"The Lord your God is with you, he is mighty to save. He will take great delight in you, he will quiet you with his love, he will rejoice over you with singing."-Zephaniah 3:17
Do we really stop and listen to the love song that God is singing over our lives?
Right now I have a choir of the tiniest yellow birds singing outside my window coupled with a rooster that is still marking time with his tenor voice. Coming up the road is a caravan of horns and drums letting us all know that wedding vows have been said. Celebration is all around!
Friends, that is what God does daily for us. He sings over our lives. Just like Zephaniah tells us, He takes great delight in you! I want you to grasp what that means for you. The God of the Universe celebrates your worth. He sees every part of you and still rejoices. Are you listening to His song? It is so easy to hear chaos instead of the sweet melody of the Father.
Take time to be still and listen.
The world is not your song. Jesus is!
Until Everyone Has Heard,
Kellee
Sunday, March 15, 2015
Sunday, March 1, 2015
Mundane Faithfulness
Zechariah 4:6-Not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit, says the Lord of hosts.
Almost three years in Africa and I am still finding comfort in this verse. Just today as we were sitting outside sipping our cool soda and savoring every bite of chipsi (French fries), Patrick looked at me and said, "Sometimes I still find it hard to believe that we are eating lunch outside in a village in Africa." It is good for us to still be in awe of what God has asked of us. It is very good to be reminded of God and his enormity. It is extraordinary to have him brush the side of your sunburned cheek with a breeze of warm remembrance. A remembrance of who we serve. It helps us to be humble when we see the fruit of our labor and hopeful when we see nothing at all. God gives us the assurance that He is saving and transforming lives, ours included. We will not leave the comfort of our secure lives, we will not financially send missionaries, we will not be equipped to suffer, without a firm conviction that God is mighty to save and all His sheep WILL hear his voice.
I think what you would learn from any missionary is that serving overseas is not very glamorous and more mundane than people think. I mean most days I am teaching ABC's and listening to children read. Trust me, I would love to fall into bed every night knowing that I had proclaimed the Gospel to at least 3 Tanzanian people, but I am having to find contentment each day in the fact that I have poured all of my spiritual energy into my own six children. It is a daily struggle for those of us that serve. We pop out of a culture that thrives on results, even in the church, and plop into a place where time and efficiency stand still. It is surreal. God intentionally moves you away from what you think matters and gently leads you by the hand to what matters most, Him. He could care less about numbers, agenda, and productivity. He is a shepherd, gently coaxing us to this pasture and to that pasture, where we pick up one, two, three more sheep before we venture out to graze elsewhere.
So, what keeps us here? Mundane Faithfulness. Day to day living. Grazing and tasting the sweetest grass in the world. (Psalm 34:8). A steady diet of exactly what the Lord provides, when and where He provides it, and a faith in His sovereignty, give us enough confidence to stick around. Trusting the word of God is more than enough to do the work of God. (Psalm 4:5) Knowing and being reminded that our availability to be used by the power of God, is the best fuel for ministry faithfulness.
Until Everyone Has Heard,
Kellee
Almost three years in Africa and I am still finding comfort in this verse. Just today as we were sitting outside sipping our cool soda and savoring every bite of chipsi (French fries), Patrick looked at me and said, "Sometimes I still find it hard to believe that we are eating lunch outside in a village in Africa." It is good for us to still be in awe of what God has asked of us. It is very good to be reminded of God and his enormity. It is extraordinary to have him brush the side of your sunburned cheek with a breeze of warm remembrance. A remembrance of who we serve. It helps us to be humble when we see the fruit of our labor and hopeful when we see nothing at all. God gives us the assurance that He is saving and transforming lives, ours included. We will not leave the comfort of our secure lives, we will not financially send missionaries, we will not be equipped to suffer, without a firm conviction that God is mighty to save and all His sheep WILL hear his voice.
