God's Plans are Greater Than >

This is long, but oh, so, good. Not one to skim, but something to read when you are taking a few moments to enjoy a coffee and a few moments with your feet up.

We have been in Canada 9 days. In 9 days God has answered 9 months of prayers in the most remarkable of ways. Within 24 hours of landing we were able to renew our driver's licences and re-establish residency on a temporary address. Within 5 days of landing Pietro received an official job offer at his previous place of employment, and it met every one of our prayer requests. Salaried position, flexibility to work from home, health insurance family plan, flexibility to schedule own hours around his class schedule. The job offer came with a few benefits that were above and beyond and are a huge help to us. Company vehicle, so we don't need to buy a 2nd vehicle for when Pietro is away for work, company phone, so we can get by with just one personal cell phone plan for me, and company equipment so I can inherit Pietro's laptop and finally have a working keyboard! Woo Hoo!

The same day Pietro accepted the job offer we were able to  purchase a 2007 Honda Odyssey with all the specs we were looking for, and for the price we prayed for (no used car tax!). It also came with many perks we did not ask for such as winter tires and rims, blue tooth dvd player and sunroof. Because as I say, you can't outgive God and God takes pleasure in giving incredible gifts to his kiddoes.

On day 7 we took a road trip down to Caronport to look at houses. We looked at four houses, and it came down to two. Before I tell "the rest of the story" I need to go back and share the backstory on our house hunting in Caronport. It was probably late January or early February when we started watching the market in Caronport. There were only 2 houses listed at that time, and for quite some time after that; a 1974 4 bedroom bi-level with single attached garage, and a 1300 square foot 1 1/2 story character home that had been divided up into 3 suites, no garage.

A special someone taught us to be specific in asking God for our needs, and also for our desires. We invited people to do this with us when we moved to Italy and God surpassed our every need AND desire. We brought our needs and desires before God again and asked that His will would be done. Our needs were 4 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, single attached garage (Pietro says his age has earned him the right to make this a bonafide need, lol), large foyer or mudroom, sufficient dining room space for our large family and guests. Our desires were 5-6 bedrooms, suite potential, 2 bathrooms plus ensuite, home office, double attached garage with direct entry, yard that offered privacy.

As March approached we felt we should start knocking on some doors and since no other properties had come on the market, we made an offer on the 4 bedroom bi-level, praying that if it was not God's pick for us, He would shut the door. Another offer came in after we made ours, and they went with the other offer. A clear no.

To avoid making a long story even longer, suffice it to say this exact same or very similar thing happened to us with two other houses, and then one other house we didn't even get a chance to put an offer on because it was sold before it was even put on the market. By this time, there was really only one house on the market that could potentially work for our family. It was a very old, dated rental bungalow that didn't have much in the way of our needs/desires, but we are the kind of people who would settle for much less, and happily make do. So I began to pray about whether we should attempt to put an offer on that house. I remember this moment as clear as lightning and Pietro can attest to it because I recounted it to him right after it happened. I was sitting in the van waiting for him and as I presented this older bungalow to God in prayer I felt him clearly impress upon my heart "Why do you believe me for so little? If you only knew what I have in mind for you, it is far greater than your imagining and the meager provision you ask of Me. Believe Me."

I told Pietro this as soon as He got in the van while we were driving back to His mom's house. No sooner had we parked and were entering the house and Pietro received an email notification about a new house listed in Caronport. He opened up the listing and as he looked over the specs for the house I saw his eyes get big and his head go back in reaction. He said, "Here it is." He passed me the phone and without even looking at the specs I started just scrolling through pictures. My knee jerk, split second response was to laugh like Sarah must have laughed when she overheard the strangers discussing her prospective pregnancy. Quite literally. I laughed just like that, and responded just like that. "In. My. Dreams." And handed the phone back.

And that was that. I didn't even entertain a single thought about that house or open that listing up again although it has been on the market for three months. Until.... about two weeks ago.  I was presenting another not ideal property to God in prayer and I felt this strong impression: "I have already shown you the house of My choosing. You rejected My choice, why do you keep asking Me?" With this thought I envisioned the moment Pietro showed me that house, and my reaction and I felt a wave of conviction and realization that it was true. It was SO clear, and we dismissed it without giving it any consideration because it was greater than our imaginings. Again, I told Pietro about this right when it happened.

We decided to just "wait and pray" until we could go to Caronport in person, which we did on Wednesday. While we were in Caronport we found out that one of the houses that had been conditionally sold for some time, was going back up for private sale in the coming days. We went to see it, and it became a definite potential house for us to put an offer on. It was a 1200 square foot 1970's bi-level with 5 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms plus ensuite, single attached and double detached garage, large foyer and back entry mudroom, private office and walk in closet off the master. Beautiful outdoor space. It was the first house we looked at that we really LIKED. They were asking $350,000.

The same day we went to look at the "In my dreams" house. If we liked the other house, we loved this house. A 1476 square foot bungalow with walk out ICF basement  with in floor heat, 4+2 bedroom, 2 bathroom plus en-suite, 1 or 2 bedroom walk out suite with the option to keep the one bedroom with the family portion of the house or the suite portion, double attached garage with direct entry, situated on the edge of town just off a quiet crescent cornering the school field and overlooking the prairie sunset with no houses behind or on the one side, even a town road allowance between the house and the closest neighbor on the other side. Perfectly situated next to the elementary school, and just a block and a half from the college. The clincher for us was the price. Even $350,000 was more than we had planned on investing in a house, and this one was listed at $375,000. The sellers of the $350,000 house were not entertaining lower offers as they already had a conditional offer at that amount.

The morning after we looked at the houses, we got the surprise notification that our container had arrived in port quite a few weeks earlier than expected. Like Shasta and Bree in C.S. Lewis' story of the Horse and His Boy, we felt that this was "the lion at our flanks", pressing in and urging us forward. But which house to make the offer on? After praying, thinking and discussing we felt that we had nothing to lose in putting an offer for $350,000 for the newer, more expensive home with revenue potential and more space and flexibility. Again, we committed it to God that if this was His will for us, He would open the door, and if not, that He would close it. We were happy with either house and confident that we were placing it in God's hands. They accepted our offer well before closing time without any counter offer or amendments. As one dear friend put it, "Houston, we have a house!"

