Starbuck's Wisdom

While indulging in a cup of my favorite mocha concoction from Starbuck's, I was reading a quote on the cup from their "The Way I See It" collection. I found it quite profound and thought provoking. Let me share it with you.

"Our greatest prejudice is against death. It spans age, gender and race. We spend immeasurable amounts of energy fighting an event that will eventually triumph. Though it is noble not to give in easily, the most alive people I've ever met are those who embrace their death. They love, laugh and live more fully." --Andy Webster(Hospice chaplain in Plymouth, MI)

Isn't that a very Biblical view. Certainly we don't "rush" to die, but death is not something we should fear if we are right with God. Certainly some food for thought.

Dana Burk

Homade Brownies

(I commend the following story to your conscience. Someone sent me a copy of this...I have no idea who the author is, but I don't think I could ever had made the point so eloquently. Indeed it is something each of us needs to seriously consider.

--Dana Burk)

Last week, I walked into my office to find a sandwich bag on my desk containing three chewy,
tasty, homemade chocolate brownies. Some thoughtful and anonymous person who knew my love for tasty homemade brownies
had placed them there, along with a hand written short story. I immediately sat down and began eating the first chewy, tasty, homemade brownie as I read the following story: Two teenagers asked their father if they could go the theater to watch a movie that all their friends had seen.
After reading some reviews about the movie on the Internet, he denied their request. "Aw dad, why not?" they complained. "It's rated PG-13, and we're both older than thirteen!" Dad replied: "Because that movie contains nudity and portrays immorality as being normal and acceptable behavior. "But dad, those are just very small parts of the movie!
That's what our friends who've seen it have told us.
The movie is two hours long and those scenes are just a few minutes of the total film!
It's based on a true story and good triumphs over evil, and there are other redeeming themes like courage and self-sacrifice.
Even the movie review websites say that!" "My answer is 'no,' and that is my final answer
You are welcome to stay home tonight, invite some of your friends over,
and watch one of the good videos we have in our home collection.
But you will not go and watch that film.
End of discussion." The two teenagers walked dejectedly into the family room and slumped down on the couch.
As they sulked, they were surprised to hear the sounds of their Father preparing something in the kitchen.
They soon recognized the wonderful aroma of brownies baking in the oven, and one of the teenagers said to the other,
"Dad must be feeling guilty, and now he's going to try to make it up to us with some fresh brownies.
Maybe we can soften him with lots of praise when he brings them out to us and persuade him to let us go to that movie after all." About that time I began eating the second brownie from the sandwich bag and wondered if there was some connection
to the brownies I was eating and the brownies in the story.
I kept reading.. The teens were not disappointed.
Soon their father appeared with a plate of warm brownies, which he offered to his kids.
They each took one. Then their father said,
"Before you eat, I want to tell you something: I love you both so much. "The teenagers smiled at each other with knowing glances.
Dad was softening.
"That is why I've made these brownies with the very best ingredients. I've made them from scratch.
Most of the ingredients are even organic.
The best organic flour.
The best free-range eggs.
The best organic sugar.
Premium Vanilla and chocolate." The brownies looked mouthwatering, and the teens began to become a little impatient with their dad's long speech. "But I want to be perfectly honest with you.
There is one ingredient I added that is not usually found in brownies.
I got that ingredient from our own back yard.
But you needn't worry, because I only added the tiniest bit of that ingredient to your brownies.
The amount of the portion is practically insignificant.
So go ahead, take a bite and let me know what you think." "Dad, would you mind telling us what that mystery ingredient is before we eat?" "Why? The portion I added was so small.
Just a teaspoonful. You won't even taste it." "Come on, dad; just tell us what that ingredient is." "Don't worry! It is organic, just like the other ingredients. " "Dad!" "Well, OK, if you insist.
That secret ingredient is fresh organic...dog poop." I immediately stopped chewing that second brownie and I spit it out into the wastebasket by my desk.
I continued reading, now fearful of the paragraphs that still remained. Both teens instantly dropped their brownies back on the plate and began inspecting their fingers with horror. "DAD! Why did you do that?
You've tortured us by making us smell those brownies cooking for the last half hour,
and now you tell us that you added dog poop!
We can't eat these brownies!" "Why not? The amount of dog poop is very small compared to the rest of the ingredients.
It won't hurt you. It's been cooked right along with the other ingredients.
You won't even taste it. It has the same consistency as the brownies.
Go ahead and eat!" "No, Dad...NEVER! " "And that is the same reason I won't allow you to go watch that movie.
You won't tolerate a little dog poop in your brownies, so why should you tolerate a little immorality in your movies?
We pray that God will not lead us unto temptation, so how can we in good conscience entertain ourselves with
something that will imprint a sinful image in our minds that will lead us into temptation long after we first see it? I discarded what remained of the second brownie as well as the entire untouched third brownie.
What had been irresistible a minute go had become detestable!
And only because of the very slim chance that what I was eating was slightly polluted.
(Surely it wasn't . . . but I couldn't convince myself.) What a good lesson about purity!
Why do we tolerate any sin?
On the day of the Passover, the Israelites were commanded to remove every bit of leaven from their homes.
Sin is like leaven - a little bit leavens the whole lump; faith and sin, don't mix.
(1Corinthians 5:6, 7)

