For those of you who know me well, the addition of the new link was inevitable (http://recipes.wikia.com/wiki/Croatian_Cuisine). Our trip is almost upon us, and our hearts are filled with anticipation of adventure. In my preparations, however, there was 'something missing'. Ah, yes, what of the gastronomic delicacies of Croatian cuisine?!
My heart rate headed higher, and my eyes and dreams were met with delights as images and recipes of Croatian food filled my laptop! Vow! Da, Vow! My salivary glands were kicked into spontaneous secretion (sorry, but you know the science guy in me), and my eyes expanded from their normal oriental squint to those of a bug! I was clicking and reading as if the vortex of the blackhole was approaching. And then it stretched me like the spaghettification of being sucked into the blackhole...
In my last blog, I mentioned "Taste and see that the Lord is good!" Not only is our Lord good, the food there looks incredibly delectable to my eyes!!! God not only has not only provided my air-'fare', but called me to a place where I will not only enjoy the company of new friends, embarking on my new mission, but also take me to a place where my taste buds and stomach will be met with enjoyable, edible, fare! From my first bite, I believe that this scripture will take on new meaning with God taking me to new heights in my relationship with Him!
Can a man live a more blessed life than I? God has blessed me beyond what I deserve, given me a wife of noble character and incredible love, saved me from the wretchedness of my selfishness, thrown open the doors of heaven to me, calling me, and all of our team, to a place with sweet, flavorful and aromatic expectation. Nothing I could ever do deserves what I have and will have. All glory to you, God, all glory to Christ!
Bon Appetite! Again I say, Oh taste and see that the Lord is good!!!!!!
Friday, February 26, 2010
Monday, February 22, 2010
The Sweetness of Developing a Team!
I must confess that I did not know all the members of our team well, and we still have much we will learn about each other as we work together, travel together and 'live together' for over a week. So, while updating the "Introducing our Team" blog, it hit me with a "wow"! The wow is that each of us, by our very nature and character have a heart of caring for others. We enfold, we endear, we entreat, we connect, and we are willing to learn and listen. While many at our church have these qualities, it is as if the sweetness of God has fallen upon us in a special way. There is an expectation, and anticipation that fills the the very air we breathe with a graceful fragrance as we meet.
Having been on many long trips with teams, I know that if everything goes smoothly, we would call it a miracle! But also miracles can be found in the testing of our faith, the difficult times that develop along the way, and the way they get solved. There is a team of people in Croatia this week and it took them 46 hours to get there because of the weather and all the delays associated with it! It was what appeared as a disastrous chain of events, but it happened for a reason (though only they can tell you why). Which brings me to the second point of this blog.
While there are things to do and people to care for in Croatia, it has been the getting there and all the 'growing' along the way, and will be all the aspects along the way to, through and in the return that will contribute to the overall reason for why we each are to go. We will be tired when we get there, we will be exhausted when we leave. There will times of sweet, beautiful things and the ugliness of "reality", and yet, I believe that we will see and learn more of the grace of Christ, and His power unleashed through us in ways we could not experience any other way! I will leave not only building a connection with the people in Croatia, but with the team with whom I travel. Our experiences will be designed for them...and us.
It all seems surreal, heading off to a land I didn't know existed, and have learned a great deal about in the past year. It will come and go like a flash, and yet, the memories we build there will last for eternity as God takes our feeble gifts and uses them for His glory. There is a sweetness in going as a team. There is a sweetness in and among our team.
Psalm 34:8 says:
"Oh taste and see that the Lord is good. Blessed is the man who takes refuge in Him."
May Christ be our refuge and may all we do continue in His sweetness.
Having been on many long trips with teams, I know that if everything goes smoothly, we would call it a miracle! But also miracles can be found in the testing of our faith, the difficult times that develop along the way, and the way they get solved. There is a team of people in Croatia this week and it took them 46 hours to get there because of the weather and all the delays associated with it! It was what appeared as a disastrous chain of events, but it happened for a reason (though only they can tell you why). Which brings me to the second point of this blog.
While there are things to do and people to care for in Croatia, it has been the getting there and all the 'growing' along the way, and will be all the aspects along the way to, through and in the return that will contribute to the overall reason for why we each are to go. We will be tired when we get there, we will be exhausted when we leave. There will times of sweet, beautiful things and the ugliness of "reality", and yet, I believe that we will see and learn more of the grace of Christ, and His power unleashed through us in ways we could not experience any other way! I will leave not only building a connection with the people in Croatia, but with the team with whom I travel. Our experiences will be designed for them...and us.
