Greetings from a God-lover!

I love God. Jehovah-God, that is. Not one of those 'other' gods that claim to be God. There is only one true God - and that is Jehovah!

I just returned from a ministry trip to Africa - South Africa and Kenya, to be exact. I've travelled a lot and have been both places before, but there was something really special about this trip. It's as if I received an increased dose of spiritual passion. As if all my spiritual senses were infused with a double-dose of intensity. I wouldn't trade that for ANYTHING - except maybe more of the same or something greater.

It's been a rough year for me, to say the least. At first, it seemed as if it was a year of great loss. I lost my job, lost my home, had to sell nearly all of my possessions, and my daughter graduated from high school and moved halfway across the country - all within a few weeks. I'm not a material person at all, but I would be lying if I said it didn't hurt. A lot. Especially the part where I didn't wake up to see my beautiful daughter every morning...(or, in the summer, every noontime :) ).

But now, after this trip, I see it more as a year of great gain. Freedom from a job that I really hated, which drained the life out of me every single day; freedom from financial obligations which would tie me down to one place; freedom from having a bunch of stuff to dust :). As for my daughter - well, it is harder for me to swallow, but I would have to say freedom from the responsibility to be a guardian over her life. I spent almost two decades raising her and training her for the moment she would spread her wings...I should be happy for her and not sad for me. It is hard because being 'Sara's mom' was a huge part of my identity for 18 years, 9 months. I'm still her mom, and I will still watch over her life with a passion - if only from a distance. And, in some instances, only by invitation. But now, I can take the part of me that I spent on being the mother of a minor child and use it to pursue my own destiny. That is a painful, but necessary freedom. (But I'll always be your momMY, Sara, and I would die for you).

So I said all of that to say this: I am praying and believing my God to do what He said - to order my steps; to touch my lips with a coal from the fire of His altar; to reveal His secrets to me, His servant; that I may call upon Him, and He will answer me and show me great and mighty things that I do not know of; to do exceeding, abundantly above all that I could ever ask or think; to give me the heathen for an inheritance; to be my Father and my husband; to provide all of my needs according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus; that I might do exploits and make His name famous...the list goes on and on and on...just like His faithfulness.

I expect nothing less...and even more. Because I count all things but loss, that I might know Him...in the power of His resurrection as well as the fellowship of His suffering. Because He knows the thoughts He has for me...thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give me a future and a hope.

I invite you to listen in to His whispers to me...and I hope you will follow along with me, as I follow Christ.