Redeeming the Time

Redeeming the Time. This was the theme for a ladies conference I attended in March.  Little did we know how much we needed this reminder in the coming days.  During the conference we had little WiFi, there was some talk of this virus going around the world, but for the most part we all unplugged and enjoyed the time with fellow Christians, time in the Word, and time in God's beautiful Creation.  

"Redeeming the time,  because the days are evil."  

Ephesian 5:16

Looking back I can't imagine a more perfect theme for the conference. When we all went home from this lovely weekend away our world as we knew it was different.  For many of us this was the last real fellowship we would have for months.  Who would ever have thought that the ENTIRE world would go into lockdown.  No sports activities, no coffee meet-ups,  no dinner at a restaurant, no church.  For those that said, "I just wish we had an extra day in the week"  or " I just wish I had more time at home, " well, you now have all the time in the world.  What are you doing with it?  Are you redeeming the time?  Are you making the most of it?

I feel as if God has given us a huge blessing, and I want to make the most of it.  Sure there are things to clean and declutter and Netflix to binge watch...but there are other important matters to tend to - our relationship with our family and with God.  I wish I could say when all this went down that that was my main focus.  Nope, I went into the cleaning and decluttering mode with a bit of Netflix and Facebook (ok, a lot) on the side.  Then I had a few days where I just didn't know what to do with myself (quarantine hangover maybe?) and I began to think of our conference and the theme - REDEEM THE TIME. I was not redeeming the time.  I was squandering it.  I felt incredibly guilty.  But no time to waste feeling guilty, I needed to ask for forgiveness and REDEEM THE TIME God had given me.  

I wanted to focus on two areas - my relationship with God and my relationship with my family.  It was time to put my phone down and truly redeem the time.  Sure there are still dishes to be done, laundry to be washed, folded, and put away, floors to vacuum, stuff to tidy, but more importantly there were/are souls in my home that needed tending.  Please know, I have not "arrived," I still have work to do, but I made the first step and am making a conscientious effort to love on my family more and be more intentional with my moments...to ahem, REDEEM THE TIME with my loved ones.  I will say I am so enjoying church at home on the lounge with my family.  I will probably miss this most when we start our "new"normal.  

The next area I am focusing on is my relationship with God.  Yes, a missionary/pastor's wife of many years still needs to work on their relationship with God.  This is an area that a Christian never comes to a point where they no longer need to work on it, you don't just arrive and are holy, it's a continual, daily habit we need to work on until the Lord calls us home.  My heart's desire that "I may know him" (Philippians 3:10).

How does this look?  How does one work on their relationship with God?  Well, the first thing is to study your Bible.  Not just read it, but to also study it.  Get in there, read, research, study.  Get to know God.  I recently read a book that has changed the way I read my Bible.  It's called, "Women of the Word, How to Study the Bible with both our Hearts and our Minds" by Jen Wilkin.  I don't often recommend books because every person is different and what may affect one person in one way will not affect another.  But this book truly helped me learn new ways to study the Bible and has inspired me to read and study the Bible more.  

Growing closer to there Lord also requires time spent in prayer.  Why is this such a hard area?  I've heard many messages and read many articles about prayer.  Because of that I'm convinced it's not just me that struggles in this area.  It's a struggle for many because it requires time and effort to pray.  Sounds silly, right?  We're just talking to God, why does that require effort?  Because we cannot see Him and because we are not as close to Him as we think we are.  It requires dedicated time.  Here are a few ways that have helped me stay focused in my prayer time.  

• I schedule a time.  It's like a date with just God and me.  I work hard at not missing this time and also not being late.
• I make a list.  I have an ongoing prayer list and I have a weekly list.  When it's written out I can be more focused.
• I remove distractions.  I try to find a place where I know I won't be interrupted.  This place changes daily.  Sometimes it's in my room, sometimes it's in the car on my way to the grocery store.  Wherever it is, I remove as many distractions as possible.

I'm sure you can add to this list, but I wanted to share how God has been working on my heart during this time.  Remember, none of this took God by surprise.  He knows the beginning, the middle, and the end.  He has a plan and purpose.  We simply need to trust Him and REDEEM THE TIME.

Just wanted to share this photo from a recent walk with my kids where we were 

REDEEMING THE TIME.

An update on few changes happening...

Hello!

Thank you for stopping by and reading our blog.  We consider it an honour that you take the time to read our blog.  I do not keep track of our page views or our subscriber numbers, but occasionally I do like to see where all our readers are from, here is a map that pins your rough location when you visit our page (I'm sure this isn't 100% accurate, because it hasn't pinned where I live and a few of you apparently live in the ocean, a houseboat perhaps?!):

Visitors from the past month.

