Should: The Story of Three Men

Our pastor quoted a parable in Luke the other day that didn't leave me feeling all warm and fuzzy.  In fact, it stopped me dead in my thoughts.  Trying to track with Pastor Javy's Spanish was certainly out of the question.  Why did it sound so cold?  Why had I never heard this parable before?   

The parable was from the book of Luke, the 7th chapter.  Jesus was explaining to his disciples the relationship between master and servant.  He said:

 “Suppose one of you has a servant plowing or looking after the sheep. Will he say to the servant when he comes in from the field, ‘Come along now and sit down to eat’? ⁸ Won’t he rather say, ‘Prepare my supper, get yourself ready and wait on me while I eat and drink; after that you may eat and drink’? ⁹ Will he thank the servant because he did what he was told to do? ¹⁰ So you also, when you have done everything you were told to do, should say, ‘We are unworthy servants; we have only done our duty.’"

 "Do as you're told" was ringing in my ears as Pastor Javy jogged through the remainder of his sermon.  Over the next several days, I struggled with why this passage seemed so cold.  I soon came to realize that what God considered a simple duty, "doing what I was told to do", had somehow become something in my heart worthy of recognition, praise from others, a proverbial "pat on the back" from God himself.  Its easy for missionaries to feel this way.  After all, we spend much of our time fundraising and saying to others in a loud voice, "Hey!  Look what I'm doing!".  In that moment, God convicted my heart that simply doing what I was told to do was not worthy of commendation or recognition, but rather it was the bare minimum; the expectation; the status quo.  Then, right on cue, God led me to the parable of the talents (Matt. 25).  

You know the story: a master gives varying amounts of money to his three servants.  Two of them invest it for a return and one does not, burying it in the ground and earning him the rejection of his master.  This time, the master hadn't left them any instructions for what to do with it.  He did, however, seem very pleased with the two who'd taken initiative and put their talents to work.  A curious thought occurred to me then, "The two who were successful were motivated out of a desire to please their master; to go above and beyond.  The one rejected was motivated by fear of failure and lowered expectations."  Then, right on cue, God reminded me of the prodigal son's brother.  I can hear his voice in my head now, "Hey, at least I didn't blow it like he did."

Suddenly, I'm convicted that "doing as I'm told" or as I "should" is not worthy of commendation, a medal of valor, a parade down 5th Avenue, or even a pat on the back from men or God.  It is simply something that, as a child of God, bought at a price and adopted into the family of God, is expected of me, His servant.  In an effort to feel special, I'd lowered that bar to a point where simply doing as I was told seemed utterly heroic.  Not only that, but I now realize that I should be motivated by a desire to please my Master, not out of fear of failure like the one-talent servant.  Finally, I must accept grace.  Unlike the prodigal son's brother, I can no longer view myself as better, more worthy of sonship, or somehow righteous for not blowing it or only doing as I "should".   

Video: Latest Project: Jericho Ministries, Danli, Honduras

Check out this video our team put together from our latest project to serve Jericho Ministries in Danli, Honduras!


eMi Jericho Ministries from Christine Parks on Vimeo.

Our landlord's father is a farmer that owns 2 oxen that seem to move all around the fields surrounding our house.  This morning, he brought me these bananas he had just picked.  They were so yummy.  I made banana crumb muffins this past Sunday, and they were sooo good, I think I'll make some more.  If you're interested in the recipe, here it is. It is listed as one of the top 20 recipes on allrecipes.com.  They really were delicious!!!!

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 3 bananas, mashed
• 3/4 cup white sugar
• 1 egg, lightly beaten
• 1/3 cup butter, melted
• 1/3 cup packed brown sugar
• 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 tablespoon butter

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Lightly grease 10 muffin cups, or line with muffin papers.
2. In a large bowl, mix together 1 1/2 cups flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt. In another bowl, beat together bananas, sugar, egg and melted butter. Stir the banana mixture into the flour mixture just until moistened. Spoon batter into prepared muffin cups.
3. In a small bowl, mix together brown sugar, 2 tablespoons flour and cinnamon. Cut in 1 tablespoon butter until mixture resembles coarse cornmeal. Sprinkle topping over muffins.
4. Bake in preheated oven for 18 to 20 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into center of a muffin comes out clean.

Home Sweet Home

My, my, my has it been a long time since our last post.  This Spring was so incredibly full of amazing experiences, both in ministry and personally.  We were able to do so much ministry together as well as have multiple experiences with family that were just incredible.  I would also describe this spring as a traveling season.  We, I, he, she traveled A LOT!!!  Every 4-6 weeks, there was some type of traveling to do, from busing it from Costa Rica up through Nicaragua and El Salvador to Guatemala to travels to see family near and far.  Finally, we are able to say we are home, sweet, home for a little while.  In May, we also moved into a new home.  During the time Josh's mom lived in Costa Rica, she lived in a small house at the end of the driveway of the house we had lived in since moving to Atenas.  When she moved, we made the decision to move from our house to the house she had lived in.  We felt it was a blessing, and now wish we had lived here earlier.  Although a smaller house, the living spaces are more open.  The house feels like it just fits us perfectly...although we are dog sitting a friend's great dane right now and it's been some growing pains of fitting 2 people and 2 great danes all in this small house.  Overall, we love it, and feel so blessed to have something that fits us so well, and is 1/2 the monthly rent.  One of my favorite things about the house also is that we live so close to our landlords.  Our landlords live in a house that is about 40 yards from our house, and their entire family live in houses on the property also.  It is as though we have been inducted into a communal family living environment.  It is not full on family living as they give us privacy.  But, it is so sweet when our landlord brings over queso tortillas that she just made or comes over, as she did this morning, to teach me how she makes beans.  I am really enjoying being connected to our neighbors and the family environment that we have moved into.  Here are some pictures of our new house:

