A Journal Entry/ July 14, 2012:

Today, in about 5 hours, my daughter Emmy and I leave for Africa on a mission trip with Ordinary Hero. We will be joining my son Bink and his college roommate Christian who have already been serving over there for the last 10 days...looking forward to seeing them both! They've asked me to bring pepto bismal tablets, gas-x, mac-n-cheese, and orange peanut butter crackers. Hmm...quite a combo.

I can't help but wonder what God has in store for my heart/mind/body next week as I enter into a world that is drastically different than my easy American lifestyle. Even now, I'm sitting on my comfortable porch, in my comfortable chair, sipping my warm sweet coffee. How I love routine, the familiar, the unexpected. But, out of obedience, I get up... and go...

I'm both excited and apprehensive at the same time. What am I going to see, and how am I going to respond? Will my heart be able to take it? Probably not. But really, I think that's okay. One of my favorite lines to a familiar Christian song is this: Lord, break my heart for what breaks yours. 

So I guess that's my prayer for this trip...that the Lord would break my heart as I visit the oprhans and street children in the villages of Ethiopia...that I would be long-term-changed from this short term experience. And that in the brokeness of my un-comfortable heart, God would deeply plant His seed of divine love; so that it is the love of Christ, not mine, that is pouring through my words, my smile, my eyes, my hands, and my feet. Our team is one of many that will stay in Africa only 8 short days; but I am thankful to know and believe that through God's presence and God's people, His steadfast love edures forever. (Jeremiah 33:11) 


Yes Lord Jesus, break my heart, and fill it to overflowing with Your matchless love.

In the early summer mornings, I love to watch the effects of the sun's rising from my screened-in porch. Ever so slowly, the thick wooded tree-line in the back of our house is touched by the sun that is climbing over the hill in the front of our house. So as the sun rises in the east, the trees become "full of light" from their top branches to their bottom trunks in the west. This majestic display of God's splendor will always be new every morning to me.

One night however, my Italian "daughter" Jewels and my youngest daughter Emmy urged me to wake them up early so they could see the actual sunrise from the front porch. (This would be Jewels' last morning with us before returning to Italy, so we were all quite nostalgic and sad about her departure from her 9-month-stay in our home). So together, we woke, we waited, and we watched...

All I can say is that the rising spectacle was gloroius. The sun came over the hill first as a small ball of penetrating fire, but then it began to blaze in its radiance as it rose in steadfast power. The beams of light warmly pierced the three of us as we each sat there in awe. Holy, holy, holy.

The rising sun and its effects on the treeline speak wisdom to our hearts. Hear these words from Scripture about Jesus Christ:

...His face was like the sun shining in its strength.  Revelation 1:16


And listen to these words about His penetrating light on each of us:

...Awake sleeper, arise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you.  Ephesians 5:14


My dear friend, I urge you to allow the glory of the Lord that is new every morning to shine on your heart today. And then as a result of His power, take courage that you become full of His light. Yes, you are the beautiful "effect" of the Son's rising.Rejoice in this truth as you claim it as your own:

Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord of hosts, the whole earth is full of His glory. Isaiah 6:3

My family and I just got back from a Young Life camp in Colorado where my husband was the camp physician and my children were campers. It was an incredible week! One reason we choose to go to Colorado was because our oldest daughter Maggie was (and still is) at another nearby Young Life camp serving as a horse wrangler all summer.

In order for us to see her over the week, I had to be the one to get in the rental car and go get her. Now driving into the unknown Colorado mountains might be fine for some, but assuredly not for me. I am both blonde and directionally challenged. For example, "north" to me is straight "up", which becomes quite a predicament when I get in the car.

On my first trip to Maggie's YL camp, I clung tightly to the steering wheel, read every green sign with my wide unblinking eyes, checked and double checked my hand written directions, and broke out into cold sweats each time I got on a new road. I was sure one wrong turn would lead me to Idaho or Kansas. However, after following at the map precisely, I made it to Maggie! The second trip was a little better, because I now had landmarks. The third trip was even a little relaxing. And by the fourth trip, I could observe the beauty of the mountain ranges surrounding me while listening to worship music in my car; the drive was delightful!

I think our Christian walk is much like my driving experience into the initial unknown. In God's Word (our daily map) we are asked to do some directionally challenging things. For instance:

Do all things without grumbling or disputing.... (Philippians 1:14)
Go therefore and make disciples.... (Matthew 28:19)
Forgive each other, just as God in Christ also has forgiven you. (Ephesians 4:32)
Wives, be subject to your own husbands, as to the Lord... husbands, love your wives... (Eph. 5:22,25)


These instructions, and others, in the Word seem simple enough on paper, but when its time to "get behind the wheel" and actually put them to practice, they can be rather intimidating. Each of these require a laying down of self, and a complete trust in His Word. Can we trust Him that His way is best, and that the end destination will be rewarding? Yes, we can.

