A Lived-In Life...

One afternoon last fall a friend and I pulled into our driveway after spending the morning out at the farm.  She smiled and said with all sincerity “I love the way your house looks so lived-in.”  I laughed and said “I guess that is one way to put it."  Maybe she was referring to the muddy boots piled on the porch or all the toys spread across the yard or maybe it was the vegetables growing in our flower beds and the chicken houses in our backyard.  I am guessing it was all these features combined that brought about her honest evaluation.  The perfectionist and proud side of me wanted to defend the chaotic state of my house but then I realized, “wait a second, we do live here…it’s not so bad for things to look like we do.”

Signs of life.  Evidence that we are truly alive.

“In Him we live and move and have our being…”  Acts 17:28

Maybe you are like me and you constantly find yourself cleaning up the same thing again and again.  Or maybe you keep asking, “Didn’t I just sweep this floor?”  Or maybe you obsessively rearrange and reorganize in hopes that all this stuff can somehow fit into this tiny house.  I have to admit I LOVE those 15 minutes after I finish cleaning when my house looks its best and everything is in its place but the reality is by the end of that same day those clean counters and sparkling floors are long gone.  There is mud at the front door, coats piled high on the shoe box, drawings everywhere, and toys spread across the floor, and usually there is a think layer of toddler slime on the table and the chairs.  Life simply must go on.

Wake up, cook breakfast, fill the sink with dishes, wash the dishes, do school,  do laundry, play toys, cook lunch, fill the sink, wrestle kiddos into their beds, take a breath, remember the One who is our LIFE, fix snacks, read books, draw pictures, cook dinner, fill the sink to overflowing, wash dishes, wash the kiddos, snuggle up, read the Book of Life, say our prayers, good night.  Wake up and repeat.

Sometimes I can’t get my brain to stay focused on what truly matters. I am often consumed with all the things that are temporary and passing away.  I am too often distracted by all the busyness.  But in those moments when I can see with spiritual eyes the mess around me brings joy instead of frustration.  When I can see with spiritual eyes gooey hands and messy mouths make me smile instead of sigh.  When I can see with spiritual eyes I am able to find beauty in the mundane things that fill these days.  In those moments my heart overflows with gratitude because I realize I AM ALIVE.  

“But because of His great love for us, God who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions - it is by grace you have been saved…” Ephesians 2:4-5

Not just alive in the physical but my heart has actually come alive!  It is not enough just to breath in and out and be able to walk and talk and think.  NO just living is not necessarily being ALIVE.  Just look around you.  There are so many people who go through the motions each day but as they lay down to sleep there is no hope beyond this temporal place, there is no source of strength and joy to sustain them through every moment, there is no LIFE within their hearts. They are surviving but not able to truly THRIVE and experience the abundant life that can only be found in Christ.

“I have come that they may have life, and have it to the FULL…”  John 10:10

There was a woman at the well.  She was there just to get some water, probably to take it home and cook yet another meal or maybe to wash yet another pile of dirty clothes.  She came to that same place almost every day.  Today was just like all the others but HE was there.  Jesus was there waiting for her, he was there to give her LIFE. 

In the midst of her daily chores He spoke straight to the deepest places of her heart, he made her recognize that her “need” for water was much deeper than she realized.  She was dead and He alone could make her alive.

“Whoever drinks the water I give him will never thirst. Indeed the water I give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life…” John 4:14

Have I found that place?  Have I taken a drink?  Has it become in me a spring that wells up to eternal life?

Some days I’m not sure.  Some days I have doubts.  These days I have been desperate in seeking His Spirit because I know that He alone can make me alive.

I pray that wherever you are and whatever you are doing, you will find yourself barefoot and desperately seeking to be made ALIVE.  

May all of our lives be lived-in…

SPROUTS OF HOPE

…We are here.  We officially moved to Nickelsville, Virginia on May 14th.  I cannot believe that two whole months have flown by already.

Change is always challenging but during a transition there is room to grow and to get to know the Lord in new and different ways.

