Blogathon day 30, 2009

Last post for November

I think a bad day preaching and teaching is better than any day that I am not. Well, maybe that is an exaggeration but today I got to teach in a little village called Homuttets where there is a church of people who have a heart to reach out to every surrounding village. This little church of maybe 60 people has helped plant churches all over surrounding region. They have also started rehabilitation centers for alcoholics. These people want to hear what I have to say about church! I think that is remarkable. I feel like when I go to teach there, I learn as much as I teach.

Right now I am working with the pastor of evangelism. He was thinking I was going to teach him how to evangelized.... No rather I encouraged him that God wants in to evangelize so that people can come to know God and learn what He wants for them. I showed how evangelism fits into the comprehensive plan to train people for works of service, so that the whole body can be built-up into the fullness of Christ. I love talking about God and encouraging others to follow in His ways. I love working with people excited about serving God. What a great job I have.

What a fitting post for the last day of the blogathon. I pray that I will keep at this and even work on some of my other blog posts.

Even with my back out of whack and spasming it was a great day. I wasn't up for the Acts Bible Study, but I did get to come home to greet my smiling family. That is another time that I never regret, time spent with loved ones.

Thanks for reading
Alan

Day 29 of Blogathon 2009

Today I preached a sermon and the most miraculous thing happened. There was a young man from a central Asian country there who had a very awesome thing happen. He doesn't speak English very well. He gets buy. I have a terrible reputation for speaking very fast and this morning I drank coffee before preaching... something I usually try to avoid as I seek even faster then. So anyway after the service this young man we'll call Bob says, that for the first 10 minutes of the sermon he couldn't understand a word I was saying then all of a sudden he understood every word. He said that not only did he understand it, but it went straight to his heart. Wow what and awesome act of the Holy Spirit.

It is so good to be used of God. I must admit that lately I have been feeling a bit demotivated and useless. But God showed me that He is far from being finished with me. Now I just need to put my sermon to practice and keep offering up prayers to bless other. Keep claiming the promises of God. Keep speaking out who we are in Christ Jesus. God is so faithful He sees fit to both save us and put us to work. Thank You Lord, for give meaning to our lives. Thank you God for redeeming us from the self-destructive and sinful creatures we were and thank you for making us in to new creations formed in your image to do good works.

Lord, I thank you for this day. Lord I thank you for how you demonstrate your love for us. I am so grateful to know you and to serve you.

Blessings dear readers...
Alan

Blogathon Day 28 2009

I cannot say that I have done a great job keeping up on a daily blog, but this has been encouraging to sit down and right a few words.

Today I spent most of my day in the kitchen helping young Miss Emily as she prepared our belated Thanksgiving day meal for a host of friends. I sure am glad that she has a creative mind when it comes to fixing meals. I am often content with a good ol' peanut butter and banana sandwich. Today we feasted on chicken, ham, green-bean casserole, stuffing, mashed potatoes, potatoes aux gratin, pumpkin pie, cheese-egg-garlic sandwiches and a variety of fresh cut veggies. There were a number of other items on the menu, but we just ran out of time to prepare them all; even with another friend's help. My dear wife was at work on a make-up day for all the days lost to the flu mania here in Ukraine but she was able to join us for the meal after work. I am tired and sore, but am very glad for the day and all the friends who stopped by for a bite to eat.

I guess you could call me a kitchen drudge, cause i wasn't calling any shots. But that puts me in good company. I am reminded of Brother Lawrence who served with joy in the kitchen of some Catholic institute because he practiced the presence of God. He reminded himself that Jesus was there with him no matter what he was doing. I cannot say that I did such a great job of practicing the presence of God, but I do believe He was with me. He empowered me to serve with little complaining and experience the joy of seeing others blessed while I worked.

I pray that you too will find the joy in serving and will say no to complaints and grumbling. Jesus said the greatest among us will be the servant of all. It is a race for the bottom of the heap. What a joy it is to know that as we serve, we emulate the actions our Lord Jesus. Sometimes its good to be a Martha if you are making room for others to be a Mary. I think that was Jesus problem with Martha. She complained that she had worked hard but her sister was getting blessed. Maybe if Martha has seen the joy in serving Jesus, he might have blessed her instead of rebuking her.

Tomorrow brings Sunday and I am bringing the Word again. What a privilege it is to serve the people of our body and bring them encouragement and teaching so that they might be better equipped to be the hands and feet of Jesus in the world. I pray that my example and my words would bless and encourage, so that His Kingdom would come here on earth as it is in Heaven.

May your days be blessed as we enter into the month in which we celebrate and commemorate the birth of our Savior Jesus.

