A Bible Field Trip

This is what an incarnational view of mission looks like: the human translation of divine action in the world. If we take the Incarnation seriously, mission becomes more like translation than ideological, territorial, or even spiritual conquest. God models translation by pouring out the divine self into human form; as Walls puts it, 'The Incarnation is God's perfect translation. '

From Almost Christian, by Kenda Creasy Dean, and quoting Andrew Walls, page 97.

Lamin Sanneh views the gospel's translatability as one of Christianity's signature qualities. Unlike [a certain false religion] he observes, 'Christianity spread as a religion without the language of its founder' . . .

Ibid, quoting Lamin Sanneh.

Translating Scripture into the common, spoken languages of laypeople is arguably the most basic of all missional practices . . .

Ibid, page 116. 


Okay, guess what book I read last week.  :)

And then I went to Bearing Precious Seed last Saturday to assemble Spanish scripture booklets containing the books of John and Romans. After the translation of God's Word into human flesh (see John 1:2) helping to get the translated written word to individuals who need it is a small thing.

Date Night at Creation Museum

Pastor Dad and I took some time off last week for good behavior (well, that part is debatable unless taken to mean it was time off designed to inspire good behavior) to attend a conference for pastors and their wives at the Creation Museum in Northern Kentucky. One of the highlights was the Wednesday evening Date Night.

Date Night consisted of a delicious candlelight dinner accompanied by the talented singer-songwriter, John Elliot, on piano providing a musical concert. We shared the table with three other couples that minister in various locations across the country. From sea-to-shining-sea was represented at our table. We were the only locals at the table but dinner table discussion revealed mutual acquaintances! Small world!

Ken Ham gave an extemporaneous speech detailing how his wife is the love of his life and the supportive woman behind his ministry. What a testimony he gave to acknowledge a woman who is not usually in the spotlight but is the person who keeps life centered!

 

We enjoyed ourselves very much and wish to thank Answers in Genesis and the Creation Museum for the excellent seminars that provided needed encouragement and an evening's restful interlude. As you can tell by our picture, we needed the break because fatigue was beginning to make us look like we had personally just stumbled off that ark behind us. :)

Not "Just" Another Boy and Dog Story

I guess most boys want a dog. I know The Bear just about drove me nuts a few years ago begging for a puppy. Granted,that's a short trip, but you know what I mean. The result was Pepper the Mega-Mutt, the dog who has hastened my arrival at Nutsville.

We got ol' Pep for The Bear's birthday a few years back after he broke down sobbing while reading Where The Red Fern Grows, a classic boy-and-his-dogs story. I probably should've planned his literature studies a bit more carefully that year, knowing his heart's desire. Bad teacher! Bad, bad mom!{Sigh}

Anyway, I'm about to ask your help get a dog for a boy who doesn't just want one. He needs one. His dog will be a service animal. The dog requires extensive and expensive training in order to help someone who has Autism. The boy's name is Aiden and he is the grandson of my blogging friend, Karin Ristau. Aiden and his family need help obtaining the funds for the dog's training.

I've requested donations before for various ministries that I think MATTER. And I thank those who sent them. Most of the time the highlighted ministries use our donations to help people whose faces we'll never see this side of eternity, but you can see pictures of the little guy and the dog here. Look for the pictures of Aiden and Hiro and locate the nearby donation button link.

My recent donation will only cover one hour's worth of training but every little bit helps. I plan to make further donations as I'm able.

I want to help this boy get his dog! You sure didn't hear me making that statement a few years ago!

Thanks for any help you can give.

A Reminder, A Ministry, and A Children's Book Giveaway

A reminder: Exactly one month from today is Valentine's Day. Some of you - mostly males - might need this wake-up call. You're welcome.  :)

A ministry: I haven't posted a Ministry MATTERS post for a few months but if I had, Voice of the Martyrs just might be one of those highlighted. You may send them a donation if you feel so inclined but no comments are necessary, no strings are attached, and no prizes will be given for your donations.

