Category Archives: news

new year. new approach.

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Sometimes I don’t want to blog because I can’t sum up all that I’m thinking and processing in a single eloquent post, which then paralyzes me from ever communicating anything of what is going on in my life. It may be that it’s the first day of a new year and I am thinking of the potential of all that a new year represents, or it may be that I spent most of the day watching Community in my in-law’s living room and I’m wanting to feel some sense of accomplishment before the day is over, but I am resolving to revamp what I use this blog for. Mostly I want to trick myself into not feeling pressured or obligated to write blog posts….. so that I actually start writing blog posts. Every post doesn’t need to change your life. Isn’t it all about the little moments, anyways? So all this is is me committing to thinking about what I want this blog to be… I’ll get back to you. And hopefully 2012 will be a year full of posts that honestly and creatively express those little moments that may or may not change your life.

Cheers to a new year of possibilities… Happy 2012!

A new season has begun!

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So here we are in Florida, having gone from one end of the country and back again. We have finally laid some roots. We unpacked our car with the distinct pleasure of knowing that we will not need to pack it up again for at least 2 years! I put dishes in cupboards and toiletries in cabinets! Woohoo! Simple pleasures, I guess.
We are here in Sebring, FL to work with The Great Commission Bible Institute, a 10 month discipleship and Biblical studies program committed to taking a small group of young people, equipping them with the ability to understand the Word of God, and sending them into their circle of influence to make an impact for Christ. We’ll be living on campus with the students and in charge of their day to day life and ministry activities. We also get the distinct privilege of having one on one discipleship relationships with each student, helping them to get the most out of their experience of having one year devoted to letting the Bible shape their worldview.  We are so excited to be a part of this program because it was life-changing to both David and I when we were students in 08-09. Now we get to be a part of that in other people’s lives.
We are also excited because it means we get to invest into a community; we have spent the last year traveling from place to place, staying with new people every week. What an adventure it has been! But, oh, how we have longed to have more than a few days to invest into people’s lives and then move on. We have missed that all important piece of life that God has designed us to have: Community. And as we have had a community deficiency this year, we feel especially passionate about making it a priority now that we are in Sebring. We want our lives to be shared. We want our doors to be open. We want to sit down to meals with our fellow Sebring-ites. We want to be poured into and to be poured out into the lives around us.
So what does this mean for my music? I don’t know exactly yet. I know that I am still ready and willing to share the songs God gives me whenever the opportunity arises. I know that I want to continue to write music as the Spirit leads. So we’ll see what happens with that. We also have summers off, so maybe there will be a chance to have some mini tours during the summer months… also a good excuse to escape the heat of the Florida summer :) .
So please continue to follow what God does in our lives in this next chapter together!

Closure and Opening

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It’s 10  pm now and I am finally sitting down to write a little about the past few weeks on our journey. We will be waking up at 4  am tomorrow to get to the airport on time for our flight to Hawaii. It just never seems to stop that we have a new place to head to! Sometimes our choice for this year feels like an extended vacation and sometimes it feels like an exhausting (but rewarding) job as we are constantly on the move without a spot to call home. But difficulties though there are, we would not trade a moment of this year for anything. It has been God’s gift to us that we are forced to find our sense of Home and Rest in Him. And you can only complain about  traveling too much for a second before you realize how fortunate you really are…. or someone tells you to zip it.

It has been a very significant few weeks as we had our last few stops along the tour trail, and made our way back to Montana for some quality time with the Nickisch clan. To catch you up, we spent just over a week in Avon, Indiana, a little town outside of Indianapolis, In with some friends of mine from my time in YWAM Amsterdam. They are so much fun and I had a blast reconnecting and reminiscing with them. Amanda also claims to be one of my biggest fans, so as soon as she knew we were going to be making our way through, she was on the job of getting opportunities for my music to be heard. They are a part of a really neat church in Avon called Nehemiah Project. I led worship on Sunday there and shared in the house groups throughout the week. That community of believers just rallied around us as they caught the vision of what my music is all about and our heart in traveling around to share it. This town is also where I got to play in, officially, the COOLEST venue ever! One of the families at the church have an old barn on their property that they let friends sometimes use for weddings and concerts. We turned the inside of the barn into a concert venue with old tree branches, mismatched chairs and couches, an antique frame propped up behind where I sat, and about a kajillion candles. It was the moist beautiful setting to sit and soak in some heartfelt folky tunes. It was such a successful venue that we planned to make our way back through Avon and have another show in the old red barn in July. But this time it will be a Singer/Songwriter showcase since there are a number of talented musicians in their church body and surrounding community. I am really excited to revisit this little town and see if we can draw even more people in for a one-of-a-kind show!

