Seasons Change

Some seasons in life are longer than others, and we don’t always know when one season will end and a new one will begin.  However, we have to be able to recognize and discern when something’s time has passed and be able to move into the next season, no matter how difficult moving on might be.  Each season prepares you for the next…  Each season serves its purpose…

We thought our season here at the Footprints base was going to last longer, but the Lord is leading our family to move off base.  In fact, we are moving tomorrow, January 1, 2015, back to Pretoria to stay at our friends’ house (Fred and Rene), whom we stayed with when we first moved to Africa.  We do not know how long we will be in Pretoria, but they have been so gracious to us and are letting us stay there as long as we need to until the Lord gives us clear direction for the next steps.

The reason for the move, you might ask…..  Well, sometime in October the Lord had been showing me some things, but we placed them on the back burner so-to-speak because we didn’t know the significance of those things at the time until now.  We thought we’d be leading the Footprints’ children’s school for another year.  We thought we’d be building a home on the base and bringing more children into our family – a few that were really highlighted to us already.  We thought many things were going to happen, but the internal checks continued to happen and the Lord began closing doors.  At this point, we knew we had to revisit the things the Lord had been speaking to me about and showing me.  This meant humbling ourselves before the Lord and the director at Footprints.  Our hearts meant well, but the Lord was telling us to slow down our steps so that we did not get ahead of Him and what He has planned for us.  We’ve learned many lessons here, for which we are grateful.  We’ve met some wonderful people, of which we hope we can stay connected with.  Our unity has been tested, but we have remained victorious over the enemy’s tactics!

One day as I was seeking the Lord for guidance, He spoke to my heart saying, “Ask your kids how they’re doing.  It will be key to your next step.”  We ask our kids often how they’re doing, but Holy Spirit gave me strategies to help me dive deeper into their hearts.  A common thing that was shared by all of them was, “We miss family time.”  We have enjoyed our time here at Footprints, but community living doesn’t come without its challenges.  I felt prompted to have some people pray for our family over a 2-day period (not sharing any details with them about certain situations) and to share anything with us that the Lord might be showing them on behalf of our family.  A friend of ours shared a couple of things with us, and one of those things was that she kept hearing the words, “Listen to the kids,” throughout her prayer time.  This lined up with what God had been speaking to me about, so I knew there was something more to it and God was trying to get my attention about something.  I am so thankful for friends that clearly hear the voice of the Lord and are an encouragement to us!  A love shout out to you all!  As I was typing out an e-mail to another one of my friends, the Lord spoke to me through my own writing confirming what our next step should be.

Through much conversation and prayer, Josh and I were led to make certain decisions on behalf of our family, but we wanted the blessing of leadership here at Footprints as that would be the honorable thing to do.  About 2 weeks ago we met with the director and received her full blessing to move forward with the direction the Lord was leading us, which is to move off base.  What’s really cool is that the night before we met with the director, the Lord gave her a dream about me and our kids.  I won’t share the details but it correlated with what was going on in my spirit for our family.  God’s so good!!  The Lord has made it very clear that this next season of ministry is all about our kids and strengthening our family unit.  We are called to make disciples, and that definitely starts in the home.  Don’t get us wrong, family is always ministry for us so this is nothing new, but the Lord is asking us to set aside all other “good” opportunities to go deeper into the Lord’s heart as a family during the month of January….no one being left behind.  We sense it is in preparation for us and what is to come for our family.  He wants to toughen up our army for the front line.  My heart is that as a family our intimacy with the Lord will become stronger and that a lifestyle of worship and prayer will become a greater focus for each of us individually and as a family unit.  So, if you don’t see us post much on Facebook or write any updates for a few weeks, it’s because we’re dedicating this next month to really focus on the Lord and grow more intimate with Him as a family.

In the meantime, God put a place on Josh’s heart, and right now we’re praying into the meaning of it and if it’s somewhere He wants us to visit.  Josh had never heard of this place before, nor do we know anyone that lives there or has been there.  We’ve taken the first step to inquire of this location, and now we’re just waiting to see if the door remains opened or closed.  Please join us in prayer that we would have an answer by January 7th.

I want to “sign-out” with this verse: Psalm 1:3

“They (the faithful) are like trees planted along the riverbank,

bearing fruit each season without fail.

Their leaves never wither, and in all they do, they prosper.”

For those that are faithfully following Jesus, this says there is NO season that doesn’t produce fruit.  If you are going through a season and questioning whether or not there is any fruit, ask the Lord to show you His perspective because He’s always at work growing something beautiful in you, BUT you must stay connected to Him for it to grow.  Let Him be your source of nourishment and the center of your heart!

With the new year upon us, we’re excited for what God has in store for the Mason Family in 2015, but we’re taking it one day at a time and choosing life today and not worrying about tomorrow.  We pray that all of you will experience freedom, love, hope and joy beyond measure during the year 2015.  Happy New Year from the Masons!

