I Will

It’s the phrase that couples say at the altar. Used to be “I do”, but somewhere along the line it switched to “I will.” How beautiful are the vows a couple makes when they marry, a covenant they swear to uphold – to love, honor and cherish until death do they part. Only thing more precious is when our Heavenly Father breathes the eternal words, “I will,” and they become covenant promises to us as His children.

He does it often. The Lord is walking me through Genesis and what a thrill it is to be in the garden with Adam and Eve, ride the ark with Noah and read about Abram and Sarai’s ensuing dramas – who needs TV when there are exciting tales right here in the B-I-B-L-E??!!?? :p It is here I want to sit a while, at digest the “I wills” that God spoke to Abram. In Chapter 12, starting in verse 2, He says,

“I will make you into a great nation. I will bless you. I will make your name great and you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you and I will curse those who treat you with contempt, and all the peoples on earth will be blessed through you.”

“So Abram went…” (vs. 4). Yes, it was easy for Abram to go, head out, enthusiastic and thrilled, energized and motivated with just receiving a WORD from the Lord. Who wouldn’t be? He grabbed his ‘ol wife, and nephew and headed out for an adventure to ‘who knows where’. “The world is my canvas,” he must’ve thought. “Let’s do this thing! In fact, let’s quick build an altar to the Lord just to celebrate!”

…’til they got to Egypt. Roadblock. A little tired from the journey, stressed about the famine and freaked out that the Egyptians may want to kill him because he has a beautiful wife… so “let’s just tell the Egyptians that you’re my sister, Sarai.” Ya know, in case God really didn’t mean what He said back in Haran. Doubt – how quickly and subtly it creeps in. You hear a word from the Lord, but when the high of it wears off, doubt sets in, unbelief.

Further down the road, Abram’s getting old. Dude, he was like almost 100. It’s really looking bleak that Abram’s gonna be a Daddy. God blessed him with a reminder (which He so graciously does) in Chapter 15:5,

“Look at the sky and count the stars, if you are able to count them… Your offspring will be that numerous.”

Abram heard that and “believed the Lord.” And that belief was credited to him as righteousness. Credited to him as righteousness… even when what happened shortly after that was an act of unbelief, taking Sarai’s slave as his “wifey” and working out his own plan to get himself a son. And God still kept His promise. And gave him another reminder in Ch. 17,

“I am God Almighty (in case you forgot). Live in my presence and be devout. I will establish My covenant between Me and you, and I will multiply you greatly… I will make you the father of many nations. I will make you extremely fruitful and will make nations and kings come from you. I will keep My covenant between Me and you, and your offspring. I will bless her (Sarah), I will give you a son by her. I will bless her, and she will produce nations; kings of peoples will come from her.” Vs. 1-2, 5-7, 16

Nevertheless, they did it again… played the sister card once more when they met Abimelech… and once again, God was still faithful. He had not wavered in His promise, His covenant. What He said would come to pass did, sure enough, when Abraham was 100 and Sarah was no spring chicken herself, they became the proud parents of Isaac, who would later be named Israel – and will be the line of many nations to come, the lineage of God’s chosen people. God's "I wills" were true, He kept His promises, His covenant.

I do find it somewhat comforting, that God has given us great men/women of faith (ie. Abraham) that were faith superheroes, and shown us how they too had moments of doubt, unbelief… a simple wearing off of a “word” they had received from the Lord. There’s nothing like hearing God’s voice, through scripture, circumstances, wise counsel. Knowing the God of the universe is speaking to lil’ ‘ol me always thrills me – invigorates me – revitalizes me. But there are seasons, when the journey is long, when the famine creeps in and when the Egyptians are working at stealing my joy that even if I can’t feel the ‘word’ He has given me, I have to trust in His promises. I have to read His truth over and over until I feel it once again, until my unbelief becomes belief once again and even when I can’t see, walk by faith. The “I wills” of the Bible are abundant, from Genesis to Revelation. He hasn’t gone anywhere. His promises are still true. Oh, and these “I wills” from Genesis are just the top of the iceberg!

