On 10 of the Ten

This was something I hadn't thought of before.
Susan

From: Francis Schaeffer's _True Spirituality_ ON THE GIVING OF THANKS

"You shall not covet your neighbor's house; you shall not covet your neighbor's
wife, or his male servant, or his female servant, or his ox, or his donkey, or
anything that is your neighbor's." (Exodus 20:17)

"Coveting is never an outward thing, from the very nature of the case. It is an
intriguing factor that this is the last command that God gives us in the Ten
Commandments and thus the hub of the whole matter. The end of the whole thing is
that we arrive at an inward situation and not merely an outward one." (TS, 7)

"Does this mean any desire is coveting and therefore sinful? The Bible makes it
plain this is not so -- all desire is not sin. So then the question arises,
when does proper desire become coveting? ...desire becomes sin when it fails to
include love of God or men. Further, I think there are two practical tests as to
when we are coveting against God or men: first, I am to love God enough to be
contented; second, I am to love men enough not to envy." (TS, 9)

"A quiet disposition and a heart giving thanks at any given moment is the real
test of the extent to which we love God at that moment."
(TS, 9)

Susan and Mark serve with InnerChange in Cambodia.

Thanks Giving.

At the core of my heart has been a growing grattitude.

I have never created one day of life.
Each day comes to me as a gift... and the fact that I get to make a difference with my life is an amazing gift.

There is a joy that comes from embracing the gift of life in the midst of pain. We have a choice to either accept and embrace the challenges of life... or to complain about them.

Today I am reminded that joy comes mixed with sorrow... and that sorrow can not be eliminated, yet it makes each choice that I do have radiate with more Joy... because today is another day I get to embrace the love of God and share it with others. Ephesians 3:14-21

Those who know me know the love I carry in my heart for each of you.

Those who don't know me... there is a greater love waiting to embrace us all if we are just willing.

Joyful Thanks Giving!

Another Request for Prayer

Jude Writes:

Hello All — I am inviting you all to join me in prayer for my younger brother Ben, his wife Jeanine, and their three little ones. (This is the brother who is now on the family farm).

Last week Jeanine was diagnosed with breast cancer. She had a lumpectomy this past Friday, and today the results are back. It is not the result we were hoping for. They removed the malignant lump, and several lymph nodes, but there are residual cancer cells that they were not able to remove. So on December 8, she will again go into surgery and have her breast removed. After that she will have a season of chemo and radiation.

Right now they need wisdom about treatment. Some are suggesting they go outside the San Joaquin Valley for treatment, but with three kids aged 3, 5 & 6, and Ben’s 14 hour work days on the dairy, it is not that easy to leave.

Also pray for me (us) to know how about my (our) time, when I (we) need to go be there with them. Ben and Jeanine are the family that live next door to my mom and have been looking out for my mom, so obviously this will impact what they can do for her as well.

Thanks for your prayers.
Jude

Learning to Say Good Bye

Since 2001 over 27+ people who were somehow tied in to my conscious world have died. Some have died from violence, some from cancer, a few from old age... this has rocked my world in some ways. Growing up in a culture that was good at denying the reality of death -- in Princeton NJ. Has left me with a gap in my ability to embrace life and death for what it is...

I find myself with this quezzy feeling that I have begun to recognize as anger... but what am I angry about...

The Bible does not lie about the shortness of life itself...

slowly it has dawned on me the roots of a very dangerous spiritual toxic poison.

I live in a culture that keeps trying to get me to love things and use people rather than Loving People and using things; Death puts the value of things in perspective.

A friend of mine, has had cancer removed from his brain... He has two kids and a loving wife... he has set in front of himself the hard work of contemplating what it means to care for their life span and it's journey... even if he may not be there... he has started to write them letters for their birthdays and for their hoped for life stages... like marriage... etc.

Half the world is 15 years old or younger.

We have created a world that is extremely indulgent and does not care much about the world we are passing on to these kids. Even normal life is more twisted than we like to imagine... visit your local land fill and contemplate your contribution to it... if you think that your life is just a little messed up...

I am going to a grief group tonight because I have never really learned how to be angry in a healthy way. I am angry because we as a culture do not value life as we should... It has taught me all the wrong priorities... What thing would I not sacrifice if it meant that I could have just one more hour of quality time with Dr. James Loder, or Satoe One.

If we valued life we would honor it much more than we do... and we would struggle with what is of real value and significance much more than we do...

"NO One Gets a Second Chance To Be the Friend they Meant to Be" Mark Heard