Oranges, Coconuts, Tangerines & Shooting Stars

Tonight we met at Karen and David Rouse's house in Longivew, WA to have dinner with some of the NW people who went to Brazil in July along with five prayer partners. There was a lot to share. Kraig Neet, pastor of Highland Baptist Center in Longview, WA had told Bert to send him to the jungle. He got what he asked for. They walked 4 miles from the house they were staying in to the church. He walked up to 10 miles a day. He shared things I want to remember. Richard, the missionary, dropped he and his interpreter, Tadashi, off with eight bottles of water and said,

"If you run out of water, put lemon juice in your water." Well, they ran out of water and were not able to get lemons, so they drank dirty water and prayed. Neither got sick. The lady of the house served cake in which the ants were still wiggling as the batter went into the oven. By the middle of the week they had eaten no fruit. One day they were eating, he said in his mind,

"Lord, we haven't had any fruit. Would you give us fruit?" He said as soon as the words left his mind, a man they were with said,

"Would you like some oranges? I can get you some oranges." Later in the day someone said,

"Would you like some coconuts?" The next day a man said,

"Would you like some tangerines?" Kraig said they were the biggest tangerines he had ever seen and tasted like honey.

On the evening walks home from the church in the darkness the Milky Way was visible from horizon to horizon. Walking home from church one night, he saw a shooting star. He told Tadashi who said,

"Oh, I've never seen a shooting star! I wish I had seen it." At that very moment a long shooting star swept across the sky.

In times of need, small things seem big, don't they?

Live as though . . .

I was looking at some verses in 1 Corinthians 7 (29-32a). I have missed some meaning for years. I think I usually focus on the ideas about marriage that Paul is talking about. I saw these verses and wondered how does this work out in real life

The context is not really marriage, but how to be available for God. Paul suggested reducing our anxieties and there are four specific instructions.

*Those who are married should live as though they have no wife. It is not license to treat one's spouse indifferently or cruelly, but to put God first.

*Those who mourn should live as though they are not mourning. The nature of life in a broken world includes loss. It is a given. But they are not to overwhelm and distract us from the goal of knowing God and pursuing the gospel.

*Those who buy, as though they had no goods (did not possess them). In a consumer's world, how do we hold our possessions so loosely that we buy them, bring them home in a bag, put them in a closet and if someone else needs it, just give it away. Yesterday I was at Multnomah Falls (if you want to know what that is, do a search. I don't know how to add links yet). I had on some pink dangle earrings. A little girl, too young to wear these earrings said, "I like your earrings." I looked at her and her ears were not pierced, but I wondered, if someone older had said it, would I have just taken them off and said, "Here, they are yours." The stuff is for God's glory, too.

*Those who deal with the world as though they had no dealings with it.
The activities of the world are varied. Everyone is doing different stuff.
But these activities are not to be the substance of our life. The things that occupy our time and our talents and skills are not our identity, our joy, or our peace. They are not our salvation.

Here I Am In My Patchwork Life

Hmmm-- I have blog. It took 5 minutes to set it up, but it has taken me twelve months to decide on a name. You see, I really wanted behindtheclouds or thesunalwaysshines or patchesoflife, but they were all taken. That's what happens when you are a late comer to the up and coming things of life. Jason, you should have told me about blogs sooner!!

It's probably smart to stop writing now and do some things that need to be done. Then when I can get back to this, I'll start doing whatever you do with blogs--adding links and thinking of content.