All Over the Map- literally

I'm feeling a bit like a posting slacker here, there are 47 posts so far this year and last year by this time there were closer to 150. It also seems like there are less comments coming, so maybe I am less encouraging, maybe reading and writing blogs is less en vogue, or maybe you are all just tired of "hearing" me talk- whatever it is I will just keep sharing.

I do think that people need to share with each other what is happening in their lives- not necessarily on the web for all to see- because it seems many are encouraged to see what God is doing in and through others. My life is no different than anyone else's life in many respects- I am just walking this pilgrim road, often falling down and getting back up so many times each day that it seems like I am in football drills- down, up, down, up.

I have been reading through Deuteronomy for a little more than a week and am coming to the end and it is so amazing to read God's promises of blessings and curses that He gave to the Israelites through Moses. I can't imagine being Moses when God said to him- right before he dies- Deut. 31:16 "Behold, you are about to lie down with your fathers. Then this people will rise and whore after the foreign gods among them in the land that they are entering, and they will forsake me and break my covenant that I have made with them. 17 Then my anger will be kindled against them in that day, and I will forsake them and hide my face from them, and they will be devoured. And many evils and troubles will come upon them, so that they will say in that day, 'Have not these evils come upon us because our God is not among us?' 18 And I will surely hide my face in that day because of all the evil that they have done, because they have turned to other gods.

God had just told him what He was going to do for His people if they followed Him and what He would do if they did not and the choice seems like a no-brainer. How hard it must have been for Moses to hear God say these words. Are we not the same way? God promises to bless us as we follow Him, tells us He loves a broken and contrite spirit and yet we run after other loves, have low affections and are proud of the grace that God gives us.

Oh that He would save His chosen and return quickly. Imagine un-distracted worship, singing w/o a wandering mind, listening w/o my mind jumping off topic, pure service w/o hypocrisy, perfect relationships and looking into Jesus' face and having Him say "Well done". How can what I am doing here be well done? How can "up and down" be well done? I am thankful He remembers I am but dust and He loves me anyway. He takes me back after I sin- unconditionally. What a good God we serve.

PG this week was again very busy. We didn't have as many sales as the last couple weeks, but hopefully we will finish the month- next week- really strong and have our best month in a long time. Many things feel much better than they have in a long time, but we need God to continue to bring those things to us so we can continue this pace. It's good to have 2 teams installing and getting a good amount of hours. It's good to feel like there are not enough hours in the day, for a change. It's good to have to be concerned about whether our inventory is going to be enough to make it through until containers arrive.

Please pray that as I travel to Italy next week that;
-I would know what and how much to purchase. It's all speculation on my part, but not on His. I need wisdom to know what to get.
-We are getting some video footage in order to make a commercial for tv and our website and so we need wisdom to know what people will be interested in seeing and we need for the weather to be nice enough to shoot it. It is not always sunny in Italy.
-We need for our machinery to keep working w/o putting lots of money back into it. Our digital template machine is giving us some challenges again and it is not something that we can do, easily, w/o- nor is it inexpensive to repair. We are contemplating- no pun intended- purchasing a new one and having the other as a back up, but this is also expensive.
-We need the constant reminder-especially when things are going well- that God is the Giver of all these things and He alone supplies our needs.
-We need to be thankful for all He has done and is continuing to do in and through us. He is Good and I can't imagine going through life w/o His leading, direction and provision. What an Amazing God we serve.

One last thing. Yesterday one of our friends came up to me and told me that they had promised to pray for PG everyday and they were sorry but they had forgot to pray 2 days so far. What awesome friends we have- for someone to feel bad for forgetting to pray for 2 days in as many months. Thanks for all your prayers- even when you miss here and there- God is still working in an amazing way at PG and much of that has to be because you all are praying.