We Have Hope... Because He is Risen!

Have a wonderful day of celebrating Christ's amazing resurrection!

Praise the Lord for the hope we have today because of his death and resurrection.

Praise Him because of His amazing love and mercy towards us!

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Building Our Mud House

Yep, you read that right… we are building a mud house.

Really, it is a house made of adobe bricks.

For those who might not be familiar with adobe bricks… they are basically bricks made from a mixture of mud and some form of dry matter like straw or leaves, but here they use pine needles.

In Honduras, building a house of adobe is much cheaper and more efficient then wood or concrete. Especially when built the right way. I will share, with pictures, later on how they make the adobe... it is a very interesting process!

It has been exciting and overwhelming building our new home.Exciting because we are now making our home here in Honduras permanent. Overwhelming because we have never built a house before... especially a mud house!!

Thankfully, my dad was here for two months to help start the building process for the house. He has almost 30 years of experience with building homes in the USA. Even though building with adobe has been a new learning-curve for him… he has been so valuable with helping us make decisions and being our middle man between us and Pasito, our foreman.

But he is back in the states now.... Waahh!  Thankfully, he will be back in June to help finalize our house (hopefully!).

Because of his absent, it has been more challenging doing it all.. the ministry, our family, the house, the calls, the decisions, etc... but we are trusting in the Lord and so thankfulthat my dad is simply a phone call away when we need to ask questions or make sure things are going the way they are supposed to happen.

Every Saturday afternoon, we head over to our home and look over everything the men have done the past week, make sure everything is done the way we want and discuss different projects for the next week. We go there at least once or twice during the week in the mornings to talk to the men, but I enjoy going Saturday afternoons because everything is quiet... peaceful... and I am able to drink in the views surrounding our new home.

So soothing and breathtaking!

My husband, Jon, has been pulled, stretched and challenged beyond anything he has experienced with the building of our house. At least three times a week he has been calling my dad, updating him on the house, asking questions and being the middle man between my dad & our foreman. Going back and forth in English & Spanish and trying to keep it all straight in his head. He often says he has no idea what he is doing and if he is doing things right and hoping that he is doing things right, but...

I am moved by his efforts to do the best he can do with what little he knows about building a house. His efforts makes me pray for him all the more and love him all the more!

Making phone calls is one of his least favorite thing to do, but he makes those phone calls for me... knowing that I would do it if I could.

I would love to take this responsibility off his shoulders, but all I can do it stand next him and help him carry the burden to the best of my ability.

I know God is using this time... this season... to make my husband a stronger man for the future of Rancho Oasis. Please pray for him when you think of us!

As for me, it has been a challenge to be flexible with how I want my house to look.

I have all kinds of ideas, dreams and specifications of how I want my first (and hopefully last) house to be build. I even have a board on Pinterest dedicated to everything I would love in my "future" home!

I am very thankful that my mom helped draw up the plan for our house. She patiently drew up plan after plan after plan until we were finally satisfied with the layout of everything.

Honestly, I was super nervous when we started the foundation of our house before my dad arrived back in February. I did not want a repeat of mistakes that happened to the house we tried to build on the current property that we are living on at the moment.

So far, things have gone well and I pray that it will continue to go well till the very last detail.

Through it all... I have been challenged to be flexible and content. Especially when a change or two has to be made when a detail doesn't work out the way I hoped it would.

As you can see from the pictures... our home is pretty big, but for a couple good reasons.

I wanted an area where we would be able to host meals for large groups/teams in my home or somewhere around my home and my parents suggested a courtyard in the center of the house.

I loved the idea, but struggled to make a decision because I didn't want to have a large house... especially when our neighbors live in very small and simple homes. I didn't want to be viewed as a rich gringo family with a huge house, but in their eyes... we are rich, no matter how small and simple we try to live.

Through much prayer, we decided to go with the bigger house and courtyard for two reasons... one, to have plenty of space for our ministry partners to eat meals with us and to do Bible studies together as the ministry grows and two, to exercise my gift of hospitality by having teams & visitors in my home for meals.

Many of you know I love to cook. I enjoy cooking up good food for teams (usually have anywhere from 10 to 30 people at once!) that come alongside us for a week or two... so, it made more sense to use our home rather than build a separate building for meals with teams and large groups.

Now, I have to share with you a fun thing we are doing around the house.

Wine bottles in the walls.

Yep, you read that right. Let me explain...

Look at the picture above... see the small windows on the right wall and the 3 skinny windows straight ahead? Those windows will be filled with wine bottles of all colors. Pretty cool, right?

