Give a Man a Fish

So if you have been following along, you know that this picture and these words have become my battle cry.

This past week I have been challenged on many levels, misunderstood and again finding myself in uncharted waters.  I have been networking with people from around the world, making connections and having wonderful conversations.  I enjoy being able to connect people and resources, basically to be able help people any way I can.  

A missionary in Asia and I were talking this weekend, how do you talk to people about this new concept of missions.  People are struggling understand developing businesses to support and grow their ministry.  How can we help people understand that providing skills and job opportunities is missions?  What about preaching the gospel?  How do we fund it, how do we talk to people about it?  How do we help people understand that it is not one or the other; but both.

Another missionary friend in Africa posted a saying that we have all heard, "Give a man a fish, and you feed him for a day; show him how to catch fish, and you feed him for a lifetime" -  Point him towards Jesus and he will find eternal life and will thirst and hunger no more."  My response was, "how amazing is it that God is raising up a group of people who are doing both".  God is not just interested in our eternal life, but also interested in every aspect of life here and now.  Otherwise Jesus would not have spent so much time talking about how to treat others as well as how to live out your life. 

Another missionary friend from Central America and I have had this conversation in times past.  Here is the question - there are always more people who need help than there are workers or money to meet the need.  If the money does not increase as the need increases what happens?  If we train people to provide for themselves through the gifts, talents and passions God has put in their heart then they move from needing to be helped to part of the helping team!  How awesome is that?  By training them, teaching them best practices and teaching them to treat their employees like God tells us to; their lives are changed, communities transformed and nations radically impacted for the Kingdom of God!

Most of us are not called to be ordained pastors - sheep, shepherd - you do the math.  Most of us go to jobs or our place of business every day.  We spend most of our waking hours there and develop strong relationships there.  So how do we bring the Kingdom into these places and change our communities and nations for the Kingdom of God; no matter what country we live in?  What is the process to be naturally supernatural in our everyday lives?  I think it starts by not separating the two.  Some of you are naturally gifted to do certain types of business or labor that nobody else can do.  Some of you are gifted to make lots of money to fund the kingdom of God, (Jesus had people who followed Him that paid the bills).  Some of you will invent things, write a book, create wonderful music or art - how can you advance the Kingdom of God through the gifts and talents He has given you?   

I have learned one thing over my journey - people spend time and money in what interest them and what they love.  I know several ministers, counselors  and financial trainers who say show me your check book and cell phone and I can tell you what and who you love.  So I would ask a simple question today - who and what do you love?  Before you answer too quickly - check and see if where you are actually spending your time and money on match up with what and who you say you love.

Blessings as you advance the Kingdom of God where ever you live today.

It's Not About How I Feel

This picture and these words may become my trademark for a while.  I have kept my head down and pushing forward since the last break.   I guess I did not realize how tired I was and how hard I had pushed until this last weekend.  I slept about 10 hours on Saturday.  I am very thankful to be finished with French school and I had my last final at MSSU on Friday. 

Since January I have wrestled through the feelings of it is too hard you should just go home, everyone else has a sending agency but you are all alone, and who do you think you are to do this?  Sometimes the sounds of isolation are almost deafening - but I'm still here!

Now it is time to lift my head up for the next couple of weeks before summer school starts and do some evaluating.  I have been asking God the last couple of days if I am still on the path He has designed for me, am I doing what He wants and investing my time wisely.  Through that discussion I have made some adjustments.

I won't be going back to French school for this next session and I will be writing my first book.  I have almost twenty pages written and I am very excited and apprehensive all at the same time.  I have never written a book before so this is a whole other first for me.  There are many things that I want to say and I know that there are more books to come.  So as I am writing I am also studying how to put together and publish a book. 

On another front, God has been unpacking the whole area of finances with me this past couple of months.  He is showing me my trust on some levels and but my lack of trust in others.  He loves that I am willing to blindly go if I think He says go and now He wants to expand on that.   I have always been a person who could take care of herself.  If money was tight I could always find a job - always even when other people could not.  This time I am in France.  I do not have a work visa so I cannot go to work here.  I am completely dependent on God.  In the past I have thought that I was depending on Him, and on a certain level of understanding I was.   I always depended on Him to find me that job and He did.  I feel like now He wants me to go deeper and is really establish some deeper foundations of trust in Him alone.

Having said all that, the reality is I do not have rent money for this month or money to pay for my classes for the last month.  I have never been here before.  I am at a place where I am completely dependent on God.  I know that He is working things out of me in the area of finances and complete trust in Him.  I have such confident trust in Him in so many areas.   I have cried many tears over what He is showing me. I have asked and asked why this one area is so hard. Some of it has to do with how I was brought up and some of it to do with my past, some of it is just my own "stinkin thinkin" as Joyce Meyers says.   I think we all struggle in some areas more than others, but God in His mercy will teach us if we will let Him take us through the hard places of our own wrong thinking.  

There have been weeks when I had no money to buy groceries and He wanted to know if I could be thankful and praise Him anyway. I didn't have money for the bus, could I praise Him anyway.  My feet and legs hurt from walking so much, can I praise Him anyway?  My couch is broken and has a big sink hole in the middle where I sit and sleep - can I praise Him anyway?  Other missionaries got cars and bikes, could I praise Him anyway?  He continues to strip more and more attitudes, opinions, perceptions and strongholds out of me.

A few years ago I had some prophetic words spoken over me several times over a period of about three years.  Each time it was exactly the same words spoken by women from different countries "pack your bags, don't unpack your bags."  I am still not sure what they all mean, but I think now He is stripping more out of me so that I can travel light in the spirit. 

I feel like He keeps telling me not to worry that He's got this.  In my heart there is peace, it is keeping my head out of it that is the problem.  Thank you to my precious family and friends who have prayed for me, encouraged me and sent your finances to help fill in the gaps.  Thanks for letting me share and for all of you who are reading along with me as I continue to journey.  You will be able to read more about the journey in the books that follow.  It will be interesting to see how God works this out as my trust goes even deeper in Him. I am forever thankful that He not only loves me as I am, but that He loves me too much to leave me as I am. 

This was my devotional study this morning and I was reminded that God always knows right where we are and what we are going through. He gives us sweet promises to encourage us to move on with Him.   But the godly will flourish like palm trees and grow strong like the cedars of Lebanon.  For they are transplanted into the Lord's own house. They flourish in the courts of our God.  Even in old age they will still produce fruit; they will remain vital and green.  They will declare, "The Lord is just!  He is my rock! There is nothing but goodness in Him!"  Psalm 92:12-15