Monday, May 12, 2014

Don’t Worry- Bee Happy



Here’s a little song I wrote... I like to sing it note for note, “Don’t worry... Bee happy.” I know, I know- Bobby McFerrin wrote a similar song back in 1988 but that was “Don’t worry BE happy.” Not, “Don’t worry BEE happy” because “don’t worry BEE happy” is my song. jk: )

If you’ve been following us here in Brazil over the last 2 and a half years you know that we’ve had our fair share of encounters with the winged terrors known as bees. If not, click HERE and you can read all about these demon possessed creatures with stingers  that are here in Brazil (and there’s a short video as well).

Well, regrettably, I have to say that, “they’re back.” I was standing at the kitchen sink (trying to earn points with MJ by washing the dishes) when Robert yelled from the back porch, “Dad, there’s bees!” I looked up over the trees and there they were... a HUGE swarm of bees! There were literally thousands of them and they were coming our way! I yelled to the kids (who were outside playing), “run for the bunkhouse” and they immediately scrambled in and slammed the door. I frantically ran through the entire house trying to shut all the windows as thousands of bees descended upon us! It was insane. Why were they here? 

Maryssa was upstairs in her bedroom yelling because they were coming into her room. As I ran into her room you could hear the sound of thousands of bees in the ceiling above her bed (again!). I pulled back the curtains to look outside and the massive swarm of bees were all swarming outside her window and going into the house (into the space between the roof and the ceiling). What were we gonna do?! We were all trapped inside our house with thousands of bees outside and they weren’t going anywhere- so it seemed. Here's a quick video of part of 'the swarm' that had surrounded our house.


As I was looking out the window, perplexed- Matthew was standing next to me taking pictures to commemorate yet another amazing event in our life. I was looking up at all the bees as they swarmed outside the window and I just softly said, “Lord, please just blow these things out of here.” And immediately a big wind started to blow! It was so strong that you could hear a whistling sound blowing through the crack between the window and the wall (where the window wasn’t correctly installed). And all the bees were literally being blown away! Say what?! Yep, The Lord literally blew them all away as soon as I prayed my little half-hearted prayer of desperation: ) It was awesome!

It’s weird. Because as soon as I heard all those bees buzzing in the ceiling I started going through the rolodex (outdated illustration, sorry. Do they even make rolodexes anymore?) in my mind. I told Matthew, “I guess we need to go get Rato again (that’s the little bee guy from last time).” Then Matthew said, “we just need to buy a bee suit.” Then  I started to think about trying to find an exterminator in the city. And every other option raced through my mind in a matter of minutes. And as I reached the end of my mental rope I just asked God to do something and he did. It was awesome and amazing all rolled into a 30 second span of time.

It got me thinking though... how many opportunities to see God work on my behalf do I miss by always trying to handle stuff on my own? This was undeniably the hand of God that made this happen. As soon as the bees were gone the wind stopped. It was just a simple cry for help. I didn’t say, “in Jesus name” (which is obviously my go-to tag I use in my usual prayers, as it should be). I didn’t even say, “amen” at the end of my plea. I just asked Him to blow them out of there and immediately He did it. Wow. I’m still amazed.

I wonder how many other things that He’d help me with if I’d just turn to Him? What about you? How many things in your life would He intervene in- if you’d just ask Him? There’s only one way to find out, right?

Love Ya,
JIm

Monday, May 5, 2014

The Darkness




Here's MJ having to cook with a head lamp on her head because of the darkness
caused by a recent power outage. If she ever decides to leave the mission field I guess she could
 begin a career as  a coal miner: )

Well, I’m sitting here in the dark writing (on my partially charged computer) using the glow of my computer screen as a light. It’s pouring down rain outside. The power is out for the umpteenth time. This is déjàvu all over again! 

We’ve had back to back to back to back storms and power outages here lately. It seems like as soon as the sun starts shining again another storm moves in and along with it comes the darkness. It’s kind of wears on you, if you know what I mean.

Taking cold showers (because of no electricity) gets old quick. It’s one thing to take a cold shower- it’s another thing to take one with frigid mountain water! It literally takes your breath away. We’ve lost food in our freezer because of the power being out, we’ve gone through a bunch of the batteries we had stockpiled (trying to keep flashlights on), we haven’t been able to wash clothes, the kids have been going stir-crazy because of the ‘not’ having anything to do because of the power being out. And then there’s the darkness... it’s so dark here! You literally can’t see your hand in front of your face. It’s a major bummer (do people even say that anymore?). Darkness definitely limits mobility, activity, and can create insanity. Please Lord, turn the power back on!
After 2 days of no electricity and rain Me, Matthew and MJ decided to play dominoes
by candlelight and by using our flashlights.

There’s another kind of darkness that’s even more crippling then the physical darkness that I was just talking about though. It’s a darkness that even you, who are reading this blog, have to fight against in your life. It’s the darkness that’s a result of hating your brother or sister in Christ. I know that came out of nowhere, right? But I feel like I need to write this for somebody today. Because I believe that somebody feels far from God and you feel like your lost even though you’re a christian. So, here ya go...

In I John 1:7-11 it says that if you hate your brother, that not only are you walking blind, in the darkness and that you don’t know where you’re going- but it also says that you’re ‘not’ walking in fellowship with God (which maintaining fellowship with God should be paramount in every believer’s life). The reason for that is that our love for one another is the thing that distinguishes us from every other religion on the planet. Our love for one another is the thing that causes those around us to take notice that we’re different. 

Jesus said, “By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.” John 13:35

We’ve been born of God, who in turn gave us His Spirit. And His Spirit gives us the ability to love as He loves (i.e., it's not dependent on how the other person reciprocates it back to us) and to walk in such a way that it causes others to notice. 

So how do we do that when, honestly, other people who are our brothers and sisters in Christ just frustrate us and maybe even do us wrong? The short answer is this... Just think about how much God loves you in spite of you. Now if you think you’re the easiest person to love... well, you’re wrong. And if you’re arguing with me then you’re definitely the person I'm talking to! If we measured ourselves against how much God loves us even though we blow it, then it makes it easier to forgive and love others even though they hurt us. Read the story in Matthew 18:21-35 about the unforgiving servant. That’ll make you want to drop whatever it is that you’ve got against your brother in a hurry! Because it’s just not worth it. 

And love’s not a feeling, it’s a choice. It’s choosing to react toward that person and respond to that person the way God wants you to (with mercy and grace)- rather than how you want to (by punching them in the face... hey, that rhymes. haha!). 

If you’ve put your trust in Jesus, you’ve got the ability on the inside of you to do it. You do. So just lay aside what’s happened and choose to love. Because it’s way better walking in the light than it is the darkness: )


“I have come into the world as light, so that whoever believes in me may not remain in the darkness.”
              John 12:46

Love Ya, 
JIm