Cancer and Missing Dogs UPDATE!!

 "no matter what, no matter what i do or don't understand, no matter who is being healed and who is still sick, the lyrics are true.

NOTHING IS IMPOSSIBLE FOR YOU

and

YOU HOLD MY WORLD IN YOUR HANDS."

I just wanted to give a huge PRAISE update on this topic!  The first, on our lovely puppy, Taffy.  On Saturday we got a call from the SPCA.  They thought it might be our pup that had just been dropped off!  So off we went, trying not to get our hopes up.  When we arrived, THERE SHE WAS!! waiting at the front door!  Somebody had obviously found her and fed, bathed, etc, kept good care of her for 3 WEEKS and then decided NOT to keep someone else's dog?!?!! (slight irritation, if you can tell).  Thank you Lord for bringing our puppy home to us safe and sound! 

I think Missy is happy to have her sister home too! :D



More good news, about my uncle.  His biopsy results came back... and it's NOT CANCER!!!

Praise You Lord for your healing touch, for the care you give, and for the plans that you have!

Thirdly, my friend's surgery went well, she is recovering and staying positive, and is about to start chemo treatments.  Thank you God that you are in all of this.  You have no unknown.

Thank you for your prayers, they are so appreciated, and the Lord is listening!! :)

One day at a time,

Darcie.

My life as a Box Maker

DON'T PUT GOD IN A BOX! 

have you ever heard that before?  Who ME??  Why would anybody ever put GOD in a BOX? is that even POSSIBLE??

oh, but it is. 

i think that we have many boxes.  maybe one for faith?  maybe one for finances?  maybe one for relationships, occupation, or our future?

in our Faith box, we say, "I have THIS much, and it fits in here quite nicely! Thank you Lord, for my faith!"

in our Financial box, we say, "I am so thankful for the Lord's blessings, look how full my box is!" or, "Here is my box Lord, please fill it up."

Our relationship box may contain the perfect description of our future mate, our idea of what marriage will be, or can be like.  "Looks wonderful, thank you Lord!" or, "I would be lucky to get this in the least!"

the Occupation box is full of our ideas and dreams of the perfect job, the best salary, benefits, position and title.  we say, "Lord, you have blessed me so much in my work", or maybe "if I can achieve this in my life, i will KNOW the Lord is blessing me!"

finally, we have our Future box.  This one holds all of our dreams of what our life will be like, how it will happen, our hopes, fears, and the unknown.  "Lord, here is my future box.  Isn't it nice?  Inside is a list of everything i've ever wanted out of life.  Thank you very much for taking the time to read it. But please be careful with it, it is very fragile." 

We like boxes. they are square, stack neatly (for those of you as obsessive about storing things as i am!) They contain just the right amount of things, nothing overflowing, spilling out, making a mess.

WONDERFUL!

There is just one little problem:

i think God is claustrophobic!!

and today, i believe he looks like a stick of dynamite, ready to blow that stuff WIDE open!!

the problem with boxes is that they are in our minds, and we try to decide with our FINITE minds what our INFINITE God may or may not be capable of.  

Challenge yourself this week to identify some boxes,

 then allow God into them!

once He's in, they won't be able to contain Him, and you will be left with...

NO LIMITS!!!!!

And a life FULL of all the fullness of God.

 "And may you have the power to understand, as all God’s people should, how wide, how long, how high, and how deep his love is. May you experience the love of Christ, though it is too great to understand fully. Then you will be made complete with all the fullness of life and power that comes from God.

 Now all glory to God, who is able, through his mighty power at work within us, to accomplish infinitely more than we might ask or think.

Eph. 3:18-20

 

 Happy unpacking!

take it one day at a time,

Darcie.

Cancer and missing dogs

what an unfaithful blogger i've been!  not even sure if people notice or not, but oh well!

It's been a rough few weeks here in the Voorhees house.  My uncle was diagnosed with cancer in his liver.  They're doing a biopsy tomorrow and then surgery i imagine? The same day i found out about him, my best friend emailed me with the news that she has breast cancer (at 31) and will be having a double mastectomy (which happened today).  We lost one of our new pups who we believe has been "adopted" by some random person with no conscience....what else?

a LOT of praying going on in this house, i can TELL you! 

did i mention that this is all leading up to 3 weeks of fasting and prayer, and a special "church explosion" weekend we're having??  the enemy is working overtime on me, i think.  there must be some GOOD stuff coming up that he doesn't want to happen!

would you pray for my friend?  Her name is Eleanor.  She's married, has a little baby boy.  She is young, vibrant, beautiful and strong.  I cannot imagine her recovery, treatment and "new normal" that awaits her..but prayer will lift her up!

My uncle is not optimistic with his prognosis, although nobody's told him not to be. Please pray for his spirit, his will to fight.  Pray that the Lord would be made real to him.

I sat down tonight to sing at my piano, and the song "Healer" came to mind.  I COULD NOT SING IT, only cry and play.  It is just too hard for me today. 

