Final preparations: sorting, scanning, shredding - PRAYING, preparing, packing

 

As we begin the final days of this journey in America before we begin our journey in England, these 6 words seem to be an endless effort each and everyday. With the focus now being "weight only 51 pounds per container" ringing in my ears, I found myself continually praying , "Lord, what is the most important thing? What am I suppose to take along this journey?I know its just stuff, but I need to have the faith to know we will be taken care of."  My heart was full of worry and I must confess that doubt seemed to be creeping in. But in my devotions that morning after that prayer, the Lord gently spoke to me from Genesis 45: 20 saying.....

"Don't worry about your personal belongings, for the best of all the land is yours". Wow, the Lord has a way of gently tapping you on the shoulder reminding you He is in control! Peace followed, and I soon could rest assured once again He would take care of us, leading us down a definite path He had planned. In Matthew 6:31-34 it also says, "So don't worry about these things, saying, 'What will we eat? What will we drink? What will we wear?' These things dominate the thoughts of unbelievers, but your heavenly Father already knows all your needs. Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and He will give you everything you need. So don't worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring its own worries. Today's trouble is enough for today." Boy how often, as little children, we need to be reminded continually of our Father's love and care and guidance as we walk down this journey of faith.  Knowing that our God knows, somehow takes the stress out of life.

 

Throughout the days, as I sorted and Bob scanned , we saw all paperwork, receipts and articles go from a stuffed overflowing file cabinet to now digital files. Yahoo and Praise the Lord !

 

 

With a yard-sale, numerous people passing through buying our furniture and with much prayer along the way, we are now ready with our 9 containers in hand. This truly has been an endeavor, but we can say we feel incredibly lighter now as we soon will begin our travels. Deuteronomy 31:8 " The Lord your God will personally go ahead of you. He will neither fail you nor abandon you."

 

 

Prayer requests:

Continued good health during this transition

Safe flight to London

Containers would get there in one piece, nothing broken or lost

No problems in Customs passing into the country

Grace to make it to our temporary place in Newton Abbot ( 30 min. south of Exeter)

Ephesians 4:20 - Now all glory to God, who is able, through His mighty power at work within us, to accomplish more than we could ask or think

Letting go

With now only weeks left before we leave, our continual stream of out of town guests has come to a close. My sister and brother-in- law left Friday, and with that they took our Basset hound Stanley to be their own. With a peace in my heart, and a lump in my throat, Stan, the man was now turning from a desert dog to a beach dog on the Oregon coast. Giving up things that are dear to your heart is so hard, but at times so needful. To be obedient to the call that God is placing on your heart no matter what it may be, is a sacrifice well pleasing to God. With us soon going to England, Stanley now has a great home!

In Matthew 19:29 states, " and everyone who has given up houses or brothers or sisters or fathers or mothers or children or property, for my sake, will receive a hundred fold and inherit eternal life." Well, Lord, I truly at this point have given up so much for you to serve in an unknown land. I am anxiously now waiting to see what you are going to do. As I know I serve a God who sees and cares, who knows ..... a critter may be waiting for me across the pond (LOL )!

Psalm 37:23 "The Lord directs the steps of the godly, he delights in every detail of their lives

 

Patience with Praise

With only weeks left, final preparations are coming in line. Truly God has been with us each day as we set our hearts to walk just one step at a time accomplishing the very next thing.

God has answered our prayers in the process of getting our visas, coming with a lot of patience.  As the UPS truck pulled up delivering that long awaited package, our hearts leaped.  But only to find that there was only one visa!

 "But, Lord, where is the other one? What do we do? The plan is for two… not one, Lord!"

Questions such as these seem to occasionally haunt our hearts, reminding us how our flesh is so instant to build conclusions of hopelessness and despair. How often we question the Lord's ability! But the Lord reminds us that He is our hope and we must trust, continuing to keep our eyes on Him. Joshua 1:9 " Be not discouraged or dismayed, for the Lord thy God is with you...". Deut. 30:16  "For I command you this day to love the Lord your God and to keep His commandments, walking in His ways. If you do this, the Lord your God will bless you and the land you are about to enter and occupy."

