Greek Olympics!

Studying Ancient Greece ended in a very exciting Olympic competition!

Foot races...to get the correct coloured flag!








Modified tug-of-war and standing long jump.









"Javelin" throw (broom sticks come in handy!),





"chariot" races,


and encouragement cheers were just some of our other events. What a great day! :)

missions

My heart is "burdened" by the incredible physical need of so many people in this world.
It's easy for me to think of missions more along the lines of social justice.
Definitely, doing justice, showing mercy, helping, feeding, loving, clothing, building, etc. are incredibly large parts of our responsibility as Christians.
However, I am again reminded (through Scripture under the direction of my pastor) how these things are all penultimate in God's kingdom....The ultimate purpose and motivation for missions must be that all peoples would bow in worship of our Redeemer-King...for GOD's GLORY!

The longer I live and learn and study, the more I am reminded that it all comes down to these two things: God's glory, and eyes on Christ. It would take pages to explain what I mean by each of those. I hope to explain a tiny bit more about "eyes on Christ" more in the coming days.

However, it is humbling and refreshing to remember my ultimate purpose is to glorify God, and in doing that, to bring others into true worship of our Creator.

Longing

How lovely is your dwelling place,

O LORD Almighty!

My soul yearns, even faints,

for the courts of the LORD;

my heart and my flesh cry out

for the living God.

Psalm 84:1-2

We are so blessed with a grace that has totally changed our heart's affections!

Intricacy

The intricate details of our Father's creation are astounding!

Ultimate Accountability

All a man's ways seem innocent to him,
but motives are weighed by the LORD.

In his heart a man plans his course,
but the LORD determines his steps.

Proverbs 16:2 and 9

Prayer Request

FAITH.
Our bible conversations keep coming back to this topic in 6A. My students are so eager to learn about how God works in our heart, how he cleanses and redeems us through Christ, and how we are therefore new creations. Praise GOD!!!

Please pray that the Holy Spirit would continue to work in their hearts to develop young men and women of faith. Please also pray for wisdom and guidance for me as I try to unfold the Scriptures to them in a clear, honest way (especially given the variety of faith backgrounds represented in my class!).
Thank you!

...for the love of reading...

We love to READ!
We spent a good part of today reading everything! Good literature, children's books, the Bible, fairy tales WE WROTE, comics, etc.

Fun fun fun!

(And of course, everything is more fun with a cozy blanket, some tea, and Miss S' famous brownies!!!) :)

Micah Boys

The Micah Project guys.
If / when I leave Honduras, I will really miss these guys that I often hang out with on Sundays (at the Micah Project, a group home here for guys from the street / troubled homes).
So much hurt in their history, but so much hope...in the LORD!!!
Pictured above are Jerson, Miguel, Danilo, and Fredy.
Picture taken from their website, http://www.micahcentral.org/index.html

Supernaturally changed heart....of peace

I PROMISE THIS IS WORTH READING....even though it is long!

A supernaturally changed heart versus a morally restrained heart.
This is the theme of a sermon series I’ve been listening to by Dr. Timothy Keller (leant to me by my dear friends Matt and Missy).
The series is challenging, convicting, and very Biblical! I could write pages and pages on what I’ve been learning so far, but it is better if you just listen to them. J (The actual title of the series is Practical Grace: How the Gospel Transforms Character)

This afternoon I listened to one about resting grace: the peace of Christ based on Colossians 3:1-15 and Philippians 4:4-9. Here are some summary notes I took….may they be a blessing.

Where (or in what) is your peace rooted? Do you feel peaceful one day and not the next? This is the peace of the world, based on circumstances. The peace of Christ is so much deeper and more powerful and extends beyond circumstances.

1) What is this peace?
a) The peace of Christ is not a general condition, but a living power!
b) The peace of Christ rules (Colossians) / guards (Philippians) from within (it is not based on circumstances), like an umpire ruling or soldiers guarding.
c) It is the peace of CHRIST!!!

2) How can this peace be cultivated?
a) Think out (Col 3:1)
- Don’t rely on the world’s approach for stress / anxiety / desires for peace, which start with “doing.”
- Instead, think about worldview. Think about the preview content of Colossians, specifically the supremacy of Christ and our heritage in him.

b) Dig down (Col 3:5)
- put to death / “kill off” all…
- evil desires (literally “over-desires:” wanting something good too strongly
- idolatry: anything we hold too to strongly in this life
- over-desires are caused by idolatry
- to identify idols.…
- Ask “What things in my life, if I lost them, would make me not want to continue living?”
- Find the over-emotions / uncontrollable emotions and see what is causing them.
- (The peace of Christ doesn’t erase emotions of anger/worry/grief, but these things are not absolute because the things we grieve etc. aren’t absolute in our lives)

c) Look up
- willpower doesn’t work against idols
- idols can’t be uprooted…only replaced
- our hearts always have an object of desire or joy
- verses 1-4: first set your mind and heart on the things above
- verse 5 and following: then idols can be replaced!
- verses 3-4: God considers a Christian’s sins absolutely forgiven and he delights in us as if we are totally righteous…all through CHRIST!
- Our object of full affection needs to be Christ!!!

Special Birthdays!!!

In honour of a NEW TEENAGER ...
and a Mom who has made it to 50 with more vitality than I would have after her seven loco children.... :)










Happy birthday and congratulations to you both with SO much love!

I look foward to seeing you both in March.