Engaged

It was late at night, and while most of the house was in quiet slumber, she had been in her room alone--with Him.  I knocked on her door and she welcomed me in.  She was sitting happily in her chair, Bible and journal open before her.  Her eyes and face shone as she exclaimed, 

I'm engaged!  

My eyes wide-eyed in wonder, I wanted to know the story. With the passion of a madly in love school girl, Valentine shared how it had happened.  

It had started earlier that day when she'd gone on a run in the countryside.  She saw a gray, heart shaped stone, and passed it by.  Then, as if He wanted to make sure she got the hint, she saw another bigger, heart shaped stone--but this time with a reddish hue.  She then received what was like a personal text message from the One she was falling hard for:  

I LOVE YOU

Hours later, sun already long gone, she was moved to the mirror in her bedroom.  She looked intently.  Instead of shame, she saw beauty.  She saw herself the way He sees her, and she believed it--she believed Him.

She said,

It was like Jesus 
took me to the mirror,
and said,

"Look how beautiful you are!
 I love you!
 Will you marry Me?"

And I said, 

"Yes, of course!"

A fallen woman.
A dirty woman.

Now dressed in white,
in the splendor of His Glory.  

Once muddied, 
now fit to be married.

The Big Day will be on Easter Sunday.
Valentine's getting B A P T I Z E D ! 

"And until that day, 
 I want to prepare myself 
 to be His bride."

Glorious! 
and still every bit of 
A S T O U N D I N G 

...

"My heat is stirred 
  by a noble theme
  as I recite my verses for the King:

  At Your right hand is the royal bride--

  Listen, O daughter,
  consider and give ear:
  Forget your people
  and your father's house. 

  The King is enthralled by your beauty;
  honor Him, for He is your Lord.  

   All glorious
   is the princess within her chamber; 
   her gown is interwoven with gold. 
   In embroidered garments 
   she is led to the King."  

    --from Psalm 45: 1, 9, 10-11, 13-14

Astounded

The lyrics below keep running through my mind, and my soul is singing on behalf of what is taking place right now in our new guest Valentine.  I've changed the words a bit to fit her circumstance.  Click here if you'd like to listen to the song as well, and sing it on her behalf. 

Astounded, astounded 
That Your gospel beckoned me her
Surrounded, surrounded 
But I've she's never been so free
Determined, determined 
Now to live this life for You
You're so worthy 
My Her greatest gift 
Would be the least You're due

This will be my her story
This will be my her song
You'll always be my her Savior.
Jesus You will always have my her heart 
--Befriended by Matt Redman

ASTOUNDED

tr.v.  a·stound·ed

overwhelmed with amazement;

astonished greatly;

shocked with wonder or surprise

Valentine
has now been here for one week.  Only one word keeps coming to mind the past few days about what I'm getting to witness first hand take place in her life: a s t o u n d e d.  

I am completely, in every sense of the word, astounded.  I am overwhelmed with amazement, and shocked with wonder at the work of God in Valentine's life in just one short week.  Let me fill you in with a little background first, and then I will share why I am walking around filled with uncontainable JOY about what's going on in her life.  

I knew

that one day she would come.  I hoped she would come--but really, I knew in my heart, one day she would be here with us.  

  

I didn't expect 

that she would be our first guest, and that her heart would be so hungry for the Lord.  

I knew 
that in the process of her being here, that she would come to know Jesus, and that she would change as He healed her devastated heart.  I knew these things.  

I didn't expect 
it to happen so quickly, I guess...within the first days of her being here.  Or so dramatically, and radically.  

Valentine 
was the top money maker in the brothel that I used to visit once a week.  She was the prettiest, the sought after one.  

Valentine 
was the one that turned away clients when I visited her, because, well, she was the girl in the brothel that had the option to pick and choose her customers.  

Valentine 
was also her p!mp's prized girl (at that time, it would be more accurate to say she was his prized possession).  I knew she had power in the brothel.  I saw her take control of certain situations, and just knew--this girl rules the roost.  

Nevertheless, out of all of the girls in the brothel, she was the one with whom I had the most favor.  She was the one who welcome me into her room at night.  She would close her door, and stop working, so we could talk and pray.  

I knew that she truly believed in Jesus.  I knew that Jesus was changing her heart.  I could see it.  But then, out of nowhere, she was gone.  After a year of seeing her almost every week, she was trafficked to another city.  This is typical in this business--never anywhere for too long (I consider it only the grace of God that we even had an entire year together).  Her p!mp decided it was time to go, and she would do what he said.  No time for goodbyes.  

