beautiful, crazy life.

An ocean of people press in around me; every tribe, every nation.  Hands lifted, faces aglow, our voices joining together in exuberant praise of our King!  I am one among the multitude and yet, I am also the only one.  It's just Jesus and me.  He's holding my hand, pulling me forward through a field.  The wheat stocks are golden, swaying with the wind, and we are laughing!  He has something amazing to show me and I can't wait!  The song is building and I am in the crowd again, I don't know these people and yet I DO!  Sweet tears are falling, children dance and we worship the Savior with every fiber of our being.  

This is what God has been showing me lately, when I close my eyes in worship.  It's breathtaking.  It's magnificent.  It's intimate.  And the more I experience, the more I crave it!  Just a glimpse of eternity with Him and I can't wipe the smile off my face!  But there's a flip side to this; eternity without God!  That is a sobering thought, one that should have me telling any and every one the good news!!  

Lately my prayer has been for God to mold me and that I might be more sensitive to His Spirit.  I'm realizing that request might be just as 'dangerous' as praying for patience!  I asked for it and He's coming through, I just didn't realize what all His follow through would entail!  I'll be in the coffee fields and get hit with this wildly, crazy thought that I need to get ahold of a certain person.  I might not have seen this individual in years and yet I'm supposed to strike up a conversation?!  Or this weekend at the beach, I was engrossed in a book, toes dug into the sand and it happened again!  An urge from within and all of a sudden I can't stop studying the couple next to me.  I'm not just wondering where they're from; it has become vital that I figure out whether they know Jesus!  My book lost all interest, I couldn't stay focused long enough to read a single paragraph.  I knew what I was supposed to do, but I spent so much time brainstorming how I would begin this dialogue and, ultimately, figure out what they believed, that I lost my chance.  And I can not stop thinking about them, now.

~beautiful coffee cherries~

Granted, I have a LOT of time for thinking these days.  We were in the fields Monday- Thursday and picked 1,000 pounds of coffee cherries!  I love being able to listen to music or audio books.  However, when I've been avoiding a direct order from GOD, it doesn't matter how loud I turn up the tunes!  So, I'm growing.  I'm getting in touch with the people He puts on my heart AND, hopefully, I'll be obedient the next time He tells me to act.

In other news, after four days of picking, my muscles went on strike and, thankfully, Derek realized I needed a break.  But I'm getting ahead of myself, he actually offered me a day off on Thursday, knowing that I was exhausted, he said he could finish up the field on his own.  The voice in my head was whooping "Hallelujah!!" but I heard a different, lunatic voice answering "No, no.. don't be crazy, love!  We're in this together!"  Say WHAT?!  I, or rather SHE, had just turned down the chance to stay home, catch up on my to-do-list, have time for a run and cook something for dinner besides spaghetti!  I must have lost my mind!   

[Kai's cooling off!]

But, alas, I AM glad I went and my muscles held up just fine.  We had more left than we realized and even with both of us picking it still took all day to finish that section.  Then Derek declared Friday 'painting day', finishing up that job at our church added another fine-tuned skill to our resume!  More importantly, it was an extra day of recovery for my shoulders.  And did I mention that Derek got Thai food for dinner after one of those extra-long picking days?  I am blessed!  See, getting home so late means it's too dark to go running and we're too hungry for me to take longer than 10-15 minutes to make dinner.  It leaves little time for cleaning or grocery shopping and definitely no time for a good book, my geography quizzes or experimental baking.  Weekends do us a world of good, though, and don't let me fool you- our life is certainly not all work and no play!  But this schedule does wear on a girl and Derek knows that the 'little things' can make an extraordinary difference.  In the end, I know this is just a season, and one that I AM extremely grateful for.  'I can do ALL things through Christ who strengthens me!' Philippians 4:13

my picking basket ^^

With that, I begin a brand new, beautiful week!  I'm filled with the hope of eternity and the grace of my Savior!  The joy within me goes hand in hand with a responsibility to share it, and I am ready to step out and be bold.  I pray that you readers may know the all-surpassing goodness of our God and glimpse eternity throughout your days.  

-B