In the two pictures below, you will see bottles in the walls. When the afternoon sun hits it just right.

Does it look awesome?!

Well, they look pretty cool right now, but I will for share pictures later once the walls are done and the light is hitting the bottles just right. Then, they will be pretty awesome  :)

I have a love for glass bottles... especially wine bottles. No... I don't drink a lot of wine, but I do like to enjoy a nice wine once in a while. Haha! Anyway, I enjoy looking at them even more and using them to decorate my house with flowers or just simply as it is.

You are probably wondering what method I use to cut the bottles.

After trying all the different ways to cut a wine bottle... my dad found a method that consistently cut through the glass with very little cracks. 

My dad made a simple frame that we stick my heavy duty glass cutter in and roll the wine bottles on it just below the neck area, then we do a careful combination of heat and cold for the neck part to fall off. Next we tape two bottles of the same width together. I will have to show you guys step-by-step pictures later... when my dad comes back in June.

Please keep us in prayer as we move forward to complete our home. We are trusting in the Lord for His provision to be able to pay the men and buy materials needed to complete the house.

Our home is providing consistent jobs for several men who were not able to find work for several months before we came along. Many of these men are Christian men, including the foreman... who is a pastor of a local Baptist church.

Every time we go over there... there are smiles on these men's faces and gratefulness in their eyes for the jobs they have to provide for their families.

Unfortunately, we recently had to let some men go because we are not able to pay them. We are praying and waiting on the Lord's provision to be able to put those men back to work!

Please pray along with us!

I am excited to be sharing all this with you. I was so encouraged by the responses to my previous post and truly believe that they are confirmations from the Lord that I am on the right track!

I hope you are equally encouraged and blessed! Have a wonderful week celebrating the resurrection of our Lord!

Until next time...

"Where thou art, thou is home"

Emily Dickinson

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My Missionary Life Story: The Unexpected Journey of Faith, Trust & Simplicity

Everybody has a role model in their life that they look up to, learn from and follow in their steps. if I asked you who your role model is for what living simply is all about… what would be your answer? Your local farmer? Joel Salatin? Michael Pollan? Mother Teresa? The Amish?

Want to know my answer? Jesus Christ.

Jesus, God, came into this world as a babe in a humble, dirty stable through a simple girl named Mary. His birth celebrated by the shepherds and 3 wise men. He grew up loving the Laws of God. He was the carpenter’s son. Learned to make a honest wage to provide food for the family. He was described as simple in looks and attire. He raised up 12 uneducated men to walk alongside Him and learn from Him. He purposed daily to get away and spend time alone in prayer. He taught with all wisdom and authority. He showed power & strength through humility before His enemies. He kept His promises.

He lived simply… yet His life speaks powerfully to us today. His life is teaching you and me to choose to live a simple life not caught up in the world.

Through Him, I am learning that a simple life is accepting what I have and making the best of it rather then wishing for what I don’t have or can’t have.

Through Him, I am learning that a simple life is holding loosely to my plans and allowing God to make the final changes and direct my steps.

Through Him, I am learning that a simple life is living now, in the moment, with my family and living joyfully in all circumstances.

Through Him, I am learning that a simple life means to be humble and righteous in all that I do.

Through Him, I am learning that a simple life involves hardships, persecution and suffering.

Through Him, it means to take up the cross… sacrifice my life, my plans, my comforts, my stuff…  and follow Him.

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The Unexpected Journey

It has been over four years since we boarded the airplane in Chicago, bound for Costa Rica, with only 21 pieces of luggage & trunks that carried what was left of everything we had. We sold everything that would not fit in those trunks and suitcases.

That was the start of learning to let go of “stuff” and have less. I struggled going through all our possessions and deciding what we didn’t need to take with us. Now, I don’t even remember what those things were. I look back and remember how freeing it was to get rid of it all!

"I know how to live on almost nothing or with everything. I have learned the secret of living in every situation, whether it is with a full stomach or empty, with plenty or little. For I can do everything through Christ, who gives me strength." Philippians 4:12-13

We arrived thinking the vision for RO4Y would begin in Costa Rica, but it was just a time for God to prep us for Honduras. At the time we didn’t know that, but now we do. Honestly, if the Lord brought us straight to Honduras… I don’t think we would’ve stayed long. He knew that. He knew what we could and couldn’t handle at the time.

Now, It has been two years since we once again thinned down our possessions, loaded to the max our bus & my dad’s F-250, drove across two borders from Costa Rica to Honduras and began the wild journey of learning to trust, believe and live by faith simply in God’s hands.

