Doug
I see the glory of God in maple trees! Our family has a home on 2 1/2 acres, and I recently tapped 34 trees there. This produced 200 gallons of sap water - which is delicious and nutritious! When boiled down it yields 5 gallons of the best maple syrup ever! I also hand-cleared a trail through the woods to connect to all the trees (and now even the deer prefer my path!). I also do long bike rides in the national park surrounding us. All this beauty inspires me to sing hymns of praise to God at the top of my lungs!
SAY TO GOD: “HALLOWED BE YOUR NAME!”
I was set to take a well-paying job in agri-business after university, but a friend showed me a church advertisement urgently seeking agronomists in Bangladesh. I was intrigued, having recently seen a chart warning of global hunger amid population growth. Yet Bangladesh, ravaged by war and cyclones, was the last place I wanted to go. On my first trip, I wondered how a loving God could allow such suffering. But God used that moment—and His living Word—to call me to devote my life to fighting poverty and to become an ambassador of reconciliation in His kingdom.
SAY TO GOD: “MAY YOUR WILL BE DONE!”
I didn’t want to leave Africa. But an opportunity arose to help launch a U.S.-based denominational ministry engaging Christian entrepreneurs as “business missionaries” to create jobs globally. But I encountered opposition, obstacles, and stress that nearly broke me. I was ready to quit—until God gave me clarity through two events: A research report urging that we form an independent organization. And a serious car accident that gave me flashbacks of my life in Africa. Amid the chaos, God gave peace and new boldness. Today, I thank Him for a global network of 300,000 businesspeople in 36 countries!
SAY TO GOD: “GIVE US TODAY OUR DAILY BREAD!”
This will never end if we don’t forgive,” local Christian leaders in Uganda told me during a terrifying tribal war. Americans were evacuated, but my wife and I stayed. We didn’t want to leave when things were so tough for our Ugandan friends. It wasn’t easy—on the way to the clinic to deliver our first child, we passed bloated bodies of dead soldiers. Yet our Ugandan partners carried on, serving vulnerable communities, shining the light of Christ’s love. I was truly humbled and convicted as I experienced these living ambassadors of Christ’s reconciliation for the world (2 Corinthians 5).
SAY TO GOD: “DELIVER US FROM EVIL!”