Life Comes At You Fast

I love the "Life Comes At You Fast" and "Wanna Get Away" commercials. They are so funny, yet so true. We laugh at the calamities of the unsuspecting victims along with the screw-ups of the not-so-bright.

But life does come at you fast and sometimes you do want to get away, but not always because you messed something up or stuck your foot in your mouth.

James 4:14 reminds us that this life is just a "mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes." So what will we do with that 'little while' that we do have here.

I don't know about you, but I want to get away, not to a better life, but to a life that finishes well, this 'little while' that I am here on earth. As I move from room to room in my home, slowly getting rid of items that we won't need either in Costa Rica or Venezuela, I feel that, in a way, I am purging my life of all the unneeded items that clutter my inward self.

As I have been typing this out, I have been listening to Francesca Battistelli's song, Beautiful, Beautiful.
The lyrics speak so deeply to my heart, that God would take me and make me something more than I could ever be on my own. I want my life to be something beautiful for His Glory.

Don’t know how it is You looked at me

And saw the person that I could be
Awakening my heart
Breaking through the dark
Suddenly Your grace

Like sunlight burning at midnight
Making my life something so
Beautiful, beautiful
Mercy reaching to save me
All that I need
You are so
Beautiful, beautiful

I have come undone
But I have just begun
Changing by Your grace

I want Him to continue to change me by His grace, purging all the impurities and unnecessary junk out of my life.

Because 'life does come at us fast' and we should 'wanna get away' from whatever is holding us back from serving Him with this 'little while' that we are here.

On The Road Again

Traveling can be exciting and fun, but also boring and mundane.  In the midst of all the driving and motels, meetings and church services, life goes on, which for our family means school work!

So, from math books in every hand, to yelling spelling words over the back seat, to reading science units, we make it work. We have incorporated our own beatitude: Blessed are the flexible, for they shall not be broken!

We are not always on the road, but for everyone who has traveled with young kids, you understand the struggle with the break in routine.

Thankfully, a friend shared with us just prior to Malachi's birth 13 years ago, that we don't conform to our child's world, but they conform to our world. We took that advice literally and our kids have always been a part of what we do and where we go. They have learned to be flexible in the midst of whatever circumstance.

I believe that was another part of God's preparation for our family for mission work. Flexibility is not always easy, and can sometimes be very trying to this mom's Type A personality. But I know that God is always trying to teach me something new.

For this season, He is teaching me to be willing to move when He says move, to change when He says change, to make my schedule fit His, and to walk according to His plans, not mine.

He gave me a scripture recently that I believe is for all the seasons of my life and I will walk in obedience to Him because "He who calls you is faithful, He will surely do it." I Thess. 5:24(ESV)

White Christmas & New Year!

Another big snow for NC! We had about 10 inches at our house and the family enjoyed every minute of it. From sledding with friends, to making a snowman, to the hot chocolate afterwards, it was a wonderful event. We know that these moments are to be cherished and remembered and will be all too few once we are in Venezuela. Although we enjoy the snow, we are looking forward to the warm weather there.
I am truly not a fan of winter-time! Maybe that is why the snow is so exciting. Without it, there is just cold, with chapped lips and fly-away hair and sickness that we all spread around while we are all huddled up together trying to stay warm. :D
The holiday season has passed all too swiftly this year. We blinked and it was over. New Year's has come this week and we begin a fresh new year. 2011, for us, will be a year of changes. We will be traveling and traveling and traveling some more, itinerating. And when we are at home, we will be sorting through and selling and/or giving away the material items of our life here in the States. There are moments that really shake me that life is completely changing and I tear up thinking of all that we leave behind. But also in those moments comes the thought of a people who need Jesus and the hope that only He can bring them. What could we possibly give up here that would be worth more than their lives? Our friend Brett just recently made us aware of an amazing Christmas song by Marc Martel and his group Downhere called How Many Kings?  “Bringing our gifts for the newborn savior all that we have whether costly or meek because we believe. Gold for his honor and frankincense for his pleasure and myrrh for the cross he’ll suffer... [For] How many kings, stepped down from their thrones? How many lords have abandoned their homes? How many greats have become the least for me? How many gods have poured out their hearts to romance a world that has torn all apart? How many fathers gave up their sons for me? Only one did that for me.” 
Those words bring it all into the proper perspective for us. What are we willing to give up for Him? We can never match His gift, but we can surely give of ourselves for Him. This new year I pray that my resolutions, or any goals that I set forward to accomplish, may not be based on selfish ambition, but on what I can do for Jesus to honor Him.
Happy New Year!