Israel

Not all my posts need to be ridiculous stories or comments. I need to post something heartfelt or from the Lord here every once in a while. That was my habit with my Jerusalem updates. A few bits of relevant news, cultural idiosyncrasies and then anything serious that the Lord was doing or revealing in my life. Well lately my heart has been really heavy for Israel. Oh how I miss it. And how I miss being with my husband (who was my fiance back then) in that magical, romantic place we call "the middle east." For some it might be the last place on your itinerary to visit but to those who have been there, you know it can captivate you with its sights, smells and culture.

Israel isn't a place, it's a destiny. A land that awakens your senses to the Holy Spirit and the voice inside you. For us Christians, it's the Holy Spirit that leads us, convicts us, corrects us and is the one waking us up in the middle of night to pray for someone. And it was in this land that I first truly learned how to discern the voice of our Lord. I will always be grateful to the tranquility and the silence of the desert where I so clearly heard the voice of the great I AM. It was in the desert that I heard the Lord whispering his future plans for me. Plans to bring me to a new land on a new adventure. Visions and words he gave me for my future mate and what we would be doing together. And while many of them have come to fruition some of them have not YET. And that is the way of our Lord, ever so patiently revealing our future to us layer by layer by layer. Never giving us too much at one time because he knows we would run away with it and not live in the present moment. And while I believe, I may have heard a word from the Lord recently regarding our next season and where we will be stationed, he reminded me that in this season of my life, I am to relish every bit of it. I love my home - Birmingham, Alabama. I love my roots here, my friends, my family, the trees, the hills, and that intersection on 280 where Meadowbrook and Brook Highland meet and you can see Highland Lakes way off in the distance - I love that too because it is just the majestic beauty of our great city. And for as long as we are here, I want to soak up every bit of it. As comfortable as I am here and as happy as I am here, more than anything our family wants to live for the Lord and to fulfill his destinies in our lives. We don't want to get to heaven one day and say well sorry we were comfortable where we were. As my sweet husband reminded me of this tonight, "God did not bring you and I together just to lead an ordinary life." And those words ring loudly in my head as I write this. It isn't about us. It's about Him and what He has called us to do. It may take us a while to get there or we may never get there and just journey along with Jesus taking each step that he directs. But one thing is for sure, we are intent on being led by the Lord and obeying his command to us. If we do this, how can we fail?