my heart is so incredibly full already. and i haven't even left for ethiopia yet.
*this may wind up just being a rambling tonight....a way for me to record what God is up to over here. it's big stuff though. for me anyways.*
i have been praying about how to prepare my heart. how to help haley prepare hers for what God has in store for us in just a few weeks. it feels like a big job... to lead her by example in this area. to not just go and do this and experience that.... but to have a posture that is willing to not only go and do, but to hear and see all that God wants to teach us... to not just be a hearer that forgets, but a doer that puts action to what she has heard from the Lord... and that makes room to be able to see and hear in the first place. so... i've been reading, watching some videos about some of the places we're going, and most importantly, diving into the Word.
so here is where i am these days. pondering. camping out on several passages. abiding in these Words. dwelling on them and what God is saying.
Deut.14:28-29
Deut.24:17-22
Is.58:5-8
James 1:25-27
i love it when God stirs within us, a deep passion to obey His Word. when He gives us a holy passion and consciousness that beckons us to action. it's a beautiful thing. however, so many times in the past that i can remember, i have heard that same beckoning. the same promptings. but i have been what james calls a forgetful hearer who never put action to that faith. to what i heard. i guess i was that "religious" person with worthless "religion." i heard and didn't act. i saw and chose to look away.
the word religious means "manifesting faithful devotion." manifesting is a verb...action.... active....practicing....doing.
there are so many different ways across the board that i, as a Christian, a follower of Christ, can respond to these calls from God's Word. when i have seen specific opportunities, some have made my heart jump....some have made it sink.... some that used to make my heart sink, somehow, now it jumps at even just the thought!
God knows what those things are that i currently have a heart sinking bend towards, and He totally has me knee deep in them... and i'm pretty sure it's to totally refine me....to really get down to the gritty, grimy part of my heart....to show me whether my "religion" is true.... to show me where my motivations are.... to shine a light on where i lack faithful devotion... to teach me that loving others as i love myself is sometimes pretty difficult... to have me in a place where all i can do is be patient and wait for His perfect timing...it's just funny cause, He's been trying to get me to this place of willingness for years and now i'm ready and He says "wait." but oh how i trust Him! His plans and timing have always been way better than mine and i don't want to get ahead of Him!
so whether my hearts bend is to sink at the call or to just jump in and swim for it.... here's some perspective.
"what seems a drop in the bucket to you is a sip from the wellspring of life to someone about to thirst to death. let's muster the courage to ask Him to show us who to help and how. true religion is all hands on deck and all heads out of the sand. the mystery is that, there, we often find our own healing and fulfilling." quote from James~Mercy Triumphs
i'm praying that God adjusts my heart to have a perpetual bend towards compassion...mercy...empathy...action...no matter what that looks like.
our children have been such huge instruments of the Holy Spirit in our lives recently. their childlike faith in God and their love and heart for others in need have spoken loudly to dell and i and we are looking to the Lord to lead us as we seek to obey His Word.
God is revolutionizing the way the ledbetter family views "true religion." the way we view action and what action really is. the way we view devotion.
i'll leave you with a cute video i caught of jacob worshipping in the bathtub.... please pray with me that we will be not only hearers, but doers of the Word and that we truly will be willing to follow Him in whatever He leads us to.