After Avon we made our way north to Goshen, IN with an exciting yet strange thought looming… this would be my last show on the tour. We had set our date to head back to Montana months before in order to be back for David’s baby sister’s graduation from High school, and now that date was only 2 days away. It had seemed so distant a little while ago, but how time has flown. So anyways,  after a passing a few horse and buggy’s, we arrived in Goshen where we met up with Jeremy Byng, whose dad we know from Sebring, at Grace Community Church. Jeremy was kind enough to rework their normal once-a-month worship night so that I could share my songs and their stories for part of the night. After I did so, Jeremy and I led some worship together, which was awesome. People were very responsive and there were a few people that shared with me that how they had really heard from God in a specific and impacting way through my songs. We also got to share about our plans for the next step in our lives of working as the Site Coordinators for the Great Commission Bible Institute in Sebring, Florida. A couple interested young people grabbed us to express their interest in the program so  it was a fitting end to the tour; I got to share my music and then we got to sing the praises of this awesome Bible school we get to be a part of. It left us feeling a sense of closure and a sense of a new chapter opening at the same time. God is good.

Now we are back in Montana… well, at least for another 7 hours until we will be in the air. We’ve spent the week wrestling with nieces and nephews, snuggling newest little additions to the family, and enjoying the Montana air (which David swears is fresher than anywhere else). What an amazing journey it has been to see a vision realized and to see that the God of the Universe is leading us and guiding us in the details of our lives. We are truly blessed to be walking with Him and seeing His goodness to us displayed over and over again.

Recent Adventures: to New York City and beyond!

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When we heard that we would be staying with my brother’s friend in NYC who has a guest bedroom, we were excited, but we had no idea just how amazing that statement is. An extra bedroom?… in New York City?… most New Yorkers we ran into couldn’t even believe that exists. Why in the world would you use the few square feet that a New York apartment provides in order to offer space to people that aren’t even helping pay the ridiculous rent?! That kind of hospitality is hard to find in NYC, but it exists in Lauren Ross. She was our awesome host in the Big Apple for a week. The room was… let’s call it, cozy. It was big enough to hold the bed and about a foot of space around the 2 edges that aren’t pushed up against the walls. But it was our little cubby-hole for the week, and we so appreciated the space. We spent the week exploring the streets of the city and seeing as many of the sights as we could without spending city prices. It was just long enough to be there to start feeling like we could make our way around the subway system and know which way to turn when we emerged onto the street from the station below.

My brother Matt was our tour guide when he wasn’t at work; we had so many awesome moments with him as we got to share our hearts and to hear the ways he’s been growing in recent years. It was a very significant time in our relationship with him, which was a reminder that this tour is as much about relationship as it is about sharing my music. But there was opportunity for that as well. I shared with Matt’s fellowship group, one of the small groups that are made up of people who attend Tim Keller’s church, Redeemer Presbyterian. It was a great night. Matt was so proud to have his younger sister sharing with his friends, especially in a context that has meant so much to his recent spiritual growth.

A few days later David and I grabbed my guitar and made our way the few blocks to Central Park where I set up shop in one of the many tunnels along the path. I played for a couple hours while Matt played photographer with his iPhone and every so often a passersby threw in coins, dollar bills, and even $12 to walk away with one of my CDs! It was definitely fun, and worth it for how excited Matt was… plus I made $14.45 which is some significant income when your traveling around the country without jobs!