We try to post weekly, but there have been a few weeks without any posts.  The reason is that many of our contributors have been with us for several years and are no longer able to write for us.  With that being said, we have a few new contributors that will be writing weekly or monthly.  In the weeks to come I will share their bios with you so you can get to know the faces behind the blog posts.

If you are a baptist missionary wife and are interested in writing either just a guest post or writing regularly please let me know.  You can either comment below or send us an email - baptistmissionarywomen@hotmail.com.  

Also, we'd love if you would comment below what you'd like to read more of...recipes, ministry updates, a day in the life of, posts from MK's, book reviews, other?  Let us know!

Please subscribe to be notified of our posts or follow us on facebook (click here).

Do You Remember Your First Bible?

We work in a small indigenous community of about 300 people here in Australia.  God has blessed us to be able to hold Sunday morning service, Wednesday night prayer meeting and Kid's Club, and Friday night Teen Group all within the community.  We are also blessed to be able to teach Religious Instruction in their public school every week. 

Teenagers are probably my favourite group of people to teach.  I can't help but think of my teen years and how God used the people around me to help guide me into my adult years.  I fear what my life would have been like had not some godly people taken a special interest me.

I was so excited when we started a teen group at our church.  I look at these young men and women and can't help but think that this is the next generation.  These are the next leaders of the community and hopefully our church.   

Last week at our Teen Group we gave our teens their very first Bible.  This photo is so precious to me.  Look at those smiles!  What could make me smile even more?  Seeing those boys walk into church on Sunday morning proudly carrying their new Bibles!

We have enjoyed teaching them about the Bible.  Think about not knowing how to find Psalm 23, or that there are two testaments, or what is the first book of the Bible.  This is all new to them, and I am so enjoying being there to teach them all of this.  Don't take these things for granted.  Sometimes we are so spoiled.  Many of us have several Bibles.  I hope you know what a precious thing it is to hold the Word of God in  your hands.

Do you remember your first Bible?  Was there a special story to go with it?  Please share in the comments, I'd love to hear about it.   I shared a Bible story over on my blog.  

Happy New Year from BMW!

Happy New Year from all of us here at Baptist Missionary Women!

This has been a wonderful year for our blog, we have many new readers due to so many of you sharing our posts on facebook.  Thank you!  

You have been with us during our good times, during our sad times, during our difficult times, during our failures, during our shaky times, during our blog hops, and during our giveaways, during all our baking and cooking, you've gone to church with us and you've been in the Word with us!  We hope you have enjoyed reading as much as we have enjoyed writing.

What's in store for 2016?  It's a new year, and I'm a list person, so how about a list of what you can expect this year?!!

• Our regular contributors are back!  Carole, Amy, Dee Dee, Charity, Lou Ann, and me (Jen)!
• More great recipes, more peaks into our homes and churches, more Scripture photography, more devotionals, more blog hops, more giveaways, and more of what you've come to love about BMW.
• Some new BMW contributors!  
• Topics for single missionary women, married missionary women, a day in the life of... , homeschooling on the mission field, insight from missionaries just new on the field and insight from veteran missionaries, and so, so much more!
• And a new, updated look for the blog

Am I missing something you would like to see here on the BMW blog?  Leave us a comment.  We aim to please!

We are planning and expecting great things for 2016!

Thanks for being a part of our lives!

To God be the Glory!!

10 Things I Wish People Knew About My Field - Blog Hop!

A few months ago we hosted a blog hop that sent you to visit the blogs of missionaries around the world.  We received great feedback, so we thought we'd try it again!   This time our theme is:

"10 Things I Wish People Knew About My Field"

Let's get started!!
Click here to meet Charity.
You probably already know her, she blogs here every Thursday.


Each blog will take you to the next person,
and bring you back here.
 Just in case, here is a list of all those participating...

Charity in Southeast Asia
Dee Dee Siberia
Jen in Australia
Anne in Thailand
April in Southeast Asia
Rachel in Estonia
Carole in Greenland
Susan in France
Rebecca in West Africa
Lou Ann in Spain
Jamie in Southeast Asia


Have fun and don't forget to leave comments and follow their blog!

Church Around the World

Today we have a special treat for you.  Have you ever wondered what churches look like around the world?  The ladies in our Baptist Missionary Women group have shared their photos.  Remember as you look at these buildings to pray for those who serve faithfully each week, for those who enter each week to see what the Lord has for them, and for the lost that they are trying to reach.