Not knowing yet that he had taken her, I showed up one night to celebrate her birthday.  I had made her a vanilla cake with vanilla frosting, as that was her request.  I came with a new Bible, and with a handmade book I had made for her.  I was so excited to celebrate this special occasion with her.  I approached Valentine's room and was met by new girls standing in her doorway, telling me with as much pity as they could muster, "Sorry, she's working in another city."  I fought tears as they streamed down my face.  I knew that I wouldn't see her for a long time.  

Thankfully, Valentine had my email.  Over the next two years, when she was desperate for help, she would write, and ask for prayer.  We stayed in touch.  

Jesus continued to pursue her.  I received an email one time from her, describing a very vivid dream that she had had, of seeing the face of Jesus, and the Holy Spirit.  She said she was filled with joy, and that in the dream that she saw me, and said, "Look in the sky, it's Jesus!" and I said, "Yes, He loves you."  I knew He was continuing the good work He had begun in her.   

Months later I received an email telling me that she had run away from her p!mp and that she was trying to start a new life. She had a regular job, but was struggling daily with flashbacks of all she had suffered--not just from the job itself, but of being beaten and brainwashed consistently by the man who said he loved her.  

You like what you do!

You are a stupid woman!

You will never be anything more than a ________!  

Finally, again, by the grace of God, she had had enough.  She escaped from him.  She ran as far away as she could, and was in hiding for months before she contacted me.  

After months of prayer, she, and we, knew it was the right timing.  She was ready to do whatever it took to have Jesus heal her of all she'd experienced.  We booked her flight, and on Valentine's Day she arrived. She had warned me before on the phone, "I'm very different now than I was before.  I don't think you'll recognize me.  I don't wear make-up anymore, and I've gained weight, and my hair is different..."  

When I picked her up at the airport, she DID look different.  I had to truly study her face to know that it was her, and almost force myself to walk up to her, because honestly, she looked like death.  That was 7 days ago.  Now, she has come to life.

Astounding.  

I don't even know where to start except at the Name of JESUS.  Jesus has prepared her for this time and place.  He truly went ahead of her and leveled every mountain that could be in her way.  He had wooed her over these past three years, and she was ready, totally ready for whatever it was she needed to do to have Him heal her.  She has given him her heart, and is falling in love with Him.  

Valentine 
is now
smiling
singing
glowing

She is 
reading God's Word and it's coming alive to her

She is 
praying passionately for her family to know Jesus

She is
beaming with light and life and joy

Valentine 
is now saying things like

I'm filled with the Holy Spirit!

I'm like a flower, opening, and coming to life!

The only man I want in my life is JESUS!

Praise the Lord!

Halleluja! 

I want to go upstairs and 
read my Bible right now, is that okay?

I can't wait to go to church! 

And I see her with my eyes
and I hear what she says with my ears,

and I get all big-eyed,
and put my hand over my mouth 
to cover the drop of my jaw,
and I smile ear to ear
as I shake my head
in a daze of utter wonder and bewilderment.  

Like
come on, 
this is not REALLY happening right now 
in front of my eyes, is it?!
Is this really 
Valentine?

The girl I once knew?
The girl I picked up just one week ago?
The girl that cried and cried and cried
the first day of being here, 
as she told me what she'd been endured
the past three years?

I am Astounded.  Shocked.  
Wonder. Fully. Surprised.  

At her
At His work in her
At Him
At His showing off of Himself
at what He can do in her
in such a short time.

And it's like He's saying,

You think this is BIG stuff?
You haven't seen nothin' yet.  

Unless the Lord

i saw this sign at a store in the city
and had to get it for obvious reasons.
it now hangs in our living room.
gotta have HOPE up on our walls! 

It's hard to believe that the last time I wrote was in September!  Please don't think that my lack of sharing has meant that nothing of worth has been going on around here.  We have had many short term guests in the past months, and the Lord has been at work in the midst of these short but sweet visits.  I try to write only when I feel truly led to do so--and thus, why up 'til now it's been quiet.  

In September we received an email that brought me to tears.  The young woman who I was closest to in the brothels (where I used to minister once a week) contacted me.  She told me that she had quit her work, had left her boyfriend (her p!mp), and was now in hiding-- as she was working a normal job and trying to get her life back together again.  This was a HUGE step for her to take!  She was asking for my help--as her job was seasonal, and once it would become winter, she would need a new job, and a safe place to go.  

