A Purpose, A Plan, A Future

God is in control! His ways are much higher than my ways. His thoughts are much higher than my thoughts. He sees the beginning, the middle AND the end. I only see where I am at the moment. He sees into my heart, my mind, my soul. And He also sees into my neighbor's heart, mind and soul! He is working...moving across our land...sweeping through streets, our schools, our churches, our workplaces, our battlefields. He is touching lives, piercing hearts, convicting souls. He knows what He is doing.

His plan for my life is not complete.

"He's still working on me.
To make me what I ought to be.
It took Him just a week to make the moon and the stars,
The sun and the earth and Jupitar and Mars.
How loving and patient He must be...He's still working on me.

There really ought to be, a sign upon my heart..
.DON'T JUDGE ME YET I'M AN UNFINISHED PART
But I'll be perfect just according to His plan
Fashioned by the Master's loving hand."

He has a purpose for me. A plan. And praise His name, a future. I am just a work in progress.

And so is my neighbor, my friend, my children, my husband. We aren't perfect yet. But one day. We ought to judge accordingly...to remind ourselves everyday that we will be judged by the same measure we judge others. He is in the progress of perfecting us...but that progress just isn't complete yet. Praise His Name!

A Blessed Suprise!

Have you ever had a rush of emotion flood over you TOTALLY unexpected! Today, as I was looking on facebook, I saw that my brother had posted his new pictures from his recent trip to Kenya, Africa! They were AMAZING! Beautiful, raw beauty! And as I viewed his magnificent photo album...feelings I haven't felt in years came bubbling to the surface! My eyes quickly filled with tears and my heart ached with an ache that only God can muster up!

15 years ago, God called me to Africa! It wasn't a loud, mighty voice. But it was a compassion so vivid and real that nothing could shake it! I wanted to go...to discover why this yearning in my heart was so pressing, so overwhelming! I began to research and found an organization that sent teenagers on mission trips all over the world. It was Teen Missions International. (One of the grandest groups out there!) So, after praying and receiving a DIRECT answer from the Lord, I went! It was the most glorious experience of my life. From the first penny raised, to the final landing of my plane back in Memphis, TN...I felt the presence of the Lord. I immediately fell in love with that country. The people, the culture, the simplicity of life, the exotic beauty of nature untouched! It captured my heart and captivated my soul! I knew God would bring me back to that place one day...I left knowing there would be a return.

But since that time...many things have happened in my life. I graduated high school, moved to South Korea w/ my family to teach internationally, met and married an AMAZING man, have had 3 children, and am currently living in Alaska! Our lives are filled with fun and adventure everyday! I am thoroughly blessed and thankful for the path God has led me down!

So, in having a family and being married to a military man, I placed my desire for missions and Africa to the side, but praying that one day God would lead me down that path again! I firmly believe that God can call us to specific places or avenues for certain times...and then redirect when He sees fit! I love being a mother! I love my husband and love being his wife! It brings fulfillment to my being that words cannot express! God created me for this role! And I bask in the blessing of it all! But deep inside, there is still this burning passion to "Go and tell..." I still long for a life of complete abandonment and simple faith! I do live it quite frequently now...raising children and being in the military...it is a definite mission field! But Africa...my heart is connected to that place! I can't describe how I know...other than hearing the voice of God!

And today, as I looked at those pictures, I heard Him again! He CONFIRMED it in my spirit! HE said my name again...just as He did 15 years ago! I cannot begin to tell you the encouragement and celebration that flooded every fiber in my body! To know that He put the dream inside my heart...and the dream is still alive! We don't know our futures...we can't predict what will take place...but we can hear our Father and rest in the promises He gives. My heart is at peace...my mind is fixed on Him. I can't wait! The future will unfold as HE WILLS...but you can be sure of this fact...I WILL BE APART of that unfolding...cuz He whispered His promise over me and He is TRUE! I love it! I love that I am apart of something bigger than eyes can see, or ears can hear! I am apart of HIS STORY...and today, He gave me just a glimpse of how I will fit into it! Praise His Name!

Tired but Smiling.

It has been a week! A week of the good, the bad, and the VERY ugly and VERY beautifuL! How can so many different, wonderful, yet horrible things take place all in the span of one week? Yet, standing at the end, I look back and thank God for every moment. He is good! Period! Despite the drama and the headaches, despite the stress and physical exhaustion, God is good! He never changes. My circumstances change daily...but my God remains the same! He is loving, He is kind, and He is in control!@ OVer it all! And so my day can end in peace...even though the world around me is spinning out of control. B/c my God IS GOD! And He can hold even mess of chaos in the middle of His gentle hands! But not only hold it, He can shape it, and mold it, and fix it, and make it into something beautiful! And that is what He has done...with this mess of a girl...praise His mighty name!

HIM!

It's time to stop...deep breath....and look within. And without. What is our purpose? Why are we here? Time is just a moment. Eternity is breaking over the horizon...just a heartbeat away. Our souls are waiting to break free...free of this gravity-bound, self-seeking, pleasure driven, now. Forever is beckoning us to jump in, feet first, completely and passionately forsaken to It's call! The call for reckless abandonment. To let go of all of who we are, and embrace a destiny bigger and more amazing than this world could ever hope to offer. It requires us to reject "comfortable, normal, socially acceptable" and embrace a life of "different, absurd, and challenging." Yet, it promises "JOY, PEACE, ACCEPTANCE, LOVE, CONTENTMENT". Our applause will no longer be from this world. It will be singular. The applause of heaven will billow much louder than the fading echos of human approval. And in that moment, our lives will have purpose. We will discover why we are here. We are here to bring glory to a Creator so Majestic that earth cannot keep Him contained! A God so holy that the angels cannot speak His name. A Father so loving that each tear of every child lies bottled in the palm of His hands. A Savior so giving that His scars bear every sin we have ever committed. We are here to shine His goodness and holiness to a lost and dark world...to people who are hurting and alone. We are here to be a mirror of His plan.

So shine. Mirror His Love. Reflect His glory. Fade out of sight. May our agenda be nothing less than His alone. Free yourself of trival worries and cares. Embrace His Kingdom purpose. Let His light radiate out of you. And when it does, bask in His goodness. Empty your vessel, so that He can fill it up with all of who He is! You will not be disappointed. He will shine, and you will reap a blessing. HIM.

Beauty

The whole world was made for romance! A Romance between a God and His creation! He unfolds His great romance with beauty that surrounds. Beauty so pure, so glorious, so overwhelming that words can not do justice.

Exquisite Beauty

Raw and Adventurous Beauty


Glorious and Captivating Beauty

Life-breathing and Joy-Giving Beauty

Intricate Beauty

Unembarrassed Lavishness



Generous and Abundant Beauty




Unique and magnificent Beauty


Ripe, Lush, Exotic Beauty

A Beauty that our God and Father created for us to enjoy and live abundantly within! He is passionately "wooing" us into His love! Look around at His extravagant measures. His grandeur speaks of His majesty! Fall in LOVE! In love with the creator of Beauty itself!

Be Comforted!

"For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive and remain will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the LORD in the air, and so we shall always be with the LORD."

1Thessalonians 4:16-17

"Therefore comfort one another with these words!" 1 Thessalonians 4:18