When we made the decision to move onto the Lee’s farm last October we knew in our hearts is was going to be a short, transitional period, we just had no idea what would be next.  God is so faithful to provide for our every need and to lead us every step of the way, when we are surrendered to His will.  Beginning a journey with an unknown destination is a huge test of faith.  For us, every season of waiting is like a refining fire.  I am discovering more and more that in one way or another I am always waiting and hoping and by His grace trusting in His faithfulness.  

We never could have dreamed or imagined the amazing piece of property God would provide for us here in the southwest corner of Virginia.  He amazed us with the provision of a rental home close by to our property and He is reminding us each and every day that His promise to provide is trustworthy and true.  We have the most wonderful neighbors who continue to bless us with fresh veggies from their gardens and good conversation out in the yard.  We are starting to feel somewhat “settled” in to our new life here in Nickelsville, but as I mentioned above we definitely feel like we are still in a season of waiting for God’s purposes to unfold here.  We are waiting for the buildings to be built on the property, we are waiting for the Lee family to be able to move up to VA and bring all the animals, we are waiting for all the pieces of His vision for the farm here to fall into place, we are waiting to build a home on the property, we are waiting to see what type of business our family will be able to develop here to make money, we are waiting for our children to feel at home here, we are waiting for the Lord to bring new friends and relationships, and we are ALWAYS waiting for the day when Jesus comes back and His Kingdom comes in the fullness of its beauty and glory.  Waiting and hoping. 

We love gardening because every single aspect teaches us something about His Kingdom.  I don’t know if you have ever planted seeds and watched them grow into a plant that produces fruit but it can be life changing.  It is a miracle.  Here you are with these little bitty seeds piled in your hand.  You dig a hole.  You put the little seeds down there, in the dark soil.  You cover them completely.  You can’t even see them. You can’t check on them.  You can’t help them at all.  You just put them into the soil, make sure they can get water and sunlight and then YOU WAIT.  This time period is full of doubts and maybe even fear.  What if they never sprout?  Did you plant them right?  Are they getting enough water? Too much water?  Do I even have any idea what I am doing?

Amazingly, none of that seems to matter.  Under the soil there is something beautiful and miraculous happening.  Life is coming forth from death.  There is something new breaking forth right out of the old.  And although you have played a small part - you have NO CONTROL.  God Himself is the giver of life and the sustainer of all things.  He alone brings the rain and causing the sun to shine down on the earth.  We simply must wait and trust and if we dare we will have faith for the fruit.

“The one who sows to please his sinful nature from that nature will reap destruction; the one who sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life.  Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.”  Galatians 6:8-9

This is where I am.  I feel a little overwhelmed being here in this small town where I know no one and there is no one familiar for miles around.  I have had hard days that have made me wonder what in the world have I done.  I have had wonderful days that have given my heart joy and strength to keep trusting. I have watched my little ones cry because they miss their family and friends and I have watched them run and play and explore God’s creation with more joy than words can express.  I have seen the weight of decisions weighing on my husband’s heart.  I have also seen my husband become a stronger leader and a man totally dependent on the Lord.  I have felt crazy with emotion and had to face the true sinfulness of myself.  But I have also become more aware of my need for Jesus and more desperate for His Spirit to fill me.  I am truly learning to count the cost of following and my heart rejoices that it is worth it!  A million times over it is worth it all to know Christ and the power of His resurrection life!

“And do not set your heart on what you will eat or drink; do not worry about it.  For the pagan world runs after all such things and your Father knows that you need them.  But seek his Kingdom, and these things will be given to you as well.  Do not be afraid, little flock, for your Father has been pleased to give you the Kingdom. Sell your possessions and give to the poor.  Provide purses for yourselves that will not wear out, a treasure in heaven that will not be exhausted, where no thief comes near and no moth destroys.  For where your treasure it, there your heart will be also.”  Luke 12:29-34

One day you walk outside and there are little green sprouts everywhere.  It really worked.  There is actually something growing.  There is actually something alive and that something is going to bear fruit in the days to come.  That fruit will be a true gift.  Undeserved and unearned by the little part we played and yet it is given to us freely and abundantly. That seed will produce a harvest a hundred times greater than what we started with.

