The best part of waking up...

I remember growing up hearing this tagline in commercials for Folger's coffee. In those days of course, the best part of waking up was Folger's in your cup. Haha.

There has never been Folger's in this girl's cup...but even if there had been- nothing could compare to what is by far the best part of waking up for me...

Each morning the Lord blesses me with what seems to be a private showing of some of His most exquisite displays of art.

The early morning chorus of numerous types of birds greets me as soon as I open the balcony doors. They each sing their own song, but somehow they all blend together in perfect harmony. Some, like the pair of Trogons, greet me every morning. Stocky birds, yet in flight are light and fluttery like hummingbirds.

Some skitter and skatter about, like the blue Magpie Jay, only stopping long enough for me to get a glimspe of him.

The grunts of the howler monkeys are loud and wild in the dark of the morning. As soon as the sun peaks over the mountain top, the monkeys quiet themselves.

The wind rustles and blows the tree tops, but as the sun begins to glow everything heats up even the wind seems to hold its breath until the sun finds its morning place high above the mountain tops. Once the day has born, all nature springs back into action and the wind resumes its dance in the tree tops.

I cannot hide the smile as I finally catch the Magpie Jay in a picture. Nor can I hide the joy in seeing the handiwork of God all over.

And of course, my morning would not be complete without my favorite little early morning partner...

Love.her.

failed attempt at self portrait...but gotta love those sparkly eyes of hers.

Have a blessed day!

Weekend

Friday...
The day started out as many do...slow and patient, not rushed- just the way I like them.

Chai tea, my Bible, and my camera. In Romans, Paul tells us that the Creation sings of God, His existence, His eternal power, His invisible qualities, His divine nature.

Every morning, I am thankful for the view I have of some of His most beautiful creation. Each day, as I sit reading His word, I hear His voice speaking to me, through the words of His love letter, and through the wind blowing through the tree tops, and through the endless birds that swoop, and dive and soar and sing all around me as the day awakes.

"We have no excuse", says the apostle Paul.

We created each one of us. He calls to us through His very creation- the human being- as our hearts beat irregularly, fast and uneven, for as long as we run. For as long as we maintain our irregular, intermittent attitudes toward our Creator, our hearts will forever remain fitful, searching for the One thing that will forever and eternally restore our bleak condition. the condition of one eternally separated from her Creator. The condition of death that we all find ourselves in without an intimate relationship with our redeemer, Jesus Christ.

And so, each morning I am reminded of His great love for mankind, for me. I am reminded of His amazing grace, His favor, lavished on me, one oh so undeserving.

For many months, I've been studying through Romans with our three Potter's Field Kids interns, Janessa, Shaylene, and Karlee. I have learned way more than I could have ever taught them. Isn't that just the way God's Word is? Living and active, so that no matter how many times we read it and reread it- we continue to be changed by the ancient words. I simply love that about my Savior. That he has written me of His great, unchangeable love in the Bible. A book with such strength, so unique, because it is His inspired Word, every word in it came from His very mouth.

We studied chapter 15 this week. Many things stood out to me. But the Lord spoke clearly to me through verse 5:

"May the God who gives endurance and encouragement give you a spirit of unity among yourselves as you follow Christ Jesus, so that with one heart and mouth you may glorify the God and father of our Lord Jesus Christ."

All endurance (patience) and encouragement (comfort) come from our Creator.

How often we strive for a life of comfort from all things material and never stop to consider the source of our comfort- our Creator, God himself. Not the big house, the plush carpet, the leather sofa, or the big paycheck.

The source of our COMFORT is CHRIST Himself.

That is simply amazing. Christ Himself is the source of our comfort.

It is HIM, Christ, that brings about unity and harmony- like-mindedness- amongst those who follow Him, the children of God. As we follow Him, He changes us and brings about in us behavior fitting for one of His own. He does this so that all of His children, His family, may together, with one mind and voice, with one heart and mouth, glorify Him.

So refreshing to be reminded that it is not up to me in my weak, human state to bring about unity and harmony, nor be and feel and act the same as all my brothers and sisters in Christ. Christ himself, because He lives in us, unites us, makes the necessary changes in each of us, and join us in one glorious chorus of praise and worship that please our Father in heaven.

The Lord showed me this in our afternoon ladies prayer group, Friday afternoon after my discipleship session with the interns.

We sat around in a circle, a mix of women from varying backgrounds, spiritual upbringings and even different countries. But each one united with the other through her relationship with Christ. And each one sharing a special connection to the other as sisters in Christ.

