Hard Days

"Sacrifice thank offerings to God, fulfill your vows to the Most High, and call upon me in the day of trouble; I will deliver you, and you will honor me."  Psalm 50:14-15

This morning started beautifully.  I love the way the sun makes the flowers behind the house glow like rubies.  Psalm 50 was reminding me to bring a sacrifice of praise to the Lord and to call on Him in the midst of packing chaos.  No matter how many time we move, it never gets easier and I never, ever like it any better.



I grabbed Aaron's parallel Bible and flipped to my favorite passage about praise being a sacrificial offering - Hebrews 13:15-16, this time I read from The Message instead of my usual NIV:  ...pouring out sacrificial praises from our lips to God in Jesus' name.  Make sure you don't take things for granted and go slack in working for the common good; share what you have with others.  God takes particular pleasure in acts of worship -- a different kind of "sacrifice" -- that take place in the kitchen and workplace and on the streets.



Our children have been a fabulous part of Team Choate.  Olivia hung up laundry (the last of the village sheets!), Sara worked on mending, and Benjamin went over to the ERC to finish some loose ends for me on the computer.  Katherine sweetly helped wherever she could.  They all went out to play basketball during their normal PE time, and when they came in, offering a sacrifice of praise got harder and harder.

First, Sarah informed me that she had experienced another heart "episode".  Thank you, Jesus, that she is okay and that I was typing with a prayer partner and had immediate access to an "Aaron and Hur" kind of friend.  Then, Benjamin came in and said that his glasses had been busted by a basketball hitting him in the side of the head.  Sigh.  Thank you, Lord, that Benjamin isn't hurt.  I praise you for strong, healthy bodies with hands willing and able to work.



Aaron had been in town all morning, and when he returned, he brought God's blessings along with him.  Sarah made banana bread for us to share with a Lavukal family who lives full-time in Honiara.  When Aaron went to deliver the bread this morning, he found three friends from Marulaon at the house, too!  We'll all be going back on the ship together on Sunday.



Aaron also swung by the post office and found some boxes waiting for us.  Today was the last day we could have picked them up before leaving for the village.  Our sweet sending church, Highland Heights Baptist Church in Memphis, sent a couple of boxes.  These weren't just any boxes.



Every year we have been overseas, this small but generous church has sent our children Operation Christmas Child boxes for Christmas, plus a few other goodies for the whole family.  And God's timing is always perfect, especially with snail mail.  He knew that today I would need help finding things that were, in my mind, worthy of praise and thanksgiving.  I think the way I expressed my feelings at lunch went something like this:  "I want to run screaming from the house and jump on the first plane headed to America."



 Not only did we receive love in a box from Memphis, but a thoughtful friend from Florida also sent a care package (thanks, Judy!).  When God sent showers of blessings, He sent a deluge!



Hebrews 13 got me started off right this morning, and I think I'll be camping out there for the next few days.  God's Word prepared my heart for the hard day ahead.  The next few days, weeks, months promise to be hard.  Hebrews 13:18 says, "Pray for us.  We have no doubts about what we're doing or why, but it's hard going and we need your prayers.  All we care about is living well before God." 

 I've printed this from A Holy Experience as a bookmark to encourage me through the hard days, too.  Huge thanks to those of you who do such a great job of encouraging me and my family across the ocean!