What Do You Want from God?

After his father David died, Solomon became the king of Israel. He was probably around twenty years old. On a day after Solomon had offered a thousand burnt offerings to the LORD, God appeared to Solomon that night and said to him, "Ask what I shall give thee."

Solomon was in his early twenties. What kinds of things are on the minds of most people that age? Well, I myself am twenty so I think I have a pretty good idea. Many young people my age are concerned with very trivial things. They believe their status depends on having the best and being the best -- the most stylish clothes, the greatest car, the best "friends," having the best ability in brawn, beauty, even brains, and enjoying as much of the other overrated pleasures this world has to offer as they can. Those things are not wrong, but they must be kept in their place and we must not become consumed with them. We need to focus more upon the underrated treasures of life: our family, our relationship with the Lord, our church, the Bible, and the simple blessings God gives us each day. Those are the things that really matter. We need to realize how rich we really are, live Godly lives, and be content.

Other young people my age are thinking about the decisions they are required to make during this period of their lives. What is foremost in my own mind is being in God's will each and every day. I am constantly thinking about the changes that are approaching in my life and I am concerned that I make only the one right choice in each situation.

What was on Solomon's mind during this intense period of his life? He was only twenty years old and the king of an entire country. He had everything. He had access to all of those overrated pleasures life has to offer to every young person. And God was offering him more! Whatever his heart desired, he had only to ask God and he would get it. Nothing would be withheld from him. What would you ask for if you were in his place? Think about it. What matters most to you? What would your immediate request be?

Poppy Glory

All last week we had dreadfully cloudy weather. It finally began raining towards the end of the week. A wonderful, refreshing shower. Saturday the sun came out, and with it came the poppies.

The Multitude of Counsellors

The righteous is delivered out of trouble, 

and the wicked cometh in his stead. 

Where no counsel is, the people fall: 

but in the multitude of counsellors there is safety. 

Proverbs 11:8, 14

These verses are among my favorites in the book of Proverbs. They tell me I don't know it all. They tell that I need to depend upon the Godly people in my life to help guide me safely in the way I should go. I don't have to get into the trouble that other people face in life. I can avoid those destructive problems and their consequences if I heed the counsel given to me -- counsel given to me by my parents and other authorities, and counsel given to me from the testimonies of God's Word (Ps. 119:24). I also learn that I can never have too many wise counselors; the verse says multitude. I can be "delivered out of trouble" when a "multitude of counselors" are about me to keep me safe.

In the photo: Graceful, delicate little livelong saxifrage flowers and other tundra foliage I found yesterday in a refreshing shower of rain.

Nalukataq: People Need the Lord

Meet Maak. This dear lady has been our most faithful church member in the six years we have been in this village. She loves being in God's house and is such a blessing to my family. We love listening to her tell stories from her childhood; I especially love the stories of her father. It sounds as though he was a very wise, Godly man. Maak's father was a tremendous help to the two previous missionaries, Bro. Nick Serino and Bro. Gary Carlson, who served in this village before my family took over the ministry. Bro. Serino pioneered the North Slope by planting the first Baptist church in this village over 25 years ago, and since then has planted three other Baptist churches on the North Slope. He and his family made many sacrifices and faced many difficulties to start this ministry. They flew into the village in a little bush plane during the middle of a blizzard. Only by God's grace did they survive the storm and land safely. The Serino family had no place to stay in the village so they set up tents on the shore of the frozen Arctic Ocean. Maak's father happened to see these tents and was concerned for the Serino family, so he found an abandoned Eskimo house for them to live in. I wish I had time to tell you the amazing stories Maak has told me about her father. Someone needs to write a book! =)

Nalukataq: Jesus Loves the Little Children

...And so do I! =)

I had so much fun watching the little ones and capturing their adorable faces on my camera. These children mean so much to me. Several of the children in the pictures below come regularly to our Sunday Bible Time, which is probably my very favorite thing that happens each week. I love making them yummy snacks. I love leading them in singing songs. I love teaching them amazing stories from the Bible! I love praying for them... praying that they will each come to know Christ as their personal Savior, that they will grow up coming faithfully to church and living for Him, that they will each know the goodness that God gives. These children are such special people and my mom, sister, and I are so, so blessed to have a part in leading them to know the Lord.

Two sweet girls who sat next to my family at Nalukataq.

