Inspired!

Today I was trying to catch up with some of my more crafty reads and I happened upon Design Sponge and noticed that there were at least 20 new posts since the last time I was there.

I am always so motivated after looking around over there and today I looked at all the before and after posts and was amazed and what a little paint and imagination can do. Some of the afters are awesome and I can't wait to find something old to redo.

The Devil's Domain

The one thing we noticed more than anything when we came to Croatia almost 9 years ago was the overwhelming demonic influence we felt. Never before had I actually felt such a strong feeling of pressure.

We know that Croatia is at the moment in the grasp of the Devil. He wants more than anything to keep these precious people under his thumb and keep them in bondage to false religion. That's why he has fought so hard to keep missionaries out of Croatia and with great success.
For the last 9 years we have been in Croatia alone, except for the few times that people came to Croatia as missionaries only to quickly leave again. We have done our very best to "hold-on", to remember that we are in a spiritual battle but sometimes it gets hard. Sometimes we get tired of fighting the devil.

Lately the devil has seemingly been working overtime to derail us. Not only as missionaries here in Croatia but also as a family. He gets his ugly head in where ever he can and uses all the tricks he knows. How hard it is to hear our children tell us how lonely they are, or to know that they will never experience the things others will. Sometimes we get so tired and feel like quitting but then we remember that there are 4.5 million souls in Croatia, 4.5 million that deserve to at least hear the Gospel just once. 4.5 million people who are worth the fight.

I haven't had much time lately for the computer or life for that matter. The devil has kept me busy feeling sorry for myself and my kids. He has caused us to all fall into despair until today. God did something to wake us all up and we are so thankful that He did. We give Him all the glory and are so blessed to be used by Him to do even the smallest job.

He's so good!!!

What really happened.

What brought down the plane in the Hudson River ?

A Little This and a Little That

It has been so cold here lately, I mean like teens everyday. I don't mind so much, I like the cold but pretty much we were having to deal with the cold without any reward of snow, until last week, look what arrived. Okay so it was only about 4 cm. but the kids were so excited. I looked outside in the morning and our dog was lying by the porch, is she funny of what?

I love to watch the snow fall, just something about those big puffs of white lace floating to the ground, Love it! The kids played and soon the yard was a mess of dirt and snow and all sorts of figures. This was the first snow this year which is really crazy for Croatia. The first several years we were here we had feet of snow on the ground most of the winter, until March usually. This has been a really warm and dry winter for the most part.
Oh yea remember I told you before about the church chairs and how we no longer had to share chairs. Well here is the new church with it's chairs and a new carpet too. Cute huh?


One more thing. Look at these yummy dinner rolls I made. I've never really had success with yeast breads until now. These rolls were so good and very easy for a beginner.

Sweet Dinner Rolls

INGREDIENTS

1/2 cup warm water (110 degrees F/45 degrees C)

1/2 cup warm milk

1 egg

1/3 cup butter, softened

1/3 cup white sugar

1 teaspoon salt

3 3/4 cup s all-purpose flour

1 (.25 ounce) package active dry yeast
1/4 cup butter, softened

INSTRUCTIONS

Place water, milk, egg, 1/3 cup butter, sugar, salt, flour and yeast in the pan of the bread machine in the order recommended by the manufacturer. Select Dough/Knead and First Rise Cycle; press Start.

When cycle finishes, turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface. Divide dough in half. Roll each half into a 12 inch circle, spread 1/4 cup softened butter over entire round. Cut each circle into 8 wedges. Roll wedges starting at wide end; roll gently but tightly. Place point side down on ungreased cookie sheet. Cover with clean kitchen towel and put in a warm place, let rise 1 hour. Meanwhile, preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C).

Bake in preheated oven for 10 to 15 minutes, until golden.

These were so good, I don't have a bread maker so I made them by hand and they were still wonderful. I would suggest a little bit longer to rise the second time. That picture is of the ones I made and they were yummy, not very WW point friends but the family loved them. Enjoy!