Connecting with Grandchildren

We just spent a few days with three of our grandchildren in Florida. I have promised myself that I am going to do better this year at keeping connected with them. We have so much fun with them when we are there, but we never get to stay long enough nor do we get to go often enough--two or three times a year.

I ran across a web site that had some really good ideas on how to maintain long-distance relationships with grandkids as well as a lot of other ideas for grandparents. www.grandparents.com. Check it out. When I viewed it, it had a calendar for the next six months of some unusual ways to celebrate with the kids. And, you know, the more I wondered around the internet, the more cool things I found for kids that I could share with them. Give it a try.

Keeping an open and close relationship with our children and grandchildren who live far from us is easier now than ever with all the technology available to us. It is worth learning how to navigate through this computer age. Remeber that we as grandparents can have a powerful impact on these young lives as we see Paul address in his words to Timothy.
Tim 1:55 "when I call to remembrance the genuine faith that is in you, which dwelt
first in your grandmother Lois and your mother Eunice , and I am persuaded is in you
also."

Dana Burk

Life Sized Visual Aids

I am in the process of making a life sized Goliath for Bible class Sunday morning when we are going to do a lesson on David and Goliath. The 6 or so children who have begun to attend with us have never been to church or studied the Bible before. They are excited and eager each week to hear the thrilling, action packed stories from God's word. Trying to make these "real" to them, as you teachers know, can be challenging.

I have made life sized poster like Bible characters before on the computor and people have queried me as to how I have done it so I thought I would share with you how simple it is to blow an image up.

I use Print Master or Print Shop when making Bible class visual aids because of the ease of the programs and thousands of graphics available. They also are easy to import graphics from the web or your own files onto your page. Once you have the image or character that you want to "blow up", select the print feature and then select your "out put" size; ex. 200%, 300%, etc. This sets up the tiling feature where the image will now be enlarged proportionately. If you select 200% then the image will print out on four sheets of paper or cardstock--2 across and 2 down thus producing your image twice as large as normal. For Goliath, I composed the image on legal size paper and then printed it 800% thus printing Goliath on 64 (8x8) sheets of legal sized paper. Now the not so easy part comes in putting Goliath together. I now will have to piece these 64 sheets and glue them together to produce an approximately 9 ft. Goliath. (This is an ambitious project I must admit) but typically you can make poster size images by printing 200% or even 300% sized images or visual aids. Remember that your pixels may skew some when enlarging your images, but ussually this is not too much of a problem.

Try making some of your visuals life sized and watch the impact it can have on the children you teach. It can truly bring the stories to life.

If you have any questions I can help you with, please contact me by leaving a comment and your contact info and I will get back to you.

Dana Burk

From the Mouth of Babes

WOW!!!!

Yesterday was a very exciting Lord's day down here. We had a visitor from NJ at our English services which is always nice when you are as small as we are. She brought our number up to 13. But, during the middle of our Bible class people began arriving for the Spanish service. By the time the Spanish service was to begin we had 32 people in attendance. We normally have 5-7. One of the English speaking brethren (who is bi-lingual) had invited each of these people and I'm not sure how, but was able to get them all to show up at once. Two of the ladies from the English congregation who also are bi-lingual took the 5-6 children and had a Bible class with them on the spur of the moment. Everyone in both congregations was excited. What a buzz.

