Tuesday, January 03, 2006

I want to share from Beej's '05 Peru journal today. In this we see a picture of some of the difficulties, and how Christ was honored through them. The experience did not always see people come to Christ. Many spiritual battles were fought. In his writings, Beej spoke of his own struggles at times, and then of his teams'.

How God worked in my life today:

1st was boys school. I gave testimony, then we had our free day and I bought my Peru bag, pants, and Sublimes...

2nd- Unfocused and angry- finally got focused and darkness started to lift just before sword fight. Then I trip over a cord as I was going out, and though I didn't fall, the music stopped but we kept on going. The climax of my battle was over. 3rd- Then we went to the PdA [Plaza de Armas] for the teacher's convention >1,000+ crowd. As we waited for about an hour, Satan started attacking many members of the team physically (illness) or spiritually (distracted). When the time came to do the drama, we rebuked Satan and let God work through us- we had not [much] left, so we had to rely on Him for strength. Through the darkness, His glory shone. We didn't see any salvations, but God showed up. We learned much about glorifying and worshipping and obeying Him despite circumstances. It's not about us, it's about His glory and He was glorified cuz seeds were planted. [Then he writes in spanish-my imperfect translation follows] Also, I saw a man I led to Christ at the PdA on the 3rd and he waved at me.

I called home.


When I re-read his entries, I can hear his voice, and see all of his routine body language. He was so passionate about serving. The Lord delivered them through many difficult spiritual battles to see great things accomplished for Him.


Beej was a very normal young man who had an extraordinary anointing. As I look back over his life, I can clearly see the times the Lord worked in Him. Of course we believe that God had a plan for Beej's life, and He accomplished that plan. It was His will that was done. We praise Him for His sovereignty.

Deanna was the spiritual leader of our home for the first 14 years. In that time, she prayed very hard that I would step up and take on the role God had for me at home, and in life. During that time, Beej had struggles, was on ritalin, and could not focus well in school (Kindergarten through 2nd grade). He was very intelligent, but did not thrive. I saw in him many attributes of myself that were not flattering.

When I surrendered to the roles God had for me, Beej noticed. He was always watching, and as I look back, I can see he was emulating us. Accepting the mantle of spiritual leader was humbling, and corresponded with a tremeandous move of the Lord in my own life.

Beej had prayed to receive Jesus when he was six, but during this period of spiritual growth in my life, he heard a muslim converts testimony, and felt for the first time, he truly understood what Jesus had done for him. He recounted that as the moment of his salvation.

I am not taking credit for the man of God Beej was. I am simply showing that God used some parallel changes in both of our lives to bring Him glory.

Children do watch and learn from their parents. Boys watch dads more closely. That is a blessing if the father is following Jesus. It is a total frustration, if he is not. In broken homes he will watch mom, and the men who mean the most in his life.

It is important that our children see Jesus in us. We need to be in the Word, in prayer, and they need to see that despite our faults and imperfections, we live a life that is patterned after that of Jesus.

Parenting is a huge responsibility. I believe that after accepting Christ, raising your children to understand this relationship is key in their own belief and development, and is your primary responsibility. When parents act more like the world, their childrens view of Christianity is often that it is unimportant. However, cramming Jesus down their throats, will not go over any better than if you beat the man on the street with your 25 lb Bible, and expect him to get it.

We must model what we want to see in them. Live Jesus as best you can. It's what we are called to do. If we are legitimately doing this, then Christ will be there to help guide you through the difficult times and decisions.

In His Love,

dad

11 Comments:

At 8:34 AM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

My brother your words are so true. Now that my children are grown I see that having them in church whenever the doors were open is not enough. Looking back, I realize that they didn't really see Christ in me....at home. I now pray that they will come to know the Lord in a very personal way. Thanks for sharing your background wit us.

Susie
Evansville

 
At 9:37 AM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

AMEN Dad!!! Amen!!!!

I am a parent of 3 myself and agree with all that you said!!

Your wife must be proud of you and thankful to see her prayers for you to become the leader starting to come true!!!

 
At 10:12 AM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

Brent & Deanna!!!

Just got back on-line from our travels to NJ, OH, & back to TN...yes, we are in TN!!! How can we go see the girls!!?? We would love to give them some huge hugs & see a part of the Higgins family! While we have not been on-line, we have continued to be "on knees".

