deb and i are creative people. if there’s a project that needs to be done, then it has to be done with creativity and WOW.
when we were in Little Rock this past summer they had some kids of staff members come share their experience in moving to Little Rock and their adjustment to life there. every one of them mentioned that during their family’s fundraising process their parents made some kind of chart for the whole family to see how much progress they’d made.
but for the Laras, we didn’t want to simply do some “boring” thermometer. we liked the idea a family had of making a large magnet of a map from their home to Little Rock that they stuck on their fridge and had a little car magnet that traveled down the road.
but we wanted something even BIGGER. so we figured, “hey, we’re not going to stay in this house forever. why not go crazy and make a HUMONGOUS map on the living room wall.”
so that’s what we did. we announced to the girls that they were going to write on the walls, through a projection of the US on the wall, handed out pencils, and then let them go at it. after we’d put them to bed, mom and dad stayed up outlining it in Sharpie markers, and then we colored in the highway to Arkansas with them in the morning.
so i talked with my MPD* coach this afternoon and told him that i felt like we were getting to a spot where the “honeymoon” phase of fundraising was coming to a close.
right after New Staff Training we were all fired up, excited to make appointments, and confident with the tools that we’d be given.
now after 3 weeks…we’re juggling a 40hr work week, kids determined to live in a messy house, and people forgetting or rescheduling the appointments they’d previously set with us.
but through it all God is faithful. i have a job that i’m thankful for and enjoy doing. we’ve been blessed with a babysitter who not only watches kids, but cleans as well. and deb have enjoyed getting to spend unexpected time together when our schedule is suddenly “freed up”.
plus, after FOUR appointments this week that were cancelled, rescheduled, or simply forgotten we were blessed with another couple who have partnered with us for $100/month.
that’s exactly what we needed at exactly the right time.
thanks God, you rock! :)
- – - – - – - – - - *MPD = Ministry Partner Development – that’s the name given to the process of us raising a team of supporters so we can report to Little Rock as fully funded staff missionaries with FamilyLife
As a mother or a father, do you ever feel like you’re floundering with the responsibility of raising your children? Do you have a clear strategy regarding how you will ensure that your kids turn out to be decent adults? Many times I feel lost, like the best I can do is keep these kids alive until they move out. However, I also feel that my children need more; God wants me to give them more.
This past week, during my Bible reading, I’ve read again the story of Esther. This book, in the Old Testament, tells of an incident that occurred in Jewish history. The king of Persia, having disposed of his queen, was in search of a replacement. The king’s attendants suggested that the entire empire be searched for beautiful young women; the young ladies would then be brought into the royal harem where they would receive beauty treatments. Following this time of preparation, the girls would be presented to the king. The woman that pleased the king the most would be made queen. The second chapter outlines how Esther was brought into the fortress of Susa, the location of the king’s harem. Esther found favor with the attending eunuchs; she was treated kindly, given a special menu and received twelve months of beauty treatments in the best place in the harem. When it was her turn to meet with the king, Esther was ready. She had been coached and prepared. She smelled good. She looked good. And she had the aura of royalty. The king loved her, even after their first meeting. He was delighted with her and promptly declared her queen.
What does this story have to do with parenting? A lot. It has changed how I have been parenting my six princesses this past week.
My home, anyone’s home, is like that fortress. We all belong to God, but when He calls us into action, will we be ready? Will our children be ready? Will the King be delighted with what we have to offer? Will we exude an aroma of praise or possess an aura of pride? I can prepare myself to meet with the King by reading His Word & practicing a lifestyle of praise.
What about my kids? As a mother it is my task to help my daughters become presentable princesses. They must be ready to listen to HIs voice & eager to obey; they must be beautiful with gentleness & kindness. They must know that their time is coming soon- the KIng will call for them. They must be ready. When a child is alone or hurting, will our children allow God to love others through them? Will our kids be characterized by obedience and gratitude?
