Never's

Contentment comes when we totally give up  trying to control whatever circumstances or people we find ourselves involved with.   Control is easier seen when someone tries to control me or others through me.  When someone does that to me it frustrates me to no end.  Which means I frustrate others when I do it to them.   Control is a quick way to drive others away from us which is the last thing I want to do. 

Some ladies and I are studying "contentment", trusting God, allowing His sovereign to rule in our life.  Our goal is to come to a deeper understanding of His ways are better then our ways.  There is a set of "never's" we have gleamed from our study  which will be our daily guideline.

  Philippines 4:11-13 I am not saying this because I am in need, for I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungrey, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do everything through Him who gives me strength

Never allow yourself to complain about anything...not even the weather.

Never picture yourself in any other circumstances or someplace else.

Never compare your lot with another's.

Never allow yourself to wish this or that had been otherwise.

Never dwell on tomorrows..remember that tomorrow is God's not yours.

Seems like an impossible list to accomplish, doesn't it?
(From the book: Calm My Anxious Heart)

One of the questions in our first study was:   Do you think most women try to control or manipulate people and circumstances? If yes, why?.....I like the answer one woman gave, yes because we are born to be care givers.   Hummmmm....What do you think?  Men, I welcome your take on this question too. 

Filler of Holes

 Recently I was viewing posts I had worked on but never finished.  Came acoss this short testemony of what led me to salvation.   The process of God bringing me to salvation was long and sometimes very painful.  How grateful I am He does not give up on us.   

 

---

This child would make it!    

 Laying quiet and perfectly still, I felt a gentle flutter, sort of a soft thumping inside me. After 12 years of marriage and 6 miscarriages later, life was growing in me and making himself or herself known. I simply got lost in the wonder of being pregnant: morning sickness, losing the waist line, every poke of an arm, leg of his or her little rump, swollen feet and those chocolate ice cream cravings in the middle of the night were welcomed.      

Crazy as this sounds, I found myself wishing it lasting longer then nine months. For the first time I felt almost complete.  Yet somewhere deep inside me a question started forming.   

 What happen to those six babies I lost?????

 Months later, holding our sweet daughter, the same nagging question took root in my mind and grew every time I held and smelled her sweetness.  It started me on a search created to forever change my life.    

 (And search I did too....loads of self help books, (no internet back then) and countless opinions from my friends and family left me mostly confused and not as happy as I should have been for someone who just had their first child.  Everything I ever dreamed had come my way - a husband with a good job, a house and a darling little red headed girl, Tara Jo. To add to our goodness we had a son Jared 4 years later after another miscarriage. 

  Soooo why did I still sense a huge hole inside of me? 

 That hole had been there all my life really. As a young child I can remember dwelling on that hole and feeling my self shrink into the nothingness of it till there was no more Betty. If I disappeared into the hole would anyone even miss me?    Thinking I could escape that hole, I tried to outrun it and got married at seventeen. I also tried some of those self help tips which brought some outward changes, but that question returned often leaving me feeling guilty for not being content with the good I had. 

 Until I bought a bible from one of my bookclubs.  

 Being an avid reader I tackled the Bible just like any other book, from the beginning.  Nothing could have prepared me for the effect it would have on me.    Power and light poured out of the words on those thin parchment pages.  My hole became smaller and smaller till it disappeared.  But Betty did not disappear.    I had found the “filler of holes” in those pages.     Oct of 1980 my search ended as I trusted Jesus death, buriel and resurrection for my salvation. 

 Oh, one more note, I found the  answer to my question in the bible...those seven children are in heaven.  

             When did God fill your hole? 

"What A Day"

   

Nothing starts my day better then reading or listening to deep truth that tells me someday I will see Jesus, the finisher of my faith. I can face what this day brings for I know without a shadow of a doubt I will see Him, be with Him, live in the place He is preparing for me. A good preacher once said, if you want fuel to make it through the days here on earth remember we are only sojourners, this world is not our home.  While here remember who saved us and who will meet us when our journey is through here on this side of heaven.  Life in between those two events will then be all about Him.  What a day that will be, when my Jesus I shall see. 