They all seemed genuinely glad to be there and receptive to our encouragements and the word preached. We have been praying for months for contacts, opportunities and prospects and now we have about 25 dropped in our lap including about 5 or 6 children. Please remember us in your prayers as we now follow up with these souls and pray that we may be able to teach them the gospel and bring them to Christ. As one brother said, not only do we have opportunity to teach them, but they also have friends and family.

Thank You our Great God for answered prayers.

Dana Burk

Grasping At Every Straw

We have been in Puerto Rico for almost 8 months now and teaching the gospel here has been quite a challenge. Ed, our friend, has been here about 4 months. We have had two different on-going studies with two sets of our neighbors and been able to get the English congregation that we meet with to begin meeting on Wed. evenings and start having Bible class on Sun. mornings. Lots of teaching is being done in both of these efforts, but it does seem that things are very slow.

I was talking with Ed last night and we were brainstorming about how we could make some contacts. (Tol is in Dominica preaching there for 9 days.) Today Ed told me he had had a study at Starbucks with a guy he bought his cell phone from. I shot an email off to the girlfriend of one of the sons (who is not a Christian) of one of our Spanish brethren to see if we could get together sometime next week. Truly we are grasping at every straw to try and get some things going in this very worldly environment.

As I thought about this today, I thought about how we often get so comfortable with our big churches, comfortable buildings and fellowship with "strong" brethren that we cease grasping at every straw to try and reach others for Christ. After all, we don't "need" them as desperately as we do down here in Puerto Rico. I say that tongue in cheek but I fear there is some truth in it. We must never forget that whether WE "need" them or not, THEY need God and we have the responsibility to find them.

Keep grasping at every straw to bring them in.

Dana Burk

The Old Paths

I wish the old paths were before us instead of behind us.

I liked the old paths, when
Moms were at home.
Dads were at work.
Brothers went into the army.
And sisters got married BEFORE having children!
Crime did not pay;
Hard work did;
And people knew the difference.
Moms cou ld cook;
Dads would work;
Children would behave.
Husbands were loving;
Wives were supportive;
And children were polite.
Women wore the jewelry; (now I do like my pants)
And Men wore the pants.
Women looked like ladies;
Men looked like gentlemen;
And children looked decent.
People loved the truth,
And hated a lie;
They came to church to get IN,
Not to get OUT!

Hymns sounded Godly;
Sermons sounded helpful;
Rejoicing sounded normal;
And crying sounded sincere.
Cursing was wicked;
Drugs were for illness;
And divorce was unthinkable.
The flag was honored;
America was beautiful;
And God was welcome!
We read the Bible in public;
Prayed in school;
And preached from house to house
To be called an American was worth dying for;
To be called a Christian was worth living for;
To be called a traitor was a shame!

Preachers preached because they had a message;
And Christians rejoiced because they had the VICTORY!
Preachers preached from the Bible;
Singers sang from the heart;
And sinners turned to the Lord to be SAVED!
A new birth meant a new life;
Salvation meant a changed life;
Following Christ led to eternal life.
Being a preacher meant you proclaimed the word of God;
Being a deacon meant you would serve the Lord;
Being a Christian meant you would live for Jesus;
And being a sinner meant someone was praying for you!

Laws were based on the Bible;
Homes read the Bible;
And churches taught the Bible.
God was worshiped;
Christ was exalted;
And the Holy Spirit was respected.
Church was where you found Christians
On the Lord's day, rather than in the garden,
On the creek bank, on the golf course,
Or being entertained somewhere else.
I still like the old paths the best!

"The Old Paths" was written by a retired minister who lives in Tennessee.

Another Matted Puppy

I recently started grooming dogs part-time to make a little extra income. I do it from my home on a side porch and it has been fantastic. Nobody loves animals more than me so this is quite my cup of tea.

