You can say a prayer!

Tonight my amazing, incredible, spiritual daughter and I will be speaking at a women's gathering.  It will be about 'Courageous Faith'.  We will be sharing about her trip to Africa and my expericence as a mother while she was there.  I am so looking forward to sharing how incredibly God's grace and mercy reaches down to the most fearful, anxious mom!  :)  Our deepest desire is to show other women and teens how God is so faithful when we just depend solely on Him.  If He can reach this mama who used to walk CONSTANTLY in fear, and set me free, the He can do it for anyone!

We would appreciate your prayers today as we travel and share God's glory tonight! 

Thank you!  Update will follow!

Week in review...

This week seemed to last forever!

Full of appointments (expected and unexpected)

Broken teeth (they WILL now wear mouth guards when playing football with their brothers)

cut open lip (at a doctor's appointment when that happened!)

chicken pox
broken car belt
dishwasher motor...fried

music lessons

music rehearsals for Christmas

eating some "humble pie"

headaches

preparation for speaking at a women's gathering

talking with teenagers about life decisions

scheduling my December that is WAY to full

packing

meal preparations

errands

trying to decide if I am going to put up Christmas decorations this year

listening to the moans and groans when I told the kids of that idea

guess I will be doing that this weekend

cluttered mind

knowing I need to give my cares to the One who cares for me

Trying to figure out why that is so hard sometimes

realizing it's because I have let "life" get in the way of my time with Him

Can't go there!

Been there before!

NOT pretty!

So...

Maybe next week won't feel so long!

Oh yes, there will be "life"

but if I stay focused on Him,

not my daily surroundings...

(that seriously make my head spin at times!)

THEN...

even if my week IS long,

I won't even notice!

I will be doing it all for Him!

I kinda' forgot that part this week!

Have you ever done that?

Trust, Comfort and Thanksgiving

When all that you know and are comfortable with, is about to change,

you REALLY begin to start looking at what IS TRULY important!

This Thanksgving was probably one of the most spiritual for me!

We started out going through the story of Thanksgiving with our kids and how God was the center of it!  Much reason to celebrate!  ( If only that were the way this country was now!)

  We talked about how hard it must have been for those pilgrims! 

 They too, left all that they knew in search of something greater and trusted God for their needs!  They went through many trials and suffered much but they continued on!  God blessed them and brought them through! 

We decided that in the coming weeks, that is what we must do! 

 Perservere! 

Wait and watch and see what God will do! He knows where we are going to live! 

 In that waiting, we will trust, do the things that God has us do and not get weary. 

 And...

if we do get weary in the waiting, we know that God will strengthen us!

The outcome for the pilgrims was incredible because they knew who they had on their side!

The ever-present, unfailing, God!

I too, was reminded this Thanksgiving that all that I have is His and I can leave it in His hands because He is the same yesterday, today and forever!

I don't know what the future holds, none of us do!

  But my children look to us to show them and they trust us without any doubt! 

 They run and play without a care in the world knowing that we will feed them, clothe them, and tell them of Jesus love!

That is what we must do!

  I have been reminded this past week with all that around me seems to be caving in, that my God CAN be trusted and as a child, I am to leave it my Father's hands!  He will provide!

Oh I am so Thankful!

Journey to Africa ~ Part 3

I felt so small!  So dependant on this God that I thought I knew so well.  That's the thing about African village life!  It will shatter every ignorant assumption your have ever made.  Sooner or later, you will be forced to think.  I realized how little I actually knew. How inadequate I was in comparison to how proud I was previously.  I was learning that brokenness and humility are not optional.  If my desire is to know God and to be used for His glory, the only way that will happen is if I crucify my self and choose the path of brokenness and humility.  Village life was simple.  Wake up to a beautiful sunrise, go bathe (with a small bucket of unclear water in an enclosed grass square area for privacy) and eat breakfast. Hike for an hour, two, or three, maybe up a mountain. 

They have a morning service consisting of praise and worship that could stir up the most stale and stagnant heart. Spirit-led preaching...

 Then, my favorite time!  The time that I SO looked forward to!  I would spend every spare second with the kids and babies! 

 Maybe it was their innocent wonder and curiosity about this crazy foreign white girl who was always either smiling, crying or both! 

 Maybe it was because spoken language was not necessary!  They are thrilled and satisfied with the universal language of a loving smile, a gentle hand grasping theirs, a tickle resulting in an outburst of giggles. 

There was nothing in the whole wide world that I would have traded even for ONE second of this pure bliss! 

I found my soul's delight as I sat holding a little child, effortlessly looking past the filth and stink.  In God's abundant goodness, He allowed me to see what He saw as I looked into each child's eyes.  A priceless, cherished, beloved, sacred, God-ordained blessing that was longing to be delighted in.  Whether for a few moments or a few hours. 

I would pray the mighty blood of Jesus over each child's life.  Then I would do what I enjoyed oh SO much!  I would show them love in action. 