As we were looking toward leaving NY and heading West, it became clear that some of our contacts had fallen through and we were all of a sudden unsure where we were supposed to go and what we were supposed to do for a week. Our departure date from NYC was looming and we were totally in the dark about what was next. As we have done many times on this tour, we fell to our knees praying, “Lord, we’ve made our plans but you are directing our steps. You take over!” Obviously He wanted us somewhere other than where we thought, so we began to try to tune into what He may be doing. I ended up getting in touch with someone who I’ve never met, but have heard a lot about through a mutual friend. This new friend lives in Lancaster, Pennsylvania a few hours from NY and in the general direction of where we are trying to get to next. We were thinking, “This is awesome, we have a free place to stay!” And yet God had much more in mind than just a place to stay. Shannon, our new friend in Lancaster ended up being a divine appointment as we got to encourage her in her walk with God meerly by sharing our story of walking in faith and surrender. She also set up 2 different opportunities to share my music with her church community.

It was was such a cool few days as we were reminded afresh that God is moving us around to the right places at the right times for us to do the work He needs done. His eyes are roaming to and fro through out the earth looking for hearts who are willing to lay down their plans and pick up His, willing to surrender their sense of control over their lives, in order to let Him be shown strong. It is amazing to be used in this way! We are so blessed to be able to make ourselves so available during this season of our lives.

different jobs, common goal

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Since I last gave an update, we have been from a suburb of DC to the rural forests of Maryland to inner city Philadelphia. It has been interesting to be in such vastly different environments in such a short time. Just when we begin adjusting to one place, it’s time to move along and acclimate to another. But slightly jarring though it is, it has been very exciting to see thriving ministries in each place; the Body functioning in some very different jobs, but with a common goal.

As I sit to write this, outside our Urban Hope guest apartment is a symphony of sirens, battling sound systems blaring regetone and hiphop, and the occasional playful screams of neighborhood kids. We are in North Philly. On Sunday, I led worship at Urban Hope Community Church, a ministry in the heart of the inner city that my step brother and his fiance (Tommy and Magie) have recently moved into the neighborhood to be a part of. It has been inspiring to be around people who are committed to seeing the gospel lived out in a place where life is raw and struggle abounds. But there is a pure beauty to seeing the lives in this place that are being transformed. People who were once wrapped up in a life on the streets, who have seen the power of Christ free them from addiction and hopelessness. Even in the service on Sunday, many people stood to receive Christ and many stood to express a desire to  walk more closely with Him. We shared a meal together with this congregation during a communion service that night. People were asked to share their most deeply cherished promises from the Word that keep them going when things are hard. Person after person stood to recite verses that had become like anthems to keep them marching forward. It was very encouraging to be reminded of the power of the Bible… God’s words are living and active, transforming us and renewing us, and His promises to us are certain no matter what rages on around us.

Rewind a few days and instead of sirens, sound systems and screams, all we were hearing from our  room with a view was the intermittent neighing of horses  and  Adrielle’s (Ben and Chrsitina Ogden’s baby girl) sweet little voice in the other room. We were in the hills of River Valley Ranch in Manchester, Maryland. It was a very peaceful setting and our time with our friends there was equally as peaceful. It was a pleasure to be around their little family; David especially got his baby fix (he’s counting down the days til he gets to snuggle his nieces and nephews in Montana). We got a glimpse into their world there… we went hiking, ate some meals in the cafeteria, and David tackled the climbing wall. It was fun to be around that kind of a ministry that really reminded me of my dad’s love of outdoor education. He would have loved this place, with it’s bon-fires, high ropes course,  and it’s mission to use the outdoors as a learning ground for our need for God and each other. I shared a concert on Thursday night with a room full of staff and interns at the Ranch. Afterward we sat around drinking hot cocoa and answering their questions about what we have experienced in the course of our journey. An added bonus of our time there was that a few years ago, Ben and Christina did the job we are about to step into at the Great Commission Bible Institute, so we picked their brains about that and left feeling more prepared and confident in our role.