I frequently have brought to me dogs that have been let go and their hair is so matted that the only thing left to do is to strip all the hair off and start over. Today was the worst I have ever seen. A very nervous, adult Shih Tzu was brought to me that was so matted you couldn't even find it's skin. On it's left side were two hairless places, each about the size of a half dollar, that were exposed and looked tender. The lady quickly dropped it off with instructions to "just shave it". I asked if she had had it to the vet about the sores and she said no, she would do that. I hesitantly took the dog anyway and after she left removed it from the carrier it came in and placed it on my grooming table. As I began removing the matted areas I worked very carefully around the sores. To my horror, under the matted area surrounding the sores was a huge area of raw flesh. The dog was scared and obviously in pain. I cut away what mats I could without any further clipping and called the dogs owner to tell her she needed to come and pick the dog up and take it to the vet. That was over an hour and a half ago and I am still waiting for her to return.

This incident has really disturbed me. I have often said to my husband that if people are going to have these kinds of dogs, Shih Tzus, Yorkies, Maltese, (you know the really cute fuzzy ones) then they need to take care of them and brush them occasionally. They bring them to me once every six months (or longer) and then wonder why I can't comb out all the mess. You know, isn't that what we do with our lives sometimes. We become Christians and are so zealous and excited about the new beginning, the clean slate--like that cute, clean puppy with pink skin that we bring home--and we have the best of intentions about tending to our spiritual needs on a regular basis just like we promised ourselves we would take care of that new puppy. But, as all too often happens, we get busy with things of this world: work, school, the house, kids, you fill in the blank, and we neglect our relationship with God and the mess can't be just combed out.

If we are not careful, what I saw today can happen to us as well. We can become so matted and dirty, tangled up with this world, that under all the mess that is created in our lives because of spiritual neglect are festering, putrefied sores that require emergency care and if further neglected, they can result in an infection so severe that it can kill us. Jesus is that emergency care that we all need so desperately from time to time.

Today has been a tough day in the grooming business--I also had a young Maltese puppy, 11 months old, brought to me who also was going to have to be stripped because of the mats (thankfully she was not in the same condition as the first) but the first thing this puppy did was bite as we removed it from the cage. The adult owners could not even get it out and had their 10 yr. daughter remove it. We tried to muzzle the puppy and it was much too viscous for that. Again, another case of severe neglect and lack of socialization. I had to send the puppy back home because it refused to allow me to help it. Jesus is our Good Shepherd that wants to daily tend to our needs and keep us in tip top condition if we will only submit to Him. But sometimes we are like that little Maltese that refuses to be helped.

God allows us to completely strip ourselves of the sins and entanglements of this world if we will let Him groom us each day through His Word. Don't neglect your spiritual self.

Dana Burk

Put it Into Perspective!

One day, the father of a very wealthy family took his son on a trip to the country with the express purpose of showing him how poor people live. They spent a couple of days and nights on the farm of what would be considered a very poor family.

On their return from their trip, the father asked his son, 'How was the trip?' 'It was great, Dad.' 'Did you see how poor people live?' the father asked. 'Oh yeah,' said the son. 'So, tell me, what did you learn from the trip?' asked the father.

The son answered: 'I saw that we have one dog and they had four. We have a pool that reaches to the middle of our garden and they have a creek that has no end. We have imported lanterns in our garden and they have the stars at night. Our patio reaches to the front yard and they have the whole horizon. We have a small piece of land to live on and they have fields that go beyond our sight. We have servants who serve us, but they serve others. We buy our food, but they grow theirs. We have walls around our property to protect us, they have friends to protect them.'

The boy's father was speechless. Then his son added, 'Thanks Dad for showing me how poor we are.'

Isn't perspective a wonderful thing? Makes you wonder what would happen if we all gave thanks for everything we have, instead of worrying about what we don't have.

--Borrowed

I don't know about you, but this brought tears to my eyes.

Dana Burk

It Hurts So Much!

I have just spent a week with one of my sons and his family which includes two of my young grandchildren. I have not seen them in 5 months and how wonderful it has been to be with them. The two girls are 3 1/2 and 1 1/2 and needless to say are never still. My husband and I are exhausted, but it is certainly a good kind of exhaustion.

