by Tina | Aug 9, 2016 | Devotional
Phil. 13- I thank my God every time I remember you.
I know you haven’t heard from me while we have been on home assignment, it was a very busy time with getting everything done that we needed to and I didn’t even know where I was half the time! But, I did want to share with you the most encouraging part of our home assignment this year and a few reflections. It seemed as if we said close to the same thing a million times while we were in the States. You would think it would become rote, or mundane for us. Not so! When God gives you a new purpose, vision, and plan, you tell anyone that will listen; teenagers, children, women, men, if there were interested ears, we were talking about what God is doing in Gembu!
The thing I enjoyed the most during this time was visiting individually with people. Talking with people that have been and continue praying for us, our staff, as well as the work here in Nigeria. Visiting with people as they give me baby items, teaching supplies, or hospital supplies. Telling people the great differences about the area of Nigeria where we live and the world that we came from. Meeting with supporters who are making baby diapers, knitting hats, or crocheting blankets, or even seeking out thrift store or garage sale finds of baby clothing. Making plans with Days for Girls helpers, picking up girls kits to distribute to school girls, and receiving wonderful underwear to help with our kits that we make here in Nigeria. Planning with people making parts for our new baby bags as well as people who have contributed so much time and energy into getting us on the field and keeping us there.
I was just so in awe of the wonderful team that God has provided for us and this ministry. We have givers, prayers, workers, encouragers, helpers. I was so touched as I got to know people a little deeper as we got to spend a time with them, I was also touched by the wonderful hospitality we had anywhere we went. We had friends who opened their homes so that we could visit with more people, we spent a day at a grad party, just visiting with friends old and new about this missionary life, friends that we “live” at when we are visiting the Minneapolis area churches, friends that pick us up and drop us off at the airport and even take care of our vehicle.
I am so glad that God hasn’t put us on this Earth to do this work alone. Here in Nigeria sometimes it seems like it is just Dan and I as well as our Nigerian Staff. This Home Assignment showed me, there is so much more to this story and it has encouraged us and will continue to encourage us during this coming year when things seem bleak or lonely.
My point for today is this: Sometimes we dislike sharing our needs because we think it makes us seem weak, when we do this we miss out on the team God has prepared to help us. Thanks friends for being on our team!
by Tina | Apr 18, 2016 | Devotional
It’s not all about you! One of the quotes that has changed my life since reading the book, “The Purpose Driven Life”, by Rick Warren. In fact, Dan and I felt the book helped us each so much we personally gave it to our family members and children. If you haven’t read it, I would recommend it!
Well, God has used this phrase many times in my life since reading the book, when someone says these 5 little words to me, it makes me think, and think hard about the selfishness and pride I can exhibit and harbor so often!
This picture is from a Women’s Conference I went to last week to talk about Days for Girls and things that are going on at GECHAAN. It is fun to see women come together, encourage each other, and learn together. This is not what many women experience out there in the real world though, is it? Unfortunately many women don’t experience this in the church either!
I have been fortunate to have many women who have input so much positive into my life. They have encouraged me, answered my questions, gently chastened me, and loved and prayed me through my teenage years, young married life, and raising boys, and then teenagers. They have prayed me through life and are currently still praying us through this missionary journey.
In this world of crazy, all-about-me thinking, I think we have forgotten one very powerful gift. The gift of women lifting each other women up. We all have our own thoughts, personalities, and passions. Why do we feel the need to downgrade others if we disagree on one aspect of family life or child-rearing?
There is power and life in encouraging a mom who is trying to keep her head above water, and feeling like she’s drowning. I believe that we all can benefit from strong women friends in our lives. Women who speak truth to us and who we know we can tell anything without fear of judgement.
My point for today is this: Are you nurturing those relationships? Do you have younger women that you encourage and do you have older women who encourage you? We are all in this same boat of womanhood, isn’t it better to do it together? I think so!
by Tina | Apr 8, 2016 | Devotional
Today has been a hard day. Let me show you why. This is a two month old baby boy, his name is Ramon. He is so dehydrated and malnourished I don’t know if we are going to be able to help him. About two hours before Ramon came to the hospital, I was helping hold down a three year old boy, Destiny, that got hit by a motorcycle. He was scared, hurting, in shock, and I think he also had a concussion. He screamed and cried, and it broke my heart. He didn’t understand we were trying to help him.
I thought about a conversation I had with a friend this week about how God longs desperately for our loved ones to know him and trust him even more desperately than we long for this to happen.
Jesus made it clear that not only does God have compassion on sinners, but He desires that we have that same compassion. He wants to turn our hearts of stone into hearts of flesh that long to love God and make His love known to the world.
I believe we serve a God of deep emotion, of incredible passion, of intense feeling. God reacts, He gets intense, He shows us His feelings and His heart. What I believe is in the deepest place of God’s heart is an intense, burning, passionate love for people. All people. Everywhere across this world, including right outside our front door.
