Eyes of a child

Have you ever been stopped in your tracks by a lesson from God when you least expected it? Yea, God has a funny way of using the most routine things to shed new light or eyes on a subject we wouldn't have otherwise noticed. Today was one of those days. Allow me to explain...


I had the pleasure of taking the 2 cutest kids in the entire world to the zoo today. These kids love the zoo more than almost anything. They have yearly passes and go to several different zoos within reasonable driving distance all the time. But, you would never know these kids had ever been to a zoo before. Their joy and excitement to go to the zoo is unlike any other, no matter if it's the first time of the season or the 15th time. About halfway through the day, Jesus whispered into my heart, reminding me of His desire for His children to have faith like a child. 


As my trip draws closer, my excitement grows, just like Jake and Verity's excitement grew the first time they ever went to the zoo. I know I'm excited and I'm going with a joy and zeal created only by God, but what He challenged me with was to maintain that joy and passion throughout not only my 6 months in Africa, but in every single step that comes after this trip, including other trips to Africa. No matter how routine the days may seem or how redundant the meals are, I am there for His purpose alone and that allows every single day to be different than the last. I want to allow time for Godly distractions, time to break away from the scheduled route and just follow the Spirit's leading. I want to wake up every morning excited for what's coming and go to bed every night completely in awe of the Creator of the universe. I want to look back at my life and know that I haven't wasted a single second of it by allowing a routine to become mundane and boring. 


Don't get me wrong, routines are not bad and schedules should not all be thrown out the window, I just know in my own life, I am often too busy going through the motions and getting from point A to point B that I miss the simple joys and promptings of the Spirit. I don't want to live like that anymore, especially in Africa. 


Have you, like me, lost the faith and eyes of a child that you once had for the things of Jesus? Do you get annoyed with little distractions instead of see them as blessings? Allow God to use these beautiful children to teach you, like I was taught today, how to see the world again...with the eyes of a child. 

Kisses from Katie

"I was forever ruined for comfort, convenience, and luxury, preferring instead challenge, sacrifice, and risking everything to do something I believed in." ~Kisses from Katie

As I read this passage this morning, I couldn't help but be overcome by emotion. In one sentence, Katie Davis captured my entire hearts cry. I have always known that Africa was where God was going to send me, but now as the days grow closer and closer, His mercy blows me away more and more. 

I am nothing, on my own I can do nothing, but with Jesus leading and guiding my life, I can touch the world. Just let that sink in for a minute, because friends, He wants to do the same in you. Jesus wants to use you, wherever He has called you to, whether it be Troy Michigan, Seattle Washington, Nairobi Kenya, or Chiang Mai Thailand, He wants to use you to do incredible things. Not for your benefit or to build you up, but for His glory and His kingdom. 

I don't know about you, but that idea, leaves me utterly speechless. That the God of the universe who knows my every thought, would want to still use me. In fact, He wants to use me BECAUSE of my flaws. That just doesn't make sense to me. But the part that I love and just can't help but find such insane comfort in, is that Jesus gets MORE glory because of how flawed I am. Think about it, if we were all perfect, His power, mercy, and love wouldn't be necessary for us to accomplish good. BUT since we are all human and all fall so short of the glory of God, His mercy, power, and love are 100% crucial to us attaining anything. And because we desperately need Him to accomplish anything, He is magnified so much more! 

It doesn't matter what you're doing today, whether it's working a job you hate, making coffee for strangers, or on the mission field, do it all to the best of your ability and remember that everything you did is for His glory alone. Not all of us are called to Africa. America is in desperate need of love and mercy. God wants to use you today to further His kingdom. Will you let him? Will you die to yourself and let the most incredibly loving Father work and live through you? I can promise it's not easy, but He is worth it.