I'm going to try to get some sewing done this week, I'm eyeing this cute little belt for Hannah. I already have the D rings so I just need to get with it. You can find a great tutorial for it over at Creative Little Daisy Blog.


Guess who got a new star this week. Yea okay you guessed it, ME! I have officially lost 10 lbs. for the last two weeks and I got my second star. I posted about it over at Slow and Steady Wins the Race.

Hope you all have a wonderful week!

Look what arrived in Croatia

Look what Johnny brought home from the post office the other day. My dear Canadian friend Dee sent me this care package and what a blessing it was. She has a sick sense of humor though, see what she sent me...100 Days of Wight Loss Book, and a Healthy Heart Walking Cd and then look what else she sent, Mike and Ike candies, Smarties and Charleston Chews!!! Okay now is that a mixture or what?
What a wonderful friend she is and this was a great blessing. The kids and Johnny and I finished off all the candy, counted the points of course and now we're enjoying all the healthy goodies she sent.
It's so nice to have friends like Dee, who go out of their way to be a blessing, and she is!

**Edited to say: I almost forgot the huge jar of Skippy peanut butter she sent, and the lower fat kind too. Yummy!

Happy Monday!

I am in shock that January is almost half way finished. I am shocked at how fast the pages on the calendar are turning. The fact that we are in the year 2009 leaves me shocked, I would like to know what happened to the last 9 years, where did they go so fast?

Anyhoo, we had a good weekend, although our attendance was way down. We had half the usual attendance in Čakovec and in Varaždin we were down a lot. Sickness has struck out city. Half our church was out sick. We have ever thing from the stomach virus, flu, colds all the way to the chicken pox running rampant in our ranks. Hey those chicken pox really scare me, I have had them but Johnny and the kids have never had them, oh please Lord, not this year!

Oh wait, I almost forget, Monday is my WW weight-in day. I was so excited this morning to post the results for my first week back OP on my WW blog, Slow and Steady Wins the Race. Feel free to take a look, I made it to my first goal today!

Anyhow, today is Monday and I have a lot of cleaning to do. Bathrooms need to be cleaned and the whole house needs to be picked up. After the weekend comes and goes my house is like a disaster area, after all these years I haven't figured out how to keep it clean on the weekend. Anyhow, Mt. Washmore is calling me and I actually could use to get dressed.

Anyhow, today is the first day of a whole new week, let's make it a good one!

Praying for Israel

With all the conflict in the Holy land and the distaste for the Jewish people by the news media we really need to stand in solidarity with God's people.

Isn't it odd how history itself has documented the constant persecution of the Jewish nation, and the Bible recorded it before the foundation of the Earth and still the world can not see it. The Jewish people are the chosen people of God.

God is very clear about His people and the way we, the grafted ones, should treat them. So WHY SHOULD CHRISTIANS PRAY FOR ISRAEL?
Christians should pray for Israel beause:

1. We are commanded by God to pray for them

Psalm 122:6

Pray for the peace of Jerusalem: they shall prosper that love thee.

2. God loves them

Jeremiah 31:3

The LORD hath appeared of old unto me, saying, Yea, I have loved thee with an everlasting love: therefore with lovingkindness have I drawn thee.

Romans 11:2

God hath not cast away his people which he foreknew. Wot ye not what the scripture saith of Elias? how he maketh intercession to God against Israel, saying,

3. God's blessing is upon those who pray for them

Genesis 12:3

And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed.

4. It is God's will that they be saved

Romans 11:23-27

And they also, if they abide not still in unbelief, shall be grafted in: for God is able to graft them in again.

For if thou wert cut out of the olive tree which is wild by nature, and wert grafted contrary to nature into a good olive tree: how much more shall these, which be the natural branches, be grafted into their own olive tree?

For I would not, brethren, that ye should be ignorant of this mystery, lest ye should be wise in your own conceits; that blindness in part is happened to Israel, until the fulness of the Gentiles be come in.

