Discipline and Commitment

Today is a new season for me.  Yes it is Christmas and the new year is only 11 days away, but sometimes the commitment for something needs to made immediately.  It cannot wait; there is a sense of urgency that demands attention.  The urgency that rises up from your gut and says the time is now, it cannot wait any longer.  That is where I am today.  A new week, a new day, and new season.  This new season has been on the horizon for sometime now.  Everything I pick up to read is quietly speaking of discipline and commitment.  Not just in one area, but the kind of discipline that begins to define a persons life, the kind of discipline that sets the apart the extraordinary from the average.  This kind of discipline is not glamorous or heroic, but is born out of hard work done everyday.

In May of this year Kendall and I began a home based business with Beachbody, makers of P90x, Insanity, and Shakeology.  We got busy working out, making better eating choices and the results were amazing.  I must confess I have not made that same commitment with our business.  We dream of being in a place of financial freedom, but I have not made the time nor been nearly as committed as I want to be.  Even my working out/eating habits have slipped as of late.  That is not to mention the discipline I want to see spiritually. 

Today, I am drawing a line in the sand and I am stepping over it.  I am leaving the past in the past.  I have learned some amazingly valuable lessons, but today is a new day.  Today is a new season.  My someday is today.  I am making some commitments.  I am committing to a new 90 days of healthy eating and exercise (a P90x/Insanity Hybrid)  I am committing to reading through my bible in 90 days.  I am committing to following the game plan for success that our company says will build the foundation for a 6 figure business over the next 90 days.  I am committed!  You see this is discipline.  Planning out what we are going to do and then allowing our fleshly, instantaneous attitudes to rule our moments is not a disciplined life.  NO!  Disciplined people make a plan of action and keep at  it until they see results.  THEN, they do it more!  Even if the face of rejection, disappointment, and no immediate results.  The results will come.  It is the age old idea of sowing and reaping. 

I am excited!  I can't wait to see the change, not just outwardly, but inwardly.  Hard?  To be sure!  But NOTHING worth going after is EVER easy!  It was once said that the journey of 1000 miles began with one small step.  Here is my one small step...

Thankful!!

Enter Into His Gates with Thanksgiving

And into His Courts with Praise.

Be Thankful to HIM, and Bless HIS name.

Psalm 100: 4

Thankfulness and Blessings is what is the on the minds and hearts of most people as we celebrate Thanksgiving.  Like everyone else, I wanted to make my list.  Here it is.  Although it is not exhaustive it is what my heart is most passionate about on a daily basis, it is the LIFE my Abba Daddy has called me to walk.  I am blessed beyond imagine, beyond the scope of mere words.  For words cannot adequately express the depth of feelings for these precious gifts in my life.

My Abba Father, giving me life and breath, giving me passion, ability, giving me mercy and grace. 

My Kendall, the man of my hearts desire, the one I dream with, the one I work with, the one who loves me unconditionally.

My sweet children, the blessings of my womb.  Caitlyn with her quiet, gentle, sweet spirit.  Nathan with his tender, hearing, loving heart.  Joshua with his joyful, laughing, passionate spirit. 

Our extended families, our parents, our sisters and brothers, our nieces and nephews.  The ones that care for us and love us the most.

Our Messiah's House Family.  The family God chose for us to worship with, to grow with, to learn with. 

The blessing of Homeschooling our Children.  The honor of training them in the way they will go, of investing each day into them.

Our Beach Body Business.  The vehicle the Father has used to teach us about ourselves and ministry, given us the ability to dream, and helped us physically, as well as financially.  

I have a challenge to issue for you, for me.  For your family, for my family...

take time to make two different lists this year and a daily commitment:

1) an exhaustive list of all that you have been blessed with THIS year

2) a list of what you want to be thankful for this time next year.

 Write down next year's Thanksgiving list today,

Now, commit to taking sometime everyday to reflect and journal about what you are thankful for.  Don't wait till this time next year to remind yourself of your blessings.  Do it everyday. 

Take the challenge, our family is.  We have already dreamed and listed what this time next year we will be thankful for. Now go out and make it happen for your family, for you!

