Today, we are thankful

Today, Jeremy and I had a new Thanksgiving experience. We were not with our biological families, instead we are 4,000 miles away in Spain. Instead of everyone around us celebrating a holiday, today was just a normal day for the Spaniards we met on the street. People were at work, going to the store and school. It was a little sad, but it was another reminder of all we are thankful for, today and everyday. 

Today we are thankful for the past week. We arrived safely in Spain last Wednesday. We have somewhat adjusted to the time change, even a new eating schedule- I am not AS starving by our 2pm lunch. A couple of days we have felt absolutely exhausted. Not just by the time change but also by the new sights, sounds and smells all around us. It is hard to slow down and not try to take it all in at once. But, we have found an apartment to rent! We have successfully taken the train into Madrid with the help of team-member Colleen and purchased a monthly bus pass. We are enrolled in language school to start on Monday. A packed week!

Today we are thankful for God's calling. This move to Spain is fulfillment of a promise given to me 6 years ago. As overwhelming as it all is, I am thankful for His provision that has brought us to Spain. From almost anywhere in the town you can see snow covered mountain tops a reminder of my favorite scripture- "You will go out in joy and be led forth in peace; the mountains and hills will burst into song before you, and all the trees of the field will clap their hands." Isaiah 55:11

Today we are thankful for the Sierra Oeste Team. These are the people who first prayed for our calling to Spain. They have been faithful to the Lord and begun an incredible work in this area. We are blessed to be working alongside them. They have been incredibly accommodating and welcoming to us as we get adjusted and begin language school. We are excited to begin working more with this wonderful team in the coming months.

Today, I am thankful for my husband. Not only does he love me when I am not so nice, but he answered God's call on his life to this new journey. He answered without hesitation and has been an encouragement to me all along the way. Every step, sacrifice and leap of faith, he has been a solid rock and picture of Jesus' love. He is my forever friend.

Lastly, today I am thankful for YOU. I am thankful that you have taken a moment to read this (long and mushy-gushy post) simply because you care. I am thankful for you who have prayed for us. I am thankful for you who have invested your wisdom into our lives. I am thankful for you who have invested financially into the Kingdom of God by supporting us. We could not be here without you. Thank you, thank you for loving us and loving our Savior. 

Acting According to His Faithfulness

Jeremy and I are in a season of life where we are constantly asking and asking a lot. We are asking a lot of our family, friends, supporters and asking a lot of God. However, as we are constantly asking, I am trying not to neglect being thankful. I am trying to reflect on God's faithfulness to us in the past as we look forward to His faithfulness in the future.
"I will sing of the LORD's great love forever; with my mouth I will make your faithfulness known through all generations." Psalm 89:1

We are thankful for how God has not only saved us but also how He has given us a purpose. It is an amazing thing to know that God has saved you. It is even more amazing to realize that even before you asked for His salvation He had a purpose for you. I am thankful that God has given my life purpose.

"I do not hide your righteousness in my heart; I speak of your faithfulness and salvation. I do not conceal your love and your truth from the great assembly. "Psalm 40:10 

I am thankful that as we have taken steps of faith in order to obey His calling, He has provided. Before we even knew this season of our lives was coming, God orchestrated our lives according to His timing. His calling and subsequently His provision came, and will continue to come, at just the right time-whether we realize it or not.

 I will declare that your love stands firm forever, that you established your faithfulness in heaven itself. Psalm 89:2

As we continue to ask for support, I will continue to be reminded of God's faithfulness thus far. I will reflect on where we have  been and look forward to where He is calling us. I pray that my actions will always be in response to the faithfulness I have experienced.  Never doubting, always trusting. Never looking back, always looking to Him. Never acting in fear, always acting in His peace. 

May God himself, the God of peace, sanctify you through and through. May your whole spirit, soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. The one who calls you is faithful and he will do it.1 Thessalonians 5:23-24 

Gentle Teaching

Thirty-seven percent. That is where our account sits at this point.

I punch these numbers in the calculator on my phone multiple times a week. On days that the first numbers goes up- I punch them in over and over. Amazed at how the result changes.
When nothing changes for a couple of weeks my mood changes. I become frustrated. I wonder where the disconnect is.
Why isn't anything coming in?
Is it something I am saying during "the ask?"
Are we not making our purpose clear enough?
Do we need to change something?
Take a new approach?
Why isn't the money coming in?!

I wonder these things and I pray. I pray that God will send us to the right people at the right time. But I don't often stop to think that- maybe the right time hasn't come yet.
Maybe the right person isn't ready yet.
Maybe we aren't ready yet.

I really did think that we would be further along than 37% by now. I really hoped we would be at least half way. Maybe closer.
But we aren't. Here we sit- at 37% funded. Looking forward to Jeremy's last month of work. Cross-training and the potential of months without steady income.

I have started reading more out of Streams in the Desert. Because, well, it's appropriate and maybe a little cliche.
But, honestly, it couldn't be more encouraging.

I had not read out of the book in several days, so (I as sweated my way through 20 minutes on the elliptical),  I opened it up to May 22nd and I re-read the verse at the top.
Commit you way to the Lord; trust in Him and He will do this. Psalm 37:5

I flipped tapped a couple of pages over on the Kindle...
I cry out to God Most High, to God, who fulfills His purpose for me. Psalm 57:2

May 23rd
They were at their wits' end. They they cried out to the Lord in their trouble, and he brought them out of their distress. Psalm 107:27-28

May 27th
Bring them here to me. Matthew 14:18

To me the Lord said, "Bring what you have to me. That $1,851 you have in pledges? Give it up. Let me have it and do with it what I want. You don't have it all. But I do. They don't have it all. I've got it."

