The Lesson of the Tarantula

Haiti has many tarantulas. For those of you who are not familiar with this "spider", it is big, black, furry and not friendly looking. I have met up with many tarantulas during my years in Haiti. My last encounter was before the 2nd story of the building in the village was complete. I had gone upstairs to enjoy the sky since there wasn't a roof yet. My reward for this was a nice sized tarantula at the top of the stairs. It is difficult to Kill them. 


As I stood there, I had to make a decision...jump over it or wait until someone would rescue me. :) I opted to jump it since in reality I was bigger. It just looked big. Isn't that the way problems are? We see them bigger than they are. Anyway, today on FaceBook I found this lesson on the tarantula. I thought it worth sharing.


"Zaryen is the Creole word for tarantula.
“One side has four legs. The other side has three legs. That means if that spider [tarantula] lost one leg, his life still continues. You can do everything like you with only two legs," he explained." Wilfried Macena


This is a lesson on being an amputee.  Yes, there are adjustments, but just like the spider, life goes on. I can do many things that I never thought possible. I'm still learning, and hope to continue learning.


God bless you

A few more days

A few more days then home. A few more meetings, a wedding, babysitting, then home. It is so fun to have all 3 grandchildren and our 2 children with us here in Sarasota. The missing link is our son-in-law. He tried to come, but was unable to get away from work.

Praising God over and over again that during these 2 1/2 weeks on the road, I have had no pain. The prosthesis is fitting well. So wonderful to walk without pain.

Many times it is easy to think that when our days aren't going so good, then God isn't blessing us. But I find that those moments are when He is pulling for me. He is stretching my faith. He is molding me to be more like Him.

I feel like my mind is in a mumble, interruptions are on the list. And now, it is time to go put the grandchildren to bed. Precious moments when I get to read to them, pray with them and kiss them good-night. This is one interruption that is so sweet. :))

Thank you for your prayers and encouragement during my travels. I truly enjoyed it, and felt like I am finally being able to do a part of the ministry that I truly enjoy doing—meeting people, sharing God's faithfulness and love. We are blessed to have you as a part of the ministry.

God bless you

Abiding in Him

John 15:4 "Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me."


We, Tammy and I, have been traveling for 10 days. Living out of a suitcase. But out of a suitcase or in our homes, we are commanded to abide in Jesus. If we live life outside of Jesus, we are not producing fruit. Fruit? Yes, sharing Jesus with others, fruit of the spirit—love, joy, peace, long-suffering..


No matter where we are or where we live, the true living comes in abiding in Jesus. God has allowed us to meet many people on this trip. My prayer is that we left a sweet aroma of "fruit" with each one. We have been so blessed and have experienced more than we could ask or think of asking. Our abiding in Him is a living relationship.


Where do you abide? Are you abiding in Jesus, or only in your house? Houses fall, houses shake, but Jesus never does. There is no abiding as sweet as abiding in Him.


God bless you

On the Road

I just wanted to touch base with my blog family. Traveling is going very well. I'm walking without pain which is a wonderful blessing. We (Tammy, my traveling companion & I) have visited different areas in Indiana. God has given us the joy of connecting with old friends, and blessed us with new friends. What a blessing you all have been to us. We have laughed with you, cried with you, hugged you, and are already sad to know our time is almost here to return home.

I will blog again when I have a moment with internet. Thank you for your prayers and love to keep us on our traveling road.

Oh and God has given us the beautiful array of fall colors. The leaves are beautiful. This is an add-on blessing. Thank you God.

Until next time, God bless you

Compassion

Matthew 9: 36 "But when He saw the multitudes, He was moved with compassion for them, because they were weary and scattered, like sheep having no shepherd."


 I was reminded again of Jesus' love for all mankind. When he saw the crowd, going about as sheep without a shepherd he was filled with compassion. This is the picture of people without the Lord, and even sometimes Christians who are living as if there is no God. Sheep without a shepherd go astray. Jesus did not respond, "Well, if you don't believe what I tell you, then you deserve to go astray." No, He was moved with compassion.

The question is, "Am I also moved with compassion when I see people walking in despair without the Lord?"

Today I want to be compassionate to those who are without a shepherd. Today I want to see each opportunity that God places before me. Today is an opportunity.

Again, remember I will be traveling, so blogging will probably not be on a daily basis. Pray for God's glory to be magnified with every meeting I have, with every person God places before me.

God bless you

Trauma or Treasure

I received another prosthesis today. It is so small, finally my "permanent one."  I have heard those words before and a few months later my leg is so small  and ready for another prosthesis. So I asked the doctor what we'll do if I shrink again, and his reply with a smile, "we'll do what we've always done, give you another one."

This is a treasure that was caused by a trauma. For you see, we cannot stay in the trauma mode. We move on. God never meant for us to stay on the rubble pile. It has been a long road to this point, but God has provided medical help all along the way. This is a treasure, and so is my new prosthesis.

I do have other treasures...enjoying Patrick again after has 3 week absence. We are having special chat moments before my take off tomorrow. Pray for my 12 days on the road...conference, speaking engagements, and visiting family.  I will blog as I have opportunity.

If you are in a trauma today, look for the treasure within.

Romans 8:28 "For all things work together for good, to those who love God and are called according to His purpose."

God bless you

Working Together

The teaching this morning was in Nehemiah 4-5, showing us how the men worked together to rebuild the walls of Jerusalem. When opposition came, some were chosen to watch for enemies while others built the walls. One of the verses state that they worked with one hand and held a sword in another. Now that is multi-tasking.

This is a perfect picture of what God wants from the church. When we are a part of a church, we are no longer alone. We need to work together, pray together, and hold the arms of our brothers and sisters as we fight the good fight together. We cannot fight alone. We need each other. There is too much independency in the church. Each man to his own...we are a body and the members each have a ministry but we all need each other.

If the men would not have worked together, the walls would not have been completed. This would have been what their enemies wanted. The walls of Jerusalem would not have been good for enemies. And so it is with us, the enemy does not want us to build the church. Satan wants to destroy us.

Let's stand together!! It is the only way for God's work to be completed.

God bless you