Serve God as He gifts you

First, I want to share with you a family photo taken last night. We had it taken by our neighbor to submit for the new church directory currently being assembled. I know there are some reading this that have never met anyone in our family personally so here we are. (Notice the white spots on the photo? Those would be from the snowball fight we got into on Sunday when I had the camera in my pocket...sigh. Oh well, we had fun.)

We just returned this evening from Collin's choir concert. Collin(back row, far left in the photo) has this amazing, deep, bass voice-something I don't notice in the day to day but as soon as he gets in front of a microphone it is obvious how low and rich his voice is compared to the others. Tomorrow night our church youth group has a meeting for any teens interested in helping lead praise and worship during the youth group services. Collin has decided to attend that. We are proud to see him wanting to use the gift God has given him to serve God.

Shannon also mentioned to Collin tonight that often radio stations like those deep voices, hinting at the fact that his voice may come in handy when we someday get the radio station up and running in Tanzania. In case you aren't aware from previous posts, the ministry we are working with is also communicating with a local Christian radio station that wants to provide programming for us over there. They already provide programming to about 10 stations in Uganda, Ghana and other locations in Africa. Collin currently knows more Swahili than anyone in our family so that may be another reason to put him on the radio.

Anyway, as fun as it is for Shannon and I as parents to watch Collin wanting to use his God given gifts for God, I can only imaging how rewarding it must be for God to see each of us do so. What is your gift? I encourage you to find out and then search for a way to use it if you aren't already.

"We have different gifts, according to the grace given us. If a man's gift is prophesying, let him use it in proportion to his faith. If it is serving, let him serve; if it is teaching, let him teach; if it is encouraging, let him encourage; if it is contributing to the needs of others, let him live generously; if it is leadership, let him govern diligently; if it is showing mercy, let him do it cheerfully." Romans 12:6-8

Dare to be a Daniel

I am currently facilitating a women's bible study group that is working through the Beth Moore study of Daniel. We are about halfway through it and it has been an amazing journey so far. One thing we have discussed is how Babylon wasn't just an empire but a culture. When comparing the Babylonian mindset to our current culture, especially here in the US, it is not difficult to see the similarities. Daniel was a man who stood out in that culture and it was not at all easy for him to do so. He came under the attacks of others around him and was even thrown to the lions. His God, my God, closed the mouths of those lions to prove to all watching that He was God and that Daniel was on the right track.

I look around me at my current culture, where I can generally have what I want, when I want it and how I want it. It is a self-centered culture focused on what we each want, often with disregard to others. I want to be different from this culture. I want to be a Daniel.

Huh...I thought the book of Daniel was about a giant chocolate bunny and some guys named Rack, Shack and Benny.(Those with Veggie Tales loving children know what I mean.)

"Then King Darius...issued a decree that in every part of his kingdom people must fear and reverence the God of Daniel. "For He is the living God and he endures forever; his kingdom will not be destroyed, his dominion will never end. He rescues and he saves; he performs signs and wonders in the heavens and on the earth."
Daniel 6:25-27a

It is only snow, after all!

This morning, Sunday, we started moving around at about 7:30, in plenty of time to be out the door by 8:30 to leave for church. A quick peek out the front window showed that we were going to have to move some snow around in order to get to the car and to get the car out the driveway. We received aproximately 10-12 inches of snow in the past 24 hours. Shannon and I quickly threw on our snowclothes. He started using his lawn tractor to blow a path down the driveway for the van while I used a scoop shovel to clear a path from the house to the van. We came back in at about 8:15. I took a fast shower and was getting dressed while Shannon was shaving when it came over the radio that morning and evening services are canceled at our church today. So, all of the kids are outside playing right now while Shannon and Collin are moving more snow. I am in the warmth, cleaning house, doing laundry and typing to you. When I was a child, this much snow didn't stop much and I remember only a couple of times that church was ever canceled. I know one was for bitter cold, it was about 30 below zero and another was in the middle of a whiteout blizzard. Minnesotans have become wimps over the past several years of easy winters. The weather forecast says there is more snow coming later today. If we get a wind we will be in big trouble. The neighbor girls have brought their 4-wheeler and toboggan down to our place and are pulling the kids around the yard. It is fun to watch as our two dogs follow the train around the yard, barking and wagging their tails the whole time.


