December in my World

It happened…I knew it would…I am no longer “50”!!!
Up until this year it has been okay to give out my age…but something about “51” just doesn’t sound attractive. You know up until this year I’ve been on the under side of middle age (according to the way I perceive it!) and then even “50” had some status to it. But...“51”...that is just so bland sounding. So, I’ll be “29” from now on if you don’t mind!

My “50th” was a GREAT celebration.
We were in a beautiful cottage in Colorado with friends and great weather. One of our old “youth” came up the day before and it was ALL ABOUT ME.





So, I was sort of thinking that this year would be rather BORING. But my “Partner in Crime” as her husband calls us, gave me a birthday party.

I even had to pick the menu. The food was hard to pick, but the dessert was not. Her famous Chocolate Cheesecake was really what got me to the party (given in my honor!)
The apartment was decorated beautifully and the night was

ALL ABOUT ME! What FUN!!!




I started a new tradition of my own…I figured that after “50” years of GIFT RECEIVING I should start doing some GIFT GIVING on my special day (which by the way was Lottie Moon’s birthday…just throwing that in as a bit of interesting trivia!)
I’ve decided that this will be my new tradition…therefore, from now on my birthday parties will have to be SMALL in number of attendees (or the gifts will have to be small in VALUE!)


I’ve always loved my birthday month…a very exciting time of year!
This year has been the same. Daniel is home for the Holidays.



Almost two years ago he got on a plane and left us for college…but he is back and it is wonderful. He will be the only Stockwell male child home for this Christmas. Though we wish all of the kids could be here…including the girls…we are choosing to THANK THE LORD for Daniel’s visit and enjoy ourselves in keeping all the traditions we have had through the years.

I’m so thankful for the memories of Christmases past…those when a child in Wichita Falls, Texas with my parents and brothers. My mom says I loved the tree and she often caught me standing, staring at it and sometimes she caught me running through the house with some Ice-cycles in my hands. I remember Christmas Eve meals with the Woodards and Christmas Day with the Thorntons.

The Christmases in Houston, Texas when the boys were small have a special place in my heart. How fun it was to continue Christmas traditions that both Mick and I brought to our new family.
And then we moved to Ukraine and had to come up with some new traditions…which have become just as BIG a part of us as the old ones.

I remember some gifts (received and given) but most of all, I remember the FEELING OF BELONGING.

I heard a song this year by Ray Charles…Christmas in my Heart…it says, “Christmas time is ALL ABOUT RECEIVING…the gift that God has sent from up above!”
What a wonderful thought…
We have been told that it is about GIVING…And God did GIVE His Son…but I’ve enjoyed dwelling on that RECEIVING part this year as I contemplate this special season.
Because that GIVEN GIFT has to be RECEIVED!

In receiving this FREE GIFT I have come to BELONG to the FAMILY OF GOD. There are times when I’ve not been able to be with my parents, children, and other family members for special occasions (like this year,) but because I received that FREE GIFT from my Heavenly Father, I have been able to have fellowship with my Christian Family.
NOW THAT IS BELONGING!!!

I pray that each of you knows the value of RECEIVING!!!

MERRY CHRISTMAS and HAPPY NEW YEAR

John 3:16

For God so loved the WORLD that HE GAVE His one and only Son, that whoever believes (RECEIVES) in Him shall not perish but have eternal life.

Joy to the world! The Lord is come; let earth receive her King.

Something's Happening Here

“Something’s happening here. What it is ain't exactly clear.”
(song by Stephen Stills)
Well, something is happening here and I am not exactly clear as to what all it will entail.
So for a while my post may be of thoughts about the CHANGE that is taking place in our lives…

Mick and I are moving to Prague…when? Well, that is one of those things that ain’t exactly clear!!! But some time in the Spring of 2009.
The Lord has moved us out of this ministry into another. And if I did not know beyond a shadow of a doubt that HE was moving us I couldn’t go.

I do know that it is the next step of obedience and will take it in trust…but I’m doing much reflection these days.

Tonight I baked a chocolate pie for guest. As I was stirring the pudding I remembered the first time I made a chocolate pie in Ukraine. It was in 1994 in our first humble apartment. Back then I had tears in my eyes as I stirred…it is a wonder that the pie wasn’t too salty to eat. I was so home-sick…and the stirring of the pudding made me miss my mom more. You see, she always let me stir the pudding when she was baking a chocolate pie.
I also remembered the Thanksgiving (what year was it?) when we were at the Ray’s and Regina Lamb (the boys’ teacher) was stirring and stirring the pudding for the pie and it wasn’t getting thick…we finally realized that the burner (gas stove) had gone out! Poor Regina!

As I stirred tonight I thought of the changes that have taken place within me, my family, and this country since 1994. The most outstanding change I contemplated tonight was that I am feeling home-sick for Ukraine even before we move. Who would have thought, fourteen plus years ago, that one day I’d be stirring the pudding for a pie thinking how sad it was going to be to leave this place?

God is the only one who could do this…take this small city girl from Texas…bring her to Europe (yes, Eastern) and put her in a BIG city with a whole different culture and language and make her feel at home…I didn’t even notice when He did it, that is the witty thing.

