a lil life update [part uno].

one step at a time...

It seems hardly possible that almost two years have passed since I felt God lead me out of YWAM (worldwide Christian missions) & into a season of dwelling near family in good ol' Kansas City, MO... While my 3 years with YWAM were some of the most healing, identity-releasing, & confidence-in-Christ-building; this time with family has been some of the most root-deepening & reinforcing, especially in the realm of what it means to "stir up/strengthen my own soul in the Lord." Prior to the last couple years, I hadn't lived near family for a decade. So, re-connecting in a tangible way with them has been simply marvelous.
I've also had the joy of substitute teaching these two years in over a dozen different schools, ages K-12. I've genuinely enjoyed it BIG-time. There has been countless important conversations, opportunities to serve & love, as well as prayer walk these schools in a district with astonishingly rampant poverty (recent statistics say that over 70% of the youth here are growing up in poverty...). The picture the Lord kept giving me through others these 2 years has been that of taking a "Johnny Appleseed" role of scattering seeds of love, prayer, & service that are indeed hard & laborious at times, but they DO matter & WILL take root in one way or another. He's been showing me all over again the utter privilege of the hidden/behind the scenes servant & seed-planting roles...it's true ya know, all growth and life we see surrounding us started from a seed.
Dang. Let that really sink in :)