Apologies

 I would like to offer my deepest apologies to all of our veterans, as I totally forget to mention Veterans Day in my last blog After reading so many posts on Facebook, I can see the proud loyalty of many families, as various family members had numerous relatives who served our country, many of whom lost their lives.  My father was quite a bit older than my mother, therefore he served in WW1, but in a very different way. He did not join the service, but served under the auspices of a group of Red Cross ladies who recruited young men to volunteer for the cause. He was only 17 when he served in the ambulance core in Europe where he caught shrapnel in his arm, which gave him a permanent disability - but could not collect anything from the government. He tells of working along side an Ernest Hemingway, who also served in the ambulance core but I do not know what capacity. I am proud of my father who served his country, although under very different circumstances. I have tried to find out any information about this Red Cross group, but have never found anything. So I salute all of those who have so gallantly served and sacrificed for us.

Caring Hearts Ministry is still going strong, despite the Covid virus. There are no cases in the colonias where we distribute, nor are any of our helpers ill. We keep to strict rules about masks (required) and social distance ( as much as possible ) and have no contact with those who pick up food. The food boxes we had received from the US government, under the instructions of Donald Trump, have slowed down, as those who originally received them for distribution to us have to renew their contracts with the government. If that will even happen we do not know because of the uncertainty in our country at this time. The election drama does have a lot of unintended consequences. We did receive huge, wonderful cookies, decorated with sprinkles and happy faces from a local bakery. Each family only received one, as we wanted to brighten the faces of as many families as possible. We will continue to distribute as long as our loyal ladies feel comfortable doing so

We had our first Chaplain's monthly meeting on Saturday. Our new chaplains were introduced again and gave a short story of their lives and how they came to become a part of CRM. The stories were funny at times, and really showed how God was working in their lives to bring the to this point. We spent time in prayer for those who requested it, and also for those who we felt needed  it. After sharing a wonderful fellowship meal of smoked chicken and all of the side dishes brought by chaplain's wives, we left feeling the closeness that these meetings bring to us all.

There were at least 3 women names Abihail mentioned in the Bible, as well as the fact that the name was used also for male as well as female. The name means Father, or Cause of Strength, or Father of Splendor.  Abihail #1 was the daughter of the son of Merari, of the tribe of Levi, the mother of Zuriel who was a "prince" among the families of Merari.  Abihail #2 was the wife of Abishur of the tribe of Judah, in the line of Hezron and Jerahmeel. Abihail #3 was the mother of Rehoboam's wife, Nahalath, and daughter of Eliab, David's eldest brother. There was frequent intermarriage on the house of David. In the male use of the name, Abihail, he was the father of Queen Esther. Some of this information may be a bit overwhelming, but I do find it interesting as I read the Bible and can associate the names to the people. Most of my information comes from "All the Women of the Bible" by Dr. Herbert Lockyer who was born in London in 1886, and was a pastor in Scotland and England before coming to America in 1935. He received a Doctor of Divinity from NW Evangelical Seminary. He returned to England in 1955 where he continued to write ministry until his death on 1984.

The world does not revolve around me! I was perhaps 7 or 8 years old when I realized that there were other 7 year old girls in the world with ideas and thoughts besides me. Sure, I had friends and schoolmates, but came to the realization that the world is full of people who generally think and act as I did - all who had parents other than mine, with their own particularities. It is truly hard to explain, but living was not about me and my own world. The city of Philippi was governed by the Roman law, even though Rome was 800 miles away. From prison, Paul encouraged them to act like Romans, as well as being a part of the kingdom of God. Whatever happens to you, live up to God's Word. Whatever has happened to you tends to allow you not to live live up to the Christian life. We sometimes we feel we deserve to act unChritianlike. Paul challenged the Philippians (and us today)  to act in such a way to honor our King. We need to aim for unity and live in humility. The Philippians faced pressure from the outside just as we do today. We have to stand united to respond to and overcome the pressures upon us in this world. We need to know that we do not stand alone. If we stay together, we survive. Satan's plan is to divide and conquer us. Our enemy loves to use the vision of discord to lose the vision of Christ. Make a commitment to stand together as brothers and sisters in Christ and stay strong to the Word. In the end, we know who wins. We are privileged to struggle for Christ. Jesus told us we will have trouble in this word, but Christ eventually wins. Have the courage to know that we can stand united for Christ. There are also eternal dangers that tend to undermine us.. Don't be your worse enemy. In all things, LOVE. Consider others better than yourself. Do everything for others and not for yourself.