Art Lessons

Today's art lesson is entitled, "The Art of Minding Your Own Business." A lot of missionaries seem to have way too much time on their hands, yet they want as much of your time as they can get away with. I do not have to cook food from "scratch," we have a mostly dependable vehicle to get around in, there are plenty of places to shop for things, like the best pirated software and movies that money can buy, nice clothing if you are size 10 or under and are very short with small feet. However, seriously, all the real essentials are readily available, except for Dr. Pepper. It can't be found unless you end up in Phnom Penn, Cambodia, for the weekend.

But I digress. My team has hardly any time on our hands. We are very busy 6 days a week. Many weeks it's 7. On Saturday, we try to vegetate for the first part of the day. We veg because we are too tired to do much, most Saturday mornings. By 10:00 AM we are mostly up and ready to do something "else." Something besides working at a computer screen work. A great missionary once told me that everybody must have a hobby, a diversion from the everyday work, or they will burn out. I have learned the hard way how true this is. Which brings me back once again to the reason for this post. Don't call me early on Saturday morning with a great plan for my day on how I can spend it. I can figure out what to do by myself. And don't disguise this plan of yours by trying to make me think it was my idea in the first place. I'm not dumb. If you want me to do something for you that you can do for yourself, don't ask me to do it. I'm very busy. I have a team. Get your own team. I have a staff. I pay my staff. If you are too cheap to pay a staff, please stop trying to borrow mine to do your stuff. I am paying them to work for ME. This great missionary, as well as MANY others have told me that most of your problems on the field will not be lack of money, or health issues or danger, but most of your trouble will be with other missionaries. I found out that 150 years ago Adoniram Judson had this problem, so evidently it is nothing new. Now that I have learned from experience how true this is, I am making it a goal to do my very best to mind my own business, do my own work, and make everybody else do theirs, by not allowing them to have me do it for them.

I have several other 'Art" lessons that I am going to write about. Maybe this one will help some of you who are using others and some of you who are allowing yourself to be used. Boundaries are essential. Draw your line in the sand and stick to it. Fellowship with other missionaries, share burdens and prayer requests and help when help is really needed. But be careful and pay attention. Don't be an enabler for one who is lazy.

Facing the Facts

OK, I have been thinking about it and I have to finally admit that if I could live anywhere in the world, it would not be my beloved Texas. If I could live anywhere in the world, I would live in Darwin, Australia. I have traveled to many places and have lived in several countries, but Australia, and Darwin in particular, is the place I would like to "live happily ever after." BUT that's not going to happen. A couple of years ago, I skidded over the line in the sand where we could get Australian citizenship. We're too old, and because Australia has socialized medicine, we are not welcomed to join the ranks of the old people who will need medical care more often than average. Oh, well, we can still visit and that will have to be enough.

Heaven will be a wonderful place. There won't be any need for borders, or socialized medicine, or any medicine at all, for that matter because we won't get old and sick. Having said that, I admit that I still have trouble imagining a place more wonderful that the Northern Territory of Australia. The bluest skies the most beautiful palm trees, the high adventure of living on the edge of the Outback. Where we lived, we were an hour from the Outback to the south and about an hour from the sea on the north. The lightening storms were breathtaking and the rainy season was awesome. We went swimming almost every day in an olympic sized pool a couple of miles from our house. Some folks are dumb enough to swim at the beach. Sharks and salt-water crocs are one of the awesome critters living there, and our team opted for the pool. We did however, go to the beach every weekend because they set up a wonderful market out there on the sand and you could grab some food and sit and watch the sunset. Incredible sunsets. I like Melbourne, and Sydney and "Brizzie," but there is simply just no place like Darwin. Living there was a gift. God gives really good gifts.

THINGS YOU HAVE DONE AND WANT TO DO BEFORE YOU DIE

I just saw the movie entitled, "The Bucket List." It was about these 2 old guys who were both dying and met in the hospital. They became friends and made a list of the things they wanted to do before they died. They managed to do most of them. So, I made my own list. Missionaries have wish lists too, ya know. Our lives do not consist of handing out tracts all day long, 6 days a week, then preaching on Sunday. No, we are just regular folks like you. We have to shop for groceries, get our vehicles repaired, deal with people we don't like and who don't like us. God uses us here and He will use you there, wherever you are. I used to think missionaries were perfect people, until I became one. Then, after I stopped laughing long enough to take a breath, I realized that God indeed chooses the weak, the poor, the old, etc., who are willing. I am all of the aforementioned people. Enjoy the life that you have been so generously given.

