A God that goes before me!!!

As many of you know we are in the middle of raising support to enable us to do the work we believe God is calling us to. Support raising is such a humbling and emotionally exhausting ride. It is amazing to see the generosity of other believers and so uplifting to have other believers in our corner! Throughout this time Derek and I have continued to see God work in our lives and the lives of others. But, my human nature causes me to have days where I doubt...I doubt that we can raise the money we need....or doubt that we will get it done in the time frame we believe God has laid out. But...every time I have ONE OF THOSE DAYS God meets me where I am and gives me an amazing dose of his love. I sit here crying as I type this...so humbled that God loves me. That God cares enough about me that on my lowest days that he would send a person, or a verse, or a song to remind me that HE ALONE is on the throne. HE IS IN CHARGE and HE IS CALLING THE SHOTS!

The other day Derek and I were enjoying an amazingly quiet lunch together (I have no idea how that happened!). We were talking and inevitably conversation turned to our current transition into ministry. I said "Derek, how are we going to do this?!?!". My wonderfully amazing husband responded with a somewhat irritated "WE aren't". (I forgave his irritation because we have had this conversation before:) And, he is right! I just needed to hear it. This task has never been ours and I am so thankful!

After lunch I sat down to do my Bible study while the kids were resting/napping. I am currently working through "Jonah" by Priscilla Shirer. The title for the day was "Set Up To Win". God spoke to me through that lesson. In the study Priscilla Shirer gave example after example of how God goes before us and paves our way. One of the examples was from 2 Chronicles 20:6-24. King Jehoshaphat was facing an attack by three separate armies. Defeat was inevitable. But, God stepped in and gave instructions for the Israelite army to go out to meet their enemies. King Jehoshaphat obeyed. Not only did his army go forth, but they went forth with praise and worship! Wow! Can you imagine? Thinking that there was a good chance you were marching to your death and still praising God along the way?!?! I realized that I need to do just that. I should be singing praise to Jesus my savior, to my God who goes before me, as I march along this path he has set my feet upon. He sets us up to win...all we have to do is step up and get in the game.

Our God's love is so lavish that he has continued to drive this point home with me. Very rarely do I have a chance to turn on the radio...nor do I want to:) If I get a chance for quiet, I take it! But, this morning after dropping Isaiah off at preschool, Simeon makes a request for some music. I turn on Star 88.3 and catch the tail end of a song by Needtobreathe. The very first words I heard were,

Yahweh, Yahweh...

Great is your glory when you go before me

Oh, we sing...

Holy, Holy...

Your ways are lovely. So high above me.

Yahweh

Isn't God amazing? He goes before us. He has good things planned for us. He sets us up to win. He is so high above us. He blows my mind...

Thank you Jesus.

-Lydia

p.s. check out the whole song through the link below:)

NEEDTOBREATHE - Signature Of Divine [Yahweh] (video)

Talents

Ever since I was little I have felt God's call on my life to enter into missions. I had this innate desire to go and serve. As a kid I thought I had to have medical training to be useful on the missions field- so I decided I wanted to be a nurse. Upon entering college I still wanted to earn a degree in nursing but it wasn't feasible to be in the nursing program while playing volleyball collegiately. I knew it was possible to pursue nursing after my playing days were over...but I let that dream die.

As the years passed the feeling that God was calling me into missions never went away. But I thought maybe I had somehow messed up God's plan for by not pursuing that nursing degree...

Then something wonderful happened. I realized I didn't need that nursing degree because God wasn't calling me to be a nurse! How freeing! I realized that what God was calling me to do was to use the talents he has already given me for his glory. I realized I could let go of all of my pre-conceived notions of who I had to be to be useful to our Lord. All I had to do was be willing to use the talents God has blessed me with.

Do you know that God has given you a unique set of talents and abilities for a reason? Are you using them to glorify God? You can be sure of this...if God gave you a gift he wants you to use it!

