I Will Give You Rest

Happy New Year, everyone!
Isn't it crazy that it's 2020 already? Somehow that number sounds so futuristic. ;) I hope you all had a wonderful holiday season with family and friends! We had many different celebrations around Christmas time--since both Luke's family and mine live nearby now, it makes for a jam-packed schedule of spending time at different homes around the holidays. It was a ton of fun, though, and we are so thankful to have like minded family that we can fellowship freely with and not have to worry about angry dinner conversations or difficult choices on what to refuse participation in politely. I definitely don't take that for granted, because I know so many have to face things like that around the holidays!

Baby boy Orwig is doing very well, and likes to make his presence very known these days with lots and lots and LOTS of movement!! ;) He is such a crazy active little fellow...most especially at night when this Mama is trying to get some sleep. Ha! I'm 26 weeks along, so the third trimester is coming right up. In many ways it feels like this pregnancy is going very quickly, but other times (like when I am trying to get things done and feel like a three ton walrus) it seems like a very long time till he gets here. ;P I know the time will come before we know it, though!

This post is one that I've actually been wanting to write since before Christmas, but I keep putting it off because I keep studying more about the topic, and finding new verses that I love and want to include, and well...just don't be surprised if there happens to be a Part 2 to this post at some point in the future! :)

One of the biggest things God has been working on me about lately is the idea of rest. Both physical and spiritual. Physically, rest has become absolutely vital to me over the last few months, as some small difficulties with pregnancy have made it extremely hard for me to be the go-getter that I typically am/want to be. And quite honestly, as my body grows and changes with every day that goes by, physical rest is becoming even MORE important! :) Much more vital than physical rest, however, is spiritual rest. 

To be honest, I have failed at both types of rest quite often lately. Out of frustration with current physical limitations, I push myself too hard and wind up knocked over and hurting a lot more than is necessary. In a spirit of faithlessness, I refuse to trust God and His promises to me and become fretful and worried, living in doubt and fear and stressing out for no reason.

I've never really done the whole "Word of the Year" thing before...I know many friends who have really enjoyed it, but I had just never actually chosen ONE concept to focus on throughout the year. But at the beginning of this year, I realized that God had been speaking to me about this SO much, it was almost a given: my word of the year for 2020 is "Rest". 

This has been a lot of intro, I know, but I wanted to give some background into my study and how much it means to me before I just launched in. :) Here are a few things I have written down in my study journal over the last couple months. (Alliterated because I'm Baptist and that's just what we do, haha!! ;P)

1. The Preparation for Rest
"And he said unto them, This is that which the LORD hath said, To morrow is the rest of the holy sabbath unto the LORD: bake that which ye will bake to day, and seethe that ye will seethe; and that which remaineth over lay up for you to be kept until the morning." Exodus 16:23

God Himself instituted the practice of resting (specifically on the Sabbath) when He created the world in six days and rested on the seventh. Later, He set up this principle for His people to follow. However, God didn't expect or require them to simply drop everything and rest with no preparation or provision for the rest period. They were to make ready in order to be purposefully still and not work. However, this did NOT mean that all tasks were perfectly complete and nothing was left undone before they rested. They made specific preparations for the Sabbath, and when the day came, they rested. Whatever was left undone could simply wait until the next day. In our goal-oriented and perfectionist society today, we sometimes have a hard time resting while there are still tasks to be done. However, there will always be something to do, something to fill our time with. The decision lies with us to let some of that go and CHOOSE to purposefully rest.

2. The Purpose of Rest
Six days thou shalt do thy work, and on the seventh day thou shalt rest: that thine ox and thine ass may rest, and the son of thy handmaid, and the stranger, may be refreshed. Exodus 23:12

God's plan for rest is that His children will be refreshed and uplifted. His thoughts toward us are of good, not evil, and His commandments to us are not grievous (burdensome or harsh). Rest is a "good and perfect gift" (James 1:17) from the hand of God, meant to bless, not harm. In 1 Chronicles 22:9 and 2 Chronicles 14:6, The Bible speaks of God giving someone rest as a gift or a blessing. When viewed correctly, rest is a valuable resource and should be treated as such.

3. The Placement of Rest
"And Asa cried unto the LORD his God, and said, LORD, it is nothing with thee to help, whether with many, or with them that have no power: help us, O LORD our God; for we rest on thee, and in thy name we go against this multitude. O LORD, thou art our God; let not man prevail against thee." 2 Chronicles 14:11

If you are familiar with this story, you'll know that Asa was facing terrible, overwhelming circumstances. As in, going up against a million man army with only half that many on his own side. And yet, in the midst of even that circumstance, he was able to find a place of rest in God.

You may have heard the statement made about joy that it is found in God and does not depend on surroundings or circumstances the way happiness can. Well, from God's Word, it seems to me that rest too can be found even in the middle of chaos, heartbreak, or trial...IF it is a rest based firmly upon God and His promises. It is a CHOICE, not a feeling or an emotion. True rest comes from seeking after God fervently and choosing to trust His Word. 

