Ants In My Pants!

Ants In My Pants!

Okay...not really...but close!

One of the things that thrives in the Tropics is BUGS! We have been fighting little tiny ants in our home for months. We have asked Trini's what to do and we have gotten some ideas from them, but to no avail...the ants have taken over. Sometimes we can find a trail and see where they are coming in and deal with it...for awhile(sigh), but they find another entrance eventually. The truth be told, they are not invading our space, but we are invading their territory. They were here first:)

I have little tiny (almost hard to see) ants crawling on me when I am sitting, standing, sleeping, eating and well...you can fill in the blanks, if other ideas come to your mind.

I am certain I have ingested and inhaled a number of them. Ashleigh (my daughter) woke up one morning with one crawling in her eye!

Ants In My Pants...well...actually...MAYBE!

I haven't written for awhile...some may say writers block...I say "stuck". I am not sure what to call what I have been going through (not really quite out of it) but I have felt all plugged up. Maybe there is such a thing as Spiritual constitpation:) Women will often say, they are emotional and don't really know why. I think that is part of it. So much change has come to me in the last three years, that I think it caught up with me and put me in "weary mode" for awhile. My level of pain in my right hip dosen't help...it's just always there and some days I don't handle it as well. I don't discount Spiritual forces either. I know that what we are doing here in Trinidad is the last thing that the enemy of our souls wants, and he likes to throw fits, reek havoc, annoy and disrupt.

I do know this...as a believer...a daughter of the King...I can last on what I know to be true until feelings come, I can seek my God even when I don't feel His presence, read His Word even when I don't see the answers I am looking for. I am His on the bad, ugly days. I am His on the dark days that beg for understanding. He sees me when no one else does. He smiles at me and appreciates me when no one else does. He waits for me...

We can't afford to play "catch up Christianity". We must put God's Word in our hearts everyday, talk to God everyday...because you don't know when "hard" will hit. Sometimes, "hard" stays around for awhile. I know this...God gets it...and thank you God...you get ME!

Easter = Hope

Perhaps you have lived enough "life stuff" to know you wouldn't be "stable" if it wasn't for Jesus. I know I have. When Easter comes each year, I am reminded of the dark moments the midst of my "life" story when I didn't think I could make it, when my mind and heart were playing tricks on me, when the enemy of my soul was speaking lies...then, when I focused on Jesus...the author and finisher of my faith, HOPE broke through!!!

Now, be patient with me...I need to talk about Christmas for a moment. I love Christmas...the sights and sounds and anticipation of it all. Trini's love Christmas...Food, Fun and Fellowship! Yep, it starts early and goes as long as possible. LOTS of special events lead up to December 25th and than thats not all...the day after Christmas is Boxing Day (another holiday). I love it! But...

I love Easter more...As great as the birth of Baby Jesus is, if Jesus had not followed through and finished the goal of the cross and the empty tomb, it would just be a nice story. He was born to die! He died to live! The Easter story of resurrection brings a Hope to every heart that the Christmas story alone can not do.

I have lived long enough to have life altering moments of loss. My story includes the loss of my daughter Alexandra. It has been 19 years now. She was born on Christmas Day and lived one day. I remember that Christmas Day as though it was yesterday. Christmas has never been the same for me. More importantly, however, Easter has never been the same for me. It took me awhile to come up for air after she died, but I will never forget the Easter after she died. As I stood at her grave, I thanked Jesus for the RESURRECTION! You see, He didn't just get STARTED with the job He came to do, He FINISHED the job!

So, as Jesus continues to write your story and mine, in the darkest moments...remember that EASTER = HOPE! A hope you can count on, breathe in, speak to, listen to and live for. Thank you Jesus that you came...but Thank you even more that you finished what you came for.

Words!!

I LOVE words...I love their sound, their meaning and their history. I would love to attain the status of "Word Smith" in my lifetime. Don't know that I will ever attain it...but's it's a goal I aspire to:)

I love how ONE word can mean something different depending on how it is used, where it is used or who is using it! I have new found respect for linguists and those who speak more than one language now that I live outside the U.S. Even though Trinidad is an English speaking country, it is the Queen's English and don't let anyone tell you that Trini's don't have their own way of saying things!

Back to WORDS. I have been thinking about the Lord's provision today. Now...the moment I thought about the word provision guess what popped into my head! In Trinidad, a dish that is prepared often, is called "provision". It is a staple food of "root vegetables" like yams, sweet potatoes, eddoes or dasheen, made into soups or stews or eaten as a side dish. See what I mean! One word can mean so many things...

When considering the Lords provision, we can come up with different meanings also. When we talk about the Lord providing for us, we often think of our basic needs of food, shelter or finances. We must be careful thinking along these lines or we start looking at God like a gum ball machine. Put a quarter in and get something out. Don't get me wrong...I believe God delights in giving us the desires of our hearts, but if all we do is go to Him for "stuff", then we are not in a healthy relationship with our maker. (Have you simply "enjoyed" Jesus lately?)

It might be better to look at God Himself as our Provision rather than our provider. If God is our Provision, then we walk differently.

We walk differently because we then need Him for our very breath instead of the next "handout". We are connected by relationship. In that relationship He provides more than stuff but instead, all that we need to walk this lifes journey. Things like peace, comfort, humility,confidence, wisdom, spiritual authority and the list goes on.

Jesus, you are my provision. You don't just give peace, YOU ARE PEACE. You don't just give comfort, YOU ARE COMFORT. You can not separate what Jesus does from His character. He does not have a bad day and decide not to be PEACE, COMFORT,WISDOM etc. Those are who He is, not simply something He does.

