hommmmee

Home : (noun) a house, apartment, or other shelter that is the usual residence of a person, family, or household. :www.dictionary.com

Home : (noun) Canada, homes filled with love that contain my family, Christ and grandma’s supper with real butter and borscht. A place where I live that I return to often and am blessed to be able to live with my family and friends. :tasha

Praise Jesus.

I am home safe, and just settling into life back in Canada.

Hope to share my experiences and stories with y'all soon.

white flags

Since being in Africa we have buried 6 babies, 6 precious creations of God. Painstakingly we cover and wrap the baby with a white sheet.  We sing it is well with our soul and in a wooden coffin no longer than two feet; people of different cultures pay their respect.
Recently Baby Raymond breathed his last and with it completely surrendered to God’s plan.
And then angels welcomed him into heaven.

White is a common color in the book of Revelation. It’s a symbol of blessedness and purity and a description of the redeemed. Heaven is not just filled with white but marvelous color.

A wise woman once told me, ‘There is a rainbow of opportunity open to me. I just need to go past the black and pick a color.’  Burdens, fear and pain all stop us from fully living. What is fascinating is that even though the black can come and go the rainbow never fades. It is always there.

Often the black in our lives blurs the rainbow.

Sometimes we are given the gift of seeing the rainbow more clearly but we just can’t seem to step past the crippling black.

 We need to continually raise our white flags, immerse ourselves in them as an act of surrendering. As individuals, as communities, as generations, as families of believers together RAISE our white flags as we RISE UP.

White Flag (noun/verb) : an all-white banner or piece of cloth, used as a symbol of surrender or truce. To give up; weaken; yield.

Surrender (verb) : to yield, to give oneself up, abandon or relinquish power and to submit.

We do have moments where we are inspired, moved, and changed.

These are gifts from God.

In that moment when the rainbow is clear, when we raise our white flags are the moments where God is tangible and when you can take a breath and the Holy Spirit fills you. Those moments where you decide to run to his arms and let him walk. The beautiful moment where the rainbow has never been clearer and you can taste the hope.  These are the moments that make us excited and ready for the days where we will be able to feel the rainbows. Be immersed in the rainbows; to be surrounded by the Glory of God and the majestic colors of Heaven.

When we raise our white flag with finality and realize we are finished is a moment we may fear but death is the ultimate fulfillment and the ultimate act of surrender.  Heaven. Nothing is greater. And I praise Jesus His kingdom has gained 6 smart looking black babies who have restored and complete strength, whose bodies have been perfected, whose tubes have been removed, whose lives have been transformed and perfected more than human hands could ever perform.

My limited understanding leads me into fear. If there is one thing I have learnt it’s that

Your fear MUST NOT be bigger than your faith.  

When this happen the rainbow blurs.

RISE UP.  Fear has no power in your life and death has no sting; if you choose to believe. The black in your life, it’s just one step away from the rainbow. There is always hope. Come awake! He has overcome the world, the war is won but a battle is at hand.

Will we choose victory??

He will fight for us, he will defend us:  we can overcome because he overcame the grave. Through Jesus HE has given us the victory.

Let us raise our white flags.

safari.

Despite African seeming to run on a slower time and pace of life, I know that isn't an excuse for keeping the world updated on my life : )

We returned from safari quite satisfied. Our accommodations were beyond beautiful and the food was a nice break from what we have been eating. The hotel also had a pool which was refreshing in itself. oh yeah, and we went on safari : )

I shall post pictures soon when I have better internet, but we saw lions, elephants, warthogs, hippos (too many !), crocodiles, baboons and water buffalos! The scenery and sunsets in their vastness were almost just as amazing as the beautiful creatures.

Returning home in three weeks, I'm having many mixed emotions. Excited to see my family and the comforts of home, but at the same time looking back on my time here with extreme fondness.

Sometimes when we only have a narrow 'earthly perspective' we can underestimate God's plan for our lives and I believe have the potential to miss out. But when we look with an 'eternal perspective' and respect God's sovereignty in our lives for whatever happens, well I think we live differently. It's hard and it goes against human nature to look at life through with a different lenses, but it's through different lenses that God helps us see the world more clearly. And by praying and reading his word is how I think we see the world how he sees it, not only presently but how he longs to see it change!