Why Me?

Some days I wonder, why am I here in Mexico, spending hours and hours trying to love people who don't know how to love back, trying to save lives for the kingdom of God, when I am surrounded by satan's playground? Wouldn't it have been easier for me to just choose to go to college and live a normal life of a college student?

Some days I truely ask myself this, but then I find God's word and He reminds me why I am here, and why I am an exception. Why some may ask?
Because I was chosen for such a time as this.

Esther 4:14 "For if you remain silent at this time, relief and deliverance for the Jews will arise from another place, but you and your father's family will perish. And who knows but that you have come to royal position for such a time as this?"

I read a recent devotion that put this in another perspective for me;
" Suppose our entire graduating class was given a million dollars as a graduation gift. Suppose we were immature and wasted it over the next ten years on pleasurable activities. Suppose further that one of our friends did not join the merrymaking. He used his money instead to fund cancer research, and after ten years actually discovered a cure.

During our ten years of merrymaking, we always felt bad for this friend, who missed out on all the fun. The ’round-the-world cruises, world-class tour packages, fine dining and all-night parties were memorable; we would always invite him, but he consistently turned us down. Now, after ten years of merrymaking, our money has disappeared while his money is saving lives. Now we realize how right he was.

We all could have accomplished something of lasting value with our money. We could have built eternal edifices that would save lives and improve standards of living. Instead, we wasted it on temporal pleasures of no real value. We used to feel bad for our friend, who failed to enjoy his money, but as it turned out, we now feel bad for ourselves."

If you are the odd one out from the crowd, remember, Yeshua (Jesus) was the greatest outcast that lived among this world, yet Yeshua made the greatest difference by saving us from our sins and dying for us on a cross. Are you willing to take up your cross and follow Him?

The Story Continues

Yesterday I experienced a true miracle of God, or I should better say various miracles! I heard the stories of 4 different men, all coming last minute to share a weekend together in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico. Little did they know that God's hand was on their entire trip here and that God had big plans for these 4 men. One of the men remembered his dad's cousin had friends in Cabo who were missionaries. This man was not a believer, but somehow God put it on his heart to call these missionaries and invite them for breakfast... the rest is miracle after miracle.

My friend and I led worship for these four men and their friends on Sunday. We hadd a service, and there were so many tears filling the room. One man who is not a beliver is dying of cancer and only found out a week prior to his trip. He was planning on coming here to have "fun" in Cabo, but found much bigger plans instead. He found God's plans... The story continues and every detail touches your life in a way that you cannot believe. I am astounded and amazed by what God is doing. He is truely showing off. My pastor fasted for 52 days, not knowing why he decided to fast 52 days, he found his answer when God directed him to these men on the final day of his fast.


God is doing many miracles and the beautiful this is that there is always a continuing story. The lives that are touched with go forward and touch other lives, these lives will work together and do great things for the kingdom of God, and the story will grow deeper and deeper and many will believe and be saved.
What a beautiful day it was and what beauty there is in knowing God!

benman31

For, Adonai, what you do makes me happy; I take joy in what your hands have made. How great are your deeds, Adonai! How very deep your thoughts!" Psalm 92:5-6

Happy New Year!

So the new year has finally come and my goal of reading through the bible is complete! It has been an incredible journey through God's word and one that has greatly changed the person I am.
These past 40 days, leading up to the New Year, I have been in a time of fasting, not just from food, but the disractions in life that keep me from God's word and prayer.
No matter what, we NEED His word, Our sould crave for it. Like our bodies need nutrients, without the Word, we are lacking everything needed to sustain us through this world. Did I completely rely upon these words a year ago? I did not... I wanted so desperately to make His word a valued part of my life, but I kept going back to the cookie jar and all the comforts I found elsewhere.
Taking food away for 40 days was not easy, but with God's word being at my every side, I can say I would do it again in an instant. The beautiful thing is that I still will and still can. I have trained my body to satisfy the word with more of an intense hunger than ever before.
This is something we all can do. Fasting from something that takes time, energy, or thought on the things of the world, to time, energy and thought on God, will leave you in awe of our King.

Will I read through the bible again in a year? That is an easy, yes.

I am so thankful for where God has taken me in the year 2011. The numbers add up to 4, and sure enough, it was a year of testing in so many ways. In the horizon, is a year of grace. I want to see God do miracles each day, I want to see His radiance shine in Cabo and to all the nations, I want to see God change me more into the image of grace He has for me. I want to rejoice, dance, and shout for joy at the things He is doing!
Glory a Dios!

