Sometimes (most of the time!) life doesn't go as we plan, and I find this to be more and more true by the hour.

To list all of the things going on right now would take days; but in the middle of this chaos, God is showing me that even this is holy ground.


Let me elaborate...

"But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons. And because you are sons, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, "Abba! Father!" So you are no longer a slave, but a son, and if a son, then an heir through God." (Galatians 4:4-7)

.As Christians, believers in Christ, God lives IN us.

So when they had come together, they asked him, "Lord, will you at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?" He said to them, "It is not for you to know times or seasons that the Father has fixed by his own authority. ⁸But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth." (Acts 1:6-8)

"And in the last days it shall be, God declares, that I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh..."(Acts 2:17)

For thus says the One who is high and lifted up,
   who inhabits eternity, whose name is Holy:
"I dwell in the high and holy place,
   and also with him who is of a contrite and lowly spirit,
 to revive the spirit of the lowly,
   and to revive the heart of the contrite. (Isaiah 57:15)

"And I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Helper, to be with you forever, even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him. You know him, for He dwells with you and will be in you... These things I have spoken to you while I am still with you. But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, He will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you." (John 14:16-17, 25-26)

To think that God, who can only dwell in the high and holy place, lives in me... absolutely astounding and all because of Jesus. It might sound overly simplistic, but my God is with me right now. In Genisis you read of  Moses. He was just doing his job, trying to shepard his sheep, and God came to him in the form of a burning bush. God was in his midst. Moses took off his shoes because he was standing on holy ground. Correct me if I'm wrong, but since God lives in us, wouldn't everywhere we go be holy ground? I pray that I will treat every situation as so.


Dad is in the hospital? holy ground.
Moving to tupelo? holy ground.
When life feels like a mess and I feel like I have no patience left in me? holy ground.

and all for His glory.

"Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing." (James 1:2-4)

 I don't know about you, but that gives me uncontainable joy!

“If you read history you will find that the Christians who did most for the present world were precisely those who thought most of the next. It is since Christians have largely ceased to think of the other world that they have become so ineffective in this.” ~ C.S. Lewis

I thought you all might like a small glipse at what I will be blessed with this summer....

Getting to put a smile on these precious faces...

oh, and clean them up a little ;)

...love on, pamper, and play with those at the carepoints, orphanages, and hospitals...

Feed these hungry bellies!

For most of these kids, that is their only meal for the day.

We saw this little guy almost every single day.

He was steadily talking to me in siSwati the whole time he was eating!

He obviously didn't realize how bad my siswati was at the time.

(If educated, the kids know basic english, which is such a blessing! Siswati isn't the easiest language! We definitely learned a bunch through our translator.)

- Susanna (story of this sweet little one to come)

Most importantly, tell them about the love of Christ.

That God's Son came to this earth and gave us LIFE in Him!

Tell them that they are beautifully and wonderfully made, not mistakes.

Tell them that the God of the universe, watches over them day and night.

He never grows weary or faint. He never get tired.

And is ALWAYS there for them. He never changes and never will.

He is the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End,

and He is worthy of all our praise.

He is good.

He is holy and just, and at the same time, He is grace and mercy.

He has a plan for their lives.

He know's where we are and knows where we've been.

(and still loves us!)

He works for the good for those who love Him.

He will never leave us or forsake us.

He is the perfect Father and He loves them, dearly.

 "There's no one, there's no one like Jesus. There's no one, there's no one like Him."

We will also be praying with those in the hospitals, hospices, those in there last stages of HIV/AIDS and TB, and loving on the children that most of these young parents are leaving behind. The life expectancy rate in Swaziland is 28 years old with an HIV rate staggering at 45%. Pray for them. Pray for us as we pray them and try to help in every way we can. God has a plan, and His plans are always for His glory and for good.