Though it Linger

We are back in our home in the beautiful Western Cape of South Africa after two weeks traveling with our 5 kids to a missions retreat. It was a hairy ride up and a beautiful one back. Sometimes I feel like we barely survive traveling with kids (read about our trip here) but you know I will be doing it again! Grace and short-term memory loss help with the thought of such future travels ;-).

I’ve been wanting to share this post with you for a few weeks. I’m excited for two reasons. One, Oswald Chambers captured my attention with this deep and potent word, and I am still stirred by it. Two, our friend Janelle Willis took this amazing picture and when I saw it, I knew…Habakkuk 2:3. If she had hurried the photo, the colors of brilliance would be weak. The timing was just so. Thank you, Janelle, for sharing your stunning photo.

If we lose “the heavenly vision” God has given us, we alone are responsible—not God. We lose the vision because of our own lack of spiritual growth. If we do not apply our beliefs about God to the issues of everyday life, the vision God has given us will never be fulfilled. The only way to be obedient to “the heavenly vision” is to give our utmost for His highest—our best for His glory. This can be accomplished only when we make a determination to continually remember God’s vision. But the acid test is obedience to the vision in the details of our everyday life—sixty seconds out of every minute, and sixty minutes out of every hour, not just during times of personal prayer or public meetings.

“Though it tarries, wait for it . . .” (Habakkuk 2:3). We cannot bring the vision to fulfillment through our own efforts, but must live under its inspiration until it fulfills itself. We try to be so practical that we forget the vision. At the very beginning we saw the vision but did not wait for it. We rushed off to do our practical work, and once the vision was fulfilled we could no longer even see it. Waiting for a vision that “tarries” is the true test of our faithfulness to God. It is at the risk of our own soul’s welfare that we get caught up in practical busy-work, only to miss the fulfillment of the vision. Watch for the storms of God. The only way God plants His saints is through the whirlwind of His storms. Will you be proven to be an empty pod with no seed inside? That will depend on whether or not you are actually living in the light of the vision you have seen. Let God send you out through His storm, and don’t go until He does. If you select your own spot to be planted, you will prove yourself to be an unproductive, empty pod. However, if you allow God to plant you, you will “bear much fruit” (John 15:8).
Obedience to the Heavenly Vision, Oswald Chambers

These words resonate soundly in my spirit. Do you have a vision from the Lord? God sent us to very southernmost place in Africa, Cape Town, with a dream and vision to disciple, train, and help lead a generation of young adults in reaching the unreached. You know what is odd in a wonderful sort of way? We are finally old enough to be ‘fathers’ and ‘mothers’ towards the younger crowd. We are at that age when we can be more than just a few steps ahead but really influence a younger generation. I love it!

God is stirring up my dreams. Dreams I had when I was 19 and 20 that were either just begun and then put on hold or stayed in the seed form altogether. Honestly I let some of these dreams die. It was easier that way, especially in the harried season of birthing babies and diapers and nursing and sleep deprivation.

It is exciting (and daunting…) to be reminded of dreams and vision again. Some days I feel like there is no way I can be of any use to anyone, not even knowing if I should start with the laundry or the dishes or getting myself dressed before lunchtime. And homeschooling? What grade are my kids in again??

Can you relate to this?

But then there is the storm of God, when God sends you out, and decides it’s time for you to be released. I love how Chambers says we must live under the inspiration of the vision until it fulfills itself. God has a way of working in us as we wait it out, of planting desire in our spirits and then as we work out our salvation he waters those seeds and they sprout and begin to produce life.

How has it happened in your life? Looking back on the last 15 years, I have changed and grown so much. But it’s interesting to note that my dreams and vision have not changed but rather matured. Much like that rock hard avocado I bought the other day. After what felt like a generation of waiting, it was finally ripe and perfect for our favorite food…guacamole!

I am still in the early to middle stage of raising our children, of being a homemaker, of learning how to love my husband and build the nations of the earth through our family. This is my first calling, focus, and passion of my heart. I suppose 95% of my time and energy is spent on being the keeper of our home. Yet God in his brilliant goodness can anoint all hours of the day, even in the life of a stay-at-home-missionary-homeschooling-wife-and-mother to bring forth fruit and fulfillment.

Be encouraged that God can cause us to dream dreams again! I am thankful for these words of wisdom today as we carry on raising our 5 disciples but also walk forward with a vision to tear down darkness in our culture and build up sons and daughters from all nations of the earth.

