Battle Cry

We are in the middle of a battle, people....  but not a battle like you may think.  We are not fighting people, though it is evident some are pushing that pretty hard.  No, this battle that we are in is no different than the battle I mentioned on September 2nd in This Means War.

"Where do you think all these appalling wars and quarrels come from?  Do you think they just happen?  Think again." James 4:1

Our enemy is angry.  He tried to stop us from coming to Haiti before we ever got here.  He's been tearing through relationships since the day we answered the call..... a call that we wrestled with for over a year before we ever answered.  Philip Thurman spoke at the Missions service at LifeBridge Church in June of 2011 and said, "Maybe one of you are being called to go and relocate to be used there (in Haiti) full-time." I wept in my seat until I couldn't sit any longer and then I got up and walked out.  The thought of moving to a foreign country scared me half to death but I knew inside that wasn't the first time God was nudging me to get out of my comfortable life and relocate to one that I had never even physically visited.  Over the course of the next 6 months my fear switched to a nervous excitement.  And in February 2012 after John returned from Haiti that January, we both talked and prayed together before God and said, "here we are... send us."

We believe that it was, indeed, God that sent us.  Yes, so many rallied around us and lots of people from LifeBridge Church along with others across the United States gave time and money to see this thing through, but somewhere along the way I think the source has been misconstrued.  All of a sudden, people are angry that they aren't able to call the shots.  Was this ever man's work to claim?

When you pray for spiritual eyes and you position yourself at the feet of Christ, I believe God allows you to see with spiritual eyes.  Confusion is not from God, people.  This confusion that is buzzing like a swarm of bees is not from our Creator.

Romans 8:38-39 says, "For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither heights nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord." but you can bet your bippy that the Evil One will do all he can to try and make us, as God's children, doubt that!  When one tactic doesn't work, he uses another.  From lies to loneliness, from heat to health issues, from cockroaches to humans... yes, humans.  He's on a mission of his own and that is to make us doubt the mission we've been called to.  All of us....... that which we've ALL been called to.  You don't have to move around the world with your family and start life over in the middle of your life to be on a mission.  We didn't move to Haiti by ourselves.  "The chosen ones are those who have come into a relationship with God through Jesus Christ and have had their spiritual condition changed and their ears opened."~Utmost for His Highest  

Many of you moved with us almost a year ago, in Spirit.  You weren't called to move physically but you were called to move in prayer and in Spirit and you have been faithful to stand beside us all along the way.  But I think maybe many have forgotten that those of you who have been faithful have ultimately been faithful to God and those who have been unfaithful have been unfaithful to God, not us!

"So let God work his will in you.  Yell a loud no to the devil and watch him scamper.  Say a quiet yes to God and he'll be there in no time.  Quit dabbling in sin.  Purify your inner life.  Quit playing the field.  Hit bottom, and cry your eyes out.  The fun and games are over.  Get serious, really serious.  Get down on your knees before the Master; it's the only way you'll get on your feet. Don't bad mouth each other, friends.  It's God's Word, the Message, his Royal Rule, that takes a beating in that kind of talk.  You're supposed to be honoring the Message, not writing graffiti all over it.  God is in charge of deciding human destiny.  Who do you think you are to meddle in the destiny of others? ...if you know the right thing to do and don't do it, that, for you, is evil." (James 4:7-12, 17 -MSG) 

Our enemy is very real and though we do not fear him, God calls us to position ourselves in prayer.  The time is now!!  The NIV version of James 4:10 says, "Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up."

1 Peter 5:6 says, "Humble yourselves, therefore, under God's mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time.  Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you."

Some people had their minds made up before we ever left Mississippi that we would fail in our work here in Haiti but how long before it's evident that this is not our work and praying that God's work fails is just a waste of prayer time.  At any point, the same God that called us to work here can relocate us as He desires and we pray that if that is in His plan that we will see that clearly.  But we also pray that if the push to leave is nothing more than man's attempts, that, that will be clear, as well.