That is where my hope is found.  I am here waiting but I am going to trust that there will be fruit.  I am going to trust that there will be a harvest of righteousness in my own heart and in the hearts of my children and their children and their children’s children.  And that harvest is worth every sacrifice and challenge that I may face. 

The love of Jesus is completely free.  We can never earn it or deserve it.  We must simply receive it and embrace its power to change us completely.  But let us never be confused or misunderstand that following Him in His ways will cost us everything.  It will cost us our lives - but oh my dear brothers and sisters the life we will find is worth it all!

So wherever you are may you find yourself barefoot and filled with faith for the fruit that is to come.

More Space…

From the outside looking in, almost every aspect of my life has changed over these last six months.  We moved to a entirely new place, leaving our family and lifelong friendships behind in Georgia, and we crammed ourselves into a small camper that we have attached to a yurt, which fits a family of five quite snugly.  An average day for us before was to wake up, rush around, go to a play date or spend time with family, eat lunch, take naps, cook dinner, welcome Eric home, clean up the house, and do whatever activity we had planned for the evening, say our prayers and lay down just to start all over again.  Here an average day is much different.  We wake up all together and enjoy our family breakfast, then Eric goes down to the milk barn.  The children and I have time reading the bible and we do school in our yurt, with the sun shining in all around us.  Then we head outside and find whatever adventure awaits us - picking flowers, petting animals, making dirt cakes, or just playing in the woods.  I don’t often feel the same chaotic rush of “getting ready to go” that I used to experience each day and I do not miss the constant loading and unloading them into our van.  Since we still do not know many other families here, if we want to spend time with friends, we just walk down the path beside the chicken pen :)  We enjoy our family lunch all together and the children still take their nap.  Whenever they wake up we head back outside and help Eric with the evening chores.  We make pig salad or we just play with the animals in the barn until the sun tells us we should head home.  We eat dinner together and we often have worship times in the evenings.  Our life here is not picture perfect by any means, and the same stresses of life still find their way in, but somehow as the day ends I don’t feel the same way I did before.  Our lifestyle on the farm is very different but more importantly I think that I am different.  By His grace I think He is changing me. 

For the first time since we have been here I finally feel like I can express what God has done in me - I feel like my heart has more space.  That may or may not make sense to you but that is how I feel.  Somehow squishing my whole life into this little yamper and joyfully letting go of things that occupied my attention and affection in order to fulfill God’s call on our life has opened the gate to a wide open space in my soul.  I had not even noticed how crowded my heart and mind had become but as I find myself exploring this new open space in my heart I am overwhelmed with thankfulness.   There are many things that we left behind that I miss dearly each day but I absolutely know that this season of being called away from all things familiar has been a call from God.  I would never have been brave enough to find this open space on my own but God took me by the hand and led me into it.

Ecclesiastes 3:11 says “God has made everything beautiful in its time.  He has also set eternity in the hearts of men; yet they cannot fathom what God has done from beginning to end…”  Within all of our hearts there is a deep longing and a yearning for that which we were created for.  Each heart is searching for the eternal life that can only be found through Christ Jesus.  Once we come to know Christ, His Spirit is placed within us as a promise and deposit of eternity that is to come. 

Romans 8:23-25 says “we ourselves who have the first fruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait for our adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies.  For in this hope were saved.  But hope that is seen is no hope at all.  Who hopes for what he already has?  But if we hope for what we do not yet have, we wait for it patiently..”  

And so all of life is in a sense a patient waiting for Christ to come.   Somewhere along this journey I think that I may have lost sight of that reality.  At times I have forgotten about what I am supposed to be hoping for, even groaning for.  Waiting is hard and in our society we are good at filling our wait time with lots of productivity.  We read, we check email, we update everyone else on the fact that we are waiting somewhere, we listen to music, we watch tv, we make phone calls, or we get out our calendars and make a million plans about what we will do next.  Not that I am against multi-tasking or making the most of an opportunity to get things done :)  but maybe this mind set is robbing from us.  Maybe we are supposed to feel the quietness and the stillness and the longing that waiting provokes in us.  I am afraid that the busyness of life and all the lesser pleasures of this world have dulled our senses and distracted us from our first love.  

