Blessings from Friends

Last night I got together with some neighbor friends from our previous home in Robbinsdale, MN.   We try to get together at this time of year and catch up on each others lives.  We all have kids in the junior high and high school age and have been friends since they were all just little.  My friend Val, who happens to be the quietest one of the bunch, was feeling disconnected as a stay home Mom of small children.  She took it upon herself to make up little invitations and walk around the neighborhood delivering them to any home that looked like they had kids living there.  I was also home with my 2 young ones in diapers.   Val invited us all to her house for a play date and a chance to get to know other Moms in the neighborhood who were home with their children.  We have been friends ever since that time (about 12 years) and what a blessing these women have been to me.

I have such fond memories of living in Robbinsdale and the friendships we developed during that time.  One Mom loved celebrating Valentine's Day and Halloween and would always have a fun party for the kids.  She was so good about having crafts, games and snacks all revolving around a theme.  Had it not been for her, I don't think my kids would have done some of the fun (but messy) craft projects they did while in her home.  We had alley "Polka" dance parties at another friends house with a real live polka band.  We decorated bikes for 4th of July and had our own parade on the parkway.  We spent countless hours at the park,  the kids playing and the Moms all gabbing.  We had picnics and went on field trips.  We hung out and enjoyed root beer floats before the fireworks during Whiz Bang Days and then walked to the park together to watch the display of lights.  We signed our kids up for t-ball and cheered them on  even when they ran the wrong way around the bases.  We encouraged each other by listening and sharing the day to day struggles of being a Mom.  We walked together at times, we prayed together and even had a Bible study at one point.  Even though we all had different choices of churches, or even schools once the kids became of age, we all were on the same quest of being the best Moms we could be.  I know my experience of being a stay home Mom may not reflect what most people experience, but for the Moms of our neighborhood it was a wonderful community to raise our kids in.  Over the years many of us have moved away but those friendships will always have a special place in our hearts.

At our Moms get together last night, we exchanged blessings and prayers with each other instead of gifts.  Just reflecting on the memories we share together was really a blessing in itself.  As we age we have experienced the heartache of parents dying and relationships that have ended.  We have also experienced the joys together of seeing our children become these amazing and talented people, making a difference in their world.  The focus turned from our children  to my family and our upcoming trip to Africa.  These dear friends all gave me a blessing, a prayer, letter or verse to carry with me on my journey.  They know that missions have an important place in my heart and it was so amazing to have them excited that this dream of mine is about to happen.  I felt so humbled by their encouragement and their faith in that which is not yet seen.  Candles were lit as a symbol of the difference one light + one light + one light etc can make if we just step out and do the task God has given us. 

 I'm proud to know these women who have influenced me in many ways.  I think of the courage that Val had long ago to invite a bunch of strangers to her home in hopes of filling that feeling of being alone.  What if she would have ignored that prompting?  My life has been richer because of the friendships made that day.   What is it that God is asking you to do today?  The blessings that may come from just a simple task may be more than you can ever imagine.

Onward Christian Soldiers

With Veteran's Day just around the corner, I have been thinking about those who daily serve our country.  It seems a thankless job and yet where would we be without the men and women who have given up their freedom, so that we can have ours.  My Dad served in the Korean War as well as Viet Nam.   Growing up in a military family you expect to move around a lot.  In many ways my Mom was the true hero.  Each time we moved, she was the one making a new home for us while my Dad was away at war.  I was only 6 years old when my Dad decided to retire after 21 years in the Air Force.  I'm sure part of the decision was made because our family had 4 kids in school and my parents wanted to plant themselves for a while so we could have stability.  I was young enough that I have limited memories of the adventures of living in the Philippines and Florida.  My memories are tainted by my brothers perceptions of how things happened, they have always been good at telling a story, the problem is I don't know where the truth starts or ends.

Now I have a niece, Joye, that has followed that career military path that her Grandfather took.  She has had to move her family to Germany recently.  Her husband and 2 young boys are away from Grandparents and all things familiar while their Mom serves our country.  She has since been deployed to Kuwait, while her family holds down the fort in Germany.  She has missed big events, like the birth of her new little niece.  This is the life she signed up for, all so we can be free as a country.  It doesn't seem fair that people like her give up everything.  She can't just easily leave if she doesn't like it - her life is not her own.  Thank you to all of you who miss weddings, births, funerals, parties, graduations... all the things I take for granted.  Thank you that you believe in this country and in our freedom enough to risk your life for it.

