Hey! We’re in the throes of moving and so the blog will be a bit on hiatus until…

Check back mid-August!

It’s been a little heavy on here lately – rightfully so with the move and all, but still. This is just a fun bit from the concert we went to last night at the Tabernacle.

We heard the John Butler Trio – a fanciful, funky, hippie jam band with roots in banjo and appalachian picking. To say that these guys are immensely talented would be an understatement and they put on a great show.

All that to say, I dont know if he loves Jesus, but he has the love part nailed. He gets it. He has this song, titled Ocean, he introduces with this:

“This is a song that says everything I believe about the world and Australia and you and me and the future and love.”

Ocean is an instrumental.

It was a conversation without words and it was beautiful. And if you listen to it – it’s a happy, complex song – you’d pick up on his worldview. And as I’m thinking about this, hearing it live last night, I think, how amazing would it be, if we – if I – approached life in the same way: conveying our worldview without words but in a way that all nations hear it and receive it.

That could change everything.

{PS. John Butler also said things like we were a love generator and that the energy in this place is electrifying… He also may or may not have used air quotes around the words “their reality” in reference to the matrix we’re escaping as we create our own reality… He discussed world politics, religion, honored the soldiers of all flags, and pretty much covered everything in a few short hours. He closed with an attack on big oil saying they need to get their needles out of the arm of beloved Australia and get their fix elsewhere, as they seek to draw out the life blood of mother earth for profit. Just sayin’. But last night rocked.}

“Let them give glory to the Lord and declare His praises in the islands [UK]“ – Isaiah 42:12

We just wanted to be sure, that if anyone hears anything about our story, they know one thing: God made it all possible and deserves all the glory.

God made provision for us financially.

God created community for us in London.

God gave us prayer people, direction, and guidance—He spoke to us through Joshua 3.

God made a way for us and proved Himself faithful.

We just happen to be the grateful recipients of His relentless love.

So now you know the details – well, the basics, at least – of our impending move to London, why we’re going and how it all worked out.

Spiritual Warfare. There are two things warring in my heart, vying for my attention and belief. In which will I choose to daily place my faith?

Understanding: I understand that the beginning of wisdom is admitting: I don’t know. I did a whole study on it. According to both the Old and New Testaments, when we admit that we don’t have all the answers, we turn our gaze outward seeking truth, we open our minds to God’s wisdom and look outside ourselves for insight. This is where wisdom begins. It takes coming to this realization for our hearts and minds to be malleable enough for God to mold with His wisdom – it’s a beautiful thing.

Feeling: I feel completely lost. Incompetent. Naive. Inexperienced. Too young. Wrong. Constantly. From the VISAs to the money and budgeting – even to the idea and reality of moving and setting up life on a new piece of earth.

Understanding: I understand that this is exactly where God wants me, that He can teach me things through this season unlike He can in any other. I know that this dependency on Him creates in me an intimate connection with God that I cannot experience apart from it. I am convinced that even in the midst of all these otherwise negative emotions, there is so much more going on here, so much more of the story – my story – being written. There are subtleties that I do not want to miss in the name of self-pity and lamenting.

Feeling: I feel like a little girl. I am old enough but not experienced enough. I have knowledge, but know enough only to be dangerous with the idea of change – not the actual change itself. I am a walking contradiction and am hyper-emotional.

Understanding: I have this mantra running through my head all day – which is only as often as I need to hear it:

“The destination is set, it’s how you get there that matters. Will you take time for others, find joy in the journey, and soak up every moment of your time here? Or will you choose to focus on yourself, how hard it is, how little you know, how ill-prepared you are for it all and miss this precious time that you’ll never get back?
The choice is yours.”

I feel I must be honest with you about this whole moving thing in case any of you attempt this same venture.

First and foremost, I know that this is – without a doubt – exactly what we should be doing exactly when we should be doing it.

But this is how it feels: It feels overwhelming. It feels like much too much. It feels like I have been running a marathon since January and can’t catch my breath. On monday, I had a list of things to do so long that when Grant (in an attempt to soothe me) offered to just go see a movie, the thought was immediately rejected by my brain. I couldn’t do one more thing. Not even a movie.

It is great to be doing this together – with Grant.

It is nice to know that this is not forever – it is a one time thing with a beginning and an end.

It would be impossible without prayer.

It has made me undeniably dependent on the Lord.

It has humbled me in ways I never could’ve imagined.

It has already made me better.