God sized dreams...

This weekend I got to meet my husband's co-worker Josh and his beautiful wife Gretchen.  After a Sunday afternoon lunch of BBQ ribs and Craig's homemade baked beans we went outside and enjoyed the spring sunshine.  It was not the sunshine that warmed me, but the passion and heartbeat that this young couple permeated.

I smiled deep as we talked.  I still am.  I have realized my kind of people, are people like Josh and Gretchen.  People who are living out God sized dreams, loving Jesus out loud by simply being obedient despite the cost.  

Get this....only married 10 months... freshly young, newlyweds and here they are living out this God sized journey.  In a month or so they will be leaving for Cambodia.  They will be working with Rapha House.  Rapha House's mission is "to love, rescue, and heal children who have been rescued from trafficking and sexual exploitation."  They will be working with a safe house and a half-way house in Phnom Pehn, Cambodia.  They are passionate about Jesus and instead of buying into some illusion of an American dream they are starting their lives together following God's call to be love in action.  Oh, I am savoring the unusual in this, yet my heart hurts because it needs to be the usual.  Young people seeking God's will for their lives in kingdom venues instead of worldly ones.

Talking with Gretchen, brought me back to a younger version of myself.  We were similar in a lot of ways, but one thing that starkly contrasted my own story was that at age 22 she already had the faith to step into the water.  It took me years to dissolve the fear and acquire the faith I needed to drown me and my dreams.   Many layers had to be stripped down before I relented to be that lump of clay that God wanted me to be so He could shape me for His purpose.  As I stood on the back deck, soaking in her story I marveled at how amazing a life can be when you do just that, surrender & obey. 

Simply put, I walked away from our time together completely inspired by the story they are writing.  So inspired I am writing this post, hoping you will rally around them in prayer and possibly pray about helping them to achieve the last bit needed to support them.  If not that, to beg you to be part of standing up for those whose innocence is being stolen by tyrants who think no one will stand up against them.

Is there no longer any David's to stand against the giants?
I met a couple this weekend that are willing to fight.
I believe God wants to rally an army.
An army of giant slayers!

I share the Day's passion in this.  The DRC has stats that sicken me.  An article released in 2011 stated that "About 48 women are raped in the Democratic Republic of the Congo every hour."  I sponsor a beautiful girl for school who is living daily with the scars of sexual exploitation.  I will not turn a blind eye to this plight.  Her story is real.  She has a name.  She is someone's daughter, and I think of her as my own when I pray for her.  More then that she is my sister in Christ.   

You can read more about about Josh and Gretchen's ministry on their blog: "Hope for the Hopeless"  I hope you will follow their journey.  I hope you will rally with them and pray for them.  I hope you will pray about what God wants you to do to fight the giant of sex trafficking that is being ignored by so many, whether it be in Cambodia, the DRC, or right here in the US.

Living out a dream of God sized proportion makes you a bit of an addict.  So I am going to keep pursuing them and supporting those who are.  I won't get so jaded that I will lose hope in people.  Instead I will keep encouraging others to start praying and seeking what God's purpose and plan is for their lives.  I will keep praying that more people will be unshackled by the weights of fear and finances as they kick comfortable Christianity in the face.  I am dreaming big.  I am praying for some God sized dreams to grip the hearts of a few seniors that are graduating this year.  I am praying constantly that God will always lead my children on a path that is His, and they will choose it even if it seems risky.  I am also waiting... and praying... and asking God what is next for me, our family....  because I know He isn't done with us yet.

I am kinda thinking He might not be done with you either....