We had to say goodbye to them this morning and I have no idea how long it will be before I get to see them again. My heart aches! After the tears dried and we began our drive to our next destination (my husband and I are in the states for a three week visit), I began to think about how much I love my children and grandchildren and how painful it is to be separated from them. Our move to Puerto Rico has made our visiting with one another on any frequent basis impossible because of the cost of transportation. Once or twice a year is probably all we can hope for.

I know I am not the only parent or grandparent in that situation. But I also began to think about how it must feel to our Heavenly Father when He is separated, or should I say, when we separate ourselves from Him. How must His heart ache. What separates me from my children is only miles and time and sooner or later we'll be together again if the Lord wills, but what can separate our Father from His children can be forever, eternal. How He must hurt from the sorrow He feels when one of His children turns away from Him and ceases to have fellowship with Him.

As a parent, I know of nothing as important to me than spending time with my children and their families. It is no surprise to read in God's word that that is also what our Heavenly Father longs for as well...to have us spend eternity with Him--in His very presence.

I know of parents who have very poor relationships with their children or who have ceased to have any relationship with them and it can wreck their lives. Have you ever thought about what it does to our Father when we sin and separate ourselves from Him. Does He feel what we as earthly parents feel? Or is it even a deeper pain for Him since He knows where we are headed.

Being a parent of adult children who have the choice to make their own decisions has helped me, in a limited way, understand some of the emotions our Heavenly Father must feel for the millions of children He so deeply loves on this earth. I know his heart frequently aches as mine did today.

Dana Burk

An Open Letter to Young Ladies

The following is a letter published in the Lost River Church of Christ bulletin from a young Christian man. It is certainly worthy of our attention.

Dear girls,

I know this is something you may not be comfortable with, but I hope you will pay attention to what I have to say from a guy's point of view. I know that you all love God with all of your hearts and that you are willing to do whatever is necessary to please Him and live eternally in heaven, so I know you will understand what i will write.

As a guy, it seems like girls are always on my mind. The thing is, as a Christian, I am commanded not to even look upon a woman to lust after her, and let me tell you, that is something that is very hard not to do. I remember sitting in class and not being able to concentrate on my work at all because of what the girl in front of me was wearing! Regular old jeans and a T-shirt. God made us with a desire for the opposite sex, and I tell you the truth when I say that it's possible for a guy to lust after a girl even if she is wearing modest clothes. On top of that, the styles these days are getting more and more indecent. If you go to a high school you will find girls wearing clothes that scream out "LOOK AT THIS!" and you can see what kind of underwear they are wearing, its color, and pretty much whatever else you want to know. Then all the girls walk up to her and say, "Oh, aren't you just adorable?" Tight pants, tube tops, low-cut shirts, belly shirts and backless shirts are all acceptable to the world, but are designed to get guys to look and lust and many girls think that is how to get a guy to like them. Some girls just wear these clothes because they are in style without caring about its effect on guys. But I ask you, how can a girl expect to set an example as a Christian if the only thing a guy can think about is what's underneath her clothes? So you See, society doesn't look at modesty the way a godly woman should, and because of this the Christian girl is constantly told that immodesty is good.

But there is an enormous difference here. Society thinks that it's only natural to lust. Society encourages lust. I encourage You to test what society says and compare it to the truth of God's word. Realize the fact that if you wear immodest clothes, not only are you conforming to the world, but you make it easy for a fellow brother in Christ to stumble and sin before God.

Let me say one more thing. This may be the most important of all. What do you see in your future? I hope you envision yourself married to a man who places God at the center of his life and doesn't let anything get in his way. I hope you envision yourself married to a man that doesn't take stock in the things of the world, but stores his treasure in heaven so that as you and he grow old, he won't look at you and wonder where your beauty went, he will look at you and wonder how you keep getting more beautiful as you age. I hope you envision yourself married to a man who keeps God in your marriage and loves you all the more because of it. And I hope you envision a man who will help you get to heaven. The advice I give you now is, if you really want a man of this caliber, now is the time to prepare yourself for him. If you do not dress as a moral, godly, Christian woman, a strong Christian man will not be impressed by your lewd appearance.

