Closer to the Source

We have been blessed thus far with two children and one on the way. It is amazing to me how different two children can be even though they have the same parents, upbringing, and looks. I mean, I know that everyone is different; but to see it in my two sons at a very young age is completely different. God is an awesome Creator!

My oldest son, Jude, is 3 years of age. He's mostly a social light, loves to play with trains, and likes to go see new places and things. He likes everything neat, clean and tidy and will avoid pain at all costs. He is extremely curious and has a bit of an engineering mind. Already he is picking up letters, in both languages, and is eager to read. However, you sit him down to a meal at the table, and he is TOTALLY disinterested. He eats to stay alive (because we make him eat, as any good parent of course) and not really for the enjoyment of it. - Unless it's ice cream!

My second son, Zachary, is not quite 2 years old. He is into everything so much that we tease we should have called him "Trouble". He goes from one "off limits" thing to the next. Yet, he has picked up language here in Georgia much better than his brother, has intense and genuine emotions, and loves to get dirty. Pain doesn't bother him. He also LOVES to eat. Though he's still having some lingering issues with food texture, he really can put food away! He already eats more than his brother, and if we get out snacks, he sidles up real close so he can sneak a bite.

When the boys go up to "Bebia's" house (a Georgian Grandma), Jude sits on the couch to watch cars or trains or some other multi-film cartoon while Zachary heads straight for the kitchen to look for any goodies left out on the table. These boys are as different as can be!

Yet to me, it is always amazing. If I get out crackers or chips, I give one to Zachary. Usually though, he's not satisfied with just one. He wants one for each hand. Then a handful. Then, he gives up trying to hold enough and attempts to climb on my lap or squeeze in next to me so that he can get to the bag of treats himself. He wants to get closer to the source.

It humbles me to watch him and reminds me of what my relationship with my Father should be. I shouldn't be satisfied with just one chapter in His Word, just one blessing that He sends, or just one service at church. I should be going for two, then a handful, then, why not? Just sit on His lap. After all, He is the source. The only way to get to the source of joy and blessings is to have a RELATIONSHIP with the Giver.

Our spiritual appetite is just like our physical one: the more we give it of something, the more it wants. If you watch a lot of television, you tend to want to watch even more. If you eat a lot of junk food, you crave more. If you prefer carrot sticks, then they're your go-to food. If you grew up with meat and potatoes at every dinner meal, chances are, you still want that meat and potatoes. Yes, we can change our appetites. We can train them, curb them, sometimes yes, force them into a new habit.

It is the same spiritually. The more we read God's Word, the more we want. The more of Jesus we have, the closer we desire to be. The more we fill our lives with choices that are pleasing to God, the easier it is to do the next time... not because the choices will be easy, but because our spirits are strong, walking in the Spirit.

So, I strive to desire to be closer. I must schedule/choose/prioritize to make time for God. Whatever it takes. Not just for one nugget of feel-good booster, but for the whole bag! Even in a busy life and amid the craziness of little ones, I must not neglect the most important Person in my life. The Source is waiting. There's so much He has in store!

Just a closer walk with Thee

Grant it Jesus, is my plea,

Daily walking close to Thee,

Let it be, dear Lord, let it be.

- Anonymous -

Scriptures From Around the World - Africa

" Come Apart"

 "COME APART"

“My family is more important to me than the Tohono O’odham people are”.  That was a statement that slipped out of my mouth as our family was returning home from Sunday morning services recently.  It had been a great service and I felt like the Lord had been glorified in all our efforts that day.  But I was tired.  Actually, mentally and physically exhausted. In our long drive home that day I had been looking at the beautiful desert before me and talking to God in my heart.  It was pure accident that what was in my head had slipped from my mind onto my tongue before I could stop it.  I know many of you can relate when I say that from the time our family began deputation to the point of this outburst, our family had been in a constant work mode.  Our days filled with conducting church services, Bible Clubs, meetings and days with no appointments filled with preparing for the ones that do.  And while I adore every O’odham person we minister to, I must admit I was starting to feel jealous of the people God called us to.  They were getting more of my family than I was.  Likewise, they were getting more of me than my family was.  It’s not a fun place to be.  

In Mark 6, Jesus sent out His disciples with many things to accomplish for the kingdom of God.  The disciples did not slack in what Christ tasked them with but worked hard in all they did.  So much so that they didn’t even take time to eat.  They had seen great things happen, but they had also seen a lot of heartache.  In returning to Jesus to share what all they had done, He saw that mentally and physically they were tired.  But instead of telling them “get back out there” or even giving them strength to carry on, Jesus declared a time to rest.  

