Day of Action

One of my most memorable Thanksgivings was the year I spent as a missionary in Chile.  It was my first Thanksgiving away from my family, and there were very few around me who understood the holiday.  But being away from family and outside the United States brought a special meaning to this day of giving thanks.

I was a little caught off guard when people from Chile would ask me about Thanksgiving. They had no clue, but it gave me a chance to explain it a bit and therefore understand it better myself.  Perhaps it’s what they called the holiday that taught me the most: Día de Acción de Gracias. Literally translated that means “Day of Action of Thanks.”

I used to think of Thanksgiving as a time when I would tell God how thankful I was for His blessings, and tell others how thankful I was for them. But now during this time I realize that being thankful should be accompanied by words and actions.  In both the Old and New Testaments, when we read the word thanksgiving many times it is meant to involve a sacrifice to the Lord that flows from a thankful heart. 

My prayer for this Thanksgiving is that we will express our thankfulness both with words and actions; that we would count each blessing that God has given us and show Him and others how thankful we are.

Dry Mouth

As of Monday, I've been put on vocal rest for a few weeks, until the doctor says I can sing again. I'm glad I can still talk, but I'm trying to do less of that too.

So I don't know that being asked to give up something by your doctor can legally be considered fasting. But it many ways it is much like fasting. It is a very difficult thing to do, and for me I can only do this by the power of the Spirit.

This has all kinds of spiritual significance for me. The first being worship. In my head I've been able to say that worship does not equal music. I know that worship is a lifestyle and I must worship God through my every day actions. But now I'm being forced to live this idea out.

I often like to sit down and write songs to the Lord to express my gratitude, or just something I've learned. But that doesn't happen now. And I've not found that it is easy to write what I am feeling without expressing it musically. I used to be able to sing my thoughts while playing guitar or piano, but now all the musical expression I have is to play on a guitar or piano.

This "fast" is helping me to realize the extent at which music plays a part in my own worship. It makes me realize how much I have taken music and my own musical talents for granted. The good thing is, I'm going to discover new ways to express worship to the Lord. And I'll have to let the Holy Spirit speak for me at times. I am looking forward to this journey - and I'm a little nervous about it too.

Will Power

I'm not much of a blogger. Especially not a daily one. I've definitely failed this past week.

A couple of weekends ago I did a DNow for North Richland Hills Baptist. Those kids are cool. I'm amazed by their maturity in Christ and their freedom to worship the Lord. On Saturday night after the worship service many kids got together in groups of 2 an 3 and prayed for one another. It was one of the those nights where you just know the Holy Spirit is there.

I realized that weekend and this past week that the focus of my fast has for sure been in the wrong place. I am a pretty strong willed individual and sometimes I like to test my own determination. I think that was the focus of the fast at first. But this is not about my will power - it's about Christ. And in week 2 of this fast I've tried to focus more on prayer, both for myself and others. And I love/hate what comes of that. All the junk rises to the surface - I've once again realized my depravity and God has brought some stuff to my attention that I need to work on. I just hope I don't try to bury it in the back yard like I normally do.

Tonight we are meeting with the singles group again to pray for one another and talk about what God has for us as individuals and as a group. I'm excited to see what He has in store.

Day 3

Today is day 3 of the Daniel fast. Feeling ok today. I had a headache this morning, but that slowly went away. The cravings aren't too bad. Somebody brought some pumpkin bread to the office today and I do have to look the other way ever time I see it. And I would definitely like a coke, but water still tastes good.

Last night I bought some whole grain wheat crackers - which I normally run away from. Surprisingly, they were incredible! I love wheat crackers! One thing about this fast - I've learned to enjoy wheat crackers. And I've probably come to appreciate other simple things as well. Simple things like writing down my thoughts here, despite the lack of eloquence.

And today I'm rejoicing for what God is doing here. I'm rejoicing for others who have joined the fast because they want to grow closer to the Lord and see what amazing things are in store when we trust and obey. I'm encouraged by the conversations, emails, and text messages from those who are sharing this experience. This is cool! (No, I can't yet use the word incredible like I did for the wheat crackers). Still struggling, still working, still pressing on towards the prize. The End will surpass all expectations.

