JOY

December already! When I think over the past year, I am just amazed at the Lord's provision and the grace He poured out in our lives each day...good days and difficult ones. One thing that the Lord impressed upon my heart this year is how to have JOY. I'm sure many of you have heard the saying that JOY is putting Jesus first, than Others, and then You. But isn't it so true?
To live, we must die. To get, we must give. Whoever loves their life will lose it, whoever loses their life will find it. So very opposite to what Satan and this world tell us.
I know many people comment about how wonderful it is that we are serving here or bringing up all these children. How wonderful it is to see the children working and serving together ect...
But one thing we have never wanted is for someone to think that we are "special".
When I say that I am so undeservedly blessed, I truly mean it. I marvel that the Lord chooses to allow me to serve Him here. I don't know why he chose to give me so many precious little lives to rear. Daniel and I both have so many faults. When we work with what some think of as the "truly lost sinner"...ones who have never known the Lord, who drink or take drugs each day, who leave their wives to be with others ect..., we truly feel for them. We know how it is to have our hearts heavy with sin and guilt and the sheer joy of forgiveness! We so want them to know and love the Savior as we do!
Our children too...as much as I love them and and sweet as they can be...are just like their mommy and daddy...sinners in need of a Savior. And for as many days as we all work well together and they sweetly play and help together, there are just as many days when I think to myself and remind them, tomorrow is another day...God's mercies are new every morning! Lots of love, patience, dicipline, instruction, training, and praise...All Day Long!
I am very selfish so often. While I may do what needs to be done, often, in my heart, I would rather be doing something else. I have thought how much easier or happier I would be if I only had time to do this or that, if I could only sleep a bit more, if I could only eat my meal when it is hot just once ect...
And do you know what? I have sadly gotten these things. I say sadly not because it is wrong to do something I want, or sleep in, or eat my meal when it is hot, but because of they way I got them. By "mentioning" these things to Daniel in a "sweet" way. How I complain in my heart sometimes! And then when Daniel feels badly and gives me "what I deserve"...do you know what? The happiness that comes from them is FAR less than I anticipated.
What the Lord has shown me this year is the joy of serving. When I choose, with His neverending grace, to put my desires away, and look for ways to joyfully serve all those around me, I am SOOOO HAPPY! In fact, I have MORE energy and often times seem to be given those special blessings that I truly don't deserve, but the Lord gives anyways. He knows when I need more sleep. He knows when I maybe need to be up thinking and praying as I rock a fussy baby. Daniel is so much happier too when I am joyfully serving him and my family without even a word of wishing it were otherwise. And the Lord truly honors obedience I believe. As I choose to obey and serve, my heart just LOVES it!

Yesterday, Daniel came back from preaching in Jesus Maria. He looked so tired and I know he's burdened that they will not come to Christ. They continue to faithfully come to hear the preaching and it seems some want to believe, but just aren't sure. Please keep praying for them. We will be taking some of the Christmas Shoeboxes out to the village with us next week.
I'm praying I'll be able to go too. I've been having some more problems with the pregnancy this week again. Daniel is calling down to La Paz today and schedule an appt. with the doctor there. I am comforted just to know so many of you are praying.

I'll close with some pictures of the past few days. Here is our new trantula that the boys brought back with them from the village yesterday. Isn't he a beauty?

Here was my soup pot turned into trantula home with our two furry, creeping, crawling pets :)

The children continue to work away at their school work each day. With the pregnancy complications and just normal morning sickness, we've gotten a bit behind schedule, but we're plugging away :) Daniel is putting in book shelves to hold all our homeschool supplies! They are so wonderful!

Here's a sneak peek of the manger scene the children are making this week. Beka's working on "blow drying" the glue from one of her wisemen...who weren't actually at the manger...but we are making them anyways and they can be placed in some far distant land :)

Okay...this is really fuzzy, but I had the strangest thing happen the other day and wanted to just put this out here to caution others. That is a picture of my very burnt arm. The other night, I was heating some water in a mug in the microwave. When the timer went off, I reached in to grab the handle of the mug. As soon as I touched it, the water literally exploded everywhere. The force was so great it threw the cup out of my hand (which thankfully didn't break as it was my favorite mug...I say "was" because Susannah accidently dropped it yesterday). After running water over my arm, I looked up online to try to find out what had happened. Apparently, it is very rare, but sometimes, in really clean smooth cups especially, the water get's superheated and yet the bubbles don't rise to the surface like they normally do when they boil. So the water is actually hotter than boiling and once the cup is slightly disturbed (me grabbing it) that water instantly releases all that energy and explodes.

Well, Daniel laughs at me now when I heat up water in the microwave and first poke the cup with a wooden spoon at a distance before grabbing it :)