Soon after the UPS truck left, up rolled the FEDEX truck to give us the other visa which we so desperately wanted. Both visas came the same day but at different times. Oh, Happy Day! Another lesson of trust and patience instilled in our hearts. All this to again remind us God truly is in control every step of the way. The only thing He requires of us is to believe-taking those steps of faith.  “For His ways truly are not our ways.”

 

Steps of Preparation

Proverbs 3:5-6 "Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not unto thine own understanding. Acknowledge Him in all your ways and He will direct your paths”  This verse seemed to echo in my heart throughout the coming days as I now set out to prepare for my journey to England.  “It seems like so much to do, so little time…where do I begin Lord?”  These questions seemed endlessly to rumble throughout my mind. Upon driving to Prescott to minister one sunny but cold day, the mountains along the way seemed to catch my attention with their so defining peaks and valleys.  As I drove, God softly spoke to my heart, as if to say that there will be mountains and there will be valleys throughout this journey. There will be giants in the land that need to be conquered. 

Deut. 31:6-8  "Be strong and courageous.  Do not be afraid or panic before them.  For the Lord your God will personally go ahead of you. He will neither fail you nor abandon you." 

Philippians 4:6 "Don't worry about anything, instead pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank Him for all He has done."

Prayer became my number 1 priority in preparation.   Such an encouragement to my soul.  So with a prayer list in hand and a song in my heart, I set out continually in prayer, asking the Lord to go before me in the land of the giants I would encounter; all the more knowing with confidence He truly will be glorified every step of the way.

 

Prayer list of those giants I would soon encounter:

1. Visas for our long stay in Britain

2. Cars to be sold

3. Storage for my memoirs

4. Selling of furniture

5. Home for Stanley our Bassett Hound

6. What to take, what to store, what to sell

 

God indeed answers...

As we kept waiting, our hearts continued to long across the pond for Europe, the town of Exeter to be exact.
Truly our hearts were touched last summer when we had the opportunity to minister for two months to this
church. Loving them, praying and ministering seemed to bring such joy in our hearts. As we left, part of our
 heart was left in this little English town, as I Thessalonians 3:9-11 so rightly displays:

"How we thank God for you!  Because of you we have great joy as we enter God's presence.  Night and day we pray earnestly for you, asking God to let us see you again to fill the gaps in your faith."

Upon sitting and waiting on God, now that we returned to the states, there seemed to be this unending desire for these people.  Perhaps God was putting a sense of calling on our hearts to go there?  As we would continually say no, with every excuse possible, (longing to go back, but certainly not to live there) the Lord spoke to our hearts one morning in our devotionals – “Why not?”

Giving us the confirmation we needed, (found in Acts 16:10, “So we decided to leave for Macedonia at once, having concluded that God was calling us to preach the Good News there” ) …we knew that we knew we were to go.  Also in Acts 13:47 it says, "I have made you a light to the Gentiles, to bring salvation to the farthest corners of the earth".  Thus the peace and excitement filled our hearts to think God would want to use us in our old age! Remembering the prayer of our hearts, “Lord, let us be more fruitful in our later years than the beginning."

We had nothing to hold us back, so off we begin to walk down this new pathway in our lives. The invitation truly came from God to invite us to come across the pond, travelling to the gentle rolling hills of rural England. This now became our focus - Acts 26:16 "I have appeared to you for this purpose....".

       “The vision Paul had on the road to Damascus was not a passing emotional experience,

        but a vision that had very clear and emphatic directions for him. Our Lord said to Paul in

        effect, "Your whole life is to be overpowered or subdued by Me; you are to have no end,

        no aim, and no purpose but Mine." And The Lord also says to us, " You did not chose me,

        but I chose you and appointed you that you should go” John 15:16. Paul was devoted to a 

        Person, not to a cause.” 

              Oswald Chambers, My Utmost for His Highest, January 24