If God sent an angel four years ago to tell me that my husband & I will be missionaries in a rural area of Honduras, with 3 kids and this angel gave me the details of everything that was going to happen to us in the past 4 year span...

My response would have been nothing like Mary’s.

"I am the Lord's servant. May everything you have said about me come true" Luke 1:38

My response would have been more like…

“Lord, I am never doing that! Can you find someone else? I can’t do that, I’m just a deaf mama. I don’t want to do that… I just want to have a simple life with a nice little house in New Mexico, a car that will get us around, a church where we can fellowship and the comforts of living in USA.”

Yeah, I am ashamed to say that would’ve been my response.

Since we moved to Honduras… God has brought us through fire to refine us, increase our faith in Him and make our life simpler so we can serve Him freely.

I was pulling ticks off my family everyday; showering with a garden hose outside; using a poorly built outhouse as a toilet; sharing a very small 3 bedroom Honduran mud-brick house with my parents; dealing with: animals coming through the roof & eating our food, a leaking roof and regular power outages; fighting against the termite swarms; killing 30+ flies a day; worrying about the health of my family; adjusting to difficult cultural changes and dealing with the cultural shock lasted through the first year of our life in Honduras.

Through it all… I learned to accept it, but I wearily wondered why God chose me for this role. Wondered if this simple life was really going to work for us. Wondered how I could handle all of it. God promised never to give me anything I couldn’t handle but I sure felt like I couldn’t handle this.

Why did He trust me so much?

I am learning to understand that it is not about how much He trusts me. It was about how much He trusts the work He has done in me. Preparing me for this simple life in rural Honduras.

I probably had more emotional breakdowns & tears that year than in my whole life. Through that dark and lonely time in my life… the Lord spoke to me through these verses:

“Have you never heard? Have you never understood? The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of all the earth. He never grows weak or weary. No one can measure the depths of his understanding. He gives power to the weak and strength to the powerless. Even youths will become weak and tired, and young men will fall in exhaustion. But those who trust in the Lord will find new strength. They will soar high on wings like eagles. They will run and not grow weary. They will walk and not faint” Isaiah 40:28-31

“My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” 2 Corinthians 12:9

“Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives, Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.” John 14:27

What really threw me into a turmoil was going from having access to a beautiful, huge farmer’s market in Costa Rica where the rich, organic bounty came from local farmers to an ugly, tiny spot on the ground they called a market in Honduras where the chemical-laden produce come in mass quantities from the city, not from local farmers.

Health is important to me. We truly believe that taking care of our bodies is essential to living life to the fullest for the Lord. How can we if we are distracted by sickness from eating bad food all the time? For me to go from buying 90% organic or clean food to less than 5% was a shock, but I learned to accept it… with tears and despair.

Why did God ask me to sacrifice so much?

So that He will get all the glory. God knows our situation and our heart’s desire to be healthy, live simple and fully… he has blessed that desire above and beyond what I thought was possible. No, we did not find organic or clean food, but He gave me a deep peace that helped me accept what I couldn’t have.

“So don’t worry about these things, saying, ‘what will we eat? What will we drink? What will we wear?’ These things dominate the thoughts of unbelievers, but your heavenly Father already knows all your needs. Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and He will give you everything you need. So don’t worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring its own worries. Today’s trouble is enough for today.” Matthew 6:31-34

"Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything." James 1:2-4

Embracing my Life

Into the second year, one beautiful morning, the Lord spoke to me. Not with thunder, but with soft breeze of a whisper.

My child, embrace the life I’ve given you!

That was the turning point for me. Not just to accept my life, but to embrace it with joy and victory. Embrace the hardships & simple life as a missionary alongside my Man and raising my 3 kids in rural Honduras.

I love that word… embrace!

Walking in Thankfulness

Next, came the realization that I needed to have the attitude of thankfulness.

To be thankful for the things that I most often complain about… the house we live in, the hardships and the discomforts of life as a missionary.

"Be thankful in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you who belong to Christ Jesus." 1 Thessalonians 5:18

"Let your roots grow down into him, and let your lives be built on him. Then your faith will grow strong in the truth you were taught, and you will overflow with thankfulness." Colossians 2:7

Instead of wasting energy fighting against God with my complaints, lack of contentment and trying to make things happen the way I want it to happen. I am now choosing to look through eyes of thankfulness. It isn’t always easy, but it is easier than fighting!

Well Done

It has been my heart’s desire that when I bow before the throne of the Lord, I will hear the words richly flow over me and into my healed ears, “Well done, my good and faithful servant”.

That alone will make everything I’ve gone through in this life worth it.

Is that your heart's desire too?

