Food for thought

I’m not sure if I quite have the creds or the water under the bridge to post this with authority, but here are a few quotes that gave me something to think about:

"Not called!" did you say? "Not heard the call," I think you should say. Put your ear down to the Bible, and hear him bid you go and pull sinners out of the fire of sin. Put your ear down to the burdened, agonized heart of humanity, and listen to its pitiful wail for help. Go stand by the gates of hell, and hear the damned entreat you to go to their father's house and bid their brothers and sisters, and servants and masters not to come there. And then look Christ in the face, whose mercy you have professed to obey, and tell him  whether you will join heart and soul and body and circumstances in the march to publish his mercy to the world.

-William Booth, founder of the Salvation Army

 He is no fool who gives up what he cannot keep to gain that which he cannot lose.

-Jim Elliot, missionary martyr in South America

The greatest missionary is the Bible in the mother tongue. It needs no furlough and is never considered a foreigner.

-William Cameron Townsend

It's amazing what can be accomplished if you don't worry about who gets the credit.

The more obstacles you have, the more opportunities there are for God to do something.

-Clarence W. Jones

Never pity missionaries. Envy them. They are where the real action is, where life and death, sin and grace, Heaven and Hell converge.

-Robert C. Shannon

This whole move to Guatemala has got me thinking about things.  You know, I’m a guy, and some things that are important those of the female persuasion who I generally find personally advantageous to keep in a positive state of mind do not have the same significance for me.  That’s not to say, though, that things are bad.  Reminders of experiences, people, or landmarks in life help keep us grounded and not forget, in the excitement, who we are and where we came from.   At the same time, too many things can keep us tied down and less free to do what needs to be done, when it needs to be done.

My life very soon will fit into four suitcases and a medium-sized shed.  And you know what?  That doesn’t bother me in the least.