As I studied this out, it struck me how many things in our Christian lives are like this. Love? It's a choice and an action...though those warm feelings are sometimes there as well, they are a result of the good choices we make, not the other way around. Joy? Same thing. It's a decision we make to not allow our circumstances to dictate our attitude. It's finding our stability in God. Here's a verse that I found during this study that I thought was SO precious:

"And all Judah rejoiced at the oath: for they had sworn with all their heart, and sought him with their whole desire; and he was found of them: and the LORD gave them rest round about."

2 Chronicles 15:15

4. The Price of our Rest

"And in that day there shall be a root of Jesse, which shall stand for an ensign of the people; to it shall the Gentiles seek: and his rest shall be glorious." Isaiah 11:10

The ultimate place of rest is in heaven, in the very presence of God. This rest cannot be obtained without accepting the price that Jesus Christ paid for our redemption--His own blood. Not only can we not reach heaven without Christ, but even here on this earth we will never find true rest outside of a relationship with him. The world talks a lot about finding inner peace and tranquility, and yet their version of those things are shallow and transient at best if they are not based upon The One who is the true Prince of Peace.

5. The Procurement of Rest

"Rest in the LORD, and wait patiently for him: fret not thyself because of him who prospereth in his way, because of the man who bringeth wicked devices to pass." Psalm 37:7

This point is similar to No. 3, but I couldn't figure out how to split these thoughts up exactly how I wanted, so two points it is. ;) Like many exercises of faith in our lives, the obtainment of God's rest takes commitment and a daily series of rest-producing choices. This verse in Psalm 37 speaks of waiting patiently for God (choice) and NOT fretting (yet again, a choice). I looked up the dictionary definition of "fret" and thought it was interesting:

Fret: (1) Be constantly or visibly worried or anxious. 

(2) To gradually wear away by rubbing or gnawing.

Fretting both violates a clear command of Scripture (Be careful for nothing...Phillipians 4:6), but also wears away and gnaws at my strength, joy, and hope in God.

I feel like so many times we SAY we want God's rest and peace, and yet the moment by moment choices we make contradict that desire completely. (And I'm as guilty of this as anyone.) One of the biggest things I've noticed in myself is that I hardly ever give myself a CHANCE to actually rest and be still! Every free or quiet moment is squelched by me trying to fill my time up constantly, many times with useless things like scrolling my phone for the twentieth time that day or doing some other frivolous activity instead of taking a moment to just be still. 

Sometimes all it takes to find that rest we crave is to remind ourselves of the goodness and bounty of God.  "Return unto thy rest, O my soul; for the LORD hath dealt bountifully with thee. For thou hast delivered my soul from death, mine eyes from tears, and my feet from falling." Psalm 116:7-8

Other times, rest can only come through chastisement and repentance/restoration. (As in the case of unrest being due to our own sin or disobedience). "Blessed is the man whom thou chastenest, O LORD, and teachest him out of thy law; That thou mayest give him rest from the days of adversity, until the pit be digged for the wicked. For the LORD will not cast off his people, neither will he forsake his inheritance." Psalm 94:12-14

I realize this post may seem a little incoherent, but like I said, I have just kept discovering more and more things in God's Word about rest and being still, and it's been really hard to narrow it down enough for a blog post. ;) Let me wrap up with a few more verses I found that I think sum up all these ideas quite well.

"Thus saith the LORD, Stand ye in the ways, and see, and ask for the old paths, where is the good way, and walk therein, and ye shall find rest for your souls." Jeremiah 6:16a

"Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest." Matthew 11:28

"I have set the LORD always before me: because he is at my right hand, I shall not be moved. Therefore my heart is glad, and my glory rejoiceth: my flesh also shall rest in hope." Psalm 16:8-9

 "For thus saith the Lord GOD, the Holy One of Israel; In returning and rest shall ye be saved; in quietness and in confidence shall be your strength:" Isaiah 30:15a

This year, I want to choose to rest in The Lord, no matter the circumstance or situation that I face. How about you?

Mykaela

A Love Story Long Awaited

Hello, all!
The story I'm about to tell has been much requested, and there are many of you I've never given the detailed version to, so brace yourselves. ;) In my last post, I mentioned a special young man that had entered my life. His name is Luke, and this is the story of how we met. :)

In order to tell that, I have to back up around 4 years, to 2013. That year, my parents took a trip out to Missouri for a conference. While there, my mom met a young lady named Bethany, and they totally hit it off. My mom has 8 kids, and doesn't normally keep in close touch with people, because life is just crazy...but for some reason, (which I can now see was God's hand :), she and Beth kept in contact pretty regularly over the next 3 years. I always enjoyed hearing about her family and how things were going, but never really talked with Bethany myself. 

In our hectic and long drawn out shuffle of moving from Omak to Wenatchee, they lost touch for over a year. Fast forward to August of last year (2017). One evening, my mom was on the Bible app, and it "randomly" popped up with a name--Bethany is on this app, would you like to connect with her? My mom promptly emailed her and did some catching up. 

