Hello friends!!
I hope this note finds you quite well this balmy July eve! I thought I'd take advantage of the opportunity to let you know about the fun adventures that abound in and around my life right now!
The Lord is so good and has allowed me to thoroughly enjoy a rather circuitous route to a dream that is one step closer to coming true. My adventures in nursing have been many and varied over the past five years: from artificial hearts to newborn babies, from school-nursing to clinic nursing on rural Honduran mountaintops, from geriatric patients to ones who have yet to draw their first breath...and everywhere in-between. What a joyous and intrepid journey it has been! This August, yet another “next step” will come about! I am incredibly excited to tell you that I will be commencing graduate school, pursuing my Master's of Science in Nursing in order to become a Certified Nurse-Midwife through the Frontier School of Midwifery and Family Nursing. A few of my friends say they have seen this coming for years and are glad that I am finally convinced that it is the both the Lord's will and the Lord's timing to pursue this venture. I am thrilled to pieces to be part of the rich history of midwifery around the world and to be trained through the oldest Nurse-Midwifery program in the United States. The heritage of this program, which is based in the mountains of Kentucky, is rich and honors the normalcy of birth despite the political pulls of today which regard pregnancy and birth as a pathologic entity. It is my prayer that through the education I receive over the next two years from a program that emphasizes care for the under-served around the world I will become more equipped to serve the under-served both here in the States and abroad. Where the Lord will direct me after becoming a CNM, I know not, but I'm excited to see what He reveals in time.
I could go on for pages and pages enumerating the reasons I am so stoked to take this next step but I will spare you. I am emblazoned with excitement as I consider getting to spend my days helping women care for themselves properly, encouraging and aiding families in their prenatal care, serving them during their labor, and having the honor of catching their babies. An absolutely momentous component of any family's life, it is a precious opportunity as a practitioner to reflect the love and care of Jesus during a pregnancy and birth. I have been part of approximately 250 births in the past year and a half as an L&D RN and believe that the Lord, through His mercy and grace alone, has been able to use me as a light to many families overflowing with both joy and grief depending on their situations. It is incredibly humbling to be invited into such an intimate time in the life of a family – to be forever linked with a day they will never forget, a day made up of smiles, sorrow, or both. I pray that He will continue to use me in powerful ways...and I pray that He will allow me to continue having an absolute blast doing it, as He has allowed me thus far.
I write also to petition for your prayers. The next couple of months will be a time of great transition for me. I am intending on continuing to work full-time as well as commencing my schooling full-time. I will also be losing my dear roommate, Elise, next week as she follows the Lord's lead to move to Tacoma, Washington for a travel nursing assignment near her brother who is stationed there serving our nation as a Captain in our Air Force. I am excited for both Elise and Luke but am grieved at having a dear friend and amazing roommate move clear across the nation. I am prayerful for finding a new roommate to join Kristen and I to fill Elise's room (though no one will ever fill her shoes!!). I am currently pursuing what seems like an exciting possibility for that roommate slot. All these transitions have the potential to either strengthen my faith or broadside me and I know I need the protection of the Lord to see me through. I appreciate your prayers for a deepened walk with Jesus as a result of all these transitions, for diligence in hard work and time-management, for deep fellowship and accountability despite a potentially nutsy schedule, for guidance regarding my ministry roles this year, and for grace to be able to fulfill my responsibilities as a home-owner and roomie with excellence. Please also pray for others to rise up, with excitement, to help administrate our much-beloved trip to Honduras next May and the fundraising efforts that we hope to commence in the next couple of months.
Now that I've given you the latest scoop on what's up in my corner of the world, i'd love to hear how things are in yours!! I'd also love to know how I can be praying for you specifically...feel free to email me with your prayer requests!
Oh, one last thing! We thankfully had only one true casualty in Honduras this year, that being my cell phone. I still have only a meager collection of numbers and would love to make sure I have yours tucked away safely in my new phone. Feel free to email me with your number...or give me a call and give it to me then :)
Hugs to all!!
Tuesday, July 29, 2008
Thursday, May 29, 2008
Come, my son, and walk with me
Come, my son, and walk with me.
join me in worship, my beloved.
So great is my joy and yet great is my sorrow - please
come, my son, and walk with me.
You are my promise, my faith come true
and though I do not understand -
come, my son, and walk with me.
A three-day journey lie ahead and then
we'll know where to He has called me –
and thus called you.
We must, my son, go – please
come, my son, and walk with me.
The walk is long, and I grow weary.
Every step, my burden heavy.
This wood and knife mock me,
reminding me of what lies ahead.
