There is a children’s worship leader that we happened upon one day on YouTube when searching for songs for the girls to sing and dance to, and we have been playing her music over and over since that day – it’s simple, catchy, God-focused and has signing/dance moves that the girls love to join in. Bill and I have woken in the night with the songs going round in our head and have found ourselves humming them more than we’d like to! You can listen to one of the girls favorites from Jana Alayra here.
A week or so ago, having noticed a while back that Jana’s testimony was online, I decided to listen to it. Bill and I love testimonies. Hearing about the reality of God encountering someone and bringing them through trials to victory always encourages and strengthens faith. It’s a beautiful thing. One of the things that stirred listening to her testimony is that things can look one way… devastation, trials, challenges, and in the midst of them it can seem like no good could ever come from them, but it’s not the end of the story. God is a redeemer. God is a healer. God is able to make a way where there seems to be none. I love that! Jana’s testimony is witness to that. There are circumstances that would push us to despair, to depression, to feeling like nothing will ever change and there will be no end to the inner or outer turmoil, yet this moment we are standing in is not the end. We are somewhere in the story. And if God is in control and our lives are His, we can be assured that the ending is going to be good, indeed very good!!
Back in December I thought that we might be limping across the finish line of 2017, just about making it to the end of the year clinging on to a remnant of hope that 2018 is going to be a better year than this last one… but as we have crossed over into the new year God has been renewing our strength, bringing some fresh revelation and increasing hope and faith for the year to come – meaning that there is a little more spring in our step and courage to keep going with expectation of good, even great, things ahead.
I have greater expectation and faith that we are going to be moving this year – I sense before the summer – but as yet we’ve had no further revelation regarding where to or how! Our packing continues as God spoke to my heart again after Christmas to remind me to keep moving with it… our wall of boxes is growing:
It’s going to be exciting to see what God does! We continue to seek Him and to fight to stay in a position of trust – believing that He IS leading (and it’s not just some crazy human imagination) and that where we are is not the end of the story – there are greater things to come. In the wilderness it is so easy to lose perspective, but I believe God is doing a work in us to build faith, to strengthen weak knees, to show us who He is and who we are in Him. It is a beautiful thing. Painful sometimes, but beautiful. Oh that my heart would stay steady in believing in His goodness, love, mercy, kindness, compassion, strength, power, etc., and not bow to doubt or fear or anxiety!
Well, it’s taken weeks to write this so I’m going to finish before I sleep. January is flying by! Ruth turned 2 months this week and is a sweet, calm, smiley gem. Our days are full and busy, at times relentlessly, just with the every day needs of 4 girls under 5, but they continue to bring us much joy. Bill might just be beginning a career in baking…he got an English bread recipe book for Christmas and has almost daily been experimenting – the girls are getting good at kneading!
Here are a few photos from January:
Pursuing Purpose 