New Beginnings

Coming to live in Nampa, Idaho has been a gradual acceptance of new and familiar things.  Although it would have been nearly impossible to have welcomed the sights and sounds of horses, cows, and barns a year ago, the Lord saw it fit that we would make country living our new humble abode. We are thankful to the Lord for allowing us to move into a home that He provided while we train with our MAF-Learning Technologies team for our field assignment of San Jose, Costa Rica.

I must confess that Tony was the first to take the DMV's written driver's test. He passed the test with flying colors but I hesitated in doing so because I wanted to retain my California driver's license for as long as I could. The thought that I had to relinquish my CA license and pursue another identification other than my cherished Southern California one, was not something I was prepared to do.

It was early in the morning when the Lord spoke to me through the book of John. In John chapter 12 verses 25 through 27,  Jesus tells his disciples that the man/woman who loves his life will lose it. In addition, Jesus mentions in verse 26, "..whoever serves me must follow me, and where I am, my servant will be also." In an instant, I felt the Holy Spirit softly correct me. The realization that I was clinging to an identity that was marked by state and zip code and not on the one who saved me from sin was enough for me to ask Jesus to forgive me and help me surrender to what He wants to accomplish in my heart minus the futility of my residence status.

Thank goodness for new beginnings. Not long after I prayed and asked God to give me a set of godly lenses that I began to appreciate and accept where He had me......not Orange County, not California but a different garden from where I would grow and bloom as a servant of the Living God.
-Laura

Enjoying a summer day with some horsies.

Snow cone shacks are prominent throughout town.

Our bike trail includes pretty vistas

Nearby pond is calling our name

A street sign that warms the heart

An old tractor sits at the end of our greenbelt