Demolition...

2 Corinthians 10:5

 We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.

Myranda's definition of DEMOLISH.......

to annihilate thoroughly with extreme prejudice.

How do I annihilate with extreme prejudice the arguments and pretensions that set themselves up in my mind against the knowledge of God?  

Well first, I need to know what they are?  How do I know that?  I gotta keep my little white freckled nose in the word of God.  His word is my plumb line for everything!  

Here is a good scripture for that...

Philippians 4:8

Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.

Here are some conclusions that God has been helping me come to.

1. Drive and passion and zeal will only get you so far.  I think that tank for me has had to run on empty because I have to trust only in the grace and power of God to accomplish what he has called us to do.  God, in his ABUNDANT LOVE FOR ME has to get me to that point so I can say "Look at what God is doing!!!!"  All glory MUST go to Jesus!  (Abraham and Sarah Baby!!!)

2. It is posible to take every thought captive to the obedience of Christ because IT SAYS IT IN SCRIPTURE, therefore it is possible.  WHAMO, plain and simple.  My thought life defines who I am.  Is my thought life lining up with Philippians 4:8?  What is in there will come out!  I can and must make sure every area of my life brings honor and glory to Jesus

3. When I am tired that is when the battle rages the hardest, but, if I take God at his word and stand still to see his salvation, to hide myself under the shadow of His wings.....He WILL fight for me....He WILL give me the ability to take every thought captive!  

musings on a dysfunctional family

I take heart from the fact that Abraham probably had many moments in his journey where in his heart he was like "WHAT WAS I THINKING!?"  

Scripture speaks so much about how Abraham was a friend of God and that his faith was credited to him for righteousness.  No question, he obeyed God to the fullest extent of his abilities, and then some.....but lately I have been struck by Abraham's humanness.  I have always had an impression in my mind of this great stoical un shakable giant.....but have never considered the boo boo's he made....might I be so bold as to suggest that he was actually a ninny!

I mean, come on, what kind of husband sells his wife out to a creepy king as his sister to save his own skin.  NOT ONCE BUT TWICE!   DORK!

He slept with his wife's maid!  DUMB! Not his smartest move....

Then lets consider Sarah in all this.....

She was ripped from all that was normal to her simply because her husband said so....no explanation, no understanding, she just had to pack up and go.   I would be like "I don't think so chancho!  You better do some splainin!"

She was sold out by her husband to a creepy king that thought she was a hottie, NOT ONCE BUT TWICE!

She was sick of wandering around waiting for a promise from a faceless God so she nagged her husband into sleeping with her maid to have the whole thing done and over with.  ( that one came back to bite her in the haunches time and time again)

Lets not even talk about the shame she must have felt about not being able to have a child.


And yet God never ever took his promise away from them.  He knew that in Abraham's heart he wanted to follow God no matter what.  He never gave up, even when in all seemed hopeless and pointless.  He never stopped listening to God and believing that God can and will do what he promises, despite the mistakes Abraham made along the way.    He never stopped putting one foot in front of the other even though at many times he couldn't see the point.  Deep down in his heart there was an assurance that God had placed him on this path, and God will fulfill his promises!

Did Abraham have moments of saying "GOD CAN THIS BE OVER NOW I HAVE HAD ENOUGH?"    I am sure.....

Did Sarah have moments of saying "GOD WHAT ON EARTH ON YOU DOING DRAGGING ME OUT HERE WITH THIS CRAZY MAN!?"  I am sure.....

BUT!  They didn't quit.....and scripture has this to say of them...

Hebrews 11:8-12
⁸ By faith Abraham, when called to go to a place he would later receive as his inheritance, obeyed and went, even though he did not know where he was going. ⁹ By faith he made his home in the promised land like a stranger in a foreign country; he lived in tents, as did Isaac and Jacob, who were heirs with him of the same promise. ¹⁰ For he was looking forward to the city with foundations, whose architect and builder is God. ¹¹ And by faith even Sarah, who was past childbearing age, was enabled to bear children because she^[b] considered him faithful who had made the promise. ¹² And so from this one man, and he as good as dead, came descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and as countless as the sand on the seashore.


God didn't look at the mistakes that Sarah and Abraham made and say "FORGET YOU!  YOU PEOPLE ARE TO MUCH WORK!"  No, he saw their hearts and knew that they wanted more than anything to see the plan of God fulfilled and knew that they believed God, despite all the frustrations, trials and boo-boo's.  I think he simply had to wait until Abraham and Sarah were put in a place of having to give all glory to God.  At that point there was no way they could take credit for any thing.  All human effort was totally exhausted and dead.

Don't even believe the lie that God is finished with you!  Don't ever believe the lie that because you have blown in that he won't accept you back!