Merry Christmas from the Mason Family

Our family would like to take this time to wish you all a Merry Christmas!  We’re enjoying our first “hot” Christmas the non-traditional way.  No Christmas tree, no decorations, no stockings, no presents to open first thing in the morning.  I’ve been pondering in my heart what I want our family’s Christmas day to look like.  To be quite honest, I don’t completely understand why we celebrate Christmas and Easter in the first place (just one calendar day of the year).  EVERY DAY should be about the birth and resurrection of Jesus, right?!?!  I think that a lot of holidays have become worldly and commercialized, and in years past we’ve gotten caught up in all of that.  Don’t get me wrong, it’s okay to give gifts on Christmas, but we have decided that our gifts to our children would not be the first thing they focus on Christmas morning, so we will not be setting out stockings or gifts until later on in the day when we feel led to.  We are choosing to celebrate in a different way this year, without all the distractions, although we do miss the fact that family isn’t near.

We have a tradition in our family that has been going on for many years now.  We write down everyone’s name on individual pieces of paper and then draw names out of a hat.  Whoever’s name we draw, we get to make them a gift for Christmas – a gift that comes from the heart.  The kids look forward to this time the most, so we have decided to give away our gifts to each other tonight on Christmas Eve.  We then plan to watch a family movie together and celebrate Jesus’ birth by having a “birthday” cake that Gracie made for Christian as his gift.

However, you choose to celebrate Jesus’ birth, let Him be the focus of your day…..and for those that have kids, really ponder about what you would want Christmas to look like if Jesus were joining in on your celebration because He should be the whole reason for the celebration and not just a small part of it!  Peace, love and joy from our family to yours!!

We asked our kids to share with you what’s been going on with them, so here are their thoughts….

CHRISTIAN (7) – Hello friends and family!  I hope you can come to Africa.  It’s been hot and raining here in Africa.  It’s really fun having new friends to play with here, and you will get new friends too if you come here.  Today is Christmas Eve, and I know you know that too.  Christmas is about Jesus’ birthday, and it’s not just about getting presents.  It’s about celebrating Jesus.  There are three termite mounds on this base.  Me and Josiah share a room.  I wish you could come and share a room with us too.  There’s this game called shegisha, and all of the Footprints kids like to play it and so do I.  I’ve seen millipedes, rabbits, snakes, biting ants and cockroaches here at Footprints.  God has given me pictures of places in the world like in Europe.  I saw flowers and lots of animals and people and it was really hot there.  There is a swimming pool here at Footprints.  Have a great Christmas!  Merry Christmas!  Bye!

JADE (12) – It is so hot here! It does get cold here. I can’t wait for winter, which is summer in the States. It’s like an extra-long summer because when we left the States it was summer. I’ve made lots of friends here at Footprints. My friends and I have sleepovers and we go swimming together in the pool. I love having a pool here because I can just hop in whenever I want to! First when we got here it was all dry and everything was dead (the plants). Now since it’s been raining it is all green and alive. I like the rain, especially when I’m going to bed. Our roofs are made out of metal so when the rain comes down hard it is loud and comforting. All the kids and adults here are amazing and I’m glad I met them. I always help in the kitchen. I love helping whoever is cooking. I can’t believe it’s already Christmas! This year for our family tradition I got Gracie and I think she’s going to like her present. I can’t wait to give it to her! God has really been speaking to me about intimacy with Him a lot. So I’ve been reading my Bible and really pressing into Him more. I hope all of you guys have a great Christmas and a happy New Year. Merry Christmas!

GRACIE (5) – It’s fun here in Africa.  I play with my new friends.  I jump on the trampoline, and I play on the monkey bars.  I can go all the way across all by myself now!  I play in the sandbox and make sandcastles.  I got 2 new pairs of glasses because mine broke when I was hugging my mommy.  My mommy always calls me a “little fish” because I like to swim in the pool.  I’m learning how to swim.  I jump into the water while plugging my nose.  I’m not afraid of the water.  Merry Christmas, bye!

JOSIAH (4) – I love you all!  I wish you could come here.  I play with friends on the trampoline.  We put balls on the trampoline and bounce them, but if they touch you then you’re out.  The only way to get saved and back into the game is if another person jumps over the ball that touched you.  MERRY CHRISTMAS!

Simon Says...

This morning I woke up pondering things in my heart.  The Lord brought the game “Simon Says” to mind and told me to blog about it.  You know, the childhood game where one person is Simon.  If Simon says, “Simon says to touch your nose,” then you must touch your nose.  However, if Simon says, “Touch your nose,” but doesn’t say, “Simon says” and you touch your nose anyway then you are out.  Well, this isn’t new revelation to me but the Lord was speaking to me through this game.  If you put God in place of Simon in the game and God says to do something, you should do it.  If God doesn’t say to do something, don’t do it.  As a child playing this game, I would almost always get out if I tuned out what Simon was saying and just watched the actions of others.

