Lisbon Zoo

Since we will be moving soon, we are trying to get in all the sites that we have not seen yet in the Lisbon area.  One of those places in the zoo, so we headed out this weekend with some of our good friends and their kids.

The Watch-Tower

"If you told God on your knees that you had reached an impasse and ...were handing it to Him, then leave it with Him.  Do not go to the first christian you meet and say, 'You know, I have an awful problem; I don't know what to do.'  Don't discuss it. Leave it with God, and go on to the watch-tower." 
      - D. Marytn Lloyd-Jones

"I will take my stand at my watchpost and station myself on the tower, and look out to see what he will say to me, and what I will answer concerning my complaint."
Habakkuk 2:1

Accept, Submit, Follow

"Whatever the particular call is,
the particular sacrifice God asks you to make,
the particular cross He wishes you to embrace,
whatever the particular path He wants you to tread,

will you rise up, and say in your heart,
 'Yes, Lord, I accept it; I submit, I yield, I pledge myself to walk in that path, and to follow that Voice,
and to trust Thee with the consequences'?

Oh! but you say,
'I don't know what He will want next.'

No, we none of us know that,
but we know we shall be safe in His hands."

~Catherine Booth

Portuguese Sidewalks

I watched as some men were laying cobblestone sidewalks the other day. It is amazing how they create these wonderful designs. Sometimes it is difficult to see what the design will be; however, these workmen know exactly what the final product should look like. They are very meticulous as they place each stone. It reminded me of how God works in our lives. He takes his time to craft each moment of our lives to create a perfect design.

For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do. Ephesians 2:10

A Vivid Reminder

We live a little outside the city of Lisbon in an area that used to be farms and fields and there are still many signs for that lifestyle.  The other day as we were driving home, guess what we saw crossing the highway?

A shepherd and his flock and they were crossing in the crosswalk!

I must admit the last few weeks have been extremely stressful.  I have returned to full-time language classes (everyday), we have visa renewal  this week (which requires gathering endless documents), I am retaking my language test in 2 weeks, we are still trying to finalize our apartment hunt in Porto via telephone and internet, and then of course the normal everyday tasks (laundry and dishes are always waiting).  I was really beginning to have my own private pity party.  Then this vivid picture of the shepherd and his flock reminded me of the verse in Psalms 23:1  The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want.   I just needed to refocus (that means focus on Him and not me) and let the Lord take care of the details.

God knows I am a visual person and I love it when He demonstrates His promises in such vivid ways.

Salt & Light

I found this devotion at the Daily Encourager (InJesus) and it was so challenging.

Salt and Light

"Salt is good; but if the salt becomes unsalty, with what will you make it salty again? Have salt in yourselves, and be at peace with one another." Matthew 9:50

Some of the characteristics of salt are:

1) It Enhances flavor, adds richness to a otherwise bland food.
2) It Preserves.
3) It Restores balance.

When a person is injured, we pump saline (which is a salt water solution) into them in order to restore balance to their system. The body needs sodium and potassium in order to survive. The nervous system conducts electricity by pumping salt in and potassium out of the cells of your body. Salt is an essential nutrient for the survival of the body.

We, as Christians ARE the body, therefore we need salt in order to survive. We are to be the lifeblood of the church. We can only conduct electricity by getting up and actively pursuing people and sharing our faith.

As Christians, we are called on to be salt and light to the world. We are called to enhance and enrich the lives of others by bringing the love of Christ into an otherwise bland and drab existence. We are called on to preserve the way of Christ; not only to preserve it, but to live it. If we are not living it, we are casting our salt under the feet of others to be trodden and destroyed.

We are called to restore balance to a dying world. We are not able to find peace and balance by our own accord. The only way we can find peace is to call on the name Jesus, Lord and Savior, Prince of Peace, Emanuel, Almighty God. It is when we realize our depravity and the need to have salt to enhance our lives, that we can truly taste and partake in the Salt of the world.

My question is this, are you the salt shaker who sits on the table, happy and content to have the salt sitting there, bound up inside, or are you the person who picks up the salt shaker and shakes the salt into the world?

Carl Holmes
http://www.dailywisdom.com/

Interesting Visit

The pope arrived in Portugal yesterday for a 3 day visit. 

I now attend a school downtown, so as I walked to class yesterday, many of the streets were blocked off, parts of the metro system were closed and the city workers were frantically cleaning the sidewalks and flower beds after an overnight rainstorm.  The streets had never looked so clean!

The pope visited a local famous monestary and then addressed a crowd of 1,000s near the river. We were curious to see what the response of the Portuguese would be.  They turned out in large number to hear him speak, as well as lined the roads to see him pass by in his popemobile.  It was almost a rock-star atmosphere.

The most interesting thing was the conversation that occured in my class today.  I am now in class with 2 franciscan monks from Guinea–Bissau. (Portuguese is the offical language there, but not necessarily the spoken language, so they are here learning proper grammer.)  It was interesting to hear their impressions of the pope's visit and then we discussed some of the differences in our beliefs - very interesting.

I pray for more opportunities to discuss faith and church with these men.

Happy Mother's Day!

We are so blessed! 

 Happy Mother's Day to our mothers Nancy & Diane. 

We love you!

Unexplainable – (Anonymous)

A Mother's love is something

that no on can explain,

It is made of deep devotion

and of sacrifice and pain,

It is endless and unselfish

and enduring come what may
For nothing can destroy it

or take that love away . . .

It is patient and forgiving

when all others are forsaking,

And it never fails or falters

even though the heart is breaking . . .

It believes beyond believing

when the world around condemns,

And it glows with all the beauty

of the rarest, brightest gems . . .

It is far beyond defining,

it defies all explanation,

And it still remains a secret

like the mysteries of creation . . .

A many splendoured miracle

man cannot understand

And another wondrous evidence

of God's tender guiding hand.

The Language God Speaks

The other day I was reading a devotional written by Max Lucado and it really grabbed my attention-I guess because it was written about LANGUAGE!!

"There is no language that God will not speak. Which leads us to a delightful question. What language is He speaking to you? I'm not referring to an idiom or dialect but to the day-to-day drama of your life....
There are times He speaks the "language of abundance." Is your tummy full? Are your bills paid? Got a little jingle in your pocket? Don't be so proud of what you have that you miss what you need to hear. Could it be you have much so you can give much?
Or how about the "language of affliction?" Talk about an idiom we avoid. But you and I both know how clearly God speaks in hospital hallways and sickbeds.
God speaks all languages-including yours....What language is God speaking to you?"  (Max Lucado-He Chose the Nails)