Invited to Breakfast......

Last week Mark and I were in a whirl-wind so to speak. With the contractions not stopping and having to go back to the doctor thoughts to leave much earlier had entered our minds. The doctor had told us that if I were to dilate at all here, he would put me on bed rest in the hospital until Micah was born. So, with that said; we quickly started to think that maybe we should just go ahead and leave.

Mid week, I received an email from a friend here named Esther. She had invited us to breakfast/brunch since we were getting ready to leave. However, after the invite Mark and I really did not have peace about leaving and prayed and asked God for guidance. He layed it on both of our hearts that "Micah and I" would be okay and that he would take care of things. Plus, after starting the new medication I have been contraction free "PRAISE the LORD".



Well, Saturday approached and I was excited to go over to Esther and Adam's house for many reasons. One they are a very sweet couple whom we have become friends with and second I was so ready to see something other than the four ways of my house. (Bed rest is not my cup of tea....lol)

Adam came to pick us up....(they have a car...something only a few people have here, Gringos anyway). so that I would not have to walk. Once we arrived Esther greeted us at the door and led me inside and much to my "SURPRISE" there in the midst of her living room sat 20 ladies /friends from ILE or the language school. I know that there are many who wanted to be there but could not. They had organized a surprise baby shower for me.

This actually was something that was weighing on my heart...not being with my friends and family from home to share in this wonderful occassion. Being on the mission field and well.....this is really a transition field before Honduras it is often hard to do things like this because people are always coming and going. However, my new friends here blessed me beyond belief. Not only did we hear from God's word and pray but we just had a wonderful time of fellowship together. We received a few items and cards  for baby Micah and the ladies all chipped in to buy 3 things off of my Target Baby Registry. One of those things we really needed which was the pack and play to use as a bassinet until we could get a crib. It was such a blessing to be able to share this time with new friends.

The one really exciting thing is that each of these ladies will go off with her family (and there are a few single ladies) that will start a new ministry sharing God's word in another Latin American Country. We will be able to keep in touch and pray for one another as we begin a new chapter in our lives. God is so wonderful at putting people in your life just when you need them. There have been many ladies here at ILE that have come and gone that have been a part of my life here for this year. But, for me it is so exciting to think that I really do have friends "ALL OVER THE WORLD". Thank you to each of you that made Saturday possible it was such a blessing and a time that I will never forget.

Listening......The Invisible Work...........

 Today,  Mark came home from school during the break to check on me and see how things were going. We have an empleada by the name of Etelvina. She helps in our home 2 days a week and what a blessing she has been. She has become part of our family. She is like a grandma to my children and she loves us enough to not only care for us but to pray for us with her "whole" heart. Mark offered to make a pot of coffee and while waiting we started a conversation on "thank you cards" of all things. You see here like in other Latin American countries once you say "Thank you" that is it the end of it. No need to send an extra "thank you card" in the mail. We were chatting away back and forth about the difference in culture, not that either is bad just different. Then the tables were turned.

Many of you know that her daughter Carolina is a missionary to Africa and we have ben praying for her to receive a ticket back to Costa Rica. Well, that prayer has been answered and she should arrive on Monday or late Tuesday. With this conversation we began to talk about her family. She began to share many things with us. It was amazing at the amount of Spanish that we understood. What was even more amazing was the information that she was sharing. As, Mark and I just sat and listened for about 20-25 minutes we were doing an "invisible work".....the work of listening. Sometimes, people just want to share. We all have trials and burdens and many times we don't want advise, we don't want anything from the other person...only to be heard to share what is on our heart. We now have a better understanding of her family and we can pray very specific for their needs. However, had we not taken the time to just listen we never would have learned this information and the burdens that she has carried for so long. Sometimes, the people in our lives only want to share and to be heard. I sit here thinking.....what else have I missed out on because I did not take the time to listen. How many people could I have been a blessing to by only taking the time to stop what I was doing to open my ears? I know that if we are all honest we could ask ourselves the same questions.....sometimes the greatest gift we can give someone is to just be silent and let them share their hearts.

