"Unless the Lord builds the house, those who build it labor in vain." Psalm 127:1
"...the builder of all things is God." Hebrews 3:4
This past week, both of these verses were in my reading for the day. The word "build" stuck out to me like it was written in red. I have been reflecting on these verses since then, trying to prayerfully consider what God was trying to say. And even now as I sit here to write out my thoughts, I remember that the name of our blog is "Kingdom Building" .... I'm seeing a theme here!
In these verses, what screams out to me is ...... "Give God the hammer!" How often do we take the hammer out of God's hands and try to "build" things on our own- whether it be our ministry, our reputation, our holiness, our personal growth, you name it. And yet, when we look in the Bible we find a repeated theme of God wanting us to submit our will, our plans, our everything to his control so that he can accomplish his plans.
And then I'm reminded of this verse:
" For in him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and unseen whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things have been created through him and for him . " Colossians 1:16
So for me, this theme has been a bite of the so-called "humble pie". I do not do myself or my Savior any favors by trying to work, work, work. In fact, I work in vain. But when I hand the Lord the hammer and let him do the building and creating- what he has been doing since the beginning of time ... Jesus is glorified, I'm not burnt out, and there is fruit - in season!
We are getting ready to head home to the States and we have been contemplating all the conversations we will have updating people on the 8 months we have spent so far in the Dominican Republic. And ya know, it has not been what we expected! It has been unexpectedly hard and good in different areas. But one thing I can confidently proclaim is that the Lord is "building the house" ... and his kingdom, for that matter! It does not look like what we thought it would, but we are trying daily to "hand over the hammer" so that the Lord can do his work and nothing is done in vain.
Ministry / Family Updates:
- Gabe is 10 months old, is now an expert crawler and is exploring other forms of getting around (climbing up and off things ....)! He continues to be such a source of JOY in our lives, we are excited to spread that joy while back in the States.
- We have reevaluated our budget / current funds / ongoing needs and have determined that some more support raising will need to take place while we are home! I think some unexpected costs that are taking a toll on our budget are: gas at $6/gallon, car repairs (mountain driving can be tough on a car!), ongoing baby expenses, and the list of things that cost 2x more here than in the States. We are hoping to raise between $ 300 and $ 500 more per month.
A huge thanks for all of your support and prayers!
Blessings,
Jamie, Matthew and Gabe
