Good News

My step-sister has been found; thank you so much for praying for her. Please do continue to pray, though, if you think of her. She is still in desperate need of an encounter with Jesus. Please also pray that her heart softens toward her family and she initates contact, especially with her mom.

Contending for life

This time, it's a bit closer to home. Some of you may know that one of my step-sisters is in a rough place, and has been for several years now. The bottom line right now is that she has been missing for over 48 hours, and my parents have sufficient reason to think that she could be suicidal. Please pray for her, as the Lord brings my family to mind. Specific prayer needs:

• For her safety, protection, and well-being
• For grace for my parents, and especially Joanie (her mom)
• That she would be found quickly, safe and well.
• Her salvation, healing, and deliverance.
• That Psalm 118:17 would be her testimony: "I shall not die, but live, and declare the works of the Lord."

Thank you for praying. The Lord God, Jehovah, whom we serve is mighty to save!

New Look

Thanks to Jaime and her great instructions, my creativity has been sparked and I decided it's high time for an updated look and a bit of originality. The beach ~ an iconic element of the New Zealand life and culture ~ was the inspiration for my latest design. I think it's kinda fun to have something new and different. Thank you, Jaime!

As far as the storm goes, Tauranga lived up to it's meaning of a "safe harbor". We missed the brunt of the storm and only suffered a few tree limbs down on our driveway. It was kind of a let down after the buildup of "the biggest storm in 10 years". It honestly didn't seem much different than an ordinary windy and rainy day, but I suppose there's nothing wrong with that.

We're enjoying a nice family day today; it's still cold and a bit rainy outside. Good day for being warm and cozy inside with no where to go.

The storm is coming

They say it will be no ordinary storm, potentially one of the worst in 10 years; one that "mimics...modest Atlantic hurricanes that hit America." Not sure if it will actually be that bad; but we've got the batteries and flashlights ready, just in case.

Somebody is learning how to read!

Taylor has had a steady interest in letters and phonics since, well, about the time she was 2 (Thanks to Leap Frog's "Letter Factory" DVD and fridge phonics ~ the absolute best toy ever). But the learning curve has risen sharply in the last couple of weeks, mostly in terms of learning how to write the letters of the alphabet. Every time I turn around, it seems that she has a pen or pencil or marker or crayon in hand, asking me how to spell a certain word, so that she can practice writing the letters. She can now write her name (very well, too, I might add).

The learning curve has also risen sharply when it comes to reading. I've read a bedtime story to Taylor every night before bed, since, well, long before she could even talk. Recently she's been into Curious George (like mother, like daughter. He was my favorite when I was a kid!). For Christmas this past year, Nana bought her a large hardcover Curious George collection, with all the original Curious George stories in it. So what have we been reading every night before bed for months? Curious George, of course! The last couple weeks, she has started pointing to words on the pages as I've been reading, trying to guess/sound out what word it was. So, what I started doing recently was being a bit more deliberate to focus her curiousity in words, and at the end of every page, I'll point to a word, have her sound it out, and see if she can figure out what it is. Tonight, she was doing amazing ~ sounding out and reading all sorts of 3-letter words, such as "hat", "man", "him", "his", "and", "bag", "big", "zoo", etc. She was so proud of herself ~ absolutely beaming with every new word that she was able to read. And of course, Mommy was proud, too!

Yankee Candles

It's been quite rainy recently. I think I can remember two entire days in probably the last two weeks when it hasn't rained at all. And on cold, rainy winter days, I find nothing makes home feel homey and cozy like burning my Yankee Candles. There's something about the sight of an open flame that deceives my mind into believing that I'm warm; when in all reality, it could be anything but warm inside. I was talking with one of my American friends the other day, and she agreed with me that good candles are really hard to find here in New Zealand. Either there are no good candles, so Kiwis aren't really into them, or Kiwis aren't really into candles, so there are no good ones to be found. I'm not quite sure which it is; but I have a strong hunch that if it's the former, someone would make a killing by starting an "importing and selling Yankee Candles" business. At least all the Americans in the country would buy 'em.

To love prayer

I love when you leave an intercession prayer meeting more alive on the inside and less weary than you were when you got there. In my experience of prayer, these meetings are normally the exception rather than the rule. I normally find intercession to be more "work" than "refreshing". Whether that is true of all people, or simply a statement of my own depravity, I'm not sure. But the point remains: I love prayer meetings in which a genuine encounter with the living God occurs; in which Holy Spirit impartation happens at the heart level; in which true grace to pray is given. I love when His presence is manifest and when He pulls back the veil ~ even just for a moment ~ to allow us to catch but a glimpse of Heaven's perspective. Even one in a hundred like that is enough to keep me coming back for more.

