Since I Was Getting A Little Too Serious....

It seemed wise to spend a morning just chillin'......doing some spontaneous singing, playing with the "take a picture of yourself" and color settings on my camera.....since I have been praying and agonizing over this YWAM decision a little too much....

It's always good to learn new skills anyhow.

Here are a couple of the results. :)

YWAM Salem & YWAM RescueNet

The world is a big place.

But GO.... into all the world....

Right-o. Which part??

As per my previous blog there are many things that burn on Larry's heart and on mine. We really feel we are supposed to go back into YWAM. Indeed it has become an interesting journey.

We continue to wait for the final stamp from the Lord but as we began the journey we carried criteria of our own that wee knew a prospective Base needed to match. Or at least have possibility to match.

YWAM Tyler was a close match. But YWAM Salem may be emerging as an even closer match. Especially since it is coupled with YWAM's Disaster Relief Group - RescueNet. There is a House of Prayer in Salem, as well, which is a HUGE criteria for us.

We have been praying and praying. Thinking and thinking. Asking for advice. Asking for prayer. Researching. Delving into Scripture. We continue to do so.

As a result, we beginning to lean into YWAM Salem.

The only drawback for me is that it is SO FAR from my family in Savannah, Ga. I don't think you can get much further and still be in the continental USA. Yet it is very close to Larry's family. Especially to his nephew & family that work with Muslims in Portland. I have long wanted to go do some work with them. So that is a big plus.

But we will continue to wait and to pray. I have sensed all along that God was taking us on a journey of the heart as we visited YWAM Bases and sorted through where God wanted us to "land". I have felt that we would look at options, journey through our hearts and our YWAM past adventures and then He would land us.

If you have followed along on this journey you know how He has healed our hearts from places we missed and continued to long for, He did re-connected us with friends from YWAM, and even had us be blessed to go back into YWAM by out past-DTS Base Leader. It has indeed been a journey of the heart! We have also been afforded the chance to delve into our own desires. To see and try to understnd what was churning inside. Again, a journey of the heart.

So now the burning question is: is it time to land? Is the journey still in process or is this the moment God makes "which base" clear? Is it Salem coupled with RescueNet? Is it Tyler? Or is there yet another step, another base that will emerge?????

We'll keep you posted!! Please keep praying!!!!

Ruminations...of YWAM & The Heart's Desires...

Oddly it was cool enough the day before yesterday to build a campfire in the backyard. So in my pensive state I did just that.

And my thoughts turned to God, YWAM and the desires that are on Larry's heart and mine.

The search for "which YWAM Base" continues. We checked out the Charlotte, Orlando, Ozarks and Tyler, TX Bases. Of those Tyler seemed to emerge at the top of the pile. But not being 100% sure we continued to pray and wait.

Another option has emerged in the meantime. YWAM Salem, OR.

This is a base we had considered in the past, so it's not "all new".

The question may arise, WHY....? Why do we continue to search for a base? What is it we are looking for? Well, we want the word of the Lord for one thing...where does He want us. But the desires of our hearts are also coming into play.

We want to be involved in a combination of things. Larry really wants to work in Disaster Relief. I want to teach. We both would like to start a School of Prayer in YWAM, that involves various teachings on knowing God as well as 24/7 Worship & Prayer in various forms. We both want to take teams to minister to the poor both in North America and other parts of the world. We want to live in community. I would like to have a mini-school that allows people who cannot join YWAM or a House of Prayer full-time to come to weekend seminars and etc to learn about God and intimacy with Him though all aspects of life and relationship.

And so, we desire to work on a base that over time, if not immediately, will allow us to do the things that are burning in there. Things that God has placed on our hearts and developed over time. As a result, YWAM Tyler has emerged as a possibility as has YWAM Salem. Both either already have, or have the potential for, the things we want to do.

Please continue to pray for us in this crucial decision. As before, we really want the Lord's direction in this. It would be no good to follow the desires of our hearts if we are not in the place that He desires for us.

I will finish my M.A. at the beginning of December so, regardless of where we end up, our projected leave date is still early January......

Cuban Food & YWAM Stories

I invited over my Puerto Rican friend and my YWAM friend
(who both lead with me in Pure Heart)
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Made a little Picadillo, some black beans & rice......

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Fried up some platanos......

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Bought some Bananos Bocadillos, busted out the decent dinnerware......

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And we told YWAM outreach stories for hours....

