Does God Really Know Your Thoughts?

(Our box in on the right)

I have a story about God to tell you...

As I gathered up my rather bouncy little boy and tried to herd him toward the car with what little patience I could find in my burdened heart and mind I found myself lost in the day's duties.

"I have Gaius and he's dressed, Andrew has Gideon, diaper bag, the one diaper and wipe I have left, hope they don't both dirty their diaper. Is the dog up, did I pick up all the toys, do I have my grocery list? Now what do I need...diapers, wipes, milk, peanut butter? Oh, I don't like UK peanut butter - if only I could have Jiffy, just one jar. Oh well, I just won't get any peanut butter..."

After strapping Gaius in his seat I thought I should check the mail before we left. As I opened our old creaky wooden mail box expecting to find nothing of interest I was taken back by the brown paper covered parcel which took every inch of our mail box.

"Why did the post lady not just leave a note? I am glad though, that she squeezed it in!"

As I squeezed my fingers along one side and then the other side of this unknown object and wiggled a bit this way and that way, it finally broke out of its cocoon and the weight of this enormous parcel fell into my anxious arms.

"What could this be?"

Andrew walked up at that very moment with the logical questions one might ask if they found themselves in this situation. I decided to bring it into the car and open it as we went.

"I hope it is something that will encourage you," my sweet husband said as he closed his car door. My heart began to beat a bit faster with the anticipation and excitement of this unknown parcel,

"What could it be, a late gift for Gideons birth...?"

My hands grasped the tape holding this large and very heavy parcel together and pulled, expecting the parcel to burst open and the mystery to be revealed. The tape barely budged so I continue to pull, tug, and tear until finally the flaps were freed. I love parcels and I could not wait to see what it was! PEANUT BUTTER! JIF peanut butter! Six jars of Jif peanut butter!

My mind raced back to moments before and I burst into laughter. Peanut butter, Jif peanut butter! My emotions filled my heart to the point of explosion and the tears burst from my eyes and I could say not a word for the laughter.

You see, when I was confronted so directly with the theological truth that God had heard the inward thoughts of my heart, I was overwhelmed. God had heard my insignificant thoughts and His great love for me was shown by this act of extravagance. I would have been happy with one jar of peanut butter but God showed me that He wanted something much better for me...six jars! So often when we need and/or want something we forget in the midst of our impatience that God is working out every little detail of all His children's lives. The perfect timing that God had in orchestrating the receipt this gift just moments after my heart had asked for it took much foresight, planning and the use of many individuals.

"And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to His purpose." ESV
Romans 8:28

P.S. To my dear friends who sent us this "Joy Gift" I thank you, not only for the generous gift of our favorite peanut butter, but also for the way God used you to increase and encourage our faith and once again remind us of just how Awesome our God is. Thank you!

Easter Egg Hunt

I shamelessly stole this photo of my friends blog(http://naomibird.blogspot.com/ ) as our camera is still down. We had a wonderful Easter Celebration. The Bird family came over for lunch and we all had a wonderful meal (Naomi and I shared the work) the kids had fun playing together and eating way to much chocolate and hunting for eggs outside with snow flakes falling on their noses.

HAPPY EASTER

Forgiveness is a simple yet very tricky thing. You can find all sorts of Scripture about forgiveness and without it none of us could survive any relationship. We are all guilty of sinning against or offending someone, most relevant is God.

The tricky part is that we all love to be forgiven and at times even demand it; however, we may be a bit more reluctant to offer our own forgiveness so freely. This is of course understandable because hey lets face it--people can be very mean and do really bad things against us.

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I am struck by this topic as we approach Easter and also as our Ladies Bible study works through the book of Matthew in the Bible (If you have never read this you must; it is a real page turner!).

As you read through the Sermon on the Mount (Matt. Ch.5-7) that Jesus Christ preached to the masses you should be struck by Mt. 5:48. Perhaps Christ's words here do not fit what we think Christianity is all about at least in Reformed circles. Throughout chapter five Christ tells us all sorts of things to do and not do such as: the beatitudes, believers being like salt and light, the importance of the law, the high standard Christ has (i.e. if you look at a woman lustfully it is as if you have already committed adultery), marriage, oaths, turning the other cheek, loving your enemy... and after all of this Christ says... (Matthew 5:48)

"Therefore you shall be perfect, just as your Father in heaven is perfect!"

WOW! Christ makes no excuses for our sin, not even the little teeny tiny white lies. Good thing He does not leave us without hope, because we all know that this call to perfection is impossible. In the next chapters Christ shows us as He heals a leaper, calms a storm, casts out demons, forgives and heals a paralytic, and even brings a girl back from the dead and much more, that He has power over all things from the human body, to the wind and the seas but most importantly he has power over our souls--to forgive.