With little ones keeping me busy and constantly needing my care and attention, not to mention meetings and activities that often fill our evenings I am afraid that many days have passed by when I did not feel even the slightest longing for Him or His return.  All the things He has blessed me with and all of the many gifts He has given are never meant to be distractions but rather they are meant to draw my attention and affection even more toward Christ.  Too often I leave no room for the love and adoration of God in my heart and mind.  I leave no space to simply be in awe of Him or to respond to Him in thanks for all that He has done and is doing in my life.  I am afraid that my eyes are too often set on only what I can see but inside my soul is longing for what is eternal.  

In a unexpected moment God overwhelmed my heart with this realization.  As a special treat Jubilee and Mercy were sleeping on the fold out beds in the middle of the camper.  It had been a busy day and I was frustrated about the dishes and how dirty the house was, not to mention all the laundry waiting to be hung up after I was done so I was definitely grumpy.  These beds are in the same area as the kitchen so I told the girls they needed to lay quietly on the beds and look at a book while I finished my chores.  They were quiet for a little while and then they started asking me lots of questions and telling me about all the thoughts that came into their little minds.  It was fun having them there to talk to while I washed so I found myself smiling as I worked. Then right there at the sink, surrounded by dishes, my heart felt the weight of eternity.  I honestly think I could have fallen to my knees but instead I began to weep.  All day that day and most of the week I had been so preoccupied by all I needed to do that I had not even given thanks for my children and all the joy they bring to my life.  I was overwhelmed with the privilege and the responsibility of being a parent and having their little hearts to guide.  In light of eternity, all my values and priorities change.  At that moment I almost literally felt a huge space in my heart and I felt the urge to fill it up with love, praise, and thanks to God.  When eternity is in perspective the things that appear to be urgent and important seem to fade.  When my heart is totally captivated with eternity the work I do is a joyous overflow of the love I have for Christ.  I am able to see things as He sees them and that enables me to fulfill His purposes for me instead of pushing through the day to accomplish the things I have planned and still feeling empty in the end.  Jesus taught us to pray that God’s kingdom would come on earth as it is in heaven but to truly mean that we must desire His will above our own.  We must be willing to surrender all the things that are stealing the love, and affection, and attention that only Christ deserves.

   

2 Corinthians 4:6-18 says “For God who said ‘Let light shine out of darkness’ made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ.  But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all surpassing power is from God and not from us.  We are hard pressed on every side but not crushed; perplexed, but no in despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed…therefore we do not lose heart.  Though outwardly we are wasting away yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day.  For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us and eternal glory that far outweighs them all.  So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen.  For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.”  

How many days have I become discouraged, been totally distracted, or even lost heart in the midst of the mundane?  Oh that I could set my gaze on what is unseen.  Oh that I could look on the face of Jesus and find all that I need.  Oh that I could truly live my life for eternity!  This eternal perspective and perpetual longing for Christ to come in no way diminishes the value of my life here on earth, rather it provides the only true motivation and a captivating vision for what life is truly all about.  When my heart is set on eternity my day to day responsibilities as a wife and mother become opportunities for me to love Christ in tangible, physical, practical ways.  I have to rely more fully on His strength and to recognize even more my desperate need for Him.  All the joys of this life are only a glimpse of the joy that is ours in Christ, but what a blessing to experience these things.  Every human relationship and the challenges within them provide a place for His Spirit to bear the beautiful fruits of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control in my own heart.  What a miracle to behold.  In the midst of real life, our hearts learn the true value of eternity.  Paul declares that even if we find ourselves being pressed, perplexed, persecuted, or struck down we can have hearts full of faith and hope IF our eyes are set on eternity.  Oh what a life changing decision it is for us to live with our hearts set on eternity.

