Wednesday, May 1, 2013


                                        SEVENTY BLESSINGS OF GOD IN MY LIFE
                  (From Icons of My Life, A Celebration of 70 Years. Chapter one, of lists of reflections on my life.)
                                                                       I will tell of the kindness of the Lord,
                                                                      The deeds for which he is to be praised,
                                                                      According to all the Lord has done for us...
                                                                      According to his compassion and many kindnesses. Isaiah 63:7
                                                                               Happy the people to who such blessings fall;
                                                                               Happy the people whose God is the Lord. Psalm 144:15

1. I was born into a Christian family that was serious about loving, obeying, and serving God.
2. My parents were consistent in teaching us the way of the Christian life.
3. The Bible was read twice daily in our family with total regularity.
4. The family prayed together, 8 times a day, counting before and after meals...
5. My mother quoted Bible verse to me habitually as a way of teaching me how to live.
6. My father helped me memorize many Bible verses from my youth.
7. We were a singing family- all of us could sing; we sang four part of harmony.
8. We were a family of good habits: devotions, church attendance, respectful speech, chores, etc.
9. We saw how hard Dad worked to provide for the family.
10 We saw our parents, especially Dad exercise true Christian stewardship with his possessions.
11. We saw frugality, honesty, and conscience in all our parents’ spending.
12. We never lacked anything we needed to be healthy and well taken care of.
13. Our parents taught us constantly about attitudes and human relations.
14. We had good health as a rule; sickness was exceptional; doctor visits rare.
15. We always had an ample home, adequate for all of us.
16. Our parents guided us in good Christian fellowship as youths.
17. We all have unique memories of our parents’ love, like sitting on Dad’s lap and hearing him sing Christmas songs in season.
18. I had the privilege of traveling with my parents to the east coast when I was 5 with many indelible memories of that trip, as well as traveling with them to the west coast 11 years later.
19. God gave me an incredible memory for sights, experiences, words, feelings, even smells that have barely faded for seven decades.
20. We had an excellent youth group for fellowship, worship, and service that was most of our social life, affording many opportunities for developing character and leadership.
21. I attended a Christian school for several years that was excellent training and education for the Christian life I was to live.
22. My formative age of teens coincided with a revival movement that profoundly shaped my life as to values, commitment, motivation for service, and Spirituality.
23. I found a beautiful young Christian woman who was willing to be my wife.
24. I had the opportunity to spend two years in Canada in the mission field which opened up my vision to a life of service, introducing me to cross cultural living the Gospel with many opportunities for Spiritual growth and service skills development.
25. I had a mentor for many years, most intensely in Canada, Harvey Graber, my brother-in-law, who taught me so many things that shaped my values, character, and goals for life.
26. We were blessed with 5 beautiful children whom we cherished, prayed with, and taught, as we lead them through their childhood and teens toward maturity.
27. God gave these children all a conviction to know him, love him, and dedicate their lives to him.
[As I wrote the above in rapid succession with little pause except to eat about at #21, it just seems that I am one of the most blessed persons in the world! October 10, 2005]  But see final footnote!

