What are you hanging on to?

Last night I had a dream about going water skiing. Now I have been doing this for as long as I can remember. Slalom by 12, barefoot by 16. I was also a ski instructor for a Christian Camp. I love it.

This dream was weird because we spent so much time figuring out what was wrong with the rope. Apparently, it was broken. We had gone out on the lake with a broken rope! We ended up on the other side of the lake still trying to fix this darn rope.

The other strange thing about this ski trip was that I did not know these people I was with from Adam. They were two older, fairly heavy-set women. Maybe one of them was a man. It really wasn't that important for me in the dream. All I knew is that I didn't know them, but they were trustworthy people.

Well, I ended up working on this rope for hours and hours. It was something about the handle. I couldn't get one side right. I kept trying and trying, but it just wouldn't work. By this time we were almost to the bridge (you obviously know where that is if you know my dream). I kept cutting the rope shorter and shorter just committing to start over so that it would be right.

I finally got it to where I wanted it. It worked! So we headed for the boat. (Somehow we had gotten on shore at this pig farm to fix the rope). When I looked at the rope however, it was way too short! I couldn't ski behind this! Great! But, I decided to try anyway...then I woke up.

DREAMS!!! Can't make sense of them sometimes.


As I was washing dishes this morning...the interpretation came to me. Here it is. Who is taking you for a ride? What are you going to hang on to? Just trust the rope and stop trying to fix it!

Here is what I make of it. The ride is toward God. Jesus is the rope! I need to stop tinkering with the rope, which is hindering my riding toward God. The people taking me on the ride are trustworthy people who know the way. They have been there before me.

Simple. Easy. So, do it!

What is God's Will For Me?

I ask myself this question more times than I care to admit. This is a tough question because I feel myself being pulled in so many different directions, especially at this point in my life. I just graduated. Kayla was born. We are looking for God's direction in the midst of everything.

Recently, we just made the decision to leave the Mission Miami team. We were asking this question. Does God want us to continue with the team? Does God want to use us somewhere else? The crazy thing about this is that we thought we wrestled with this last summer when we made the decision to get on the Mission Miami team! So now what is the deal, God?

It basically came down to closed doors. Everywhere we turned, we found closed doors. The deciding factor was the door of funding for our work. We couldn't even make our monthly rent payment! This forced both of us to try and work full-time to cover our expenses, train full-time to prepare for Miami, fundraise full-time to actually get to Miami, as well as be full-time parents. We felt this was too much for us to handle at this time in our lives. It seems like God was speaking here. Is this what Luke was talking about when he says, " [Paul and his companions] tried to enter Bithynia, but the Spirit of Jesus would not allow them to." (Acts 16:7)?

Right now, we are asking this question again but in a different sense. Now that we are looking for ministry jobs, where do we go? Do we go to Vermont? California? Texas? Within Texas do we go to Grand Prairie? Huntsville? Wichita Falls? We are researching all these places to see how God can use our gifts most effectively. We will see how the hand of God works here, but probably only after the fact.

Conclusion: I believe the only way to be absolutely sure of the will of God is in the times that we are looking back at situations rather than in the situations themselves. In the meantime, we trust that He will guide our paths.