I Will Give Them a Crown of Beauty

As I write this, it is Gabrielle’s 5th birthday, and a new tradition is begun. We take turns with each of our kids to have a special “date” with dad. This ranges from a trip to the grocery store (special to be alone when you have four other siblings vying for this privilege!) or out for a milkshake. Once it even involved shopping for clothes at a Thrift Store.

But today, on her birthday, it’s G’s turn. I fully expect her to in be in complete princess regalia as she goes out to breakfast with her Daddy. As the news spread through our home that G is going out for a birthday breakfast with Dad, each child smiled and commented wistfully…”I want to do that.” It certainly helps that our favorite restaurant in South Africa gives a voucher for a free kids meal on their birthday!

It is so important for Dads to make a habit of filling up their daughter’s hearts with words and actions of love, affirmation, affection. It’s easy for me to smother my kids with love and kisses. Yes, they need that too. But something different happens when their father kneels down and looks them in the eye and says, “You’re beautiful.”

“A father-daughter relationship is the God-ordained birthplace of true beauty in a young woman. Just as God spoke words into a formless void and the world came into being at creation, a father’s words create beauty, security, and confidence in a daughter. When words of blessing, looks of love, and pure touch have gone forth from a father and done their work in a daughter’s spirit, she is not drawn to the other voices that may want to lure her. She is not dependent on those other voices to validate her because she has already been securely validated in her beauty through her father.

There has been a lot of talk about spiritual warfare in recent years. If you want to fight hell and the powers of darkness that seek to destroy the hearts of our daughters, I know a type of spiritual warfare that creates value in a daughter’s spirit. It is called “Taking your Daughter out for Tea” or “Going to Her Soccer Game,” and it works in direct opposition to the agenda of hell and darkness that wants to destroy their lives. They need our time, attention, questions, and interest.”

Jim Anderson, Unmasked, pgs. 44,48

We are so thankful for this princess, this daughter of the King; for her delightful spirit, easy smile, and way of bringing out the best in people.

The Mountain I Climbed

“The only problem with a busy schedule,” my husband said recently, “is that we lose speed when our feet touch the ground!” He took this beautiful picture in the slide above while doing some good, old fashioned character building with our son.

But it’s true! Our family can run on adrenaline for a while, but at some point, something has gotta give. When our feet do touch the ground, I feel like our family can get a stress fracture and then its time to do damage control.

In the uncanny wisdom of Dr. Seuss, “You can get so confused that you’ll start in to race down long wiggled roads at a break-necking pace.” I’m not an advocate of running at the break-necking pace of the western culture. I have no problem with saying ‘no’ to events, meetings, outings and activities. Being busy is not necessarily better! I see my job as a mom in part as the Gatekeeper of the Home. To protect, guard, and sustain our home. Nothing gets in or goes out without going through that gate!

Recently, due to an unusually high amount of activities we’ve committed to, I’ve had to put the brakes on the kids and I attending evening activities. It is so refreshing to be home, get the kids to bed on time with a bath and story, and keep our hearts quiet. Instead of wearing ourselves thin with too much busyness, we are trying to live and parent intentionally.

So, to get to the point of this post! A couple months ago my husband and I sat down with the chief task of writing out a plan on how we want to Live on Purpose in regards to our family. We used 2 Peter 1:5-8 as a starting point in identifying the values we want to pass onto our children. It is by no means a perfect plan, but it gives us a reference point to intentional parenting and building a strong family identity. I’m learning we need to set goals and cast the vision for our family if we want to raise up a godly generation. Or else by default the world will do it for us.

A central value in developing our little disciples is Good Character. Of course this has been drilled into me since my days in Master’s Commission! On the list of character qualities we are hoping to develop in our kids is perseverance. To quote one of my favorite authors and the inspiration for our Living on Purpose plan, Sally Clarkson, “Teaching your child how to endure and how to wait with grace could change the whole story of their lives.”

Perseverance…the ability to strain ahead, endure, press on, strong inner resolution.

Perseverance is something that’s easy to get practical with. We’ve all learned it, to varying degrees. For me, the very best catalyst to develop perseverance is to be physically challenged in the outdoors. Where the natural elements of nature meet the spiritual. Its one thing to talk about perseverance while reading a book about it; its entirely another to talk about perseverance when you’re clobbering a mountain one heavy footstep at a time. Or when you are pushing through the middle mile in a 5k, 10k or if you are like my extreme-sport-loving brother in law, a marathon.

