This will probably sound bad, but as I sat in Church Sunday morning I was inspired to write my next blog. Before I begin, I might need to explain the title. I wanted to keep with the theme "pet peeves" but I needed something for the things that I love about life. "Pleasers" seemed like the best choice of all the antonyms for peeve. So, here we are: my first blog about things that make me happy. :)
Right, back to my story......Sunday morning we had the opportunity to listen to one of our "foreign" brothers from Albania teach our class and preach the morning service. His name is Eduart Hoxha (Edi to us) and he has been in the States for about a week & half or so. Edi and another Albanian, Altin, are our resident missionaries in Fier, Albania. This was Edi's first time in the U.S. and it was really neat to hear him speak about the different things that he has been able to experience. There are so many things we take for granted as Americans, SO MANY THINGS! One thing that Edi said that stood out to me was that America was "well organized." I had never thought of it that way, although I suppose we are. We have highways & paved roads that go all over, commerical areas and residential areas of our cities, etc. Something very basic that most of us do not think twice about.
But, enough about that. That is really not the inspiration of this particular blog. While I think America is great, (well, with the exception of our government and the idiots we seem to be electing ) it was Edi's love of the Lord that caught my attention. Here is this man, this human being, who lives in a distant land in which the government is just beginning to be okay with religion other than Islam; a man who lives far from his "home" church, in which Christianity is a minor religion and yet he is not deterred. Edi wants to tell everyone about Jesus, he wants to bring others to Christ and works at achieving that goal daily. He does not let "life" make excuses for not attending church or not being a disciple for the Lord. How often can you say you do those things? Not much, huh? Me either.......
And here we live in a "Christian" nation (a term that is loosely used, I assure you), and yet very few of us actually burn for Christ. Few of us tell others about Jesus and his sacrifice on the cross. We know the good news, but do we tell others? Do we take for granted that they already know? How would WE fare if we lived a place where being a Christian was far from the norm? Now, granted, many Americans do not truly know the meaning of Christ, but many have at least a base understanding of how Christianity is supposed to work. Edi and Altin go out into Fier and spread that Word to anyone who will let them. They build friendships and pray that one day their example will lead their friends to Christ. I realized that I need to do the same here at home as well. Not only my words, but also my behavior needs to reflect well on our Father. I need to have a more "foreign" mind set to my daily life.
What a wonderfully humbling experience I had on Sunday. And I hope and pray that I can go to Albania one day and serve those people in that country. I pray that my children and I will make mission trips to foreign lands and spread the good Word of Christ and his sacrifice for all of humanity. I pray that I make time for mission work. That is now officially in the top 5 of my bucket list!
Have you made time for the Lord today? Do you have a church family to lean on? A church family to encourage you and humble you when you need it? I can't imagine my life without Slicer Street Church of Christ. The people there have been such a great influence in my life and I am so very, very thankful for them. If you do not have a church family, please, please, please check us out! We would LOVE to have you as apart of our family. You can visit our website at http://slicerstreetchurchofchrist.org/. You can listen to any sermon, even the one from Edi this past Sunday morning.
God Bless y'all!~ Jen
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