A Good Reminder

Proverbs 28:22 A man who won't share what he has wants to get rich. He doesn't know he is going to be poor.

From Today's Reading

Psalm 94:18 I said, "My foot is slipping." But Lord, your love kept me from falling.

19 I was very worried. But your comfort brought joy to my heart.

Psalm 119:38 Keep your promise to me. Then other people will have respect for you.

(I like that promise- not so much the next thought-- who likes to suffer?...)

Psalm 119:65 Lord, be good to me as you have promised.

66 Increase my knowledge and give me good sense, because I believe in your commands.

67 Before I went through suffering, I went down the wrong path. But now I obey your word.

68 You are good, and what you do is good. Teach me your orders.

69 Proud people have spread lies about me and have taken away my good name. But I follow your rules with all my heart.

70 Their hearts are hard and stubborn. They don't feel anything. But I take delight in your law.

71 It was good for me to suffer. That's what helped me to understand your orders.

72 The law you gave is worth more to me than thousands of pieces of silver and gold.

2 Samuel 23

9 Next to him was Eleazar. He was one of the three mighty men. He was the son of Dodai, the Ahohite. Eleazar was with David at Pas Dammim. That's where Israel's army made fun of the Philistines who were gathered there for battle. Then the men of Israel pulled back.

10 But Eleazar stayed right where he was. He struck the Philistines down until his hand grew tired. But he still held on to his sword. The LORD helped him win a great battle that day. The troops returned to Eleazar. They came back to him only to take what they wanted from the dead bodies.

Psalm 40:1-3

I was patient while I waited for the Lord. He turned to me and heard my cry for help. I was sliding down into the pit of death, and he pulled me out. He brought me up out of the mud and dirt. He set my feet on a rock. He gave me a firm place to stand on. He gave me a new song to sing. It is a hymn of praise to our God. Many people will see what he has done and will worship him. They will put their trust in the Lord.

Psalm 81

10 I am the LORD your God. I brought you up out of Egypt. Open your mouth wide, and I will fill it with good things.

11 "But my people wouldn't listen to me. Israel wouldn't obey me.

12 So I let them go their own stubborn way. I let them follow their own sinful plans.

13 "I wish my people would listen to me! I wish Israel would live as I want them to live!

14 Then I would quickly bring their enemies under control. I would use my power against their attackers.

15 Those who hate me would bow down to me in fear. They would be punished forever.

16 But you would be fed with the finest wheat. I would satisfy you with the sweetest honey.

I wonder what blessings I have missed out on when I don't live in obedience!

Lord, help me to hear and obey!

Cuba

Sharing in Cuba

Please be praying for us. Osmel told me last night that it has been requested that while we are in Cuba, that we would share a message with the congregation that Richard pastors. As we were talking about it, I thought about what God had been speaking to me about lately was waiting. When I told Osmel that I thought that would be the subject, he said that was the word God had given him as well. Wow... we have the same word. Now the hard part, putting it all together so I have something to share. No pressure!

God is Watching

Psalm 10:14 God, you see trouble and sadness. You take note of it. You do something about it. So those who are attacked place themselves in your care. You help children whose fathers have died.

What comfort it brings to know that God is watching. That He is taking note of my situation. That he will do something. That I can place myself in His care and that I can let it go. And in my current situation, looking to adopt a fatherless child, it is good to know Jesus, that You are with the fatherless, helping them, protecting them.... I ask Jesus, that You would protect my child.

A song for those who go up to Jerusalem to worship the Lord

Psalm 121

1 I look up to the hills. Where does my help come from?

2 My help comes from the Lord. He is the Maker of heaven and earth.

3 He won't let your foot slip. He who watches over you won't get tired.

4 In fact, he who watches over Israel won't get tired or go to sleep.

5 The LORD watches over you. The LORD is like a shade tree at your right hand.

6 The sun won't harm you during the day. The moon won't harm you during the night.

7 The LORD will keep you from every kind of harm. He will watch over your life.

8 The LORD will watch over your life no matter where you go, both now and forever.

Inspiration

Inspiration is a funny and elusive thing. There are times when it swings in like the wind and it blows all around filling those around with strength, passion and a will to move forward. But if missed, it will blow out the flame that it once fanned leaving a smoldering wick that does nothing but send up a trail of smoke until the ember is completely dead.

For me, writing works like that. There are times that I think about all the things I want to say and I am filled with the exact words... formulating sentences in my mind, sentences that are filled with the magic they create within my own head. If I do not grab a hold of that inspiration at the moment I have caught it, it slips away leaving me with nothing left to say.

