Going With His Flow

When He moves to the left, then we move to the left.  When He moves to the right, then we move to the right.  We’re gonna jump, jump, jump, jump in the river!!  There is a song called “Deep Cries Out” which has these lyrics in it http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8ncGqFyGqTc, and it depicts where we are at in our walk with the Lord right now.  Wherever He is, we want to be.  Whatever direction He is going, we want to go.  We simply want to be drenched by the streams of His living water [John 7:38] so His life will flow in and out of us to reach others and bring Godly encounters to them.  With that said, we definitely weren’t expecting to live out Matthew 5:11, “Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of Me."  When we received confirmation from the Lord that we were to go to Africa this summer, Josh knew that at some point he would need to talk to his boss about his plans.  For those that don’t know, Josh is a teacher at an alternative high school.  In order for us to arrive in Africa on time, he needs to miss the last week of school – when finals are administered and grades are finalized.  Kind of an important time for a teacher to be there, but we knew that God would work out the details.  Josh found out that he had exactly enough “personal leave” hours to cover his time off, and although the principal was not keen on him missing the last week of school, she did not say no to his request or that there would be repercussions.  Since this meeting took place, Josh has experienced persecution in the workplace like never before.  To honor those involved, I will not go into detail about what happened or mention names, but I will say that we have been called to love our enemies and pray for those that persecute us [Matthew 5:44] so that’s what we’re going to do.  We also know that we do not fight against flesh and blood but against rulers, authorities, the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms (Ephesians 6:12].  As easy as it is to seek revenge, justice or hold bitterness towards someone, God has reminded us that the only way to fight against the darkness is to NOT partner with it but combat it with His love and let His light shine!  He will bring justice on His own terms and we must trust that – whatever the enemy tries to use against us, God will turn it around for good (for His purposes) to those that know and love Him!  God has given us such a peace in the midst of a storm, and we know that His seeds are being planted in areas of darkness.  A few months back Josh made the comment on how He wants to live a life that is fully dependent on God.  Well, his prayers are being answered as God continues to reveal to us what exactly that lifestyle looks like.

As of September 1, 2012, Josh will no longer be employed at his current school - a choice that was made by his principal for personal reasons.  The enemy would sure like to make a twist in “our plans”, but what he keeps forgetting or hasn’t quite figured out yet is that we no longer want to live life by our plans but by “His plans”, and there is nothing that he can do to deter us from a life with our Lord!  We are keeping our eyes focused on Him and moving in whatever direction He guides us.  Right now Josh is being led to focus on our mission trip to Africa this summer and will not be looking for further employment until the Lord gives Him the green light.  The good thing is that teachers get paid through the summer, so we will at least have some income coming in while we are gone.  We trust and know that God will open another door for Josh when we return, and we cannot wait to see what’s on the other side of that door!!  If spending $25,000 to go to Africa and coming home to NO job isn’t fully dependent on God, then I don’t know what is!!

We have experienced so much freedom in trusting God!  He also continues to pour out His blessings upon us financially.  Between an amended tax return (for 3 prior years) that wasn't expected for a few more months, our first yard sale and a reimbursement from insurance for Josh's vaccinations, the Lord has blessed us bountifully with over $1,500 in 5 days.  Wowzers, He is so cool!!  On top of that, during our second and final yard sale to raise money the Lord brought in almost $1,000 more.  All glory to Him!!  Through this yard sale, the Lord has humbled us and taught us how to receive from Him.  In life it’s a lot easier to give than to receive sometimes, but the Lord has shown me how to honor and value the gifts He wants to give me through others without feeling selfish or guilty.  An amazing man of God even took a step of faith to buy both, yes both, of the generators that were donated to us.  He trusts that God will help him to resell them, and we are praying that he will sell them for more than he purchased them for!

