I'm Proud of Steve

Hey, Check out the project my Amazing Husband just finished. You can read the story at the Morning Journal. Check the bottom of the page "Lisbon Church Seeing Harvest."

I am so proud of the time, dedication, and expertise Steve gave to this project. And I'm thankful for the neat friendships that have come out of it. Harvest Baptist Church is made up of some of the most loving people I've ever met.

I can't wait to see what their next phase of ministry looks like.

My time with God

I know many of you have been praying for Paul and Stacy and the kids. For an update on how things are going there, you can check out Paul's blog entry from yesterday at Love Wins.

As I was ironing some clothes yesterday - which I rarely do - but maybe should do more often because it seems to be a time when God and I connect - I was thinking about Paul and Stacy and rather than really be able to lift them up in prayer, I found myself feeling really angry...angry that they have to go through this, angry that life isn't easier...just angry.

And then it was almost as if I felt God say, "why don't you share that anger with me...let's talk about this...I know how you feel." Those words led us into a beautiful time where I quietly prayed through how I was feeling about all of this and was able to sense God's presence and care like I hadn't in a really long time. I think maybe I hadn't really thought about how I felt about things because it seems like - who cares how I feel, I'm not the one going through the health crap. But I came to see that God does care about me and what's going on with me - and he cares about you and what's going on with you, while at the same time caring for Paul and Stacy and the many others who are hurting or sick or oppressed around this globe. I was reminded once again that God is bigger than I could imagine.

God's invitation and my prayer to him became more conversational than it had been in a while. I listened more. I stopped telling him what I wanted him to do.

God does not get surprised. God is love. God cares for his children. God is good.

Defining "Missional"

I don't have anything profound to say. But I am headed away from the blogsphere for a while and it just seems one should post prior to an exit, so here I go. My family and I are headed toward some much-anticipated time away.

Let me just say, I love New Hope's direction. And I love being on the journey with you. I've been reading some blog entries on living missionally. If you're interested, Subversive Influence is a great place to start.

Can't wait to share stories when we get back!