I love Mondays...usually

I love Mondays....usually

If you've ever seen the movie Office Space (don't judge me) you will remember the quote, "uh oh, looks like someone's got a case of the Mondays."  If you ever read Garfield you'll recall he hated Mondays.  If you wake up on Monday morning and get on Facebook there is no lack of shared pictures and memes on how people loathe the beginning day of the week. 

Well, I love Mondays.  Monday is my "day off."  In other words, it's the day we don't plan anything outside the house. Monday is family day.  Monday means "Top Gear and Tuna," my weekly date with my son Benji.  Top Gear is our favorite TV show on BBC.  It's on on Sunday nights and Benji might download it from a certain website that is frowned upon in the U.S....but we live in Africa (don't judge me)...on Monday mornings for us to watch during our Monday lunch.  Our Monday lunch, as the name might imply is tuna.  Not a big deal you might think - well it is. Our town doesn't have tuna, so we have to buy a whole bunch of it in Kampala, a 7 hour drive away, so that we can have "Top Gear and Tuna" on Mondays.  

I love Mondays....usually.  

 I didn't like Monday today.  Today Kelly and I sat outside in our car with a phone on the center console with the speakerphone on and talked to our son Josh for about an hour.  He was in a position where he just wanted and needed to talk with us, and we loved the fact that he "needed" to talk to us.  As we talked, at different times Kelly and I both fought back tears.  Not just from the conversation we were having with Josh, but remembering our Skype call with our daughter Kate and our son-in-law, Angel, a couple of days ago. I was remembering talking with my parents the night before.  Kelly was remembering her sweet nephew, born 6 weeks ago that she won't meet in person until he's 18 months old.  Leaving a son, a daughter, father, mother and life in America is more difficult some days than others.  We both teared up a bit off and on today, Monday.  I haven't even gotten to the worst part yet.  Our internet speed was too slow today to download last nights' episode of Top Gear.  No "Top Gear and Tuna" today, Monday.  

   So tonight as we were getting today over with we were having our family Bible time.  We read Keys for Kids, that has a verse and a story to go along with it.  I read the Bible verse and Kelly reads the story so tonight as I began to read I read this

Luke 18:28-30

²⁸ And Peter said, “See, we have left our homes and followed you.” ²⁹ And he said to them, “Truly, I say to you,there is no one who has left house or wife or brothers or parents or children, for the sake of the kingdom of God, ³⁰ who will not receive many times more in this time, and in the age to come eternal life.”

Sometime God cracks me up.  

Not whining (maybe a bit), just sharing where I am this day, Monday.  

I believe that God created us to live with Him forever.  I believe that because of sin - yours, mine and ours - that we were separated from God.  I believe that God made a way to restore our relationship with Him through sacrifice.  I believe that Jesus' sacrifice, His death on the cross and His resurrection is the final sacrifice for all sin.  Because of what Jesus did are we reconciled with God.  I believe in a heaven and a hell.  I believe that Jesus is the Way, the Truth and the Life and that no one comes to the Father except through Him.

  

 I believe the Bible and that Jesus said, "All authority in Heaven and earth is given to me, therefore GO and make disciples of ALL nations."  I believe that Jesus said, "Whatever you do unto the least of these you do unto me."  I believe that what I do on earth matters for eternity.  Not that my "works" get me into heaven, but that I am "storing up treasures in heaven."

  

 A lot of this was just, what Kelly calls, truth talking myself.  I do get discouraged everyone once in a while.  I love being here.  I love teaching here.  I love sitting with people here and sharing what I have been taught.  Someone said that sharing the Gospel is like one beggar telling another beggar where to find food.  I'm no better than anyone here - I have just been shown the Food and it's my job to tell others, and help with some physical needs along the way.  I am thankful that we GET to be the ones God uses here, I am shocked that God doesn't use someone more "qualified" to do this than I am.  I'm thankful my kids that are here with me get to see how the "rest" of the world lives.  I'm thankful I GET to be a part of advancing the Kingdom of God in this part of the world. 

   I guess all in all it's been a pretty good Monday.  But right now is 2:00 a.m. and it's Tuesday and guess what? Top Gear finished downloading, so in about 10 hours it's my "Top Gear and Tuna" date with Benji.