Searching for the 'invisible'.......

Thanks for the comments, guys! I know things have been quiet for a while, but I hope y'all will comment when you have stuff to share....

Tim took this picture last week when we went sailing with Uncle Bob, Aunt Sylvia and my in-laws. Good times. (by the way, Bob and Sylvia are not 'really' my uncle and aunt...they are more like spiritual foster parents :).

I spent a lot of time that day thinking....about where Tim and I are at....our visions for the future and what we want to impart to the kids we work with presently. With the wind in my hair, freezing my butoosky off, the harsh waves that frequently splashed my face, and my tummy feeling a bit off (it was a VERY rough sail that day....really fun, though), I'd say thinking about eternal things like 'my vision' or 'calling' was difficult.

Then on Sunday, my father-in-law really challenged me with the suggestion and clear need to write down the BIG dreams and visions God has placed deep within me. "I have them in my head-I don't need to write them down!", I thought, but writing them down became a difficult task.....gutsy for me, somewhat, as I am ever plagued with the false fear that those dreams and visions can never manifest into reality....they are just too far fetched. Thinking about them from time to time is way easier than having to WRITE them into words. But as I began to write, Philippians 1:5-6 rolled around in my head....

"because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now, being confident of this, that He who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus."
And then Ephesians 2: 8-10 came to mind..... "For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast. For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do."

In other words....it ISN'T MY ability that accomplishes these visions and dreams (of which I will share next post :P), but it is HIS grace over me and HIS workmanship and design that God has prepared long ago for me to be a part of. His greater vision. His big picture. He has chosen ME for His greater purpose!!! BOY...THAT TAKES THE PRESSURE OFF! I cannot boast in it, because it is Him in me that will accomplish all that He has planned. With HIM, I cannot fail...no dream or vision is too far-fetched! And as I began to write pages and pages of what I desired deep within me, I felt God's delight....as if He were writing the pages of my life story in a precious book, lovingly and carefully writing each word. Whoa. Heavy. The exercise actually poured in more faith that those visions were going to come to completion. I was pulling what seemed invisible-random thoughts in my distracted brain-into the visible-clear, concise words on a page ready to be accomplished. Wow. Cool. "He who began a GOOD WORK in ME (inside and out) is able and READY to COMPLETE IT! (no matter how long it takes!)

Many blessings to you all and write those visions down!