Praise You sovereign God that You are faithful. You are El Elyon – God Most High. Praise You that You are gracious in giving us chances, that despite our moments/seasons of unbelief, doubt, indifference and even apathy that You stand firm, ready to forgive, and to remind us of the WORD that has been spoken in us. Be lifted up, Most High God! You ROCK!

GET-AWAY

We are leaving ( as soon as we're packed-n-ready to go ) for a weekend get-away at my brother's cottage... No, not a mission trip. No, not a conference... a true-blue, bonified GET-AWAY. We'll be in Northern Michigan hanging' out (with Jesus and each other), fishing, playing, grilling out and HAVING FUN!! Hope you have a great Memorial Weekend!! I'll check back on Monday!!

PS - Because of this "get-away" I will be able to see my brother, his kiddos and my newest nephew born last weekend!!! I'm gonna eat that kid up!! WOOT!

NAMB Pix & UPDATE

WOW!! We don't dress like that every day... or any day ;p, but all dressed up, may as well take some pix!!

Let's DO THIS THING! SERIOUSLY FOLKS!!

WE ARE ALL ABOUT THAT!

Better late than never....

Below are some pix from out time at the North American Mission Board (NAMB) where we had our interviews as Missionary Candidates for church planting and collegiate evangelism. I know I said it before, but the peeps @ NAMB are fabulous - they were so warm and welcoming, kind and gracious. We are already looking forward to the commissioning service in October (in Denver I believe).

Did I mention they made us feel welcome?

The grounds were fabulous - a great way to 'get away' right there at NAMB!

As Kevin shared what God is doing around us, he made his suit available for "rent or purchase" after these meetings... LOL.

Biker Rally, Blessing & Hogroast

Today ended the INKED series at LP! Inked - Going BEYOND the surface. I know I'm not the only one... but God is putting me through the wringer through these messages on relationships!! Praise HIM that He still speaks to me!

(Boy oh Boy am I getting behind...) Wanted to share some pix from today's BIKER RALLY at LifePoint. Several bikers showed up along with LP peeps - for a fabulous morning including a testimony from "Tatoo", awesome service with someone giving their LIFE TO CHRIST, followed by the BIKE BLESSING and then a Hogroast. What a FABULOUS DAY!

Emma ready for her ride...

Emma with Mike!

Even Joey got a ride around the block! Thanks MIKE for bring a good sport!

Joey - a BIKER with a ChEvY coat!!??!!

Can you hear him, "Speed, I am speed!"

Julia's ALL SMILES!!

Seriously, Julia is just TOO CUTE!

Ended the night with another LEFTOVER party, open to anyone - was a blast hanging out with some awesome peeps playing cornhole, enjoying a fire and kicking some TAIL in EUCHRE!

Pix from our NAMB Peeps

We are finished... hanging out in ATL airport. We just accepted a deal to take the 8pm flight (ours was scheduled at 6:45) and just for being flexible to leave 1 hour and 15 minutes later, we got TWO FREE DELTA tickets (:-)) and some meal vouchers. YEA!

Wanted to share some pix from today. I haven't uploaded my pix to my computer yet (didn't bring connector cord) but you can visit Tim Cumming's blog. Tim was our last speaker today and HE WAS PHENOMENAL. He is an energetic, motivational, hands-on, on mission, practical and effective missionary. Here's someone to follow as he follows Christ! Anyhoo, there are some pix of our candidate class on his blog... and I have a feeling you may want to follow his blog as well.

Well, we have been approved and will now be sent on to the Board of Trustees for final approval - GOD IS GOOD! If all goes well, we'll be approved June 22nd and official on July 1st!

Super-excited to get home and see the kiddos and get back to the work that God has called us to!

Where? What? How?

Where?? We are in Alpharetta, GA. Left home at 4am this morning for a 6:30 flight out of DEtroit (accent on the DE).

