“if my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land.” http://bible.us/2Chr7.14.NIV

(We are now on Day 25…  but the sentiment remains)
We are on the third day of a 40 day fast.  So far I am not going all the way but I am trying to be sensitive to what the Lord may ask of me.  I am giving up caffeine and all meats but want to do more.  I desire a closeness that I currently don’t have…

The whole idea of ‘healing our land’ has been ringing in my heart for a few weeks now and I feel this fast to be the perfect time to seek God and ask Him to do just that.  What needs healing?

My land.
I want this heart and this life (and my family and my church) to be productive and bear much fruit for the Lord.  For this the land needs to be healthy…

Let’s see what it all means.

As I embark in this new direction and return to Children’s Ministry I do feel a very specific vision that God is planting in my heart for both the Friday Bible School, Children’s Church, the Youth Ministry and the Family Ministry.  Just a few months ago I never would have expected or even wanted to do this.  But I do feel that the Lord has placed both the burden and the desire to do this… and I am sure he will provide the necessary helpers and resources.  I am not sure how often I will post here and I may do a lot of my brainstorming in my Spanish Posterous (Pensando En Voz Alta) but I just wanted to record it here since I am sure I will come back here from time to time.

So far I have found a few other bloggers who deal with this and I am looking forward to following them.  There is a pretty comprehensive list right here and I will explore these as time allows and I am sure I will reference some from time to time. 

One way or another we are losing our children and our youth… what is offered out there is more attractive to them than the truth of Jesus Christ.  We know this is not the case… but if their perspective is such then there is an obvious disconnect and we must bridge this.  For starters I will leave only one tidbit behind in terms of the direction I feel the Lord is taking me in … the family needs to become the nucleus once more.  As parents we have forfeited our place and given it to the government, the school systems, the media and even the church.  None of which were called to rear our children.  We are the parents and we must take our place… that is what I would like our ministry to do.  To help parents be parents… to help parents what their children need them to be… to help parents be the priests, the pastors, the teachers, the mentors … the heroes of our children.

As the airplane took off I noticed all around me. Almost everyone was reading something. Almost no one was looking out the window. Except of course for the child behind me – who had stopped kicking the back of my seat long enough to lend her full attention to what was going on outside her window. At what point in our lives do we stop enjoying those small things? At what point do we stop being awed by the beauty in simplicity? When do we lose our ability to enjoy the mundane?

I was reading too, but I stopped and decided to enjoy what was going on outside my window.

Everything was becoming smaller. People began to look like ants. The airplanes on the tarmac, the cars on the busy highway and the trucks at the warehouses looked more and more like my old toycars. The trees and the grass all began to blend into a beautiful mosaic of greenery.

The clouds are looking more and more like white frosting. Yummy (and probably low fat too).
Oh wait, now they look like a field cotton balls. Perfect to jump into. And play.

And play with Daniel and Nena.
How I miss them even on a short day flight.

To think that one day we can all jump and play in those clouds.
With Jesus.

Strange, the child behind me stopped kicking my seat and slamming her tray onto my seat.
It is all quiet now.
All quiet inside.