She remembered that Bethany had a brother, and asked right out if he was still single. ;P Subtle, mom. Thanks. ;D Anyway, Bethany informed her that he was, and of all things, my DAD totally jumped on the wagon and started immediately trying to initiate us getting to know each other better! Both Luke and I were completely uninterested at this point. We had both only recently come to the point of being completely and fully surrendered to being single, for the rest of our lives if that's what God's will was! And now, all of a sudden, we were supposed to start getting to know this perfect stranger?! Literally all I knew about Luke at this stage of the game was his name. That's IT. But, we both agreed to pray about it for two weeks. At the end of that time, it didn't seem like there was a neon YES in the sky, but there also weren't any red flags. Reluctantly, we started emailing.

We did a few "hello, my name is" type emails, but after that it felt so awkward, at least for me. I didn't know where to go from there. Luke's dad suggested that we could write actual paper letters, which I was very much in favor of. For some reason, it's a lot easier for me to express myself with a pen and paper than in an email. 

After about 3 letters, my interest level had spiked by approximately 100%. ;P I wanted him to visit. Very much so. ;) I'll never forget getting the email from my dad while I was at work that Luke was actually going to come!! On December 29, 2017, my dad went and picked him up from the airport, and we met for the first time at my workplace. Over the next few days, I pretty much lost my heart to him. ;) I didn't mean for it to happen, but it just did! I felt completely at home and comfortable around him almost immediately, which is not a typical thing, even for mostly extroverted me. We had the time of our lives.

Luke and my dad left on the same day...Luke to go back home, and my dad to fly down to Jamaica for a week to teach some classes. That was honestly one of the longest weeks of my life. ;) A few days after my dad got home though, Luke made it official, and our relationship really began! :)

We talked via Marco Polo pretty exclusively at first. After a while, we started using FaceTime as well, and although they aren't NEARLY as nice as talking in person, I am incredibly grateful for technology like this that allowed us to get to know each other!

I realize I'm rambling here...I'll speed things up. In April, my entire family took a three week trip, driving down to MO for the missions conference at Luke's church. Yet again, I had an absolutely amazing time, and was more sure than ever that I really, REALLY liked this guy. ;) 

A month later, at the beginning of May, Luke flew out for 4 days and surprised me. It was the most awesome surprise ever...wow. I couldn't believe he'd pulled it off!! Obviously, lots of help was involved from family on both sides in order to keep it a secret. ;) Saying goodbye at the airport at the end of that visit was one of the hardest things I have ever done. 

And then, I booked a ticket to fly out there on July 4, only a month ago. I got in on a Wednesday afternoon, and on Friday, Luke and I went to a place called Hahatonka State Park with his mom and one of his sisters. All day, we wandered around the beautiful trails and hills, just enjoying the day (though it was pretty hot ;P).

Eventually, we made our way down to a beautiful spot down by the water. I took my shoes off and waded a bit, and when I came back up on the bank, Luke suggested we take a picture. We stood together and his mom started videoing, unbeknownst to me. ;) Before I knew it, Luke was down on one knee, asking me if I would be his wife. I was SO utterly overwhelmed and overjoyed!!! When I got my breath back, I said YES! (I actually said it 5 or 6 times, I think. ;) He put the most lovely ring I'd ever seen on my finger, and I haven't really left Cloud 9 since. 

For the first time in my life, I was quite literally speechless. For about 45 minutes, all I could do was grin from ear to ear, with absolutely nothing coherent to say. ;P A while later, as we sat together at the place where he'd proposed, he turned to me and said, "Well? Are we going to jump in?" Ha. Are we going to jump in, indeed. You all know me, adventure calls, I answer. ;D We went up the trail a little ways to an outcropping that hung over some of the bluest (and I soon found out, some of the coldest) water I'd ever seen. On the count of three, we jumped, and it turned out it was deeper than either of us expected...and WOW it was so cold! :D It was the most awesome spontaneous memory, though, I am SO glad we did it. It just made the day that much more spectacular. :) 

The next few days were some of the happiest in my life. I don't know why, but I didn't realize how much our relationship would shift after we were officially engaged. I always kind of assumed it would be pretty much the same as it was before (which was awesome). Not so. For one thing, we had waited until after we were engaged to exchange those incredibly amazing words, "I love you". I had thought those words about a billion times. ;) Being able to finally say them freely was the most wonderful thing EVER. :D I think I've said them approximately innumerable times since. ;) 

The wedding is set for October 12, just over 90 days from when he first asked me! :) We have a wedding website that you can find at this link. We were able to meet up with my sweet friend Kimberly before I left Missouri, and she took some lovely engagement pictures for us. :)

I can't even begin to express how grateful I am that God has blessed me with this relationship. Luke is so much more amazing than I ever could have imagined. Without getting too mushy, (haha! ;) I will say that he has loved me infinitely more than I ever thought anyone but The Lord could or would love me! He is incredibly strong, loyal, encouraging, hilarious, and downright crazy handsome. ;) Over this relationship, he has become my best friend, and I cannot wait to spend the rest of my life with him! <3 

May I offer the encouragement that the right man is so completely worth waiting for. If you are wondering why God is taking so long to bring someone into your life, please take heart...it seems long (believe me, I know!), but it is SO worthwhile! :) Keep up the good work in the meantime, you won't regret it!