We prayed that we would be confident and that God would be glorified in His care and provision for us as and boy, oh boy.... He is never one to disappoint those who put their trust in Him. Once again I am humbled and astounded by His mercy and grace and His "greater than" provision towards our family.

In the Best of Hands

When we return to Italy in the fall, it will be with one new notch on our growth chart of surrender; our firstborn.

As Shailey began to talk out her interests and potentially map out her next year and her subsequent undergraduate studies it quickly became evident that a gap year in Italy was going to create some impracticalities. As a non resident of Canada she would be forced to apply as an international student which is substantially more expensive. Secondly, since she was homeschooled she is going to have to take entrance exams when she applies. Thirdly, she needs to get her driver’s license sooner than later. Being able to work part time as well as have independence and mobility (on foot or by bike) in our community to serve in ministry would be huge advantages as well.

So we started to realize that she has a lot to do this year to prepare for the next. It was a super emotional time for her, and for us by proxy when we started coming to this conclusion. It meant the year we were looking forward to spending with her had just been chopped off leaving us with 6 weeks. I now know what “heart wrenching” actually feels like.

As Shailey started to feel more determined about what she wanted to study, we started to pray for God to work out all practicalities. It was emotionally overwhelming for us to even imagine  how God could bring all of this together quickly enough that we would feel absolute peace and confidence about so quickly and suddenly settling our daughter and returning to Italy without her.

We prayed to the God of minute details. I asked Him to please make it all come together in ways that only He could so that our daughter would not just “accept” His will for her this year, but embrace it with joy and excitement. God did not disappoint. The past week or so has been one story of Divine Provision after another.. To see Him in all the details, bringing the perfect people into her life in all areas, home, work, ministry, etc, my heart is so full and thankful for her!

A few of God’s fingerprints:

When I prayed about Shailey’s living arrangements God brought a couple to my mind. When we approached them about the possibility of Shailey living with them as a homestay nanny in exchange for room and board they were excited how this was answering not only our prayers but prayers of their own as well. When we met to discuss expectations of both parties, we were on the same page in every way, and when I saw Shailey’s room I couldn’t hold back tears as it was painted and decorated in her favorite colors of robin’s egg blue and chocolate brown.

The little guy that Shailey is going to get to care for 2-3 days a week is going to be such a comfort and joy to her as she has always been such a nurturing and loving big sister, and I am so excited for her to get to live surrounded by other role models and team leaders as she steps out and spreads her wings. She is super excited to live out real life discipleship together with our youth pastor and ministry team, and to pour into younger girls in our community.

We have been praying for the people who can give us confidence in finalizing Shailey’s undergraduate career plans, as she has expressed the desire to pursue a bachelor of arts in Social Work, specializing in youth and family counselling. Wouldn’t you know that this week at family camp we are surrounded by some of the top christian people in Saskatoon with years of expertise in this field.

As Shailey came to terms with not returning to Italy she began a grieving process. This is healthy and good. I wanted her to have the tools to transition well. The other night I was lying in bed praying for her. God brought the Canadian MK (missionary kid) Network to my mind and I remembered that they have a reboot camp for kids transitioning off the field. I felt the urgency to actually get up and send an email to our missions agency explaining the situation and requesting information (even though it was close to 1 am). The next day I received a hasty reply that our agency was strongly encouraging us to send her, and would help sponsor the cost, and that the deadline for registration was that same day.

He’s a good, good Father. It’s who He is. Our girl is in the best of hands, being loved by Him.

Committed to God's Supply

Being home on home assignment, 3 ½ years after we first received our call to serve overseas, I want to take this opportunity to testify to the journey in hindsight. To summarize what God has done and is continuing to do in and through our calling and our lives.

The journey has been one step of trust and obey at a time. It still is. In a broad sense God had revealed where He wanted us, by giving us a heart of compassion and love for His church in Pietro’s native land of Italy. The first thing we needed to trust Him to reveal was what He was asking of us. As we prayed and waited on Him to reveal His heart for us and for Italy we were able to identify clearly (and quite remarkably for us) that He was giving us a vision to see Italian churches empowered to equip their members to effectively develop disciples of Jesus who make disciples as Jesus did. Not from the pulpit. Not in a classroom, not even in the church, but in intentional relational environments in small group settings. In relationship. In Real Life.

Our next step of trust and obey was that the God who was calling us, was going to equip us.  We knew in a general sense where He was calling us, and we knew in powerful sense what he was calling us to do but we didn’t have a clear sense of how we were going to accomplish this. It was precisely at this time in our life that after years of prayer and searching on our part for tools to disciple effectively, God led our pastor to the ministry of Real Life Ministries in Post Falls, Idaho. He invited us to be part of a pilot group that worked through a 12 week training manual called Real Life Discipleship: Equipping Disciples to Make Disciples. The manual was the first step that God set before us to equip us to do the work He had called us to do. Since then our relationship and partnership with Real Life has grown, and after many years of praying for a “Paul”, our hearts overflow that in the ministry of this church we have found faithful men and women who are able to honestly model as Paul did, “Imitate me as I imitate Jesus.” But in such humility that really all we hear them say is “imitate Jesus and this is how we have learned to do that.” They have been faithful in modelling this and in encouraging and equipping us on this journey from day one, visiting us in Italy twice in two years with plans in the works for the next visit, skyping with Pietro every week, and even as I write this  investing in us in an intimate one week international missions training with the purpose “to strategically equip their volunteer international coaches and key national pastors and leaders to build and reproduce disciple making churches in their countries and regions.”

Another step of trust and obey was that the God who was calling us was going to guide us. He was going to reveal more specifically the where and the who that He was calling us to work and work with. We laugh (really laugh out loud laugh) when we look back on this one. At the time we didn’t understand why God wouldn’t tell us this before asking us to put 8 people and 24 pieces of luggage on a plane and move to another country, but we do recognize the reality that if He would have revealed the where and the who to us beforehand we can see how we would have resisted. We say regularly that Naples was Pietro’s Nineveh. We also felt strongly called to encourage and equip Italian churches and the fact that the church that God led us to work with is an international bi-lingual church wouldn’t have seemed to fit that bill as we had in mind. So God didn’t give us the option to resist, He merely led us one step of the journey at a time, until He had us right where He wanted us and there has been no shadow of a doubt in our minds that God wants us to do our part to encourage and empower Il Faro International Baptist Church to live out their mission statement “to develop mature and united disciples to reach Naples and the world for Jesus” and that He desires to use this church in the future to encourage and equip Italian churches.