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I cannot articulate what a wonderful evening I had! It was so good to get together with friends, to whip up some Hispanic food (I miss cooking for friends and family!) and to trade off stories from YWAM and outreaches. It made my heart come alive in God just a little bit more!

Between the stories coming out of Lakeland, Fl and nights like this more and more I find myself breaking into a life of faith again....believing that God is Who He says He is and can and will do what He says.

I live in perpetual awe and wonder these days and it is like a breathe of fresh air after being trapped in a confining space for ages.

Thank you Jesus for miracles of all kinds!!!! :)

12th Anniversary Fun....

Just for fun


















After going to see Prince Caspain we went to the Bass Pro Shop. Sounds strange but it is a fascinating place with lots to do....and it just opened so we were anxious to explore. Besides, it was something adventurous to do for an anniversary in the USA....






Like I said, there were fun things to do, like shooting at the target range.....I was relieved that all these years in KCMO haven't caused me to forget how to shoot! :)

After shooting, looking at the ponds, fish tanks and animal displays we went to the Islamorada Restaurant there inside for a snack of alligator.

We explored the ground of the Bass Pro Shop a bit too. Isn't this a lovely little waterfall???

Later in the evening it was off the the Melting Pot for our traditional Anniversary dessert.

It was a wonderful day!!!!

I am Sleeping Beauty

A roommate and I were chatting in the hall the other night and suddenly she said "I just saw something, can I tell you?" Yes, of course.

She said she saw my heart and it was green. I interrupted and said "green?? Oh great! Is my heart mouldy?" And she said no, it was like spring green. Like new leaves or new grass.

And she said the Lord was saying "It's like the first time...." (yeah, I have to admit a song from high school went through my head...but somewhat appropriate I guess).

As I sit here cleaning out a closet full of papers and memories in preparation to go back into YWAM in January I can see how this word is so true. My heart is becoming so alive and so open.

I am seeing Scripture as if I have never read it before and just weep. I am encountering God in ways that I haven't in two years. He feels close and tender. I am realizing that my best friend/"sister" still is just that and has loved me through the torment of this desert even when I was making no sense whatsoever. I am seeing that my husband is like a rock. He also loves me and has walked this season out right beside me no matter what. I am falling in love with life, loved ones and God all over again. And truly it feels like it's the first time.

As if I have never touched love before and am amazed and captured by it. It's an odd and wonderful feeling.

I am weeping as I write this. I had not been left alone. And even though my heart was so very dead this past handful of years....well...it is not all over. For it is now a coming ALIVE. And more alive than I think I have ever been. I wake up each day grateful to have life. Excited over colors and the gift of sight. Grateful for the songs of birds coming in my window and the gift of hearing. On and on and on and on.

As if I have been born again. As if I am a butterfly coming out of it's cocoon. Or Lazarus coming up out of the grave. OR as if I am Sleeping Beauty who is being kissed awake after having been cast under an evil spell.....

Strange this experience. And I am not fully alive yet. But I am becoming. And it seems the death of the desert makes the life that much more vibrant.

Indeed then....it is as if I am Sleeping Beauty...I have been asleep, as it were, for too many years.....and my Prince is kissing me awake.....

The winter is over and past....the springtime has come....the season of singing......

Days of Spring.....

Just some pictures.....
Enjoying the lovely spring days that are finally emerging here in Kansas City.....















Up in the backyard "fort"















IBID















Music in the arbor..

LarryBoy and the Annoying Bugs

For all of you who thought our household might one day be invaded by some type of bug, like happens to all normal households........

Or for those of you who thought LarryBoy was no longer protecting us.....

NEVER FEAR! LARRYBOY IS STILL HERE!

And he emerges when you least expect it.


Oh the memories.....

Of the infestation of flies in Juarez Mexico during DTS. LarryBoy emerges with a fly swatter and kills a dozen a day. There were little smashed fly carcasses all over the efficiency, which somehow our superhero would leave on the wall for days, much to the chagrin of Jessica and I.
Maybe so we would have a reminder of how protected were actually were.

In our little gray train at the YWAM Argentina base it was the mosquitoes. I was being eaten alive all night....despairing for my life...when suddenly there was LarryBoy! Awakening me with a start as I heard smashing sounds against the metal walls! He had arrived again to kill the little insect menaces and spare me being sucked dry. And again, he left the little bloody bodies squashed everywhere to remind me of how safe I was.

