Choosing Gratitude #5

From April 2010 Revive Our Hearts calendar ~

A significant degree of your emotional,

mental, physical, and spiritual well-being, as well

as the health and stability of your relationships

with others, will be determined by your

gratitude quotient.

          Rooted and built up in him, and 

                     stablished in the faith, 

              as ye have been taught, 

                          abounding therein with thanksgiving.

Colossians 2:7

~ Choosing Gratitude: Your Journey to Joy by Nancy Leigh DeMoss ~

Daybook September 27, 2010

FOR TODAY  

Monday, September 27, 2010

Outside my window...

The sun is shining brightly today.  From where I sit I don't see much of the fall color, but if I go to the kitchen sink I will see a golden field of corn ready to combine as well as our still-green hayfield.
The computer tells me it's 43F out there (that's 6C, Felicity & Ruby) ~ sounds a bit chilly, but I'm sure the cattle are happy :-)  And it will be warming up with the sun.
Forecast predicts a high of 70F (21C) and similar weather for the next few days ~ sounds perfect for harvest!

I am thinking...

I should call Vicki today and make an appointment with our chiropractor  :-\

Tim says I need super-glue on my atlas...

I am thankful for...

...the incredible time Kate & Tim had on their trip to Prague 

~ and that they are home again!

...Saturday's rain that kept Tim indoors 

~ he was able to install the shelves in another closet :-)

...our God who answers prayer

I am praying for...

...the 200,000 people who received a copy of John & Romans in Prague, the 800 people who took a complete Czech Bible home from the Bible Night after hearing the gospel presented, the 5 new visitors who were at church with the Rettigs yesterday, those who may attend the Wednesday Bible studies, and the Rettigs and Czech believers to continue in God's strength

...my Dad whose biopsy was rescheduled for tomorrow after he caught a virus last week

From the learning rooms...

We are starting several combined DVD classes for the high schoolers today ~ Grammar/composition, Speech, Chemistry, Bible doctrines, Spanish.  I'm hoping we can follow the schedule and get it all done!  ("cheerfully" might be accomplished another day)

From the kitchen...

Today:  taco rice casserole I put together on Saturday (rain stopped so Tim grilled steaks instead  :-))
Leftovers in the fridge:  yummy steak and yesterday's beef roast
Tim probably will be eating a hot dinner from the grocery deli for lunch and a sandwich from Subway for supper.  Think I should take him some leftovers instead?
After I cook up some more chicken, we could have chicken packets or chicken fajita quesadillas.  I made buns on Saturday so we could have BBQ with leftover beef or grill hamburgers...

I am creating... 

mended jeans for Tim (2 pairs ~ woot, woot!)  What I really want to do is sew more flannel baby blankets  ;-)

I am going...

...to see the insurance agent today ~ He will be really glad to get our policies finalized... for now  ;-)
...to Kids 4 Truth, youth group and prayer meeting on Wednesday
...to piano lessons/groceries on Friday
...to turn the calendar to October!  :o

I am reading...

Jeremiah ~ God has blessed the Rechabites for their faithful obedience.. and the king has thrown Jeremiah's scroll (God's words) into the fire

I am hoping...

that Kate & Tim will soon get over their jet lag and cough crud fatigue

I am hearing...

the Cattleman participating with his math or language class

Around the house...

souvenirs from Prague, sewing/mending, laundry room is too quiet, and it's time for another DVD class on the TV for my older students (be right back)

One of my favorite things... 

soaking up some sunshine on a crisp fall day

Pondering these words...

"Do not argue with an idiot. 

He will drag you down to his level and beat you with experience"

(with thanks to Dan Phillips' blog, found via Julie at Herding Grasshoppers) 

"For all flesh is as grass, and all the glory of man as the flower of grass.  The grass withereth, and the flower thereof falleth away:  But the word of the Lord endureth for ever.  And this is the word which by the gospel is preached unto you."

I Peter 1:24-25

A few plans for the rest of the week:

schoolwork, housework...
Tim will be looking at corn, corn, corn, or beans, beans, beans...
our Big Kids have a youth conference on Saturday ~ Back on Track

Here is a are several more Prague pictures...

Amy R. with Kate...
(Do you see what Kate brought Amy?)

This art museum was beautiful on the outside...

The gate at Terezin ~ a Jewish Ghetto under Hitler
"Work Makes Freedom"

Jana with Kate at the airport...

~ Find more Daybooks at Peggy's ~ 

Prague wrap-up, sort of

First question:  Anyone else having trouble uploading photos on the new blogger? fyi, I had to put them in a picasa web album, then upload from there.


Okay then... Thinking back to Day One:  Here's Petr, Monika, Mrs. Rettig, Amy R., Kaylyn (arrived early from Colorado so dressed up to join with the Welcome), Pavel and Jana (who was on the streets handing out J/R until the day before New Baby was born ~ and was able to attend the Vecer Bible and see the team off again after Baby arrived!)

This is the A Team!
Kate, Kaylyn, Hannah, Tim, Dave, Rebecca, Dixie
Mrs. Rettig also joined them for a few days.

Most days they were assigned a stop on the metro to pass out the John/Romans and an invitation to the Vecer Bible (Bible Night).  Here they are riding a loooong escalator ~ some metro lines go under the river.

Thursday (16th) was their Free Day to tour ~ Here's the astronomical clock with the twelve apostles who come out the doors at the top on the hour.

St. Vitus Cathedral , which was 400 years in the making (finished 1911?) They actually saw this on Sunday (12th) ~

A group of musicians performing (and hoping to sell their CDs from the briefcase parked in front of them) ~

In Prague, you "pay as you go"  :-)  Even at McDonald's.  You know what a "WC" is, right?