Time to brag on our team

I was thinking today about the team of people that the Lord has gathered around us here in Tauranga, the ones He has chosen to help birth this House of Prayer and missions base here in the ends of the earth. When we left Kansas City 2 1/2 years ago to venture into the vast unknown, we had absolutely no idea what (or who) would await us. We knew a handful of amazing people already here, but also wondered who the names and faces would be that the Lord would add to our number in the years to come. (Actually, to be completely honest, when we left KC, we really had no idea if this thing would actually work and if we would even still be here "in the years to come". By His grace, we are still here; and for as long as He chooses to impart the same grace, we will continue to be here, laboring to see His house built). Anyways, for those out there reading this who have ever started a house of prayer, you will understand what I mean when I say it is hard work. For those reading this who have never started a house of prayer, I hate to ruin the romatic ideas of what that may be like, but, it's really hard work. And if this is something that the Lord ever calls you into, I pray that you will be blessed with a team as incredible as He has blessed us with.

I was looking around the prayer room this morning, silently thanking the Lord for the ones He has gathered here. Many of the ones in the room today have been with us since the very beginning, others for a year, some for just a couple weeks. But let me tell you, the faithfulness of these people is remarkable. I have seen them show up day after day, week after week, year after year to gather together for no reason other than to worship Jesus and lift their voices and cry out for His mercy on behalf of this city and this nation. Many winter mornings the temperature in the prayer room has been colder than the temperature outside; a few times our worship leaders have joyfully worshipped the Lord truly before the Audience of One ~ with no one (or only one or two) people in the room. All of them have gone without legitimate pleasures in order to pursue the superior Pleasure. But still they keep coming back day after day, to set themselves before the Lord, to pursue Him until He comes, to seek until they find. They have really bought into the fact that their reward is Him, and nothing else. And they are growing in leaps and bounds. These guys are the real deal.

So first of all, I'm grateful to the Lord for surrounding us with such amazing people. And I'm grateful to them for their faithfulness and devotion to Christ Jesus, and also for standing alongside us through the thick and the thin. You guys are the best.

Re-visiting a long-lost friend

It's been three months, but today the separation has ended. I went up the mount. Nic was the one who inspired the outing; it was her idea to begin with, and her offer to walk around the beach with Taylor while I was going up. Though admittedly hesitant at first, I eventually agreed to the suggestion, and I'm so glad I did! I had prepared myself for the worst ~ barely being able to get up even at a slow walking pace. But as I put my foot on the first step, I decided to see just how hard-out I could go and just how close I could come to my personal best fitness of 9 months ago. Though I am definitely no longer in my prime, I was pleasantly surprised to discover that my little 30-minute jogs around the neighborhood have, in fact, been paying off, and I was still able to scale the mount in good time ~ even running all the steps, and the last bit of the trail near the top! I'm definitely encouraged to continue my running routine, even though it isn't as good of a workout as the mount. But seeing as how it felt so good to give my legs and lungs an intense workout, I think I should make the mount a once-a-month tradition!

Random thoughts

• Once again, I find myself burning the midnight oil. Quite literally. I must stop this if I have any hope of getting decent sleep.
• The All-Blacks played a fantastic game tonight, unfortunately losing to South Africa in the last minutes of the game ~ by only 2 points. Even I watched the second half of the game tonight, and was admittedly getting into it. Surely this is a sign of the times.
• My new favorite recipe at the moment is for chicken pot-pie. Nothing like great winter comfort food.
• My two new cooking ventures for the week are corn chowder (Served with American biscuits on the side. Now, for my Kiwi readers who may need a definition of what a biscuit is, or for those who may be a bit confused as to difference between a biscuit and a scone, click here for a thorough explanation). My second new cooking venture of the week is curry (made with curry paste and coconut milk and chicken and a bunch of veggies, all served over rice. Yum!). Nevermind the fact that I really don't have a recipe I'm following for that one, more like a few helpful hints from friends and lots of experimenting and 'a pinch of this and a pinch of that'.
• Speaking of experimenting, I invented a swiss chard-roasted pepper-garlic-parmesan-orzo dish the other day. I decided I love experimenting in the kitchen; it's a great creative outlet.
• 'Nuff said for now. Time for bed.

