Rainey Days

Okay, men can read it, too; they just might not be as interested. I just finished a book last night on the plane home to MD, and ever since I started reading it, I've been thinking about mentioning it on the blog. The book, Lies Women Believe , by Nancy Leigh DeMoss caught my eye months ago in the Christian bookstore. I was searching for some new reading material while I was at home on furlough, and I figured it would be interesting. The author takes approximately twenty major lies that women believe and responds with Truth from scripture, as well as dozens of anecdotes from women who applied the Truth to their lives and saw minor changes to major miracles. The lies center from the Fall of Man, when the serpent tempted Eve by lying to her. Starting with lies about God, the author then exposes lies about ourselves, marriage and children, emotions, and more daily, practical issues. I found myself very convicted about several of the lies that she mentions. Its easy to see how ...

So far, visiting my friends here in GA has been a ton of fun! John and Jenn have three adorable little girls: Emily, Anna, and Abigail. They have been very excited to host me in their house, and I've gotten to see all manner of stuffed animals, baby dolls, and "princess" parephenalia. Last night Emily and Anna were very pleased to ride in "my car" (the rental one) instead of with their parents on the way home from church. The service I did yesterday morning in Perry, GA was great. The church there is only four years old and they are in a building project, so there was a lot of enthusiasm in the congregation. I enjoyed being a part of their incredible worship, and afterward they took me to a peach packing plant for lunch. That's right! There is a soup and sandwich restaurant in the plant, along with a nice gift shop with all sorts of peach stuff. Yum. Last night I was a little nervous to speak in John and Jenn's church. I don't know why. ...

In a few short hours, I'm flying down to Macon, GA (via Atlanta) to speak in two churches tomorrow. John and Jennifer Dougherty, great friends and colleagues from my Jerusalem days, have invited me to stay with them for a quick little visit while I speak at their church and another church not too far away. It's been YEARS since I've seen my friends; I was trying to remember back, and I think it was 2001 when I saw them last. They've added more children to their family since then, so I'll get to meet new little Doughertys today when I arrive. I'm very excited about this trip, both personally and professionally. This trip marks the furthest I've ever gone to preach while itinerating. I'm kind of nervous, actually, about how different the churches will be in Georgia, and me being such a Yankee in their eyes!

Within the last week or two, I've begun studying Galatians; years ago, someone I respected mentioned a study he'd done of the Pauline epistles in order of their writing. He said that he focused on the changes in Paul himself based on his writings: how did he view himself? How did he view the gospel? How did he view the world around him? With those questions, my friend started in Galatians and ended in II Timonthy. I've always wanted to do that, and never really did, so with the new year starting, I decided to give it a try. What's interesting is that sometimes I read my Bible for me and at other times, I read it for other people. What I mean is: I read it looking for answers to questions that other people ask. Most often, those questions come from Muslims. I try to read my Bible in anticipation of how I could use the Scripture to explain Christianity or to make a certain point about faith in Christ. When I started reading Galatians, I was reading it for me with ...

Every Sunday I get the chance to meet new people or have new experiences, as I travel to different churches to preach or present my mission information. I love, love, love it! I like meeting new people and seeing new places. Last night I learned that Bealeton, Virginia recently added their third stoplight in town, and that kind of arcane information makes me understand that area of central Virginia a little better. When I drive through town, I wonder about the type of people I'll meet at the church, what their style of worship will be, and more. I was even more interested than usual in Liberty AG in Bealeton, because I had a personal investment in that church. Five years ago, at the district "day of prayer," I was in a small prayer circle with Wes Shortridge. He asked that we pray for his new church plant in Bealeton that was about to open; I asked that he pray for my missionary efforts. Rolling into town last night, I was really curious about this church that I...

I'm sitting in a hotel room in Exton, PA enjoying every last morsel of a turkey "grinder" from Bob's Deli, which is conveniently located across from Valley Forge Christian College. When I was a student there (way too many years ago), a turkey grinder was my favorite treat. Since I am going a missions chapel service at VFCC tomorrow morning, I gave myself permission to get dinner at Bob's Deli. I'm looking forward to being in chapel tomorrow; it's always a joy to come back to this area. I have so many memories from my college days, and I feel honored to be back on the campus as a guest. Exciting news: I've picked up a bit of support this past month, and I feel very encouraged about that. I hope this largesse continues!

Yesterday I was on the Eastern Shore with two services in Berlin at the Ocean City Worship Center and a service in Pocomoke at Glad Tidings Assembly of God. When I made these bookings, I was pretty happy with my scheduling coup--two Eastern Shore churches right in a row saves me from having to make long trips again on more inconvenient days. However, that meant I had six hours to kill between the two services. I planned ahead and brought stuff to work on. January weather meant that I wouldn't get to enjoy the beach at all, and most businesses are closed for the winter. But I figured that I could park myself at the Starbucks in West Ocean City with my laptop to work for a while. But my plans had an unexpected change. On Saturday night, the folks who hosted me mentioned that there were Palestinians living in Ocean City, working at Subway restaurant. I was intrigued and made a mental note to get the details about which Subway before I left town. Then, after the first service a...

Which came first? The chicken or the egg? This age-old question came to mind today while I was having a deep discussion with a few other missionaries and the Potomac District secretary/treasurer, Ken Burtram. The question was posed: why are so many missionaries struggling to raise their budgets? We mentioned that it seemed unlikely that churches are out of money, since other church ministries continue to run smoothly. We determined that the idea of world missions is perhaps not as much of a priority as it once was. After all, ours was a fellowship that declared it would "send forth the greatest missionary force that the world has ever known" when it formed in 1914. The whole point of this fledging fellowship was to reach the uttermost parts of the earth. Somewhere, somehow that zeal seems to have cooled. Unfortunately, many churches don't even give 10% of their budget to missions; some don't even spend 10% for evangelism of any kind!* But as we discussed this ...

I hope that all of you were able to enjoy a wonderful holiday season this year. I know that I certainly did! After several years of being away from my family, I was thrilled to watch my nieces open their gifts on Christmas; on New Year's Eve, I got to party with some other young adults from my home church, folks I grew up with years ago. We had a lot of fun playing games and telling funny stories. But, alas, one cannot party through life, and today was back to work for me! I was somewhat behind on communication, because of the holiday break, so I applied myself to catching up all morning. This afternoon, my sister helped me with a creative project: homemade thank you cards. I didn't really want to go out and buy more boxed sets of cards, which are either too cheap (looking) or too expensive to buy. I figured I had enough scrapbooking tools to make my own, and it gave me a chance to spend quality time with my sister, who lives to do such projects with me! All in all, a ...