Evenings they had dinner at various restaurants.  This is pork schnitzel and potato salad; the other option that evening was chicken.  One restaurant provided them a choice of wild boar or venison!

Friday (17th) Kate was surprised with a birthday party after dinner.

Here's a map of Prague hanging in the hotel lobby ~ {Edit...Another map is hanging in their meeting room where they got their assignments each day at the hotel -- see picture towards end of post.}

If they weren't at a metro stop, they were stuffing mailboxes at apartment buildings.

Sunday (19th) they went out of town to the fortress of Terezin.  In November 1941 the main fortress became a Ghetto, a concentration camp for the Jews.

This room had two walls of bunks and housed 600 people.  They had two "toilets' to share as well.

Back in Prague, they found the church where Jan Hus preached~

And a memorial for the 20-some nobles who were hanged here in 1621 for financing the printing of Scriptures.

The Old Town Square and Tyn Church~

Monday (20th) evening Tim & Kate went downtown instead of joining the group for dinner.  They found a nice concert to attend as well as seeing the Old Town lit up.

Tuesday evening they had dinner at the Restaurant Rapir, decorated from the Medieval era~

Hannah & Kate

Kate enjoyed this potato pancake with veggies ~

Tim's Kate's typical breakfast at the hotel~

At last it was Wednesday, September 22 ~ Ready for Vecer Bible!

The Czech believers were amazed to see people begin to arrive more than an hour EARLY!  They said Czech people are always late...

This was just before the rush of people arrived.  They added chairs, opened the curtained area (see photo above), and seated people in the balcony (where Tim took this photo) ~ and still they came!  More than 800 people!

At least 400 filled out the response card and received a complete Bible in the Czech language ~ Edit: Emilie says that 800 Bibles went out the door that night!

What a beautiful prize!

We will be praying for this little nucleus of strong believers ~ 7 Czech and 3 American
Note the map behind the group ~ the areas colored red were covered by the team!

Tim & Vladmir at the airport.  Tim was especially blessed by hearing the testimonies of these dear Czech people ~

♥  God is so good!  ♥

it's Wednesday in Prague!

It's late Tuesday for me and Wednesday morning for Tim ... I'm so happy to have another email from him!  :-D

Monday we skipped the supper with our group and went down town. The city is very pretty at night and there was a concert in an old church so we decided to go, it was very nice.  There were a half dozen string instruments, a trumpet, organ and soloist.

Today is our last day, time flies it has been a good two weeks. I think we have handed out over 100,000 john romans plus they mailed 100,000 before we got here they also mailed around 20,000 invitations to the meeting tonight. People here know something is going on. The church had visitors both Wednesday and Sunday so that was a blessing. 

We will go out for a while today and then come back to prepare for this evening pray that people will come the auditorium has room for around a thousand we are excited to see what God will do.

Kate,Hannah and Klynn [edit: Kaylyn] played Lead me to Calvary on Sunday piano violin and clarinet it was very nice. They might be doing it Again tonight I am not sure.

Should be home in about 48 hrs

+ěščřžýáíé=´ those are the symbols below the numbers across the top of the keyboard.

  

The meeting is at 7pm, which is noon here (CST) ~ Please pray for God's protection and blessing!

Here's a photo of the special music from Sunday with Kate at the piano (Thank you, Mrs. Rettig!)  The violinist is Kate's roomie :-)

guilt, grace, and gratitude

Moving on to Chapter Two from my notes from reading Choosing Gratitude by Nancy Leigh DeMoss.  You can read notes on Chapter One here.

 The thing that awakens the deepest well of gratitude

in a human being is that God has forgiven sin.

~Oswald Chambers

"We are born in a state of inescapable guilt...

"Into this hopeless situation comes the undeserved grace of God through Jesus Christ..."

For by grace are ye saved through faith;

and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God

Ephesians 2:8

The Gospel ought to inspire gratitude to God like nothing else can.

"Undeniable guilt, plus undeserved grace, 

should equal unbridled gratitude."

And this is where this quote on the calendar fits in too!

Nancy also points out that Christian gratitude has an Object ~ Our gratitude should be directed to God!

This is good, so I'll quote Nancy again...

Christian gratitude involves:

• recognizing the many benefits we've received from God and others (including those blessings that may come disguised as problems and difficulties)
• acknowledging God as the ultimate Giver of every good gift
• expressing appreciation to Him (and others) for those gifts

There are no limits to Christian gratitude.  On the contrary, it multiplies.  "It's kind of like the rain cycle."

As ye have therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord, 

so walk ye in him:

Rooted and built up in him, 

and stablished in the faith, 

as ye have been taught,  

abounding therein with thanksgiving. 

Colossians 2:6-7

Revive Our Hearts

Choosing Gratitude #4

From my 2010 Revive Our Hearts calendar ~ Nancy Leigh DeMoss...

Undeniable guilt plus undeserved grace should equal unbridled gratitude.

Is the gratitude that flows out of your life 

as abounding as the grace that has flowed 

into your life?

O give thanks unto the LORD; for he is good: 

because his mercy endureth for ever.

Psalm 118:1

nothing new under the sun

Wow, can I please post this on facebook??

Richard Baxter was a 17th century pastor who realized how a woman’s clothing could snare a man’s mind. He gave women this counsel: “You must walk among sinful persons as you would do with a candle among straw or gunpowder.”

~by email from Nancy Leigh DeMoss 9/20/2010...  "This transcript is taken from the nationally-syndicated
daily radio program Seeking Him with Nancy Leigh DeMoss."