( X ) Skipped school
( X ) Watched someone die - better said as "seen them off to Glory"
( X ) Been to Canada
( X ) Been to Mexico
( X ) Been to Florida
( X ) Been to Hawaii
( X ) Been on a plane
( ) Flown in a helicopter
( X ) Gone to Washington, DC
( X ) Swam in the ocean
( ) Swam with Stingrays
( X ) Played cops and robbers
( X ) Recently colored with crayons - I HAVE GRANDKIDS
( ) Been to the top of the St. Louis Arch
( X ) Made prank phone calls - WHEN I WAS A KID
( X ) Been down Bourbon Street in New Orleans - AND had BEIGNETS in JACKSON SQUARE
( X ) Laughed until some kind of beverage came out of your nose - YEP! Carbonated beverages burn!
( X ) Caught a snowflake on your tongue
( X ) Written a letter to Santa Claus
( X ) Watched the sunrise with someone - ONLY WHEN COMPLETELY NECESSARY!
( X ) Blown bubbles - WITH SOAP AND ALSO THRU MY NOSE When I had a cold
( X ) Gone ice-skating
( X ) Gone to the movies
( X ) Been deep sea fishing - LOVED THIS ONE
( ) Seen all 50 states
( ) Been in a hot air balloon
( ) Been sky diving - TOO OLD FOR THIS NOW--BAD KNEES
( ) Gone snowmobiling
( X ) Lived in more than one country - 6 OR 7 AT LAST COUNT
( X ) Lay down outside at night and admired the stars while listening to the crickets
( X ) Seen a falling star and made a wish
( ) Enjoyed the beauty of Old Faithful Geyser
( X ) Seen the Grand Canyon
( X ) Seen the Statue of Liberty
( ) Gone to the top of Seattle Space Needle
( ) Been on a cruise
( X ) Traveled by train
( X ) Traveled by motorcycle
( X ) Been horse back riding
( X ) Ridden on a San Francisco cable car
( X ) Been to Disneyland OR Disney World
( X ) Been in a rain forest
( X ) Seen whales in the ocean
( ) Been to Niagara Falls
( X ) Ridden on an elephant
( ) Swam with dolphins
( X ) Been to the Olympics - 2 TIMES
( ) Walked on the Great Wall of China - CAN YOU DO THAT?
( ) Been water-skiing/tubing
( ) Been to Westminster Abbey
( ) Been to the Louvre
( ) Swam in the Mediterranean
( X ) Been to Vienna
( X ) Seen the Parthenon
( X ) Been to Prague
( ) Been white-water rafting
( X ) Milked a cow - I TRIED BUT NOTHING CAME OUT.
( ) Been to Ireland
( ) Been to the UK
( X ) Lived in Australia - the adventure of my life
( ) Toured Europe

Please feel free to copy and post this on your own blog. The instructions are really easy: place an X by all the things you've done and leave the space blank if you haven't done it yet, but want to. See? Very simple:). Alter the list anyway you like.

The Year Ahead

Sorry, but I had to take December off. Illness, death in the family and other things took precedence over blogging. I hope that each of you had a blessed Christmas. The past year of 2008 saw laughter and joy, grief and tears, disappointments and divine appointments. In other words, Life happened in 2008. Many things transpired here in the 10/40 window, many of them unreportable because of what happened and where it happened, but suffice it to say that our Jehovah God is still on the throne and in perfect control of His universe. It is easy to look around at the things going on in the world and if we are not careful we, like Peter, see the waves and take our eyes off of the Lord and start to sink. At times like this we have to remember that we are "in" the world but we are not "of" the world. Those of us who are trusting in Christ as our Saviour are both led and protected by an unseen hand that the world knows not of. I have been reading a book by Randy Alcorn entitled, "Heaven." It is a wonderful book and has given me joy just to read his thoughts about what Heaven will be like. I look forward to being there and I believe with all my heart that it will be very soon that we will hear the trumpet sound and we will be "caught up." This old world is not spinning out of control, it is spinning to a close. This is a great and wonderful difference for the child of God. Israel became a nation again in 1948. She celebrated her 60th birthday in 2008. If a generation is 70 years and this generation will not pass before the Lord returns, then folks, we don't have a lot of time to win the lost. Pray for Israel. Right now it is in the midst of a war...again. Israel knows that its only friends are the Christians who are standing with that nation. It has always been Israel and America its friend, but I wonder for how long America is going to stand with Israel. I do not believe in replacement theology. The church has NOT replaced Israel. Israel is still and always will be the apple of God's eye and God promised that He would bless those who bless Israel and curse those who curse Israel. America tried to force Israel to give away the covenant land and you can plainly see where America is today. In big trouble. Big, big trouble. Pray for Israel as the battle rages. Pray for America that we Christians will stand and do our best to reclaim our blessed country.