“And He said unto them, come ye yourselves apart into a desert place, and rest a while: for there were many coming and going, and they had no leisure so much as to eat.” Mark 6:31

My declaration that Sunday morning did startle my husband and daughter but when I clarified my meaning, they agreed, and my husband declared a time of rest!  While we didn’t have the finances to take an awesome vacation, we do have camping equipment.  A few weeks later we took a few days to go camping and not do a lot but relax, enjoy each other, worship God and create ways for taking better care of ourselves 

God has been so kind to call and supply for each of us to minister to the people we serve.  He doesn’t want us short term, He wants us for the long haul.  It is our responsibility to not only take care of our ministry equipment, the people we serve but also ourselves to see this through.  Here are a few ways we can accomplish that:

           Schedule weekly “Us” time.  Whether it’s individually or as a family, there needs to be at least one  

        day each week on the calendar that work is not allowed.  A time to recreate, reflect or rest so that we

        can renew ourselves for the next week of ministry responsibilities.

.         Maintain a healthy lifestyle.  In our fast pace schedule, you may not be eating healthy, not exercising

       and not maintaining a healthy sleep pattern.  A healthy lifestyle will help not only physically but

       mentally.  Bottom line, if your body is not taken care of it will run down and you won’t be of much

       good to your ministry. 

       Maintain individual time with God.  Days can get fast paced and fly by.  Before you know it, the  

        day is over, and you haven’t had any time with God.  Jesus shared the importance of spending time

        at His feet in Luke 10:41 “But one thing is needed, and Mary has chosen that good part, which will

        not be taken away from her.” It’s a “needed” time. Working in a ministry and not having a healthy

        relationship with God will soon lead to a premature death of your ministry. 

Let us not ever forget that God loves us as much as He loves the people He called us to.  He called us to be servants not slaves.  Our family’s time off revived us and energized us to keep going.  I pray today each of you will take time for yourselves and your family so that God can work through you for many years to come!

BY: Julie Ford

Tohono O'odham Nation

It ALL Works Together for Good?? Really??

But what about when we mess it all up?

God has a plan—there is no doubt about that, but can we mess up His plan? I mean we sin; doesn't that mess things up? Does Romans 8:28 really always apply? The Scripture says "to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose." I mean don't we all try to "love the Lord our God with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength." And aren't the Christians "the called according to His purpose?"

Growing up, I learned many things about the Bible in the church where I attended as a little girl. As I went into my teen years, my family changed churches, and I began to "grow in grace and knowledge of our Lord and Saviour..." I learned many things that I had not learned in Sunday school. My view of the world changed, and I realized that God had a place for me; I knew that He would have me be the wife of a pastor or missionary (and I gladly surrendered to whatever God wanted from me in the future).

When I became sixteen, I realized that a job was in my future. Coming from a poor family, I desired to continue to attend the Christian school where my parents had enrolled us with some money my dad had received as a payout from an accident; but that money was gone now, and there was no way to pay the bill. I worked to pay my school bill, pay for a few personal items, and give my tithes and mission offerings.

While working, I met many people. One guy that I met, who I was pretty sure was not a Christian, asked me out on a date. After turning him down on a number of occasions, he asked me out in front of several people and pled his case as "going out on an innocent lunch date." My parents had no rules for me as far as dating; and, against my better judgement, I agreed. After it was settled, he told me that he would pick me up on Saturday afternoon for lunch; and he told me that he planned to ask me, while we were out, "why it had taken me so long to say, 'yes'."

Disclaimer here**I do not condone, or encourage, in any way, a Christian dating an unsaved person.*

The day of the date came; and although I had prayed all night that we would get too much snow to go out, he still arrived to pick me up. We had a nice lunch, and on the way home, he asked me the question that I had been running over again and again in my mind. I answered him simply, "Well, I am a Christian, and I believe that Christians should only marry Christians, and you should not date someone that you cannot marry."

His response was, "Oh, I know, unequal in yoke and all that stuff." In shock, I asked him where he had learned that; and he answered, "My grandma and aunt are always preaching to me." As I found out later, they were praying always for him too.

To shorten the end of an already long story, that guy got saved a few months later, after attending church every time the doors were open and realizing his need of salvation. He was called to preach a short time after that (I had never told him about what I thought God had for me in the future), and we were married about a year and a half later. As we went into missions, I bought him a new wedding band with a phrase from his favourite passage of Scripture (Ephesians 1:6, 12 & 14) imprinted on it. The passage says, "That we should be to the Praise of His Glory."

