Are we there yet...

"Trust in the LORD and do good; dwell in the land and enjoy safe pasture.
Delight yourself in the LORD, and he will give you the desires of your heart.
Commit your way to the LORD; trust in him and he will do this:
He will make your righteousness shine like the dawn, the justice of your cause like the noonday sun.
Be still before the LORD and wait patiently for him..." [Psalm 37:3-7, NIV]

Trust, Dwell, Delight, Commit, Be Still and Wait! It is tough isn't it! Especially when the world around you and the schemes of the enemy are relentless! When the pressure does not ease! When the "demands", the "dreams", the "expectations", and the "selfish nature" want to get a grip and squeeze you like a vice! But why are you looking there...
God, gives us specific instruction, and a promise we can stand firm on - doesn't he? That if/when we Trust in him, Dwell in him, Delight in him, Commit in him, Be Still in him we can stand firm on righteousness and justice...because "it is for freedom that Christ has set us free. So stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery!" [Galatians 5:1, NIV]
I absolutely love Paul's words written here to the southern churches in Galatia - who were "so quickly deserting...the grace of Christ...and turning to a different gospel, which is really no gospel at all." [see Galatians 1:6], and the foundation that they lay for our true freedom, victory, life, peace, strength, patience, steadfastness, self-control, faithfulness and love that we have in Christ Jesus!
Christ died to set us free! He set us free - not so that we can do whatever we want, and return to a life of slavery, bondage and indulgence to sin - but to do the impossible! Live unselfishly! Walk Faithfully! Wait Patiently! Love Unconditionally! Serve Un-expectantly! And Stand Confidently assured on the Promise that we gave in His Death and Resurrection - Eternal Life! We are saved by His Grace alone! And we must Live Victoriously..."forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead...pressing on to reach the end of the race and receive the heavenly prize for which God, through Christ Jesus, is calling us!" [Philippians 3:14]
Don't turn back! Fix your eyes on Jesus, and let the Holy Spirit guide you! "Do not fret when men succeed in their ways, when they carry out their wicked schemes. Refrain from anger and turn from wrath...do not fret—it leads only to evil!" [Psalm 37:7-8] For we have been set free from the grip of sin by the blood of Christ! And now...the Holy Spirit's power fills and guides us! We may be "pressed on every side by troubles, but we are not crushed. We are perplexed, but not driven to despair. We are hunted down, but never abandoned by God. We get knocked down, but we are not destroyed!" [2 Corinthians 4:8-9] I don't know what God's next step is for you or for me, but I do know...there is great peace in the Promise that He is with us every step of the way!

"The Move"...
A couple of months ago we were biking on a "rails to trails" path in Emlenton, PA - traveling north! We came upon an old train tunnel, which we knew was there, but had never traveled through it before! We prepared earlier that day by buying head lights for our bikes - and knew that today was the day for adventure! We were pumped...and headed into the darkness with great anticipation and no light at the end in sight!
As we entered in we could feel the leaks in the old roof as water dripped on us and as we splashed through puddles on the trail. We laughed in anxiousness and yelled in fear at times - that just echoed forever in the distance! The light from the entrance grew very dim, and as we ventured down the path we relied more and more on our head lights - just to see the very inch of pavement before us! I rode in front of Kelly - pulling both kids in a trailer behind me, who were absolutely silent! The only way that I even knew Kelly was even behind me was by our constant conversation and her head light! I couldn't even see her white bike anymore - and so we crept forward every so slowly, stopping several times to regain our balance and bearings!
And then we came upon the reason that there seemed to be no end to the tunnel! For in the middle of this tunnel, was a huge right hand turn, and until you came through it...you couldn't even see the light at the end! Talk about a new definition of physical darkness!

And if you think those opening words and scripture above were for you - Praise the Lord! If not, know they were for Kelly and I this morning! Because right now the only source of light is His Truth, revealed to us by our "head light" - The Holy Spirit! For we find ourselves today at the turn in the middle of this "home search/move" tunnel and we can't seem to see the beginning and we definitely are unable to see the end! We are struggling to see inches in front of us...not going to lie!
These scriptures where laid on our hearts as we prayed/talked together over breakfast and coffee this morning, and it is tough to keep our minds, thoughts, attitudes, eyes fixed on Jesus with this storm's continuous winds, waves, high waters and darkness! But - He is right here! It is not by our own strength that we continue to press on! It is not in our own way that we continue to look forward! And yes - if we walked by sight now - we would fall off the path and crash! We would "turn our back" and desert the very Truth we both have accepted by faith! We are crying out to Him to rescue us - right now - for we can not see the light at the end of the tunnel! We have tried to search for it - in our own way, in our own strength and by our own means - and it has been exhausting -and we are done! We have surrendered the home search to Him and we are pursuing the Holy Spirit in lead us down the path of righteousness and justice! We are trusting in Him (even when we can't see the path) and committing our way to Him, and waiting on the Him to guide and direct our every step!

Carter asked me the other day when we were driving back to the farm after looking at different communities and homes in the South Butler, PA area..."Daddy, are we there yet? Did you find it yet?"
And it crushed us...for that is the same question we have been asking our Heavenly Father - "are we there yet?" "Have we reached the end of this wilderness/forest/tunnel/desert"? And we hear Him say - "just wait for it!" [I just wonder if it gets as annoying to Him as it does to me!"

This morning - our Heavenly Father laid on my heart the Fort Pitt Tunnel as a point of reference - when traveling the Parkway West towards Pittsburgh...and you come through this long, dark, and dirty tunnel - and bam - this glorious scene smacks you in the face!

We can't wait until that day until...when we finally see the light and the fullness of the scene that awaits us at the end of this tunnel! The glorious scene that He is preparing for us right now! Not glorious by the definition of man - but, glorious by the good, pleasing and perfect will of God! We may not see it now, but we will "press on, forgetting the past, and look forward to what lies ahead" by faith!

We continue to cry out to him, asking with him to reveal, teach, mold, shape and transform us by the renewing of our minds! And we plead with Him for BREAKTHOUGH!
Please join us in our prayer for "breakthrough" - and absolute peace, clarity, provision and unity beyond all human understanding in our home! Pray for the miracle of rest, steadfastness and patience to "wait" - agape wait!

We love you...and we can't express with words how much your continued prayers, encouragement and support mean to us! "Breakthrough" can't come soon enough - but, we will wait and stand firm on the Promise of His perfect timing!

All Eyes on Jesus!