There is a warning addressed to men in Proverbs 5:3 that says: "The lips of an immoral woman drip honey, and her mouth is smoother than oil; but in the end she is bitter as wormwood...her feet go down to hell." I hope you read this passage and see a reason to be a godly woman, because a Christian man reads this and realizes not to enter the path of the immoral woman. a godly man should do his best to resist a woman such as this, so I ask the question, why in the world would you want a truly godly man to resist you? A godly man is attracted to a girl's purity and zeal for God, not simply for her physical features that are passing away.

Thank you for listening to me and I hope you understand that males have such an infatuation with females that you don't have to show off your body to get their attention. Show off your inside, not your outside. And I hope you realize that being immodest can have a serious effect on a guy that may be struggling already. Finally, I want you to know I pray for you. May you all someday be the "virtuous wife: described in Proverbs 31.

What Are We Showing?

A young man was telling me this morning about a conversation he had with a woman yesterday whom he had met hoping to have a Bible study with. She and her male friend had contacted him and agreed to meet for that purpose, but when he arrived at the meeting place they tried to sign him up in a multi-level marketing business (you know the one).

When this young man had first made contact with them several days ago at a nearby mall, she was dressed in the typical Puerto Rican dress of tight, short and lots of cleavage showing. Yesterday when he met with them and they were attempting to sell him on a new business, she was dressed very modestly in a sharp, clean suit.

The two assured my friend that they were on the "up and up" and that all they were presenting to him was real--nothing bogus about it. The young man boldly then addressed her appearance and asked her why she was dressed so differently. She queried him about what he meant and he told her that today she was dressed very modestly and the other day she was very immodest. He told her it seemed "phony" for her to dress one way one time and another way the other time and made him question whether the whole business was "phony". The interesting thing about the conversation is that he had to explain to her why her dress had been immodest. She told him that she had never thought about the way she was dressed.

I have never lived in a culture where so many women expose themselves on a daily basis in immodest apparel. I do not think of myself as a prude or someone coming out of the dark ages and yet I am daily shocked at what I see revealed everyday from the grocery store to the gas station, from the mall to Home Depot. And I am convinced that the vast majority of these women have never thought about the fact that they are immodest. They have just never thought!!!! They are simply wearing what everyone else around them is wearing. From the 60 year old woman to the 2 year old child. It is their fashion and part of their culture.

Do you think about what you are wearing and how you appear to others, especially to the opposite sex? Do you think about how you appear to God? Does God consider what you put on, or for that matter, don't put on as becoming of His child? It is way too easy to get caught up in being and looking like those around us. As Christians we are to be a peculiar people, a light among darkness, a city set upon a hill. What are you showing by the way you dress?

(Tomorrow I am going to post a letter written by a young Christian man to young ladies in the church about how they dress. It is interesting to see how we sometimes appear to someone else.)

Dana Burk

"I Am Not Afraid of Tomorrow"

The T.G.I. Friday's I recently ate at had this saying wall papered around the room: "I am not afraid of tomorrow, for I have seen yesterday and I love today." What a great attitude! How often we fear the future only to find out later there was nothing to fear or we were able to work through it. Winston Churchill once said, "When I look back on all these worries I remember the story of the old man who said on his deathbed that he had had a lot of trouble in his life, most of which had never happened." I know that has been true in my life. Most of which have worried over, never even happened.

Reflecting (not dwelling) on the past and looking at today can be a great bolster for facing tomorrow, whatever it may bring. Jesus told us in Matthew 6:31-33 not to worry about tomorrow--tomorrow will take care of itself. But if that is not enough security, He promises that if we are seeking after Him and His kingdom, HE will take care of us. So exactly what do we have to be worried or anxious about?

"I am not afraid of tomorrow, for I have seen yesterday and I love today."

Dana Burk

Details, Details, Details

Ever thought about how important details are in this life? How many things must be done precisely and perfectly in order to work. Just type in a web site address and be off by one small letter or symbol and who knows where you will end up on the World Wide Web. Today I dialed a phone number and had only one digit off out of 10 and couldn't reach the person I was calling. Try and order something with your credit card over the computer and type in one number wrong and you won't be receiving your merchandise.

