Fireworks

We had the greatest firework show at my church last night! What a fun American 4th of July(a little early) tradition!!! Wish we could do that every night of the summer! Ran into some of my old Bibleschool friends too... love them all so much! 

Fuzzy photo but I still wanted to post it :)

Darren, Jimmy, Tehesha and Jimbo!

Ruth

For the last 15-or-so posts...  I almost state the title as "busy bees"... Funny how that consistently pops up in my head. It's basically the definition of this season! (I'm pretty sure I already have a post titled that way...) Why?? Well for one, we are moving to Asia in less than one month. We are piled up with paperwork and applications for all sorts of things. Deadlines. Schedules. Appointments. All the busy work that must take place before reaching the field. What do I want for Christmas this year?? A secretary! (But 6 months early please!)

Excellence in everything practical will usher in favor on the field! I want to live life that way... in a spirit of excellence! So I endure knowing that soon enough my nostrils will be filled with curry again and I'll have those street babies in my arms :)

Samuel is having an incredible time in Orlando with Reinhard Bonnke. Check out his blog for future posts about what's going on in his school of evangelism!

Last week we had the honor of being a part of "Vacation Bible School" with 250 kids! It was a blast! Samuel and I got to teach about unreached people and Pastor Lauren and the kids took a faith offering to raise $1000 for our Gospel campaign this fall! These little ones are passionate about Jesus... many of them already have big dreams for specific countries around the globe. We love being around them! You can read more about VBS in our newsletter this week! Leave a comment with your email address below if you'd like to receive a copy!

I've been meditating on the book of Ruth lately. Her passion and commitment and determination is such a stunning example. Listen to what was said about her...

"... and how you left your father and your mother and the land of your birth, and came to a people that you did not previously know. May the Lord reward your work, and your wages be full from the Lord, the God of Israel, under whose wings you have come to seek refuge.” 

What beauty comes from seeking refuge under the wings of the Lord. That's where I always want to be.

Change

This morning I was thinking about just how much life can change. Sometimes everything that was once so familiar completely disappears. People who were so very close are gone. And new ones, ones that make you wonder how you every lived without them, enter. I've been through tremendous amounts of change in the last 5 years. It seems I'm in constant transition. Trotting the globe, getting married to a Swede I met in Thailand, moving to Africa just 2 days after our wedding, living in 6 different homes across the world since then and countless hotels in-between, saying goodbye to my parents who moved across the country to Hawaii, in-laws in Sweden, siblings all over the states, and again moving to Asia in a month. On top of all that location change, I've been in emotional and spiritual transition... which I hope can be defined more as "growth" than simply transition because people can transition through life and never be different but growth is so much deeper and makes you more and more like God.

What made me think of all this? Well a combination of things I guess, but mostly it was holding my niece in my arms the last few days and wondering how that little person could take up so much of my heart in such a short amount of time. 

I can't imagine walking through all this change without one constant in my life... Holy Spirit. He grounds me. Speaks to me. Comforts me. Gives me peace and wisdom when I need it. I know that through it all... with Holy Spirit inside of me... I can do all things. He is on every plane ride, every train, every crowd, He is there when I'm anxious, there when I'm glad, giving direction when I'm planning, sitting with me when I'm alone. What a great gift the Holy Spirit is!! 

This picture always reminds me of the time in my life before everything changed. I was sunbathing with my mama right after getting engaged and we spent the whole time talking about what the future would look like! An adventure.. that's for sure!

Lyrics to a favorite old song by Vineyard... in the end, through everything I want to go on loving my Jesus!

This is my prayer 

This is my cry 

I want to go on loving You 

All through the joy, All through the fire 

I want to go on loving You 

I want to go on loving You 

Seasons will change, People depart

 I want to go on loving You 

In times of pain when life is hard, And when the journey seems so long

 I want to go on loving You

 Your love for me, new as the dawn, Older than time 

Stronger than death, greater than life

 This love is mine 

In everything, through all my life I want to go on loving You 

This is my prayer, this is my cry I want to go on loving You 

I want to go on loving You 

Beach

We went to the beach after church this morning. Love me some sunshine! It's so nice to have a great-lake here in Ohio! Just like the ocean... minus salt and sharks!

Another busy week begins in the morning. The countdown to Asia is ticking in my ear!!

For I was hungry, and you gave Me something to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave Me something to drink; I was a stranger, and you invited Me in; naked, and you clothed Me; I was sick, and you visited Me; I was in prison, and you came to Me.' Then the righteous will answer Him, 'Lord, when did we see You hungry, and feed You, or thirsty, and give You something to drink? And when did we see You a stranger, and invite You in, or naked, and clothe You? When did we see You sick, or in prison, and come to You?' The King will answer and say to them, 'Truly I say to you, to the extent that you did it to one of these brothers of Mine, even the least of them, you did it to Me.' (Matthew 25:35-40 NASB) 

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Jesus

My google tab has been overloaded today. I'm soaking up everything I can find about Asia and dreaming with God about the stunning people who are trapped in darkness there. Jesus alone is the way... the way to life and truth and freedom. The hope in hopelessness. The answer to every problem. Jesus heals diseases. Jesus restores prostitutes and gives them beauty. Jesus is the Father to the orphaned. Jesus brings peace in chaos. Jesus IS love. When all else fades away... Jesus remains. 