 

Does it excite your heart today as you think about what a day that will be?

Jason Prayer

Last night we were able to get two couples together, one, Thomas and Laura home from the field for a short furlough and Josh and Bethany heading to the same country in a few months. .  It was encouaging to watch them interact and hear the excitment in voice as they shared their hearts.  Ace and I were encouraged that we could  be a part of it as Member Care Reps.  We talked about how hard it was to share our hearts even with Christians at times.  One of the couples said, they just don't get it.  Another said it's sad when you have been gone for two years and meet up with your old friends again and  there is no excitment over what God is doing in their life let alone in other countries.

Being back in the states for a little over a year we have gained some understanding of what these couples were talking about.  Your heart wants your family and friends to "get it, the vision you have that would make you leave your comforts and give of yourself to those tucked back in some remote place.  If you had been in our living room listening to them you would realize they know they are not special people but  the God they serve is able to use ordianary people.  It's not our hearts to guilt someone into giving or even going but at least to be excited to hear some of what God is doing.  One thing I have learned  I can never be excited if I am not growing myself.   These clip keep me aware of what is going on beyond my world even though we will not get to serve overseas again due to my husbands heart issues neither one of us want to lose the vision to reach the whole world. 

The closer we get to God calling us home the harder the enemy works to discouraged us.  When we are focus on ourselves or our trials we will not be a witness.  This new year I believe will require more prayer for those willing to reach beyond their world whether it's across the street or in another country.  More prayers needs to be lifted up for each other as we all face our daily battles.  Abuntant prayers for strength, wisdom and a willing heart, for us to catch  God vision for the lost everywhere.

The apostle Peter instructed the believers to be ready:  "In your hearts set apart Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect." (1 Peter 3:15, NIV). I ask you who read this to pray for me this new year.  Now how can I pray for you?

The Christmas Journey's

Soon our 2012 Christmas journey will end as we push ourselves toward December 25th.  All the labor and expense will climates as we unwraps the presents we probably spent too much on.  Days of food preperation will be eaten in about 20 minutes.  Most will proclaim, "will not do this next year, we will go out to eat and not spend so much money.   Sometimes there is kind of a let down after the hoopla is gone out of Christmas.   Very few have a Norman Rockwell kind of Christmas. 

As a child Christmas was no different then any other time except we did get invited to all the organization Christmas parties for the poor kids.  But in our home nothing changed, Dad still got drunk and usually I would have to go running to our neighbor to call the police.  My brothers and I have talked about our memories...they pretty well line up...Christmas was harder because we always expected it to be different.  But it's part of my journey. 

Now about the journey Mary and Joseph took to his ancestrial home to pay taxes of all things.  It was a long painful ride I am sure on the donkey and a long walk for Jospeh.  There are two routes they could have taken, each about 92 miles.  Normal walking is about 3 miles per hour. Probably about five days on the road.  The journey had to be hard for anyone but especially for a pregnant woman about to give birth.   The last leg would have been the hardest though since Bethlehem was in the hills.  From Jericho's desert to Bethlehem is an uphill hike of 3,500 ft.   How anxious Joseph must have been to find a comfortable room.  In the midst of the hardship that went with Mary and Joseph’s journey and amid the deferred dreams and dashed hopes, God was working to redeem the world.

This was not a journey Mary wanted to take. It was not the way she imagined it would be. And of course this was not to be the last of Mary’s unwanted journeys. A short time after Jesus’ birth, Herod would try to kill the child, and she and Joseph would take the infant Jesus and flee to Egypt as refugees. Thirty-three years later, there would be another journey she would take with her son, this time down the Via Dolorosa as she followed him to Calvary.

Oh I   know it's hard to look at this picture on the right just a few days before Christmas. We would rather see sweet baby in a manger surrounded by wise men, shepherds from the fields, a star shinning bright and angels singing.  The Heavenly Father and Jesus knew this was coming, this was where the journey would end and ours could begin.  He had to die, He had to shed HIs blood, He had take all the sins of the world upon Him for us to even have a heavenly journey.   He had to rise from the dead to give the gift of eternal life. 

