To my dad.....

During my years in Nigeria, I became more and more grateful for my childhood and for the loving father God gave me. The children I took care of have been beaten by their dads, have been thrown out on the streets by their dads, have been disowned by their dads because the child chose to follow Christ, have been starved by their dads, have been cursed by their dads. The one person in their life who was created to protect them, guide them, accept them, teach them, encourage them in a way no one can... for so many children all over the world, their fathers have caused unspeakable harm

In the midst of the sorrow I saw, God opened my eyes even more to what an amazing Dad I have.

~ It was him, not Mom, who first put my hair in pigtails when I was 1 years old.

~ When I was 3 years old, he let me sit on his lap and drive the riding lawn mower... right into a fence.

~ Some of my favorite childhood memories are when Dad and I would wake up super early and go fishing on his boat. It didn't matter if my cast was pathetic, if I caught a tree, or if I got the twine all tangled up - he was so patient with me and I knew that he loved those mornings just as much as me. One morning, we were fishing for white bass and man, they were biting. We started a competition to see who could catch the most by a certain time... and I won! I think I caught 31 and he caught 27. It was awesome.

~ Every Christmas for years, Shane and I would wake up and go into Mom and Dad's bedroom and crawl in bed with Mom while Dad went downstairs to turn on the heater, start the fire, make the coffee and get things all cozy for us. For years we made him be "Santa Claus" by handing our gifts to us, as we went around the circle and watched each other open one gift at a time. One Christmas morning, I caught him putting together a dollhouse for me. I think he was bummed that I caught him, but it's a special memory for me because I saw the joy in his face as he worked on the surprise.

~ He makes the BEST omelets. Dad loves to make "Big Breakfasts" and I love to eat them.

~ If he knew that mom or I needed to go somewhere and our car was dirty, many times I would go outside and find a sparkling clean car. He still does this!

~ He loves to make the outside of our home beautiful. Dad has a natch for landscaping and every house we've lived in has been blessed by dad's hands.

~ Whenever he would leave in the early mornings to go fishing (when I wouldn't go), he always came and kissed my forehead before he left.

~ He always knew when I was trying to pull a fast one on him during High School and he was quick to discipline, but always quicker to love me in the midst of it all.

~ He loves to drive me nuts by mispronouncing words on purpose... like "guacamala"

~ When I am crying, he will start crying with me. (and I think this is AWESOME for a man to do this!).

~ If he doesn't want to cry, he will start laughing.

~ Every morning for years, he goes on one hour 'power walks' - an hour of powerful prayer and intercession. Our dog, Bonnie, who has spent these special hours with him for many years, has sure been privy to to some incredible conversations between my Dad and the Lord.

~Dad is an extremely gracious man.

~ Dad loves his family with a passion and seeks to serve the Lord every day of his life.

~ He loves my mom dearly and has been faithful to her all 37 years of their marriage.



I love you Dad!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Love, Princess

Don't Shrink Back

There are so many thoughts in my head and I've felt compelled to share this journey, with the prayer that God will use what I am learning to encourage others. I've found it difficult to know where to start, which has prevented me from even starting. So, I am just going to dive in and share bit by bit and hope it makes sense.

The last 10 years of my life have been focused on either preparing to go to Nigeria or actually living there. My years in Nigeria were life-changing. So many times while I was there I thought to myself "This is what I was made for" - loving on orphans and caring for people in their distress. I felt so alive there, so full of God's love for His people. I was constantly amazed that He would allow me to be a small part in the lives of the precious children whom He loves so much. He has given me such tremendous love and compassion for them that it sometimes hurts, it is that powerful - how much I love them, how much I want to see them cared for and protected - it is, at times, overwhelming to me as I considered His love for His children. That love has not been quelled, even though I am not physically in Nigeria anymore.

The intensity of my emotions have made it difficult for me to express into words how I am feeling and what God is doing in the very deepest parts of my soul. I am resisting allowing myself to blend into the fabric of the culture in America. I feel like I have tasted the life God has available for all of His children - a life of adventure, freedom, intensity, surrender, miracles, and power - that I don't want to lose it, but continue to live a life of complete abandon, regardless of my location on this earth. I have wrestled with how to keep feeding the flame of passion the Lord has given me for Him and for His people, in the midst of a culture that seeks to distract me from Him.

Last Sunday at church, a lady stopped me in the hallway to encourage me and she said
"Don't shrink back". When I heard these three words, I felt knocked off my feet. YES! THAT is what I have been praying, crying out to God about - that I won't shrink back, away from the life He desires for all of His children. I don't want to shrink back into a life of self-serving rituals that extinguish the flames, where just cinders of rememberance are left. I don't want to shrink back into a place where I am so surrounded by distraction and meaningless pursuits, that I can't hear His voice and even come to a place where I would rather not hear what He has to say because I prefer to live life on my own terms.

I mentioned to my mom how powerful these three words are to me, and being the amazing and godly woman of the Word, she soon came to me with her Bible opened to Hebrews 10:36-39:

"For you have need of endurance, so that when you have done the will of God you may receive what is promised. For, 'Yet a little while, and the coming one will come and will not delay; but my righteous one shall live by faith, and if he shrinks back, my soul has no pleasure in him.' But we are not of those who shrink back and are destroyed,

but of those who have faith and preserve their souls."

Friends, may I encourage you who have received Christ's sacrifice for your sins and are seen as righteous in the eyes of God...

Endure. Do the will of God. Live by faith. Don't shrink back. Preserve your souls.