Great is Thy Faithfulness

Today the sun is out (PTL), the snow is melting and I am in the role of homemaker (my very favorite role) because I'm not working and I am in my home, making it a secure, orderly haven for my family Thank you Jesus for this role.

And today I feel so the need to press into Jesus.

Last night we went to our hour prayer time in this season of 24/7 prayer we are having in our neighborhood. This season is called AWAKE, and we got to pray with some dear new friends who even though we have only known for months feels like we've known each other for a lifetime. (That's Jesus - building his family) We sought the face of God, pleading for an awaking in our own soul, and our families, for more of Christ. Oh how good it was to sit in HIS presence

I met with a very dear sister in Christ this morning for prayer (you know who you are). She one of those people we just share deep real things, I ask her "Doesnt your heart ever grow cold"

I feel mine growing cold, and I hate it, I really do. I've been asking God why is my heart growing cold. He has revealed to me that..

I long to see results... I long to see Dave to come and know Jesus and live a life of restoration...but time and time again he shows up sober and wanting and then the next time high and refusing.

I long to see Joe remain sober and living his life in victory because of Jesus, but again and I again I see him, staggering around just surviving, holding his homeless sign up at the highway exits.

i long to see popeye take hold of the truth that Jesus loves Him so much and that all the loss, pain and suffering that he has lived through, Jesus wants to make whole, and turn them into good, but no, this morning I see popeye, in the dumpsters looking for popcans so that he can survive another day on the streets, medicating his hurt with alcohol.

I long to see my refugee boys find their sonship in Christ Jesus, and to know that they are dearly loved, and they are no longer orphans but adopted by the most loving Heavenly Father. And to know that all the horrific things they have expereinced, Jesus was with them, and every tear cried, Jesus cries too. And that God is a just God.

When I share to people about Dave, or others - people ask me...so how are you doing that, or you are a better person than me - I cant put up with people who choose this life style.

I get angry when people say these things out loud to me but if I am honest, they are speaking what I am sometimes feeling.

I want results, I want to see that it is worth it, yes I want it for them, because we love these beautiful people and we want them to be FOUND by Christ,and most the time it does break our heart, but I would love to testify all the fruit that we are bearing in Christ, Jesus is teaching me that it is obediance, that's my part, being faithful day after day, moment by moment...the fruit - that is His business. What he is teaching me is more profound through this calling of steadfastness than He could probalby teach me through any quick miracle is this... its me that needs to learn to perserve, its me that need to take on the love and promises of Christ daily and live them out in this crazy world.

But this world says no, it likes to say that it has been and will always be this way. There are the "haves" and the "have nots". Its survial of the fittest. And that is the lie that to some extent we all believe.

But God says " It is not by power or by might...but by my Spirit."

People are hurting everywhere, another earthquake and tsunami in Japan - hundred dead...

The earth is groaning for the return of Christ...are we? The more we experience the hurt and brokeness in this world the more we groan, the more we are put through trial the more we are made like Jesus and the more we groan, the more we enter into other peoples hurts and needs and God opens us up to the hurt, the more we groan...the more loss the more groaning.

because it is in all these things that we find Jesus and we are reminded that this is not our home, we have a far better place waiting for us. I see Jesus in our homeless friends, He is with them whether they believe it or not, I see it with my refugee boys, Oh...God' heart is so for the orphan. I see Jesus in my single mom friend who is raising her beautiul boy by herself, and who is tired. I see Jesus in the families who have taken in the orphan, and even though it is hard at times, He is so seen, I see Jesus in my brother as he lives with a heart condition, and has finally had surgery, trusting God to be the Healer. I see Jesus in my parents as they live their lives to bring the HOPE and LOVE of Jesus to everyone they know and dont know.

I see Jesus in our own trials, I not only see Him I meet with him, because even when our circumstance in the world's eyes seems pretty bad, Jesus is there saying trust and peace I give you, and I am refining you through this stripping to be more radiant for me.

And so as I am praying and pressing into Jesus today, I am asking Him to reveal things that are good but are getting in the way of Him. Even good things can be enemies of God.

One thing that I am praying through is sports in our family. We love sports. I grew up in a family of sports, Kevin loves sports, and I have many sweet memories, our kids are very gifted in sports, and we have been blessed to watch them play and really see the glory of God in them as they play. They learn a lot from sports and we know it is of God. And it has been a great way to get into people's lives but...

Sports in our family take up a lot of time, and we dont even do the "travel teams"

We are praying about asking our kids to pick two sports instead of three. I know to some of you reading you say "well that is a no brainer" but to us it is a big deal.

