To the Ironing Board and Beyond!

Words from some hymns I sang in my time with the Lord this morning: they lifted my spirit, I hope they do the same for you :)
"Nor silver no gold hath obtained my redemption,
Nor riches of earth could have saved my poor soul;
The blood of the cross is my only foundation,
The death of my Saviour now maketh me whole.
I am redeemed, but not with silver,
I am bought, but not with gold;
Bought with a price--
the blood of Jesus,
Precious price of love untold."

More Like the Master
"More like the Master is my daily prayer;
More strength to carry crosses I must bear;
More earnest effort to bring His kingdom in;
More of His Spirit, the wanderer to win.
Take thou my heart, I would be Thine alone;
Take Thou my heart and make it all Thine own;
Purge me from sin, O Lord, I now implore,
Wash me and keep me Thine forevermore."

I'll Go Where You Want Me to Go
"Perhaps today there are loving words Which Jesus would have me speak;
There may be now, in the paths of sin, Some wand'rer whom I should seek,
O Saviour, if Thou wilt be my Guide, Tho' dark and rugged the way,
My voice shall echo the message sweet, I'll say what you want me to say.
I'll go where you want me to go, dear Lord, O'er mountain, or plain, or sea;
I'll say what you want me to say, dear Lord, I'll be what you want me to be."

I'll say what you want me to say:
to the young woman in the Mexican restaurant we visited yesterday (I gave her a tract, but could I have done more?). To the eye doctor I will see today, would the Lord have me say a word about Him? When I sing and speak and live before my children and husband at home, am I saying what He wants me say? Am I willing to go to the bank and to the ironing board to iron shirts for my husband today?

"I'll go where You want me to go, dear Lord, I'll say what You want me to say."

Convicting words for me. Challenging. But, by His strength and power, I'll do it :)

Anyone Hungry?

Funny how God can tie two things together that have no natural connection. One of my favorite psalms (Psalm 34) was read at church yesterday during a very profound testimony. After the service, our team finally gave our presentation from the Mexico missions trip we took. Jason L. made a wonderful video presentation which we showed at the end. I will try to add in the short version of the video. In this video clip there's a scene from the Sunday morning service at De Hoyoses. The song we sang keeps running through my mind, "Jesús, El Pan de Vida," Jesus, the Bread of Life. I was reading again from Psalm 34 this morning, and it jumped off the page at me. Psalm 34:8-10: "O taste and see that the Lord is good: blessed is the man that trusteth in Him. O fear the LORD, ye His saints: for there is no want to them that fear Him. The young lions do lack, and suffer hunger: but they that seek the LORD shall not want any good thing."
Who is Jesus Christ to you? Is He your Most High God, is He your All-sufficient One? Is He your Master, LORD of Peace, the LORD Who WILL Provide? Is He your Father? These are all Names of God. He knows your name--do you know His?
Dear LORD, Thank You for being my All-sufficient One. Thank You for being the Bread of Life. No one who comes to You will go away empty. Thank You for this truth. Amen.

Tofu and goldfish

Well, unfortunately I came down with this horrendous bug that's been going around. Tuesday afternoon at Bonita's and my hair appointment I started feeling really lousy. I went to the sofa, once home, crept under a fleece blanket and stayed there. By bedtime, my temperature was 102.3 (and I never ever have a fever!) Fortunately, the plans for yesterday were to stay home in order for Bonita to work, with Dane and Kelsey's help, on preparing their missionary presentation. They are finally updating it from the old "slide" presentation. She is not as computer-literate as they are, but very creative, so with their help, she had a lot of fun with picasa.
Yesterday was also Arnie's birthday, so we had planned to have a little celebration supper last night. What to do? Would they still want to come with me sick? We gave them the option, and Tonya decided to stay home with the little boys, while Nathan and Don decided they would still come. Everyone had a fun time! I felt better after a long nap, during which Kelsey took on (she's a great cook), the dinner preparations, with Bonita's help. They had Haystacks, one of our favorites, and always fun with a group. The name comes from the shape on your plate after you stack it all up! We start with brown rice and/or tortilla chips (smooshed), (we have also served it with baked potatoes) and top that with chili, and then you add your favorite toppings! Our topping choices include the usual, the unusual, and the you-put-what-on-it! The sky's the limit! Lettuce, cheese, tomatoes, onions, peanuts, pineapple, black olives, apples, raisins, coconut (my husband's favorite:), jicama, and of course, salsa and sour cream! We encourage people to be adventuresome and they always go back for seconds!! For dessert, Kelsey made an out-of-this-world dessert--"Peanut-Caramel-Candy Bar Cake" (It just happened to have a Snickers bar in its ingredients (Arnie's favorite)!) Arnie had some fun telling us his "birthday-dinner requests" in the days prior to the event, so we had some fun with him!! Besides his requests for rack of lamb, and turkey with all the trimmings, he said he wanted three tofu dishes (remember he's been living in Japan for 31 years :) The description of the third tofu dish was more than a little interesting!!! They start with soup. They place a square block of tofu into the bowl of soup and then put LIVE fish around the tofu after which they pour boiling water over them, which causes the little fish to swim into the tofu. Then THEY EAT IT--Very fresh! So Kelsey and I both thought of the same idea: we got some tofu and some goldfish crackers and voila! he got his wish!!

After everyone left, we watched Fireproof, which they had not seen. I thought it was even better the second time.

Arnie and Bonita

Today was a good day! Bonita, Jerry's sister, and Arnie, came to church with us. They're home on furlough from Japan for 6 months. We, being the relatives living closest to the airport, have the great privilege, and I do mean that (!) of picking them up at the airport and getting to have them stay with us, sometimes for a whole week or more (!), at the beginning and end of each furlough! Bonita and Arnie should write a book entitled, "Being a Great Guest" subtitled, Leave them wanting more. We always want them to stay longer!! At church I sat Bonita down (31-years experience as a missionary in Japan, plus I don't know how many years in Ethiopia) across from Stacy, returned missionary after 1 year in Liberia. Bonita's words were very encouraging to Stacy, I think. It was very interesting to sit and listen. Very fun to have your relatives come into your world and get to know you better by seeing you with your very best friends and worshiping with you. In the afternoon, we looked at their amazing nature photos taken in Yosemite! Arnie is an amazing photographer! All I could say was Wow after each picture came up on his laptop. The California poppies are in full bloom and it's like God took a paint brush and just whoosh! brushed the hills with orange! It's gorgeous! Then Bonita, Kelsey, Dane and I played Dutch Blitz! The Gunn sisters are so much fun and fantastic game-players! The only downside right now in their visit is Arnie's Poison oak, and Bonita's cold, but you would never know either of them had it--no complaining. We hope they will both be better tomorrow.