Living From the Heart

Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness, that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, "Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented and fabulous?" Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small doesn't serve the world. There's nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won't feel insecure around you. We were born to manifest the glory of God that is within us...And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others. (Nelson Mandela)

John Eldredge says in his book, Waking the Dead, "It takes courage to live from your heart. How can you help others to freedom while you remain captive?" Mike and I have known that God has been preparing us for CLM for a long time but in these final weeks, He has spoken over and over about the importance of walking in His freedom. Our children here are bound by their past and by the lies they have heard from the enemy for so long. Their lives have been filled with confusion, discouragement, condemnation, and accusation...and God desires to restore their wounded hearts. Our prayer is that God will use us to model His freedom. This is difficult for me because I've lived somewhere between "fear of disappointing someone" and "guilt that I already have" for most of my life. I have seen glimpses of what His true freedom looks like and desire it for my life and for the children more than ever before. We know this battle will not be easily won...please pray with us as we invite the Holy Spirit to begin this process.

Matthew 5:16 So let your light shine so that others will glorify our Heavenly Father!