Suvarnabhumi Airport Thailand

THAI PROTESTERS ABDUCT POLICE OFFICER AT AIRPORT- By Chris lake

BANGKOK, Thailand (AP) — Anti-government protesters occupying Thailand's international airport seized a police officer, escalating tensions in a four-day standoff that appeared headed for a violent confrontation Saturday. The trouble started after about 1,000 demonstrators moved in on a police checkpoint near the Suvarnabhumi international airport, triggering a showdown that ended without violence when officers hastily withdrew. Police, many in full riot gear, had a much more visible presence Saturday with several hundred in the area. Associated Press reporters saw one policeman being grabbed at the checkpoint by three protesters, forcibly put in a vehicle, and driven away toward the airport controlled by the demonstrators.
It was not immediately known if the officer was still being held.

How weird is this? We are stranded in Bangkok and cannot leave. At least we have a place to stay and are not at the airport, but we are still stranded. If we want to go home, we will have to drive to Vientiane, Laos or Phnom Penn, Cambodia in order to fly out of the country. The domestic airport is also being held hostage, so we can't fly to Laos or Cambodia, but would have to drive for many hours, then fly out.

This is the tourist season in Thailand. It is cool and pleasant and there are many thousands of people that are vacationing here who are now cooling their jets at the airport. They missed Thanksgiving with their families. They are saying that they are going home and would never in a million years ever come back to Thailand. I can't say that I blame them. If I were stuck in a big building with thousands of disgruntled travellers, I would be saying the same thing. The people who think they know these things, say that the tourism industry has been forever ruined. I don't think so. As soon as the airports reopen there will be folks lining up to come here. This is a nice place and a safe place and the tourism industry will bounce back, but it will take time. About 20 minutes. In the mean time, don't keep the porch light on for me. I may not be home for a bit and guess what? I don't care! I like it here.

Thanksgiving

Thursday evening the 2 teams here will be meeting for preaching, fellowship and a meal. There are now 9 members on our team and 6 on the other. Some are missionaries and some are paid staff, but all love God and consider what we are doing here ministry and not just a job. It will be a time of prayer for our country as well as this country. The whole world is in crises, and the time to win the lost is growing ever shorter. It is a sobering time in which to live. If it were not for the sustaining hand of the Lord Jesus, it would be a time of great fear and for many people, Christians included. It is a fearful time as we watch events unfold before us that would have been unheard of even 10 years ago. Fear, however, is not always a bad thing. If it causes us to examine our lives and our motives and to get back to the important things, it is a good thing. If it causes us to pray for the lost like never before and if it causes us to work harder as we see the dark night coming, it is a good thing. It is important to have faith in these last trying days and to not let the wrong kind of fear engulf us. Worrying over "what we shall eat, what we shall drink, and what we shall put on," should not be part of the Christian's character. Now is not the time to pull back from giving and serving and praying. Now is the time to forge ahead and watch God do His perfect work. It always humors me to hear of folks stockpiling food and waiting for some kind of famine. If you had a house full of provisions and your neighbors were starving, you know that you would give it all away in a couple of days anyway, so why stack all that junk in your garage. I recently heard that there was a big run on Spam. You know Spam, the canned ham stuff. When I think of having to actually live for a few months on Spam, I have to laugh. I personally like Spam, but I think if we actually have a famine, that the Lord will provide for His own one way or the other. Survival stuff is flying off the shelves like never before. Guns, ammo, and all kinds of stuff are being stockpiled by people who are very afraid. Christ has not given us the spirit of fear, but of a sound mind. Christian, if you are terribly fearful what shall be tomorrow, just remember God did not give you that fear. It was put there by your archenemy, the devil and his evil emissaries. So, on Thursday have a wonderful Thanksgiving Day and pray and thank Him for all the blessings of this life and especially for the life in Glory that awaits every believer in Christ.

I'm Better Now

Yep, I've been gone a few days. I have been traveling and I have been sick. There is nothing like the puking diarrhea to make life interesting. Nobody else here got sick, so I'm not sure what caused it, but it was most unpleasant and it took me several days to fully recover. Then there was the election to listen to, and listen to, and listen to. We lost, but at least it is over and we won't have to listen to it over and over and over and over. I have never been so tired of listening to commentators. They are on my short list of people I would like to beat to a pulp. First of all they think that we are all so stupid that we can't understand what the people just said themselves!!! They have to repeat it several times putting their own spin on it to make sure we understand it the way we are supposed to, which is their way. Most of them are so liberal they should be taken out and shot, so listening to them only makes us look as stupid as they think we already are. So, no matter who won the election, God is still in charge of the universe, He still has everything under His complete control and we needn't worry as long as we remain faithful to Him. America may be in for a rude awakening, but then all of us who love God and are trying to serve Him already knew this was coming. We've killed too many innocents in the womb, allowed homosexuals (queers) to take over the land, and last, but not least, we have tried to force Israel to give away God's land and East Jerusalem, especially. We crossed the line on that one and now we're going to pay. We are in for a rough ride and we deserve whatever we get. Hang on, Christians, and keep your eyes upon the eastern sky... He's coming soon!!!!