Where is Home?

While I was in the states these last two weeks I found myself saying when I return “home” when I was referring to Iquitos, but then when I’m in Iquitos I always say “I can’t wait to go home.” So what or where is “Home”? We have all heard the saying “Home is where the Heart is”, but what if your heart is divided?

As Christians we know that no place here on earth is “home”, our home is where there is no more suffering, sadness, pain, or tears. Two weeks ago yesterday my Grandpa went home, he had been fighting for so long and the Father finally called him home. These last few months have been hard on the entire family, with lots of Doctor’s appointments, stays in the hospital and more surgeries. This last time when he was in the Hospital, my prayer changed; it was no longer “God strengthen him and heal him.” But “God, can you wait ___ days? I’d really like to see him one more time.”

I knew our time with Grandpa was coming to an end, but being a selfish human being I wanted just a little more time with him. I wanted to hear his laugh one more time, to feel a loving embrace, see his hard working hands and most of all to hear his voice. I guess Grandpa was just too tired.

I walked in the door of my house on Friday Aug 25th, 2011 and 3 of my Aunts were sitting in Mom’s shop getting their hair done. To feel their embrace, hear their laughs, and see their faces was like experiencing him. I’ve always known that I was blessed to be a part of such an incredible family, but these last two weeks have really opened my eyes to how blessed I truly am.
Although Grandpa will never meet my future husband, be at my wedding, or hold my newborn child, each family member that carries a part of him will bring his legacy to life as they participate in these life changing moments.

So “Home” for me is many places, it’s the house where I grew up, it’s in Iquitos, Peru where a group of strangers became a family, it’s walking in my church doors, it’s in a family members warm embrace and it’s in those peaceful, quiet moments when God reaches out and touches the heart of His child. Someday my Father will call me “HOME” and I won’t hesitate to go; I’ll be ready just like Grandpa was. Until that day I will continue to live out my faith, seek His will and build a legacy of my own to leave behind.

Loving Him, Britt

It's all about the morning!

"Be ready in the morning....." Exodus 34:2a

"The morning is a critically important time of day. You must never face the day until you have faced God, nor look into the face of others until you have looked into His. You cannot expect to be victorious, if you begin your day on your own strength alone.

Begin the work of every day after having been influenced by a few reflective, quiet moments between your heart and God. Do not meet with others, even the members of your own family, until you have first met with the great Guest and honored Companion of your life-Jesus Christ.

Meet with Him alone and regularly, having His Book of counsel open before you. Then face the ordinary, and the unique, responsibilities of each day with the renewed influence and control of His character over all your actions.

Those who have accomplished the most for God in this world are those who have been found on their knees early in the morning." ~From Streams in the Desert~

I have found this to be so true in my life. My whole day is off if I don't make the extra time to get up and have my time with Him. I can still remember when I was a little girl and would get up early, I would walk out to the kitchen or living room and find my Mom having her morning time with God. If she was in the living room, she would let me crawl up on her lap and rock me while I pinched her neck between my index and middle finger (This was something I did, like other kids sucked their thumb). We never said much until after she had finished reading and praying, if I was hungry I could go get a package of gram crackers, but I knew better then to ask for anything else cause this was "Mama's special time."

Mornings are my favorite part of the day, everything is new and fresh, it's the opportunity to start off a truly GREAT day! This morning I started reading the book of Job, and after the first two chapters I am reminded once again of what a wonderful man he was. I am looking forward to learning more about him and in turn applying what I learn to my life.

I hope each of you start off your day with Him, there is no better way!

My Vision

As a homework assignment in our Living your Strengths workshop we were asked to make a story bored of what we were going to do over the next 9 months. But, the interesting part was that we were asked to do them as individuals, not as pairs. So I had no idea what my partners story bored was going to look like and likewise she didn’t know what mine looked like until we presented them in our workshop.

Before I started my bored I cleared my head and thought about what I love. Can you guess what my first thought was? Kids of course! So I was thinking what can I do with these kids? Why do I want to reach out to them? What draws me to them? Then I saw the faces of my 2 nephews and 4 nieces and I thought about my hope and prayer for them. And that is that there is someone whether it is a Sunday school teacher, their parents, grandparents or a pastor who is investing in their lives and teaching them about Jesus and His love for them. I pray that they grow to love God with all their hearts at a young age, just like I did!

The truth is that I am here today because people invested in my life and as a result I accepted Christ in my heart when I was 7 years old. These kids deserve that same opportunity; I believe that they are worth my time. So my goal/vision is to see the faces of my nieces and nephews in every child’s faces here and to show them Jesus’ love, teach them about the peace that He can give them; the peace that they may never see or feel in their homes. And to bring joy to their lives, so many kids here are given so much responsibility at a young age that they no longer know how to have fun and be a kid. So I want Love, Peace and Joy for the kids of Iquitos Peru!

Now, the trick is to make sure that I balance my time with the kids and with their parents……..praise the Lord I have a wonderful partner who has a vision for the parents/adults! So we make a pretty great team. Just yesterday when we were in a ladies house her baby was getting a little fussy so as Esther continued with the lesson I got the little boy out of his high chair and started playing with him. After a while I could see that he was getting sleepy, so I stepped outside and began to rock him in my arms and within 5 minutes he was out. When he was good and asleep I sat down on the sidewalk and held him, as I held him I thanked God for the opportunity to have this sweet boy in my arms. And then I began to pray for his mother who was sitting inside learning about the AMAZING father she has who loves her even more then she could even imagine.

When Esther and I were on our way home she told me about how awesome her time was with the mother; I smiled and said that is wonderful, tell me about it! We both walked away feeling so fulfilled, although I didn’t read a verse or even teach part of the lesson I was a part of that woman’s growth that day. My heart was so full yesterday, all because I got to hold a baby; what a blessing from God!

In His loving and faithful service, Brittany