Ian and I have been back for three weeks now, and it has been so good to be home. We are very proud of our Project Canaan Leadership team and how they are leading the PC Department heads to start moving their departments from good to great.

Last week we noticed a tick bite on Ian’s leg and we started immediate treatment. Sadly, one of our visitors was also bitten and ended up with tick bite fever* (not nice, but treatable with antibiotics). Last Thursday night I woke with the feeling that my face was on fire and had a 103.6F fever. I was on fire (or so it felt). I learned the next morning that I had been bitten by a spider on my face, and went on heavy duty antibiotics immediately. Six days later the swelling had gone down enough for me to leave the house (and not scare the children). 

This past Wednesday we found another tick bite on Ian’s back that was infected, and THEN he saw what looked like a small blister on his hand. Within hours it was large, very wet and oozy and purple, with red lines heading to his wrist. And he had a fever. Our wonderful doctor is always there for us, and our pharmacy is always stocked, so he started on antibiotics and now we prayerfully wait for 48 hours to see what happens next. We believe this is also a spider bite.

Neither ticks nor spiders have been seen on our skin or in our house.

As Ian and I looked at each other, shaking our heads, I felt the Lord prompting me with this thought that I want to share now. Sometimes there are things in our lives that are so small, we can’t even see them. But they can get under our skin and release poison. The poison, if not removed immediately, can spread slowly or quickly, without our knowledge or permission. That poison can then impact the entire body, rendering us disabled, dysfunctional, in pain and distracted from what we are to be focusing on. That’s how Satan works. He just needs to get into your mind, release toxic thoughts without your permission, and suddenly you are distracted from HIS calling on your life, and often rendered dysfunctional. And then that poison can easily leak into the “body” around you.

It was a profound thought to contemplate and one that we will continue to talk and pray about in the days ahead as we also remember the scripture below.

Romans 5:3-4 says, 

Suffering ➡️ perseverance ➡️ character ➡️ HOPE! And HOPE is what we are all about, so we will continue embracing suffering, continue to persevere, continue to welcome our characters being built, and look for HOPE that is to come. From a different perspective, there is an African proverb that says, “If you think you are too small to make a difference you haven’t spent a night with a mosquito”.

Words to live by.

Janine

** Please note these are not like ticks in the US that can result in Lyme disease.