I think what you would learn from any missionary is that serving overseas is not very glamorous and more mundane than people think. I mean most days I am teaching ABC's and listening to children read. Trust me, I would love to fall into bed every night knowing that I had proclaimed the Gospel to at least 3 Tanzanian people, but I am having to find contentment each day in the fact that I have poured all of my spiritual energy into my own six children. It is a daily struggle for those of us that serve. We pop out of a culture that thrives on results, even in the church, and plop into a place where time and efficiency stand still. It is surreal. God intentionally moves you away from what you think matters and gently leads you by the hand to what matters most, Him. He could care less about numbers, agenda, and productivity. He is a shepherd, gently coaxing us to this pasture and to that pasture, where we pick up one, two, three more sheep before we venture out to graze elsewhere.
So, what keeps us here? Mundane Faithfulness. Day to day living. Grazing and tasting the sweetest grass in the world. (Psalm 34:8). A steady diet of exactly what the Lord provides, when and where He provides it, and a faith in His sovereignty, give us enough confidence to stick around. Trusting the word of God is more than enough to do the work of God. (Psalm 4:5) Knowing and being reminded that our availability to be used by the power of God, is the best fuel for ministry faithfulness.
Until Everyone Has Heard,
Kellee
Wednesday, February 25, 2015
Prayers Go Where Your Feet Cannot
The wrath of God will cost somebody their life. It will either cost the unreached peoples their lives for eternity(Oh, God let it not be so), or it will cost us Christians our earthly lives in missionary service (to live is Christ and to die is gain).
Here is the question: Dare we be so in love with our lives in this world that we will stand back while THREE BILLION lose their souls and their lives in the world to come?
I believe it was Adrian Rogers who used to say, "The gospel is only good news if it gets there in time." The wrath of God upon the world means we need to be urgent in getting the gospel there in time.
It is a fact that the gospel saves.
These numbers of Bible-less peoples is what broke our hearts and forced us to abandon our lives and come to where ever God would have us. We came to a cross-road: If we truly believe what we say we believe and we truly love Jesus Christ as our all satisfying treasure then we do not have a choice. We must go.
We need your prayers for our family. We need your prayers for Africa. We need your prayers for our language projects that are taking place all over Africa. These people need to learn to read their heart language and they need the complete Bible.
Please commit to pray for our family to have longevity on the field.
Please pray for our health.
Please pray for us as we disciple children and young people on the weekends.
Pray that we would be intentional to share Christ with someone every day.
Pray that our prayer walks through out the community would bear fruit.
Pray that our hours spent in study and prayer each day would encourage our daily walk as we are without pastoral support and counseling.
Pray that Jesus become so famous that it outshines the great darkness that blankets.
Until Everyone Has Heard,
Kellee
Sunday, August 3, 2014
The Gift of Rest
August 3, 2014
Today we rested. There was no teaching and just a little cooking paired with a nap. Simple but great. I always kick myself when we have to slow down because I hate it. But, unfortunately when I awoke this morning all I could think about was pulling the covers back over my head and turning the clock back to Saturday. So, we decided to refresh. It is on these restful days that we have church at home. We continued our reading in the Bible. We read in Numbers, Psalms, Song of Solomon, and finished with Hebrews. I love how we read the Bible. Each chapter divided up evenly so that everyone has the same number of verses. I love to hear the children sound out all the challenging names, locations etc. It is so nice to read, pray, and eat in our PJ's. No translating just transparency on our days off. Time to exhale and regroup before we start another week. These days and moments are holy to our family. The reminders of our differences are less on these days and it gives us a chance to join the Lord in the quiet of our home.
Thank you Lord that you are rest. Thank you Lord for helping me to remember that rest is a part of reaching your promises. May we all take time each week to open your gift of rest.
Joshua 1:13-Remember the word which Moses the servant of the Lord commanded you, saying, 'The Lord your God gives you rest and will give you this land.'
Today we rested. There was no teaching and just a little cooking paired with a nap. Simple but great. I always kick myself when we have to slow down because I hate it. But, unfortunately when I awoke this morning all I could think about was pulling the covers back over my head and turning the clock back to Saturday. So, we decided to refresh. It is on these restful days that we have church at home. We continued our reading in the Bible. We read in Numbers, Psalms, Song of Solomon, and finished with Hebrews. I love how we read the Bible. Each chapter divided up evenly so that everyone has the same number of verses. I love to hear the children sound out all the challenging names, locations etc. It is so nice to read, pray, and eat in our PJ's. No translating just transparency on our days off. Time to exhale and regroup before we start another week. These days and moments are holy to our family. The reminders of our differences are less on these days and it gives us a chance to join the Lord in the quiet of our home.