Mindolo, Zambia

 

Tarawa, Kiribati

 

Sri Lanka

 

Uganda

 

Mexico City

 

Hong Kong, China

 

Perth, Scotland

 

South Korea

 

 Lebrija, Spain

 

Northern Territory, Australia

 

Staten Island, New York

 

Nepal

 

During the earthquake in Nepal

 

Rentería, Spain

 

Madrid, Spain

 

Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic

 

Another church in Nepal

 

Pohnpei, Federated States of Micronesia

 

Tobati, Paraguay (pm service)

 

Tobati, Paraguay (am service)

 

Ciudad del Este, Paraguay

 

Ciudad de Panamá, Panamá

 

Veracruz, Panamá

 

Greenland

 

Mexico City

 

Quebec, Canada

 

Dolores Peten, Guatemala
 

 

Japan (inside)


Japan (outside)


I hope you enjoyed this little journey around the world!

 

 

 

 

 

 



An Unique BMW Blog Hop - Starts Here!

 

Are you ready for a unique blog hop?

 

Are you ready to see the world from the comfort of your own home?

 

 

Here's how it works...we do have a blogroll that you can find in the Pages section above (click here), but we thought it would be fun to send you around the world from one blog to the next.  Each blogger is to tell you 5 fun, crazy, interesting, unique, or weird things about themselves. Then they will post a link to the next BMW blog.  There are 15 ladies to visit.  Have fun!  (And be sure to leave them a comment and follow their blog!)

 

 Start here!

 Each blog will take you to the next person,
and bring you back here. 
Just in case, here is a list of all those participating...

Katie in Ethiopia
Amber in Siberia
Jen in Australia
Carie in Mexico
Rachel in Estonia
Lou Ann in Spain
Carole in Greenland
Jolene
Anne in Thailand
Susan in France
Katie in Mexico
Aleassa in Honduras
Amy in Africa
Charity in Southeast Asia
DeeDee in Siberia


 

Where is Home for the Missionary?

 

Home sweet home.  We've shared our homes with you, but where is home really at for us? 

 

Recently my family went back to America for Thanksgiving through Christmas.  When we arrived, people asked us, "Are you glad to be home?"  When we returned to Australia, people asked us, "Are you glad to be home?"  So, this got me thinking, where is home?  We've heard the cliché: Home is where your heart is. 

Some say, home is where your family is. 

 

So, what if you have family in both places?  Where is home?  You have parents in America, and your husband and children in your place of service. 

 

Often missionaries are torn between two places, the place where they grew up, where parents, siblings, and childhood friends live and the place the Lord has called them to serve.

 

Where is home?

 

Oh, we have a Heavenly home, you say.  This world is not our home, we're just passing through.  But for the here and now, for where we are "just passing through" where is home?

 

I am only one person, and I cannot speak for missionaries everywhere, but here are my thoughts and then I'll share the thoughts of other missionary women.

 

In short, missionaries will always have home in two places.  I spent 32 years in America, and have been in Australia 3 years.  How does one just pack up and move from a place they've known their entire life, and no longer call it home? 

 

On Christmas morning, I remember sitting there looking at my dad, stepmom, brothers, and nephew, then looking at my husband and children.  I realized then that at that moment, home was right there.  It was so simple.  Most of my loved ones all in one room.  I wanted that moment to last forever.  But, alas, time moves one.

 

I am now sitting in my home in Australia.  A part of me will always want to be there in America with my family, but a part of me will always want to be here, to the land where God has called me, to the people He has called me to.

 

We have a pull between two places, home and home.  Most of us know that as much as we love our "old home", time has moved on, our family has moved on, things and people have changed, and we will never fit in that "old home" again. 

 

We look at our "new home" as home, yet as long as we have family and friends there we all have a little yearning for our "old home".  Thus, we will always be torn between the two.

 

I asked our ladies in the Baptist Missionary Women group on facebook, "Where is home?"  And here are their responses (I know it's a bit lengthy, but if you want to know how we feel, please take the time to read)...

 

~ Home? What is that? I know for my kids and husband the hardest question for them is "where are you from?" I just don't get why we have to define home or put a location on it.

 

~ Home is where family is.  Or, home is where your wifi connects automatically (that's is, if you have wifi...)

 

~  Being "real" at the moment, I find myself very conflicted when thinking on this. Most days, I genuinely feel that (where we are serving) is my home. God called us here, I live here, my things are here.  But there are those days in my heart that I long to be "home" - where my children and grandchildren are.

