Wednesday, December 28, 2011

Mi Jesús

Hoy es un día nueva! Gracias al Señor estoy vivo. Doy gracias a mi Jesús porque Él es tan bueno de todo. Él es mi Salvador, mi Redentor, mi todo. Hoy es un buen día porque Jesús está en su trono y Él tiene todo bajo de su control!

Lo siento que yo no posted mucho lately. Yo he tenido mucho hacer. Pues, queiro empezar posting más.

Da gloria a Jesús todo! Él es digno.

Dios te bendiga.

Sunday, October 2, 2011

Consider this Psalm

"I waited patiently for the Lord;
he inclined to me and heard my cry.
He drew me up from the pit of destruction,
out of the miry bog,
and set my feet upon a rock,
making my steps secure.
He put a new song in my mouth,
a song of praise to our God.
Many will see and fear,
and put their trust in the Lord.
Blessed is the man who makes
the Lord his trust,
who does not turn to the proud,
to those who go astray after a lie!
You have multiplied, O Lord my God,
your wondrous deeds and your thoughts toward us;
none can compare with you!
I will proclaim and tell of them,
yet they are more than can be told.
In sacrifice and offering you have not delighted,
but you have given me an open ear.
Burnt offering and sin offering
you have not required.
Then I said, 'Behold, I have come;
in the scroll of the book it is written of me:
I delight to do your will, O my God;
your law is within my heart.'
I have told the glad news of deliverance
in the great congregation;
behold, I have not restrained my lips,
as you know, O Lord.
I have not hidden your deliverance within my heart;
I have spoken of your faithfulness and your salvation;
I have not concealed your steadfast love and your faithfulness
from the great congregation.
As for you, O Lord, you will not restrain
your mercy from me;
your steadfast love and your faithfulness will
ever preserve me!
For evils have encompassed me
beyond number;
my iniquities have overtaken me,
and I cannot see;
they are more than the hairs of my head;
my heart fails me.
Be pleased, O Lord, to deliver me!
O Lord, make haste to help me!
Let those be put to shame and disappointed altogether
who seek to snatch away my life;
let those be turned back and brought to dishonor
who delight in my hurt!
Let those be appalled because of their shame
who say to me, 'Aha, Aha!'
But may all who seek you
rejoice and be glad in you;
may those who love your salvation
say continually, 'Great is the Lord!'
As for me, I am poor and needy,
but the Lord takes thought for me.
You are my help and my deliver;
do not delay, O my God!"
Psalm 40
A Psalm of David

Monday, September 26, 2011

Hum...

I think the point of having a blog is to write on it. Sadly, I have not done a very good job. I do not have a good excuse for this and will not try to make one up. However, I do want to express my great joy in being alive at this moment. Not only my joy in being alive but also my joy of knowing that my sins are forgiven, that I have been set free, and that Jesus is my Lord and Savior!

I never want to take for granted the gifts that my Heavenly Father has given to me. These gifts include life, family, friends, a home, a car, clothes, the Bible, freedom to worship as I please, etc. God has been so good to me!

I have been thinking about the blessing of life a lot lately. Our lives are so short! We are on this earth for such a short time and then we pass on into eternity. I've been thinking about people I've known that have come into my life and then quietly gone. I think about friendships that have come and gone; people who have been a significant part of my life but who now I never see. James in the Bible talks about life being like a bit of mist that is here for a short time then gone. I've been noticing how true this statement is here lately.

My thoughts on the shortness of life have caused me to desire to live each day more fully. I am not promised tomorrow and may not wake to see another sunrise. I may never see my family again or any of the friends that I love. These thoughts cause me to want to make the most of each day, to have a good attitude each day and live a life characterized my joy. I catch myself possessing an attitude of "Man, I can't wait for tomorrow" when I should be thanking the Lord for His blessings today. Each new day is a gift from God and should be lived out in thankfulness.

So, if you wake up tomorrow morning, start out by thanking God for another day of life. Life is a gift, don't take it for granted. :)

Saturday, August 20, 2011

St. Louis Trip

These are some portions from my journal that I wrote while in St. Louis.

[Friday]
I traveled up to Crystal City yesterday by myself in Mom and Dad's van. I am so thankful they allowed me to use the van. Th Lord has been so faithful to me concerning having a ride since I have still not yet purchased a car. My trip up was fairly uneventful. I listened to some Spanish worship music and a C.S. Lewis Chronicles of Narnia audio book. I arrived at the Sutton's home before Aaron got home from work, but I had a good time talking with Rachel, Aaron's wife, and meeting Olivia, their daughter. Olivia is four years old and was at first very shy but has now become a very good friend. She is a very cute little gal with brown hair and blue eyes.
When Aaron got home we talked for a little while and then he took me out to see the town. We went to the local Latino Market and bought some yummy stuff to drink made predominantly from rice and cinnamon called horchata. Aaron drove me around and told me about the town. It really seems like a nice little town. Rick, Billy(a photographer, interested in missions, and just recently in Bali), and the Pfleeger family came over for supper. I really enjoyed talking with Billy about his trip and he seems like a really cool person. He sounds kind of like an adventurous type. I was also very blessed to see the Pfleeger family who I have not seen for many years. Michael has been such a blessing to me over the past few months. We had Spaghetti, bread, and salad for supper and wonderful cup cakes for desert. After supper, the guys sat around the table and talked. Our conversation was primarily around missions and living out the Gospel in our every day lives.