There is another, more masculine, example to follow. The book of 1Samuel shows how a mother gave her son to the Lord, to be “the Lord’s helper,” (1Sam 2:18). And, when the Lord called on Samuel to be His prophet, Samuel was ready & obedient.
We are raising royalty. Will our charges be ready when God has need of them? No longer are we nagging parents; it is our privilege & responsibility to make sure that our children are aware of the fact that they were created for a purpose. I am not parenting for my own enjoyment; the mandate is much higher. The King desires that our children know Him and His commands. As parents, we cannot simply feed & clothe our children until they can do it themselves. We must give them the best ‘diet’ & ‘beauty treatments’ so they will be pleasing to the King when He calls for them.
we had a fabulous time at New Staff Training last week in Orlando. we covered some really valuable information and got to know a little better what we are actually getting our selves into. but what i enjoyed the most from our week away was all of the incredible people we met. not only did we have fabulous instructors, but the other participants from the various ministries of Campus Crusade are all top notch people. we made some great new friends, it's hard not to when you spend 10 hours or more for 10 days together.
so we've made it home and have hit the ground running. in fact, we may have started running a little too fast.
deb and i are both pretty competitive people. so when a challenge was given during our training of who could be the first person to get 3 appointments for the following week to share our ministry, we were on it. we each got our three, and i even got a fourth. deb won a handcrafted pen for being the first female to get her 3 appointments by 7:31pm. and i won some books for going above and beyond the assignment of getting three appointments.
but we weren't very strategic in our calendar planning. as it stood when we left training, we had appointments on tuesday, thursday, friday, and saturday of this week. and since i have a leaders meeting at church on wednesday, that meant one or both of us was busy every night of the week from tuesday-saturday.
so it was kinda a relief for us when yesterday our appointment for thursday rescheduled for friday. it's easier to ask a babysitter to come earlier or stay later, than it is to find a babysitter for another night of the week entirely.
Campus Crusade has various goals per week/month that they'd like New Staff to aim for in order to eventually report to their assignment in a timely manner. these goals are adjusted according to a person's work schedule at an outside job. so for me working 40hrs/week at Efcom, plus some more hours towards church related activities, we have goals set on the low end.
well as competitive as we are, and as much as we sense the urgency of the work we'll be doing, we've overachieved our goals for the first two weeks. which is great because it eventually gets us closer to our goal of reporting to work in Little Rock. but it's not so great being away from our family every night of the week.
i think the people at Campus Crusade have set their goals for us very reasonable, probably because they've seen thousands of families go before us and are aware of what drain it can take on time, family, and body. if we can taper back slightly and coordinate our schedule even better, we'll be better off in the long run. doing that i think we'll be able to reach our goals and maybe even overachieve every once in a while, and still have a healthy, sane family when we finally move.
keep us, our kids, and our health in your prayers. thanks.
as i sit and look at the picture above of our fellow New Staff Training attendees, my eyes are welling up with tears. these people are heroes to me.
only 14 others in the picture above will eventually be joining deborah and i on the staff of FamilyLife in Little Rock, AR. the others are all joining other ministries of Campus Crusade for Christ. some are going to join Campus Ministry, reaching young adults at various colleges around the country. some are headed to Student Venture, to reach High School students with God’s love and hope. still other are bound for Athletes in Action, specifically targeting athletes in college. there’s a few with a heart for Here’s Life Inner City, reaching the poor with the gospel of Jesus Christ. and a couple of them are called to Military Ministry. and still others are being sent to work with The JESUS Film Project®, Keynote, or other International assignments.
you see happy, smiling, young faces.*
i know the men and women who have been called by God to set apart their lives for a greater work of full time ministry. they come from all walks of life. there are students right out of college, former military, pastors, video production engineers, IRS agents, teachers, people from office jobs or manual labor. some have been married for years and have grown children, others have young children, and there are even two couples here that just got married 19 days ago!
these men and women have chosen to leave their friends and loved ones, pack up their families sometimes to a place unknown, and trust fully on God for their lives. these heroes have accepted the task of raising their support not because it’s fun, attractive, or easy to do so. no, they’re here at New Staff Training because each one of them has felt a call from God to do what He’s called them to do (and oh, if you could hear all of the stories i’ve heard). they have a passion for their particular area of ministry. and they have a sense of urgency to their work. the time is short, and we must begin doing the work He’s called us to do while there’s still time.
they are my heroes…my co-laborers…and my friends.
