Home for a while. While it seems to be shifting from location to location as we try to connect with folks in various places, home for now is western Pennsylvania near the town where Mike grew up. Nearly his entire family in the area which has given us a rare time to connect with them and for me to get to know them. For the time being we're staying on the farm where his grandmother Miller was raised. It's no longer a working farm, though some of the neighbors still have livestock and fields around it. For someone who has been shifting from major population center to major population center for a long time, it's been an adjustment, but I have come to cherish the quiet of the land, the personality of the woods, and the freedom to roam trails for without interruption.
So when I returned to the farmhouse on Friday after three weeks in the Hampton Roads area of Virginia I have to say, I had that satisfied feeling of coming home. It was nice to be out of the congestion, the noise, and the constant rushing of people. There is something about walking into a house and feeling home again. I'll head back out again for another month of duty with the Reserves on Thursday and I'll miss the farmhouse. Here's a few pictures of where we're staying:
Farmhouse The Barn. Originally built in 1900, it has since been restored and is now used regularly for family gatherings.
We're trying to keep the grass mowed while we're here; the task is made pretty easy with the Kubota lawn tractor. The bright double peonies behind the house; this is one of my favorite flowers! About ten years ago Mike with his father, Brad, and brother, Dan, planted a couple dozen blueberry bushes behind the farmhouse and its become a fairly productive patch. So productive that our resident families of wild turkeys have tried to claim squatters' rights. I walked out one morning and found 18 turkeys eating their way through the bushes. Mike decided to take matters into his own hands and played scarecrow for a bit. It didn't help. We ended up with one mighty pint of berries.
I'd love to introduce you to a few of my favorite people...I have a quite a few favorites, but here's a snapshot of a few:
Nita... Nita has been such a sweet and wonderful surprise for me, a true gift from the Lord. She is a the Director of Military Ministry's Hampton Roads team, and has such a deep and refreshing walk with the Lord. Nita's time with Campus Crusade has taken her many times to the frontlines of ministry in difficult areas. I have such admiration for her depth, honesty, and obedience to the Lord. She's helped me grow in understanding of ministry, faith, and femininity.
Brooke... I met Brooke in March when she and her husband were doing a vision trip of sorts to the Tidewater ahead of their move to the area to launch Campus Crusade ministries on college campuses in Hampton Roads, but it wasn't until this past summer in Fort Collins, Co that I had a chance to really get to know her. She has an amazing heart for the Lord, young women, East Asia, and international students. I love how the Lord answers prayer for community and true fellowship in unexpected ways, and I'm really excited to see where the Lord will these new ministries in the Hampton Roads area.
Tiffany... This was a divine appointment! Tiffany and I met during Campus Crusade for Christ New Staff Training this summer in Fort Collins, CO. We ended up in a seminar together and both introduced ourselves with Military Ministry, then turned and looked at each and said, 'Really?' And so, it was from here I got to know her sweet, sweet spirit, love for the Lord, and amazing faith. She's coming to Military Ministry to work with Valor (yay!), and is stepping way outside of her comfort zone to follow the Call to ministry. I'm so excited for what the Lord will do in her life, and in the lives of the women she ministers to at Texas A&M.
This year has been a glorious LEAP of faith for me. A complete change of career, finances, marriage, geography, families, and in the midst of all of these whirling factors the Lord has developed an amazing friendship between Mike and me. It's been a comfort and a stabilizing factor in all of this. I'm amazed at how our relationship has grown and changed. The Lord is sooo good!
Yet, there has always been a slight hesitation on my part when confronted with the LEAP of faith. I thought I had It. It being FAITH. However, for a little while now, the Lord has been impressing upon my heart how often I get caught up in the race for a better ‘quality’ of faith or greater ‘quantity’ of faith. I’ve found myself wrestling with big questions and in the process have tried earnestly to have more faith as though it would make big questions more manageable. Yet, the Lord has shown me so clearly in scripture that He never set a standard for faith, He asks us to simply have it. Believe He is the Son of God, the Savior and Redeemer, and Creator of all earth; simply believe.
Matthew 17:14-20 and Matthew 21:18-22 are two passages I read recently through which the Lord really opened up my heart to understand the contrast of striving for a standard of faith, and simply having faith.
