'stop' praying & get going <---

'Don't use prayer as an excuse to postpone action.'  Today I heard this statement for the very first time.  Our pastor was speaking on obedience and made a reference to a verse in Exodus 14 where 'the LORD said to Moses, 'Why are you crying out to me? Tell the Israelites to move on.' (vs. 15)  Woah, woah... what DO we have here?!  God is telling Moses to STOP praying?  Yes, (in that moment) because Moses already had an answer!  All that remained was acting upon it... 'Tell those Israelites to get a move on!'  But Moses was procrastinating.  'Well, I better check with God one more time...'  Uh oh, this is starting to sound uncomfortably familiar.  How often do I say 'Well, we're just really praying about it..' although I know deep down what the answer is and has been.
Prayer is absolutely vital and I'm not discounting it in the least.  Being in communication with God on a daily basis is 100% necessary.  But when it comes to responding to God's instructions, no excuse is a good excuse for delaying- even prayer!  If He's spoken, then no matter how many times I hit the floor seeking direction, His answer will be the same as it was to Moses!  'Do you seriously want to discuss this again??  You already know My answer, what are you waiting for?!'  I even had this verse in Exodus underlined, but certainly not as a reminder to stop praying.  Not until today, that is!  I love how God waits to reveal certain things to me until He knows I need to hear them.
This week was a wonderful conglomeration of work, play, coffee, friends and a few more 'belly spottings'.  We miss our families terribly, but being surrounded by such incredible people here is wonderful!  Whether we're hanging out at the beach, getting together for dinner or sitting around 'talking stories', Derek and I truly consider these people our family!  And they make life so sweet!

[Beautiful view on my morning run!]

So, what's keeping us busy these days?  Well, we spent some more time at the farm this week.  Growing a baby lets me off the hook for spraying weed killer, bug killer, etc.  This means I was on mower duty!  Mowing on the farm is a serious rush.  Keep in mind that the farm is situated nicely on the sloping form of a volcano, Mauna Loa.  There is no flat ground.  Not to worry, this simply requires exquisite operating skills.  As you finish one row and turn into the next you must adjust your sitting position to the far side, straddling the edge of the seat.  (Kind of like river rafting when the raft is about to flip and everyone has to scramble to 'high side'.)  There has to be a certain amount of pressure in the seat itself, though.. or the mower will shut off.  So, I'm becoming a ninja seat slider; keeping the mower running but also making the turn without sliding into any coffee trees!!  Now, add to this mess the spider webs criss crossing the entire row.  I take a stick with me and, when my hands aren't otherwise occupied with steering and adjusting the speed, I wave the 'web catcher' in front of me.  This is all fine on paper, but it can be a train wreck in real life.  And on Tuesday I was chewing bubble gum, as well, so we all know how that ended up!  Thankfully, there was only one minor coffee tree casualty and three or four (not so minor) freak outs as I plowed through a web at full speed. Yuck!
Derek is becoming quite the landscaper and has a few new jobs, now!  We praise God for the incredible ways He provides!  What I really love is hearing from people how much they appreciate the work that Derek does.  I'm well aware of what a stud I married but, I must admit, I can take for granted the fact that he's a 'do-er'.  When something needs to be done, he's on top of it!  And if he doesn't know how to do it, he'll learn!  It blows my mind to listen to him talk about plants, surf boards, coffee roasting or any of the other skills and interests he's acquired just since moving over here.  I'm so blessed!  And did I mention that he has superb grilling skills?!  This weekend we had a 'real man's meal' and Derek cooked the best New York strip I've ever had!  No joke.  Granted, that was only the second time we've had steak since moving over here.. so I'm a bit out of touch.  But, it was delicious!  Kai wasn't the only one drooling as the smells wafted up into the kitchen.  Complete with mashed potatoes and green beans, this was a meal for kings!  No special occasion, just a fantastic dinner to celebrate a wonderful life.  And, let me tell you, my hard working husband was in his GLORY eating that steak.

[Shipping out coffee!]

We quickly sold out of our 1 pound coffee bags and had another batch roasted this week!  Exciting times!!  Derek's been perfecting our labels and we finally invested in a legitimate printer.  We're not entirely sure how this coffee business fits into the grand scheme of our life, but for now we're giving it our best and constantly brain storming ways to take it to the next level.  We'd like to do more of the steps on our own, and if we're going to roast our own coffee why not roast other people's coffee?  And if we have a roasting business... why not open a coffee shop, too?!  That's a sample of one of our many trains of thought.  It's crazy and very exciting!  But we also continue to surrender any and every plan to God; knowing that His thought are not always our thoughts.  And His ways are SO much better than any ideas we may be able to conjure up!  (Isaiah 55:8-9)
Baby Pearl continues to grow; weighing in at 1.5 pounds, he's a heavy-weight champion and punches my bladder often enough to prove it!  This week's 'visual' is an ear of corn, but we're thinking he's way cuter than that.  His handsome face is almost fully formed!  But without much fat his skin is pretty transparent and it's probably for the best that we can't see him quite yet.  I do have an appointment coming up, though; best part of the whole month!  And 'Peanut' is becoming quite popular, I think he got more mail than I did this week!!  Finding surprise boxes full of Dr. Seuss books, blankets and miniature pieces of clothing is so much fun and a HUGE blessing :)  One package took me totally off guard this week; we were simply expecting a check for some coffee but found a sweet note, an octopus shirt for the little man and a generous contribution to 'Derek's stollen wallet fund', which hadn't even existed until that moment!  I don't even have the words to describe how this gift impacted Derek and I.  (And yes, I might have teared up a bit..)  God is good!!!

[week 24!]

Going into this new week I will certainly still be talking with my Savior, but I will also be aware of answers and direction that He has already given.  I don't want to use prayer as an excuse when I know what action is required of me.  I must simply pray for strength and then obey- no matter how 'big' or 'little' the act may be.  I want to step into the incredible plans Jesus has for me, every single day- and that means listening and obeying; knowing when to 'stop' praying and get going.