Moses said to the people

Deut 30:15-20
Moses said to the people:
“Today, I have set before you
life and prosperity, death and doom.
If you obey the commandments of the LORD, your God,
which I enjoin on you today,
loving him, and walking in his ways,
and keeping his commandments, statutes and decrees,
you will live and grow numerous,
and the LORD, your God,
will bless you in the land you are entering to occupy.
If, however, you turn away your hearts and will not listen,
but are led astray and adore and serve other gods,
I tell you now that you will certainly perish;
you will not have a long life
on the land that you are crossing the Jordan to enter
and occupy.
I call heaven and earth today to witness against you:
I have set before you life and death,
the blessing and the curse.
Choose life, then,
that you and your descendants may live, by loving the
LORD, your God,
heeding his voice, and holding fast to him.
For that will mean life for you,
a long life for you to live on the land which the LORD
swore he would give to your fathers Abraham, Isaac
and Jacob.”

Reflection
How do I defend the right to life especially of the unborn
and those near death? How am I tempted to turn away
from the commandments and not support the right to life
of all people? How can I overcome that temptation?

Prayer
God of life,
may we protect and defend the inviolable sanctity of
human life
from the moment of conception until natural death
with strong voices, gentle hands, and loving hearts.
Amen.

Happy Halloween from Estonia!

http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,1855112,00.html

The Lord said:

Is 58:2-3, 6-8
[The Lord said]:
They seek me day after day,
and desire to know my ways,
Like a nation that has done what is just
and not abandoned the law of their God;
They ask me to declare what is due them,
pleased to gain access to God.
“Why do we fast, and you do not see it?
afflict ourselves, and you take no note of it?”
This, rather, is the fasting that I wish:
releasing those bound unjustly,
untying the thongs of the yoke;
Setting free the oppressed,
breaking every yoke;
Sharing your bread with the hungry,
sheltering the oppressed and the homeless;
Clothing the naked when you see them,
and not turning your back on your own.
Then your light shall break forth like the dawn,
and your wound shall quickly be healed.

Reflection
What actions do I perform to please God?
How am I healing the wounds of my community?

Prayer
God of light,
give us the freedom to walk in
the footprints of your Son, Jesus.
Let our light shine out for all to see
by turning to those who call for our help.
Heal our wounds, heal our community.
Amen.

Advent begins one month from today (Sun. 30 Nov.)!

Here's something to do every day of Advent, and the days of Christmas going as far as New Year's Eve (32 in all). We usually put papers in a bowl and take turns drawing them.

Choose the book we read before bed
Shopping with Mama
Shopping with Daddy
Lunch with Mama
Lunch with Daddy
Family walk after dark
Choose the family game after dinner
Mama’s help making a Christmas gift
Watch “Rudolph”
Watch “Frosty”
Attend the Tree-lighting Ceremony in the Park
Attend "The Nutcracker"
Make gingerbread houses
Decorate the tree
Hang stockings
Take an evening drive and look at Christmas lights
Two hours of play time with your parents
Bake cookies
Open one gift on Christmas Eve
Write letters to Santa
Tape a large sheet of paper to the refrigerator door; draw with crayons or markers
Fill the sink with water; dump plastic cups, measuring spoons, and funnels in the sink
Finger paint with shaving cream on the table top
"Draw" on the carpet with colored yarn
Make no-bake cookies
Nuts to crack or shell
Magazine scavenger hunt: magazines, scissors, and a glue stick. Find a dog, a baby, etc.
Ice-cream cone
Take one child at a time for a special shopping trip; include lunch
Go to the movies
Go out to eat
"Undecorating-the-Tree" party; hot apple cider, leftover Christmas goodies, and popcorn

Enjoying Christmas with your kids

http://healthyplace.com/Communities/parenting/elaine/holiday.html

Praise the Lord

Ps 146:1-8
Praise the LORD, my soul;
I shall praise the LORD all my life,
sing praise to my God while I live.
Put no trust in princes,
in mere mortals powerless to save.
When they breathe their last, they return to the earth;
that day all their planning comes to nothing.
Happy those whose help is Jacob’s God,
whose hope is in the LORD, their God,
The maker of heaven and earth,
the seas and all that is in them,
Who keeps faith forever,
secures justice for the oppressed,
gives food to the hungry.
The LORD sets prisoners free;
the LORD gives sight to the blind.
The LORD raises up those who are bowed down;
the LORD loves the righteous.

Reflection
Who are the oppressed in your community? How am I
helping them secure justice?
How am I helping to feed and give sight to those most
in need?

Prayer
God of Jacob,
strengthen our hope in the Lord.
Help us to keep the faith
by striving for justice in our land.
Give us hearts, hands, and feet to truly reach out to those
in need.
Amen.

generations

I've always thought of myself as a 3rd-generation Salvationist, and so I am -- on my grandfather's side. But on my grandmother's side, apparently, I'm a 4th-gen. Sal. Huh. Who'da thunk it?

So does this increase my pedigree somehow? Does it matter?

I did find it cool to watch a video we made of my mother before she died. My sister Mary-Kay interviewed her about family history a little bit. Her mother (AND grandmother!) came to the Army from the Congregational Church -- a bit of church-hopping inspired by a moving prayer a SA officer prayed at an ecumenical tent meeting. Her father came to the SA through the Open-Air, a lost and lonely drunk who had just found out his mother had died and didn't even have money to go home to Canada for the funeral. The Army showed him love and compassion ... and here we are!

Don't underestimate what you do and say today, friends. It could literally impact generations yet unseen!

Evelyn

Come, Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of your faithful and kindle in us the fire of your love.