On a trip to Isreal I  stood outside the toomb staring at those words on the door put there by the organization who runs the Garden Toomb.   This was my favorite part of our trip to Israel.   I was convinced this was the place, outside the city walls, largest garden near Jeruselem, history tell us it was a rich man toomb and you can walk upon a plateform and see the skull, exactly the way its written in the Scriptures.  Everything seem to fit yet it was this words on the door to the toomb that captured my heart  and tears poured out of my eyes.  I remember thinking, God I could stay here forever, it's so peaceful.   But my journey was not complete, God had more for me to do and it was not to sit in the safety of the garden.  Out side the garden there were people seeking to find age old answers to why there was a void in their life. Outside the garden there was a battle going on for the souls of men and women. 

 

Jesus walked all those miles for us, got His feet dirty, touched the lame, the sick, the demon porcesssed, most of all the blood that dripped from His broken body is the blood He placed on the mercy seat for us.  Because of His journey I can walk this earthly journey with peace knowing at the end someone will someday stand at my grave site and say, she not here, only her shell,  she has risen to be with the Father and the Son.  My earthly journey will be over and then begins the heavenly one.

 

Last night we met with a young couple home whose journey has taken them to Indonesia and now home for a few months then back across the sea they will go.  Their heart is to reach a group of people who need to hear the gospel, translate the Bible in their language and then give them the story of God journey to redeem them.  Their journey so far has reaped some good things but not without trials and suffering.  You see the enemy...satan himself journeys also, he walks like a roaring lion on this earth seeking to discouraging anyone giving out the gospel anywhere.   Just as he tried to stamp out Jesus on His journey and couldn't , he now turns to the followers of Jesus.  If there has ever been a time when we needed to stand up for the gospel journey, it's today. 

 

There is no let down to the real Christmas story of God sending His Son to be born of a virgin, grew in favor with Him and man...then journey the cruelness of Calvary Road to the cross where He willingly gives up His live...only to rise again bringing hope for our journey. 

 

Have a Merry Christmas Journey. 

 

CHRISTMAS IN THE JUNGLE

CHRISTMAS IN THE JUNGLE

Ava Jo Sutton

The three missionary houses over looking the river.  Our daughter and family lived in the middle one.  This is the piece of land the village big men said they could build on.  At this time there was no airstrip so to get in you had to fly to another village with  an airstrip then get in a very long canoe and travel about 4 hours to the Yembi village.  A grandpa and grandma will do just about anything to see their grandchildren.  But we were thankful when they built their own air strip and the New Tribe  one engine plane could get us there in about 30 minutes.

Logan, Betty, Scarlett Ace, Tara and Tony.  This was taken in 2007.

In 2009 they gave us another grand daughter, Ava Jo.

 Our daughter teaching  some of the Yembi women the sounds of their language.

Yembi learning to read their heart language.  Their language had never  been written down before and no one had come to teach them to read and write, until the missionaries came.

Ace helping one of the men build a few more benches for the teaching house.  The people knew  a very important teaching was coming so they built a pole thatched roof building with no sides with desk like benches to be used by the students. 

The New Tribes single engine plane and pilot who flew  us in after the air strip was built.  Ace was able to go in and drive the tractor brought in by river barge and help teach one of the Yembi men to drive it.   The whole village worked many weeks clearing huge trees and the stumps and getting them to the river to be floated away. 

 



Last picture of the last day of this  visit to the Yembi village where our daughter, son in law and two children ministered for  seven years.  A little culture lesson before I end this.  The basket which the ladies weaved for me is for my husband food. I am to hang it somewhere outside of the house and put his food in it to take on his hunting trips.  No one else is allowed to eat from it.  The pig tusk neckace was given to Ace by Andrew from a wild pig he speared.   The lady sitting next to me is named Sophi, she has not gotten saved to this date.  Her husband, Andrew got saved, he ask everyone to pray for her.  The other lady is the sister and she too got saved.  There is a Yembi functioning church with elders, teachers and some very strong Christians.  Have they faced oppostion? More then we face here in the USA.  But they will tell you it is worth is to no longer live in fear of the spirits and to know the creator loves them unconditionally.   

