A change in tide.

Today marks both the end and the beginning. The end of my commitment here in Ohio and the birth of a brand new something.  I can share this all now.


A little over a month ago, God began speaking to my husband and I, calling us out of our jobs here and on to "the land that I will show you." God's land. God's opportunity. After loads of freaking out, tears, uncertainty and surrender, we've been packing away our belongings, preparing to leave at a moments notice. It all seemed like such a whimsical mystery as to where to begin, and yet we knew with certainty this is what He wanted. 


And then, the fateful Monday. I can be thankful now for that Monday, but as it was happening, it was hardly a thankful occasion. I would like to say I handled it well, being forced to leave my home due to circumstances well beyond our control. In the moment all I could think of is how entirely unfair it was that we should have nowhere to live when we were not at fault. We now jokingly refer to it as "The Exodus".


Fortunately my Mother is a saint with a large house. As we moved our belongings in all I could think was, "Well, God did tell us to pack..." It just wasn't like we thought it was going to be. It almost never is. The tides have turned and I can say with full confidence that it was ordained for us to be living with my Mom for this short while. The blessing it has been for all parties involved astounds me and I could write an entire blog itself to list all the reasons why it's a good thing. (Strange, I know) I never thought I'd say the Lord willed me to live with my husband at my Mother's. ha. How he humbles. 


To summarize, today was my last day of work. I am free to come and go as the Spirit wills. We are listening intently for the faintest whisper and then we are off to the opportunity He brings. To live as the disciples. To trust Him at His word. To live off of every word that proceeds from His mouth. We are packing, wrapping up some last farewells and spending some very important time with those whom God is compelling us to seek after. 


Pray for us. We just may be coming to you! Who knows? It could happen.

Black Sheep

I am the Black Sheep of the family. Tis' painfully true. If I weren't me, I wouldn't know what to do with me either.

Many mysterious and difficult things are happening in life. While I'm trying to see it as adventure, most days it feels like pain and endurance.

Nevertheless, the Word of the Lord is sustaining me. I love that it never changes. It's rock solid, and when I rest there, life pauses and I feel clear for those moments. Perspective grows and it's one more breath of life that I get to take uninhibited by the chaos which seeks my demise.

We've stepped out onto an invisible ledge, praying, that like Abraham, we too would uncover where we are going. God keeps giving us snippets of the vision, and the pieces are slowly forming an unconventional and possibly controversial way of life. Freedom please. Death to Babylon! May we enter the glorious Kingdom, and get so lost that we never find our way out.

Sound the trump! Herald us home!

Summer on the roof

I think we may possibly have the coolest bedroom ever. It's got these two massive windows that overlook the tops of the trees. (We're on the second story) Literally, it looks like the forest, and these rays of sunshine peek in, joined by a slight breeze. We decided it felt like a treehouse, so that's how we painted it. Green and light blue, with hints of chocolate brown that Jesse declared "looked like trees". Thereby making it our treehouse.

But get this, the best part is the roof access that leads directly from one of said windows, which I currently am enjoying. It's warm, the neighborhood children are screaming, dogs barking, gangsta music blaring from pimped-out cars, trains faithfully sounding, but it's my little bit of hideaway. Other than that, it's pretty secluded.

I plan on enjoying this fully this summer. 

Mr and Mrs

May 16th seemed like a good day to get married.

But in all seriousness, yes, we did move the date of the wedding up, and yes, it was the best decision of my life. After much prayer and discussion, we both uncovered our discomfort with August 6th as a wedding date. There are many more reasons than there is time to elaborate on why we decided to marry sooner, but it ultimately came down to trusting that we were being obedient to what the Lord was leading us into.

The way of the Lord is a mysterious path, that all those who walk it must be daring to lay down and die a million deaths. daily. God laid my wedding on the altar, asking for it. More than all my girlish fantasies of happily-ever-after and having everything picture-perfect and orderly, he wanted my heart and trust. He assured me after all that I was getting an infinitely better marriage than a wedding. And boy, is there a big difference: a wedding is one glorious day, but a marriage is daily. I have it everyday, and ultimately that is more important than any primo wedding that could be fabricated by enormous wealth (which we don't have anyway.... hah)

We've only begun to uncover the wealth of blessing and growth that God has started. It feels like this is the way life was meant to be lived, the two of us together, doing life. Completely normal. Completely amazing.