Thanks for reading,
Alan

Blogathon day 19

Being used of God

I am excited about what today will bring. I have the privilege of leading a Bible study with a group of young men from an Asian Muslim country. I'm excited not because of what I know or what I get to share, but rather I am excited to see what God will do. Our God wants to bless and encourage and build people up. He wants his children to walk in confidence and obedience. When I get to teach or lead Bible studies, it is like the Lord is letting me be is mouth piece. I am often surprised by what comes out though me. I know that the Holy Spirit is in me. I know that I am a new creation. But it is such cool thing to be used by God to touch other people. I don't think I will ever get tired of that. I never seem to get tired of being used this way. I love working for the Lord. I cannot imagine a better job to have. There are times when the fight gets tough, and I feel like I am coming out of such a period. A time when I forgot how good God is. I time where I though I had to depend solely upon my abilities and talents. Sometimes we can do it for a bit on our own power, but the flesh is weak. But God is strong. I am so glad that I can lean Him, that I can look to Him to sustain me. Our God is an awesome God.

Praying you too will experience the goodness of our God
Alan

Blogathon day 18

God is so Good

I am so happy for God's presence in my life. I know that He has redeemed me with a price. I am not my own but His. He has adopted me as a son. He has given me new life. He has paid for my sins and no longer holds them against me.

I have preached on grace of God and how much He has done for us. I have lead bible studies and counseled friends, but it seems just recently that I have experience the greatness of our Lord's mercy. It was as if I have lived thinking it was for everyone else but me. I cannot speak to the source of it here but I have realized a fresh and anew what our God has done for us.

This is the day the Lord has made, I will rejoice and be glad in in. I CAN do ALL things through Him who strengthens me. I can give thanks in all circumstances. I give thanks to God for my wife who has continues to show her love and her patience with me. Today is a great day. I feel so much lighter in spirit. I have a renewed hope in what God is going to do through me. I believe for the impossible. I know that our God and do immeasurably more than I can think or imagine according to His Power at work in me. The Sky is the limit.

Lord I look forward to you illuminating the path before me; the path that you have set me on. A path I have to fear of falling from. A path where you lead me to green pastures and still waters. A Path where even if is should lead me through or near the valley of the shadow of death.... I will not be afraid because I know that my God is with me. Jesus, your rod and your staff comfort me.

Great is our God. Glorious is our King on high. Great is his faithfulness to us. Great is his mercy to us. We must worship our God and declare his Greatness. We serve a mighty God. He is the Lord most High. Praise his holy Name.

Amen

Blogathon 2009 Day 16

I am finding it a bit of a challenge to sit down and write something worth reading every day. Part of it has to do with the current situation in my life. Part of it has to do with my mind being somewhere else. Yesterday (day 15) was church day. Things didn't go smoothly. I was suppose to do the set-up before the services in time for the worship team to practice. BUT, I forgot my keys. SOOOOOO, I had to wait for someone to bring them. Emily hadn't left the house when I called so she was going to bring mine with her. M'md was on his way but wouldn't be there for like 45 minutes and I didn't have any helpers, so there wasn't much I could do but wait and pray. I must admit I could have been frantic and worried, how were we going to manage. Well, I just relaxed, talked to God and waited for the other folks to show up. It all went just fine. Of course there were lots of other little things to annoy me during the set up, but I just let it go and flowed with it.

Today I got to meet with a lawyer so that Emily could get registered. That went smooth. Then it was back home to prepare for tonight's Bible study. I had fun with that. I like coming up with questions to make the text relevant and to push those attending the study to look at things in new ways. What is funny is I don't often think of such questions unless I am doing a study. Its as if my gift will only work if I am teaching others. Hmmmm, isn't there something in 1 Cor 12-14 about the gifts being for the building up of others/the body?

The turn out at the Bible study was pretty good. We had about 15 people show up.
Now I need to start thinking about Thursday's bible study with the guys from central Asia.

Russian Lesson tomorrow, but still don't know if I will be doing any more training with the guys from Antioch.

So... that is all for now. Nothing profound. Just a typical day in the life of a missionary in Ukraine.

Thanks for reading....
Alan

Blogathon 2009 Day 14

Keeping an attitude of gratitude

I know that The Bible says to give thanks in our trials. That takes some doing, or rather it takes a change in thinking. So often I find my self thinking or wishing that difficulties would not come my way. When they do I tend to complain or to mope. The truth is that life will always send us trials and tribulations; Jesus promised us that. But we want a life without strife, where everyone agrees with us, where no one finds fault with us and we are perfect. But we are not perfect and neither is anyone else (although some would disagree with me on that). So what does one do? We take the advice of the writers of the Bible and we give thanks for what we have and we give thanks that God is sufficient for our needs. We may not get what we want, but giving thanks some how changes our attitude. When we don't get what we want and we focus on that, our continence falls; some people get depressed. But when we give thanks something happens in our hearts and our minds that lifts our spirits.

