The Cost of Living in Merida

From time to time Christine and I will have conversations with friends back in the states about what the cost of living is in Mexico. Their are two areas of purchasing in our budget: Necessities and Extras.

Necessities are things like Rent, Utilities, Gas, Car Insurance......the usuals. Then there are the Extras.....things like eating out, Home Depot projects, Bicycles, Trips to the Beach, Extra curricular activities, pets, ......all that stuff.

On a daily cost basis you need less to live here for two basic reasons. One, rent is cheaper and two, you spend less on gasoline for your car because you don't drive as much. Here are our monthly bills, on average:

Rent: $625
Electricity: $175
Water: $10
Cable/Internet: $45
Drinking Water: $30
U.S. Cell Phones: $105
Mexican Cell phone: $20
Groceries: $600
Gasoline (Car): $100
Car Insurance: $30
Private School Tuition: $100 monthly

Basic Expenses run about $1,800 USD or more depending on what part of town you want to live in. We live in Montes de Ame which is a Colonia in the northern part of town where all of the malls and good commercial development is. We are in the part of town that is closest to Progresso, about 20 miles north of us. There are several desirable areas for Expats to live in but most are from the Centro area of the city and outwards more towards the north.

Remember, we are a family of four with two boys. Our sons share a bedroom in our two-bedroom home. We live in one unit of a three unit condo. It's new construction and each unit has a small backyard. We share a wall with one of our neighbors on part of on side of our home. Sound travels through concrete and steel so we have to be careful how much noise we make. In homes here you have to buy your own stove, microwave, refrigerator, washer/dryer, .......anything that has moving parts. Some landlords will provide A/C units in the bedrooms and living area if they can raise the rent. If you provide your own A/C units the cost is less for rent obviously.

The "Extras" of life are flexible on a month to month basis. Depending on what amount of provision the Lord allows us, we try to budget for about $300 in additional expenses monthly. This includes sowing projects for Christine which she gives as gifts to friends, trips to McDonalds for the boys, eating out at places like Chili's or Los Trompos, alms and offerings, ........We generally have a budget for these things and it can fluctuate.

A bicycle costs twice as much in Mexico as it does in the U.S. Non-necessities in stores like Sam's, Costco, and Wal-Mart generally run anywhere from 50% more to as much as two or three times as much as the U.S. Why? Businesses are required to collect 16% IVA sales tax for the Mexican government. They must also pay 30% taxes on all corporate profits to the Federal Government. That means that they must raise prices to offset these costs. And they readily pass this off to the Mexican people. This creates a chasm between rich and poor as the poor cannot afford most items. Minimum wage in Mexico is $80 Mexican pesos a day. That's about $6.75 USD for eight hours of work or about .80 cents USD per hour. Amazing isn't it?

Most Mexicans live off budgets of about $1,000 USD per month. Some own their homes. Some Rent. The ones that rent usually try to keep their monthly rents around $300 to $400 per month, depending on where they choose to live. Some pay much more than that. It just depends. But most are in that range. The one thing that all Mexicans spend money on is clothes. Most dress well. When I say well I mean they are always clean cut, clothes pressed, very clean, hair is perfect, .......This is very important to the people of the Yucatan, even if they can't afford other things.

We run with about a $2,100 USD budget right now. A single person could live here for $1,000 USD monthly easily, especially if you owned your own home. The Peso/USD exchange rate right now is at about $11.75 pesos to $1.00 USD. When I go to the ATM and take out $5,000 Pesos it costs me about $425.00 out of our bank account in the U.S. We pay for everything in cash here, including our rent. We don't have a Mexican bank account right now because we haven't needed it. When the time arises we will probably move in that direction as we feel led. ATM's are everywhere. Banks are everywhere. Also, with ATM fees, your bank in the U.S., Canada or Europe probably has a partner bank here in Mexico that will allow you to make withdrawals free of charge. We use Bank of America and they partner with Santander Banco here in Mexico for their clients. FYI.

Life is slower here. People drive less, talk more, take longer to eat a meal. When you eat at a restaurant the waiter won't bring you the bill unless you ask for it. Maid service runs about $3.00 per hour, depending on what you negotiate. You can hire your maid to cook, clean, do your laundry, ......And if you have a maid's quarters they will stay at your house if you hire her. You can hire gardeners to mow your yard for $8.00. We don't have a maid or a gardener. I would rather do that myself just to keep my hands busy.

Things for Ladies. Manicures and pedicures for a woman runs about $8.00. That's right ladies. $8.00 USD. Christine had her hair done at a salon once in the past year...The cost? About $8.00 USD

TIPS, TIPS, TIPS. Everyone gets tips down here. In most parking lots there are men with red handkerchiefs that help you back out of your parking spot. They get $0.25 or so for the help. You tip the kids that sack your groceries at Wal Mart. You tip the guy that helps you load those groceries. You tip the guy that washes your windows at the traffic light. And of course you tip waiters. I have been told you tip 10% to waiters in Mexico. Christine and I have logged many years in the restaurant business so I refuse to tip that low. That usually means the waiters always remember us at our usual restaurants and always have a smile on their faces when we come in the door.

Taxis to the airport run about $12.00 USD. Much cheaper than in the U.S. where it may run you $50 plus tip for a twenty mile ride. Drinking Water is delivered to your door weekly for a small tip, usually $1.00 USD. A 5 gallon bottle runs $22 pesos. Propane to run your hot water heater, stove and clothes dryer (if you have one) run about $25.00 per month. City water runs about $10.00 per month. It's unbelievably cheap. I am not sure what trash pick up costs. No one has every sent me a bill. I have asked for one but they refuse to give me one. I have heard it costs about $3.00 USD per month. They pick up your trash three times a week.