Because of Him,

Lydia

Missions Weekend @ Pathway Community Church

A couple weekends ago I had the privilege of sharing a pivotal moment in my life with our fellow believers at Pathway Community Church. It was Missions Weekend at church and I was asked to share how God has changed my life through short-term missions. I want to share the story with you too...
I want to tell you about a place that is very special to me. It’s called the Hole. Just as the name implies it’s a hole in the middle of Santiago, the second largest city in the Dominican Republic. The Hole is a slum that is full of drugs, violence and poverty. In the middle of the Hole is a church that our friends from G.O. Ministries partner with. On my first trip to the Dominican Republic our team was sent to the Hole to conduct a VBS at the church and to feed the kids lunch. We were dropped off at street side and began to make our way down the steep decline to the bottom of the Hole. With every step the smell of sewage became more powerful. But, halfway down some thing amazing happened. Our group was overrun by kids. They came from everywhere. They wanted to climb on us, hold our hands and play games. By the time we got to the church I was carrying two kids and had one more trying to climb on me. These kids who had so little were so excited and happy to see us. Once inside the TINY church (with 60 kids!) we did a simple VBS with songs and fed them lunch. After we finished and the children were all gone, I feel to my knees and began to cry. At that moment God changed my heart. In an instant he changed me from a cynical man that could care less about the plight of the poor or injustice. I was filled with a sense of urgency to live a life of purpose and service. That experience was seven years ago and I have been back every summer since. Four years ago when my family and I moved to Ft. Wayne I presented Pastor Ron and the Missions leadership with the opportunity to take a team to the Dominican. They thought it was a great idea and challenged me to lead the team. I was like whoa…I just want to go, not lead! But God was telling me I was ready. Lydia was able to go with me on Pathway's first trip two years ago and when we got back we both felt God was calling us to do something more than just a one week trip. We committed to praying about God’s plan for our family. God answered our prayers with a clear vision of how we could serve and we have committed to joining our friends at G.O. Ministries full-time. In January I’ll step away from my career at the YMCA, a job I love, it had been my dream job.
The point of my story is this...I had to walk down in a hole with God. I had to smell, touch, and see with my own eyes what’s out there. I had to look at a kid covered in filth who I didn’t want to pick up at first and hold him. In that hole, God changed my heart and my life was changed forever. I believe that God is challenging each and everyone of us to walk into a hole. I encourage you to step outside your box and into the hole where he is calling you.
-Derek

Why G.O.? (part 2)

Why join G.O. Ministries? That is another really good question! We have decided to partner with G.O. Ministries because we believe that it where God is calling us:) The longer explanation is that we agree with G.O. Ministries approach to global missions. The core of G.O.'s mission is to partner with Nationals through short-term missions. Basically what that means is that G.O. helps pastors or Christian workers who are serving in their own country by securing resources to allow them to do ministry full-time. G.O. also offers ongoing trainings and practical support for their National partners. The other side of the equation is the Americans who serve on short-term missions trips. G.O. Ministries provides an opportunity for individuals to step outside of their own little world and into the larger world God has created. Perspectives are shifted, hearts are broken and lives are changed on these trips. Derek and I are both living examples of how God can use short-term missions to change who you are and what you are about. We are so excited about the duality of G.O. Ministries...how lives are changed in the United States and across the world through short-term missions.
For more information on G.O. Ministries please click the tab at the top of our blog:)
Much love,
Lydia

Why go? (part 1)

Why go? Why are we going to leave the stability of our current situation to pursue one full of uncertainty? In one word, ADVENTURE. We love adventure! Just kidding:) We want to live a life of adventurous FAITH. So I guess the answer to "why go" is really two words, Adventurous Faith. We love and serve a God who has called us out of our comfort zone and into a life where we have to live fully dependent on him. Six years ago Derek traveled to the Dominican Republic on a missions trip. That ADVENTURE changed him. He came back with the intense desire to live a life of purpose. The seed was also planted in his heart to pursue missions. Four years (and four missions trips)later, in 2008, Derek led a short term missions team from our church in Ft. Wayne. I had the privilege of going along on my first ever missions trip. In 2009 we returned from our second trip together with the feeling that God was calling us to move our family in to the mission field. We committed to praying for one year before making any decisions. During that time of prayer God gave Derek a vision of how our specific talents and abilities could fit in to what G.O. Ministries is doing. When we contacted the leadership of G.O. Ministries it didn't take long to see how God has shaped us to fit into the their ministry family.
So, now our family is "going" to live a life of ADVENTUROUS FAITH.
Lydia