Something has been happening here for years…and the only thing I’m clear about is this…
He is in control, He is faithful, He is the judge of all the earth and He will do right. (Genesis 18:25)

"Thank you, Jesus…I will wait for you to heal my hurting heart and make Prague home.
Do you think You could give me a hint on how long that is going to take???
Okay…I’ll wait!"

Thanksgiving Pictures

In my devotions this morning I read this...

A mark of true thankfulness is that we love the giver more than the gifts. Frans Bakker

My this be true of me!!!

Mick and KoKo early Thanksgiving morning. I'm sure he is thanking the Lord for his precious, darling, wonderful wife!

Mick carving up Tom, the Turkey...the Butterball Mick brought back from the USA (land of Sonic ice!)

The Ragains and Stockwells

THANKFUL HEART

I do have a THANKFUL heart this evening. And it is nothing of my own doing…Scripture teaches us that He gives me the WILL to do what is right (what is required!)
For God is working in you, giving you the desire to obey him and the power to do what pleases him. Philippians 2:13
Always rejoice, constantly pray, in everything give thanks. For this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus. I Thessalonians 5:17, 18.

I’m thankful for the WILL to be thankful.
This has not been a painless year for me…I feel selfish writing that last line. Because the reason for the pain has mostly been that the lives of my loved ones have been affected…causing me to feel loss and hurt.

People have moved out of my life (physically)…our supervisor and family. Other dear friends who we worked with closely are no longer serving with us.

Precious Teri Tarleton has gone to Glory…we had two wonderful Thanksgiving meals with the Tarletons in the past and I am really missing her this year. I know that Teri is having a GREAT time with our Father, but I feel sorry for myself and I feel for her precious family.

And last, but not least, Kenny Pope is a different man today than he was a little over six months ago. Teri is a different woman too. My “family” has been through more than I can imagine (even after hearing about much of it) and I’ve not been able to be there to walk beside them for most of the time…this has caused me pain. For the first time ever (even with our men in the states) I did not want to return to the field after Kenny’s fall. It was one of the hardest things I’ve had to do…leave them on the 4th of July…knowing that there was so much ahead and wondering how they would do it.
If you have kept up with the Popes through CaringBridge then you know that they are doing wonderfully. Life is different but the one constant is the presence of our God and Savior, Jesus Christ…who has bestowed on them…THANKFUL HEARTS.

So, as tomorrow approaches and I finish making the pies and getting everything else ready to celebrate, with friends, God’s graciousness to me DAILY…I want to THANK HIM for giving me a THANKFUL HEART…
Because a Thankful Heart is what guards my heart and my mind. It is what gives me the strength to carry on. Daily, I want to THANK HIM…who gives me the POWER to do so!

Do not worry about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Philippians 4:6-7

I don't belong

I’m cleaning apartment today!
Getting ready for my Thanksgiving guest.
I was popping in CDs to play and came across Mark Lowry’s.

Side-note:
You may not know that Mick and I had the privilege of going to college with Mark. I didn’t know him, but Mick did. Mick says that he (meaning MICK) was funnier than Mark back then…so, why are we not rich Mick???
I really don’t know if Mark is rich or not, so I don’t want to start a rumor…just a little FAMILY humor!

Anyway, back to the CD…there are several songs on this OLD CD that I love.
“We Fall Down”…powerful song if you ask me!
“It Wouldn’t Be Enough” but the one that got my attention as I was cleaning was:

“I Don’t Belong”…the Chorus goes like this:
“I don’t belong and I’m goin’ some day home to my own native land. I don’t belong and it seems like I hear the sound of a welcome home band. I don’t belong I’m a foreigner here singing a sojourner’s song. I’ve always known this place ain’t home and I don’t belong.
Don’t belong, but while I’m here I’ll be livin’ like I’ve nothing to lose. And while I breathe I’ll just believe my Lord is gonna see me through. I’ll not be deceived by earth’s make-believe. I’ll close my ears to her siren song by praising His name, and I’m not ashamed ‘cause I don’t belong.”

While listening to the song (for the hundredth time) I realized that I do not (and have never) felt weird because I wasn’t like the Ukrainian people (or any other people when I’ve visited other countries!) I’ve never tried to be exactly like them…to look exactly like them…to act exactly like them…WHY???
Because I know I’m not an Ukrainian…I’m an American who gets to live here and serve…but I do not belong here…I have an American passport and citizenship!
It is Okay when I do not seem Ukrainian…’cause I’m not!!!
It has never bothered me.

HOWEVER, I also realized that sometimes it bothers me when the world seems to look on me differently because of something I’ve said or done. Why is that?
I’m not of the world…I’m bought at a high price and my citizenship is in Heaven. Philippians 3:20
It shouldn’t bother me at all to be different.
I should not feel peculiar when I do not fit in? I Peter 2:9
Why should I want to fit in???

I don’t want to be deceived by earth’s make-believe…I want to be listening for the sound of the welcome home band on the streets of gold! Revelation 21:21
I’m a sojourner…no need to get tangled in this world.