With Many Thanksgiving Blessings,

Heather  



How to Journey the Path of Remembrance

There are many ways to Remember...

Isaiah 11:1 "A Shoot will spring forth from the stump of Jesse, a branch out of his roots." 

The Jesse Tree is a vehicle to connect the Old and the New Testament, 4000 years of history.  The prophecy of Christ to the fulfillment of Christ, the story of the Faithfulness of a Loving, Holy God.  The branch is a biblical symbol of newness out of discouragement, it holds great Messianic promise.  Throughout the history of the Israelites there is always a longing for the Messiah, a king that would rescue them from oppression.  They yearned for freedom and deliverance from the tyranny of the world.  From their extreme rebellion, to the years of walking in the commandments of God, the promise stood true.  For God is in the business of Covenant Keeping. 

So how do we go about Remembering? 

Daily readings from Scripture take us down the path of recalling the faithfulness of God. 

Symbols, that turn into ornaments, for small or large tress, or maybe even a branch collected in your own back yard.  Use your imagination, ask your children their input.  It doesn't have to be hard, simple is sometimes the very best.  The visual connection between the symbol and the story is very powerful. 

Now, pick a time of the day that you and your family can commit to doing this from the Sunday after thanksgiving until Christmas.  It may be the morning at breakfast or before bedtime at night.  Make the commitment, it is worth the memories!  It is worth the remembrance!  It is worth the anticipation!

There are some amazing places to visit to find more detailed information from people more knowledgeable than this homeschooling mom. 
 Jesse Tree Readings
a complete overview, as well as the daily readings, theme, and symbol to be used in a chart form
Parent Devotionals
a great daily devotional for you, as the parent, to understand and be equipped to share with your precious children the blessing of this story
Devotions from Faith Magazine for the Jesse Tree
Another set of dynamic devotions for the family
Ornaments you can print
Faith magazine has a set of ornaments that you can print for your own creative use, for free!  Although you can buy ornaments, we are choosing to make our own.  Remembrance is more powerful when our own hands are used to create!!
A Holy Experience
Ann has written an ebook for Jesse Tree Devotionals for the Family, it will be available for download this Sunday.  She is an amazing writer, the book will be fabulous.  You can also find Jesse-Tree Devotional books on-line and at your local Bible bookstores.  Do what works for your family, what is easy for you, what will insure your commitment!

I plan to blog each morning with my own written devotions that you are free to use!
Won't you join me?  Come, let's take a journey together!

A visual reminder to us and our children of the faithfulness of God.

A way to illuminate your Holiday Season by Rememberence.

A timely tradition that will keep us longing for the Bridegroom.

The Jesse Tree

In years past our family has read an "advent type" devotional beginning the Sunday after Thanksgiving.  Being partial to all things Jewish, we stumbled across a set of books by Arnold Ytreeide.  Mr Ytreeide yarns a wonderful story of 3 Jewish children (3 separate books) that are living in Israel longing for the coming Messiah.  The books climax with the birth of Jesus.  Although they are a work of fiction, the historical and cultural details, as well Scriptural accuracy has brought our family to a new understanding of our Savior and the olive branch we have been grafted into. 

This time every year the children begin talking about pulling the books out of the school closet, dusting them off, and preparing to read them again.  Memories made that cannot be stolen or broken.  Although each of them can tell you every detail of each story, it is a tradition now, a part of our season that keeps us ground in who we are, what we are longing for and the gift of redemption we have been given. 

This year, I have decided to add a little something.  So with much anticipation I pray that this "new-to-me" idea will become as beloved as the stories of Jotham, Bartholomew, and Tabitha. 

Enter the Jesse Tree.  It is the act of remembering, of going back through the Grand Story God has knitted together since the beginning of time itself.  It is hearing again the story of HIS faithfulness to His people, to our family, to each of us as individuals.  In the busyness of this life, especially the holiday season, we are so often distracted and, hard as it is to admit, forgetful of this wonderful, amazing story.  Of this LOVE story our Father God has written to us, this fabulous mercy he has, this unrelenting passion for His Children.  We must never forget, we must tell it to our children, we must pass on this legacy because if we do not, then who will?  This grace so unfathomable, it must be told, over and over.  We must never be SO busy that we cannot stop and do what Moses commanded the Israelites, to talk about it when we sit, when we rise, when we lie down, when we walk and when we eat. 

