Well, things have swirled around quite a bit over the last few weeks, and I haven’t posted much. I think having Lindsey here threw our schedule out of whack a bit, and I never really got to posting anything interesting. Our Annual Missions Conference went extremely well. That was near two and a half weeks ago now! We had missionaries from Arctic Canada, South Africa, and Mexico. Each had exciting testimonies of how God had worked in their ministries. One message that much of our church remembers was on how to pray for your missionaries. After the message, Pastor Starr typed out the outline and gave it to the church as a guide. We were challenged to pray for five missionaries a week–specifically. The unofficial last night of the conference was on Sunday night, after all of the guest missionaries had left. First, we were challenged with a testimony from our teens highlighting their missions trip to Mexico back in August, then one of our own single young men shared with us his burden for working alongside of a church-planting missionary in Portugal. He will be taking a trip there later this month and a few days into next month. Praise the Lord for a powerful and Holy Spirit-filled conference!
Category: The Study
Thirty Day Challenge!
I was presented with a thirty day challenge on a blog I enjoy reading, Moneysavingmom.com. It is, to “Give to someone in some fashion every day in November.” Now I understand we are already two days into November, but you might just as well begin today! Or tomorrow! I think it is a wonderful challenge in this materialistic age, and I am excited to do it myself. Yesterday I shared some homemade pumpkin soup with a friend whom I knew would enjoy it. Today I wrote a card to mail to my grandmother who is recovering from knee-replacement surgery. I am adding to the challenge, that it cannot be something I already regularly give, for example, time on a bus route you work each weekend anyway, or time spent with an elderly friend you routinely visit already.
I gave the challenge to my sister, and she said she would definitely do it, with the additional idea of journaling your giving along the way. Better yet, it might be a wonderful project to work on with your children if you have any. Maybe this will teach us not only generosity, but gratefulness for what God and others have so undeservedly given to us!
Are you up for the challenge?
Worlds Apart: Responsibility
We, the Speckhals family, make our homes in Red Lion, Pennsylvania–in the south-central part of York county. The closest city of any size is, of course, York, then a few nearby cities are Harrisburg and Lancaster–each about 40 minutes away. However, we are also in the middle of it all! Most would never guess just how close we are to the epicenter of our American government: Washington DC. In fact, Camp David is only about a drive worth 45 minutes through the rolling hills. Washington is two hours away on average–give or take some time with traffic.
I promise you, the county we live in is one of the most conservative in the nation! We almost never hear anything about Democrats unless it’s in jest or in the news. The average person in York County is either a fifth-generation PA Dutch farmer, a suburbanite transplant who moved up from the Baltimore area for quietness and a lower cost of living, or a non-unionized contractor. All of our elected officials are conservative, and this county has not voted for a Democratic president since Andrew Jackson. Really, the only liberal bastion of this area is the inner-city of York.
“Just around the corner” one of the largest partisan debates is being held in our nation’s capital over “healthcare.” When the town-hall meetings were happening across the country last August, I desperately wanted to go to one. The funny thing is that our district is so conservative that there weren’t any meetings for miles around. Then, there was the big gathering in Washington on 9/12. We thought for a second about going, but ended up not going.
We are a conservative district in the midst of a somewhat liberal state. All you have to do is look at Pennsylvania’s two senators: Arlen Spector (a once liberal republican recently turned democrat) and liberal Bob Casey. Our governor is an Obama-lover too: Ed Rendell. Thank you Pittsburgh and Philadelphia!
From what I see about this healthcare battle, I am glad that the country has stepped back and taken a big breath…and looked at the proposals. The more we hear about this government run “option” the more we dislike it. We, as Christians 
believe in benevolence and love, but also for personal responsibility and choice. When someone who is able to work and provide for himself (anyone without a SERIOUS mental or physical handicap). Our tax dollars are not to provide a living for anyone else. Our tax dollars are for our protection. They are not to pay for anyone else’s insurance/health. “What about single mothers with multiple children?,” some may ask. First, it was their responsibility to not get into the situation to have children in the first place. I answer the last question with this question: “Why does my responsibility have to pay for someone else’s irresponsibility?” I believe the only true welfare for the unfortunate and irresponsible is the Gospel of Jesus Christ: just the way the Bible says. The only true hope for all of mankind is the Gospel. Providing healthcare for the irresponsible will only breed more irresponsibility.
Then their is the issue of the House bill that will force me into the same irresponsible system. I will have to be under the government-run plan over the next several years. Basically all of us will. It’s just one step closer to a single-payer system: our President’s goal, according to his own words (on the record).
What can I do?
Vote and pray!
Giving Thanks
Happy autumn to everyone! I love fall, and the colors here in Pennsylvania are just about to peak! My favorite are the reds since that is my favorite color. And I love Thanksgiving. It is a shame so many jump from Halloween to Christmas without thinking much about the Thanksgiving holiday in between. What a blessing they miss!
Recently I was in a ladies’ class and was touched by a singular truth which was presented. The lesson was about murmuring and complaining, a weakness which I am sure, all too many of us struggle against. The teacher mentioned that usually, ‘the things we complain about are trivial things’…we could not go shopping as we planned; we were not able to buy that sweater we wanted; dinner did not turn out; or our family member dirted the freshly-cleaned floor. She went on to explain however that, “We complain about the little things, when God has given us big things!” The health to live, work, and even go shopping is an undeserved blessing itself. We have a wonderful place to call home, and even more than that, A FAMILY; that must certainly be a gift from Heaven. Beyond that, we have friends…a true friend is a precious thing. We have our church family, and a pastor who cares for us and prays for us. We have THE TRUTH of GOD’S WORD! We could never comprehend what a blessing that is. And through that precious book, the Bible, we have SALVATION! Salvation from all our sin, from the punishment of sin, and from fear and eternal damnation. Then, we have the ASSURANCE of that salvation from God’s Word (I John 5:13 –“These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God; that ye may KNOW that ye have eternal life,…”). And we could go on forever about the BIG things God has given us while our small complaints pale in comparison! So, this Thanksgiving, and all the year ’round, let us not “…complain about little things, when God has given us big things!” Thanks be to God!
Psalm 111:2 –“The works of the LORD are great, sought out of all them that have pleasure therein.”