Live Dead Challenge

Live Dead. What a strange statement. How can two simple words, portraying two completely opposite concepts, be put together into a single statement and make sense to someone? Having been a believer nearly my entire life, I am still trying to fully understand not only what that means for me as a follower of Jesus, but also what that looks like in a tangible, practical every day way. Jesus says in Luke 9:23-24, "“Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me. For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will save it", and while sometimes this means actually losing one's life to a physical death caused by their belief in Jesus, more often than not I hear those words and the inherent call to a daily commitment of dying to selfish thoughts, selfish ambitions and worldly desires and doing everything for the sake of Jesus and bringing Him glory.

So, our church has given us a challenge for the month of January, which is to devote ourselves to spending extravagant daily time with God. As a medium to help us do that, we are going through The Live Dead Journal which is a compilation of devotions written by missionaries all over the world and focused on what it means to truly "live dead". On the back of the journal is their explanation of what it means to live dead: "To live dead is to live life wholly for Jesus. To die to self, knowing God will do a greater work through you. To announce the life of God among those who are unreached."

I read that and my heart aches. One, because I know I still have a LONG way to go in my faith journey, and as much as I want to say I live dead every day of my life, I know I don't. Not even close. My heart also aches because I know what joy and peace can be known through a relationship with the one, true living God and I want others to know how that feels too! Many of the missionaries featured in the journal serve in areas of the world where the name of Jesus is completely foreign, but there are also some that serve here in the states. Yes, believe it or not, there are people here that don't know the true heart of Christ. Because of that often forgotten truth, Brett and I are committed to serving college age students in Salt Lake City. There are so many students, in Salt Lake City and across the nation, who don't know the name of Jesus, and we have seen so many more that have a distorted view of what it means to truly follow Him. Imagine what could happen if these students, who are beginning to explore and search for their place in the world, found the God who loves them, and who is watching, waiting and yearning for them to come home? (Insert goosebumps here...)

Needless to say, I am excited for the next 28 days and what God is going to teach me through reading and praying through this journal. I want to discover, even more intimately, His heart for His lost children and I want to be able to share and show that heart to those who need it the most. As Dietrich Bonhoeffer said "when Christ calls a man, he bids him come and die", and it is only then that we find out what it means to truly live.

Lots of Thoughts.

So, I've done a lot of thinking this past week. Like most of you, this week has conjured up thoughts of Jesus and His miraculous birth, and the incomprehensible decision for Him to come to earth for sinner's sake. These things humble me, baffle me and overwhelm me with thankfulness for what this holiday really represents. Like many of you, this week has also caused me to look forward, with anticipation, to a new year and be hopeful for the change, growth and new opportunities that it will bring (which for me includes keeping up on this blog on any sort of consistent basis!) Now, unlike most of you, there is one more significant life event that this week holds in store for our family that has given my mind so much to chew on lately - my son's birthday.

Yes, it is so hard for me to believe even as I sit here typing it but, Jonathan turns 1 year old tomorrow! At 4:42 pm tomorrow, I will officially be the mother of a one year old little boy, and as I stroll through the memories that occupy my mind, my heart swells with so many emotions. Thankfulness, because God (for some reason still unknown to me) decided to bless me with one of the sweetest, most loving, most handsome, incredibly intelligent babies I have ever met. Pride, because I know that someday this child will grow up to do so many great things, and I will be able to proudly boast to others that he is "mine". Blessed beyond measure, because I have been able to experience something that I know many women will go their entire lives wishing they could experience. Anticipation, for what the future holds just barely out of reach, things yet to be discovered about our son. Humbled, that God trusted me and Brett enough to take care of this little life that He so carefully and thoughtfully created.

So, on this, the eve of the anniversary of our entrance into parenthood, I sit in awe of the 9 lb. 7.5 oz. present he brought us on December 30th, 2010. This gift, we named Jonathan Alan Ricley, and I will forever be grateful to God for choosing me to be his mommy.

40 Days Later...

I must have amnesia. Apparently I made a promise on here not too long ago, that after failing miserably to keep the cyber world informed of our pregnancy journey, I would do better to blog about the happenings in our life from now on as it relates to our growing family. Whoops :) Seems as though I didn't keep that promise very well. So in honor of my aunt (who gently reminded me this weekend that I hadn't blogged in quite some time!), here I am to take another crack at this whole "being a good blogger" deal.

So, what has happened in the 40 days since I last blogged?

- We took a trip to Austin, Texas March 3rd-5th for some support raising training. That meant we had to leave Baby J for the first time since he was born. Now, Brett was used to being away from him due to work, but up until this point, I had not left him with anyone (other than Brett) for more than about 2 hours. Needless to say, it was super tough, and I definitely cried when I drove away without him the day we left. It was a rough 3 days for me, but Jonathan was fine and my parents loved having him while we were gone!

- Probably the biggest news we have to share from the past 40 days is the fact that Brett has officially quit his full-time security job to put all of his time and energy into support raising. We fully believe that God has called us to do ministry in Salt Lake City with Impact Campus Ministries, and because of that belief we are committed to doing everything we can to get out there as soon as possible, i.e. the decision for Brett to quit his job. Our goal is to be fully funded by the beginning of August so we can be there for the start of the school year, and so far God is doing some amazing things and working on our behalf to make that happen! (For those of you who are completely lost and may not know what I'm talking about, you can check Brett's blog for more details about what is going on with him in regards to ministry).

- We are also planning to move out of the house we are renting very soon! While I am definitely not looking forward to moving all of our stuff again - (3rd move in less than 3 years) - I am excited to downsize/simplify a little and know that we are one step closer to being in Salt Lake. As of right now, the plan is to move into a small cottage we've been offered by some friends from church until we leave for SLC. That means its time to start packing & cleaning and hopefully getting stuff together for a yard/garage sale before we move out! Lots to do, not lots of time!

- Oh yeah, and then there's Jonathan!! He officially rolled over for the first time on March 24th, and while I think the majority of the credit goes to his heavy noggin' we are excited to see all his developments! He's also smiling a lot has the beginnings of some adorable giggles! Here's the video of him rolling over if you didn't get to see it on Facebook!






I think that's about it. While the last 40 days have been filled with adventure, fear, some hardship and lots of unknowns, it has also been filled with lots of joy, happiness, excitement and anticipation for the future!