In the Bible it says in Philippians 2: 4-5 " Look not every man on his own things, but every man also on the things of others. Let this mind be in you, which was also Christ Jesus".

James 1:19 says " Wherefore my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath":

Many times we say we are listening when in fact our ears are closed, many times we say we are listening when our eyes have gone astray. Show how much you care today by looking into the heart; open your eyes and open your ears for a freind who may need it today. Just remember that when you call on God "he is never far away". Sometimes we say we hear when in fact we only heard a sound....we never really heard what was on the heart of the one standing right in front of us. Try to be more like Jesus who in fact answers when we call....for he never sleeps nor strays and hears ever word we pray.

My challenge to you is do an invisible work today...open your ears and your heart to one who may be calling out that just needs you to Listen.

Time for Bed

    Each night before we go to bed we have a time of family devotion and prayer. We have been studying the book of Daniel and we have also been reading through the minor prophets. Currently, we are reading in Joel. After, we read and have our time of devotion we take prayer requests and pray as a family.

Since, I am on bed rest I am in the bed all the time. :Last night I was not really tired but I had my head down. Josiah said, "Mommy are you sleepy?" I said "maybe a little." He replied with, "Mommy we can not go to sleep .....we have to read the Bible". My head lifted and I started to talk back with him. "You are exactly right, Josiah, we have to read our Bibles before we fall asleep". Josiah will not be 3 until April however, it fills my heart with JOY in just knowing that he has already grabbed a hold of the concept of spending time in God's word and in prayer.

Shortly after that he said these words..."open your Bibles"....made me think of many pastors who say those words on a regular basis. Could Josiah grow up to be a great preacher....sure with God anything is possible. I remember when I was pregnant with him and everytime we were in our home church and Brother Jeff would preach....Josiah would jump and kick and move as if to say he was "Amening from inside." It was just sweet to hear him say those sweet words. He watched until we all had our Bibles open ready to start.

 While we all take turns reading one after the other Josiah wants to read as well. He usually looks at his Bible and throws out something about the picture that is in his little Bible book....something like God made this...or God loves me....or sometimes even random funny stuff. Never the less he feels apart of what we are doing.

    Most nights he stays awake to hear the story and to pray...(which he wants to lead.) We let him start and then one of us follow after. Very sweet, becasue he talks about his friends at school, "Bena" (our empleada) and many others. But last night he was so tired that he fell alseep on his Bible.

I challenge you all that have small children or any children living in your home (or even grandkids) that you set up a time when you all can fellowship together in God's word. It will make a differance and they will pick up this habit and when they are raising their own children they will have a gift to share just like you shared this great gift with them.

"Train up a child in the way he should go:and when he is old, he will not depart from it."

Proverbs 22:6

Brewing up Some Great Relationships......

 You know I am no coffee drinking by all means. I love to smell it. I just never developed a taste for it. Which I find a little funny to be honest. My momma, daddy, and my sister LOVE some coffee. Me, I would rather have water or if I could a nice cold "Mello Yello"(but  they are not sold here or in Latin America). Anyway, some people say that I don't like coffee because I have NEVER had a GREAT cup of coffee. We are currently living in one of the best places in the world to get coffee and I still have not tried it again. One reason is b/c I am pregnant and don't need an addiction(LOL), if I do suddenly start to like it.

In with thinking about a great cup of coffee one who drinks coffee and has a true love for it would NEVER.....use a tablespoon of instant in a hot cup of water. The perfect cup of coffee takes time...time to brew. (Unless you have one of those fancy machines). Even then you still buy the best coffee or at least what you consider to be the best anyway. In brewing the perfect cup of coffee I thought about how we form relationships with others. It takes time and attention to have a satisfying relationship with someone. You can't just add a little here and there and expect to have a great relationship. You need to add some flavor. You can add the following to your relationships by showing Christ love and you are sure to have one of the best flavored relationships around.

