How Can They?

It has been too long.
Too long since I have blogged, yet it has not been far from my mind. God has blessed our little family with so much possibility and though much is still unknown or set in stone, it is all too exciting to not share! Alas, this is not the time nor the post to do so. Let that suspense lead you into prayer for our family and ministry Cwtrials.

In reading through Romans 10 today during my precious almost-two-years-old nap time, I was bursting with joy and "amens"! With all that I have strategically planned for blogging, to begin next month, THIS could NOT wait. It is His word that interrupts my grace-filled life, and that I will not hinder.

Let me just whisper to you some of the history behind this and why my heart is so struck-
ever since I was a young girl, the Lord has impressed upon my heart a passion for missions. I married a man who loves the Lord and together we desperately seek to see Him glorified through our lives, our family, our ministry. We just celebrated a beautiful weekend with a friend who poured into us hope and truth and vision for our unique ministry. He's been where we are and God has brought him to a point now where he can humbly pour into our lives from the wisdom he has received. What a blessed time we are still processing through!

My prayer, written out on a piece of paper and again in my journal goes like this "My hearts desire and prayer to God for the (Turkish, Albanian, Greek, Zimbabwean, New Englanders, Napali) is that they may be saved!" It is Romans 10:1 and when I skimmed this first verse yesterday, I was stunned to see Paul's letter to the Romans, praying for the Israelites, to be MY very prayer for these people groups (listed in no particular order).

It later goes on to say in verse 14 &15, "How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them? And how can they preach unless they are sent? As it is written, 'How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news?'" (inside quote from Isaiah 52:7)

How can they?...call on the one they have not believed in, if they have not heard, if nobody has preached it to them? How can they preach unless they are sent? "Faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word of Christ." (Romans 10:17)

Don't get the wrong idea, dismiss that picture in your mind of stoic missionaries to foreign lands, dressed and living as if they never left the US, not willing to get down in the dirt and work with the people they are among, or standing on soap boxes with bullhorns preaching only condemnation.
That is not the Gospel. That is NOT the example Christ set for us, His humble life displayed throughout scripture, befriending the adulteress and washing the dirty feet of His companions... a job meant for the "lowly".

The fact is, the truth screaming here and now even in 2012 with all of the technology at our fingertips if you are reading this... There are still people in our world, in our own country that have never heard the Gospel message, never seen a "little-Jesus" in action. How can they believe if they have never heard?

We don't need to travel to foreign lands or live among the Refugees and immigrants here in America to preach the gospel to ears that have never heard. The question is, if you are a follower of Christ, are you ready and willing to share it? Are you reading the Bible to "know your stuff", are you praying, pleading on behalf of those around you, are you living it out in your everyday life and not just at church or among certain people? Truth is, do you believe the Gospel message for yourself? That Christ came and died to give you new life. For you.

Go ahead and sing the song "Jesus loves me this I know..." But do you know that even if it was just YOU He was dying for, He would have still died. It is so easy to be caught up in "Jesus died for everyone" and follow that in our heads by telling ourselves lies that we aren't good enough. Honestly, there isn't anything you could ever do to make Him love you more, or love you any less. He loves you.

I say this all because I am learning to embrace this for myself. I'm not who I was 3-4 years ago. I was so eager to share the Gospel, but I wasn't believing its truth for myself and when those Christians weren't around I sure wasn't acting like it either.

Learning to live in God's grace, accepting it and believing it is the first step to living a life of freedom. It is where the road to living a Gospel-filled life begins, enabling you to truly live and giving you the tools to share the Truth of our Life Giver. Embracing the message of Christ, through His word, equipping us to preach it "so that there may be righteousness for everyone who believes." (Romans 10:4)

I'm Watching You

Don't worry.

You are not the one being watched.

I am.

And Craig is too.

By a 4 year old boy.

And a 1 year old girl.

I am not a night person. 

With that being said, while I was pregnant with Abigail, I told Craig in advance that  he would be doing the bedtime routine for our children.

Little did he know (insert Stranger Than Fiction movie here) that when Abigail was just 7 months old a sweet little just-turned-4-years-old boy would be coming to live with us for a while.

They got in the routine of reading a book, likely to be a Dr. Suess, and a story from Nathan's Children's Bible, then praying together. They each pray. Out loud. So precious!

Pause right here.

Can we talk about this Bible? It was a gift to Nathan from our friends the Dahlfred's and we are kind of in love with it. So much so that we bought a bunch as a gift to a church to be given to kids who don't have a Bible at home.

It is called- The Jesus Storybook Bible By: Sally Lloyd-Jones

LOVE LOVE LOVE this Children's Bible

Uncle Rob came all the way from Zimbabwe to spend Christmas 2010 with us.

So I often find Nathan on the couch or floor flipping through his Bible. He is "spending time with Jesus." I will hear his sweet four year old voice "reading" His Bible.

"God is unchanging... His forever, never ending love... He rescues us..."

These are the most precious visions of Christ sweetly instilled in this boys heart.