A final and ongoing trust and obey was that the God who called us, was going to provide for us. When God called us into ministry He did not lead us on the path of  the traditional modern missionary organization route. We did not find an agency that had a heart for what God was calling us to do in Italy and told us how much money to raise in order to qualify. God brought together a couple with the calling to go, a church with the calling to send and an agency with the calling to equip local church driven missions. From the beginning we sensed our part was to go. God’s part was to provide. Our agency has two core values: the one I mentioned above: local church driven missions the other committed to God’s supply. God’s supply. Those words have come to mean so much to us over the course of the past 3 ½ years.

In all honesty, we have not been the poster children for this core value, but we are learning and growing. For us, committed to God’s supply means “hands off” when it comes to money, budgeting and support raising. It means extreme surrender of these areas to God. It means George Mueller is our role model in that we learn to commit our needs to God and not to man, and trust God to meet them through the men and means of His choosing. As I have said, we have not modelled this pristinely all along the way, sometimes wanting to lend God a helping hand in making our needs known, or putting our trust in men rather than in God. But He is faithful and patient and good. He continues to teach us what it means to be committed to His supply and how wonderful and amazing it is to see how and through whom He chooses to provide. This blog has become a testament to that.

Our life is full, of challenges and opportunities, and I don’t find the time to write as much as I wish I could and my stones often pile up in my lap these days. Today I have a about a dozen of them that have been picked up along the way just over the course of the past weeks since we began our home assignment. Each one of them has to do with being committed to God’s supply and through whom and how He has chosen to supply. The say cheaper by the dozen, so here are my 12 stones of gratitude:

1. Those who provided our flights,
2. Those who provided a home
3. Those who furnished the home from beds and bedding, dressers, couches, to dishes and every conceivable household item. On a cute side note, God provided 2 couches and a loveseat for “our” living room from two different sources. Our good friends offered a spare couch first. Then another friend received word that someone who had not managed to sell their couch and loveseat in a moving sale were offering them for free. When he went to pick them up, they were a matching set to the first couch that had been loaned.
4. Those who filled our fridge, freezer, cupboards, pantry, laundry and bathroom with food, cooking instructions, and every conceivable need down to razors and shaving gel, q tips and polysporin.
5. Those who generously gifted us with funds to help us with the additional expenses of travel and accommodation while on the road.
6. Those who provided us with vehicle(s) and fuel.
7. Sylvia, a perfect stranger God led us to in a church parking lot in Fernie, BC when our tire blew out on Father’s Day Sunday at 1 pm. Sylvia led us to a divine appointment and before she left pressed a sum of money into Pietro’s hand that met the expense we were to incur the next day to have a replacement tire mounted in Cranbrook.
8. Nick and Judy V. more perfect strangers who adopted us for night after we discovered that Canadian Tire didn’t have a single tire in the size we needed and wouldn’t be able to get one in for four days. They put us up for night and enlisted their son and law Travis to find us a tire in Cranbrook the next day.
9. A stone for the Paul’s in our life. Dave and Stuart and the many other real life people at Real Life Ministries who lead like Jesus and faithfully and intentionally teach us to do the same.
10. A stone for Dale and Donna W. who are hosting us this week in their most adorable B&B The Chicken Coop. Another cute side note, this B&B received a last minute cancellation (as in the day before our arrival)  of a one week booking which made it possible for us to stay here. Just like our home in Italy we feel like God personally arranged for the most perfect place that He knew would provide us with the perfect space and ambience.
11. A stone for the missions team at Real Life who is serving this week behind the scenes to provide meals for our family and the other participants.
12. A stone for the asian tourists that God used to provide parking money for us at the Coeur d’Alene boardwalk yesterday. One final cute story. We are in the states but have no American money. When we decided to take the kids for a walk on the boardwalk yesterday morning we didn’t think about parking money until we were pulling into the parking lot. Pietro got out of the vehicle and began moving over toward a ticket machine where an asian couple were plugging coins. Before he arrived they moved away from that machine toward another and a second person arrived at the first machine ahead of Pietro. When the second person plugged his money in, three parking tickets came out. The asian couple came back and gave Pietro the extra parking ticket. It might seem trivial, a parking ticket worth a mere dollar or two, but it represents a need, and it represents the God who delights to supply.

Praise God from whom all blessings flow and thank you to each of you who allow yourselves to be channels of His blessings and supply.

But God....

A couple of weeks ago we started to request prayer for the particulars surrounding our home assignment this summer.  To be honest, depending on God for the month by month and day to day essentials has become second nature to us. The thought of all the implications (financial and practical) of packing up 8 people for 3 months on the road in another country (albeit our own), was unfathomable to us. We knew it was important, necessary, essential even if we are to continue this work, and of course we WANT to spend time with all our friends, family and partners, but...... well, just "BUT how?"

Within days we had more "stones" than we could hold being poured into our laps, and all we could do was sit there and receive them with grateful and joyful hearts. I don't want to move past this point without joyfully offering them up on my altar of praise, thanking God and each person who partnered with Him in His provision for our family. 

Within 48 hours of our invitation to pray, every single detail for our flights, our accomodation, our vehicle needs, even people wanting to provide for our family to attend our beloved family camp were all poured out like a waterfall of blessing upon our heads. In this same 48 hour period we also received a letter from a praying church informing us they desired to become a partnering church. I wish I could go into the details of every encouraging exchange, every gift that was proffered, every blessing that was poured upon us in this 48 hours. That would take many entries, and really, it's not about the details so much as it is about the premise; 

When we feel that we are being led to the edge of the water and we look across that great expanse, we need not hang our heads and ask, "But how?" We need only smile into the wind and declare with expectation "But God..."

