GET it.

I am so thankful for this little staycation.  

One, Matt openly admitted today in the middle of laundry, dishes, homeschool and crazy baby that he doesn't know how I do it, and how could it possibly only be 1 pm...so that's good for everyone :)  

More seriously,  we had sweet unrushed time with friends...both in the community, and kiddos from school playing at our house, and even Mexican Monday with all the other random people who didn't go to the Dominican.  I'm so thankful for all those sweet times!

Better yet, NOT running around like crazy for a few days restored my vision.  Instead of feeling too overworked to even think, I've been catching myself brainstorming creative new ways to overcome hurdles in ministry, new ideas for being more deliberate about holding onto some of this 'dependent upon His grace' and not dependent upon myself, and have found myself excited about certain current and upcoming life-ministry that previously felt overwhelming.  

Also, a very specific prayer I've been praying the past two weeks for some kind of miraculous, last minute help the two weeks Matt will be gone was QUITE miraculously answered.  I KNOW I need help when he is gone, and out of nowhere, without me saying ANYTHING to ANYONE but God, old friends and ministry partners contacted us, asking if their French speaking, childhood career seeking, pre-college, God-loving daughter could come spend 2 weeks with us...and it has to be the exact two weeks that Matt will be gone.

And that was like four days ago, and suddenly she has her tickets and comes in a week and WHAT IS THAT?

God's grace...the Father's great love and the moment we remember that though we ARE impoverished, His is almighty...as if setting all that up was at all a challenge for him, though it is a miracle for me.  Can't wait to have Katie back in our lives again!

tree-house picnic

This afternoon I was sitting in the sun, watching the girls, reading, and came across this:

"In the lives of your children, you are the look of God's face, you are the touch of his hand, and you are the tone of his voice. You have been put into your position as a parent to display before your children how beautiful, wise, patient, guiding, protective, rescuing, and forgiving God's authority is. What kind of picture are your children getting of God's authority by the way you exercise yours?" 

This is powerful on all kinds of levels, and something I need to KEEP focused on.

WE, friends, to the lost world in general...not just to our lost kids...are the look of God's face, the touch of his hand, the tone of his voice.  We've got to be displaying God and His love, His grace, His Lordship, in our lives.  I needed a few days to get back in touch with His beautiful, wise, patient, guiding, protective, rescuing, forgiving authority and calling and love...so that I mirror those things, too.

Whatever you need--today, this lent season, this season in your life--to get BACK to mirroring the Father (NOT frazzle, not busy, not ourselves) to a lost and dying world, that they might be reconciled to Our Father...

GET it.

The campus is once again full, we are all back at it tomorrow, and I'm so thankful to have sought and found Him, to have rested in Him, to have had beloved community and family time and to be used--by NOTHING but His amazing grace--to be the touch of God here in the place God's got us.

Thankful for the places God's got us all...and that He is t-h-e-r-e, our ever present help.