StaddonFamily.com

posted by Donald on 12/20/07

Last night I witnessed Taiwanese hospitality once again.

Mr. and Mrs. Liu invited Lucas and I to their home for a visit/Christmas party/birthday party all at once. It was wonderful. Even though I didn’t get the chance to wash dishes I still felt right at home.

Lucas and I first helped make a fresh garden salad (a Western dish) and then dumplings (traditional Taiwanese food).The dumplings reminded me of both Mongolian “bootz” and Chinese egg rolls.They tasted great and best of all they were homemade! Then we cut the cake. It was a tremendous work of art by Mrs. Liu. It too was homemade–double-layered and decorated with fruit.

Josephine was turning ten but mature and wise for her age. Mr. Liu was glad to tell me about the competitions she had been in and how Mrs. Liu had been able to teach her Chinese well enough to read before she entered first grade. They also had a slideshow with many pictures from the places overseas they had been together which included both America and Europe. Throughout the time (along with four-year old Joseph) we all enjoyed shooting off the party poppers and wearing party hats. Mancala and Monopoly were the games of the night.

Towards the end of the time I took the chance to play a little on the stately upright piano they had. It certainly produced a different sound than the keyboard and though I could only play a couple songs it was enough to hear on it the vibrant melodies of Bach’s Minuet in D Minor and the Doxology. After that my hosts requested pictures and stories from my family, and it encouraged my faith as well to recount time after time that the Lord has done His wonderous works in our family.

One more surprise came when the Liu family insisted on driving me back all together. It was enjoyable to the last minute and I hope to see them again often. Thinking back on their love, generosity and the comments that they made, I am reminded of home once more because I see in them the same family-building faith that I have seen so often in my own parents. Thank You Mr. and Mrs. Liu! You have been such an encouragement.

HOSPITALITY

Cheerfully sharing food, shelter & spiritual refreshment
with those God brings into my life

4 Comments » | posted in Ministry Reports, The Bright Side

posted by James on 12/15/07

Watching the polls for the fast approaching Republican primaries have been exciting. Huckabee’s has been in the midst of an incredible surge since late November. In fact, I was planning on posting something about his success in the beginning of December! But his surge continues. Here are a few staggering statistics.

Among Republicans, Huckabee leads nationally with 22%; Guliani is at 19%, Romney 14%, Thompson 12%, and McCain 11%. This lead has been clear for the past few days. Compare these numbers with November 15: Huckabee 11% and Guliani 28%. This is a nice jump for one month! Also among national statistics, it is interesting to note that Huckabee is in first place for bing “the most presidential” of the 5 leading GOP hopefuls.

The key state of Iowa also shows amazing statistics. From polls gathered from December 7 to 13, Huckabee leads Romney 34% to 23%. This is noteworthy because Romney has spent over 10 times as much money in Iowa as Huckabee has. This brings significance to something Florida Sen. Daniel Webster told me during a conversation last week: Romney is the most likely candidate to drop out of the presidential race because of his soft, or changeable, support. People are beginning to see in Huckabee what they are really looking for in a President.

The newest story comes from Florida. 27% of state GOP Primary goers would vote for Huckabee; 23% would vote for Romney, 19% for Guliani, and only 9% for Thompson. This is a real threat to Guliani’s plan for coming out strong during the secondary primaries and caucuses.

Much of Thompson’s support is being transferred to Huckabee. In South Carolina, Huckabee leads at 24% with Romney and Thompson at 17%, according to CNN polls. The tide has turned since September when Thompson was leading 24% to 12% over Huckabee.

Yes, Huckabee is making big numbers but his campaign still needs lots of prayer. Despite weeks of campaigning, the percentages in New Hampshire are still very low. Nationally, there is a vast amount of ground to cover and criticism to conquer. Though he reached his November goal of over 2 million dollars as well as the 1.1 million goal for Deceber 15th, he still lags in monetary reserves. Therefore, I have been praying for him in three specific ways. One, that he would not compromise his faith to gain approval; second, that the new wave of criticism would work against itself by unifying the campaign and bringing in inquisitive voters; and third, that he would have wisdom and thriftiness in making decisions in his campaign strategy. If the Lord wills, Huckabee can win in 2008!

6 Comments » | posted in Politics

posted by Donald on 12/13/07

Makes a man healthy
This year the ability to turn in early and rise early have been part of the fulfillment of Dad’s blessing for physical strength and endurance last April. Since then I can remember having only one sick day. It was here in Taoyuan during one of our days off and didn’t interfere with our teaching which was providential in itself. In a work as this is, faithfulness is key. The Lord has been my strength so that I have never needed an extra day off; Dad and Mom have been faithful building into us strong eating and sleeping habits; and in addition to that I’ve been emboldened by the example of many in history who have left their influence through Scripture and biography. I am very grateful.

