Utah!

Well, with so much going on in our home these days it has been hard to reconnect with everyone we’ve wanted to, but we’re wanting to share what the Lord is doing with us. So, to the best of my ability I’ll fill you in here.

Minus a lot of the details, when we were called out of the Garden Fellowship (our church and my job at the time) in August 2010, we kind of knew it would end up costing us our home. So we weren’t surprised when in June of 2012 we had to leave our place in La Quinta to move on the property with my parents in Yucca Valley. But what did surprise us was how much refining work the Lord wanted to do in us through the process. The Lord had provided a job at the Vintage Nursery not long after leaving the Garden Fellowship, which was a blessing and a great environment to work in (who wouldn’t love to spend all day working with plants!). But, upon moving to Yucca Valley and becoming a commuter (almost 100 miles a day), having our 6th beautiful little girl, moving in with family, sharing a room with our six children, and being an hour away from most of our community, we found ourselves in quite a difficult season to say the least!

Through this process I’ve learned that there are the difficult natural circumstances we find ourselves in and there are places the Lord ordains for us to go and die. The difference is only perspective, for it is in the process of dying that the Lord wants to do His most beautiful work in us. The choice is ours, do we submit to His hand, see Him working in us, and be changed? Or refuse recognize Him?

We often think of the Lord’s preparing process as equipping/building; or putting new things into us for us to use as we do His Work. But what we now know is that the Lord’s preparation work is always to strip us down to something useable FIRST. How often we are unwilling to let go of ourselves, but isn’t that how He has always worked? (i.e. Abraham... leave everything you know and go; Moses... forget trying to save your people, go be a shepherd in the wilderness until you’re someone new; disciples... follow me with cross in hand!)

So, in this season, as much as we’ve moaned and groaned to Him about it, and as ugly as it has sometimes been, He’s been allowing us to die in the wilderness, so that we will be a people that are totally His, down to our very core... until that is all that’s left!

Just as sure as this process has a beginning it is meant to have and end. God does not leave His people in the wilderness!... unless they choose to stay. But sometimes leaving can be just as hard as staying. It is a process that requires much faith. Faith to believe when it feels as though you have nothing left to believe with. Faith to overcome the fear that will try and keep you where you are. But we were (re)created for this beautiful journey; this exodus! This is, I believe, one of the most defining moments of our life! What will we believe God is capable of doing in the wilderness season? Who is He now that everything else is gone? This is where we find ourselves now. And it is from this place that the Lord has begun to stir our hearts to step out at His Word.

The Lord has, through circumstances, His Word, and much prayer, revealed that He is calling us and others in our Community to relocate to Utah and continue following Him together there. It has been over a number of months that He has been making it clearer and clearer until what had begun as a whisper has turned into what feels like the current of a mighty river taking us along for the ride of our lives!

There is still much we are waiting on the Lord for, but He has already provided a way for one family in our group (Chad, Meg & McKinley) to get up to Utah. We are preparing now to move up and are expecting to be heading up mid January, but are waiting on the Lord for housing and a job that will allow for us to be about the Lord’s business.

It is exciting to be following the Lord into the unknown and allowing His Spirit to lead and guide us as we step out into what He has created us for!... a life of faith, not pragmatism.

Playing Bible Study

This Sunday before our community came over for "church", Adri(5) and KJ(4) were missing for a while.  This is where I found them.  They were "playing Bible study"... neither can read yet, but they were studying for a while! 
It's neat to be giving them such a pure picture of what being a Christian is... following Jesus, and what a church is... following Jesus together.

By the way, that is where we meet and worship on Sunday's.  Simple, but that's how it should be.

Change is coming!

Too bad we don't know what it's going to look like.  Here's what's been going on lately...

Our fifth daughter (Kalee Nissi) is going to be 3 months old in a couple days, and is coming into her own.  She has such a pleasant... even comforting nature about her.  And such a great smile!  Even as life seems at times to be completely overwhelming, her sweet little smile can melt away all of the stress and chaos.

Seems to be almost a picture of the work the Lord is doing in our community. 