Prayer requests shared and stories told. Each one began glorifying her Creator, giving thanks for His faithfulness,  His eternal power, His invisible qualities, His divine nature.

I simply love the way the Holy Spirit joins us during those intimate prayer meetings. I love how He really does unite our hearts as we come before His throne. We shared a wonderful time of praying for our lost loved ones and each other.

Later that evening. Ethan went to youth group, where there were about 25 youth present- the most in a long time. And many new youth Ethan's age, who've now passed the Bible Club age and entered the age appropriate for youth group. Friday night was their first night to be able to come. We specifically prayed for these young souls that afternoon and I was thrilled and thankful to hear so many of them had come.

Saturday was a nice relaxing day- the morning spent cleaning and  with a late breakfast and some long overdue reading  for me. I later took a friend to the grocery store and enjoyed our time together - as it is rare that we are together without our children (even though she had her littlest guy with her.)  :)

After dropping her off and returning home, we ate a yummy lunch and then a little more cleaning. It was off to the beach late in the afternoon. Despite a small setback (getting stuck in the sand...  :(  - thankful for the two men who pushed us out), we enjoyed a nice relaxing time spent on one of the many beautiful beaches we have around us. We were the only ones on the whole beach!

Thank you God!!

This morning, worship at Capilla del Calvario- again witness to God using the Holy Spirit uniting His people with one voice, one mouth, one spirit, one heart. Power goes out during worship service. Reiner keeps playing, God's people keep singing. Beautifully, one voice lifted in sweet harmony to our Great Redeemer.

A yummy, filling lunch, nice relaxing afternoon, completing laundry, girls playing with friends, time to reflect.

Be blessed today!

Happy Valentine's Day!

A little over 15 years ago, it all began with a little kiss...

something like that one...and a little dance...

http://youtu.be/ep9Pkxnsr3I

something like that one  :)

and on Valentine's Day 1998,

He asked for my forever...

and I said YES!

And here we are, 14 years later...

finding our way to forever...

“Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.”
(1 Corinthians 13:7)

