Wow, I’ve been with the World Race for almost two and a half years?! That seems so unreal. On one hand it has seemed like another lifetime that I was living in Colorado, and on the other it seems like it was last week.
I just landed back in the States two weeks ago. I’ve been reflecting on this past season as well as starting new rhythms at home. These short few months with T squad was so sweet. Honestly, my heart is going on with them. They carry such a special intimacy and “Yes” to the Father with them! The way that they worship, the way they love, and the joy they carry has impacted me in ways that they’ll never know. Right now I’m home and in the middle of transition once again. Wow my heart longs for community that lasts longer than 3-5 months! But I know this is the season and place the Father has me in. Being back home and transitioning from the Race lifestyle always has some hard adjustments, this time back home has been no different!
Lately, the Lord has been teaching me to do the things that I do not want to do, or don’t feel like doing. Most of my time in the field, I have experienced such a new intimacy with the Lord, and it has been so easy to seek Him. The overflow of that new growth had me in a place of desiring Him with every fiber of my being. It was so natural for Him to be my first thought when I woke up, to walk and talk with Holy Spirit, to call upon Jesus in the times of need, and to seek Him as I laid down each night. It was like falling in Love with Him all over again, but deeper and stronger than ever before.
This season however, has been the testing of that Love. These past couple months, the intimacy has been changing into a different kind of intimacy, one that I have to fight for.
Would I still seek His face as fervently as I did before when I felt so strong?
Would my heart remain Faithful in the midst of sacrificial praise?
I wish I could tell you that I’ve been able to have the same passion in this new wilderness, but to be honest I haven’t. And that’s why He has me here, there are things I need to learn from this place! And He has been so Faithful to still pursue me in this wilderness!
I don’t want to communicate that things have been “bad” or “doom and gloom”, but the Beauty of this season just looks vastly different from the last. Neither worse nor better, it’s a new place that I get to see a new piece of His Heart.
I think so many times we approach these seasons with sadness, which may be warranted! But the more I experience the Father, the more I see that every season is a Gift. There are things I will learn in the desert that I would never learn on the mountaintop! And actually most of the year, the mountaintop would kill me due to the cold, lonely, peak.
Do I Trust that He has me in the desert for my good?
Can I accept the wilderness with Joy?
Will I Love Him enough to give Him what He deserves and not what I “want” to give Him?
I was praying for someone the other day and I found the Lord leading me to Habakkuk 3:17-19
Though the fig tree does not blossom And there is no fruit on the vines, Though the yield of the olive fails And the fields produce no food, Though the flock is cut off from the fold And there are no cattle in the stalls,
Yet I will [choose to] rejoice in the Lord; I will [choose to] shout in exultation in the [victorious] God of my salvation!
The Lord God is my strength [my source of courage, my invincible army]; He has made my feet [steady and sure] like hinds’ feet And makes me walk [forward with spiritual confidence] on my[a]high places [of challenge and responsibility]. – Habakkuk 3:17-19 Amplified Bible (AMP)
Have you ever been praying for someone and what God gives you applies to you as well? Well that’s what happened to me in this case. I’ve been seeing more and more why the Lord has me in this place of new pursuit. I GET to Love Him past my feelings/emotions/natural overflow and experience a new place of sacrificial praise!
I love this little nugget I found about this verse. The footnote in the AMP translation of Habakkuk 3:19 says this about the high places: Habakkuk 3:19 The troubled times of life may actually be the “high places” of spiritual growth for the believer who remains stable when tested by God.
Could my deserts actually be the places where I experience the deepest Intimacy with Him?
Could I learn to look forward to the deserts of life because they will truly be my High Places?
These thoughts have brought me to a new place of excitement and joy! Because this is a Greater Love, this is a new place of Intimacy, a new place of Sacrifice. I was reminded how powerful Sacrificial Praise is this week.
I remember listening to a sermon once, I don’t remember who it was by, but the Truth stuck with me.
Do you realize this time on Earth is the only time we get to Praise God in the pain of life?
Do we take in how much that moves God’s Heart when we chose Him in the midst of the valleys?
Do we understand that we get to worship God in a way here in Earth that we cannot in Heaven?
Take some time and let Holy Spirit speak to you about this Truth.
How can you Worship Him today in the way He Deserves to be Worshiped?
Do I believe that as I meet Him like I never have before, He will meet me like I’ve never seen before?
Now go do it!
*Awkward Transition*
Speaking of new places and doing things I don’t “feel” like doing, I have some news!
It’s somewhat of a long story, but I’ll try and make it short. When I was with the squad in Taiwan this past February, the Lord showed me a vision. We were all in a moment of worship and then I saw the Earth and I could clearly see China, Nepal, and India. I saw the Lord standing in front of the Earth. Then He pointed to these countries and told me to go.
I immediately knew that this was the expedition route launching this August. And immediately my body said “No”. I’m glad that the Father is patient haha. I did not want to do this. I sat and prayed through this vision for a while. The whole time I knew that He was asking me to do, but I had to convince myself that He was going to Strengthen me. He met me where I was and He has been continuing to shift my heart into a place of excitement!
So I’m officially letting everyone know that I’ll be heading back out to serve with the Race one more time in August. I sure thought this last time out with the World Race was my last, but God came and changed things. It was just another reminder of Proverbs 16:9.
9 A man’s heart plans his way, But the Lord directs his steps. – Proverbs 16:9
That does mean that I have a little longer to raise support! I’ll be fundraising from now until the end of December. My fundraising bar has not been completely updated yet. I still have about $1,500 left to raise for this last few months, and now I’ll have to fundraise around an additional $5,100 over the next 7 months.
If you are interested in partnering with me, please do it! I am looking for more prayer warriors and monthly supporters. If I had 15 people giving $25 dollars a month, 8 people sign up for $50 dollars a month, and two people sign up for $100 a month, all of my fundraising would be done!
It would be an honor to have you on my team and keep you updated via my facebook page with the things I cannot share publicly.
And to all my supporters who have been with me so far. I cannot thank you enough. My life and lives around the world have been changed forever because you believed in me and what God has had for this season. I have been blown away by all of your prayers, encouragements, and generosity.
I’m excited to continue to share stories of how the Father has been showing up during my time in the States. I cannot wait to catch up with as many of you as I can while I’m home. I truly Love you all!