So what does this have to do with "All things working together for good?" I carried around a lot of guilt for a while for going out with him, and I can even remember thinking before he got saved—I am really messing this up. My point is that there was no question that I loved God and that He worked in spite of my human frailty. My husband has taught me so much, and I am a better Christian today because of his influence in my life.

The Bible also gives us examples like Jonah who ran from God; but after God used a fish to teach him a few things, I dare say that Jonah preached with more passion after the encounter with the fish than if he had never run from God in the first place. Then there was David. How could we ever see any good come from adultery, murder, a dead baby, and the many other consequences from his sin? Well, many have been comforted, encouraged, and helped over the years as they read David's heart in the Psalms as he repented and begged our Lord for cleansing and forgiveness.

PLEASE DO NOT get me wrong and think that I am trying to say that any mistakes or sin that we do is ok because God will "fix it." The Bible is clear in Romans 6:1 & 2 that we should not sin even though there is grace for when we sin. However, just a few chapters later in the end of Romans chapter 8, after he tells us that "All things work together for good..." He tells us that He is conforming us to the image of His Son (vs. 29), is justifying us (vs.33), is loving and keeping us (vs. 35), and that we are made "more than conquerors through him." (vs. 37)

My point is...when you sin or make a mistake, don't beat yourself—Satan and the spiritual wickedness in this world does enough of that. Ask for forgiveness, then seek to live holy as He is holy...and leave the "working it all for good" to Him. We cannot mess up His plan. He has it all under control!

By Sherrie Lester

Homemade Biscuits - With Video

We make these biscuits at least once a week in our house! They are so good! Every Saturday we make these biscuits and sausage gravy! I am getting hungry just thinking about it! 

These biscuits have a nice butter flavor, are soft, flaky, and brown nicely! They taste as amazing as they look! 

I made a double batch here, just because my family goes through these amazing biscuits so fast! 

This flour cup recipe makes about 24 Biscuits. 

4 cups flour (we like to do 2 white, 2 wheat)

8 teaspoons (2 2/3 tablespoons) baking powder

2 teaspoons salt 

1 cup cold, cubed butter or margarine 

2 cups water or milk 

Cut in butter with 2 cups of the flour. Add the salt, baking powder, and remaining 2 cups flour. 

Pour in the water or milk. (We don’t notice a difference when we use water or milk)

Mix the dough until the flour is just mixed in. DO NOT OVER MIX! If you knead the biscuit dough it will make the biscuits more like rolls, more dense and tough. 

On floured surface flatten dough to about 1/2 inch thickness. Cut biscuits with biscuit cutter, can, cup....whatever you have on hand. 

Tip - when cutting biscuits try this. Push down, twist, lift. When you just twist and lift the edges aren’t very clean. If you make sure you cut all the way through the dough before you twist the edges aren’t much nicer, and the biscuits are flakier. 

Bake in a 350 degree oven. Bake until tops are golden brown! 

Enjoy with butter, honey, gravy, the options really are endless!

Check out my channel on YouTube, Third Culture Cooking. 

Comments are always welcome and appreciated!

Amber Wells

Papua New Guinea 🇵🇬 

Scriptures From Around the World - Italy

To Be "Me"

When I was a young missionary arriving on the field of Spain, I didn’t know one word of Spanish and had never taken a survey trip. “Ignorant” would have been an understatement. In an effort to adapt, I overdid it. Since those first years, I’ve visited in other people’s homes, asked questions, and learned a lot about finding a happy medium—about finding “me.” Let’s explore different areas of our lives where we find it hard to discern where we need to be and who we really are.

Home Décor

Years ago, we visited a missionary family in France. They lived in a traditional French home—complete with tall, ornate doors throughout their living quarters. I noticed, though, that our hostess had transformed their home into a cozy, American living space. She used small-check gingham, cross-stitch pictures, and colors you might find in any American home at the time. I asked our hostess how the French people liked her house, and she answered, “They love it. People expect you to have a home that’s different from theirs.” This statement helped me immensely. I’d been on the field maybe six years at that time, and I had done just the opposite. So, this was a wake-up call for my own decorating. What should you do in your home?

• Make sure the décor reflects your family and your needs.
• What’s your background? Are there any items that make you feel at home? What are the colors you like best?
• What is practical in your field?
• It is perfectly okay--though not necessary--to decorate differently from the natives.

Food

When I came to Spain, I wanted to be Spanish. I literally stood next to the Spanish pastor’s wife—an excellent cook—in her kitchen and watched and learned. (I advise any new missionary to do the same.) I became so Spanish that this happened when we went out to McDonald’s our first day back on furlough: our small children had never seen a hamburger and weren’t too excited about them. Thankfully, they loved the french fries. Soon afterwards, we were down South at a missions conference, where normal American food was served: green beans, corn, meat, rolls, etc. My kids had never seen veggies served like this. I made them try them. That furlough was another light bulb moment. I needed to be more American and expose my kids to American menus.