These are the words:

You hold my every moment

You calm my raging seas

You walk with me through fire

You heal all my disease

I trust in You

yes i trust in You

I believe you're my healer

I believe You are all i need

I believe you're my portion

I believe you're more than enough for me

Jesus you're all i need

Nothing is impossible for you

You hold my world in your hands

This song is easy to sing when you have a sore back, or are trying to get over a cold.  It is simple to sing when you know that IF anything went wrong, he WOULD be your healer.  But when it's all staring you right in the face??  I ask myself...is Jesus really all i need?  Can i truthfully say that He is my portion?

YES. I . CAN.

Because no matter what, no matter what i do or don't understand, no matter who is being healed and who is still sick, the lyrics are true. 

NOTHING IS IMPOSSIBLE FOR YOU

and

YOU HOLD MY WORLD IN YOUR HANDS.

and i wouldn't have it any other way.

Transformers- more than meets the eye??

Ok. I have three boys who ADORE, possibly slightly OBSESS over transformers.  These toys, i'm sure, have come a LONG way from where they started.  They now have levels of difficulty rated on the box!  And let me tell you, they are NOT joking.  The boys tinker, twist, turn, pull, and then (this is the truly funny part) call for ME to help transform them!  Did I mention i'm a GIRL who grew up with SISTERS??  These transformers might as well be a rubix cube for all i can do to get them together!  But like the good Mom that I am, I try, sigh, and say, "I think Daddy can do this...let's leave it for him when he gets home." Because i know that the FIRST thing he's going to want to do after a full day at work, is figure out this man-that-should-somehow-become-a-fighter-plane thing. :)

I have been pondering lately what it means to be transformed. Romans 12:2 says,

"Don't copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think.  Then you will learn to know God's will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect." (emphasis mine).

In the past, i have read this verse and the word TRANSFORM has jumped out at me.  I know that God wants to transform me into His image, to shape me as a potter does clay, to make me into a new creation.  I GET the "transform" word.

But today, I must LET GOD. 

I tell you, those transformers are not easy to figure out.  Grown men (never mind the kids!) need to read the instructions to make the switch.  Unfortunately for them, they do not have a choice.  If a transformer wanted to remain a robot and NOT be changed into a car, TOO BAD. 

And fortunately for us, (or maybe UNfortuneately?) we DO have a choice.

We can decide if we will allow God to change us, or if we want to remain as we are.

We may be satisfied to stay the same, never leaving our comfort zones, and live out our lives content to be so.

NOT. ME.

As difficult as it may be some days to be molded and shaped by God, I would rather be growing in my faith, maturing in my walk, and possibly helping others to do the same!  If I stayed where I was a few years ago, I think I would have given up. 

But this is the beauty of what the Lord has in store for us!

He won't leave us where we are.

He has great plans for our lives.

And he doesn't need an instruction manual to figure us out.

Just a little bit of surrender, patience and trust.

What will your finished product be?
When your transformation is complete, who will you be?  What will you have accomplished?

It will not be easy, but I guarantee you, it will be GOOD, and PLEASING, and PERFECT.

One day at a time,

Darcie.

When I grow up...

When I was five, i wanted to be a policeman like my dad. 

When i was eight, i wanted to be a teacher like my mom. 

At 12, a veterinarian.

At 16 a paramedic.

At 17, all I wanted to do was finish high school, do a few years of college, get married and have a family.  Dreams, dreams and more dreams! 
And my family dreams came true!  Exceedingly abundantly more...

And now, I don't know what I want to be, what I want to do, or what God may have in store.

But I know who I am!

I am Mom to four amazing kids who bless me every day.

I am Wife to my wonderful husband of over 10 years.

I am the keeper of my home, teacher of my children, friend to many lovely ladies. 

I am a daughter of the King, a dreamer of dreams.

I dream of music...
I dream of teaching...
I dream of travelling...
I dream of impacting lives for Christ...
I love to dream big.

I would love to know what the future has in store, to be able to dream THAT big.

I would love to know what I will be when i grow up.

But I don't know. 

What i do know, is ...

The One who gives me dreams.
God, who created me with specific purposes in mind, the One who knows my every thought.

I can walk in any direction and He will guide me onto His path. 

He has it all planned out.

And it will be more than I could ever have asked for or imagined!
(Eph. 3:20)

Still walking,
Still dreaming,
Pushing forward,
Pressing in,
No dream is too big!

One day at a time,

Darcie.

Ukraine: Part 5, NLI

After Kiev we headed to London, then by bus to Coventry.  Next Level International has their head office there, and we were set up to meet with some of the staff.  As many of you know, we have been walking in the direction of working with NLI for the past few years. 

  In Kiev I had a song in my head, "Everything I am, everything I long to be, I lay it down at your feet"...over and over and over.  I wrote in my journal that , "I feel like some sort of change is coming. Like a right-hand turn on our path, something unexpected." I began to sense that I needed to lay down my expectations, my plans, hopes, dreams, and let God lead our next few days.  This was pretty scary, because we have some pretty big plans!  (I am, afterall, QUITE a planner!)  There is fear of the unknown.  But you know what the Lord told me?  That He is in my unknown, He HAS no unknown. This brought tremendous peace. 

