What Do You Know About Missions?

My friend Katherine has a strong background in missions.  She's written a wonderful, practical post to assist us in informing ourselves, our children, and our churches and faith communities about a topic that is sadly neglected in most churches, that of missions discipleship.

She included many educational website references in her post, including 1040Window.org.  What is the 10/40 window?  Here is a definition from the website itself:

What is the 10/40 Window?

The 10/40 Window is an area of the world that contains the largest population of non-Christians in the world. The area extends from 10 degrees to 40 degrees North of the equator, and stretches from North Africa across to China.

I learned so much just from this one website!  Katherine's post also includes lists of missionary biographies, including those suitable to read aloud to our children.  Please, please, bookmark this link if you have to and read her wonderful post!

Missions Discipleship: Some Practical Ideas (From her website, Restore the Ancient Paths)

Redefining Blessing

Philippians 1:21
For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain.


The Apostle Paul's famous words challenge me this week. They're teaching me to redefine the term blessing. As we sit under crushing financial stress, I'm learning that my day to day comfort is unimportant. It's my spiritual state, not my physical one, that matters to God.


Whatever definition the world holds for the term blessing, we can be sure God's definition is opposite.


According to the world, you're blessed if you have....


...physical beauty.
...a vacation fund.
...a summer house.
...the latest fashions.
...a great personality.
...an advanced education.
...a good job.
...retirement savings.
...college education savings.
...good health.
...a big house with nice furniture.
...investments.
...funds for adventures.
...a good support network.
...high confidence.


According to the Lord, you're blessed if you have...


...humility.
...a heart for the poor.
...a heart of thankfulness.
...spirit joy
...spirit peace.
...a deep devotion to God.
...blind faith.
...a poor spirit (from the Beatitudes--"Blessed are the poor in spirit" means you understand your own iniquities, and your deep need for God).


The Beatitudes, from Matthew 5:3-10

"Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. 

Blessed are they who mourn, for they shall be comforted. 

Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth. 

Blessed are they who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied. 

Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy. 

Blessed are the pure of heart, for they shall see God. 

Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called children of God. 

Blessed are they who are persecuted for the sake of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven."

I'm learning this week that a blessing is that which sets my gaze on the Almighty.

I am blessed!

If one has all the worldly things from the first list, where is their gaze likely to be?  Squarely on themselves. 

Matthew 19:16-23

The Rich Young Man (source here)

16 Now a man came up to Jesus and asked, “Teacher, what good thing must I do to get eternal life?”

 17 “Why do you ask me about what is good?” Jesus replied. “There is only One who is good. If you want to enter life, obey the commandments.”

 18 “Which ones?” the man inquired.

Jesus replied, “ ‘Do not murder, do not commit adultery, do not steal, do not give false testimony,  19 honor your father and mother,’a and ‘love your neighbor as yourself.’b”

 20 “All these I have kept,” the young man said. “What do I still lack?”

 21 Jesus answered, “If you want to be perfect, go, sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.”

 22 When the young man heard this, he went away sad, because he had great wealth.

 23 Then Jesus said to his disciples, “I tell you the truth, it is hard for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven.  24Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.”

The unemployment rate is still nearly 10%, so I estimate at least seven of you are experiencing, or have experienced, unemployment or underemployment. The road back to financial stability can be long and arduous. Some, depending on their age and experiences, may never attain the financial footing they previously enjoyed. 

Your new lifestyle demands a lot of redefining. 

~ If you have plenty, that's only a blessing if you share it. 

~ If you have what you need, that's only a blessing if you're thankful.

Look at your circumstances as an opportunity. God has your undivided attention. Listen. Learn. Teach.

Did you know....

.....there's a raccoon in one of our trees?

.....we're sick here and enjoying extra cuddling, extra books, and extra Curious George and Thomas The Train movies?

.....the bunnies love it when husband doesn't have time to mow the grass clover?

.....that my husband now works days, so all four children go to the doctor's together? They are looking forward to watching brother Paul get his ear wax sucked out by the ENT. They really want a glimpse of his ears under the microscope. Paul's looking forward to hearing again.

.....you can buy absorbent vomit granules at medical supply stores? You only have to sprinkle them on the offensive piles and then vacuum them up a few hours later. (A trick I learned from my teaching years. The custodians always used them.) The smell goes away immediately. Trust me, you want these granules. Two of mine get one vomiting incident each when their post nasal drip gets too thick.

....that in the middle of the night last night, Miss Beth began to vomit in my hand, after violent coughing?  I yelled twice, as loud as I could, "Get me a throw-up bowl!"  No one woke up. We did make it to the bathroom in time to avert a major 3:00 AM disaster, though.

....my children behave much better when only one parent is home? They want one boss at a time. At night, when Daddy arrives home at 7:15 PM, all is calm. And stays calm. For a long time, on his non-errand, non-school days, he was home until lunch. Conflict was a regular part of our mornings, as Peter especially, had difficulty with two bosses at the same time.

The new routine is a blessing! All the bossing around is done by the time Daddy arrives home. He helps with reading and devotions only. I love it! Women are very good at "guiding the house."

1 Timothy 5:14
I will therefore that the younger women marry, bear children, guide the house, give none occasion to the adversary to speak reproachfully.  

.....squirrels crawl with their bellies on the ground, like at army boot camp, when they see something interesting edible?