For this girl to get to this point is only because of the work of God in her life.  Since I met her three years ago, I have consistently seen Him at work in her, and have seen her respond in sincerity to Him.  Just so you know, statistically speaking, research states that once women in prostituti*n come to accept Jesus, it takes an average of six years for them to finally quit their work.  It's a process.  I have watched this process with this dear one, and to receive her email was like a dream come true for me.  I always believed that she would come here one day--but I didn't expect it so soon.  Again, this all happened in September. 

Anticipating her possible arrival, I began to get antsy for us to finish the women's wing of our home.  A year and a half ago, I wrote about our needs for the women's wing  here, and was generously given most of the bedding for the two rooms from a women's Bible study in California.  However, we were still in need of everything else--furniture and flooring and wallpapering and lighting...and, and, and.  

The thought of having this dear one come soon got me wanting to MOVE and do something to get these rooms done.  And although we didn't necessarily have the funds or even the clarity from the Lord to begin working on these rooms, I wanted to proceed. I figured that if I began to pray and do some homework (like get estimates on the flooring and wallpapering) that we would see what we could do.  

I tried to get an estimate on the wood flooring--

but couldn't find a sample I liked.

I got a good estimate for the wallpapering--

but couldn't find a wallpaper I liked.
Ugh!

This is rare--beacuse I know what I like, and usually I have no problem finding what it is I like and want.  I came to a dead-end, and in frustration brought it all to the Lord.  I opened my Bible at random, and my eyes fell to this verse:

Of course it would have to fall on that exact verse, as it's one of the two foundational scriptures for this ministry (if you look in the top right hand corner of the blog, you'll see it, and if you scroll down below the theme song, you'll see it again).  This verse stopped me in my tracks and I knew what I had to do--STOP all striving and trying to help the Lord build His house, and surrender it all into His hands.  It was actually a big relief.  

I still, however, continued to pray for our needs:

2 leather couches for our living room

A bed for our perhaps soon-to-come guest

Flooring, rugs, a bed side table

A reading chair for our bedroom...

A couple of months later, in November, we received another email.  This time it was from my husband's sister, who lived about 5 hours north of us, and was in the process of moving.

The email subject line: 

Furniture? 

Of course you know what's coming.  

YES, she was wanting to know if we wanted their

2 leather couches for our living room

(exactly the kind I wanted)

A bed for perhaps our soon-to-come guest

(yes, in the exact size and color of wood I had prayed for)

A bedside table and rugs 

(just like the ones I'd been dreaming of)

A reading chair for our bedroom,

and M O R E

In December we drove north, and came home with a huge moving truck stacked from top to bottom, FILLED with answers to prayer and also answers to secret desires of my heart that only God knew that I wanted or needed, and He provided it generously.  

At one point while we were practically emptying my sister-in-law's home, I almost began to cry.  The reality of the Lord providing in such an over-the-top, tangible, I heard your prayers, girl, kinda way was overwhelming.  

It's like He was saying,

I love you.

I know you.

I know what you need for the house.

I know why you want it.

I know you want to have the rooms all perfect 

for your hope-to-be-here-soon guest.

I know.

Just continue to do your part--

dream BIG!

pray

HOPE

and believe,

and I will do mine.

I will build this house

and I will get the glory for it. 

our new sofas, and unexpected coffee table too,
have turned our living room into a cozy place of beauty.
we are so grateful! can you find the HOPE in this pic? 

Unless the Lord builds the house,

it's builders labor in vain.  

We now have one of the women's rooms almost completely furnished, which is really exciting.  The new bed is all dressed in her white glory, footed by a beautiful rug.  The room needs an armoire, a chandelier, and wood flooring (as the current flooring is unfinished), and it will be just about ready to go.  We have invited this dear one I told you about, above, to join us in our home beginning February 1st, and we are waiting to hear back from her with a final decision. 

a little glimpse
of a dream come true bed

God's timing is incredible.  Just this week we received a call from a friend and supporter of our ministry, asking if there was anything we are currently asking Jesus for.  I shared about the guest room, and she replied, "That's good to know, because we felt the Lord wanted us to send you $_____ " (a certain amount of money...an amount that could very well cover exactly what we need done).  I sobbed at God's faithfulness and goodness--at His tangible love for me and for our future guests--at His exuberant display of provision and answer to prayer.  

a bigger sneak peek
bed, bedding & rug--
all answered prayers!

