Instruments of the Living God

Music has always had a special place in my life.

At the age of 7 I picked up my first instrument, and became amazed at the different kinds of sounds I could make out of it. 

I fell in love with making different kinds of noises, and became pretty darn good at anything I picked up. Whether it be my saxophone, a guitar, bass clarinets, pianos, whatever. 

It amazed me that the language of music was spoken throughout all different kinds of instruments- that played different notes, with different fingerings- yet when they all were put together...they made one beautiful song. 

They all followed the same beat, the same rythm, the same chord structure, the same keys, and the same idea. 

It's just like worship. I had the privilege of meeting a bunch of different people- who come from different backgrounds, colors, tribes, languages...yet we all picked up our instruments and lifted our voices to do one thing- bring praise and worship the one true and living God. 

It was beautiful. And I'm amazed that we can all speak the same language and have the same heart of serving God. Just like music. 

So whether your ministry is different than someone else's, whether you're in a far away land or in the same place you've lived for the last 30 years... Know that we're on the same team. We're all a part of the body of Christ. And that's the beautiful thing. We're all a part of the Lord, making one beautiful song- and we're his instruments. 

So friends. I ask you this:

What does your lifesong say?

http://youtu.be/Gnf1xczuOrA

Something's Stay the Same

View from our new home 

A new home is hard for some people to get their minds around. Not only that, but moving to a whole new world where you can't brush your teeth out of the sink water, and buy unrefridgerated milk that comes in a plastic bag. The money is different colors and has animals all over, and you have to scrub your fruit and vegetables with bleach. When you look outside you see Palm trees instead of Redwood trees, and take in the sweet stinky weird aroma of burning plastic instead of the crisp cold pure air in NorCal...The steering wheel is on the other side of the car and you drive on the other side of the road. The craziest is that you're no longer a part of the majority but are now a "minority..."

I don't write these things to complain. I write them to explain how much different our new home is. It's been a blessing and I honestly can't ever imagine going back to living in high speed, put together, and blessed America. Sure I do miss Pandora, instant Internet, and chipotle, but I love it here. (No, I'm not saying that I'm staying here forever...) Mostly I love that we serve the same God even when we're thousands of miles, lots of countries, and a few continents away. Our home was filled with praise and worship tonight, we have a puppy running around, dad preached and shared an awesome word, mom greets everyone with smiles and hugs, and even has cute dishes and mason jars in the cupboards. Our new Jesus family seems like we've known each other for years, and really it's just been a few weeks. It's incredible how so many things have changed over the last 37 days, yet so much still stays the same. It finally feels like HOME. Because wherever Jesus and love is, that's where home is. 

-Madeline

Boot

Ever since I was little, dogs have always had a special place in my heart. 

I think by the age of like 7 I could point out a random dog and tell you what breed (exactly) and what that breed was bred to do...thanks for all the dog books mom and Ba, and for watching animal planet with me, dad. lol. 

Shepherds are my favorite, and it was so hard to leave mine at home. Sometimes I wonder why I cried harder saying "see ya later" to my doggies than I did to most people. Lol. 

But, it's because dogs have a special way to your heart. At least to mine. And I'm thankful for that. 

So meet my new friend, Boot, a 12 week old Belgium German Shepherd who is going to go on this Uganda Adventure with us. Love him already. 

Slow Down

I think reality is finally starting to set in. 

I'm not used to "sitting" all day, not that I am. But...Coming from working 40 hours and commuting an extra 10 hours every week, and working in a high stress job where sometimes people die all day long- or that's what it seemed like...eating out most meals because I was barely home to even sleep, and bought a fancy car that I would drive around and be anywhere I wanted to be whenever I wanted to be. I didn't really even see my roommate half the time because we would literally go to bed and wake up at different and weird hours going from night shift, day shift, day shift, night shift. On my days off, there was usually a SERT Op planned, or a spontaneous rescue of somesort that we would act on.  I don't think I ever thought about the showers water pressure (except for on those occasional Tijuana mission trips, if we got one), and now you have to turn the water heater on 30 minutes before you take a shower, and cross your fingers that the water pressure is decent. Well, now I'm here and it's almost as if life and time froze. I'm in a place where life is so much different. Where I'm not working 40+ hour weeks, and rarely ride in a car... Eating out is kinda a treat, and when we're home we wash every fruit or vegetable by hand- most of the time with bleach. I'm learning how to savor this sweet time- because this season is different. I know jesus has me here for a reason, and I'm enjoying every moment here. I'm looking into different non profits, and am excited to jump in and get busy serving and *hopefully* working. But as for now- whether it's sitting on a porch reading my bible and journaling, listening to monkey noises, and watching birds bigger than my nieces fly by...I'm enjoying it. Sometimes it's hard to slow down, but I'm learning. And it's a good thing. A really good thing. And I encourage you to try it too. 

Love, 

Madeline