So we decided to make a point to physically challenge our kids through hikes, sports, and exercise in general. Which is some of the reason why we have a full-er schedule than normal! We are blessed to live in a place with ample opportunity for anything you might want to try, so the challenge is more to eliminate all the rest. My husband is training for a ministry trip to an unreached people group in the Himalayan mountains of Nepal. It will be an arduous trek, over several 16,000 foot mountain passes. When our six year old son heard wind of a hike up the Helderberg to train with his dad, there was little we could do to prevent him from going with! In his mind, all he would need is a peanut-butter sandwich or two and he could easily conquer that peak.

He came back, four hours later, puffy and swollen, bruised, covered in red dirt,  scraped knees, holes in his shirt, and the tennis shoes that were almost done-in are now officially scrap material. After a soak in the tub…he went to bed! How many six year old boys do you know who tell you they need a nap?

But he learned something of perseverance, and before my eyes, he grew up a little bit. Now, when we drive past the Helderberg Mountain on our way to Cape Town, he reminds me…”See mom? That’s the mountain I climbed.”

As parents we aim to teach our kids the ability to strain ahead, endure, and press on through hard things in order to reach the goal of the upward call of God. Sometimes, it’s just carrying that heavy shopping bag home or finishing a tough math assignment. Later on in life overcoming challenges becomes more complex. We want all of our kids to look back and say…”That’s the mountain I climbed.”

Its Always Sunny on Tuesdays (part II)

My sister flew down all the way from Alaska with her three kids! I am so excited and blessed. For the first time in four years, we have everyone together in the same place at the same time. Evangeline loves to chew on her two fingers…perhaps taking after a certain aunt who is holding her in this photo? The cousins are having a blast together and we make quite a ruckus with 10 kids age 9 and under.

Tucker and Uncle Jeremiah. Like the pink wall? Jeremiah thank you for bringing your family to see us before we leave…

Hope working on her swing! Last softball game of the season tonight. We are so thankful for a great coach who patiently instructed a team of 7-8 year olds…through the scraped knees, pre-game butterflies, and a few tears.

I am proud to announce that Gert is now a US Citizen!! We started this process back in September and are so blessed to see our hard work come to fruition. Yes, he is a citizen just in time to leave the US. This is crucial for our family as we prepare to go into missions. Now, we will all hold the same passport [big sigh of relief]. Amazingly enough, even though we were told it wasn’t possible for him to have dual-citizenship, he was granted permission by S. Africa and can retain his citizenship there too. Sometimes its good to not take ‘no’ for an answer. There were 31 nations represented at the Naturalization ceremony, from places like Liberia, Congo, Vietnam, Belarus, Ukraine, Canada, the UK, Mexico, El Salvador and Burma. All in little ol’ Spokane, WA. The judge welcomed the newly naturalized citizens with unexpected warmth and good wishes. We truly have a great nation as we embrace new nationalities as part of our own.

Its a great Tuesday so far. How are you experiencing the favor of God on your life this week?

Give Forward

https://www.giveforward.com/fundraiser/l922/hansenhealing#

Meet the Hansen Family. Steve and Tonya with their children Samuel, Rachel, Hannah and Daniel. Tonya and I crossed paths in Nepal, when she was serving an internship for her Bible College and I was serving with Operation Mobilization. Even then, her faith and strength in the Lord inspired and encouraged me. She was living with the nationals, dealing with far more immersion into the Nepali culture than I was. Now and then, she and I and another American friend would sneak away to the tourist district of Kathmandu for a brownie fudge sundae. Somehow those brownie fudge sundaes would sooth the ache of homesickness enough to face to crowded, jostling, smelly city for yet another few weeks.

I wouldn’t have imagined what God might call Tonya to do. She is the mother of four beautiful children, two of whom have cystic fybrosis. Their lives have taked a dramatic turn as she and Steve minister to their children. We are asking God for miracles for this family. For a supernatural healing. And for a financial miracle. The medical expenses are staggering. A fund has been started for the Hansen family. If we can all donate $20, even $10 to this family, it WILL make a difference. Read their story here.

I would like to humbly ask you to prayerfully consider helping get the word out about this fund. We know that you have your own facebook network of people, churches, etc. Would you please consider sharing the link and the need to your networks, churches, prayer groups etc to give if they feel led too? It doesn’t matter the amount, as you know every penny counts and is greatly appreciated.

Again, here is the link. You can copy and paste this link into any FB post or email that you would share with your friends so people would go to their fund website.

Blessings!