As the community the Lord has been calling us to matures, it seems to be developing a sort of personality, or life, of its own. There's such a refreshing whole hearted desire in everyone to be pleasing to and lead by our Father... the kind of desire that makes me expect the Lord to meet us every time we gather together.  It's the only thing I've ever experienced that has reminded me of the believers in the Book of Acts.  Not that we have it figured out by any means, but it seems like we are finally a part an environment that allows for the community that the Bible speaks of to be practiced. We are so blessed by what the Lord is doing in our midst.

We have recently been connected to a group that works with kids and hurting communities in Zambia, and have been led to partner with them to see the Lord touch the lives of people in need across the world.  So, we are sponsoring as many kids as possible and trying to get others on board also!  (its through Father's Heart Africa if you're interested... www.fhafrica.com).  It feels like a big step of faith for a bunch of people who are struggling with our own bills, but, seriously, even in our "financial struggles" we are so rich!  Even if we loose our houses and have to rent, we are still more wealthy than what, 98 or 99% of the world.

Maybe its just the times we live in, or maybe it's Lord speaking to His church, or maybe it's both, but we are being stirred to give up our claims on the "american dream" and embrace the lifestyle that Jesus called His followers to.  Where living as a Christ follower really does look a lot different than the world lives!  Where sacrifice is embraced and the a empowered life is expected. 

on that note...

We've been receiving partial support from the Garden Fellowship (the church where I (cory) was a pastor before) since we were sent out to pursue what the Lord was leading us to six months ago.  Now that season of support is coming to a close.  And we're now... still waiting to see what the Lord would have us do, and how He'll provide.  We're in the process of deciding how to balance Cory's hourly job (at a local nursery), the work that the Lord has called us to (developing the community/teaching/music), and raising up our children (home educating/investing).

We're confident that the Lord will provide what's needed, when its needed to accomplish what He wants... and we're learning that that is often a lot different that our comfort would like!  But really, aren't there a lot of things that are much more important than our comfort... like community... like the gospel... like kids in Zambia.

Anyway, that's what's going on with us!

A prayer

Please take us forward into Your kingdom, we want to see Your will unfold as we walk with You.

Help us to lay aside our desire for gain and comfort, and take up sacrifice as our new lifestyle... Your life in exchange for ours.

This what we truly want, even though our flesh says "no", we say "yes" to You. 

This I believe is the essence of the lifestyle the Lord is calling us, our family, and our community to embrace. 

Gift

How would I define the perfect gift? I

It would have to be something that was, well, perfect… for me.

An example would be a dress that fits just right, feels wonderful, hides the places you don’t want to draw attention to and exploits the places that are admirable.  The style, color and cut would parallel my personality in a way that I had to know I was truly loved because I was given this dress.  Not that it was better than dresses that other girls wore; but that it was absolutely perfect… for me.

The other day I came the epiphany that the children God has given me are gifts from Him.  It’s not that they are better than other children, though you may have an argument there if you said that to Gramma.  But they are perfect… for me.

When I began to evaluate each of my girls this way I was really overwhelmed with the love of my Father. 

He gave me little people as gifts that would suit my likes.  He knew I grew up wishing I lived in musical.  He knew Katie Jo would just start singing while walking together on the path and while sitting at the dinner table. 

Gifts that would be able to make me laugh.  He knew that Anna Mae’s little voice would speak more words than a kid her age ought to and we would feel we never needed a tv again with the entertainment of a one-year-old in the house. 

Gifts that would comfort me.  He knew that Adri Ann would play with my hair whenever we were still and near each other and that her touch would soothe me.

Gifts that would affirm me.  He knew that Cora Lee would praise my mothering and cooking.

Gifts that would test and refine me.  He knew that they would become the most effective tool in my life to make me more like His son. 

Not only did God make them unique individuals with an eternal destiny to live out, but He tailored each of them as a gift that is perfect… for me.
-Becky Jo

adjusting

We are now officially "adjusting" to the new normal of having FIVE girls.  It's always shocking how much of life is affected by such a little person!  Here are some pics that are pretty typical of life these days!