....spending your days cuddling with sick kids is very rewarding (minus the sick part)?

I'm loving it.

The Hundred Dresses

We finished the short story The Hundred Dresses, a Eleanor Estes Newberry Honor book, in a one-hour sitting. It's leveled at 5.0, (starting fifth grade), but most kids in grades 3-4 could easily read it, with help on a few advanced vocabulary words.

Although, in leveling books, maturity of themes is to be considered as much as vocabulary and readability. I think fifth grade is the best year to delve seriously into the themes Estes presents in The Hundred Dresses.

Estes's themes--racial, academic, and economic prejudice--challenge children to adhere to their convictions despite fears of losing friends, losing popularity, or of being ridiculed themselves.

The main character, Maddie, best friend to the antagonist in the story, largely ignores the Holy Spirit's warnings about letting her friend tease Wanda, a poor polish girl in their class who wears the same blue dress every day, and lives on the wrong side of town.

This isn't a Christian book, per se, but the inner warnings Maddie receives can only be described as Holy Spirit pricks of conscience.  And the conviction her tormented soul eventually arrives at--that she will never again stand by and allow anyone to be teased, despite any cost to herself (even losing her best friend), is clearly faith driven.

I highly recommend this book as part of your devotional time. It's a wonderful illustration of the cost involved in being set apart for God. Our children need to assured that God is with them always, that he will never abandon them, and because of this, they are free to be Holy. There is nothing to fear.

Leviticus 20:26 

You are to be holy to me because I, the LORD, am holy, and I have set you apart from the nations to be my own.

1 Peter 2:9

But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.

Romans 8:28

And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.

Hebrews 13:5

I will never leave you nor forsake you.

See this post for more on the literary works of Eleanor Estes.

VBS blessings...and whines

Warning:  Whining first, blessings second.  Stick with me?

We started Vacation Bible School when our oldest was four years old. That makes six years of this high-octane activity. Only once did I find a daytime program. All the other years, it's been a grueling five consecutive nights of over-stimulation, leading to insomnia for my whole clan.

To get them through, I push naps every other day. That helps the VBS workers enormously, but it makes my nights worse. I never know if the insomnia is because of the nap, or because they can't settle their over-stimulated minds and bodies down.

Nap or no nap, they rarely fall asleep before 10:30 PM ( or 11 for Paul) on VBS nights....and the fussiness (x 4 this year) on the drive home and during bedtime prep, and the next day....is a sure thing. I've tried different things to calm them down before bed, to no avail.

It's just this beast I have to grit my teeth and endure--counting the hours until Friday night. They would call it the highlight of their year, with the county fair coming in second. Christmas is pretty wonderful too, of course.

They love it as much as I love chocolate....so I get it. I support it with fake smiles all week.

Would I want someone exiling me to a chocolate-free island?

In less than twenty-four hours, it's over for another year. I'm sure we'll survive, despite the heat advisories all week and the broken church air conditioning.  Sauna, anyone?

My husband reminds me that air conditioning is a recent invention. Considering this, I've berated myself all week. Surely I can be more long-suffering? How would I survive on the mission field, helping native women carry heavy jugs of water, uphill, back from the contaminated river?

The air conditioning went out in the van early last summer. The central AC in the house will break eventually, and we'll likely have no money to fix it. So, yes, the Lord will teach me that virtue yet....long-sufferingness.

There are many good things, and to remind my frazzled self of those, I list them here:

~ The unbridled passion my children exude as they sing (okay, shout) praise songs to Jesus, complete with sophisticated hand and body motions.

~ The friends they wave at and greet so enthusiastically in the parking lot....a practice always mimicked by my toddler.

~ The number of times they ask me each day....."How many more hours until VBS starts?"

~ The sanctuary and classrooms, decorated to eye-popping perfection, every year.

~ The delightful gadgets they come home with, like glow-in-the-dark trinkets. (Such things distract them from bedtime prep, so I confiscate them until morning.  They always remember to ask me for the confiscated loot, first thing in the morning, though.)

~ The enthusiasm with which they jump out of our vehicle upon arrival, smiling from ear to ear, eyes dancing.

~ The handmade T-shirts we've collected over the years, each one displaying a different VBS theme...a different Bible verse.

~ The loving, spirited teachers who never look tired...even on Friday night.  I'm sure they fall into bed every night, but the Lord sure holds them up during the festivities.

~ The youngest one here (Mary, this year) reciting the week's Bible verse at dinner, melting my heart.

~ For the inventive snacks and crafts, so lovingly provided.

~ The grace my children extend to me, the party pooper, every year.  Somehow, they get it...how it makes my days longer, harder, when they're overtired and fussy.

~ And this year, a very special thank you......for baby Matthew, seven months old this weekend, whom I've had the pleasure of holding in the nursery all week. He's amazing. His mother does sound for this church. Two-year-old Beth has taken my devotion to him in stride. She's still gotten more of my attention than usual.  (It been just the three of us in there.)

~ I shall always remember baby Matthew's humming along to my songs, as I walked him to sleep. He's a few months advanced in everything...and his singing? Incredible.

Do my children gain spiritual knowledge from VBS? Not always.

But the point, for me, is this:

They gain childhood memories of worshiping Jesus with every ounce of energy they've got...in the company of saints. They experience the joy of the Lord.

Priceless.