You see Christ doesn't forgive based upon how much we know about the Bible or how good or not so good our theology, rather He cares about our hearts. He can see past all the walls we have built up. He can open those doors and find the skeletons of our past and He wants our hearts--our whole hearts. This might be scary for some because we can all be very good actors and hide our sin, but we can't hide it from God. BUT the great news is that Christ came for sinners not for perfect people (Matthew 9:12-13). So if you think you are great then too bad for you; but if you know you are a sinner, come on in Christ wants you in Heaven! This is where FORGIVENESS comes in. Christ lived that perfect life (that we could never) and he died and took the punishment that we all deserve so that we can have FORGIVENESS! and what great news this is.

He doesn't stop there though. Christ wants us to love one another. The love and forgiveness that comes from the Heavenly Father binds us together and is the very reason that we can love and forgive all the many people throughout our lives who will sin against us and hurt us deeply. They may never say they are sorry for what they have done against us; but hey, have we said that we are sorry to God for every imperfect thought in our mind and every sin we have committed against Him?--NO!

So as we all reflect upon what Christ has done for us through His death on the Cross and his Resurrection. Let us not simply say thank you to Christ and then turn to our brother or sister, husband or wife, friend, or other church member and hold them to a high level of perfection not offering our forgiveness when they sin against us, but rather let us remember Matthew 6:14-15...

"For if you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. BUT if you do not forgive men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses."

Who can I forgive that I really don't want to? I have person in my life, do you?

Let us be filled with a desire for unity as we reflect upon Easter, let us remember to forgive that person that we really don't want as we eat our yummy chocolate eggs, and may we not forget that Christ died for us as we stood and cried out "Crucify Him!" Yet he cried out,

"Father FORGIVE them for they know not what they do!" Luke 23:34

May the Lord, bless you and your family with the richness of His love and forgiveness,
HAPPY EASTER TO YOU ALL FROM OUR HOUSE TO YOURS

Camera Down

Once again we are digital camera-less:( our camera's battery is broken however Andrew is looking into getting a new one and we should be up and running soon. I am sad to say that we missed out on the opportunity to show you all the many things in our lives since last we posted photos but we will try and make up for it when we are back up and running!
These facts inevitably lead me to ask the question that we have all asked in the last 10 years..."Where would we be with out digital cameras and ______ (fill in your own blank) and How did I ever live with out it?!?"

For old times sake (i.e. back when our camera worked) I give you this...

Eleanor and Gaius having a great time at Toddler Group in Kirkhill Andrew's innovative invention for protecting Gideon from the old "pasta in the hair!" problem.

This photo belongs on the web--three average American little boys in McDonald's play gym. These active little boys (Chaz, Gaius and Dominic) asked to go to McDonalds to play in the play gym, go figure there was a flat screen t.v. with cartoons shocking they choose t.v.

Prayer Points For March

I know it has been quite some time since we last posted our prayer points--this does not represent the level of need rather the lack of time. Below are some key points that wee need pray for however we can always use prayer for our day to day schedule.
Andrew

• Phd Studies, at present Andrew is doing a great job with the old balancing act however we need your prayers as he studies.
• Pastoral work: He has a big couple of weeks ahead with preaching all over the place for the big Easter week and the following week including; KFC services, Free North Church services, Kiltarlity C of S Good Friday service which will be a joint service for both the Free Church and Church of Scotland in Kiltarlity and Kirkhill and more.

Eleanor

• Teaching bible study on Thursday Night through the book of Matthews. Teaching Gaius as we have started home "school." Patience as she prayerfully raises these two boys up in the way of the Lord. Wisdom as she manages the house hold and supports Andrew.
• Healing and diagnoses for a potential problem with her liver.

Gaius and Gideon

• That the boys would come to know the Lord as their Lord and Saviour.
• Gaius would learn gentleness with his brother and patience with all the rainy days of being stuck inside.
• That the boys would stay healthy, grow, and develop well.
• Praise for the element of success that Gaius is having with his eczema and keeping it under control.

KFC

• For the Lords hand of blessing in the Sunday worship service, prayer meetings, bible studies and fellowship events.
• That the individuals in the church would be a witness and testimony to these two small villages for the Lord.
• That the members would continue to grow in a deeper love and friendship among each other.

Inverness-shire (Kiltarlity and Kirkhill)

• A great revival in these areas. That people would feel the conviction of the spirit to turn to the Lord and receive the greatest gift one could receive-salvation.

What a blessing it is for us to know that you are praying for us. We believe that the Lord not only hears our prayers but answers our prayers in His perfect timing. Your prayers encourage us and give us strength knowing we are not alone but have a huge support network back "home!"

Blessings in Christ,

Andrew and Eleanor