I posted this on my Social Media networks, but forgot to post it here! MARCH BOOK OF THE MONTH: Just finished “God’s Smuggler." What a powerful testimony! I’ve heard about Brother Andrew for years, but this was my first time to read his testimony. As a boy, Brother Andrew dreamed of being an undercover spy working behind enemy lines. As a man he found himself working undercover for God smuggling Bibles to people behind the Iron curtain. His was a mission filled with danger, financed by faith, supported by miracles.
Told it was impossible to minister behind the Iron Curtain, Andrew knew that nothing was too hard for God. Crossing "closed" borders, he always prayed, "Lord, in my luggage I have Scripture I want to take to your children. When you were on earth, You made blind eyes see. Now, I pray, make seeing eyes blind. Do not let the guards see those things You do not want them to see." And they never did. “Don’t ever rely on your whit to get thru the border crossings,” Andrew told his partners. “If we are self confident, we will be caught, but if we recognize that God alone can get us thru, we know it’s all up to Him and He will be faithful.” Later he said, “They have guns, but we have the Word of God. And it is the most powerful weapon there is.” What a inspiring read!! Especially learning about the hunger for Bibles in the closed countries he visited. Now some countries have opened and others have closed... but the fight to bring people God’s Word remains. Do we recognize and appreciate the gift we’ve been given by free access to God’s Word? #brotherandrew#Godsmuggler#bookofthemonth
LIVING SACRIFICE: In the deeply moving and thought-provoking book, “Living Sacrifice: Willing to be Whittled as An Arrow,” Dr. Helen Roseveare shares some of her joys and challenges of 20+ years as a medical missionary doctor working in the African Congo in the 1950’s and beyond. When she talks about sacrifice, about being whittled for God’s purposes, and about sharing the sufferings of Christ, she knows what she’s talking about. Twelve years into her work in the Congo, civil war erupted with horrific effects on all. Many lost their lives. Her medical team was scattered, and their school and hospital desecrated. She herself was taken captive, brutally beaten and raped multiple times. She survived, God renewed her strength, and she returned to her mission station in the Congo to assist with rebuilding the broken country. This sobering and yet heart warming book, written after she had passed through these deep trials, shares the joys and challenges of her journey, and focuses on what it means to yield our rights and our will to God daily.
I’m convicted and encouraged afresh in my own walk with God... for God has each of us on our own refining journey... learning to die to self will, that HIS WILL may be accomplished! I agree with John Piper’s wife: “Each time I read one of Helen Rosevears accounts, I want to be like her. I want to know God in a deep way like she does.” - Noel Piper
Of course, what we often forget as we look at the lives of strong Christians... is that if we long for that deeper experience with God as they possess... we too have to be willing to carry the cross and walk thru the fire. We too have to be willing to be whittled as an arrow in God’s hand. Behind every testimony, is someone who has endured great testing.
May God give us willing hearts to be whittled... not to covet another’s strength or experience, but to yield patiently to our own refiners fire. We each have our own unique story in the making. Let’s give God the pen and allow Him to write the story that will be most useful for His purposes... no matter the cost. Job 23:10, Rom. 8:18,28
Here's some inspiring video of Helen sharing before she died!
TRAMP FOR THE LORD! Well, one of my New Year’s challenges this January 1st was encouraging my friends around the world (as well as myself) to read one new biography or autobiography every month thru this coming year so that we can broaden our spiritual horizons and grow our faith. This month of January, I’ve already read 8 books so far (mostly spiritual growth, not biographies), but my real faith builder book that I’m claiming for this month is “Tramp for the Lord” by Corrie Ten Boom. Her story in the book and movie “The Hiding Place” (which tells of her families sufferings and imprisonment in a German concentration camp for the crime of hiding Jews during the Nazi regime) has really impacted my life for many years. The faith and courage of this family inspire me. But until now, I really had not heard part II of Corrie’s story which is in this book. This book is amazing, and shares how after Corrie was released from prison, she began to travel by faith (well inter 80’s) ALL Over the WORLD sharing her testimony and messages of God’s love, forgiveness and hope. So many divine encounters, and miracles in this book as she joyfully lived by faith. I’m not going to try to share any specific stories, there are so many. But I do encourage you to get and read the book! Definitely a FIVE ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ rating! #trampfortheLord#thehidingplace#corrietenboom#forgiveness#livingbyfaith#growingfaith#daringtoaskformore
What books have you read recently that have really grown your faith and walk with God?