It all seems surreal, heading off to a land I didn't know existed, and have learned a great deal about in the past year. It will come and go like a flash, and yet, the memories we build there will last for eternity as God takes our feeble gifts and uses them for His glory. There is a sweetness in going as a team. There is a sweetness in and among our team.
Psalm 34:8 says:
"Oh taste and see that the Lord is good. Blessed is the man who takes refuge in Him."
May Christ be our refuge and may all we do continue in His sweetness.
Saturday, February 20, 2010
What I learned from this week
A dear and wonderful friend posted this quote on her Facebook page.
“The most successful people are those who are good at Plan B.”
--James Yorke.
As I look back on a week where my teaching job would provide a hiatus and vacation, and I had plans for accomplishing some long postponed tasks, it was not a surprise that thus far, what I 'planned' for the week has yet to be accomplished. There were many other important things that did arise and as I contemplated them, they did need to be done. What is great too, is that my wife, who is my gracious partner in this life was okay with the 'derailment' of my week's planned duties and supported my choices.
While reading my friend's well placed quote on her Facebook update, it reminded me of a scripture that has become my answer for Mr. Yorke's statement.
Proverbs 19:21 says, "Many are the plans in a man’s heart, but it is the LORD'S purpose that prevails.
Plan A was my misinterpretation of His plan...what I see as plan B was always what I believe He intended. I just didn't know about it until it happened.
I bring this up on my blog because as we prepare to go on this trip to Croatia, we will have our thoughts and our plans about what is to happen while we are there. We want to be prepared and take with us the things that will be of effective use, both personally and for those we go to share our love with, but they may be our plans and not the Lord's.
So as you continue to pray for us, we need wisdom; wisdom in what to bring, wisdom in what to do, and especially the ability to hear His voice and see His plans! Our team will be meeting before church on Sundays unitl we leave on our trip. We will be praying and seeking God's leading for our time there to Croatia, in Croatia and in the return trip. My plans for what I will take with me have changed from what I thought I should bring in the beginning. I, and I'm sure the rest of our team wants to know exactly what to bring with us to see how He plans on using us and our 'stuff' to encourage the hearts and lives of those we go to see.
Thank you for your prayers!!! Please continue to hold us up before our Lord that His glory will be revealed to all throughout this trip.
“The most successful people are those who are good at Plan B.”
--James Yorke.
As I look back on a week where my teaching job would provide a hiatus and vacation, and I had plans for accomplishing some long postponed tasks, it was not a surprise that thus far, what I 'planned' for the week has yet to be accomplished. There were many other important things that did arise and as I contemplated them, they did need to be done. What is great too, is that my wife, who is my gracious partner in this life was okay with the 'derailment' of my week's planned duties and supported my choices.
While reading my friend's well placed quote on her Facebook update, it reminded me of a scripture that has become my answer for Mr. Yorke's statement.
Proverbs 19:21 says, "Many are the plans in a man’s heart, but it is the LORD'S purpose that prevails.
Plan A was my misinterpretation of His plan...what I see as plan B was always what I believe He intended. I just didn't know about it until it happened.
I bring this up on my blog because as we prepare to go on this trip to Croatia, we will have our thoughts and our plans about what is to happen while we are there. We want to be prepared and take with us the things that will be of effective use, both personally and for those we go to share our love with, but they may be our plans and not the Lord's.
So as you continue to pray for us, we need wisdom; wisdom in what to bring, wisdom in what to do, and especially the ability to hear His voice and see His plans! Our team will be meeting before church on Sundays unitl we leave on our trip. We will be praying and seeking God's leading for our time there to Croatia, in Croatia and in the return trip. My plans for what I will take with me have changed from what I thought I should bring in the beginning. I, and I'm sure the rest of our team wants to know exactly what to bring with us to see how He plans on using us and our 'stuff' to encourage the hearts and lives of those we go to see.
Thank you for your prayers!!! Please continue to hold us up before our Lord that His glory will be revealed to all throughout this trip.
Wednesday, February 17, 2010
Coincidence? Not!
While providing some musical therapy to residents at Edgemoor, I happened to be talking with them about my trip to Croatia. One of the amazing staff members was passing through the room (she had been in and out while I was playing my sax)and stopped in her tracks to tell me that she had been to Croatia,twice. We conversed about how gracious and endearing the people are and how wonderful the coffee is there! Sharing with me that she learned how to make it and even purchased some there to bring home, as well as the apparatus to make it, she also told me that it just wasn't the same when she made it here.