My God will meet all your needs according to His glorious riches in Christ Jesus. Philippians 4:19

"You hear that? I've got it. I am the the source. I am the means and the way in which to receive it. You can't do this on your own. Give. It. Up."

May 28th
I will not let you go unless you bless me. Genesis 32:26
Not my will, but yours be done. Luke 22:42

I will no longer work by my strength alone. I will not work against the time He has allowed to pass. I will find the joy in this preparation and be grateful for the gentle teaching He has given me.

Our needs...His Glorious Riches

"And my God will meet all your needs according to his glorious riches in Christ Jesus.

To our God and Father be glory for ever and ever. Amen."

- Philippians 4:19-20

We are just in the beginning stages of fundraising for our ministry but already we are seeing how God is opening doors of opportunity. God is demonstrating His faithfulness as we begin to make calls and contact friends, family and churches to share our story and calling. 

He has already shown us how He will provide by giving us our very first monthly supporters last week. We had not even planned to present our story that night but because He is good, the opportunity was given. We sat across the table from a couple who had "adopted" us while Jeremy was  a youth pastor. They have consistently opened themselves up to us as friends and mentors. They are two of the most giving people I know and we are so grateful for the way they have promised to support this ministry. 

I have been sitting here filling in dates that have already been booked at churches I know and ones I don't. As I see our calender already filling up, I can't help but become overwhelmed. Not overwhelmed with stress or anxiety but with gratitude and thankfulness knowing that God has already prepared the hearts of those who will hear our story. 

Long before this calling was revealed to me or to Jeremy, God knew. He knew the needs we will have and the goals we will need to reach. He knows the exact dollar amount that we will need so that we can be on the field. As big this challenge as it may seem to us, God is bigger. He has a plan as to how we will meet this goal and He is making the way for us to meet it.  I have faith that the right people, at the right time will feel lead to support the ministry God called us be a part of. 

It has become clear to me how important it is for people to realize who they are really supporting when they pledge to our ministry. They are not giving money to us each month. They are not giving money to One Mission Society each month. No, instead the individuals, couples and families who will financially partner with us are giving to God. The money that we receive is a gift from God. You give to God and God gives to us. 

Thank you to those who are praying for us. Thank you to those who have supported us along the way. And thank you to those who will give to God as He gives to us in this ministry.We are blessed to be called to this specific ministry just as each Christian is blessed to be called to his or her own specific ministry. 

We Are Not Our Own

It was no coincidence that this morning’s reading from My Utmost for His Highest began with this quote, “A missionary is someone in whom the Holy Spirit has brought about this realization: “You are not your own.” 1 Corinthians 6:19 says, “Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your bodies.” While the context of this verse is actually talking about sexual immorality, it can pretty easily be applied to every area of our lives.

The control we believe we have in our own lives is so very deceiving. If our bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, they can serve only that singular purpose. If the Holy Spirit is to inhabit our bodies, then we must relinquish all control over what they do. We must forfeit all say in our own lives because even the life we live is not really our own. Galatians 2:20 says, “I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.”

My lack of control over my own life has manifested itself in many ways over the past several years. The first significant time was when I was 15. I had plans to be part of a three week mission trip to Curitiba, Brazil. Thanks to several setbacks along the way, the trip fell through. Instead, I ended up in Nicaragua with a youth group from a different church, an experience I wouldn't trade for anything. Since that year I have been on several other short term trips and begun a degree in Intercultural Studies and Global Missions.

Over the last one to two years, I have wondered if my call to missions had been misread or misunderstood. I have been frustrated and confused. Maybe full-time missions was never my call. Maybe I had missed a sign along the way. Surely God wouldn’t have changed His mind on me. No, that wasn’t it. Our time had not yet come. It wasn’t until March of this year that Jeremy finally told me he was ready to pursue our calling. As soon as I was ready to be content with a life of short term trips and American living, my husband was on board to sell our possessions and dive headfirst into a new culture.

This August we interviewed with One Mission Society in Indiana. We received the call confirming our acceptance and now we will begin the process of preparation. Together we were called and together we will journey to minister to the hearts of Spain. 

Be all here.

Jim Elliot said, "He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain that which he cannot lose." Now for those of you who may not know, Jim Elliot, a missionary to Ecuador who gave his life for the cause of Christ. A quote maybe less well known, yet has always been close to my heart is this, "Wherever you are, be all there." Jim Elliot was "all there." He knew the work that he was called to do and he did it (along with the four others) to the point of giving his life.

Earlier tonight in class, I felt a prayer answered. I have been praying and desiring for God to reveal His will for me more clearly. My answer came when I mentioned this quote that has been with me for so long. The answer wasn't a clear cut path for my next step or a new, crisp, revised and updated road map for life. No, simply the peace of knowing that I am where I am and I am where I need to be so, I need to be all here.

So many people, especially at the stage I am in my life are asking the question about their future and the plan that God has in store for them. But if they are like me, they don't know very many details of that plan. I am coming to learn and accept that it really is okay! I am where I am and I am where I should be. C.S. Lewis says, "To walk out of His will is to walk into nowhere." But I think, even more than that, to walk out of His will, even into something "good" would be walking into sin. Not because what I might do is inherently "bad" but because I could be disregarding what God has placed me here to do.

James 4:13-17 says, "Now listen, you who say, "Today or tomorrow we will go to this or that city, spend a year there, carry on business and make money." Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes. Instead, you ought to say, "If it is the Lord’s will, we will live and do this or that." As it is, you boast and brag. All such boasting is evil. Anyone, then, who knows the good he ought to do and doesn’t do it, sins."

Who am I to plan out my future? Who am I to plan even tomorrow? My life is nothing. My will is nothing. All I know is what and where I am at this very moment. If I am so focused on what the future may hold I will not see all the good I can do right where I am (verse 17).

So, what good can you do right where you are? How can you be all there?