God Gave Me You*

Second Date: Flying - Mom needed to take a picture "just in case"!

Our First Flight Together - Many more have come and gone since then, and many more will take place!

When Pete and I began at MAF, one of our tasks was to write our story on paper.  The story that God had planned and purposed, the reason we have gone through the ups and downs, the ways He has always guided, loved, cared, led, and carried us - both individually and together.  

As Pete and I were writing our testimonies, we noticed something very special, incredibly unique, and yet so very perfectly us.  Each of our personal stories start out differently.  They speak of when we came to the Lord, when we actually put our allegiance in Him instead of just offering Him lip-service, and how He has continued to grow us.

Individually called, uniquely created, and specifically gifted to serve Jesus as a mission aviation couple.  

Recently we were sharing with a Sunday School class and I was standing back in awe all over again at how God took two very different people, called us separately into full-time, overseas mission, and brought us together to do life and share Jesus.  WOW!  Sometimes it still blows me away.  

We could not be more grateful for His call on our lives and for bringing us together and showing us, after 8 years of friendship, that He had bigger plans, a better life, support, love, and encouragement to give through the gift of each other.  He can use us together better than separately.  

On our first date, Pete and I wore a hole in a Dave Barnes CD.  We still pause when we hear Dave, when our song comes on Pandora or the radio, and we even sing some Dave to Cade.  It is music that reminds me of God's faithfulness to provide ALL we need, and offers some extra blessing as well!

On my own I'm only half of what I could be

I can't do without you

We are stitched together and what Love has tethered

I could never undo

God gave me you for the ups and downs

God gave me you for the days of doubt

God gave me you for the ups and downs

God gave me you for the days of doubt

For when I think I've lost my way

There are no words here left to say, it's true

God gave me you

Gave me you

Gave me you*

*Lyrics copyright of Dave Barnes

Reflections During Holy Week

Today, as I was driving to the airport pick Pete up from his trip to AK, I heard a song as though it was the first time.  Perhaps it's because this is Holy Week.  Perhaps it's because I've been reading a book about speaking of Jesus (not religion) to people.  Perhaps it's because we are getting close to a big move to demonstrate Jesus and the power of His love to people who have never heard.  Perhaps...

The song goes like this:

 Let the glory of Your name be the passion of the church.  

Let the righteousness of God be a holy flame that burns.

Let the saving love of Christ be the measure of our lives.

We believe, You're all to us.

As we enter into a time of celebrating His sacrifice, love, and resurrection, may this also be a time of reflecting on our own lives - how do we speak of the beauty of Christ, His free gift of grace, the power of His resurrection, and the transformation He has made in each of our lives.  How do we speak of Jesus?

While the Cat's Away...

...the mice will play!

For the past several days Pete has been out of town, more specifically, he has been enjoying the beauty of Alaska and flying among sky-high mountains and beautiful snow-covered scenery.  (A guest post of his trip is forth-coming.)

So while Pete has been away, Cade and I have been enjoying a fun few days of play (with a little work peppered in).  Whether it's been warm weather walks around the neighborhood, extra-long bubble baths, or long, song-filled drives around town, Cade and I have had a blast!

Along with sweet Cade moments, I also had the privilege of celebrating my long-time best girl's upcoming wedding over the weekend.  Like I said, while the cat's away... We had a blast blessing her with gifts, food, advice, and laughs.  Oh, there were laughs.  And as we prepare to move half way around the world, these are some of the memories that will keep me filled on lonely nights far away from family and friends.

Although it's been a wonderful weekend of Cade-man time (and special time for him and his grandparents during the wedding shower) I am overly excited to see my best friend, my teammate, my partner in life come Tuesday morning.  Tonight, I showed Cade some pictures of his daddy and with every picture, he giggled and squirmed.  These two mice are ready for their cat to come home.