I listen to voices saying "they are only young once" "no regrets, looking back wishing they had" "they are going to let the team down" " its good to keep them busy"...really?!! so busy that even if our intentions are good we are still conveying the message that you need to give your best in the sports you are in...you need to get good grades, you need to work.. be involved here..be involved over there.. perform perform perform, how do we teach our kids to rest, to be in God's Word..to develop their own relationship with Jesus. How can they be used for the Kingdom in their schools if they are not getting filled with TRUTH they cant I dont care how good of kids they are. "Its by my Spirit" says the LORD

Why is it we dont take the training of our children up in the way of the LORD as serious as we take training them in sports or whatever. We can talk about the game, spend hours training for the game, play the game, think about the game...do we do the same for training them to be disciples, warriors, contenders for the Gospel, exposing them to the heart of God.

Paul says that there is some worth in training for the games but not even close to the worth of training for the race of life and the Kingdom run which is eternal.

In Exodus God commands His people to "teach your children, when you are walking, talking when you lie down, speak about thses things...put them on your doorpost tie them around your neck"

I dont know about you...but running after the good things leaves very little time to run after the best. We can say this, agree with this but are we living this.

God is not saying go live your life in a cave, and just read my word and pray and Im not considering that but I am asking the questions, how off balance are we. How much have we conformed to this world and have justified everything.

How often in God's word does he say, pray continueously, meet together, spur each other, edify each other, serve each other, give to the needy, be about the poor, and the orphan. We only have so much time in one day.

Our Father in Heaven is serious about us, he is pursuing us, and He has work for us, he wants to bring the lonely into families, He wants to be the Restorer of our own souls,We are meant to live this life to the full, but we need time to get charged up by the Spirit.

Our God never changes, He is the same yesterday, today and tommorrow, but times are changing, I know I cant get by anymore with just bare minimum of Him and a lot of the world because I feel my heart growing cold, I need Jesus to whisper that He loves me and He loves the lost world and to find HIM I must be going where He is at.

Strength for today
Bright hope for tommorrow
Blessings are mine with ten thousand beside

Great is thy Faithfulness
Great is thy Faithfulness
Morning by morning new mercies I see
All that I have needed thy hand has provided
Great is thy Faithfulness unto me

Today

I feel incredibly blessed, not because of anything grand, but the Spirit of thanksgiving is in my heart today, believe me not everyday is like this, but God is teaching me a lot and giving me His eyes, and today I choose to see through HIM.

Thankful that the sun is shining, and Spring is making its way slowly but surely.

Thankful for my job, today working with some courageous and Jesus loving people, all with different skin color. I love being part of the family of Christ. I love my brothers and sisters who are from All Nations.

Thankful for my family, God has given us a sweet season of growing together and putting a mission on our hearts. To see all of us growing in Christ - really there is nothing better. To see my kids interacting with three new boys from africa that we had over this weekend. so sweet...

Thankful for Kevin, for the way he lives his love for Christ by being the biggest servant to others, to watch him work so hard and never complain, to see him love our kids and take the role of fathering as the calling on his life. For not ever wondering if I'm the most important person to him..because he reminds me all the time that I am.

Thankful to take my dog mya for a walk today down to Jenn's house on 2nd street and have a great conversation of thankfulness,family and grace.

Thankful to see DanMike riding his new motorcycle around the neighborhood.. just another sign of spring.

Thankful to hear from Dave, our homeless friend, that is still sober and he's taking care of some health issues so that he can go to Mission Bible, just calling to say he is doing well, and he is...

Thankful to hear kids laughing and playing on the playground acoss the street.

Thankful for my home.

Thankful that I get to go and watch my kids use their talents whether on the atheltic fields or singing in a concert or whatever else and seeing them having the time of their life.

Thankful to hear from dear friends in Zambia today through email.

Mostly thankful for Jesus... that he hasnt given up on me, and he is showing me that he is constantly making all things new... He is you know... its up to us to take time and see. He's making all things new, He's working in our struggles, He's working in our weakness.

Even though there are only glimpses of Spring and winter seems like it will hold on forever, God is working, the earth is preparing for the budding of flowers, the trees are preparing to bud and leaf and turn green, the cold and snow wont be here forever.

We need to hold on, He's doing the same for us, Oh how much more does He love us over the sparrow or the lillies of the field. He's making a new creation.

PRAISE HIM!!

Grateful...

Yesterday was a low key day. Our family hasnt had that in a long time and it was welcomed. I had the chance to be in prayer for Sawyer, who was at a Youth Retreat...praying God would move in his life.. just being home was a gift.. I love our home. (FYI... God moved at the YOuth Retreat:)

But I had a chance to read through all my journals over the past 19 years and couldnt believe all the answered prayer... so many answered prayer and prayers that I have been praying for 19 years and still praying for believing that God is ABLE... And writing down the journey God has been traveling with me and my family and how through my entries I could testify that God has molded me and made me more like him through the struggles and through expereince not through the comfortable.