GOD IS FAITHFUL AND HE LOVES YOU!  God saw Abraham and Sarah as righteous.....he sees you the same way!!!!!!!

did i spell "quandrie" right?

Up at 3 am again......Probably not a good idea to take a comma inducing sleep aide at 8 pm. Shoulda waited the one more hour.   JET LAG YOU ARE MY NEMESIS!

But the up side to this is having the house all to myself perfectly still and quiet.  Alone with my thoughts and Jesus.

I had a good chat with a friend yesterday about life and all its quandries.  Here was the question that we were asking ourselves.  

Do we let our quandries define us or do we allow God to use those quandries

 to define more of Jesus in our lives?

   

(quandry is fun to say) 

Hurt and pain happen, its a fact.  Sometimes the hardest thing about life is dealing with the people in it. Feel me?    Misunderstandings happen, abuses happen, lies are told and manipulations occur.   And its all relative to ones experiences and where they are in life.   What hurts me might not you, and vise versa.

Do we sweep things under the rug and pretend they didn't happen?  OF COURSE NOT!   Sweep enough under there and you have a lumpy rug that you will trip on all the time.

Do we lash out at the one who caused the pain in an attempt to make them see how badly we are hurting.  (I speak from experience that DOESN'T WORK!)

From my own experience I can say this....God fights for those he calls his own!  When we stand still in the presence of God and allow his healing balm to cover our wounds, he fights for us!  TRULY HE DOES!  He turns our ashes into something beautiful and true worship comes.   He gives us the opportunity to confront if necessary and the right words come.

I just recently had an experience where I saw this play out beautifully in my own life.  I had been hurt in one of those raw life altering ways.  It sent me into a tail spin for quit some time and I wrestled with God.  My prayers were

"God I know that what I am feeling isn't ok, but you gotta help me!  I don't wanna be bitter and angry!  JESUS HELP!"  

And BOOM, out of no where I was allowed an opportunity that was God ordained for me to confront the issue.  It was done in love, but firm.  I was able to say what was on my heart with out being hurtful or angry.  I was able to hear the other person's heart and forgiveness and mercy ruled the day.

Back in Zambia for 2014

Back in Zambia and my head is spinning...literally....jet lag is a butt kicker!   Thank you Jesus for Stilnox. (an amazingly rock your face off sleep aid).  I think the person who invented this wonder drug MUST BE a born again Spirit filled lead by the Holy Ghost Christian.  THEY ARE AWESOME! 

We left Lusaka at the end of November, hot and ultra sweaty and landed in NYC to brisk cold winds.  What an assault on the senses!  I had to teach Brooklyn how to put on a coat and tie a scarf properly.  The child had no clue.  She balked at having to wear closed toed shoes.  I have a particulary vivid memory of her, mear days after our arrival, sitting down in the middle of Target moaning that she wanted to take her shoes off and me trying vainly to explain that it isn’t ok to run around barefoot in the Rockaway, NJ shopping complex.   

In Africa it is shoes optional.  No one looks at you crossed eyed like you are the redneckednest of mothers if your kid is in the store barefoot.  Oh the difficult life of a missionary kid! 

I have wrestled and wrestled with how to put into words this next section, lest you think that I am having a crisis of the soul or am  doubting God cause thats not the case AT ALL!

When we arrived in the States the cry of my heart was 

OH GOD YOU HAVE TO GIVE ME SOMETHING TO HOLD ONTO OR I CANNOT GET BACK ON THAT PLANE!!!!

At the TSC volunteers banquet I wept in the presence of God like I haven't in a long time when the choir sang about our weakness and God's strength.  About how God sees us right where we are at and will never loose sight. 

Pastor Carter preached a message about Jesus being wrapped in weakness as a baby that left me trembling in my soul at the amazing humility of God.  You have to listen to it!!!

I stood in line at the TSC Christmas dinner helping serve roasted potatoes and many of you told me that you pray for our family.  THAT MEANS THE WORLD!!!!!

I watched several young people that I had influences on in one way or another when they were kids standing on the stage and worshiping God with all their hearts.  God gently spoke to my heart "There will always be fruit!"

Several other moments God gently spoke to me in a still small voice that we are pointed in the right direction and it came at the right moment.  

Are we allowed to get to the moments of OH GOD I CAN'T ANYMORE so that we are reminded that it doesn't have a thing to do with us?  

Hidden in the shadow of the wings of God is where we should be found.  If our hearts desire is to dwell in the house of God, our plans and our abilities fade into the back ground.  The load becomes a bit lighter.  And it is in that place that the sacrifices he asks of us make sense.  

My prayer for all of us in this coming year is that we be found hidden in the cleft of the rock of God's love and mercy.  That when war is raged on our souls we will be confident in God's word and in ability to carry us through with a song in our hearts.  

