Climbing for Christ --Mission Haiti a success!

I just got back from my trip to Haiti. We decided that missions can be alot like a climbing expedition--there are alot of details and logistics that must be worked out and everything is subject to change. This trip was filled with a roller-coaster ride of ups and downs--peaks and valleys. God did many amazing things in and through our team. You can read the dispatches on the Climbing for Christ website here- http://www.climbingforchrist.org/Default.aspx?tabid=2027

Thanks to all who were praying for us, your prayers were definately felt. Please continue to pray! There is still work that needs to be completed on the church as well as many decisions that need to be made about our future involvement with the church there.

Please pray for me (Todd) as I go to Mexico for a week May 8-13th to help Eduventure Mexico with a couple climbing projects.

This will be my last post for a couple of weeks. We are heading out to Western NY today to spend Easter with my brother Mike and his family. Then Monday night I fly out of Rochester to Dominican Republic and take a bus into Haiti. We hope to complete construction on a multi-use(church/school/health) building for a local church there in the hills of Haiti. This is a Climbing for Christ missions project.

I will be there until the end of the month and then I have a week of work lined up and I leave for Mexico for a week. There I will be putting up some climbing routes as another C4C project to help one of our members who runs an Eduventure program there. We were down there last year as well. Pray for safety and open doors of ministry. I will post an update when I return.

I've got bad news and worser news which do you want first? Ok since you really don't have a choice, I 'll give you the worser first. Chris (the guy that I had you praying for) got sent back to prison. The judge that he went before for his parole violation was a hardnose and sent him back even though his violation was an honest mistake and he took care of it and even did community service that his parole officer required. The good thing (not as bad) is that he only is in for 45 days. The judge normally gives a minimum of 6-8 months for a violation. Keep praying for Chris --this will not be easy for him.

How fine is your filter?

When we go backpacking or canoeing we always carry a water filter to purify our drinking water because most if not all water contains little nasties that will mess up your system and eventually could kill you. Filters come in all different types and levels of filtration any wear from a cheesecloth to megamicron-barely-let-h20-through filters. Which would you rather drink water from?

In our christian lives we need to have a filter for everything that we "drink into" our lives. How fine our filter is will determine how many "nasties" are allowed in. So in reference to our "liberties" "gray areas" I will tell you what I tell my campers, "go ahead and drink it unfiltered, it might not kill you". It is worth the time to stop and filter it.

Ok here is more gray area stuff --but read the following post first as it was it was posted prior to this one.

If there is no direct answer in the Bible, how do you know God's Will for the "gray areas" (those things the Scriptures don't address plainly or directly)
This is the idea of "working out your salvation with fear and trembling" (Philippians 2.12)
Working hard to know God's Word, praying for understanding, asking the Spirit for guidance
Ask yourself "is this really necessary?"
Meditate on Hebrews 12.1; is there "extra weight" involved that could be thrown off?
Based on your decision, will it matter in 2 weeks or two months or in eternity? Will you still be suffering consequences in 2 years or 20 years?
How would Christ respond?
Walk as Jesus would walk; choose, speak and decide the same way the Lord would in your situation (Col 1.10; 1Thess 2.12)
Is it worthy of my epitaph?
Determine how you want your life to end up, will this decision help you reach that result, or hinder you?
Will others be drawn to Christ or turned away?
Will you're family, friends, co-workers and those viewing you're life be drawn closer to Christ or become less interested in God by your decision? It is important for us to make decisions that will make the use of our time to fulfill God's purpose (Col 4.5)
We need to learn that there are many considerations in determining God's will. It's not just about what we desire, or "right and wrong", or what's most advantageous to us. Biblically, our priority of concern flows down three levels in this order: God, others, then us personally (Matt 22.37; Rom 12.10).
We cannot discern God's Will when we get the order wrong,

