Hey Everyone!

 Just a quick post to let you know, we are trying to update and revamp this page. So, if things keep changing or things disappear for a little while...bear with us! We're working to get it all fixed and official! :) The posts we've previously added will not change, so please continue to come and read them! We are looking forward to great things on the blog this year! Thank you! 

In Christ, Elizabeth & Anna 

~YOU MATTER~

You matter to God! 

Think on that for just a minute. God, the all mighty Creator, in all of His Greatness, Glory, and Majesty, loves you with so great a love no man can understand! Think back with me to Creation; God merely spoke, and there was light, again He spoke, and dry land appeared, plants, fish, birds, mammals, stars, planets, sun, moon, all by the word of His mouth were they created. Then when it came man’s turn to be created, He stopped everything. The Almighty God stooped down into the dirt, and carefully with His hands molded, and fashioned man into His likeness. Then, He did something completely different than He had done with the rest of creation, He breathed into his nostrils the breath of life. We are so distinctly different from everything else God created! We are the crowning glory of His creation! You and I are so very special to him!

Psalms 139:15-17 describes how special we are to Him,

“15. My substance was not hid from thee, when I was made in secret, and curiously wrought in the lowest parts of the earth. 

16. Thine eyes did see my substance, yet being unperfect; and in thy book all my members were written, which in continuance were fashioned, when as yet there was none of them.

17. How precious also are thy thoughts unto me, O God! how great is the sum of them!” 

            He has a book in heaven, were He has all of your body parts written down! The color of your eyes and hair, your height, your weight, your skin color, it’s all in that book! You were custom made! You are one of a kind young lady! And not only does He have a book written about you, but also He thinks about you so often there is no way to count!  

           What amazes me is that, even after all of the thought and love He put in to making us, we humans still turn our backs on Him, we still blame Him for the bad things that happen in the world, we get mad at Him because he didn’t make us taller, or with blue eyes, or because He put us in the family that He did. What’s even more amazing is that after all of our ungratefulness, He still sent His only Son to die a cruel death, so that we, ungrateful, despising, wicked, humans could live with Him for eternity!! If that isn’t a huge picture of how much He loves you and me, I don’t know what is. 

Not only did He make each of us with care, and sent His Son to die for us, He also placed us in this beautiful world! I think we sometimes take the world around us for granted. We are so used to seeing the same things every day, that we’ve become callused to the beauty that surrounds us. Look outside your window. Just stare up at those huge, puffy, lovely clouds! Look at the different colored leaves falling from the trees. Listen to all of those varying species of birds whistling. Smell the fragrance of the flowers, but don’t just smell them, take a close look at the intricate detail God put in each petal. Think of all of the activities we as humans can enjoy. We can go swimming at the beach, we can ski off of snow-capped mountains, we can ride horses through meadows, go hunting, fishing, bird watching, mountain climbing, we can enjoy sports like volley ball, football, basketball, baseball, we can go snorkeling and see the variety of fish in the sea, we can enjoy watching the clouds and the sky in the horizon turn flamboyant colors as the sun is rising or setting. Our heavenly Father added all of that to creation for us to enjoy. So don’t spend your time being depressed! There is so much to see, so much to live for in this gorgeous world the Lord has so graciously placed us in!  He loves you more than anything!! His greatest desire is for you to get to know Him better, and for you to live in eternity with Him! Get to know this loving God better! Learn about Him! He’s amazing! Don’t let anyone tell you that you aren’t loved! You are very loved; by God and by us! You matter! May God bless you and give you a Fantastic week!   

~Anna~

DON'T QUIT

Have you ever done something and wondered "Is it even worth it?" or even want to quit? 

I'm going to step out of my comfort zone and be transparent with you today. I'm a church pianist. I LOVE being the pianist at my church, it's a blessing in several different ways, and I just enjoy myself doing it. I love piano. But, I'll be honest and say, sometimes I don't love it so much and I don't necessarily "enjoy" it {Gasp!! Yes, I really just said that} sometimes I find myself thinking "Is it even worth it?" (I know, it's terrible of me. Go ahead and judge ;)

When this happens there is something I need to remember. And that is...Why am I doing it? I'm not doing it for people or praise, I'm doing it for The Lord. I'm doing it to honor and glorify Him. Not others. I'm doing it because HE put me here to do it. I'm human, there will be times I don't do everything perfect, there will be times I can't please everyone and do things exactly as they'd like it. And that's ok. What's important is that I'm doing my best. 

