Blessed to be a Blessing

Do you ever sit and reflect back across your life to see how you arrived at this moment? I am compelled to do this during difficult times, but even more so in times like right now when I sense the Spirit of God moving and bringing my dream into focus. If you have never dared to dream, take some time, find an inspirational spot and ask God to help you dream about the purpose he has planned for your unique life. He just might blow your mind! And once he blows your mind, be brave enough to trust him and follow the path he has laid out for you.

Think about Abram (We know him better as Abraham). He was just chillin’ one day – at the age of 75 - when the God of the universe dropped in and said I choose you.  God said,

“I will make you into a great nation

and I will bless you;

 I will make your name great,

and you will be a blessing.

 I will bless those who bless you,

and whoever curses you I will curse;

and all people on earth

will be blessed through you.” Genesis 12:2-3 (NIV)

Abram was a regular guy. He did know God and desired to serve him. Genesis 15:6 says “Abram believed the Lord, and he credited it to him as righteousness.” Abram made plenty of mistakes even after this declaration of Abram’s salvation by the Lord, but it is clear he did love God and was willing to obey him even when it didn’t make sense. God changed his name from “exalted father” to “father of many”, and we are the product of the covenant God made with Abraham and Isaac and Jacob – we, like them, are blessed to be a blessing.

I am closing in on my 37^th birthday and a few years ago I was concerned about this aging thing. I was so impatient and scared. While still in my 20s I would wonder why haven’t I “arrived” at the BIG thing I am supposed to be doing? I would look at other women who were doing things I thought I should be doing and asked why not me yet? I was jealous. I couldn’t really be happy for their success at being a blessing because I was so concerned about my thing and why I wasn’t being used in the gifts and talents God had clearly given me. We had a 4^th child and if I am honest, I was concerned that that would only set me back. As my children get older we face challenges in parenting that on the surface are just nuisances and bring out my insecurities and fears which I certainly don’t want anyone to see.

Now here I sit on my couch thousands of years after Abraham’s epic story, and I am beginning to wrap my brain around how God is blessing me so I can be a blessing to all nations. God has positioned our family here in Fayetteville, AR to understand our place in His story and be completely sold out to it. My God dream isn’t coming true on accident. It isn’t happening in spite of anything. It is coming true because of His faithfulness and fierce love for me. It is all coming together because of a clear choice to spend time with God developing a relationship with him as he has designed. It is coming from the answered prayer that God make me teachable and useable. It is born out of obedience and learning to surrender to His will. It comes from an understanding that when I die to myself and allow Christ to live, I am more me than I ever could be on my own.  It is happening through transparency with our children and allowing God to refine me through parenting these beautiful gifts he has entrusted to us. The dream is coming into clear view as a result of being content with where I am and trusting that God will continue to work out every detail.

This song beautifully explains where I am right now and I couldn’t be more excited. I have never been so happy to be patient and so giddy about the future. Every day I am more alive thanks to God’s covenant with Abraham that he was blessed to be a blessing so that I can now take my place in His story and be a blessing too.

“In Over My Head” by Bethel https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qv3-TDdD1pM

More specifics are coming soon!

Our African Adventure

Where do I begin? Our trip to Ethiopia and Kenya was beyond anything I could have ever hoped or imagined. God showed up in big ways and I could talk for hours about his faithfulness and provision. From beginning to end, I wouldn’t change a thing. We traveled for 23 hours to get there and 26 hours to get home. We lacked some of the “modern conveniences” of home. We learned to trust God when we were tired, scared, sick and unable to talk to Daddy and little sisters. We saw beautiful things and sad things. We experienced worship in a difference language but it was clear God was the same. We were encouraged and inspired by the joy and contentment of Ethiopian believers. We taught Weave’s The Big Story training to provide them with new tools to use in their homes and classrooms. It was incredible to be a part of equipping believers to help them raise up the next generation of Ethiopian believers who will help fulfill the Great Commission.

We couldn’t help but notice the extreme poverty all around us, but there was a pleasant and joyful nature to most every person we encountered. We didn't want to fix it we just wanted to experience life with these beautiful people. The people were generous and warm hearted. There was an intimacy from the way they greeted one another (and us) to their hospitality. The landscape and simplicity of life was refreshing. I had to stop and remind myself often that I was standing on the continent of Africa. I remember stepping out on our balcony to watch the sunrise our first morning in Ethiopia. I had only slept for a few hours but I was awake and alive like never before. I was so overwhelmed by God's faithfulness to bring me to this place. We tasted new foods and went a little overboard. In my enthusiasm for "fitting in" I ate a little too much new food. The bread and spices did not agree with me but I credited it all to having the complete experience. I never once thought to complain about my digestive issues. 