Happy 4th of July

Welcome to our world, where the red Christmas sweater worn in Kansas City also doubles as the 4th of July sweater in New Zealand. My, what a strange life we live.

Musings

In the interest of bring an element of closure to my previous post, let me briefly say that we are now the very happy owners of our own dehumidifier. I am definitely looking forward to a drier, slightly warmer, and healthier home. If any of my American readers thought I was exaggerating in my last post, I dare you to come to New Zealand and see for yourself.

Now that we have that important part of life sorted, we can now move on to a discussion of slightly more significant proportion. In this week that we've had off, I have spent a fair amount of time pondering and praying through the season we are in, asking the Lord for His perspective and His thoughts on the matter. Following the hunch that what I am feeling is not representative only of us as a couple or us as a ministry, but perhaps is being felt on a regional, national, or even global scale, I'd like to share some of my recent musings, on a whim that perhaps it may strike a chord in the hearts of some of my readers. Following is an excerpt from an email which I wrote to a friend recently, which summarizes my thoughts quite well.

...This is a season to arise; to contend and hold fast; much is at stake, much hangs in the balance. It is a critical hour. Even as I write this, I am feeling again the sobriety of this...

It seems to me that we are in one of those seasons in which there is a window of time mercifully granted to us from the Father in which we have the choice to respond in wholeheartedness and devotion. It may or may not come as a surprise to you that the landscape of life, soceity, politics, and the church is changing rapidly. The battle between good and evil is raging, perhaps more intensely than ever before. And in light of that, I feel the urgency to arise and stand firm and labor in the place of prayer in order that the purpose of God may be brought forth ~ personally, corporately, nationally, globally. To wrestle with Him through the night until He releases the blessing of His power and presence and glory upon the earth. It's not time to play games anymore. Not that we have been before, but the reality of the significance of the seemingly mundane is pressing in upon us, and is demanding a response proportinate to the intensity of the times.

So, how, then, do we carry our hearts and respond? The only two things I know to do in such a time as this are to pray and fast. With as much grace as Heaven will bestow, pray and fast.

My new favorite appliance

We've been using one for less than 3 hours, and the one we have now doesn't even belong to us. We've borrowed it from our wonderful neighbors, and already I am convinced that we must invest in one of our own. I actually think that someone somewhere needs to start a campaign to ensure that every household in New Zealand owns one. What is it? The humble dehumidifier.

The first 2 winters I lived in New Zealand, I thought I disliked winter here only because it was cold not only outside, but inside as well. This is true. But a few days ago it dawned on me the other reason why I don't get along so well with New Zealand winter. Not only is it wet outside (which I really don't mind all that much), but it's wet inside, too. The condensation on the windows every morning is enough to make one think that the rain outside managed to find it's way to the inside of every window. And not only that, but the air is damp....which makes it feel all the colder. Cold and damp, cold and damp; it's a vicious cycle.

This fact of life illustrates itself most in our home, unfortunately, in Taylor's room. One half of our house manages to stay pretty warm, but the other half of our house (where Taylor's room is), is seriously 5-10 degrees colder. And I really was starting to have some issues with the injustice that our daughter had to sleep in such less-than-ideal conditions (Nevermind the fact that compared with the majority of the world, she's sleeping in luxury). Anyways, that's how this spoiled American was feeling. Until the de-humidifier arrived on the scene.

Long story short, we're borrowing it tonight from our neighbors who are out of town at the moment, and after running it for less than 3 hours, I'm already amazed at the difference in Taylor's room. It's dramatically warmer than it usually is, and the air noticably drier, which makes for a much, much better sleeping environment. I'm already sad at the thought of returning it to it's rightful home tomorrow. Trade-me, (NZ version of E-bay), here we come!!

24 Hour Flu

Fortunately, the 24 hours are just about done, which means that I'm feeling a heckuva lot better now than I was 24 hours ago. Hopefully no one else in the house will come down with the same bug; even though it's only 24 hours, it's never fun to be sick. I guess it is, however, one (unfortunate) way to guarantee that I'm getting some much-needed rest this week. I've realized this about myself: I don't rest well; I find it very difficult to sit still and do nothing productive. But I sure did rest today! Slept 'til mid-day and watched TV all afternoon ~ something I never do. Hopefully by tomorrow I'll be back to normal so I can enjoy the rest of our week off.