Times are a-changing!

With another year in Ecuador JUST around the bend, I am really looking forward to what God has in store for me! One thing I have realized over the years is that God doesn’t just do everything for us. We have the responsibility to do a lot of work on ourselves (with the help of the Spirit, of course). So I have identified some areas in my life that need to change and this year is one to break old habits and start anew! Without further adieu, here are the three areas of my life that I am going to change this year.

Body

I know that everyone has the desire to change something about themselves, and I am no different. During the past year in Ecuador I lost a lot of weight which I really needed to do. I was happy that I got to come home and not worry about the extra weight for a while, because how fast could I get it back, really? Turns out that I have probably gained 20 pounds in the last two months. I cannot fit into the clothing I was wearing in Ecuador anymore and this is not good.

The problem has many layers. I have the WORST eating habits for one. I love deep fried food and ice cream and candy. I also engage in next to no physical activity here in Canada. In Quito it’s better, but not by much. So here is the solution. I pledge to change my eating habits. No more McDonalds or Sbarro pizza. I am going to begin eating fruits and vegetables in a regular basis. I am going to seek out healthy options whenever possible, and when I crave some sugar, I promise not to eat three Milky Way bars!

The biggest change physically will be a regular work-out routine. I don’t want to get ripped, but I need something that requires my heart to beat. So, I will begin running at least 4 days a week for at least a half hour a day. The problem is that I am generally not up early enough to fit in a run before the torrential rains hit which brings us to the next area of my life that requires change!

Routine

I am a night owl. I need to wind down in the evenings and I find I am most productive between the hours of 10pm and 2am. Not OK. This obviously results in a late wake-up every day. So, I promise to change that this year. I am going to be in my bedroom by 10pm every night and asleep by 10:30. My new wake-up time will be 6:30. Every day. Imagine all the extra stuff I am going to get done with all the hours of daylight I just saved myself! I think this is going to be one of the hardest habits for me to break in all honestly, but I am sick of living my life in Ecuador in the dark. The sun sets at 6 every night for crying out loud!

So I am going to wake-up early every day and go for my run. I’ll have the rest of the morning to plan for the club which could really use a little more attention. But I have another problem. I often neglect regular devotion time. I often grapple with various concepts or ways of thinking as I go through my day. I pray for specific things and try to work out specific problems. I think about verses that have particularly spoken to me during the week. But this would all be so much easier if I would just sit down with God in a more intentional way at the beginning of every day. This brings me to the final and most important area of my life that requires improvement this year.

Spirit

I promise to BEGIN every day with intentional interaction with God. Be that through a devotion book (if you have a good suggestion, let me know), meditation on a passage of Scripture, prayer, or even listening to a podcast on my run. I will seek to use these to improve my walk with Christ for His glory. I promise to pray more throughout my day and to be quicker to run to God for help. I promise to find God in all things and to find ways to display God in all things. I know I will be lazy at times. I know I will fail at times. But I also know that God’s grace is sufficient for me! I promise to pick myself up and with the help of the Holy Spirit to carry on for Him.

This is where all of you come in. Last year I found myself sucked dry of all energy and this resulted in a stale life that rested on routine and filling time with easy, passive activities. I need you to help keep me going. I have said so many times, and I will say again that I am not in Ecuador alone. I desire to be an extension of the church here in Canada. I want all of you to feel as much a part of my work as I do. I want to be held accountable. I want to be spiritually and physically supported. I need all of you to do this work, because I am but one part of the Body of Christ. I can’t function without all of your help.

Thanks for being here with me along the way so far. I leave for Ecuador in about two weeks again for a second year. Please keep praying for me and encouraging me (I am still nowhere even close to having met my financial needs). God is doing so much and I know He will continue taking care of things for me.

My Heart is Heavy

            There is a lot going on right now. My heart is heavy with a burden that I know is not my own. God has drawn me back to Ecuador for another year and the stress that comes with this is almost enough to make me want to give up.

            I need to work out a visa. I need to work out support. I need to finalize living situations. I need to raise $600 more per month. I need to prepare myself for another year of slugging it out, working with kids that everyone else has turned their back on.
But how do I make any of this relevant to anyone here? How do I make people understand that there is a world of people dying out there while the church in North America (and in many other places around the world) turns its back on them because they cannot see past the discomfort of not having enough money to eat out on occasion?

            I suppose this is my dilemma. It is hard not to become condescending when I talk about the needs in Ecuador that are being overlooked because of the hold materialism has on the lives of Canadians. We go so far as to theologically justify hoarding wealth while the lost are left to find their own way to get by. I am not innocent in this. I find myself the occupant of two worlds. I seek to satisfy myself in a selfish and sinful way when I could be putting more of myself and my resources into the kingdom.

            I just came off a couple weeks of camp. I found my own words that I had for the guys in my cabin really convicting even for myself. Why do I not give it all for the lost world? Why do I find it so hard to sacrifice more for the sake of the Gospel. We have a few years on earth and then we have an eternity to face, and only kingdom living counts in God’s eternal kingdom!

            How can I justify spending money on things like MORE new clothes and MORE delicious treats for me when I know first hand that there are so many people out there that fight over other people’s scraps? I know this sounds like the typical guilt trip that someone who has gone abroad leads people on, but unless you have lived it, it can be hard to understand. Christ gave EVERYTHING to reach the lost world, and somehow we settle for giving part.
            I’m not saying that everyone needs to quit their job and go into the mission field. I am saying that the job needs to be the mission field. I should not look for moments to live out and share my faith. I should live it and share it all the time.

            As I head into another year abroad, I bear that load that Christ has already taken upon himself and I am trying to let go. I can ask and beg for money until I am blue in the face. I can tell people prayer requests that would fill hours of airtime with God. I could try my hardest to make people understand the realities of poverty in Ecuador. But the Spirit will always do it better. I need to rely on Him.
            But I also need to rely on other people’s ability to respond to the Spirit. I am not in this alone. I am an extension of the church. I am one ray of light stemming from a source of billions of rays. Yet I cannot forge alone.
            God, give me faith! Strengthen me with Your Spirit!