 

I remember our first year living in Arkansas and how difficult it was. I was so sad that I had given up teaching and coaching. I didn't know when or if those things would ever come back to me. I realized this as I stood in the church at the training one day. It seemed like such an easy choice now. I was teaching again and not just teaching, but teaching people about God's word in Ethiopia, Africa. You talk about God giving me pearls when I was holding on to a string of plastic beads. (Google the pearl necklace story.) God's plans are SO MUCH BETTER than ours. I never could have imagined this would be my opportunity to teach again. The icing on the cake was that I was able to include Jeremiah and Maiesha into the lessons I taught. I shared stories from our lives that connected to these Ethiopian believers and helped them better grasp the material. Wow! That all I can say is WOW!

At the 2 day training we taught in Ethiopia, we met a 3 year old little girl named Roi who attended the training with her mom each day. Roi will be 4 in May and she was the Ethiopian version of our Lydia. She was full of energy and was always talking and smiling. She was such a blessing to us. She spoke a little English and would say “com’on” each time she wanted to play. We are friends now on Facebook so she and Lydia can meet and so our families can stay connected.

Jeremiah and Maiesha were amazing. About 36 hours after arriving in Addis Ababa they took a cab 40 minutes across town with Amy, our guesthouse manager, to an elementary school while I went to our first training day. They jumped into English and Math lessons with 1^st and 3^rd graders. I was nervous to let them go without me, but knew I couldn't deprive them of such a great opportunity. We went to an orphanage in both Addis Ababa and Nairobi – each very different but in both they were so excited to serve. They played games with kids their own age that spoke no English and cuddled with babies who will hopefully be reunited with their mommies one day soon. We called Jeremiah the baby whisperer. They participated during training with some of the activities and talked to kids in a Sunday school class about God’s mission and sharing Jesus with kids. They kept the energy high and even cooked scrambled eggs for everyone each morning at the guesthouse. They made a lifelong friendship with “uncle” Menge – our host and ministry partner. Jeremiah has really struggled being home. It was as if he discovered what he is designed to do. He became Ermias (air-me-as is Ethiopian for Jeremiah) and was learning the language. He loved it every time someone asked if he was Ethiopian. He bonded so quickly with people. I know this is just the beginning of his world travels for the sake of God's mission to reach the unreached. Maiesha loved this experience, but she did go through some homesickness and even altitude sickness. She started rough and finished strong.  

 

In Kenya we had the opportunity to take a little adventure to Hell's Gate National Park. What started as a drive through safari to look for wildlife turned into a grand adventure. We decided to take a 15 minute hike into a gorge. A few minutes in a young Kenyan boy named Dennis was leading us on a climb down into the gorge over slippery rock walls and past hot springs. Keep in mind Maiesha and I were wearing plastic flip-flops and I had on a dress. It didn't matter - I wasn't about to miss this. After our hour and a half hike we finally found giraffes after seeing lots of buffalo, zebras and warthog plus a few other animals. We drove by Naivasha Lake the home of over 5,000 hippos. On our way back to Nairobi we realized we were only a few 100 yards away from the Logonot volcano. (It erupted about 100 years ago and shaped the landscape of the park and was responsible for its name.) It was in the Great Rift Valley and we were supposed to be driving up on the rim. We took off across the valley on a dirt road (Google maps called it a hiking trail) to make the climb back to the rim. It was 3 miles of the roughest terrain I have ever been on but it seemed normal for an afternoon adventure in Kenya.

 I know we will be sharing stories from this trip, our first international experience, for the rest of our lives. These stories will become illustrations in Bible studies, lessons, and conversations. God is good! Thanks again to everyone who supported us throughout this great adventure. We couldn’t have done it without you. I hope we have inspired you to continue to serve God through praying, going, sending, welcoming and mobilizing so that God’s name will be made great so that every tribe, nation and tongue will know and worship him.

 

May the nations praise you, O God. Yes, may all the nations praise you. Then the earth will yield its harvest, and God, our God, will richly bless us. Yes, God will bless us, and people all over the world will fear him. Psalm 67:5-7