"What can man do to me?" (Ps 118:6)  "They swarmed around me like bees, but they died out as quickly as burning thorns..." (vs 12)  "I was pushed back and about to fall, but the Lord helped me." (vs 13)  "The Lord is my strength and my song; he has become my salvation." (vs 14)

We need you now more than ever!  We need you to join us in prayer... not for John and Dawn or Caleb, Kylie, Kinley and Cabila to be spared from more heartache and pain but
...for God's plan to be carried out as He purposed it - both here and there.
...for a very real enemy to be seen for who he is.
...for those who are engaging in the enemy's work to be stopped in their tracks.
...for truth to be as clear as writing on the wall.

"If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land." 2 Chronicles 7: 14

As God promised Samuel in 1 Samuel 16:3, "I'll let you know what to do next.", He will let us know what to do next.

I'm calling out, 'Father'

I can walk through the storm
I can walk by faith when my sight is gone
Just as long as You are here with me

And I can gain everything
But what do I have if I don't have the King?
Oh, I need to know You are here with me...

Here I am... I'm calling out, "Father"
Can you hear me? 
Can you hear me?
I don't want to go without You

Here I am..
Can you talk a little louder so I can hear You?
I want to hear You!
I don't want to move without You

Even though I believe 
You've taken up a home inside of me
And You'll never leave
I still need to know You are here with me

Here I am... I'm calling out, "Father"
Can you hear me?
Can you hear me?
I don't want to go without You

Here I am..
Can you talk a little louder so I can hear You?
I want to hear You!
I don't want to move without You

If your presence goes, I don't want to stay
If your presence stays, I don't want to go

If your presence goes, Lord, I don't want to stay......
If you presence stays, Lord, I don't want to go!!!

I need You!

Here I am... I'm calling out, "Father"
Can you hear me?
Can you hear me?
I don't want to go without You!

Here I am...
Can you talk a little louder so I can hear You?
I want to hear You!
I don't want to move without You

Here I am... I'm calling out, "Father"
Can you hear me?  Can you talk a little louder so I can hear You?
I don't want to go without You!  
I don't want to move without You!

These are lyrics from Shane and Shane's, "Without You" but these words are also echo'd in my heart tonight.

I don't want to take a step without my Father's permission.
I don't want to speak a word without my Father's permission.
I don't want to move a muscle without my Father's permission.

Oh, God, that You would continue to speak to our hearts about Your plan.  Drown out the voices of the enemy, we pray.  May your perfect will be done on earth, as it is in Heaven.

"It is good to have an end to journey toward; but it is the journey that matters, in the end." 

~Ernest Hemingway

Hope Rising

On December 28th we noticed we had a very hungry caterpillar on the premises...

On the 29th, he attached himself to a 'neighbor' leaf and started curling up...

On the 30th, we saw the chrysalis!  :)

We watched and watched each day in total amazement.  

Through heavy rains and some pretty strong winds, the chrysalis remained in tact, unharmed.  

The tree where it was attached swayed in the wind and the leaf blew up and down but the chrysalis never moved.  

So A.M.A.Z.I.N.G.

"Be alert, be present." (Isaiah 43:18)

 

"I'm about to do something brand-new." (vs. 19)

"It's bursting out!  Don't you see it?" (vs. 19)

"There it is!" (vs. 19)

"Reach out and experience the breadth!  Test its length!  Plumb the depths!  Rise to the heights!  Live full lives, full in the fullness of God.  God can do anything, you know - far more thank you could ever imagine or guess or request in your wildest dreams!  He does it not by pushing us around but by working within us, his Spirit deeply and gently within us." Ephesians 3: 18-21

I can't begin to tell you what being able to witness this miracle of life has done for me over the last couple of weeks.  Through the many parallels, I find comfort and joy.  

What perfect peace there is through trusting.  What beauty there is in waiting.  What freedom there is in living inside His protective covering.  

I continue to be amazed at my Savior's compassion...  

My Hope is rising!