default settings

hello all--
back at my sticky keyboard at the internet cafe, so gave up on caps. hope it doesn't annoy you as much as it annoys me.

first off, i am thankful to say that elizabeth is better after 3 days of fever and vomiting. her fever is gone as of this morning! praise god! she is still puny--has eaten one cracker in the past 3 days. she is drinking, though. today she actually carried on a short conversation and wanted to do...math! i had found some workbooks for $1 at a bookstore here in phnom penh a few days ago. so today, she felt like getting started on it. enoch and marissa were laughing. they said our kids are strange--the twins choosed fruit and vegetables over ice cream and elizabeth wants to math for fun! ha! please pray for us. we are supposed to spend tomorrow traveling back to danang. we will take a 6 hour bus ride from phnom penh to saigon, then an hour's plane ride to danang. we are to arrive in danang about 9:15 pm. i am concerned about elizabeth making the trip, but think that it will be better to be back in our own place.

i have been thinking about the verse that says, "set your mind on things above, not on the things of the earth, for you are dead and your life is hidden with christ in god". it has occurred to me that i can direct my mind to one location or the other. this verse tells me to "set"" my mind on the place of my citizenship and my king. i got to thinking about the word "set"--it reminds me of the default settings on the computer. i can change a setting to make a certain internet connection. our default setting for the internet at home is on gateway. every time i go to the internet, i have to change the setting to aol. i could take the time to reset the default to go directly to aol, but i just haven't done it. there are many other default settings, too: for the printer, the size and style of type, the way a page is laid out (single or double spacing, etc.). the default settings can be changed, so that a certain response from the computer is automatic. so, a few days ago, i asked the lord to reset my internal default settings. ï asked him to set my heart on him as a starting point--my thoughts, will, emotions, attitudes and efforts. i asked him to be my framework, my basis. then i will see things clearly and judge rightly.i think i have often reminded myself to adjust my thinking--to actively put on the mind of christ. what i seek now is for his mind to be my default setting--to be my beginning point instead of my middle point.i pray he is your basis and framework today. may all our internal settings rest on him. i have no doubt things will go better if they are.

lest you think i am sitting here thinking piously protected and outside the fray of the battle...here are a few things that have happened on our trip...
--marissa and enoch's computer was stolen
--i was the victim of a pickpocket at the market. while i lost only $16--we had to cancel our 1 credit card, which has made this trip more challenging.
--elizabeth's illness has made it impossible for our family to take part in much of the teaching meetings.
--last night i awoke at 2 am with a feeling of gloom and anxiety. nothing specific, just a feeling of darkness that i have not had in more than a year.

i share this to say...we are in a battle, brothers and sisters. proper default settings are not a nice option, they are a necessity. there is an enemy of our souls that seeks to steal, kill and destroy at every turn. may my attention and yours be turned elsewhere--set on the savior and shepherd of our souls!

bless you with his joy today!