What?? What are we doing here?? We're finally becoming official. We are here for our interviews to become official NAMB missionaries to do collegiate evangelism and church planting. (A little background... Early on in planning for LifePoint, God led us to become associated with the NWOBA. We are an autonomous ministry, but this partnership has been strategic in our church planting vision as well as an immense framework of support. The resources available to us and the ministry team/support are invaluable. Also, because of that partnership, Kevin has taken on the collegiate ministry at BGSU, Crosswalk. God is doing some amazing things on the campus of BGSU and it's an honor to be a part of it! Through this ministry, as well as many other things God is doing, God is paving the way to a church plant in Bowling Green, OH in 2010 - the 1st plant out of LifePoint. We are flabergasted at how quickly this is all coming together, but with God leading, we're on board!! He is working, so we're gonna join Him.)

Today was the first day - an information filled day along with some training and encouragement. Everyone here is so compassionate, gracious and passionate about *Sharing Christ *Starting Churches and *Sending Missionaries. We have met some amazing couples and individuals who are willing to do whatever it takes to follow God's call on their lives. It's amazing! I am twittering, so if you're following me, you can keep up with what's happening down here with us in Alpharetta.

Some thoughts that stick out after this amazing day...

In regards to Acts 1:8, "God in His providence has brought the ends of the earth to us" here in North America. Wow! That's a thought - and so true! Just come to Atlanta... I think Atlanta alone has just about every people group. North America is a mission field.

"If God's called you to salvation, He's called you to service."


How??? How can you pray for us?

• *Pray our interviews go well :-)
• *Pray for God to increase and intensify our vision and commitment to His calling
• *Pray for us (me and Kevin) as we continue to evaluate what we need to be doing and what we don't need to be doing (priorities) in order to keep God 1st, each other 2nd, our kiddos 3rd and ministry focus next. Still trying to work out the kinks of balance/boundaries, priorities and drive... and we need divine guidance!!
• *Pray for even an iota of rest... we are staying in a beautiful suite, and the folks at NAMB are blessing us with time scheduled in to REST :-).

Thanks ya'll - Don't know if I'll get to post tomorrow, but should be able to tweet :-).

PS - Enjoyed a sweet visit with Emily who lives down here in the Atlanta area. Emily was an intern with us at SCORE and God is doing some amazing things in her life!! She took us to an amazing Rwandan coffee shop!! GOOD Times!!

HOPE

Just the word ‘hope’ is comforting. As I was painting the shed yesterday, listening to my MP3 player, I was thinking about HOPE. You either have it… or you don’t. The Lord impressed upon my heart two things:

Need HOPE? Meet Jesus!

Life can be overwhelming, daunting, feel worthless… suffocating. Without Jesus – life is definitely those things. If you don’t know Jesus, not just about Him, than it can definitely seem like there’s no hope. Romans 5:1 says that we can have “peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.” Then, in vs. 5 it says, “This hope does not disappoint.” A relationship with Jesus does not disappoint. He is hope. If you don’t have any hope – MEET JESUS! How can someone “meet Jesus?” 1 Cor. 15:3-4 explains it well, “That Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that He was buried, that He was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures.” 2 Cor. 5:21 completes the picture, “He made the One who did not know sin to be sin for us, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.” Each one of us has sinned at one point or another, and that sin separates us from God, eternity in heaven and a relationship with the Father. But, when you read 1 Cor. 15:3-4 and 2 Cor. 5:21, we see that Jesus became sin, he bore our sins so that we can have a bridge to get to the Father. Are you desperate for HOPE? Confess your sin to God, accept Jesus’ gift of salvation and make Him Lord of your life. Turn to Him, read His word (there’s a boatload of stories of HOPE) and get to know the Source of Hope for this life and eternity.

Have HOPE? Share Jesus!

If you already have a relationship with Jesus, than you have that HOPE. Sometimes, we forget about the HOPE that is in us! It’s easy to do, the burdens of life, a tragic crisis overtakes us, uncertainty clouds our view, anxiety fogs our path. It’s at these times that we must dig deep within ourselves and remember the HOPE that we have until we BELIEVE in it once again! John 16:33 says, “You will have suffering in this world. Be courageous! I have conquered the world.” That, my friends, is hope. If you have Jesus – you have HOPE – no matter what life is throwing your way right now!! Just think for a moment what it would be like to be going through what you are going through, without Jesus. Thank you Jesus that we have HOPE in You! So, if we have hope – and there’s people that are suffering the same types of things that we do with Jesus – than we need to ‘share the LOVE.’ Share the HOPE. Share Jesus! In 1 Peter 3:15, Paul urges us to “always be ready to give a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you.” Someone out there needs to hear about the hope that is available and accessible through Christ. Will you tell them? If you have HOPE, share Jesus!