Lord, come.

Build this house.

Build this home.

It's Yours, all Yours.

May You continue to be glorified in it, 

and in the lives of all of us 

that you have brought here, 

and in the lives of the dear ones 

You will bring here in the future. 

Amen.  

Faith, and HOPE, Like a Child

Jesus said:

 “I tell you the truth, 

unless you change 

and become like little children, 

you will never enter the kingdom of heaven."  

Matthew 18:3

What do little children have, in terms of faith and HOPE, that we often do not?  I have been learning this lesson lately from our two little ones, and now, I think I see a bit more clearly as to why Jesus loved the faith of little children so much.  

Most of you may remember that earlier this year we lost our little kitten, Hope.  We prayed and we searched and we believed BIG that she would return, but she did not.  Thus, I have accepted the fact that she's not coming home, and have had the joy (and diversion)  of delighting in our new kittens that were born this spring. 

As for our children, however, different story.  Nine months later, they continue to mention Hope in prayer, at the most interesting of times.  Just when I think they may finally be over her (since we now have a total of five kitties to keep them busy), they ask Jesus for Hope.  Although it may sound so faithless of me, it pains me to hear.  I wince at their hope, wanting to protect their hearts from further pain.  

Example:  

A few weekends ago at Kids' Church, 

we learned a lesson to match this verse: 

 “Have faith in God,” Jesus answered. 

“I tell you the truth, 
if anyone says to this mountain, 

‘Go, throw yourself into the sea,’ 

and does not doubt in his heart 

but believes that what he says will happen, 

it will be done for him. 

Therefore I tell you, 

whatever you ask for in prayer, 

believe that you have received it, 

and it will be yours." 

Mark 11: 22-24

Of course at the end, the teenage girl that was teaching the lesson invited each of the children to share a prayer request:

What is it that you would like Jesus to give you?  

Our daughter answered,

"That our kitty Hope would come home."

(Wince)

What struck me is that children truly take Jesus at His Word.  

You're tellin' me to ask for whatever I want? 

Okay.  

Please give me my kitty back.  

Bring her home.

I love it.  Children don't pray common sense prayers. They don't analyze ahead of time, and come to the conclusion that their request, statistically speaking, may be completely outlandish.  They just pray.  For what they want.  The desire of their hearts is easy to pull right up and out, for a prayer request, and they expect to receive what they've asked for.

A lost sign, seeking after Hope, that Lovely helped the children make during her visit in July.  It was nailed to our kitchen wall, and still hangs, in hope that one day she will return.  I call this hope in action, kid-style. 

These are just a few examples of what keeps coming up out of our little ones' hearts, month after month; they are not giving up hope.  After I've buried our kitten Hope in my mind, my children lovingly prod me when I'm least expecting it with prayers of faith.  They have HOPE in the face of the impossible, and don't even bat an eye at their seemingly outrageous requests.  I think we can learn so much from their unfiltered, unmuddied faith.    It's given me fresh courage to pray boldly, and without the common sense this world has to offer.  

Let's become like little children

and hope & pray

 for the impossible in Jesus' Name, 

and then wait expecting to receive only the best

from our Father who delights in giving us good gifts.  

Surprised by Joy

A few weeks ago it was our honor to be surprised by some big time JOY.

To set up the scene, you need to know a few things.  These amazing two homes of ours have been graciously given to us for our work, rent-free, by K.  K inherited the homes and property from his Jesus-loving parents, after his father died unexpectedly of a heart attack about three years ago.  The land and houses were too much work for K's mother alone, and thus, his early inheritance.  K's father built these two homes, which previously were part of our next door neighbor's farm, into what they are today.  Up until 1989, the small house was a pigsty, and the big house was the barn for the cows and horses. 

K has a sister, who is very excited about and supportive of our work here in her parents' former home, and she came to visit us last fall with her then fourteen year old daughter, who I will call Lovely.  We spent the day making jam together, and by the end of the day I had invited Lovely to come and stay with us for a week if she'd ever want to.  Months later she said yes, and about a month ago in July, she came.  She had just turned fifteen.  

Lovely's main reason to come and stay with us was so that she could better her English.  

She, and we all, were surprised 
at what the Lord had in mind instead.

Funny, but weeks before Lovely's arrival, different people began to ask me the same question, at different times:  

So when are you expecting your next guest?