Baby Cumming's Birth Story... and Name

In Exodus the children of Israel are attacked by the Amalekites.  Moses stands above them, with the support of Aaron and Hur, to raise the rod of the Lord.  As long as his arms were lifted up the Israelites won the battle.  Moses set up an alter called Jehovahnissi, The-Lord-Is-My-Banner, after their victory.  When He was raised up, God literally changed things and delivered His people.  That is what I experience delivering this baby.

We headed to the hospital trying to decide if we should call 911, go to the closer hospital, or risk the 45 minute drive out to the hospital my doctor was expecting me at.  Cory because quite the aggressive driver.  And as we neared the freeway I told Jenna, my doula and best friend in the seat beside me, and Cory that I was at the threshold of the need to push.  After the next contraction I texted a handful of friends to please pray and got back immediate responses to pray.  One of the replies was: Becky Jo, get in the glory. He’s there.  So I started to expect God to use this time.  I could either freak out, get scared, and have the baby in the car OR I could trust Him and expect Him to show up supernaturally.  The next contraction came and stopped before it should have.  I started to cry.  I felt an overwhelming awareness of His pleasure in this child in me and His presence in the present situation.  I knew that He was hearing and honoring the prayers of His people.  It was like I could feel the atmosphere changing. 

Cory and Jenna have been with me in labor before.  They knew I was at the end.  Cory started going faster and faster hoping to get noticed by a policeman and wave him forward to get an escort.  As we neared the hospital I came up against the last contraction in the car.  The Lord had shortened everyone up to this point, but I now had no more to fight with.  The baby was ready to come out.  I was more aware of what was happening in my body than I possibly have ever been before.  The contraction began and I told them, “Call out to the LORD!” Jenna and Cory both broke out in authoritative prayer.  Only a couple of seconds into the contraction I started praising Jesus.  He literally stopped it.  If I had seen a blind man see, I would have marveled at seeing a miracle; if I’d heard or a lame man getting healed, I would have marveled at hearing of a miracle; this the I did not see or hear, but I FELT the hand of God miraculously and physically intervene in the reality of my body in labor and stop it.  We rounded the corner and made it to the hospital!!

We were praising God as we pulled up to the valet.  Cory and Jenna jumped out yelling, “we need a wheelchair.” They grabbed some of our stuff, the valet guy ran for a chair, but we didn’t have that much time so with one of them under each of my arms we attempted to walk me into the hospital. The pressure of gravity alone sent me into what felt like another contraction.  I saw seats in the foyer and knew I needed to sit again or else… I started squatting in the hope of sitting down, and just then some one showed up with the chair and sitting stopped the progress of labor.  We made it upstairs to triage and Jenna told the nurses our situation, but they must hear that sort of thing a lot from people who don’t really know what they are talking about, because they obviously did not believe us.  The nurse calmly asked me to take put a gown on and wanted to check me.  Well we almost accomplished that, but then came the next contraction and my water broke as I got on the table.  She went to check and see if I was dilated, but as she looked, she knew what we meant.  The nurse grabbed hold of the bed and started wheeling me down the hall.   Another nurse was telling here there were no rooms available and she barked back that she was taking me to a room. 

We got there and I told everyone that I would need to push when the next contraction came.  One of the nurses said, “oh don’t do that, we don’t have the table ready yet.” I told her I would have to.  And as they got me in the bed I was sent into the next contraction and had to start pushing.  The bed was not broken down, there were no stirrups the nurses had their backs toward me getting ready and the baby’s head was out before the doctor even got a chance to turn around and catch.   Everything was perfect.  She started crying and breathing right away, there were no complications; she was perfectly pink. 

We named her Kalee Nissi.  Kalee is a feminine version of Caleb (to honor what the Lord spoke to Cora Lee).  It begins with “Ka” like Katie Jo’s name (who prayed her in).  It means keeper of the keys.  Look at Matthew 16 for that one…or ask Cory.  I believe that is a prophetic word for what the Lord is birthing in this season.  Nissi means banner.  The Lord was lifted up and was a banner over us.