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C'mon... everyone needs a little comic relief!! Happy SATURDAY!

Just Me

The kiddos and I are home – Operation Check Out = Mission Accomplished. It was a fabulous time with one agenda – having FUN! Let me tell ya’ the FUN-OMETER gets FIVE STARS.

FUN-OMETER = *****

That was so important to me, because like many moms, STUFF, ends up coming before PLAYing with the kiddos… So playing was a major priority – even after countless trips up never-ending staircases (to get to the slides, thank You Jesus that I have been doing that stair thing in the corner of the gym to prepare for those trips!!) – one more swim in the wave pool – floating with my girlies down the toilet bowl slide… we were the turds – (hmmm, turd is not a word… too bad, I’m leaving it :-)) – floating in the lazy river as Joey searched for gems (his bouncy balls) and numerous pit stops in the HOT TUBS! It was a quick and clear reminder as I delighted in my children, how much Our Father delights in us. God, I pray I bring You delight! Also, can’t help but point out another interaction I observed. While playing in the kiddy area with Joey, I watched a Daddy and his one-ish year old baby girl. He was helping her down the really little slides, plopping her in the water. She was loving it – giggling – squealing with delight… as long as Daddy was near. She would come down the slide and Daddy would swoop her up and hold her close to his chest – she had fun, and now she was safe and secure. It was such a picture of how whatever it is we’re doing – to take those times and let our Daddy (Abba) swoop us up and hold us near. How I need His loving and secure arms around me!

REST-OMETER = ****

The REST-OMETER only gets four stars, but let’s praise the Lord for four, amen? 24 hours at a water park is exhausting, I ain’t gonna lie. But, it is fun-exhaustion… so yea God! Also, Julia has a horrible cough (going to Dr. today) and she coughed herself to sleep… about 2:00 am.

RESTOR-OMETER = ******

On a five-point scale… it’s gonna get a SIX! Hip! Hip! Hooray! Now, I gotta tell ya’, the RESTOR-OMETER was at about a 2.5 when we left the water park. Yes, I got to spend some time with the Lord this morning, and yes, I had a little time to read a book I brought and yes, the fun and rest play a part in the RESTOR-OMETER… but honestly, I began to accept the realization that the rest of the restoring was going to have to come once we got home and I put the kiddos to bed, and in the morning during my regular ‘quiet time’. However, I was WRONG! After we left the water park, we got a little something to eat and then went to see Hannah Montana. The girls had already seen it, but we decided to see it anyways (at $2 a pop, why not?!?) Who’da thunk that God could speak to me during a movie about Hannah Montana?? Well, He is God – and He can use whatever medium to communicate whatever it is He wants to. So, not to be a spoiler… but the Hannah Montana movie is about how Miley is struggling with “The Best of Both Worlds”. The exciting superstar life of a rock star and the raw ordinariness of being ‘just Miley.’ A light bulb went off in my little brain-i-o… that I am Miley. For the past few weeks, I’ve had this sense, this burden, this weight of who I should be and what I should be doing as 'the Pastor's wife'. Never before have I ever cared one iota about that – in fact, I’m generally so oblivious to the fact that I’m 'the Pastor's wife' because I am a) so ordinary b) so desperate for Jesus – so needy – so aware of my nothingness without Him and c) never really consumed with worry about what people thought of me (well, of course that does come up every once and a while and bite me in the bum, but generally speaking, not on the top 10 of Kendra’s worries). Now, this weight, this burden isn’t coming from any one person or group of people (that I know of), in fact – it could be just a figment of my imagination, but I felt it nonetheless. People’s expectations. People’s assumptions. Who you might think I am, because my husband and I serve in ministry. Who I should be as a 'leader in ministry' (1 Cor. 11:1). I’m sorry to break any illusions of some super-spiritual – all-surrendered super-wife/mom woman of God… nope. I’m just me. Just Kendra. I've never been good at being something I'm not, and I don't do fake... so let me tell ya’ a little bit about what ‘Just Kendra’ looks like:

