FREE book

I just spent a few days at a women's conference in Ft. Worth giving away our ministry's FREE book, Revolution in World Missions.
Have you read it?

Do you wonder what exactly our family is doing as GFA home team staff--why we are here? In a simple answer: we said "yes!" to go where God led and read this book.

Get your FREE copy today. Fill out a simple form and one will be sent right away.

What are you waiting for?

Over 150 women from around the country received their copy this weekend. Join me in praying they will now READ the book! One of the ladies at the booth next to us sat and read the entire book while we were at the conference (during the sessions when traffic to our booths was slow). What joy it brought to see her reading it and to then hear her tell others coming to her booth why they should stop over and talk to us!

Be a part of the revolution!

Random Sunday Night Thoughts

I get to see my baby on Tuesday. We're having an ultrasound. I'm 20 weeks today. I'm very excited to see the baby moving around, his/her heart beating, see how s/he is growing.

I have to admit I wasn't sure I'd be as excited with pregnancy #3 as I was with #s 1 and 2. I am.

I absolutely LOVE feeling the baby move. It is my hands-down favorite part of being pregnant. Last night I was working on getting our latest newsletter into envelopes and the baby decided to turn a complete somersault in my belly. I actually shouted a little. It was the most awkward and strange feeling. And then, I could totally feel his/her body bulging on the right side below my ribs. How absolutely amazing is it that there is a little life living inside of me?

I will never cease to marvel at God allowing us to be part of His marvelous creation!

~~

Today's message at church was a continuation of teaching through the Book of Matthew, but our pastor focused on Psalm 73 to help us better understand what "the pure in heart" means in the beatitudes. It was one of his best teachings ever, I think.

The psalm, penned by Asaph, begins with a declaration of God's goodness. Then, he spends the first half of the verses talking about what he sees around him. He says he almost slipped. Then, he explains it. He basically says 'I look around and see all these people who don't love God but who have all this good stuff. They spend lots of effort on what they wear and they look good! They have abundance and just keep getting more. They aren't plagued with the typical strife of man.'

I completely understood Asaph. Yep, I've looked around and envied those who seemed to be fine not living for God but having all the worldly pleasures you can imagine...even the simple ones, like a nice minivan! Who really envies that? Well, this mom of little ones does! or has!

In verse 13 he even goes so far as to say that he has kept his heart pure in vain! Boy, I can totally relate. In fact, one big major horrible blot in my past can be traced to me saying words very similar to those uttered by Asaph right here. Unlike Asaph, I didn't regain my focus before it was too late.

But, then Asaph regains his focus. (And, eventually I did too.) In verses 16 and 17 he says he tried to understand it but couldn't until he came back face-to-Face with the Lord.

All things come back into perspective once we humble ourselves and move back into a right place with Jesus on the throne and our eyes trained on Him!

Throughout the second half of the psalm Asaph sees things as they really are. He sees that those shiny things that were so tempting will be gone one day. He sees that those who seem to prosper are really miserable deep inside. He sees that while they appear to have peace in death, they will have no peace eternally. Then he says:

²⁵ Whom have I in heaven but you?
And earth has nothing I desire besides you.

²⁶ My flesh and my heart may fail,
but God is the strength of my heart
and my portion forever.

²⁷ Those who are far from you will perish;
you destroy all who are unfaithful to you.

²⁸ But as for me, it is good to be near God.
I have made the Sovereign LORD my refuge;
I will tell of all your deeds.

This teaching reminds me of a psalm the Lord led me to when I was preparing to share with the ladies of my church in May. Psalm 27 talks about fear. While the "topic" is different, the turning point is exactly the same. The psalmist David is proclaiming that he shall not fear because the Lord is for him. In verse 4 he explains why he has this confidence--seeking God. When our eyes are trained on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, we cannot get distracted by anything else--not wealth and the seeming prosperity around us and not fear!

I just absolutely love when God gives me a specific word. This theme of keeping my eyes on Jesus has been echoed many times in the last week.

~~

We're gradually putting the house back in order after having our floors redone. Joel finished painting baseboards this weekend and hung all of the trim in the living room today. We might get shelves back in place by next weekend.

Considering all the Lord is teaching me, it feels kinda trite to be talking about floors and housing projects. But, all things in perspective. And, I'm asking God to continue to guide us in what these verses should look like fleshed out in our lives.

