Nichols’ Family Blog
9 Does he who implanted the ear not hear?
Does he who formed the eye not see?
10 Does he who disciplines nations not punish?
Does he who teaches man lack knowledge?
11 The LORD knows the thoughts of man;
he knows that they are futile.
12 Blessed is the man you discipline, O LORD,
the man you teach from your law;
13 you grant him relief from days of trouble,
till a pit is dug for the wicked.
I was learning how to play football in a sandy playground not so far from our campsite. Dusk and dark fought each other when a kid a foot shorter than me asked if he could join. I answered with an affirmative. His fierce blue eyes hung under spiteful eyebrows trapped in a eternal tilt. He spoke in one strong, demanding tone which would be difficult to imitate. ‘I’m good at weaving through attacks and destroying your enemy.’ He went on.
We never got to finish our game. If a nicer side of him existed, it never revealed itself. It crossed my mind that he might just be mentally ill. He jumped on people who were down, rammed his own team mates because ‘they weren’t paying attention’, threw sand in peoples eyes to get passed them, hurt someones cheek, threw a pop can at a little girl’s head, and all in all, ruined our game. What does it feel like to live life in hate and revenge?
From this experience I learned how hard it is to turn the other cheek and love my enemy… Even when he’s on the same team.
We were honored to lead worship on our last Sabbath at Narkis Baptist in Jerusalem. This was the first time we have led as a family. Nathan finally got to play the piano instead of the drums or guitar which he had always done the last couple years in his youth group back in Spain. Renae played her flute by reading the root note of all the guitar music she had on her stand. Justin played the drum set for all but the last song when I motioned for him to come join us at the mics. Justin kicked off the the first song with a basa nova beat under “Those who Trust”, which we did as a funky blues style with harmonica. The following songs were “Beautiful One”, “Over all the Earth”, “Shout to the Lord”, “He knows my name”, “Jesus, Lover of my Soul”, and ending with “There is a Redeemer” which we sang partly a capella. The Lord blessed despite our failures, his name was glorified, and his children were encouraged. We didn’t have an offertory ready but a young friend of ours was prepared to play the piano and sing a beautiful song (The Valley) about God’s faithfulness. This fellowship has been sweet and the bible studies deep. Although I won’t be weeping on the necks of the elders like the Apostle Paul did at Ephesus, it is still sad to move away from here. Pastor Chuck and his wife Liz are amazing in their kindness, humility, knowledge, and talent.
I learned flash from looking over my brothers shoulder at age 8 or 9. This is a little something I’ve made, just for the fun of it:
Sometimes my dad hires me to make banners and stuff for his websites, and he pays me as if I was a professional. 
One of several services that blessed 1000 plus people each time. This video composite merges a sample of the worship we heard. We couldn’t see the band this time, or even the empty tomb, and the video is simply from our perspective. What was amazing was to look around and see people from all over the world sharing in joyful confidence of the risen Jesus Christ.
Just Nichols flashes back to the 2000 -2001 school year when our traveling adventure started with a Fulbright Teacher exchange to Colombia, South America. That exchange placement could have been nearly anywhere in that enormous country, but on the outskirts of Bogotá, population 8 million, Nathan and Dad were placed in a private bilingual school within a 20 minute walk from the only school for missionary kids in the country. We could not ignore the providential provision and so Karen volunteered to help teach and we enrolled Justin and Renae. The following year, Dad was granted an extended leave from public teaching and volunteered to teach at the school for MKs, where Nathan moved into the 5th grade. The amazing experience led to a career shift whereby, during a two year return to the USA, Mom got her masters in teaching Spanish and Dad eventually resigned from teaching in public schools in order to volunteer overseas. Destination unknown. Future secure.
My dad says, “even though we ain’t got money, I’m so in love with you honey.” He sang that to Mom one time when they were in Colombia and had only one bean in the cupboard. They had been trying to live like George Muller who never asked any one for money but trusted that God would move people to supply what they needed. So, it was funny when the ran out of money before the bills were paid for that month. The next day, a parent at the school where my parents volunteer taught, put an envelope into my Mom’s pocket. Mom didn’t think much of it until she opened it that night and laid out a surprising amount of money on the bed. Mom yelled to Dad, “look! we’re rich!” They put the money into piles according to the bills they had for that month, and it came out to the perfect amount, with nothing left over. Dad says, “Where God guides, God supplies.”
One day, a man asked God, “What would you call a thousand years?”
GOD: A day.
MAN: And…What about a thousand dollars?
GOD: A Penny
MAN: Would you give me a penny then God?
GOD: Sure, just give me a day