 

~  Home is not a house or a place, it's where we as a family are together. I will never forget my son yell "home sweet home" when we arrived at our hotel room after a long day at a missions conference.

 

~  We have lived here for almost 15 years now. I will be honest... I look forward to going home some times. Although, that is where my church is, but really no longer where my friends are since my real friends are in the ministry also. My family is spread all over. But, when we've been in the states a few weeks, I'm ready to go home again, which then I say is back (where we are serving). I love being in the states where I can read everything in English, but I feel more comfortable here (where we are serving) in my house with my things. It's a hard thing to say really where my home is. Is it where we live now? Is it where we serve, where are hearts are? I'm home here. But I miss so much in the states. And when I'm in the states, I miss so much from here. So , where is home? That's a hard question.

 

~  Missionaries are kind of a people without a country. That said, we love our field and have no desire to live in any other country. When we refer to home it's the mission field.

~  Home is where my family is...and if I ever get the idea that I'm "home sick" it's never for a specific place, just for a stationary place (because we're on deputation). I just try to think about how in years past, women would travel half the world with all they owned in one box and set up a tent for home or dig a house out of the hills in the parries or whatever. I just try to make myself think like that and realize that home really is what you make it.

~ Not having "home" for years on end was turning me into a mess. I realized I needed to invest myself wherever I was, for the time I was there. It hurts a little more to leave it, but the comfort of embracing where I am is healing. Sometimes it takes a while, but it's worth the effort! Love people around you, connect with them, get involved in the ministry if possible, Love the place God puts you and the people He puts you with. I have "home" in many different places!

~ Home is where my heart is which means it is in too many places to name.

~  Home is wherever God's will is for our family. At first, living in this country it didn't feel like home, but it was home nonetheless. Being in God's will brought peace enough to endure until it felt like home. This year, it feels like home.

~  'Home' is relative to a missionary wife, or at least to me. It is a tentative term. It sounds super spiritual, but it is in truth a sad heartfelt cry when a missionary says home is Heaven! Home is where we are welcome, comfortable, in control, surrounded by loved ones, etc. this is neither the mission field, or the states for me- and it is in ways both. I can honestly say I do not feel completely at home in either place, and yet I so love both places! I am content knowing the Lord guides and places us where He wants us, and that is our home for that time; but it will change, It always changes.

 

I share all this to also show that we are real people, we are not super spiritual Christians.  We miss our family, our friends, our home church, Cracker Barrel, Wal-Mart, and the list goes on, but at the end of the day, we are right where God wants us, and we wouldn't have it any other way. 

 

So, we may not necessarily know how to answer you when you ask "Where is home?" or "Where are you from?"  Don't feel sorry for us, having two homes is an adventure!

 

 

 

 

 

 

When Bad Things Happen to Missionaries...

 



You've heard it over and over: PRAY FOR YOUR MISSIONARIES!  Why do you need to pray for us?  Because bad things can happen to us.  I hope if nothing else, this post will keep your missionaries at the top of your prayer list.

 

Our regular Missionary Monday contributor, Amy, is on a little break from posting.  With her permission, I'd like to share her and her family's horrific story.

 

One week ago our family went through a harrowing, life-changing experience. This is how my husband described last Tuesday evening in a prayer update:

Last night at about 9:45 pm at our house, Caleb announced to Amy and I as we worked on a paint job in the children’s room that three men had just entered our back door. When I got to the door, I saw two guns brandished among the three criminals. Though we offered all our money and goods to them they beat me and hit Amy twice.
We are praising the Lord that after about 15 minutes wherein they tore the house apart, we were able to chase them away. They took some material possessions, but our lives and honor were spared because of the good hand of our God who placed a wall between our lives and their weapons.

Tomorrow, we are taking a leave for our family. Please pray that we would be comforted the way the apostle Paul was comforted when he was in pain (2 Cor. 1:5). We also need wisdom as we consider how best to honor God in light of our family (1 Tim. 5:8) and the gospel (2 Tim. 2:10).

          Trusting God,

         Seth and Amy

 

To read more about the events that took place that day, click here to go to their blog.

 

Please pray for Seth, Amy, and their family as they continue to heal from all this.  Missionaries need your prayer.  When the Lord wakes you in the middle of the night to pray, don't fall back asleep, PRAY!  When you see our prayer card on your fridge or on your Bible, don't overlook it, PRAY!  When you see our country in the news, don't just pass it by, PRAY!

 

 

Christmas Blog Hop

It's the most wonderful time of the year!