So when I start to get upset because I feel inadequate, or I get overwhelmed because I can't do everything just PERFECT or make *Everyone* happy...I need to step back and remember, I'm doing this for the Lord. I truly believe that this is what the Lord wants me to do. He has called me to do this, and I'm going to do it to the best of my ability. 

Have you ever felt discouraged in the ministry or something else that you do? Don't quit!! Just keep trucking on for the Lord! 

Galatians 6:9

"And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not." 

Ecclesiastes 9:10 

"Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with thy might..." 

Colossians 3:23 

"And whatsoever ye do, do it heartily, as to the Lord, and not unto men." 

•God doesn't call the qualified, he qualifies the called• 

I hope this was a blessing to you in some way! God Bless! ❤️

{<Elizabeth>}

{Life in Brazil}

Stranger- “Hi there! Where are you from?”

Me-“Hahaha well, that depends.” 

Stranger- “‘That depends’? You don’t know where you’re from?”

Me- “Well, when I’m in America I’m from Alabama, but when I’m in Brazil I’m from Minas Gerais!”

Stranger- *Awkwardly stares* 

Yep, that basically sums up how almost every conversation starts with a missionary kid. Do I hate it? Hahaha no, I love it!  My parents have been missionaries in Brazil for 31 years now. I’ve had the privilege to be born and raised on the mission field. I have loved every minute of it! The Lord has allowed us to do so many fun and crazy things, all the way from jumping off of waterfalls, to building tree houses, to having pet monkeys and toucans, to riding horses to church! You see, we’ve lived on a farm for most of my life, and at our farm over the years we’ve had horses, cows, chickens, dogs, monkeys, green parots, toucans, we even had an armadillo for a short time. When I was little my brothers used to run after the monkeys and chase them into our house and trap them in the bathroom so they would be easier to catch. After we caught them we would put them in cages and they would then become our pets.  Our toucans were lots of fun. They were very playful! We would put little balls in their cages and they would get them and throw them up in the air then catch them again with their large beaks. Even meal time is a game to them. They get the fruit, and throw it up into the air then open their beaks up wide and let it fall in, and down their throat. We had both the monkeys and the toucans for a while until it became illegal to keep them in cages. We then had to release them. But the monkeys still play in our trees, and every once in a while the toucans fly over our farm.  

The current farm that we have now is actually an answer to prayer! We had been renting a farm on the far side of town, and were looking for a place to buy so we wouldn’t have to pay rent anymore. We had been praying for a while, and one day a man from our church told us that he knew of a man that was wanting to sell his farm. The man and his wife were getting a divorce and he was willing to sell the farm for a lot cheaper then any of the other farms we had looked at. Another blessing was that the farm was closer to town, it was right by the main highway (so easy access). It not only had a four bedroom house, but also had a large building on the property which they had used as a restaurant for a while. It was perfect for what we wanted to use the farm for! Every year Brazil has a week long celebration called “Carnaval”. I guess you could say its like Mardi Gras in America. It’s a wicked time of the year!  To get the church people away from the city and the wickedness that goes on, we have camp during that week of the year. We invite churches from all over the country to participate with us! It’s definitely one of my favorite times of the year! Behind the large building that we use as a lunch room/ tabernacle, there was another building which we used as a girls dorm. We also built another building for the boys dorm.  Not only did the farm have those large buildings, it also had a soccer field, a pond, a barn, an orchard, and other large fields! It was the perfect place for God’s work!  One whole month before camp, we start preparing by cleaning all of the buildings, mowing all of the grass, preparing games, food,  and most importantly praying for God to do a great work that week. During the week we have preaching every morning and evening, bible games, skits, sports (like swimming, soccer, volleyball, etc.), and games (like water balloon fights, tug-of-war across a mud pit, capture the flag, flourball fights, etc.). It’s lots of fun! For the past four years we have had so many people attend the night services that we have had to hold the services out side, because there were too many people to fit in the building! God has certainly been blessing! Our goal for the future is to build bigger and better buildings to accommodate more people, and hold more camps, retreats, training sessions for young men and young women, pastors meetings, etc. more times of the year! This type of thing is so needful in todays day and age! Please help us pray that the Lord would provide the money and the labor that we might be able to do those things; not so we would be glorified, but that He might be glorified through our ministry! We’ve been holding camps, youth meetings, and retreats at our farm for the past 14 years! It is definitely one of my favorite ministries to help out with!!