“14 And when they came to the crowd, a man came up to him and, kneeling before him, 15 said, “Lord, have mercy on my son, for he is an epileptic and he suffers terribly. For often he falls into the fire, and often into the water. 16 And I brought him to your disciples, and they could not heal him.” 17 And Jesus answered, “O faithless and twisted generation, how long am I to be with you? How long am I to bear with you? Bring him here to me.” 18 And Jesus rebuked the demon, and it came out of him, and the boy was healed instantly. 19 Then the disciples came to Jesus privately and said, “Why could we not cast it out?” 20 He said to them, “Because of your little faith. For truly, I say to you, if you have faith like a grain of mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move, and nothing will be impossible for you.”’ Matthew 17: 14-20
'18 In the morning, as he was returning to the city, he became hungry. 19 And seeing a fig tree by the wayside, he went to it and found nothing on it but only leaves. And he said to it, “May no fruit ever come from you again!” And the fig tree withered at once. 20 When the disciples saw it, they marveled, saying, “How did the fig tree wither at once?” 21 And Jesus answered them, “Truly, I say to you, if you have faith and do not doubt, you will not only do what has been done to the fig tree, but even if you say to this mountain, ‘Be taken up and thrown into the sea,’ it will happen.22 And whatever you ask in prayer, you will receive, if you have faith.”' Matthew 21: 18-22
I've run through these passages so many times, but during the last week and a half I've stopped to reread and reread again. I've needed to look up notes on them and pray about them. The disciples surely had some faith, but what kind of faith? Faith in Jesus as Messiah or faith in Jesus as a true prophet or anointed one of God? Perhaps it was the idea of being able to cast out demons that was too heavy for them to bear, so their faith faltered - 'surely this Jesus can do miracles, but me?'. I'm struck by Jesus' words in both passages, 'have faith'. He doesn't tell them how much, or when to have it; simply, have faith.
Last night my friend, Brooke, reminded me of Francis Chan's (Cornerstone Church Simi Valley, CA) teachings, and so this morning I listened to an older sermon called, "Living a Life that Matters: Living Courageously". It's a powerful teaching on courageous faith. Francis used Rev 21:8 as a reminder of what God says will happen to the cowardly (don't be scared away -- it's an incredibly encouraging message!); and it hit me hard. The LEAP of faith is about simply having faith in what God has called for us to do, and moving forward with the assumption that He who calls is faithful and will provide. It's living courageously and willingly. So, I'm rejoicing in the Lord today, for what He is doin in my heart and the ways He is revealing what He does with our faith. Ever struggle with this? I'd love to hear what God has been teaching you about living courageously and simply having faith.
Hello to all those out in our blogosphere (new term I stole from a buddy, thanks Ben)!I’ve been wondering a while, “Now that we have a blog, what in the world am I going to say?”Well, I’m not sure I know yet, but here’s my first try, an overview of sorts of the things that are either important to me or on my mind for at least the next few seconds…
For starters, I’m convinced the spiritual world is far more real than what we can understand now.Jesus believed it, and He’s pretty much as awesome as they come.I struggle to live well in this “already, not yet” reality, but that’s where we are.I want more Jesus.Even though I already have Him, I know there’s more, and am pretty well ruined for anything less, anything else.
My wife is utterly fantastic.She is more beautiful, complex, thoughtful, intelligent, and fun than I could have ever hoped for in a bride.I made out like a bandit and will forever strive to give as much as I have to offer.What a joy to love her forever.
Drawing back a bow and releasing a well-placed arrow is a simple pleasure that I will never tire of.Getting extremely close to animals unaware of your presence is such a rush – I love it!
I have little aspiration of greatness.I want to be faithful, and full of faith, and am grateful that these aren’t fully dependent on me.
Next time, I’ll say something other than just about me.Thanks for reading.Be right with Jesus.
We're blogging! It's long overdue, but I'll use the 'we've been on the road' card for this one time! All the more reason for a blog really.
Our goal is share with you what is happening in our life and ministry, so between phone calls (which are never often enough), visits (even less often than needed), and prayer letters we can stay connected. We're going through a massive amount of transition right now, but when does the transition ever really end? It seems that something new is always happening. I'll call this our 'rolling stone gathers no moss' season of life. Since we married on April 18, 2009 we've put nearly 10,000 miles on the little Honda Civic, and we're still taking road trips! We've driven throughout the upper Midwest and Rocky Mountains, and made a well worn path between Brookville, PA and Hampton Roads, VA. It was enough driving to complete several crossword puzzles, get caught up on podcasts, and knit a hat!
We'll try to post at least once a week to share our life (and pictures) as we are in the process of raising support, developing our ministry for when we can report to Blacksburg, and the soup to nuts in between.
Farmhouse
The Barn. Originally built in 1900, it has since been restored and is now used regularly for family gatherings.
We're trying to keep the grass mowed while we're here; the task is made pretty easy with the Kubota lawn tractor.
The bright double peonies behind the house; this is one of my favorite flowers!
About ten years ago Mike with his father, Brad, and brother, Dan, planted a couple dozen blueberry bushes behind the farmhouse and its become a fairly productive patch. So productive that our resident families of wild turkeys have tried to claim squatters' rights. I walked out one morning and found 18 turkeys eating their way through the bushes. Mike decided to take matters into his own hands and played scarecrow for a bit. It didn't help. We ended up with one mighty pint of berries.