Thank you Lord that you are rest. Thank you Lord for helping me to remember that rest is a part of reaching your promises. May we all take time each week to open your gift of rest.
Joshua 1:13-Remember the word which Moses the servant of the Lord commanded you, saying, 'The Lord your God gives you rest and will give you this land.'
Sunday, March 30, 2014
Prayer Experiment
What would happen if you focused your prayers on one thing or one person for one month or one year?
Four years ago that is exactly what I did. It would have been useless for me to confront my best friend. The only person that could change his heart was God. So, when God called me to pray, I prayed.
The problem with this type of prayer experiment is you never know when you are going to see the results. That is a big problem, especially today. Everything we do is drive-thru ready. Unfortunately, God is not on our time schedule. His ways and plans are greater, so expect a delay, detour, or a complete re-route to your prayers. Just keep praying.
In His Time and In His Way, that is the motto to my prayer life.
That was true for my prayer experiment. I prayed small but steady for a whole year. God took my constant, unceasing, prayers and totally turned them into something I did not recognize. After one year not only did God change him, He changed me too! God revealed to him deep desires that had been hidden away and in turn answered deep desires of my own that I had tossed off as unreachable. It was a win-win all around. I wasn't even praying for myself. God looked deep within my prayers and saw a hidden motivation. He saw that what I wanted for my best friend I also wanted for myself. Now I was given new life too!
A year flew by. Before I even realized what was happening, it had already started. Hearts were changing, life styles were being altered, and big decisions were being made. Our hearts and prayer life were beating with God. His desires became our desires. Life changed for us both. Now I look at that prayer time as a blip in the course of our lives. It seems forever ago considering all that we have been through. You see, my prayer experiment was my husband.
Now, you are very familiar with our story. There is no need to go into any detail about how God changed our lives. I think it is pretty obvious, don't you?
It is very simple to pray. There were times that my prayers bored me but that is not the point. Boring prayers are just as important as exciting prayers. I was not praying for Patrick's miraculous healing from a life threatening disease. I was not begging God to save our marriage. I just wanted God to remove the obstacle that was hindering him from serving God completely. My prayers were very boring. We are now leading anything but a boring life. So, God took the boring and made it extraordinary. Why? Because He could.
So, for Who or What are you praying?
Are you thinking about being a ______? Do you want to give more to the ________ offering at church than your paycheck says is possible? Do you long to ______? Do you want God to use you mightily in _______? Do you want to go on the __________ missions trip with you church and serve cross-culturally ? Do you or someone you love need healing from ________? Then you had better start praying, don't you think? Voicing a potential prayer is not the same thing as praying. Don't be afraid to let God have your prayers: The deep prayers that are hanging around in the recesses of your heart just longing to find their way to the throne. Humble yourself, get down on your knees, and pray circles around them! Don't limit God. His "yes" means "yes" and His "no" means "no". In either answer He is glorified. In either answer your faith and relationship with God grow exponentially.
Let me give you one word of caution before you begin. Throw CAUTION right out the window! Let God fully have your prayers. Let Go and Let God! I am a living example that God will bless those prayers beyond anything that you could ever think or imagine.
So, what are you waiting for?
I am praying for you,
Kellee
Psalm 55:1
Four years ago that is exactly what I did. It would have been useless for me to confront my best friend. The only person that could change his heart was God. So, when God called me to pray, I prayed.
The problem with this type of prayer experiment is you never know when you are going to see the results. That is a big problem, especially today. Everything we do is drive-thru ready. Unfortunately, God is not on our time schedule. His ways and plans are greater, so expect a delay, detour, or a complete re-route to your prayers. Just keep praying.
In His Time and In His Way, that is the motto to my prayer life.
That was true for my prayer experiment. I prayed small but steady for a whole year. God took my constant, unceasing, prayers and totally turned them into something I did not recognize. After one year not only did God change him, He changed me too! God revealed to him deep desires that had been hidden away and in turn answered deep desires of my own that I had tossed off as unreachable. It was a win-win all around. I wasn't even praying for myself. God looked deep within my prayers and saw a hidden motivation. He saw that what I wanted for my best friend I also wanted for myself. Now I was given new life too!