Then it was Stonewall, CO and the horrid moths. They were everywhere...crawling in under the door and through window cracks like a scene from an Alfred Hitchcock movie. I still hear Jessica's screams in my memories. But wait!! When we had almost given up hope...LarryBoy! Our hero.......

But then, sadly, with the move to Kansas City LarryBoy disappeared. For years. Was it the sadness? The lack of insects? I didn't feel safe. What if something came after me? It's been 5.5 years since my hero last rescued me .

Oh no..... Did he no longer love me? Was he tired of fighting this never ending battle against insect invasions?

And then what I feared came upon me. I walked into the kitchen yesterday...and...ANTS! Everywhere.
I hollered...LARRYBOY!!.....and behold, He cometh. (cameth?) And my world was secure once again.

Oh the joy. Oh the rapture!
Oh the little dead ant carcasses that somehow he still hasn't figured out how to clean up....

Ah well. By the mercy and grace of God we are safe once again.....that's what counts.

Pure Heart Team

God has blessed me with an amazing team for leading Pure Heart small groups! Here they are pictured with me....Kim and Selenia.

Tuesday night was our first official night of small group healing prayer. These two ladies were just unbelievable in the way they ministered to the hearts of the young women in our group.

6 more weeks to go! YeeeeeHaaaaa.

Tuesday night was also my second time teaching in Pure Heart. I was surprised at how scared I was. Or maybe unnerved. Anyway. After much feedback it appears the Lord did make Himself strong in my weakness and it went well. (whew) And good. For indeed then the glory really is all His.

And as I glance back I realize I did have fun. And it was good to need Him to show up! And I actually am looking forward to my next opportunity to partner with Him through teaching....

Forerunner Post-Wilderness

John the Baptist. The Model Forerunner. One who preached Jesus. One who spent many years in a wilderness before preaching Jesus.

Hmmmmmmmmmmm.

I was contemplating him today. Always I tend to think of dear John as the one who was always in the wilderness preparing and preparing and preparing. Ad nauseum perhaps, at times. There he was spending all his time sitting on a rock. Maybe he read the Scripture scrolls. Most likely he spent alot of time in prayer. Very poor. Kinda weird. Just there. Existing. Existing and getting to know God so that he could preach Jesus.

Suddenly, as if it had never occurred to me before, I got to meditating on the fact that John did not stay in the wilderness forever. Neither did Moses. Nor David. The day came for all of them when the Lord cried "come forth." Sometimes He had to drag them forth, true. Moses, for example, was just Mr. Comfortable there in the familiar wilderness.

We don't know how God called John forth but when he came out of the wilderness he did so declaring who God was. He came forth preaching. He came forth traveling. He came forth baptizing. He came forth calling men to repent. And he called people into relationship with God again.

Did he still spend much time in prayer? I'm sure he did. And he was still poor and kinda weird. He probably sat on rocks thinking and read the scrolls. But after the Lord called him forth he added the dimension of preaching, teaching and calling mankind into relationship with God.

Truly good food for thought for where I find myself right now........

Dangerous Situations and Fun Memories in KC

Funny how so many times I long to be overseas again because I am serving God and creating odd fun memories with my friends.

Last night, here in Kansas City, I got a reality check. You really can serve God and create fun memories out of dangerous situations even in the USA!

We were over at Stella & Yoka's house last evening for dinner after a day of serving at the IHOP-KC Missions Base in various capacities. A storm moved in and before you knew it the tornado sirens went off and we were huddled in the basement hallway with a hand-cranked weather radio / lantern. On my cell phone we were calling the girls (and the out-of-town visitor) at our house to make sure they heard the sirens. Then we got a call from a friend who was stuck at work (Michael's Craft Store) wanting to know if she should stay the night there or if we could give her a weather update. As we were talking their sirens went off.

Hail was falling, lots of lightening was flashing and the radio told us there were two...no...wait...then three sightings right up the road from us. It was fun. Yes, ok, intense too as we could have lost our homes and died (it happened about 2 hrs away last year!)

But as we sat there Larry commented "this is going to be one of those memories we talk about for years to come!". And how true.

Why is it that if I were huddled in a basement in Taiwan, the twister were called a cyclone and we had just finished a day of praying and working at a missions base there (or anywhere else foreign sounding) that somehow that is more cool and more worthy of being excited about, praying for, supporting and engaging with?

I have no idea. But I do know I had a major paradigm shift last night.

I also made a great memory and..... I had alot of fun.

Here's to loving & serving God through missions and prayer....the 1st & 2nd Commandments...no matter where I am.

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