Our lives are not our own.

Follow our family's journey as we give up the "American Dream" to live and love in Uganda.

Saturday, April 3, 2010

b.r.a.t.










I hate bratty kids.
Here is my definition of bratty...

foot stomping,

attention seeking,

UN-grateful,

all about ME attitude.


Too bad I just defined MYSELF.

I am not always bratty. Sometimes I am a servant. Sometimes I am patient and kind. Most of the time I am grateful. But this whole week of Spring Break I have been a brat with capital "B".

Our family is going through some big life changes. We have no idea what is going to happen. The not knowing is taking its toll on our family. It is as if we are being held hostage emotionally. (I'm not a drama queen or anything.)It is hard to grieve the loss of our position as youth pastor and the leaving of our church because we are still pastoring and attending for the next few months. We are not really able to prepare for where we are going because WE DON"T KNOW where we will end up.
I find myself stomping my foot at the Lord. I wanna know NOW where we are going and what we will be doing. I want to know how to prepare!!!

My only comfort is found in the Bible and in the lives of many others who have given their lives over to the Lord no matter the cost.


James 4:13-15
Now listen, you who say, "Today or tomorrow we will go to this or that city, spend a year there, carry on business and make money." Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes. Instead, you ought to say, "If it is the Lord's will, we will live and do this or that."

Matthew(the Message)
26-28Meanwhile, the moment we get tired in the waiting, God's Spirit is right alongside helping us along. If we don't know how or what to pray, it doesn't matter. He does our praying in and for us, making prayer out of our wordless sighs, our aching groans. He knows us far better than we know ourselves, knows our pregnant condition, and keeps us present before God. That's why we can be so sure that every detail in our lives of love for God is worked into something good.

Jeremiah 29:11-12
For I know the plans I have for you,” says the Lord. “They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope. In those days when you pray, I will listen. 13 If you look for me wholeheartedly, you will find me.



We cannot seek achievement for ourselves and forget about progress and prosperity for our community... Our ambitions must be broad enough to include the aspirations and needs of others, for their sakes and for our own.
Cesar Chavez



Do not wait for leaders; do it alone, person to person.
Mother Teresa




Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.
Martin Luther King, Jr.



Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment.And the second is like it:Love your neighbor as yourself
Jesus



All of these things inspire me. They help me to realize that I am POWERLESS. But My God is POWERFUL.
I trust HIS character.
I trust HIS timing.
I believe in HIS provision.
I know that "Those HE calls, HE also equips."



So I guess I will stop being a brat. At least for a little while.....




2 comments:

  1. Beth, I do not envy you one bit right now. I have been in that place of transition so many times and completely empathize with all you are feeling (well, I cannot empathize with mothering 7 children!) You are in my prayers and I hope the Lord reveals His plans to you soon. It sounds to me like He is bringing your family to a place of desperate dependence on Him, which is a scary, but wonderful place to be. We love you guys!

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Las Vegas, Nevada, United States