OFTEN TIMES we wait until someone's gone and then wish we could have told them how much we love and appreciate them! I'm determined not to do that... and even though my dad is in excellent health, and I expect and hope to have him around for many MORE years (if Jesus doesn't come back first), I thought I'd write out the things I appreciate and love about him! Florence Littauer once said that "Genuine words of encouragement, affirmation, and love are like little silver boxes, with bows on top. These are some of the best gifts we can give one another." She probably got that from Proverbs 25:11. "A word fitly spoken is like apples of gold in pictures of silver." My dad is a lover of words, especially words of affirmation. He’s the one that’s good at writing love letters in our family. So here's some of my thoughts and words for him today... wrapped up in a collection of silver boxes.
DAD’S BIRTHDAY! Today (January 11th) is my dad’s 69th birthday! 🎂 🎁 And to honor him, I wanted to take this opportunity to reflect on how thankful and blessed I have been to have the one-of-a-kind, David Mason, as my daddy for all these years. There are so many things I could say... and yet I could never say enough to convey the gratefulness that’s in my heart to God for this great man. But here’s a few things I appreciate and respect about my dad...
Things I appreciate...
His love of God and his knowledge of the Bible, all our daily morning worships thru the years where he tried to bring the Bible to practical daily life, his being a spiritual leader in our home and seeking to lead his family in the way of godliness, his compassion and service for those in need, his unselfish ministry to so many in our community, his tender caregiving for my mom thru her years of health challenges, his kind heart, his apple pies and famous waffles, his playful goofiness (although when he came out wearing a wig when it was time to take family pictures, mom and I didn’t appreciate that too much! Lol!!😳) I have though, been blessed watching his romantic creativity with mom. (I still remember how he dried flowers for my mom. One time he shipped a whole bouquet of dried flowers all the way from MN to AR for my mom. 😍 How did he get them there without breaking... lol?! He shipped them inside a empty water jug that he cut to accommodate!!!!!) He’s very creative at love, and I’m pretty sure that he was the first love of my little girl heart.
From my dad I learned to love the great out of doors, learned how to build a fire, to drive a tractor, to sing, and I definitely first learned to pray. He also taught me to think, and thankfully he still accepted me when I began to think differently than him. Whenever I needed a listening ear he was always there (still is!). Whenever I had some mechanical emergency he was always there (still is!), even teaching me how to jumpstart my car from the engine when my ignition switch stopped working. He also drove hundreds of miles to be by my side when I was in the hospital with pneumonia and thought I was gonna die (seriously!).
Dad also attended every major event in high school and college that he could, and came to our concerts whenever possible, even if it meant driving for hours. My dad has always made his family priority, and we always knew we were loved and valued. Throughout my adult years, my dad has always been game for an adventure whenever I wanted a road trip companion (still is!), and how many miles we’ve traveled and adventures we’ve had. I can’t forget all the back pack trips, camping or miles we’ve hiked either! He’s a real outdoorsmen, and still good at keeping up with men half his age when it comes to physical fitness or rescue maneuvers. I’m so proud of him!
While daddy has been a good many things to me over the years, and no one can replace a father’s love in a daughter’s heart, I think I’m most grateful that he’s always been a steady friend. I still enjoy just sitting and talking to him or watching him work, or going on a walk together, when I’m home, so we can catch up on heart to heart life issues. I can’t imagine life without him, or mom. However while our days on this earth are numbered, I’m thankful that this is not the only life we have to live.
God has blessed our family. Of course life has not always been picture perfect, as it might seem. The years have not been without trials and hardship (that’s what has made us who we are today), but thru it all, God has been good.
SO...... HAPPY BIRTHDAY DAD! Sorry to make you cry... 😅 but hoping you have many more birthdays to come! Here's a video I made for you and all of us! (And just you wait Mom! Your birthday is only a couple months away, and your turn is coming!)
(ENDNOTES: No, my dad doesn’t have his own social media account, he’s rather un-techy with computers, but I’m proud of him because he’s learned how to watch what we kids are doing by using mom’s account! But since today’s his day, I couldn’t help sharing about him with the world.)
