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Friday, June 20, 2008

COSTA RICA BABY!




Well I'm off for 2 weeks for my last assignments as FBCW's event coordinator. We will be hosting a missions conference in the beautiful country of Costa Rica. I am staying another week for a personal vacation. Me and two other girlfriends have a fun filled week planned including horseback riding, zip linning over a volcano, and of course some serious sun time on the beach! I will try to keep things updated as they come.

Great news...a church here in Atlanta has purchased me a brand new MAC laptop!!!! They will present it to me on July 6th. I will also be speaking in both morning services about the minsitry work I will be doing in Ireland. I am so excited and very HUMBLED to be able to go out there and speak about what I am so passionate about! Thank you JESUS!!!!

Until then...ASTA LA PASTA :O)

Tuesday, June 17, 2008

A Life Full of "Just Being" A Tribute to My Grandfather




Life Full of “Just Being”

He was a quiet man who loved to tinker around with gadgets and build things with his hands. He was “just being” satisfied with the small things.He was a tender man who stayed up late nights with sick children and kissed their pain away. He would greet his wife with the precious words, “Hey Babe”, whenever he saw her walk into a room. He was “just Being” a loving Dad and Husband.He was a patient man who taught his grandkids to fish, and skin them I might add! He enjoyed days spent on the lake…he was “just being” in awe of God’s creation.He was a Godly man who made sure his family knew the importance of a relationship with Jesus Christ. He was “just being” a great example.And now that he has gone home to a place we can only imagine, we rest in knowing we will one day see him again and… “just be” with him in the presence of our Lord.

Wet, Yucky Clothes

Wet, Yucky Clothes

A few months ago my identity had been stolen. The culprits had all my information…cc numbers, driver’s license number, social security number…you name it. It was a very eye opening time in my life because all of the sudden I felt violated and extremely vulnerable. I had to struggle to find meaning to why this had happened to me. I had to turn all my trust and understanding over to God and let Him illuminate the reason for this intrusion.
Then the Lord took me a little deeper…with me kicking and screaming all the way. He reminded me that I need to not worry…that this had actually been a blessing in disguise…but I would first need to “take off some layers” of not trusting Him. At first my pride puffed up and I thought to myself… “How could He say that to me…I mean I am walking out on faith and going on the mission field to another country…what else could I trust Him with?????
See…in trying to figure out on my own… why something like this would happen…the Lord informed me that I was not secure in His love and His Identity and most of all completely trusting Him. We as humans are like that…especially being single. We try to conform to this world and its ideas and when something goes terribly wrong…the rug is literally pulled out from under us. It is as if we are standing on a tight rope in the middle of a hurricane.
The Bible tells us an important lesson:
We are to TRUST in the Lord with all “our” heart and lean not on “our” understanding…in ALL “our” ways acknowledge Him and He will direct “our” paths. Proverbs 3:5-6
Our job is not to figure out things…but to simply trust. The meaning of the word TRUST according to Webster’s Dictionary is assured reliance on the character, ability, strength, or truth of someone or something. Now noticed it did not say “self reliance” which is relying or depending on “our” own strength…but assured reliance…which means you know it without any doubts…that you can rely and depend! And that brings great comfort when you don’t know how to handle the cards you have been dealt.
That’s where I was…I didn’t know how in the world “I” was going to spin this. It was only until I prayed one day… “Lord…I know you have allowed me to go through this…please let me know what you want me to learn from this? Please let me TRUST you and rest in knowing you have my best interest at heart. It was that easy. I had to let go of my self assurance and allow Him to come and do a work in my heart.

From then on He showed me wonderful and beautiful things…and in His loving way…also continued to show me some areas in my life I did not trust Him. It was as if I had fallen into a pool and had layers upon layers of wet, yucky clothes on. With every recognition of areas I did not trust Him, one of those yucky layers came off. With each layer that came off…I was able to move around more freely and feel more satisfied. “My identity was slowly fading away…which is what Christ wants for us. And with each layer that came off…the Lord would put on “new layers”. They were warm and soft and smelled so fresh. I was becoming totally assured of His character…his ability…his strength…his truth. I was coming to a place of trust.

I will be honest and tell you I am still working on some of those “layers” coming off…but I will say this…I feel a lot lighter than I was and my ability to be free is more attainable than ever.
Do you feel as if you are weighed down by those yucky wet layers in life? Maybe you are like me and are feeling so tired of not understanding that you are willing to have Him peer into your heart and tell you where you fall short. And according to the Bible…we all fall short!

If you will simply come to Him with a humble heart…ready to hear what He has to say…you will find you can trust him…you can completely rely on Him to “dry you off”.

Weightlessness




Saturday, June 7, 2008 at 8:07am

Life has its ups and downs...and if you are anything like me, they all tend to hit in mini clusters. Recently my 92 year old grandfather had a massive stroke. In an instant he went from a relatively cognitive thinking person to a state of pure helplessness...not being able to move or feed himself. The Doctors gave us no hope...but that wasn't even the worse thing. The absolute worse for me was watching my grandmother who had been married to this man for over 64 years...sitting by his bedside everyday...just hoping he would open his eyes and say his little "love saying" to her..."Hey Babe". And to make matters worse...it broke my heart to watch my mother hold back tears...as to not to upset my grandmother...because she was trying to be strong. But I know it was breaking her heart as well to see her "daddy" in this condition. It was a real low point in mine and my family’s lives.During this same time, I was going through some major highs in my own personal life. You see, I was in the midst of a great new adventure. I had just left my ministry position at Church the same week this family tragedy was occurring. I had left to step out in faith and pursue my calling to Ireland full time. The more I told of the people and their spiritual needs in Ireland…the more the Lord burned it into my heart that I need to be there for a time such as this…and that passion became very evident. It was all the Lord orchestrating it…but I really felt as if I was on this ride…and even though I didn’t’ know what was coming around the corner…it didn’t matter. Everything was exciting and new. Because He was in control…and He was guiding me. So in the midst of a great family “low”…I was also experiencing a great “high” personally. Literally I felt as if I was on a roller coaster…securely strapped in…unable to maneuver at all...and I felt comforted! It was as if I felt completely “weightless.”Recently I rode a ride at SeaWorld called The Kracken. There was one part of the ride where you actually come out of your seat...and for that split instant your are completely weightless…drifting…but all the while you are safely secure within your seat belt restraints. When I got off the ride I experienced a rush of adrenaline…a “high”. It reminded me of how in the middle of our most difficult times…we can take comfort in our Father and know that he is carrying us through…and be hopeful…because exciting and wonderful things are all around us as well. We just need to rest in being “weightless”. The question to ask yourself…are you completely able to be at peace in the great highs and lows of life and what are your reactions in both cases? “Under His wings I am safely abiding, though the night deepens and the tempests are wild, still I can trust Him; I know He will keep me, He has redeemed me, and I am His child. “-William Orcutt Cushing