She Laughs at the Days

I can see it in the way he eyes the Girl as she grabs her third helping of chicken. When I throw him a questioning glance he says, "A chicken half this size would be all the meat for dinner for all 28 kids at the home." He makes them eat all of the salad on their plate, with a seasoning he brought home. "If you are going to travel with daddy, you need to be able to eat whatever you are given. Even if you don't like it. I ate monkey meat and dog meat this trip, you will too." It's there in the way he tosses and turns on his bed at night. "My bed is too comfortable. my brothers in the hills are sleeping on bamboo floors and I've gotten used to how it feels." I can see him glancing at the loads of laundry as I'm washing them when the people he just spent the last 2 weeks with have no more than 2 or 3 changes of clothes. Many even less. One grandmother has worn the exact same outfit, every time he's visited, for the past 3 years.

by Little Luke 1 The Birth of Jesus Foretold 26 In the sixth month of Elizabeth's pregnancy, God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a town in Galilee, 27 to a virgin pledged to be married to a man named Joseph, a descendant of David. The virgin's name was Mary. 28 The angel went to her and said, "Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you." 29 Mary was greatly troubled at his words and wondered what kind of greeting this might be. 30 But the angel said to her, "Do not be afraid, Mary; you have found favor with God. 31 You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you are to call him Jesus. 32 He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, 33 and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever; his kingdom will never end.&quo

Luke 1 5 In the time of Herod king of Judea there was a priest named Zechariah, who belonged to the priestly division of Abijah; his wife Elizabeth was also a descendant of Aaron. 6 Both of them were righteous in the sight of God, observing all the Lord's commands and decrees blamelessly. 7 But they were childless because Elizabeth was not able to conceive, and they were both well advanced in years. 8 Once when Zechariah's division was on duty and he was serving as priest before God, 9 he was chosen by lot, according to the custom of the priesthood, to go into the temple of the Lord and burn incense. 10 And when the time for the burning of incense came, all the assembled worshipers were praying outside. 11 Then an angel of the Lord appeared to him, standing at the right side of the altar of incense. 12 When Zechariah saw him, he wa

After the Remnant returned from Exile and rebuilt the temple and the wall of Jerusalem there were no prophets. There was no word from God for 400 years! The people lived in the land, and like we talked about yesterday, they did their very best to follow God's laws. They were very religious, very pious. They tithed. Even the mint that grew in their gardens they gave a part of it to the temple. In 200 BC Israel was once again conquered by a foreign power. This time it was the Greeks. Well, they were called the Seleucid Empire. They were left in charge after Alexander the Great died. You may have heard of him. Antiochus Epiphanes was the governor of Judea, and he wanted all the Jews to be like Greeks. He put a statue of the Greek God Zeus in the temple. He forced Jews to eat unclean food that the laws of God in Torah forbade them to eat. He made it a crime to possess the Holy Scriptures. Finally, one man named Matthatias killed another man in his village who was offering sacri

Ezra 9 Ezra's Prayer About Intermarriage 1 After these things had been done, the leaders came to me and said, "The people of Israel, including the priests and the Levites, have not kept themselves separate from the neighboring peoples with their detestable practices, like those of the Canaanites, Hittites, Perizzites, Jebusites, Ammonites, Moabites, Egyptians and Amorites. 2 They have taken some of their daughters as wives for themselves and their sons, and have mingled the holy race with the peoples around them. And the leaders and officials have led the way in this unfaithfulness." 3 When I heard this, I tore my tunic and cloak, pulled hair from my head and beard and sat down appalled. 4 Then everyone who trembled at the words of the God of Israel gathered around me because of this unfaithfulness of the exiles. And I sat there appalled until the evening sacrifice. 5 Then, at

Ezra 1 Cyrus Helps the Exiles to Return 1:1-3pp -- 2Ch 36:22-23 1 In the first year of Cyrus king of Persia, in order to fulfill the word of the LORD spoken by Jeremiah, the LORD moved the heart of Cyrus king of Persia to make a proclamation throughout his realm and also to put it in writing: 2 "This is what Cyrus king of Persia says: " 'The LORD, the God of heaven, has given me all the kingdoms of the earth and he has appointed me to build a temple for him at Jerusalem in Judah. 3 Any of his people among you--may their God be with them, and let them go up to Jerusalem in Judah and build the temple of the LORD, the God of Israel, the God who is in Jerusalem. 4 And in any locality where survivors may now be living, the people are to provide them with silver and gold, with goods and livestock, and with freewill offerings for the temple of God in Jerusalem.' " 5 Then the family heads of Judah and Benjamin, and the priests and Levites--everyone whose heart God had

Isaiah 52 1 Awake, awake, Zion, clothe yourself with strength! Put on your garments of splendor, Jerusalem, the holy city. The uncircumcised and defiled will not enter you again. 2 Shake off your dust; rise up, sit enthroned, Jerusalem. Free yourself from the chains on your neck, Daughter Zion, now a captive. 3 For this is what the LORD says: "You were sold for nothing, and without money you will be redeemed." 4 For this is what the Sovereign LORD says: "At first my people went down to Egypt to live; lately, Assyria has oppressed them. 5 "And now what do I have here?" declares the LORD. "For my people have been taken away for nothing, and those who rule them mock, " declares the LORD. "And all day long my name is constantly blasphemed. 6 Therefore my people will know my name; therefore in that day they will know that it is I who foretold it. Yes, it is I." 7 How beautiful on the mountains are the feet of those who bring good news, who proc

Ezekiel 36 Israel's Restoration Assured 16  Again the word of the LORD came to me:  17  "Son of man, when the people of Israel were living in their own land, they defiled it by their conduct and their actions. Their conduct was like a woman's monthly uncleanness  in my sight.   18  So I poured out  my wrath on them because they had shed blood in the land and because they had defiled it with their idols.  19  I dispersed them among the nations, and they were scattered  through the countries; I judged them according to their conduct and their actions.   20  And wherever they went among the nations they profaned  my holy name, for it was said of them, 'These are the LORD's people, and yet they had to leave his land.'   21  I had concern for my holy name, which the house of Israel profaned among the nations where they had gone.   22  "Therefore say to the house of Israel, 'This is what the Sovereign LORD says: It is not for your sake, house of Israel, th

I Kings 16 29  In the thirty-eighth year of Asa king of Judah, Ahab son of Omri became king of Israel, and he reigned in Samaria over Israel twenty-two years.  30  Ahab son of Omri did more  evil in the eyes of the LORD than any of those before him.  31  He not only considered it trivial to commit the sins of Jeroboam son of Nebat, but he also married  Jezebel daughter  of Ethbaal king of the Sidonians, and began to serve Baal  and worship him.  32  He set up an altar  for Baal in the temple  of Baal that he built in Samaria.  33  Ahab also made an Asherah pole  and did more  to arouse the anger of the LORD, the God of Israel, than did all the kings of Israel before him.  God sends his prophet Elijah to king Ahab.  I Kings 18 and Ahab went to meet Elijah.  17  When he saw Elijah, he said to him, "Is that you, you troubler  of Israel?"  18  "I have not made trouble for Israel," Elijah replied. "But you  and your father's family have. You have abandon