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Insights on the Journey

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There are some things that are eye opening as a person travels internationally.   I have been challenged to keep my eyes open and my heart ready to learn as I travel.   This trip has afforded that opportunity.   Yesterday, our flight was delayed departing by around 4 hours.   While I was tempted to grumble, I chose to pray silently and interact with some other people that were going to be on our flight.   We were at the airport from 8 am until around 2pm before departing.   As we got to our hotel room and were winding down for the night, my mind drifted to another young family whose travels were recorded in God’s Word…Joseph, Mary, and an inside the womb, Jesus.   When they reached their hometown (they were mandated to go there for the census counting), they discovered there was no room.   There wasn’t room with family.   There wasn’t room with friends.   There wasn’t room at the local inn.   There WAS room in a stable out back behind the hotel.   Sometimes the Bible comes alive
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The sound of music

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Last week, I found a gem in the mission barrel that I could not resist.  The mission barrel is a place where missionaries can peruse freely through other missionary's discarded items and take them home for free.  Our kiddos LOVE going to the mission barrel and rummaging through it…..I do too!  Anyways, I found the DVD of The Sound of Music. Gunner and Moriah were captivated!   They absolutely loved it!   I remember getting the soundtrack on cd of the film in high school for a gift from my mom.   It was definitely put on replay more than once!   As Gunner and Moriah were watching, I shared with them that my favorite song in the film is "I Have Confidence."   Without a moment's hesitation, Moriah questioned, "Mom?   How can it be your favorite if I’ve never heard you sing it?"   Hahahaha.   She got me on that point!   While she meant nothing by it, I’m sure, her question really got me thinking…..it’s true that she’s never heard me sing that song.   In fa
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The Heart of Heaven

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The Heart of Heaven "For I [the Lord] have no pleasure in the death of anyone, declares the Lord GOD; so turn, and live." Ezekiel 18:32 In our day and age, I feel like there is some confusion around this Biblical principle.  God does NOT get pleasure in executing consequences for sin.  He invites us ALL to turn and LIVE.  He has made the way for EACH of us to spend eternity with Him in heaven (John 3:16).  Does He ask us to live within boundaries?  Sure.  Is that a restricted way to live?  No more restricted than that of the athlete and the self discipline it takes to win a race.  The athlete sticks to the goal!  The athlete aims at the prize, and often sacrifices money, time and sweat in an effort to obtain it.   God is not in the race to gain the material things...He desires something much more valuable....souls!   This past weekend, Moriah Hovey gave her heart to Jesus .  God sought her.  He bought her at the price of His Own Son, and now?  She will be rejoicing in HIM and
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Even in the Seemingly Small

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Since 2019, we have started a collection of the butterflies and moths of Papua New Guinea.  We try to put a date on it and the name of who contributed it to the collection.  We dry out the specimens and press them inside a book and finally, we laminate them.  We have learned a few things about what works and what doesn’t…..generally, moths are too big to go through the laminator.  Their bodies don’t flatten enough to make it through.  We’ve had a couple mishaps… Anyways, this past week, I was walking along the balcony at school and saw a large, bluish creature fluttering near the ground.  It was after Kindergarten was over and lunch was nearly finished.  So, I yelled to Moriah to bring me her lunch container.  She burst out of the Kindy classroom door, and we celebrated with excitement after capturing our addition to the growing collection.  We were so excited, in fact, that when Gunner walked past to put away his lunch box, we stopped him to show him.   As I proudly displayed my &qu
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A Missionary's Dream

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Makia Baptism I recently went to another missionary’s home and was chatting with the Mom in the family.  She, too, is a Mom of “littles.”  Although, her “littles” are smaller than mine.  As I sat and we conversed about a variety of things, a sign on her wall caught my eye.  Very simply it said, “The dream is real …(emphasis added)”  I had to ponder it for a minute, and I felt like I was missing a piece of the story.  So?  I asked the question….”Hey, does that sign on your wall have a story?  It’s really intriguing.” “Why, yes, it does have a story…when my husband, daughter and I arrived on the field, there were some veteran missionaries that were leaving the field.   She came over and gave it to me as a gift one evening and shared that when the going gets rough that it had served her and her family as an important reminder.   THIS hardship.   THESE trials.   THIS sickness.   THESE differences of opinion.   THEY are all part of the package of ‘the dream’ we pursued…the dream we prayed f
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Flannel Graph as a Ministry

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When I first landed in a foreign country in 2009 to do missions, my teammate and I had a flannel graph.  It seemed outdated to me when we brought it then, but to a third world country?  It made SUCH a difference to have a visual for the students to help them imagine the Bible Stories we were sharing.  It really helped the kiddos engage in the story and encounter Jesus in a more realistic way. Recently, I had a friend ask me if I would like a set of flannel graph to use for ministry.   I declined because in this “high-tech age” we live in, I thought it would be irrelevant.   However, I agreed to check with my friends to see if anyone was interested.   Quite honestly?   I was less than hopeful that anyone would even consider it because to me it not only seemed outdated but now it seemed ancient.   To my utter surprise, there was a friend that jumped at the opportunity when I shared it with her as a possibility.   “Really?” I thought in disbelief.   I agreed to gather the materials fr
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small...BIG!!!

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small…was the size of the town of Owatonna (pop. approx. 25,000+). BIG…that was the city of Santiago, Chile (pop. approx. 8,0000,000+). small…was the amount of belief I had when we started pursuing missions.   BIG…that was the God who brought us to the Southern Hemisphere and then around the World to the Eastern Hemisphere too (Papua New Guinea)! small…was the installation of an outhouse toilet on the church property where we serve. BIG…that was the impact for our little girl struggling with using a pit toilet (aka a hole in the ground). small...was the size of our little girl and the loose tooth she had. BIG...was the smile on her face when it finally came out! small…was our son when he decided to surrender his life unto Jesus. BIG…that will be the impact he could have if he chooses to follow Christ lifelong. small…was the stone in David’s sling shot.   BIG…that was David’s God behind the stone. small…was the baby Jesus lying in a manger.   BIG…that was the God who sent
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