The Red Sea Rules

It may be the shortest but quite possibly the most powerful book I have ever read and definitely spiritual manna for my soul. Every single sentence packs a punch and a world of trust and obey challenges to put into practice.

The Red Sea Rules can be summarized like this:

1. Realize that God means for you to be where you are.
2. Be more concerned with God's glory than your relief
3. Acknowledge your enemy but keep your eyes on the Lord
4. Pray
5. Stay calm and confident and give God time to work
6. When unsure just take the next logical step by faith
7. Envision God's enveloping presence
8. Trust God to deliver in His own unique way
9. View your current crisis as a faith builder for the future
10. Praise Him!

My stone today is engraved with RSR #8 and the story goes like this....

Over two months ago, we were 11 hours from home and about 1/2 from the border of France on our way to a European worker's family conference. As we pulled into a fuel station our van began to make a horrific grinding noise from somewhere in the undercarriage. It literally sounded like we were dragging the engine. The station attendants told us to "best keep going" because it was Saturday afternoon in a small town in northern Italy in August. In other words if we broke down there we would be hard put to ever get out.

We prayed over the van, that it would get us to our destination and with some trepidation pulled back onto the packed freeway. We not only drove the rest of the way to France without issues, (the noise disappeared) we made it HOME from France taking a number of detours along the way.  And when we took the van to our mechanic to investigate what Pietro suspected was a clutch/flywheel issue (I hope I'm saying that right), there was nothing to indicate a problem or to merit removing our engine to inspect the clutch flywheel.

We were very relieved that the noise had gone away, and continued to drive the van for over two months without a hint of an issue. Last week we had friends here from Canada and had just one day to enjoy with them. We took them to Pompeii and on the way home, lo and behold, about half a block from our mechanic the van started to make that horrific noise again. We pulled into the mechanic and got the diagnosis. Pietro had been right, it was the clutch flywheel. Our mechanic was stupefied that this had happened more than two months prior and then.... stopped. He said by all accounts we should have broke down on the road to France, never mind the trip back and two months of driving to boot.

The bad news is that it was a big job, with a big bill; as big as our entire year's cost of insurance and definitely not in our budget. The good news is that God delivers in His own unique way. That need presenting itself in that moment (right in front of the mechanic) on that day (the only day our friends were here with us) was a divine equation for miraculous provision. When someone leans in from the back seat and says "Guys, what's this gonna cost?" and then gently asks if they can take care of it? That's Rule #8 with skin on folks, and it's the prelude to Rule #10....

Consider the Lilies...

About a month ago Pietro's mom gifted us with some money to go clothes shopping. Andrew and Shailey specifically had outgrown all of their fall/winter clothing from last year. Jonathan and Seth also have a pretty sparse and rather worn wardrobe, fine for everyday at home, but not really up to snuff by Italian standards. Forearmed with a bulleted list of the older kids needs and our gift money in hand (read tucked safely inside the inner zippered pocket of a pickpocket safe ameribag) we set out to the used clothing stalls at the Saturday morning market and nailed it. Got every single item the older two needed.

Last week as I was hanging laundry my attention was drawn once again to the sad condition of most of Seth and Jonathan's clothes from last fall/winter (most of these handmedowns from Andrew's days). My immediate reaction was to ask myself what *I* could do. I could post an ISO boys clothes sizes 10-12 post on a facebook group I am part of that is for christian homeschooling moms from the Navy and NATO bases here in our area. I kind of exhaled the idea out to God through the clothespins in my mouth. This is already something notable because in the past I probably just would have hupped to it post haste. I sensed a check in my spirit and that all familiar feeling: "Ask me....". So I did, finished hanging my laundry and came back inside to continue school with the kids.

The next time I checked my messages the first thing I saw, that literally seemed to jump off the screen in flashing letters was a post on the Naples homeschoolers facebook group. It read "3 bags of boys clothes size 10-12 to give away, any takers?" This is not a normal occurrence on this group as usually it is just for posting homeschool related books, co-ops or fieldtrips.

He continues to provide. He continues to challenge me to a life of childlike dependence. He continues to prove that the God who dresses the lilies of the field, takes personal pride and ownership in dressing His children.

I sometimes wonder if one day, once we have learned to walk with Him like little children in this way, if things will get easier. Whether they do or whether they don't I know one way or the other His praise will ever be on our lips.

"And why do you worry about clothes? Consider how the lilies of the field grow. They do not toil or spin and yet not even Solomon in all his splendor was adorned as one of these. If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and gone tomorrow, will He not much more clothe you?"

This One's For You

Yes, you. We know your life is a journey of faith right now, trusting that the Lord will provide for your every need, and yet you choose to give; not out of your excess, but in the midst of your struggle to the Lord... to us.

And you. Yes, you. We have been blessed so many times in your lovely home eating around your table with your beautiful family, your gift of hospitality and love blessing our hearts and enriching our lives. How many years did you make do with what you had, giving generously to the Lord's work without begrudging what you had not?

And you. Oh you loveliest of ladies in the autumn years of life, with your widow's pension. You give faithfully month after month after month to those you pray so faithfully for around the world.

And you. Yes, you. Oh beautiful union of missionary kids now diligently raising your own lovely half dozen little disciples. Month after month you trust the Lord to provide for all your needs, and you give faithfully to ours.

And you. Week in and week out, month after month you are there at the other end of the line to answer our every request, to pray for and support us in our every need. You give freely of your time and gifts to workers around the world and we can do what we do because you make it possible.

And you. Oh church with such a vision. You don't just look to minister to those in your community, but you look to have a global impact and your vision and mission to make disciples of all nations is truly being carried out by those you have impacted.

And you. Yes, you, anonymous giver. Month after month when our statement is forwarded to us we see you in your anonymity. You are not anonymous to God, and we are blessed by your quiet support.

For you. Yes, you. We have never met personally, but you faithfully pray through the missionary prayer handbook. You write us encouraging letters, you pray for us, you give to the Lord's work that we are called to, and you make it possible for us to be here and do what we are passionate about.

You are the ordinary extraordinary heroes; the widow with her mites, the boy with the loaves, the woman with with the oil. We are the lucky ones who get to live by God's providence in and through and in communion with you.