Without further ado, I am giving the "floor" to Luke, who will close out this rather lengthy post. ;) Thanks for sticking it through! :D

~~~~~~~~~~~~

Well, this seems like a bad start to happily ever after - we aren't even married yet and she's already telling me, "You're on the floor."  ;P  But to the topic at hand: I'm no author, but I'll attempt to give the flip-side of the story Mykaela just told by giving a glimpse of things from my perspective.  I'll start from the point where Mrs. McDowell reestablished communication with my sister.  The first time I can remember ever hearing anything about Mykaela went something like this...

Beth (my sister): "Hey Luke, do you remember Mrs. McDowell, the missionary wife I used to email?"

Me: "Yeah, I think so..."

Beth: "Well, we started talking again on the Bible app, and she just asked me if you were still single."

Me: (cringes) "Oh. Great."

Yup.  That's about how it went.  But before you judge me too harshly, let me give some context to the situation.  1)  I was 24 at the time,  2) I was not married,  3) I had a number of friends who had been... shall we say, "zealously concerned" about eliminating point number 2 for a few years by then.  You get the idea.  In short, I was NOT particularly excited about what this development might imply.  Like MK said, I had fairly recently reached the point in my walk with God where I was perfectly happy to stay single for the rest of my life if He so desired (yes, it took me awhile to get there, unfortunately), and I didn't want to lose the simple peace that I had by getting caught up in the possibility of a relationship.  Honestly, I just wanted to ignore the entire thing.  The next day, her dad called.

Over the next few weeks, I prayed quite a lot, did a fair amount of internet stalking (how else was I supposed to find anything out about a girl who lived 2,000 miles away?), and Mykaela and I exchanged several emails and letters.  Eventually, though I was still hesitant to begin a relationship, I came to the belief that God was telling me that I needed to go up to WA for a visit.  So off I went, hesitant, but cautiously hopeful as well.

It didn't take long for me to realize just how awesome this girl was.  By the end of the visit, I was smitten.  After a couple of weeks spent in prayer, I was confident that a relationship was part of God's will.  I'll never forget making the call to Bro. McDowell to officially start things off!  I was grinning ear to ear!

In interest of keeping this as short as I can, I'll skip ahead to July 6th.  I WAS SO NERVOUS!!!  I mean, I was pretty sure she would say, "Yes," but there was still a little voice in my head saying, "What if she doesn't?"  But she did! :D  Best.  Day.  Ever!  (Shortly to be superseded by October 12th)  ;)  There are no words to describe a blessing like Mykaela.  I do NOT deserve the attention, much less love, of this amazing girl!  (No, MK, you can't delete that because it is true - you said I could write whatever I wanted).  God has been so good!  And let me reiterate what Mykaela said earlier: wait on God.  It will be worth it - far more than you can possibly imagine!

Fun Post: A Day in the Life Tag

I am alive. I shall not attempt to apologize for my absence of nearly fifty-six days. In the time since I posted last, a lot has happened, including but not limited to, an absolutely incredible three week road trip out to Missouri with my entire family (minus one), a new job completely different than anything I've done before (in foodservice, no less ;P), and, most importantly to me at least, the continuance of a very special relationship. ;) Yes, as some of you may not be aware of, I am courting. And it's amazing. ;) But I shall valiantly refrain from going on about it, because once I start I don't know if I could stop, which I'm sure no one would enjoy too much. ;D Haha! I will simply say that God's leading and direction in this has been precious to see, and I am so excited to see how He continues to work! And also that Luke is an incredible guy. :)

Today I'm going to do a post I was tagged for by Grace over at Grace Notes! She tagged me forever ago, and I took the pictures for this post fairly soon after she did so, but never took the time to sit down and get them all together. :) The idea is to take 10 pictures of a normal day. Since my work is not full time, all of these things don't happen every day, but these are the activities I typically spend time at. :) Hope you enjoy! 

If I'm going to be at home for a while before work, or if I have the day off, I will start the day with coffee in one of my many, many favorite mugs. ;P For me, coffee is not fuel that I guzzle, (since caffeine doesn't do much for me energy wise). It's more of a treat that I enjoy sipping on. Also I'm really picky about it. ;P I pretty much only drink espresso type drinks. Strong, sweet and creamy. ;) 

Hand lettering is definitely a huge part of my everyday life. I started lettering around 3 years ago, but kind of fell out of it for a while. Now I'm more into it than ever, and spend much of my free time doing that. It's so relaxing and satisfying, somehow! :)

I work at Costco for the sample company, CDS. I enjoy a lot of aspects of the job, though it does have its downsides, for sure. One thing I enjoy is being able to answer people's questions about where things are located (which I'm not technically required to know, since I don't work FOR Costco, just AT Costco.) Still, it's fun to me to try to memorize where everything is so I can answer questions. ;) Also, I've grown a lot better at cooking very quickly and in a small space. Sometimes now in my own kitchen I find myself using like a 3 foot square of countertop to cook on. ;D One other fun thing about the job is people watching. You wouldn't believe the types of things you notice when you are yourself a fairly unobserved and unnoticed person standing off to the side. ;)

This is an odd pic, I know, but I spend a pretty decent percentage of my free time each day on either this app or Facetime. ;) No particular reason. Not like I'm talking to anyone special or anything. Ahem. ;)

It's a rare day indeed when I don't spend at least some time playing piano. Music is so special to me and one of my favorite things to invest time in. :)

Hanging out with my crazy family is also special to me. Being the oldest of 8 kids comes with its own fun adventures and challenges. It's awesome though. ;) 

In case you needed a demonstration of the last statement I made, here is a picture of Kourage giving Miriam a "ride". Also known as dragging her around the house as she latches onto his ankle. Not weird at all. ;)

Cooking for a large family is also its own type of interesting. We have one recipe that we make on a regular basis that has 18 eggs in it. Another one takes nearly 12 cups of flour total. Yeah, we go through a lot of baking ingredients. Heh.

I enjoy taking pictures with my phone, and usually end up taking at least a couple of them every day. I'm certainly not anything like a professional photographer, but I like playing around with it. :) Editing is fun, too. I usually do that with two different apps: Afterlight 2 (It costs around $3...totally worth it), and Snapseed. (Free!) 

This playlist on Spotify is one that I fall asleep to every night. I typically don't go to bed until well after midnight, unfortunately. ;P I'm at my most creative at night, for sure...so that's when I do a lot of my hand lettering, writing, and other creative endeavors.

Well, there you have it! 10 photos of some of my most common activities. :) I would like to tag Sarah over at Dreams in Alaska. Sorry, I'm supposed to tag more people, but I don't follow that many blogs! :'D If you would like to do this, consider yourself officially tagged. ;) I hope you guys enjoyed this glimpse into my life! I hope to be more faithful in posting things on here, but I know better than to promise anything. Life happens. :) Thank you all for your understanding!! (Looking at you, Jenny! ;) Hope you all have a lovely week.
Mykaela

When Sorrows Like Sea Billows Roll

Hey everyone!
I hope your new year is going splendidly so far...mine certainly is! :) A few weeks ago, a friend from a church I really love asked if I could write a post for their ladies' newsletter. I was thrilled for the opportunity! If you have time, you should definitely check it out online at Grace and Honor...they have articles for women of all ages and stages of life. I've really enjoyed reading them! I wanted to include the post that I wrote on my blog as well, so here it is. ;)