~~

Oh, and that reminds me, I'm almost finished with the book Death by Suburb by Goetz. Challenging. It's been a part of all that God's teaching me. Sometimes I'm not very good at putting it all into words, so you may or may not read more about it soon.

Recent Readings

I'm usually reading more than one book at a time. Well, more than one if it's non-fiction. I just read a fiction book I took from my mom's house and really enjoyed it (by Nicolas Sparks). But, when it comes to books that challenge me and help me grow, I usually have a few going at once.
The ladies in our LIFE group began reading Francis Chan's Crazy Love back in February and we just finished the last discussion last night. I'm a little behind and haven't read the last few chapters yet. So, I'm going to go back through it here on the blog and write about each section we read and what the Lord has been speaking to me.

If you've never read Crazy Love, I encourage you to get a copy and read along. It's a fantastic book full of challenges to believers. The GFA staff had the privilege to host Francis Chan one Wednesday afternoon after he toured our office and met with Brother K.P. He shared with our staff for about an hour. His message was right on point for what I need to hear from the Lord. My friend Beth shared a little about what he said in this blog post. She wrote it better than I can, so just go read her entry to understand it. (And, she pretty much got the exact same points I got, so that was neat!) The timing was perfect since he came to visit just as my LIFE ladies were starting to read Crazy Love.
This book, in combination with a few other things which I'll write more about later, have really been challenging me for the last few months.

What have you been reading lately? Will you read Crazy Love along with me? I'd love to have some good dialogue as I go through it.

Blood

This morning Jenna was talking about the Last Supper. Maybe that seems weird to some, but around our house, it's not uncommon for us to hear them pondering different aspects of who God is, what He's done for us, and how He loves us. We talk about it all the time.

In fact, it brings me great joy to hear them incorporate aspects of the reality of God and our life with Him into other activities that seem to have little to do with "spiritual things", like playing in the dirt or pretending to shop for groceries. (Of course, I think all things have a spiritual component and many of us just ignore it on a regular basis. But, that's beside the point of this post.)

So, as Jenna talked about the Last Supper, the conversation went something like this:

Jenna: Then they all ate.
Me: Yep.
Jenna: Then, they drank His blood.
Me: Well, not exactly. They didn't drink Jesus' blood. They were drinking wine and Jesus said it represented His blood.
Jenna: Yeah, then He died and His blood came out and they drank it.
Me: No, they didn't drink it then either. They never drank Jesus' blood. He gave the disciples the Passover wine and was telling them what He was about to do--die on the cross.
Jenna: Yeah, they drank wine.
Me: He was telling them that He was about to shed His blood for their sins. He was talking about the Passover lamb and explaining that He was the Lamb. Remember how we talked about the lamb?
Jenna: Yeah. ... (trails off saying something like "I like lambs. Do you like lambs? I like elephants, too. ...)

Then, today I saw this quote by Calvary Road author Roy Hession:

Let every mention of the Blood call to mind the deep humility and self-surrender of the Lamb, for it is this disposition that gives the Blood its wonderful power with God.

My job as a mom is to direct and teach my kids. I teach them lots of things. Many of us get caught up in the academic things like letters, numbers, colors, reading, math, writing. We teach them about animals and plants and how things work. We also teach them morals like being nice and kind and forgiving others.

But, the most important thing I want my kids to learn is that God loves them and died so He can have a relationship with them. I want them to know the gravity of Jesus' sacrifice. This quote today reminded me of my conversation this morning, be it ever so brief, with Jenna. Bit by bit, she's getting it. She knows she messes up. And, she knows Jesus loves her. As she continues to grow, I want her understanding to grow right along with her.

Pray that I can parent for God's glory. Pray I will stay close to Jesus and pray my children will come to know Jesus personally and intimately. Everything else pales in comparison.

Happy New Year! ...and a cool quote

It's officially 2010! Woohoo! I'm in a quiet house and just barely noticed the calendar change at the bottom of my computer screen while my neighbors went outside to hoop and holler and bang wooden spoons on pans. No joke!

I was listening to a GFA leader encourage us to pray and seek God when the commotion began.

In these first few minutes of the new year, I came across an article talking about "Planning an Intentional Devotion Life for 2010" and thought one particular paragraph was incredible.

You might remember the awesome Bible we have for our kids. I posted about it here. [Okay, I thought I had posted about our awesome kids Bible that we've read through three times and love to pieces, but apparently NOT. I cannot find the post that I thought I had written. So, just trust me that it's great and I'll write more about it soon.] Every story within the Bible takes it back to Jesus. We love it! Our kids love it. They have grown so much through our times of reading through that Bible together.

