Stop It!

is tomorrow really august... stop it!

is next week the start up of another school year... stop it!

is fall weather and football around the corner... stop it!

had any of these thoughts lately... me too... so to both of us... stop it!

biblically we are told that we are "a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes."

so why is it that i am so surprised when time flashes by? i don't know but i am.

as we sat and talked to our three youngest last night about the rules of phones,

i couldn't help wonder where the year had gone!

this time last year our entire house was in an uproar...

we were all frustrated with language barriers,

private space issues, teenage drama, cultural walls...

and i will drop the list there (you get the gist).

and now we are talking phone etiquette... stop it!

last summer, God graced us with two new daughters.

the summer before that, He graced us with two sons.

and this year He graced us with an amazing group of encourager's,

supporters and co-laborers to help those in situations like theirs

find a different home setting at the end of long days.

true, it has been a whirlwind the last few years...

what others might consider chaos, we have learned to refer to as our life.

we figure God orchestrated it, so we can withstand it :)

so just for a quick update since i think i blinked and the days jumped from May to July...

Jordan graduated:

the girls never tire of having their picture made:

we always travel with a guest (usually several):

we've made new friends:

we've celebrated with old friends:

and we've made incredible memories... to be passed thru the generations...

while time passes by quickly and we never fail to make incredible memories,

there is also something else we feel compelled, as a family of believers, to never fail to do...

"never become weary of doing good", "do good to all people",

and "do to others what you would have them do to you".

transparently i have to say there was a period in my life that 

i perceived these biblical commands as sort of an idea more than a command. 

that was... until God in His sovereignty introduced me to others 

that lived by these commands much more than talked of these commands. 

and i was hooked. i wanted to be more like the Jesus i saw in them!

i could hear my insides screaming... that's it... stop it!

stop wasted movement and wasted time...

stop wasted conversation and wasted resources!

i am sure this doesn't speak to you... but for me,

i have wasted so much... and quite honestly i really don't want to anymore.

i want to go to bed at night completely spent on what matters most...

PEOPLE!

i want to run harder, love deeper and give more than ever before...

because that is what Jesus did!

i want to cast away judgment about who deserves or doesn't deserve...

because that is what Jesus did!

i want to rid of trivial conversations and talk of life transformation, 

because that is what Jesus did!

i want to give my will, wandering and way to the Father,

because that is what Jesus did!

and my greatest desire is to be more like Jesus!.

while i still have so much to learn and so far to go...

there is one thing i am absolutely sure of... others must be placed before my comforts...

because if this weren't true there wouldn't be a CROSS in Jesus' story. 

while my days run together and i certainly don't have time to blog much,

i have put all i have and am into investing in people.

and i just have to say, it is AMAZING!

while days of tutoring, doctors, orthodontists, counseling, sporting events

and full time ministry can become overwhelming, they are never unbearable...

because through Him who gives me strength, i can do all things!

how about you?  are there things that should or could be stopped...

so others could learn through you about His love?

putting your all at His feet and letting Him orchestrate your days,

regardless of how uncomfortable they can get... is absolutely worth it...

that is what Jesus did!