Post Earthquake Development note

The President of Haiti met with the president of the Dominican Republic, Fernandez who "reiterated his commitment to donate the university being built by the Dominican government in Haiti next January 12, and announced a donation of two buses, so the students who live far from the new facility can attend, and told Martelly that he secured with U. S. friends a donation of 15,000 books for the college."

What's most important

This morning we went to the Calvary Chapel in our neighborhood here in Port-au-Prince. One point I really appreciated was when Pastonr Serge told us about how someone said he was a naive pastor because people were telling him lies and he didn't know it. The person said "you believe everything people tell you." I liked his response.

He said that he's relaxed about whether people are telling him the truth or lying because what's more important is loving them. If I were speaking, I would qualified that, saying something about how you don't act on everything as if it's true, but in some cases it doesn't matter if what the person is telling you is true or not. But I guess he assumes people know that he's not running around acting on every lie he's told. I really admire him for being willing to focus on loving people with Christ's love and prioritizing that over other things. I think I spend too much time/effort trying to figure out if what some people tell me is true.

Living here in Haiti and trying to help people, there is another aspect to it. Apparently, many times those who are honest and hard-working will never give you a story to try to get you to help them financially, but those who are dishonest may get money they don't really need while someone else suffers. So, we try to be wise when it comes to that.

The other point Pastor Serge made was that he doesn't expect people who are not Christians to act like Christians. His ministry is to reach out to those who lie and commit all kinds of sins, so he puts up with it because he wants to see them find a new life. I admire that.

Psalm 100
A psalm. For giving thanks. 1 Shout for joy to the LORD, all the earth.
2 Worship the LORD with gladness;
come before him with joyful songs.
3 Know that the LORD is God.
It is he who made us, and we are his [a] ;
we are his people, the sheep of his pasture.
4 Enter his gates with thanksgiving
and his courts with praise;
give thanks to him and praise his name.
5 For the LORD is good and his love endures forever;
his faithfulness continues through all generations.

I thank you Lord that I didn't wake up to a tragedy today
I thank you for protecting me, for my job, for my family, for protecting my children, that I didn't have a stroke or a heart attack, that I'm not in pain, that we have a generator and money for gas to put in it, that we have running water, that we have no enemies trying to do evil to us (that we know of :)) that my husband is still with me after 24 years, that I can walk and talk, that I have a church to go to, that I have friends, that I have family (extended) who love me, that my Mom is OK and taken care of, that there is no political crisis in this country or my home country right now, that my children have food to eat today, that I have food to eat and coffee to drink :), that

Wow!

After reading verses this morning about Satan and about his lying. I went into Chapel today and this is one of the first verses that was read:


"You belong to your father, the devil, and you want to carry out your father's desire. He was a MURDERERfrom the beginning, not holding to the truth, for there is no truth in him. When he LIES, he speaks his native language, for he is a LIARand the father of LIES." (Jesus said this)
John 8:43-45

Death and Lies.

I just have to record that what got me started thinking about this is that a friend shared about how the mother of his child said that she'd rather see the child dead than with him and he is a basically good father trying to protect and help his child. She can't be bothered to bathe the child let alone protect him. I really think this mother has been deceived by Satan in many ways (like thinking it's OK for him to be at adult parties late at night hearing all kinds of language) and now he's taking her down that well worn path that includes nothing but death and destruction.

I don't dwell on Satan or this stuff usually, but it seems to be being brought to my attention.

It is good....to proclaim Your love in the morning....

thinking.....in love there is life and the opposite is death.

Because of some situations I'm aware of, I've been thinking about Satan, which I don't do that much. Two things stand out about Satan....death and deception. People are so deceived by fun, comfort, etc. and where does Satan always lead them? to death, sometimes toward killing or just wishing the death of someone else's and their own too.

Psalm 91

Here we go with "dwell" again. :)

I'm thinking about how a dwelling place means rest. "will rest in the shadow of the Almighty"
It also means protection "My fortress"
And so many don't have a physical dwelling place in Haiti....praying for them...
God be their dwelling place.

Tough to understand though....because just reading through this psalm, it sounds like if you love God he will protect you from all harm. But it seems that Job loved God and yet God did not keep him from all harm and disaster.

Maybe this is directly to David.
Something to think about today.

God's Punctuation

I'm always hesitant to claim "God gave me this verse" or that He's speaking through one because I suspect some people say stuf f like that too easily. But... After posting on Sunday morning about Psalm 90 v. 1 which I had been reading & praying back to God, I got up, got dressed, went to church, sat down and what was the very first thing read? You guessed it, Psalm 90! I think God was saying "yes, I did say that" and was putting the exclamation mark on that for me.