So, when I read this paragraph of this article, I just had to share it. Go read the whole article if you have a few minutes. If one of your goals for the new year has to do with spiritual growth (more prayer, read the Bible more, abide more, etc), it's a good article of encouragement.

This encouragement suggests what to look for as you read Scripture:

Look for Gospel patterns. As you read, realize that Jesus and the Gospel is The One Story of the Bible. Look for Gospel patterns, grace on display, as you read. Especially in the OT. Every story has Christ as the ultimate hero. For example, don't read the story of David and Goliath and leave your devotional time "ready to face your giants." Realize that you are Israel in the story, not David. You are weak, powerless, cowering before your enemies of sin, Satan, and death, and you need an anointed King to defeat your enemies and cause you to rise up in hope and courage. Jesus is the true and better David, and he is the point of the story of David and Goliath. Look for these patterns in everything you read and rejoice in what God has accomplished for you in Jesus. We don't have devotions and pray in order to avoid the guilt of not having devotions and not praying. We have devotions and pray to know Jesus and his Gospel, and revel in all that he is for us and all that he has won for us.
From: http://jrvassar.posterous.com/planning-an-intentional-devotional-life-for-2

This is something I've been learning a lot this year. I've known it for many years, but seeing it in each story as I read the stories to my kids this year (in that awesome Storybook Bible!) has helped me grow. It really is all about Jesus.

I plan to do my best to make 2010 all about Jesus in my life!

Things That Make You Go "Hmmm..."

My friend Beth is reading a book I want to read soon. She included a few of the most challenging parts of the book in her latest blog. I was glad. The last quote was incredibly challenging to me.

The book is Let the Nations Be Glad by John Piper.

"Where in the Bible do {people} see "retirement"? Did Moses retire? Did Paul retire? Peter? John? Do military officers retire in the middle of a war? How many Christians set their sights on a {retirement} of life - resting, playing, traveling, and so on - the world's substitute for heaven, because they do not believe that there will be one beyond the grave. The mindset is that we must reward ourselves in this life for our long years of labor. Eternal rest and joy after death is an irrelevant consideration. What a strange reward for a Christian to set his sights on! Twenty years of leisure while living in the midst of the last days of infinite consequence for millions of unreached people. What a tragic way to finish the last lap before entering the presence of the King who finished his so differently! (104,5)

-- I love things that challenge me on whether my beliefs come from Biblical culture or the culture of the country I was born into...

This quote makes me want to read the book all the more.

There are times I struggle because we aren't socking away for 'retirement' like good, financially smart Americans should do. But I always go back to the question of what 'retirement' means.

Our pastor told us this morning that he believes that if he and his wife don't work overseas before 'retirement' that that's how they will spend their golden years. That sounds glorious to me.

I don't want to be foolish. I think Scripture is clear in Proverbs 31 that the wise woman plans ahead.

But, what exactly am I planning for? What do I really need?

I want to align my life with Scripture and live for an audience of One!

Who are You?

I hope you (whoever you are) are enjoying the multitude of posts lately. I feel like I've done posting overload recently. But, we've been super busy. And, it's been fun to go back through each event, reflect, and share the joy.

So, my post today will be a quick 'break' from the event recap. (sigh)

Sorry to disappoint those of you who just want to see pictures of my kids!

By the way, make sure you take the quiz on the right hand side. I'm just curious what kind of readers we have. (I know some of you who come check out my blog, but I'd love to know why you read it. Hence the title "who are you?")

When God called us to join staff at Gospel for Asia, He made it very clear to me that He wanted to use this place (time in my life, leadership at GFA, circumstances, etc) to break me. Those words were extremely clear. They were so clear, in fact, that when I was asked what I thought my role would be in the ministry, I told the leader what I would like to do but then followed it with a statement that was something like this: "But God has made it clear He's going to break me here. So, He may very well give me another set of twins and then tell me I have to homeschool them all!"

Okay, I realize I might have a divided readership here. One group of you might be saying "Uh, is she planning to homeschool?" The other group might be saying "well, what's wrong with that?"

No and nothing.

You see, at that point in time the last thing on earth I wanted to do was homeschool my kids. I felt like it would be torture (for me and for them) and would certainly break me of any high thoughts I had of myself.