Hebrews 11:13-16 describes many of the great heroes of our faith by saying, “All these people were still living by faith when they died.  They did not receive the things promised; they only saw them and welcomed them from a distance.  And they admitted that they were aliens and strangers on earth.  People who say such things show that they are looking for a country of their own.  If they had been thinking of the country they had left, they would have had opportunity to return. Instead they were longing for a better country - a heavenly one.  Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared a city for them.”  

These heroes of the faith truly had an eternal perspective.  They lived and even died holding on to the hope of what was to come.  They knew that trusting in the promise of God, who had loved them and called them his own, was worth all the sacrifice and all the difficulty that they would endure.  Once they met God and He revealed His heart to them it became very clear that this world was no longer their home.  They set their hearts and minds on the country that is to come.  And we also choose to do the same when we begin to follow Christ and yet have we set our hearts firmly enough?  What a challenge it is to know that if they had grown weary and turned back to the country from which they came, God would have let them return.  And if they had returned they never would have fulfilled the great purposes and plans God had for them.  Oh how I pray that my heart never turns back and that I will be always looking toward eternity.

So wherever you are may you find yourself barefoot and brave enough to make more space in your heart for loving God and living for His kingdom.

Let us set our eyes on eternity!

How did we get here?  

How did our journey lead us to this place and this moment?  

I am sure Moses asked these same questions that day in the desert when God called to him.  A misplaced, misunderstood, murderer on the run living a simple shepherd’s life in a country far from home.  Moses saw the bush burning with flames that drew him to come closer.  As he came close God spoke and Moses knew that he had been found.  “ ’Here I am’ he said (as if God did not already know all about exactly where he was and exactly where he was going) Then God said to Moses, ‘Do not come any closer.  Take off your sandals for the place where you are standing is holy ground.’ ” (Ex 3:4-5)  I am sure Moses had walked his sheep all over this desert and maybe he had even been on this mountainside before but today was different.  Today this place became holy, it became sacred, it became divine because God Himself was in that place.  In their culture taking off your sandals was a sign of respect and humility.  Only in humility can we come closer to God, only in humility can we discover His plans and purposes for our lives.  So Moses took off his sandals and he also hid his face.  I cannot imagine the fear and the awe in that moment.  Then God spoke again, “I have seen the misery of my people…so I have come down to rescue them…and to bring them up out of Egypt into a good and spacious land…” (Ex 3:7-8)  God revealed His plans for Moses and just like us Moses had some major doubts.   “Moses replied ‘Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh and bring the Israelites out of Egypt?’ And God said ‘I will be with you.’ “ (Ex 3:11-12)  God’s response had nothing to do with who Moses was but everything to do with who HE is because that is all that matters.  Moses asked God what he should say if the Israelites had the same doubts that were in his own heart.  “God said, ‘I AM WHO I AM…this is my name forever, the name by which I am to be remembered from generation to generation.’ “ (Ex 3:14-15)  This day was the day that Moses truly met God and from that day forward God used Moses to do amazing and wonderful things: to save His people from Egypt and to lead them to the edge of the promised land.  Moses found himself barefoot in the desert, fully aware of the holiness of God and the power of His presence.  This day was the beginning of a great journey for Moses.  I too find myself barefoot before the Lord, humbled and surrendered to His plan for my life and excited for the journey that lies ahead. I pray that in my life God will be seen as the great I AM and that my children and their children, and all the generations after them will come to know Him and will give their lives to follow Him.   

Ultimately our journey has been a journey of coming closer.  God is always calling us closer and closer, deeper and deeper into His love. When Eric and I got married almost eight years ago, we had no idea where God would take us or what He would call us to do with our life together.  I was in college for the first three years so that kept us grounded in Toccoa, Georgia where we made some amazing friendships and discovered so much of God’s heart for the least, the poor, the broken.  This season was so rich and full.   During these first few years of marriage we were also exploring new ideas about the church and what it really means to live as God's set apart people in this world.  His Word was so alive and we were being challenged in all our traditional thoughts and ideas.  God really placed a passion within our hearts to see His family fulfill our true calling and purpose to love God and to love one another.  After I finished school we had our eyes set on going somewhere new and exciting, using Eric’s music to share the gospel, sharing our lives closely with other believers,  and finding ways to bring hope and healing to families living in poverty.  Then God surprised us and blessed us with our first little one.  Although we did not understand His timing we knew it was Him redirecting us and calling us to stay.  He made wonderful provision for us to move back to the Cornelia, GA area with our family to share the birth of our first child.