And wealthy
While the self-control which motivates early rising plays a key role also in financial decisions, I would say that my primary “wealth” this semester has been the relationships the Lord has brought my way. Yesterday morning for example I had a lot on my mind but the opportunity came for a chat with the English teacher who works at the school next door. In twenty minutes of hearty conversation I received as much encouragement and satisfaction as several hours of “getting things done“. But once again I realized that it was a conversation that wouldn’t have taken place if I wasn’t up early.

And wise
Last but not least is the experience of finding the objective wisdom which comes from seeking the Lord early: early in life, early in the morning, early in a situation or problem. Putting the important things first establishes the equilibrium needed for the time ahead. I will be eternally grateful for the time God provides each morning to spend with Him. It’s as though I have the open invitation each morning to have a one on one meeting with a president, a professor in my area of interest or a precious, faithful friend!

May God show Himself faithful as we show ourselves faithful in the daily disciplines which mean so much.

2 Comments » | posted in Family News, Ministry Reports

posted by David on 12/13/07

Flash News Interviews brings to you a weekend with the Wilkes. The highlights are well summarized in the following quotes.

David: “I had fun playing an escape game on the hill in the tall grass with Kenan, Adam, and Sarah.”

Jonathan: “Everything was fun but I enjoyed playing soccer the most”

Daniel: “I am so glad that we were able to play Bible Runners (an exiting outdoor game) in the tall grass especially since it was at night.”

James: “Let me see, I think my favorite activity was the prayer meeting for our nation. We had it just before the concert which I really liked as well (trying to get pictures and playing also). I liked the time of prayer because everyone was together and I know it brought our families even closer together. We had never done it before but I sure hope we can do it again. In the mean time, we can keep praying individually and together as a family!”

Esther: “We made more time than usual just to talk. Conversation ranged from the U.S. border issue to our spiritual walk with the Lord, and I greatly appreciated it all.”

Robert: “I thoroughly enjoyed an intense game of volleyball with the Wilkes team. It was extremely close, extremely competitive, and extremely fun. I was amazed at how well the teams worked together. It has been quite a while since I’ve had a volleyball game that good!”

Michael: “What a joy to share together what God has been teaching us from scripture, experience, and history.”

Dad: “My only regret is our evenings weren’t long enough. ‘Iron sharpeneth iron; so a man sharpeneth the countenance of his friend.’ Prov. 27:17 Discussions with Mark have helped sharpen my thinking.”

Praise the Lord for His blessing of friends to come along side and encourage us to be like Christ.

4 Comments » | posted in Family News

posted by Dad on 12/9/07

I had been hunting in ideal weather conditions but without success for six days. For three of these days there was not even a sighting of a deer. The strangest things seemed to happen on the days deer were in the area. On several occasions I had a deer in my sights, but it would have been an unsafe shot; either a sky shot or a shot into the open woods of a neighbor. I let a very small deer, probably born this year, walk past. Another deer came trotting, stopped directly behind a stand of trees, and scampered off into a thicket. Then there was the deer I spotted walking slowly toward my tree stand about 50 yards away. Somehow it literally disappeared from sight then reappeared 20 yards directly behind me. I was beginning to get a complex. However, I took last Friday off work to try again. The only problem was I could not get off to an early start because our son would be calling from Taiwan at 6:30 am. The Lord encouraged me to keep my priorities straight and I was eager to talk with Donald so I decided to just get out as soon as I could. However, God’s plan was for Donald’s call not to work out until 8:30 am. We had a nice long talk and I finally left for the woods at 10:00 am. The cold snow crunched under each step. When I reached the tree stand it started to sleet so I had to remove the crackling plastic from my vest to cover the gun while I climbed up to my seat to remove 6 inches of snow. As I scraped it off it fell 30 feet to the ground below. Scrape … splat; scrape … splat. Following a discussion on the walkie-talkie about the location of a book in our library that was needed for the day’s home education class it was 11:00 am and I was finally situated.

“This is useless,” I thought, “I’ll just consider this a preparation day for hunting again tomorrow.” But that is when God likes to show Himself strong; and He did! Only 1 hour later three large doe came grazing into a shooting lane. I got one and Michael got another. On a day like this I would never have guessed for success, but it will ever be a reminder to me that as long as I keep my priorities straight, God will take care of the rest – sometimes in mysterious ways.

3 Comments » | posted in Family News, Possessing the Land