28. God gave me the desire of my heart to let me attend college and seminary for an education for service and evangelism.
29. Getting full and part time jobs were always a blessing when I was in college, as well as loans and grants, so that we always had sufficient for the family and schooling with minimal borrowing.
30. We were blessed with good health in those college years of close living with few doctor bills, and many bargain and credit items of help from my in-laws such as rent, milk, eggs, and gas, and work.
31. God gave me a gift of learning so that my studies were as much pleasure as labor.
32. My small children were a welcome joy as I returned from each day of work or study, and filled my evenings with joy and pleasure.
33. Even while in college years, God gave us the first house of our own for an affordable price. .
34. God led us into the Mennonite church home that felt so right with good fellowship and affirmation of other members, many about our own age, where we again had opportunity to explore and exercise our gifts.
35. God called us to the work of pastoring a church where we developed many friendships and experienced many stimulating challenges.
36. Early into my ministry, the movement of the Holy Spirit was around us and I was blessed with the Baptism of the Spirit in 1971, which increased my faith, joy, and power in ministry and enhanced my Christian life.
37. Even with the chronic illness of one child, God gave us courage to do what we could to help him.
38. God lead us into a rental business which we did not seek, know anything about, nor understand the long range benefit that it would bring, supplying our needs on the mission field and enabling us to minister to many needy persons.
39. All of or rentals came to us in unusual ways with unusual values for what we paid for them. Some paid for themselves in 3-4 years or less. One we earned half share by working about 7 weeks on it and some materials to fix it up. Another was for back taxes, less than a thousand dollars.
40. When we exceeded our income in sharing with people in Belize by thousands of dollars some years, God gave us increases of income and sources of income, sometimes far greater in return for our labor than we had ever experienced before, perhaps 50-100 dollars per hour working on rental properties. Several times we had special sources of incomes of $15-28,000 in the summer vacation in Indiana which was not imagined before it happened.
41. Way into middle age and past, God has graciously blessed us with excellent health with few exceptions, much more than we could have expected.
42. God has filled our life with meaning and wonderful experiences and challenges in our work at Red Lake, Ontario, Elkhart Hospital, pastoring Roselawn Church, and then Belize to top out everything.
43. We have established so many wonderful friends in Belize and the US, from small children who greet us exuberantly and flock around us to youth who love to come to our home frequently, to older persons who feel so comfortable around us and love to chat, encouraging to us.
44. We always have the church “back home” that welcomes us and encourages us when ever we return to the States for the summer.
45. Our maturing grandchildren are appreciating us more and more every year as we renew our family bonds in our summer vacations.
46. Our children welcomed us to live with them each summer for days and weeks at a time, as much as we desire, and really provide homes for us, totaling two to three months each year at no expense to us with full freedom to make ourselves at home with them when we are there. .
47. Son Conrad has been managing our rentals effectively for about 20 years at no charge to us at all, in addition to all his other work.
48. At age 54, we were able go self support in Belize living off our rentals.
49. With our social security income as well as rental income, we are able to help needy people in education, medical, and other needs with more than half our income, giving us great satisfaction with God’s blessings to us. (See Appendix B, Was it worth it? What Did it Cost Us?)
50. Even though I felt deprived of love and bonding in my infancy and youth, God has given me a gift and spirit of love which people feel and respond to most warmly whether in Belize, or the US.
51. I was blessed with a mother-in-law who loved me most kindly and undeservedly when I did not yet know how to receive such love. She became a rare jewel of affection and support when I learned to accept her love. At her passing, she deserved the memory of being the most loving person I ever met.
52. God blessed me with brothers and sisters who are most supportive and caring about our life and me personally.
53. Several times in my life, notably in 1971 and in the late 90’s at a retreat in Guatemala, God’s presence became so real; especially in Guatemala, I learned to relate to Him in a most intimate way, so that since these times God has always been so accessible, except when I sometimes strayed from him for a short spell. He is always there in a real way for me to relate to Him when I really want to meet Him.
54. God has always drawn me back to him when I strayed from him chasing my own fantasies and falling into sin. Like a dog on a leash, He has never let me go far from Him for any period.
55. I have always had amiable relations with national leaders in Belize.
56. Loretta has always been faithful to me and never left any doubt on that commitment.
57. Loretta and I share so many interests; like traveling, nature, farming, music, our grandchildren, even going to garage sales in the summer.
58. In the many ambiguities of helping people in Belize, God has given us the courage to press on, trusting him to lead us as we are faithful to him and trusting him for the future.
59. Even when not reaching all our goals in ministry, God has given assurance of his guidance and will for us to continue in ministry until he redirects our call.
60 We are beginning to see the future of our aspirations of the local church and new workers taking on some of the work that we were engaged in for years.
61. We see the continuing friendship of those who were with us in our Belizean home several years, who continue to trust us and enjoy our presence even when they no longer live with us.
62. We have confidence that God will fill each year of our service here with new fruit for our labors, and new ways of relating that will result in that fruit.
63. God gives us peace even in the times of the chaos of a house full of people, and the grace to diminish that number with respect when it becomes excessive for the good of the people present.
64. God gives us victory as we devote ourselves to living in a close relationship with Christ, “abiding in Him”, and not tolerating compromises to sin in any way, opening ourselves to him for correction when there are ambiguities in our relationship or thoughts or attitudes.
65. God has given us a sense of humor about the impossible situations we find ourselves in at times.
66. There is a strength from God to face reversals, losses, and unexpected expenses and inconveniences without leading us off to a detour of confidence in his presence.
67. That we have needed so few medical remedies in our life but when needed they were there.
68. To be of Anabaptist heritage with the key issues of the supremacy of Christ, discipleship, mission and service, stewardship, the brotherhood, and a view of Scripture consistent with the hermeneutic of Jesus, a kind of self correcting brotherhood of the Holy Spirit, with openness to prophetic renewal of the church.
69. Access to the history of our forefathers and the example of their pioneering spirit, of never being too settled at any one place on earth, always restless to plod on where God would lead.
  1. A sense that the blessings of God will never end in this life or the next, an eternal linear experience in time and eternity of his infinitely creative love.
*(If these items make it seem like I had no problems in life, the next chapter in ICONS is “70 Burdens of My Life!)

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