A friend of mine who lives here in Kyiv was telling me about how God has been blessing him. When he got married he had $3 in in pocket and no apartment. He still has not job, yet God continues to bless him through various individuals. Now he has an apartment and car. They were gifted to him by his unbelieving father-in-law. Most time when he thinks about it he is grateful. But if he is not careful, ingratitude and complaining slips in. He starts to think about what his car needs in the way of repairs and then the gratitude starts to slip away.

When I compare myself to the average person in the world I have so much more. I have a place that is warm and clean. I have running hot and cold water (even if the hot gets turned of here and there). I have a wife who loves me and I have a fulfilling occupation. I am so far above the average or median life of people all over the world, I have so much to be thankful for. But better than all of that is the fact that through Jesus Christ I have access to the God of all creation. Through Him I have been granted new life. Through Him I have a hope and a future that is not dependent upon personal comfort or the acquisition of things or people's opinion of me. My hope, my salvation, my future and my value are all found in my Saviors eyes. I have to much to give thanks for. But like my friend, I can begin to question the value of the gift I have received if I let my eyes drop.

So my plan, my prayer is to keep my eyes on my Savior, to give thanks in all situations and to enjoy this life that God has given me.

Blessings and thanks for reading
Alan

Blogathon day 13

Today I enjoyed the company of my wife. No Russian lessons no worries. I did also visit with a friend for lunch, but my time with my wife was the best. I really enjoy it when we talk about important things. We prayed together and shared concerns. Then we played some games and watched a episode or two of numbers, off the web. Now its late and I am more than ready for bed.

Sweet dreams,
with blessings,
Alan

Blogathon 2009 day 11

Life continues to be challenging. I know the truth, but I still battle against lies. My enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion hoping to catch me unawares. I cast my hope upon the Lord. I look to God for my salvation. I cannot save myself. I cannot save anyone else. No one can save me apart for the blood of Christ. I am a new creation. My hope is in the Lord. I have no reason to fear man, what can he do to me. It is God who can destroy my immortal soul. People can shame me, hurt me, ignore me and lie about me, but it is God to whom I look. It is the Lord God alone that I can trust in. I am glad for my salvation. I am glad that He has paid for all my debts. I am glad to know that He has a plan for me. He has hope and salvation for me. I am a new creation in Him. Glory to God in the highest. Glory to God forever!

Praying that your day will be a day in which you put your trust in the Lord; A day of hope and of joy and of goodness. Great is the Lord and worthy of Glory is He!

Blessings
Alan

Blogathon Day 9

I must admit that I don't feel particularly poetic or productive in the writing department. God is working on me. Trying to change the way I think and react. I'm still a work in progress. I am thankful He is a faithful, patient, kind and merciful God. I am glad He has adopted me. I am glad that I can call Him my Father. I am grateful for the gift of His grace and salvation. I pray that I would be better at walking in that Grace with faith.

Thanks for reading...
Blessings
Alan

Blogathon 2009 Day 8

Today was a great day. I got to go to Chernighiv and bless some friends there. I missed having my dear wife along. She is such an encouragement. It was this church's 16th anniversary service. Unfortunately this church has also undergone a long battle because of some issues between pastors. The congregation is weary from fighting. I cannot point any fingers and even if I could I would not. I love these people and it has been so hard on them. I preached on the need to walk in God's grace, and what God's grace is. This is really the result of a personal walk - learning the meaning of God's grace in my life.

What is really encouraging is one of the pastors wants me to come back with my wife. He sees AnnMarie offering a ministry of comfort and me providing some "Milk" that the congregation needs. I have some ideas of my own about encouraging the existing leadership. God is good. I trust that He will work this all out.

Thanks for reading
Blessings,
Alan

Blogathon day 7

Just to say that I did blog today.