The cost of Gasoline here is about $2.85 per gallon at the moment. It is much lower than in the U.S. and most parts of the world right now. We don't drive that much. I rarely fill up my tank more than once every two or three weeks. There have been a few months where I only filled up once in a month. This means you only get your oil changed about once every 9 months or so. You can get your oil changed for about $25 dollars, $50 if you want synthetic oil and need about 6 quarts. Car Insurance runs about $30 monthly depending on the vehicle.

Visas are another expense for long-term living here. Non-Tourist Visas are applied for on an annual basis and are good for a full 12 months. FM3's run about $175 annually per person. FM2's run  around $275 annually. Each FM3 or FM2 is good for 5 years but must be renewed annually.

Private School Tuition varies from school to school. Most private schools here are bilingual. This means that half of the classes are taught in English, half in Spanish. We home schooled both boys this past school year but are switching gears for next year. We just enrolled Joseph in Calvary Christian School this week. The application fee was $200 USD. The monthly tuition is 11 payments of $100 USD monthly. This is very inexpensive for private school education. The downside is the classes are larger. He will have 27 students in his class next year. We made this decision because one, he needs the social interaction and two, he needs the experience socially to accelerate his growth in Speaking Spanish. Joseph's best friend from church goes to this school so hopefully it will be a blessing for him. Many of the teachers are Americans and most everyone in the school is bilingual or working on becoming bilingual, both students and teachers, Mexicans and non-Mexicans.

Oh, and the Weather.....Different than any place I have ever lived. I grew up in Texas where it is very Hot. It's not that it is hot here in Merida....It's that it is hot about 8 or 9 months out of the year, not just 5 months like in Texas. And it is always humid, even when it doesn't rain. We have basically had no rain in 2011. I have seen it sprinkle twice this year. That's it. Nothing accumulating. Everything that is not being watered with a water hose, isn't extremely drought tolerant or doesn't have roots extending 15 feet under ground is completely dead right now. The last time we had a good rain here was about 6 months ago. Yet it always feels extremely humid here, even when the wind is blowing out of the south. It's very odd weather. If you don't like the heat, well, you won't like it here. We drink water all the time and when we don't we feel extremely tired.

The rainy season starts in mid-June and runs all the way through October/November. During this time you get rain almost every day, sometimes twice a day. It usually rains for about twenty or thirty minutes and then blows on through and the sun comes back out. That's when it really feels like a sauna. But come November, it gets noticeably cooler, especially at the beach where the winds are always blowing pretty hard. The temperature at the beach is also consistently about 8 to 10 degrees cooler, especially in the winter months of November through February. These are the months where you hardly have to turn on A/C and your electric bill goes way down.

This is a little glimpse into our lives and the cost of living in our city. Hope that helps.

God Bless,
JEB
www.miraclesinmerida.blogspot.com.
jayblackshear@yahoo.com.

Are you sure?

When our oldest son Kevin was in grade school we used to help him study for his spelling tests just like most parents. We would give him the word and he would spell it and we would either tell him "correct" or "try again." What I learned in this process was that at times Kevin would spell the words correctly but then would not be confident that he had done so. What I started doing was asking him if he was sure that he had spelled the word correctly? I would ask him, "Are you sure?" Then he would think about it and most often come to the conclusion that he had in fact made the right decision. He became confident that he had spelled the word correctly, that he had made the right decision.

The Lord does the same with his people. Let me explain. In the second half of Acts 20 we find the Apostle Paul giving departing instructions to the Ephesian elders. He recounts some of the details of his ministry and then later gives them prophetic warning about ravenous wolves that would come against the flock. But sandwiched in there in verse 22 he tells them....

"And now, compelled by the Spirit, I am going to Jerusalem, not knowing what will happen to me there." Acts 20:22

Simple enough. He's going to Jerusalem. He's been told to do so by the Lord. The Spirit of God is compelling him to. However, if we keep reading into the next chapter we find something interesting happening. Paul and his companions eventually find themselves in Tyre in Acts 21:3,4. There we see this happen:

"Finding the disciples there, we stayed with them seven days. Through the Spirit they urged Paul not to go on to Jerusalem." Acts 21:4

Interesting isn't it?  In Acts 20:22 Paul says the Spirit is compelling him to go to Jerusalem. In Acts 21:4 we see Christians, through the Spirit, urging Paul not to go to Jerusalem. At this point we have a divine contradiction. Why? Why is this happening? I think it is very simple really. I think the Lord is trying to solidify Paul's resolve to endure all things. The Lord knew that when Paul arrived at his destination he was going to be severely tested by the plots of the Jews. And, I believe that in his own way the Lord is asking Paul, "Paul, are you sure this is what I have told you to do? Are you sure?"

Upon arriving in the city Paul is detained and beaten by the Jews in the temple, arrested by the Romans, brought back before the Sanhedrin, held in prison for further questioning at a future date, threatened with assassination and transferred under armed guard to Caesarea for a trial before the governor Felix, detained in prison for another two years, brought to trial again before governor Festus who succeeds Felix, brought to trial again before King Agrippa and then later transferred by ship under armed guard to Rome to eventually stand trial before Caesar.

That's alot of suffering for one trip. And the Lord knew that before Paul started enduring through this succession of events he would have to solidify Paul's resolve to endure all things in the Lord. Paul had to get to the place where he knew that he knew that he knew that he absolutely knew that he was in the right place with the Lord in Jerusalem, even before he got there. Paul absolutely had to be clear in his own heart and mind, even before he arrived, that he had made the right decision, that the peace of God that surpasses all understanding was guarding his heart and his mind about the decision he had made according to the wisdom that was in his heart. He needed to dwell in the supremacy of God's wisdom, his peaceful wisdom.

