Christmas Lights

Merry Christmas!  I have been back home in Arizona since December 14th and it has been wonderful to be with family, to be here living in abundance until I go back January 19th to Honduras.  It is nice not to worry when its raining, that you won't have any dry clothe.  And I am especially excited to go drive around the neighborhood and see the Christmas lights tonight, at our Community trolley party.  In Honduras, almost noone has Christmas lights, electricity is too expensive.  Before I left we drove the kids at the Hogar don Bosco to see Christmas lights, so we drove to the super shmancy shopping area in town where they have a 100 ft area decorated with lights and then we drove in a circle around that about five times going oooh and aww.  Then they got to go into a shopping mall where there was a Santa Claus and this was the most amazing thing, they each got to hug Santa!

Well I'll leave yal with this.  I've been thinking about this passage ever since I've been home.

"I know indeed how to live in humble circumstances; I know also how to live with abundance. In every circumstance and in all things I have learned the secret of being well fed and of going hungry, of living in abundance and of being in need. I have the strength for everything through him who empowers me. " (Phil 4:12-13)

I am so thankful to so many people for the opportunities I have in life.  However, I can't say I have learned the secrets Paul is talking about, only that I am still learning.   Its hard to put God first to see that its God that makes us rich.  Then we can see our lives in a different light.   Well I guess we need to act as good stewards of our possessions and appreciate what we have, share the things we do not need, and not just waste so much. And then when we are in need, we need to see beyond jealousy and learn how Christ gave the pain and suffering of poverty redemptive power, and store our treasure in Heaven.