How then should we live?

We're having more opportunities now to catch Noah laughing and smiling!
The recliner in our bedroom is usually a very peaceful place to nurse Noah, but today we were invaded by three giggling little girls who took up residence behind my chair.
Thinking higher...

We've been anticipating the return of Jesus to gather His church (the Rapture) for a long time in our family. My grandmother used to talk to us about it all the time. My mother and I continue to talk regularly about all the signs of the times.

The legacy of my grandmother's enthusiasm for Christ's return lives on in our family. Every one of our children (down to age 4) are mindful of the fact that our lives are only like a vapor in God's plan, and if Jesus does gather us into the clouds as soon as we expect, we won't ever see death. Christians have been waiting for Jesus' return for 2000 years. To some it may seem like a dream that will never happen so they deny it. But, Jesus said he will return just as He left this earth and that we are to be watchful!

That leaves us begging the question of how then should we live? If we knew the exact date was two weeks away, how would we spend that time? What if we knew it was 2 months, or a year away? How should we view long term investments of money, health, or even homeschooling? Our big dreams of selling everything to go around the country spreading the Gospel are interrupted by the reality of being responsible for eight other lives. Certainly the LORD wants us to be faithful in what He has already assigned to us. We don't want to be so heavenly minded that we are no earthly good! We wake up each day asking Him to direct our steps and plans because the prospect of not being on this earth much longer really changes our view of what matters.

His answer today was something new: We were reading the website of The Voice of the Martyrs at their link: Persecution.com. There is a page for writing letters of encouragment to prisoners of the faith. The computer offers a long series of phrases and Bible verses that are already translated in the prisioner's language. You choose what to say, translate it, print it and mail it. Amazing! There are also statistics on the sidebar of how many letters have already been sent and other details. Here's the link to the letter writing page: http://www.prisoneralert.com/ There are several tabs on the page where you can choose which prisoner to read about and send mail to. It's less than a dollar to send a letter to China.

We've made many decisions lately that were largely a result of "short-term" thinking. For example, although we've saved baby clothes for the last fourteen years, we're giving Noah's away as soon as he grows out of them. A lady Bob works with, is due in August, with her eighth child, and all her baby stuff burned in a housefire this year. Their family is not saved. Also, our children made a very generous gift of their own money to bless each member of that same family with his own monogrammed towel. All the other things that filled their temporary home were second-hand. This is a gift our children have loved, so they passed on the blessing.

Most recently the children gave their own money to help a missions team to El Salvador. Upon their return, one of the team members shared the story of exactly how our children's money was spent on the El Salvador children. She spoke with tears in her eyes. I'm sure our children will not soon forget it.

Regardless of when He returns, we know the LORD is pleased with generosity and all acts of kindness. If we sacrifice a piece of our future, or our children's future, to bless someone in the present, we're sure the LORD will repay us, if we need it. He always has. It is a prayerful issue, and the LORD loves that too, since He's commanded us to abide in Him daily.