Bits November

One more month to raise our support and it is definitely do-able! Several hundred dollars of monthly support commitment came in this past month as well as our accounts getting a good boost from all our faithful supporters and from some churches we visited. We now need around $460 a month and $12000 (this was at around 19k a couple months ago) in one time amounts. As long as the exchange rate stays where it has been lately, that one time amount has gone down some. It will depend mainly on how our moving goes and how much we can get a good car for. 

We spoke at Calvary Baptist in Red Bank, TN this last month. We really enjoyed that and it is neat to see how the Lord is blessing that church. I did run that marathon earlier this month and did not die somehow! It was really hard, but praise the Lord I finished. 

This next month we will be speaking in one small group meeting and then work on raising the rest of our support. Praise the Lord for the providential meetings He has given us so far. Two people this past month said they had given because it was obvious that God had brought us together. Please consider either giving a one time gift this month or pray about being a monthly supporter! We know that there are many who are praying as well and we appreciate you all so much!

Please pray also as we apply for Anna Claire's permanent Visa. God bless you all!

All for HIS glory,

David, Sarah, our energetic four year old who is grateful for her family and all her toys, and our crawling, pulling up booger bear that has had a month long runny nose.

Marathon post #5- Completion

I could not believe I crossed the finish line. Maybe that was why I was crying. Yeah. I was crying. That was not the first time that day either. It was the last though, at least for that day. I first cried after mile marker 20 or something like that. My legs were not the most comfortable they had ever been. I am not sure if I did not train enough (cause I thought I had done pretty well) or if my knees are just not marathon knees. Around mile 23 I called my wife who greatly encouraged me, and then I asked to talk to my four year old Evelyn. She said “you can do it daddy, you can do it.” Then I felt the estrogen kick in again and started crying. Now these were not big cries, I think the water in my body was being used elsewhere, but I felt pretty emotional. I asked them for prayer and went on (slowly).

Marathons are just too much about life to not point out some comparisons. There are too many times in life that quitting is an option. Quitting your marriage, your faith, school or vocation may seem like the best option. But it is not. Obstacles are momentary (though those moments seem more like eternity). In the last two days I have talked to a man whose wife had breast cancer, a guy who just went through drug and alcohol rehab and a married man who got a girl pregnant. Each of those situations could result in quitting; easily. Life is not for the faint of heart. 

We must live for so much more than comfort during difficult times. God allows difficulties in our life to mold us into the image of Christ; if we deny that molding process, we deny God’s hand in our lives. 

Saturday I was all set up with my flights to be at my brother’s in the morning and be able to have a nice relaxing day, but fog in Charlotte meant I had to reschedule and wait some. Through that I met a couple people that I know God meant for me to meet. During the marathon it was my plan to run with the Ethiopians up front, but God had me slow down and meet Dave, Dan, Gary, and Peter. God is providentially working in our lives and we can either reject that and get frustrated or accept it and marvel at His goodness. 

At the end of the race I received a medal. But you know, the medal is just a symbol of the completion of the race. I did not run the marathon so I could be honored with a medal. One day we will go before the Bema seat for an account of our life and we will receive a prize. But life is not about the prize; it is about giving God glory; it is about honoring Him. We walk and run, laugh and weep, live and die for His glory. What does God want you to do for His glory and how are you doing? Don’t quit. “Press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God that is in Christ Jesus!”

Encouragement and Man in the Arena

Encouragement is a huge part of running races. Spectators and runners alike are encouraging during the races. Many of you have been very encouraging to me, especially my wife. Last night I was talking to my friend Joe about my nerves going into the marathon. He showed me this quote by Theodore Roosevelt:

“It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat.”

As I eat my pasta and baked potato and drink my gatorade doing my best to be ready for tomorrow, Joe and others have helped me realize that the biggest accomplishment in all this is stepping into the arena. That applies to many areas in life, not just sports. What is daring to you that is out of the ordinary? What preparations/training do you need to make in your journey towards reaching that goal? 

12 more hours!