Callie's Birthday...Again!

This is Callie. She and I have been friends since our family moved to Florida. 

I love everything about Callie and was happy to celebrate her birthday earlier this month during our Thursday women's Bible study at my house. This Thursday, instead of meeting for the study, we met because Callie decided she not only believes in Jesus but also wants to follow him.

She was baptized at Terry and Maria's house, where we only met briefly because Maria is still recovering from her C-section. It was enough time to witness Callie's birth into God's kingdom and get the party in heaven kicked off.  

Luke 15:3-7: Then Jesus told them this parable: Suppose one of you has a hundred sheep and loses one of them. Doesn't he leave the ninety-nine in the open country and go after the lost sheep until he finds it? And when he finds it, he joyfully puts it on his shoulders and goes home. Then he calls his friends and neighbors together and says, "Rejoice with me; I have found my lost sheep." I tell you that in the same way there will be more rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who do not need to repent.

Our Newest Blessing

Many of you know we have been anxiously awaiting the arrival of Terry and Maria's second son. Kevin came by C-section on Friday, because that really is the best way to deliver an 11 lb. 3 oz. baby! The nurses at the hospital call him "our three month old." Here's a picture of the proud family, including big brother Jake:

Over the past two years we have come to know this family well and couldn't love them more if we shared the same DNA. One of the greatest blessings in the world happens when God allows us to go from believing a biblical promise to experiencing it. The fact that I truly feel as if I've just welcomed a nephew into the world is proof of these scriptures:

Matthew 19:29: And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or children or fields for my sake will receive a hundred times as much and will inherit eternal life.

Mark 3:31-35: Then Jesus' mother and brothers arrived. Standing outside, they sent someone in to call him. A crowd was sitting around him, and they told him, "Your mother and brothers are outside looking for you." Who are my mother and brothers?" he asked. Then he looked at those seated in a circle around him and said, "Here are my mother and my brothers! Whoever does God's will is my brother and sister and mother."

Family Reunion

We had some visitors last Sunday. You may remember these guys from previous posts. They were baptized in November 2010, married in December, then moved a few hours north last March. Although we have been to visit a couple times, it's just not enough; we miss them so much. Chris, Jenna, and their great kids have become family to us, so we were thrilled to have them with us last week. It was like a family reunion. 

Even without one of our families present, we were a good-sized group. Maria's mom has been here from Brazil, anxiously awaiting the new baby, and Joanne (who was baptized a month ago) and her daughter are now also a regular part of our gatherings. If you know our group well, you might be able to spot the extra kid in the photo. She came from down the street to join us. We usually have an extra neighborhood kid at any given gathering. While some adults are skittish of what we do, the children are much more adventurous and often turn up to take advantage of the great times we have together.

    

Our boys were happy to have every seat at the table taken for the lesson and craft.

And, of course, the best part was the playtime on the lawn. I'm always interested to discover which particular detail of home-church life a person finds most attractive. For some, it's discovering the fascinating nuggets of wisdom in the Bible or sharing a meal with good company. For others it's conversation over a cup of coffee or time spent talking to God in prayer about a difficult situation. For Joanne's daughter, it was the bike riding up and down the sidewalk while the adults stood around talking on the lawn. 

Pillars

Last weekend I had the opportunity to make a solo visit to my mother in Texas. John held down the fort at home with our three boys. On Sunday I took Mom to the church that supports our ministry and gave a brief report to the congregation in lieu of their regular Bible class. Afterwards we participated in the worship service.

When it was time for the serving of the Lord's Supper, a group of men stepped forward, but three of them stood out to me. John and I had met them the first time we stepped foot inside a church as adults. That was sixteen years ago at a little congregation just miles down the road from the church that now sponsors us. It's where we were converted to Christianity and married. Those three men were, at the time, just one man and his two young sons. Since shortly after our conversion, we've been missionaries, always traveling and never really settling in. It's been a while since we have been to a traditional worship service. We spend most of our time now among unchurched people, and the time we spend with the new Christians we disciple doesn't look anything like a traditional service.

As the group proceeded to pray over the bread and juice, I thought about how confusing the whole service would be to a non-Christian. I know, because it wasn't that long ago that I was that non-Christian. I realized that those three men had been living in the same town, attending the same type of church most (if not all) of their lives.  They don't consider themselves missionaries, although it was the father's parents who told us about Jesus. As concerned as they are for the lost, they would probably struggle to empathize with someone who finds traditions like the Lord's Supper confusing. While it stands to reason not every sermon they hear speaks to their hearts, I bet they haven't heard one in a while that just doesn't make sense at all.  I realized as I looked at those men that I wish I had had a father like that one and that I had been raised like those boys--in church among good people. I have often wondered how different I would be if I had been raised according to God's word, the way family was intended--the way many families at our sponsoring church have lived for generations. But that's not my reality and that means God has equipped me to serve in a different capacity.

