A Foreigner Fights for Our Freedom

This is a little something I wrote back in 2008 when my husband was on summer break in between semesters as Bible College. He had just begun a new job building valves for the oil and gas industry.

We went to the 60th Anniversary Celebration for my husband’s new job on Friday afternoon. They had just gone all out and had hired a company to bring in huge blow up obstacle courses, slides, a little toddler town with balls and mini slides, a coconut tree to climb, bungee jumping things, a laser tag and huge swing, and last ponies and goats, sheep, and a llama to pet! Oh, and we can’t forget the free barbeque which was some good eatin’.

All that was fun and I was so bummed that I had forgotten the memory card for our camera. The biggest blessing to me was meeting the volunteers that were supervising all the rides and moon bounces all afternoon. When we were at the “Toddler Town” bounce we got to talk to a guy named Vladic and he was asking us what the company manufactured. After hearing his accent I asked him where he was from and he said “Poland.” And I asked him what he was doing here in the states and he told us that he was stationed at the local Air Force Base. So I asked “Are you from Poland over here flying with us?” And he replied “No” and explained that he had joined our Air Force. He also acted like he planned to re-enlist. We thanked him over and over for his service because we know from talking to and hearing stories from other soldiers they aren’t thanked enough. We went onto the other areas and thanked other Air Force men, they were all from the same squadron working the booths so that they could have a Christmas party in December.

Jeff was the second young man that we spoke to, he had been in the Air Force for a little over a year. His father was born in Cuba and had joined the Navy and he had grown up moving here and there and decided he would serve also. He said “Thank you for saying that to me, it really means a lot.” He had unsurety in his eyes. When I asked when they would be sent out he told me it was “classified.” The look in his face makes me wonder if it will be soon.

So all in all I was thinking, Vladic and Jeff’s father were not Americans but they made a choice to join our military and fight for our freedom. Some may say “They just did it for the benefits” and have a sarcastic attitude about it but if you just put that out of your mind for a minute you can consider some other things…

Not only are they like other soldiers that give their life in a noble way so that we might carry on life here in peaceful living, they have no roots or patriotism in their blood like we do. And I just wonder why? And I have respect for their decision. It puts me in awe though.

It reminds me of Christ, THE Foreigner to our sinful world coming to fight for our freedom so that we might have salvation.

His fight was to conquer sin on the cross and defeat death in His resurrection so that when we accept His payment for us we might have life, and life more abundantly. The freedom that a believer carries is the freedom to live in Christ and grow in the love of God. And that should warrant even more respect and honor and thanks than what I owe every soldier that has given his life for my freedom.

The simple things in life can be a great reminder of our Lord and liberty in Him because after salvation we have been given not only the freedom from sin but freedom to live for Him in His purposes, not enslaved by the world any longer. 

I have loved this verse about liberty for many years and wish to share it with you on this special occasion.

Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage. Galatians 5:1

I wish you all a Happy Fourth of July and hope you all have a wonderful time with your family and friends!

How God Provided: Clothes for Our Son

It’s amazing how God provides in mysterious ways! Just last week we saw God provide for our oldest son, Uno’s need for clothes. He, being the oldest, usually is the one that we buy new clothes for even if they are just “new” to him from the thrift stores. Our daughters have been provided for from about five different families in our church and we have tubs of clothes in our garage waiting for them to be old enough to wear them. Uno, however, has a pair of winter boots, a couple of shirts, and maybe a few other miscellaneous items in his tub…until now!

A month ago when I was packing up the winter clothes and getting out the summer clothes I noticed he was down to the bottom of his tub with all the winter clothes he had worn this year going into the tub for our second son, Dos. It would remind you of how the widow woman who Elijah saw felt when she noticed she was down to the bottom of the barrel with her meal and oil that morning. I began praying and telling God about Uno’s need and asking Him to provide.

We thought nothing of it when we were on our way to find some jeans at the store when my husband mentioned something to our neighbors that were outside. “Oh, we’re just going out to buy some clothes for our son before we head out on vacation,” my husband said. Then, bam! What do you know, God prompts the neighbor lady to go inside and bring us something…

When we returned from the store the doorbell rang and as we swung open the door, there she was with her arms stacked high, almost higher than her face, with boy clothes! God’s answer to my prayers was right there. She has two older boys that had outgrown the clothes and they were sitting in their garage waiting to be given away to charity. Well, God’s charity was shining down upon us when He provided so much!

When God provides so generously I am always reminded of the verse that my mother would quote to my sisters and I as children,

“Give, and it shall be given unto you; good measure, pressed down, and shaken together, and running over, shall men give into your bosom. For with the same measure that ye mete withal it shall be measured to you again.” Luke 6:38.