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My 'Hello Mornings' Challenge

Good morning y'all! Hope you all had a good start into the week.


It has been almost a month since I joined The "Hello Mornings" Challenge and I am happy to say that, overall, it is going really well.

I am finally learning to wake up in the mornings and say, "Hello Morning!" rather than groaning and rolling over to sleep for another 1/2 hour.

Really, I am a night owl and I don't like mornings.

But now that's slowly changing. Very slowly.

I still don't like getting up early, but I am loving my quiet time of digging in the Word, praying and worshiping the awe-inspiring God... that makes getting up at 5:45 worth it.

I've been in a dry place in my relationship with the Lord for too long now and finally feel like I've found my oasis... that beautiful, delicious spring of water in the midst of a desert. I leave my quiet time wanting more and can't wait for the day to end so that morning will come.

Not only that, but I have finally accept that the day for all of us go much smoother when I am up earlier, starting the day earlier and starting first with Jesus.

Honestly, it isn't easy.

I have my days where I just want to pull the covers over my head and tell my hubby to get his own breakfast, but that's my selfishness trying to ruin a brand new day.

It is my goal to be up and out of bed by 5:30 and in my spot for quiet hour by 5:40... I'm getting there, it is slow and hard, but I am getting there!

The challenge also includes being intentional with organizing and exercising. Truthfully, I haven't even tried adding in the exercise or organizing parts because I've been soaking in much needed time with the Lord every morning. I sit down and the hour just flies by! I often want to sit there another hour and keep going!

I am thinking I will add on the organizing in February and then exercise in March. Prayerfully those two will fall easily enough into the routine of my life as a missionary wife and mama! I know I won't have a problem with exercising, but organizing it a little bit more of a challenge. 

Why? I'm an artist and often do things more on the spontaneous side. Which isn't always the best approach in the life that we lead as missionaries. LOL! I think a healthy balance of flexibility with some structure is what I need... which fits my spontaneous personality much better than complete set routine, structure and organization.

You might understand or you might not, but trying to be completely organized and planned actually stresses me out. I like a little freedom to change things around if I want/need to and feel that I am putting myself in a prison if I stick to a schedule/routine.


So, if you are in the same boat in the struggle of getting up in the morning. Don't despair... check out this challenge and join in when they open registration in April for the summer session, but you can get their free ebook and start now. That's what I did. I actually read the ebook back in October and it inspired me to get the ball rolling because I've known for a while I needed to at least get my bum in bed earlier at night and outta bed earlier in the mornings!


I hope this will inspire you to take action what needs to change for the best!
Have a great week  ;o)

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DPP 2011 > A Plan & Purpose

Vivid red petals with golden drops of rain... the flower was made for me to enjoy its glory and beauty. To remind me that there is a Creator.


It didn't just happen... there was a plan and purpose for that flower. Just like there is a plan and purpose for you and me. It was planned for this flower to take root, grow and show off its vivid red glory for me to enjoy... for anybody who wants to take the time to enjoy its beauty.


The beauty that God surrounds us with is breath-taking.


Have you taken the time to stop, look around and admire the creation?


It was created for you and me... for our pleasure!


I can't tell you how many times I go through my days without taking a peep at the beauty outside my house.


I get busy and caught up on laundry, cooking and family... We all do.


What a difference it makes when I purposely take the time to stop, look and enjoy.


When I do that... I can feel the tension around my eyes fade away. My mind clears up. My lungs take in a deep refreshing breathe of air. My heart sings. My body feels restored.


I feel recharged and ready to finish the day with a song of praise in my heart... bursting out from my lips. I often noticed that my kids like hearing me sing, it relaxes them and it relaxes me.


Remember, enjoy what's around you... embrace the life you have... it will be gone in a moment.

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Strawberries & Thankfulness

Day before Thanksgiving day, I checked our small strawberry patch and what did I find?

Our first 2 beautiful, deliciously red & sun-riped strawberries!

It is simply crazy for me to think that in the USA everybody have finish up harvesting their garden bounties and huddling up for winter, while we are watching our strawberries flowery, forming and slowly growing.


This is my first time growing strawberries. I never thought it would be possible to grow strawberries up here, but they are growing beautifully & organically! 

They smelled earthy, fresh & sweet! My girls and I couldn't stop smelling them. Hmmm!


So, I had to hold the girls back from eating those two precious gems and wait for their Daddy to come home to share the love. Seriously, what is better than a simply strawberries & cream?

Now, on a different thought...


The night before Thanksgiving Day, like everybody else, I started thinking about things I was thankful for... Of course, there is so much and it comes naturally to think of all the good things when all is good.