Newest Neighbor

So a few weeks ago, we got a new neighbor.  He's a little scared to be next to us.  When I ride the scooter down our driveway as I'm coming home, he doesn't seem to like it to much...a little skiddish.  But, he seems sweet, and we're glad to have him as a neighbor.  Meet our neighbor horse:

Live the Life I've Given You

The Lord has been teaching Josh and I many things over the past months.  Some things are easier to learn than others.  Some bring change like the turning on of a light bulb while others take time to process, mulling over what the applications are for your own life.  One of the more recent things that I have been learning came when God used something He was teaching my sister, Christi, as a catalyst to change and affect my own life.  She was sharing of something the Lord had been showing her about her own life one day.  She said the Lord had been teaching her to "live the life He had given her".  As in, live each day realizing that it IS the day the Lord has made for her, the life the Lord has given her...not waiting, sacrificing in obedience today for what you hope will be your life in the future.  Although the Lord was teaching her something entirely different, He has used this simple phrase to impact my life.  In several areas of my life, I feel as though I have been living as though there is this "life" waiting for me somewhere down the road.  Josh and I have been trying for several years to have children.  Although it is our desire to have children, it is not yet the Lord's plan for our lives.  I feel as though I was living life, but waiting for this future life that included kids and a "family" that would come down the road.  Now, I'm not saying those things are not in God's plan for us, but I think He has used this simple phrase to remind me that the days I am living right now are just as much those He's planned for me as whatever days lie ahead.  I feel a renewed desire to live fully the life HE has made for me NOW, soaking up each day and giving HIM the glory for his incredible sovereignty.  So, I encourage you to live the life the Lord is giving you today, bringing Him glory through your joy and contentment!

The First Step

The Lord has been teaching Josh and I so many things over the past year.  One of the main things is Josh has discovered that his passion to help people and serve the Lord through disaster response runs deep.  In different ways, the Lord has been shaping him, molding him and revealing gifts and abilities that allow Josh to serve and minister through disaster response.  Next week, Josh will be leaving Costa Rica to be part of a collaborative team with Food for the Hungry to do a week of Disaster Risk Reduction assessments in a village in Guatemala.  They will be working in a village in which FH wants to spread the love of Christ and His gospel through community development.  Although this will take Josh away from home for almost 2 weeks, it is a huge opportunity and first step towards what Josh has found to be a great passion.  I ask you to join me in praying for the team, the week they will spend in the village...that it will be fruitful, and that people will come to know the Lord through FH's work in the community.  This will be the first of many assessments throughout Central America, South America and the Caribbean.  

                                                         

Christmas and the Clinic

We had the great pleasure of going back to Georgia for two weeks to celebrate Christmas with our families.  It was wonderful to celebrate Christmas with some new and old traditions.  We celebrated with Josh's family and then mine.  Two highlights were seeing all of Josh's dad's family when Josh's dad had a fish fry the day after Christmas.  It was really fun to talk, catch up with some and meet others.  We also changed it up with my family a little this year and the "kids" (this is what we have called the 4 siblings who are now in their late 20's/early 30's since we were young) stayed in Atlanta and our parents drove to celebrate Christmas with us.  It was the first year in many that we have not driven to my mom's in Senoia and then my dad's in Columbus. My brother and sister-in-law wonderfully opened their home to us and we had a great time.  A great memory was that when we celebrated Christmas with my mom, we decided to not exchange gifts this year.  Instead, we  each came up with a Christmas family tradition to do together.   We had everything from hot chocolate and homemade egg nog, a yearly family photo in front of the tree, and the one that Josh and I did.  We decided to have a time of encouragement where people offer words of encouragement, say things they appreciate or have learned from/about another person this year.  It was a very sweet time.  Also, as my dad and step mom were able to drive from Houston up to Atlanta for a week, we were able to see them for several days instead of just a few hours like we normally do at Christmas.

The week after Christmas, I was able to work in a clinic as a physical therapist.  This was a huge blessing as I was a little nervous already that I had forgotten my skills.  After 2 years in a clinic full-time, it was so wonderful to get back into a clinic and get my hands dirty.  I am grateful for a company like the one I worked with before we moved that will let me stay on as a contract worker and have the opportunity to work when I am in town.

I praise the Lord for all the blessings He has given us, struggles and "good" things.  That includes the rich, sweet time we were able to spend with family and renewing the joy or using my skills in a clinic setting.