Hope is a beautiful thing. Hope is precious - because it gives us a reason to continue waking up each day and facing whatever it brings. A reason to love, a reason to hold on, and a reason to speak up and speak out.

Hope is what sets us apart here from those surrounding us. Because our hope is based on ASSURANCE - That by calling upon His name, we are saved. It is really that simple. Believe. And enter into that beautiful relationship that gives the only real hope. My neighbors, coworkers, and so many friends... they don't have the light in their eyes or the joy in their hearts and it is because they are working and working and working... and not. getting. anywhere.

Step. Step. Step. Step. Fall... Start over. From the bottom. Attain it all because you can't possibly accept anything as a gift. It must all be earned. It must all be because of your own merit and good works. Work harder! You aren't working hard enough... Are you there YET? No? Do it again. And again. And again. And tomorrow, you still won't be any closer because you will fall again and you still won't know when you sleep where you will end up...

Pray with us this week please, as we share Hope. And Truth. And LOVE. The only One who can save is might to do so. Pray, my friends.

Faith seems to be a lot about maintenance. - a good friend. I think that he may be correct. Faith is not something that comes naturally or easily or without effort. Mine is lacking in so many areas. I believe that God is big enough. I believe that He can and will work in these peoples' lives. But... sometimes, seeing the depths that some of them are at, seeing the pain that they carry, and seeing the day to day... You get discouraged. But He IS big enough. More than enough.

And I think that will be my next lesson. Maintenance. I am okay with that idea.

Warfare has been the topic of late. God has given ample opportunity to practice what He is teaching me and it has had some fairly interesting results, but we are still only in the very beginning. This is far from over.

I also learned something new. I really enjoy Simple Apple Apple Juice with granola. Preferably DD's homemade granola - just the right amount of sweet. Makes me smile.

Pray for the group - most of them are in California this week doing a week long missions outreach for mainly homeless communities and work projects for ministries geared toward the homeless.

More to come but my brain is slowly turning to a mush to match my granola, so it will have to wait.

Missing it... Little pieces of the only part that matters... Eleven mailboxes. One husband. Only He knows how many souls... All of them lost... For now. But, if you could write a letter, a love letter, to them, one to express the passion, the joy that God takes in each of their lives, the love that He longs to give them, would you do it? Would you fill those mailboxes, those hearts, those homes, with the love of Christ? If even for a moment? Over 700 letters were delievred to homes all over this community to a lost and dying and unreached people group. Ones that need to know Jesus. Letters that told of a hope, a way out, a rescue, and a love that goes beyond all logic and comprehension.

Sometimes, we see them. The people around us. But most of the time, I think our eyes are blind. We miss seeing them the way that He sees them. Seeing the girls at the girls' home whose hearts are shattered, whose families are broken, and whose world is filled with darkness. We miss seeing the man on the street who is pleading for someone to fill his gas tank - not so that he can take advantage, but so that he can see that God is indeed real and cares. To see the God who cares about the hairs on his head and the gas in his tank and the fingerprints on his fingers.

We miss seeing the burn victim who can't even cry tears because the burns are so severe around his eyes but who will grasp at anything to cure him of his pain and rescue him from his meaningless and selfish existence. Anything to forget.

I think sometimes we miss making the new friends who remind of us that God does still have some that honor Him, that stick to the design that was set in place. I think we miss learning the new lessons and hearing the stories.

I think we miss it because sometimes... we are so busy looking for what WE want or what we think we need. And whatever it is that we are actually looking for - is right there in front of us.

"Inside of love, there is always a fire burning where we can warm our hands, our hearts, our souls." - Erwin Raphael McManus.

Friends, our hearts should break. And in the breaking, we should see the victory. This battle is just a battle. The war is OVER. And we are on the winning side. Don't miss your opportunities...

Write a letter of love. The Word is there for the living. Do it by the way you interact with your coworkers, the way that you see the ones around you, the ones that you normally pass by. Love Him by loving them...

"Give me your eyes for just one second. Give me your eyes that I may see." - Brandon Heath.

"Break my heart for what breaks yours..."

This is an excerpt of a teaching of Helen Mar Kimball Smith Whitney's husband, who was the founder of the LDS Church - Joseph Smith:

"How gross is the darkness that covers the minds of the people who are fighting against the principles of salvation. No one actuated by the spirit of God would do this or speak against his servants, but would be attended by the Holy Ghost, which would give them faith and reveal to them the power of God unto salvation; but which without faith, is impossible. We read that "the just shall live by faith," and that "faith without works is dead." We can understand the things of God only by the spirit and power of God. The revelations of Joseph Smith can never save others, unless they receive revelation from heaven of their truth, and they must seek for it in order to obtain it. Those who are too careless and slothful to read or to "search and believe in me, not in man," as Jesus said for, "who leans on him leans on a broken reed," will be left as many others have to stumble even at noonday."