"Wisdom is supreme, therefore get wisdom. Though it cost all you have get understanding." Proverbs 4:7

"But the wisdom that comes from heaven is first of all pure, then peace-loving,...." James 1:17

"And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus." Philippians 4:7

"Let everything be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses." 2 Cor 13:1

The Lord wants us to dwell in the supremacy of his wisdom. He wants us to know the peace that accompanies his wisdom, the peace that guards the heart and mind against doubt and unbelief once we have made a decision to go with him in a certain direction in our lives. I have often found that when making critical decisions in my life the only real confirmation I and my family received was the peace of God itself. If we are going to walk with the Lord there are going to be times when everyone around us, even trustworthy Christians, may not see the fullness of what God is showing us specifically.

I am not preaching against accountability. We need the Body to help us along. I am not saying go "rogue." But I have to tell you there are going to be times when you are going to have to stand alone with Jesus in the Spirit. Going rogue is when you don't have peace. It's not "rogue" when you are the only one who sees it after you have prayed about something more than once and subsequently have the peace of God abiding in your heart. At that point you are not alone. At that point there is confirmation and we go for it, even when other well-intending believers around us don't see or hear what God is showing us. This happened to Paul in Acts 20 &21.

In my last post I spoke of times in my life when others counseled me against doing what God had shown me to do. At times it was obvious the counsel was "Bad Counsel." But I have to also say that among those moments of "Bad Counsel" there have been many times where God was raising up others to test me like he did for Paul in Tyre in Acts 21. I look back and wonder if, when others where counseling me against making a decision I prayerfully felt led to make, they were not in fact speaking by the Spirit. I wonder if it was God asking me if I was sure that I had in fact heard him, that like my son Kevin, that was how you spell the word.

"It is true that some preach Christ out of envy and rivalry, but others out of goodwill. The latter do so in love, knowing that I am put here for the defense of the gospel. The former preach Christ out of selfish ambition, not sincerely, supposing that they can stir up trouble for me while I am in chains. But what does it matter? The important thing is that in every way, whether from false motives or true, Christ is preached. And because of this, I rejoice." Philippians 1:15-18

We may not know in this lifetime whether, at times, the counsel and/or opposition we get from others springs from false motives or pure motives. Sometimes the Lord does not allow us to discern the hearts and motives of others. Like Elisha, sometimes it is hidden from us for various reasons (2 Kings 4:27).

When I moved to Midland, TX in February, 1997 the Lord spoke to me the first day I was there and told me to not get to comfortable as I would not be there long. Six months later the Lord moved me to Albuquerque, NM where I met Christine. But before I made the move out of Midland I was offered a free place to live and an opportunity to stay. The Lord tested me on my resolve to do what I had been told to do.

After marrying Christine and subsequently getting into management with the Olive Garden in 2000, the Lord opened a door for us to move back to Texas. The Lord had shown me 9 months prior that we would be making this move. When the time came to finalize the details of my transfer with my company they called an offered me the opportunity to stay in Albuquerque and to work in a restaurant where the quarterly bonuses that the managers were receiving were some of the best in the company. I prayed with my wife about it and turned it down. When they transferred me back to Texas the Lord saw to it that I was placed in a similar restaurant where the managers where earning similar bonus money to the ones in the aforementioned restaurant in Albuquerque.

A few years later the Lord began to speak to me that it was time to leave the restaurant business and get into real estate. He spoke to me at various times and in various ways over a period of about six months. When the time came for me to finalize my decision and turn in my resignation the area director, my bosses boss, tried to talk me out of my decision to leave even though he and I had always clashed because I was a Christian walking by faith.

"Did God really say......?" Genesis 3:1

When God speaks to us, more likely than not, we are going to be tested on it at some point in time. The question that remains is, "Are we certain that we have heard the Lord?" The opposition that you get to your decisions may be demonic and carnal like in Genesis 3. Or, it may be Spirit-led questioning as we see in Acts 21. Sometimes we can gauge the fruit of the individual and know which "voice" it is. Sometimes, we can't. But, as Paul said in Philippians 1, "But what does it matter? Whether from false motives or true......And because of this I rejoice."

We just need to know what God is saying to us. And when we know, we have peace. This is what it means to "know the Lord."

Be Blessed,
JEB
www.miraclesinmerida.blogspot.com.

Test Everything

Two weeks ago I took a 24 hour trip back to the states to meet up with a guy who is moving his family here from Florida. We had originally met this man and his wife back in November, 2010 when they came down for an exploratory visit to check out the city. We will call them Tim and Lori (not their real names). Tim had grown up in the Philippines. His dad was with the U.S. Air Force and his mom is Filipino. Tim and Lori have been wanting to experience living outside the U.S. for a number of years now and have been doing their due diligence.

I had originally made contact with them through an expat blog on the internet for all non-Mexican residents here in the Yucatan. When they came down in November I met them for coffee at Starbucks and answered many of their questions on what it was like to live in Merida. Because they have two small kids (7 and 4) and because I wanted to show them that it is possible to live here as a family, I invited them over for dinner to our home the next night. Things went as planned and as we hosted them in our home the next evening I felt led to offer to drive down with Tim if/when they decided to move down here.

About 3 months ago Tim called me and took me up on my offer. He paid for my plane ticket and flew me up to meet him in Houston on his drive from Florida. His mom was with him and we all stopped for lunch before dropping her off at the Greyhound bus station so she could get back to Orlando. While at lunch I noticed his mom was praying over her food. Later I asked her about her faith and she told me she was a Christian. She was very nervous for the safety of her son on this trip and I felt the Lord had placed me with Tim to help him on his journey. So we later dropped his mom off at the bus station and then headed for Corpus Christi, TX were we spent the night before our border crossing in Brownsville/Matamoris on Saturday morning. All was going as planned.

