Scrubs

So you go into a doctor's office and think to yourself "Man I would love to wear scrubs everyday".
Well, having had this thought many times before...I was excited when I got a job at a daycare and the "uniform" was scrubs. After having worked there for 3 weeks, I hate wearing scrubs everyday. So just in case you thought it would be great to wear scrubs everyday, let me set the record straight...its not as glorious as it looks. I got a new job at a doctor's office and they give me the option of wearing them if I want too since I own 3 sets now. It will be nice on those lazy days when I don't want to spend time picking something out...but for the most part I'm enjoying getting to look "cute" everyday! So just in case you were wondering...scrubs aren't what they appear to be!

Nepal

I miss Nepal...bad. I'm craving Nepali food, to speak Nepali, to wear Nepali clothes, to see the mountains, to get lost because the taxi driver doesn't understand english, to hold my nose so I can't smell the foul smells. I miss it. But more than missing Nepal and its culture...my heart hurts. There are so many lost people there, Nepal remains 1 % christian. I have a friend going this summer and I'm so jealous, I'm ready to pack into her suitcase. There has been such an urgency in my spirit lately about reaching the lost and praying for the lost and unreached. The other night I couldn't stop crying as I tried to fall asleep thinking about the sweet Nepali people who don't know Jesus and serve false gods so devoutly out of fear of them. I'm praying the Lord will open the doors for me and now my husband to return soon. Thanks for listening to me over the last six years tell my stories of Nepal.

The Million Dollar Question

Since making the decision about a month ago not to go on staff with GCM, Bryan and I found ourseleves bombarded by the million dollar question of "what are you going to do now". Deffinately not a bad question, we just didn't have an answer and we might could have gotten at least 100 dollars if we got a dollar for every person who asked us the question =)!! So anyway, if you have been talking to us over the last month, you would know that just about everyday changes the "plan". We walked away from our decision not to go on staff with general direction from the Lord, and peace that specific direction would come, and amazing peace that we were where we were supposed to be! We really felt the Lord wanting us to move away from the Montgomery/Auburn area since this is all we've ever known and have a "fresh" start. So we began looking with what little direction we had. In the past month, Nashville, Colorado, Seattle, and Kentucky have all be considered...we got excited about all of them but yet no peace. A simple phone call changed a lot and we think the lucky state is North Carolina. Since so much of the planning is still in the praying and planning stages, I will leave it at we have peace about moving to North Carolina and the Lord is showing us what He has for us there and we are extremely excited! He is deffinately leading us to places and areas of ministry we never saw ourselves being used! More details will come as I feel that the Lord gives me freedom to share with you! We will remain in Auburn at least until August! So come party at the Payne St. house this summer!!

To Know Him and Make Him Known

Over the last two weeks I have been asking the Lord to give me a mission/vision statement to be kind of my banner or mindset for each day. The other night He spoke this one to me..."to know Him and make Him known". It has been so exciting to see how each day takes on a different form when this is my mindset. I was telling a friend the other day, that I love that it encompasses all of life and not just one facet of ministry. That I can know Him in every second of life and that I have the opportunity to make Him known in every aspect of life. It also helps me from finding my identity in "ministry" which I sometimes do, but instead I long to make Jesus known in any way form or fashion. Over the last two weeks the Lord has begun to stretch me as He is slowly revealing bits of His plan for us. There are ways that He is leading me that I never thought He would use me, but yet I am so excited about the adventure ahead of us.

The other day I was at Target on a hunt for some brown flip flops. I had a pair of brown flip flops for about three years, and last fall when we gave our shoes for hurricane relief, I had those on, needless to say it was a bittersweet experience as they were my most favorite pair of shoes. However, the Lord spoke gently to my heart that the shoes that would replace those would be ones with a neat story. Well, now that its summer time, my need for my brown flip flops has come. Granted I was being very picky, but I wanted brown flips flops exactly like my old ones. Well, I was at target just glancing, hoping they might have something that was similar and what would you know, they did! I was trying them on, and untangling them from other shoes when the lady next to me asked if I liked her shoes and if they fit. We proceeded to talk while looking at shoes and this woman began to pour her heart to me about loosing her husband a year ago and how these last few weeks had been so hard. I walked away from that moment so full of joy that in the middle of target, while looking for shoes I was able to minister the grace, love, and compassion of Jesus to that woman. She was clearly hurting if she poured her heart out to a complete stranger in target. This is the kind of life I want to lead, that on a daily basis, in the midst of daily life, I can make Jesus known to complete strangers in Target! I was also so blessed that in giving my favorite shoes, someones feet were covered, and in finding a new pair of favorite shoes, someones life was ministered too!

Not my will be done, but Your will be done

I have found such freedom and peace in praying such a simple prayer. It is so freeing to place your hands before the Lord and let go of your dreams and desires and whole heartly submit yourself to Him and His plans no matter what they are! As I have walked through this process recently I realized how strong-willed I am. However, at the end of this process after fulling surrendering myself and my dreams to the Lord I couldn't be more at peace and more excited about what He has in store for me and my husband!!! I have more peace now not knowing what the road ahead will hold, but knowing that I am where He wants me, rather than knowing what the road ahead holds and not being where He wants me!