[Saturday]
It's about 4:30pm and so much has already happened today. I've really spent the day hanging out with Aaron. We have spent a lot of time talking about church and how to live a Godly life and be a witness to others. Aaron really has just been teaching me by example. We have spent time today leaving tracts for people but also talking with a lot of people and just spending time with/helping others. We ate lunch with Marco(a local church planter) at a Mexican restaurant in STL in a neighborhood known as "Little Mexico." I had authentic tacos and horchata. After lunch we three visited a women in "the hood", it was really just an older/low income neighborhood in south STL, and visited with her for a little while. A group meets in her home once a week for Bible study, her name is Maria. After visiting Maria, Aaron and I went to La Pachanga the restaurant that he first started meeting Latino people at. Aaron just is inspiring to me. God put a desire in his heart for Latino people and he has just started to do out of his way to interact with Latino people. Aaron is known as "the guy who knows all the Mexicans."

[Sunday]
Sunday was a great day. We all got up early in order to get to church early to prepare for the Spanish service. Aaron and Rachel do the music with the help of a few others. Rachel sings and Aaron plays the piano and sings. The service was good. Aaron spoke out of John 8 about the women caught in adultery. Jesus had more condemning things to say about religious people than sinners. The biggest point I got from the message was that I need to not look down on others because of their status or anything else. Marco brought some kids from his church in Illinois for the service. Jonny, Jesus, Edgar, Javier, and George. These guys were really cool and after service we all played futbol with some other guys from Rockport. We had a lot of fun playing and then went to McD's for lunch. In the afternoon, Aaron, Rick, and I traveled to Marco's church in Illinois. I enjoyed being at the service but had a hard time staying awake. I sat in on a Sunday-school lesson with some of the guys I played futbol with. A man named Eric taught and did a great job. Eric is not Latino but works with the church. He actually is a school teacher and helps out a lot within the Spanish speaking community in STL.
I was greatly blessed by my trip to St. Louis and hope to continue a strong relationship with Aaron. I believe the Lord is continuing to give me a greater desire to work among the Spanish speaking community. Many needs exist not only in the States but also around the world. My prayer is that the Lord will continue to lead me closer to Himself and continually reveal to me His plan for the life that He has given to me.

Wednesday, August 3, 2011

Day by Day

"Day by Day" by Carolina Sandell Berg

Day by day and with each passing moment,
Strength I find to meet my trials here;
Trusting in my Father's wise bestowment,
I've not cause for worry or for fear.
He whose heart is kind beyond all measure
Gives unto each day what He deems best-
Lovingly, its part of pain and pleasure,
Mingling toil with peace and rest.

Ev'ry day the Lord Himself is near me
With a special mercy for each hour;
All my cares He fain would bear, and cheer me,
He whose name is Counselor and Pow'r.
The protection of His child and treasure
Is a charge that on Himself He laid;
"As your days, your strength shall be in measure,"
This the pledge to me He made.

Help me then in ev'ry tribulation
So to trust Your promises, O Lord,
That I lose not faith's sweet consolation
Offered me within Your holy Word.
Help me, Lord, when toil and trouble meeting,
E'er to take, as from a father's hand,
One by one, the days, the moments fleeting,
Till I reach the promised land.

Monday, August 1, 2011

God is good at all times

I have been reminded today that God is good at all times. This past week I spent the whole week at Teen Camp on a very beautiful spot of land near Conway, MO. I was able to listen to some wonderful sermons that God has used to bless my life, work with a great group of teenages, and spend time fellowshiping with some friends that I don't get to see very often. The week was such a blessing that I really wish it didn't have to end. I look so much forward to camp every year, but the time just seems to slip away so quickly and leaves me wanting more. I just love being able to get away from "normal" life for a week of studying God's word and spending time talking with other fellow believers! I enjoy the fun in the sun, swimming, singing, ping pong, talking at a noisy lunch table with friends....The atmosphere at camp is just really amazing! Then coming home on Friday leads to many reflections on what happened at camp. All the funny stories, thoughts of the good sermons that were preached, looking at other people's pictures on Facebook, and chating with friends about what they learned about camp and their favorite events and sermons. Friday afternoon, Saturday, and Sunday are just kind of covered in a mist of the afterglow of the fun and encouragement of camp.
Then, Monday morning comes. For me, Monday started like this...I woke up with sinuous pressure starting to get intense and a nose that was starting to act like a garden hose. I had to go to work but seriously did not feel like it. I sat down to read my Bible at 6:06am and let head drop; when I picked my head back up it was 6:20am. So, I decided to read my Spurgeon morning which I did half mindedly. Then on to the shower, breakfast, making lunch for work, and finally heading off to work. As the morning continued on I began to feel worse and worse, but thank the Lord after lunch I asked one of my supervisors for some medicine which thankfully she had some. The medicine really help and the Lord gave much strength through the rest of the day. This evening, however, I have done nothing. I made myself a cup of mate from a Brazilian brand of Yerba Mate. The mate tasted good and now I'm just typing away aimlessly on the blog that I just created yesterday...
What I am trying to say is that God is good at all times. God is good at camp with all its blessings and God is equally as good on Monday morning when my head is killing me and my nose is about to create a river flowing from my head. My Heavenly Father loves His kids and knows exactly what they need and when they need it. He gives grace for all my times of need and I know that I can trust my Father to help me through all life's ups and downs.

Sunday, July 31, 2011

Restart

This blog is a recreation of an old blog that has served it's purpose and is no longer in use. I'm hoping the current recreation will be a positive outlet for the thoughts that I wish to share with others and a way to bring glory to my Savior Jesus Christ.

The Ol' Folks

This past Monday I had the day off because Martin Luther King Jr. day is a banking holiday.  The day was wide open and I decided to travel u...