Saturday, October 26, 2013

life in the fast lane...

..."What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while, then vanishes."  James 4:14
 
i cannot believe how time flies... the girls have now been in country almost 7 months!! 
 
 
the Lord has been so patient with us all during this time of learning and growth. 
we finally have a schedule and everyone is settled in school (and like it :)
we were snuggling down into our new comfy normal when... God moved...!!

you ever notice how good God is at taking note of our complacent comforts?
 
just when i began to think
"whew?!?!? we are beginning to get this thing figured out...!"
i realized how little i knew :)
 
our life moves fast and it moves furious...but it is intentional and purposed!
there is no greater high than striving in my little "mist of time" on earth to
LOVE LIKE JESUS! 
every second of time that i have breath matters in the life of others if i choose it. 
 
so... God has rocked our existence and challenged us to the core, yet again...
 in our Family and For Life ministries!
 
small change... we will be opening our doors this Christmas
to the sweet Ukrainian girl that we met through the Krells... Yulia :)
arriving on December 19th!
 
 
and in ministry....we are continuing to grow our
Love One sponsorship program... now extending into Haiti.
 
we will be hosting our first event on Nov 2nd to love on our
love one families here in Madison county. 
 
thanks to the support of our home church Willowbrook
we will be opening our first office December 1st. 
 
our Christmas projects for the year are:
purchasing a goat or chicken for our home in Haiti...
Ebenezer Baptist Home for Children.
 
and repairing an embroidery machine for the ladies
working for She Thailand in Phuket.
 
we had our first shop "for life's purpose" to raise awareness this week...
we have 4 to go for the holiday season.
to get involved visit... www.forlifeministries.org or visit our FB page.
 
we are just hanging on to God as He moves and marveling at His faithfulness!
it is full speed ahead and the adventure is miraculous!
 
i don't know how you are spending your "mist of time" here on earth...
but know that every second of it matters!
 
 
 
 
 






Thursday, October 3, 2013

being ok when there is no definite!


sorry for the long delay, but i can barely shower... much less blog :)
life is definitely an adventure... and days of mundane have been long gone!
 
recently we were in the hospital with jordan for what looked like a major organ problem...
we tested for 4 days... doctors met, nurses loved on her and we just waited.
everybody was amazing and did their job well, but at the end of our time spent together...
the answer was not conclusive.  surprisingly i am ok with that!
 
as i look over the whirlwind of our life over the last 19 months,
this seems to be a theme again and again... no definitive answer!
as i pondered this idea, some things have stuck with me...
  • i can't parent my kids after anothers pattern
  • self help books don't always have the answers i need
  • not everything (incl health) can be absolutely figured out
  • sometimes bliss is a blessing
  • bad behaviors aren't always signs of bad parenting
  • drowning out all the other voices and listening to God's alone is a must
i could go on, but you get it...
not everything on this earth has an absolute... although we would like it to!
people are just people, they are not God! 
 
in Isaiah 55:8-9,  the Lord declares...  "for my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,  As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts." 
 
sometimes we have to LET GO and LET GOD, trusting His ways are perfect.
and when there is no definitive answers... by faith we must choose to trust Him! 
 
as we have weathered great winds of change and opinions from others...
God has certainly humbled my heart and changed my expectations,
my judgement and condemnation.  
i've learned i know very little about most things... but God knows everything!
these great storms have changed where i want to be,
and how i want to spend my little bit of time here!
 
and if i were authentically transparent, i would have to admit...
i've found that people that don't always have to have all the answers... 
or pretend they do... are more likeable!
and...
i've found great taste in vulnerability and others ability to say i just don't know...
 it makes them very perfectly human.   
 
i think i like it so much... that its worth a try myself! 
there is only one definitive answer; and that is...
God alone has the answers we seek...   we just need to ask Him!