Happy New Year! Bring on 2014!

Well, first of all, a late Merry Christmas!  I have had at least 20 blog posts I've wanted to make in the past few months!  I'm hoping 2014 will be filled more with more updates on here but I'm not making any promises!  God has rocked our world and we have for sure seen a new depth of His goodness and mercy in our life.  I recall all He has done this past year and can't help but tear up with gratitude deep in my heart.  Of course things arent always perfect and life gets TOUGH.  What we said yes to is definitely not for the faint of heart.  Hearts must be so grounded in Jesus and actually, hearts must be ALL His.   There have been a few restless and sleepless nights and sometimes we get caught in the everyday mundane of life and ask "what are we doing?!" as it sometimes feels like just a drop in the bucket.  But those thoughts are silly and we have to live from heavens perspective.  Where our inheritance is joy and love.  Where He has ordained every step of our life and brings together all the people and resources to make what He has called us to possible.

I'm a dreamer.  Like I could sit in a very dark corner of the earth where its full of disease and extreme poverty, where hope is lost, and I'm able to dream big with our Papa God on what it could look like.

I love to see lives restored and disciples of Jesus made.  I love to see children left to die, given hope and a future.  They come to life like no one I've seen before and radiate love.  They run into your arms without holding back.  They can sing praises to Jesus in the purest way.

I love to see old mamas (widows) that couldn't lift their arm or move their fingers to work in their little farm (which is the way they survive), be touched by Jesus' healing power and run around rejoicing.  Then she turns around to another mama having the exact same problem and she lays her hands on the woman and that woman gets healed by Jesus.  I just love it.

I love to see a three year old that couldn't walk 6 months ago, now running.  He was literally tied up in a plastic bag and left to die on the side of the road.  And now he is strong. And hefty actually.  I love that he can now do puzzles and is very particular on the order of how its done.  He now loves and comforts babies.  And he is always is the first to run and say hi if there's a new visitor.  I love it.  I just love it.  

I love to hold 10 year old girls that were once forced to have sex with 3-4 people a day but now are safe and given an education.  I love to see them excited to learn to read for the first time and dream about being a doctor or teacher when they grow up.  I love to see them freely run and swing in a beautiful yard where their innocence is restored.  I just love it.

I love to see old men that were once cursed by others saying they'll always be poor, realize that they are rich in Christ Jesus and literally see their countenance instantly change as hope is restored.  A man that lives as far into a rural desert as you can get, who has several wives and sees children just as goat herders and girls as objects to give away in return for more goats.  And all that is changing because of one encounter with Jesus.  I love that we saw him not just be told the gospel but now he saw the gospel in action and was given a deep hunger for it.  I love it that his hard heart was softened by a simple act of kindness shown through bags of beans and maize that were given to him consistently, when they needed it the most.  I love that we didn't ask to start a church, to start bible studies, to put up a sign with our ministry logo, or make some name of ourselves... but I love that he said "we are making Jesus our Lord and we want you to come back to teach us the bible.  I don't want to move to a town and start a church.  The church is now here with my family and those around us.  Please come back."  Yeah, that was one of those moments that you realize it's only Jesus, it's the power of Holy Spirit.  It's not some fancy bible degree or 10 step plan on how to plant a church that made that happen.  Just Jesus.  I JUST LOVE IT!

I also love to see people forsake their american dream and run into the darkest places, shining God's light.  I love to see radical lovers of Jesus catch the same heart and vision we have and together we see lives changed and destinies fulfilled.  I love to have labored years to establish a foundation where people can walk in and easily fulfill their hearts desires.  I just love it.

I love it that I'm sitting in a posh coffee and bakery cafe at the moment (waiting to pick up a guest tonight flying in from Florida!), and I'm dreaming of one day going to Congo to do what we do here Then this british business man sits at the next table and I hear him say in a very worried way "there are bombs and shootings going on.  Our people have left and everyone is fleeing to Uganda and Rwanda.  It's brutal.  We can't go.  There are too many problems which we can't control.  There's no guarantee when Congo will be available again for business."   And that's where I want to run into now.  Like it's burning and getting deeper.  Just waiting and listening for our Chief Commander to give the order on when to go.  Because it's all in His perfect timing.  But "here I am Lord, send me", is the cry of my heart.  I've waited 13 years now to go and so I'm in no rush to go before God says to.  But I know I'll love it.  I'll just love it.

I love that Jesus restored a deep friendship two years ago.  That our hearts are knitted together to bring the Kingdom of heaven in ways we never could of thought or dreamed up on our own.  I love that there is more to friendships than just surface, that there's more to discipleship than just a program.  I love that you can actually walk in a relationship with someone that is so centered on Jesus and is so supernatural that you can't even give one word of who they are to you when you introduce them to someone.  "Um, she's my really good friend... mom... sister... ummm... her and her husband disciple us... we're family... she helped start mattaw... umm.. she's on our board...".  That's usually the introduction.   I love that this crazy woman of God laid down her life for Jesus with no compromising and leads by example.  She leads by serving.  She leads by giving.  And I just love her!  And I dont love that she flew out last night but I do love that we spent the last 7 days seeing the heaven invade earth in SO many ways, I could write a book on all that just happened.  I love that my husband and I (and our kids) get to spend the rest of our lives growing as family and friends with this woman and her husband (and their children).  I just love it.

I also love that I have three beautiful children that in this season of life, take a lot of my time and focus. I love that I get to teach them daily.  I love that I can train them up to be laid down lovers of Jesus.  I love that they call this place home.  I love that my baby boy just turned one and is on the verge of walking.  I love that they are full of SO much energy and life.  All three of them.  I love that I'm aware not to let the ministry, the things we are called to outside our home, take away my third calling to be a mom.  I just love 'em!

I especially love the man I'm married to.  I love that we just celebrated SEVEN years of blissful marriage this past Monday.  Ok, so maybe it hasn't always been full of bliss.  Actually it's been quite terrible at some points.  And I wish I could give hope to marriages that feel like it's coming to and end by sharing what a MIRACLE it is that Jesus brought our marriage back to life.  I love that I get to do what I do standing next to this crazy man.  I love that he supports what my heart longs to do.  I love that he has such strong faith in God to do the impossible.  I love that this is the second calling I have.  To be a wife to Bud.  I simply love this man.

And I love that Jesus loves me.  I love that I know I was created to know God and be known by Him.  I love that He showed me my first calling is to Him.  And Him alone.  Jesus is everything.

Like I said, I'm a dreamer.  I love that Jesus speaks in dreams in the night.  Last night I dreamed I had a group of young wild missionaries that were so in love with Jesus.  They were all twenty something years old.  And I loved getting to teach them.  At the end of our talk though, it got very quiet and I kept saying I need to tell them the success to what we do.  I said so strongly in my heart with tears in my eyes "the success to what we do is that I know Jesus and I spend time with him.  A lot.  A lot of time with just him."  I love the word of God.  I love it.  But unless we encounter him, it's just words on a page.  He is real and tangible and His presence is everything.  So, I love it.  I love that he still speaks in dreams and visions.  And I love Jesus.

I just love Him.