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These past few weeks have been beautiful. First we spent a week in HOLLAND. What a needed week it was! The ministry we stayed with was called Lighthouse. It is a church and family home where young adults live who desire to grow and heal in a place of family. What a well of intimacy it is! For 3-4 hours every morning (Mon-Fri) they have a corporate time of prayer and worship. We'd gather in their meeting room, turn on worship music and just be with Jesus. England was an awesome time of dreaming about the future and getting deeper vision, but our time in the Netherlands helped us to sit before Him and just enjoy His presence again and He reminded us that HE is our focus. We had intended to stay for only 3 days but realized we needed more time so we stayed a few days longer 🙌. We received so much and tried to allow God just to love us and not feel like we needed to do anything for it😊 As we sat before Him, He brought many things up that were buried in our hearts and is gently leading us into deeper freedom and relationship. He is teaching me who I am, who He created me to be and these things are coming up just by being still and spending time in His presence. It was a beautiful time. God knew what we need and all throughout this trip he has orchestrated our steps and brought us to the right places at the right time. Always proving His faithfulness! Let me never forget! Then we spent a few days in ITALY...what a beautiful culture and beautiful land. We were tourists at their finest - touring the colosseum, forum, catacombs, posing for pictures (with a selfie stick!), eating pizza, drinking wine and coffee and trying to speak Italian. It was a wonderful weekend and we had a precious tour guide in our friend Esther. We took everything in and loved all the learning, both cultural and historical. So much church history happened in Rome, from Paul's imprisonment (we saw where he was kept during his imprisonment) to the Christian persecution and establishment of a state religion. Now, centuries later, there are many churches but so little Jesus. The establishment of a state church created a religion and now many Italians know about Jesus but have no idea about relationship. It's so neat that we learned what was happening in Rome before and after Jesus and then we'll get to see Israel and learn what was happening there, as well. We are beginning to enjoy world history and get a more well rounded perspective. There's so much we can learn that applies to our lives today! We also loved learning about the culture. Italian culture is fabulous! They love community, they love sitting together and talking for hours after dinner and you won't find people on their phones while they're hanging out together, they're present and it's a beautiful thing to see. We then spent a few days in SWITZERLAND-in Bern and Biele with friends and also on a Swiss farm in the alps! Alex woke up early to feed and milk the cows and we sledded, made snowmen and even got to ski on the alps. What a treat to be able to enjoy two days of snow before going back to the warmth of PA. We're now on our way to Germany to spend a few days there and repack our bags before we head to Israel. THEN WE FLY HOME!🏡 We're coming, friends back in PA! And we're excited! Traveling has been amazing but we are definitely ready to be more stable again and have our own place. 👍 Thank you Jesus for home! But I have to say, we've experienced the most incredible hospitality during our travels. The body of Christ is just beautiful. Everywhere we went we were incredibly loved, welcomed, listened to, prayed for, fed the finest cultural food, picked up/dropped off where we needed to go, treated to dinner, hugged and invited back. We have no idea how blessed we even are, this is just 'normal' for us, yet for most people they've never experienced such genuine care and love. The love of Jesus is the most precious thing in the world. I want everyone to experience this love. I want everyone to come into FAMILY like we have ❤ An expert from something I wrote during our time in the Netherlands...
I've been a Christian for many years and have sought after God day after day, year after year. I've deeply wanted to know him more. But truth is, often I've felt stuck. Often I've felt like I'm getting nowhere. Yet I've realized that I've wanted him to come on my own terms and in my own ways. I've wanted a God I could control. I want a God I can keep in a box and make sure He doesn't do anything too crazy or call me to something too strange or difficult. I want to worship Him and love him, but I've been trying to keep everything in my hands. I've been trying to control how he comes and when. And if he doesn't come, I try to figure out why and what I should do instead. When it starts getting out of my control, I shut down and pull it back. But I'm learning that I can't keep this God in my control. Who am I to think i can always understand him and what he wants to do. Who am I to define what he can and can't do. He's a strong God. He won't be manipulated or controlled. If I want him, I must come to him on his terms and in his ways. I must let him do what he wants to do. In his timing and his way. He's not safe, but he is good. So good. Entirely good. I doubt I'm alone in this. Would you actually want a God you could control? Would you really want a God you could tell what to do? Do you really think you know the best? I don't know about you, but I take courage in the fact that I don't know and He does. Yet at the same time this truth has scared me a bit. I've wanted parts of Him and desired to leave other parts behind. No, I will exalt HIM! The GREAT I AM! There is no one like him and never will be. He's completely other than. Completely beyond me. Completely above me. He has no rival. He alone is worthy of my praise! This God I worship is the God who has no beginning and no end. He's the one who created the universe and calls people to himself. He's the God of the Isrealites, he parted the Red Sea and blew the walls of Jericho down. He's the God who calms the raging seas and confuses his enemies. He's the God who cares for orphans and widows and puts the solitary in families. He describes himself as "the Lord God merciful and gracious, long suffering and abounding in goodness and truth, keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, by no means clearing the guilty...." he's a God FULL OF MERCY, COMPASSION AND LOVE. He's God of all God's, King of all Kings, Lord of all Lords...he won't be manipulated, his plans won't be thwarted, he wouldn't have to be good, but he's promised to be so. So I can throw myself on this great God. Completely out of my control. Completely out of my mind. Completely bigger than me and my imaginations. I can throw myself on him and know that he will be good to me. He's promised to be. That's my confidence. Not that everything will fit into my little box...it won't...but I entrust myself to a good, good father. He's been my father forever and he won't let me down. I give way to an all consuming God who promises good and shelters me in His love.
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AuthorA & E. Currently living in the USA but called to the nations for this season of our lives. Devoting our lives to His Kingdom Come... Archives
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