The grace of love is absolutely essential to true godliness. So essential is it that if we have everything else, but have not love, it profits us nothing (1 Cor 13:2-3). The absence of love is absolutely fatal to vital godliness. It is common to the everyday life of the people of God. This glorious salvation unto pure love must be grasped by faith, and wrought in us by the operation of the Spirit of God. If we consider salvation to be a little thing, we bring it, as it were, within the sphere of human possibility, but if we set it forth in its true proportions as involving the possession of a pure, loving, elevated state of heart, then we perceive that it is a divine wonder. If love be in any man and abounds, God must have the glory of it, for it certainly wasn’t attained by mere natural effort, but must have been bestowed by that same hand which made the heavens. “The fruit of the Spirit is love…” and the Spirit is ready and willing to bear fruit in us also.
FIRST, notice the multitude of love’s difficulties. It must bear all things, believe all things, hope all things, and endure all things. When the grace of God comes into a man he is born at once to love. He that loves is born of God, and he that is born of God loves. God has put within you a new life, but the old ;life seeks to smother it. You will find a severe struggle to master yourself. I do not think I need to say more upon the difficulties of love. I am sure that every person knows how extreme these difficulties can be, and that we require superlative grace if we are to master them.
SECONDLY, observe the triumph of love’s labor. It does each of the four things: it bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things—and it does them effectively.
When we say that love “bears all things” what the word means in the Greek is to “cover”. In other words, true love refuses to hold others to their faults; it has no wish to see faults. I wish, brothers and sisters, that we could all imitate the pearl oyster. When a hurtful particle intrudes itself into the oyster’s shell, it vexes it. However, the oyster cannot eject the evil, so instead it covers it with a precious substance extracted out of its own life, by which it turnes the intruder into a pearl. Oh, if we could do so with the provocations we receive from our fellow Christians, so that pearls of patience, gentleness, long-suffering, and forgiveness might be bred within us by that which else had harmed us.
When we say that love “believes all things” we mean that, regarding our fellow Christians, love believes the best of them. If I did not believe in my brothers I would not profess to be one of them. I believe that with all their faults they are the best people in the world, and that, although the church of God is not perfect, yet she is the bride of One who is. I have the utmost respect for the church for the Lord’s sake.
Regarding our unbelieving friends, “love believes all things” means that we believe God can save them. Love believes that the precious blood of Christ can redeem the bondslaves of sin and Satan, and break their iron chains. Love believes that the power of the Holy Spirit can change a heart of granite into a heart of flesh.
When we say that love “hopes all things” we mean that love never despairs. Love believes in good things yet to come in her fellow-men, even if she cannot believe in any present good in them. If your brother has been very angry with you without a cause, hope that you will win him over and set about the task. Never despair of your fellow Christians.
The last triumph of love is in “enduring all things” by which I understand to be a patient perseverance in loving. This is perhaps the hardest work of all, for many people can be affectionate and patient for a time, but the task is to hold on year after year. Blessed be God, the love that Christ gives us endures all things. As his love endured to the end, so does the love which the Spirit works in us endure to the end. Behold the cross! See the patient Sufferer and that ribald multitude: they thrust out the tongue, they sneer, they jest, they blaspheme; and there he hangs, triumphant in his patience, conquering the world, and death, and hell by enduring “all things”.
LASTLY, let us consider the sources of love’s energy. The Holy Ghost alone can teach men how to love and give them power to do so. Love’s art is learned at no other school but at the feet of Jesus, where the Spirit of love rests on those who learn of him.
Note the four sweet companions of love. There are with her tenderness that “bears all things”, faith that “believes all things”, hope that “hopes all things”, and patience which “endures all things”. The one who has this tenderness, faith, hope, and patience has a brave host of graces to guard him, and he has no reason to be afraid. Most of all, love finds her life from the wounds of Christ. Love can bear, believe, hope, and endure because Christ has borne, believed, hoped, and endured for her. When I consider the cross of Jesus my response should be: I must love.
Love makes us love; love bought us, sought us, and brought us to the Savior’s feet, and it shall henceforth constrain us to deeds which else would be impossible. Oh to be distracted from selfishness by the love of Christ, and maddened into self-oblivion by a supreme passion for the Crucified. I know not how otherwise to put my thoughts into words so that they may hint at my burning meaning. May the Lord of love look into your very eyes with those eyes which once were red weeping over human sin: may he touch your hands with those hands that were nailed to the cross, and impress the blessed nailmarks upon your feet, and then may he pierce your heart till it pour forth a life for love, and flow out in streams of kind desires, and generous deeds, and holy scrifices for God and for his people.
God grant it, for Jesus’ sake. Amen.

http://v3.blueletterbible.org/Comm/charles_spurgeon/sermons/1617.cfm

Thanking God for this day, this man, this life of together forever...and eternity.

"Because your steadfast love is better than life, my lips will praise you.

So I will bless you as long as I live, in your name I will lift up my hands.

My soul will be satisfied as with fat and rich food, and my mouth will praise you with joyful lips,

when I remember you upon my bed, and meditate on you in the watches of the night; for you have been my help,

and in the shadow of your wings I will sing for joy."
Psalm 63:3-7

Father, Your love never changes, never fails, never wavers. I may not recognize the depths of Your love, I cannot love You in return, as You love me. But Jesus, thank  You for this understanding of how simply wonderful and incredible your love is-

 'better than life.'

May my lips praise You and bless You all of my days. May they be joyful lips devoted to singing Your praises, satisfied by your word, dedicated to carrying the message of Hope that only You hold to the nations.

May I rest in the shadow of Your wings, trusting in Your faithfulness, Your strength, Your help, Your steadfastness.

May my joy come in Your shadow, not in the front or apart from You. May I always seek and find myself under Your wing, in Your will, safe and protected, despite what it may seem to me at the time.

Thank You Precious Spirit, for Your work in me, in my heart. Thank You, Friend and Counselor, Redeemer and Rock, Creator and God.

Camera fun

Matt surprised me this Christmas and secretly purchased an amazing camera for me and had it sent to our friends in colorado, where I received it last month on our trip there. I've been playing around with it, trying to get to know it and how it works. The Lord has blessed me, with my husband, this camera (a long-awaited gift) and also with beautiful creation all around to capture.

Here are several shots from this month.

**For some reason I cannot get the pictures to post, but you can follow this link to see them on our facebook page**

https://www.facebook.com/#!/media/set/?set=a.10150543028374597.389100.735354596&type=3

February 2012 prayer letter

Below you'll find our February Prayer letter.

If you'd like to be added to our email list, please leave us a comment with your email address or send us an email at one of the email address listed in the letter.

Thanks for stopping by!