The weather was nice and warm again. Stayed home with AnnMarie most of the day except for some grocery shopping. Lori visited us and is staying the night. Tomorrow we are off to Chernighiv to visit friends and preach in the church "The Resurrection and the Life"

Maybe more tomorrow after we get back

Alan

Blogathon 2009 Day 6

Every day is a day of discovery. Sometimes it is rediscovery. Some concepts come slow to me. I was thinking about regret. Regret is putting your focus in the past. Hope is not in the past. Hope lies in our future. When we look ahead to the hope we have in Christ, when we look past our past failures and glories we begin to see what God can and will do in our lives. In Lamentations the author says that God's mercies are new every morning. Every day is a new chance to look for success. Every new day is a chance to put failure and disappointment behind us and to plan for a new success. This doesn't mean that we cannot learn from our past failures and successes, but we live in the present and it is constantly moving towards the future. What is done in the past is done. We cannot go back and change it. If we don't realize that, we may continue wishing that something wouldn't have happened or wishing that it would happen again. Today is all we have. Tomorrow is but a promise of things to come. Choose this day whom you will serve and how you will live. Learn from your past, plan for tomorrow, but live for today. We cannot change yesterday and we cannot be certain of what tomorrow brings, only that God brings it.

Blessings
Alan

Blogathon 2009 Day Four

This day brought our first accumulation of snow. It was more easily measured in millimeters than inches and only if you measured the drifts. But it was what I would count as the first real snow. A new season is about to fall upon us, are we ready? Well we have the winter coats out and the wool socks. I have yet to find my gloves.
I wonder what new seasons God has waiting for me in my life. There is part of me that is bored with this season. I feel like I am not doing enough to count for something. Yes I preach and I teach, but is that enough. I am praying that the Lord will shake things up a bit. What storm or seasonal change is on it's way to me? I love being a missionary, but there are times when it has become to "normal" for me. I feel like I should be living a bit more on the edge, but my flesh would prefer being comfortable. I know that God can and will reveal His will for my life. I guess, as I see the leaves falling and the first dusting of snow, I wonder if I am slipping into my own winter of sorts. But winter means heavy socks and clothes. It means warming up after venturing out in the world and it means that there is a spring coming. A time of new growth and renewal. I look forward to God's refreshing and restoration. I look forward to seeing and experiencing what God is going to do.

Blessings
Alan

Blogathon Day Three

Today was a kind of grey day. There was a bit of snow falling and the temp is hovering around freezing. No snow stuck, but it was a reminder of the colder weather coming our way.
Most of my day was spent preparing for and having my Russian lesson. I am please to report that my teacher thinks I am doing well, even if I am having trouble remembering key words in my sentences. The past three weeks dealt with covering how to talk about family; marriages, births, who is older who is younger. Who is married to who and when. It will make personal life discussions so much easier. I just have to get those talking to me to talk slowly :D.
My poor sweetie as a terrible headache and is down for the count for now. I have laid hands on her and prayed and am believing for a healing.
Emily made us Chicken soup and chicken salad. That should keep the cold germs at bay.
No profound thoughts today.
I read Psalms 60-67 today. God is an awesome God.
Blessings
Alan

Blogathon 2009 Day Two

Today was a quiet day. My wife is off work because the schools are all closed for three weeks. I miss her, cause she is at work so much, but now I get to hang with her. That is a blessing. I reminds me of the first man. God said that it was not good that that man should be alone. I feel incomplete without my dear wife. Especially when I am at home. 22 years of being in the US Navy prepared me to be away from home, but being home without my spouse drives me nuts sometimes.
It was a sunny if cool day today. We have a package waiting for us to pick up from my mother in law; Emily picked up the slip at the post office. Its from the first round of Christmas presents that she is sending us. I cannot imagine how many packages she has sent us. Minimum 2, maximum 4 a month for years! Wow. Tomorrow brings my Russian lesson so I better get busy studying for it.

Blessings from the border land,
Alan

Blog-athon Nov 2009 - First post

This will be a short blog, but still it is time to get back on the Band wagon so speak. It has been so long since I have written anything.

So My first blog is... Hey I'm back. Technically this is still the first in America so I have made the first day of November's blogathon. I am alive and well in Kyiv Ukraine. I serve as one of three pastors to a small congregation here in the city. I am learning to put to practice that which I teach. It is challenging, but I continue to stick with it.
Life in Ukraine is interesting, just because I am an American (if born Canadian) living in a former soviet country. But I am glad to be here and to serve.

Today's thought - Flu panic. Everyone here seems to be in a panic about the flu. Schools are closed. The open air markets have been close (or so I have heard) and all public places like theaters and such have been asked to close (to include churches). I don't think I have seen so many people scared by a disease. Usually people react this way to cancer or the news of it. But people are wearing masks and there are few people outside. Who knows, this may work to prevent a pandemic, then again it could just delay the inevitable. I don't WANT to catch the flu, but if I do, I guess I will pray, ask for healing and rest. But I will not live in fear of it. Even if I caught it and died, then I would be with Jesus. That is all I have to say for 1 November