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* picture intentionally blurred and darkened for various reasons. email me or call me if you’d like to know why.
Ezekiel 34:26 I will turn them and the regions around my hill into a blessing. I will make showers come down in their season; they will be showers that bring blessing.
Ezekiel 34:30 Then they will know that I, the LORD their God, am with them, and that they are my people, the house of Israel, declares the sovereign LORD.
I really enjoy reading this chapter in Ezekiel. It shows God, in all His power, taking it upon Himself to go, find and rescue His own sheep, His people. It paints a creative picture of sheep who technically belong in the fold. However, because of negligence on the part of shepherds that have been put into place to care for the sheep, the sheep have wandered away. But this is not okay with God- He desperately wants to maintain relationship with each of His children.
And so, the chapter goes on to point out how God will care for and provide for His people. He will send “showers of blessing.” And the part that really stuck out to me is found in verse 30: “Then they will know that I, the LORD their God, am with them…” God’s heart is to bless His people; He wants them to be blessed and to know that it comes from our Heavenly Father because He is good.
There are other passages throughout the Bible, as well, that show when a person or nation chooses active rebellion or passive indifference against God, they receive justice from God. This is simply so that they would get the clear picture that there is one God, and they are not Him.
So the bottom line is God wants us to make good choices that result in blessing. And if we have wandered away from Him, He will actively pursue us until we can once again walk in the abundant life that He can offer us.
God wants us to know that His character is good. We do not “know” He is God because He alone says it or simply because nature displays His majesty. In and of itself, that should be enough proof. However, God wants to prove His love to you through His power to find you and to bring you into a place of blessing.
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Dear God, thank you for passionately pursuing me. Thank you for the showers of blessing that You have in store for me. Today I choose to give you glory & honor because of who You are! Amen.
we’re heading to Seattle today and spending the night with deb’s sister. and then we meet up with our old pastor’s and friends, Steve & Christine Hayes, who will take us to the airport.
we’ll still be updating the blog and all our other social media outlets during our trip. so stay tuned for the latest from Orlando.
thanks again to everyone who has given towards our ministry. we’re very greatful and humbled to see God’s confirmation on our calling.
for the family,
Abraham and Deborah Lara
we’re still amazed at God’s goodness and at people’s heart of generosity.
deb sent in the last round of support checks/money orders so this makes 6 of these envelopes that we’ve sent in.
thank you, to all who’ve been able to give. and thanks as well to those who’ve mentioned they’d like to give but for various reasons or circumstances are unable to at this time.
we are grateful for your support and prayers.
Ezekiel 18:32 “I don’t want you to die, says the Sovereign Lord. Turn back and live.”
Ezekiel has been sent with a message from God to wayward Israel. God’s only agenda for His people is blessing and life. And yet it seems no matter how much encouragement and incentive He gives them to make good choices they have a propensity to fall back into rebellion and immorality.
As a mother, I can relate. I feel that no matter how hard I try to steer this ship, this home, in one direction it is constantly fighting to go the other way. I’m going right, everyone else is going left.
So what does God do in this situation?
He draws a line in the sand, so to speak. He says, “from this moment on, choose life. Turn from your sins! Don’t let them destroy you! Put all your rebellion behind you and get for yourselves a new heart & a new spirit” (Ez. 18:30-31)
In the same way, I need to offer my kids a fresh start and a new beginning. But also I need to accept that same grace. God is telling me “the past is passed.” Starting now, put on a trusting heart and a contrite spirit. Accept mercy, and grace, and give it just as generously. Dear Lord, Help me to walk in these truths today. Give me your strength to be faithful. I need You. Amen. :)
