Gulp!

Today I realized that I am 6 weeks away from returning to Honduras! There are so many feelings wrapped up in that simple statement. As I look to the future and try not to dismiss the present I can't help but feel the sands of time slipping through the hour glass at record speed.

My heart beats faster with the thought of being back. My mind races at all of the things before me this year...and all of the things left to do before I go. I am stretched tight like a rubber band.

I have been on an emotional roller coaster for the past couple of months. This re-entry business is a lot harder than I planned...so now I can only assume that the re-entry back into Honduras is going to be difficult as well. I hadn't planned on that. I hadn't even thought about it until right now as I am writing this blog.

I am learning new things every day. For example, I have begun to feel the pressure, the resistance of the devil. It may sound weird, but I am understanding what it means to be on the front lines of a spiritual battle. I am not hiding somewhere hoping the enemy won't find me...I am walking into the lion's den...on purpose. HA! I feel buffeted, like the wind is always at me and the only place I find real refuge is in the arms of my King.

This year will be about new battles. We can't live in the past glories...we can't live off of the success we had last year as a ministry. We have to press forward, deeper into what God has for us...and that means...we are going into the heart of the enemy's camp. More than ever...I need your prayers for favor, mercy, protection, grace, discernment, wisdom, good judgment...a repentant heart, discipline, integrity, honesty...love...whatever God lays on your heart. Maybe you guys can't be there with me, but you can hold me up by your prayers.

I have so many things to be thankful for. I can't even begin to list them, and somehow I think it makes them sound trivial. But more than anything, I am thankful for a God who gave his son for me...who pursued me relentlessly and loved me unconditionally. I find my strength in Him. I find my peace in Him. He is what I am not.

Garage Sale Success

A bag full of donated costumes added to our night of fun!

I want to give a BIG FAT shout out to all of the people who helped make this weekend's missions garage sale a success. God totally used His people to provide everything we needed from the house to host the event, to the donations to sell, to the help sorting and setting things out, and to getting the overflow to United Collectables. There were so many hands involved that it will be impossible to name them all, but I am going to try... in no particular order...

The whole Haman family, Missy & Selah, Vicky & Tabitha Ivy, Dr. Cheri LeBlanc, Ann Morrow, Bro. Larry Guttweiler, Drew Tullos and his boys, Gayle Parker, Dustin Anderson, Diane and Steve Miller, Cooking for Christ, United Collectables, Mark Younger, Pastor Derek and Lori Smith, Pastor Fernando, Kelly and Perry, the Messers, Kari & Becky, Robin, Katherine, The Rizzo's, Mrs. Betty, Barbra Conti, Gabi LeBlanc, Charlie & Jake, and anyone who prayed for favor, donated items, retweeted the ad, shared the FB event or passed along the word that we were having a the garage sale of the century.

THANK YOU!!

It is incredible to me how God shows up when you trust Him. Most of the time you don't even see a problem until it is staring you right in the face and then as you trust God to provide He does...through His people, through His body.

Mary Beth and I are so grateful for all of your support. We know that we can't do this thing with out you...but honestly we don't want to do it alone. We want to bring all of you with us on the journey so you can see God's glory up close and personal!

So thanks again and again and again, but this thing isn't over yet! I am officially hitting honduran soil again in January and Mary Beth lifts off a month later in February. Until then we will be hitting the streets, working, funding, praying, seeking, serving, loving...you name it, we are doing it. We are so committed to serving God and following His path, and we are committed to trusting Him to provide for us as well.

We love you, I love you...and I can't wait to share all of the cool stuff God is going to do!!

Where are the spices?

Maybe it's because I am a nutritionist. Maybe it's because I really love food. What ever the reason, God speaks to me, quite often, in food analogies.

Case in point...

Yesterday afternoon Pastor Dino shared a scripture from Luke 2: 42-45. It is the story of when Mary and Joseph took Jesus and went to Jerusalem for Passover. Let me set the scene...the ENTIRE Jewish community came to Jerusalem for the Passover. It was a HUGE deal...tons of people...tons of commotion...tons of noise and activity. After the party died down they headed back home with their caravan, but there was a problem. A problem that took them a while to notice...Jesus wasn't with them. It was a whole day before Mary and Joseph realized that their son was missing. They searched the caravan, and then started back to Jerusalem to find him. It was 3 whole days before they could locate him.

Most of the time, when people teach on this scripture they focus on the fact that Mary was probably a basket case, Joseph was probably angry at Jesus for running off, and then they talk about how Jesus replied to his earthly parents that he was about his Father's business.

Well...Pastor took another approach. He focused on the part of the passage that says, "..the boy Jesus stayed behind in Jerusalem, but they were unaware of it." Luke 2:43

How many times have I moved on and left Jesus behind? How many times have I gotten ahead of Him but not even realized he wasn't with me? How many times have I assumed that He would bless me just because he blessed me before? Ouch, right?

So how does this relate to food?? haha...only my mind could make that connection! Here goes... We all took a few minutes to pray after Pastor shared that word with us, and this is what God spoke to my heart.

There are basically 2 kinds of eaters in this world. Those that eat because they have to...you know they focus on putting in just what the body needs to function and they could really care less about flavor...it is all about function and efficiency. Then there are the people who enjoy eating...it is like an event. They create food, they take time to prepare menus and meals and they invite other people into the mix and enjoy the food together.