Another one of my favorite ministries, is working with the children! Years ago, when my dad was the pastor at our church in the city of Formiga, he talked with the mayor in town, and asked if we could use one of the local schools to hold a children’s Bible club (Awana- or as it’s called in Portuguese “Oanse” ) on Saturdays, and he allowed! We had an old suburban that we would load up with kids every Saturday and take them to that school and we would have all sorts of different games in the gym, then we would separate the different ages into different class rooms where we would have the songs, bible verse, and bible story time! The kids loved it! It was the highlight of their week! Many children were saved, then their families were saved, and now lots of them are members at our church! Two of the kids that came and got saved are now grown and help out with the music at our church. Another girl that came and got saved, is grown and is a pastors wife, and another girl that was saved is now the youth pastors wife in neighboring city. Another young man who also got saved is now the right arm of the current pastor at the church in Formiga! Some of the families that got saved through Awana are now faithful workers and members at our church. It’s so rewarding to see all that the Lord has done through a “simple” little Bible club! Don’t ever underestimate what the Lord can do through your life in what ever ministry he has put you in! Invest your life for eternity and you will not return empty handed! 

Hope y’all enjoyed this post, and I hope it was a blessing to someone in some way!

~Anna~

Monkey and Toucan from Brazil... (The picture of the Toucan was taken by my eldest brother)

 The Farm that the Lord gave us: Picture taken from the air...

 Night service during one of the camps / and next picture is the children's Bible club...

Standards vs Convictions

Hey everyone! I thought today we would talk about/explain something that can be kind of confusing...The difference between a 'Standard' and a 'Conviction'

Many thanks to my dad who helped me with this post, and explained the difference to me! 

Let's get started! Let's first look at the definitions of each one:

Conviction- "An unshakeable belief in something without need for proof or evidence" (Wordbook Dictionary) A conviction is a belief...a decision I have made about a subject based on the knowledge that I have on that specific subject. (This includes secular and Biblical knowledge, as well as spiritual discernment.) For the Christian, a conviction is generally based on Biblical principle, and not on direct precept. 

*Precept-an actual law, for example: "Thou shalt not steal." Enough said. 

*Principle-explained by law, for example: Don't Smoke. There is no direct commandment given to not smoke, but the established principle..."your body is a temple..." (Found in 1 Corinthians 6:19-20) 

Standard-"Established or well-known or widely recognized as a model of authority." (Wordbook Dictionary) A standard is a Biblical precept or rule that we are expected to keep. God gives us clearly defined rules of behavior, (precepts) and we use those as our basis for social life. "Thou shalt not..." or "Go ye..."

As example of this, let's look at how we dress. When we are discussing how we should dress, it must be the understood that styles of clothing have changed dramatically in the past few thousand years-but we have been given specific precepts and principles that should guide us in our dressing habits. 

For instance..."Thou shalt make them linen breeches to cover their nakedness; from the loins even unto the thighs they shall reach..." (Exodus 28:42) While there is no verse that says "Thou shalt not wear mini-skirts..." There IS a Biblical principle that shows us that the baring of the thigh is considered nakedness. The thigh is referring to your whole thigh bone, going from your hip to your knee. So from this we can gather that our dress should not include things that would bare the thigh. This would be considered a conviction that is based on Biblical principle and not direct command. 

Whereas, an example for a Standard would be..."Thou shalt not steal" or "Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain." There are no if's, and's, or but's about it, the Lord said "Thou shalt not..." That is a standard, clearly defined.

I hope this helped you see the difference between the two, I know it helped me! Have a blessed week!❤️

{🎀Elizabeth🎀}

~Friendship~

What kind of friend are you? 