Ps 8:2, 4-10
O LORD, our Lord,
how awesome is your name through all the earth!
You have set your majesty above the heavens!
When I see your heavens, the work of your fingers,
the moon and stars that you set in place—
What are humans that you are mindful of them,
mere mortals that you care for them?
Yet you have made them little less than a god,
crowned them with glory and honor.
You have given them rule over the works of your hands,
put all things at their feet:
All sheep and oxen,
even the beasts of the field,
The birds of the air, the fish of the sea,
and whatever swims the paths of the seas.
O LORD, our Lord,
how awesome is your name through all the earth!

Reflection
How will I praise God today? How will I show respect for
others, especially my neighbor or those in my community
who are not like me?

Prayer
God of love,
may we grow in our love for you
by respecting the dignity of all people we encounter.
Amen.

Christians face attacks in eastern India

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/27372854/

Peter learning Estonian

Peter has been attending Lasteaed in Estonian for two months now. People keep asking how his Estonian is coming, and while he's said a word here and there, we've wondered if he's learning anything at all.

But on Thursday night, when we sat down to eat supper together, he wanted to pray like they do at school!
Issand, leiba õnnista
Ole ikka meiega
Aamen

Thanks be to God!
Evelyn

from Spring 2007 (thanks, Anneli!)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xImsYIoICQU

"one of the hardest lots in life as a missionary"

"And so I find this to be one of the hardest lots in life as a missionary: to bear what is for us a literal ocean of separation from the children God has given us to love and care for, to stay here in his ... location until He directs us differently. Our children have played such a vital role in our ability to make relationships with these ... people. They have been partners with us in God's work here. To release them feels initially like we are cutting off part of ourselves."
http://clarkid.blogspot.com/2008/01/separation.html

Oh, how I wish I could go! http://www.houghton.edu/familyweekend/

free rice

http://freerice.com/subjects.php?t=401265138345

going to America in January

Thu, Jan 1, 2009
Tallinn, (TLL) to Newark Liberty International Airport, (EWR)
Depart: 07:00 AM
Arrive: 01:25 PM
Amsterdam, Netherlands (AMS) to Newark, NJ (EWR) Northwest Airlines Flight 63

Thu, Jan 29, 2009
Newark Liberty International Airport, (EWR) to Tallinn, (TLL)
Depart: 07:10 PM
Arrive: 05:15 PM Fri, Jan 30, 2009
Amsterdam, Netherlands (AMS) to Tallinn, Estonia (TLL)
Air France Flight 8313 operated by KLM Royal Dutch Airlines

please pray for this child

http://www.gulf-times.com/site/topics/article.asp?cu_no=2&item_no=248380&version=1&template_id=39&parent_id=21

what I'm reading

violence against Christians in India

http://www.salvationarmy.org/ihq/www_sa.nsf/vw-news/E1393B7E37EDA75F802574C9003B06DF?opendocument

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/10/13/world/asia/13india.html?_r=1&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss&oref=slogin

Lord, hear our prayer!

SASB #410

Believe him! Believe him! the holy one is waiting
To perfect within you what grace has begun;
God wills for his people an uttermost salvation;
To sanctify you wholly the Spirit will come.

Surrender! Surrender! Reject the gift no longer,
But say: Blessed Master, thy will shall be done.
I cease from my striving, thy love shall be the conqueror;
To sanctify me wholly, make haste, Lord, and come.

Salvation! Salvation! O tell to all the story,
The thraldom of evil is broken and gone!
My sun and my shield, the Lord gives grace and glory;
He sanctifies me wholly; the Spirit has come.

Albert Orsborn (1886-1967)

important question

"Are you able to intelligently and effectively use $5,000.00?"

How would you respond?

words of wisdom from Jeff Strain (God's prophet to me today!)

from http://joymadecomplete.blogspot.com/2008/10/approaching-joy-and-wonderful-feeling.html

"God's joy is not contingent on our circumstances."

"The dad so many of us really need to know is here for us."

"Give it all away if you need to."

"And don't be afraid to tell the truth of you. We cover ourselves and miss the opportunity to suffer and then rejoice corporately with each other. It is the only way to get to the heart of why we hurt so."

"No amount of money will ever compare with having nothing but Jesus."

proof that we were really in Helsinki last weekend!

L to R: back of Major Aino Muikku (Estonia Regional Commander), back of Tim, Captain Anya Henderson (Narva Corps Officer and Regional Youth & Candidates Officer), me, back of Cadet Aleskei Burunov (Narva Corps), side of Captain Daniel Henderson (Narva Corps Officer & Asst. to RC), back of Major Pirjo Mikkonen (Tartu Corps Officer), Captain Ave Kalme (Võru Corps Officer).

40 Days for Life devotional

http://www.40daysforlife.com/getinvolved.cfm?selected=fall2008day06

the Finland & Estonia Territory is obsessed with change but never does!

from

Never the Same Again
"if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!"
(2 Corinthians 5:17)

to

Dare to Be Different
"come out from them and be separate, says the Lord. Touch no unclean thing"
(2 Corinthians 6:17)

pray to end abortion

So we fasted and petitioned our God about this, and he answered our prayer. (Ezra 8:23)

When I heard these things, I sat down and wept. For some days I mourned and fasted and prayed before the God of heaven. Then I said:
"O LORD, God of heaven, the great and awesome God, who keeps his covenant of love with those who love him and obey his commands, let your ear be attentive and your eyes open to hear the prayer your servant is praying before you day and night for your ... people.... I confess the sins we ..., including myself and my father's house, have committed against you. We have acted very wickedly toward you." (Nehemiah 1:4-7)