Quote of the Week...

The foundation of a missional life is the decision to offer to God our plans in exchange for His plans.  It is to allow the truth about who God is, what He has done, and our new identity in Jesus inform all of life.  It requires that we are willing to leave our world so He can send us to extend His Kingdom.  Whether we choose to engage the call is up to us.

-exerpt from The Tangible Kingdom Primer

Blessings in Disguise

I've been blessed to be with my Mom and my sister this weekend and Sunday I went to church at Lima Community Church of the Nazarene and felt God speak to my aching heart.

My baby girl, Lily Grace, would be around 2 weeks old this week.  It's so hard to think of what could have been.  Our life would look so different had she come.  I wish I could hold her tiny hands and kiss her sweet face.  But for some reason, I can't.  Trusting God is hard sometimes.  Pastor Doug shared about God's love on Sunday and I just felt reassured that even when I don't know why or how, God is at work.

You can click here to hear his encouraging words, and check out the you-tube video below.  I wept as I listened to the words of this song.  Especially the following lines...

We pray for wisdom
Your voice to hear
And we cry in anger when we cannot feel You near
We doubt Your goodness, we doubt Your love
As if every promise from Your Word is not enough
All the while, You hear each desperate plea
And long that we have faith to believe

'Cause what if Your blessings come through raindrops
What if Your healing comes through tears
And what if a thousand sleepless nights
Are what it takes to know You're near
What if my greatest disappointments
Or the achings of this life
Is the revealing of a greater thirst this world can't satisfy
And what if trials of this life
The rain, the storms, the hardest nights
Are Your mercies in disguise

Blessings, Laura Story

Some brutal honesty...

I'm praying for a joyful heart and grateful attitude!

Check out my journal entry today...

Patience and Peace

Philippians 4:6-7

Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we  understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus.

I'm working on this. The past two weeks have been crazy (I look forward to sharing details and pictures soon!)... full of God's blessings and goodness, yet also testing me and how I will respond. I want to choose joy in the middle of our time of waiting. I desire to be full of grace and patience, yet so often I find myself reacting selfishly and impatiently.

Jesus, help me. You have done so much for us and I have so much be thankful for! Help me to trust you more and fill me with God's peace.

I leave you with a picture of our sweet two year old!

My Last Day at Work :-(

Did I ever share this sweet family picture with you?
It was taken in May, so almost a year ago - and so we look slightly different, but it's a sweet shot.
I love it.

This is a late night post.
It's my last day at my job at the Health & Wellness Clinic.
I have been so blessed to be their Administrator these past 10 months.  It breaks my heart that I couldn't have been here longer, but I know that God is working - I trust that His plan is better than mine, and I'm excited for the clinic and their new administrator - Missy.  She's going to be awesome.  Here's a link to the Clinic's website - they always are looking for more volunteers and survive due to donations from incredibly generous people.  If you'd like to be involved in the incredible good work they are accomplishing in the Fulton County community, please check out their website and don't hesitate to contact the Clinic for more information.  I will miss the Clinic dearly.

Ugh.  Moving is hard.
It's so bittersweet.

That's it for now... goodnight.
-Kara Joy

A Weekend in California

This weekend was sweet and refreshing - but also spiritually rejuvenating!

   

I have been praying for months, seeking, striving to listen, hoping to hear God speak to my heart, longing for specific direction and clarity - and I have found silence.  Encouragement for moments, strength for difficulty, hope for holding onto faith - but silence to the questions I long to be answered.  I pleaded with God to answer me.  I shamefully admit that I even gave him an ultimatum - and I asked for a fleece and a clear answer in 7 days.  Who does that with God?  That is NOT how I should behave!  Looking back I think, what was I thinking?  In my desperation for Him to break the silence, my reasoning was that Gideon boldly asked God for a fleece - he asked twice for God to work overnight to convince him of the way he should go - and God answered.  But as I look back, I feel silly.  God doesn't owe me anything - he doesn't have to tell me anything!  

On Wednesday - a week and a half after I had given God 7 days, I wept.  I apologized.  I didn't know if God would ever answer my prayer for clarity - but I knew that regardless my response should not be to demand or threaten or walk away from Him, but to graciously submit and praise Him for the ways I see Him working and to trust that even when I don't have specific direction that He is at work and He IS trustworthy.  I preach to the kids in Kids Church every Sunday that we can "Trust God no matter what!" and I was absolutely not acting like I trusted God.  

I packed for California Wednesday night and headed to Choose Joy, a conference for those struggling with infertility and miscarriage and long waits in adoption - and I decided that all I wanted was peace.  I told God that I trusted Him.  My goal for the weekend was to be encouraged by simply being in a room surrounded by others that were hurting and to there find some peace that would help my impatient spirit wait.

And God sweetly, and gently blew me away.

He seriously overwhelmed me with His presence.  I could vividly see Him at work changing lives around me.  And He spoke to my heart!  Over and over again.  There was not silence this weekend.  Throughout the entire weekend were sweet moments that caused me to weep as I heard Him whisper to my aching heart.  He clearly and unexpectedly answered the questions I had been asking Him.  I can picture Him watching my reaction with a huge smile on His face as it completely caught me off-guard.  He calmed fear.  He whispered peace into my hurting heart.  He strengthened my feeble arms and weak knees.  He drew near to me.  He revealed to me some ways that He is working.

It was so beautiful and unexpected.  I feel so uplifted. And - you know how I love to be excited - I left California excited!  :)  I see clearly that God is at work in our broken and hurting world and I also see that I am a part of his Kingdom coming here on earth - and I'm excited.  I'm excited for today and I'm excited for what is to come tomorrow as I continue to seek Him and strive to follow Him.  

Below are two pictures of the other sweet, unexpected experience I had this weekend... sea lions sprawling on the beach just a foot away from us - and a baby sea lion born the day we visited.  Wow.  

God is incredible.  :)

Asa, Me, and Steve Green

This guy and I...

Have been listening to this guy and his CD a LOT...

Thank you Steve Green for reminding me of some good scriptures today.

Today I feel weary.  I feel super overwhelmed at work - I don't know where to start, I don't know who I should focus on helping before the other, I don't know how to solve all of the problems, I don't know how to complete all of the work.  And so I want to give up.  I want to just stay home.  But then I wouldn't do anyone any good at all.  The verses I heard in the car this morning with Asa on the way to the babysitter helped me today, so I share them with you.  And if you have a little one at home - Steve Green's stuff is very aged - but it's SO good.  I encourage you to check out Hide 'Em In Your Heart Volume 1 and Hide 'Em In Your Heart Volume 2.  Thanks, Mom for giving them to me.  They're wonderful.

Let us not grow weary while doing good, 

for in due season we will reap if we do not lose heart.

Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all.

-Galatians 6:9-10

Encourage one another and build each other up!

-1 Thessalonians 5:11