flabbergasted

i'm always blown away by the Lord. meaning my vision of Him is always way smaller than who He is...which keeps me humble. :)

i have two stories i want to share, and they're both sharing the same idea: that God is in control, that God is able, that God has an intricate and beautiful plan...or in general, i need to TRUST the Lord.

the first one involves some Mexicans, a wheelchair and a warm night. anyone want to take a stab at that one??

randomly my husband got called to take a girl to managua and randomly i decided to tag along. then randomly, i didn't want air conditioning so we rolled down the windows. randomly the man in the jeep next to us asked how to get to Costa Rica (a common question in the middle of managua's highways). they start to follow us and my husband decides randomly to talk with them so they don't freak out when they see us winding up the mountain and there are no lights. so we randomly stop at a gas station and realize they are taking a donation from Mexico to Costa Rica to a parapalegic kid and oh yea, they only have a half tank of gas and not one peso (mexican or nicaraguan). so we randomly have 30 cords we can use to pay for their parking at the gas station so they can stay overnight and wait for a money order.

o sea. randomly? i don't think so. as we drove up the hill towards home i just laughed. how is it possible that i can see these intricate weavings in others' lives, and point out how the Lord is totally working it out for them and yet I worry and doubt in my own life? more grace is needed.

and then there's this whole confronting the lies, opening the doors, stepping out thing that i'm doing and i'm just left without words. in the few days after i posted about why i haven't been sharing, i have been invited to speak at three different events. THREE. i haven't taught outside the English classroom since I came to Nicaragua. and all of sudden there are all these new opportunities. there is movement and discussion and it's like a huge wall fell down and i'm exposed.

and it terrifies me...my gut reaction is to hide, to pretend that i don't have time, pretend that i can't because i'm too busy. but that would make me an OBVIOUS hypocrite, which i try to avoid being as much as possible.

so here's to being dazzled, awed, and just plain stunned by my Father who is "able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us."

glory.

listen to what i mean, not necessarily what i say

so a while back i was complaining to the Lord (and probably anyone who would listen) about how i am really lacking a community here. the aftermath of some really painful stuff left me isolated and left out in my church community. thankfully, through His grace, there has been healing and there is a recuperation that is happening...most of all, there's just some plain ol' obedience. so i know it's gonna get better. but i had just been feeling sad, lonely...missing my sister friends from kansas and those that really KNOW me. you know?

and then i got some pretty sweet skyping.and random dinner invites. and then i started seeing opportunities spring up here, little blips of invitations to participate, to be part of this church community.

would you believe me if i told you i don't want to do any of it?? (except the skyping. that was good. and the dinners. those were delicious)

i know. i KNOW. i can't quite figure it out. but then i thought of Moses. Moses was pretty awesome, breaking up fights and defending his fellow men. and in the middle of this, the Israelites are complaining hardcore because of their bondage. So God came down and in a really outlandish way got Moses' attention, trying to place him as a leader. He even gave him a snakey stick and a leprosy trick and some bloody river water flair to help him 'prove' his 'real-dealness' to the people. to the community he would be entering. but Moses was still like, nah, i can't. so God got pretty mad and then He placed Aaron as his mouth. because in the end, Moses said, Your will be done. 'Please, Lord, now send the message by whomever You will.'

as i have these new chances to be back in my community, i feel resistance. but in the end, i want to say yes to Him. i think i've just gotten comfortable in my little hidey-hole that i carved out in my soul over these past months and i don't really want to come out. too risky, too unknown. and i feel like i can't. like Moses.

i don't expect He'll send me a mouthpiece like Moses (besides, my brother is in kansas and i'm in nicaragua) but i know He'll equip me.

so instead of being anxious and resistant, i'll say yes. i'll get out there, wet my feet a bit. will i mess up? most likely. will i feel uncomfortable? yep. but will it be worth it?

i can only hope so.

what are the difficulties you've encountered in community? how did you overcome?

just saying...

can i be really honest? i mean, like, beyond what most would be comfortable saying when they're being really sincere?

i don't write here...because i feel invisible. and that it's not worth putting it out there. that it doesn't matter. that what i'm living and doing isn't important.

yep. said it. all of its ugly glory. and those who would rush to say but that's not true! don't say it. it will just feed this ugly lie.

what is the truth? Lamentations says "The Lord is my portion," says my soul, "Therefore I have hope in Him." He is enough. He is what makes this worth it, any of it!

i guess we could call this a refining moment. the layers being peeled back to reveal just another crack in what i like to pretend is perfect. c'mon...everyone likes to think that they're right...we have difficulty saying i screwed up, i have flaws.

what i'm realizing is that this particular belief of mine may very well be silencing something God wants me to do...not because people will read it, not because it will make an impact, not any reason other than He wants me to do it...which means it will be for good.

