missionary account #4208 on all checks or correspondence


Master Baking Mix recipe

Some time ago, my sweet friend Leah gave me an awesome cookbook after she learned of my need to cook from scratch after moving to Costa Rica. The cookbook is called "More-with-Less cookbook" and the tag line says, "suggestions by Mennonites on how to eat better and consume less of the world's limited food resources." The author is Doris Janzen Longacre and you can purchase it here on Amazon.com.   I have used it many times since living here in Guanacaste, since I've discovered the lack of so many things I was used to buying and using to cook/bake.

Today I made the Master Baking Mix because everyone wanted muffins for breakfast. The mix is to be used as a base for corn bread, pancakes or waffles, biscuits, coffecakes and muffins.

The muffins turned out fantastic- we made chocolate chip and also blueberry since I had picked up blueberries from PriceSmart the last time we were in the city :)

I thought I'd share the recipe since we loved it so much! You can make an 4 lb or a 8 lb batch.

8 lbs.                                       4 lbs.
Sift together 3 times:
5 lbs.                                       10 c. flour
3/4 c.                                        6 T. baking powder
3 T.                                         1 1/2 T. salt
1 T.                                         1 1/2 t. cream of tartar
1/2 c.                                         1/4 c. sugar
Cut in to consistency of cornmeal:
2 lbs.                                       2 c. vegetable shortneing
Stir in:
4 c.                                         2 c. dry milk powder
Store in covered container at room temperature. To measure baking mix, pile lightly into a cup and level off with spatula.

You can substitue wheat or soy flour for white flour or add wheat germ. The dry milk powder is optional, but adds protein. I used one that has added vitamins and minerals that they seel here (it was the cheapest :]  ).

To make muffins, beat together in a bowl:
1 egg
1 c. milk
2 T. sugar
Add:
3 c. Master Mix
Stir just until dry ingredients are moistened. Spoon into greased muffin pans and bake 20 minutes at 425 F.


I'll be trying pancakes in the next day or two as well as the coffeecake. I'm going to try cinnamon rolls with it as well.

We'll see...I didn't think about taking a picture...and now they are all gone :) I'll have to remember next time!

Have a great Saturday!!!

Monday, January 3, 2011

A New Year...A New Focus

A new year? Yes, it is.

A new decade? Yes, it is.

A new me? That is yet to be determined...

However, my focus is new and the promise is forever true:

"Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new." 2 Corinthians 5:17 NKJV (emphasis and italics, mine)

It is time to stop living in the old life and begin anew, living as the new creation that I am in Christ.

ALL things have become new.

Why do we(I) Christians, little Christs, continue living in the old life, as if we have not been changed eternally, as if we have not become a new creation in Christ Jesus?

For me, this is one of the biggest sin-issues I have in my life (yes, there are more than one...). I continue to live as the old person I was before Christ saved me and washed me and cleansed me.

I walk in defeat mode, not fully living in the glory of the Lord, as a dear friend reminded me last night at church.

"You must believe in faith, trusting, approaching the throne with confidence, Brooke."

Have become.
     become: v. to come to be; to change into (Mr. Webster)
     Have become- has changed into

The change has happened. It is done- whether I like it or want to admit it or accept it...Or not.

A new creation I am...and this promise I will cling to in this new year.

A new focus. Yes, this I do have.

This year of 2011, it is my desire to conquer, and thus kick out for good, the defeat that exists in our family. It is my deep, driving desire to replace that ugly, stingy, bully (defeat) with the beautiful, graceful much desired JOY.

To do this, we must be intentional about giving thanks, and that, my faithful friends, is my new focus.

This is my desire for our entire family to share in this with me, but it the Lord directly speaking to me that is the fuel for this fire lit within. And, therfore, it must start with me.

The Lord is speaking to me. At times, in my self-centered old-man way of living, I don't want to listen.

I am listening now, Lord. I am listening.

"Continue earnestly in prayer, being vigilant in it with thanksgiving." Colossians 4:2

I am beginning to understand my old-man way of living stems from my desire to live my way, not God's way. Sometimes, they are one in the same. Many times, they are not.

"For My thoughts are not your thoughts, Nor are your ways My ways," says the LORD." Isaiah 55:8

I walk in my own way, follow my own fleshly desires, and therefore, live like the old-man did before Christ made me into the new creation I am. The old-man was selfish, bad-tempered, fearful, and easily angered. The new creation is nothing like that old-man.

"Now all things are of God, who has reconciled us to Himself through Jesus Christ, and has given us the ministry of reconciliation, " 2 Corinthians 5:18

Webster's lists as synonyms for reconcile the following: adapt, adjust, accomodate, conform. Then further defines reconcile as: "implies the demonstration of the underlying consistency or congruity of things that seems to be incompatible."

Christ's work in me has made the once incompatible old-man forever compatible with the One True God.

Amazing.

I am forever a new creation of God, eternally in agreement with God.

And it is my desire to desmonstrate my unending thanks for this eternal gift I have been given in 2011.

And so begins a time of healing, continued cleansing and purifying, in the midst of the heat, on the Potter's wheel, allowing the Master Potter to perfect His masterpiece (workmanship, Ephesians 2:10).

"And he directed the people to sit down on the grass. Taking the five loaves and the two fish

 and looking up to heaven, he gave thanks and broke the loaves.

Then he gave them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the people. " Matthew 14:19


More prayer, focused thanksgiving, revealing joy, kicking out defeat.

Our own Lord, when even He was seemingly short on resources, looked to the source, to Him who put Him in the very situation, and gave thanks.

And the story goes on to say, you all know, that all were satisfied. Over 5000 men, not counting the women ands children, and the disciples collected 12 baskets of leftovers!

Jesus had 5 loaves and 2 fish, a thankful heart, and the faith to trust in His Father to provide.

And He did.

And they were full.

I want to be full in 2011.

I know that I won't be full until I know true joy. I know that true joy will come from a thankful heart, dedicated to praying without ceasing.

Praying before, during, after, IN ALL THINGS.

"Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God." Philippians 4:6

I have been greatly challenged in the past month by a woman whom I do not know, but feel a deep connection simply because of so many similarities between her heart journey with the Lord and mine.

I have recently purchased her book, One Thousand Gifts, and am just being eaten away, chewed up and then spit out, only to have it done again and again to me.

Her story is raw. She is real. And her King is The Almighty and His work in her life is one of reconciliation- an act of making two seemingly incompatible things beautifully compatible.

And it all started for her by giving thanks.

And so...for me it will begin as well.

Today I start a year of giving thanks. Seeking joy. Choosing grace. Finding HIM along the way.




1000 gifts
#'s 5 - 12
5. 6 year old belly laughs
6. snuggling on the couch with Audrey, watching a movie
7. tickle times
8. Christmas cards in the mail
9. Sweet kisses from Isa
10. puppy kisses, 'Daisy scarves'
11. hugs from Ethan
12. luxurious giggles from an 8 year old princess

Won't you join me on Mondays, sharing your thanks as well.

Watch the joy that happens in your heart, in your life, and in your family.
If the privelege is mine that Ann might read this-

#13 - the book by Ann Voskamp

Thank you, Ann, for sharing your story with the world...one thanks at a time.