I heard a pastor preach that God is writing our story, just like the people of the Bible, what is so great about the greats in the Bible. They all have one thing in common, they failed miserably and yet they were obediant to the call God put on their lives they just knew that they knew even when it looked crazy or stupid to the watching world and God worked through that.

Reading in my journal from 2006 on about how God started speaking over us, that he impressed that he would be uprooting us, people speaking into our lives that knew nothing about us, Africa being introduced to us, the Boiler Room becoming near to us.

I dont know, it was so confirming to know that we are following God's lead. And it also confirms that writing things down and remembering things is God's way. Looking back has been amazing.

Our brain is just to small to remember the journey. So as we continue to walk in this broken world, we trust Jesus... We trust him with our time downtown, knowing he has called us to this place for this season, and he is faithful, we are learning so much. And we are trusting God with the passion and dreams for a faraway land and people. After reading through my journal I have a new committment to pray more for the people and land we love, to trust God with the passion and dreams I know are from Him. In His way and in His time, its surrender. I trust him with our kids, praying that they would be messangers for HIM. I trust Him to be Jehovah Jirah - God is our Provider.

A friend prayed the other night "God help us not to settle for the good, when You have the BEST."

Pondering what things in our lives have we settled for the good not letting God give us HIS best.

So I'm recommitting to journaling again. To remember and testify to where God will take us in the next 20 years. When my life story is read I want it to say.

"And this one walked with the LORD".

FAITH IS

the assurance of things hoped for, the convictions of things unseen. Heb 11:1 ESV

As I looked out my kitchen window just this morning, I see 5 of our homeless friends walking around intoxicated in the cold like lost puppies,

I see the landlords of the house right by us throwing out the possesions of our neighbors who just got evicted this week after her husband has been deported.

We were told that Dave has "fallen off" again after a courageous run of being sober for 2+ weeks. Havent seen him in a couple days and our family misses his company.

I have the priveledge to work at Bethany Christian Services and seeing the needs of the orphan, here and around the world, and despite the great things happening and the families that are opening their heart and home to the orphan, sooo much more needs to be done.

Without Jesus, I would look no different then our homeless friends roaming through life with no direction or purpose.

So as we are beginning 2011, it is my prayer that my FAITH would grow (it is weak a lot of the time), that I would have more faith and trust in our Loving Father in Heaven and the struggles we have we know that God is able to sustain us and lead us, that our HOPE would be seen in our lives... And somehow in God's mysterious way.. he would use us as a place of refuge for other.

We live in a saturated place of "spiritual luxury" in Grand Rapids it is a unique and special place to live. God for some reason has blessed this area. We have strong families, we have many many churches that are committed to being true to the WORD, we have many Christian Colleges and Schools, we even have a Christian Publishing Company where books are being published and sent all over the world for people to read and glean from, we have wealth. We are so blessed here - but God's heart for blessing people is to be a blessing. To be willinging to leave our church pews, Christian friends and family, be open to leave the safe communites and to go. It is easier said than done. And even when it is done it is laborous, inconvenient, frusterating it also is life giving, humbling, life changing... as believers we have the FAITH of things HOPED for and the convictions of things unseen if we dont invest who will?

Let's be a people that God can use to bring heaven to earth. Let's be a people that loves mercy and justice and are walking humbly with our great GOD, lets be a people that are not buying into the rat race of life where we are to busy achieving and investing into things that will not last. Lets be a people that is committed to relationship with Jesus, our families and to the world. Jesus is the same yesterday, today and tommorrow. And HIS Kingdom is coming there is no greater calling than to go and make diciples. It's happening here and all over the world.

Jesus is our HOPE, he's the worlds HOPE. We have the HOPE lets share it.

PS Please pray for Dave, he's become part of this community and part of our heart. Dave needs Jesus, he can go and be sober for weeks at at time, but until he fills his need for alcohol/drugs with his need for Jesus - there really is no HOPE. Dave needs to surrender pray that he does.

I LOVE HERE

and here is home. That is what Logan said a few weeks back and it makes me smile cause that is what God does, it doesnt matter where you are - when you are walking in obediance it's home because God is present and that is what we as a family has expereince over these past few months.

Living here has exposed us again our despereate need for Jesus. It is ugly and beautiful all at the same time.

Looking out my window right now, there is trash, cigarette buds, dumpy looking houses all in my view. Quite different from living on 100th Street with huge perfectly manicured lawn bigger than a football field, fields and wild life, quiet and peaceful, carefree and no people to see or for that matter to hear. My quiet time with Jesus was singing at the top of my lungs in my home way off the road and engaging in His Word in total quietness, other times it would be taking walks in the woods and laying in the meadow, blown away by God's majestic creation.

