Speak O Lord

Today at church we sang a song by Keith Getty and Stuart Townend.  It is called “Speak O Lord” and it really struck me today.  I have heard it many times before, but today it fit so well with what has been on Daniel’s and my hearts lately and I thought I would use it to share with you what has been a huge topic of discussion and prayer in our home over the last year.

I’ll share the whole song with you at the end of my post, but for now, here are the first few lines:

“Speak, O Lord, as we come to You to receive the food of Your Holy Word.  Take Your truth, plant it deep in us; Shape and fashion us in Your likeness, that the light of Christ might be seen today in our acts of love and our deeds of faith.”

Did you know that there are some 340 million people in the world that do not have the Bible in their native tongue, that is, in the language they know and understand best?  This would be the language in which they think and pray.  Some call it the heart language.  In that 340 million people, there are over 2000 languages that do not yet have any portion of the Bible in their language.  Among some of those languages their are even some churches who are trying desperately to disciple followers of Jesus, but without any portion of Scripture that the people understand.  You can imagine a pastor’s work when he doesn’t have a Bible to use that his people understand to teach them the way of Jesus. You can imagine the error that can creep in over time when a church does not have the Word of God to teach and correct and train in righteousness.

This song struck me today because we were singing it as a preparation to hear the Word of God preached. “Speak, O Lord, as we come to you to receive the food of Your Holy Word.”  A later verse asks God, “Teach us, Lord, full obedience, holy reverence, true humility; test our thoughts and our attitudes in the radiance of Your purity. Cause our faith to rise; cause our eyes to see You majestic love and authority. Words of pow’r that can never fail–Let their truth prevail over unbelief.”  We could ask this today, knowing that God’s Word is what does these things for us. It teaches, corrects, rebukes, trains in righteousness.  It tests our thoughts!  But my heart was so heavy for those in the world today who do not even have a translation of the Scriptures available to them.  Not one word is there for them. Not one.

Did you know that $5 million dollars was spent on developing the New King James Version of the Bible?  Did you know that there have been 29 translations or revisions of the Bible in the English language…..since 1990?  All while not one word is there for the 340 million Bible-less people.  Not one word.

There is good news too, and that is that there are organizations out there working hard to close the gap and get a translation of the Bible in all of those languages that need one.  There are those who have gone and those who have given, and those who are preparing to go.  But the need is still great and if anything I have said here has struck a chord with you, I ask you to prayerfully consider getting involved in the task of Bible translation.

Daniel and I have been burdened so much by this need, that we are praying and doing what we can to prepare for however the Lord would see fit to use us for this task. Ultimately we cannot say right now what it is going to look like for us, but currently we are seeking to further Daniel’s education (and possibly my own) in a way that will benefit this task.  But don’t let the fact that Daniel is on his way toward a Ph.D. let you think that you would not be able to join in the work.  It doesn’t take a Ph.D. to do Bible translation, only a willing heart and a love and reverence for God’s word.  The rest will work its way in.  If you want to know more, check out Wycliffe Bible Translators, not the only translation organization out there, but one of the best.  If you are not convinced this is a real need (and even if you are), check out the Hare family’s blog.  They are friends of ours from seminary who are currently in preparation to go to Cameroon, West Africa to begin a Bible translation.  They have done a wonderful job using their blog to explain the need and why they feel God is calling them.  Check it out.

Now, if you have time (and maybe you do, since you just read my long post!), listen to this song and thank the Lord that you have His Word to teach and correct you and train you in righteousness.  Ask the Lord that He would send workers who would bring His word to those who do not have it; “words of power that can never fail”—that He would cause ” their truth [to] prevail over unbelief.”

“Speak O Lord till Your church is built, and the earth is filled with Your glory.”

Fundraiser Update

Even though the blog has been kind of quiet, we’re still trudging along with our fundraiser.  We are getting there, but it would be really great to have a few more orders come in before May 1st.  Daniel leaves May 10th.  Check out the new fabrics for the baby doll slings.  And head on over to the ring sling post to see a marked down price.  I’ve got a pile of fabric sitting on my sewing table that needs to go, so send me an email!  And don’t forget, if you don’t see something you’d like here, you can certainly talk to me about something you would like.  I’ve had a few custom orders so far.  I’m up for the challenge!  If I don’t think I can do it, I’ll be honest and tell you, so try me.

Please enjoy our adorable children…

You have to watch to the end to see it, but this is the official Wilson kid snarl. Isaiah did it too as a baby, although I don’t think we ever caught it on video.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Qhg4cI7v5w

I shot this intending to get Glory dancing, which she did for about 3 seconds, but Isaiah made me giggle.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y7cdYkkA6r4

Sorry for not embedding them on the blog…I tried and apparently I don’t know how to code it anymore. Oh well, links work just as well.