I imagine Elijah, sitting in the cave on the heals of his greatest spiritual victory and yet he is feeling sorry for himself and hiding from his own fears. He is looking for something that God doesn't want to give him. He is looking for something spectacular, but it is something small and insignificant that is used to catch his attention. Jonah ran from God and God caught a hold of him sending him reluctantly in the right direction, moving him forward to lead the greatest revival the world may have ever seen. But that wasn't enough to make Jonah happy. He went away and pouted, missing the greatness that God had done.

I have so many missed opportunities in my life. I so easily allow the distractions of my day to sweep me away and cause me to lose my inspiration. The truth is, I catch it in strange places, and I often find myself unprepared to do anything with it. I pray to remember the words that God has given me and yet they fade quietly into the recess of my mind. It leaves me hoping someday the color of ink will hit the page and those images will spring back to life, but alas, I think they are gone forever.

So how was it for the writers of scripture? When they sat down to record a story or write a letter, did they understand the significance of what they were doing? Did they ever miss their opportunity distracted by the cares of the world? Did they hear the voice of God actually speaking as they wrote or was it just thoughts going down on paper without any understanding that their words were going to be immortalized for eternity? When David wrote of his difficult time of despair and discouragement so great that his heart felt that it would burst- did he understand that those words were pointing a way to the Messiah? That he was actually feeling the feelings that His savior would feel in times to come? When Paul wrote his letters to Timothy or to the churches around the known world, was he aware of the fact that one day those letters would be bound together to effect the world forevermore? What must it have been like to hear the voice of God and write down the words He was telling them?

I think I can only have a glimpse of what it was they were feeling or thinking. I know that my words aren't scripture and they won't ever have the impact that the Peter's words have. I do know when however, the words aren't mine; when the images that flow from my brain to may paper can't possibly have anything to do with me. I become a catalyst, thankful that this time, the inspiration didn't pass me by.

The Joy of Living with Second Language Learners

Funny conversations are a part of our household... today we had a good one!

Liver and Osmel were trying to figure out how to ask me if we had something that Liver needed. Here is the conversation

Osmel: "What do you need to put a bottom on a chair?"

Karen: {thinking} hmmm... "I don't understand."

Liver: "What do you use to fix your pants when they are broken?"

Karen {thinking... broken pants... bottom, chair, hmmm} "I still don't understand... oh, broken pants, needle and thread. Oh, I get it, what do you need to put a BUTTON on a SHIRT...

Holding on to Hope?

So recently I was talking with a friend. We were talking about what it means to hold on to the promises of God. Through the conversation, we realized that we had different perspectives on the same subject and that the perspectives we had were two different sides of the same coin.

As the conversation progressed, it gave me a new perspective on an old question... what does it mean to wait well?

Proverbs tells us that hope deferred makes the heart sick. That is one of those verses that makes waiting sometimes hard. When I am waiting on the Lord to do a work, the question has to be asked, for what am I waiting? Am I waiting for God, or am I waiting for the "thing?"

If I am waiting for God, then I can take confidence in the idea that God said it, I believe it, and now I can wait until He brings it about. But if I am waiting for the fulfillment, for "the thing" then I may have no peace, because I can become desperate for that "thing."

Paul tells us that Godliness with contentment brings great gain. So again, the question has to be, what do I take from that verse? Am I looking for the great gain, or am I looking for the godliness?

See, it all boils down to- what is the root? Using marriage for example, I can remember waiting for Osmel. It was hard at times for me to rest in the waiting because I couldn't be sure that I would get what I wanted. That what God's will for me was the same as my hope. But in waiting well, I am not waiting for the husband, or the child, or the "thing." I am waiting for God to do a work (in me). I'm waiting for Him to perfect me and with that work, waiting for Him to bring about the things that He has for my life. I am able to wait well because my hope is in Him, not in what I want Him to do for me.

thanks Lord for 2010

Dear Jesus,

2010... who would have believed? I remember when I was younger and I thought about the 21st century. I actually thought I would be too old to enjoy it. What was I thinking? When Y2K came around, I wasn't even 40! The truth is, the first decade of 2000 has been when some of the biggest blessings of my life have come.

So as the first decade of this new century is coming to a close, I want to continue my practice of writing this thank you letter to my Savior and my best friend. (Thanks Julie K for teaching me this practice).

The year didn't start out with a great blessing... we were burglarized at the beginning of 2010. Though they didn't get much as far as the number of things, they did steal my feeling of safety and security. This year has seen many upgrades in the Hernandez household like a burglar alarm, new windows, a fence and replacing the items that were stolen. It has been an expensive year.

