[From Bec:] So here is my first “Wednesday blog”. I am going to get some order and structure into my blog-life, so Wednesday is the day for the updates, thoughts, rants and raves……
Today, I was just in the kitchen ( side-note: I am seriously asking God to take a smell out of the kitchen, it has some funky mouldy, damp smell going on and I have scrubbed all known surfaces with bleach and it’s still there…I don’t enjoy being there, so I am awaiting a little smell-miracle :o). Anyway, I was thinking about a preacher/pastor web site my brother had told me to look at, and I was just so “uuughhhhhh” by the whole thing. Obviously, this man has a very ‘successful’, i.e BIG church, I get the impression he has some sort of prophetic gift, and there in the top tight hand corner is some flash rolling graphics saying that I can sign up to recieve “e-coaching’ from this “soul physician” for only $100/month ( for a min of 3months!)…. COME ON! Are you serious, like he’s not making enough money from his books, his prayer-lines, his appearances on TBN etc etc,now 2 emails from him a month will cost you $100. RIDICULOUS.
If a man wants to be a life-coach ,phycologist and charge outrageous fees , then all power to him, but I have a problem with doing that under the guise of a pastor, preacher, man of God.
The money aspect makes me sick. There are women of 26 years of age, dying of AIDs, begging the world racers to take their babies so that they could have some sort of life, and this guy wants to send you a happy/clappy pick-me-up email every two weeks. PATHETIC.
If the ‘church’ would stop spending millions of dollars on buildings, programs, and cars etc…. we could change the world and a lot of the economic problems.
With the couple million dollars most churches will spend on their facilities, we could build up the nation of Swaziland, we could raise up a generation of healthy, productive, godly young kids and revolutionize an entire nation. If Swaziland is saved, how much more would the rest of Africa look and see. How much more then is God lifted up and HIS grace seen??
Simplicity is what I am about. How do I affect change in Mijas Pueblo? How do I bring people of Mijas to see God, to know God and to live life to the full?
Matthew 5 says…..that we are salt and light etc etc..we’ve all heard that ,and then he says that we are to Shine!…(How)… “Keep an open house; be generous with your lives. By opening up to others, you’ll prompt people to open up with God, this generous father in heaven.”
Pretty simple really, I have coffee-mornings for the moms, We have big dinners for everyone at night, we live our lives in full view of everyone. And have a house, that people can just pop-in for a cup of tea……. It’s just not that hard. (The hard part is making sure that our full-monty life is a reflection of God!).
It’s not about money, it’s about being fullfilled, it’s about living life with joy, it’s about giving your life, and it’s about having a good laugh. And it’s about being who God made you to be, and being content (Matt 5: “you’re blessed when you’re content with just who you are–no more, no less. That’s the moment you find yourselves proud owners of everything that can’t be bought.” !!!!
Oh and before I forget, the update!——– This week we (Ben, Gabriella and myself) had the worst stomach bug ever to roam the earth, but we are well now. Emma has started to correct our Spanish, which is cool and means that she is totally getting the hang of it. She also told one of her friends at school that she couldn’t be friends with her if she didn’t believe in Jesus. ( We had a discussion about that’s WHO we are friends with……I think she got it, and they are back playing tag). Ben slept through the night!! I was too sick to get up, so after two nights of screaming he now sleeps through. (Why did it take me three kids and years of non-sleep to figure that out?).
The school is getting ready, Dave just spent the week scraping and painting the ceilings and building the IKEA kitchen. I start sewing curtains etc this weekend for our students to arrive next week.
The sun has come out, the birds are singing, I just need my shower to have hot water and we are sweet sailing!
Tonight, I have a Nigerian student coming to teach me how to make spicey, curry chicken so I can make it for our students….mmmmmmmmmm
Oh and before I forget. If you would like to recieve THREE personal emails from me each month, please find the support me button and for a small ‘donation’, I will tell you how wonderful you are !!!! :o))))))
j/k I’ll tell you guys anyway. You are all amazing, and the fact that you are helping us and seriously supporting us to get this ‘thing’ up and running is beyond words.
Dave will have to add some cool photos when he gets home, I don’t know how to do it ! [Done! dlh3]
Thank you! Loved it and we all need to hear it. We also need to pray for the Americans who are so desperate for a word of encouragement that they would pay for one when it is free to all of us through His word. Though we have big church buildings and budgets is anyone getting healed? Thank you for sowing into Swaziland with your blog and I look forward to next Wed!
Good read. Like what you all are doing. To me it is sad that ministers do that. Too many ministers and laity want to just butter their bread. I’m guilty of that. Love you guys!
p.s. seeing a psychiatrist is cheaper than an impersonal e-mail…not that I would know.