Book Review: With by Skye Jethani

I read most of Jethani's "With" in one sitting, and for me that’s something.

Jethani describes five postures that Christians often take toward God because of the way they view him.   Life UNDER God sees God as a fickle creator who will bless or curse us depending on if we have followed his set of rules.  Life OVER God follows the thought of the Enlightenment that says that the universe runs on set laws, so life must as well.  As long as we follow some formula, we can have a great Christian life- no God needed.   Life FROM God is the attitude that God is solely our provider, a commodity which has its value in what we get from it.  Life FOR God, while looking very admirable, is seeking significance from service toward him, and the "mission" becomes more important than God himself.

The last posture is Life WITH God.  We should desire God not for his use to us, but for who he is.  As a Christian, “With” helped me identify problems in my way of relating to God, but it also gives a very clear presentation of what Christianity should look like that non-Christians need to hear.

I received a free copy of this book from Booksneeze.com and am not required in any way to write a favorable review.

Book Review: I Lift Up My Soul

I lift Up My Soul by Dr. Charles Stanley is a nice little 365 day devotional.  I found that if I read it in the morning with my coffee, it provided a great start to my day and left my mind with some profound yet simple truths straight from the bible.  While there are no commitments necessary, I’ve certainly missed mornings of reading it, but picked up on later days and didn’t get that guilty feeling that I might get if I had missed a bible reading. 

The writing isn’t as easy reading as some other devotionals, but aren’t long and drawn out either.  The average reader will find that comprehension isn’t too difficult and will be able to get out of it what Dr. Stanley intended.  I’d recommend this devotional to adults, especially those familiar with Dr. Stanley’s work.  Of course, if you’re not particularly a devotional reader, it might take some getting used to, but can be a great tool in getting closer to God.

This is a book review for I Lift Up My Soul by Dr. Charles Stanley.  I received a copy of this book for free from Booksneeze.com and Thomas Nelson publishers and have no obligation by them to post a favorable review.

Holy Laziness, Batman!

Ok, maybe that title wasn't completely appropriate.  Yes, we've neglected our blog, but here in Manila we've been as busy as ever.  Jeff Long, my boss, is usually there to help me with the teams that come in, so usually my busyness factor is about a 7 or 8 out of 10.  Well, he left the country for a month to do some support raising in the states, and I got my chance to see what it's like to be the sole caretaker for the short-term teams (busyness factor of 10).  June just happens to be our busiest month of the year as well with 6 teams throughout the month, 4 of which were here at the same time!

So yeah, we've been busy.  But here is a quick photo update:

Above are some pictures from a group of 200 British students that came from the British School Manila. This was a huge organizational effort, and the first time we've ever had this many come to KIM.  For three days, they tutored kids, did community clean up and construction, and went on feedings to various communities.  It was a blast... and I slept very well when it was through!  I also got the chance to work with 3 teams from California (two from Norco Baptist Church, 1 from California Baptist University- all 3 teams ROCK!), as well as a team from Kansas, and a team from Ohio.  Along with those awesome teams, we had the opportunity to host some great friends and supporters of ours, the Rich Family.  It's been a busy, but great month for teams!

Jess is doing well in our second pregnancy.  We recently found out that we're most likely having a little girl.  We've decided on the name Selah Renay Phillips if our little bean does turn out to be a little princess.

Micaiah fell and broke her two front teeth on a metal bar attached to her little kid reclining chair.  Above is the bar she hit, and the tooth marks and tooth dust that was left.  It cost us a good penny to get her teeth fixed, but after a full day in the hospital and a little anesthesia later, her teeth are looking pretty good... that is until they eventually turn dark gray, which the doc says they will probably do :(  At least she's healthy otherwise.  She's getting so big and showing that she understands what we say by responding to things appropriately.  We love our little girl!

I had the privilege of doing a scuba diving course through PADI.  The course was the basic open water course, so now I can go diving to depths of 60 feet or less.  Lots of fun!  This is me with my dive partner, Tom.

To: Anonymous

We don't know who you are, but thank you so much for the financial support.  We don't know who reads our blog and who we might impact to give towards God's kingdom, but we think it's awesome that people are and that we get to be a part of it.

Analyn

Our friend and helper, Analyn.

Before we came to the Philippines we had heard about helpers.  A helper is basically a maid; someone you hire to clean your house, or take care of your kids when you need it.  The thought of us getting a helper was so far out there though, because being on full support it seemed like bad stewardship of God's money.  It seemed like us getting a helper would just confirm our laziness and be wasteful.  

Then we actually met some of the people who make a living being a helper.  It turns out that many missionaries in our area hire a helper, not as much out of laziness, but out of a desire to help that person put food on their kids plates.  We decided that it was a worthwhile thing to pursue after we met Analyn.

Analyn is 25, isn't married, and has no children, but she still has family to take care of.  They live in the province- meaning, not in Manila, but out in the more rural part of the country.  She has a mother and father, brothers and sisters, and nephews and nieces who rely on her for food.  Analyn went to college for a short while, learning Hotel and Restaurant Management, but had to drop out due to cost.  It costs a little over $100 per trimester.  After dropping out, she learned how to give massages, and worked at a massage parlor to make ends meet and to support her family.  While there, she met Jeff Long, the president and founder of Kids International Ministries.  Jeff offered her a job at Kids International Ministries, and that's how Jess and I met Analyn.

Though she already had a job at KIM, Analyn was looking for more income.  We were told she would like to try being a helper, so we asked her if she'd like to try at our house.  Now she comes every Tuesday and Friday from 10am to 2pm, and we feed her lunch and give her rides to and from.  Jess and I have been blessed to have been given a chance to get to know Analyn personally.  One of the stigmas in the Philippines that helpers have is that they are forced to see the person they work for as a 'boss' so their attitude toward them is, while very respectful, often that they are nothing and that the boss is socially better than them.  We want to break that, so we try our best to treat Analyn like a friend.

Analyn would like to learn how to drive, so I have been teaching her.  Every day she comes to work, I let her drive back and I give some tips and pointers.  Soon she'll go get her student driver's license, and we've told her we'll pay for it.  Last night we had the chance to take her and another Filipina friend, Malou, out to dinner at a restaurant they wouldn't get to eat at otherwise.  Analyn shared that she'd like to go back to college and get her degree.  She has 4 trimesters left, and Jess and I are considering helping her do it (anyone interested in helping put our friend through college?).  

We have found that while we came here to bless children, our hearts have been drawn in many different places.  Analyn is one of them.  We're glad we get the chance to fellowship with her, and to use the resources that God gave us to bless her.  After all, what we've been freely given, we should freely give, right?

Community Shot #2

Micaiah's First Birthday

For Micaiah's first birthday, we decided not to throw a big party with lots of gifts, cake, and presents, and instead to celebrate quietly at home.  We did take a trip to the new mall that just went up a few kilometers away, which was a fun treat for Micaiah as she got to taste some ice cream.  In the evening, we enjoyed a delicious dinner courtesy of Jess, and gave Micaiah some Oreos for dessert.  Needless to say she loved them.  Also needless to say, it wasn't fun changing those diapers.