A children's book giveaway: On the other hand, I do have a children's book to give away entitled The Story of St. Valentine, More than Cards and Candied Hearts written by The Voice of the Martyrs with Cheryl Odden and illustrated by R.F. Palavicini. I found this to be a fascinating account of the young man who defied the Roman emperor Claudius to worship God by upholding the sanctity of marriage. (Whoa! Does that sound like a modern issue or what?) The only thing some (including me) might take issue with is the statement that the "church" declared February 14th a day to celebrate Valentine in order to replace the celebration of the Roman goddess, Juno. But there are many words on my calendar that are directly influenced by the Greeks, Romans, and their immediate successor, the Roman Catholic Church, that I must of necessity use daily so I take it in stride. Parent who disagree with an author's point-of-view should use such opportunities to appropriately educate their children. We're Americans and we still have the right to do that by sharing our faith with our children and other people.

The tale ends with a quick vignette of a modern Vietnamese woman who has been arrested many times for her faith. The subtle point of this transition is to introduce American children to the fact that even today not all the world has the right to openly worship Jesus or share their faith with others.

The book is beautifully illustrated using vivid colors as vibrant as the blood-red hue that we normally associate with the day itself. (I laid the book on a red cloth for the photograph just so you could make the comparison yourself.) They are bold which makes them worthy of the actions of the book's hero.

Here are the rules to participate in the drawing:

• Leave a "legitimate" comment - multiple entries allowed but with a limit of 1 per day, please - stating you wish to be entered in the drawing. (Comments that activate the spam filter will not be entered and are an example of an "illegitimate" comment.)
• Tell about this giveaway at your own blog or website and leave me a comment stating the proper URL (of your specific blog post, not your blog address).
• Contest ends at midnight EST on January 31, 2011 and the name will be randomly selected and announced on February 1st. Winner has until midnight EST February 5th to make contact.
• Book will be mailed to winner in a timely fashion.

Let the countdown to Valentine's Day begin!

Just A Reminder . . .

Monday noon is the last day to leave a comment below or here telling me that you're going to send $1 to a rescue mission of your choice in order to be eligible for the drawing. I understand this is a slow economy and that we all desire to remain anonymous, but really people . . . you can't afford a dollar? How hard could it be to put a dollar bill in an envelope, add a stamp, and mail it to the mission of your choice? Leave off the return address and they'll never know it was you! It couldn't be simpler! And yet, it would mean so much.

The Association of Gospel Rescue Missions website (found here) has a clickable map (found here) where you can find missions in your state/province that would love to receive $1 from you!

You'd better act soon, though, because I'm getting very attached to the wooden tile and jar candle! I've purposely not dog-eared this copy of the book but will do so soon if no one responds. The wooden tile with the Bible verse on it could become the perfect addition to my Thanksgiving decor and so could the candle. The book promises to help me make better use of my schedule as I plan for the New Year (which isn't as far away as you might think!) So if you'd like to have these (they'll all be sent to one person) make a commitment to send $1 to an organization who will use it to feed the hungry and tell them the Gospel of Jesus Christ instead of buying yourself that soft drink or candy bar that you don't need anyway.

Now, leave a comment here after the beep. 

BEEP!

No Tricks. . . Just Treats

This month I have chosen organizations that feed and shelter the homeless as the Ministry Matters project.  This is the time of the year when missions are gearing up to feed large crowds around Thanksgiving.  We have two missions in our area City Gospel Mission and Fairhaven Rescue Mission that we know about personally.   As a teenager, my youth pastor took our youth group to the City Gospel Mission so that we could participate in ministry there.  Later, this same youth pastor opened Fairhaven Rescue Mission. 

Although either of these rescue missions is worthy of donations, this month I will not specify that the donation be sent to either of these missions.  Perhaps you have a homeless shelter or rescue mission in your area that is in need of your support.  If that be the case, please leave me a comment stating that you will be sending a donation to the rescue mission of your choice and you will then be entered in the drawing for the following prizes:

One winner will receive the following:

• A 20 oz. jar candle by Empire Home.  The scent is called "Fall Festival" and it smells wonderfully cinnamon-y
• A 5.5 inch square, free-standing or wall-hanging wood plaque by P. Graham Dunn with Psalm 107:1 painted on it.
• A book by Cindy Sigler Dagnan entitled "Who got Peanut Butter on My Daily Planner?