A few days before that we were a short ways from DC, staying with our very dear friends who I recorded The Coming Glory with. During this time we also made a trip to Lusby, Maryland, where I had a chance to meet some more Nickisch’s! David hadn’t seen this particular cousin since highschool, and since they both began a walk with God. We were so encouraged to get to know some family who are also walking out a relationship with Christ. They set up time for me to share in a college group in their church. Somehow, people were singing along by the end of the concert! And it seemed like God, that through this small group of broke college students, He provided above and beyond what we expected financially, instead of through the mega-church that we were counting on for some CD sales. He continues to keep us on our toes and remembering that He knows far better than we do. He is ultimately the One that provides.

So tomorrow we leave for New York City and we will get to spend Easter with my brother, Matt. We have a week to explore the city and then on Tuesday I will share my songs and  our story with Matt’s Fellowship Group  from Redeemer Presbyterian.

It has been to cool to see how God has allowed us to bring what we have to offer into so many different types of environments, and yet it has translated to each one because we are lifting up the Word. And no matter where you are or who you are serving, the Spirit of God moving through the Word of God is what unites us and keeps us moving towards a common goal.

Brighter and Brighter

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The path of righteousness is like the light of dawn, that shines brighter and brighter until the full day.

Proverbs 4:18

 

This morning I am thinking of the path before us and how true this proverb is;  the light continues to get brighter and brighter as we walk forward, asking God to help keep our feet on the right path. Sometimes we have to step out in the darkness of dawn, when it seems like there is only the hazy promise of light that is coming. But as we walk forward and plant our feet sturdily on the path we know is right; slowly, steadily, the light of dawn breaks and we begin to see the path before us with growing clarity.

So we are on the road again. And this proverb could be our anthem. When David and I left Sebring, FL in the middle of March we had a pencil sketch of where we were headed up the East Coast to continue sharing my music. We started off in the mountains of Western North Carolina where we tucked ourselves away in the cutest little cabin for a week of quality time with each other before we embarked on a journey of being in other people’s space. It was a deeply refreshing time with each other and with the Lord. Then we scooted up to Greensboro where a couple of our dear friends from Sebring are living right now. We got to see their world there and were introduced to a thriving community within their church. It was really special to see them doing so well. I got to share my music with them in a house concert on Friday night.

Then we were on to Richmond, where a friend from our year at Bible school lives. We did some exploring of this cool town and really enjoyed the time we spent with our friend and her family. They hosted a house show on Saturday night (which was preceded by watching the college basketball Final Four game since VCU, located in Richmond, was making an unexpected appearance so far along in the tournament). So after VCU lost I got to serenade their broken hearts (Naomi’s Song really hit home since they felt like they had been emptied;D).  Sunday night I shared in our friend’s youth group with a group of really amazing teenagers that love the Lord.

Monday morning we made our way to Springfield to stay with my friends that I recorded my CD with.  I got to play at their church, Frontline Arlington, again on Monday night. I led worship with their team and sang a few of my own songs as well. Tuesday was my birthday! Started out the morning with some excellent coffee and pastries at a cute cafe in Arlington and spent the rest of the day just hanging out and answering Birthday calls from the people I love. David treated me to some birthday shoes (super cute). And then our sweet friends hosted a little get together to celebrate with us and we got to meet some really cool people. An impromptu house concert ended up happening and our new friends were so pumped about what David and I are doing, and they all went home with CD’s ready to listen on their way home! It was a really great birthday. Today, as soon as I finish this post, we will go take in the sights of DC on this beautiful spring day (the cherry blossoms are amazing right now I hear).

Every day of this week has held opportunities to share my music, some planned and some not! It is exciting to realize that when we stepped out on the path forward in the dim light of dawn, the light of day has become brighter and brighter to direct us into each new step of obedience.

 

The results are His!

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One of the benefits of our time in Sebring has been the privilege of sitting in on classes at this year’s Great Commission Bible Institute. Some of it is review, some of it is covering material we didn’t cover during our year, but it is all so good. There is even more to be absorbed after having almost 2 years to study on my own and figure out where my gaps are in my understanding of the story. We sat in on a class a few weeks ago and dove into the book of Jonah. There have been a few thoughts about it that have been lingering in my mind and have inspired me to share because they pertain to the work of preparation that God is doing in my heart as we set out soon for the road once again.