1. HELLO.....Talk to people. There is nothing as nice as a cheerful word or a greeting. (I have really learned that here) Just saying hello and asking them how they are brings a smile almost everytime.

2. SMILE......Here is something that we all learned in school. It takes 72 muscles to frown and 14 to smile. You do the math....smiling is a lot easier and well....more fun....(:

3. Call People By Name......Some of the sweetest music to anyones ear is the sound of their own name...and they know that you care because you remembered....

4. Be FRIENDLY and HELPFUL.......there are many ways that you can show these two actions. People do pay attention and they notice if you take the time.

5. Be Cordial. Speak and act as if everything that you do is a pleasure.....your heart will be glad that you did.

6. Be Genuinely Interested in People.....you can like everyone if you try.....(this is the most challenging)

7. BE GENEROUS with praise..........and cautious with criticism. (another tough one for us, I know)

8. Be Considerate......think about others feeling...it will be appreciated.

9. Be thoughtful of the opinion of others.....we might not agree but we need to be respectful (unless it goes against the BIBLE) but even then be respectful in your responses.

10. Be Willing to To Give Service......what counts is what we do for others.......

The Bible says in Proverbs 25:11 " A word fitly spoken is like apples of gold in setting of silver."

All of these things take time. You are not gonna do all 10 everytime you see someone but 1-4 for be an automtic. Just like when you sit down to take the first sip of that perfect cup of coffee...you will also find how worth it it was to brew the perfect relationship.

One of the greatest things a man can do for his HEAVENLY Father is to be KIND to some of HIS other children.



Me and Valerie....



Uncle Ronnie, Josiah, Aunt Myra

There are so many photos that I could post but then I would have no more room. So know that I love you to all of my friends and family.

Seeing With The Heart......

Okay, so I know that I have already blogged once today but I just had to share this with you all.
Here in Costa Rica there are many homeless men and women who walk the streets and ask for food, toothbrushes, soap and other small things. We have become acustom to one man by the name of Oscar. He comes by our house and rings our door bell once or twice a week. He usually has dirty and torn clothes worn out sandals and well....he looks like what he is "homeless". When we know that it is him, we usually prepare a little bag of food for him. The bag may include; some fruit, cookies, crackers, a sandwich or anything that we have at that moment that we can share with him. Wendy, Mark's sister recently brought us some new T-shirts so that we could give him a new shirt every other week or so. Sometimes, we throw in a toothbrush, travel tooth paste and maybe a pair of socks. He is always so grateful for what he receives and is normally eating on something in the bag while he is standing there talking to us. He has even offered to help us by practicing Spanish with us. Mark talks to him about his salvation and he assures us that he is "saved". The last 2 months or so he wants to always show his gratefulness and appreciation for our time with a handshake for Mark and Hunter.

Well, today was no different. The door bell rang and Hunter exclaimed that it was Oscar. Mark hurried to the kitchen to prepare the bag of goodies for him and Hunter ran it down stairs. Once Hunter was down there Oscar asked "Donde esta su mama, aqui en la casa?' He asked if I was at home and Hunter replied with a "yes". I could not go down because of being on bed rest and for those of you who know me know ...that it is killing me to not be able to do anything. Well, anyway Hunter locked the gate and quickly ran upstairs full of excitement. He said, "Momma, look , look what Oscar got for you today." It was a beautiful little potted plant. It was just what I needed. Now, I am not sure how he obtained this pretty little plant but I can say that he was wanting to show his appreciation for what we do for him. We show him everytime he comes that we care for him by helping him with food and small items that we have around the house. Today, he wanted to show us how much he cared for us and for our wilingness to help him out. We see Oscar with our heart, as a person who needs help, a second chance, a person who longs for friendship.  In the Bible it says in Galatians 6:9-10 " And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not. As we have therefore opportunity, let us do good unto all men, especially unto them who are of the household of faith."

