Perfectly Said

"We don't adopt because we're rescuers. We adopt because we're rescued." David Platt

Anything: The Prayer that Unlocked My God and My Soul

At the suggestion of a friend, I ordered the book Anything:  The Prayer that Unlocked My God and My Soul.  It's author Jennie Allen's journey from morality to surrender. 

Jennie was raised in a strong Christian home and professed faith for as long as she can remember.  There were family devotions, church programs, youth group...all the traditional expressions of religion.  But for her, faith was about doing the right thing, keeping all the spiritual plates spinning, and adding in enough God to feel the American dream was her right and blessing.  That is, until she came face to face with who God really is and what He really desires.

"I used to think knowing about God was the same as knowing Him," she says.  But, "Scripture describes a radical, reoriented life for those who trust Christ-one full of living for the invisible and the future.  It is a life fully surrendered to an invisible God whose agenda for my time here is contrary to my own, a life very different from the safe, comfortable one I was creating.  I started craving something that had never seemed acceptable to me until that day...a reckless faith, a faith where I knew God was real because I needed him, a faith where I lived surrendered, obedient, a faith where I sacrificed something...comfort or safety or practicality...something.  But my heart raced faster when I thought of it, and something resonated."

And thus began a journey of surrendering everything...everything...for the glory of God.

"We were just so tired of normal.  We loved our simple, sane life, but now we wanted to find the kind of life you only find if you lost normal, simple, and sane.  God was real and heaven was coming, and I wanted to hold every moment on earth in light of that moment when I would meet God face-to-face.  I was ready to forsake this life for the next.  I wanted him to unreservedly have me, so that when I faced him, we would both know that my life was spent on everything he had dreamed for me.  I wanted to be right with God at the end of my life rather than right with all the people in it."

When we examine our focus in life as believers, doesn't it really come down to the question she asks,

"Do I believe in the invisible enough that I'm willing to live for it?"


Randall and I have been in a state of perpetual surrender for a long time now.  We've been praying dangerous prayers like many other believers, those in the tidal wave.  Prayers like,

"Anything God.  We'll do anything you ask."


Adopt?  Yes.
Share our home?  Yes.
Stay in Ct?  Yes.
Move across the ocean?  Yes.
Feed the poor?  Yes.
Sit with the dying?  Yes.
Preach the Word?  Yes.
Stay silent?  Yes.
Love the unlovable?  Yes.

Does it scare me?  Yes!  Following God in a radical way causes a terrifying mix of adrenaline rush and nausea! 

"I often hear this objection to abandoning everything: 'What if God calls me to go to Africa or something as sacrificial as that?'  to me, there is something mysteriously troubling and intriguing in Africa.  It represents everything we are not in America.  They are suffering and yet content.  Hungry and yet grateful.  Broken and yet strong.  This represents everything we live afraid of losing.  Something about Africa exposes our little gods.  The thought of leaving America and all it offers can show us what we love more than God.  So, am I willing to do something as reckless as going to Africa?  I believe that being willing to abandon everything requires being willing to go anywhere- and willing to let go of everything."

Who else is willing to do whatever He asks?

If you feel the Spirit stirring in you, asking you for more...waiting for you to surrender your everything so that you're willing to do anything, read this book!  Surrender to God and find the ride of your life! 

Did You Ever Feel So Blessed

Did you ever feel so blessed you thought your heart would burst?

 For glimpses of sisterhood

 For first time splashes and utter joy

 For one more year with a gentle soul

 For the love of a father

 For the happiness of family

 For the joy of birthdays

Did you ever ask God why it is that you have more blessings than you can number? 

Did We Make It...Living on Less?

The answer is no.  Sigh.

We tried.  Hard.  As in pasta from Aldi's.  But Mother Hubbard's cupboard was bare.  Bare as in no pb for a sandwich kind of bare.  We didn't buy any snack food to replenish, but we did buy more basics.

The lesson learned?  When trying to save money, it's not that easy to cut the food budget with 5 kids, 3 of them boys.  We knew it, but still thought we would try!

We still donated the same amount this pay period, but have to take it from other budget categories.  So, if you see my kids walking around with holes in their socks.  Be compassionate and say nothing.  At least not for two more weeks.  :-)