Delayed Flight

Shortly after we arrived in New Mexico, our plans imploded.

Blind sided by life I guess.

Jobs fell through, certain professions that we thought for sure would be a safe bet for Jim finding employment, never called back...doors were firmly closed..dead bolted...boarded shut...armed guards at all entrances.

It was a huge blow.

So, here we were:  Just moved 1600 miles away from home.  Enough small jobs plus our nest egg kept our heads above water..for the time being.  Air mattresses, craigslist furniture, and the 5 of us...

We knew that we had heard God so clearly back in Illinois.  We knew that we knew what we knew...does that make any sense?  Shock fell in.  Did we hear wrong?  What happened?!?  Where is God...

What happens when God delays?

No, more than that...who are we to judge what is a delay?

He spreads out the northern skies over empty space;
he suspends the earth over nothing.
He wraps up the waters in his clouds,
yet the clouds do not burst under their weight....
He marks out the horizon on the face of the waters...
By His breath the skies become fair...

And these are but the outer fringe of his works;
how faint the whisper we hear of him!
Who then can understand the thunder of his power?
                                                  Job 26:7-14

These amazing works, are just the fringe...

It's like studying a thimble of water and saying that we know all there is to know about the ocean.

What did we do?  We trusted and prayed and sought His face like our lives depended on it..because they did...

Every day we received our manna from heaven.

Every day our needs were met.

I won't lie, it was scary as heck.  There were moments where packing up and heading back north were real options.  But, God never left us.  It wasn't easy.  We were Not in control of our own lives.  Every moment was surrendered.

Looking back, it was a sweet time of learning, faith building, and reliance.  

Job 42:5 was my only thread of hope:

My ears had heard of you,
but now my eyes have seen you.

Without walking through these trials, we never would have seen God like we did..we never would have grown in relationship like that..begun to fathom how deep and wide his love is for us.  I had always heard of God.  I knew of Him, but now I Know Him!

The whole point of the Israelites wandering in the desert was for them to trust and rely on God.  He knew how hard it would be to stay loyal to Him once they arrived at a "safe and plentiful" land.  Total dependence is hard when your needs are already met...

As our journey continues, I want to always let it be known that none of this happened because of our own talent or goodness or skill. 

We walked where He led.  He opened doors that only He knew where there and the places we are going even I can't imagine!  Not to us, but to God goes the glory!

Dear Friend, if you're in a place of delay...if you're struggling with where you're at or even where you're not at...Trust in God.  His timing is everything.  Give Him control over your whole life, not just the easily managed areas.  He loves you with a lavish abandonment that will not lead you wrong!  Walk by faith, trust in His plan for your life...

Without a doubt, there are no delayed flights in heaven...only impatient passengers ;)

Year One

How does one sum up a year....

Where are there words to do justice describing the things that we've seen..the things that we've felt..the miraculous blooming in the desert all around us?

I've been meaning to write a thousand different times, but I never felt like we had an "ending" to the story.   And maybe that's the whole point, there are no endings, just a constant kaleidoscope of life...

This year of ours would make one heck of a Hallmark movie...So I guess, we just start from the beginning:

When we moved here, we were pretty broken..Life had punched us in the gut,knocked the wind out of us all.  But through all of the horrible dark times, God was there.  We felt Him like we have never felt His presence before: telling us it'll be ok, He had a plan, just keep trusting.  So we did (honestly, we had nothing left to hold onto but Hope so don't think of us as some giants of the faith or something).  

Throughout the summer before our move, God blessed Jim's business beyond measure.  He went from a couple of construction jobs a year to like 20 in a summer!  No one knew what was brewing below the surface of our lives, they all just needed construction work done.  We had heard a message on Elisha and the jars of oil.  Jim and I decided that, like the widow, we would set out "jars" to be filled..as long as Jim had jobs coming in, we stayed in IL.  

Our first move date was in July..then August...Then October..and Finally November...

We sold what we could, donated countless truckloads to Goodwill, and in the end..we packed up our lives into a 16 foot job trailer.  We said goodbye to the best friends a family could ever have...left our close knit family that we loved so dearly...and headed west.  All of the oil jars provided more than enough to move and begin with a comfortable fresh start. 

The desert was going to be our Promised Land...I guess that I should have reread that story before clinging so tightly to the whole Promised Land notion...



Blessed is the one who trusts in Me Alone...
He is like a tree rooted near the stream...
Not fearing heat or drought,
But staying green and fruitful-No Matter What It Faces.

Jeremiah 17:7-8 (the Shelly paraphrase)

True Grit

We're half way through Dad's trip....and today, I'm beat.

Well, I've been exhausted ever since our trip..sickness, long car rides, and no time to recover before the next thing hit...but today...today...I'm just done.  The kids haven't been crazy bad, nothing has really gone wrong (except for all of the night noises that make the Lucy in me go crazy)..just tired.

Jim's almost home..

just a few more days...

I Can Do This.....


Nope.  No I can't...but I can't curl up in a ball and cry either...instead, close the door and get some Jesus time in.

Funny how he reveals stuff, things that you know and studied before but through the tired broken-ness he reveals it fresh.

1. I am stubborn.  Pig headed, pitbull with a toy, dumb as an ox...won't quit till I hit the wall or keel over. When going through something hard, I put my head down, set my teeth, square my hips and just push through it.  I'm a rip the bandaid off kind of girl.  I do it all of the time, whether I'm working out or dealing with a crap storm...suck it up buttercup and move on through.

2. Jim and I are a great team...we fill in the weak cracks.  When he's gone, it's really hard.  But maybe this time is for us to learn to lean on the the other rope in our three stranded cord...

3.  Sometimes, no matter how hard you push..ya just ain't gonna move that mountain!  
....and then you sit down in frustration and evaluate the situation....



Come to me all you who are weary and burdened, I will give you rest.  Take my yoke and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.  For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.

(Matthew 11:28-30)



Before we get all excited about the rest part, Jesus isn't saying "Yo, you tired?  burdened? well, come on out to Jesus Beaches Resort...pull up a chair, slap on some lotion, and rest...."

We still get a yoke...hooked up to a plow, ready to work.  But the yoke is easy, it's burden is light.   When we team up with Jesus, we are no longer the lone ox pushing through the hard ground.  

Jesus is the one pushing through.  He's the lead carrying the brunt of the weight, we just have stop trying to do it ourselves, accept his lead and follow his steps.   I find myself always picking up the God-sized yoke, but it's one that I was never meant to carry.  Take up his yoke, it's just your size Goldilocks.

He is a gentle and humble teacher, find your rest in him.

So, maybe True Grit isn't the power to push through any situation....

Maybe suck it up buttercup, should be let it go cocomo....

I need you more, more than yesterday
I need you Lord, more than words can say
I need you more than ever before
I need you Lord
I need you Lord




Friends, the choice is ours....Grit vs. Need.  In our weakness, we are strong.   So, I'm not a supermom who braves the bumps in the night and still has the strength to keep up with the laundry and the dishes...it's ok...one day at a time, following the steps of Jesus.   Head not down pushing though, but looking up for my strength.

Even in the trials, we are so blessed!