We got to the main crossing the next day and got his paperwork done. I noticed when we were at the border crossing checkpoint that there were more police and soldiers stationed there than when I had crossed the year before. I asked someone why and they explained to me there had been a gun battle at that exact location the day before. Consequently, they had a soldier positioned on top of his military Humvee with a loaded 50 Caliber machine gun pointed directly at cars as they came into the area. The Humvee was positioned amongst a small detachment of soldiers on foot. So we moved through the border crossing and headed for Tampico. That was our first destination on our first day of driving.

We made really good timing our first day inside Mexico and arrived in Tampico about 4:30 PM. We checked into a nice Holiday Inn on the northern outskirt of the city and got settled in. We got cleaned up and headed out for dinner and this was where things got extremely interesting. As we were driving down the main avenue through the heart of the city heading to TGIFridays we came upon a military convoy that was blocking off the street for about two blocks ahead of us. I immediately noticed that all of the soldiers had black masks on like what you see on T.V. when the media covers the Narco-Drug War events.

As we are looking at all of this Tim wanted to press on and find our way to the restaurant. He asked me to help him navigate a detour around this situation in front of us. I told him I didn't feel comfortable doing so as I did not know my way around Tampico except for the road we were on. This main artery of a highway would lead us into, through and out of the city with everything we needed (ATM's, Gas stations, hotels, restaurants). I told him I didn't feel comfortable venturing out like this, especially with his vehicle full of all of his possessions. He had his truck packed from top to bottom in the back seats and in the bed of the truck.

As I am processing this situation I felt a check about what we were doing. When I saw the roadblock I immediately felt the Lord was trying to send us back to the hotel. But Tim kept wanting to press on so I gave in and tried to accommodate him. I told him to take a right at the road block, drive about three blocks west, take a southerly road through a neighborhood, and loop back east to get back on the main highway on the other side of the road block. This was a big mistake. As we came out on the other side of the road block like we intended to we found ourselves looking at this....

And the guy with gun has it pointing right at us. You see, there had been a shooting on the main highway in Tampico right about the time we were taking showers in the hotel. And when we left the hotel and headed to go to eat we found ourselves driving up on the crime scene about a block down the road from us completely out of view from our vehicle. We didn't know exactly what was going on at the time. And when we drove through an adjoining neighborhood around the roadblock and came out on the other side we found ourselves driving right into a roaming detachment of Mexican soldiers that were doing block by block sweeps of the area looking for the gunmen. And when they saw us they pulled us over and asked for I.D. Well, Tim decided to leave his visa and passport in the hotel. Big Mistake. Huge Mistake.

First of all, Tim speaks absolutely no Spanish. Right now, I speak some conversational Spanish in the present tense. I can get buy and understand about 30 or 40% of what I hear but speaking it fluently takes time. The soldier in charge of his detachment makes us get out of the vehicle, he puts both of us on the hood with feet spread apart and they search both of us and the vehicle for weapons. Then, because Tim doesn't speak Spanish, the Mexican seargant proceeds to come around to me and interrogate me. I in turn offered to leave myself with him and let Tim return to the hotel and let him get his paperwork. He sat there and chewed me out in Spanish for about 60 seconds or so and then let us go.

So we get back in the truck and what does Tim want to do?.....He wants to keep heading to the restaurant. I was taken back a little. I told him we had better get back to the hotel ASAP and get his papers, that if they found us out again in an hour or so without I.D. we could end up in a military-style Mexican interroggation some where in an undisclosed location and when he got his vehicle back it could be stripped of all his possessions.

I finally talked him into going to the hotel. When we got back, as we were pulling into the parking lot at the Holiday Inn, I heard police sirens right behind us. I looked at Tim and told him that right now the city was tense and that we needed to stay at the hotel. I could tell he got frustrated with me. I explained to him that again, this ain't the good 'ol U.S. of A and that we were in a country that is in a perpetual state of martial law.

The rest of the trip took an additional two days of driving. We were back home within 48 hours. The rest of the drive and the trip was very smooth, mostly in part to God's grace and his parents and my family praying for us. You see, Tim's parent's are Christians. And I think the reason the Lord had me driving with him was to help him along the way. On the drive we told each other about our lives and I witnessed to him about the power of God and about relationship with the Lord. But when I got back home and practically kissed the ground in Merida, I had a flood of memories come back through my mind and along with them some emotions. Let me explain.

It has been my spiritual observation over the years that most people will lead you astray if you let them. They just will. And this applies to both believers and non-believers alike. Christians and non-Christians. Much of the advice, counsel, teaching and prophesy that comes to us from others is not coming from God. Not all of it, but alot of it. There are many forms of godliness out there with no real power in the Lord to validate it (2 Timothy 3:5).

"There is a way that seems right to a man but in the end it leads to death." Prov 16:25

The next morning after I had gotten back to Merida and got a good nights sleep, I came down stairs and sat down on the couch with a cup of coffee and started to pray and meditate. And as I did I found my mind flooding with scriptures and memories of times past when others, even Christians, tried to counself me to make decisions that ultimately weren't centered in God's will for me. And as I remembered these things in light of what happened to me in Tampico I started to get angry. I came to the realization that there have been so many key points in my life, so many key points in my walk with the Lord where other Christians have given me counsel and words of prophesy that, if I had listened to them, I would have gotten off course, missed God's will for my life and/or my family, and found myself in harm's way staring down the barrel of the proverbial 50 Caliber machine-gun (see picture above).