 I realized that to tell a Malawian that God loves, often means nothing.  Why?  They have no grasp of the concept.  Biblical, Jesus-like love is non-existent to them.  So first I loved them with my expressions, eyes full of love, reassuring hugs and touches.  Hours of joyful, carefree play, long walks abounding with skipping, jumping, running, and LOTS of giggles!  Their are no language barriers with giggles!  All of this and so much more to demonstrate love.  Through this, they learn love and that my love was real!  So in turn, I could now point them to their perfect Creator, Lover, and Redeemer!

As my story closes, realize I have so much more!  I could share for months of all of my experiences!  I will share more after I have sifted through more of my thoughts.  The point I want to make with you is all of this works in America too!  Live your life spending each moment loving others with Christ-like love and in doing so , they will be directed to the supply of our love.  Indeed, they shall know we are Christian's by our love! 

Oh and may we all learn to NEVER resent the times when God gives us more than we can handle!  May we see that He is giving us another opportunity to give our burdens to Him.  May we see His glory revealed through our insufficiency!

Journey to Africa ~ Part 2

Trying to get the rest of the story out of a 16 year old BUSY girl, is not an easy task, but she has blessed us with the second part of her Journey to Africa!  Hope you are blessed!

People say that God will never give us more than we can handle.  I don't believe that!  I believe that God absolutely, completely, and purposely gives us more than we can handle.  Why?  So that we can see HIM provide and so we can see how good HE is at doing the impossible.  How ready He is to come through for His weak, broken, helpless, inadequate children.  God gives us more than we can handle to encourage us to surrender it to Him.  This sums up my journeys and lessons learned in Malawi, Africa.

6 weeks in Africa was absolutely NOTHING like what I anticipated.  I thought I was prepared.  Now I realize there is not really much preparation that can be done for something so drastic of a culture shock like I witnessed.  We had a few days in Blantyre before leaving on our first trip to the village.  Those few days were euphoric.  I felt so excited!  I knew that I belonged there and that God had so much in store.  Yet also there were strong feelings of caution and hesitation.  There is no way to describe what it was like to see Malawi for the first time. 

 I expected poverty, but nothing like I saw with my own eyes for the first time.  Orphaned toddlers digging through trash.  Hundreds of people walking every which way, people with absolutely no hope, ambition or vision except to find enough food and water to survive another day. 

Animals everywhere!  Goats, cows, chickens, dogs with bones protruding so much you could count their ribs. 

 I remember staring in wonder as I thought to myself, "This IS just like all the movies, the scenes in Africa!"  No real feeling of safety!  You can't call 911 if you need help!  There is no 911!  I felt so helpless!

My first reaction was probably deep grief and compassion.  The next was utter despair!  How in the world does anyone even make a dent in all this suffering and poverty? 

 Now I know that nobody can.  Only Jesus!  Only the gospel!  Only the souls who are willing to be the hands, feet, tears, and touch of Jesus!

We spent a LONG day of traveling to the first village.  The mountain views were spectacular! 

We arrived in our first village, Chididi after dark. 

 Getting there and stepping out of or Land Rover was surreal.  The whole village crowded around us to see the 'azungus' (white people).  I remember seeing dozens upon dozens of bright eyes looking at me through the dark.  The children were captivated.  Most having never seen a white skinned person in their lifetime!  Later that night I remember gazing up at the immense African sky.  I was in complete awe of the huge, bright, twinkling stars and constellations.  The sky was like nothing I had ever seen before!  Nothing to interfere with God's creation!  With tears streaming down my cheeks from the overwhelming beauty!  I felt so small...

Part 3 next to come!

Please also check this out!  One of my FAVORITE blogs has a giveaway!  Click HERE to see what I mean! In our homeschooling experience we have read many great Christian Books!

A Thanksgiving Prayer

Our Father, giver of life and joy, who is like you, Oh Lord, that we should come to you with our praise? You need not these words, for you formed our lips. What is man that you are mindful of him? You own the lives of all that inhabit the earth. Your power, might, and love are seen in the bounty of this season. We gather this day around a table laden with food that you have brought forth. We gather as family and friends whom you brought into this world. We bow before you with humble hearts knowing we live because you brought us to life.
We celebrate this day as a nation of people who have been blessed more than any other people on the face of the earth and at any time. We acknowledge you as the giver of the good we so easily take for granted. Forgive us as we are a forgetful people. Grant us on this Thanksgiving Day, the time to reflect on all the ways you have blessed each of us who has gathered. Increase our understanding of your ways, defeat us when we use our blessings for selfish gain, and remind us to love one another.
Thank you for providing all that we need for life and godliness. Make us to be a light and a blessing to the nations of the world. We acknowledge you as the only true and living God.
We pray this in the name of your Son and our Savior, Jesus Christ.
Amen.

written by Dawn M. Jones

Foto Friday~ Fishin' for raisins

My 2 year old decided to finish up his brother's cereal
(See the milk trail?)
Needless to say,
the raisins were gone but it took a while for him to master it with his spoon!
I love the perserverance a two-year old has!
Well...
sometimes anyway!

Have a beautiful weekend!

Morning wake up crew...

This is what life is like when your #12 and the last one to wake up in the morning...

Morning smiles for everyone!

For a few more years anyway! :)

I'm gonna miss this someday!

Hang in there!  My daughter's Part II of her Journey to Africa coming soon!