~~~~~~~~~~~~ 

Do you ever face something in life that looms over your heart like a black cloud? Perhaps it's a tough decision that you desperately need wisdom in. Maybe a time of grief or pain over losing someone you love, or sorrow over family and friends that have turned away from following God. It could be a time of upheaval or change...we ladies sure do love change, right?

Not.

For me, change is a struggle. I know that God is at work, and that everything will turn out for His glory if I am following His will. But when I am here and now, in the thick of it, change is hard. Life can be challenging and scary at times. It is not fun to go through trials, to make difficult choices, or to have someone dear to me pass on to be with The Lord.

Sometimes, when facing these looming issues, it's so much easier to be brave and strong during the day. There are things to do, places to go, people to see. It's not hard to keep myself distracted.

And then comes the night. Stillness closes around me, and with it, the difficult thoughts I've managed to push away all through the day. Fear knocks hard at the door, demanding entrance into my mind. After all, just look at how big and scary this thing is! The weariness of the day tugs at me. Tears begin as a dull ache deep inside--yet another obstacle to grapple with. Sleep won't come, not yet. A choice faces me, and I have to decide which path to take.

From all around, my thoughts are crying at me to follow them. "Break down, have a good cry! Overthink this situation! It's natural that you should worry about this, it's a big deal!" Their clamor can almost drown out the still, small voice of The Spirit.

Praise God, in His mercy He pulls me back from the path of my own fearful thoughts! If I make the choice to pause and listen, He brings dear, familiar words back to my mind, words I memorized long ago... "Be still, and know that I am God" (Ps. 46:10) "Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you." (1 Pet. 5:7) The echoes of His voice grow stronger. "Be strong and of a good courage, fear not, nor be afraid of them: for the LORD thy God, he it is that doth go with thee; he will not fail thee, nor forsake thee." (Deu. 31:6) "Fear thou not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness." (Is. 41:10)

His precious promises flow over me in a healing flood. The sinful thoughts, full of worry and care, are completely crushed by the weight of God's perfect, eternal love for me. As I seek His face, He is so faithful to bring comfort and peace!

When I can't rise, He lifts me up.

When I am grieving, He comforts me.

When I am afraid, He calms my heart.

When I sin, He convicts and cleanses me.

When I'm confused, He gives me light and wisdom.

When I cry out to Him, He hears me.

When I am overwhelmed, He strengthens me.

When I feel lost, He brings me home.

"Fear not: for I have redeemed thee, I have called thee by thy name; thou art mine."

"For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the LORD. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts."

His strength, not mine. His robes of righteousness, not mine. His thoughts, His plans, His ways.

Not mine. Never mine.

In His presence is fulness of joy, and the emptiness of grief has no place. In the palm of His hand is perfect peace, and turmoil no longer tears at my heart. In His Word I find the wisdom and strength I need, and confusion disappears. At His throne of grace I am accepted through the blood of His dear Son, and rejection by people here on earth is irrelevant. In His embrace is deepest comfort, and the ache of tears fades away.

His plans for me are just, holy, and right. I don't need to know what the path looks like around the bend, because my Lord is holding my hand and asking me to simply take the next step. As my Shepherd, He knows exactly which steps I need to take as He grows me and draws me nearer to Himself. In the darkness and unknowns, He shows me treasures and reveals His perfect holiness. He goes before me, leading the way.