In order to be eligible for the drawing, leave a comment stating that you will be sending a donation to a rescue mission of your choosing.  All submissions must be received by noon, Monday, October 25th.  I hope you'll join Pastor Dad and me by making a donation to an organization that shares a meal, a bed, and the love of Christ with those who would otherwise go without them.  And in so doing, you'll make someone very thankful this Thanksgiving!

"Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world:  For I was an hungred, and ye gave me meat:  I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink:  I was a stranger, and ye took me in:  Naked, and ye clothed me:  I was sick, and ye visited me:  I was in prison, and ye came unto me.  Then shall the righteous answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, and fed thee?  or thirsty, and gave thee drink?  When saw we thee a stranger, and took thee in?  or naked, and clothed thee?  Or when saw we thee sick, or in prison, and came unto thee?  And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me."          Matthew 25:34-40

Working Out the Bugs

Complications: when bugs are thrown into the plans. I am currently working to exterminate bugs from my plans.

For one thing, I'm very hopeful that we can raise funds for worthy ministries, but I keep coming up with instances of "oh, yeah, just one more clarification!"

Here is the latest: Karabeth Baptist Homeschool is committed to sending the designated ministry a minimum pledge of $20. The maximum still stands at $100 based upon the number of comments received but KBH will send $20 whether anyone else participates or not.

For another, did you see this morning's Ministry MATTERS post? I hope not. And if so, I apologize.

I hardly recognized it! The formatting was all wrong and the text unreadable in places. It was written and scheduled days ago. My only explanation is that sometimes - and somehow - the formatting goes "loopy" in cyberspace while awaiting showtime.

I can't promise that there won't be more bugs, but that's all I've noticed concerning Ministry MATTERS matters.

* * *

I've got other bugs to exterminate. Most of our summer obligations have been completed but there is much to be done before we resume our fall routine. (I didn't say "go back to school" because it is hard to go back to something you never left.)

No birthdays, or camp, or VBS, or LTIA, or trips scheduled this week. Even Mr. "Fen"tastic: my shadow, my little mover-and-shaker, my grandson won't be with me this week.

A complete week void of usual routine!

In anticipation, I planned some projects. The flower beds are in serious need of attention. And there are closets and a junk room to clean. I scheduled appointments for things that have been neglected.

So guess what? I got hit with a bug. The energy level went down as the fever went up. I'm on the mend but I no longer have the "oomph" needed to just get 'er done. The normal everyday stuff has been an effort today.

I am reminded of James 4:14-15, "Whereas ye know not what shall be on the morrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapour, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away. For that ye ought to say, If the Lord will, we shall live, and do this or that."

So, Lord, you've got my attention. I don't know what your will is for this week but here's my agenda. You write your plans on the pages. At least Yours won't have any bugs!

Ministry MATTERS in August 2010!

When visiting this blog one must notice the Word of God on the page. It can be found in the heading, the sidebar, and in some of the posts. There is even a Bible reading schedule published each Saturday. Why? Because reading the Bible is important!

As such, it seems appropriate to begin this new endeavor with a ministry devoted to the Bible. Bearing Precious Seed in Milford, Ohio is the Ministry MATTERS pledge recipient for this month.

Bearing Precious Seed is one local church's ministry whose outreach is universal. Started in 1973 as a mission of the First Baptist Church of Milford, Ohio this ministry is devoted to the printing and distribution of Bibles, New Testaments, and the books of John and Romans. They work with translators to provide missionaries with Bibles written in the native dialects of their field.

The Bearing Precious Seed website contains a chart of what they produced through April 2010. It shows that 5,713,950 scriptures were produced in that time in Burmese, Cebuano, English, French, Ilonggo, Russian, French Creole, Portuguese, Spanish, and Tagalog languages. Since the figure represents only the first four months of 2010, one can only imagine what the total must be as of today!

