Birthdays



Homemade birthday cards



Birthdays are good occassions to remember friends and family and to reflect on the many blessings God has given throughout the year.  Since it is my birthday, I was doing just that.  I spent a wonderful day feeling very blessed and loved by my family and friends.  From the homemade cards and breakfast that my kids and husband made, to packages from folks back home; from birthday greetings via skype from a faithful friend in Oregon (thanks Sarah!), to friends here in Chile dropping by with a cake.  God has blessed me in this day. 



Happy Birthday to me!



Matthew 19:29 says, "And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or children or fields for my sake will receive a hundred times as much and will inherit eternal life."  I thank God for the faithfulness of his promises.   Of course I miss my family and the comforts of home, but God has also surrounded me with new brothers and sisters in Christ who now have a place in my heart as well.  He hasn't left us lonely and abandoned, but has allowed us to continue to be part of a family.  Not only do we have friends that celebrate us on our birthdays, but they have welcomed us into their families to participate in family celebrations with them.



Celebrating a birthday with our Chilean family



 It is also encouraging to see how God has led us in this past year.  Psalm 105:5 tells us to, "remember the wonders he has done, his miracles and the judgements he pronounced."  It was exactly one year ago today (on my birthday) that we received an offer on our house.  So in the past year our house sold, we moved out of the country and are now in Chile.  It is neat to look back and see how God provided for our needs in special ways and how he guided our path.  It is encouraging to remember this as I start a new year in my life, because the road before us is very unknown.  But as I look back on the workings of God, I can know that he doesn't change.  As he cared for us in the past, he will continue to amaze us with his love, his working out of even the small details of life. 



In about 3 weeks we will be leaving Chile.  For now we are planning on heading back to Peru and working with a pastor there.  It is scary, however, because we are stepping out into the unknown and trusting God to provide.  We are praying that he will either raise our monthly support so that we can live on it, or that he will provide some sort of work that we can do to support ourselves as we work in the ministry there.  We thank him that he knows the future, and pray that he will continue to give us faith.  We pray that we will be obedient to do whatever he calls us to do, but that we will wait on him in trust.  Thank you for praying with us for his guidance and his provision. 

And finally, just for fun, here is a shot of the yummy chocolate cheesecake that I made myself for my birthday.  I had a tradition of buying myself a piece of Godiva Chocolate cheesecake from the Cheesecake Factory every year for my birthday.  Since I couldn't do that this year, I made my own.  It isn't quite as good, but we are enjoying it anyway.