Holidays and Back to Reality

Summer Holidays really are wonderful. Sunshine, family time, visiting friends, relaxation..BLISS!! We had such a great time with our kids, covering a lot of distance, seeing a lot of beautiful mountain/ocean scenery, and re-connecting. I was in such a relaxed state that time didn't matter and i had no idea what time it was for the most part! :D

And then the holiday must come to an end. it's back to bills, school, cleaning, work, and, well, LIFE!

I must admit that returning is a bit stressful for me, and many of my fears come back. For instance, in 3 days we are needing to hand in a deposit for our trip to Ukraine in November..a deposit that we do NOT have. You know, fear is proof that we cannot live our lives without God. Because in Him there is no fear, and the enemy uses fear as his greatest weapon against us! And, proof yet again that we need to arm ouselves with the FULL armour of God in order to stand!

we KNOW that the Lord is asking us to go, and we are believing Him to provide a way! and so, for today, i will be still and know that HE is God, HE has a plan, and He is always FAITHFUL!

Lord, remove my stress, fill me with your Peace, and the truth that you will complete what you started!

One day at a time,

Darcie.

LORD, give me Strength!

"I can do all things through Christ, who gives me strength." Phil. 4:13

You know, i usually read the verse like this.."I can do ALL THINGS through Christ.."

I can DO IT ALL!! I can DO it ALL. I can DO ALL THINGS because i have Christ... ????

UMMM.... do you see what is wrong with this picture?

Every SINGLE time i try and try and try in my own strength, all i do is exhaust myself and FAIL.

For some reason i think that i am superwoman, able to accomplish great feats simply because i serve a great God!

Weeellll.....

I think i need to learn how to read a little bit better.

I can do all things THROUGH CHRIST who GIVES me strength.

Not my strength, but His.

Not my ability, but His.

Not my worry, but His concern.

Not my failure, but His VICTORY!

Our own strength can only take us so far, and THEN what?? How can I teach others to rely on Christ if i continually strive to DO in my own strength?

God didn't put us here so we could figure it out on our own, we need to learn to lean on HIM.

"Then Jesus said, "Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you. Let me teach you, because I am humble and gentle at heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy to bear, and the burden I give you is light. "

Matt. 11:28-30

One day at a time,

Darcie.

Search Me, O God, part 2

"You have tested us, O God; you have purified us like silver"

Psalm 66:10

In my previous post, this image of being refined kept popping up. Do you know the process involved in refining silver?

I read a story of a woman who had a similar question. So she met with a silversmith to get some answers. Watching the silversmith, he held a piece of silver over the fire and let it heat up. He explained that in refining silver, one needed to hold the silver in the middle of the fire where the flames are the hottest as to burn away all of the impurities. He said that he must sit in front of the fire the whole time the silver is being refined. If the silver is left a moment too long, it would be destroyed. His eyes cannot turn away through the entire process. The woman asked him how he could tell if the silver was fully refined. He answered, "That's easy. When i can see my image in it."

There is so much purpose to the hard things in life! We are being continually changed, formed into His image, and it is certainly NOT an easy process! But the PURPOSE!!

"He will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver; He will purify the sons of Levi, and purge them as gold and silver, that they may offer to the Lord an offering in righteousness."

Mal. 3:3(emphasis mine)

Do you see??

The Old Testament speaks of the Lord's judgement, and offering acceptable sacrifices. Offering in righteousness and integrity, just, straight, innocent, true and sincere. We are not bound by the old law of sacrificing animals, etc. BUT we are a LIVING SACRIFICE!

"Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God- this is your spiritual act of worship."

Rom. 12:1

There is mercy in the refiners fire. He doesn't take His eyes off of you for one second, eagerly waiting for the moment He sees His reflection in you!

The purification process requires of us to lay down ourselves, our rights, freedoms, intentions, hopes and dreams. But what comes out of the fire is pure, holy, pleasing, innocent and beautiful. Just remember, He will never take His eyes off of you!

For He Himself has said, "I will never leave you nor forsake you."
Heb.13:5b

Allow yourself to be refined,

One day at a time,

Darcie.

Search me, O God, part 1

"Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. Point out anything in me that offends you, and lead me along the path of everlasting life." Psalm 139:23-24

We cannot spend our lives determined not to change. For reasons beyond our control, we cannot remain babies, children or teens. Once we reach adulthood, we have not "arrived". It is not our turn to become complacent about ourseleves simply because we have physically stopped growing.

The words of this Psalm are very familiar to me. And yet today they required some deeper inspection. There is a process listed in these verses that is instrumental in our walk with the Lord, to grow into who He needs us to be!

Search me, O God, and know my heart

The first step is surrender, allowing God access to our hearts. God cannot begin to change us if we won't let Him in.

Test me and know my anxious thoughts

This is not an easy concept, certainly not a welcome one! No one wants to hear that tests and trials are a NECESSARY part of life! But they are!! :D Tests allow us to grow, and bring out our character, our "anxious thoughts".

Point out anything in me that offends you

Offensive?? ME??!! Most of us would never intentionally desire to offend others. And if we did offend, we would want to know so we can fix the situation! As our character is revealed, certain "impurities" rise to the surface that need to be acknowledged and dealt with.

And lead me along the path of everlasting life.

As we desire to follow Christ, to live the life that He intended for us, we cannot remain the same. We need to follow His lead, which we are able to do when we have left behind our "impurities".

"My old self has been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me. So I live in this earthly body by trusting in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me."