I still don't feel called to homeschooling. Neither does Joel and he's the one who ultimately decides. So, we aren't planning to homeschool. But, if the Lord clearly told us to do it, I would not be opposed to it as I once was.

But, I use that story to illustrate that I understood the breaking was coming. I also use it to illustrate that I had no idea how it would happen.

I've been in process since the time we said 'yes' to the Lord's call to serve here. I would have to say one of the first chips to my pride was support raising. While I know it is biblical and I agree with it, it's still humbling! Literally, we live off what others generously give to support us. That's humbling. In reality, we all live off what others give. Some sell cars and live off the profit from that, thereby living off what others give. But, I guess it feels different in ministry because you aren't selling anything or 'earning' that money. It was even a little different being on church staff since it came out of the 'budget' and people gave in a general sense to the church, not earmarking it for us. It's pretty direct right now. And, it's humbling.

Second was the whole homeschooling thing. Leadership at GFA made it clear that there is no expectation of homeschooling. However, lots of staff families do homeschool their kids. So, it was still something I wrestled with. I thought about it, prayed about it, read about it, and talked to others about it almost the entire 7 months we were raising our support. I still think about it regularly, but the Lord has done an amazing work in my heart on the subject. He basically brought me to a point where I'm willing to do whatever He tells me to do. I think that's what He wants in any area of my life, not just on one subject. But, it was part of the process.

Then we arrived in Texas. I was expecting some big hardships to come my way. I was mentally bracing myself for the breaking. I was bracing so much, that I didn't even realize the rubbing, heating up, and reality of breaking that was happening as I was parenting my kids. Slowly but surely, I began to see that the Lord was going to break me as I was parenting my three children. I started to see that we needed a firm plan for discipline. Joel and I needed to get on the same page and really ask the Lord how He wanted us to parent.

We found our church as we realized this need and saw that a class was being offered. We participated in a study of God's Word through Tedd Tripp's book Shepherding a Child's Heart. It was great. It was hard. But, it was freeing to be broken of my plan (or lack thereof) and replace it with God's plan.

During our first year on staff we read lots of books. One book that was particularly impacting to me was Touching Godliness Through Submission by Brother KP (Yohannan). It came on the heels of The Calvary Road by Roy Hession. Both of those books challenged me in big ways.

Just recently, I finished a study by Beth Moore that chiseled away more of my pride. We learned about When Godly People Do Ungodly Things and I was humbled to realize how desperately I need the Lord. It's so easy to think more highly of ourselves than we ought! The Lord showed me more of my wicked, ugly, prideful heart. Only near the end of the study did I realize just how much breaking was happening throughout the study.

It's been neat to stand back recently and see how God has been steadily breaking me. At times it is very obvious to me that He is using my children and parenting. At other times the words on the page of a book will jump out and it's clear as could be that this is part of it.

I'm nowhere near completion. But, it's fun and beautiful to see the Lord's hand. It's such an honor to know He cares enough to work on me!

And, I thought about all this because I'm currently reading a small book by Pastor Damion Kyle titled The Place of Brokenness in the Life of the Believer. Just today I read this great quote and I'll end with it so you can ponder too!

"...I am a danger to His people and not a blessing to them apart from His continual breaking in my life. Sometimes breaking can happen over things that can seem small in the overall scope of things, for instance, over a careless word. However, if God takes the time to send His 'Nathan the prophet,' the Holy Spirit, to speak to us, then the issue is never small--not for Him, not for me, and not for others."

Fall is Here!

Well, you can't tell fall is here by the weather in Texas, but you can by the food we're eating around the Fletcher house!
We made caramel apples last weekend. The kids LOVED them! So did Mama and Daddy.
It was an ooey gooey mess, but lots of fun and oh, so sweet!
I would love to post pics of the kids eating them, but we stripped them down to their undies and took them out on the back porch to lessen the mess in the kitchen! So, just imagine these adorable babes smiling ear to ear with caramel on their faces, noses, and chins!
A wonderful friend of mine from Arizona, Ms. Judy, sent my kiddos some gifts she'd been collecting for them! What a joy!
They love the educational games, clothes, and stickers. They were really excited to get some stamps for craft time fun!

This week has been a test of my patience. Sadly, I have failed much. God is constantly refining me as I parent. It's such an amazing process. I'm so grateful God doesn't stop working on us!
There was a sweet bit of fruit I got to enjoy today as I took the kids to the play place in the mall. My kids had fun and were very well behaved. We even received a few compliments from other shoppers as they looked at some sparkly Christmas ornaments on display.