I spoke of a camping incident where Carrie and I purchased some chicken fried steak at Costco and ate it while camping thinking it was amazing, only to return home to make it and be thoroughly disappointed. The point? It was the ambiance of consuming it in that place, the magic of the being there that made both experiences so incredibly delectable!! So, while Cheri Pixlay (the wife of the couple we will be visiting with) speaks so wonderfully of the coffee there, I am yet blessed to have another person affirm the same and now am awaiting the experience for myself. Will it be so built up that I experience the ultimate cafe let down? I'll let you know when we are there. Guess you and I will just have to wait another month before this part of my blog gets answered!
How wonderful it is to find abundant confirmation that I am to go on this trip. How wonderful it is that even strangers can stir up my anticipation of what will be a difficult yet glorious trip of a lifetime, meeting some dear people and, as strangers to them ourselves, encourage their hearts! God is kind.
I spoke of a camping incident where Carrie and I purchased some chicken fried steak at Costco and ate it while camping thinking it was amazing, only to return home to make it and be thoroughly disappointed. The point? It was the ambiance of consuming it in that place, the magic of the being there that made both experiences so incredibly delectable!! So, while Cheri Pixlay (the wife of the couple we will be visiting with) speaks so wonderfully of the coffee there, I am yet blessed to have another person affirm the same and now am awaiting the experience for myself. Will it be so built up that I experience the ultimate cafe let down? I'll let you know when we are there. Guess you and I will just have to wait another month before this part of my blog gets answered!
How wonderful it is to find abundant confirmation that I am to go on this trip. How wonderful it is that even strangers can stir up my anticipation of what will be a difficult yet glorious trip of a lifetime, meeting some dear people and, as strangers to them ourselves, encourage their hearts! God is kind.
Tuesday, February 16, 2010
Additional Funding if God Wills
Thank you to all who have helped me raise all my expenses for the trip. If God is laying on your hearts to continue participate financially, there is one more 'thing' I think He wants me to bring...a small sound system ($700) that would bless the missionary couple there. If God wants me to provide that for them He will send the money. Do as He leads you sending it to New Heights Community Church 10701 N. Magnolia Ave. 92071 earmarked for sound system. Thanks! It is tax deductible.
Introducing Our Team
"Dobar Dan" (dough-bar don)!
Good day! We are indeed gearing up towards our trip to Croatia and slowly, ever so slowly, I am working on learning the language. Croatian (Hrvatski) has many sounds we do not have in our language and some of the guttural sounds are challenging at best. I wanted to send you all a photo of our team and hope that you will continue to pray for us as we prepare and then head out from Los Angeles March 12th. As with many such trips, there are many unknowns. As we head out, we are confident that God has unique and challenging tasks for us to undertake, many of which will develop while we are there. How often it is that we make plans for tomorrow and they don’t happen as we thought? What I find amazing is the diversity and skills each member brings to our team!
Brian, our pastor was once a paramedic, is very handy in construction with a plethora of practical skills and a compassionate, servants heart.
His wife Eileen is a Registered Nurse, has a beautiful singing voice, and connects with people in caring and meaningful ways with compassion as well.
Stuart, a high school student has musical talent as well and will be bringing a djembe with us to add percussion to our times of worship. He too has a spirit of graciousness and friends of all ages.
Lauren, another high school student, is the daughter of Julie, creative and enthusiastic about learning the language and being available to the people we will be meeting. She has an endearing and caring heart as well and loves kids.
Julie is our Children’s Pastor and has a heart for teaching kids and anyone about Jesus, leading a club on one of our local public elementary school campuses in Santee. Her sweet joyful spirit in the midst of difficulty will be appreciated by the team.
Lauri is director of our preschool and she too has a love for integrating scripture and life lessons into young, developing hearts with joy and enthusiasm. Flexible and caring, she too has a heart for people.
Jennifer is our church secretary and extremely gifted in administrative, detail oriented tasks, yet she too connects with people in fun and meaningful ways.
Jeanelle also is detail oriented with practical insights of applied life skills and organization of events. She also has a heart for people and a generous spirit.
Bob has musical talents and is a teacher. He co-leads the GriefShare ministry at New Heights and has a heart for people enduring hardships.
In short, our pastor has told us that he is excited that God has raised up a team of leaders with an diverse group of talents too long to mention here. But most importantly, while we go there to work, our real desire is that we listen, hear and do as our Lord leads us; to be servants to those we are off to meet. For it is caring for people, and not doing tasks that compel us to go. Not that the tasks are unimportant, they are important only as they help others do and see the grace of Christ poured into their lives.
As our time unfolds, it is my hope to keep you updated with a blog or via Facebook if you choose to look me up and be a friend.
Thank you all for your prayers and financial support!
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