"Conscience of benefit received"

All this week I've been thinking about how blessed I am. It's so easy to get carried away with stuff and forget.

Tomorrow is the Memorial service of a dear sister in Christ. Her name is Shauna and she went Home last Saturday and I've been thinking about her family all week. About her sisters, about the family she left behind. I can break down and weep with just the thought of losing one of my sisters; I can't imagine the pain of the actual event. The power of influence is far reaching and I've been influenced by this strong Christian woman and her family. It makes you think. It makes you count your blessings.

Sometimes it's good to write them down, to meditate on them and truly thank God for all you have in your life.

So here is my list:

*Salvation through Christ. The ultimate sacrifice of Jesus giving His perfect life for the world of sinners.

* My family- Both of my parents are living, I have three wonderful brother still living at home, I have my three best sisters sharing a room with me, I have a great oldest brother and sister-in-law and baby on the way! Part B of this is a wonderful relationship with each member of my family. :)

* Since I live in Trinidad, I'm very thankful for modern technology to keep up with people all over the world.

* My friends, extended family and Christian family- all over the world as they are.

* I have a safe place to rest. A snug roof over my head and mosquito netting for my bed. I know people who have neither.

* Good water

* Good food

* Shoes on my feet, clothes in my closet

......you can see how the list goes on. This is just the tip of the ice burg so to speak. I'm blessed beyond measure!

So I encourage you to count your blessing and also pray for the Heck and Morton families. Especially tomorrow.

The Last Sunday in February

It seems that I write a lot of posts about Sunday! Lot's of things happen on Sundays here!!

Every Sunday morning at 5:45 the little man that sells pineapples down at the open air market starts calling out his wears....I can hear it all the way in my room!! Pine ap-PUHLLL!!! Over and and over...I usually am up at 6 and Nathan and I walk down to the market and get fresh fruit for the week. Sunday morning is the best time to do the market shopping, but since it is Sunday, and buying fruit and vegetables for 9 people for 1 week would take way to long.... we do most of the shopping on Saturday. The Saturday market may not be as varied but, we find what we need, and finish a quick trip on Sunday.

This morning Dad walked me down because Nathan hurt his foot the other night kicking the football barefoot...poor guy! :( We got a watermelon and bananas...and just as we were heading home it started pour rain! It's amazing how fast a little squally rain cloud will blow off the ocean and rain for 5-10 minutes and be done! You could tell we were outsiders 'cause we were the only ones on the street! Dad carrying a huge watermelon and I had a bag of bananas...the Trinis all duck under doorways and under the booths! The market can be teeming one minute and deserted the next! But we were headed home and to the showers so we just ran through the rain!!

We worshiped with a small congregation about 20 minutes drive North East- Williamsville church of Christ. It's a small congregation, but old, 40 years and that's old for this island. Dad preached the sermon on how a church is to function...it was good! He's getting more and more comfortable preaching. For someone who used to be an auditor, he's doing a great job! But of course I'm not partial!! ;)

The people at Williamsville are so sweet. They are a truly friendly congregation and we loved worshiping with them. We saw an old friend from several years ago- she's married to a great guy and going to have her first baby in June...so that was a sweet reunion. The people here are so loving...it's easy to love these people.

I wish every one of you could hear and join in the singing down here...it's a wonderful experience. They sing with their heart and soul...we could all learn a lesson from that!

The rain cleared off, like it usually does! And the drive home was beautiful! The sun was warm and lovely...everything was fresh and clean! :) This island is so beautiful. The bamboo groves are fascinating, the flowers are exotic and the sea breeze is always there! (as are the mosquitoes, but that's another story!)

The local churchs don't have Sunday evening worship so the rest of the day is quiet and relaxing. We had a nice lunch, (I made roast goat; not bad at all!!) we took naps, played games, had a "scrounge the fridge and popcorn" supper then we all watched The Princess Bride. That has got to be the funniest movie! We all laughed and quoted it the whole time!! I love my family and how we always enjoy each other. :)

Today was a good day. God blessed us with another day to worship Him in safety. We are blessed beyond measure and my life is daily blessed by my family and time here. What a wonderful God we serve!

Have a beautiful week and count your blessings! :)