Fundraiser Post #5: Easter Dresses!

I know it has been awhile since the last fundraiser blog.  The good news is that we are on our way to getting this trip to the Philippines paid for.  The bad news is we are not there yet. We are trusting the Lord to provide though and He already has supplied so much!

Here’s the next item on the list to cover your little one:

A sweet little sundress.

The front of the bodice is smocked and decorated with a pretty pink thread.  The straps close with buttons, one on each side.  I have enough of the fabric shown to make up to a 2T.  If you need something bigger, just let me know what type of fabric you are thinking and I can try to accommodate.  I need measurements for all orders so that we can make sure the dress fits just right.

Measure the shoulders (across the back from about where a shirt sleeve seam would start to the opposite shirt sleeve seam on the opposite shoulder).

Measure from the nape of the neck to just below the knee or wherever you would like the dress hem to stop.

Measure around the chest.

Smocked dress: $28

For info on ordering go here.

California/Nevada Vacation…..Ahhhh

So our visit to the West coast was a much needed restoration for us…well, okay maybe just for Kerry and the kids.  Daniel was running around performing best man duties and I don’t think he rested as much as the rest of us!  The wedding was beautiful, the bride was beautiful, the groom was….well I’m not gonna lie….bald.  We had both kiddos with us at the 4:15 PM wedding (bedtime in the Eastern time zone) so I was a bit busy and neglected to take a single picture of the bride and groom.  I did manage to capture this one of Daddy dancing with his little girl (Daniel looks a bit glazed over, but he wasn’t. I just couldn’t get a good pic of them moving around!):

Isaiah had lots of fun with our former pastor’s daughter, Sarah, at the wedding….I don’t think he stopped running except maybe long enough to down some cake (by the way, Mariel, that was delicious!)

We had a great week and got to visit with lots of old friends and meet their children!  It was awesome and a little bit strange to see our kids playing with the children of our college friends (yes, I know there are a handful of you out here in Kentucky too….I just meant the folks we haven’t seen in awhile). I know there were some of you we weren’t able to see and we were torn, but we were actually only IN California for four days, so all the folks we saw mostly had something to do with the wedding.

We stayed a couple of nights with my (Kerry’s) college roommate Mary and her family.  She and her husband Kris have two beautiful girls and we loved getting to meet them! We took a trip to our alma mater and it was VERY weird to have our kiddos walking around campus with Mary’s daughter (her other daughter is 3 months old…she isn’t walking as far as I could tell).

We loved getting to see everyone and even got to visit our old church in Norco, CA. 

And last, but not least, we got some much needed grandparent time in Nevada! (And I’m sure they got some much needed grandkid time too!)

Final note: If you live in an area of the country with sub-freezing temperatures in the winter…DON’T visit California mid-winter looking to enjoy a break from the cold. You will come home and FREEZE!  I thought my blood had thickened after living here for four years, but I have not been able to get warm since we came home.  I am blaming it on the 74 degree weather in Cali.

Vacation Notice

Two things:

1) I got my computer cord yesterday! Yay!

2) We (Kerry and kids) were unexpectedly given the opportunity to join Daniel in California at a wedding for which he is best man.  We will be gone January 31 (Monday) through February 8 (Tuesday). That means if you order anything between now and the 8th there will be a slight delay.  I will do my best to finish up as much as I can before I leave (and I have a couple helpers so it’s not just me sewing).  I already have some orders to fill and orders will be filled in the order they were received. 

BUT if you place an order between now and February 8th, I will enter your name in a drawing to win a mini version of my bamboo velour baby blanket, at around 15″ x 15″ it is just big enough to make the perfect lovey, but not so big as an actual blanket that will drag all over the ground.  It is finished with green satin edges.

Fundraiser Update

Just a quick note to let you all know I am sewing and planning!  It is taking a little longer to get more posts up because my computer cord broke and I am sharing a computer with Daniel now.  We should get a new cord in the mail today or tomorrow.  But there will definitely be more stuff up soon.  I am also going to update some photos soon.   There will be a picture of an actual baby blanket, rather than just the fabric in my baby blanket post.  Also, I am working on adding more fabric choices for the baby doll slings.  I have some really fun ones to post!  I am also working on a slightly more economical cloth diaper option for those of you out there that aren’t interested in bells and whistles.  And all of you ladies out there who don’t have kiddos yet (and even those that do) will be happy to see a beautiful skirt for YOU, sewn by our pastor’s eldest daughter, Hannah Cochran.  All of the proceeds for that will go directly to her family’s Ethiopian adoption.  So stay tuned!