A Vapor. A Mist. Once here and quickly gone.

JAMES 4:14 ESV 

Yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes.

We've all heard it before... Life is short. Live it up while you can. You aren't promised tomorrow. Eat dessert first (or maybe it is just my Dad that quotes and lives by that rule.)

Car accidents. Cancer. Suicide. Domestic violence. Just four of the ways I seen lives quickly go over the last few years. I've stepped back and attempted to examine each death. The mourners. The reactions. The lost life. The ones left behind. The hope or lack there of.

I started writing this post almost a week ago, but the words weren't there. I wanted to be able to grab people and shake them with my words because it would be assault if I actually did it. I was mad that people reminisced about the times they got drunk with a person they found out had passed or did something crazy with that person or other nonsense. I wanted to tell people to stop messing around. Stop playing house. Stop living for yourself. Stop relying on others to keep you happy. Stop sinning on purpose. Stop.

Stop and turn. Turn to the One who cares for you enough to have a friend call just when you need it. Turn to the One who is there waiting for you to accept His gift of salvation. Turn to the One that you don't think is even there for you... who didn't answer your prayer the way you wanted Him to... who will walk with you through your loss and your hurt and your rough days, but not take them away. Turn.

You have turned? Great. Your job is not done. Your eyes will wander from the goal. You will trip and fall. You will mess up. You will question whether you were saved... whether you really meant it when you said it. You may wonder for years if He even cares for you while you feel He is so far away. You will forget to talk to Him while you are busy struggling with your own problems or relishing in what you've done well. You will read His word and skim through because you have read it before. You will feel guilty. You will realize that this path is hard. Persevere. Struggle to be right with Him. He is Faithful even when you are not. He is a worthy goal. He is the prize.

Here is where I haven't done as well...

Point. Point everyone to Him. All the time. In every circumstance. On good days. On bad days. On days you screw up. On days you have done it right. Point people to Him. People are lost! They know of Him, but they don't know Him. Point everyone. Your kids. Your friends. Strangers. Your family. Your coworkers. None of you are promised tomorrow. When they are gone... when you can't tell them... when there are no more opportunities to tell where your hope comes from... Point to Him now. Not tomorrow. Not when your done partying with your friends this weekend. Not when it "feels" right. Not when you aren't busy. Now.


You are vapor. I am a vapor. Let the perfume of our Risen Saviour that we immerse ourselves in be inhaled by all near us.

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WE GOT OUR I-171H!! Our approval to return to the USA with orphans... just not ours specifically yet :) Thank God!

We are now waiting on our affidavit and then court date. A.maze.ing.

A family in Georgia is leaving this weekend for the orphanage and is taking our photo book to hand deliver to our kids. I can barely type that without tearing up. I can't thank them enough!

One week.
You have one week to buy a raffle ticket for the crossbow. 71 sold. We were hoping to sell 200, but now we are hoping for 100. Matt REALLY wants to do the drawing on the 30th so the owner has time to site it in before deer season. Help us out. Share it. 1 for $10 or 3 for $25! Great odds!

Four to six weeks.
We may leave in 4 to 6 weeks. I have just 20 puzzle pieces left to sponsor. If you sponsored a piece and haven't given me the info on what you would like on yours, please contact me. I would like to have all of it sponsored, filled out, and put in Plexiglas before we leave. This will be something our family treasures forever.

OCTOBER 19th
BOTH HANDS PROJECT.
Volunteers will be working on a widows house and getting sponsored (like a Relay for Life, but this is more of a rescue mission.) If you or your missions team or your relief ministry would like to be involved PLEASE contact Matt (sfmatt@comcast.net) It doesn't get much better than serving a widow and three orphans at the same time!! Our link will be live soooooon!
www.BothHands.org/Matt-and-Desiree-Williams

God blessed Donna (Lanexa, VA) with 28 years of marriage before her husband was called home in 2002. Even with breaking 3 vertebrae, she still cares for 3 of her 10 grandchildren and has opened her home indefinitely to her sister. “This feels awkward… I want you to know that who I am, and what I have done is for God’s glory.”

Help us bless this beautiful woman and bring Margaret, Joel, and Kenneth home!