Well after an entire semester of no blogging, I’ve finally found myself in a place to start posting updates again! We’re in Cairo right now trying to work our way through the maze of this great city. I’m reading two fascinating books right now which give me lots to write about. One is called Hieroglyphs for Children (a book I bought for Layla so she won’t be so bored when we go to the temples and so we can write secret messages to one another!) and Cairo: The City Victorious by Max Rodenbeck. The second book is an amazing history of the city for those who are interested in this part of the world. Overall though, things in our part of the city have been fairly quiet, thank the Lord, but things are expected to heat up a bit on the anniversary of the revolution (the 25th of this month)… so please keep the city in your prayers.
I’m going to go ahead and post this though before I delete it or forget about it…!
Today’s Devotional from Streams in The Desert
August 16
I waited patiently for the LORD. (Psalm 40:1)
Waiting is much more difficult than walking, for waiting requires patience, and patience is a rare virtue. We enjoy knowing that God builds hedges around His people, when we look at the hedge from the aspect of protection. But when we see it growing higher and higher until we can no longer see over it, we wonder if we will ever get out of our little sphere of influence and service, where we feel trapped. Sometimes it is hard for us to understand why we do not have a larger area of service, and it becomes difficult for us to “brighten the corner” where we are. But God has a purpose in all of His delays. “The steps of a good man are ordered by the LORD” (Ps. 37:23 KJV). Next to this verse, in the margin of his Bible, George Mueller made this note: “And the stops too.” It is a sad mistake for someone to break through God’s hedges. It is a vital principle of the Lord’s guidance for a Christian never to move from the spot where he is sure God has placed him, until the “pillar of cloud” (Ex. 13:21) moves. from Sunday School Times Once we learn to wait for the Lord’s leading in everything, we will know the strength that finds its highest point in an even and steady walk. Many of us are lacking the strength we so desire, but God gives complete power for every task He calls us to perform. Waiting —keeping yourself faithful to His leading —this is the secret of strength. And anything that does not align with obedience to Him is a waste of time and energy. Watch and wait for his leading. Samuel Dickey Gordon Must life be considered a failure for someone compelled to stand still, forced into inaction and required to watch the great, roaring tides of life from shore? No —victory is then to be won by standing still and quietly waiting. Yet this is a thousand times harder to do than in the past, when you rushed headlong into the busyness of life. It requires much more courage to stand and wait and still not lose heart or lose hope, to submit to the will of God, to give up opportunities for work and leave honors to others, and to be quiet, confident, and rejoicing while the busy multitude goes happily along their way. The greatest life is: “after you have done everything, to stand” (Eph. 6:13). J. R. Miller
Last night I heard a robin singing in the rain, And the raindrop’s patter made a sweet refrain, Making all the sweeter the music of the strain. So, I thought, when trouble comes, as trouble will, Why should I stop singing? Just beyond the hill It may be that sunshine floods the green world still. He who faces the trouble with a heart of cheer Makes the burden lighter. If there falls a tear, Sweeter is the cadence in the song we hear. I have learned your lesson, bird with spotted wing, Listening to your music with its tune of spring — When the storm cloud darkens, it’s the TIME to sing.
Eben Eugene Rexford
The world says that “seeing is believing,” but God wants us to believe in order to see.
Well, here we are in Northern BC on the way to our first family fishing trip! Layla has a new pink trolling rod, Sophia her Dora rod and Dad’s going to be fly fishing… and mom?! We’re not sure what she’ll be doing but if the past is any prediction of the future then she’ll be catching more fish than Dad. It’s horribly hard on the ego when a vegetarian, non fisherman out fishes you! More updates from the cabin…
“Courage is the capacity to do what is right and good in the face of fear. We become courageous when we learn to live for something that is more important than our own safety.” -Scott Bader-Saye
ان يكرهك الناس لصراحتك …..خير لك من ان يحبوك لنفاقك
If people hate you for your candour, it’s better than them loving you for your hypocrisy.”
Coffee Grounds and Sand Dunes 