Keep us in your prayers. It is the Lord who has begun this good work, and the Lord who will keep it going. He is the head of our life, and we are devoted to His life.

i am folly.

I think I'm resigning to the fact that I tend to work against the grain of "normal" when it comes to society. I ditched out on the whole idea of university, traveling the world for Jesus instead. Ended up finding a second home in the hills of Germany, and filled my heart with some of the greatest friends that one could ever hope to have, all without a *gasp* back-up plan, job, or degree!

I'm not normal. God likes to do these things to me, where I don't know where I'm going or what I'm doing until about 2 weeks in advance. Later, it fills me with riotous laughter, but at the moment, I'm standing on a precipice.

God's been speaking these past few weeks about reinventing life. How "out-there" am I willing to be for him? How much of my life and desires am I willing to lay down, and follow his alternative lifestyle? It's counter-cultural. It's ripping apart my perspective of the world, myself, and ultimately God.

He gave me this verse today, 1 Corinthians 2:5 "that your faith might not rest in the wisdom of man but in the power of God." That's really what all this is about, trusting God's seemingly foolish commands, and not trusting the wisdom of the world. I may get looked down upon, shunned or misunderstood, but the wisdom of man is folly to God, and at the end of the day it comes down to my obedience to the convictions that the Holy Spirit speaks to me. God is spiritually understood, and by external perspectives, absolutely perplexing.

What if God has a different script for life, and we've missed it? What if we do life with Him, and do what brings life? What if this new intriguing way of living would draw in people who have been tirelessly enduring the mundane? What if this "foolish" way of living is the true life that God was intending to give us? What if this alternative is really the way of pure faith and hope that God in his love designed for life to be?

It's a whole lot more interesting.
More later, I'm sure.

Many New Beginnings

Today, I was hired on the spot at the only local Mediterranean restaurant in town. Pretty incredible actually, since I am in love with their food, and have been praying for a position there. I must say it's a lot more classy than the bowling alley, a completely different ball-game. I start tomorrow! 


The owner is a very professional and serious business man. He comes from Syria and is committed to serving only the freshest and most excellent food that he can produce (since he is also the chef). I happen to love this. If you haven't noticed, my recent affinity for food is now leading me down a very delicious line of profession. I hope to not only fall in love with Middle Eastern and Mediterranean cuisine even more, but to actually learn to cook it should the opportunity present itself.


So while I sit here poring over my homework (the menu) I find myself salivating in anticipation of my first shift. While I am nervous, I am very excited to be a part of such a fine restaurant. I like promoting local businesses, as well as promoting the renovation and reviving of our somewhat dilapidated downtown. I think this kind of atmosphere is exactly what we need around here. A little international flavor... oh, and better coffee. 


I am extremely blessed. The blessings just keep piling up this week, and I am in awe of how God takes care of me. My heart sings it's way down this new adventure. I never knew I could enjoy this town so much...

A very good Friday

So, last Friday, Jesse proposed. Yes, it's true, I am getting married!

It was a very spontaneous proposal, and very joyous. He had the ring hidden in his glovebox, and then when I was bopping around the car, he asked me to check in there as I was preparing to throw out a few things. And Voila! There was the ring, shiny, and staring at me. In my shock, I was convinced that I found it on accident (which had been my fear all along) and exclaimed, "Are you serious?!". Which probably is considered an inappropriate response to a marriage proposal. In my shock, I barely heard him say the words, "Will you marry me?" About the time it registered that he was seriously I immediately responded with a Yes.

A little comical, a little shocking, a lot of wonderful.

He did good. :)

Stay tuned for the rest of our adventures in engagement-land. 

Oh yeah, the wedding date is another Friday. August 6, 2010.