While handing out a little food here and there is really no big deal to us, it has made an impact on his life. With that said God can use the seed that has been planted for something good. Who knows if Oscar will ever get his life on track and have a home again. But for now at least he can say that he has people that care about him and think of him in prayer.  Please help us by praying for Oscar and that he will want to change his life and live for Christ.

Kindness is a language the dumb can speak, the deaf can hear, and the blind can see.  

A House Full Of Clowns........

    Recently, Taylor went over to a missionary couples house here in Costa Rica. Like us, they are headed to Honduras to work with children. They will just be in another area. Around Christmas time we had a party at the school for a local children's home. The Zell's had set up a booth where they made balloon animals and they also did face painting. The kids LOVED IT. They had all kinds of balloon creatures.

Taylor went over to their house becasue we are going to have a "VBS" here in a few weeks for all of the missionary kids while the parents are in services each day. They taught her and a bunch of other folks how to twist and turn those balloons just right to create something wonderful.

The night she came home, her arms were full of the creations that they had made. She had a hat, dog, turtle and Josiah's favotite his SWORD. He loved it. I had a house full of clowns. They were running around and sword fighting and laughing. The sound that every parent wants to hear. Their children having fun.

As I sit here today and review the pictures that I took that night and watch the video clip of Taylor having so much fun with Josiah it made me think of the verse in Colossians 3:23. The Bible says "and whatsoever ye do, do it heartily, as to the Lord, and not unto men".  Taylor will be 15 in a few weeks and I started to think about this new talent that she now has. She can bring JOY to those who might have lost it, she can recapture a smile on a sad little face of a child that has been abandoned. She can use this trait as unto the Lord. He can use this trait to help her be a witness in a whole new way. You know sometimes we may think that we have useless traits that mean nothing...but wait what does the Bible say again...."and whatsoever ye do, do it heartily, as to the Lord, and not unto men." As long as we use the gifts that God has given us to glorify the Lord, he will use it, in a way that only HE can.

So, while I look at my house of clowns....I see a girl that God has given another gift too....a gift that she can now use in a way that others can not. She can twist and turn a balloon into a new creature while sharing the Gospel that will infact twist and change a person...a child's life forever...by sharing love the LOVE of Christ!

Hidden Blessings......

  You know as I sit here on bed rest today...I started to think about "why in the world do I have to be on bed rest". We have less than 6 weeks left in Costa Rica. There is so much to be done. I have to finish learning the rules to "subjuctive", start to sell the things that we don't need and pack. Wow! So much to do. But then I started to think about the "Hidden Blessings" in the bed rest. One of coarse the health and safety of baby Micah. We want so much for him to be born in Honduras. With the other 3 children, I never had Braxton Hick contractions until like 8 months and then they were either on-time, late or in Josiah's case induced. So premature labor is all new to me. For those of you who really know me .....you know how independent I am. But, today has been a good time to reflect and think about all that the Lord has planned in my life. I am so thankful for the "Hidden Blessings" that he has put in my life. Things that you just don't think about everyday. I have written a list of things that I am thankful for that we don't always think about. I challenge you all today to look for "Your Hidden Blessings and see how God has blessed you.

1. Thank You for my wonderful husband who wants to "care" for his family.
2.Thank You God for kids who step up to the plate.
3. Thank You Lord for allowing us to have another baby....(those of you who know there was only a 20% chance of ever having another baby after Josiah....God is SO GOOD!!!!!
4.Thank You God for friends that are so caring and want to lend a hand and most important PRAY!!
5. Thank You Lord for a Good Doctor(here in Costa Rica)
6. Thank You Lord for my Empleada "Etelvina"
7. Thank You Lord for allowing me to be able to see my children everyday.
8. Thank You Lord for Your HAND of protection.
9. Thank You Lord for showing me how much I have to be "THANKFUL FOR"

1 Thessalonians 5:18 "In everything give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning YOU".

Someone once said: "The finest test of character is seen in the amount and the power of gratitude we have.