"Calling his disciples to him, Jesus said, 'Truly I tell you, this poor widow has put more into the treasury than all the others. They all gave out of their wealth, but she, out of her poverty put in all she had to live on." Mark 12:43-44

Your Father Knows....

We are not the same people we were two years ago. We don't think the same, we don't respond the same, and interestingly, we are no longer surprised when God orchestrates amazing things on our behalf.

That doesn't mean that we are not just as delighted, or just as overcome with emotion, but we are not *surprised*. Because He has proven Himself again and again, and again to be our Source, our Sure Thing. The One who calls, provides for the journey.

We can't really live by a budget, because the numbers don't match. God's math doesn't make ANY sense. Somehow there is money to give, to host, to bless, when there should technically only be enough to pay the rent and utility bills. Our vehicle insurance, repairs, tires, etc are not even in the theoretical budget right now, and amazingly, that doesn't concern us.

Like the lady with the oil and the jars, when it should be running out, somehow, it never does. And when something out of the ordinary looms (like our vehicle insurance next month) the money anonymously shows up in our MSC Canada account in the exact right figures that we need.

Or we agree to pray for discernment about whether we should attend a family camp for European MSC workers and someone emails us before we even have time to pray and says "we want to gift you with *this* amount of money, to use in a way that would bless your family." The exact amount for camp registration.

When God was first challenging us to come to Italy, we felt that He was challenging us to come in faith. With no sure knowledge of where we would end up or how we would pay the bills. We were strangely fierce in our desire to "trust and obey and watch" as the Lord guided and provided. We have never, never, EVER been disappointed.

"Do not be amazed, your Father knows what you need before you even ask", and His children who He has blessed with resources are a blessing to others, that we may bless others, that they... Oh what a privilege to be His child, and to be siblings with you in this life now, and in our eternal home. May His family grow and His name be made famous among the nations!

Room Service

Pietro is currently attending a conference called Missione 2016 where John Piper is the key note speaker. This is the biggest conference of its kind ever held in Italy with 1,500 attendees. Being rather drained after the month we have just had with a death in the family, my being gone for 3 weeks, and then having company during the following three weeks. I think the thought of mingling with 1,500 other people was a bit overwhelming to him right now to say the least.

He's a light sleeper to start with, and sleeps even worse when he is in unfamiliar surroundings and especially with unfamiliar people. His first text upon arriving at his hotel last night was "pray for me, my roommate smokes." My heart sank. Second hand smoke (even residual) is one of those things that sets Pietro's allergies raging which then leaves him sneezing like a crazy person, and eyes and nose running so heavily that he is forced to lay prostrate for days on end due to the misery of it. I told him to go and talk to the conference organizers and explain his situation, even though I doubted he would. He didn't see my message until many hours later that night but in the meantime I prayed that God would please provide my husband another room and protect him physically.

His message to me at midnight was, "I just want you to know I got a private room. I am so thankful."

Today he called to explain what had happened. After he had checked into his room he went back to the check in desk, I can't remember why exactly, maybe to pick up his conference packet and there was a woman in front of him who was very upset and irritable that her brother, who had payed for and requested a private room, had been roomed with someone else. Turns out her brother was the smoker from Pietro's room.  Hotel management asked Pietro "if he would mind moving"! They expediently moved him to a private room to accomodate this other man's private booking. 

Not only was he protected from a sure fire allergy flare up that would have ruined his entire weekend, this "mix-up", although I would much rather refer to it as a divine "mash-up", allowed for him to have the luxury of a room to himself  which I know will be a huge blessing to my off the charts introvert spouse as he mingles with 1,500 people for the next three days.

Nothing to Give

I started this day with nothing to give. And yet to me this day so much has been given.

When I rose with the dawn and wearily gathered my bible, prayer journal and devotional, I started by journaling how spent I was. Physically, emotionally, mentally. Ten days of battling a wicked ear infection, as many days of seeking to sum 40 years of testimony into four pages that would wholly reflect and glorify the One who has been there leading and sustaining each step of the way. A night of very little rest due to nausea from antibiotics, and the monumental task of going out and standing before a room full of women to bare my soul just hours ahead of me.

"God," I wrote. "I need You. I have nothing without You. I don't have the energy to do what I need to do today. We don't have the resources to pay the bills that have come in the past two days. We don't have the patience and the endurance to face another month of dealing with all the bureaucracy of getting our residency issues sorted out. God, it's been a hard year. Four homes, and we still aren't settled. All the expenses and the exchange rate on our support making this seem financially impossible. God, we need you."

After journaling, I took up my devotional book, turning to the passage in Phil 4:6-7 and read this: "Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; then the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus."

The devotional meditation that followed read;  "In every thing, by prayer and supplication make your requests known to God." 'But do not beg. Rather, come just as a business manager bringing to the owner the needs, checks to be signed, etc., and knowing that to lay the matter before Him means immediate supply. I (God) long to supply, but the asking- or the faith-assurance from you, is necessary, because to you that contact with Me is vital."

With thanksgiving, I praise God for how He has provided for both our needs and some of our wants. And how it has been His provision, His blessing to come through in each case. How I love to make His name famous for how faithful and good He is! And so I place my stones in the road.

Because of the drop in the Canadian dollar, even though our support remains the same and our supporters are faithful, what we get after the exchange rate does not come close to reflecting our actual budget. This has meant that while we have money to pay the rent, the bills, gas for the van and feed our family there is nothing extra for clothing or medication or unexpected expenses. So when the boys were down to two pairs of "acceptable to wear in public" pants each, one pair of which could be considered "iffy" I started praying I could find some cheap used pants for them at the market that could be squeezed into the grocery budget. Unfortunately because of all the immigrants here, it is extremely hard to find used items at the market and for two weeks I had no success. That second Saturday I prayed and told God the boys needed pants and that Jonathan needed shoes. The girls had also requested I keep my eye open for brown dress shoes for them (a want not a need).

The next day one of my new friends, the wife of an American chaplain on the base, was visiting with me at church and said, "Oh, by the way, next Saturday there is a bag sale at the Thrift Store on base, would you like to come with me?" (You need to be sponsored on by a military family). Of course you will not be surprised to know that in that sale I got two BAGS full of clothes for ten euros. Not just one, but four pairs of pants for each of the boys, and although there were not many shoes to choose from, there were 6 pairs of beautiful brown dress shoes in the girls' sizes. Besides this I was able to get coats and house coats for a number of the kids. All for the price of ONE pair of pants at the market.

