Shabbat Shalom

Dear Family,

Thank you all so much for continued prayers for us. The Lord has provided for us in such a wonderful way that we can hardly believe it sometimes. There are many times during the week that we just sit in our apartment and give glory to Him for life that we have here. Things are not perfect, and there are plenty of things still need to happen for us here, but learning to always glorify God for what we have, has been a good lesson for us. We see the Lord moving in all parts of our life here and it is important that we acknowledge it. Also, going through these things together has really brought us closer together. The feeling that we are working together with the Lord to build a life here gives us a unity of purpose that we wouldn't have otherwise. Please continue to pray that the Lord would help our roots grow deep here and that He would continue to open doors for us. I really need direction from the Lord about what the next step will be for me in regards to my language school. Callie needs continued wisdom in how to cultivate her relationships at work. The Lord has given her favor in her office, and we just ask that you would pray for that favor to increase.

I wonder how I smell to God? I know this is an extremely funny statement at first glance, but I would like a chance to explain myself. Throughout scripture, the Lord uses the imagery of an aroma, or a pleasing smell to describe things like sacrifices or prayers. Smell is something that is pervasive. When you walk into a room, and there is a strong smell, that strong smell fills your head. even if you stop your nose and only breath through your mouth, you can still smell it. The Lord uses this imagery in His word is such a beautiful way, that I just started asking myself, "How do I smell to God." Of course God doesn't have a nose that he should really be able to smell something, but it is the imagery that is so powerful. The things that we do for the Lord, or our prayers carry with them an "aroma" that travels to the Lord. Of course we don't sacrifice animals now, but we are supposed to be living sacrifices to God. I wonder as well how it "smells" to the Lord when we act in rebellion or if we are still living in some kind of sin. How does the actions of our flesh "smell" to Him? When I started thinking about this, all the terrible smells I could think of started to flood my mind and I was horrified by the thought that this might be something like what God "smells" when we are disobedient to Him. It is a challenge to me, and if you will accept it, to you all as well to ask the question, "How does this smell to my Father?" If our actions, words, or prayers were translated into actual smells, would we be able to be in the same room with them, let alone God? We should be living our lives in such a way that the Lord only smells a pleasing aroma from us. It should be a desire of our hearts to smell good to God in absolutely everything we do. I don't know if this was as inspiring to you as it was for me, but I pray the Lord would continue to teach me this. We need to know that what we do as children of God matters and does really have an effect. We are never insignificant in the Lord's eyes and everything we do carries an aroma with it. Blessings!

In Yeshua,

Devin and Callie


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