I can’t count the times that God has impressed on my heart to give away our children’s clothes. There have been times when Uno had outgrown clothes and Dos had not grown into them yet (they are 18 months apart) and God has burdened my heart for a single mother that needed clothes for her children. I have gone in and taken a majority of the clothes and given them to that mother. I can’t help it, I just feel like sometimes it’s a waste to have things sitting in storage when they can be used for someone else’s child.

If Jesus came back tomorrow would I wish that I had obeyed when He had placed that burden on my heart? That’s why when I’m impressed to give I do… I want to be obedient.

When we see God’s principles work, like when we give away clothes and then we receive clothes for our children, then we cannot question the principle outlined in Luke 6:38. The clothing stacked up in our neighbor’s arms were the evidence of “pressed down, and shaken together, and running over.” He now has clothes up to size 14 when he wears size 7.  Whether they will be in style in 7 years may be a different story!

If I could encourage you in one way through this testimony it would be, do not doubt God’s ability to keep track. He repays all things, whether good or bad. It’s been said many times that God is never a debtor. While we should give without expectation of receiving, we should be looking for God’s provisions and being thankful for them. The times we hold back and give begrudgingly are times we rob ourselves of abundant blessings!

Even ministry women, that are on a budget, with little to give can find themselves in a battle of generosity vs. holding on to their substance while on their knees praying to God to meet their needs. Remember God’s Word says in II Corinthians 9:6-8,

But this I say, He which soweth sparingly shall reap also sparingly; and he which soweth bountifully shall reap also bountifully. Every man according as he purposeth in his heart, so let him give; not grudgingly, or of necessity: for God loveth a cheerful giver. And God is able to make all grace abound toward you; that ye, always having all sufficiency in all things, may abound to every good work. 

God not only loves a cheerful giver, He provides abounding grace for you to be able to “abound to every good work.” In other words, He gives you plenty of grace to do plenty of good toward others. He will prompt your heart to give. Then, in time He gives back to you. If you recognize His abundant blessings and glorify Him for it, then you will have a story to tell just like we do.

The next blessing you can give is sharing with your children how He has provided and He cares for them by answering your prayers. They need to know He cares about the needs they have. When you share stories like these, you are not only exercising your faith, you are passing it on to the next generation. You are setting up stones for them to look back on and to see and remind them when they need to trust again, that God has come through in the past and He will do it again.

When God provides and answers our prayers it becomes a stepping stone of faith that leads us to the next step.

  • Will we trust God to provide the next need?
  • Will we be waiting in anticipation to see how He does it differently this time?
  • Will we spread the praise to those around us?

Our neighbors are unbelievers that God worked through. That is nothing short of a miracle. You just never know how God will come through! He is so good!

Passages: Biblical Museum Vacation Review

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While on our vacation adventures we took time to go to the Passages Biblical Museum, which is on tour in Colorado Springs, Colorado temporarily. After touring the country the display will finally make its home in Washington D.C. only a few blocks from all the other tourist attractions surrounding the White House.

We wanted to share with you our experiences at the museum and encourage you, that if you have the time, or are in the area to visit!

We highly recommend Passages to everyone!

Biblical history is awesome by itself, but the museum really brought to light how God has perfectly preserved His Word for generations and how you can easily teach your children the blessings of God’s truth!

Isaiah 40:8 The grass withereth, the flower fadeth: but the word of our God shall stand for ever.

We bought our tickets online at the Passages website and paid the extra for the headphones and listening devices, which was worth the money! It cost our family of 6 (2 adults, 3 children, and 1 free baby) $44 to attend. That may be a lot of money to some, but I assure you that it is well worth the investment.

What made it fun for the kids?

  • Head Sets. On the head sets that the kids received (for free) they were able to go on a scavenger hunt with Louie the Lion. They searched for marked paw prints in the exhibit areas and found codes in which they could punch into their device and it would play Louie telling a joke and then giving them a clue to the item to find in the room. Once the scavenger hunt was filled out then it could be turned into the front desk for a prize. Our 7-year-old got the most out of the scavenger hunt, our 6-year-old liked listening to him, but the scavenger hunt was a bit over their heads. I think this is geared toward older children.
  • Animatronics! There was Louie the Lion and about 4 other animated people throughout the displays that spoke and told their stories of how they related to Biblical history. *Note: One was of a man tied to the stake with fire underneath him that was dying as a martyr. We skipped that one.
  • Children’s activities are spread throughout the displays.This helps keep them occupied with an activity while you can venture a few feet away and read the information on the displays. Our children tried their hand at writing Latin words on a piece of paper by copying it with ink and a feather, then they were able to use stamps to make words and transfer pictures onto paper. In another area they could pick up an activity and try to find the errors in the Biblical text. (When men began to copy the Bible on the printing press often times there were human errors made by accident.)
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  • They can experience live demonstrations and see realistic videos that explain the life and times through the centuries that are relevant to how the Bible came to be how it is today. Our children (and even my husband, as you can see) enjoyed watching a man demonstrate how the Gutenberg Press worked. The video that stands out to me was of Martin Luther making a stand to colleagues about how he can no longer stand with the Catholic Church. The Battle Hymn of the Republic room had holographic people who amazed the kids also. OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA
  • The Wilde World of the Bible Children’s Play Area. Our kids went in and played games, cut out puppets, dressed up as Bible characters, looked at books, colored on a digital coloring screen, played with a puppet stage, and sat for a few minutes to watch a video.

