OUI mas non

Walking on the Cabo Branco beach sidewalk with Edda, I like to read what people's T-shirts say. One lady's shirt said:
 

OUI!!! 

mais non 

Usually the messages are in English, many times not understood by their wearers, but I was happy to 

Hold Your Breath

Hold your breath! Try it!

Air is one of the most precious substances we have, not because it is rare, but because five minutes without it we die.

But if you hold on to your breath as if it were yours, your air to keep forever, you die. But if you let it go, for family to breath, for animals to breath, for trees to breath, then it brings life.

Things of this world, things of our life are like that. They are not ours forever, yet we hold on to them as if our life depended on it. We hoard, we keep, we lose sleep and time over things we misplace or lose.

They are like the air we breath. Your clothes are to use and pass to someone else. Your money flows in and flows out. Your books are to be read and then be read by others.Your car carries you place, then it carries someone else places.

Hold on to things with a death grip, then death they will bring. Old clothes clutter our closets, loads of money will be swindled from you by thieves or taken by the government. Your books will get dusty and molded, giving you allergies, and your car will rust and break down.

Oh, for the freedom to enjoy a blessing, to let it go, to bless another, bestow life to oneself and to others. What a breath of fresh air! 

But vs. And

Son, I love you so much, but I want you to clean your room.

Think about it: "but" negates everything that comes before it. It is an adversative conjunction, that is, it connects opposing phrases.

Use "and" - it is an additive conjunction, connecting phrases, one affirming the other or one building upon the other.

Son, I love you so much, and when you clean your room, it makes me so happy. 

If you have to use to use "but," start with the negative.

Son, your room is an awful mess, but I still love you so much.

Missed

Creating a habit, like writing daily this blog, takes constant renewal until the act is ingrained into the today. I missed a day, too busy, too tired when I finally got home, not inspired enough, any reason. I had the desire to make it up the following day for the illusion of an unbroken line of posts.

A true habit, though, is not dependent on strategies of this sort: better to leave perfectionism behind and live the moment, better to own one's own holes, better not to cover old holes by digging new ones, and better to start again, and start again, and start again until the habitual simply happens.

I am here, Today, welcome!

The Perfect Idea

Driving my car, listening to a podcast, I happened upon the perfect idea for the blog today. It just popped into my head seemingly out of nowhere, an idea, so simple, yet beautiful, illustrating true value of life - where did it come from? I don't know.

I thought, "Yes! This is what I'll write on the blog, what I'll leave for future generations."

I stopped the car, bought some screws, got back into the car, and my idea, my perfect idea - where did it go? I don't know.

I thought, and thought, and thought. I relistened to the same podcast, hoping it would trigger the idea - nothing!

I said at my trusty, yellow notebook on the passenger seat, "Why did I not trust you with my idea?"

So many great ideas get lost in the clutter of the day!

God is King over Everything… Well, Almost

God is Creator; everything belongs to Him. 

He is King; He rules over all the universe. The sun, the stars, the galaxy all do His bidding, all of nature, trees, plants, birds, fish, and animals behave according to His design. Every created being lives in obedience to the King, except one, mankind.

Pride and selfishness thwart God’s Kingship in this world. We were created in such a way that we get a choice whether to serve the King or not, but we don’t use that freedom to honor our Creator. God will be your King if you obey Him. 

If He is what you want, then each day you must crown Him King in your life. If not, then enjoy the perks of this world while you can, because they short lived.

All Good Things...

Today we got together, looked at old photos, laughed, sang, prayed, ate maracuja mousse, and took the Supper for one last time together, possibly the happiest ending a congregation could have.

The Manaira congregation began in May 2008; its purpose to provide an early meeting time for restaurant workers to participate before going to work.

It began with a simple question: Irene, can we start a church meeting at your beauty salon? The next Sunday we met, a brand new simple congregation. Over the next 11 and half years, hundreds of people visited our Sunday meeting, we started a restaurant Bible study, we did campaigns in the workers’ hometown, Esperança, had love feasts, and all the offerings went to help people in need or to buy Bibles. We had exciting times, sad times, laughing crises and just plain crises. People came to Christ; people moved away.

In the last few years though, the meeting ceased to serve its purpose with the restaurant workers; others moved away or some moved on. We the faithful remnant finally realized that we are all meeting already with the Luna congregation. The great thing about a house church is that to end is as simple as reminiscing and giving out hugs.

And the maracuja mousse – everybody loved it! The mousse was made from the maracuja fruit from our vine, the vine came from the seeds from a maracuja that we got from Luis, and Luis used to meet with the Manaira congregation about seven or eight years ago.

Only God knows how much seed was sown in these eleven years, how many people were influenced by Christ, and where they are producing fruit in the world. As for us, not having a church building frees us to start somewhere else, somewhere where there is good soil. Let our Great Farmer-of-Men guide us.

Oh, by the way, some good things keep on giving even after they end.