For a few weeks my heart has been very burdened for Shailey. She is sixteen and was so enjoying her "freedom" in Canada to get out and do things as an individual. Her piano lessons, quizzing, riding... she has given all of these up and has nothing to replace them here. She expressed feeling a bit stir crazy, and wanting to find a way to earn some money so that she could take riding lessons at the stable nearby. They are not expensive, but even ten euros a lesson is one third of our day's household expenses and unfeasible for us. So we committed to pray even though my heart did not have hope. The economy here is in crisis. Everyone is struggling to put food on the table. People are constantly asking us to provide work for them, cutting our grass, cleaning our house, cooking for us, they are begging for work and we can't help any of them. Riding lessons for Shailey seems extravagant in light of this.

But within days of requesting that God provide the means for Shailey to make some money so that she can pursue an interest, we were approached with a request for babysitting from another American family from our church. She has three dates pencilled in for the near future and her eyes are shining like stars as she looks forward to being able to climb in the saddle again.

Lastly, just today, after my time in the word this morning I handed over these unexpected bills that are coming up due to our new rental contract and hook ups. Like the devotional said, I didn't beg. I just said, God, we are your servants. You are our source. We don't have the money to pay these bills. And now tonight, in my inbox, a little note from someone on the other side of the world, saying they had "some money" they were praying how and where to give, and today they knew they were to give it to us.

"I (God) long to supply, but the asking- or the faith-assurance from you, is necessary, because to you that contact with Me is vital."

Oh how these words resonate with me in this current chapter of growth and learning about His goodness and faithfulness. Every day I look at the Vine and the Branches painting Ramona gifted us before we moved and I realize that it says it all. Apart from Him we can do nothing. He is our life, our source, our song.

The Crate of Christmas Oranges

When I suspected my last post for "Stones by the Road" I didn't mean the blog in general, but the theme that I had chosen for 2015. I felt the focus would shift in 2016 and was waiting to see where the road would lead. In the end, the road goes on and the stones remain, they will just take on broader hues of remembering rather than solely God's acts of faithfulness. They will also come to represent people, stories, and moments that bear epigraph.

So here I stand, with a stone in my hand and a story to tell.

When I was a kid, we lived for some years in a refurbished shed with no power and no running water. We drove a mint green 1960's Plymouth Valiant station wagon (when it ran) and I remember wanting to be dropped off a block away from school so noone would see me pulling up in "Betsy".

Our shack had a refurbished steel barrel for a wood heating stove, oil lamps, propane fridge and stove. In winter (mountain winter, I remember the cold blowing in through the cracks in the chinking, frozen senseless feet on clapboard floors, frosty breath like smoke in the morning) we melted snow to wash dishes and ourselves in an iron basin. In summer a black barrel on a stand outside warmed water for us to shower in the great outdoors. So I know a little bit about roughing it, but I remember it more with fondness than despair. Life was simple; complicated, but simple.  I had a swing under the big old evergreens growing on the slope that would swing me way out over the bank until I felt I was suspended between sky and land.

We got food hampers at Christmas back then, and I vaguely remember my step dad bringing home a tub of hand me down toys and a crate of Christmas oranges from the local community center. We were the have nots.

Flash forward to today, and here we are, suspended somewhere in the space between the haves and the have nots.

We knew before we came to Naples that God was giving us a huge home of great value for little more than the rent many pay for a large apartment. We also knew we were coming to a very poor neighborhood that houses (and I use the term loosely as many of them are squatters) more Africans than Italians. In reality, driving down our streets there is little to indicate you are not in Africa.

Since we came to the field we live on substantially less monthly income and have slightly higher monthly expenses than we used to. We don't know how this works, but so far it seems to be like the lady with the oil in the jar. It never runs out.

All that said, I look around and I just can't fathom how my neighbors are doing it. We have money for groceries, for insurance for our vehicle, gas for the same, and pellets for our stove (heating source). This Sunday at Il Faro our family helped with handing out our monthly food hampers to 24 families from or with connections to our church who don't have money for any of those things. They live in houses that are mostly unheated except for a wood stove or a fireplace in their kitchen. They go out near daily to hunt for fallen wood in the pine forest (which is illegal) because they can't afford firewood. The temperature here goes down to plus 5 at night and even though it may get to plus 16 during the day, it never takes the humid chill out of a concrete building.

But they would give you the shirt off their back. Watching them, living among them, we are learning so much about God's economy and living beyond one's means.

Don't get me wrong, I don't use that term with the North American connotation of living beyond one's means by buying more house, bigger cars, faster toys and maxing out our credit cards. On the contrary, I use the term to refer to giving when you have not.

You see, we have these neighbors. All they have is each other, the eggs their chickens lay and what goodwill provides them.  She comes over a few times every week with eggs for me, and the other day we returned home to find a crate of Christmas oranges on our dining room table. A Christmas present from them. They don't have money to buy themselves meat for their table, but they bought a crate of Christmas oranges for us.

The oranges have taken on a deep symbolism for me. They represent the couple back home who have struggled financially and made sacrifices as a family of 8 due to lack of work and yet continue to support us faithfully with four times our average monthly support. They represent our missionary friends on the field with us here in Italy who live by faith and give monthly towards our support by faith as well. They represent another beautiful couple who have struggled with unemployment and financial hardship and yet choose to give to make it possible for us to go. They represent the church in Texas who know nothing about us except except for the short bio and family photo they saw in the MSC Canada missionary handbook and yet sent money for us to buy Christmas presents for our kids.

Lastly, they represent our own unfolding story. Freely you have been given, freely give. I may not have money to buy presents for my own kids, I may not have money to put my kids in activities, but you can bet your bottom dollar our family is giving the gift of firewood to a number of special people this week. And our hearts are warmed and our spirits are happy as we learn to live by God's rich upside down economy that it truly is better to give than to receive.