Bearing Precious Seed recently sent representatives to the World Cup in South Africa. Here is a testimony (taken from Facebook, but found on their website) of the reception the Bible portions received:

"Testimony from the World Cup Scripture Distribution
Thursday, July 15, 2010 at 10:30am
The 2010 World Cup project was definitely a global project. Those who gave and labored as well as those who received the Scriptures were a diverse group that spanned the globe. More than forty Seedline churches labored together in the assembly of the more than one million John and Romans. Forty-five South African churches were involved in the distribution of the Bibles. I was able to see people from all parts of the world receive the Word of God.During one game in particular in Johannesburg we were practically mobbed by the nearly one hundred thousand fans exiting the stadium. As the soccer fans began to exit the stadium we were soon surrounded by thousands of people, many of which were trying to get one of the Bibles. We were soon overwhelmed and began making our way down the street and away from the stadium. We were followed for a quarter of a mile and practically chased down the street as we were frantically passing out as many Scriptures as possible. In less than thirty minutes we had distributed more than ten thousand John and Romans.Not only were we involved in the mass distribution of Scriptures but there was also alot of one on one evangelism. I saw American missionaries, national pastors, South African church members, and American visitors all lead different people to the Lord. I was greatly impacted by many things that I saw when I was in South Africa. The biggest impact on my life personally was being reminded of what God's people can accomplish in His power when we work together. No matter where our citizenship is, or what color our skin is, we are all to be involved in the Great Commission.Phil TaylorBPS Seedline representative"

Won't you join me in pledging a contribution to this ministry? You may make a donation online at their website or send it via mail to their address:

Bearing Precious Seed

1369 Woodville Pike

Milford, OH45150

Leave a comment stating your pledge amount and you will be entered to participate in the drawing on this blog at noon on August 30th. (See here for the rules of participation. **See below also.)

This month's prize consists of 2 books (pictures below):

My Soul Thirsts for God is a collection of devotions on selected psalms. The writers of the Our Daily Bread devotionals have compiled 92 meditations on some of the most beloved portions of scripture.

Choosing a Bible, by Leland Ryken explains the differences between literal translations, dynamic equivalent translations, and paraphrases of the Bible and tells which versions fall under each heading. This is a very good, understandable book for explaining the philosophies behind Bible translations.

Clarifications and suggestions:

*If you do not wish to be contacted by this or any of the highlighted ministries, but wish to contribute, make your donation as anonymous as possible such as sending a money order. This option would negate declaring the gift as a charitable donation.

**For the purposes of the monthly drawing, the winner will have until noon the following Wednesday (48 hours total) to make contact with Karabeth Baptist Homeschool to arrange delivery of prize. If deadline is not met, a new winner will be announced.

***Karabeth Baptist Homeschool believes organizations selected for Ministry MATTERS are worthy of monetary support, but in no way does this imply agreement with everything said or done by the chosen organization or its assigns. Neither the blogger nor any member of her family work for the chosen ministry or receive funds or gifts from it.

Ministry MATTERS

Are you a Christian who feels like you should be doing more to help spread the gospel of Jesus Christ but you don't know where to begin?

Do you feel that you'd do something if you only had more time, energy, and money, or fewer commitments, debts, and people draining your resources?

Yeah, me too.

I've been praying about this. I have the desire to do more for my Lord and have been taking inventory of the resources I have at hand. I don't have much, but I do have this blog. I think that it is time for it to start earning its keep and I don't mean by monetizing for my own personal gain.

What would happen if we teamed up and combined our efforts through this blog?

I'd like to adopt a ministry each month and challenge us (that's you and me together) to pledge a bit of money to it. It doesn't need to be great amounts of money because what YOU give and what I give will be combined to what the LORD gives and we already know about his ability to multiply resources like loaves and fishes. Imagine what He can do with a bit of pocket change!

Here are the rules of participation:

1. I'll pick a ministry on the first Monday of each month.
2. You leave me a comment stating that you will be sending $$ (minimum donation is $1) to that ministry.
3. I will pledge $1 to the designated ministry for each person who leaves a comment naming their pledge, with my own pledge limited to $100 a month. (100 comments = $100 given by Karabeth Baptist Homeschool to that month's Ministry MATTERS recipient, 25 comments = $25 given by KBH, etc.)
4. Each person who leaves a pledge (limit 1 pledge per person, not per household) will be entered in a drawing for an appropriate gift as a reward for participating. The winner will be randomly selected at noon Eastern Standard Time (or EDST) on the last Monday of each month.
5. I will not be collecting the pledges or checking with the recipient to see if you paid. If you neglect to pay your pledge you will answer to God, but not to me. All pledges are to be mailed directly to the named ministry.

I hope you'll prayerfully consider participating.

I'll see you next Monday with our first Ministry MATTERS recipient!