I'm doing some Spanish lessons on the computer and must speak into the microphone to be tested. If I place an "e" at the end of a word instead of an "a" or say "el" instead of "la" it is marked as wrong. Everything else I say may be exactly right in a phrase of ten or twelve words, but it will all be counted wrong because of that one little detail. I used to be a head teller for a bank and had to put my part of the combination in along with another teller in order to open the massive safe door. If either one of us missed the tiny marks on the wheel by even a fraction, the door wouldn't budge. Even if I want to go visit my friend across town, I must have detailed directions along with the exact address in order to arrive at his/her house and not the neighbors.

Details, details, details--we all recognize that they are so important in every aspect of our lives. Why is it then, when it comes to religion and obedience to God's word, that so many balk at having to precisely obey its commands? Why do we think that details are so important except in the most important area of our lives? God has mercifully left us a detailed and precise road map by which we can get home, but we must follow the directions exactly if we want to make sure we end up at our mansion and not somewhere else.

Turning South at one point instead of turning North will send us in the total opposite direction from where we intend to be. It is the same with following God's word. When He says one thing and we do the opposite, how can we possibly believe we will end up in the right place? When He tells us to assemble with the saints and we do not assemble with the saints, will we end up in the same place? When He says we must be baptized and we say we must not be baptized, are we on the same road? When He says do not lie and we lie, are we heading the same direction?

I've heard the expression used "the devil is in the details". I'm not totally sure what is meant by that, however, the devil is certainly present cheering us on when we are not following the details of God's word.

Dana Burk

The Power of Gratitude

There was an article today on MSN by Newsweek reviewing a book by Deborah Norville titled Thank You Power. She asserts and scientifically defends that people who are thankful can not only live longer, but are smarter, better negotiators and faster learners as well as suffer from fewer allergies, headaches and even exercise more. In general, the thankful person is a happier person.

As I read the article I thought of Romans 1:21 where the apostle Paul discusses the vile condition of the Gentiles who forgot God. He states that, "although they knew God, they did not glorify Him as God, nor were thankful, but became futile in their thoughts, and their foolish hearts were darkened." (NKJV) In passages like 1 Thess. 5:18, Heb. 13:15 and Phil. 4:6 we have been commanded to give thanks or be thankful, but who knew we would live longer and be smarter for doing so.

Once again, I am reminded of how the commandments of God are for our own good. How easy it would be to think that God wanted our thankfulness and gratitude for His own glory and honor which He certainly deserves, but here we learn this too is for our own benefit.

I took the time today to look up in a concordance "thanks", "thanked", "thankful", "thanksgiving" and the many other forms of the word and was amazed at how many times they were used and found it interesting to see who used them. Paul was an avid user of the words. Isn't it interesting, that the man we know suffered so much persecution in this life, found so much to be thankful for. Truly a lesson is there in his life.

How thankful are you? How much do you express that thankfulness and gratitude? Want to be happier and live longer? Let God know you are thankful for all the blessing He gives you each day.

Dana Burk

Cool Indeed

There are some very cool things about living here in the Caribbean. (At least I think they are cool.) As I was sitting at my desk today working, I looked out the window and there sat an iguana about 5-6 feet long grazing on some tiny flowers in my backyard. I hollered at my husband to find the camera as the iguana was making his way to the fence between me and the next door neighbors. I got one shot of him just before he climbed the fence only to be spotted by the neighbor's two dogs who began to bark incessantly at him.

I walked out onto the porch, now only about 10 ft. from him and he spotted me. The poor thing sat teetering on the top of the chain-link trying to figure out what to do. The harassing dogs were on one side and I was on the other. Several times he almost slipped and fell over with the dogs. My husband tried to coax the dogs away with a piece of cheese, but it just was not as tempting as that whole iguana. They were going nowhere. We watched the poor thing struggle for a few minutes and debated what to do. We have seen those things whip their long tails and have heard they can give you a good thrashing.

But, have no fear, the very courageous four year old twin girls from next door rushed out with their toy broom and pitch-fork and knocked the huge dragon off the fence away from the dogs. It quickly scurried down the hill toward the creek and all the excitement was over for the day.

Oh, the life and excitement in the tropics.