I told Jesus this weekend, I miss those times with you, where can I go to find you.

i felt Him speak to my heart "You found me, I'm here with the broken and the poor. I am a huge God and you will find me in the beauty of my Creation Marcy, but you will also find me in the mess so keep loving and looking, I'm here.

And JESUS is here. He was here last night as we went caroling through out the neighborhood, declaring Christ the Savior is born and seeing Delores (a cocaine addict) come out and smile and shouting Merry Christmas, singing to Doc and Pam ( a homeless couple) who heard us singing and tracked us down. Seeing little kids peaking from behind their mom's legs to hear the songs with big smiles on their face. These are just a few snapshots.

He was in the midst of this family he is growing down here, laughing and sharing and eating. From the oldest to the youngest, everyone finding their place and knowing that we are on a mission together here, to love God with all our hearts and to love our neighbor and make the name of JESUS famous.

Jesus was here at 10:00 pm when Sawyer, Sam and Brayden wanted to go outside with a venison burger for Dave and sat and talked with him for an hour.

Following Jesus is not boring, we tell our kids all the time, He is a blast to follow. That doesnt mean that we have to be doing something big - just the opposite Jesus works in the small. Ally said b/f going to bed last night, "I cant believe this is my life, I love it" God is faithful.

This is rich living, is it always easy? not even close, many days it can be hard, and there are days where our hearts go back to the carefree, surrounded by beauty life we had on 100th St... but like Jenn says, there will be pastures and fields and beauty waiting in our forever home, and our greatest day here on earth will only be a bad afternoon in heaven.

He is here - Jesus is bringing peace to chaos, He's doing it in our life and in the lives of our new friends, even if for a moment.

We may not be surrounded by beauty in the landscape, although our friends are bringing beauty into the neighborhood with gardens and flowers and coats of fresh paint, but we are surrounded by beautiful people and it is our prayer that the work God has been doing, He will bring it to completion and that the Westside will radiate the Glory of Jesus, one household at a time.


Now to HIM who is able to do abudantly more than we can ask for be glorifed forever and ever.

Love's Door 4 All Nations - Zambia

Catching My Breath

So much to give God glory for over the past month
- We've moved... our address is 717 Davis Ave NW
- Sawyer got his drivers license
- I got a job working at Bethany Christian Services with Refugees. I love it!!
-Kids are back in school.
- Kevin is being so blessed with good work
-Have healthy kids that are very involved with their school's sports teams.
- Have a renewed passion for the orphan in Africa
- Feeling like we as a family are entering into 'new things" and learning so much from the old
-Expereince God as our Rock in a the hardest season of our lives and seeing the end of the tunnel and being amazed that God really does work out all thing for the good.

- So many people in our lives that we love and adore and learn so much from, who have welcomed us in the neighborhood, family that has celebrated and supported us. And new people that we have met and others who we anticipating meeting.

So much praise and that is just a short list...

OHHHH YAY - one more praise - we got a puppy!!! Mya is her name, Bermese Mountain dog and we love her!!!


How is it living downtown?....

What can I say, it feels like home. It felt like home the first night we moved in. And no I'm not romantizing it all... But when you are walking into obediance with God and have this peace that only comes from HIM then your home... and that is what we expereinced.

Our first night here, we got to feed D a homeless man a meal, and when we came home he was passed out on our front porch. He slept there and in the morning we had a cup of coffee with him and listen to his story. Thankful that we could offer shelter to D - he is a son of someone, a brother and dad to someone and most importantly - he is loved by our Heavenly Father.

And so no.... we arent opening our porch up every night to the drunk homeless men - but if they or anyone else needs a place of peace in this chaotic world, we pray that is what our home will be, a place that shouts JESUS.

We are just meeting our neighbors, the kids are meeting kids in the neighborhood, each Sunday Jordan - an intern at the Boiler Room - has set aside time to play roller hockey with the kids, we get to be part of that too.

Love Feast on Wednesday is something we like to be part of too, a great way to meet our neighbors.

We are learning already so much about God's Kingdom breaking in down here by watching Tony and Jenn, Brad and Michelle, Phil and Allison, Brooke and Tim, and the Boiler Room crew - so much more to learn but we're seeing... God created family... and His Body is family... and when we love each other well, have fun together, share our burdens, celebrate in our joys... that's attractive to the watching world... and they want to be part of God's family... we cant do it in our strength but through the love and grace of God we pray our family on the Westside grows, that new brothers and sisters will come home... That is our hope and we feel so very blessed that God has called us here. May we become less and JESUS become more.

More to come...