Gal. 2:20

God desires the best life for us. We are a work in progress, being continually shaped into God's image.

"And I am certain that God, who began the good work within you, will contiune his work until it is finally finished on the day when Christ Jesus returns."

Phil. 1:6

To be continued......

Time to lighten up!

Ok, so this post is not so super-spiritual. That may disappoint my 3 faithful followers, :) , but you must know, it's time to lighten up.
The sad truth of being an adult is we forget how to PLAY. Our lives are filled with worries, concerns, responsibilities, stresses and duties. And it's as if we think that to let go of all of those, even for one moment, would cause life as we know it to end. HMMM???

I am so thankful that i have a great friend who will listen to me rant, complain, and vent the "uglies" as she calls them. And i am just as thankful that she doesn't leave me in that place. In fact, she won't leave me until she's SURE i have a smile on my face and a plan to leave all the ugly behind.
And you know what? It is AMAZING to me that i can be hurt, wronged, etc., and my CHOICE to forgive and walk forward BREAKS OFF the hold that those feelings have on me! It's my decision to stay mad, frustrated, hurt, or... to not. To simply drop it, focus on what i love instead of what drives me insane, and to have some fun in the process!!!

So, go ahead. Give yourself permission to laugh! Have fun! Drop what you're doing, take off the "adult suit" and play a little. Go ahead.. I DARE YOU! :D

"She is clothed with strength and dignity, and she laughs without fear of the future."
Prov. 31:25.

If the Proverbs 31 woman can take time to laugh, i think we can allow ourselves to indulge a little bit too!
One day at a time,
Darcie.

So much to learn

You know, there are a lot of days when I think i have it all together. Kids are happy, chores are done, i'm relaxed and generally enjoying life.
And then there are days like today when i realize that i still have so much to learn! Today's realization came in the realm of parenting.
Being a mom is not an easy job, which i'm sure any mom will tell you. I LOVE being a mom, and my kids are pretty special little people, if i do say so myself!
I got really good at babies, having 4 in 4 years. I knew babies inside out and upside down! And now the baby stage is all a blur, and i have gotten really good at preschoolers. Boy, i have preschoolers down PAT! I even have a pretty good handle on young children, as in lower elementary. I think i have it all figured out!!
BUT.....my oldest will soon be NINE. And NINE is not FOUR. NINE is not six or seven even! NINE is a whole new game all over again and on days like today i feel like i'm losing before i even begin! after all, I have never done this age before. This older, more capable, more -mature- yet -still- a- child age.
I am ever thankful, on days like today, that i do not have to do this on my own. My husband, friends and family all have plenty of wisdom to share! The Lord probably knows a thing or two as well, and i'm thinking i should ask Him! :D
New stages in life are not easy. They are new, full of questions and lack of understanding. And like any new stage, when it is over, i will look back on it and think, MAN! do i ever know how to do NINE! but this teenager thing ...WHOA......

Do not be afraid or discouraged, for the Lord will personally go ahead of you. He will be with you; He will neither fail you nor abandon you.

Deut. 31:8

One day at a time,

Darcie.

VOORHEES NEWS

Here is a copy of the letter we are sending out regarding our trip in November.


Dear Friends and Family,
Greetings from the V-Crew!! We’d like to give you an update on all that God is doing in us where NLI, Ukraine, and missions are concerned!
Our trip to Spain in October 2009 was life-changing for us. Our eyes were opened to the incredible needs in Europe, and to the great work that Next Level International is doing to meet those needs. We would like to thank you again for your prayers and support that made that trip possible!
The biggest lesson we’ve learned this year is that the timing between planting the dream and seeing it come to fruition is not OUR timing, and that we needed to learn to ENJOY the process. And WHAT a process! God does not call the equipped, He equips the called! We believe these past 2 years have been all about being equipped. Part of this involves a project our church is involved in, currently partnering with an NLI church plant in the Crimea region of Ukraine. As part of that partnership, we are to send one team a year for 3 years to go and assist in any way we can. The first trip is coming up in November, and Gabe and I will both be going! (My first time in the country!) We will be in Krasni Mak with three objectives for our team of eight:
1) building relationship with the church planters and congregation through being on site for two Sundays, visitation with people, and social-type events.  2)  We will be doing some teaching/training as given opportunity, utilizing the gifts of those on the team.  3)  Exploration is another big one as we intentionally set about to discover what teams #2 and #3 can do.  This will range from opportunities for ministry as well as opportunities for service (such as renovations to buildings, community projects, etc.).
Gabe and I have a second set of intentions as we travel. We will be meeting a couple in Kiev who works closely with NLI in all that goes on in church planting in Ukraine, who we will be involved with in our ministry there in the future. And on our return flight we will be staying an extra 2 days in England, meeting with NLI staff, discussing our “job description”, where we will live in Ukraine, drawing up a budget, and setting a timeline for us to be in Ukraine with our family, serving through Next Level International!! We are thrilled to see our dreams becoming reality!! Our travel dates are November 9th to 25th, 2010.
Would you pray for us? For clarity, direction, safe travels, fund raising needs, and our kids as we’re away? Would you also prayerfully consider assisting us financially on our journey, present and future? To be a part of what God is doing in our lives and in the country of Ukraine? We are trusting God to provide all we need as we step out in faith. Thank you for your love, support and prayers as we take one step closer to our dreams!
Love,
Gabe & Darcie, Corban (8), Laura (7), Tase (6) and Jaxon (4).