Can you do that with me this season?  Can you NOT forget?  Can you remember with your children?  Can you stop and give thanks?  Can you look forward with anticipation to the return of our Bridegroom?  This is no little thing, this is life changing and life giving.  This is family altering and perspective shifting.  This is the gift to be had this season. 

Come, lets take our children's hands and follow to see where the Lord is going to lead.  I cannot promise that it will only take a little time, for questions and discussion may arise that need answering.  I can promise that you and your children, the dynamics of your family will NEVER be the same.  All for a small commitment of time.  It is worth the investment. 

Tomorrow, I will share more in detail how we will remember, the devotions we will use, just what it is all about and again I will invite you.  This journey is not to be missed!

In the busy...always gratitude, ALWAYS!

The way to live a life full of gratitude to my Father

is to always have my eyes and heart open to the blessings, both big and small,

that surround me every moment of everyday. 

The way to combat the cares of this world

is by being ever aware

of the LARGENESS of my God's LOVE for me!

I home school my children, I would not trade it for anything...what precious times I have shaping and molding their hearts and minds.  One of the habits we are cultivating is a thankfulness journal.  I have one as well, so I share...

#11  The seasons first batch of potato soup

#12  Movies with my children on a snowy, cold day

#13  a warm home

#14  Kendall's job

#15  Ability to buy any groceries I need and want

#16  Homeschooling my children, shaping hearts and minds

#17  Visit from Nahanny and Granddaddy

#18  Laughter of my Children as they play

#19  Stephanie Striley

#20  Jessica Harbour

#21  full, stocked pantry

#22  anticipating thanksgiving

#23 a fun evening with Janne Peters and her sweet girls

#24  Thanksgiving baking

#25  making plans, dreaming

#26  learning about creation

#27  amazingly brilliant moon

#28  Feasting with family

#29  Organizing

#30  unconditional love of a BIG God

#31  The Father's amazing provision, every time!

#32  Funny movies

#33  reminders of my fridge of good ways to live life

#34  hugging my children

#35 the LOVE of a good man

#36  My God's word's "will by no means pass away."

#37  Covenant Relationships

#38  Sharing homeschooling

#39  Beautiful fall days with 9 playing children in the yard!

Gratitude is the fairest blossom which springs from the soul.~Henry Ward Beecher

Begin a thankfulness journal, add your list to mine, and let's be amazed together how great our Father's love is for us!

Fasting and Feasting

I cannot fast without feasting.  I cannot attempt to give something up without filling myself with something else.  As I give up that which consumes me, I must fill myself with that which sustains me, not my body, but my spirit. 

"Man cannot live on bread alone, but on every word that proceed from the mouth of the LORD." Deuteronomy 8:23

My day always starts with grand intentions.  And I do well, until the words of my father get lost in the loudness of the world.  I slip, I rationalize, I decide to start again tomorrow.  You see I can only continue to give up what I enjoy IF I continually replace it with something I desire far more.  I desire this intimacy that draws me to my Abba Daddy. 

The question is why? Why in the tough moments do I give up the BEST, give up what is COMPLETELY satisfying, for what is mediocre and can only satisfy for but a moment?  I have lost sight of HIM. 

I must meditate on HIS word, listen for HIS voice...moment to moment.  Without HIS filling, failure is guaranteed!

Failure is not my desire in this moment, in this season.  I want HIS strength to be my strength, where I am weak I want HIM to come in and fill me with HIS strength.  That is his promise to me.  Intimacy with my Father is the greatest longing of my heart.  It is in this true fasting that I learn to feast in the realm that is far superior than the one that demands me to fill my fleshly desires.  It is in the act giving up that my heart learns to tune in to the rich, often quiet, sound of my Abba's voice.  The voice that I long to hear sing over me and whisper His love for me and lead me in the way that is everlasting. 

My spirit will never go hungry for My Father is my complete feast!