When I first came to the Lord my own mother called me a "religous-fanatic" and threatened to write me out of the will because of my Faith in Christ (Bad Counsel). When I first received the baptism of the Holy Spirit I was counseled by one of the ministry heads in our church that I needed to stop witnessing about my experience because I was sowing division amongst bretheren (Bad Counsel). After I received the Baptism of the Holy Spirit I was counseled to get back under the law and honor the literal Sabath by a very well known Christian archaelogist/Senvth Day Adventist (Bad Counsel and Teaching). Many many years ago I was counseled by at least a half a dozen Christians, all of whom I still love to this day, many of whom I still have a great deal of respect for, to pursue a relationship with a particular young woman in Midland even though the Lord had counseled me otherwise (Bad Counsel). I was counseled to not leave my job in 2001 even though the Lord spoke to me several times to do so. Christine and I were counseled to not have more kids after we lost Elizabeth and had two more miscarriages. We later had Joel.

"Test Everything. Hold onto the good. Avoid every kind of evil." 1 Thess 5:21,22

Test everything Brethren. Everything. Every piece of advice you get, every prophecy you hear, every doctrine that is presented to you. Test it all. Every offer, every invite, every request. Go to the Lord and speak with him about everything. Everything. The enemy is working diligently to derail us. Test everything you receive from everyone. Test it all. Don't buy into it until the Lord says "Yes, it's me" and confirms it.  

"Let everything be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses." 2 Cor 13:1

Let the Lord confirm it all, first with his peace within your heart, and if necessary, from outside signs and sources that he raises up.

"If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously  to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him." James 1:5

"For the Lord gives wisdom, and from his mouth comes knowledge and understanding.... For wisdom will enter your heart and knowledge will be pleasant to your soul." Proverbs 2:6,10

"The wisdom that comes from from heaven is first of all pure, then peace loving..." James 1:17

If we will be willing to test everything, every piece of counsel, every prophecy and doctrine, the Lord will generously give us wisdom, understanding (Plans and Strategies) and knowledge. These three things will come directly from his mouth, enter our hearts, and bring peace to our souls.

"I speak the truth in Christ. I am not lying. My conscience confirms it in the Holy Spirit. I have great sorrow and unceasing anguish in my heart." Romans 9:1,2

Our consciences confirm the wisdom, understanding and knowledge that the Lord puts in our hearts. The conscience is the voice of the heart. Pray, talk to the Lord and listen to your conscience. Listen to the voice of your heart. When I first saw that roadblock in Tampico the Lord immediately spoke to my conscience to turn around and go back to the hotel and I did not listen. I went along with the carnal non-believer and almost wound up in jail for nothing.

This is the picture I get in my mind. See the football player pictured left? The running back that is clutching the ball is you and me. It's the Christian making his way through this world trying to overcome the world, the flesh and the devil. The ball that we clutch is our calling and our faith. The ball represents everything that God is telling us to do on a daily basis. It's the fullness of faith in our lives. Everything that God speaks to us is represented by that football. The enemy is #47. He is trying to take us down and strip the football. He wants to disrupt our momentum.

We have two responsibilities before the Lord. Protect the football (the faith) and resist the enemy.

"Resist him (the devil), standing firm in the faith." 1 Peter 5:9

Test everything. Pray about everything. Hold onto the good. Avoid every kind of evil. Protect the football brethren. Get violent and contend for the faith.

"Above all else, guard your heart for it is the wellspring of life." Proverbs 4:23

Be Blessed,
J.E. Blackshear
www.miraclesinmerida.blogspot.com.

Talitha Koum!

Last week I flew up to Houston to make the three day drive back down to Merida with someone who is moving his family here from Florida. While the trip was an adventure in and of itself, warranting it's own post on this blog, I feel compelled to share a story pertaining to a family in Nashville, TN that Christine and I know personally. The family I am speaking of is the daughter and the son-in-law of my former pastor and still close friend and spiritual father Ron Crosby. Ron performed mine and Christine's wedding ceremony thirteen years ago and the family I am speaking of was also in attendance at our wedding. 

As the story goes.....I was on my first day's driving between Corpus Christi, TX and Tampico, Mexico last Saturday when I got a phone call from my wife. She explained to me that she had talked with Ron and that Ron's youngest granddaughter Elizabeth had drowned in the swimming pool at home. Elizabeth is two years old and the youngest of 9 children. Michael and Tammy are her parents. Tammy is Ron's daughter.

Apparently the gate to the pool at Michael and Tammy's house had been accidentally left open and Elizabeth had wandered away and slipped in through the gate and had fallen into the pool and drowned. When they found her they pulled her out of the pool, and as Ron relayed the story to me, she had turned blue and swollen and was completely dead. Tammy told Ron that when she looked into Elizabeth's eyes she could see that she was completely dead. She wasn't there anymore. She had no vitals, her heart was not beating and her body had completely shut down.

Michael, Elizabeth's dad and Ron's son-in-law, began to pray over her and rebuke the spirit of death and speak life back into his daughter. In that time Tammy had called her dad and asked him to pray for them. While doing so they asked the Lord to remove all water from her lungs, restart her heart, put oxygen back into her blood and cause her blood to recirculate. All of this happened exactly as they had prayed and Elizabeth came back to life. In all she was apparently dead for about 20 minutes.  

"For the kingdom of God is not about talk, it's about power." 1 Corinthians 4:20

Why do I share this with you? In February we had a several of our Mexican friends from church over for a dinner party and I shared with them testimony of the power of God and how God can even raise men from the dead, even today. I told them I knew of an American businessman whom God told to move to Guadalajara, Mexico many years ago. This man had shared with Ron and I how he had seen God move powerfully amongst the Mexican people, even in ways he had never seen in America. His stories of power and faith in the church in Mexico always intrigued me.

