Not What I Thought it Would Be

If you're like me, you have always been a little afraid to just give in completely to God because you always just KNEW He would call you to do something like being a crazy missionary in some hostile, poverty stricken county! You always keep just enough distance so that you can stay comfortable with the life path you have chosen.

Three years ago Joy and I decided we were tired of mediocre Christianity and we wanted everything that God had for us. Mostly because we began to understand that our ultimate goal and objective in life is to glorify God. But the cool thing about it is that the more we did to bring Him glory, the more fulfilled we found ourselves. The more we surrendered, the more we could see God working around us. The more we allowed Him to work, the greater the satisfaction we found in Him and a desire to bring Him even more glory.

That led us to the mission trip to the Philippines and then to Haiti. The more we surrendered and allowed God to direct us, the more complete we felt and the more meaning our lives seemed to have.

Then came little Josie Kate. She was a miracle baby that God brought into our lives. We thought we were through raising babies. But we had no idea how much sweeter God's plan was than our plan! I will let Joy share that whole story another day but suffice it to say that although our lives are not easier with Josie, our lives are much greater! Things are often times more complicated and more hectic, but at the same time they are more joyful and impacting. As God showed us that, we began to ask what other areas could we submit to him that we were currently following our own plan instead of His plan.

The key is understanding that God loves us so much that He only wants the best, most awesome, most fulfilling, most satisfying, most impacting, and most eternally preparing life possible. The more satisfied and overjoyed we are in Him, the more glorified He is in us. As we began to realize that, we saw that we did not have to 'fear' or dread anything that God would bring our way. We could look forward to it with excitement and peace. If God that created the world is willing to reveal 'The Perfect Plan' for my life (Jer. 29:11) to me instead of me trying to find my own route, I find that exciting. It turns out, God is smarter than me! He sees a little different perspective than I do. I want to live the life that He says is the most awesome life for me, not the plan that my little mind thinks is best.

So that gets us to here. The ironic thing is that for US, full surrender does mean a life in a deprived land with few amenities and extra perils. But it also means we have the opportunity to share the love of Christ with people that are hungry to hear. We can also minister to pastors that labor faithfully for the Lord as they watch their own children suffer from starvation and disease.

God is giving us the desire of our hearts! God is not calling us to something we do not want to do! God is calling us to the one thing in life we are longing to do right now! I know it seems unreasonable, but that is how God works. I just cry every time I sit and think about how He is opening this door to allow us to do this. God is so good!

You don't have to worry. Full surrender to God means he will make it possible to do exactly what it is you want to do! As you surrender, God changes your heart to where what He made you for is exactly what you want! It does not mean He is going to drag you into the jungle where you dread going. He is going to allow you to experience the life you were made for. The life He created you for from the beginning of time. Don't let it slip away. Don't let fear and misconceptions of God rob you of what you could experience and also steal away the opportunity for you to bring God ultimate glory with your life. The fully surrendered life is best you can have now, and for all of eternity.

For us, things are moving right along. Several people have looked at the house. Here is the link for that. http://www.realestatebook.com/homes/listing/101-537874267/28602-NC-USA/350000-400000-price/101-537082728--101-537191104--101-537664348--101-536866583--101-537875082--101-537874267-ls/6-t

We have also had several people look at the land we are selling. http://www.myprivatelake.com/. We are just waiting on God's perfect time.

In the mean time, we are continuing our Creole lessons with Ti Tant. She is coming over tonight for a lesson and to fry us up some plantains- creole style. The railing is being added to our little apartment on the orphanage there in Haiti. Joy and I are planning to take a trip down in July to continue the planning process. We can't wait!

Please feel free to leave comments here and ask any questions.