Tomorrow may hold blue skies or gray, rough roads or easy. That's in His hands.

But tonight, I will take a breath, give this to God, and go to sleep.

Mykaela

2018 Here We Come!

Isaiah 43:18-19 Remember ye not the former things, neither consider the things of old. Behold, I will do a new thing; now it shall spring forth; shall ye not know it? I will even make a way in the wilderness, and rivers in the desert.

Happy New Year!!!
Thank you thank you to all of you awesome people for bearing with me as I went MIA for such long stretches! :D What an amazing year 2017 has been. Looking in the archives on this post, where I looked back on 2016, and this one, where I set new goals for 2017, it is such a blessing to see all the ways God has worked. 

I want to quickly go through my goals from this past year, since a lot of you helped keep me accountable for them! ;) 

1. Learn Something New
Well, I definitely accomplished this one! I switched jobs, from the library (which I'd done for three years and knew well), to a Sew and Vac store, which is extremely different from anything I've ever done before. Every day I am finding new things I'm still ignorant about at work! ;P Also, I picked up watercolor painting as a hobby. I'm still at a super beginner level, but I love doing it! New mediums for hand lettering are always nice. ;)

2. Read through God's Word at least twice.
I sort of did this...I went through the whole Bible in 90 days, and I went through the New Testament at least 3 times, and the Psalms many times. So while I didn't get the whole Bible done twice, I definitely kept busy on it, which is always worthwhile. :)

3. Save money when I can.
I did ok with this one, but the missions trip made a large dent in my savings. ;) Which was absolutely 100% worth every cent, so I have no regrets. 

4. Maintain my weight.  
This stayed pretty consistent through the year, and I kept very active, so yay! :)

5. Pick up a new instrument. 
I didn't get around to this one, sadly. :( I couldn't find the right instrument for the right price. I still want to do this soon!

6. Build up my hope chest as I'm able.
This did not happen at all. :/

7. Pray much more. 
While I have SO far to go in this area, I definitely did grow in prayer this last year, with The Lord's help.

8. Write out my songs. 
This didn't happen either!! :'( Ugh...

9. Witness verbally more.
This went up and down...I did better sometimes, and other times I failed completely. Still working on it!

10. Start each day out with gratitude.
I didn't keep the gratitude jars going, but I kept on doing my daily journal of my favorite part of the day. :) God is so good!


This year I was able to fly across the globe to Fiji and Samoa, meeting so many precious friends through the miles. I also grew older relationships...Abby Geist and I spent the entire three weeks of the trip in each other's company 24/7--and didn't hate each other afterwards. ;D My awesome friend Kimberly left to live in Taiwan for 6 months, meaning that our communication was slowed considerably. :( That turned out with one happy consequence...Janan, a dear friend of Kimberly's that I hadn't gotten very close to yet, was able to talk with me a lot more, since neither of us could chat with K as much as normal! ;P As a result, our friendship grew greatly, and I am so very blessed by her. :) I was able to go to Jenny's graduation, which was awesome, as well as spend a day with her family at a lovely cabin in the woods, just before Christmas! I am deeply grateful to God for all of my sweet friends, too numerous to mention here, who love me for my weird crazy self, and don't judge me TOO harshly. ;D

Like I said above, I swapped jobs, which was a bit of a scary decision. I don't sew, and all I know about vacuums is that they suck. (Sorry, bad pun there. ;) However, I have some awesome coworkers who are so gracious to put up with me and teach me all the things I am confused on. Which is a lot. I'm enjoying learning a new line of work, though. :)

One exciting thing that has happened this year is that we have set up a plan for teaching a Bible institute in Jamaica! My dad is heading down there today, actually, and every other month someone from Bible Baptist will be heading down for a week to teach another seminar. We are thrilled that God has opened this opportunity! Jamaica is steeped in doctrinal confusion, and the churches there are in desperate need of good Biblical training. Please pray for these efforts!

My goals for the upcoming year overlap a bit with last year's goals, so I won't expound too much on them, but simply list them out as I wrote them on a slip of paper in the early morning on New Year's Day. :)

• Read God's Word at least 3 times.
• Memorize 12 chapters of Scripture-one per month, perhaps?
• Be very careful about saving money.
• Pray for at least 30 minutes per day, growing that throughout the year. If I don't set specific goals on this, it tends to slip, sadly. :'(
• Write for at least 20 minutes a day.
• Learn a new skill (trying again with the instrument idea, but it might end up being a language or something. ;)
• Spend less time on my phone.
• Cook on a much more regular basis. I bake ALL the time, but I don't make "actual food" as much as I should. ;P

I am praying that God will grow me throughout this year, prepare me for whatever comes next in my life, and teach me to live to the fullest every day that He gifts me with. Praise The Lord that He gives second (and third and fourth and fiftieth) chances, because I am so flawed! I know I'm going to mess up and miss some of these goals, but God willing I will strive towards them! :) 

What are some of your goals for this year? Do you like setting goals at all? Let me know in the comments, and as always...THANK YOU for taking the time to read my humble little blog!! :) You all mean so much to me. God bless you!