Well God called me out. He said...you used to dine with me...and now you only swallow a few bites because you know that without food you will die. Wow. I do know that without God I would die, and that is true...but there is a difference between spending time with Him in relationship and just going through the motions without enjoyment.

So I am challenged to return to my first love. To correct the drift of my heart and realign with Him. To foster a relationship with my King, to nurture it, to love it, to be intentional with it, to cultivate it. Revelation 2:3-4 says, "You have persevered and have endured hardships for my name, and have not grown weary. But I hold this against you: you have forsaken your first love." It doesn't matter if we suffer for Christ, it doesn't matter if we do all of the "right" things on the outside if we have forgotten to love Jesus on the inside. If we have turned our backs on him, we have missed the whole point.

Let's do this together, shall we? Let's realign ourselves with Him. Let's rekindle the love we had for Him...like it's the first day we were saved from sin. Let's spice up the relationship.

No Promises...Just Faith

So I was in church tonight and Pastor Fernando said something that hit me..."we aren't promised tomorrow." Now we have all heard that a zillion times, right? Martin always says..."only two things are sure in life...death and taxes."

The thing that got me thinking was this...if we aren't promised tomorrow then every time we make plans, a to-do list, or set something aside to do later we are doing it in faith. Weird, right? It doesn't seem difficult...it doesn't seem abnormal...we don't think people are nuts for scheduling things in advance.

Why is it so easy for us to take that step of faith, but yet so difficult for us to believe for financial provision, healing of our bodies, restoration of our families, or freedom for nations? The list goes on and on...

The only conclusion that I can come up with is that we are just used to it. We plan for the future all of the time. We do is effortlessly and thoughtlessly. We just do it, because we have always done it. Man...if I can only take that concept and apply it to the rest of my life. If I can believe in faith that I will have a tomorrow, then why not believe for bigger things?

Why put limitations on God? Why put limitations on our faith?

So...let us practice this act of faith in other areas of our life so much that it becomes effortless to believe God for the BIG things...and then I have a feeling that the things we will walk in, the things we will be called to, and the things we will see...will be so much grander than our expectations!

Who's ready???

Quick Thoughts

I haven't had time to develop these thoughts yet, but they keep coming up in my reading and journaling. So I thought I would share a couple of them with you. Feel free to add your thoughts.

#1: The Good Samaritan gave up a lot to help out the guy in the ditch...and he didn't even know the dude. Why is it that we are often more willing to help those we don't know over those we do know?

Part of Isaiah 58:7 says not to hide from relatives who need your help. Burn. Yeah, He got me on that one. How much more should we sacrifice for the people who are close to us, our own family, or our friends in need?

#2: Shine - to give forth or glow with light, to be bright with reflected light

There are so so so many verses in the Bible that talk about shining. The people ask the Lord to let his face shine on them, they ask for his favor to shine on them, and then...God asks them to shine for him...to be a light to his people.

Pretty cool right? It is the complete definition of the word. God shines his glow on us, and then we reflect HIS light to others! ha!

My personal favorite shine verse (which was VERY hard for me to decide on) is Isaiah 60:1, "Arise Jerusalem! Let your light shine for all the nations to see! For the glory of the Lord is shining upon you."

OK, I couldn't pick just one, here is Daniel 12:3: "Those who are wise will shine as bright as the sky, and those who turn many to righteousness will shine like stars forever."

Man...I want to shine. Not for me, but for Him. I want to love him back by reflecting His light to others. Matt 5:16 says, "In the same way, let your good deeds shine out for all to see, so that everyone will praise your Heavenly Father."

Wow. I keep getting blown away...every time I really dig in, you know? Are you digging?

The Great Oak

Today I went for a drive...there was nothing pressing on me. I dropped Martin off at Dr. Cheri's office and then I was free.

No appointments. No schedule. No immediate needs to fill.

The weather was beautiful...crisp clean air and a bright blue cloudless sky...the perfect recipe for rolled down windows and a long drive down the windy country roads of nowhere in particular. I turned up the radio and let the soft jazz spill out of my windows onto the street around me. I felt free and joyful...feelings that have been fleeting as of late, and I didn't even try to hold onto them. I let the feelings ebb and flow with the wind in my windows and the tempo of the music.

I found myself driving without a destination in mind, just driving to drive, just enjoying the process...the journey so to speak. I am always drawn to country roads lined with oak trees. It is like I can feel the history coming off of them. They have stories, they have deep roots and strong trunks. They give shade and shelter. They produce seed. They are beautiful and graceful. They are stable and sturdy.

I think I would like to be an oak. I would love to be around for a long time. I would like to offer shade and shelter to the traveler. I would love to grow deep roots and produce seed that would grow other oaks...not like me...but bigger and stronger. But you know what makes the oaks so great, so strong, so anchored...it's not the warm sun, but time and trials.

Storms force their roots deep into the earth. Time allows them to grow tall and wide and cover the earth with their seeds. So I guess if I want to be an oak...I have to be willing to weather the storms of life, let my roots dig deep, and be patient as the hurricane winds of South Louisiana persistently try to knock me down.

"...Whatever trouble comes your way, let it be an opportunity for joy." James 1:2

Let us be joyful. Let us be filled with the oil of gladness. Let us walk with our heads high, because of who we are in Christ...redeemed, chosen, beloved, cherished, and sought after.