And so all Israel shall be saved: as it is written, There shall come out of Sion the Deliverer, and shall turn away ungodliness from Jacob:

For this is my covenant unto them, when I shall take away their sins.

5. They do not understand God's righteousness

Romans 10:3

For they being ignorant of God's righteousness, and going about to establish their own righteousness, have not submitted themselves unto the righteousness of God.

6. They are increasingly open to the Gospel

Romans 11:23-27

And they also, if they abide not still in unbelief, shall be grafted in: for God is able to graft them in again.

For if thou wert cut out of the olive tree which is wild by nature, and wert grafted contrary to nature into a good olive tree: how much more shall these, which be the natural branches, be grafted into their own olive tree?

For I would not, brethren, that ye should be ignorant of this mystery, lest ye should be wise in your own conceits; that blindness in part is happened to Israel, until the fulness of the Gentiles be come in.

And so all Israel shall be saved: as it is written, There shall come out of Sion the Deliverer, and shall turn away ungodliness from Jacob:

For this is my covenant unto them, when I shall take away their sins.

7. Satan seeks to destroy them

Revelations 12:27

And the dragon was wroth with the woman, and went to make war with the remnant of her seed, which keep the commandments of God, and have the testimony of Jesus Christ.

8. Gentiles have tragically neglected the command of Romans 1:6

For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek.

9. The Gospel of Jesus Christ is to the Jew first

Romans 1:16

For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek.

10. They are in desperate need of their Messiah

John 8:12-24

Then spake Jesus again unto them, saying, I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life.

The Pharisees therefore said unto him, Thou bearest record of thyself; thy record is not true.

Jesus answered and said unto them, Though I bear record of myself, yet my record is true: for I know whence I came, and whither I go; but ye cannot tell whence I come, and whither I go.

Ye judge after the flesh; I judge no man.

And yet if I judge, my judgment is true: for I am not alone, but I and the Father that sent me.

It is also written in your law, that the testimony of two men is true.

I am one that bear witness of myself, and the Father that sent me beareth witness of me.

Then said they unto him, Where is thy Father? Jesus answered, Ye neither know me, nor my Father: if ye had known me, ye should have known my Father also.

These words spake Jesus in the treasury, as he taught in the temple: and no man laid hands on him; for his hour was not yet come.

Then said Jesus again unto them, I go my way, and ye shall seek me, and shall die in your sins: whither I go, ye cannot come.

Then said the Jews, Will he kill himself? because he saith, Whither I go, ye cannot come.

And he said unto them, Ye are from beneath; I am from above: ye are of this world; I am not of this world.

I said therefore unto you, that ye shall die in your sins: for if ye believe not that I am he, ye shall die in your sins.

11. Judaism fails to satisfy

Hebrews 10:14

For by one offering he hath perfected for ever them that are sanctified.

Galatians 2:16

Knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law, but by the faith of Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Jesus Christ, that we might be justified by the faith of Christ, and not by the works of the law: for by the works of the law shall no flesh be justified.

So why should we pray for the salvation and care of Israel? Simply because God commands it!


For more information on reaching the Jews with the Gospel of Jesus Christ go to IBJM.org

Just Stuff!

If you'll noticed, I've been sporting a Thank You George W. Bush graphic near the top of this blog. A friend let me know that she was putting it on her blog and I just wanted you all to know, that you are welcomed to take it and display it, I made it so no need to get credit. I think he deserves our thanks for doing his best.
Oh yea, remember yesterday when I told you about Weight Watchers online and my new endeavor, well I have a new blog to keep track of my many future victories! For those who were following the old one, well I was going to pick up on that one again but I accidental deleted it, hence the new one. Anyhoo, here's a link to my new blog and I will be weighing in on Mondays so check it out. Also let me know if you also have a weight loss blog and I would be glad to link to it as long as the content is Christ honoring.

Have a great weekend y'all!!!

