packin' and a prayin'

July prayer letter:

Dear family and friends,

In just one week I will be…

Joining my church team in a send-off prayer as we leave for Ethiopia!

Packing my suitcase and our 20 crates of donations on board our plane!

Flying around the world to visit orphans and missionaries!

Taking medications.

Experiencing a different climate and new foods!

Watching God use me for His glory!

Yes, I’m a little fearful of all the unknowns, but I’m amazed by all God has done to prepare and provide for our team to go on this trip.  Thank you so much for your prayers and financial support in my preparation! These are some of my specific prayer requests while I’m away.

Health-my medications and the new culture won’t alter my attitude.

Safety-while traveling to and around Ethiopia

 Community- living and working in a team for 10 days

 Attitude- my spirit will be flexible to help where I’m needed

 Changed Heart- my eyes will be open to what God wants me to learn through this experience.

While in Ethiopia, August 4-14, my team and I will be serving in a number of different areas. We will be helping the staff of Children’s Hope Chest Centers, leading and encouraging the community children in VBS lessons and activities, and making home visits. Please pray for me as I have been asked to prepare and teach English learning lessons and worship songs. I’m eager to see how the children learn words and songs in our language!

Thanks for your support,

Alicia Behrens

Lamentations 3:22-24 “The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases, his mercies never end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. The Lord is my portion, says my soul, therefore I hope in him.”

Blessings

I am Thankful For...
author unknown
For the wife/mom who says "It's hot dogs tonight: because she's home and not out with someone else.

For the husband/dad who is one the sofa, being a couch potato, because he's home and not out at the bars.

For the teenager who's complaining about doing the dishes because it means she's home and not on the streets.

For taxes I pay because it means I am employed.

For the mess to clean after the party because it means I have been surrounded by friends.

For the clothes that fit a little too snug because it means I have enough to eat.

For the shadow that watches me work because it means I am out in the sunshine.

For the lawn that needs mowing, windows that need cleaning, and gutters that need fixing because it means I have a home.

For all the complaining I hear about the government because it means we have freedom of speech.

For the parking spot I find at the far end of the parking lot because it means I am capable of walking and I have been blessed with transportation.

For my huge heating bill because it means I am warm.

For the lady behind me in church who sings off key because it means I can hear.

For the pile of laundry and ironing because it means I have clothes to wear.

For weariness and aching muscles at the end of the day because it means I have been capable of working hard.

For the alarm that goes off in the early morning hours because it means I am alive.

For too much e-mail because it means I have friends who are thinking of me.

For the cluttered buffet covered with photos because it means I have so many to love.

-Article from an Iowa Newspaper

Blessed Be Your Name - Lyrics by Matt Redman

Blessed Be Your Name
In the land that is plentiful
Where Your streams of abundance flow
Blessed be Your name

When I'm found in the desert place
Though I walk through the wilderness
Blessed Be Your name

Every blessing You pour out
I'll turn back to praise
When the darkness closes in, Lord
Still I will say

Blessed be the name of the Lord
Blessed be Your name
Blessed be the name of the Lord
Blessed be Your glorious name

Blessed be Your name
When the sun's shining down on me
When the world's 'all as it should be'
Blessed be Your name

On the road marked with suffering
Though there's pain in the offering
Blessed be Your name

Blessed be the name of the Lord
Blessed be Your name
Blessed be the name of the Lord
Blessed be Your glorious name

You give and take away
You give and take away
My heart will choose to say
Lord, blessed be Your name

vacation

What is it? Or better question, where is it? Is it a state of mind or a state of location? Hmm, well my easy answer is…vacation is anywhere you want it to be! You can travel for a couple hours or a few days to reach a vacation destination, or you can simply relax from a rushed schedule in your own back yard or living room easy chair. Every person’s definition of vacation is a little different.

My idea of vacation allows my rushed everyday schedule to relax a bit. I can watch an extra TV show, take an extra long walk, go shopping without an agenda or just sit and soak in the summer sun and not feel guilty.  Yet vacation to me means even more than that...going places and visiting people I don’t see everyday and seeing more of this world! 

Right now I’m on vacation-vacation! Not only do I have several weeks of break from work, but this past week I’ve been out of town visiting my parents. All of my family live out of state, so to visit any of them, requires some type of traveling. I don’t mind though, part of the vacation experience should include packing a suitcase, driving for a few hours or flying on a big plane, snapping photos of new sites, visiting people and relatives in other locations, hearing new stories, eating at other restaurants or trying some new food, experiencing a different way of life for a few days.

Vacation should be refreshing! By comparison you’ll be reminded of the simple conveniences, people, places and food you enjoy most. You’ll become grateful for the jobs and benefits God has supplied for your unique life. Vacation times may seem short, but they quickly call to mind everyday blessings you may tend to overlook.

let your LIGHT shine

Tonight on my walk I saw little Lightning bugs flicker and flash in the bushes and grass; I heard fireworks crackling in nearby neighborhoods, and I watched as the sun set shining a rainbow of colors through the clouds above…beauty by many light sources. These three lights got me thinking about life…each are very different, yet each light up!

Lightning bugs thrive on humidity that’s why they come out in the summer. Obviously they illuminate at night so they can see each other, yet I just learned, each Lightning bug has a different glow pattern unique to its species. They not only communicate but also attract the opposite gender by their own flickering light as they fly.  To the human eye, Lightning bugs seem soothing as they gracefully glow in the summer night sky randomly flashing a soft light. In the same way, God made each person in a unique one-of-a-kind way. He fashioned each of us with our own skills and abilities and desires. We may seem unlike others, but that’s okay, just like Lightning bugs, we learn and grow and change in different seasons called life.

Psalm 139 :13, 15 “You formed my inward parts: my frame was not hidden from you when I was being made in secret…”

Fireworks are mostly thought of as a mid-summer entertainment lightshow. They are loud, big, bright and colorful and always draw a crowd of all ages…exploding colored dynamite…who wouldn’t like that?! The light of a firework is truly amazing, It has a vibrant color against the dark sky, it’s high in the sky so everyone can see it, and it’s loud when it explodes. But as soon as it explodes it immediately starts to fade. Fireworks are cool, yet they only last a split second and then it’s gone. The light of a purposefully designed life is just as amazing. We are born with passions and purposes, we learn and train for particular jobs and callings, and then our life displays all we’ve been designed to be. All too quickly our life will end though. We may not know the hour or day, yet our light-and life-will fade as quickly as it began.

James 4:14 “…you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes.”

The sun is our main source of light. It helps feed and grow all types of plants and grass, animals and humans need sunlight, and the human race sets our clocks, calendars, and routines—our livelihood—by the sun’s orbit. We can count on it. It’s reliable, stable, and faithful. God made and put the sun into motion on the fourth day of creation and saw that it was good. (Genesis 1:14-19) I do love the hot summer sun shining down on me! The only thing greater and more reliable than the sun, our main source of light, is God Himself.

Lamentations 3:22-23 “The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases, His compassions never end, they are new every morning.  Great is His faithfulness.”

Psalm 84:11 “The Lord God is a sun and shield; He bestows favor and honor. No good thing does He withhold from those who walk uprightly.”

I pray my Life will be a Light that reflects the true Light Source-Jesus!

Hillsong United lyrics. From The Inside Out
A thousand times I've failed
Still your mercy remains
And should I stumble again
Still I'm caught in your grace

Everlasting. Your light will shine when all else fades
Never ending, Your glory goes beyond all fame

My heart and my soul, I give You control
Consume me from the inside out Lord
Let justice and praise, become my embrace
To love You from the inside out.