Money Gram Bandit

The bandit has struck again! Or there is another bandit. Someone is sharing money with us in the form of anonymous money orders! This really is amazing! I got the first one when I arrived home from our retreat with our SE Asia travel team Sunday afternoon. It caught me off guard. The friend who dropped me off asked, "Did you get something good?" The answer off the top of my head was, "This is how we are surviving!" Now Noah just checked the mail and brought me another one. Noah said, "I have never experienced God like this!" I told him that is exactly why God is doing it.

I really need to post more of the miracles God is doing. I have them all written in a daily journal. I will try to share more with you soon.

Digging My Way

Check out my new blog. Since I have so much free time, thought I'd try my hand at yet another blog. ha ha Seriously, I have created a separate place to talk about our upcoming trip to East Asia. Please give it a read and let me know what you think. This summer, Danny, Noah and I will be heading back to the orphanage we visited last summer. Our girls want to go so badly. I hope we can take them next time. The work being done by our friends there is truly amazing. A handful of dedicated and hardworking believers is transforming the lives of children forgotten by society. They are bringing hope, health and happiness to some of the most precious kids I have ever known. I am honored to play a small part in their story.

OneAtlanta Music

Check out Danny's blog. His vision of an Atlanta music community is taking on a life of it's own. It is very exciting to be working, living, creating along side such talented people. Sit back and read about what he is doing. And leave him a comment to let him know what you think.

You knew this was coming!

PJ was so helpful. Soon as we got home, she poured food and water into tiny dishes. She gathered something soft for a bed. She is the details person in the family. She never asked for a cat. She just helped Dove. So yes, I went back for another cat. The sticker on my forehead reads "Mother of the Year" or "Sucker" depending on if you are a glass if half full or half empty kind of person. But we are having fun. Dove has carried her cat around since the moment we brought him home. The result is: he sits on her lap all day and sleeps under her chin all night. Their names are Cricket and LadyBug.

Modern Conveniences

Oh the dishwasher! I am not talking about Danny - though he is a great one. This marvelous appliance is not overrated. Thank you friend! You know who you are. Our kind neighbor installed it today. It was so nice to load and unload tonight!

The Waiting is the Hardest Part

Now, I love me some Tom Petty. But he ain't got nothing on Lettie Cowman. Yes, I am going to reference Streams in the Desert again. As a matter of fact, I am going to give it a label because it is in my blood. You've got to get this book. You will need it sooner or later!

"Have you ever heard of anyone being greatly used by Christ who did not experience a special time of waiting, or a complete upset of his plans at first?"

I guess it is time pick up where I left off with my first post about our Stretching. Though we are uncertain how God will fund what he has called us to, we are not uncertain about the call. Danny keeps developing the business and God keeps showing up. We are living just a little of what we read about in February in the biographies of Rees Howells, Hudson Taylor, Brother Andrew, etc. And I don't mean the being great and godly part; I mean the suffering part! But the way it happens is so crazy that we know God is directing it. God keeps saying wait, trust, abide. As we obey, he is providing. Yesterday someone gave us a dishwasher...ours broke weeks ago. The day before that, we were surprised with $600! Danny gets extra work from unexpected places. It really is inspiring. It seems whenever we are on our knees asking God to open the flood gates, he gives us a little trickle so show he hears us but that it is not time yet. More on his Appointed Time tomorrow.

Dovie's Lovey

Dove got a kitten today. She has wanted her own pet to take care of for a long time. She is quite the animal lover so I think she will make a great little mom!

Spiritual Renewal Retreat

I can't wait to attend this Renovare conference with my mom next month. I have been a fan of Richard Foster for many years. His writings and compilations introduced me to contemplative prayer and the important role of solitude and silence in my relationship with Christ. I've felt more connected with God out in nature, or in a quiet place for a long time. For the past three years I've taken an annual silent retreat each fall. You don't have to be Catholic to do this! When Andy Stanley did the You've Got Style series, I discovered that my tree-hugging, bird-watching, incense burning prayer times were not abnormal! Seriously, it really is freeing to understand the way in which you most naturally connect with God. There is a book called Sacred Pathways that shines some light on this. However, I found Andy's messages much more engaging. Mainly because in reading a book, the parts that don't light my fire, don't hold my interest. I understand that Andy referenced the book when preparing for his sermon series.

