T- 7 days!!!!!

the time is almost here. ethiopia..... we are beyond excited for all that God has in store for us. we are expectant for Him to change our lives and rock our worlds. we are thankful for this work He has called us to and are amazed at how He has been seamlessly working out all the details. how He has graciously been providing. how thankful we are that we have a Father that always has much better plans for us than we ever could have 

on our own.      

                                          

"Now all glory to God, who is able, through His mighty power at work within us, to accomplish infinitely more than we might ask or think." ~ Eph.3:20

Will you pray for us this week?

*photo courtesy of Children's HopeChest

For continued health, healing of some dental issues I have had these past few weeks, for the final preparations of lessons, crafts, art, and music to come together that we will be teaching, for continued growth and unity within our team, for quality time with family members who won't be going with us and for their continued health and safety in our absence, for hearts that are prepared and ready to be receptive, for safe travel to Chicago, Amsterdam, and Addis Ababa, that we won't have adverse side affects to the malaria meds, for the dear ones we will be ministering to and serving, for Haley and the other teen girls' hearts as they will meet and serve children their very own age who's parents have died or are dying of AIDS, who are sick themselves, who beg on the streets and that live and eat at a city dump, who have to walk hours, one way, just for water, who work to survive. thank you for partnering with us in this way!!

Love~ Heather and Haley

a walk to beautiful

i wanted to share with you, this documentary about the fistula hospital we will be going to while we are in ethiopia...it is 52 minutes long... but i know, if you take the time, you won't regret it one bit once you hear the stories...see the faces...feel a new sense of what reality is for so many...these girls... they are so young... so beautiful... i wish they could see it... know it... believe it... my prayer is that we may be able to, for just one day, encourage them and speak these truths to them... that they matter, that they have value, they have purpose, they are loved with an unfailing and never-ending love... and that they are, so very very beautiful.

t -14 days

it seems pretty unbelievable that in just 14 days from right now, Haley and I will be hours into the first leg of our trip....our adventure... our mission to follow God into a new place that He has brought us to... a new experience... a new work that He has created for us..."which He prepared ahead of time so that we should walk in them." Eph.2:10     we will leave this frozen, beautiful, blanketed with snow wilderness...home...comfort... safety...a place where I continually hear Him speaking of His loving kindness and faithfulness into my life and reminding me from where He, by His grace, has brought me...that declares of His provision and blessing on us daily... a place where I can hear Him whisper His plan for our life and believe the promises that He has lain out for me, that I only need to reach out and take hold of... we will be on our way to ethiopia... to poverty...to brokenness ...to true need and desperateness...to the mother and fatherless and abused...to the unknown.

there have been so many things I feel like God has been teaching me, showing me and shining a light on... to prepare us for this trip and for the work He has for us upon our return...like...we live in and with excess and that we really need to examine our reasons and motives for what and how much we have... that there is ministry right here that God has given and placed us in as well as in front of, that we need to stay excited about...and not let that passion that He originally placed within us wane like a fire that starts to burn out and that turns into  quickly smoldering coals... that we are to love with abandon all those that God crosses our paths with and enter into their suffering and love them right there in it...or enter into their joy, with thanksgiving and praise... that like Peter, we should seek out direction from Jesus,  before we just jump out of the boat into a raging sea and storm because of our impatience or impulses or selfish ambition...but when He gives an answer,  be quick...  be bold and step out and obey and follow so that we can get right next to the Savior... even if that means walking through some hard stuff... I want to be beside Him... walking down the path less traveled and chosen...it struck me that in that boat, 11 other Christ followers sat and watched and weren't compelled to move and ask to go to the Savior as well... i kinda don't want to be  in the perceived "safety" of the boat...the safety of what's comfortable, the safety of what's expected, the safety of the norm... cause that's not where walking with Jesus usually is...the Savior never once chose the easy button...so whatever walking with Jesus looks like...wherever that takes me...whatever He has previously planned for me... that's where I want to remain.