Nalukataq: Giving Thanks with Family

At Nalukataq more than any other time, we see families together. That is one of the things I love about it. To just be there with my own family and to see other families happy to be with each other, all sharing in the joys of the season, is such a blessing. Nalukataq is a time of thanksgiving as the Eskimo people thank God for supplying a bountiful harvest. It is a time when everyone finally feels "alive" again -- the sun is shining day and night, all of the snow is gone, water is on the ocean, grass is springing up, birds are filling the air with their music. Winter is just a memory! For all of these things we rejoice during Nalukataq, and that joy is evident on faces and in the air ringing with happy voices.

Nalukataq: The Traditions

Nalukataq (pronounced nah-LUK-uh-tauk) is a time of celebration after a successful whaling season. The Eskimo people spend a great deal of time on the pack ice during April and May as they harvest bowhead whales. They break up into crews, usually according to family branches, with each crew having their own captain. Dragging boats behind their snowmachines, they travel many miles out to the open water. They use huge spear guns to slaughter the gigantic whales, then comes the "tug of war" as each crew joins into a line to haul the whale onto the ice. It is then cut into large sections, hauled into the village, butchered by the women, and stored in cellars. In June, after the whaling season is over, each whaling crew/family provides a feast for the entire village to take part in. My village's first Nalukataq of the year took place last Friday, with two more planned for this month. It is such a happy, festive time -- as you will see!

Nalukataqs usually take place in our village's baseball field. Frames are set in a semi-circle and blacks tarps are hung across them. Long, wooden benches are then set up for people to sit on.

It's So Good!

A man hath  j o y  by the answer of his mouth: 

and a word spoken in due season, how good is it! 

Proverbs 15:23

When you encourage others, you get encouraged yourself!

In the photo: Our first Nalukataq (whaling feast) took place yesterday and I am SO excited about sharing with you all of the beautiful pictures I captured. Here is the first of many, taken while the children were being given apples and oranges -- followed by cupcakes. =D Nalukataq is always such a happy time!

10 Ways to Read the Bible

Thoughtfully

Don't read absent-mindedly but read with purpose, intention and thoughtful consideration.

Repeatedly

Read a particular verse or passage several times over to gain a better understanding of it. If following a yearly plan, begin in Genesis 1 again on January 1!

Patiently

Be faithful in Bible study when it is not especially interesting or when you do not understand.

Selectively

Select portions of Scripture to read during a time of distress for comfort, for counsel on life-decisions, etc.

Prayerfully

Always seek guidance and enlightenment from the Holy Spirit before you open God's Word. Have a spirit of communion with God as you read His Word to you.

Imaginatively

Use imagination when reading of Daniel in the den of lions, of Sarah when she overheard that she would bear a child in her old age, and other instances. Place yourself in their situation. Understand their fear, surprise, faith, etc.

Meditatively

Contemplate. Revolve a Biblical truth around your the mind. "Chew" on a portion of Scripture for a long period of time until you get all the "juice" out of it.

Purposefully

Make careful intention to study the Bible, have direction in thought, and make application of God's Word to your life.

Acquisitively

Search out and study and retain what you learn. Make it a personal possession, a real fact in your life.

Telescopically

Read small portions of the Bible in light of the whole. Don't lose context of one verse but apply it to an entire passage of Scripture. Don't break down the Bible into fragments of what you will and will not accept, but view the Bible as the whole Word of God.

With the Lowly

When pride cometh, then cometh  s h a m e : 

but with the lowly is  w i s d o m .

Proverbs 11:2

In the photos: Our yard is now scattered with green grass raising its head above the deadness of winter, and a pretty patch of lychnis makes me smile. They're strong little flowers.

God's Wonderful Word

Music by Patti Vaillant 

Thy testimonies are wonderful: therefore doth my soul keep them.
The entrance of thy words giveth light; it giveth understanding unto the simple.
I opened my mouth, and panted: for I longed for thy commandments.
Look thou upon me, and be merciful unto me.

I cried with my whole heart; hear me, O LORD: I will keep thy statutes.
I cried unto thee; save me, and I shall keep thy testimonies.
I prevented the dawning of the morning, and cried.
Mine eyes prevent the night watches, that I might meditate in thy word.

Great peace have they which love thy law: and nothing shall offend them.
LORD, I have hoped for thy salvation, and done thy commandments.
My soul hath kept thy testimonies; and I love them exceedingly.
I have kept thy precepts: for all my ways are before thee.