All over the world during this Christmas season misisonaries are giving of themselves so that people such as these tucked back in the jungles can hear what we can hear every day if we so choose.  They have no choice unless someone goes to them.  
For more information on this kind of ministry. Go to ntm.org....

THANK YOU FOR TAKING THE TIME TO VIEW A LITTLE OF CHRISTMAS IN THE JUNGLE.

 

Santa Is Not In The Moi Village

 

Trust me,Santa has  not visited the village of the Moe people tucked deep in the heart of West Papua.  And even if he could he would not bring them the gift that keeps on giving.  This gift was put together in  heaven, came to earth, nailed to an old rugged cross, put in a toomb, rose three days later  and returned to heaven where He send the  Holy Spirit to dwell in the hearts of all those who believe.    If you have listened to the clip and I pray you have for it will put Christmas in a different light.  There will be no trees lite with beautiful light in the Moi village this Christmas.  No stocking will be hung on their open fires, no sugar plums dancing in their dreams.  Yet if you listened you will hear joy in their voices and see light in their eyes over the gift of eternal life.  They will still plant gardens, birth their children, hunt wild pigs, wash their clothes in the river, live in very primative conditions but without fear of where they will go after they die.   

 

How precious is the gift to us?  Are we moved to tears that there are people all over the world who need to hear of the blessed gift that was born in a stable, preached when He was twelves, trained men to take the gift to others and gave them power to do the task.  He even left us an instruction book to  tell us how to unwrap the gift.   

 

Little children are taught that Santa will bring them gifts if they are good.  Missionaries teach people all over the world their righteousness is as filthy rags.  But God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in Him shall have eternal LIFE.  Maybe this sounds like it should be an Easter post.  But one has to believe it was same Son of God lying in the cradle of hay as well as hanging on the old rugged cross.  

 

Ok, how to end this post.  My heart is not to make you feel guilty so you will not buy presents and send  money to missionaries.  My intent is lift up the gift of Jesus Christ.  Everytime I watch a clip such as this I just want to fall on my face and thank Him for saving my soul.  It encourages me to be on alert for that one God will bring my way to share the gift with.   

 

What were your thoughts as you watched the Moi people share their joy of their gift of salvation?  

 

 

 

Wishful Thinking

Last  week I got to visit my mother who is in a nursing home for a whole week.   Everyday I  ate with her and others ladies who live there.  Every day I  sang with mother as a different church does a sing along.  Three times a week there is bingo, a favorite of Mom's, I did not win a thing.  All in all the nursing home staff does a great job and deserve to be thanked more often.  It's a low paying job with a lot of hard work dealing with the difficulty that comes with aging. 

One day we were singing the song, "How Beautiful Heaven Must Be", when God highlighting part of a verse to my heart, in heaven there be "no wishing for else where to be".  What perfect song for those dear folks who long to be back in their homes, cooking their own meals, driving, raking their yards, washing their own clothes, taking a bath when they want too. If my mother said it once she said it 20 times or more each time I was with her.  Oh I wish I could go back and live in my little apartment and cook you a dinner.    I wish with all my heart she could too but her  medical needs require round the clock nursing. 


Mom sits at table with four other women and one day they were complaining about the dressing that went with the turkey, mashed potatoes, corn, pie they had for  lunch.  I said, Mom just be thankful for the things you did like, she said well Jo, nobody else  liked it either.  A little frustrated I said, well Mom, you don't have to be like everyone else.  Easy for me to say, I can come and go as I please, go out to eat every day if I want to.  The Holy Spirit said, soften your tone Betty.  Gently I said, Mom what did you like about your meal, which  I should have said in the first place. She was able to tell me she liked it all EXCEPT  the dressing.   I begin to go around to each lady and asking them, what did you like about your meal?   One even like everything on her plate. 

