Wordless Wednesday

A crazy "librarian's" thoughts...

So, I was shifting books from one shelf to another at the library tonight (just exactly what I wanted to be doing on my birthday, let me tell you!) and had some random thoughts. Some of them are from a geeky librarian's perspective but just hang with me...

So as I was shifting books from about 3 shelves over, my triceps are burning, and I thought to myself... Those poor books that are delegated to the bottom shelves... No one sees their bright snazzy covers, no one bends over and picks them up and flips through them, no one knows their stories inside.

Then, I continued with my crazy thoughts (with an hour of this bending and shifting, my mind just ran with it). I don't want to be the book pushed to the bottom shelf, that no one sees, no one is touched by, no one ever opens and reads. I want to be out on display, picked up, flipped through. I want my life to be an open book and used fully for HIS glory!

"Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain." I Corinthians 15:58

Packing for Africa

It's late Tuesday night and we don't leave until Friday morning, but guess who's packed and ready to go. A few last minute things to do in the next few days, but since I am working extra this week, I needed (for my peace of mind) to be almost ready.

My red carry on suitcase holds 5 pair of pants, 7 shirts, snacks, toiletries, socks, underwear, flip flops, flashlight, my sleep sack and 3 books. My backpack holds 1 outfit, a lot more snacks, small toiletry bag, 1 more book, and our medicines.

Awwww, guess who hasn't packed yet! Except for trying on his doo-rag...

Funny Friday Foto

Marriage and missions

A friend just posted this article from relevant magazine on Facebook. I took the liberty of taking the final excerpt from it, it has a great message on marriage!

So as Aaron and I embark on this trip to Africa, this will be a great reminder to us. We are so blessed to be able to serve together, to go together!

Marriage is for companionship, for raising children, and most importantly, for serving or having a mission together.

Had we studied our Bibles more carefully, we might have discovered this marriage-and-ministry mystery a lot sooner.

The Book of Genesis, for instance, takes us back to God's drawing board, where we see what He designed for man and woman. Marriage was meant for companionship—"It's not good for the man to be alone" (Genesis 2:18 NASB). It was meant for raising children—''Be fruitful and multiply" (Genesis 1:28 NASB). Most Christians would agree on those two goals. But Genesis assigns a third meaning to marriage: joint, fulfilling service. God placed Adam and Eve in the Garden and said: "Take care of this, you two. It's a big job, and you'll need each other. Together—till, plant, replenish, create" (see Genesis 2:15; 1:28).

We hunger for this today: cooperating together, meshing, working like a mountain climbing team, ascending the peak of our dream, and then holding each other at the end of the day. God has planted this hunger deep within every married couple. It's more than a hunger for companionship. It's more than a hunger to create new life. It's a third hunger, a hunger to do something significant together. According to God's Word, we were joined to make a difference. We were married for a mission.

Marriage expert Dennis Rainey says, "One of the missing ingredients of couples today is they do not have a mission; they do not have a sense of God having called them together to do something as a couple."

But often, as we begin to feel this basic longing, we don't know what it is. We get the "seven-year itch" or the "12-year anger" or the "18-year blahs." We think: What's wrong with us? Our companionship may not be perfect, but we have each other. So what are we missing?

We may be missing one-third of what God created marriage for—serving Him together. Counselor James H. Olthuis writes, “To try to keep love just for us ... is to kill it slowly .... We are not made just for each other; we are called to a ministry of love to everyone we meet and in all we do. In marriage, too, Jesus' words hold true: in saving our lives we lose them, and in losing our lives in love to others, we drink of life more deeply."

Recently a wife in San Diego expressed this experience when she wrote to the editor of Marriage Partnershipmagazine. "Over 10 years of marriage, I have found that when my husband and I focus on our own needs, and whether they're being met, our marriage begins to self-destruct. But when we are ministering together, we experience, to the greatest extent we've known, that 'the two shall become one.'"

Our television never told us about this. Our parents probably didn't mention it. Premarital counseling may not have covered it. Regardless, God has given every Christian couple a desire to serve Him together. He has placed you in your home, your family, your work, your church, your neighborhood and has said, in essence: "All this is yours. I'm giving you a mission together to care for the people around you. It's a big job, and you'll need each other. Together, join hands and make a difference."

Your mission may not be a youth group. It might be inviting people for dinner, letting someone stay in your home or helping neighbors pack a moving van. Perhaps one will help with a crisis-pregnancy center while the other watches the children. The possibilities are limitless.

But whatever marriage mission God has for you and your spouse, it will refresh your marriage and will re-ignite your reason for being together. As you venture out on your marriage's mission, you will discover your marriage's meaning.

This article is excerpted from More Than You & Me by Kevin and Karen Miller (© Kevin and Karen Miller). Used by permission.

Pay if Forward

Abi has a project due at school tomorrow called Pay it Forward. She has to turn in a picture of herself with her project and then write a story about it tomorrow at school and share it with her class.

We've all seen the movie and know the premise: to do something kind in your community and hopefully it will be passed on. Her teacher had listed some ideas of projects to choose from or they could create their own. Abi decided to write a letter and passed it out to our neighbors, friends, and some family. Here is her letter:

Hi! I'm Abi. I have a project that I'm working on for school and we have to come up with a way to pay it forward and pass on kindness.

My parents are going on a mission trip to Africa in March. So I was wondering if you could spare one thing for the kids in Africa. My parents need things like toothpaste and band-aids. You could also donate $1.00.

If you possibly have something you can give, you can drop it off at our house until March 1. Thank you for your help!

Abigael Johnson

We are so proud of her! So far she has collected $23 and lots of toothpaste, medicine, and toiletries. Since the project is due tomorrow, we went ahead and took a picture, but donations are still rolling in.

Most importantly, we are proud of you Abi, because you get it. You understand why mommy and daddy are going away to Africa next month and you are so willing to share and to give too.

When I went on a mission trip 3 years ago to Nicaragua, one friend told me that she was certain I was leaving a legacy of missions, of giving, and of going to my children. That is our hope and our dream and our passion.

Wordless Wednesday