But endure we must – so
come, my son, and walk with me.
The questions you ask burn my soul
and resonate in my heart.
Trust my son, we must trust.
For He is the One who has called us.
He is the One who gave you to me...
and still He is the One leading us now.
Oh, come my son...
...despite your fears...
...despite your confusion...
...trust my love and follow closely – yes,
Come, my son, and walk with me.
We've arrived my son, at His chosen place
Let us worship Him together, in hope.
I am ready now to do His will
to trust His perfect word - please
Come, my son, and lay down.
Never, my son, would I hurt you.
Never, my son, would I try.
Always, my son, will I love you...
and trust Him alone for your life.
I don't understand, my son,
why I must bind you.
I don't understand, my son,
why you are the sacrifice.
Oh, my son, how I long for you to walk beside me.
But now, my son,
I must take your life.
My son, my son,
please forgive me.
Know, my son, why I ask you to trust.
He has called me to give you back to Him
an acceptable sacrifice.
I love you desperately, my son...
please don't doubt that...
but obey I must.
Close your eyes, my son - please
don't watch me raise this knife.
I love you, I love you, I love you, my son
and wish instead you could take my life.
But now, my son, I bless you
and give you into His hands.
Be at peace my son
and be with Him alone who understands.
But wait, behold!
What love, indeed!
Oh Lord, my Lord I cannot believe!
Gladly I drop my knife and
my son, my dearest son,
you are freed!!
The Lord, our Lord He has provided
a ram to sacrifice...and no longer
am I required to take your life!!
My son, my son you have been a gift to me
not once, but now twice.
My son, beloved son, you still walk with me.
Forever, my son, will I cry -
Praises to Him who spared you!
Praises to Him who gives the perfect sacrifice!
Praises to Him who loves you even more than I.
Forever and always my son, we must adore Him
For He alone is God.
Jehovah Jireh, He is our incredible Provider.
Because of Him we walk home together today...
in joy, no longer in sorrow.
Our burden light.
Our cares few.
Our faith strengthened and made new.
Yes, you know what to do -
Come, my son, and walk with me.
Adventures abound, not only for me -
but also for you.
join me in worship, my beloved.
So great is my joy and yet great is my sorrow - please
come, my son, and walk with me.
You are my promise, my faith come true
and though I do not understand -
come, my son, and walk with me.
A three-day journey lie ahead and then
we'll know where to He has called me –
and thus called you.
We must, my son, go – please
come, my son, and walk with me.
The walk is long, and I grow weary.
Every step, my burden heavy.
This wood and knife mock me,
reminding me of what lies ahead.
But endure we must – so
come, my son, and walk with me.
The questions you ask burn my soul
and resonate in my heart.
Trust my son, we must trust.
For He is the One who has called us.
He is the One who gave you to me...
and still He is the One leading us now.
Oh, come my son...
...despite your fears...
...despite your confusion...
...trust my love and follow closely – yes,
Come, my son, and walk with me.
We've arrived my son, at His chosen place
Let us worship Him together, in hope.
I am ready now to do His will
to trust His perfect word - please
Come, my son, and lay down.
Never, my son, would I hurt you.
Never, my son, would I try.
Always, my son, will I love you...
and trust Him alone for your life.
I don't understand, my son,
why I must bind you.
I don't understand, my son,
why you are the sacrifice.
Oh, my son, how I long for you to walk beside me.
But now, my son,
I must take your life.
My son, my son,
please forgive me.
Know, my son, why I ask you to trust.
He has called me to give you back to Him
an acceptable sacrifice.
I love you desperately, my son...
please don't doubt that...
but obey I must.
Close your eyes, my son - please
don't watch me raise this knife.
I love you, I love you, I love you, my son
and wish instead you could take my life.
But now, my son, I bless you
and give you into His hands.
Be at peace my son
and be with Him alone who understands.
But wait, behold!
What love, indeed!
Oh Lord, my Lord I cannot believe!
Gladly I drop my knife and
my son, my dearest son,
you are freed!!
The Lord, our Lord He has provided
a ram to sacrifice...and no longer
am I required to take your life!!
My son, my son you have been a gift to me
not once, but now twice.
My son, beloved son, you still walk with me.
Forever, my son, will I cry -
Praises to Him who spared you!
Praises to Him who gives the perfect sacrifice!
Praises to Him who loves you even more than I.
Forever and always my son, we must adore Him
For He alone is God.
Jehovah Jireh, He is our incredible Provider.
Because of Him we walk home together today...
in joy, no longer in sorrow.
Our burden light.
Our cares few.