Thankfulness

It is the season for thankfulness.  All over face book and twitter people are posting what they are most grateful for.  I love this time of year!  So many times gratitude is bound by circumstances and then lives become bound to bitterness.  Bitterness is not the place where I want to live.  Most people do not want to live there but wake up in the mornings to find themselves shackled and unable to get free. 

Thankfulness begs us to run free, unfettered, everywhere!  Why not unleash this JOY?

So I issue a challenge, one that I am challenging myself to as well...why not be obviously thankful the whole year through?  Why not post on our Social Media and our Blogs thankfulness regularly so that it become a habit not a seasonal activity?  Starting NOW, I am going to blog one day a week on what I am thankful for, all the ways I have been blessed! When this kind of gratefulness knows no limit, LIFE enlarges!  

So join me as I take a journey of thankfulness, a path of gratitude and let's discover together how the boundaries and perspectives of life change!  Let's watch together how this overflowing of gratitude spills onto others; how gratitude changes lives one thankful thought at a time!

1.  Abba Daddy's AMAZING grace!
2.  New Beginnings, New Mercies everyday!
3.  Strength to do the hard things
4.  Learning and living discipline in spiritual and physical matters
5.  Coffee on a cold, snowy November morning
6.  Thunder Snows
7.  An amazing, loving husband who often forsakes sleep and home to provide so well for our family
8.  Sleepy Joshua cuddles in the middle of the night
9.  A warm bed
10.  Abundance of food

It's your turn...what are you thankful for?  Comment below or post on your face book or twitter.  Guaranteed, your life will never be the same!

Time

Time is a great commodity.  We all have the same amount of time in our day, 24 hours...not one second more or one second less.  How is it that some people seem to get so much more done with their 24 hours while others get hardly nothing done it all? 

I am pondering this thought this morning as I plan out my day and my to do list.  So often it has to do with what we prioritize in our lives.  Do we do what is most important first or do we do the little insignificant things first?  What steals my time and productivity? 

It all begins with a plan and a list!  However, it is also being sensitive to the Holy Spirit as He may put things in our path that is not on our "plan and list."  Today, as I go about my day...I want to follow my list while being sensitive to the little "interruptions" that may make for the greatest highlights of my day! 

The power of words

Death and Life are in the power of the tongue,

And those who love it will eat its fruit.

Proverbs 18:21

Pleasant words are like a honeycomb,

Sweetness to the soul and health to the bones.

Proverbs 16:24

...the words of the pure are pleasant.

Proverbs 15:26

Have you ever thought about the words you speak?  God created the world with his words alone.  We are created in God's image and carry great power in the words that proceed from our mouths.  I am challenged every day to speak life.  The Bible also says that from the outflow of the heart the mouth speaks.  Watch your words.  What are you words saying?  In light of the verse above, does it make you ponder what is in your heart?  I want to challenge us to really think about each word proceeding from our mouths.  Make those words be full of life and watch how the world around you changes!

Wow!

Wow!  It has been a long time since I last blogged.  It is now the end of summer, we are 10 days into our 200 days of home school.  It has been an amazing summer, after an amazing spring.  God just continues to take my breath away with his love, faithfulness, and beauty!  I want to just jump right into all that has happened since I was last blogging, but I feel strongly that some gratitude is in order!  Henry Ward Beecher once said that gratitude is the fairest blossom which springs from the soul.  I would have to agree, on the days that I give thanks first, it changes my focus...takes it off me and my circumstances and moves it to the FATHER, who deserves the praise, honor, and love.  It is a gentle reminder of all the ways I have been blessed.  Gratitude is the way to live a life.  It is always having my eyes and heart open to the blessings, both big and small, that surrounds my every moment of everyday.  Gratitude most certainly combats the cares and distractions of this world by helping me be ever aware of the largeness of God's love for me.   I am going to journal my thankfulness and gratitude right here and continue weekly, if you care to join me, leave a comment and share what you are thankful for.  Once you start, you will find that the list quickly builds and your focus changes!
#1  My Abba daddy who loves me so much
#2  Words of life spoken by my Daddy and God
#3  The start of a new day, new beginnings
#4  Kendall
#5  Grateful, sweet children
#6  Fresh revelation
#7  Being my children's teacher, I love homeschooling
#8  morning hugs
#9  our home
#10  a good cup of coffee and my bible in the quiet of the morning

Blessings for this new day!  May you find the joy and gratitude that is all around you just waiting for you to notice!
 