My answer:

We have no idea.  The Lord has been faithful to bring us the guests we've already had, and I know He will bring our next guest at the perfect time.  I mean, we have a teenager coming at the end of July for a week to better her English, but other than that, really, we have no idea when our next guest will come...

Little did any of us know or even expect 
what He had in store for her, and for us all.

Because I did not see Lovely as a guest the Lord was truly bringing to our home, but rather saw her visit through a different lens,  I did not plan to talk with her purposely about Jesus, or to read the Bible daily with her, as I have done with our previous guests.  I just figured we would spend a lot of time together at the local lake with the children, swimming and enjoying summer days.  Which we did, by the way.  

But there was more.  
I think with Jesus, there is always, more.  

On the third day of her visit, she came to sit with me on a bench that overlooks our garden.  It was twilight, and the children were playing on the grass before us.  A perfect summer day was coming to its end.  Then she gave me a gift, a surprise.  She said something like,

I was just up in my bedroom, and I had a special experience.  I was looking out the window, and I began to pray.  I was thanking God for this home, this place, this land, and this beauty.  And I began to cry.  And I told Jesus that I wanted to give Him my whole heart, not just part of it.

I sat there dumbstruck.  That was not what I was expecting to hear, at all.   She proceeded to tell me later that night, while we sat in our pajamas on her bed, about her life.  She told me about how meaningful this home is to her--this home that her grandfather's hands had built.  She told me of the summers she had spent here, and how it was still too painful for her older sister to return to see it, as the last time she had been here was her grandfather's funeral.  Lovely told me how much she had loved her grandfather, and how she had cried for months after his (seemingly) untimely death.  

Lovely told me that although she'd believed in God since she was a child, it had never been more than that.  She had had no desire to know Him more.  She thought the Bible was a boring book, and that praying at meals was a waste of time.  

Then The God of This Place surprised her.  

Seemingly out of nowhere, she met Him in her room while praying and overlooking the fields.  She didn't expect this to happen--it just happened, and she welcomed it, and Him, into her whole heart.  Astounding.  After shedding tears while sharing about her grandfather, she said something to me like,

I wish he could be here now, to see what you are using this home for.  I think he'd be so happy with what you are doing here, and I think he'd be so happy that I have given my heart to Jesus.  

She ended with,

I'm just SO HAPPY.  

The thought of how the angels,  
and her grandfather,  in heaven 
must have been rejoicing at that moment 
still brings me to tears.  

K told us the first day that we met him and saw these homes, that it was always his father's dream to use these homes for God's work and for His people.  Little did anyone ever guess that the hands that built these homes would one day be used years later to bring a certain granddaughter of his to salvation.  

It was more than interesting to me that Lovely gave her heart to Jesus on that July summer night.  Earlier that day, I'd had the impression that I should ask Lovely if she would be willing to begin to read the Bible with me each day, reading the Gospel of John (remember, reading the Bible with her during her stay was not in my previous plans).  She answered with an enthusiastic yes.  She said she'd brought her Bible with her--that she'd never read--and that she was excited to give it a try.  

Prepare yourself for another surprise.

On the third day of our reading together, after reading John Chapter 3 (remember, it's where Nicodemus asks Jesus how and why a man must be born again, and Jesus replies how you must be born of water and the Spirit?), Lovely asked,

Is there any way that I can 
get baptized 
before I go home?  

Sure enough, on her last Sunday at our home (really, it's HIS home), Lovely was baptized.  Here to join in her special day were both of her parents, her sister, K, her uncle, and her grandmother. 

After singing some worship, my husband asked Lovely to share with everyone why she wanted to get baptized.  She simply told a dead-quiet room her story--her experience of how she gave her heart to Jesus in the room upstairs, and how for the first time in her life the Bible had come alive to her, and...

Her sharing was interrupted by K bursting into a sob, who was filled with so much emotion he could no longer contain it.  All eyes went to him.  He excused himself and said, "I'm sorry, I need to get a tissue."  Lovely's father added, "Then bring the whole box back with you," and as we looked 'round the room, there was not a dry eye in sight. 

Who would have ever thought?

That from heartbreaking death, there would one day be life.
From ashes, beauty.  
That JOY would most assuredly come in the morning,
in the most surprising of ways. 