After God brought Jonah through all the consequences of rebellion (think 3 days in belly of whale) and pulled his life back up from the pit, He confirmed his call. Jonah’s call hadn’t changed because he had proved himself unworthy… God already knew that. But He still wanted Jonah to go to the people of Nineveh with a message. And Jonah was finally ready to be obedient. He steped out to share God’s word, and what followed is what seems like an immediate response from the king and the people; a response of obedience and readiness to get right with God. This was a huge deal! Nineveh was the capital of Assyria… the nation that had taken Israel into captivity. They were know for their brutality and for their pagan practices. And yet they instantly recognized the truth of a God that had a claim on their life, and they recognized Jonah as a messenger of God.

As we covered this I was thinking, “why was it that easy? it’s never that easy!”

But the discussion began talking shape about how this chapter is a picture of what ministry looks like when God has gone before you and prepared hearts. That is when true ministry happens.

My responsibility is to show up and to be walking in obedience with Jesus. I need to have made sure that I am personally ready to share the words that God has given me to share, and then share them with a pure heart. And then the response is completely dependent on God. I am not a changer of hearts! But He is. So it has been my desperate prayer that God would go before me and do the work of preparation that only He can do.

Not only are the results dependent on God, they are are decided by God. The next part of Jonah’s story that struck me was Jonah’s selfish response to what God did. When he saw the way God decided to show compassion and turn His wrath away because of the genuine repentance of the people, he was mad! In one sense, he had a reason to be angry as he had seen his people abused by this nation. The last thing Jonah wanted was for God to have mercy on them. He wanted judgment to fall on them! But he is stuck in his own assessment of the situation and he can’t lift his eyes to the bigger picture. So the lesser known final chapter of Jonah is him throwing a pity party for himself because God didn’t move in the way he wanted Him to.

I found myself relating to this attitude a little too deeply! In fact, I felt the conviction of the Holy Spirit and had to ask for forgiveness right there in class that day. Too often I have been nearsighted and let the physical outcome of my work in ministry decide whether or not I am going to feel successful. Sometimes God is doing something totally different than I think He is, and I need to be willing to trust Him in that. My sense of success can never be dependent on whether or not people respond in the way that affirms me. God’s view of success is SO much bigger than mine… as much bigger as His view of the universe is than mine, and right now I can only see the computer in front of me. Over and over His call to me has been to lay down what I think constitutes success and let Him be in charge of that. Don’t count people in chairs, don’t count CD’s being sold, don’t even count how many people said they were blessed. Even if none of those things happen, I can know that God holds the results and there may be deeper ones than I could even quantify with my petty lists. My only sense of success should come if I can lay my head on my pillow tonight and know that God is pleased with how I used what He’s given me. Obedience is my responsibility and the rest is God’s. It’s relieving, actually.

looking back and looking forward

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A month’s worth of time spent with family and celebrating holidays has left us full to brimming with excitement about what God is doing in the lives of those we love. And we also feel hungry to restart the work He has given us to do. Today we sit at our computers and sip lattes at a local wifi spot so that we can connect with people in Florida and on the East Coast to hit the road again. Our plan is to spend January and February sharing with churches in Florida. Then we will begin our journey North in March. We have friends and contacts all the way up the coast, but we are always looking for more opportunities, so give us a shout if we can connect with your church or small group along the way.

I have found myself multiple times over this past month replaying moments in my mind from our July-November tour through the West/Midwest. It almost feels like a dream now, as cliche as that sounds. But it’s true; a glorious, God-inspired, beautifully vivid dream. We are so grateful for the adventure God has given us to walk with Him in the midst of. And yet we have needed and enjoyed every minute of this respite, to be with family and to be in a place longer than a week and to seek God about our next steps forward with Him. We serve a God who knows what we need and who delights to take care of His children. We feel so cared for and refreshed.

So keep on the lookout for updates on phase 2 of The Coming Glory tour! oh yeah… and HAPPY 2011!!!

There’s No Place Like Home

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The recent weeks have been about returning.