This beautiful message has become my whole life. The reason for everything.

Photos taken in Thailand 2007

Saylah

I had the honor of doing a photo shoot this week with darling little one-month-old Saylah. So much fun! Girl after my own heart... accessories and clothes! 

Soak then Go!

It is stunning in the midwest this May. So green and sunny and wonderful. I have so much paperwork to do yet the sun lures me out to it's beams and I follow each time... papers in tow until they start blowing with the breeze and send me back into my cave. It seems that what I have missed most the last few years on the field and here and there on the globe... is a patch of luscious grass. It is so good for the soul!

Samuel has been in Scandinavia for one week. One week to go. Miss him! We are so incredibly excited and full of wonder at this season God has brought us to and anxiously awaiting our relocation to Asia in 2 just months. I have the honor of speaking at Victory School of Ministry's graduation this Saturday evening. My subject is one that is very close to my heart. Something that I walk out first hand, that at times tastes bitter and raw and dirty and difficult. Respond to your call. My passion is first of all preaching Jesus to unreached and then pulling people to the field where they will discover the adventure of their lives and be changed over and over again. The call will move on if you don't respond. That's basically the topic of my week! So even under these loads of paperwork that show no immediate fruit... I am planning, strategizing and dreaming all in RESPONSE to the call God gave my life! Lining myself up for an open heaven! God loves action! Success in the Kingdom = Action!

I love how Lance Wallnau described this in a conference last weekend... marinate yourself in the presence and then step OUTSIDE of your bubble! David was a harp-playing worshipper that soaked himself in God's presence and then stepped out to kill a giant! You can't have it one way and not the other... or you will be an unbalanced Christian. Get on your face and then get out there!!

Here is a wonderful, intimate worship song for your Wednesday... and after you listen to it... go do something :)

Surreal

The last days have been so surreal and wonderful and intense. My family flew back to Hawaii on Saturday and then I had the honor of meeting a spiritual legend in God's kingdom, Huldah Buntain... And her daughter Bonnie Long. Decades ago, Huldah, her husband and their 9 month old Bonnie took 3 ships over 2 months from NYC to Calcutta, India. They thought they would be there for one year. God had other plans though :) The work they have done through hospitals, school, almost 1000 churches and feeding programs has touched their corner of Asia in radical ways! Their testimonies and stories brought tears to my eyes. It was incredible to sit and glean from both of these warrior women. Seeds have gone deep in my heart :)
Huldah and Bonnie speaking at a mother-daughter breakfast...

This week my church is hosting a "Signs, Wonders and Miracles" conference with Jesus Culture leading worship and speakers like Georgian Banov and Patricia King. Inbetween all of these sessions Im piled up with paperwork for Until the Job is Done. Im just longing so much for Asia right now.
Samuel is in Sweden now meeting churches, packing and fixing visas. We spent the last 2 days having "staff meetings" together and enjoying the gorgeous green of Ohio. Cant wait for him to get back in 2 weeks!

Be blessed today. God loves you so much. His plans for you are breathtaking..


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Village

Today I'm thinking about waking up early and heading to a remote village. I love the thick, hot air that blasts your face through opened windows on the ride over dusty, bumpy, impossible trails. I love seeing monkeys and camels and elephants on the journey. I love arriving to the most beautiful, curious faces that emerge from simple huts with their bare feet. Oh such love. The best part comes when the Gospel is preached! The sick are healed! Souls are saved! That's living!!!!

Family reunion

My family has been spread out across the globe the last few years. Samuel and I in Africa/Asia, my parents in Hawaii, sister in Kentucky, brother in Ohio.... We never know when we will all see eachother next. But this week, we've all been together!
Here's the breakdown...

Me, mom, my little brother and daddy at the airport...



We spent a few days at Kalihari, a huge African-themed water park!
My nephews and niece with samuel...


















Sweet baby Izabella turned 1 year old!!



Got my ukulele from the islands and we all sang by firelight in the backyard...



Squeezed a 5 minute date in with samuel for photos and ice cream...



Next week will be exciting too! Looking forward to late nights and adventures! Cherishing the moments of life...

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Schedule

Samuel and I went to Cleveland yesterday for a little shopping and Cheesecake Factory! This guy was in love!




Tomorrow morning my parents will by flying in from Hawaii for 2 weeks! We will have a full house of chaos and craziness and we are all so excited! My sister, her hub and their 4 kids are coming in this weekend as well! Woo!


This Saturday - 6pm @ the RIOT, Samuel and I will be preaching for Fusion young adults!

Sunday - Samuel will be preaching @ 10:30am @ Victory Columbiana Campus

Hope to see you there!


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Stunning

The beautiful moment of saying "yes"...

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