My last devotional was on Daniel and the decision that he had to make. This week I’d like to take another lesson from the book of Daniel to share with you all. Reading through the book of Daniel, I found that a lot of his success was because of his friends. In Daniel chapter two, King Nebuchadnezzar had a weird dream, but when he woke up he forgot what his dream was about. This really bothered him, so he called in all of his wise men, the Chaldeans, magicians, astrologers, and sorcerers to see if they could tell him what he had dreamed and what it meant. Of course they were not able to tell him what he had dreamed, and they were definitely not able to tell him the meaning of the dream.The king furiously ordered that all of the wise men should be put to death. Daniel heard the order, and quickly requested that the king not kill those men, but instead give him some time to see if the Lord would show him the dream and the interpretation of it. What was the next thing Daniel did?  He went to his house and told his friends what had happened and asked them to pray. By this we see that, first of all, Daniel had loyal friends who would stop everything they were doing to pray for him. Second, we see that they had a walk with God. Daniel knew that they had a connection with the Lord and he needed their prayer support right then. He needed them to get ahold of God and plead on his behalf. 

Are you that kind of friend? Do you have those kinds of friends? As the story continues to unfold, we see the Lord answer their prayers just in time, giving Daniel both the dream and the interpretation. Daniel then headed over to the kings palace, and humbly told him everything. Being exceedingly thankful, the king made Daniel a great man (rich), gave him many gifts, and set him over the whole province of Babylon. Most of us know that as the end of the story, but its not! The last verse of Daniel chapter two says “Then Daniel requested of the king, and he set Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, over the affairs of the province of Babylon: but Daniel sat in the gate of the king.” Daniel could have taken all of the credit for the interpretation, but he knew that he owed it all to the Lord and to his friends. He basically told the king, “Ok, its fine if you want to raise me up and make me great and all, but you need to make my friends great too. They did the greatest part by praying, so how about if we set them over the affairs of the province of Babylon?”  The Bible doesn’t say he said it like that, but thats how I have imagined that the conversation went. 

So let’s recap. Are you being, and do you have the types of friends that:

1. Have a close walk with the Lord.

2. Would be there when you need them most.

3. Have a prayer life, and pray for you often.

And last but not least, are you being the friend that:

4.  Takes all the credit for something done? Or do you make sure that others rise with you?

Going back to the question at the start: What kind of friend are you?

<Anna>  

On Purpose, and With a Purpose.

On Purpose, and With a Purpose.

“…he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.” (Hebrews 11:6)

Most Christians either treat God like a genie in a bottle that they can rub and get their wishes, or they treat Him like Santa; they want to sit on His lap and give Him their wish list. They list out the things they want or want to happen in their lives—most of which are self-seeking. But neither of these describe what God is, nor is that how He works. If we are to seek the Lord diligently in prayer, we must first understand what prayer is, and what God expects from our prayer life. 

When the Disciples asked Christ to teach them to pray in Luke 11, He gave them a model prayer; it covered several specific areas…

1.      He expects reverence (Hallowed be thy name…)

2.      He expects us to be focused on His will (Thy kingdom come…)

3.      He is interested in our NEEDS, not wants (our daily bread…) Not donuts

4.      He expects us to be interested in showing grace, like He does to us (… forgive every one)

5.      He expects us to be interested in finding the exits from temptation, not excuses to sin (lead us not into temptation; but deliver us from evil)

So then, what does it mean to seek Him, and how do we do it diligently?

To do something diligently means we do it On Purpose, and With a Purpose. Not flippantly and haphazardly, but with a serious effort.

I remember when Matthew was young, I would have him go look for his shoes. Matt would look around—on the ceiling, on his bed, on top of the toy box… he wasn’t diligently seeking his shoes, he was just wasting time looking around, pretending that he was looking.

So, we must ask ourselves; is that our prayer life? Are we diligently seeking God, or are we pretending?

When we are diligently seeking Him, it means that we have an intentional prayer life. Not only that we come to Him with reverence, but also with the boldness that, as the children of God, we can have since we are assured that He cares for us, and wants what is best for us.

If we ever expect to get answers from God, we must be seeking Him—on purpose and with a purpose.

“Satan does not care how many people read about prayer if only he can keep them from praying.”

― Paul E. Billheimer

-Written By Guest Poster: Steve C. Roberts