I was reading my Bible recently and came upon the verse in 2 Timothy 2:4 "...as Christ's soldier, do not let yourself become tied up in the affairs of this life, for then you cannot satisfy the one who enlisted you in his army".  I remember singing songs as a child like "Onward Christian Soldiers" or "I'm in the Lord's Army".  As a committed Christian, I say my life is surrendered, that my life is not my own.  This verse challenges me.  My niece had no choice once she signed up for the Army, her life was not her own.  I envy her dedication and her courage.  I claim to be Christ's soldier and yet I cling to my rights and my "things".  I'm no different than most people in justifying my choices or giving excuses to stay in my comfortable life.  I should have the same willingness to serve my God as so many men and women do to serve our country.  Many of them are serving our country as a service that God has called them to.  God bless them.

Top 10 Fears

The scriptures tell us over and over to "Fear Not", but the reality is we all have fears if we are honest.  Recently our Pastor Doug asked if our family would be willing to share our fears during his series on "Living Courageously".  Our first reaction was that we don't feel courageous and we  don't have very many fears.  Our trip to Africa just seems like a big adventure.  Trusting that Pastor Doug must have a reason for wanting us to share our story we decided to have a brainstorming session on what we might fear.  It was so good for us to do this because it made us realize we do have fears.  I don't believe God wants us to shove our fears down and pretend like they don't exist but to acknowledge fear and give it to Jesus.  I Peter 5:7 "Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you."

Pastor Doug's series on "Living Courageously" can be found in full by following the link below to Evergreen Community Church New Hope and check out their media section.  The day we shared he was talking about doing something CRAZY for God.  We definitely fit the "crazy" category.

 Here is a list of our families top 10 fears and who shared that fear.

10.  Levi is fearful of having an injury while in Cameroon and having to visit an emergency room.  With his track record of injuries this is a very real fear.  Please pray for protection for him and our whole team.

9.  Levi also has a fear that our plane will crash.  The kids have never been on an airplane so they feel a little anxious about this.  However, Levi did say that he would prefer the plane crash to going to an emergency room.  His reasoning is that if he dies he'll be ushered into the presence of Jesus and if he's in an emergency room it could be scary.

8.  Ellie is worried about being away from her friends for so long.

7.  Ellie is afraid of the unknown - not knowing what it will be like to be in another country, what kind of toilets we might have to use... and all the other stuff she doesn't know.

6.  Kyle has no fear but will miss playing piano every day  because this is how he worships.

5.  I (Marie) have practical fears:  Once the team leaves we will no longer be taken care of  with meals and laundry.  I believe I will have to prepare all of our meals and the food will be different then what we have here.  The laundry will need to be line dried, which wouldn't be that big of a deal.  Unfortunately, Tracey Hagman told me that in Africa there are moths or something that lay their eggs on laundry.  Body heat warms the eggs and the larvae burrow under your skin.  When we went to Kenya it was only 2 weeks so I made sure to have enough underwear for the whole time.  I think it is unrealistic to bring each of us 73 pairs of underwear... so I guess I will have undies hanging all over our bathroom.

4.  I do fear that I will get all caught up in doing this for the sake of the "purpose" rather than going on this trip because God is leading us.  I don't want to miss anything that He is trying to show me because I have my eyes on the wrong things.

3.  I fear that God might call us to go somewhere more permanently... and we would have to go because what I really fear is NOT obeying God.

2.  Drew fears that he will be asked to do something way beyond his skills or knowledge and that he will not meet their expectations.

1.  Our main fear for both Drew and I is that when we return from this amazing trip our old life will no longer make sense.  That we will be completely discontent with the way things are.  Really we want to be changed, but what does that look like?
  
We are just an ordinary family that is following an extraordinary and amazing God.... to the ends of the Earth if He asks us.  Our story is really about Him and how he can use anyone if we open our eyes to what He is doing.

This prayer is from 2 Thessalonians 1:11-12a:  "We keep on praying that our God will make us worthy of the life to which He called us.  We pray that God, by His power, will fulfill all our good intentions and faithful deeds.  Then everyone will give honor to the name of our Lord Jesus because of us"

http://www.evergreennewhope.com/media/audio_messages