This post is resonse to some recent discussions amongst the paris family bloggers on the will og God/grey areas etc. and I thought it was good/relevant so here you go: Knowing the Will of God - Glory Filter Part 7View all the lessons in this series
Summary:
1 John 2:17 - And the world is passing away, and the lust of it; but he who does the will of God abides forever. (NKJV)
Today's question reaches far beyond just our effort to determine God's Will. It should be a question that becomes an automated filter for everything in our life.
Far too often, we are concerned with not "crossing the line" into sin, so we want to know where the line is. Or we are trying to figure out what's best for us personally first. Often times we just act impulsively and go with our emotions and immediate desires without ever thinking of anything else. We need to learn to have a mindset of "what will bring God the most glory?" about every thought, every act, every word and every decision. So as you meditate on today's question, realize that it is much farther reaching than the context of this study.
Bible study, prayer and meditation are the hard work of knowing God's Will. And therein lies the problem: it's hard work. That's why it seems so elusive to many Christians. Let's review what we have learned so far. When trying to determine God's will:
First off, does God's Word contain a plain and direct answer to your question or circumstance?
You have to diligently and regularly search God's Word and do the hard work of finding out God's revealed, written Word (2Tim 2.15; Acts 17.11)
If you find a direct and clear answer, then it simply boils down to a matter of obedience; simple to understand, frequently not simple to actually do. (1 John 5.2; James 1.22)
A few examples of this might be:
Can I lie if it is for a "good" reason? No (Colossians 3:9)
Can we sleep together if we're engaged and in love? No (Col 3.5; Heb 13.4)
Is it okay to gossip for any reason? No (Matt 12.36; Prov 17.9)
My employer treats me bad, do I still have to work hard? Yes (1Thess 4.11-12; Col 3.17; 1Pet 2.18-19)
Is it okay to treat some people better than others based on their social status or income? No (James 2.2-4)
If there is no direct answer in the Bible, how do you know God's Will for the "gray areas" (those things the Scriptures don't address plainly or directly)
This is the idea of "working out your salvation with fear and trembling" (Philippians 2.12)
Working hard to know God's Word, praying for understanding, asking the Spirit for guidance
Ask yourself "is this really necessary?"
Meditate on Hebrews 12.1; is there "extra weight" involved that could be thrown off?
Based on your decision, will it matter in 2 weeks or two months or in eternity? Will you still be suffering consequences in 2 years or 20 years?
How would Christ respond?
Walk as Jesus would walk; choose, speak and decide the same way the Lord would in your situation (Col 1.10; 1Thess 2.12)
Is it worthy of my epitaph?
Determine how you want your life to end up, will this decision help you reach that result, or hinder you?
Will others be drawn to Christ or turned away?
Will you're family, friends, co-workers and those viewing you're life be drawn closer to Christ or become less interested in God by your decision? It is important for us to make decisions that will make the use of our time to fulfill God's purpose (Col 4.5)
What is the most edifying decision I can make?
Is any choice edifying? If yes, is one choice better than another and bring more glory to God? (1Cor 10.23)
Today's question that helps us in determining God's Will is:
How will God receive the most glory?
This question takes patience and effort because there may be many possible answers. The more important God's glory becomes to us, the more effort and diligence we will apply to contemplating it. As SELF is mortified (put to death) in our life, the way will be clear for us to filter our life instinctively through God's eyes instead of ours.
We develop a natural instinct to want to do just enough to be in "the club" (Christianity); and get away with as much as possible without crossing the line and get booted from "the club". Consider these common questions that betray this mentality:
How much sexual contact can we (an unmarried couple) have and not be sinning?
How much can I "fudge" on my taxes and not be cheating?
Do I have to give 10% on my gross or net income?
How short can my skirt be and not be immodest?
Is profanity okay if those words are commonly accepted?
Is it okay to watch "tasteful" sex scenes in movies if we are married?
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Well I drove over to Jaffrey NH last night to inspect the climbing tower and challenge course for the Monodnock Bible conference. Woke up to a cold driving rain. But, I had done the inspection the previous two years so it went pretty quick and I climbed fast to stay warm. The picture on the left is their tower when it was built, now just picture it with heavy rain and wind swirling around it. Drove back across hogback mountain in the snow and was home by late afternoon and talked Rachel into watching the other children for a couple hours so that Kris and I could go to a slide show on the Western States Mountain Bike Route, from Canada eh? to Mexico established by a North Warren High School Graduate. He is left-handed- both in writing style and his political views but it was interesting and had some good pictures.

I have been a fool... have you?

April 1st, April fools day, yet another "holiday" satan has used to decieve us. Today is just another "fun" day right? A day to play harmless pranks on one another to see if we are cunning enough to trick someone else into believing that something that is false is the truth. We are in training to be deceivers just like the devil!

But God says you are a fool if you store up treasures here on the earth and yet are not rich toward God because tonight you may die and then what will you have to show for it? Matthew 12:20,21 tpv

Don't be fooled! Don't conform...be transformed!

Yesterday was Moriah Grace's Birthday! She turned 2! That means only 18-19 more years until they are all out of the house:)

We had cake and ice cream and then she opened presents. She takes after her big sister Rachel and loves clothes. When she opens a package with clothes in it she exclaims OH!! with excitment(not disappointment) and the immediately strips down to try them on by herself.

As I remember Moriah's birth I also remember trying to choose a name for her. Origionally I wanted to name her hephzibah (manassehs mother and hezekiah's wife) which means "my delight is in her" but, I couldn't quite convice Kris about that one (not even as a middle one?). At church Prof Marshall Wicks was preaching through the book of Genesis and came to the account of Abraham sacrificing Issac in chapter 22. He talked about the faith of Abraham and how Mount Moriah was a picture of Gods grace. I wasn't to keen on the name as it had connotations from certain pop stars but I do like mountains and I do like grace and my desire is to live by faith (and it does have a good flow to it --Moriah Grace). So I looked up the meaning and that was the clincher -Moriah means "seen by God". Even though she was unplanned by us (as all of them have been) she was seen by God before the foundation of the world! She had a name. Oh and Abe named the place Yaweh Yireh -the Lord will provide.

Heavenly Father help me to live a life of complete faith like my father Abraham and be willing to sacrifice anything that you require (including my own children) believing that you know what is best and that you will provide for all of my needs. -Amen