Obedience is better than sacrifice...

Recently I (Jes) have decided to try drinking a small amount of coffee in the mornings. The Lord has certainly gotten me through this last 8 months of little sleep but I've been dreaming of coffee for over a year ;) I decided to get some Maxwell House which is what I drank in Belize. 

As I ceremoniously sat at the table to have that first cup, it struck me how different my view was the last time I drank it. It was over a year ago, in May. The day I found out I was pregnant with Silas. I made my last pot of coffee, sat on the counter in the kitchen in the lodge in Belize in front of the window overlooking the back yard. As I sipped my last cup, sweating and watching the wish-willies fighting over the best spot on the roof of the pump house, I knew my next cup would be very different. 

So here I am in lower Michigan, cold, in an apartment in the city, looking out over our backyard that is not really ours, through a window holding various rocks Sage has found and 3 caterpillars in their crysalis forms, with curtains in knots so Silas can't pull them down again. Things could not be more different! And yet, they are the same. 

1 Samuel 15:22 "....Listen! Obedience is better than sacrifice, and submission is better than offering the fat of the ram."

While we were missionaries in Belize, we updated our blog every week.  We received tons of support, verbally and monetarily. We were interesting, we were doing something different. Not just to others but to ourselves!  Even though it was a sacrifice in many ways to be there, in some ways it was easier. We were doing something obvious. We had left the comforts of home, everything familiar to us, friends and family etc. to serve God in Belize. Everyone knew why we were there, we didn't have to do anything special to stand out. Then God showed us what was next for us, and here we are being obedient, but not sacrificing as much. 

We haven't been updating the blog very often, for one because doing it every week really was a lot of work and it's been nice to have a break, for two because we both have a lot going on between Joel working and doing ministry and me homeschooling Sage and taking care of our baby boy, but also because we kind of feel like what we've been doing just isn't as interesting as it was 2 years ago. 

Obedience is better than sacrifice!

We know we're doing what God wants us to do at this moment. No we don't know what's next on His list for us, we take it a day at a time. 

We'd like to start sharing some of the things we're learning while we are here, things the Lord has been teaching us. Just because it's not as entertaining doesn't make it less important!  Also I'd like to encourage all of you that wherever the Lord has you right now no matter how interesting it seems to you and those around you, if you are being obedient then you are doing exactly what you are supposed to!

So keep an eye out for future blog updates that will be more than just what we are physically doing, we'd like to share what is going on in our hearts.  We know this is even more important than physical works and we are ready to share!