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No River Too Wide
Have you ever felt like the obstacles in your life were just too big to overcome? Like the river was overflowing its banks, and there was no way to cross? I know I have. In fact, I was just thinking about that the other day as I was reading through 1 Chronicles 12.
In this chapter, we read about the Gadites, a group of warriors who came to fight for David. Now, these guys were no strangers to battle. They were "men of might, and men of war fit for the battle" (1 Chronicles 12:8). But when they arrived at the Jordan, they found that the river was overflowing its banks. In the days of Joshua, the river had parted, and the Israelites had crossed on dry ground. But this time, there was no dry ground to be found.
Stay By the Stuff
In I Samuel 30, David and his army returned to their camp to find that the Amalekites had raided and carried away all their wives and children. The men were understandably distraught, and David enquired of the Lord whether he should go after the enemy. When God said, “Yes,” David wasted no time. Let’s pick up the story there.
Keep Holding On
For a long time, every time I read this passage, I felt Jacob was being presumptuous. If you follow his life story, he wasn’t exactly a model believer. He lied and cheated on more than one occasion. His very name means “supplanter” or “deceiver.” Knowing that, doesn’t it seem rather bold to declare to God, “I won’t let go until you bless me”?
But, as I’ve grown in the faith, I’ve come to realize we should follow Jacob’s example. No, I don’t mean we should lie and cheat, but we should come to God boldly, determined we won’t let go until we receive that for which we came.
It’s Just Like Riding a Bike
Not long after moving here, Jason decided he would like an e-bike. (For those of you who are ignorant like I was, an e-bike is just a bicycle with a motor, which really comes in handy when one has to climb the many hills around here.). Anyway, the e-bike makes a lot of sense. Being only five miles from town, Jason can easily ride into town to pick up things, drop items off, or conduct any other business he may have. It’s also been a great tool for our letterboxing ministry as he can ride up and down the streets, neighborhoods, and farm roads and distribute our church literature to the mailboxes of each home.
When Your Past Comes Back to Haunt You
In Ezra 4, we see the enemies of Judah and Benjamin trying to stop the rebuilding of the temple and the walls of Jerusalem. They first tried to worm their way into the project, probably to sabotage the building efforts. When that didn’t work, the Bible says they weakened the hands of the people of Judah and troubled them. We can only imagine their tactics, but the Jews continued their work despite the fierce opposition. The next assault from the enemy was a legal one. In grand toddler fashion, these men of importance wrote a letter to the king and tattled on the Jews. Mature!
Growing Tired of Square One
I've spent the past two weeks recovering from a severe flareup from my back injury and let me tell you, it's been excruciating. Not just the pain, mind you, though that was enough to keep me in bed for over a week. But the frustration of knowing that once I was better, I would have to start back at square one. Boy, am I tired of square one!!!
The Long Night of Nothing
After four years of traveling and eating out the majority of the time, we’ve finally settled enough to where I can address my eating habits and exercise routines again. For me, unfortunately, it means using that ugly four-letter word—diet.
Yes, I’m past that lovely age where I could skip one snack and lose three pounds. Way past! Now, I look at food and gain three pounds. And in the past four years, I feel like I’ve put as many pounds on my body as we did miles on our vehicles. Well, maybe that’s a bit extreme, but the truth is, I’m heavier than I’ve ever been in my life, and I don’t like it.
Picture Perfect
For the past few weeks, I’ve been in the process of building my new website and updating our mission website to reflect our new “on the field” status. The task requires hours of tedious work, from deciding on colors to choosing a layout. While there are parts of the designing I enjoy, a lot of it is time-consuming work.
Worth the Journey
On our days off, Jason and I have been exploring this wonderful country and seeing what new hiking opportunities we can discover. Recently, on one such excursion, we found a real gem. This series of trails has a little bit of everything: logging roads, gravel, forest bed, rock, asphalt, and dirt. At times the trails meander through the woods. Other times, they lead across pasture land. There are waterfalls to see and a wild assortment of bridges to cross (some of which are a bit “iffy” for my taste). As if all of that weren’t enough, the trails offer fantastic mountain and valley views, creepy caves, and even a majestic stone archway. Seriously, this area of hiking has it all!
Crying Over Broken Walls
Lately, I’ve been drawn to the book of Nehemiah again. There’s something about it that calls to me, and each time I study it, I see something I didn’t notice before. This time was no different.