To talk or not to talk

Fasting is usually a big secret for me. The Bible seems to say that when you fast - don't talk about it. Especially don't whine and complain. So, in trying to honor that I don't really talk about what I'm doing - even though sometimes you just feel like sharing it with someone.

But this time it's a corporate fast that I am doing with the North Side singles group. So, since other people know I'm doing it, I feel a little more free to talk about it, and I hope that whoever might read this (maybe 2 people) might be encouraged a little.

This is a Daniel fast, not a complete fast. So my days are spent craving sweets, meets, and caffeine for sure. My plan right now is to write down my fasting experience here on this blog.

Day 1 (one day ago)

Not a good day. Missed my morning coffee, but put some natural juice in the microwave and it felt a little bit like java, didn't really taste like it. Headache came in the afternoon. Made me realize I drink way too much caffeine and consume too much sugar on top of that. Detox is going to be fun. I felt hungry much of the day, but nothing too terrible. I felt sleepy all day, which was probably worse. I even took a nap during my lunch break. Not sure why I went to a late movie with some friends, but I did and even fell asleep during that.

Day 2 (today)

I think fasting makes all the junk in your life rise to the surface. I woke up this morning angry, frustrated, about stupid stuff that happened a couple of years ago. One of our prayers during the fast is supposed to be for healing. I'm asking God to heal me of the bitterness that I tend to hold on to sometimes. I'm asking God to help me forgive those who have done me wrong.

Fasting is not fun, it's not supposed to be. But I can tell that it is a meaningful and useful discipline. And God will use this. I'm enjoying hearing from friends who are sharing this experience with me. It's good to know I'm not alone.

Today was our last full day of work here in Brazil. We met the children of Sao Camilo early this morning in the church building.  We had a fun time of eating breakfast with the children and entertaining them. 

The Bible story was about Jesus. The people here have done most of the work in teaching the kids and have done an incredible job. We got into groups and talked about Jesus with the children.  Some of them prayed to receive Christ! We also gave them the prayer bears that the children of North Side made for them. They really enjoyed that.

We came back to the church building that night and had our worship service. Many of us got to help lead in worship and Randy preached.  Several children from Sao Camilo came back tonight and a few even brought their families to worship.

We had to say goodbye to a lot of people tonight - even though we will see most of them tomorrow. These people have been extremely gracious and hospitable to us. I am constantly overwhelmed when I think about all they have done for us and taught us.  I do pray that we will be able to communicate what we've learned when we return home to Weatherford.

House Churches and Slums

Wow. It was quite an eventful day in Jundiai. We got up earlier than normal and met the kids from Sao Camilo for breakfast. We talked through the story of creation, did crafts, played ball, and hung out with the children.

When it was over we took the children back to their homes in Sao Camilo. From there we invited kids to come back tomorrow, and we invited their parents to come to the church service we're having tomorrow night. It was great going in the second time, people seemed more friendly and comfortable with us being there. However, we were told that going in 3 days in a row would wear out our welcome.

After a full day of VBS with kids and walking around Sao Camilo we went to various house churches of the church. The one we went to was really amazing. There were about 30 people packed in there of all ages and backgrounds. One family brought their 9 year old disabled adopted son. At first I thought he had cerebral palsy, as he didn't seem to have any functioning motor skills. But I later learned he was beaten so badly as a baby that he had had brain damage. It was amazing to see how much the church loved on Lucas. His mom brought him, but different people in the church took turns picking him up and putting him in their laps or holding him. They all loved on him because he belonged to all of them. And today they celebrated his recent birthday - the 6 or 7 children that were in the house church meeting all circled around him and prayed for him - out loud. It was an incredible sight to see how comfortable these kids were praying for their friend.

Tomorrow we go back to the church building to work with the children of Sao Camilo. Please pray for strength and wisdom as we share the Gospel with them. Pray that their parents would come to the worship service on Sunday night and hear the Word of God.

I hope you know that we all appreciate your prayers! Keep going!