Jubilee Noel captured our hearts from the moment we saw her.  God chose to use her to do the most miraculous transformation in our lives.  Our new life as parents opened up a whole new part of God the Father’s heart to us.  We had no idea just how much Jubilee would be used to redirect our focus and vision for our journey.  God truly overwhelmed us with a passion for family and seeing God’s people embrace their calling to raise their little ones to know and love the Lord.  God began speaking so much to us through His Word and connecting us with so many wonderful people to model for us Godly family life.  Only nine short months later we were pregnant with our next little one.  Mercy Jade came into our lives and we were overcome with joy.  Again God used her to bring about so much change and transformation within us.  

As a mom, having two sweet little girls to care for and shepherd each day, I became profoundly aware of my desperate need for Christ and His Spirit to guide and direct me in every area of life.  This struggle with myself and my own sinfulness brought about deep and true repentance in my heart and a desire to know the resurrection power of Christ.   At the same time God was moving deeply in my husband Eric’s heart as well.   He was operating our recycling business so he spent lots of time in his truck listening to sermons and teaching and spending time in prayer.   This time was such a gift and a blessing.  The Word of the Lord is so powerful and so effective and it cuts to the heart.  I watched as the Lord truly broke my husband, leading him to genuine repentance, and then filled him with a genuine humility and love unlike I have ever seen.  Watching God transform my husband was the most wonderful and amazing experience.  Not that we have obtained the prize or reached the goal but we have found that only in surrendering our own wills and recognizing our need for God can we find the abundant life that Christ has promised us.  Every day we must surrender our will for His will and every day we will find His grace sufficient and His joy abundant for the journey.

During this season God was also cultivating in us a passion for farming and gardening and living a simplistic and quiet life that could be used to show His love to the world.  We have always known we are called to be different in this world and to shine His light into the darkness that surrounds us but He was speaking more specifically to our hearts and revealing more of His calling for our family.  He gave us vision for a self-sufficient homestead where our family could live and work and grow together.  We felt Him speaking to us that this was the environment where we were called to live and invite others onto our homestead in order to share our work, our faith, and our hearts with one another. We desired to have a place for people to come and rest, to slow down and see beauty, and more than anything to listen to God speak to them and give them His vision for their own lives and families.  

We are truly the least qualified and the most unlikely to end up as farmers in the mountains but God has a way of calling those who wiIl need Him the most.  SO in that case we are the perfect choice.  Although we do love the outdoors and eating delicious organic food we know that these things are just an added blessing of the calling we have received.  So although we enjoy learning about gardening, permaculture, and self-sufficient life skills our hearts are completely captivated with Chirst and His Kingdom first.  Oh that we can stay steadfast with our gaze set on His kingdom until He comes for us.

In order to accomplish the vision God had given us, we knew we would have to rely fully on God for provision, for wisdom, and for grace.  He has been faithful in every single way.  To summarize the whole story is challenging because it seemed that God was using a million small details to confirm and direct our path.  We had our third little one in November of 2012, our first son.  He has filled our hearts with the sweetest love.  Nehemiah Oakes has been such a gift and a blessing and God has spoken so many things to us through his little life.  Now as a family of five we were becoming more and more proactive in our search for property and a place to live out God’s calling for our family.  We looked and looked some more but God never opened the door completely for any of the places we found.  Some almost worked and then God would stop us and although it was challenging we trusted in His goodness and knew His timing would be best.  In the summer of last year some friends of ours kept telling us that we should meet a family they knew who lived on a farm in North Carolina.  Finally through a variety of events Eric talked to John Lee on the phone.  The conversation was such a confirmation and an encouragement to our hearts because their family was living out so many of the things we felt the Lord leading us into.  John and Eric were both amazed by the likemindedness they shared and the unity of the Spirit between their hearts after only one conversation.  Most amazingly we knew that God had birthed the same vision in both of our hearts.  We both desired to know Christ deeper through sharing our hearts and  life more closely with other believers for the purpose of learning to really love each other, bear one another’s burdens, share one another’s joys, and encourage one another daily.  We were total strangers but the Spirit of God had led us on such a similar journey and now He had orchestrated us coming together to move ahead in our calling.  Again, our conversations with them just continually confirmed that God had a Kingdom purpose in mind.  We knew in our hearts that God was inviting our families to work together to build a Christian community in a farming context where we could all learn more about God together and be a light of love and life to the dark world around us.   

