Friday, July 11, 2014

Sunday, June 29

Weekend Wonders
I'm convinced God cares less about how much we accomplish in life - the "great things" we do in His name - than He does about how we respond to the daily things He allows us to experience.  ~Brooke McGlothlin

Faithful.  That's what we are striving for.  Even though most days it feels like we only have one little talent that God has given us, we're not burying that thing!  This weekend, Aaron and Benjamin went fishing with a friend out deeper than I've ever fished before.  They were gone most of the day Saturday, and returned about 4:00 p.m. with a big, fat NOTHING!!! 
zero fish
My guys didn't excel on their fishing trip, but our friend John Wells did.  He pulled in another big, red beauty.  And he gave us the fish.  Because it's all about relationships.  And he was going fishing again that night.
Katherine & red fish 6-24
While the guys were fishing, Sarah was making a chocolate birthday cake for a three-year-old.  She's so faithful to bless others with her gift of cooking.  We took the cake over after church this morning and received a plate of cassava pudding made with banana in exchange.  On the way back home, I noticed how faithful God had been to help our newly planted cassava grow, even with no rain.
newly sprouting cassava 6-29
And when I took some of our cassava pudding to John Wells and his family as a thank you, I discovered that God had been faithful to him, too.  He caught seven more fish in the night.  You know, the sea was rough, so he didn't catch much!
Even when I feel powerless against all of the little stressors, and I want to not be faithful, just for today, even when I don't think I can crawl out of bed one more morning or learn one more Lavukaleve word or make the rain tank increase by just one inch (because, really, I am powerless to do ALL of those things!), I'm reminded of Asa's prayer:
"Lord, there is no one like you to help the powerless against the mighty.  Help us, O Lord our God, for we rely on you, and in your name we have come against this army.  O Lord, you are our God; do not let man prevail against you."

1 comment:

Lisa said...

I love you Joanna! Always so encouraging and sometimes speaking straight to my heart. Thank you for this little prayer, going to copy it down in my prayer journal, that Gayly sent me, and refer to it again...quite often. From across the sea... Love and Hugs, Lisa