Let my cry come near before thee: give me understanding.
I have longed for thy salvation; and thy law is my delight.
Let my soul live, and it shall praise thee; and let thy judgments help me.
My tongue shall speak of thy word: for all thy commandments are righteousness.

Psalm 119:129-132, 145-148, 165-169, 174, 175, 172

In the photo: Flowers on a bush of the Penstemon genus, covered in lovely dew.

The Blessings of Bible Study

Meditate upon these things; give thyself wholly to them; that thy profiting may appear to all. 

I Timothy 4:15

Reading and studying the Word of God is essential to the life of a Christian. What food and water are to the body, Bible study and prayer are to the inner man. Job realized his need for the Word of God so completely that he declared, “Neither have I gone back from the commandment of his lips, for I have esteemed the words of his mouth more than my necessary food.” (Job 32:12)

Although Bible study is so integral to our living as Christians, failure in this area is all too regular for most believers. Fitting Bible study into one’s schedule is considered to be a problem. However, the true problem is viewing it as a problem. Making time for God’s Word is, in fact, the solution to this and every other problem that we face in life.

Whatever is most important to us is what we will give the greatest time and effort to. The matter of Bible study is a matter of priorities. If we are to make it a practice to study the Word of God, we must make our relationship with the Lord more important than anything else in our lives. More important than sleep, more important than an activity, more important than our tight schedules, more important than personal comfort and pleasure. When God’s Word becomes a priority to us, we won't allow anything keep us from devoting to it the time that we should. We will make every effort to study it with faithful diligence.

When we come to the realization of just how precious and essential the Word of God is to our lives, everything will change. We will become passionate about reading it daily, memorizing it deep into our hearts, meditating upon it through our days, and living it as a way of life. Each new truth we learn as we sit under preaching and study for ourselves becomes ours, a personal possession, one we should guard jealously lest Satan snatch it away.

Bible truths are built into our lives as the framework of all that we are. Without these truths, we would collapse. What a hopeless mess our lives would be without the Word of God! We would have nowhere to go to find hope and truth. But we do have the Bible, and we need to read it like our lives depend upon it -- as our lives most certainly do. We need God's Word. It is vital. We cannot do without it! It is everything.

How do we reach the point where we, as Job, sense our spirit’s great need for the Word of God? We must gain a spiritual appetite for the Bible. We have to want the Word of God like we want anything else we crave. Jesus gave a wonderful promise in Matthew 5:6, “Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled.” To be hungry and thirsty to know God is to be blessed. That empty, aching void in our spirits is a blessing because it drives us on to seek after God. And He promised that He will never fail to supply what we need. He will fill us if we will only earnestly seek Him.

People have many excuses for their failure to read and study the Bible. A lack of basic knowledge, limited time, and plain ol' laziness are a few things which hinder a Christian’s study of the Bible. Some problems which people face are very real. However, no excuse or problem is so great that the Word of God does not have the solution for it.

Promises for Good

The fear of the wicked, it shall come upon him: 

but the desire of the righteous shall be granted.

The hope of the righteous shall be gladness: 

but the expectation of the wicked shall perish.

Proverbs 10:24, 28

Also see Psalm 37:3-5 and 62:5

In the photos: It was a gorgeous morning in Indiana. I found some beautiful bushes growing divine-smelling honeysuckle, blackberries and another species of berry (the blue flowers are their blossoms). All this loveliness was covered in spider webs and drenched in dew. It was so beautiful it gave me goosebumps. =)

Mr. Sandpiper Snipe

This is the special something I saw in our yard upon returning from our walk! A pectoral sandpiper (Calidris melnotos), such a marvelous, unique bird. I've seen them flying around for a few weeks and, of course, have been wanting to get some photos. I don't think I'll be content until I get photos of every species of bird this summer. =D I'm well on my way to becoming an avid birdwatcher. They are just such wonderful creatures!

A Walk in the Spring

We had some gorgeous weather earlier this week but the past few days have been just nasty. It may be June but our weather doesn't believe it. Right now we have high winds, chilly temperatures, thick clouds, and yesterday evening we even had snow flurries! (Mm-hmm, that's snow flying in the above picture.) However, with all the wind, we hear that the ocean is starting to show signs of breaking up.