Love so amazing

I'm filled with anxiety as I look at the random misplaced objects all over my house! As I type, I'm listening to my dog Bandit drag shoes all over the house. Anabelle is slowly but surely following in his footsteps. I try to make a neat pile of toys for her to play with but she has other plans. She loves to spread daddy's poker chips & playing cards everywhere. She also enjoys ripping up paper, knocking over dvd's, and getting into the dog's food. The more independent she gets, the bigger her mess gets. Oh my baby girl. I have so much love in my heart for her! I didn't know I was capable of feeling love so deep.. and recieving it too. She brings me so much joy and there is no mess she can make that will make me love her any less.

My relationship with her helps me to understand the love that my Father has for me. I cannot fully wrap my mind around it. But I do believe his love for me will never run dry. I believe there is no mess in my life or anyone else's life that is too big for Him to clean & make pure. Even in our darkest moments, his Love abounds. Love so amazing.


" For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, 39 neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord." Romans 8:39

calling all wives

"The wise woman builds her house, but with her own hands the foolish one tears hers down." Prov 14:1

I write this with much conviction! Wives, we have a God given ability to speak life, encouragement, and love into our husbands in a way that no one else in the world can. The responsibilities that God gave our husbands to be heads of their households is a noble but difficult task. They are called to be the lover, the provider, the protector, victors over the most luring temptations, stable, strong but but gentle, wise but humble. And.. If your husband is in ministry (whether it's fulltime or volunteer) they have a whole other list of responsibilities apart from their own households! Just the thought overwhelms me so can you imagine the weight they carry!

How awesome is it that we can help our husbands thrive in their calling! On the other hand we also have the ability to be destructive & tear our homes down. I pray against that for myself & my household. I want my husband to flourish, I want the ministry that God has given him to be fruitful, I want our household to be his "En Gedi", and I want him to be admired for his character & integrity.

" Her husband is respected at the city gate, where he takes his seat among the elders of the land." Prov 31:23

Greater things are still to be done here...

Today I am missing my family. I am sad for my parents who have a virtual relationship with Anabelle. I pray that GOd will give them many more years because the hardest part of being away from home is knowing they are aging. There's a morbid lie in my head that tells me "when they pass, I'm going to regret leaving... That I will long to re-live these days and I will never forgive myself for not spending enough time with them" There are moments I want to beg Justin to pack our bags & move back home. But God keeps reminding me that "greater things are still to be done here".

Every Sunday, God brings His people through the doors of Jericho Road, overwhelms the place with His presence, annoints Justin's words and wins the hearts of His people. There's so much more to come. God will have His way & His Kingdom WILL continue to come in this community.

God, in my weakest & loneliest moments I need reminding. My parent's days are in your hands. They have commited to serving you until they take their last breath. I do the same & there is no turning back. Luke 9:62 "No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God". My mind hasn't fully grasped all that you are capable of accomplishing here. Give me a greater awareness of your purpose when I'm tempted to "look back".

A Prayer for Anabelle

I love my baby girl. She has brought me so much joy & has given me a brand new perspective on life. I love being the one to greet her in the morning & the last to kiss her goodnight. I love how she "spins" towards objects because she hasn't gotten the concept of crawling just yet. I love our walks to Walmart and the little parks in the neighborhood. Ahhh...and my favorite part of the day, seeing the excitement on her face when "dada" comes home from work and graces her with his kisses.

Saturday morning Justin & I were reading Ephesians and my mind went off track big time! the phrase "the ways of this world " gave me a good scare. What will Anabelle's generation will look like. What will the ways of her world look like. Are we setting her generation up for failure? Before I go into deep depression thinking about it, I'm reminded that she has a heavenly father who loves her more than we do. Our role as parents is to do everything we can to lead her to Him. Justin won't be able to keep the boys away forever (although he will try!). I can't convince her that what she sees in the media isn't the "prize". We can't strap her to a carseat every Sunday morning & bring her to church. We can't choose Jesus for her. THat tells me there's an urgency to start now.. to pray for our little girl.

God, Anabelle is YOURS. "All the days ordained for her were written in your book before one of them came to be". I am believing that Anabelle will choose YOU! That she will live this life with eternity with You in mind. That she will have a burden to make Your name known. Ahh...I have a long list of prayers for Anabelle. But more than anything, I just want her to love You. In your powerful name Jesus!

Inspired by M.R.

I am committing to blogging at least twice a week! Reading a friend's blogs (shout out to M.R.) has inspired me capture the goodness of the Lord in words. I forget too easily. One more thing about MR before I move on. People who "hunger and thirst" to understand the Bible are few and far between. To some it's a strange, confusing, way to big book. But to people like her, it is the GOd of the universe's love letter, designed to help her discover the secrets hidden in God's heart. In this life & the next. If you sat down with her for ten minutes, you'd be inspired like I am to dig deeper. (so glad we cross paths MR)


Two years ago I moved to Michigan and joined my best friend in a chuch plant adventure. Never imagined it would be so lifechanging. No wonder Jesus loves the church. It's filled with people who are desperate for hope, love, and purpose. People who's poop stinks. Imagine that. I never understood why the church is criticized for being flawed. People in need = imperfection. It's the perfect equation because there is only room for one PERFECT, HOLY GOD. This past week, I've been thinking about the people at JRoad. Each person's story that I've had the priviledge of knowing are full of wounds and losses. That's probably why Jesus' presence is so evident inside our building every Sunday. Through our individual trials he is accomplishing what the bible says:

... Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her to make her holy, cleansing her by the washing with water through the word, and to present her to himself as a radiant church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless...

Jesus loves you and even through your pain he is making you, your marriage/singleness, your family & friends "holy & blameless". The process hurts but let's stay faithful together!