He gets it. 

He hears the Word. Stores it up in his sweet little heart. Spills it out of his own mouth. 

And I pray that as he grows into the man God has created him to be, that he will continue to store up the Truths of the Gospel in his heart. 

So that he might one day believe them. 

And share it with others.

Craig and I are on a mission. 

In our hearts first, then our home. To know and believe the Gospel. To live it out in our home. To raise our dearly loved children to know the Gospel. To share it with the rest of the world.

Would you pray for us? 

Pray that God will grow our hearts more like His. Pray for the 2 little children growing in our care. Pray for our future children, who have yet to be born and those who are already out there around the world.

Grace and Peace to you.

Silent Celtic Retreat

    This past weekend I participated in a Silent Celtic Retreat up at a very-familiar-to-me camp in New Hampshire.

    It was a very long day. Not in the sense that it was long and dull, or quiet. The whole event was not in fact silent. Just most/ parts of it. Anyone who interacts with people on a daily basis would appreciate this much needed silence.

    I longed for this weekend like non other. I desperately wanted to venture out into the snow and just enjoy the silence that the crisp winter mountain air can bring.

    While out on snowshoes hiking some trails in the woods, then eventually around the inner perimeter of a lake, I asked God if I could hear Him speak to me. This was my day of silence. My beautiful, freshly-fallen-snow venture through the woods. Nothing could be more peaceful to me. I wanted to hear God. Not audibly, though I wouldn’t have objected. I just wanted that whisper in my heart that was undeniably from Him.

    My journey out on snowshoes started in the mid-afternoon. I was on a quest to meet with God. I was charging through the snow until I finally came to the lake, about halfway through my journey. Up until that point, my time had been going by rather slowly out on those snowshoes. I reached the lake, out of breath and rather haulin it up to that point. I finally sat down in the snow. Right there. Just made myself a little snow-seat. Oh man was that beautiful. I can’t recall my thoughts that I had, or the talk I was having with my Creator, I just remember being in awe of the beauty around me.

    I finally realized that I had been there for quite a while and the sun was starting to set. I pushed myself up and ate a handful of snow. Fresh snow. I didn’t feel dirty eating it! Coming from the city, this is not what I would do at home. I don’t care how fresh it is. I feel like it gets contaminated just falling from the sky into our polluted air. Being up in the mountains, it just seemed so fresh and clean.

    The rest of my journey back up to the camp flew by. I stopped, looked back, and was surprised by how fast time was going yet how much slower I was walking. Just as the camp was in view, my heart grew heavy and sad. I didn’t want this to end. I wanted to trek all around and not go back. I was so happy and content out there on my snowshoes.


   
    What a story of my life. I set out on a journey at full-force, ready to conquer. I get burnt out quickly and realize it before I give up. I stop. Sit with God. Talk with Him. Rest. Refocus. Praise Him. Then continue on to the end. All the while I keep looking back at my resting point. Keep my focus both on where I came from and what is up ahead. And by the end of my task, when I know it is coming to an end… This journey I was fed up with and wished it were over when I was only half way through…I don’t want it to end. I have found such a peace, such a purpose in where I am. After all of that hard work, I am not exhausted. Rather, I am revitalized.

    How good is our God who gives us the strength to carry on when we don’t have it? How beautiful is our journey in life when we stop. Look around. Take it ALL in. Praise Him. Rest. And keep moving forward.

    I didn’t hear God that day. No booming audible voice. No quiet whisper. What I did do is take the time to refresh and open my heart to Him. Evaluate my heart and do a check- am I making daily effort to spend time in His word, in prayer, praising Him, seeking Him, worshiping Him with my life? Am I trusting Him in the little every day things as well as the big- where our family should go- things? What are my motives in what I am doing with my life? Am I believing the Gospel message more every day and living it out as evidence to those around me? Am I anticipating hearing from God, making time for quiet and solitude during the day and keeping my heart focused on Him in the busyness as well?

    Just 5 hours later I found myself back home, driving through the city to hear my husband speak on how he hears from God. Funny huh? Ironic. No. Divine. I was reaffirmed that night through my husbands words as he spoke to a group of about 90 teenagers that hearing from God isn’t always experienced by getting a feeling in your stomach, shivers down your arms, hearing His voice audibly or getting a word from someone around you. Sometimes, God speaks into your life just by the way you are living it for Him, trusting Him and having faith. Looking back on your journey, you see evidence of God marking your trails all up. Looking ahead, you have the hope to carry you through. And in the here, the now, this very moment, you have the hope and the truths of the Gospel to live out.

    So on my Silent Celtic Retreat, God showed me where I could find Him. Right here. Right now. When I was sitting on the lake, He was there. As I listened to my husband preach, God was right there. With Craig. With me. As I type right now, He is also right here. It’s a lot easier to hear from someone when you acknowledge that they are right there with you.

    Where are you right now? Where is your Creator? Your redeemer. He is alive and eagerly anticipating you to call on Him.