   Our meetings went very well.  Lots of good discussion, ideas, questions and answers.  NLI is primarily an organization that facilitates church plants.  They connect with local leaders all over Europe, set them up with a supporting church, give pastoral training, and help those leaders in any way they can to get their churches up and running.  SUCH a great ministry!  So for us coming into Europe as foreigners, we have a few options where NLI is concerned.  We could work with the team in the office, supporting church plants, etc.  We could work under PAOC as missionaries, partnered with an NLI church project.  We talked a lot about our goals, passions, what we feel God is calling us to do.  We've had a mandate that's driven us the past few years, to raise up the next generation church.  This has taken a few forms in the past 10 years, but the idea remains the same.  Our passion is for youth and young adults, for music and worship.  The more we talked and narrowed things down, the more we realized, God is setting us up to do these exact things AT HOME.  WOW.  Did i tell you I felt change coming??  :)   We have such great opportunities in our home church to work with the youth this year!  This also involves music and worship!  and so....

We still have such a heart for Ukraine.  We still would love to serve with NLI.  We have some ideas of what that might look like in the future.  But for now, we are excited to see what this year brings!  Our church will be sending 2 more teams over to Crimea, which we will probably be involved in in some way over the next 2 years.  We are looking forward to the plans the Lord has for us as a family.  Did we make a mistake?  I don't think so.  We have learned and grown.  We have gained truth and clarity which is what we've been praying for.  Was this a necessary process?  I think so. 

Your path is laid out

Holy Spirit guides you

Through every twist, turn, up or down

No worry or fear

No hesitation

No regrets

Looking ahead to the goal,

the prize,

the end of the race.

Made into His image,

One day at a time.

Darcie.

Ukraine: Part 4, Kiev

Gabe and I left our team 3 days early and carried on to Kiev to meet with Pastor Igor.  Gabe spoke in his church on the Sunday.  The church meets at a cultural center, and has about 50 members.  Our translator, Masha, who'd been with us in Crimea happened to be in Kiev for a bit of a holiday and was gracious enough to interpret again while Gabe preached!



Pastor Igor

 

Gabe and Masha



We were fortunate to stay in a rented apartment while in Kiev for 3 nights.  It was very quiet after the noise of the village, and the busy house full of our team!  This was the time we really started to miss the kids, when everything calmed down a bit.  We had a relaxing morning on the Sunday, as Igor's church didn't start until 2pm.  Then we were at church until 6, between the service, visiting an teardown.  



Gabe and Paul, 17



we had some toy rings the little girls loved!

After the service we went out for pizza with Igor, his wife Victoria, our translator Masha, and Judith from NLI. 


Mmmmm...yummy spicy pizza!

 We learned more about the culture in Ukraine.  Interestingly, in Crimea, the teens HATE McDonald's, but in Kiev it is VERY popular- so much that we would have had about a half hour wait the one time we went in, just to get to the counter to order!  We were also told that their education system is difficult in the sense that if you want your teacher to care about your child and help them to do well, you must pay/bribe them.  Not to get false marks, but to get quality education.  As with any country there are governmental issues, many here look to be making things harder, not easier on the people.  I asked Igor, out of plain curiosity, why people don't smile in Ukraine.  He said that Russian's have a mindset: If you smile for no reason, you are stupid.  Hmmm...Guess it's pretty easy to pick out the foreigners! :D  Another thing that facinated me on this trip was the way people dressed.  Nearly every person we met was dressed to the 9's ALL THE TIME.  We were told 2 reasons: One, there are more women than men in Ukraine, and any sensible girl knows she needs to attract a husband. The other: they want, above all else, to appear rich.  Alena told us of one family they knew who sold their apartment so they could buy an SUV, which they LIVED IN.  Simply for the appearance of wealth.

me and my good friend Masha!

 We spent our time in Kiev with Igor and his family, touring the city, getting to know them a bit.  His eldest daughter (he has 4 girls!) Alena was our tourguide on the first day.  We did some shopping for gifts for our kids, and saw some of the city.  The metro was a little crazy, SO many people.  Kiev is over 3 million, so it was easy to feel overwhelmed at times, being a  small-town girl from Canada!


Kiev





crazy escalator into the subway




 

Friendship Monument, devoted to the reunification of Ukraine and Russia, was dedicated on Kiev's 1500th anniversary in 1982.

We spent the evening with Igor and his family at their apartment.  Lots of laughs- the older three speak English very well, as does Igor.  We introduced them to a Canadian (?) tradition: COKE FLOATS.  They had never heard of them before!

Gabe, Sasha, Alena, Igor and Victoria.

They were a little unsure at first, but as you can see, i think we won them over !  :D We really enjoyed our time with our new friends in Kiev and  are looking forward to seeing them again, possibly working with them in the future!