God's also been teaching me what entrusting Him with one of the most precious gifts and blessings of my life looks like.

this girl. this joy of my life. Haley Joy.

i have so many hopes and dreams and prayers for her and her life. Phil.4:8, Proverbs 4:23, Proverbs 3:3-4, Proverbs 31 are some of the scriptures i'm claiming for her... here is a poem i came across by an unknown author...how i want her to be set apart and to not just fit in...

"when everyone is stomping and marching and going to the right. "this way!" they are shouting with all of their might. and you feel like you could, you would, you should, even if it means you are misunderstood...

i hope you don't fit in.

i hope you dance in circles around and around, twirling and jumping with your feet off the ground. i hope you sing a song that's different than theirs, and break out a game of musical chairs...

i'm glad you don't fit in.

when everyone is yellow from head to toes..neon yellow, mustard yellow and on and on it goes. they want you to be yellow and look all the same, but you are blue and red and you feel  shame.

i hope you don't fit in.

i hope you take your blue and your red and add purple too and green and orange and every other hue. i hope you paint your world with colors every which way, putting hearts and rainbows and love on display.

i'm glad you don't fit in.

when everyone jumps in without thinking twice, they turn to you and say, "here's some advice. do what we are doing because it's the in thing to do. what's there to think about? you know you want to."

i hope you don't fit in.

i hope you go on your own way blazing your own trail. not afraid to move on and let your dreams set sail. lead with your heart and keep your eyes open wide. let love and compassion and joy be your guide.

i'm glad you don't fit in

when everyone uses words that should have remained unsaid and you feel the negativity start to spread. when ignorances and prejudices come out to play and the feeling of hate begins to give way.

i hope you don't fit in.

i hope you shine like the light that i see in your eyes and know that you don't have to compromise. integrity and character are things to hold dear. as well as a pure heart and a conscience that's clear.

i'm glad you don't fit in.

when everyone feels entitled and demands  become great. and gratitude is lost and nothing's worth the wait. when others are stepping stones to get to the top. and they turn around hoping they'll see you flop.

i hope you don't fit in.

i hope you treat others with kindness and respect and know how your actions directly affect. lift others up and up and you will soar too. and to yourself and family, always be true.

i'm glad you don't fit in.

yes, this world will tell you which way to go. who to be, what to think and what you should know. it will want you to take the easy route, but then you wouldn't know what life's really all about.

i hope you don't fit in.

as you fly through the sky on your very own cloud, know that it's ok not to follow the crowd. different is good; different is allowed; you really should know, your mama already is so proud.

i'm so glad you don't fit in.

so as Haley and I leave our wonderful winter wonderland and step out into this unknown, divine assignment in just 2 weeks, will you pray for us and with us?

for health, safety, boldness, great trust and faith, provision, eyes to see, hands that help, a heart that feels and for these 2 lives to never be the same.

dwelling

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

http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=deut.%2014:28-29&version=ESV 

Deut.24:17-22

http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=deut.%2024:17-22&version=ESV

Is.58:5-8

http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=is.58:5-8&version=ESV

James 1:25-27

http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=james%201:25-27&version=ESV

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.

7 weeks!!!!

It's hard to believe that in just 7 weeks, Haley and I and our team will be leaving for Ethiopia! We are so very, very excited! So expectant! God is doing big things in our hearts and I know it's gonna get even bigger once we are there. So many questions already fill my mind......

-Will I just go back to my normal, blessed way of life? God forbid.. I pray not... but what does that look like? To be face to face with desperate need, poverty and countless, father and motherless children that desperately need and want love, and a forever family. To then return home.... To comfort. To excess. To stuff.

- How will this change Haley? Her world view. Her young and tender loving heart. Will this be a catalyst that thrusts her towards loving Jesus and others more?

-What does being changed forever, through and through, even look like? What will it look like for the Ledbetter family? 

-What's next? We have always had a heart for an even larger family and adoption...Dell and I. We already feel called to fostering children here in Wisconsin and already have applications and paperwork filled out. What and who and how and what do we choose? 

-Am i ready? For all the work God's gonna do. For all the overhaul I know He's bringing to our life. For the changes that are imminent. For the refinement.

