I just booked our plane tickets to Palm Springs. We planned months ago to take a little family vacation to Indio, CA this winter. I realized we are getting close to ‘vacation time’ and so I jumped online and found the cheapest, quickest way to get where we needed to go. I was successful but I couldn’t stop thinking of where I would go and what else I would do if I could go anywhere and do anything! Now don’t take this the wrong way, I’m ecstatic to be taking off with my 3 favorite people to play in the sun and swim in the lazy river of the resort. We always have so much fun together and the kids are at the PERFECT age to travel and giggle and eat junk food with….but…
God has been allowing some pulling of my heart lately. I just finished reading the book “Reckless Faith” by Beth Guckenberger and I can’t stop thinking about the orphans in Mexico and actually the orphans all over the world.
I have some friends that have family with an orphanage in Africa…Kings kids village….they are planning a trip to Africa later this year. We also have many missionaries at our church that I pray for often. My family has 2 kids that we sponsor through Compassion International. We get letters from them but I wish I could meet them face to face. They live in my heart just as my own children do.
So, I’ve been praying and thinking about the questions, If I could go anywhere and do anything where would I go? Westside is taking a group to Israel and I would love to do that. It costs a lot of money but more than walking on the streets that Jesus walked, I want to do the work that Jesus would do. I want to visit the lost, provide for the poor, give hope to the orphans…I want to heal the sick and restore sight to the blind. It really isn’t my desire…it is God’s desire in me. He is to blame for all this crazy thinking about others. Crazy Love they call it….I’m wanting to live that reckless faith, to offer that Crazy Love and to really make a difference. I love sharing the hope and coming alongside people to see that God has a plan for them!
I’m praying about going to AFRICA. I would go and I would do what God wanted me to do. I would hug the children, I would encourage those that care for them and I would bring the Hope that I am sure of. That’s it for me….where would you go and what would you do?
PS…I’d also go to the spa and get a massage…just incase my husband reads this and needs an idea of how to tangibly show his love and appreciation for me:)
Doesn’t doing what Jesus did and equipping the harvesters to do what Jesus did so encouraging, inspiring, humbling, and truly a privilege that the Lord allows us to partner in with Him.
Hope Bible Study went good, even though I wasn’t there. I was training up mentors, being blessed and taught as the Holy Spirit taught the true sense of Holy Listening.
Tami…the only problem I have is…why isn’t john reading my blog? Perhaps we should make a voice blog that he could listen to:)
See what I mean…your blogs are so much more thought provoking! While you were booking those tickets I was thinking how much fun it would be to plan a family vacation with our brood for somewhere like Palm Springs, or Hawaii or Mexico. Not because I want to go visit the orphans (which by the way I would love as you know) but because my own kids are getting older and I want to do something really cool before they don’t want to go with mom and dad anymore. So wrapped up was I in my own head…but the spa does sound great…so Marc if you are reading this can you let John in on the idea that he could also show his appreciation via a spa day?
That is really crazy….looks our family’s are similar. But I did see your facebook picture with the food from the garden and I can assure you I do not have the patience to wait for a tomatoe to grow and I would not know what to do with a whole Zuchini….
I have been invited to Africa, I’m praying to see if God would like me to visit! I know it would ruin me forever in a good way! The large insects and spiders could be a challenge… We’ll see!!!
’tis a bit “crazy” the similarities of thought twixt your family and mine, Tracy…
Ever since hosting 3 beautiful girls in the African Children’s Choir from Uganda, we too have felt a spiritual gnawing which involves Africa (Kenya and Uganda being prime “targets”). (Check the first four hits on our website search for africa.)
And then there is Compassion: We’ve sponsored a child for a few years now and our oldest daughter just began sponsoring her own. Our first is from Honduras. Like you, we too felt the desire to connect using our senses and not just our words of love and prayer. The kicker is that after three years of this desire, we do get to travel to Honduras next April on the Compassion tour to meet him.
For our family, we felt a call to missions work, but not a call to move out. Not yet. There are so many ways to do missionary work right here in our country, our cities and towns. Your heart is clearly open to His calling. And unlike those times where God’s Hand is clearly visible, calling and leading our heart’s desire to match His, can sometimes take a good deal longer. He just may lead you to something much closer to home before leading you afar.
Your family will be in our prayers.