Our faith strengthened and made new.
Yes, you know what to do -
Come, my son, and walk with me.
Adventures abound, not only for me -
but also for you.
Wednesday, April 30, 2008
Honduras prayers!!
Hey there friends!
On behalf of our team, THANK YOU for being committed to praying for our Short Term Mission team and trip to La Ceiba, Honduras! We are but 2 days away from liftoff and are growing more and more excited daily!
We are eager to keep you up to date on how you can specifically be praying for us throughout our journey as well as letting you know how God's faithfulness is being shown to us. Just in case, if you do not want to receive any more emails from us over the next month or so, please respond to this email stating so. We will remove you from our list. Otherwise, thanks for jumping on board...we greatly appreciate your prayers and are thankful you are part of our mission team!!
PRAISE!! We would like to thank you for your prayers up to this point as God has provided in incredible ways for our team! Despite the challenging economic situation the US is facing right now, so many have been so generous. We would like to let you know that our Lord has shown His gracious provision and has raised for us MORE THAN $12,000 in surplus funds!!! Thanks to your generosity we will be able to build one home from the ground up, add an addition to the meager home of a young family that we know from the church in La Ceiba, help with start-up for a block shop (to produce cinder blocks),support the children's malnutrition program, and fund offsite medical brigades. THANK YOU FOR YOUR PRAYERS AND FINANCIAL HELP!! We are simply in awe and hope that you will be encouraged as well!
PRAISE! We are completely overwhelmed by the amount of goods donated this year! From clothes to meds to school supplies to shoes to toys to clinic supplies to nutritional formulas – you name it, our living rooms and garage are covered in it! We are currently working to pack 32 suitcases to capacity with supplies. We're soo excited to bring Christmas in May down there. Again, THANK YOU for making this possible!!
Prayer...
Please pray for our team members by name: Elise, Courtney, Dan, Sereen, Amy, Oneke, Jean, Alex, Chad, Derek, Jarah, Tim, Nicole, Luke, Chad, April, and Vikki
~Pray for the preparation of our hearts in these last few days before leaving. Pray for hearts devoted to the Lord, focused on eternal things rather than the temporary things of this world.
~Pray for us to finish strong in our supply-raising and suitcase-packing.
~Pray for unity, oneness, and love among the team members and between our team and the local church in La Ceiba.
~Pray for the preparations going on now in La Ceiba as the church readies for the arrival of our team.
~Pray for the Lord's blessing upon those families with whom we will be staying.
~Pray for the safety and health of our team members even in these days before our trip.
~Pray for any outstanding logistics that must be taken care of before departure time. For wisdom, discernment, and grace in seeing them addressed.
Friends, we are so eager to let you know how the Lord both challenges us and shows Himself through us while we are in La Ceiba. We truly believe that your prayers will make a difference and are grateful to know you will be there with us in spirit. "The effective prayer of a righteous man can accomplish much." (James 5:16).
In Him, through Him, and for Him we go. Cloaked in prayer we will see His glory.
Thank you.
by His grace alone,
Vikki
"He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain that which he cannot lose". ~ Jim Elliot
On behalf of our team, THANK YOU for being committed to praying for our Short Term Mission team and trip to La Ceiba, Honduras! We are but 2 days away from liftoff and are growing more and more excited daily!
We are eager to keep you up to date on how you can specifically be praying for us throughout our journey as well as letting you know how God's faithfulness is being shown to us. Just in case, if you do not want to receive any more emails from us over the next month or so, please respond to this email stating so. We will remove you from our list. Otherwise, thanks for jumping on board...we greatly appreciate your prayers and are thankful you are part of our mission team!!
PRAISE!! We would like to thank you for your prayers up to this point as God has provided in incredible ways for our team! Despite the challenging economic situation the US is facing right now, so many have been so generous. We would like to let you know that our Lord has shown His gracious provision and has raised for us MORE THAN $12,000 in surplus funds!!! Thanks to your generosity we will be able to build one home from the ground up, add an addition to the meager home of a young family that we know from the church in La Ceiba, help with start-up for a block shop (to produce cinder blocks),support the children's malnutrition program, and fund offsite medical brigades. THANK YOU FOR YOUR PRAYERS AND FINANCIAL HELP!! We are simply in awe and hope that you will be encouraged as well!
PRAISE! We are completely overwhelmed by the amount of goods donated this year! From clothes to meds to school supplies to shoes to toys to clinic supplies to nutritional formulas – you name it, our living rooms and garage are covered in it! We are currently working to pack 32 suitcases to capacity with supplies. We're soo excited to bring Christmas in May down there. Again, THANK YOU for making this possible!!