Time

"The most powerful force for change is time."

Jeff Olson

People are fooled everyday around the world with the idea of right now.  Everyone knows about instant gratification, we have become a generation where even the mircrowave and the line at the local fast food stop is NOT fast enough.  The Bible teaches what you plant, you must cultivate and then harvest comes.  This is a concept that works everytime, however, most people don't have the patience for the cultivating, they want to move straight from planting to harvesting. 

These are our tomato plants.  We love homegrown tomotos, nothing in the world taste quite like that!  Planting and watching a plant grow until you can harvest is an amazing process. We found flowers on ours yesterday.  Isn't God just so creative!  I love it!  But we have to wait, we have to be patient for the growth to come and then the harvest.  It is this way in everything.  Let's use fitness as an example.  We get out of shape, our health declines based on small bad choices made on a daily basis in regards to our diet and exercise.  When we are told we need to get into shape, we do it for a while, but when they don't see the immediate change we want to see we quit.  We have no patience for the cultivation.  We go back to the bad choices.  Isn't it like that with our money as well.  What about our intimacy with our Abba Daddy?  Sadly, it is an epidemic that is spreading in our lives, taking over in our society.  I have done it, until now.  No more small bad choices that eventually add up.  I am choosing daily to make good small decisons that I will not be able to see the results of for a year or more--invisible results they are called.  Choices add up over time to be good or bad.  So I am choosing the good choices.  I am choosing to cultivate my intimacy with my abba daddy, I am choosing to cultivate my health, I am choosing to cultivate my finances I am choosing to cultivate my time.  People may be skeptical, that is fine.  In a year...or two...or three, the invisible resutls will become visible and I will be LIVING, instead of merely surviving.  So, who is with me?  Who wants to make the good choice? 

It's been a long time!

Wow, it has been a long time since I have last posted a blog.  We have been around the world and back.  I had great dreams of blogging each day while we were living on the other side of the world, but it was too overwhelming and honestly, I don't think I could have put into words what was happening, what we were experiencing.  Life changing for sure!  As my amazing husband continued to say "our flashdrives were full!"  Now we have been home a month, life is returning to somewhat of a routine, processing is occuring and I am about ready to burst with all I want to share.  But then, where to begin?  So I am going to start with NOW, this very morning. 

God is just simply amazing and good always.  He is always teaching and molding us, drawing us into a more intimate relationship with him.  One thing the Father has been teaching me is that renewing my mind is critical to walking in the kingdom.  I am not talking about positive thinking, I am talking letting Abba daddy change my thinking.  We have no power to change it in our flesh.  He changes and renews our thinking by redefining who we are.  When we define ourselves, His kingdom, our day, our very moments by HIS truth, we are renewing our minds to live with kingdom power.  Our truth puts limits on us that was not intended by God.  His truth brings freedom and power in such a way that the powers of darkness are dispelled and HE is released into the situation.  THEN, we EXPERIENCE the power of Christ!  That is what I want.  That is what I am going after.  You see as we pursue who our Daddy says we are, we are free to pursue to our destiny and purpose in changing the world. 

We have made some exciting decisions over the last few weeks that we know are answers to prayers. We are pursuing the Father with a new intensity and running hard after our dreams of changing history; bringing Christ, the only HOPE, to the people we come into contact with daily as well as the nations!  Stay tuned...this life is exciting!

The Nations for an Inheritance

"Ask of Me, and I will give you The Nations for your inheritance. 

And the ends of the earth for your possession."

Psalm 8:2

This is my deepest hearts desire.  The nations for my inheritance.  We are on the final hour countdown, just over 24 hours and we will be leaving the place we know,  for a people, a city, a nation that we do not know.  A people and a nation in need of Christ, the HOPE of glory!  A people and a nation that is KNOWN by my Abba Daddy, whom He loves, He sent Jesus for them!  They hear His small still voice in Mandarin, just as we hear Him in English. 