Immediately things have moved into fast gear.  Eric joined John on a short trip to Texas to visit a large farming community where our vision was confirmed and enriched by the great example of agrarian Christian community there.   Next we went to NC to spend a weekend with John’s family.  As we drove home from the farm God spoke straight to our hearts that He was calling us to sell our recycling business, pack up everything, and move to join the Lee family in North Carolina.  We had been praying about property and starting our family homestead for almost three years and in the months leading up to our visit to the Lee’s farm we had begun to pray specifically for an older and wiser family to teach us and help us walk in God’s calling for our life.  We believe that He hears us and that He answers but sometimes in a moment of total clarity we just can’t believe His goodness.  We were in awe of His faithfulness to answer us in such a wonderful way.  All we could do was give thanks.  Our hearts were truly overcome with the peace of His Spirit and that has been our guide.  It made absolutely no sense but we knew it was His voice and we knew we had to obey.  So against all odds we were able to sell our business, buy a camper and a yurt, pack up all our things, and make plans to move in just three short months.  On October 14th 2013 we drove out of our driveway in Cornelia, leaving EVERYTHING familiar behind us and depending on God alone.  It was truly the hardest and the best day of our life so far.  In moving we knew that NC was just the starting point of our families’ journey together and all of us continued our search for the farm where God desired to do His work and call more families together.  The first few months were filled with building our little yamper home (a camper connected to a yurt by a wooden hallway that holds our wood burning stove)  We were all just getting to know one another and enjoying the newness of sharing daily life.  We were cooking together, working together, and spending times with the Lord in prayer and worship - shared life is truly rich.  All the while we were still seeking the Lord about where He was going to take us.  Obviously this was a process but eventually we found a farm in the beautiful mountains of southwest Virginia.  The men went and prayed and explored all around the 250 acres and they came home with the peace to pursue it.  Literally within a week God had provided all the money that was needed and our bid was accepted.  It would be ours in February…what?!?!  This was so fast and so incredible.  We truly rejoice at the goodness of the Lord and his kindness to allow us to walk on this journey of faith.

So that catches us up to today.  Both of our families just returned from our first official trip all together to see the farm.  It was literally more than I could have ever asked for, or imagined, or dreamed.  As we spent the day walking around through fields, across meadows, beside streams, and on the ridges of mountain tops I was truly aware of how small I am and how GREAT our God is.  

It had rained a lot previous to our visit so down in the meadow the creek had overflowed and it became somewhat of a muddy paradise.  This of course instantly become the highlight of the trip for our children.  Boots came flying off and little faces lit up with unrestrained joy and delight.  As I watched my three little ones playing, running, jumping - totally free to delight in God’s creation - my own heart was reminded of the sweet freedom I have found in surrendering to God and delighting myself in His ways.  So much of our lives are spent on worry and fear and frustrations over the things of this life, but God is calling us to freedom.  He is calling us to have hearts free from worry, free from fear, free from shame, and free from all the lesser loves of this world.  He has set us free so that we can truly LIVE!  I think in so many ways I am beginning to understand what that actually means.  I want to take my shoes off, to feel the ground under my feet and to experience the reality of God with me.  I want to recognize the holiness of every place and moment in which He is present.  Everywhere, everything, all of the mundane and all of the amazing moments…if I AM is with us then we have all that we need to truly LIVE.

So wherever you are, may you find yourself barefoot, acknowledging His presence and delighting yourself in His nearness.

-Sarah