Prayer...
Please pray for our team members by name: Elise, Courtney, Dan, Sereen, Amy, Oneke, Jean, Alex, Chad, Derek, Jarah, Tim, Nicole, Luke, Chad, April, and Vikki
~Pray for the preparation of our hearts in these last few days before leaving. Pray for hearts devoted to the Lord, focused on eternal things rather than the temporary things of this world.
~Pray for us to finish strong in our supply-raising and suitcase-packing.
~Pray for unity, oneness, and love among the team members and between our team and the local church in La Ceiba.
~Pray for the preparations going on now in La Ceiba as the church readies for the arrival of our team.
~Pray for the Lord's blessing upon those families with whom we will be staying.
~Pray for the safety and health of our team members even in these days before our trip.
~Pray for any outstanding logistics that must be taken care of before departure time. For wisdom, discernment, and grace in seeing them addressed.
Friends, we are so eager to let you know how the Lord both challenges us and shows Himself through us while we are in La Ceiba. We truly believe that your prayers will make a difference and are grateful to know you will be there with us in spirit. "The effective prayer of a righteous man can accomplish much." (James 5:16).
In Him, through Him, and for Him we go. Cloaked in prayer we will see His glory.
Thank you.
by His grace alone,
Vikki
"He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain that which he cannot lose". ~ Jim Elliot
Tuesday, March 4, 2008
My friend Clive on "Real Temptation"
Real Temptation
"You may remember I said that the first step towards humility was to realise that one is proud. I want to add now that the next step is to make some serious attempt to practise the Christian virtues. A week is not enough. Things often go swimmingly for the first week. Try six weeks. By that time, having, as far as one can see, fallen back completely or even fallen lower than the point one began from, one will have discovered some truths about oneself. No man knows how bad he is till he has tried very hard to be good. A silly idea is current that good people do not know what temptation means. This is an obvious lie. Only those who try to resist temptation know how strong it is. After all, you find out the strength of the German army by fighting against it, not by giving in. You find out the strength of a wind by trying to walk against it, not by lying down. A man who gives in to temptation after five minutes simply does not know what it would have been like an hour later. That is why bad people, in one sense, know very little about badness. They have lived a sheltered life by always giving in. We never find out the strength of the evil impulse inside us until we try to fight it: and Christ, because He was the only man who never yielded to temptation, is also the only man who knows to the full what temptation means - the only complete realist.
~C.S. Lewis in Mere Christianity.
May we be brothers and sisters who, by fleeing sin and resisting temptation, come to know the full strength of it and still return from battle victorious in our Saviour!
"You may remember I said that the first step towards humility was to realise that one is proud. I want to add now that the next step is to make some serious attempt to practise the Christian virtues. A week is not enough. Things often go swimmingly for the first week. Try six weeks. By that time, having, as far as one can see, fallen back completely or even fallen lower than the point one began from, one will have discovered some truths about oneself. No man knows how bad he is till he has tried very hard to be good. A silly idea is current that good people do not know what temptation means. This is an obvious lie. Only those who try to resist temptation know how strong it is. After all, you find out the strength of the German army by fighting against it, not by giving in. You find out the strength of a wind by trying to walk against it, not by lying down. A man who gives in to temptation after five minutes simply does not know what it would have been like an hour later. That is why bad people, in one sense, know very little about badness. They have lived a sheltered life by always giving in. We never find out the strength of the evil impulse inside us until we try to fight it: and Christ, because He was the only man who never yielded to temptation, is also the only man who knows to the full what temptation means - the only complete realist.
~C.S. Lewis in Mere Christianity.
May we be brothers and sisters who, by fleeing sin and resisting temptation, come to know the full strength of it and still return from battle victorious in our Saviour!
Wednesday, February 13, 2008
Our Forever Valentine
Flipping through some old journals last week I came across the following entry, dated 2/14/02. Thinking it a timely discovery, I post it here in hopes it will encourage each of our hearts to look past the fulfillment we long for in a boyfriend, girlfriend, or spouse to the only One who truly fulfills...our Forever Valentine.
2/14/2002
My Saviour loves me every day of the year, not just one...and for that I am thankful. How do I know He loves me? He chose me eons ago, before the creation of this world. Before the mountains stately stood or the oceans waved their water, He chose me. He sacrificed His all, Himself, for me...He so desperately desired to be with me forever that He sent His Son to die for me. He waited for me. For almost 18 years I ran from Him, but He kept chasing me. The day I fell into His loving embrace He threw a huge celebration because I had returned to Him.