The Cold Snap is Over

Last night on the way home from church the subject of the unresolved gas crisis came up. Our kids hadn't heard about it and there were many questions. By the time we made it home we had a plan for most situations that could occur and we had discussed the trickle down from the whole situation.

Right after we walked in Johnny told us that the whole gas crisis was resolved.
Alexi Miller, the chief executive of Gazprom said: "We really treasure our reputation as a reliable supplier and are prepared to supply Europe with as much gas as it needs."
Now we just hope this gas super giant sticks to it's word.

Already Bosnia and Bulgaria have been without gas and it was looking scary for us, but Praise the Lord our fear of a cold snap didn't come to pass. I was a bit bothered to realize that if the case had come to pass we would have been sorely prepared. Our stove, hot water heater, central heating all run on gas. Anyhow, it didn't happen and we are warm for a while longer.

We have really been fighting a lot of sickness lately in our church. The week before last our pastor's family of 6 had a monster of a stomach virus, then last week it hit our house, we also have one lady in our church in the hospital and another whole family was sick on Wednesday, so guess who was at church? Just us, yep, I guess it happens sometimes, it never has before but I guess there's always a first time for everything.

I have come to realize that the work here in Croatia will never be easy. It has been a fight since the beginning and it seems like every time we get ahead ol' Slew Foot manages to get his grubby paws on someone in our church and bring them down a bit.

I know that the most important thing about being a missionary isn't ability but availability and obedience. God never said it would be easy but he did give us a job and expect obedience. Anyhow, I don't know why I'm even typing this, maybe it's for me, a pep talk in sorts. Oh well, I guess I needed it.
Oh yea, guess who joined Weight Watchers online this past week? Yea, you guess it, me! My super sweet mother-in-law sent me Christmas money and here I am loving WW online. The food tracker is so easy and the availability to good recipes and food counts is almost limitless, I love it. Anyhoo, I weigh on Monday and I'm pretty excited, I think this WI is gonna be a doosey, I was sick with the stomach virus for 4 days before I started WW so I hardly ate anything and then I've been so good this week and stayed on program and ate my points healthily. I'm excited and I'll probably post Monday with my first week results.

Other that the above, we are just busy with school and life in general. Winters in Croatia are very hard because it's dark by 4:30 and that really messes with your mind. When it gets dark, we start thinking bed but hey from 4:30 until bed a lot can be accomplished. So winter is always hard here but we're managing, not being very productive but managing. We should get used to the early evenings right about time for Spring. Isn't that how it always works, oh well.

Hope you all have a great weekend, stay warm and enjoy the Lord's House on Sunday!

It's gonna get cold!

Have you heard about this? It's all over the news at least on this side of the big, blue, wet one.

We have been sick for a while so I didn't even read any news but this is a big deal, at least for us that live in the Balkans.

What sparked the gas wars?

On New Year's Eve, the deadline expired for Russia and Ukraine to agree a new contract for 2009 gas supplies. Moscow had wanted to raise its prices and charge Kiev $250 per 1,000 cubic metres, up from $179.5 last year. The Ukrainians thought that excessive and refused to pay a cent more than $201. Russia promptly put its price up to $450. Then at 10am on New Year's Day Russia's Gazprom halted supplies of all gas meant for domestic use in Ukraine.

So why are other European countries suffering?

It wasn't quite as simple as Moscow turning off the Ukraine gas tap. The EU gets about a fifth of its gas from Russia via the same pipes that pass through Ukraine. Russia cut the total volume of gas it was pumping by the amount Ukraine imports. But Russia says Ukraine stole some gas intended for Europe, and has cut deliveries by the same amount that was siphoned off.

Is this business or politics?

Russia's economy has been shaken by the credit crunch. Gazprom has debts of about $50bn and Russia's foreign reserves have dropped by more than a third, so Prime Minister Putin may be concerned about getting as much cash as possible for his gas. But the political dimension cannot be ignored given the bad blood between Kiev and Moscow. Mr Putin has not forgiven the Western-leaning President Viktor Yushchenko for sweeping to victory in the Orange Revolution in 2004, an animosity strengthened by Ukraine's ambition to join Nato and its support for Tbilisi in the Russia-Georgia war in August. Compare Ukraine with Belarus, which made supportive noises about South Ossetia and has been promised cheaper gas.