As I shared these things with these brethren in our home I could see openness in several of them. The Lord's desire is that our faith rest not in the wisdom of man but in God's power.

"My message and my preaching were not with wise and persuasive words, but with a demonstration of the Spirit's power, so that your faith might not rest on men's wisdom, but on God's power." 1 Corinthians 2:4,5

Michael and Tammy's faith rest in the power of God. When tested, they turned to the Lord. Yes, they called 911 and the EMT's eventually showed up. But they exercised their faith, prayed and wielded the sword of the Spirit as the first option. They prayed and they moved in faith.

"You see that his faith and his actions were working together, and his faith was made complete by what he did." James 2:22

Their faith was in God. And he did not fail them. By the time the ambulance showed up Elizabeth had come back to life.

"Talitha koum!" Mark 5:41

As we all move forward in the realm of time we need mountain-moving faith in context of our relational faith. We have a relationship with the Lord and within that relational faith the Lord gives us mountain-moving faith from time to time. In Relational Faith God says, "Go here. Take this job. Do this. Do that. Marry this person. Start this business. Take this vacation. Raise your kids like this. Buy this car. Prepare for this trial. Sell this item or give money to that person." Those are relational commands. That is relational faith. That is hearing God on a relational basis and doing what we are told to do.

"We know that we have come to know him if we obey his commands. The man who says 'I know him,' but does not do what he commands is a liar, and the truth is not in him. But if anyone obeys his word, God's love is truly made complete in him. This is how we know we are in him: Whoever claims to live in God must walk as Jesus did." 1 John 2:3-6

And how did Jesus walk? Simply put....he walked in relational faith with God the Father.

"I tell you the truth, the Son can do nothing by himself; he can do only what he sees his Father doing, because whatever the Father does the Son also does." John 5:19 

"For I did not speak of my own accord, but the Father who sent me commanded me what to say and how to say it. I know what his command leads to eternal life. So whatever I say is just what the Father has told me to say." John 12:49,50

"I and the Father are one." John 10:30

Jesus and the Father are one through relational faith. And as we walk as Jesus did we become one with both he and the Father. In our oneness with him we have the embodiment of relational faith. We hear God and act relationally. Faith is hearing God and acting (Romans 10:17). And within that relationship we need to believe in the Power of God. We need to have mountain-moving faith within that relational-faith.

"I tell you the truth, anyone who has faith in me will do what I have been doing. he will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father." John 14:12

"And these signs will accompany those who believe: In my name they will drive out demons; they will speak in new tongues; they will pick up snakes with their hands; and when they drink deadly poison, it will not hurt them at all; they will place their hands on sick people, and they will get well." Mark 16:17,18

We move in miracles, signs and wonders within the relational faith that we have in him. Relationship encompasses miracles. Relationship breeds power. And the power of God validates the depth of our relationship with him.

There are two types of faith. First relational faith, then mountain-moving faith. First relationship. Then power.
Be Blessed,

JEB

www.miraclesinmerida.blogspot.com.

Inward Knots

Roughly 5 years ago I found myself at home on a weekend afternoon laying on the couch trying to take a nap. Like most people I don't sleep well in a room full of light and I noticed that the sunlight was coming in through a window, reflecting off of the T.V. and shining right in my face. I got up and walked over to the window and while attempting to lower the blinds I found myself unable to do so seeing as the 4 strings that made up the cord had wound themselves into a knot. You know the ones I am talking about. They looked similar to the ones pictured right, although the ones on our blinds had 4 of them.

They were all so bound up with one another that I was unable to completely lower the blinds and so there I was spending a few minutes trying to untie this huge knot. After a bit of wrestling I got frustrated, walked over to my wife's sowing table and picked up a pair of scissors and proceeded to cut the knot off. I cut so much string off of that I came close to completely ruining the blinds.

Now let's do the spiritual application here. This happened at a time in my life when the Lord had me deeply entrenched in a season of what we will call prophetic riddles. Look at the following scripture.

"When a prophet of the Lord is among you, I reveal myself to him in visions, I speak to him in dreams. But this is not true of my servant Moses; he is faithful in all my house. With him I speak face to face, clearly and not in riddles; he sees the form of the Lord." Numbers 12:6-8

The word used for "riddle" in this passage is Chiydah. It means a puzzle, a hard question, a proverb or riddles. Chiydah is derived from the Hebrew word Chuwd. Chuwd means to put forth a riddle or to tie into a knot.

Over the years I have heard the Lord speak to me in a multitude of ways as I am sure you have as well. Dreams, visions, clear spoken words into the ear, wisdom and understanding within the heart, .....But I have to tell you the most demanding way I believe God speaks to his people is within the realm of riddles.

 I say riddles because the Lord will often set his words in front of us in the form of some type of riddle and then force us to wrestle with it for extended periods of time until we get peaceful understanding on what He is really telling us. He will pull us out of our comfort zone (taking a nap) and set something before us (a knot) that requires our focus, steadfastness, repentance and spiritual determination in order that we might understand it. He gives us knots to untie. He speaks to us in riddles and then tells us to look to him for understanding to solve them. Some knots are untied quickly. Some take years to get unraveled.

I did not plan on saying this but this comes to me as I write. I think we, as people, are like knots and riddles to the Lord except that he completely understands how to untie us. He knows how we got in this mess in the first place and therefore he has complete understanding on how to help us get untied inwardly and see us through to complete repentance. That is why the scripture says:

"If any of you lacks wisdom he should ask God who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him." James 1:5

The Lord has every intention of unraveling the complexity of our souls if only we will give ourselves over to him and let him lead us in continual levels of repentance and grace. Humans can be complicated, sensitive, impatient and unforgiving. Jesus offers us simple truth, a tender touch and patient forgiveness. We need to accept these opportunities for grace and power before the door closes on us and the times of the Gentiles is fulfilled (See Romans 11:25). We should be wise virgins and fill our lamps with the oil of repentance while there is yet time.