I have asked the Father several things over the last months.  I have asked to speak Mandarin, to hear Him in Mandarin, to prophesy in Mandarin.  Yes, just like the day of Pentecost when everyone heard the gospel in their own language.  God is just as powerful now as He was then...so yes, I am asking for the tongue of Mandarin. 

I have also asked Abba Daddy, how is it that I am to pray for this place that I do not know, this culture I cannot even begin to fathom, and He has said time and again, ask for it for your inheritance.  So I ask, no, I must say I am on my face crying out for these who do not know him and yet I already love. How is that? How does HE desposit that kind of love in me?  But you see it is not me, it is HIM in me that loves a people I have never met and a country that I long to call my home. 

I have asked God for the rains to fall, for the harvest to be ready. 

"then I will give you the rain for your land in its season,

the early rain and the latter rain, that you may gather in your grain, your new wine, your oil.

Deuteronomy 11:14

During worship Saturday night a very dear friend came up and said she was praying for rain to soften the land of China, that we would walk in power and plant seeds, see the white harvest.  Then she said something that was amazing and crazy...so like God, she said I am praying for rain in the natural on the day you arrive to prophesy the rain in the supernatural that will occur.  We have been checking the weather there and there was no rain in the forcast.  When I got up this morning to see, there is now a 40% chance...

Rain God, bring your rain!  Bring your power!  Bring your Hope of Glory!  Give me the nations for my inheritance and the tongue of Mandarin!  We want to work where you work, do what we see you doing, say what we see you saying!  We want more of you!

Peace

There is a scripture that I have always known and most of us can quote:

"and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding,

will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus."

Philippians 4:13

Our China journey has brought me to a place where I finally really understand the peace of God.  Sure, I have always thought I knew about it, but I still worried about this situation or that issue.  Never have I felt the peace that I feel sitting here 3 days before a trip that will change the course of the life of our family. 

It has been a busy, busy time for us.  We have made trips to see family, last planning for China, countless trips to Walmart (each time I say this will be the last time).  It is a challenge to prepare what to take to a place you have never been and don't know what's available. 

I had the honor of being a part of a most beautiful wedding ceremony for our dear friends' daughter.  I created the cake. 

Without a doubt it was my favorite.  It turned out exactly how the bride and her mother wanted.  I think it was my favorite because of the love I have for the family I got to serve.  The Stricklands are the picture of Christ--in their marriage, in their giving, and in their family, their parenting. Their lives reflect our Father in a georgeous way.  It is amazing.  They, like us, are called to "Go".  They are headed to Mozambique.  And, like us, love China.  Their 3 young sweeties are adopted from there.  The wedding was an amazing, blessed night! 

I had so many people leading up to the wedding ask me if I was "ok?"  And my only answer was a smile and a yes.  You see, God planned this week for me in the most spectaular of ways. I returned home from New Mexico in time to recieve a very special envelope that revealed to some very dear friends the gender of their upcoming baby.  I was to make the cake to reveal to them along with our small group.  

 

It is a BOY!!! Stephanie and Joseph have 2 other boys and have the honor of rasing these young men into warriors to take the kingdom of God to the nations!  To Bring Heaven to Earth!  We are so excited for them!! 

Then the wedding was next.  But God, in his mercy and grace, blessed me with a fun busy week that has flown by.  One that, in the midst of what some would deem as stressful, for me was full of joy, rest, and peace! 

My fleshly nature is one of control and planning, one that likes to know what is next.  And yet in the natural what is going on in this season of my family's life is full of questions and very few answers, where I have no control whatsoever.   However, I have more peace than I have ever had in my life.  It is supernatural, it is peace that can only come from my Abba Daddy.  I am confident that He knows the next step when we get off that plane in China.  He knows what the next month holds.  He KNOWS, so I don't have to know.  I just have to take the next step and trust, in faith that He will work it all out because he loves me and my family so very much.  We are the apple of His eye!  So, I have no stress...I am blogging instead of cleaning, doing  laundry and packing.  This peace that truly surpasses understanding is guarding my mind.  It is keeping out the fears.  It is fully allowing me to trust that my Daddy is NOT going to let us stumble or go astray.  I have learned that this kind of walking is the way I want to walk the rest of my life so that HE can work His good will in our life without my "help"- just my obedience to his every word. 

