Path of the Wise

I really enjoy the book of Proverbs! I like how it's so practical. Jader and I read a chapter of Proverbs every night and talk about it together. It's great because there are 31 Proverbs and 30 to 31 days in every month so we read the proverb according to the day's date. Tonight we'll be reading Proverbs 27. There are two common paths that God lays out in the book of Proverbs. The path of the wise and the path of the fool. Here's "today's" proverb if you'd like to check it out!

Proverbs 27
1 Don’t brag about tomorrow,
since you don’t know what the day will bring.

2 Let someone else praise you, not your own mouth—
a stranger, not your own lips.

3 A stone is heavy and sand is weighty,
but the resentment caused by a fool is even heavier.

4 Anger is cruel, and wrath is like a flood,
but jealousy is even more dangerous.

5 An open rebuke
is better than hidden love!

6 Wounds from a sincere friend
are better than many kisses from an enemy.

7 A person who is full refuses honey,
but even bitter food tastes sweet to the hungry.

8 A person who strays from home
is like a bird that strays from its nest.

9 The heartfelt counsel of a friend
is as sweet as perfume and incense.

10 Never abandon a friend—
either yours or your father’s.
When disaster strikes, you won’t have to ask your brother for assistance.
It’s better to go to a neighbor than to a brother who lives far away.

11 Be wise, my child,[a] and make my heart glad.
Then I will be able to answer my critics.

12 A prudent person foresees danger and takes precautions.
The simpleton goes blindly on and suffers the consequences.

13 Get security from someone who guarantees a stranger’s debt.
Get a deposit if he does it for foreigners.[b]

14 A loud and cheerful greeting early in the morning
will be taken as a curse!

15 A quarrelsome wife is as annoying
as constant dripping on a rainy day.
16 Stopping her complaints is like trying to stop the wind
or trying to hold something with greased hands.

17 As iron sharpens iron,
so a friend sharpens a friend.

18 As workers who tend a fig tree are allowed to eat the fruit,
so workers who protect their employer’s interests will be rewarded.

19 As a face is reflected in water,
so the heart reflects the real person.

20 Just as Death and Destruction[c] are never satisfied,
so human desire is never satisfied.

21 Fire tests the purity of silver and gold,
but a person is tested by being praised.[d]

22 You cannot separate fools from their foolishness,
even though you grind them like grain with mortar and pestle.

23 Know the state of your flocks,
and put your heart into caring for your herds,
24 for riches don’t last forever,
and the crown might not be passed to the next generation.
25 After the hay is harvested and the new crop appears
and the mountain grasses are gathered in,
26 your sheep will provide wool for clothing,
and your goats will provide the price of a field.
27 And you will have enough goats’ milk for yourself,
your family, and your servant girls.

God's Table

Jader and I had been looking for a table for quite sometime. We would eat while sitting in folding chairs and were becoming experts at avoiding food spillage in our laps. We even took a day off of work (we have a work schedule with specific hours) in order to look for a table. We began to see that even though we are in a developing country things can be expensive. The cheapest table we could find was for $120 and it was small and not very good quality. We found this table at the Nicaraguan market called the Oriental where you find the best deals around. The other tables in department stores ranged from $300 to $600 and it was not in our "table budget." So, that night after looking and not feeling led in any specific direction Jader said "Julie, we just really need to pray." So, we took some time to pray together.

The following day, in the evening, we were returning from a Bible Club and Karen, a Baptist missionary who many of you may know, called Jader on his cell. She said, "Hey, myself and some others are having a garage sale here at the mission house and there's a nice table here. You should come check it out." We praised the Lord for this opportunity and headed over in faith feeling like this was from Him. We arrived and we saw a beautiful solid wood table with a glass center and it was handcrafted in Masatepe, a place known for making good furniture. I've heard that these table can be up to $600. Well, a missionary decided to sell it to us for $75!!!! Yes, we were so excited! We loaded it up in Karen's big truck and brought it back to the house. Upon arriving to our home we were greeted by Jader's family. His aunt, uncle, and cousins. There were 7 of them in all. We had just enough chairs for them all to sit in with our table chairs and our folding chairs and just enough oatmeal cookie bars for each to have one. It was a blessing to see the Lord provide the table and then follow it up with an opportunity to put it to good use for hospitality. Also the following week Jader and I began our discipleships with various youth and the table came to us just in time to be able to invite our visitors to sit down, eat a bite, and feel at home.

Apartment pictures

It's taken some time, but our apartment is fixed up and here's what it looks like! :)

Pictures!

Here are some pictures from our recent Soccer Maraton



Following the marathon Jader and I hosted a group of Americans that came from Costa Rica. Here are some pics from that time as well.