24 de abril, 2006


<canten al Señor, habitantes de toda la tierra.
Canten al Señor, alaben su nombre;
anuncien día tras día su victoria.
Proclamen su gloria entre las naciones,
sus maravillas entre todos los pueblos.
¡Grande es el Señor y digno de alabanza,
más temible que todos los dioses!
Todos los dioses de las naciones no son nada,
pero el Señor ha creado los cielos.
El splendor y la majestad son sus heraldos;
hay poder y belleza en su santuario.>>

Salmo 96: 1-6

Este día fue maravilloso. Empezió con alabanza y orar. El Señor Dios pareció tan cerca de mí hoy. Asi como si Dios me llevó en sus brazos. Escuchaba cuando las personas dijo <> o <> Hasta ahora, hasta esta experiencia, no los entendí. Ahora, yo entienda. Es verdad, él me lleva en los brazos. Estoy una oveja y él es mi pastor. Estoy contenta.

Enough Spanish for one entry. You can look up Psalm 96:1-6 to see what I was writing about, I’m not gonna type it all out again in English. The little paragraph, I will translate, and I’m sure it’ll sound better in English J

This day was wonderful. It began with praise and prayer. The Lord seemed so close to me today. As if he carried me in his arms. I’ve heard when people said “God is carrying me,” or “I didn’t have the power, but the Lord gave me the power.” Until now, until this experience, I didn’t understand those statements. Now, I do understand. It’s true, he is carrying me in his arms. I am a sheep and he is my shepherd. I am content.

There really isn’t a whole lot more to say. The Lord very clearly closed a door, and it would be foolish to keep beating my head against a closed door. That’s not for me.

Surrender is so much easier, even though it’s so often much more difficult. That doesn’t sound like it made sense, but pause, and read it again:
Surrender is so much easier, even though it’s so often much more difficult.

For those of you reading this who have experienced this paradox, you know exactly what I mean.
For those of you who haven’t yet, wait a little while. If you’re serious about following Jesus and walking with him, you will come to this place.

I just wanted to thank all of you who pray for us so faithfully, and to let you know that we haven’t fallen down a black hole. God is still with us, he still has plans for us. Where, when, how—those are all his secrets right now. And I am learning a lot about trusting God, and resting in him. He is faithful, and I praise him for that.

Love,

Danielle
a fellow traveller and a travelling follower :)

Rocketships and a Feather

When I was in third grade my friends and I set out to build a rocket-ship in order to become the “first kids in space” We drew out all of the plans, assembled the materials (2x4’s, aluminum foil, and a lawn mower engine). It was our plan to be the “first kids in space”. We told all of our classmates our plans and met after school to build the rocket. However, eventually we realized that we would never take off in whatever we built. The thoughts of us incinerating in the “rocket” never crossed our minds.
Here it is, over 20 years later and I am still building “rocket ships”. They are no longer built out of 2x4’s and aluminum foil, but have taken different forms over the years. They have included becoming a fire-fighter, going to medical school, buying a “fixer up house”, remodeling the basement myself, getting my degree from Moody, becoming a youth pastor, getting my Master’s Degree in Nursing, and most recently it seems that becoming a missionary to Honduras has joined that list. It is just another one of the great plans in life that I tell family and friends about, yet will probably never materialize. This time I was so sure that we were being led by the Lord to Honduras; that is, until yesterday and the phone call I received informing us that we will not be receiving the "letter of invitation" from the Cornerstone Foundation to join in the work going on there. The reason we were given is a change in ministry focus at Hospital Loma De Luz and the increased usage of Honduran nurses over American missionary nurses.
I can’t help but think of Forrest Gump and his feather. Unlike the movie, I do not believe that we are blown around by the “winds of fate”, nobody knowing where we will land. However, I do feel like a feather, being blown around and seemingly finally almost coming to rest on the ground when another wind comes up and sends us in a different direction entirely. The “wind” of course is the Lord. Just as I thought we would “land” in Honduras, I find myself blown in a different direction and it does not seem so clear any more. While I was so sure after our last trip to Honduras that we were heading there full time, today I am wondering what the Lord’s plans are. Was this just a test for us, to see how far we would be willing to go, or is it something far more? I do not know what to think right now. Did Joseph ever think along the same lines; a vision of his brothers bowing down to him, but landing in a hole and eventually prison for a season prior to the vision becoming reality (probably in a far different fulfillment than he ever envisioned)? I don’t know. However, what I do know is that the Lord is the “wind” beneath me, a mere feather, and wherever I land, I pray and trust that it will be in the middle of His will.

Please keep praying for us!

JDB