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What made it great for adults that love the Bible?

  • The museum is packed with information, great displays, and you will be amazed at all the things you can learn about God and His Word. The time to tour all the displays is around 3 hours, which may seem like a long time, but you simply can not soak it all in by a quick run through. Your ticket allows you to come in and out through the museum all day long. If you need to leave and go to lunch then you can simply come back and an attendant will escort you back where you left off.
  • The Bibles will amaze you! There were pieces of the Bible that were so old that they could only be lit for 15 seconds every minute because they were so fragile and sensitive to light. There were Bibles of every type and size as they began from scrolls to printed works. We even saw a Bible that they believed Christopher Columbus brought on his voyage to the Americas. There were Bibles in beautiful displays, some with intricate drawings on the outer pages, Biblical texts that the Nazis had attempted to burn and destroy to insult the Jews in World War II… the Bibles are amazing!
  • The museum is organized. Each display has a number which correlates to information you can read about the items in the display case. Most cases contain a special number you can type into your listening device and will tell you more about the objects inside. For me, being able to listen to the person tell me about the display was easier than reading it because I could still walk around with our children without having to stay directly in front of the case.
  • There are plenty of places to sit and rest.
  • You can learn more about the Jewish culture. It’s one thing to read about it in the Bible, it’s another thing to see how important God’s Word was to the Jews and the elaborate coverings they made to honor God and the importance of every dot and tittle in the copying of God’s Word by hand. This museum takes what many of us imagine and brings it into the light of reality so it can now become an experience we can use for future reference and in our relationship with God.
    OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA*For Your Information: The museum does include the Catholic, German, and other histories of Biblical translation, which were not made from the Textus Receptus, including Jerome’s history , where we wrote Latin with pen and feather and saw him in the cave (above with Flat Stanley). As you go through the passages of time in the museum it all begins to point to the translation of the King James Version of the Bible, which put God’s Word into the English language, which our family believes to be the entire and complete translation of the Word of God.

Tips for attending Passages with Children

  • Plan your day. It takes a long time to go through the museum. If you need to plan to go in the morning and go out for lunch and a little play time before returning, then do! It is a quieter atmosphere than what some kids may be used to, but there are plenty of things that can keep them busy along the way.
  • Take photos in approved areas. No photos are allowed in certain areas of the museum. We were able to take a photo at the Gutenberg Press and with some of the animatronics because they were not artifacts. You can take your photos in the Wilde World Kids area.
  • Sit on a bench and let them play quietly. If you buy the headsets (headsets for children are free) then push the number of the display you like, then sit and listen. This can free up space around displays. You can give them a toy or book to look at while you learn.
  • Take time to watch the videos and sit when you can.
  • Help your kids with the scavenger hunt if they need help. It may keep you from looking at a few of the displays but it will encourage them to learn more about Bible History. This entire museum is a tremendous teaching tool. *Note: Your headset can also pick up the clues from Louie the Lion along the way, punch in the number and he’ll speak to you too.
  • Choose the displays you want your children to see.  Look at your museum directory and skip the unnecessary for their age group. If possible, take turns with your spouse in taking care of the kids if you are interested in something specific.
  • Remember what it’s like to be a kid. Show them the things you think are exciting. Read some of the information you find valuable with an enthusiastic voice. Take them to the play room for a break if they become restless and return to your tour when they get the wiggles and giggles out. OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

When we build our life and ministries around the Bible, then we need to use tools like the Passages Bible Museum to reinforce what we have taught to our children. How often through teaching and preaching we want to convey the message of God so they can make it come alive in their minds and understand it in their hearts.

This experience helped us in many ways to make the Bible come alive!

We may never be able to travel to Washington, D.C. to see Passages when it makes its home there, but we were able to see it when it was on our vacation route.

If you have the opportunity then go, it is “an experience of Biblical proportions!”