God is up to big things, and Dell, in such a cute and sweet way, has made some predictions..or maybe they're even prophecies. WE~as a couple~ as a team~ as a family~ are so excited and ready for whatever God has in store for us all and I am so thankful for this man God has gifted to me....this leader...this friend....this dad and shepherd of our family! 

This life is such an amazing journey, and it is unbelievable, unfathomable, how God orchestrates and moves and works and brings these divine appointments and assignments into our lives at just the right moment and precise times. 

~Prayer requests~
 -Haley and I have appts on Tue. to get information and receive some of        our vaccinations. The others will hopefully be ordered and received ASAP.

- For the financial end of things to come together. *if you feel led to partner with us in this way, please follow the link and instructions at the bottom.*

-For the continued health of our team.

-For relationships within our team to continue to grow and deepen with each other.

-For Haleys passport to get here soon!

I'll leave you for now with Ephesians 4:14-21. What a great, big, mighty, loving, righteous, all-powerful and knowing Lord Christ that we serve and what a gift our Helper gives...His Spirit that dwells with us... in us. I pray that this will be the prayer of your heart tonight, for your life, wherever you are at in your journey.
" For this reason I bow my knees before the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth is named, that according to the riches of His glory He may grant you to be strengthened with power through His Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith- that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may have strength to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and  to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God. Now to Him who is able to do far more abundantly than all we ask or think, according to the power at work within us, to Him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen."














www.hopechest.org
Give
Trip payments
Reference # ET130302T
Notes Field: Heather and Haley Ledbetter

Ethiopia

                                          March 9-17,2013  

Greetings!!!!

It's been a VERY long time since I posted anything on 

this old blog! But God's doing big things this year in the

Ledbetter family,which we can't wait to share with you in

the months to come.

But here is a little start!

We have been praying about a very meaningful way to launch

Haley into her teen years; a life changing and shaping experience 

that will greatly impact her life and would, simultaneously, be of

ministry to others. The answer, to our great surprise, came in the 

form of an opportunity to provide ministry to orphans and vulnerable

children in Ethiopia, with Children's HopeChest, in March.

We will be going with several others from our church and meeting

up with our leader and translator in Addis Ababa. From there, we will go

to established orphanages, as well as visit ones that, even yet, still need

sponsorship and funding. We will have the great blessing of leading 

activities and classes for the children, serving and supporting the 

orphanage staff in whatever capacities they need us to, and sometimes, just holding the children and letting them braid our hair. We will be taking the

orphanages live goats, which means, a very special feast for those children!

Some orphans get phased out of the orphanages as early as 13-14 years

old. This sets them up for a hard life. They wind up poor and on

the streets, and all too often, as prostitutes. We will also be going to a home that takes in these children that have "phased out" of the orphanages. They further educate them and teach them life skills and a trade so they have the hope of a better life and share with them the HOPE OF LIFE~ JESUS!!!

The cost of this trip, is by far, the most daunting part; a great test of

faith for me personally. But God is bigger than any fear or apprehension!

He has placed a very great, expectant excitement and desire in both 

Haley and my hearts and so we are doing a "trust-fall," and committing to go and believe Him to be our great, Jehovah Jireh!!!

will you consider partnering with us?

 Our prayer needs are great:

health, safety, visas, an ever-increasing heart burden

and love for those we'll be serving,finances, for lives that will never

be the same, family logistics.

Pray against:

fear, apprehension, illness, injuries, spiritual attacks.

If you feel led to partner with us financially, you may give to us directly at:

8660 HoneyRock Rd. Three Lakes, WI 54562

OR

for a tax deductible donation(HopeChest will send you a receipt)

go to: www.hopechest.org

Choose: GIVE

Trip Payments

Reference # ET130302T

Notes Field: Heather and Haley Ledbetter

* If you choose the latter support option, please accept

our heartfelt gratitude in advance for partnering with us! We so appreciate your gift! HopeChest protects their donors confidentiality, so we will be unable to access donor names and therefore, will be unable to send a personal "Thank You."  God knows who you are!!*

Finally, we would LOVE to share with you the WORD God has given

us for this time and trip.

Micah 6:8 "He has showed you, O man, what is good.

And what does the Lord require of you? To DO justice and to LOVE mercy and to WALK humbly with your God."