The good news is, the more we practice His principles, the more they become part of who we are in our character. This is the beautiful process of sanctification....adding precept upon precept. And as we become more like Him in faith and obedience to His Word, we begin to experience true joy and peace in our days, a beautiful freedom.

Amazingly, my drives alone in the Colorado mountains became part of the highlights of my week. The journey was worshipful and the end destination was rewarding. My prayer is that I will also look forward to the next "map reading" in God's Word, and obey it precisely, even if it directs my soul into unknown territory. I must remember, God will never misdirect me, and His principle are always for my good and His glory.

I challenge you too, my friend, read your Map, and enjoy your drive.

Have you ever felt like you have obeyed the Lord by taking a giant leap of faith, and now you're just waiting to land on solid ground? You know you have been called to do something but you just don't know the details of that call; so, you... just... wait... on the Lord... and His... perfect... timing.

Waiting is beautiful to the Lord. It puts us in a place of complete dependence on Him, which pleases Him, because He can then do His work in us. Yes, while we humanly wait, He supernaturally works. Hear His promise:

Yet those who wait for the Lord will gain new strength; they will mount up with wings like eagles, they will run and not become tired, they will walk and not become weary.  Isaiah 40:31

Because I appreciate any kind of athlete in action, these pictures speak to me about the concept of beauty in the waiting. Observe the strength and grace in the mid-routines of the gymnasts. Now take note of your current situation that may be "up in the air." Remember, you may feel completely out of control, but He never is! So in the midst of your waiting, hold on to your invisible God who is beautifully present... in your... present... and... in your... future.

Wait for the Lord; be strong, and let your heart take courage; yes, wait for the Lord.   Psalm 27:14

I have a young friend that I have grown to love deeply. She has indeed stolen my heart. Yet with this love, a longing resides. More than anything, I desire her to know Jesus Christ as her personal Lord and Savior. One morning, while praying for my sweetheart-friend, I wrote a list of my hopes for her in the days and years to come. These hopes, I'm sure, are the same that you might have if you, too, are in a place of longing for the heart of your child, your spouse, your neighbor, or your friend. If so, let's hope and prayer together.

My hopeful longing:

--that she would truly BELIEVE with all her heart that GOD IS REAL and the He loves her so much that He sent His Son, JESUS, to save her from her sin and give her ETERNAL LIFE.

--that she would ask Jesus to come in, through the power of the HOLY SPIRIT, and take over her heart, and soul, and mind, and strength…her LIFE

--that she would HUNGER and THIRST for GOD’S WORD so that her FAITH would grow each day

--that she would be RADICALLY CHANGED for the sake of the gospel

--that she would clearly recognize the deceit and tactics of the enemy, and FIGHT these lies with God’s word

--that her AMBITION would be to go into her  “appointed places” with the GOOD NEWS of Jesus Christ and that she would use her God-given PERSONALITY and PASSION to draw others to God’s love that is found in Christ alone

--that she would be willing to be DIFFERENT, willing to STAND ALONE, willing to possibly SUFFER ridicule and persecution for her new found HOPE in CHRIST

--that God would go before her and provide two FREINDS, one on her right and one on her left, that BELIEVE and LIVE OUT the Christian faith

-- and that God will provide Christian MENTORS that walk faithfully by her side. 

I will continue to pray each of these things over this precious life that I have the privilege of knowing. AND I REFUSE TO BELIEVE IN a little GOD! Yes, I will pray in faith believing that the Almighty One will answer each request in a way that is exceedinly and abundatly beyond all that I ask or think (Ephesians 3:20). Join me, and let's stand in the gap for the ones we longingly love.

Not too long ago, I purchased and then potted pretty flowers in order bring color to our front and back porches. When I bought these selected plants, they came in small containers, knowing, however, that each one held the great capacity of future growth. Over the last month, as the spring rain has fallen into these pots, and supplied water deep into the plants' roots, I have had the pleasure of watching beauty expand and flowers bloom beyond the borders of its vessel. How captivating to watch its persistant growth!

There's something about the spring rain and new beginnings that speaks loud and clear to my thirsty heart.

I know that I am, and we as believers in Christ, are all much like these potted plants. With the right ingredients: born of an imperishable seed, andbeing rooted and grounded in the love of Christ, and nourished by both the Light of the World andthe Living Water, we too, cannot help but grow in both strength and beauty. (I Peter 1:23, Eph. 3:17, John 8:12, John 4:14)

I hear the Lord encouraging us each to grow into the full potential of who He has created us to be when I read these directional Words of His:

So let us know, let us press on to know the Lord. His going forth is as certain as the dawn; and He will come to us like the rain, like the spring rain watering the earth.  Hosea 6:9


Have you felt the "spring rain" of God's word gently fall over your heart lately? Press on to know the Lord, my friend. You are a selected piece of His beauty with the planned potential to blossom profusely, so that you can captivate the attention of the questioning on-looker.

Yes, Spring Rain, please fall.