Monday, August 27, 2012

Words...past & present...

There are so many things I want to share today but since my time is limited while blogging I’m snagging this moment and will try to make it ‘brief’… 
I found some old things this weekend while cleaning out (more) and sorting (more)… Among my findings was a loose journal entry.  It was from August 2, 2001…4040 days ago!  John and I were living in the Dallas, TX area at the time.  In part, it said this,
“Thank you that you don’t ever give up on us, no matter how long it takes us to ‘get it’ sometimes.  Lord, speak to my heart and let me know what you want me to do with my life.  I want to please you.  I want to be used by you.  I want to go where you want me to go.  Please guide us as we have a very important decision to make about where we are to serve you.  We rest in knowing that YOU will pick the place, not us.  Lord, please show us your will, your plan.  Please reveal to us the place where you want us to go and serve you.  Lord, thank you for making a way for us to make it in this world.  You are the way!  Thank you that we have the money we need to pay bills and have food on the table and clothes on our back and sooo much more!  You are the Ultimate Provider.  How awesome you are and how you always provide!!!!”
I am encouraged today that God has had a plan all along and that He holds our every day… today, tomorrow, and even 10+ years from now.  Several people, (family members and non), have expressed a concern over the last few months regarding our safety and our children’s safety with our plans to move to Haiti.  Some of you have been bold enough to share your concerns with us while some of you have let it spread through “the grapevine” :).  Either way, we are grateful that you love us and that you are concerned about us.  We fully believe that the safest place to be is where God has called us – as a family.  We are not able to say that we won’t face dangers in Haiti but we can’t say that we won’t face dangers here, in the States, either.  What we can say is that we believe that by not going where He has called is a danger in itself.  We love that you love us!  We love that you are concerned for our safety and we covet your prayers during this journey.  In Ephesians 1 it says, “It’s in Christ that we find out who we are and what we are living for.  Long before we first heard of Christ and got our hopes up, he had his eye on us, had designs on us for glorious living, part of the overall purpose he is working out in everything and everyone.  It’s in Christ that you…found yourselves home free.  This…is the first installment on what’s coming, a reminder that we’ll get everything God has planned for us…” (vs11-14)  Just as He has guided our path this far, I believe He will continue to do so as we venture into unfamiliar territory in Haiti. 

A great friend forwarded a devotional to me this morning and it said,
I heard Your voice, I felt the allure of Your call, and I came out of hiding to follow You into unchartered territory. I came to the threshold of safety, looked behind to the familiar, looked ahead into the dark, and then abandoned myself to the unknown. You have promised that my trust in You will be rewarded. How I hope that my faith tugs at Your heart today. 
I am affirming again that I trust You. I will not look back at some of the bridges that were burned as I crossed over into unchartered territory. I obeyed You and You burned them. But in a weak moment, I see a few bridges that are left. I could go back to where it feels safe and I will admit that this is a great temptation.  But I know the cost. To go where it is familiar, I must let go of Your hand.
I do not know all that You are planning. I could fear but I choose faith. When I could faint, I speak Your promises. When it's dark and feels like the end, I know You are still carving out a new road. Your plans for me are good. You said, "Behold, I am doing a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it? I will make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert." (Isa 43:19) In this, Lord, You excel. You are my God and there is none other. Amen”

Holding on tight…
Dawn

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