MORE

"God can do anything,

 you know--

far MORE

 than you could ever imagine

 or guess or request

 in your wildest dreams!" 

ephesians 3:20, the Message

as some of you may remember from my post Expecting, in january we welcomed our second long term guest.  she stayed with us for almost two months, and left for home the other day.  i've been antsy to write this post, because i'm so excited to share with you what the Lord did in her life that i'm about to jump out of my skin! can you tell?!?

to remind you, this dear one came broken, yet expecting. 

she came here expecting God to do great things in her life.

she even told her friends back home,

just you wait and see.

when i come home,

i will come back changed. 

i will  be a completely different person. 

i tear up as i write this. i can't help but cry at the goodness of our God.  He answered her prayers--her wild expectations--BIG time!  she DID go home a completely different person!  He gave her exceedingly MORE than all she expected, hoped for or could even imagine.  and we had the honor of watching it all happen, right in front of our eyes.  a-maz-ing!!!

"Now to Him

who is able

to do immeasurably MORE

than all we ask or imagine...

to Him be the glory..." 

ephesians 3:20, NIV

let's take a look at what a few of her expectations were...

She was expecting... HIM

to meet her
to heal her
to speak to her

to redeem her
to change her

okay...so...

• HE met her.   just where she was. He knew exactly where and how to find her, and how exactly to relate just to her.  He lavished her with His love, and melted her heart.  and better yet, she met Him!  she came to know the truth of who He is, and who she is in Him!  she said, He's the best man I've ever given my heart to.  can you even stand it?!

• HE healed her. oh, how He healed her!  He healed her and set her free from years and years of pain and shame.  she had no idea how He would do it, but He did it! and He went deep, and did a thorough excavation of her heart of hearts.  she told us, filled with such peace and joy, and with a huge smile on her face,  I'm going home, well and whole.  does it get any better than that?!

• HE spoke to her.  for the first time in her life, she heard His voice.  she read His Word and said it was like a love letter written just for her.  like a sheep knows its shepherd's voice, she came to know His sweet, sweet voice.  (i am trying not to start crying again at His goodness)

• HE redeemed her.  Jesus truly saved this dear one.  He saved her!  He rescued her from the pit and set her firmly upon the Rock, Himself!  He gave her new life, filled with more love than she ever thought possible.  filled with LOVE!

• HE changed her.  yes, He totally, undeniably did.  the girl that we once knew left here a completely different person.  she came broken--she left whole.  she came fearful--she left full of peace and joy.  she came ashamed--she left assured, of God's total and complete forgiveness and love and amazing grace.  when she would talk about Jesus, her face would light up a room.  her eyes sparkled, her skin radiated, her smile captivated.  this girl was brought back from death to life--but not just life--abundant life!!!

and what's MORE...

is that she left for home, not just saved and totally changed, but baptized!  in her daily reading (we read the Gospel of John), she came to the conclusion that she needed to be baptized.  it just so happens that my husband is a pastor, so baptizing her was no problem!  we actually did it here at our home.  we invited all of her new friends from our church and women's bible study.  we had a big slumber party on a saturday night, and sunday morning at 9am, she was baptized!  since it's still winter here with snow on the ground, we actually baptized her in a blow up pool, right in our living room.  it was beautiful!!! i wish i could show you a picture of her face when she came up out of the water, because her smile says it all.  (as you may have noticed, for our guests' and family's safety and privacy, i don't post pictures of faces). 

here she is, all robed in pure white,
right after she was dunked!
we were praying for her at this moment.
notice her ring, that was our gift to her,
inscribed with 2 Corinthians 5:17,
 "...if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. 
The old has gone, the new has come!"



and what's even MORE...

is that she became family to us.

we cooked and baked and cleaned together.

we sat in front of the fire at night,

and told stories, and laughed hard.

we took the kids sledding in the snow.

we did life together for two months,

and it was a joy.

it was better, more wonderful...

it was MORE!

than any of us thought that it would be.

isn't that just like our Jesus?

she came expecting Him to do great things, and He did.  but He did so much MORE than she, or i, i must admit, could have ever hoped for.  many times we were both in awe at the wonders He was doing in her life, every day she was here.  we'd just look at each other, smile, and shake our heads in unbelief.  and what's awesome, is that it was all HIM.  i can't take any credit for any it--all i and we did was open our home, and do our small part.  all she did was come, expecting. and HE, He did it all.  all for His glory, and all because of His great, extravagant love for her--His princess bride.

* * *

let's believe Him for MORE,

dear friends!

M O R E!

than all we could ever hope for our imagine!

even in our wildest dreams...