Lifting my eyes to the hills...

Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Philippians 4:7

This summer I am re-reading the writings of Paul. I figured it would be a good idea to read the thoughts of the first missionary in order to get some tips on the job. I'm sure most people love Philippians, but it has particularly special meaning to me. For most of my adult life, I have been a worrier. I worried about everything. Were my kids healthy? Was my marriage okay? Would we have enough money to pay our bills? Did my lipstick match my outfit? I'm not kidding--I worried about everything to the point of being sick. So when God really got ahold of my life and started working miracles, this was the area in which He started. I have stopped worrying about things. I don't mean I'm never stressed, but I do mean that I don't sit around worrying about stuff anymore--because He has proven to me that He has it all under control, so I don't have to. He has provided me some safety valves in case worry starts to rear its ugly head. Let me give an example from this week:

We have an offer on the house. It had been on the market four days when the first offer came in, which we turned down. They made a second offer, which was better but not good enough, and we turned that down, thinking that was the end of that. Then they came back with offer #3, which was a really good offer, but they wanted to close on July 5th. I could feel the panic start. Where would we live for the month of July? So I called my friend Tara. Tara and Matt were in our small group at candidate conference, and to say we hit it off is an understatement. There was an immediate connection--identical passions, though for different regions; similar senses of humor (the college kids asked us to keep it down because we were laughing so hard); similar background issues--we just connected. We have kept in close contact since we left, and I knew that their house had sold in five days, so she would have some wise counsel. I'm sure she could hear in my voice that I was getting a little frenzied. She said one sentence that made all the difference: "But Kellye, isn't this just one more confirmation that y'all are 100% where He wants you to be?" And the panic was gone. God had provided a voice of reason, someone I would listen to and respect, to point out to me that He was only doing what we had asked. God is good, all the time. You know the rest.

I'm pretty certain we're going to take the offer. Marc crunched the numbers with Tim, our administrative pastor with whom we would trust our lives, and it's a good offer in a buyer's market. We think we have it worked out to live in missionary housing owned by a church in Jacksonville. Another story for another post, but God at work in a mighty way. I stand amazed in the Presence, my friends. He is so faithful.

We will be lifting our eyes to the hills for the next week at a cabin in Pine Mountain, Georgia. We are so looking forward to some time together, playing games, swimming, enjoying God's creation--and then coming back to the air conditioning (that was for you, Ada). Whatever you're worried about this morning, I have good news: "The Lord will keep you from all harm--he will watch over your life; the Lord will watch over your coming and going both now and forevermore" (Psalm 121). The God of Everything is on the job in your life...now THAT'S cause for the peace that transcends understanding! Blessings to you and yours!

His,
Kellye