Much love,
Tammy for the McMahans

 
At 11:49 AM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

WOW!! Oh how I have missed this site.
You Family, have been in my prayers, but I have been without the computer.
So nice to be back. I have so much reading I'd like to catch up with.
Thank you for sharing.
I am praying your Family continued peace grow in your hearts and strength in abundance.
Love, huggs and prayers your way to all of you every day.
Your Sister
in Christ
Lisa

Indpls., IN

 
At 11:54 AM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

That is so true! Parents have such in influence on their kids and most don't realize it. The way that they act and talk has a much more lasting effect than how they actually parent their kids.

Thank you for sharing that journal entry! I remember that day as clear as heck! Free days were so much fun but it was also so easy to get distracted and lose focus. In the drama where Beej tripped over the sound cord, as soon as the sound died, we all prayed that God would be glorified through it and that he would use it to proclaim his name to the Peruvians. The POLs (People of the Land) began clapping to keep the beat so that the Satan/Jesus fight would stay on track, and the rest of the drama, although deathly quiet other than the claps, went very smoothly.

It's crazy what God does to get your heart and mind refocused on Him. He can be so sudtle and quiet or all up in your face, depending on what you need the most.

I love you guys and am constantly praying for y'all!
Mary Leestma
Houston Texas

 
At 12:20 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

I get so down on myself when I "lose it" at home when I talk to the kids about how we're supposed to be like Jesus was...kind, caring and then I go and scream at them or act out b/c they haven't listened for the upteenth time. I feel that sometimes I am a good role model and sometimes I'm plain terrible. I ask God for strength to be better, especially at night when I'm tired and the boys seem tired of listening! Thank you for the reminder of the impact we have by what we do, not by what we say.

 
At 2:14 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

It is never too late to provide your child a good example of Christian living. It has only been in this last year that I have taken Jesus in my heart, thirsty for His Word and ready to hear from Him -- His will for me. With this in mind, my children went a long time without a good Christian example. I was a good person. I was a good mom. But Christ was not a focus daily in my life. Thanks to BJ Higgins, and your family, the depth of my understanding continues to grow through you -- through Jesus! Now my children are asking if I'm going through my mid-life crisis! I say, "No, I found Jesus." It truly has changed my life. And theirs. Now my husband is preparing himself for his own journey! It truly is contagious when you receive!!

 
At 3:15 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

please, again, consider, a russian adoption. my deceased loved one helped the holy spirit choose my russian child. KidsFirst adoption agency - indy.

 
At 5:37 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

Thank you, Brent - as ALWAYS!!!

I want to offer up encouragement to the children who have found the Lord, yet struggle daily with their parents not knowing Jesus - I am 26 years old and I struggle with my family not knowing Christ all the time. About 3 months ago, I noticed that my family didn't call me to hang out anymore, they did not include me and it killed me, but what God put upon my heart is that I closed myself off to them. To parents and children alike, I encourage you to never throw yourself so deeply into the Church or into "Christianity" that you cut yourself off from being Jesus with skin on to the people you should LOVE the most - your God-given family! I hit dead smack into a wall that offered no give, but the wall came crumbling down that day and I've opened up to my family and friends and made EVERY effort to be a apart of them again - it's a daily task, but I've seen miracles come of it since the day I asked God to help me love them with HIS heart and not mine. Since then, my Mom and I wander off and journal together, they invite me to dinners and movies and such and I've stopped closing myself off to the people God wants to reach - He can reach them without me, but He never intended for me to get SO caught up in religion that I lose touch with RELATIONSHIPS!!! He called us to be IN the world and not OF it ... so I pray that this day, you will step out and reach someone for Jesus - let's watch miracles happen!!!

Love you and pray for an AMAZING New Year!

Laurel Lynn <><
San Diego, CA

P.S. to: Ben-jammin, I am praying for you and your family! I lost my Gramma in April and miss my best friend so dearly! Pls email if you ever need the encouragement and prayer support ... lmartindale@icwgroup.com

 
At 5:40 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

Brent,
I remember when you changed,
I enjoy watching you with the girls, they love you so much. Thanks for your friendship
Jeannie

 
At 7:50 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

I love hearing BJ's words! They are such an encouragement! Thank you for sharing!!

 

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