That family is a pillar in the community and the church. John and I aren't made to do what they do--stay in one place year after year, holding down a steady job to love and support a family that faithfully goes to church every Sunday. Yet, without families like theirs, we couldn't do what we are made to do--travel and engage ourselves in the world's affairs among the fatherless and confused, introducing Jesus to anyone who will listen. To follow through with the analogy I started when I called them pillars, we know that Jesus is the foundation of the house that God is building. What we add each time we bring in a lost soul is a brick to the structure. I suppose we could be considered the mortar that patches cracks and prepares the surface for new bricks. It's not a glamourous job and sometimes downright dirty, but when you step back and look at the house in its entirety--foundation, bricks, pillars, and mortar--together I believe we're a beautiful sight for the builder.

First Parenting Class

  We've been working hard to get everything ready for the first official parenting conference. John went to California to become certified in teaching the curriculum, I've been building a website, and we've been searching high and low for a venue. We've been looking at the stack of books sitting in our kitchen now for months, the website hasn't been released yet, and we can't seem to find a conference room that's both available and affordable anywhere in the city. So, we decided to get started in our living room.  Why not?  We already educate our children and have church here.  

  We had two families who were ready to get started. They're already good parents who want to be better. God has graciously given us enough seating for them right here under our own roof so we pulled the trigger. John has facilitated two meetings and the parents are already reporting positive changes at home.  We're hearing from other interested families, and at least two more are ready to sign up.  I took this picture because I believe this endeavor will be a success and this will be our "remember when" shot.  

  Sunday our church met at the Hendersons' at 10:00 a.m. We had a few new people in the mix--Maria's mother is visiting from Brazil, our new sister Joanne was there, and a couple who left the church years ago joined us. We read some of the Bible and discussed what was going on in our lives. Afterwards, we had lunch together and talked while the kids played. We didn't go back for an evening service because we never left.

  Late in the afternoon we enjoyed a cup of coffee and shared our stories with each other. Joanne looked around the table at her new family and said, "Who wouldn't want this?" Apparently the visiting couple agreed, because they invited us to meet in their home to start a Portuguese study with their friends.

The Parable of Companion Planting

 Jesus often uses agricultural terms to aid in his teaching about spiritual matters.  As long as there is life on earth we will be dependent on farming, and the parables involving planting, growing and harvest will offer insight into the nature of the kingdom of God.  The analogies may be easily lost on those not paying attention--those, for example, who think the grocery store is where food originates.  As my seven year old asked last year, "Just how do the cows make cheeseburgers?"  But to those who understand that everything we have can be traced back to the raw materials God gave us to use in the first place, there is much to be learned from this type of teaching.

  The Bible doesn't exhaust the use of agricultural language to explain the spirit world.  In fact, it seems likely that God expects Jesus' parables to whet our appetites for more.  I started square foot gardening last year and have discovered that, even in a small, urban back yard a person can learn a lot about God.  I've been educating myself about companion planting.  If you've never heard of it, it's the idea that certain crops planted in proximity either assist or discourage each other in productivity.  For example, beets and pole beans planted side by side will stunt each other's growth, and cabbage and lettuce, as alike as they seem, are not good for each other as the flavor of lettuce will be greatly compromised.  On the other hand, many plants are great company for each other.  A native American technique known as The Three Sisters combines corn, squash and beans.  As they grow, the bean plant climbs the corn stalk, using it as a sort of stake, and the squash leaves spread out at the base, serving as mulch.  The three essentially work together to produce a more bountiful harvest.

  With as many plants as there are, this can all become quite confusing, so I have drawn up a grid of every square foot in my garden.  On it I have assigned a place to each plant.  With most of them, it's as simple as determining which ones get along well and which ones don't.  Then there are plants like the marigold which has the potential to serve many purposes.  It's beautiful, edible, and a formidable opponent for many garden pests.  For that reason, I have marigolds planted everywhere.

  Now, whether you're intrigued by all of this or you're not really into gardening, you must admit there's much to be learned from God's chosen method for feeding mankind.  Companion planting has helped me understand that God has a big picture for his garden and a purpose for each one of us.  It also helps make sense of why some of us work well together and some of us don't.  Have you ever worked alongside a person who brought out the worst in you?  It's not necessarily an indictment on any individual but a clue to the mystery that is the body of Christ and the fact that we each possess unique abilities and gifts.  God knows best how to combine those.

  Some plants he seems to stick in the ground to remain and produce fruit until the day they die.  You know, the folks who have lived in the same house their entire lives?  Others, like the marigold, he continues to transplant to serve different purposes at different times.  I have often felt like a marigold, wanting a single defined purpose in a single defined square foot of the garden, but I find myself instead being used sometimes as pest control and sometimes as food.  If you've ever been chewed up and spit out by ministry, you know what I mean.  God in his infinite wisdom has chosen to pull my family up by the roots time and time again to transplant us about, knowing that in the end, we will have served our purpose as laid out in his perfect plan.