One of the greatest achievements and blessings has been our 6th wedding anniversary this year. Can you believe it? SIX years!! We haven't been completely sure that we would ever make it this far, but wow... what a great blessing my husband has been in my life. There are moments when I wonder, "What was I thinking? but the reality is that my marriage has been the single greatest blessing of my life. My husband, has grown to be such a good friend and faithful companion. He has loved me and walked with me through the trials of life that have plagued us and through the blessings of life that have carried us through.

Once again, I am thankful that 2010 ended with a job for me. I know so many people that in 2010 they faced the challenge of unemployment. Why God has been so merciful upon us, I don't understand, but I rejoice in it! Not only am I thankful that I have a job, I am thankful for my job. Teaching Kindergarten at Price School has been so rewarding. I am constantly learning new things through the eyes of the precious 5 year olds that are in my class. They have taught me to laugh at myself, to be patient, and to always look at the best side of a person. It is amazing how every year I come to love my students and I see the great potential they hold and I am in awe that God has given me the privilege to be a part of their life. I remember my kindergarten teacher very well, and I would like to think that my students will remember me with the same fondness I feel for Mrs. Bates.

I am thankful for my health. I had an old friend suffer a major illness this last year... final diagnosis- I haven't heard, but it put him in the hospital for several weeks and it gives me cause to say thank You Jesus that I am well. Also, the end of this year a dear friend and sister in the Lord began her battle with lymphoma. It came out of no where and it makes me thankful for the fact that God's hand has been upon my body and the body of my husband. I am also thankful that 2010 has continued to be a year of healthy living. Working out and eating right have continued to be a part of my daily life, (though if I am not careful, I will not be able to say that about 2011).

I am thankful that God has made His plan for the growing of our family a reality. We have started the adoption process and I am very excited about that. God gave me a promise a long time ago that I never let myself acknowledge until now. He promised me children "in my old age." The truth is, I let myself believe that my students were the subject of that promise, but I am now seeing the reality of the promise come to fruition. Hopefully 2011 will have a new Hernandez to rejoice over.

My life has changed a lot in the last decade and I sometimes miss the life that I had a single woman. Paul really knew what he was talking about when he stated that those that are married have to worry about pleasing their spouse and it takes away from the amount of time and energy that I can give to serving the Lord. But with marriage there is incredible blessings. I often am asked, "When are you coming back to ministry?" or "What happened to the 'old' Karen?" Well, I am still in the ministry, but my ministry is within my own family, my own household and it is very fulfilling. Sometimes I miss ministry outside my home, serving the church body, but I am fully committed to working the ministry inside my home first. Some people can do both, and I hope to be one of those people someday, but thankfully, God has given me contentment to serve just where I am.

I am thankful for the little pockets of time that I can carve out with my friends. Susan and I had a weekend away for the first time since I was married. That was a huge blessing. Not only a blessing to just sit and relax for awhile, but to share it together was so fantastic. It is just so great to spend time with a friend that knows you so completely you don't have to explain yourself. And every time we talk, it is like picking up a conversation from the day before even if it is has been longer since we actually talked. I love my friend and I am thankful to have her in my life even if the challenges and business of life make it difficult to see each other as much as we used to.

I am thankful for my family. They have been such a great support system for us and every time I spend time with them I rejoice that they are in my life. My dad celebrated his 74th bday (and is still working full time at his second career) this last year and I am extremely thankful for his health and for him! My mom has suffered some difficulties this year, but has walked through them with an increasing trust and certainty that God is still on the throne. I am thankful for her example of being a woman of prayer. Every time I am down or discouraged, she prays with me and I love that about her. Then of course, there is my brother. What can I say except I wish I could be him when I grow up! He is my hero in so many ways and I love him more than words can express.

Thank you Jesus for the many things that You have been teaching me this year. Thank you for the way that You have walked beside me, held my hand, and brought me through the hard stuff. Thank you for your provision and for the fact that You never give up on me when I am less than faithful to You!! I love You Jesus and above all, I am thankful for the way that You continue to work in my heart and my life and You continue to love me. I look forward to the day when I will be with You in Paradise, but until then, I am thankful for the days that You have given me here on earth.

I love You,

Karen

Psalm 142... the new international reader's version

Psalm 142

A prayer of David when he was in the cave. A "maskil".

1 I call out to the Lord. I pray to him for his favor.

2 I pour out my problem to him. I tell him about my trouble.

3 When I grow weak, you know what I'm going through. In the path where I walk, people have hidden a trap to catch me.

4 Look around me, and you will see that no one is concerned about me. I have no place of safety. No one cares whether I live or die.

5 Lord, I cry out to you. I say, "You are my place of safety. You are everything I need in this life."

6 Listen to my cry. I am in great need. Save me from those who are chasing me. They are too strong for me.

7 My troubles are like a prison. Set me free so I can praise your name. Then those who do what is right will gather around me because you have been good to me.