Hello,
Many times we as Christians will declare that we are blessed but we seldom seem to give God the credit by telling what God has done for us. Many times when a church has a blessing time for people to share, the same few people share their blessings while most stay silent. Many would claim it is humility which glues them to their seat but the real reason many times is just ungratefulness. We don't think God has done anything too wonderful for us so we do not feel as though He deserves to be praised.
This week we have been discussing the blessings in our life since we moved to England. This was triggered by our having to let go of one of those blessings. In England, the houses are very small compared to the States. The average home is a three bedroom and has 986 sq feet total. This leads to small kitchens and smaller appliances. Most homes here have an under the counter refrigerator. There is not room in the kitchen for a stand up model much less an American size unit. There was a time in the first few years we were here and 3 of the 5 children were in their teens that we had three small fridges. One for food and two for milk. We still ended up going to the grocery store several times a week.
In 2005, when we returned from our first furlough, we found a house that had a decent sized kitchen. Our thoughts turned to a large fridge that would actually be in the kitchen. Upon pricing the behemoths, we decided we could make do with a used smaller unit. Then one day at an auction, Kent saw a side-by-side American fridge. It was in good shape and even had ice and water in the door. It was only a few years old and had retailed for close to $2,000 when new here. Kent bid 10 pounds, someone bid 15 and Kent countered with 20. That was it. No one else bid because no one else had room for it. It cost more to rent a trailer to get the fridge home than the fridge cost. (20 pounds at the time was around $38) Finally a fridge big enough for the family . We were a single fridge family unit once again. English people would come to our house and marvel at the size and at the features. Most went away thinking what rich people these Americans are. When we left for furlough in Dec 2010, the fridge went into storage. Upon returning we found a house but it did not have room for the large fridge in the kitchen or anywhere else in fact. We decided to give it to another missionary but thought it best to test it beforehand. Nothing, it does nothing. Something happened while in storage or transport. So the other day, Davis and Kent loaded it up and took it to the tip (dump). Sad day it was. We really liked that thing but we had a great time that night recounting just how good God was to give us that fridge for 6 years and for only $38. That is worth telling folks about how good God takes cares of his children!
Many times we as Christians will declare that we are blessed but we seldom seem to give God the credit by telling what God has done for us. Many times when a church has a blessing time for people to share, the same few people share their blessings while most stay silent. Many would claim it is humility which glues them to their seat but the real reason many times is just ungratefulness. We don't think God has done anything too wonderful for us so we do not feel as though He deserves to be praised.
This week we have been discussing the blessings in our life since we moved to England. This was triggered by our having to let go of one of those blessings. In England, the houses are very small compared to the States. The average home is a three bedroom and has 986 sq feet total. This leads to small kitchens and smaller appliances. Most homes here have an under the counter refrigerator. There is not room in the kitchen for a stand up model much less an American size unit. There was a time in the first few years we were here and 3 of the 5 children were in their teens that we had three small fridges. One for food and two for milk. We still ended up going to the grocery store several times a week.
In 2005, when we returned from our first furlough, we found a house that had a decent sized kitchen. Our thoughts turned to a large fridge that would actually be in the kitchen. Upon pricing the behemoths, we decided we could make do with a used smaller unit. Then one day at an auction, Kent saw a side-by-side American fridge. It was in good shape and even had ice and water in the door. It was only a few years old and had retailed for close to $2,000 when new here. Kent bid 10 pounds, someone bid 15 and Kent countered with 20. That was it. No one else bid because no one else had room for it. It cost more to rent a trailer to get the fridge home than the fridge cost. (20 pounds at the time was around $38) Finally a fridge big enough for the family . We were a single fridge family unit once again. English people would come to our house and marvel at the size and at the features. Most went away thinking what rich people these Americans are. When we left for furlough in Dec 2010, the fridge went into storage. Upon returning we found a house but it did not have room for the large fridge in the kitchen or anywhere else in fact. We decided to give it to another missionary but thought it best to test it beforehand. Nothing, it does nothing. Something happened while in storage or transport. So the other day, Davis and Kent loaded it up and took it to the tip (dump). Sad day it was. We really liked that thing but we had a great time that night recounting just how good God was to give us that fridge for 6 years and for only $38. That is worth telling folks about how good God takes cares of his children!