James 1:27 "Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to VISIT orphans and widows IN their affliction and to keep oneself unpolluted from the world."

Deut. 6:5-7 "Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. These commandments that I give to you today are to be upon your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up."

Thanks for checking in! I'll be posting more as we get closer!

Love and Blessings~ Heather and Haley

haleys horse show

on june 20th, haley was in her first horse show! she has been taking english riding lessons from the ranch manager , becky webber, off and on since we moved to camp almost 3 years ago. what an opportunity and fun blessing for her! she has really enjoyed it and is actually pretty good.

she competed in 4 classes and out of 12 and 14 other riders, haley received 2, 4th place ribbons and 1, 6th place ribbon! not too shabby for a first time show horse and rider!!! we were very proud of her and it was all so fun!

it happened to be one of the hottest days of the summer and poor ginger(the horse) and haley were so hot! but nothing could bring her down......

ginger, haley and becky......first time honeyrock horse, rider and trainer champions! woot woot!

so back in the spring we......

hung out on lake superior.....

went to "the edge" in duluth with grandma debbie......

haley was riding ginger a whole lot to get ready for her horse show...

jordy turned 6 and had a really fun party with his friends....

jordy with his blanket from lauren...he loves it.....

happy camping......

carving away....

jacob planning his attempt at skateboarding on gravel....

lots of playing in the mud....

went to our friend melissa's wedding in milwaukee....

honeyrock ladies......

that's a little glimpse into our spring which quickly turned into a very busy and fun summer.....more to come on that soon!

why hello again......

well...here i am again after many months of not posting a single thing....

i have a few good reasons, however. first,our computer was broken and it wasn't a priority to get it fixed at the time. second, even if it had been working, i may have had the same result anyways. it was a beautiful spring, summer and fall, full to the brim of excitement, activity, friends, family and countless hours spent out of doors so there most likely wouldn't have been enough time to post anything anyways. which brings me to my third and final reason for not sharing our lives with you more regularily.....the internet at camp is still just as slow as ever and the frustration it stirs within me as i sit waiting for pics to upload just in time for the wind to blow the internet away at that exact second: it infuriates me!!!!

above is one of my favorite pics of late.... i love the bridge that leads to cathedral pines.( the place where we have worship services in the summer.) it's a great place to sit and have a quiet time....

in the next few weeks i will try to catch you up on our past few months...loads of stories and pics to share....

~New Life~

My friend Cheryl had her 4th child on Tuesday. His name is Blake Gabriel Pulver.

I went to visit them in the hospital and took pictures of these precious, sweet moments.

Here are a few of my favorite shots.

party time!

Talia and Jacob have turned 4 years old and as cliche as it sounds, it seems like just yesterday they were born........time has surely flown by. (Haley made the above banner for them.)

As well as being cousins, they are such good friends. (Talia said she's marrying Jacob!!! LOL)
They discussed what they wanted to eat for their birthday dinner.....here's what they came up with........ macaroni and cheese, salad, strawberries, quacamole and chips, sunbutter and jelly sandwhiches and chocolate cake with strawberries.

Talia is 2 days older than Jacob, born on Feb.25, 2006.

Jacob was born Feb.27,2006

We celebrated their birthday on the 26th. It was alot of fun.

This boy is a wild, crazy, adventurous, funny, loving, smart and happy little guy.

This little beauty is so sweet, helpful, funny, kind, full of drama and she has such a loving spirit.

They were so happy Charlie came to their birthday party.

Here are some pics of them opening gifts.

Such power it takes!

...Happy Birthday Talia and Jacob......

......Happy Birthday to you!

We had a tray of cupcakes as well as the cake I made.......we had all the HoneyRockers over for the cake and ice cream and my little cake wouldn't have gone very far.....

Ezra slept through the whole thing!!! I was able to hold him for a few minutes right before the Crisco clan left......He's so cute and getting so big!!!!

Charlie came over on Jacob's actual birthday before he left and gave him this Minnesota Twins shirt. Jacob has worn it every day. I finally took it away to wash it a few days ago. He loves Charlie.

He's a big boy.....but he'll always be my baby.