A Package Arrived Today….
From My Sweet Son!!

I hope you’ve all had a blessed week!  God continues to grow me up in Him!  The time of more stretching has arrived!  I’m a bit guilty of “grumbling”, but I’m working through that…*see devotion below.  First of all, I’m still waiting patiently (but it’s gettin’ thin here) on the DVD of pictures from the journey out west, which you may recall, that my son, his best friend, and my husband took last month!  We did get a package from Ian, but, sadly, among all the other goodies, that was nowhere to be found!  He said that it was soon to follow!  In the package, however, we did find some sweet gifts … two shirts for his dad, for Father’s Day!  One is a linen Hawaiian print, and one a plain white linen, a ”dolphin coffee mug”, (just can’t see DH drinking out of that dolphin mug!) … a picture frame with 3 otters on it … (one for each one of us!) … and also there was an Hawaiian Ti Plant.  I’ve never grown one of those, but I’ll keep you posted on it’s progress with pictures! (if it survives my “not so green” thumb!)  All of it came nicely packed in peanuts and bubble wrap!  He is too SWEET!!  He knows how much I love to pop bubble wrap!!  Moosh loves to play in the peanuts! We’re going to get a “goodie box” ready to send to him, too!  How would you pack homemade pumpkin bread??  I did take pictures but they didn’t turn out very good. I’ve got a couple here though.  I’m learning to work the new camera, but this one was our smaller digital that seems to give everything a brownish red overtone. Probably some setting I need to change on it! 

This is a picture of ….”the dolphin mug”!!
P.S. My husband just informed me that this was my mug! 
He had bought it while out in Monterey with the boys, and had
forgotten to bring it home when he came!  So Ian sent it with the
other things. 
Oh, how I love him!!!! 






















This is a little stuffed otter that Ian brough back to me
from his first 2 week trip to California! 
I love it!  So does “the Moosh”!






















It’s been over a month now since I’ve seen my son, and I’m thankful that it has passed quickly!  Ian and Tim have been very busy, and if you haven’t seen the videos they’ve edited, you can check them out on Tim’s site. They were also working on another African Mission Children’s Choir film, and some testimonials for the church.  There is talk of a mission trip for them both, with groups from the church.  Ian would be going to Baja, California, and Tim would be traveling to Guatemala.  Not sure of the details yet, but again, I’ll keep you posted … you know I’m going to ask for prayer for those two very special guys!!  Prayer is still appreciated for them … they are working long hours, and I don’t think they’re getting enough sleep! 

They also had worked on a movie called The Broken Road this last summer with a local Christian production company here in Indiana.  You can see some of that work at the website above, where it also shows them at work in some of the pictures, and you can see the trailer to the movie.  The screening is showing locally, tonight through the 21st of this month, here in Indy at a dinner theatre.  We’ll be going, and hopefully, with Tim’s family. 

 

As I said above, I’m enduring some spiritual stretching, and when that happens, sometimes I … grumble!  Here’s a devotion I read today on that very subject … He knows just when to get our attention! … Thought I’d share! 

GRUMBLING…..
Evidently God sees grumbling as a lot more serious sin than I do.  Did you know that He put it in the same category as idolatry and sexual immorality {1 Corinthians 10}?  That certainly gets my attention!!

We don’t even use the word “grumbling” much anymore—though we do plenty of it. 

Out of curiosity I looked it up in the dictionary:
“to mutter in discontent.” 

But look at the synonyms I found in the thesaurus:
“beef, bellyache, brawl, crab, fuss, gripe, hollar, squawk, whine, groan, moan, complain, kick”. 
Now, those I can identify with!

The circumstances mentioned in 1 Corinthians were this:  The children of Israel were on their way from Egypt to the land God had promised them.  Along the way things did not go like they had expected—and they didn’t hesitate to make sure Moses, their leader, knew exactly how they felt about things!  They clearly had an “attitude”, and as a result, most of them died in the wilderness because they did not believe and obey God.  The writer, Paul, says, “Now these things occurred as examples, to keep us from setting our hearts on evil things as they did.”  What were those “evil things”? 

Paul mentions four:
*Idolatry
*Sexual immorality
*Testing the LORD
*Grumbling!!

Grumbling? 
I would not have put it in the same category as the other three on the list. 
But God does!

Among other things, God’s people griped about:
*Lack of water  {Exodus 17:2-3}
*The difficulty of what God asked them to do  {Numbers 14:27-30}
*The leaders God gave them  {Numbers 16}

Paul says:

“And do not grumble, as some of them did–and were killed by the destroying angel.
These things happened to them as examples and were written down as warnings for us,
on whom the fulfillment of the ages has come.  So if you think you are standing firm,
be careful that you don’t fall!”  {1 Corinthians 10:10-12}

Well, that’s plain enough for me—-an example and a warning not to gripe!  I’m glad the next verse after that is one of reassurance.  God will help me the next time I’m tempted to complain, for He says:

“No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. 
And God is faithful; He will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. 
But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it” {vs. 13}.

Thank you, LORD.  I’m sure I’ll need that promise!! 





You all have a wonderful weekend …
and a Happy Father’s Day!!

A Dad is a person who is loving and kind,
And often he knows what you have on your mind.
He’s someone who listens, suggests, and defends.
A dad can be one of your very best friends!
He’s proud of your triumphs,
but when things go wrong,
A dad can be patient and helpful and strong.
In all that you do, a dad’s love plays a part.
There’s always a place for him deep in your heart.
And each year that passes, you’re even more glad,
More grateful and proud just to call him your dad!
Thank you, Dad…
for listening and caring, for giving and sharing,
but, especially, for just being you!
Happy Father’s Day. 
- Author Unknown

Blessings!  
            Deborah <><