There is always something to be thankful for.  But you know life here on earth can be so hard it  blinds us  sometimes to what we can be thankful for.  Wishful thinking can lead to a downward spiral where depression lives.  I seen it in the eyes of those women sitting at the table, I have seen it in myself. 
Wishful thinking does not change anything, thankfulness for what we have changes us.  We see out of new eyes, hear out of new ears, feel out of a new heart.   

I flew back a couple days, sadness flew right along with me.  Sad cause I was wishing I was rich enough to provide a home and full time nurses for my Mom.  Wishful thinking  invaded me as I deal with the grief I feel everytime I leave my mother.   It will stay with me till I make the choice to be thankful I got to see her every day for a week.  Giving thanks for a brother and sister in law that visited her every day too helps.   Gratefulness there is nursing care for my Mom will drive out the wishful thinking.  Above all I am grateful my mother will live someday in heaven where there is no "wishful thinking."  Faith and hope will become sight. 

                                  Ever found yourself down in the wishful thinking pit?  
                          Give thanks for even one thing and you will slowly climb out. 

Thankfulness in divorce...

Several years have passed since my son and I made this little clip.  He had not even been married a year or given us any grandchildren yet.  Life brings us lots of things to not be thankful for and when it does you have to look deep for something or you will  drown in your sorrow.   This last year has been one of those deep years for since that clip our son is a divorced father with two children.  God has moved us to live very close to Jared, we actually share a condo in order for us to help him put his life back together and he  helps us financially  to afford California living.   I am sure there are people who would say, you are just helping him be divorced...I would have been one of those people at one time.   And if I don't go deep I could  still be one.  I hate divorce for it destroys lives but so does homes where hatred, bitterness, anger, adultery, indifference, selfishness and all other sin  reigns.  

When we first knew trouble was brewing in the marriage we of course prayed, used the Bible as a means to get him to get it together, sent books, DVD, gave advice, cried more tears then I like to remember.   I enlisted tons of others to pray,  sought advice from others who hurt for their son or daughter and especially the grandchildren involved in divorce.  One thing we learned is we all go through the divorce, it's not just the husband and wife, the ripple affects are wide.

Another thing we learned was don't take sides.  I failed miserably on that one at times...I wanted our son to act like a man, stick with the marriage for the sake of the children even though I understood perfectly why he wanted a divorce.  My plea was for the children sake...so I was deeply angry at our son for...well for not being stronger I guess.  Of course this affected our relationship and made me hard to live with at times.  Now I believe in the  process of forgiveness and I started putting it into action, being thankful for the good that was still there and the good coming out of a hurtful situation. The more I gave thanks the more good I saw which only made me more thankful. 

To watch our son love on his children when he has them is priceless, he is a good Dad, a loving Dad, a careful Dad, an encouraging Dad.   Listening to his plans to get out of debt and then actually see him take sacrificial step to get there is very encouraging...he is almost there.  Hearing our son speak words of gratefulness to us for being here for him, for being here for his kids has erased all anger I had.  Living together has been both a help and a good learning time for all of us.  In fact I get a little sad knowing he will soon get his own place yet I am proud   his good work ethic will pay off.  We have spend years working all over the world and  in the states to help others and it was wonderful knowing God considered Jared part of the others.

  Another thing I have learned is when I begin to thank God,  my hope level begin to rise and as it rose I found I could rest in the little things God was doing to draw our son back to Him.  It's God job to draw Jared back to Him, not my husband and I. Our part is to show grace, love, patience and acceptance.

 One more thing I learned, I needed to accept this divorce for rejecting it would only keep me angry.  It is what it is, a hurtful thing but never so hurtful that God can't heal that hurt. 