So I leave you with this scripture - Colossians 3:15:

"And let the PEACE of God rule in your hearts..."

And the challenge to really let that peace rule in your heart, nothing compares!! 

Now, stay tuned...the trip is literally, just around the cornor.

Homecoming

We all know the old saying "Absence makes the heart grow fonder."  I have to admit, I have thought it a cheesy saying from time to time.  But after a week of being my love being gone, I am not sure I will say that ever again.  It has been an amazing week for Him and the rest of the mission team, it has been an amazing week for me.  The Father has taught me so many things, one of the most important is that my husband and I, we are ONE.  I have missed him more than I thought possible, on several days, my heart hurt with the intensity of the longing.  I can hardly wait to see the joy in his eyes as he tells the stories and cry with him as he shares the deep emotions that he is bringing home. One thing is for certain, these 9 that left last Monday, are not returning the same.  I pray that I have the grace to handle the new heart that is returning to me.  For this week was ordained since the beginning of time and is really the beginning of an amazing journey that is going to take Kendall and I (and our children as well) a life time to live out.  I have never been more thankful for technology that kept us close...email, facebook, skype...I thank you.  While he was living an adventure, I got to live it thru the beautiful words he blogged and posted on facebook.  I have enjoyed good times with sweet, new friends, been totally attached to my computer as I did not want to miss a post or blog coming from Kendall or anyone who was with, I have had something special to do with my kids each day, stayed up too late watching the olympics, spent more time on facebook than I thought imaginable...I could not be more ready for my beloved to be home!  Although I don't believe life will ever return to normal after this trip, I can hardly wait for what is waiting around the next corner!  Isn't God good!!!  I love that His dreams are bigger than mine...I want your BIG dreams Abba Daddy, don't ever let Kendall and I settle for anything less !!

Welcome Home Beloved, I am Blessed to call you mine!

Leaving Home

As I sit in my cozy home and watch the snow falling outside my window, I am mindful of those who have no home.  How blessed I am to be warm, have good food to eat, a roof over my head.  My mind drifts to leaving this home, to the path that strecthes out before us, what the Father is calling us to do.  What will home look like this time next year?  Will it be the same, will it be different?  I remember Jesus saying that He had no place to lay his head and again I am struck how very blessed I am.  Yet there is a conflict in me because I am also ready to put a sign in the yard and GO; go to the place he called us, begin the journey.  Waiting is a hard thing, deciding when to sell and what the next step is always creates a tension that begs to hear clearly from the Father who sees it all, who plans the path of our life.  We long to walk the path HE is preparing, not going to the right or the left. 

Last night, after the children were tucked into bed and all was quiet, I picked up a book I had gotten at the library and there, on the front page was Hebrew 11:8.

It was by FAITH that Abraham obeyed

when God called him to leave home

and go to another land that God would give him as his inheritance. 

He went without knowing where he was going.

It was sweet manna for me.  Leaving requires a FAITH and an OBEDIENCE; A TRUST in the ONE who sees it all and has a plan.  Even if it is not clear in my natural abilities to understand.  He KNOWS.  How refreshing, how peaceful.  Isn't it amazing that we can walk with Faith and also walk in His PRESENCE.  When we do, we miss nothing--not the miracles or the intimate relationship!!  When Jesus called his disciples to come, the came not knowing what it would look like and yet they left ALL and followed.  I sometimes wonder...when we step onto the soil of that distant land, will I look around and say "how can I feel like I have come home, when I have never been here before?"

I'm ready Father, ready to leave home...I will go where you say, when you say.  I know that provision is already there, I know that the path is being laid out as the day draws near.  I praise you because you are the I AM!!

Meditating on the WORD

Psalm 1:1-3

Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly,

Nor stands in the path of sinners, Nor sits in the seat of the scornful;

But his delight is in the law of the LORD

And on HIS law he MEDITATES day and night.

He shall be like a tree planted by rivers of water,

That brings forth its fruit in its season,

Whose leaf also shall not wither;

And whatever he does shall prosper.