so i'm gonna ask for more grace. grace upon grace He promises, so i'm gonna take Him at His word. and i'm gonna try to do this. because i feel deeply that its something i'm supposed to be doing...for whatever reason.

so here it goes.

i'm wound tight, tight, tight. mind and body tensed and tired under this load...the work load,the physical load, the emotional load. even as i type this, my feet and fingers just tap tap tap. partly a break in coke restriction, in an effort to get all this paperwork done...and partly because i didn't run today...but mostly because its just all too much for me.

but not for Him. May sucked, from my perspective. debilitating illness, overly busy at work, death of a precious father, breaking, division, hurt, weariness.

you just want to scream, you know? to just say, enough! this is not good. i don't LIKE this. i don't WANT this.

but i don't even have to put what He says. just look at the cross. the journey to get there. His utter silence before accusers, His grittiness to endure. to keep going...and to do it, trusting in His Father and who He is and His ability to do what He says.

i forget. because all that other stuff kind of pushes its way to the forefront.

but then i'm reminded. by a sister. by that sweet Presence. by a moment, a word, a glance, a squeeze.

so i bend. i kneel. i break apart. because in the end, there's beauty in that brokenness, that offering. a renewal to move forward. and this wonderful awareness of others pain and suddenly just the right word, glance or squeeze that might be comfort to them when their month sucks.

it's worth it. we say yes.

hope that does not shame us

we are on week two of No Water Experience. as if we signed up for this ;). there are two things that astound me. one, it is unbelieveable how much work and TIME it takes to just get the water a house of two needs...for the very basics, like washing dishes, flushing the toilet, bathing and washing the occasional sock and underwear. and two, its surprising how MUCH water it takes to do those very simple things. all by hand, all done with as much saving as possible...and still, a vast quantity. we come home from work, spend a couple hours getting water, another hour using that water and fall into bed exhausted (not mentioning the everyday responsibilities like dinner making, house cleaning, feeding puppies, cleaning puppies and grading). so today, as we got up at 530 to start it all again, in hopes of washing some clothes too, i just felt this love welling up, this gratefulness. for the fact that this is temporary. for the fact that we have the means to go and get water somewhere (a car to haul it in and various containers to hold it). for the fact i have a husband who works tirelessly alongside me to keep this thing called life going.

now, before you go and thing, wow so deep, she's really in tune with things there in Nicaragua....read Romans 5:4-5. oh yea. it's HIS spirit that pours our HIS love in our hearts...that leads us to inspired love and hope and gratefulness. not sarah. Jesus.

and i LOVE that. it gives us no room to claim anything, no pats on the back, just a simple, let's walk in this that He has given us. and its possible whereever you are, regardless of your circumstances, and it CHANGES your character, your perspective.

i'm off to accompany the kiddos from the orphanage and their 'mama' and some other workers to the beach...let's hope and pray that keeping 17 children under control near the water's edge proves to be easy. yay national workers day that gives us Monday off!!

those pesky stumbling stones

it had been a long time since i had felt that squeezing that comes with loneliness, panic and lost footing. and when i found myself in the middle of it once more, it was rather stunning. and scary.

i don't think there's anyone in this world who is immune to this...no matter your level of faith or church attendance or whatever. and for those who feel the need to fling verses at me to tell me the contrary...just hold it for a moment. i think about Jesus in the garden of Gethsemane and i just KNOW that He knows what I am talking about. This life, this world is just full of things that will sweep you off your feet. and the emotions and thoughts that spring forth from those things can be paralyzing. and yet we can choose to say not mine, but Yours be done. and that makes all the difference.

so i'm thinking all of this in the wake of this overwhelming sense of 'what the... are we doing..." there are certain realities that we have to face, certain plans we want to make but that just aren't possible right now and things like where we will be in 5 years and when we are going to have a kid that demand answers...which i just can't find right now. all that, in the midst of just some dry community time, brought on that suffocation that knocked me down and threatened me with despair.

but life goes on. i didn't fade away into blackness or lose my mind. i just got up, wiped my eyes and kept going. if nothing else, it reminded me of my need of His Spirit to keep me going, to help me endure...to count it all joy. and in the end, to remember, this is a race we are running...and many of things that wanted to steal my peace are things that are far off in the horizon...nothing is in the here and now.

so we keep going. we keep hoping. we choose to be surprised, to be grateful. we choose to love, to serve. and we choose to wait.

so here's to making good choices, even if they seem to be the same ones over and over again, even if it seems we are in the same place we were yesterday. to say once again...not mine, but Yours be done Jesus.

happy dance

it's finally here....after three weeks of waiting, the annual women's retreat is here...my first time to go, but i am beyond thrilled to spend three days in Montelimar beach!!!!

with all the things that i've been seeing, i'm just so glad to be able to take a time-out...to get away, be with my Papa and rest. thank you Jesus.

"Come to me, those who are weary and heavy-ladened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light." Matt 11:28-30