Mykaela

Merry Christmas!

I am alive and remain, you guys! ;)

I wanted my next post to be about my trip, which was amazing, but as of yet I have not had time to write that one. It will inevitably be a very long one, just so you know. :)

For now, I want to wish you all a very merry Christmas! What an incredible gift our God gave us in sending His perfect Son to be born in human flesh! I am so deeply grateful for the love He has shown me throughout this year. I can't believe 2017 is almost over?! Wow. The picture at the top of this post was taken this past week, and I really love the way it turned out. For those of you that are interested, here are the names and ages of us all. ;) 
Back row:
Miriam (Papa is holding her)--nearly 3.
My dad, Michael
Malachi--15
Micah--18
Me--21
Front:
My mom, Kami
Mercy--13
Kourage--11
Kayson--9
Kebron--7

The last three boys go by their middle names. ;)

This Christmas and New Year's season, let's not forget to take the time to meditate on the things God has done. I know things can get busy, and houses need to be cleaned, and guests are coming...but don't let that crowd out the beauty of just being still. I think one of the best things you can do this time of year is to get alone for at least a few moments, and just breathe, pray, and meditate on God's Word. I don't know about you, but my personal devotions tend to slip when there is a lot going on in my life. How wrong of me! If anything, my time with The Lord should INcrease, not DEcrease! 

When Christ was born in that tiny stable many years ago, and the shepherds came to witness the advent of their Messiah, the Bible says that Mary "kept all these things, and pondered them in her heart." (Luke 2:19). May each of us take the time to ponder and be grateful for the precious gifts God has given us!

May you have a blessed holiday season and a happy New Year! Love,
Mykaela

Father, Thank You!

Psalm 30:11-12 Thou hast turned for me my mourning into dancing: thou hast put off my sackcloth, and girded me with gladness; To the end that my glory may sing praise to thee, and not be silent. O LORD my God, I will give thanks unto thee for ever.

Hello, friends!

I promise I am still alive, contrary to all appearances. :) The last few weeks have been a crazy whirlwind of activity, most all of it good, but still...not too much free time to blog lately. ;)

November is a month of thanksgiving. A month of praising God for His grace, mercy, and bountiful goodness to us. Today, I would like to give thanks to Him for the many things he has done for me just in the past couple of weeks, and the opportunities to come in the next few.

In October, some friends from Alaska came to Wenatchee for several days for a family conference. The services were so good, and the fellowship was sweet. I was able to go to Leavenworth with some of the lovely Humphrey ladies (missed you, Aimee and Krista!! :'(. The fall colors were in full swing as we walked the gorgeous trails in the area, drank some awesome coffee, and ate Bavarian pastries. ;) No matter how many times I've been to Leavenworth, it never gets old. :)

After that, Bro. Doug Hammet and his wife came for a visit. Bro. Doug has been a good friend and mentor to our family and church for a long time, but I didn't remember meeting him in person. (Although apparently I met him at 4 or 5 years old? ;) Anyway, it was a blessing having them stay in our home and being able to talk with them about their amazing ministry to southern Africa. 

This past week, we went over to Oak Harbor for our annual missions conference. As always, it was an absolute highlight of the year! Convicting messages each night, and special missions forums every afternoon were a great challenge to me, especially in the area of personal evangelism. This is one area I very much tend to fail in unless I am actively seeking ways to build good habits. I want to be so much more faithful and bold in this area! I also got to practice tons of music with the group that is going to Fiji. There are 11 of us total, 10 who are singing, so it was really special to sing with them and get ready to minister to the brethren we will meet on the trip. 

One area of this year's conference was difficult, in that my great grandma went home to be with The Lord. She was 97, and had been a faithful Christian for many years. My mom was not able to make it to most of the conference due to being there with her, but I am so glad she was able to! I think it was truly important that she be there. I am deeply thankful to The Lord for making a way through His blood for me to see her again! Even though it hurts and there are tears now, I know that this is not a final separation. In a week and a half, we will be heading up to Canada for her memorial service, and I'll be heading straight from there to Oak Harbor in preparation for the Fiji trip!!

That means I have 11 days from right now to get ready for three weeks overseas. 10, if you are reading this on email. I can NOT believe it's so close!! I'm so excited for this incredible opportunity to return to the South Pacific and be a blessing in every way I am able! We will be attending a 4 day conference, as well as going to a couple of different churches for the guys to preach in different areas. We will be singing a lot as a group and in smaller duets and trios. It will be interesting seeing how everything works out, as many details can't be planned out until we are there. If then. ;) I think a lot of more minor things will just be done on the fly. Which is cool with me! International travel is unpredictable and just a bit scary anyway, a few more little unknowns aren't going to make a difference. ;P I will be away for 3 full weeks, (Thanksgiving Day through December 14th), so the blog may be neglected unless I can get some good Samaritans to send me a guest post. Ahem. Any volunteers? ;) 

A few more things I am super thankful for this month...