Please link up one (or all!) of your blog posts sharing Christmas in your part of the world.

Show us your tree, your favourite ornaments, your nativity, your traditions, your children in their new pj's, it doesn't matter so long as it has to do with Christmas! 

And remember, Jesus is the Reason for the Season!

Gleanings from the Fields ~ BMW 366 Day Devotional Book

For those of you who have ordered copies of our new devotional book, please read carefully and send payment as soon as possible.

-Finally I have worked out a price for Gleanings from the Fields. But first, let me explain. I want to be honest and up-front with you all. It was difficult to work out the postage costs, as we have no way of knowing how much the book will weigh. The book I had published a couple of years ago has 215 pages and weighs 180g. But our book has 390 pages. If the book goes over 250g, it jumps up into the next weight category for postage. So I have opted to charge you all at the price for the higher weight category (it only adds US$1). If it turns out that the book is under 250g, that means I will make a $1 profit per book, which, with your permission, I would donate to our church's building fund (reimbursing you all individually would be a headache, and would also incur PayPal fees, so it wouldn't be worth it).

 The price of the book will be as follows:

US$8.50/book sent to all addresses outside of the EU (European Union)
US$7.00/book sent within the EU
US$6.50/book sent within Romania.

This price includes the book itself, protective packaging, postage, and PayPal fees.

I have looked into the costs for those of you who are ordering multiple copies, and it appears that it will be cheapest to send each book individually, as the prices go up exponentially with each new weight category. That means that for those of you who have ordered 60 books (yikes!), you will receive 60 individual packages! If this is inconvenient for you, please spare a thought for me, who gets to write an envelope for every single one of our 918 orders!

It would make my life easier, if you have ordered for several friends and their copies are part of your order, if you have your friends pay you, and then you pay me once.

My PayPal address is: crockets4rmv@yahoo.com.au
Don't forget the .au 

~Suzy Crocket

I personally want to thank Suzy for all the hard work she has put into collecting the devotionals and getting the book published, and Myra for all her hard work in typesetting.  We don't see all the behind the scenes work, but these ladies have sacrificed a lot of time and effort in part of this book.  From the bottom of my heart, Suzy and Myra, thank you!

~Jen

Christmas Blog Hop

 

Our annual Christmas blog hop returns in just one month!

Please plan to join us!

 

2011 Christmas Blog Hop

2012 Christmas Blog Hop

 

 

 

 

"Gleanings from the Fields" - A BMW Devotional Book

 

We are overwhelmed at the response this book has received!  Currently we have requests for over 500 copies!  Glory to God! 

 

If you are interested in a copy, please leave a comment with your email, and we will be in touch shortly.  The book will cost roughly $10 (that includes shipping) and we can only except payment via paypal.

 
Last day to order is October 31.

Gleanings from the Fields ~ A 366 day devotional book

The Baptist Missionary Women have poured their heart out onto paper, and the product is this beautiful devotional book.  Over 70 missionary women from all over the world have contributed to this book and it will soon be available for purchase.  Right now we are trying to get a rough idea of how many copies we should have printed.  If you are interested in a copy (and have not already let us know via facebook), please leave a comment and we will be in touch in the near future for payment (via paypal) and your shipping address.  The book will be approximately $10 each. 

 

A special thank you to Suzy and Myra for all their hard work in putting this wonderful project together.

 

 

Homeschool Room Tour

A few weeks ago we shared a tour of our homes.

Today, we're going to give a tour of our homeschool room (or space).

 

 

Homeschooling, in my opinion, is a privilege.  Children are a blessing from the Lord, and what an honor not only raise them, but also educate them. 

And just for fun...



 

I'm excited to take a peak into your school room.  Share photos of your kids doing school, your bookshelves, outdoor activities, etc. etc.!!

 

A Special Thank You..

I just wanted to take a moment and say a huge thank you to the contributors here on the Baptist Missionary Women blog.  This blog receives hundreds of visitors each week, many leaving comments on how the blog posts have encouraged them.  I could not do this all on my own, and am extremely thankful for the ladies who sacrifice their time to write here each week.

 

 

Amy writes each week for Missionary Monday.

 

 

Charity writes each Thursday.

 

 

Lou Ann shares a devotional on the first Friday of each month.

 

 

DeeDee is our new contributor for Tasty Tuesdays.

(Trust me, you'll be glad it's her and not me!)

 

Carole writes for Wednesday Wonderings.

 

Laura is currently on furlough, but she brings us the Saturday funnies!

 

 

 

A huge thank you to each of you ladies.

We are blessed to have you.