Through the Eyes of a Son (by Naaman Jeffery Renard)

If any of you have been following my blogs, and it doesn't look like too many have, you would know that one of the first entries was a note about our friend and fellow missionary, Elaine Lambach. The death of Elaine had a strong impact on our second son, Naaman.

God touched his heart and he wrote the following song as a dedication to Elaine. My prayer for Naaman is that he will always have a sensitive heart for those who are hurting or in need. Jesus said, "for as much as you did it unto even the least of these, you did it unto me" (Matthew 25:40). Naaman, may you always be sensitive to "the least of these".

Through the Eyes of a Son (by Naaman Jeffery Renard):

Today, I woke up kinda sad,
Remembering all the, times that we spent together,
You were there seemed like forever, and now
You're gone in such a flash,
No time to react, I wish I could go back.
I'm stuck here, can anybody hear me?

Feels like, I can't take it,
Seems like, I won't make it,
I know, you're with me anyway

I know, I did all I could do,
I sat and prayed for you with our family,
For mercy and for healing, but still,
These feelings I can't hide,
They're tearing my inside,
Mom I need you.
Shedding tears, God can you hear me?

And then, God you stepped right in,
You simply said, Son have no worries,
Your mom has been made perfect here with me.
Peaceful heart, God you make me

Feel like, I can take it,
Seem like, I'm gonna make it,
I know, You're with me anyway
And it feels like, I'm gonna take it,
It seems like, I'm gonna make it,
And I know, You're with me everyday.

In Memory of Elaine Lambach - IMB missionary to Brazil

To see Naaman singing this song, go to:

YouTube http://br.youtube.com/watch?v=L-L5ctY31sQ

Silver, Golden, Diamond or Platinum?

This coming Wednesday (Nov. 12) I turn 50 years old. I never really thought that I would make it this far. I'm not complaining. It's just when I was a teen, I did most everything I could it seems to prevent "getting older" from happening. Now that the big 5-0 is just around the corner, I thought that I would do a bit of waxing on my blog and not my legs.

In a marriage, when a couple share their 25th wedding anniversary, it's called their "Silver Anniversary". When they share their 50th, it's called their "Golden Anniversary". Now, depending upon your source, when a couple is celebrating their 60th wedding anniversary, it is their "Diamond" or "Yellow Diamond" Anniversary and with 70 years of marriage, the couple arrive at their "Diamond Anniversary" as well. Maybe the couple aren't expected to remember that they celebrated a "Diamond Anniversary" ten years prior? Anyway, in researching for this blog, I was disappointed to find out that Platinum has become the modern celebration name for only 20 YEARS of marriage! Now, wait a minute! Does that mean that marriages should get all worked up for 20 years and celebrate a "Platinum" anniversary, but fall short in celebrating their "Silver"? Or is it that "modern" marriages aren't expected to last any longer than 20 years, therefore spend the money now, 'cause it'll all be over by the next five! (That's food for thought on another blogging day.)

Well, I'm about to turn fifty. Therefore, I've already celebrated my "Silver" and I guess that the "Platinum" has already gone by the way side. So. I'm coming up on my "Gold". I don't really feel like I'm 50. I guess I always thought that "those" people who have hit the "Fifty Something" category were somehow pushing the envelope towards meeting The Maker. In fact, a younger friend of ours' told Sharon today that I was not old, just "much closer to God". Well, bring it on!

I kind of like that. I certainly hope that after fifty years I would be closer to God. I hope that my life demonstrates that my walk with Him is a walk of closeness. I'm no Enoch (see Genesis 5:24), but I like the idea of walking closer with my Creator. I accepted Christ as my personal Lord and Savior when I was 13 years old. I didn't walk very well with God the first 10 or so years of my Christianity. I learned to walk with Him since then and I kind of like it!

I think that I like the suggestions for birthday gifts are a bit better. The various sites suggest that the order of gifts for birthdays should be; 25 years Silver, 50 years Gold, 60 Diamond and 75 Platinum. Platinum at 75, I say, bring it on!

One last thought, I am NOT turning a half a century old. I am becoming one twentieth of a millennium!

Do You Believe in The Power of Prayer?

I want to tell you a story:

On Wednesday, October 29, 1996 at 3:05am our youngest daughter came into this world via an emergency C-section. Sharon and I were just a few months out of language school and were still very limited on our communication skills. We felt completely powerless as we watched our extremely little girl (she was less than 4 lbs) struggle for every once of weight gain and loss. We were praying daily for Priscila to gain the weight of about a handful of paper clips (about 5 grams). She would gain a few grams and lose even more. We would go to the hospital each day and they would tell us what her daily weight was from the day before. In reality, she was NOT doing well.

Back in those days (before 9/11) our Mission used to print the missionary's name and country of service. Also, back in the day, many Southern Baptist churches had Wednesday night prayer meetings where they would often pray for the missionary and his/her family. My birthday falls exactly two weeks after Priscila's. Southern Baptist churches, not knowing that Jeff Renard serving in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil had a very sick and dying little girl who was in a neo-natal unit in Niterói. Faithful Baptist prayed! They prayed for Jeff Renard, they prayed for his family and the family's welfare. God heard and responded to these prayers! The day after my 38th birthday, Sharon and I went to the hospital to see our little girl. Where we had been begging God for "just 5 grams", God gave Priscila 40! It was an answer to the power of prayer, not just our prayers, but the prayers of those faithful Southern Baptist in the churches around the USA and even the world.

One other part of this story that needs to be shared. Southern Baptist support their missionaries through various means, but primarily through two methods (Cooperative Program and The Lottie Moon Christmas Offering). The first method (Cooperative Program) the IMB receives a percentage of the total funds. The second method, the Lottie Moon Christmas Offer, 100% of these moneys go directly overseas to support the over 5,000 missionaries. IMB missionaries don't really have health insurance. When a situation like Priscila's birth takes place, the missionaries inform the Mission treasurer and either moneys are deposited into the missionary's account or accounts are settled directly with the hospital (or wherever). In our case, Priscila's hospital bill totalled US$43,000.00. When I went to "Accounting" to try to figure out how much was owed and how I should pay this, I was informed that the bill was already "Paid in Full". It is because of faithful Southern Baptist giving of their tithes and offerings that Priscila's account was taken car of. The words "Thank You" no where comes close enough.

For those of you reading this who are Southern Baptist, the simple truth is that we couldn’t be here without your gifts to the Lottie Moon Christmas Offering. Those gifts are the means by which we devote ourselves to full-time ministry, providing us with a place to call home, food, medical care — even schooling for our children.

Christmas is once again coming around the corner and will be here before we know it. I know that right now the United States is in a financial roller coaster. I won't burden you with a "hard sell" to give this Christmas season. I would like to say that you honor God in you faithfulness. For, as a missionary serving with the IMB, it is both a humbling and exhilarating experience to live life dependent on the faithfulness and generosity of Southern Baptists. Thank you! Please know that many people around the world are truly celebrating Christmas for the first time this year because of your sacrifice for God’s Kingdom.