Keeper of the Keys

One of my responsibilities

 at home is helping my mom do the shopping.  I have been given the job of protecting her and assisting her when she is out and about.  If you know my mom this will stimulate laughter, because it would take a stupid person to mess with my mom!  I carry bags, and help her select food, and sometimes keep her on track.  Lately she has added a new responsibility.  I am the keeper of the keys.  When we get out of the car she asks me if I can put the key in my pocket.  The first time she did it, I kept taking the key out and giving it to her, but she explained that when we got to the car she would take the key.  I was nervous. Maybe I would lose it!  Mom just breezed along with no such worry.  When we got to the car she asked for the key, and I had it so we got home.  Since that first time this has been repeated often.  I have come to see it is a measure of trust.  I am nervous about picking out vegetables and meat, but this is on a bigger scale.  A car is costly, but Mom does not bat an eye.  The key is passed to me with the expectation that upon arrival at the car I will pass it back.  It is a reminder to me to live up to this expectation, and do my job well.  I am not expected to play with the key, I am expected to keep it until Mom needs it.  I am expected to be trustworthy and do my job, no matter how small it is. I am expected to be an adult and participate in the family. 

Being a child of The King is no different. I am to take what is entrusted me and use it as instructed.  Plain and simple.  Help me, Lord be a faithful child!

Another Step In Maturity

The last couple of weeks have been full of life lessons causing me to grow in faith and maturity.  Many of the lessons I would never have chosen but they came certainly with God’s permission.  At times I thought I could not endure another minute.  Many times I did not want to endure another minute.  I confess to melting down and having selfish rants.  Surprisingly there were also times of steadfastness in my faith, and good decisions made.

So what did I learn?  The main thing I take away from this is that God is in control, all the time. He is not out of control for even one second. Therefore I must keep nestled into His wing of shelter, and trust.  Panic has no useful purpose for me.  It wastes my energy and that of those around me.  When I give in to panic, I am yielding control to sin. God has better for me.  So I will actively pursue the shelter of God’s wing, and let Him carry me through the storm.  He is able!

Birthday Gifts

In our family 4 out of 5 have summer birthdays.  We usually do a big birthday celebration for all of us in the summer.  We play games, open presents, and eat!  Crowning this is a cake and ice-cream time. 

One of the hardest parts for me is picking presents for my family members.  I love them and want to get it right!  My absolute favorite time is giving them those gifts and seeing their faces when they open them.  That is why I go through the pain of picking those gifts. To see their joy is worth it all.  This year I knew what I would get for them.  I bought the gifts, and then was rewarded with the joy it brought them. 

I am reminded God has selected gifts for me because He loves me.  He delights to see me opening those gifts and using them.  So I better dust off those gifts and used them.  How about you?

Yeah! Miriam is Here!

A few weeks ago we were honored to welcome one of our Brazilian friends to Japan as a mid-term missionary, assisting our church with sports evangelism. She had a rough start, even getting sick in the airplane and having to miss her connecting flight because of that.  But our God is mighty and here she is.  She has been enveloped into our family, and the joy in my heart is great.  She has left her home to come halfway around the world to share the love of Jesus with Japanese people who are dying without Jesus.  She must live alone, away from her family.  She must adjust to new language, new foods, new families, a new church. 

Is it worth it?  Yes!!!  It is always worth what it takes to obey God.  It is never worth the cost to disobey God.  Miriam, I am thankful you obeyed and are here in Japan to be part of our team.  Let us all expect great things in your ministry because we serve a great and mighty God.  Hallelujah!

Flexibility Chasing Me

I am a person who thrives on routine.  I do best when there is a strict routine that is followed exactly.  I like a set routine.  Do you get the idea?  Now we all know that life ALWAYS has changes.  They come flying at you causing you to be a flexible person.  I do not think I am gifted with flexibility. Therefore for me life can be so challenging. I am reminded about learning to be flexible as a part of maturity.

I am continually confronted with life situations that need me to be flexible.  If I am to function in life I must learn to be flexible.  It is time to wake up and know that life will not always go like I want it to go.  I must learn to take my plans more lightly and be joyful about putting my plans aside and embracing the change.

I am finding out that sometimes the change brings difficult things.  But sometimes the change may even make a trip for tea and a donut at Tully’s  an option.

God's Miracles

My dad preached about miracles Sunday.  It got me thinking.  I really like to define my miracles.  I ask God to heal my autism, to heal friends, to get visas, to provide more money or food or goods I think I need.  Then I am prepared to sit back and wait for it all to work out just like I asked.  What a spoiled child of God I am!  Who do I think I am?

I am thinking I need to ask God to open my eyes to see His miracles.  They may not look like I imagine them.  They may not meet my definition.  I am seeing that each day I rise up healthy is a miracle.  At the end of the day I survived the day as an autistic man without a meltdown.  That is miraculous.  Perhaps it is as much a miracle to live with autism in peace as it is to be healed.  Maybe I need to concentrate on asking for the miracle to maintain my solid faith as I walk through the trials of life.  Rather than asking for God to do a miracle and change my circumstances, perhaps I need to ask God for the miracle of godly contentment no matter the circumstance.  So while my circumstance may not change, my heart will change.  And of course that is a greater miracle.

My Challenge

One of my ministries is to participate in The Hallelujah Gospel Family.  This is a network of gospel choirs spread throughout Japan.  In addition to participating in the choir at my local church, I also write a short evangelistic message introducing one of the songs in the repertoire for the term.  This is published in a booklet each member receives with the song lyrics.  I have been doing this for several years, and the members of my choir enjoy reading it. 

Earlier this month our family was ministering in a church with no pastor about an hour from here.  My dad had me give a brief testimony.  When the service was done a lady came up to my dad holding her Gospel Choir booklet and said, “Is it really him?”  She had the page open to my writing.  My parents assured her I was really the writer.  She then shared how her choir had all been moved to tears upon reading my message.  She then went around the room showing others in the church my written message. I was encouraged to know people are reading it.  However, as I pondered this I was again challenged to write my messages to stimulate the hearts of those who are not yet Christ followers to plunge into faith.  Lord, help me a good steward of this gift You have entrusted to me!