To Sing or Not to Sing...

I came across this article yesterday regarding the Spanish national anthem. Apparently, the Spanish Olympic Committee wanted their athletes to be able to sing when the Spanish national anthem was played so they held a contest to find new words to the song and created quite a stir. I'll let you read the article to learn all the details regarding why there have been no words since 1978 and who objected to the new words.

January Update

Back to Work
My time in the States was very fulfilling and I enjoyed spending lots of time with my children. We spent Christmas Day with some very good friends and had a great day. It was definitely a “White Christmas.” I arrived back in Spain on Wednesday, Jan. 9, and will be back at work on Monday. We have a lot to accomplish in the next several months and I would appreciate your prayers as I try to balance my time between the FIEIDE office and my “office” at the Haleys’ house.

This month’s quote: A rabbi taught that experiences of God can never be planned or achieved. “They are spontaneous moments of grace, almost accidental.” His student asked, “Rabbi, if God-realization is just accidental, why do we work so hard doing all these spiritual practices?’” The rabbi replied, “To be as accident-prone as possible.”

Philip Yancey, Prayer: Does It Make Any Difference?

Praises & Prayer Requests:

• I had a great time celebrating the holidays in the States with my children and friends. The time went by very quickly and my days were very full. I’m grateful for good health and safety as I traveled.
• As we begin 2008, we have identified several projects we would like to accomplish this year, many before summer. Most of them are related to our online school, although some are for the FIEIDE (the organization of Spanish churches we work with). Pray that we will stay focused on our goals and accomplish much to strengthen the church here in Spain.
• Continue to pray for the relationships that Kathy and I are making through our English conversation group. Pray that the Holy Spirit will draw them to Christ.
• Continue to pray for needed financial support and an improvement in the value of the dollar here in Europe. I am thankful for some special year-end gifts that have helped “fill in the gaps.” God is faithful!