We returned to Montana, and as we made the drive through the ever-so-slightly snow-capped mountains, David turned to me and said, “Do you have the same joy deep down in your soul that I do right now?” It was definitely a joyful moment. We had made it;  our west coast loop was complete. We had spent 3 incredible months exploring places that we were discovering together, some for the first time. The adventure and novelty of it all has been exhilirating, but this was the first time in a long time that something had felt familiar. As amazing as it has been, it did our souls some good to feel a sense of home again.

We spent a few days reconnecting with family and close friends in Bozeman, where David and I lived before we got married. David got to fish the Gallatin River again, which is possibly the thing he misses most about Montana. It was such a beautiful time to share stories of our adventures and my songs with those in the church we had been a part of before we left. It was the first church on this tour that felt like a return visit. People we singing along during some songs as some had purchased the CD before we left. It was encouraging to see that people there feel very invested in us. The night I shared was such a special occasion. People really got it. The got the heart of it. More than just thinking the songs were pretty or enjoying the diversion; people were drawn into the stories, and the principles and challenges from God’s Word hung heavy in the air as they soaked into people’s hearts. It was a night where we really sensed God was ministering….. so AMAZING to be a part of!

Our time in Billings was so good as David got to snuggle his new nephew, Benjamin to his heart’s content. And although everyone called him a “baby hog”, you couldn’t help but smile at the sight of this tender-hearted uncle. Time with David’s family was great. They were eager to hear about our adventures, and impressed to see our newly earned skills at backing up the trailer, as we parked it back in it’s winter-long spot, and traded it in for David’s regular car that we will be using from here on out. It was a sad goodbye to the trailer after so many happy memories, but as soon as we filled the gas tank of the chevy mailbu again, we were able to console ourselves about it. :)

Also, our time in Billings allowed us a new kind of music venue we haven’t explored before. David’s grandma was eager to have me play in her assisted living home, so I shared my music there on a Sunday afternoon for an appreciative crowd of seniors as well as all the Nickisch’s that live in the area. It was sweet to see them all in the same place, showing their support of us. I think it did Grandma’s Nickisch’s heart some good to have everyone around her and we were happy to help make that happen.

We also spent a few days in Great Falls visiting another of David’s brothers and his family. I sang for a group of people they invited over for some fall festivities and live music. It was a good night and we were touched by Jason’s generosity to turn off the World Series while I shared. ;)

It was a monumentous trip to Montana also because I finally experienced David’s home town, Forsyth, in all it’s glory. It is a sweet small town, kept alive by the railroad tracks that run through it. It was fun to get a glimpse of David’s childhood and to finally get to see some pictures of him as a baby and little kid, and I can report that he has had dimples and blue eyes from day 1.

Then it was off to Minneapolis, which felt like returning for me. It is one of the small handful of places I feel like are “home”. We stayed with our sweet friends Nikolas and Sharne, who have the most peaceful and beautiful sanctuary of a home in the midst of what may be considered inner city Minneapolis. It is a community house connected with the Salvage Yard, the church I was a part of when I lived in Minneapolis. We had lots of happy times with them and their amazing daughter, and all of the sweet people that live there together. I got to lead the community in worship on Tuesday night, and then had a house concert the next night. On Sunday morning I shared some music in the service at Bethany church, another place I had attended for a while in Minnesota, a vibrant church in the midst of what may be considered suburban America . We were moved by how different these 2 churches were, so varied in their expression of the body of Christ, yet so dynamically reaching the community that God has placed each of them in. I was reminded that God wants me to be who I am, nothing more and nothing less, and to let Him fill me and use me in the unique expression of Him that I am. Walking with Christ doesn’t produce robots or cookie-cutter Christians, it produces real people with real passions and gifts and cirlces of influence that God calls us to use to tell His story.

With our time in both Montana and Minnesota, it felt like God was giving us each a respit in a place that felt like returning home. He’s so good like that, to give us what we need and knows exactly when we need it.

