My Heart Condition
Cookies and Cream cupcakes are in the oven, two oldest boys are at school, Gabriel put himself down for a nap and I have the AC turned off and the windows open to this beautiful, cool, wanna-be-fall day.
Life is so sweet right now. Yes, there are always things that could be better or that I would change if I could but over all we're happy. God is teaching us new things and pushing us into a new way of thinking and living and it's refreshing and a little scary.
I recently read the book Radical by David Platt and was really challenged. The American dream has some how become part of our Christianity and we see it as the blessings from God. When in all reality the Bible tells us to give to the poor and the give away our coat to someone who needs it. Prosperity is not a promise we find in scripture but instead trials and hardships are. I am encouraged that reading this book at this point in my life is not as painful as if I read it two years ago. I look at our life living with 3 kids in a small apartment with no extras and no savings and clipping coupons and I realize that there isn't a lot more we can sacrifice. However, it makes me yearn for something different. . .I know there are people in Yakima who live on the streets and many families who struggle to feed their children. What am I doing to help them? Beyond that, I see a world that hasn't heard the name of Jesus and children dying every second from a lack of food and clean water and I wonder why I am sitting here now and not in some jungle telling people about the Savior of the world!
In 2000 at 19 years old I went to Costa Rica on my first mission trip and God broke my heart. I saw things that I had only read or heard about. I was touched by the joy in the lives of people who had nothing. I came home hating the American Dream. I hated how much time people spent in front of the TV and having fun. I wanted to go back and I would lay on my bedroom floor listening to "Only a Fool" by Geoff Moore and the Distance crying, begging God to let me go back. To this day my heart still aches. . .for people who need Jesus, people who need love. Dave and I are continually waiting on God to direct our steps in regards to our part in the Great Commission. We don't know what's next but I am praying he will swing the doors wide open when the time is right for us to go, whether it be short term or for the rest of our lives. God has a plan for us and I want to be in step with Him and His heart.
Life is so sweet right now. Yes, there are always things that could be better or that I would change if I could but over all we're happy. God is teaching us new things and pushing us into a new way of thinking and living and it's refreshing and a little scary.
I recently read the book Radical by David Platt and was really challenged. The American dream has some how become part of our Christianity and we see it as the blessings from God. When in all reality the Bible tells us to give to the poor and the give away our coat to someone who needs it. Prosperity is not a promise we find in scripture but instead trials and hardships are. I am encouraged that reading this book at this point in my life is not as painful as if I read it two years ago. I look at our life living with 3 kids in a small apartment with no extras and no savings and clipping coupons and I realize that there isn't a lot more we can sacrifice. However, it makes me yearn for something different. . .I know there are people in Yakima who live on the streets and many families who struggle to feed their children. What am I doing to help them? Beyond that, I see a world that hasn't heard the name of Jesus and children dying every second from a lack of food and clean water and I wonder why I am sitting here now and not in some jungle telling people about the Savior of the world!
In 2000 at 19 years old I went to Costa Rica on my first mission trip and God broke my heart. I saw things that I had only read or heard about. I was touched by the joy in the lives of people who had nothing. I came home hating the American Dream. I hated how much time people spent in front of the TV and having fun. I wanted to go back and I would lay on my bedroom floor listening to "Only a Fool" by Geoff Moore and the Distance crying, begging God to let me go back. To this day my heart still aches. . .for people who need Jesus, people who need love. Dave and I are continually waiting on God to direct our steps in regards to our part in the Great Commission. We don't know what's next but I am praying he will swing the doors wide open when the time is right for us to go, whether it be short term or for the rest of our lives. God has a plan for us and I want to be in step with Him and His heart.
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