Time to Go Back...

Happy New Year!

It's been a crazy week and it's not going to slow down for me. I just wanted to get in a quick note before leaving on Thursday for Liberia. Yes, Liberia! It's time to go back...

Dave, my daughter Katherine and I are going on Thursday with a team from International Aid back to Liberia. If you remember, I went for my first time last April with my three youngest children and some of their friends. That was primarily to minister in the churches, but this time is in the relief capacity. We will be taking six fifty pound bags of vitamins with us and visiting schools and clinics to see what kind of aid programs can be started over there. We will have with us a few International Aid employes as well as suppliers who will help us assess the need and what we are able to do to help.

It will be an interesting trip, to say the least. Whenever Dave goes, the local newspaper sends out a reporter to find out why he is there, and their main question is, "What can you do to help us?" This particular trip has the potential to open some avenues of relief that will be of great help to this community, and partnered with the churches, will allow the spiritual needs to be addressed through physical provisions.

We also will be handing out rice one day - I've packed hundreds and hundreds of quart ziplock baggies to put the rice in. The baggies are as desirable as the rice in some cases!

We will be in Paynesville (near Monrovia) and then back out to Buchanan, like last trip. Buchanan is a bit rougher and life is harder there. Then from there we will drive until we can't drive anymore, park and walk a few hours to get to Dorzan (not sure that's spelled right). Dorzan is pretty remote - we didn't go there last time, but Dave thinks this is an important place for the members of our trip to see. We will be able to encourage the believers in this village while we are there, as well.

Dave will be preaching, too - he never knows how many times, so he brings several messages with him, just in case!

All in all, it is a quick trip (one week) with a lot to do. If you think of it, please pray for our team - for safety, that we would be a blessing to those we come in contact with, and that the Lord would open doors for relief to be supplied through International Aid.

Have a great week and you'll hear from me in a few weeks!

Kristen

People Everywhere

I just got back from Chicago - a quick, two-day trip with my husband and the kids. We did a little shopping (who could resist the after Christmas sales?), ate at a beautiful restaurant, took the kids to see "Wicked", went to the Aquarium, had Chicago pizza and came back home. Oh, and we fit in a few games of cards, as well. It was fast, but very fun.

In the midst of our hurrying from one thing to the next, I found that the only obstacle to overcome in Chicago was all the people. There were people everywhere. People in the elevators, people in the parking garage, people on every corner, people packed in the stores, people in the restaurants, people jammed in the Aquarium. (Well, not in the Aquarium per se, but in the building.) I know it is the holidays, so there were more people than usual, but I was really taken back by all the people.

People. People. People.

There are a lot of people in this world. A lot. Sometimes I get busy in my own little world and I forget how big the world really is. But then I lift my head and look around, and reality strikes.

A lot of people.

Which equates to a lot of sin, doesn't it? A lot of hurt, a lot of pain, a lot of sickness, a lot of questions, a lot of choices, a lot of paths.

So then I wonder, how many of these people know Jesus? How many of them have given their lives to Him, have received the gift of the Holy Spirit, have been reconciled to the Father through the blood of the Son, know the joy of forgiveness and restoration?

Matthew 7:14 says that the gate to life is narrow and few find it. Few.

Well, it is the eve of a new year. My friends, we have a lot of work to do. I understand that "few" will find the way to life, but that should not limit our mission. When God says "few", He's not giving us license to pick and choose who we want to be a light to - salvation is His choice. It's His business. Being a light in a dark world is ours. We have the remedy to what ails the world. We need to get out there and share it.

In addition to our calling to spread the gospel, we also need to respond in gratitude for God's leading us through the gate to life. If few find it, and you're through it already, then you've been blessed beyond all measure.

All measure.

I want to wish you all a mission-filled new year, a year where you and I both take our calling seriously and live with hearts of gratitude for what our great God has done for us. I don't have enough space and you don't have enough patience to allow me to share all the Lord has done in my life in the past twelve months, but I will say, if last year is any indicator of what this year will be like, then I can't wait to see what lies ahead!

Happy New Year, and may God's blessing and the fruit of His Spirit richly permeate your life.

Kristen

Open Mic

Okay, friends...I've done this before and I'm sure I'll do it again. This is your chance to share, so I'll keep this brief.

A little over a week ago I gave you a Christmas challenge - to pick a gift to give Jesus, write it down, wrap it up and put it under the tree. So, here are my questions to which I want you to respond:


1. What did you give?

2. What was the reaction of your family?

3. If you didn't, then you have the opportunity right now to publicly give a gift to Jesus for His birthday.

I'll start - I gave the gift of memory this Christmas. As I thought through my options, every single one of them benefited me! It was like giving a gift to myself. However, I do know that there is great value to hiding God's word in your heart and though I do it periodically, I am not consistent. So I told Jesus I would memorize a verse a week. It doesn't sound like much, but I think as I go it will compound.

That's my gift. My family's reaction? I thought they'd roll their eyes, but they handled it fine. I was worried they would think I was preaching at them, but I think they realized that I was sincere. Hopefully next year there will be an additional gift for Jesus under the tree, alongside mine. It's a great way to have accountability in your spiritual walk. I am sure they will encourage me as I work on this all year.

All right, here goes...and by the way, silence will mean that you didn't do it...

Wisdom = Pain

"In much wisdom there is much grief, and increasing knowledge results in increasing pain." Ecclesiastes 1:18

This statement is sad but true.

Think about it.

Look at a simple park playground. The children playing on the equipment are relatively naive and innocent. They do not understand or even consider the dangers of their adventure. Hanging upside down on the bars, they can't imagine losing their grip and the consequences of gravity to their tiny bodies. They climb the ladder to the slides without a care in the world. Oh, and you've seen those kids that swing as high as they can and then flip backwards out of their seat at the highest moment, only to land in a heap on the ground. Who in their right mind would do such a thing?

Because adults understand the big picture a bit better, because we have learned by experience and academics what gravity can do to a body, because our knowledge is greater than when we were children, we avoid playgrounds. You don't see parents hanging upside down or flipping off a swing. We also understand that there are dangers drawn to a park that we never want our children to experience, so instead of playing with abandon, we watch with careful, discerning eyes.

Because we know the evils of life...because we know...life is a bit less...how should I say this...enjoyable.

It's part of being an adult.

Some would testify to the same truth about marriage. You've all seen the starry-eyed bride lose her sparkle, as the increased knowledge of the choices she and her husband have made reveal the devastation they have created. Poor communication, too much spending, too much time on the internet, not enough foundation laying, no respect, no security...marriage in shambles.

"I thought marriage would be easier than what it turned out to be."

"He's not the man I thought he was."

"We grew apart."

Increased knowledge and wisdom brings sorrow. In other words, the more we understand the effects of sin, the more we realize that sin stinks. It messes up everything it touches.

But there is good news. Within the sorrows of life, God has chosen to reveal Himself to man, thereby giving us a way to have joy within the sorrow. Read it again: Joy WITHIN the sorrow.

Until we shed this flesh, sin will remain. Just because we know Christ, doesn't mean that our children are safe from predators. And just because we know Christ, doesn't mean that marriage is suddenly a breeze.

But it does mean that we can produce the fruits of the Spirit despite the sorrows of sin.

I think that if we can grasp this concept, then we won't expect something of God that He doesn't promise.

The author of Ecclesiastes concludes with this: "...fear God and keep His commandments, because this applies to every person..." The only worth in life comes from a true relationship with God through His Son, Jesus Christ.

So, go ahead and increase in wisdom and knowledge, as well as obedience to the Lord. Then and only then will you be able to endure the sorrows and pain of life.