The Lord was speaking to me about this and how we must listen to His voice for direction and not allow others to influence our actions or decisions.  He absolutely can speak wisdom through others, but I have learned to always take what is spoken to me to the Lord to process it with Him and “throw out the chaff”.  In Psalm 1:4 it talks about the wicked being worthless chaff, but the Lord was applying this particular concept to some situations we’ve been experiencing.  For those that aren’t familiar, chaff is the outer shell (or husk) that must be removed to get at the valuable kernels of grain inside.  Chaff was removed by a process called threshing and winnowing.  After the plants were cut, they were crushed, and then the pieces were thrown into the air.  Chaff is very light and is carried away by even the slightest wind, while the good grain falls back to the earth.  Chaff is a symbol of a faithless life that drifts along without direction.  Good grain is a symbol of a faithful life that can be used by God.  Unlike grain, however, we can choose the direction we will take.

In the last few months, we’ve allowed ourselves to be “carried away” by good opportunities, choosing to set aside some internal checks we were having and going after what seemed like the logical path.  One day the Lord spoke to me clearly and said, “What seems like the logical answer is not MY answer.”  I am constantly pondering Proverbs 3:5 in my mind and heart, “Trust the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding.”  Before any steps were taken I was sensing some things in my spirit about direction for our family.  In sharing those things with Josh, he heard me but didn’t take those things to heart or ask the Lord if He was in it or not.  Instead, he chose to follow what made logical sense to him.  In the end, I chose to submit to my husband because I wanted to honor him and be in unity.  We are aware of where we went wrong, and in hindsight Josh has learned that he shouldn’t have ignored the checks I was having.  I have also learned not to waiver or treat nonchalantly the wisdom the Lord imparts to me.  We continue to walk through this journey of life, continually being humbled by the Lord’s “teaching” opportunities.

When the Lord gives you a specific task, keep your gaze focused on Him and don’t be tossed to and fro by others’ opinions or exciting opportunities that come but aren’t doors you’re supposed to walk through.  There’s no need to question the “why’s” behind it – simply trust God because He sees the bigger picture.  When you begin to second guess the Lord, the spirit of doubt and confusion enters in and clouds your vision.  We know we have heard the Lord clearly on specific dreams and tasks He has given us, but it’s important that we get the timing right and not get ahead of Him.  Someone shared a testimony with me the other day, and I believe the Lord prompted him to share it with me at just the right time without him even knowing about our situation and challenges we were facing – and it all happened through casual conversation.  The Lord spoke to this couple a year ago that they needed to find a new house.  As they began looking, one would find a house that the other didn’t like and vice-versa.  Then they found a house that they both really liked.  That weekend (Saturday) they were going to purchase the house, but it turned out that someone else purchased it the day before they were supposed to.  At that point they gave up on searching and began wondering if maybe they heard the Lord wrong because it didn’t happen the way they expected or when they expected it.  A year later the word that the Lord gave them about finding a new house began manifesting and it’s happening with such ease and favor….all in His timing.

He has spoken to us (even our kids) through words and pictures/visions, confirming that we have done the right thing by slowing things down and staying true to the things He’s put on our hearts to do.  And, YES, that means saying no to other good opportunities that may come our way so that we will be available for God’s BEST opportunities to serve out His purposes through us.  One word of advice in the “waiting” is to keep your love on and protect your relationship with Him!  The enemy would love nothing more than to steal those things from you.  You can pursue dreams that God has given you, but if you turn off your love towards anyone during your journey when obstacles come, it means nothing [1 Corinthians13].

There is this incredible song by Kelanie Goeckler called, "Let Go Now."  I would highly recommend you take the time to listen to it right now as it carries a great anointing from the Holy Spirit.  The lyrics are extremely powerful and clearly convey what is going on in the hearts of me and Josh.  Here are some of the lyrics:

Holy Spirit overshadow me.  Take me by the corners of my soul and shake me.  Break me wide open to carry your heart.  All I want to do is lose myself in you.  Lean back in your arms and just let go.  Let it be, to me, according to your word.  Your ways are higher than mine.

I let go - your kingdom come.  In my life - your will be done.  Your ways are higher than mine.  I let go now!  Everything we were holding back before, we give it to you.  We won’t struggle against your hand – we just let go.  It feels so good to just let go!  I make my good plans, but you direct my steps.  I will trust in you at all times.  Your ways are higher than mine.

 

We are choosing to JUST LET GO and surrender daily to His ways because they are higher than ours!  What will you choose today?  Will you continue to hang on to the comforts of life, or will you choose to surrender your entire life to Him and let Him have His way in and through you……..?  I pray that God will have His way in you right now.  I pray that He is ministering to your heart this very second.  I pray that chains that have held you back are broken off right now.  I pray that all fear is broken off in your life and that Holy Spirit will reveal to you God’s purposes for your life and that you would be able to take a giant leap of faith to follow after His heart – even if it means letting go of something familiar to you.  It will be worth the risk!

Slowing down our steps because “Simon” aka God said to.  Letting go now……..