Molly

Not a Hero…wiping the mud off today

Today is Easter Sunday. I had grand plans for this weekend. We were going to put on a play, re-enacting the crucifixion. I was going to get up early and take the kids to the sunrise service and family breakfast at our church. But then just like dominoes falling, my kids got sick. I medicated them enough to get us to church, mostly so they could wear their easter outfits they’d been saving in their closets for the better part of a month. I tried to contain the hacking and coughing and snot to the back row. Maybe I shouldn’t have taken them to church. I’m missing my husband today especially. We are not even half-way through his month long trip to Africa and I’m ready for him to come home now. Our king-sized bed has been taken over by one child who is waking up with nightmares and insomnia, another who no matter how many times I return her to her own bed she re-appears in mine, and another sweet baby whom I nurse to sleep. I’m usually too tired to return her to her crib so she cuddles with me. Shhhh…don’t tell anyone. I wake up in the morning wondering if I went to sleep.

I should feel more spiritual than this. After all, Easter Sunday is the pinnacle of our faith. The resurrected life. Someone called me the ‘hero missionary’ the other day and I can’t explain how wrong this is. I am no hero. Since we have determined to move our family to the mission field, I have struggled more than I can remember with my flesh. I feel like I’ve been found out. I’m not in as good of shape as I thought. My spirit has been conditioned to having my needs met and being under-challenged. Now that more is being asked of us, my spiritual muscles are proving to be sore and not strong enough. Living a life of faith is tough. God knows we can fake it, when our needs are being met. But what happens when things we depend on our stripped away? Where do we turn for strength? Do we lash out at others? Raid the bag of leftover peanut m&m’s? I’m afraid I’m guilty of both.

Jesus, in your wisdom and loving touch, wipe the mud off my eyes today. I want to see clearly the hope you’ve laid before us. You endured the pain and suffering of the cross without blaming anyone, without complaint. Your heart rested in obedience to the Father. Today let my heart rest in obedience to you. I don’t put confidence in my flesh and I thank you for strengthening my spirit. You know what lies ahead and the endurance we will need.

My middle daughter asked if she could wash our feet on Good Friday. This wasn’t in my plans. As she carefully washed and dried our feet, smiling from ear to ear, my heart burned within me. Jesus came to serve, to find joy in doing the dirty work no one wants to do. He did not come to be served, to be the hero-God and live a lavish life. He didn’t strive to ‘be somebody.’

I am so grateful our God is alive. He is the hero. He gets the glory.

Settling into Steven’s County

An early spring has lightly rested on us in Eastern Washington. Its beyond wonderful to rest and enjoy the beautiful mountains, pine needles and tall evergreen trees. I even fought my way into my running shoes this week and made it all of two miles. Part of me wants to just pick up 20 acres of this amazing mountainside and settle in here. But there is a restlessness to our life, a feeling that we don’t belong here. God is keeping the fire burning in us as we prepare to move overseas. Here are a few pictures of our month’s activities!

They LOVE Awana. There’s something for everyone, and my kids are learning the Word of God at a rate I’ve never seen. This is an unexpected blessing to our family.

No one can make her laugh like Hope can.

Little Eva…or Bluejay…Evangeline has a myriad of nicknames so far. We’ll see which one sticks.

Quilt my mom made for Hope, with one of her old shirts.

St. Patrick’s Day wreath. For the first time EVER I am having fun doing crafts with the kids! The messes used to stress me out too much. I guess it took 5 kids for me to quit caring if we paint the walls with glue and glitter.

Chloe before we bottle-fed the calves (thank you for the hats Pat Sherman!). Last week we got our kids dirty on a friend’s dairy farm. It was a great adventure! We had so much fun. This is what I love about homeschooling.

Hope, the only brave one. And yes, the kids did make the connection between mom’s nursing the baby and milking a cow! There have been some great conversations around our household lately…

Born just 12 hours ago

The Pantry. Toshelle is amazing! I could learn so much from this girl! She does it all…dairy farmer’s wife, canning, sprouting, grinding grain, yogurt, cheese-making, the whole bit.

The Latest

Main Street, Chewelah, WA. As my sister says, our own little Shire.

Valentine’s Day Tea. We served our guests rooibos and oh-so-good sugar cookies, brie, and green apples.

Lake Roosevelt in February. So many memories here. It was a privilege to share this experience with my kids.

Ferry to Inchelium, WA on the Colville Indian Reservation. We shared at Inchelium Community Church and drove through St. Michael’s Mission. Our childhood home looks much better in my memory before we moved off the reservation!

Baby Evangeline is four weeks old. We cannot imagine life without her! Thank you God for a new life and new destiny in you. You have ordained praise from her lips to silence your enemies. I am feeling much better after a quite awful post-partum experience. My husband is glad to have his wife back! We are plugging away with homeschool hoping to catch up from the 5 weeks we took off in December. We love and miss our dear friends in Missouri and our little house in the woods. But we press on toward the goal in Christ Jesus! No looking back. Hugs from the Roets’.