Ordinary Miracles

I get the feeling this will be my last post for Stones by the Road. Not a dead end, but a bend in the road. A friend prayed for me today  that the “extraordinary” provisions of God would become “ordinary” to me. That I would know Him so well, trust Him so deeply, that I would cease to be surprised but would graciously expect and accept His divine provision. I think she articulated something that has already been taking place in me.

At the end of this year of “gratitude (and trust)”, my opportunities to exercise both have been legion. I will continue to carry the rich lessons and memories of this year with me as God’s story for us unfolds and I know that God will continue to provide more opportunities to continue to thank and trust Him. As He does, I come to know more and more who my Father is, and how deeply He loves and cares for us.

I think the final stone for my little roadside cairn is fitting for two reasons. One, it has to do with Christmas, and the close of this year. Two, because in a way it also ties in with the word that God has given me for 2016.

Lighting has been on my mind the past few days. Our new house has those kind of lightbulb candelabras everywhere that use anywhere from 5-8 light bulbs per fixture. Most of the lightbulbs are burned out, leaving anywhere from 0-3 lightbulbs working per room.  Because Europeans are very conscious of energy consumption may I just add, that these let off nowhere NEAR the light we are used to living under in Canada. This is not a bad thing, unless you are trying to read aloud to your kids after dark.

The second lighting I have been thinking about is Christmas lighting. For the tree. Which I hope we get to put up during the course of this next week.

So today we went to the grocery store and I stopped short in the lighting aisle. I was aghast when I saw the prices of the little bulbs we need for the candelabras. Thinking of the Christmas lights (priorities people!), I cringed a little and walked away.

When we got home I was working on the last of my unpacking in our bedrooms, transferring summer clothes from moving boxes into trunks we had been given after an American woman moved away. When I got to the last trunk, I was surprised to find it had stuff in it. My heart kind of skipped a beat as I anticipated what was coming. I don’t know how I knew, all I can say is that I am getting to know God…. And yes, there were 5 boxes of unopened Christmas tree lights (white of course, my favorite) in the bottom of the trunk.

And what I love about it is that the word God has placed on my heart for 2016 is “Shine”.

I think that is what Sarah Maclachlan would call “just another ordinary miracle today….”

A Beautiful Benefactor

The stories I tell of God’s faithfulness might make our life look like a fairytale. In some ways it really is. I read this Oswald Chambers quote recently and it really struck home for me. “As long as we are “rich”, particularly in the area of pride or independence, God can do nothing for us.“ You see, when you have surrendered all security, all control, all ability to take care of your own needs yourself that is when He has the opportunity to do what you wouldn’t need Him to do if you were self sufficient, self directed and self centered.

But the reality is that fairytales have a dark side. Yes, warm houses show up in dark forests, princes show up on white steeds and save helpless maidens from fiery dragons. But dark forests and fiery dragons exist.

My writing is primarily a place for me to magnify our Reason to Sing. He is so good. So faithful. So incredibly incredible. He is. I mean, He has proven Himself over and over and over.

Recently I shared about how I turned to God to ask Him to provide spare beds for us. He did so within days. Right after that occurred I went home and kind of chuckled to myself, (half) jokingly saying, “Oh man…. why didn’t I have the foresight to ask You for an armoire and a dresser, too?” The very next morning my doorbell rings, and the SAME lady who had given me the beds, sheets and guest towels is standing at the bottom of my stairwell. “Listen,”, says she, “It’s not that you would be in need of a bedroom suite for your guest room would you? My neighbor is redoing her rooms and has a set to give away.”

Of course she is. I may have chuckled as I made the initial jest, but God definitely got the last laugh as He orchestrated the response.  

His attention to detail is impeccable.  In the midst of our move, I realized we were still one dresser and one armoire short since the girls had been living at Nonna’s and using her furniture. My first thought was that we would go to Ikea to pick up a couple of pieces but again, I caught myself. Not my money, not my job, first ask for what you need. The day after we arrived we were sitting around the table at Tim and Jacki’s house and retelling the story about the bedroom suite. She casually mentions, ”If you need another dresser, we have that one just sitting there you are welcome to take.” That one was the big dresser from Ikea, in the exact finish of our other furniture… the exact dresser I would have bought if I had taken care of it myself, oh, and hey, by the way, there is a matching armoire you are welcome to, too.

So why… why, why why do I, like the Israelites in the desert, get to those inevitable points in the road where the stretch ahead looks bleak, no oasis visible to the barren eye, and my gut reaction is worry?

One of these barren vistas is sometimes our monthly support figure when it arrives via email. Some months it is our oasis, our miracle. Some months, like this one, I look at the Canadian figure of just over  half of what we used to make when we had a predictable salary, do the math to convert to euros which makes it that much less, and my heart sinks a little.

Sometimes, I even panic. Sometimes I even catch myself almost on the brink of thinking out loud, “God did you bring us out into the wilderness to perish?”  Wow. Really? How can I even go there after all He has done? But the truth is, that at month’s end, when our tummies are full and our every need is met, I look at the month to come and I question whether we are going to be able to afford to pay the heating, or worry that Christmas won’t have Christmas presents or my kids will be forever stunted because they won’t be able to take music lessons or participate in sports.

Last night I lay in bed turning these thoughts over and over in my head. Wrestling with the truth that we are secure in the keeping of our gracious Heavenly Father, and the lie that we are going to freeze or go hungry in the wilderness. As a human being I want to DO something to secure control of our future needs.  Always, shamefully, it comes back to this. I felt that quiet voice telling me to be still and I prayed over and over “Be still and know that I am God” until my tense muscles relaxed and I drifted off to sleep.

This morning I awoke to a quiet, still house, bundled up in my wool sweater jacket over my fleece pyjamas and moved to sit near the heater with my bible and journal. After beginning a study on Ruth yesterday I found myself in chapter 2 and God ministered to me so deeply through the reminder of how He gave Ruth such exaggeratedly extravagant grace under  such a kind, generous benefactor. Boaz’s words to Ruth appeared magnified on the page as I read them. “May the Lord reward your work and your wages be full from the Lord, the God of Israel, under whose wings you have come to seek refuge.”  