7 Random Things

Here are seven random things for Rachel.
1. I wish Rachel would post on her blog! I can say that only because I posted today.
2. I sang in church once...when I was 5 so it was still cute.
3. I want to live on a farm and have chickens.
4. I would be perfectly happy if that farm was in China.
5. My first job was at Kmart.
6. It paid better than my current job.
7. I want more kids.

It all started...

with a trip to Australia. Last June, Danny went to the Hillsong conference in Sydney. He came back a different man. God had laid claim to him and he wanted to pursue a vision of worship and community that had been awakened in him on this trip. God could have told Danny to quit his job right here at home. But that is not what this was about. This was about what I mentioned in my last post: "the mysterious chamber, the secret wall, God closing us off to something divine, new and unexpected, not to be understood by examining our previous circumstances." In January, God provided the opportunity for Danny to pursue this vision through ONE Atlanta Music. About six weeks into it, God shook the tree and all of a sudden we were clinging to the branches! God told Danny to turn down some investment money. That left us in a place of uncertainty financially. Thus started a journey of trust and faith that is teaching us alot about God's faithfulness. It may take me weeks to post it all. But it is so worth sharing. Our kids are learning along with us what Job said, "My ears had heard of you but now my eyes have seen you."

What is your oil?

Today, in Selah, I was reading the story in I Kings 4 about Elisha, the widow and her two sons. Ironically that is what today's Streams in the Desert entry is about too. Carmichael is asking, What do you have? What is your oil? What has God put within you that he is trying to get you to use? You don't have to generate something from the outside. We can exhaust ourselves doing many good things. But what would happen if we slow down, listen to him, inventory our lives and determine what our life is saying to those around us?


Now, Mrs. Cowman's point about I Kings 4 might be useful in finding your life's message. She grabs Elisha's words from the text: "Go inside and shut the door behind you..." Her angle is so good, you really should read the April 5th entry. I want to include part of it here. "We are to enter a secret chamber of isolation in prayer and faith that is very fruitful. At certain times and places God will build a mysterious wall around us. He will take away all the supports we customarily lean upon, and will remove our ordinary ways of doing things. God will close us off to something divine, completely new and unexpected, and that cannot be understood by examining our previous circumstances. We will be in a place where we do not know what is happening, where God is cutting the cloth of our lives by a new pattern, and thus where He causes us to look to Him....Like the widow we must be detached from outward things and attached inwardly to the Lord alone..."

Now here is a good place for me to move into what God is cutting from my cloth. Next post...

Pause

I am currently reading Selah by Nancie Carmichael. I am also reading three other books right now. But let's not talk about my inability to focus. Let's just say I have many interests.

This book is about pausing to look at where you are today, considering what you want your life to say, mapping out your next step, discovering the purpose for which you were made, and the legacy of a life well spent. Periodically I need to step back and examine my life, my motives, and my commitments. Am I walking the path that leads to legacy I hope to leave?

Jeremiah 6:16 says: This is what the LORD says: "Stand at the crossroads and look; ask for the ancient paths, ask where the good way is, and walk in it, and you will find rest for your souls. But you said, 'We will not walk in it.'

I don't want to be one who refuses to heed wisdom. Rest for my soul is what I want. And peace! I want the peace that comes from resting in God as opposed to wearing myself out doing all the things I imagine he would want me to do. That is one thing about choosing the homeschooling lifestyle. I have to say No to alot of good things so that I can say Yes to that which I am truly called to do. Years ago Andy Stanley preached a message about Nehemiah rebuilding the wall around Jerusalem. The theme: "I am doing a great work and I cannot come down." When I am tempted to over commit, I call to mind that phrase and it brings clarity to my decision making.

So I hope you will pause today. Ask God to help you see that ancient path. Then take it!

Update on David

I had a chance to visit my brother in jail on Monday. It was a somber visit, but good. I had not seen him in months. I am really glad I went because Tuesday he found out he was to be moved from jail to prison. He called me about 11:30 that night. He would be processed at 2am then moved about 6am Wednesday. He was nervous. Who wouldn't be?? He is serving a four year sentence for drug related charges. My hope is that God will transform David's heart during this time. Please put his name somewhere you will see it and pray for David! He has accepted Christ and seems to be seeking Him. David has been in some dangerous situations and God has kept him alive for a reason. I believe God will finish the work He has started in David.