"Cease striving."

After nearly three weeks of traveling we are home. We've spent the last couple of days getting rid of cold and flu we caught on our journey, doing load after load of laundry, and just trying to get back into the swing of things.

I've really missed this. You know, God does so much in my heart and life and this is a way He has given me to really share it with others, but more than that, to process all that He is teaching me and changing in me. So, I'm back. It's hard to know where to begin. So I'll just share a few tid-bits He has been showing me.

Psalm 46:10 is very well known. It says, "Be still, and know that I am God. I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth!" Another translation changes the first two words to "Cease striving." That is what God has been whispering to me over and over again. A sweet woman of God said it to me this way, "Don't be a perfect person. Be a weaker vessel." There are times when I feel so incredibly overwhelmed- overwhelmed with responsibilities, needs, fears, tasks. It is in those moments when I am so frustrated and just at my whits end that my own sometimes sub-conscious strivings for perfection are shattered. At that moment in my weak state I know how dependent I am on God. How I absolutely need Him for each step and each breath. So my prayer has changed, "Father, don't make me stronger or wiser, or more perfect, make me weaker. Make me weak so that Your strength is seen." Some might think this prayer is belittling, but on the contrary it is completely freeing. I am freed to cease striving, to allow His glorious might and power to be displayed in my life. "Cease striving."

Please be praying for me. I have a husband to love, serve, pray for, pray with, do laundry for, and cook for. I have a daughter who needs sleep, nourishment, play-time, instruction, discipline and direction. I am seeking to learn an incredibly difficult language. I have national friends to be sharing with and discipling. I have foreign friends to fellowship with and encourage. Life is incredibly full. On my own strength I can only scratch the surface of these needs. Most of all I desire to live a life that glorifies God. I want to be a woman of prayer, rising early to praise my God and intercede for those He has placed in my life. Please intercede on my behalf. Ask that I would be filled with the Holy Spirit so that God may be glorified. Ask that I would decrease so that He can increase. Thank you for loving me and allowing me to share my most deep needs with you.

Resting in the comfort of His arms,
Kari