• Learn to make native foods on your field. Take your lessons from the best cooks in your ministry. You need to know how to make their foods the way they do.
• Regularly, cook a few meals for your family that are typical in your home country.
• Celebrate your home country’s holidays with traditional foods (Thanksgiving: pumpkin pies, turkey, stuffing, sweet potatoes, etc.; Independence Day: red, white, and blue desserts).
• Teach your kids to try new things. Maybe, go out to ethnic restaurants from time to time. Cultivate adventurous palates.

Lifestyle

If you visit ten mission fields, you’ll find ten different lifestyles. If you go to missionaries’ homes, you’ll find that they adapt in various ways. When I got to the field, I tried to be Spanish—but I wasn’t. It took me years to figure out that I would never really be Spanish and that our family needed to find its own comfort level on the field. This will mean different adaptations, but it boils down to one concept: do what works for you. Is this selfish? Not at all! Let me suggest a few ways to find out what's best for your family:

• If you’re married, sit down and have a long, honest chat with your husband. What’s working? What’s not? How can we change what needs changing? Work as a team on this.
• Do you have children (or you or your husband) with special needs? You need to figure out what lifestyle will allow every person in the family to be able to function at a good level. How can you make life easier for the most vulnerable person in your family? Make the needed adjustments.
• “Let Me Burn Out for Thee” isn’t a biblical concept when carried to the extreme. Yes, we should serve God. Yes, we need to work hard. But, workaholic missionaries will burn out and die before their time. Find what level of activity is right for you. It may take a few years of experimentation before you find your happy place, but make sure you get enough sleep, take care of your body, eat healthy, have time for personal devotions, and serve the Lord effectively. As you get older, you’ll appreciate this.
• Family comes before ministry. We attended a wedding once where it was written in the vows that ministry would always come before anything else. I don’t see that in the Bible. The Lord established the family way before anything else—except communion with Him, which was from the beginning of creation. Our priorities should be: our personal relationship with the Lord, husband (if any), children (if any), ministry, and everything else. Too many times, I see missionaries (both men and women) putting ministry at the very top of the list. Serving is everything. The work is all consuming. As a result, they lose sight of their personal walk with God, and eventually, their family suffers. When the priority list goes backwards, communion is lost. If you want to stay on the field, put God first, then family, then ministry. By the way, nothing is more attractive to lost people than a joyful family.

Using Talents

Missionaries are some of the most gifted and educated people in the world. But, God’s plan might be different from what you envision. Years ago, I understood my own spiritual gift. I always wanted to do it. I felt like I had something to offer. Now, I don’t sing solos, play instruments, or have any acting talents at all. I couldn’t deliver a reading if my life depended upon it. But, I do have a gift—just like every other Christian. Over the more than thirty years we’ve been missionaries, I’ve had some opportunities to use my gift, but it hasn't been as I would have envisioned. You see, God doesn’t need me. He certainly doesn’t need my spiritual gift. He can do His work in hearts without me at all. So, why am I here? To serve Him. To obey Him. To be faithful to Him.

• Don’t expect your vision to be what happens.
• Don’t expect other people to recognize your gifts.
• Use your life to serve God and people. This will take different forms as you go on your missionary journey. You will use your gift, but I can guarantee you it won’t be in exactly the way you dreamed—and it might be much less than you might have thought. Everyone is called to serve. Just serve.

So, who am I in the great scheme of things? Several Bible characters asked the same thing.

• And Moses said unto God, Who am I, that I should go unto Pharaoh, and that I should bring forth the children of Israel out of Egypt? (Exodus 3:11)
• Then went king David in, and sat before the LORD, and he said, Who am I, O Lord GOD? and what is my house, that thou hast brought me hitherto? (2 Samuel 7:18)
• Solomon asked, But who is able to build him an house, seeing the heaven and heaven of heavens cannot contain him? Who am I then, that I should build him an house, save only to burn sacrifice before him? (2 Chronicles 2:6)

Who are you? You’re a sent one—a woman who has the opportunity to live in another culture and impact the people around you for God. Your identity is in Christ and in your home country and family. Be comfortable that you’re different. Let that feel special to you. Be thankful for all of life's opportunities, and use them to serve the Lord.

Have not I commanded thee?

Be strong and of a good courage;

be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed:

for the LORD thy God is with thee

whithersoever thou goest (Joshua 1:9).

by Lou Ann Keiser, in Basque Spain since 1984.