lo mejor cafe

Those of you who've tried it know that Dominican coffee is the best stuff in the world. I take it back to the states and give it to friends and family, who almost always become addicted. It is not uncommon for me to take 50 pounds of coffee with me when I return from a trip to the DR. This trip will be no different, except for the type of coffee that I'll bring. Fear not, Monte Real fans, I'll still be bringing bags of that smooth, chocolately joe, but I'll also be bringing beans from some local farmers.

For years I've wanted to use coffee as a fundraiser for missions work in the DR. We've done it on a small scale, but now we may have the opportunity to do it on a larger scale. I'll provide more details when the deal is sealed. Please pray for us as we make decisions about how to move on this. It looks like a great idea, but we want to make sure that this is God's plan for us.

On a different note, I'm reading a book called Messy Spirituality, by Michael Yaconelli. In it he quotes Nelson Mandela, and I want to share that quote with you:

"Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness, that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, 'Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, and fabulous?' Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small doesn't serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won't feel insecure around you."

God has not called us to live a life of fear. Fear prevents us from living the abundant life God offers. Since the founding of Makarios, people have have asked if I'm ever overwhelmed with my responsibilities, with the weight of what we do, with financial concerns, etc. The answer is yes! Most of the time I am completely confident that we are doing what God has called us to do. But I don't want to put out some facade that says, "everything is under control." We do not have anything under control, but we trust what we do to God's control and our confidence, my confidence, is in Him. While I struggle at times with fear of man, fear of circumstances, fear of failure, when I place my confidence in Him, there is nothing to fear. And you know what? God shows up in big ways when we rest in Him and let Him take control.