A few months ago I began waking up with a stiff back on the whole right side……just another one of the enemy’s attempts to “kill, steal and destroy.”  It hurt so bad that I could barely turn or lay in bed.  I received prayer one Sunday at church, and the next day not only was my back healed but a few days later I woke up and said to Josh, “Oh my gosh!  I just realized that my neck no longer hurts like it used to.”  Not only was I healed of back pains, but I was also healed of neck pains that had been going on for 20+ years.  Thank you Healer!  Around this same time, the right side of my body was attacked with what we believe was shingles (i.e. adult chickenpox for those that don’t know).  I took authority over my body and prayed over the bumps, and thank the Lord, they did not spread any further.  Again, I received prayer at church and that same evening the bumps began to dry up and scab.  By His stripes we are healed!  I’m not sure why the theme of attacks is against my “right side”, but it really doesn’t matter because I am protected by the blood of Jesus!

Earlier this week one of Josh’s students came up to him after graduation and handed him $50.  Her family runs a business and normally she doesn’t begin working until the summer, but she asked to work a little early so she could earn money to give to Josh for our trip to Africa.  Wow!  This student is one that didn’t even like Josh at the beginning of the year, but now she says that Josh has impacted her life in so many positive ways.  Josh’s students also honored him at graduation with a loud ovation.  He has been so blessed to work at an alternative school and has been greatly impacted by the kids there.  We wonder what the Lord has in store for us next.  Whatever it is, we know it’s going to be great with Him as the head!!  We also received a $500 check and very encouraging letter from a lady we’ve never even met.  It turns out that she also has her church body praying for our family as we venture off to Africa.  I love to see the unity in HIS Church.  It doesn’t matter what “church label” people have because there really only is one true church and that is HIS Church.  We are His Church, His body of believers, and as it says in 1 Corinthians 12:12-26, we all serve a purpose!

Phew, we made it through our first flight to Seattle.  I received the surprise of Josiah leaking through his diaper onto my shirt BEFORE we even made it past security.  Ooops, somehow we managed to forget to change his diaper before leaving the house.  Good thing they allowed us to bring a diaper bag for our carry-on.  When we went to check our baggage in, the lady told us we’d probably have to pay the standard fees.  Alaska has an agreement with Delta where if you are connecting to an int’l fight then they will wave your fees.  Well, that only applies if you are connecting within 8 hours.  We do not fly out from Seattle for 20 hours, which means we would have to pay $20 per checked luggage.  The lady told us she’d give it a shot to see if they’ll honor our connection and wave the fees, but then she processed it and said they wouldn’t be able to.  As we got ready to grab the rest of our bags, Josh asked if they were just going to charge our card then or how we were supposed to go about paying the fees.  The lady said she went ahead and took care of our fees.  Haha, she overrode the policy and WAVED OUR FEES, thank you Father!  I sit here typing the rest of my blog while everyone else sleeps.  The kids were wide-eyed with excitement as they experienced their first time flying.  We hit a little turbulence as we prepared to land, and it felt like we were on a mini rollercoaster.  The kids giggled at that part!  Jade and Christian both enjoyed the window seats, and Christian asked a couple of times… “When are we going to crash?”  What he meant to say was, “When are we going to land?”  He wanted to know when the wheels aka “landing gear” were going to come out.  I’m sure my friend, Katie, will love hearing about this!  Josiah slept almost the whole way, about 1 hour.  Tomorrow will definitely be a test as we face a 9 hour flight from Seattle to Amsterdam, have a 2 hour wait, then board another 11 hour flight to Johannesburg.  Good thing we came prepared with some toys, books, coloring and games.  Gracie has done awesome with her potty training and stayed dry the whole day and plane ride, so thank you for those that have been praying over this and for your continued prayers.  We take flight again Sunday at 1:40pm and will be in Africa around 9:30pm the following day.  Hopefully we will have internet connection there, but if not, we will do our best to provide updates as soon as we can.  Blessings to you all – much love – the Mason Clan!