Dana Burk

Lazy, Hazy Days of Summer

As the temperature outside rises and the mugginess of summer settles in I am reminded of a comment a close friend made to me several years ago. We both were living in the Caribbean at the time (niether of us had air conditioning) and were discussing salvation and the Bible. She paused a moment and then said through her tears, "Dana, I CAN'T go to Hell. It is so hot here and I can't imagine what an eternity of this would be like." You might find her statement amusing if she hadn't been so completely sincere. It was HOT! It was miserably hot that evening as we talked about what God expected from each of us. But I know it was nothing like what Hell will be like--she understood that too--that was her point.

Most of us despise being really hot. We reach for fans, grab cold drinks, take dips in the pool or just hibernate in the air conditioning. We wait for the heat to subside and long for the cool of evening or even the advent of fall. Hell, however will be eternal heat. There will be no fans, no cold drinks, no cool pool of water and certainly no air conditioning and fall will NEVER come.

Later this summer when you think about how hot it is and long for cooler weather, remember, this heat is no comparison to those who reject God and His word.

Dana Burk

Me First!

Puerto Rico is a beautiful island with incredibly friendly and gracious people and yet there is a quality about the people here I find repulsive. They are aggressive, selfish, me-first drivers, when in the car, with absolutely NO consideration for anyone but themselves. When it comes to who goes first it will always be them, if it is within their power, even at the risk of certain wrecks. Our house backs up to a small creek that runs along a very busy road and in the short three weeks or so that we have lived here, we have heard numerous wrecks just beyond the trees. It doesn't stop on the roads however, today we were literally run over by a guy pushing his way to the front of the line with his cart, making sure he was first to check out at the grocery. He never apologized or even acknowledge his behavior. Truly "road rage" is alive and well in Puerto Rico.

What causes people to behave so rudely? My husband said the other day that life is just not that short that you would need to kill yourself to get there first. So what is the problem? I really believe it is a total lack of respect for God and thus authority that causes such behavior. When you meet people personally here, they are polite and kind and treat you with respect, but when they don't know you--they have nothing to lose in the relationship--they are rude, crude and hateful. It is all about them!

There are religious people here on the island, but they are few and far between. On Sundays it is so glaring how few are out and about "worshiping God". The malls are packed, the beaches are full and the restaurants are busy, but it is obvious they have not just left "church". Traffic here is unbelievable from early morning until late at night except on Sunday mornings on our way to worship. No one is out; the streets are deserted and the driveways are full of parked cars. But, have no fear, just after lunchtime, the masses return to the road at a fever pitch and the chaos begins again. It is ironic, but the time that you would think many would be out worshiping God, most here are at home resting (worshiping themselves).

Have you ever thought about how your respect for God determines how you drive your vehicle, not to mention your grocery cart? If you have respect for God--the author of law and order, of peace, then you respect the rights of others and consider others before yourself. However, if you do not acknowledge Him as Lord and ruler of your life, then chaos and confusion reign and that is certainly true of the vast majority of the drivers on this beautiful island God created for them. Paradoxical!

The lack of God in the lives of the people here is seen in many other aspects of their lives: the way they dress (or maybe I should say don't dress), the way they spend their time and the things that are so important to them. Does your life reflect who is most important in your life? It does! The question is, does it reflect that God is most important in your life?

Dana Burk

It's Official!

It is official now--I know for sure I am back in the Caribbean. As I struggled to make out Tol's lesson in Spanish tonight about Hell and eternal fire my ankle began to burn. About two inches from my foot lay a dead beetle that the ants were devouring--they began devouring my ankle as well. I kicked the beetle away and began trying to quietly stomp the ants that surrounded my foot. I thought to myself, "This would not be happening in Columbia, TN in the air-conditioned, carpeted pew I would have been sitting in."

I have been re-introduced to all the various types of ants, roaches and lizards that are so much a part of life here. Yesterday I attempted, without success, to follow the trail of ants along the cabinet doors in my kitchen to the source of their attraction. Finally, I just took a wet paper towel and wiped them all away only to do it about 5 more times over the next hour before they got the point. Truly life abounds here. People, bugs and the Coqui (the famous tree frogs of Puerto Rico) are everywhere, busy and thriving.

On a more serious note--I am overwhelmed by the endless number of people that clamor for space in just the few square miles surrounding my home--none of whom are Christians. Daily, Tol and I pray that God will help us find a way to reach some with the Gospel. It is truly a daunting task and we covet your prays.