In the past couple of weeks (since our last "meet up") an issue has risen in me that has been long standing, crippled me in areas of my life I wasn't even aware of and held me hostage.
My perspective on Money.
There I said it.
Too much money or a lack of money, not managed honorably, can control us...and it has for me. It never ceases to amaze me how God intertwines circumstances and "issues" in our lives to finally get our attention. Two key areas of my life~~our move to the mission field and my business have brought this point to light. So, my 1st action step was to rally an intimate accountability team that has permission to speak the hard truth to me. This alone was tough because who wants to say, "Hey, I suck at this so could you help keep my feet to the fire?" Pride is an ugly thing, but when I acknowledge it for what it is it's pretty darn crazy what follows. When God/the Holy Spirit pricks our hearts to be obedient He doesn't guarantee immediate results, but in His goodness He has already, like tangibly, rewarded me for a broken, surrendered, ready-to-change heart. Gulp....
Listen to advice and accept instruction, that you may gain wisdom in the future. ~Proverbs 19:20
I share all that, not because I'm proud of it, because I'm surely not, but much more because maybe someone else can relate and needs the courage to acknowledge whatever is holding you in bondage. There is real freedom when we do!! And, I am learning this DOES NOT define me, but victory over it comes from the Lord, and HE DOES DEFINE ME!
Can we talk tangible, like you can feel something but it's not physically there? I love those moments that imagining something becomes reality. This week we were out doing updated family pics, and we came upon this gem of a find~~an old rustic building adorned with the most perfect wheelbarrow of gourds. We shot some awesome photos, and as we were leaving we happened on some grape trellises~with the most fragrant, ripe, perfectly sweet, hanging clusters of grapes. For some reason, the conversation went to, "I wonder if this delightful smell will waft through heaven?" All that is good and pleasing to our senses came to mind~a gift really. It reminded me all that we have to be grateful for~ALWAYS.The three guys are learning Tagalog (you know I should be, too, but haven't fit it into my already crazy schedule), and I love to overhear them while they're listening and learning their language program. Last week, I was blessed by a new connection where the value of learning the local language was further solidified. One of Graham's friends from our homeschool co-op spent a number of years in Uganda with his family on the mission field. Graham got to hang with his friend, and I got to listen and share with his mom. SO GOOD.....SO, SO GOOD!!💗 They spent their first two years there learning the language and culture so her husband could do all his messages in the local dialect. This is why we, too, want to learn Filippino (formerly known as Tagalog) so that we can connect, share and fellowship whether someone knows English or not.
As we "bloom where we're planted" here we also actively continue to prepare, plan, rest and pray what God's next best step is for us in this journey. Thank you for traveling with us....
Grateful, Honored, Blessed~
The Hounshell Four
If you would like to support us financially in our journey, you can go to missionarycompanionministries.org. In the top right click "donate", and you can follow the instructions from there. Please fill in our missionary number, 4157, and then continue.
No comments:
Post a Comment