Passports and Babies and Missing Abs

Inland Northwest Winter

 

As Gert walked into the USCIS office in Kansas City for a much-prayed over interview and test, to his surprise, he was greeted by the agent in Afrikaans. Immediately he was put at ease by this friendly, almost familiar agent (not usually the case!). His interview lasted all of 15 minutes, his briefcase full of paperwork unnecessary, and his test aced. The only unfinished business is the fact that we now live in a different area of jurisdiction and will have to wrap things up in the Northwest. God’s favor is surely amazing.

In an ironic gesture from the Lord, his passport, which we’ve sought after for more than 14 months, arrived at our house in WA as Gert was sitting on the airplane waiting to take off. As it turned out, he was not asked to present it at the interview. Since neither Fed Ex nor UPS could guarantee overnight delivery on a Saturday afternoon, we emailed a copy and hoped that would be sufficient. Of course the Lord knew he wouldn’t need it, but still provided it as if to say, ‘I am the maker of the heavens and earth, you know…’

He also had a meaningful time with Pastor Vijen and his congregation. Several good evenings of conversation and sharing challenges, frustrations, and concerns together as well as a good hour of laughter over these Tim Hawkins videos. Do yourself a favor sometime and workout your abs with his humor!

My abs are a thing of the past, and Thursday will mark 40 weeks of pregnancy. We had a false alarm the other night, I tested my husband’s paramedic-heightened adrenaline and quickly got my bag packed and the carseat out. We do have a 60 minute drive to the hospital so he is on call in case we shouldn’t make it there in time! I do covet your prayers for strength, speed, safety and peace over this labor and delivery. Hopefully the next update will include pictures of our new baby.

We love hearing from you! Please let us know how we can be praying for you in your challenges, frustrations, and concerns.

 

Photo Credit

Cold, Gray January and Loving It.

Cold, Gray January and Loving It.

The last two weeks since Christmas have been full. Full of cozy nights with lots of snow, trying out new flavors of tea, burning scented candles, crafts with Grandparents, learning how to live in a (very) small town again, full of bundled-up walks, sick days with the stomach flu, trying to get into a homeschool routine again, watching home movies, eating yummy scones and muffins coming out of Fast Eddy’s home bakery, and a fun shopping and movie date with my dear husband. All the while knowing, in the pit of my stomach, that our days here with my family are numbered. I am enjoying them so much, but it is with hard knowledge that it will be time to say goodbye soon.

Meanwhile, I am SO ready to have this baby! I’ll be 38 weeks on Thursday of this week. Maybe you heard the Roets’ joke of the year. In the craziness of selling our house, moving across country and preparing to move across the ocean, one single box was misplaced. This box contained nothing other than ALL my baby clothes –boy and girl—which was supposed to accompany us here in Washington. Instead, this box will be waiting for us at a port in Cape Town, whenever we arrive. I have enjoyed the suspense of not knowing the gender of our baby up until now! It would help to know what to hunt for! So we are searching thrift stores, clearance racks, and asking friends for any gender-neutral baby clothes, burp cloths, and blankets. Thank you to Allison for the use of a beautiful heirloom bassinet! I promise we’ll take care of it!

Gray Days

Monday I meet my new doctor in Spokane. I’ve heard wonderful things about him and am trusting the Lord for an uncomplicated, quick delivery full of joy and the Holy Spirit.

We miss our home, Lake Family Church, and friends. But we’ve found a church here that we love, and are so far enjoying the hour plus commute on Sundays, which happens to take us right by Starbucks. Remember Washington is the land of the espresso stand on every corner!

Gert will be flying out to Kansas City January 12-15 for his Naturalization interview, test, and hopefully oath. We ask your prayers for this upcoming weekend:

1)      We must have his RSA Passport for the interview, and have not received it. Please pray we get this passport in the mail by Wednesday of this week.

2)      Pray for his interview to go smoothly, to pass the test, and that he can take his oath the same day in KC.

3)      Pray that I do not go into labor between the dates of January 12-15!! Before or after is great 😉

4)      Blessed time with our friends Pastor Vijen and Anthea in Kansas City.

Call Gert while he’s back in our home of Missouri! He’d love to hear from you or get together with you if you’ll be in the KC area.

Please consider leaving a comment or prayer request here on our blog or emailing, texting, or phoning us! We want to hear from you.

Molly for the Roets’

 

 

 

**Photo from Mike’s Gone Fishin’