But...


What about everything else I should be MORE thankful for? Having the attitude of thankfulness It a 24/7 choice we make. Not just on Thanksgiving Day!


So my thoughts changed direction... What things in life should I have the attitude of thankfulness?


Am I thankful when I might not have the house I want? Am I thankful for the things I already have? Am I thankful that God called my family to be missionaries? When my healthy son wakes me up in the middle of the night to nurse, am I thankful?


Are you thankful for that job, even when you don't like it or it doesn't pay well? Are you thankful for the trials in your life? Are you thankful when you struggle with your weight? Are you thankful for that car you have? Are you thankful for that person that bothers you?


Are you thankful for the life God has given you... good & bad?


"Let your roots grow down into him, and let your lives be built on him. Then your faith will grow strong in the truth you were taught, and you will overflow with thankfulness."
Colossians 2:7 (NLT)


"And let the peace that comes from Christ rule in your hearts. For as members of one body you are called to live in peace. And always be thankful. Let the message about Christ, in all its richness, fill your lives. Teach and counsel each other with all the wisdom he gives. Sing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs to God with thankful hearts."
Colossians 3:15-16 (NLT)


"Devote yourselves to prayer with an alert mind and a thankful heart."
Colossians 4:2 (NLT)


"Be thankful in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you who belong to Christ Jesus."
1 Thessalonians 5:18 (NLT)

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Embrace The Life I've Given You! (w/ Photos of Wild Lilies)

Couple weeks ago we were in awe of God's amazing, beautiful nature blooming right before our eyes. These wild lilies stretched their graceful heads out, slowly unfurled their beauty and released their sweet scent throughout the night...

It was like seeing, feeling and smelling heaven opening up before us. The warm breeze danced the sweet aroma around us, tickling our noses and causing gasps of delight...

When the first rays of sunlight peaked over the mountain, the lilies exploded with screams of glory to our Awesome God. I could just hear the sounds of praise and worship rising up all around us. Tears came to my eyes while looking through the lenses of my camera... trying to capture this pure beauty.

My throat tight... my heart pounding... my hands trembling as I knelt before this amazing beauty. Worship and praise burst from my heart up to my lips as the heavenly aroma washed over me. Tears spilled over, falling and joining the dew drops dazzling in the sunshine...

I imagined the breeze carrying the sweet, heavenly aroma being the Lord's breath upon me. Comforting me as the ache in my heart grew. The long year of hardship, loneliness and pain crashed over me, drowning me in the memories. I gasped and cried out...

"Lord, I don't think I can do this anymore! I want to run with joy, not limp with pain & sorrow... I want to dance with freedom, not fall down with burdens... I want to sing with peace, not moan with turmoil!" The pain shot through my soul, causing me to reach for my Savior's hand, surrendering...

A soft whisper touched my heart, "I started the good work in your life and will stay with you till the work is finally finished on the day I return. Remember, My grace is all you need. My strength and power is perfected in your weakness... My child, embrace the life I've given you!"

Embraced by my Lord's grace, warmth flowed through me. A song poured out from my mind, heart and soul - spilling through my lips...

Covered by the graceful flow

I come boldly to Your throne

A warm embrace, a gentle smile

With Your opened arms I enter in

So I stand in Your presence Lord

I lift my hands to honor

The God of all creation, the Lover of my soul

Father bring me to that place

Where I can clearly see Your face

I bend my knees and bow my head

The world around me, fades away

So I stand in Your presence Lord

I lift my hands to honor

The God of all creation, the Lover of my soul

I lift my voice as a sacrifice of praise

I'll live my days to bring glory to Your Name

Glory to Your Name, oh Lord

Glory to Your Name, oh Lord

So I stand in Your presence Lord

I lift my hands to honor

The God of all creation, the Lover of my soul

(Listen Here! I Stand In Your Presence - By Lindsay Skaar)

With a deep breathe, I stood on the solid ground of grace. Letting go of the past and moving forward, embracing the new day He has given me. With weak hands, I grabbed onto the rope of promise that He will never leave nor forsake me...

If I die with Him, I will also live with Him...

If I endure hardship, I will reign with Him...

If I deny Him, He will deny me...

If I am unfaithful, He remains faithful...

 For He cannot deny who He is...

I ran into my home, gathered my kids and brought them out to see the glory and beauty. Again, the Lord whispered to me, "Embrace the life I've given you!"

I will thank You, Lord, among all the people!
I will sing Your praises among the nations!

Psalm 57:9

This post is part of the Barn Hop @ Homestead Revival & 

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