He listens to me. Never, even when I talk for hours, barely letting Him get a word in edgewise, does He tire of listening to my heart. He gives me presents every day. In the form of blessings, my Lover showers me with gifts. When I am scared, He soothes me. When I lay down in bed after a long, arduous day, He caresses my hair and lulls me to sleep. When I am lonely, He holds my hand and lets me feel His embrace. When I cry, He doesn't make me feel silly, but cries alongside me. When I am angry with those around me, He gently reminds me that they are only human and make mistakes. When I am angry with Him, He listens, and then reminds me that I too am only human and can't understand His plans.
He promises me things - and I know I can hold Him to those promises. He tells me He'll never leave me, not even when I ignore Him, when I turn my back on Him, or when I start to put somebody above Him. He lives within me. He has given Himself to me. He wrote me the most wonderful love letter and shows me new things in it daily that assure me more and more of His undying love. I get a lump in my throat when I'm around Him because He created me to be attracted to Him. He loves to dance with me - even if I do have two left feet. Though others might want to run away when I sing, He never does - He'd listen to me for hours. He is planning on sharing His inheritance with me. When I do something I shouldn't and put my desires above His, He still looks at me with eyes of kindness and love. He has given me the capacity to not fear loving others - and has shown me that He delights when I do show them love. He has given me children and has entrusted it to me to raise them with His authority.
He has given me THE most beautiful engagement ring and asked me to wear it around my heart. The ring He gave me has a name - the Holy Spirit - and this ring serve as a reminder to me of the things that are to come. He told me that even though He had to go away for awhile, He WILL come back. And when He does, He has plans to sweep me off my feet and to carry me to be with Him forever in the place He is currently constructing for us.
To Him, it's not what I look like on the outside that matters - because He has plans to give me a new body anyway...He care about what is on my inside - and only He has the power to see. He has promised that He will continue to work on me...slowly forming me to be more like Him - which I think is fabulous. I love that He loves me - this day and every day.
Thank you, Jesus, for being the best Valentine a girl could ever ask for.
Amen, thank you Jesus.
2/14/2002
My Saviour loves me every day of the year, not just one...and for that I am thankful. How do I know He loves me? He chose me eons ago, before the creation of this world. Before the mountains stately stood or the oceans waved their water, He chose me. He sacrificed His all, Himself, for me...He so desperately desired to be with me forever that He sent His Son to die for me. He waited for me. For almost 18 years I ran from Him, but He kept chasing me. The day I fell into His loving embrace He threw a huge celebration because I had returned to Him.
He listens to me. Never, even when I talk for hours, barely letting Him get a word in edgewise, does He tire of listening to my heart. He gives me presents every day. In the form of blessings, my Lover showers me with gifts. When I am scared, He soothes me. When I lay down in bed after a long, arduous day, He caresses my hair and lulls me to sleep. When I am lonely, He holds my hand and lets me feel His embrace. When I cry, He doesn't make me feel silly, but cries alongside me. When I am angry with those around me, He gently reminds me that they are only human and make mistakes. When I am angry with Him, He listens, and then reminds me that I too am only human and can't understand His plans.
He promises me things - and I know I can hold Him to those promises. He tells me He'll never leave me, not even when I ignore Him, when I turn my back on Him, or when I start to put somebody above Him. He lives within me. He has given Himself to me. He wrote me the most wonderful love letter and shows me new things in it daily that assure me more and more of His undying love. I get a lump in my throat when I'm around Him because He created me to be attracted to Him. He loves to dance with me - even if I do have two left feet. Though others might want to run away when I sing, He never does - He'd listen to me for hours. He is planning on sharing His inheritance with me. When I do something I shouldn't and put my desires above His, He still looks at me with eyes of kindness and love. He has given me the capacity to not fear loving others - and has shown me that He delights when I do show them love. He has given me children and has entrusted it to me to raise them with His authority.
He has given me THE most beautiful engagement ring and asked me to wear it around my heart. The ring He gave me has a name - the Holy Spirit - and this ring serve as a reminder to me of the things that are to come. He told me that even though He had to go away for awhile, He WILL come back. And when He does, He has plans to sweep me off my feet and to carry me to be with Him forever in the place He is currently constructing for us.
To Him, it's not what I look like on the outside that matters - because He has plans to give me a new body anyway...He care about what is on my inside - and only He has the power to see. He has promised that He will continue to work on me...slowly forming me to be more like Him - which I think is fabulous. I love that He loves me - this day and every day.
Thank you, Jesus, for being the best Valentine a girl could ever ask for.
Amen, thank you Jesus.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