What happens next?

Kiev and Moscow need to return to the negotiating table, and with disruption starting to hit Europe, pressure for a deal is mounting. The EU is sending a mission to meet separately with Ukrainian and Russian officials, and if all else fails there could be a three-way EU gas summit. In the meantime, affected countries will have to rely on their gas stocks, which vary in size; for some, it's a matter of weeks, for others just days.

Claire Soares, Deputy Foreign Editor

As it stands Croatia is down to only 15% of the usual level they receive from Russia and are now on reserves. It's been reported that Croatia has enough gas to last for the next month and then if the situation with Russia doesn't change we will be without gas.

Our home heats by gas, cooks by gas and heats water by gas, so it looks like it could get really cold around here soon.
It has been in the teens for weeks now and it doesn't look like Spring will be here for a while so I guess I better start crocheting some scarves and gloves.

Simple Thought for the New Year

If the grass always looks greener to you on the other side, maybe it's about time to start watering your own.

Wonderful New Years Gift

Look what arrived in our town this week; a container sent all the way from our good friends at Harvest Baptist Church in Fort Dodge, Iowa, pastored by Bro. Marvin Smith. Guess what the container contained...okay, yes it contained boxes but guess what is in those boxes...100,000 copies of John and Romans taken from the new translation our men are working on at the moment. Bro. Milan is Roma (Gypsy) and one of the most faithful men in our church

It's an awesome feeling to actually see the hard work they have put into this project in print in our hands. God is so good to give us His precious Word and what better thing could one do than to give a reliable copy to a people in their own language. Croatia has many translations but all are flawed by man's openions or interpretations. The Croatian Bible project will be a mirror image of the King James Bible, when language allows, and the KJB is the final authority for the project. Please pray for the Croatian Bible Project, the devil is working overtime to derail it and everyday is a spiritual battle.

Anyhow, here are some random pictures of the container and the men unloading it. I love watching men work! *Ü*

Our oldest boy Cody checking out the cargo


Bro. Rajko (Rich to his friends and family in Christ) is the pastor of the church in Čakovec and he is doing a wonderful job. He loves the Lord is is a true testimony of how a man can take on the spirit of Christ.
Bro. Alan 1 and Bro. Alan 2, really that's what everyone calls them. Bro. Alan in the red is a faithful soul-winner and he loves the Lord. Bro. Alan 2 is a new Christian and he is trying to do right and get things prioritized. Please pray for Alan 2 and his family, his wife isn't saved. Almost empty!
This is Joshua, our 13 year old. Does he look tired or what?? It was absolutely freezing outside, about 29 when they inloaded, see the red ears.

Oh yea, guess what else came in that container that we were totally excited about; new church chairs!!! YEA!!! Our home church, Trinity Baptist Church have us $1700 to buy new chairs for our church. These chairs are to die for, I'm not kidding. They are the chairs that interlock to form a pew of sorts and they are super cushy! We are so excited. We have been sitting on rock hard kitchen chairs for 7 years and this is like Christmas in the best way. Here are our old chairs that we are very thankful we had and that will now go to the new church plant in Varaždin. If you remember this post you'll remember the whole ordeal with the chairs, well that's over now, praise the Lord!! These chairs are headed to Varaždin and will stay there.

What a mess, a little assembly is required.
Joshua is so enjoying our new, comfy chairs. Now we may have a problem keeping folks awake!

Cody's working hard to get 'em done. There are 50 of those boogers, so you keep on keeping on Cody!

Sunday I'll be posting an "after" picture, with our chairs all in place.

Special thanks to our pastor Dr. Bob Smith and Bro. Marvin Smith at Harvest Baptist for making it all possible. Praise the Lord!