"As God's fellow workers we urge you not to receive God's grace in vain. For he says, 'In the time of my favor I heard you, and in the day of salvation I helped you.'....I tell you, now is the time of God's favor, now is the day of salvation." 2 Corinthians 6:1,2

We are confined to the realm of time and within that time we need to take advantage of our opportunity for repentance and get unraveled inside ourselves. We need to get untied. We need to be solved and repent while there is still time. We need to humble ourselves now so God doesn't have to retroactively force humility on us. Let's take advantage of the time we do have and ask the Lord to search us inwardly.

"Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting." Psalm 139:23,24

I will leave you with this. In the late winter of 1997 the Lord took me to Midland, TX for six months to begin untying some of my internal knots. While out in the desert I began to see the complexity of my soul and how the enemy had complicated my life over the years. It began with a spirit of rejection in my childhood, led to ambition in my late teens and resulted in a consistent spirit of anger when I didn't get my way. Through the years the unfulfilled gaps of my soul were filled in with alcohol and bad relationships. The Lord began to untie me and continue the multi-year process of solving the riddle of my soul. What I couldn't see before I could now see.

"I was blind, but now I see." John 9:25

This internal unraveling, this process of inward revelation is an ongoing thing. It's a multi-year process that spans decades with many of us.

I guess what I am saying is that the Lord wants to shower us with prophetic riddles to solve (Dreams, Riddles, Prophetic Symbols and Similitudes). But he only does this in accordance with the level to which we allow him to solve the complexity of our own selves internally. Before he can trust us with riddles that relate to other people he must work on us first. First he solves our inward puzzle and then we shows us the prophetic puzzle of the world around us.

It was in my time in Midland, during that season of internal revelation and cleansing, that the Lord started giving me outward prophetic riddles that pertained to other things, both circumstances and people. So riddle-solving starts inwardly and then God moves outwardly into prophetic ministry. First inward, then outward in various forms of ministry.

In the next post I will talk more of some of the prophetic riddles the Lord has given me to solve over the past decade and how one in particular applies to events in the world today.

Be Blessed,
JEB
www.miraclesinmerida.blogspot.com.

Yucatan Outreach & Early Childhood Development

This Month, the focus for the Outreach & Early Childhood Development training was on 2 year olds.

This is an excerpt I found from an America development site on 2 year olds.
"Your preschooler's brain is a beehive of activity as it forms countless new neural connections that help him understand the whats, whys, and hows of the world. To encourage an eager learner:

• Introduce him to a wide variety of playthings: big toys to push or ride, wind-up toys or jack-in-the-boxes (which show cause and effect), play sets and blocks that can be handled and stacked, puzzles, dress-up clothes, puppets, and art supplies. Rotate them to keep them fresh, storing some and bringing others out each week.
• Don't stop him from exploring things around the house.
• Stimulate all his senses. Include tactile toys (such as clay and sand) and musical toys (like a xylophone or maracas).
• Expose him to new places and experiences: a pool, a zoo, the airport.
• Always keep books around. Visit your local library often to restock."

Reality Check
Most of the Mom's we are involved with here in the Yucatan do not have the money to buy puzzles, art supplies, books, all the items listed above. They may not have a vehicle or the money to take there kids to the zoo, airport, etc.,  I think sometimes in America we take for granted what we have available for our children.

Marina, one of our good friends, is the mother of Andrew pictured above. I recently asked her about what kinds of toys she has for Andrew to play with. She looked at me very matter-of-factly and said that he played with pots and pans, tupperware and spoons. Toys are more expensive here than they are in the United States. This includes Wal Mart. Therefore, Marina spends money on diapers & food. She lives in the Yucatan without any air conditioning and in the months of May it can heat up to 110 degrees or more. Yet, she always has a smile on her face and will be the first to tell you of her love for the Lord and his provision in their lives. And when she does she is very sincere about it.

This month's Childhood Development Training was to support these Mom's in their desire to raise healthy children. We began with a time of worship together with Marina's gift of song and guitar. These ladies have a close bond with each other and you will see 3 generations of families in the meeings. Daughter, Mother & Grandmother all worshipping side by side.

Luz once again started the training with a power point presentation on the milestones and needs of a 2 year old, including eating, potty training, play time and discipline. Luz is a trained Childhood Developement Teacher and does a great job with her presentations. I watch these new mom's soaking in the information like they have never seen it before and the light bulb is going on. They are very excited about learning new information as they love there children and want the best for them.

We welcomed new baby "Diego" at the meeting, pictured here with his Grandma.  We always enjoy these 3 hour meetings together. Everyone brings a drink or food item so we can share a meal together and catch up with each others lives. I am very much an accepted member of this ladies group. Some of the younger moms now come to me for advice. We are now like family to some of them and will be babysitting for a few of these moms also to give them a break once in awhile.

One of the biggest Joys for me is when it is time to give these moms a gift. They have so little, so it is a huge present for them to receive for their children. I made these Winnie The Pooh bags that were stuffed with crayons and coloring books to keep those 2 year old hands busy. Tammy does a great job organizing and administrating the meetings. Honestly, the 3 hours goes by quick as we are all having so much fun. My spanish is still very limited, but I get by the best I can and there are several ladies that speak english & are happy to interpret for me.

Our next Outreach & Early Childhood Development will be 3-4 year olds. If you would like to support our efforts & help us reach these moms and their children you can either refer people to our Small Sprouts shop or make a donation by clicking on the yellow "Donate" button on the side bar of this blog.