Lord, help me remember I’m not home...yet!

New Hope's Anniversary

Happy Anniversary, Hap---py Anniversary!!!

Today is the seventh anniversary of NEW HOPE church in Kharkov, Ukraine.
When Linda Gray reminded me this morning I couldn’t believe that it had been seven years.

Many of you know the story of how we lived and worked in Kharkov for six years. Mick, of course, worked all over the area…but from the time we moved to Kharkov the boys and I worked mainly with the church which became the “Mother” church of New Hope.

We started out doing Sunday School for them. The boys played a MAJOR role in this. They often helped with the story telling and Bible memorization AND always helped with discipline (as they could speak the language better than me!)

As time went on Christopher became concerned about the fact that there was truly no YOUTH group in Kharkov. He began praying that the Lord would use him in the establishment of a youth group.
We were beginning to see the fruits of those prayers RIGHT when Keith Byrd asked us to move back to Kiev and take on other responsibilities.

Mick and I both knew in our spirits that the move to Kiev was what the Lord had for us…but we also knew that it wasn’t what He had for Christopher. So, through prayer and God’s leading we left Christopher behind to work with a youth club which later became New Hope Church.

AND TODAY…they celebrate seven years of ministry.

I wish we could all be there…but since we can’t, I’m sending out this little message and publicly voicing (through type) my thankfulness to the LORD for allowing the Stockwell family to have a part in this church and for the years of memories that we have in Kharkov, Ukraine.

Thank you Jesus for New Hope in Kharkov, Ukraine…may they continue in the faith!!!

Nightmare of Words

Two nights ago I had a nightmare. No human was after me, words were the culprit.
I have no idea why…maybe it was the WITHOUT A TRACE we watched before going to bed. The father of a little girl who had been taken told the mother that it was her fault for not watching their daughter more carefully. No fears, the daughter was found alive and well. But we did not see the father apologize to the mother. HUM??? This really did impact me…enough to make me ask Mick if he didn’t think it was a bad thing to do...to accuse another of being at fault.

Maybe all that added up to my Nightmare of Words. In my dream I was in some sort of school (you know how dreams are…they make sense at the time, but when re-telling them you think, “WOW, how did I let that bother me…so unreal!”) and my assignment was to read something (anything) and re-write it in my own words. I was so anxious to get something read and written down…but no matter what I did, I couldn’t read anything or if I did read it, I couldn’t get it written down to complete my assignment…and as time wore on it was getting to be time for class. I remember thinking that I just needed to read anything…maybe an advertisement and re-write it. That was all I had time for, but I couldn’t even get that done.
I woke up…thank goodness!

Went to the restroom and when I came back to bed I must have awoken Mick because he got up to go to the restroom. I said, “I’m so glad I woke up, I was having a nightmare!”
He came back to bed, got in, covered up, and didn’t say a word.

I lay there thinking…either he didn’t hear me, or he doesn’t care about my nightmare!
Well, I was wide awake and so I thought about my dream. I thought to myself how much more meaning WORDS would have if everything I read was worked over in my mind as if I had to re-write it and turn it in for a grade. And I thought about the fact that if I had to think about what I said that carefully before I even said it, (wow…now, that is a thought) that I might not talk as much.

WORDS ARE POWERFUL…God’s WORD has several things to say about WORDS:

“A gentle answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger.” Proverbs 15:1

“An anxious heart weighs a man down, but a kind word cheers him up.” Proverbs 12:25

“A word aptly spoken is like apples of gold in settings of silver.”

Proverbs 25:11

“When words are many, sin is not absent, but he who holds his tongue is wise.” Proverbs 10:19

Like I said, if we had to really think about the words that were coming out of our mouths…are you hearing the words that are coming out of my mouth?…I wonder if we would say HALF of them?

God’s WORD has something to say about Itself:

II Samuel 22:31, Proverbs 30:5, and Psalm 12:6 tell us that God’s WORD is flawless.
Mine aren’t! How about yours?

In John 1:1-14 we are told that the WORD was in the beginning and that it was with God and the WORD was God and that the WORD became flesh and came to live with us…
JESUS IS THE WORD.

His WORD is truth…John 17:17

My words are not flawless, they are not always truthful and they do not always cheer and are not always aptly spoken…
But Praise the LORD, we can depend upon every WORD that comes out of the mouth of GOD…
HIS WORD IS TRUTH…now, I need to meditate on it and put it to memory.

Thank you, heavenly Father, for Your WORD.

“May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be pleasing in your sight, O Lord, my Rock and my Redeemer.” Psalm 19:14

P.S. Mick mentioned my nightmare the next day…he said, “You're so cute!” I asked him how he came to that conclusion (I’ve been telling him that for years now!) and he said,

“How many people are happy to wake up in the middle of the night because they are having a nightmare?”
I didn’t answer and took the compliment…but I thought to myself…(see, I’m working on not saying everything I think!)…I don’t know anyone who wouldn’t want to wake up from a nightmare…oh well…to each his own!

I’m not saying anything!!!