Psalm 27

¹ The Lord is my light and my salvation—
    whom shall I fear?
The Lord is the stronghold of my life—
    of whom shall I be afraid?

² When the wicked advance against me
    to devour^[a] me,
it is my enemies and my foes
    who will stumble and fall.
³ Though an army besiege me,
    my heart will not fear;
though war break out against me,
    even then I will be confident.

⁴ One thing I ask from the Lord,
    this only do I seek:
that I may dwell in the house of the Lord
    all the days of my life,
to gaze on the beauty of the Lord
    and to seek him in his temple.
⁵ For in the day of trouble
    he will keep me safe in his dwelling;
he will hide me in the shelter of his sacred tent
    and set me high upon a rock.

⁶ Then my head will be exalted
    above the enemies who surround me;
at his sacred tent I will sacrifice with shouts of joy;
    I will sing and make music to the Lord.

⁷ 

¹³ I remain confident of this:
    I will see the goodness of the Lord
    in the land of the living.
¹⁴ Wait for the Lord;
    be strong and take heart
    and wait for the Lord.

God's provision!

I have had many discussions with friends over the past few weeks about our years.  The theme that keeps coming up is that we have all been through the valley this year.  Some of it has been internal, some has been external, but all of us, it seems, have been brought to the point of crying out to God because there was no other choice.  

One story stands out in my mind.....

A friend was taking the train home from work where he would then get his car and drive the few miles to his house.  He was worried because there wasn't enough gas in the car and he has no extra cash to remedy the situation.  He called his wife and asked her to pray.  Needless to say my friend was at that point.  His prayer was "Oh God!  I can't solve this one!  There is no way out of this!  You promised that you wouldn't leave me ashamed in the day of adversity......PLEASE JESUS!!!!"  On the platform of the train station he met a friend who also needed a ride home because he was in the same financial situation and his car wasn't running.  My friend says "Ok, but I have no gas and no money to buy any, so we will try."  His friend told him "Well guess what, I have an extra 10 dollars and its yours if you just help me get home"

Both men in the story are godly men who love their families and are walking pure before God!  They haven't done anything wrong or sinful to put themselves in the financial situation they see themselves in, it is just that God is walking them through something hard and valuable at the same time.   God showed them both that day that He sees exactly where they are at and cares deeply about their needs and will never leave their families or forsake them! 

 

I have been there many times this year!  (See my post MY PORK TROTTER MIRACLE and MY MATTRESS MIRACLE)  

We are living in dangerous times at Christians.  As American's we are no longer allowed to openly speak our minds and as Christians living in the last days the Devil is out to steal kill and destroy all that God has placed in our hearts. 

We HAVE to walk through the valley!  All other options but Jesus have to be stripped away from us so that we can learn to Stand Still and See the Salvation of the Lord!  

This scripture has been running through my mind for a bout a week now........

Psalm 27:4-5

New International Version (NIV)

⁴ One thing I ask from the Lord,
    this only do I seek:
that I may dwell in the house of the Lord
    all the days of my life,
to gaze on the beauty of the Lord
    and to seek him in his temple.
⁵ For in the day of trouble
    he will keep me safe in his dwelling;
he will hide me in the shelter of his sacred tent
    and set me high upon a rock.

May our one and only hearts desires be to dwell in the house of the Lord, to be found hidden under the shadow of His wings.  That is the only safe place!  That is the only refuge where we will find true and lasting security and provision!  

       

wrapped in weakness

Now that we are reaching the end of another year the time for self reflection has arisen.

(did I just use the word ARISEN!?   oh my)

For me 2013 has been a year full of.....how shall I put it.....personal trials that threatened at times to pull me under the rip tide of my flesh.  The lies the Devil has thrown at me have made me wanna put my hands over my ears and sit in a corner humming to myself.

"What do you think you are doing in Zambia?  This isn't a game!"  And my personal favorite "You have no clue what you are doing, you should just go home and leave this to the experts"

I have had to wrestle with my assumptions of what I thought was correct and all I have been taught over the years about submission and authority.  I have had to learn aspects of myself that have scared me, shamed me and brought me to my knees before God.    The glaring pride of my own achievements masked in humility.....GROSS!!  

To put in in other words, God has had to shake my tree so that the gross worm ridden fruit had to fall to the ground.  Jesus, the ever vigilant gardener of my soul has had some serious pruning to do in 2013. 

In the coming year when trials come, when difficult times hit and you are forced to your knees in dependance on the provision of God, please remember that God SEES YOU!  God HEARS you and God will NOT forget you!  

You must understand that I am writing this to myself as much as I write it to you.