A year flew by. Before I even realized what was happening, it had already started. Hearts were changing, life styles were being altered, and big decisions were being made. Our hearts and prayer life were beating with God. His desires became our desires. Life changed for us both. Now I look at that prayer time as a blip in the course of our lives. It seems forever ago considering all that we have been through. You see, my prayer experiment was my husband.
Now, you are very familiar with our story. There is no need to go into any detail about how God changed our lives. I think it is pretty obvious, don't you?
It is very simple to pray. There were times that my prayers bored me but that is not the point. Boring prayers are just as important as exciting prayers. I was not praying for Patrick's miraculous healing from a life threatening disease. I was not begging God to save our marriage. I just wanted God to remove the obstacle that was hindering him from serving God completely. My prayers were very boring. We are now leading anything but a boring life. So, God took the boring and made it extraordinary. Why? Because He could.
So, for Who or What are you praying?
Are you thinking about being a ______? Do you want to give more to the ________ offering at church than your paycheck says is possible? Do you long to ______? Do you want God to use you mightily in _______? Do you want to go on the __________ missions trip with you church and serve cross-culturally ? Do you or someone you love need healing from ________? Then you had better start praying, don't you think? Voicing a potential prayer is not the same thing as praying. Don't be afraid to let God have your prayers: The deep prayers that are hanging around in the recesses of your heart just longing to find their way to the throne. Humble yourself, get down on your knees, and pray circles around them! Don't limit God. His "yes" means "yes" and His "no" means "no". In either answer He is glorified. In either answer your faith and relationship with God grow exponentially.
Let me give you one word of caution before you begin. Throw CAUTION right out the window! Let God fully have your prayers. Let Go and Let God! I am a living example that God will bless those prayers beyond anything that you could ever think or imagine.
So, what are you waiting for?
I am praying for you,
Kellee
Psalm 55:1
Wednesday, March 12, 2014
Fearing God Will Send You To Guam
Happy Wednesday!
The title of this post was taken from a calendar devotional by Jon Acuff. He is the founder of stuffchristianslike.net. During God's transformation of our hearts and home to Africa, Jon brought us great joy in the journey. We hope that you enjoy this post as much as we did. We love you and thank God for each and every reader. Our prayer is that you might take a glance at our crazy life and see how least likely saints can be used for the extraordinary. Just. The. Way. We. Are.
March 21, 2012
My biggest fear is hearing God say, in James Earl Jones' voice, "Jon, I want you to go to a country you've never heard of and teach Calculus and Bible stories. I have spoken." I'd have no problem with the Bible stories, but math is my sworn enemy. Would He make me do that? Probably not. Remember when Jesus approached some fishermen-strong and weathered, with callused hands-and said, "Come, I will make you accountants of men." Okay, he doesn't say that. He says, "Come, I will make you fishers of men." He speaks their language. He appeals to who they are at the core. That is what I think God loves to do. He loves to take your past experience and radically make it your new experience using skills you already have.
Radically New and Loving It!
Kellee
Monday, March 10, 2014
Prayers for Mara
Romans 10:17- So faith comes from hearing, and hearing by the word of Christ.
Please join us in praying for the languages in the Mara region that are waiting for God's Word in their heart language.
Ikizu-Sizaki
Ikoma-Nataisenye
Jita
Kabwa
Kuria
Kwaya
Ngoreme
Suba-Simbiti
Zanaki
Zinza
These languages represent people. These people need to learn to read, write, and understand God's Words. These people need Jesus. He loves them and so do we.
Until Everyone Has Heard,
Kellee
Please join us in praying for the languages in the Mara region that are waiting for God's Word in their heart language.
Ikizu-Sizaki
Ikoma-Nataisenye
Jita
Kabwa
Kuria
Kwaya
Ngoreme
Suba-Simbiti
Zanaki
Zinza
These languages represent people. These people need to learn to read, write, and understand God's Words. These people need Jesus. He loves them and so do we.
Until Everyone Has Heard,
Kellee
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)