This principle of salvation as it was so nicely put was one that required the marriage of Patty and Slyvia Sessions to Joseph Smith - mother and daughter, both of whom were already married to other men - members of the "Church". And the Partridge sisters - also married to other men - polyandry. And Lucy Walker - 17 years old and Helen Mar Kimball Smith Whitney - who was 14 at the time of marriage. And the total was about 34 as far as wives go. His descendents are almost too many to count.

Helen Kimball and Sarah Ann Whitney were both given a time limit - Helen of less than 24 hours to decide to marry him. They were told that the salvation of their entire household was dependent on it. - Read it for yourself in the diaries.

In case you wondered, this man was and is still considered to be a prophet of the one and only True church.

This is what we live with here. Every day. Why, saints, are you not on your knees broken for these people? Let Him shatter your hearts because theirs are and have been... lies have a way of ripping you to shreds and then building fortresses higher than Jericho. But we know how those walls ended up... Father, rescue is coming. Please, rescue your children.

Their hair is swept up off to the side of their face ending in a bun or braid that has an intensity and mass that is overwhelming and definitive to even the most uneducated onlooker or passer-by. Their long sleeves and long skirts match his long sleeves and slacks. It is like going back in time, seeing them on their horses or driving their old pickups filled with children hanging out the back and off the tailgate. They live in close community and shun the outside. They know almost nothing of our world. They are trapped. And they are decieved. And they are abused. And they do it in the name of salvation and godhood. In the name of religion.

Their eyes are vacant. Their hope is nonexistent. I will never forget seeing them all... the ones playing on the playground, all around me. All from one family. All victims and all broken...

GOD! - RESCUE YOUR CHILDREN! Please, Abba... please. Their faces will not leave my mind, their pain - it hasn't left my heart. To not know You...

A friend told me a story the other day that has stuck with me. It actually made me really think and drove me to do some serious praying. He was telling me the bucket story. It goes like this: There was this master and he had two buckets. One was whole and held water to capacity. The other had holes on the bottom and when filled with water, it leaked and dripped until usually, it ended up half full. The master would put both buckets on a yoke, one on each side. He would then walk to the river, fill the buckets and return home and use the water as needed. The bucket with the holes saw the full and whole bucket and felt inferior. He apologized for not being all that he could be to the master. Apologized for not being complete, for being broken. The master said, "Watch today when we get the water. I want to show you something." The master took the buckets to the river, filled them and as they returned the bucket with holes leaked and dripped the entire way home. The master pointed to the side of the road and showed the bucket the flowers along the side of the road that the bucket was on. He explained that the flowers were caused by the water that dripped from the bucket and that he was blessed by the beauty of the flowers each day. Without the holes, without the brokenness, there would be no flowers.

Where are you broken, dear one? Where are your scars? I know you have them. I have seen many of them, and He sees them all. And Heaven knows, I have my own. But so much can come of them. He can make good from all things. Teach me, God.

My prayer lately has been that I can learn to want what He wants. In all things. So often, I still see what I want and bypass what He wants. But that is changing. And it is good. He is good.

We had a girl's luau the other night. After there was a long conversation with a friend. Just about life mostly. About Him and about life. And watched the Passion with another few friends, including C, about a week ago. Colorado City this past week, a tv interview coming up this next week, in between was covered by fundraising for mission trip coming up (that I won't be able to go on, sadly) and work and studying-ish for my certification Praxis exam and then as of this morning, taking the exam. Met some new friends in the past two weeks and have hung out three times now and will see them again on Thursday. Learned a lot just from life lately and God has been amazing... He breaks us and heals us and overwhelms me...

And my brain is now mush.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME! :)

HE IS RISEN!!!!!!!!!! He is risen, indeed! He is Lord of Lords, King of Kings, and seated at the righthand of our Father on the Throne... and He is ALIVE!

I was given a new poem the other day. It may not make a lot of sense because it was a little jumbled but it was like snapshots and song clips and just tiny glimpses... Tiny Glimpses of Something Beautiful... He gave me so many glimpses - whether looking at the sky, into a little one's face, someone's tears, hearing a song, or just having one of those moments.. those ones where you KNOW that He is standing face to face with you and showing you His heart and His story and His plan. Those glimpses of what's to come and what He has in store and what He desires and ultimately just His love. I know that sounds all flowery and nice but think of it in a less romantic way for a moment. We are bombarded by all of the nasty and painful stuff every day all day long. And it gets overwhelming. Overwhelming to live here in the midst of so much blind pain and so much deception. And it hurts your heart and your spirit to see all of this and think, "God, where are you?" And then... in the middle of all this brokenness and all of the tears and all of the silent screams of people, He gives tiny glimpses of what He sees as beautiful. And beautiful it is and has been.
I tried to describe that in this new poem. I failed miserably but I am sharing it with you anyway. Go to: http://warriordawn.blogspot.com to see it.

And good news: Lindsay will be out of the hospital today and staying at the Ronald McDonald House for about 3 days until she can get stitches out and then back to Maine. :) Long road of recovery still but He is healing my baby sister and I could not be happier! :) God is sooooooo Good and has so many plans for this little one.