I was thinking this is something we won't be dealing with in Mwanza. They don't get any snow there, of course. We will deal with two dry and two wet seasons every year instead. Flooding is more likely to be a problem where we will be. It doesn't take a lot of rain there to really make a mess of the roads and paths. A 4 wheel drive vehicle will be a need where the land is located. When the team was there last fall that was one of the first things Shannon noticed. He says much of the time a regular vehicle will be fine but when it is rainy that won't work. Temperatures will generally run between 50 and 90 year round. We check the temperature in Mwanza by computer often. Yesterday at 2:30 PM our time, 10:30 PM Mwanza time, the temperature there was 72F.

Anyway, if you are in our area, have a fun day digging out but take some time to make a snow angel or slide down a hill too. I am hopeful that someone is reading this even though no one posted in the comments of my last post. That is fine but please let us know privately or through comments later that you are reading. I know some of you who are reading, or at least have read in the past. It is weird to write not knowing for sure who I am writing for.

If you are reading this....

I spend some of my free time at a homeschool online forum. It is a place we can chat and share info, laugh, cry and pray together. There are some posters that "lurk" and never post to any of the conversations. They are called lurkers.

Shannon and I see the visit count at the bottom of the page go up each day. We are aware of some of the people who drop by here pretty often but are sure there are many we either don't know or who have stumbled on our site by accident and come back.

If you are reading this, would you be so kind to post a comment by clicking on the comment link and saying hi? We are just very curious as to who our readers are and where they are from. Thank you!

The desires of our hearts grow stronger

As we prepare and discuss our eventual move within our immediate family we all waffle back and forth about our desires to move to Tanzania long-term. It is funny how on one day there will be a member or two in our family who really do not want to go while other members are excited and upbeat but the next week the positions change. We all face a lot of fears, sadness and apprehension but are also experiencing joy, excitement and much, much more. Ultimately, we all know that we are eventually going, that it will all happen in God's time. We know that God would not put the people of Tanzania on all of our hearts and our desires to show them the love of God in such a strong way if it didn't fit into His plans.

Shannon has talked several times of how he used to wonder about his purpose here on earth. He knew that God put him here for a reason, if for nothing else but to worship God, but he talks to me of how the calling we have to Tanzania has really helped him in feeling like he has finally found where he is supposed to be and what he is here to do. I must say that in many ways I agree. I think we both felt that there was something big God wanted to do with us. Because by using us, it will glorify Him. In looking upon our pasts and where God has brought us and what He is still taking us through there is no way for God not to be glorified through it all.

Please keep praying for our family as God continues His work in us.

"Love your calling with a passion, it is the meaning of your life." -Auguste Rodin

Waiting to put the handle on the cup

I was visiting with a friend from church yesterday. Her name is Grace and her name fits her well. She has a ministry, I believe it is called Potter's Hand Ministries, where she uses her hobby and gifting of doing pottery to share about the love of God. Grace speaks nearly everywhere she is asked-at churches, at quilt retreats, women's bible studies, larger conferences and bible schools. She is a busy woman and her message is clear and very engaging to listen to.

As I was sharing with her about how we feel God is preparing us and doing things in us to prepare us for our time in Tanzania she shared the following with me. I share it with you with her permission. When Grace makes a cup she knows that that cup needs a handle. If the handle is placed on the newly formed cup when it is still too damp, the cup will not be strong enough to support it and it will completely collapse. She needs to form the cup, then wait while it begins to dry and solidify, before placing the handle. She will poke it every so often to see if it is ready. Her point in the story was that the cup isn't waiting for the potter but rather the potter is waiting for the cup.

"Yet, O Lord, you are our Father. We are the clay, you are the potter, we are all the work of your hand." Isaiah 64:8