Entry #11

As you've probably gathered, I believe one way to be a good steward of the things God is doing in your life is to RECORD them.  Sometimes it is for you to be encouraged with later when times are tough and you find yourself discouraged, sometimes God will use if for others wherever they are in the journey but mostly it is for me to see more clearly what God has done and THANK Him for it!  

The past month has been like a whirlwind of God activity and getting things recorded actually slipped my priorities and I hate that!  So, a little catch up!

We have been absolutely having a blast with the kids!  Doing all kinds of stuff like talent shows, making Christmas wreaths, lots more cooking together (SHOUT out to Coach Jenny for a show-stopping Asian dish!!!) and doing lots more work preparing the foundation for our God house in the backyard! 

 To those of you that have no clue what I mean by that last detail....about a month or so ago, I felt like the Lord showed me HIS great desire to connect with these kids in a way that ONLY He can.  It really hit me b/c my favorite and deepest times with the Lord are ALONE, usually at my house.  I started thinking about the kids having a regular opportunity to feel alone with Him.  Now THAT got me excited.  At the same time I was reading Red Moon Rising by Pete Greigg....highly recommend it!  This book tells all about the powerful prayer movement going literally around the WORLD.  Basically, it is a very loose concept of different cultures/groups uniting in prayer having a specific location where people sign up to cover one hour time slots and committing to cover at least a week with 24/7 prayer.  The testimonies of how God is meeting these people is ASTOUNDING and how every site differs from each other got me ALL excited :).  Trust me, OURS guarantees to look different!  (A shack in our backyard-interior covered with chalkboard paint, bean bags & electricity for a simple form of heat and light.  Oh and jammin music of all varieties!!!)  

Well, we are well on the way to beginning to put the walls up on our God house.  Minus the brief interruption....while we were digging a trench one night for the electrical line- well, yeah, I started screaming (trying to be funny and break the monotany) that I had found a treasure map- only to discover it was a bag with my dead cat from 10 years ago in it.  Lovely.  Further proof- God does NOT call the EQUIPPED, He equips the called!  Thank you God!

2 weeks ago I saw the Lord do something that has still literally left me speechless (quite a feat in itself!)  We decided to have the kids write a simple "Christmas Wish List".  I felt quite certain that with all the people we knew backing us with prayer and support we could rally up some gifts for these kids.  

LONG story short!  THESE KIDS WERE SHOWERED WITH GIFTS!  The response was PHENOMENAL!  Man, God showed off!  For a week straight, I was fielding calls and emails getting kids matched to families that didn't even know them but wanted to give to them!  Literally, over 50 families got involved and 2 companies!  AND IT'S STILL COMING IN!!!

We decided to take it a step further and do my favorite part....RELATIONSHIP!  Let's have these families not only commit to praying for these kids but let's let them MEET eachother to show love and gratitude.  So, yesterday we invited all those involved to come to our house for what I thought would be a simple, casual come and go desert.  At one point, there were over 60 people in our living room!   I know God was a'smilin ear to ear!  

This has been the sweetest Christmas present I've ever been given!  Other than baby Jesus of course!  Sometimes it's easy to see all the crap and selfishness in our world and think, "Does anyone get it?  It's not about homework, carpools and dance lessons!? It's about making a difference not only in YOUR OWN family but in the lives of others!"  Wow, the body of Christ has once again overwhelmed me!

2 quick very cool stories about this to share (could go on and on but will limit to 2! more later! :)

First....the night we were filling out the wishlists with the kids one of the boys was pretty stuck as far as getting his wishes written down.  Keep in mind, just a few months ago, this boy DID NOT TALK, SMILE or make eye contact with anyone.  Now he's laughing, making others laugh and even ditched his signature hat he's always hid under!  So I'm talking to him and I'm like, "Ok dude, let's hear it...what would you like for Christmas?"  He goes, "Coach Julz, I just want a Wii."  Oh dang, ok what do I say?!  "Well, ok, let's put that down and come up with some other ideas."  Nope, that's it.  I just want a Wii.  Hmmm, I looked around at the other adults signaling, "Help me out here!"  No luch.  I said, "Well, ok listen...we don't know the financial situations of the people that may buy you a gift so let's just put some other things down, just in case."  He goes, "Well ok, but that's all I want." 

Now, don't ask me why I said this b/c as I was going to bed later that night, it really bugged me that I said this, but I go, "Well, if God wants you to have a Wii...then He'll find a way for you to get a Wii."  

The next morning I get up, look at my cell phone and realize I had a missed call from the evening before while we were with the kids(shocker - the volume of Tuesday nights is INSANE!)  So I sit there listening to the time stamp and message and am left completely speechless!.....Here's the closest I can get to word for word.

Julie, this is so and so and well, my husband got an unexpected bonus yesterday and really felt like he was supposed to do something specific with it.  He wants to buy a Wii for one of your kids.

End of story!  Man, God is so personal and beyond our wildest imaginations!  Yeah, God we totally chalk that one up to YOU and not coincidence as the world would like to say!

Final story...

Before the party, I started calling the mom of 5 of the kids and the grandma of the other 5 kids to make sure the kids would be ready to be picked up.  To my surprise, BOTH of them said to the same effect...."I'M COMING TOO!  There is no way I'm going to let all these people give to us without telling them myself how thankful I am!"  AND THEY CAME!

Let me just tell you, that is FRUIT to this chick!  Slowly but surely, the consistent love of Christ is reaching their hearts too.  Children may be quick to run to His feet but adults usually take a little more time.  Oh Jesus, continue to draw them to YOU!  

We love You so much and want nothing more than to have others know Your love too!

God bless you all this Christmas!