However, I happened to witness another family nearby whose children were anything but obedient and respectful to their mom. It was really sad. The kids pitched fits and threw tantrums; they were mean to each other and spoke rudely to the adults. My kids ended up playing with one of their kids so I was able to interact with her as well.
It really struck me as I "helped" them all share a toy plane we had brought that this little girl was really a victim. She is a victim of parents who either don't know what to do or don't want to do it. When the girl would become a little "anxious" for her turn, I'd remind her we were sharing. At the same time, one of the adults would yell across the play area to her "you leave that toy alone" (and then tell the other adult something like "she just can't share!"). The poor girl was not being TAUGHT how to share!
Before you think I'm throwing stones, I am often very much like that adult! Instead of sitting with my kids and showing them how to play, I sit back and yell at them for not playing as they should. What saddened me the most is that this little girl is the one no one will want to play with. Her parents' lack of willingness to teach/train her will result in her being rotten!
It made me realize how completely unfair my laziness is! When I am unwilling to do the inconvenient parts of parenting with patience and love, I am not just making my life easy. I am making their life very hard!
And, kids pay the price for years and years and years! Letting them be selfish may be easier than teaching them self-control, but it will give them much heartache when they get older and realize--the hard way--that the world doesn't revolve around them. It could even hinder their walk with God in major ways as they discover they were not created to be served, but rather to serve!

I have read a few good books on parenting that Joel and I have found very helpful. Our favorite is Shepherding a Child's Heart by Tedd Tripp. We went through the Bible study this spring with a group from church. The study guide digs into God's Word. I want to parent my kids based on what God says, not what anyone else thinks.
God is so good to let us see some fruit so we don't grow weary in doing good! I am finding more and more that His Word really does contain EVERYTHING we need for life and godliness.
Because the kids did so well, we came home and made cookies! (the pics above are from the play place and then cookie making...fun day!)

Morning, Gardens, Visitor, Work and Big Kids!

This post will be a random catch-up for what seems like an entire week but has only been three days!

Our cabinets are looking nice stripped of white and restained. Look at that handsome boy in front of them! He adds to the value of the picture, for sure!
We haven't done much work this week because my "little" brother, Ron, came back to visit. He stopped by about a month ago but only for 24 hours. He arrived really late Monday night and will stay until Friday. My kids absolutely LOVE Uncle Ron. They are crazy about him! Jenna looked at him yesterday during dinner and just said "I love you, Uncle Ron." It was the sweetest moment. I'm pretty sure I saw mist in the eyes of both guys at the table (and Asa wasn't there anymore). Uncle Ron babysat today while I worked in the GFA office. I tell you, he's a champ!

Uncle Ron and Jenna...just hanging out

At work with my "bosses" and coworkers

Mornings outside are nice. The weather was beautiful Monday morning and I headed outside to read with two precious girls at my heels. They sort of took over my bench...until they got tired of reading and headed out into the garden to look for shells. (slug shells)

Rylee reading and Jenna messing with her collection of shells.

Sometimes we get to reap what we have not sown. Scripture tells us all about this. That is the case with my lovely garden. I had nothing to do with planting these pretty plants. But, oh....how I'm enjoying them!

The biggest event of our week has been the promotion of our twins past babyhood. I know...they are 2 1/2 years old. But, they have been in cribs this whole time. Any mama of more than one child out there understands why! It's bad enough having one kid that can get out of bed. But, after the three of them climbed in and out of the cribs on Monday (playing), I decided it was time. They are so proud. And, they're doing great with listening to us about staying in bed/when to get out. Here they are. Rylee insisted on taking a picture too!

Along with all these things, I have finished the next book for our new staff mentor classes. It is Brother KP's latest book called Touching Godliness Through Submission. I highly recommend it! Brother KP taught the material to leaders in Asia and all our staff here has listened to the teachings as part of our first year. We have the blessing of reading it now that it has all been transcribed and produced in book form (came out in May!). It's not one of those books that gives you warm fuzzies. It's hard to take at times. I am a proud person who needs to constantly be humbled. God is teaching me this over and over again through many teachings, books, and life lessons. I knew the Lord was calling us here because He wanted to teach us. His call to me specifically was to come and be broken. It is sweet (though hard at times) to know God loves me enough to not let me stay the same. My prayer (and yours for me, please) is that I will lay down my life so that I might truly live. I'm learning what that really means.