Hot soup on cold days. Huge sweaters and steaming coffee. My new job at a Sew and Vac store!! Long late night phone calls. Snail mail letters that make me laugh. My new tangerine clove candle that smells like Christmas. My Peaceful Guitar playlist on Spotify (so nice to fall asleep to!). Autumn colors blazing on the trees. Driving through the Cascades and being blown away by the majesty of them for the thousandth time. Cozy socks. Folding fat quarters at work. :) Christmas coming up. Siblings' birthdays. 

What are you grateful for? <3 Have a blessed Thanksgiving if I'm unable to post again before then!! Love,

Mykaela 

Fun Post: May and June Favorites!

This summer has been pretty busy thus far, so my posting hasn't been quite as consistent as usual. I'm sure all of you guys have awesomeness going on as well! :) Here are some of my favorites from the past two months. I've been:

Reading...
Burning Sky by Lori Benton. I texted Kimberly a picture of this book a minute after I finished it and said, quote, "THIS BOOK. It made me laugh and cry and pull my hair out and grin like a monkey as I read the last page. YOU MUST READ IT!!!" Not very elegant language, but hey, those were my immediate thoughts on the book. ;P It's absolutely awesome with tons of plot twists and amazing characters. <3 

Bread of Angels by Tessa Afshar. I am an avid follower of Tessa's writing and would pretty much love anything she wrote. I did really enjoy this one, although it didn't feel quite as utterly raw and real as some of her others. It was still a very good book, definitely worth the read!! 

The Boy on the Wooden Box by Leon Leyson. Wow, guys...if you want to learn a lot about WW2 and also cry, read this book. :'( It's not as intensely tragic as "The Boy in the Striped Pajamas", but still pretty heartbreaking. It's a really well written autobiography.

I did quite a bit of reading in the past couple months! These were just a couple of my favorite selections. :)

Completing...
A personal prayer challenge. Kimberly sweetly offered to help keep me accountable for this, and that really helped me to remember to stay on top of it. Basically I committed to praying for a set amount of time per day, of just prayer. Sitting down and looking at my prayer list, and spending the whole time just being still and praying. It was really a blessing to form that habit again...prayer is really the thing I tend to let slip the most. :'(

Eating...
A lovely BBQ dinner at church with my ladies! We had a super fun mother/daughter dinner around Mother's Day. We all dressed up in Western style clothes, and ate out of little baskets with red and white checkered paper in them. My dad and Bro. Chris made SO MUCH MEAT. Seriously, you would think we were a bunch of T-Rexes or something!!! ;P Haha! We did eat a lot, because it was absolutely spectacular meat, but there was quite a bit leftover for the guys back at home...snap, they were disappointed to have to eat up the extra meat. ;) We played charades too, which is always hilarious. :D

Visiting...
An antique mall about 25 minutes away that I had never been to before. I took Mama there for a slightly late Mother's Day outing, and I was...blown away. The building houses 75,000 square feet (over half the size of the average Costco warehouse), of every kind of antique booth you can imagine. It was so. big. I couldn't get over it!! We were there for over 3 hours and didn't even come close to seeing everything. There is a 50's diner on one side of the building, so we went there for a small lunch of onion rings and a milkshake, while laughing at some hilarious old movie playing on a big screen. It was so darling and incredibly special to spend that time with my mom! <3

Celebrating...
The liberation of my friend Jenny from the cold iron shackles of school!!!! (Commonly known as a graduation party. ;P) I traveled with her and her family to Moses Lake, spent the night at Katie's apartment, made delicious peppermint bars and worked on decorations, and then spent the day at the park. We had a blast playing games, talking, sharing memories, meeting new and old friends, and just celebrating with her. Congratulations, Jenny!

Learning...
How to witness more effectively during an evangelism conference we had at church this past month. It was really good to have that conference...sometimes I know the right things to do, and yet it takes a reminder like this one to stir me up to start doing them faithfully again.

Feeling bittersweet...
As I watched one of my best friends walk down the aisle. :') Hannah has been such a sweet blessing to me over the many years I have known her. (You can read a guest post by her here.) At her wedding, I turned around the instant before the doors opened at the back of the sanctuary and caught a glimpse of her face. I had a moment of the deepest empathetic joy and wonder and sense of the thrill that must have been going through her, and as much as I tried not to, I couldn't stop my eyes from filling with tears. What a blessing it was for me to be able to share in her special day! I wish her and Ron all of God's best as they begin their new life together in Alaska. Now I have yet another good reason to want to visit there! ;)

Thankful for...
The opportunity to have some extra online work this month. The sign that I designed and my dad carved into wood and painted. The fact that I'm getting better at racquetball. Reading the Bible together and playing Shoot, outside on the patio. Summer evenings. Lavender, pink, and golden sunsets like the one I watched last night. Days off. Getting a new phone with a good camera and no bugs. :) Kayson's NINTH birthday?!? The boys going on a camping trip. Talking on the phone with friends. Hot showers. Air Conditioning. Dutch Bros coffee. Playing piano at the public market, and actually making some tips! Getting my studio apartment downstairs all spiffed up (even *I* can sometimes get the spring cleaning bug. ;). Cherry season, and picking cherries with my family. Just so thankful for God listening to me, anytime of day, anywhere I am. He is so good to me!!

I hope all of you have a wonderful Fourth of July!! I look forward to hearing from you...what has God done for you lately? :) Love you all!
Mykaela