HoveyServinGod

The greatest.....who is the greatest?  If Jesus were sitting at the table and you and a group of friends were discussing it, who do you think he would say would earn that title?  Maybe someone from the Old Testament? Maybe Moses?  Maybe Elijah?  Perhaps John the Baptist or Peter, his contemporaries?  Or maybe, just supposing it could have been the Apostle Paul?  No.  None of these would do.  They weren't 'qualified' enough.  They didn't minister 'effectively' enough to earn it.   Jesus taught that the greatest in His Kingdom was the least expected.....children.   “and [Jesus] said, "Truly, I say to you, unless you turn and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.”   Matthew 18:3-4 ESV Brian and I read another passage in Luke this past week.  It, too records this account saying,  “An argument arose among them as to which of them was the greatest. But Je

One of the things I deeply respect and appreciate in my husband, Brian, is his dedication to prayer.  My children are blessed with a praying father.  Almost every night, he prays with one or both of the kiddos (depending on who is putting whom to bed).  Usually, he puts Gunner to bed while I put Moriah to sleep.  I so often get wrapped up in trying to get her to rest that I forget to pray with her, but I am gently reminded by my husband as I hear him praying with Gunner in the other room. This year for Father's Day, Gunner, Moriah, and I decided to get Brian a prayer box.  Well, it was me, but it is an idea that Brian has talked about before and I thought it was a winner.  We are going to try to keep it on our dining room table and pick a name or two from our box at meal times to pray for those back home.  I so respect and admire Brian's thoughtfulness and intentionality in this area.  The truth is, we can't keep up with all of our precious relationships back at home as we

Ministry here can have many faces and look very different from day to day.  We thought we would give some snap shots into our week.  While the places, projects, and people may be different the goal remains the same...to Glorify God! Moriah demonstrated our feelings quite well, how much can we fit in our week!!  Or in her case how can I fit in this pan.....  We all have the same 24 hours each day and for us it is a constant struggle how to best manage the time. I (Brian) was able to finish up a project that I have been working on and off on for a couple weeks.  It was an all metal stair case....seems easy enough, except I have never made stairs before.   It was a bit of a challenge to design it and make it work out correctly, but a good learning experience.  It could have been made out of wood, however it would not of lasted long given the climate.  This was made possible by a generous family in one of our supporting churches who gave us their engine driven welder.  A project like this

Q: Why didn't Noah fish while he was in the ark? A:  Because he only had two worms! Hahaha!  This joke is found in Gunner's collection that he likes to share.  A good friend of ours shared it with us as we left for PNG.  This past week Gunner's interest in the Bible story of Noah and the flood (Gen. 6-9) has resurfaced.  We typically read from The Jesus Storybook Bible by Sally Lloyd-Jones before heading to bed each night.  Gunner has requested the story of Noah more days than not this past week.  I will come back to this thought. This past week also brought a new wave of disobedience by our three year old.  While I could  give several examples, that is not the point, so I will refrain.  The other night,  we decided to put him to bed early as a consequence for deliberate disobedience.  The conversation went like this.... Me (Phyllis)-- Gunner, you are going to bed. Gunner--Why? M--Because you are not listening. G--But Mom, I can't listen. M--Why? G--Because my ears are