God Bless,
Christine

Conforming Desires

I think the one thing I have been hearing over the past week or so is that, simply put, the Lord is changing the desires of his people. We can look forward to the fact that if we submit to him in every area of our lives we shall surely be satisfied. Why? Because the Lord has every intention of not only changing the desires of our hearts according to his good, pleasing and perfect will but he also has every intention of fulfilling those desires that he places within us.

"Lord, all my desire is before thee; and my groaning is not hid from thee." Psalm 38:9

"Delight yourself in the Lord and he will give you the desires of your heart." Psalm 37:4

"He fulfills the desires of those who fear him; he hears their cry and saves them." Psalm 145:19

Look at those three verses. One, we set our desires before him. We set our hearts before him and ask him to strip us of our fleshly desires. That is Psalm 38:9. Secondly, the Lord gives us the desires of our hearts. Said another way, he puts his desires within us. We come to desire what he desires. That is Psalm 37:4. Thirdly, he fulfills the very desires that he places within us. That is Psalm 145:19.

Brethren, by this process we can't lose. We are guaranteed to win, to be content, to be at peace, to find real Joy in the Lord. We are guaranteed to be full of the life of God and the peace of God. We just need to have our desires changed and Trust him in the process.

When I was 24 years old I felt that the Lord was revealing to me that my calling was to eventually wind up in full-time ministry at some point in my life. The conventional path for most young men to fulfill that calling is to simply go to seminary, get their masters in theology and apply for jobs with churches somewhere. That was the path I tried to pursue initially. But I can tell you the Lord changed that desire in me very quickly.

I remember during that season of my life getting a verbal commitment from my church to academically sponsor me to attend a large Christian seminary in Ft. Worth, TX. I was quite elated about this. But in the waiting period of application and enrollment for the next years studies my heart began to suddenly change, but not by my own doing. You see, the Lord took away all desire from my heart to pursue that "conventional" path. I graduated Cum Laude from Midwestern State in 4 years with the equivalent of a double major in 1993. I like to study and learn. That wasn't the problem. The problem became the desires of my heart.

The Lord unexpectedly altered my course by changing my desires within. He changed the desires of my heart and in the process directed me to not attend that seminary and pursue a conventional path. In order to help facilitate the circumstances of that decision he baptized me in the Holy Spirit about 6 months later and had me receive the left foot of fellowship from my church.....I look back now and have no regrets.

The point I am making is that we are guaranteed peace, joy, contentment, a feeling of fullness and satisfaction in Christ when we settle down, open wide our hearts to him, allow him to cut away carnality through circumcision, change our desires in the process and then participate with Him through obedience in allowing him to fulfill those desires. That means we walk by faith according to his desires within us.

"Faith cometh by hearing and hearing by the word (Rhema) of God." Romans 10:17

We walk by Faith. We hear God and obey what we are told to do, according to His desires within us. When we do this we are assured of victory in the Lord. We can't lose, except that we stop desiring change within us.

"What causes fights and quarrels among you? Don't they come from your desires that battle within you?" James 4:1

Desire what he desires and all will be well, both in this life and in the life to come. Stop struggling and desire His desires. What does he desire for us?

Lord change our desires. Cause us to desire what you desire for us.

Be Blessed,
JEB
www.miraclesinmerida.blogspot.com.

Yes!

Tonight I went with my family to buy groceries at Costco here in Merida. It is customary in Mexico to have men standing at the Exit doors waiting to help you with your groceries and load them into your car. It is just the opposite in the U.S. where we carry our own groceries to our cars.

Here, men must work for tips in this particular capacity when in the employ of Costco. Every time I walk out of the store I never make eye-contact with them. This is an indirect way of letting them know that I don't "need" help. But, in every instance, if they don't pay attention to my body language and ask me if they can help me, I always say "yes." I never tell them "no." The answer is almost always "yes."

"But as surely as God is faithful, our message to you is not 'Yes' and 'No.' For the Son of God, Jesus Christ, who was preached among you by me and Silas and Timothy, was not 'Yes' and 'No' but in him it has always been 'Yes.' For no matter how many promises God has made, they are 'Yes' in Christ." 2 Cor 1:18-20

God is waiting to say 'Yes' to the man or woman who hungers and thirsts for righteousness. Jairus the synagogue ruler. The woman with bleeding. The Two Blind Men. All are found in Matthew 9. All refused to hear 'No'. All insisted on hearing 'Yes.' The faith of the Syrophoenician woman in Mark 7. She refused to hear 'No' from the Lord. She wanted her daughter healed and was willing to suffer the humiliation of being considered a "dog" as long as the one she loved was "blessed" and delivered.

Do we see this level of faith today in believers? Mostly no. We have been told to sit down and be quiet. On the contrary, I believe God wants us to stand up and wrestle with him and become undignified in the process.

Tonight when I walked out of Costco every employee assigned to help load groceries let my indirect body language deter them from getting probably the biggest tip they would get all day. All but one man that is. After I walked through the crowd of men waiting to help, none asking me for anything, one man chased me down from behind and put his hand on my basket. I told him "yes". And I gave him probably the biggest tip he would receive all day. Why? Because I had the provision to do so and because the Lord told me to in advance. Why?............He simply refused to hear "No" when I was willing to say "Yes." In fact, I never said no. I was just never asked, except by him. Does any of this make sense?

"Call to me and I will answer you and tell you great and unsearchable things you do not know." Jeremiah 33:3

How bad do we want to hear "Yes"? ........He is waiting to say "Yes."

Be Blessed,

JEB
http://www.miraclesinmerida.blogspot.com/
jayblackshear@yahoo.com

Brethren, He wants to say "Yes."