*I am nothing, NOTHING, without my Jesus. No, this isn’t ‘false-humility’ – uh-huh. I need my time with Jesus, and I need a lot of it! I guess that goes with that whole ‘quality-time love language’ thang. I can’t just have a chocolate-chip cookie devotion in the morning and call it a day, nope – I need the 6 oz. Outback Special (cooked medium) with a Blue Cheese Chopped Salad and several large clusters of broccoli. Mmmmmm, my mouth is watering – for My Jesus! When that doesn’t happen, I get a rumbly in my spiritual tumbly and left unfed – I’m a mess before you can say ‘Winnie The Pooh!” “In the morning, when I rise, give me Jesus.”

*As much as I LOVE being with people, (and I LOVE being with people, I love hangin’ with the ladies, I love hosting at my house, I love playing games, I love worshipping with a LOT of people… I love meeting someone for coffee…) I also LOVE being alone. I enjoy being alone. I enjoy reading. I enjoy doing nothing. I like not having to say a word. Sometimes I want to be alone. My life is kind of an oxymoron, because I thrive in both settings – social and alone times – and I need both.

*I have a LONG way to go in being a “capable wife” (Prov. 31) and a stellar Mama. I desire to please the Lord in these two areas, being a helpmate to my husband and training the kiddos “in the way they should go,” but I often find my own selfishness and distractions become roadblocks and/or detours in these areas. Then, we’ll even have a moment when the roles are reversed and a kiddo of mine rebukes me in the Lord – Ouch! I find comfort in the fact that He will be faithful to complete the work He has started in me!

*I want to do everything, and I stink at setting boundaries. If you need me, I want to be there for you… then I’ll overextend myself and I’ll crowd out that time with Jesus and my priorities of my hubby and kiddos. And, even if whoever needs something is not pressuring me to do whatever needs to be done, I put that pressure on myself. I will give all I’ve got – but God has given me a priority list (Him, Hubby, Kiddos) and that’s what I have to follow. Like I said… “work in progress.”

*I’ve really wasted a lot of time and energy beating myself up for a relationship failure in my life – and the devil stirs up seeds of insecurity and works real hard at bringing it to mind whenever he can. Something I should totally be ‘over’ still makes me sad, irritated and anxious at times. It’s a thorn I’ve not yet shaken – I am broken.

So, there you have it – a snip-it of Just Kendra. Nothing glamorous, in fact, cut to the core, it’s a little frightening. I’m just working this thing called life out like the rest of ya’ll. Like I said before, I don’t know if anyone really had other expectations of what me being me really looks like, but whatever this funk was, it was an eye opener to keep my eyes on Jesus, worry about only what He thinks, strive to be an imitator of Him – and continue to be 'just me' and He’ll take care of the rest...

Finally, at this point of the movie when Hannah reveals that she is ‘just Miley’ she sings this song – which is where the tears started rollin’. I know, touched to the point of crying at the Hannah Montana movie… seriously, Kendra. (Oh yea, * I don’t cry much – there’s another thing, I’m typically sensitive… sometimes to a fault.) Anyways, check out this Miley Cyrus song – “It’s a Climb.”

I can almost see it
That dream I am dreaming
But there's a voice inside my head saying
"You'll never reach it"

Every step I'm taking
Every move I make feels
Lost with no direction
My faith is shaking

But I gotta keep trying
Gotta keep my head held high

There's always gonna be another mountain
I'm always gonna wanna make it move
Always gonna be a uphill battle
Sometimes I'm gonna have to lose

Ain't about how fast I get there
Ain't about what's waiting on the other side
It's the climb

The struggles I'm facing
The chances I'm taking
Sometimes might knock me down
But no, I'm not breaking

I may not know it
But these are the moments that
I'm gonna remember most, yeah
Just gotta keep going

And I, I got to be strong
Just keep pushing on

Keep on moving, keep climbing
Keep the faith, baby
It's all about, it's all about the climb
Keep the faith, keep your faith, whoa

PS: I can't believe I put a Miley Cyrus song on my blog.... LMBO!