I heard the most amazing message yesterday that helped remind me of the fact that God is in control!  Pastor Carter spoke about the sign of Jesus' birth and about how he would be wrapped is swaddling clothes.  All babies were wrapped in swaddling clothes, so what was so special about this baby?

I won't re-preach the sermon, but I will give you the point he was making.  Jesus, the creator of Heaven and Earth.....he who formed man out of dust with a BREATH...humbled himself and allowed himself to be wrapped in our weakness FOR OUR SAKES!

Meaning this today.....God CHOOSES to use you and I for his glory not for what we bring to the table, but because when He wraps himself in our weakness and frailty his glory shines the brightest.

Let me break it down further.....It doesn't matter that I don't have a clue half the time.  All that matters is that I stand where God tells me to stand and simply watch him work.  He doesn't NEED me to reach the hearts of the street children on Lusaka.  He is the creator of heaven and earth!  He chooses then instead to wrap himself in my weakness so that I am constantly and forever reminded that Jesus Christ is the center and the answer to all our questions, concerns and hurts.  

november 2013 update...READ IT!

 2013 HAS BEEN A YEAR FULL OF CHALLENGES, BUT IT HAS ALSO BEEN A YEAR FULL OF PROGRESS. HERE ARE SOME OF THE HIGHLIGHTS FROM THIS PAST YEAR...

OUTREACH TEAM

This year we have seen more volunteers from South City Church become involved with the street outreaches. We see this as crucial to the work. Local church should be involved in outreach. Streetwise is providing just one such avenue at South City Church. We get excited about getting others excited to join the work. 

JOE: TEEN CHALLENGE COMPLETED

As of October 2013, Joe Chibanze, former street kid, drug dealer and street-life food-chain CEO (top of the chain) has completed a year at the Teen Challenge Kafue Center. He is currently helping out at the center until he departs for Swaziland to continue the program with life skills training. Joe has been invaluable on the streets, and he is a true-life story of how Christ can change a person. Just a few weeks ago we sent Samford to Teen Challenge and we hear reports that he is doing SO well! Soon David will be joining him. We are getting so excited to see God moving in the hearts of these guys. 

MOONLIT 5K FUN RUN

On September 19th, 2013, over 100 participants gathered together for a worthy cause: to support the Streetwise Outreach and raise money for it’s future endeavors. Spearheaded by Ilke Green and Nikki Timmerman, the goal was to raise awareness and support for this street kid ministry, which operates locally under South City Church. 

The result: 10,000 ZMW (a little over $1800USD). We were amazed and gobsmacked at the turn out. People from all over Lusaka, many of whom we have never met, came out to run and enjoy the event. 

STREETWISE CRAFT CO.

After years of praying about helping the street kids with something viable for their future, the idea of Streetwise Craft Co. was born. 

We are in the process of creating antique-style products for sale, with two goals: introduce a product that currently does not exist in the Lusaka market, and create a trade school which would teach street kids skills like woodworking, painting, hand lettering.....basically how to see a job through with pride and dignity in a job well done. 

We have been able to sell at craft markets around the city and have been met with an enthusiasm for the project that has left us amazed. 

We want to see kids becoming productive members and leaders in society. To recognize their God given abilities and talents. To understand that their life is valuable and worthy. 

For more information, go to: http://www.streetwisefurniture.org/about.

WHAT DOES 2014 LOOK LIKE?

Our priority in January will be to begin looking for a suitable workshop in which to develop the products. Right now we are working out of our dining room. As you can imagine that is getting a bit crowded. We want to have a place where the kids feel welcome and at home. Available to them will be two meals a day, instruction on how to use tools and projects they can begin, as well as a facility for them to bathe themselves and wash their clothes. 

We eventually want to move into power tools so that we can make higher end furniture for a slightly different market. 

WHAT DO WE NEED AND HOW CAN YOU HELP?

• Tools! Check out our wish list on amazon: http://www.amazon.com/gp/registry/wishlist/2GG1N4NGTEGK5/ref=cm_wl_rlist_go_o?

• We are looking to rent a workshop in January. 

• Do you have a skill that you think might be of some value to the work here?

• Support us as a family: If you would like to contribute to us as a family, the easiest way would be to click here: https://www.tscnyc.org/donate_tsc.php. Select “Make a one-time gift.” In the “Donate to” drop down, select “Missions–Missionary.” Our name will appear in that menu. 

The start-up of streetwise craft co. will require tools...

and a safe, suitable workshop.

YOU CAN GIVE DIRECTLY INTO STREETWISE!

We will send you a receipt for tax purposes.

BANK ACCOUNT DETAILS:South City Church | Standard Chartered (Mandahill): 0100 521 067 500Swift Code / Sort Code: SCBLZMLX