Food for thought

I was reading in Mathew 4 today where Jesus was being tempted by the devil.
"The tempter came to him and said, "If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread."
Jesus answered, "It is written: 'Man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.'"
Jesus quoted from Scripture, Deuteronomy 8:3.  When I read that passage in Deuteronomy again, I was struck by the importance of food in our lives. We need it for our physical bodies to stay alive and we usually don't skip a meal, since our stomachs will remind us that we are hungry and in need of food.  Yet do we hunger for spiritual food like that?  Do we get hungry and yearn for food for the soul?
This week many of us will gather together with family and friends around a feast of turkey with all the trimmings, an abundance of food for our physical bodies.  Do we ever feast like that on the Word of God?
Ever since I was a young child I remember my parents reading from the Bible after each meal.  It was a custom that I have carried on to this day.   After we feed our bodies, we feed our souls.
Psalm 119:103 "How sweet are your promises to my taste, sweeter than honey to my mouth!"
Jeremiah 15:16 "When your words came, I ate them; they were my joy and my heart's delight, for I bear your name, O Lord God Almighty."
1 Peter 2:2 "Like newborn babies, crave pure spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow up in your salvation."
So whether you are celebrating American Thanksgiving this week or not, remember to feed you soul.  Why not do it right after each meal?  Only God can satisfy the hunger of your soul.

A message from Joni...

Caribbean Pines

I receive a daily devotional in my inbox each morning from Joni Erickson-Tada.  Joni, now a woman of 60, became a quadriplegic after a diving accident when she was 17 years old.  She has been wheelchair bound every since and dependent on others for help.  God has brought her through many ordeals, including a bout with breast cancer.  Instead of focusing on herself, she let God make good out her situation.  She has founded an organization called www.joniandfriends.org    She continues to be a blessing as God has used her mightily across the world.  Her recent book, "a place for healing" has been very helpful to me and I have been able to recommend that to others who are facing hardships or sickness in their lives.  


Below is today's devotional from Joni that I would like to share with you...

Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. --James 1:2-4 The Tamiami Trail is a long, straight highway across Florida's south Everglades. When I drove it with a friend, I was struck by the wild, rugged, oddly beautiful pine trees dotting the landscape. My friend called them Caribbean Pines; they are stunning against a south Florida sunset. Unlike tall straight pines, they are wiry, contorted and primitive-looking. Caribbean Pines routinely withstand long periods of drought, fire, and they hold their own against the fiercest of hurricanes. In fact, these particular trees seem to love a rugged environment. They cannot tolerate cultivation. When they are protected, planted in a yard and given water and fertilizer, they often die. Experts can't pinpoint why Caribbean Pines do best in the wild, but they know enough to warn landscapers against using them in a decorative, cultivated setting. We are like Caribbean Pines. Our souls usually don't thrive during good times. Our hearts grow complacent, our need of God becomes less urgent, our hope of heaven dims and our prayer life often dries up. We may be planted in a beautiful setting with our needs met and every resource at our fingertips, but our soul shrivels. It seems we need an occasional blast of storm or fiery trial, if our faith is to mature. Are you in a hurricane? Experiencing a drought? A fiery trial? You certainly don't need to ask God to bring on the hardships, but you can ask Jesus for a closer walk with him in the midst of the difficulties you are experiencing (I would guess there are plenty of them). As you hold on to Jesus today, your soul will thrive both in good times and bad. Lord Jesus, thank you for creating so many examples in nature that inspire us to trust you. Help me to see lessons in your beautiful world around me.

Blessings, Joni and Friends

the strength of youth...

Yesterday we were blessed by a group of young people from a church in town.  They came with rakes and gloves, ready for a big workday.  Our property has lots of dead wood and branches all over the 2.5 acres.  Too much for both of us to take care of.  So what would have taken us weeks on our own, was done in a matter of 4 hours by these young people.  The guys liked to tackle the big jobs, heavy timber and large pieces of wood, while the girls seemed to have an eye for detail and picking up some of the smaller brush.  But don't get me wrong, the girls also did their part in lifting some heavy timber.  They all worked hard and had a great attitude.  A meal was shared and after they finished working on our place, they all proceeded to go and help someone else with some outside chores.  We were greatly helped by their efforts and in turn we help toward sponsoring an upcoming youth event.

Instead of doing whatever they wanted on their day off from school, the youth chose to do this service project.  I commend them for this wonderful act of kindness.  Next time you catch a young person doing something nice, encourage them and bless them in Jesus' Name.

Home...

Day 75...we are home from our long journey out east.  Even though we enjoyed our visits with everyone, we are glad to be home again after traveling 11,079 kilometers (that's 6,884 miles).
We traveled through 4 provinces (British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba)
Toured 8 states (Minnesota, Wisconsin, Illinois, Iowa, Nebraska, Colorado, Wyoming, Montana)
Along the way we parked our truck camper in 9 RV parks and on other nights we stayed in people's driveways (24 all together) not to mention the overnights in 2 church parking lots.
We visited 9 churches all together and were privileged to speak at 6 churches.  Howard also presented 6 cross cultural communications workshops.  We enjoyed sharing about our work with grade 1 through 7 during chapel time at a Christian school in Wisconsin.
Aside from the church meetings we also met with 42 individuals, couples or families.  Sometimes sharing a meal at a restaurant, or in a home.  We were quite comfortable sleeping in our little "home", it became a "haven" for us to rest.
We've been in so many places in the last 75 days.  We enjoyed seeing beautiful skies over the prairies, the changing colors everywhere, amazed at the vast expanse in some areas and feeling quite small amid the might rocky mountains.  Our long road travels allowed us time to pray for family and friends and to thank God that He allowed us to enjoy his Creation.
We were blessed to share some time with our three daughters and their families.  It was a precious time to share with our grandchildren.  They do grow up so fast and there is never enough time to spend together.  There were some tearful goodbyes when we had to leave again.  Thank God for phones, emails and skype :)!
 
When we got home we unpacked the camper and truck and just as the last boxes went into the house, our son Tim and his family came over with a meal to welcome us home.   What a wonderful welcome when kids give you those big long hugs and kisses on the cheek.

Now we will be getting busy to get back into our daily lives here.  Lots has to be organized and put away yet and we need to get things done outside to get ready for winter.  Today Howard climbed on the roof to clean the chimney and he stayed safe!

To God be the glory for giving us safety and success on this long journey.  Thank you for praying.