All of this returning has made us contemplate a piece of life that we do feel like we have been missing. We long to belong some place, to allow ourselves to invest in lives and be invested in by a consistent community of people. It has been such a cool experience to meet so many new people and see different places, but we feel a desire to be a bit more rooted than we have so far. What we think this looks like for now is that we will make our way down to Florida around Thanksgiving and spend the holidays with my family there. Then we hope to continue our time in Sebring, making plans for short term tours up the east coast and throughout Florida, still looking to make connections with churches in these places for me to share my music. But this will allow a place to come and go from, a home church and a room to come back to in the house my brother’s family is renting. We are excited to see what this next season holds, and to finish out this current season really well, knowing that God still has things He wants to accomplish with us in our life on the road for a couple more weeks.

Time To Pray

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I can’t believe it has been a whole 2 weeks since I last wrote, and yet there have been so many new things in that span of time. It has been a glorious time in the Pacific NorthWest. We ended up having a few extra days more than we thought to spend driving through Oregon, so we took our time and explored the coastline, camping at different spots every night and soaking in brisk air and sunshine that locals told us was not very common. It was such a relaxing few days, not having to be anywhere, just being able to enjoy each other and bask in some beauty.

 

Another part of that week that made it so sweet was what God was doing in our hearts. He has been really stirring us to pray and challenging us to realize the part we have to play in His story through interceeding for others. We realized that He has been moving us around the country, intersecting our lives with other’s, trying to get our attention about who we need to be remembering in prayer. One of the things that began this realization was the conversations over the past couple weeks with my brother, Nick, who moved himself and his family down to Sebring, Florida in order to attend a Bible school that will equip them for the life of ministry they feel called to. It has been a very  rough transition for them, for a lot of reasons. But I know that God is doing a work in their hearts, getting them to the end of themselves in order to show Himself strong in their weakness. This is never an easy or comfortable process. But Nick has called me many times pouring out his heart, really struggling to see God’s hand in the midst of being emptied. My heart has been broken for them. God has done a new thing in me to bring me to the place of true intercession. We both have been burdened in a way we’ve never experienced before, to pour out our hearts before the Lord on behalf of others.

 

So we took the week on the coast to put legs on this new move of God in our hearts. We spent mornings in prayer for the people God has shown us that we are to be partners with Him in what He wants to do in their lives, and afternoons walking wide beaches and catching glimpses of whales swimming through the bays of the northern coast. It was a really special week. We felt refreshed by it and ready for the next stretch ahead of us, and grateful that God would take the time to teach us this precious lesson.

 

Our next stop was Kenmore, Washington, just a bit north of Seattle, where we spent 4 lovely days with old friends of mine from Minneapolis. It was so good to be with friends where you just feel completely at ease. They were our travel guides through the sights of Seattle, and they were our connection into a little church in Bothell, where I got to share some of my songs on Sunday. It was a sweet community of believers, and they were very responsive to the heart of my music.

 

After Seattle we set out across the rest of Washington. We spent a couple nights in Manson, a quaint town on Lake Chelan in Washington’s beautiful apple country, with the family of one of my best friends, who were so sweet to host us and eager to have me bust out my guitar for a personal concert. Then we arrived in Spokane, at the home of friends who were insistent to have us park our trailer and head into the house for a real bed and hot showers, which were much apppreciated as the weather begins to dip a little lower than I appreciate (at least for trailer life!). Sunday I led worship at a church plant called Emmaus, in Spokane. This new fellowship was started by a guy that David used to live with, so David has really enjoyed seeing an old friend and having a fellow football fan to catch up on this season with. I’m not always the best sports companion… although, I did officially pick a team to like, which is an entirely new world to me, so it took a while to find a reason to offer my devotion. :)

 

So that brings us to today, catching up on some communication and making plans for our return into Montana tomorrow. We’re very excited to return to Bozeman and share what God has been doing with the people at C3, the church we attended before we got married and headed out on the road.

 

And for those who know Nick, I spoke with him today and they are doing so much better. He said they are feeling settled and at peace as they learn what it means to surrender their hearts completely. Praise God for His provision in their lives!!! And I am reminded again that the most precious provision that He gives, is His presence in the midst of it all.