A little later I opened our email to discover a communication from an unknown sender where some sweet ladies (perfect strangers) in Texas wrote the following greeting; “On behalf of (our assembly) we wish your family a very merry Christmas and a blessed new Year. Funds were forwarded to (your agency) for your children for Christmas gifts.”

Two precious ways God reminded me to be stayed on Him. Two ways of showing me, reminding me, promising me that He is our Kinsmen Redeemer, He is our Great Reward, and He, and only He, is and always will be our Beautiful Benefactor.

Be still my beating heart and rest in the knowledge that He’s got the whole crazy world, and our every single circumstance, in His very capable and all powerful hands.

The House That God Picked

This one has me so dazed that I can't even conceivably wax eloquent on it. I am like a stuttering fool before His goodness. After sharing the story about God's lead to Naples, of course I was bombarded with questions about logistics. Where is Naples in relation  to Lesina?  Does this mean a move? So then you need a house?

Well let me assure you that God was far ahead of us all. Indeed, as someone told me precisely 22 months ago, not to worry about the future, the house, the logistics, because God was Already There . And in fine form, just like The Story With Our Van His sovereign signature was in the details.

Before leaving Canada our care team was praying for the home God was preparing for us. One of our friends challenged us to be super specific with God, as we were with the van. So we went home and did our homework, ie. made a list of our needs and desires. This was not an easy task, but I will say the kids had a much easier time with it than I did. We wrote the following:

Need: Three bedrooms: one for us, one for the boys, one for the girls.
Desire: A spare bedroom

Need: A dining room big enough for our ginormous table and family
Desire: A spacious open concept floor plan that would allow hosting big gatherings

Need: Windows. (without light I am prone to struggle with depression)
Desire: Green. It doesn't even have to be on my yard, but if I can just SEE a tree, God I will be happy.

Need: an outdoor space. maybe a balcony, a little patio, or a terrace... just a place to sit in the open air
Desire: a yard "a giardino" as it is called in Italy. with grass, and trees and space for the kids trampoline.

Need: 600 euros a month rent
Desire: a free, private parking space with room to tinker.

Other Desires:
Nichole: please no whacky, tacky tiles and patterns.
Elisa: to be near the sea
Shailey: to have horse stables nearby

Yeah, like I said, the kids didn't have trouble with the Extravagant Giver or  "specific desires" aspect.

During the past six months, I must admit I was a little confused as to the exercise in specifics. I had felt that God was convicting me on doubting His desire to give good gifts to His children. Almost as though I thought He would be stingy in order to test my faithfulness or maturity. I sensed this offended God,  (rightly so) repented of it and asked Him to help me see Him as the Extravagant Giver that He is. Not that that is all He is, but specifically for me this was an element of His character I struggled with.

I really believed I had "broken through" in this area, and was holding great expectations for God to wow us with "something amazing" for our family and ministry. I just gotta say that our 900 square foot, two bedroom, second story apartment with one itsy bitsy teeny weeny shower and expensive 100 euro a month parking 3 blocks away, kinda let me down a bit. DON'T get me wrong. The apartment is beautiful, bright, the four rooms are relatively spacious, and it has a huge balcony for outdoor living, and the 400 euros a month was a huge plus as well. For all of these things I was truly grateful. But... well.... I felt like after challenging me to step up my expectations, God kinda dropped the ball on this one.

Cue the house in Naples. When we were planning the dates to go and explore a ministry opportunity at Il Faro, we were told that they had a potential house that we could rent as well. On Monday afternoon, at 5 pm, we stood in front of the big gate and waited for them to buzz us in. I will describe what we saw, as we saw it as the gate slid open. Yard. A big, big yard. Grass. Trees and lots of place for kids to run. A detached double garage with plenty of space to tinker. A huge two story house, with tons of big windows.

Entering the house we found ourselves in a great room that was practically the size of our whole apartment, with a huge fire place, high ceilings and incredible finishing details. To the right, sliding mahogany doors open to steps leading down to the kitchen with patio doors leading to the patio. A hall, a laundry room and a bathroom lead to the stairs that take you to the second floor where there are two bathrooms and four bedrooms, all with french doors leading on to balconies. From the balconies you look out over a pine forest reaching as far as the eye can see in both directions. Literally a carpet of lush green. And 500 yards beyond, the sea.

As if all of these particulars were not enough, there were little over the top things that left us speechless. Fancy bathtubs and showers and a gas hook up for the barbecue we brought from Canada. But the piece de resistance came at the end of it all when we were sitting around the formal dining room table with the owners and some of their neighbors who had come to help them pack. The neighbors asked our girls what they missed from Canada and the girls said how they missed their horses. The lady's face broke out in a big smile and she said "Well, no worries. We have horse stables and we live just a few miles from here, plenty of horses to choose from."

This dream home, this answer to need, desire and dream and so much more? The rent is 100 euros a month more than what we paid for rent for our apartment and garage in Lesina and exactly the 600 euros a month we had budgeted...

It's just a house. But it's the house God picked and may I just say, He has excellent taste. Extravagant grace has taken on a whole new depth.

One Stop Shop.

I used to think missionaries were heroes. I mean, the sacrifices... the faith... the results! I now know firsthand how there is nothing esoterically heroic about missionary life, just two simple ingredients are required. Trust and obey. And the real Hero is always the One who calls, equips and provides.

One of the many things we love about our agency back in Canada is their core value: Committed to God's Supply. What that means is that when we have a need, we take it to God and we ask Him to provide. Again and again on this journey we have humbly submitted our needs to Him and He has never, ever failed us.

We are in full packing mode, surrounded by boxes and all that jazz, going to Naples on Thursday to sign the rental contract and get the keys to our new place (more on that soon). We are expecting quite a bit of company in December right on the heels of our move and it got me thinking how now that we have more bedrooms, we need more beds and bedding for hosting company. So right on the spot I sent up a request for God to procure us a double bed and a fold out cot or two. Never mind shopping online, I order 1-800-Jehovah-Jireh direct.

Today I stopped in somewhere with a prayer in my heart to be able to bless this dear soul. Well, I was the one who came away blessed. I may have brought her soup, but I came away the delighted new owner of a double bed, two fold away cots, a giant box of bedding and even guest towels. Not a word of a lie.

This takes one stop shop and express delivery to a whole new level.