“Be Still and Allow God to Rewrite the Story of Your Life”
These were the words that jumped off the page of the brochure at the Women of Joy Conference I attended with these girls 2 weeks ago.
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| Women of Joy Conference in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee |
As soon as I read these words I thought–Yes, I am exactly where I need to be this weekend. But then I flipped to the next page and saw this . . .
Ok–I was blown away by how God works. If you have read our blog lately you know that God has been whispering the word MORE into my heart for the last several months. Every time God begins to be “Up to Something” in our lives, He begins to bring the word More into our lives. Ben and I are watching and waiting to see how God is preparing to rewrite our story again.
We do know that our journey will continue with orphan ministry. In less than 24 hours we will be boarding a plane to Honduras to go on an exploratory/vision trip to see where and how God would have us to work with children at risk. We are meeting with a variety of organizations and in several different cities. We are especially excited to be traveling with our son Austin and his precious wife, Taylor. They have a heart for missions also, and I can’t describe the joy to see how God is at work in their lives also.
As we have been preparing for this trip, we have had to have some serious conversations with our kids. We’ve had to get Power of Attorney paperwork notarized, find copies of our will, write out important numbers, give instructions for emergencies, and discuss the “what happens if . . .”
I don’t like dwelling on those realities, but the truth is we just don’t know when our last day will be. I know in Psalm 139:16 it says, “in your book were written, every one of them, the days that were formed for me, when as yet there was none of them.” So before I was even created in my mother’s womb, God had numbered my days. Only He knows how many days I will be given. I know that I just want to be faithful to live them being obedient in whatever He wants us to do.
Just this past week we have watched the circle of life take place before us. A member of our church, John Moore, passed away. He was a son, husband, dad, and police officer in St. Marys. Almost a month ago he had a heart attack while he was at work and now he is no longer with us. On the same day John died, I got news that a childhood friend’s son Caleb had been killed in an accident. Caleb was a son, a brother, engaged to be married and called to be a minister. If we didn’t have the hope and peace that comes when you know that someone has a relationship with Jesus, the pain from their loss would be too overwhelming. Just like these men didn’t know when their last days would be, neither do we. We only have one life to live and only God’s plan will do. Thankfully, these men lived their lives serving as God led them.
God also brought new life into our lives this week. A sweet couple in our church had a little baby boy, Andrew. He came into this world all fresh and new bringing joy and a wonder of what great things he might do with his life.
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| Taylor holding baby Andrew |
Just yesterday we celebrated with cousin who just announced she is pregnant. Look at their announcement . . .
They have experienced infertility and now they have the promise of new life. Only God!
And so I will leave our blog right there–Only God.
Only God knows our exact future.
Only God knows our days.
Only God knows our More.
Only God.
Only God!