Wake-Up Call

        Yesterday I woke up late and had a slow start to the day. I didn't think too much of it because it was a Saturday after all. I just needed time to sleep in a little.. All in all it was a productive day, but by the end of it I realized... I had not focused on God and allowed my emotions to get the better of me, and everything on my mind was completely off of God's love. God instantly gave me a wake up call! I sat there and prayed, cried, and allowed myself to get vulnerable before the Lord because I knew I needed His wake-up call and His guidance to overcome my selfishness.

       I know I will frequently make mistakes again and again, but God is continuously faithful to keep moving us to the next level in our faith. It may be a steeper road and less traveled, but it is far worth it. I realized last night that I had been doing my day to day tasks through the eyes of the world and not of God. I had escaped from my soul purpose of loving others as Christ loved us. God whispered to me, "Grace, my way is simple. Pursue love".

"For now we see obscurely in a mirror, but then it will be face to face. Now I know partly; then I will know fully, just as God has fully known me. But for now, three things last- trust, hope, love; and the greatest of these is love. Pursue love!" 1 Corinthians 13:12-13

Food and Family

         I have a new favorite hobby. Well… maybe it’s more of an obsession. I never grew up learning how to cook, and cooking for family meals was a very rare occasion in my household sadly.  However, recently I have been staying with a family for a temporary time and learning what it means to eat together as a family and cook meals together. It is so exciting learning something like cooking! More exciting is that cooking brings people together, shows hospitality to those who need comfort and care, and is the time when we get to interact with our families most.

I love how we can use something as simple as cooking a meal, to spread and share God’s love. The ministry I am working with is starting a restaurant business in our congregation, and I am learning fun ways to cook and serve. It is becoming an everyday love. There are so many ways that we can share God’s love! Like the time of Christ, we can see miracles by opening our homes and our kitchens to invite guests for a meal together.

“When you give a lunch or a dinner, don’t invite your friends, brothers, relatives, or rich neighbors; for they may well invite you in return, and that will be your repayment. Instead, when you have a party, invite poor people, disfigured people, the crippled, the blind! How blessed you will be that they have nothing with which to repay you! For you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous” (Luke 14:12-14).

A Story of Hospitality

We are approaching the holiday season, a time of love, joy, and peace. God had been doing many miracles through hospitality, and I feel like there is no greater time to share the gift of hospitality.

A couple weeks ago, me and a friend were dog-sitting for a couple. We left the condo as the maid had just arrived to clean. Her name was Patty, and every time we saw her, she was always full of Joy. My friend and I walked around the Marina with the dog and ran many errands, and by the time we came back, the sun was long set. We walked in tired and ready to rest, but Patty, the maid was there, and she was still cleaning, trying to fix the broken blinds in the laundry room. We could not believe she had stayed for all those hours, so we quickly got headed to the fridge to make our special tuna melt for her and set the table, so we could now serve her after all her service to us. She was extremely surprised and asked why we were making her dinner. We told her that she had spent all her life serving others, and now was her time for others to serve her. We found out that her husband died a month ago and she has three children. We prayed for Patty and invited her to church and we are continuing to pray that she can come. The power of hospitality not only made a difference in Patty's life, but in my life as well, as I am seeing how Jesus was the ultimate servant to us. I pray that this holiday season, we can serve one another in love and be givers of the many blessings God has given us.

“Do not forget to show hospitality to strangers, for by so doing some people have shown hospitality to angels without knowing it.”

Hebrews 13:2

A Simple Holiday Favorite

 Spritz Cookies

1 cup butter, softened

1/2 cup sugar

2 1/4 cup all-purpose flour

1/2 tsp. salt

1 egg

1 tsp almond or vanilla extract

Directions:

Heat oven to 400, mix margarine and sugar. Mix in remaining ingredients.

Place dough in cookie press, and form desired shapes on ungreased cookie sheet. Bake until set, but not brown, 6-9 minutes. Immediately remove from cookie sheet. You can add icing and sprinkles to decorate.

Makes about 5 dozen cookies.

When you go out

Batikart



It has been a week now that I have been away from Cabo and tomorrow I am headed on a mission trip to Germany for the grand opening of TOS minitries new church location! http://www.tos.info/home/. This ministry is a very unique in that descendants of Nazi soldiers are now coming together through Jesus Christ and removing the veil of silence that has covered germany since world war II. These Christian believers are reaching out to the jewish people and building relationships of love, joy and peace.

The TOS ministry is an example of relationships being built between Jews and Christians. Today, all around the world, relationships are being made through the most unlikely of people. It is only the move of God to bringing nations who despise one another together through Christ.

" For He himself is our peace, who has made us both one and has broken down in His flesh the dividing wall of hostility by abolishing the law of commandments expressed in our ordinaces, that He might create in Himself one new man in place of the two, so making peace, and might reconcile us both to God in one body through the cross, thereby killing the hostility."

Ephesians 2: 14-16