As I re-read what I wrote I realized I have been very personal and put our actions out there to be judge.  Go ahead and judge if you must...if a divorce happens to someone you love and I pray God it doesn't, you will find your own way to deal with it.  My husband and I have chosen to love all parties involved in this divorce.  I have not changed my mind on divorce but my mind has been broaden as a result of it.  My heart has been enlarged by it too...there is more room to forgive, more room to accept, more room to love abundantly and more room for Jesus to live in. 

I have on purpose chosen not to post scriptures on the subject of divorce because it happens to the saved and unsaved.   What  I hope happens if you read this post is you see the grace that has covered us during this time of our life. 

Maybe you are going through  something hard like a divorce or have been through one. I would love to hear how you got through it.  What pearls of thankfulness can you share, what gems of wisdom hasGod taught you?  What brought you hope?
                                         
                                         One more note...Jared has approved this post.
 

Thankfulness

Praising God in the hallways has always been hard for  me.  My lack of patience has kept me from enjoying a lot "doing time" in them.   Just the fact I have to go through one irritates me to no end.  About a year ago I was in a long hallway stumbling around, knocking into things, grumbling because it was taking so long to get through it.  I could see the open door at the end but it seem we were stalled in the hallway.  Ugg...more waiting.

God got my attention  one day in a friends hallway.  Her walls were decorated with great pictures of her family, a beautiful picture of a tree.  Ever so sweetly the Holy Spirit said, Betty you are missing what I have for you in the hallways.  My heart said yes I know, but my hallway is not filled with pretty things such as I see in my friends.  Hers was warmly lite with shiny hardwood floors, a opening at one end leading into a beautiful family room, with a huge fireplace, double french door leading out onto a wrap around porch overlooking the green hills of Kentucky. 
Now how can one be discontent with a hallway leading into an open door like that? 

Finally my hallway came to an end, when we packed our car and drove through the open door to start a new ministry with our mission is California. I think I have told  this too in another post, my first few months were terrible. The progression went like this, hallway, open door, pity pit and discontentment spilled out on everyone who came around me.  

“Do not spoil what you have by desiring what you have not; remember that what you now have was once among the things you only hoped for.”

Epicurus quotes (Greek philosopher, BC 341-270)

  This philosopher beliefs certainly do not line up with the Word of God, he was not a believer in the coming Redeemer.   Yet the one quote ring true.  We do spoil what we have by desiring what we have not...we do it all the time.  Guilty, guilty, guilty. 

Discontentment is as old as creation, God first creatures, Lucifer, the brightest star of the heavens was not satisfied with his position which caused him to lead a rebellion.  It was discontentment that made him do it.  Then he sowed seeds of discontentment in Eve's heart and the bitter harvest was the loss of paradise and the beginning of an unhappy race.  Thousands of years have passed and we are still always wanting  something different.

        If we’re young, we want to be older. If we’re old, we wish we were younger.
        If it’s old, we want something new. If it’s new, we want something newer.
        If it’s small, we want something bigger. If it’s big, we want something really big.
        If we have a hundred dollars, we want two hundred. If we have two hundred we want    five  hundred.
        If we have an apartment, we want a condo. If we have a condo, we want a house.  If we have a house, we want a bigger house. Or a new house. Or a nicer house.
        If we have a job, we dream of a better job, a bigger job, a closer job, with a bigger office, a  better boss, better benefits, more challenge, bigger opportunity, nicer people to work for,
        and more vacation time.
        If we’re single, we dream of being married. If we’re married, … (you can finish that sentence yourself.).

We Were Born Discontented...but we do not have to stay that way.  Our pastor use to say, you can't keep the birds from flying over your head but you can sure keep them from making a nest. 

Thank [God] in everything [no matter what the circumstances may be, be thankful and give thanks], for this is the will of God for you [who are] in Christ Jesus.
1 Thessalonians 5:

 

 

I am always  and I mean always amazed how a steady diet of being thankful even if I don't feel like it will bring me out of a discontented state.  Being thankful is one of the ways to praise God. As we head into this thanksgiving season what are you thankful for...

This post is link to:    "http://letmetelluastory.blogspot.com/"