Living, Loving, and Learning

There is so much the Lord is teaching us in our time living here on the mountain in Montana. I wrote in the last post about how no one comes to this place without a direct call from God. That truth has been re-playing itself over and over in my hear this past week. We've been here a little over a month now, living life day by day. We are finding our way, carving out our place, and fitting into the routine. We feel like we 'fit' despite the days when it is hard to make sense of it all. We've been assured that we fit and welcomed in as part of the family here. That makes a world of difference.

That thought struck me this early morning. How being assured we 'fit' helped ease our anxieties about being in this new place...when all along our heavenly Father has assured us that this is where we 'fit' best. We have always felt the Lord's unmistakable peace about coming to Montana to the ranch. We have always felt that this was His perfect plan. We have always felt that He was divinely directing our paths, even though we could not even begin to understand why,

So, why, I ask myself this morning, did I need the reassurance of those here once we got here?

In my flesh, I wanted to hear it...and, in His grace, the Lord responded.

But, He also has continued to speak. Over and over since we have arrived, we have heard the phrase "for such a time as this." You may recognize this as the very words Mordecai spoke to Queen Esther, encouraging her to use her position and power as Queen to fight for her people. We truly believe that we are here in this place for such a time as this. The Lord continues to confirm this in our hearts. We have no position or power, but we are part of a tight knit group of believers who are sold out for Jesus. They are followers of Jesus who count the cost daily and follow Him wherever He leads. We can see the hand of God in bringing us here for such a time as this. He is revealing His plan to us little by little and it is undeniable that we are here at this time for a very specific purpose.

We are confident that even before time began, the God of heaven, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, knew and PLANNED that we would be here in this very place at this very time.

Stop and reflect on that for a moment..do you truly believe in God's sovereignty in your life?

This has become more real to me than ever before in my life. Hearing the stories of how people came to arrive here at PFM, reveals this truth more and more to me. Each week, listening to the teaching of Pastor Bob Coy from Calvary Chapel Ft. Lauderdale, pieces begin to seemingly fit together and we become more and more aware of how chance or accident or happenstance just cannot be the answer to the way life works out like it does.

The TRUTH is that God has know from the beginning of time and He works out His plan in our lives day by day. He is sovereign and He is faithful to those who are faithful to Him. We believe that more than ever in these days. We still find ourselves wondering "Why me, Lord?" yet we trust in Him and believe His ways are perfect and so we press on.

We know God is preparing us in our time here on the mountain. We are beginning to understand the details. But in these days, He has given both of us the clear message to wait on Him as He works. That is often the hardest thing. Yet, I am reminded of the song we sang often at Capilla del Calvario in Villarreal, and now sing often here, that reminds us that there is strength when we wait upon the Lord. I'm reminded that we as humans often grow weak and weary as we wait, but the Lord never does. I'm reminded that we are a people who are weak, fail, are without hope and eventually all die. But our God never fails, is strong and mighty, He alone is our hope, our Strong Deliverer and he reigns forever!

I am so thankful today for the Lord's grace and mercy and hand upon my life. We are learning to love in these days. We are learning to die to ourselves and to  our desires and to our wants. We are learning to be servants, and to die to the desire to be served. We are learning more and more about just how much our Great God loves us and cares for us, and in turn we are learning how to love more freely, more openly, and more lavishly.

Thank you for your continued prayers for our family. We thank each one of you who continues to support our family through love and prayers and giving!

May the Lord bless each and every one of you today!