In Hebrew culture, meditating was to quietly repeat the Scriptures in a soft, droning sound, while utterly abandoning outside distractions.  I love the idea of utterly abandoning outside distraction.  How often do we choose to really do this?  For me, I must get up early while it is quiet and the demands of my day have not started.  As I began to read Psalm 1 this morning, I noticed there was a reward to delighting in the law of the Lord and meditating on it.  The word says that we would be like a tree planted by streams of water, bringing forth seasonal fruit, no dead leafs, everything prospering.  That is what I want, I want to delight in the law of the Lord and become just like HIM.  I want to be so close to my Father that His will is my will, His thoughts my thoughts, where He is working, I will naturally be working.  

I am meditating on pursuing relationship with Father above all else, all other distractions, falling so much in love with him, that it would be natural for my life to grow and bloom.  What do I need to get rid of to take away distractions?  Where do I need to discipline myself that I get time to meditate on His word, to sit still in His presence? 

Oh Abba, that I would wake up and be like you, that I would long for the quiet still moments, listening, meditating, growing, blooming, looking like you...I want more and more of YOU!

Grace

Law demands.  Grace bestows. 

Law commands but gives no strength to obey.  Grace promises and performs, doing all we need to do. 

Law burdens and casts downs and condems.  Grace comforts and makes strong and glad. 

Law appeals to self to do its utmost.  Grace points to Christ to do all things. 

Law calls forth effort and strain and urges us toward a goal we can never reach. 

Grace works in us all of God's blessed will.  ~Andrew Murray

As 2009 ended I was continually pondering fasting:  its benefits, what the WORD says about it, Jesus did it and I want to be like him, so I should do it to.  They were great thoughts!  But everytime I tried, I failed.  I came across a great e-book and the author (Mike Bickle @ Internation House of Prayer in Kansas City) said something that turned my fasting world upside down.  Grace...Grace for fasting.  I know about the whole grace vs law issue, but I had never thought to pray for grace in the specific areas in my life I knew that my Abba daddy was calling me to walk in.  I just thought "I walk in grace."  Obviously, I did not or was not walking in the fullness of it, or maybe the specificness of grace. 

At the beginning of the year the Lord said to me, "Tithe to me the first 37 days of 2010 from sugar and begin a weekly fast for one 24 hour period.  BUT, ask for MY grace to do it.  I have a well of grace for you as you learn to walk in this discipline."  I am on day 15, and I have discovered that I am not fasting, when I fast it is a work, but HE is fasting thru me by the result of HIS grace, NOT my works!  Wow, that was great revelation. 

Last night I made a commitment, crazy probably considering all my daily responsibilites, but I made it none the less.  Kendall and I commited to get through the whole P90X (extreme homework out, for those of you who don't know what it is) before we leave for China in April.  As we began, one of his friends told him he had a blog called The Ultimate P90X Group and was challenging people to read the whole bible in that same 90 day period as you are doing P90X.  For our body it tempory but our soul is eternal.  Yes, we need to take care of our earthly temples but NOT at the expense of our spiritual health.  I woke this morning and as I was drinking my coffee, the Lord said, "Ask me for the grace for this as well, it is a good thing...when it is your works it becomes legalistic, but it is grace that sustains, it draws you into more intimacy with me."  I want to walk in specific grace, grace for the moment, grace for the day...abundant, vibrant grace.  Things, that with my natural eyes I have no ability to do, with GRACE I can do.  It is no longer a burden, an addition to my "to-do list," NO it becomes a JOY!  "Grace undertakes to work our whole life in us, and actually give us strength for every moment for whatever Father would have us be and do." ~Andrew Murray

A New Year!!

It is a new year!  I love new starts, there is such anticipation.  In our lives we have much anticipation this year.  We are excitedly looking forward to what God is going to do.  China awaits us in the spring.  Kendall is off to Nicaragua in February.  I am starting a new business on Etsy (a webstore that sells homemade items).  It will be fun to watch God bless the work that I enjoy doing and make a thriving business out of it!  So with much joy and excitement...

Welcome 2010!!

Come Abba Daddy and do YOUR work thru us this year!!