Provision...hope you think about it a bit differently now:)

Until next time...that's my take on it!

Upcoming Events to pray for:

Time at Children's Home this Saturday

Mike is preaching at Barrakpore #4 this Sunday

Team has last service at Marabella this Sunday...we will join for lunch after our service

Lot's of packing and last minute details...pray for a smooth week

Seen and Unseen

Well...Satan's been busy.

I wonder... if we could actually see him wringing his ugly hands in anticipation of victory, if we would get mad enough to live differently... to stay the course...to forge ahead.

Scripture tells us to..." fix our eyes not on what is seen (people,places,things), but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.

The unseen is the spiritual warfare going on in the heavenly realms on our behalf. Yeah...it's happening right now as I speak. It's Christianity 101 stuff, but we forget. God has a plan. Satan wants to stop the plan. Satan throws a fit. God sends his holy angels to war for us. God wins. Did you hear me? There may be skirmishes that Satan gets the upper hand on, but GOD WINS! In fact, truth be told God ALREADY WON on the cross. The last chapter of the story has already been written and WE WON!

Since Satan knows that he has already lost, he will throw fits and cause havoc any way and any where he can. Sometimes he even uses well meaning Christians:)

Be self‑controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.

1 Peter 5:8

Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes.

Ephesians 6:11

We are so clueless much of the time and aren't even aware of his devices. We call it a bad day, or a dry season...a dark night of the soul. I think it is often Satan throwing a fit because he sees and feels the threat of God's Kingdom advancing!

So it's time to "get a clue!" Let's call it what it is...Spiritual Warfare! And...if it's warfare, then let's fight! Let's "war" in the spirit for God's plan, God's strategy and Godly results.

Now, I have to say, because I speak the truth, doesn't mean I "feel" the truth. I am a bit exhausted right now, and my flesh wonders about all sorts of things. I must also say, however, that my "feelings" do not change the truth.

Let's speak the truth out loud...even when we don't feel it. Even when we don't see it. Let's walk by faith not by sight!!

Until next time...that's my take on it!

UPCOMING EVENTS TO PRAY FOR: Planning meeting with a local pastor regarding children's outreach and evangelistic home Bible Studies. We are teaching a Missions Class on the North Campus of the OBTT Bible College. Outdoor Crusade in a Hindu/Muslim community. Please be praying for future SGL students. Please continue to pray for Ashleigh's homeschooling. Biology and Math are the most challenging. Pray for our health...we have had a lot of health related issues...back and hip problems, flu etc. We are also in the midst of critical and strategic planning for SGL. Cover us right now! Thanks!

Did God Really Say?

I know some of you read my blog to see what's happening in Trinidad. Even though we are going through a very difficult time right now and desperately need your prayers, I must be obedient to write what God is asking...so here goes. (You can still pray in the Spirit for us!)

Happy 2011!

As Christians (me included), it seems to me, we should go into 2011 with a greater commitment to obedience rather than resolutions...just saying:)

I am personally making a renewed commitment in obeying God by thinking and meditating on the Word. You can read the Word without thinking about it. You can read the Word without applying it to your life. I want to meditate and obey.

Sooooooooo...as I was reading and meditating on the third chapter of Genesis this week, I saw a phrase again for the very first time. The serpent (the enemy of our souls), said to Eve, "Did God Really Say?" It's important to remember that God had already said something, for Satan to be able to say this to Eve. Let me repeat myself...Satan was responding to things God had already said. It's kinda like the story in the N.T. where Jesus said to His disciples, "get in the boat, we are going to the other side." When the storm came up, they were afraid. Nobody remembered that Jesus had said, "we are going to the other side". God has already said many things to us and continues to speak. What did He say to you...to me, earlier today or yesterday? How about what He said last Year? Satan is still using the same tactics he has always used. He is still asking, "Did God Really Say?" If Satan can get us to question what God has said to us, then he has us exactly where he wants us! Let's not forget Satan is a liar, the Father of Lies and Lying is his native language! (John 8:44)

It's important to know what God says to you, it's your anchor. When negative self-talk starts or the enemy of your soul lies to you...you must go back to what God said.

Remember, do not question in the darkness, what God said to you in the light. And...oh yeah, don't rely on your feelings to convince you that God keeps His Word. That's what your faith is all about.

Some of the things God has said to me in the last couple of years...

• I want a friendship with you (It's easy to enjoy His faithfulness without being His friend)
• Will you let me write your story
• Will you let me decide how to spend the rest of your life
• Grab everything from heaven you can possibly get and give it away as quickly as possible!
• Go to the Secret Place and spend time with me
• I am with you even when you settle on the far side of the sea

If you can't think of anything that God has personally said to you recently, then go to the Word. He has already said plenty there...and it's as personal as it gets! Just read today that there are 7,487 promises in the Word. Take just one of them and say it to yourself over and over until it reaches your spirit. Promises like...

• I will never leave you or forsake you
• I have written your name in palm of my hand
• I will give you the strength you need for today
• I am your defender
• I see you
• Fix your eyes on me
• Do not dwell on the past...I am doing a new thing!

When Satan says, "Did God Really Say?" You and I can say...YES! Yes He said it...Yes He meant it...Yes He can do it and most important...Yes He Will! Use your eyes of faith this year with the things God has already said that haven't come to pass yet and don't forget to say "Thank You Jesus", when they do!

Until next time...That's my Take On It!