Blessed in Guatemala

Haven't posted anything lately because I've been busy either getting ready for, serving in, or recovering from a mission trip to Guatemala. After a good night's sleep Monday night, I feel like the jetlag is gone and I'm getting back in the swing of things.

A team of 10 from TNC left on June 16 and returned June 23. We participated with two of our partner churches - El Camino San Cristobal and their mission church, El Camino Escuintla. We stayed in San Cristobal, a suburb of Guatemala City, the first night and attended church there Sunday morning. On Sunday afternoon, we made the hour drive to Escuintla. The church families of El Camino Escuintla welcomed us with open arms. We spent the remainder of the week there making improvements on the church property.

Pictured above is the family that I stayed with (along with my roomie for the week, Joe). Left to right they are Flori, Jose, CeCe, and Mordecai. They were great hosts and with no TV to interrupt our fellowship we spent each night singing and reading Scripture together - as well as just talking about life and having fun with our language barrier. Flori and her kids speak English pretty well so we were able to enjoy their company even more.

Life in Central America is simpler and less complicated. The people there must work harder than we do and for fewer things. Our host home was very simple. No hot water. No air conditioner. No TV. Few electronic gadgets. But, in the words of Flori, she is so happy because she has all that she needs and she has the love of Jesus.

I've said it hundreds of times and I'll say it again, everyone needs to get outside of the U.S. to see how God is working in other people's lives and also to see how blessed we are in the States. Or maybe it's how blessed others are because of their simple lives. One could argue, I suppose, that because of all our conveniences and riches - (Yes, if you live in the USA you are rich! If you don't believe it, go to www.globalrichlist.com) - maybe we aren't blessed, we are cursed. Maybe our quest for more toys and material things makes us miserable. It's debatable.

I can tell you this, a friend of ours, Joy, just surrendered to be a full-time missionary to Costa Rica. She sold everything she had minus two or three suitcases of clothes and personal items. It was very liberating for her to be free of all of her stuff!! So there is something to be said for the simple life that is lived by others in the world.

I'm also posting about the trip at www.tncblog.com soon if you want to go over there and read more.

Divine Intention and Divine Spirituality

I have a lot of books stacked on my desk in my home office waiting to be read. I recently received an advanced copy of Divine Intention: How God's Work in the Early Church Empowers Us Today. My cyberfriend, Larry Shallenberger, is the author of this new book published by Victor Books. I met Larry via the message boards at www.theooze.com a place that I frequent occassionally for entertainment and conversation among believers and seekers from all over the nation - even the world.

Larry's book has made it to the top of my stack so I'm looking forward to diving into it soon. Currently, I am reading another Larry's book. Larry Osborne's book titled A Contrarian's Guide to Knowing God: Spirituality for the Rest of Us. I like how Osborne thinks. He asks legitimate questions about how "normal" people grow spiritually. For example, how do Christ-followers learn doctrine? Usually, we don't learn the doctrine of the Trinity, for example, in a classroom but in the laboratory of life. We learn on a need to know basis. When you discover that the guy in the cubicle next to you is a lifelong Latter Day Saint who does not embrace the Christian doctrine of the Trinity, that's when you begin to learn about it.

Osborne (Senior Pastor of North Coast Church in Vista, CA) questions the Church's linear approach to discipleship and spiritual growth. Spiritual growth doesn't always happen through a course of study at church on Sunday nights. Spiritual growth happens as we live life with our eyes wide open to what God wants to show us each day and with anticipation for the divine appointments that he brings to us.

I'll probably post some thoughts and quotes from these two when I complete them. Stay tuned.

Are You Stomping Ants or Making Hippos Fly?

I recently ran across this article from www.pastors.com by Gregory Smith. I don't claim to be a time management expert but I do read about it when I can and try to create ways to make the best use of my time. In 1986, God used Ephesians 5:15-16 to persuade me that I should make the most of every day. "Be very careful, then, how you live - not as unwise but as wise, making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil." I've tried to keep this passage in mind ever since then.

Last Sunday, I had the privilege to speak at TNC. I mentioned how much of a time-robber TV is for many of us. The average American spends 4.5 hours per day watching TV. When you consider that you only have about 6 hours of free time (8 hours of work, 8 hours of sleep, a couple of hours getting ready, commuting, eating, etc. You have even less if you're the parent of young children.) - we really do spend too much time watching meaningless stuff. I mean, really, I'm getting along just fine not watching American Idol, Lost, and Heroes. I confess, however, that I'm addicted to 24. I watch my share of TV too so I'm not advocating an all out fast on TV, but it's just one example of how we can easily fritter away several hours and at the end of the day have nothing much to show for it.

Click the link to Smith's article and maybe you can find a few more minutes in your day that will help you "make the most of every opportunity."