When Art and Dorothy came to Nigeria to start GECHAAN, their philosophy is we save people’s lives, then we can introduce them to Jesus. Dan and I have that same philosophy. I believe that God is more broken-hearted about the numbers of children dying because of lack of knowledge then I am. I believe that God is also saddened by the lack of Biblical knowledge in His children. This week we have had our AWANA training for the next group of churches that would like to start AWANA and minister and disciple the children God brings to them. I truly believe that if we help this upcoming generation of leaders and the current leaders in Nigeria with education and empowerment, that we can make a difference with God’s help. He wants it even more than we do, doesn’t He?
My thought for today: As you go through your day, take some time to ask that God would give you a heart of compassion for the lost. Let’s pray that through this heart of compassion He will move to become a part of what God is doing to take the gospel to hurting people around the world, but first start with your neighbor.
by Tina | Apr 1, 2016 | Devotional
We have these truths in the Bible:
God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Psalms 46:1
But they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint from Isaiah 40:31.
Philippians 4:13 I can do all things through Him who strengthens me.
That according to the riches of His glory He may grant you to be strengthened with power through His Spirit in your inner being. Ephesians 3:16
Colosians 1:11 Being strengthened with all power according to His glorious might so that you may have great endurance and patience.
Life can be hard and Jesus calls us to hard things, like dying to ourselves and forgiving. Letting go of our own sinful desires and weaknesses and then living in victory?
Lately I have been so much more aware of how I have let Satan dupe me through the years and believed THE LIE.
Dan and I have believed for a long time now that if Satan can make Christians ineffective then his job is done. He can sit down, have a cup of hot coffee and read a book. He doesn’t need to do anything else. We Christians will take care of that for him!
I know that I have not realized the power that is available to me (through no power of my own) but through His grace and a decision I made years ago. I am a Child of the King. That’s it. Period! We go through life with so much fear. We are afraid to speak the truth, fear for ourselves, our children, our country, fear of dying, fear of “being different”, fear of rejection – so many fears! I have lived life in fear for far too long! I was not as effective as I could have been had I realized the power that is within me and realized the lies I was believing as Satan was whispering them into my ear.
We have infinite resources in Christ, including His mighty, incomparable power! The longer I live on this Earth, the more I realize that I was personally under the illusion that I needed to be totally and fully in control of all situations. Guess what We have NO power in and of ourselves. This is an illusion! The only power I can claim is the power I have through Christ. I am not in control of anything! I listen for His wisdom, look for confirmation, and move forward. He has this, I don’t have to!
Isn’t that awesome! I am a free woman, a happy woman and in love with the Jesus who saved me and freed me.
My point for today is this: Do you truly realize the true power that is available to you as a Christ follower and are you tapping into it or are you still believing the lies of our enemy?
by Tina | Mar 23, 2016 | Devotional
Yesterday was one of the “memorial days” for our journey to Nigeria. March 22, 2012 was the fateful day that we were on our way back to the airport to embark on our “missionary adventure”. After deciding that, Yes, this is where God wants us, we can’t do it ourselves, the job is too big for us, for anyone. Art and Dorothy assured us that what they have done the past 10 plus years was listen to God’s leading and people were helped and God was glorified. We decided that, yes, we could do that!
We were excitedly talking about the mission trips we would have and the groups we could get to come help us when we rolled up to that fateful “check point” that wasn’t a check point. It was an attempted robbery.
It was a confusing day, it was the longest day of my life thus far BUT it was a good day. Let me tell you why March 22 is a “pile of rocks” memorial in our lives. That was the day that God spoke to each of us clearly and loudly amidst the confusion, fear, and blood He said, “This is where I want you, I will take care of you”. Immediately we were assured of His plan and we knew we were going to be okay.
Even amid Boka Haram violence, Ebola scares, and tribe riots we have not had fear. God already told us and showed us that He had our backs and He was in control of EVERYTHING.
My leg healed about 8 months after the incident, Jim’s head and thigh healed up, Peter’s hand has nerve damage and he can’t move his ring finger or little finger but it is usable and healed. Does Peter fear driving now and those check points? No, he travels hundreds of miles a month most months and is the same cheerful, singing, talking Peter the Driver that he was before.
What if we would have taken this unusual way to start our missionary career as a sign from God that Nigeria was not where God was calling us? What if we had not listened and let fear get in the way of His assurance? I tell you this, WE would be the ones missing out.
It is an amazing thing to stand back and see God work, sometimes through you, sometimes through the people around you. Working in people’s hearts and lives. Do we just stand back and watch here in Nigeria? No! It was a lot of work to get here and every day there are hard decisions to make and a lot of things to do. I just think what if we weren’t here? Not only would we be out of God’s will, but so would the people that God wants to use here.
I know I am kind of rambly today, but I do have a point. My point for today is this: Are you listening? If God told you to do something or go somewhere would you and your spouse know that it was God? Would you do it? I have to tell you something, in Dan’s and my marriage God has always worked on both of us at the same time. I can name so many instances that we were at the same place at the same time and knew it was God. Then we took the next step. Straight Ahead, as our dear friend, Pastor Joel says!
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