Friday, September 4, 2015

Someplace Good and Safe


Greetings,

Just read a book Called "Somewhere Safe with Someone Good", by Jan Karon.  I have read the whole series and hoped that I would be able to get her latest book.  Katrina Bethea was the "someone good", who brought it to me and I marvel at how God blesses me with good things, even those small requests that I don't even verbalize.
  The title of the book has been rolling around with me this month.  It is where I feel like I am all the time right now.  
I went to Texas and stayed with some really safe places, that had codes to get in and out of their subdivisions.  I got to stay with some really good people and met a lot of other good people and ate a lot of really good food while I was there. 

I left from there to go visit my sister, who has been a judge for many years in Las Vegas.  She had her very own Marshal assigned to her.  As I visited her courtroom where she has faithfully served the people of Nevada  and I felt extremely safe as huge bear of man with a heart of goodness and protection toward my sister and the State he represents. 

 While I was there, my sister did something very good, which was to surprise me by inviting my other two sisters to join our reunion. We laughed so much while we were together.  I felt safe with my sisters and felt good about all of our days together.   

I left from there to go to visit my other family members and friends in Georgia, who have been so supportive of Project Talitha Cumi here in Honduras. It was good to see everyone again.  So many of these good folks helped me plan and attended our 20th Anniversary at Lifespring Church. Pastor Julian and his wife, Lisa have always made me feel safe as they have prayed and watched over our ministry.  Their church and other supporting churches and individuals have been so good to us over all these years. I want to thank Robin Noethe and her family, who always been there for me and made me feel safe in their friendship towards me. 

  We had our Such is the Kingdom board meeting before the festivities.  As I looked around the table and saw my long time board members, as well as our new board members and our newly formed committee members, I felt safe with some very good people, who love our ministry and our Honduran girls.  God has enlarged the tent pegs of our hearts with one another, that we all have become an extend family. 

I returned home to some very good folks, who watched over our girls, while I was away.  Rosa, Lina, and Ana, who assist me with the day to day of the mission, along with some very sweet interns, Bekah and Kelsey who stayed in my house, Jake and Rachael were there at the duplex and Mirian and Sharon were helping out on the side lines in La Esperanza. They all made my girls feel safe and good. 

I know that the word "good" is peppered all the way through the Bible. It was in there about a 1000 times in the New American Standard Bible, when I looked it up.  Webster says it is an adjective that means of high quality, bountiful, suitable, profitable, advantageous, agreeable, pleasant, wholesome, amusing, clever, considerable, well founded, adequate, satisfactory, choice virtuous, kind and benevolent, competent, skillful,and loyal are only a few of all the words that describe the word "good".  Sounds like God to me. 

Years ago, in the initial years of the ministry, there was something that happened here in Honduras that alarmed me and I was ready to leave and come home to the United States.  While I was packing I felt like the Lord was asking me where I was going.  As I was folding the clothes that I intended to pack, I told the Lord, I was going some place safe.  He spoke quietly to my heart and said, "If I can't can't keep you safe here, I can't keep you safe anywhere. 

  I know there are a lot of alarms going up all over about finances, wars, and world matters that don't sound good and they don't sound safe, but it says "the beloved of the Lord dwells in safety and the High God surrounds him all day long and he dwells between his shoulders". "The Name of the Lord is a strong tower, the righteous man runs into it and and is safe."  He is our somewhere safe and God is our someone Good  

I am thankful that He is Good and that He gives good and perfect gifts to us.  I am thankful that He has placed that goodness in the hearts of so many connected with this ministry.   I am thankful that He has placed us here in Honduras in a safe place surrounded with good people.  

Blessings from a Safe Place, from the thankful Honduran Mom