Nica 2011

We had such a great time in Nicaragua. I could not have hand picked a better team. We are already making plans for our next trip. It was amazing to watch everyone contribute their energy through the skills and talents that each person had. We started working on the second floor of the Coffeehouse Project. They hope to complete the rest by the end of the year. We got to spend some time at the school this year as well. We are dreaming about future projects that can benefit the students and bring self sustainability to the school. The opportunities are endless. I'll post more information and ideas real soon. Thanks for all of your support in bringing a new rhythm to Nicaragua!


Nicaragua 2011

We are heading out on Monday morning to Managua, Nicaragua with a group of 12. We are so excited to head back this year to continue the efforts to construct La Puerta Cafe, a coffeehouse project to bring economic empowerment and social equality to the Deaf Community in Nicaragua. We will also be teaming with missionaries Matt & Eva Barlow to work with the students at Christian School for the Deaf. The school was established by the missionaries over fifteen years ago. They just has their first graduating class last year and their numbers are up to over one hundred students. It has been amazing to be a part of the story that God is writing through that couple in Nicaragua. We are honored to have this opportunity and cannot wait serve.

Decisions Points [cont.]

It's not hard to make decisions when you know what your values are.

Show me a successful individual or company and I will show you an individual or company who knows what their values are. Think about it. We have a lot of entrepreneurs here. So much time and energy is spent in defining and creating missions statements and core values during the beginning stages of an organization Why? Because it’s easy to make decisions when you know what you value and every decision you make is based off of those values. So you spend most of the time upfront defining those values so the rest of the journey is easy. How much more important is this with your own individual lives and families? It’s worth the time to identify and define your values. 

Have you ever read through the record of Joseph and Potipher's wife? It is a great example to this context. Listen to Joseph's response after he is tempted on numerous occasions, “Come to bed with me!” But he refused. “With me in charge,” he told her, “my master does not concern himself with anything in the house; everything he owns he has entrusted to my care. No one is greater in this house than I am. My master has withheld nothing from me except you, because you are his wife. How then could I do such a wicked thing and sin against God?” And though she spoke to Joseph day after day, he refused to go to bed with her or even be with her. One day he went into the house to attend to his duties, and none of the household servants was inside. She caught him by his cloak and said, “Come to bed with me!” But he left his cloak in her hand and ran out of the house (Gen 39).

This is amazing how Joseph is able to recite his values in the heat of the moment (pun intended). Put yourself in the story and tell me if this is not breeding ground for a fall. Joseph has gone from rags to riches. He just came off of a really bad situation with his family and he is emotional and physically drained. He is put as head of the household in Potipher’s palace. He can have anything he wants and he can make anybody do anything he wants. He has power, he has favor, and he has money at his disposal. And a fine, well dressed, well proportioned woman that probably smells really good shows interest in him and tempts him more times than one. What would you do? Listen if you don’t know or define your values, this is a hard choice for anybody. Look at the times in your life that you are most susceptible to fall. You either really tired, emotionally drained, coming off a successful high, or just caught off guard. You have to know your values in order to withstand these situations. It's not hard to make decisions when you know what your values are.





Decision Points [cont.]

Noah was faced with an enormous decision as a leader. Did you know that it took Noah about 100 yrs to build the Ark? Noah's Ark was three stories high (Genesis 6:16). Its total deck area was equivalent to the area of about 20 standard college basketball courts or 36 lawn tennis courts. The world had to wait until AD 1884 before the Ark's size was exceeded, when the Italian liner Eturia was built. On top of that, the world had not yet seen rain up to this point. So every single day Noah is out there laboring and hoping it wasn’t bad pizza. Can you imagine what the neighbors must have thought? Or perhaps what his wife and kids may have thought? I cannot imagine working on the same project for 100 yrs and only by faith believing that it will even be used. This was a hard job to accomplish for any leader. There was no immediate gratification, no promotions, no 401k, just 100 yrs of the same old thing. The big question is, how was he able to remain faithful to the call? Because Noah understood that future outcomes can be influenced by our choices in the present. Before the story ever began we knew that Noah was a righteous man and blameless before all the people (Genesis 6:9). He made a decision before the "moment" came. That decision was able to sustain him during the times that he wanted to throw it all away.




Decision Points

Our life can be summed up by the decisions we make. You cannot get away with making zero decisions. That’s a problem because some people are very decisive when it comes to avoiding decisions. You get that later I am sure. From the time you wake up in the morning until the time you go to bed at night you will have made thousands and thousands of decisions. Some of those are made quickly and more easily. However some decisions are more serious and take time to evaluate. Since such is the case I wonder if it would be advantageous of us to be very aware, very purposeful and very careful when it comes to making the right decisions that will inevitably direct our investments throughout our lives (and I don’t mean financial). Think about it! Don't just wing it!









Senate Meeting

We are heading to the Reception for International Adoption today. Please pray for favor and many great connections today as we continue to find different ways to impact the orphans of our world. Stay tuned for updates and information on how you can help. Enjoy your day!