Category Archives: Pre-Trip

One slave is too many by Jess

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The Walk Free Foundation estimates there are 3000 slaves in Australia. This might seem small compared to the 30 million slaves world-wide, but honestly, I think one slave is one slave too many. As I recently investigated the state of slavery in my own nation, I read an article by the Sunday Morning Herald that highlighted this hidden tragedy within Australia’s boarders. Yet, another article renewed my hope that change is happening all around us and lives are being restored in countries all across the earth, including my own. There will always be those who fight injustice whether it’s considered a small or big problem.

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I am reminded of this little story below and I think of ‘the one’ who is still waiting to experience a ‘huge difference’…

The Boy and the Starfish

A man was walking along a deserted beach at sunset. As he walked he could see a young boy in the distance, as he drew nearer he noticed that the boy kept bending down, picking something up and throwing it into the water. Time and again he kept hurling things into the ocean.

As the man approached even closer, he was able to see that the boy was picking up starfish that had been washed up on the beach and, one at a time he was throwing them back into the water.

The man asked the boy what he was doing, the boy replied,”I am throwing these washed up starfish back into the ocean, or else they will die through lack of oxygen. “But”, said the man, “You can’t possibly save them all, there are thousands on this beach, and this must be happening on hundreds of beaches along the coast. You can’t possibly make a difference.” The boy looked down, frowning for a moment; then bent down to pick up another starfish, smiling as he threw it back into the sea. He replied,

“I made a huge difference to that one!”

~Author Unknown~

I too can do something for at least one. Maybe that’s volunteering my time, donating to a cause, supporting those who are on the ‘front lines’ or making other people aware of what’s going on. I have hope in my heart despite the odds that we will all eventually believe that one slave is too many.

Love Jess xxoo

Falamos de amor (we speak love)

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This is a special post in Portuguese just for our beautiful family in Brazil. Unfortunately, we have used a translator, because we don’t speak Portuguese… yet 🙂

Nós não falam Português, mas falam de amor e nós amamos todos vocês muito! Estamos tão animado para vir ao Brasil em maio e julho do próximo ano e não posso esperar para lhe dar grandes abraços. Após a visita de Tim com você em março deste ano e algumas conversas do Skype, parece que estamos estará visitando a família.

Cinco coisas que sabemos:

1. Nossas conversas com você acontecerá com olhares e risos em branco como nós experimentar e aprender a sua língua, por favor, seja paciente conosco 🙂

2. Estamos ansiosos para aprender sobre a cultura brasileira e modo de vida. Mmmm Churrasco!

3. Deus está fazendo coisas incríveis no Brasil e queremos ser parte dela, mesmo que apenas por um tempo curto.

4. Estamos tão animados para a nossa menina Amy conhecer todos vocês!

5. Nós ainda não conhecemos os nossos planos exatos enquanto estamos no Brasil, mas vamos mantê-lo atualizado.

Love from Tim Jess & Amy

Sweet Confessions by Jess

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Confession time, I really love hymns. I know, it’s not exactly eyebrow raising stuff, but stay with me. Sometimes when my emotions are going all over the place, I stop, put on some hymns and all is well… queue singing ‘It is well’. There is a particular version of ‘Tis so sweet by Leah Mari that I love and yes, I sing it a lot at the moment.

Louisa M. R. Stead penned the lyrics to this powerful song and although not much is known about her, it is believed she wrote these words after seeing her husband drown and then endured extreme poverty with her daughter. Wow, what a heart in love with Jesus.

’Tis so sweet to trust in Jesus,
And to take Him at His Word;
Just to rest upon His promise,
And to know, “Thus says the Lord!”

Jesus, Jesus, how I trust Him!
How I’ve proved Him o’er and o’er
Jesus, Jesus, precious Jesus!
O for grace to trust Him more!

For me, sometimes trusting God can be difficult, so I sing these words to remind myself of all He is to me and all he has done for me. As I think about various parts of our little trip – well lets face it, it’s really almost every part – nothing has been finalised and that can be unnerving at times. Nevertheless, I will not let fear take a hold as I look to the future with my unanswered questions.

I would hate people to read this and think that singing a song is all I need to get me through or (on the other hand) that I am doubting what God is saying to us. The reality is that I do not like being uncertain and I would much prefer to feel safe and secure. However, by saying yes to God, I am saying that I am safe and secure in Him, not in my own strength, abilities or plans. We can make plans, but He is Lord (Proverbs 16:9).

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Many times I find it easy to trust Him, but other times it is a choice. Right now, I sing this song and I choose to trust Him and of course I pray for grace to trust Him more. So I guess my confession is that I don’t like the unknown, but I know someone who knows it all and I’m continually learning to trust Him more. In my books, that’s pretty sweet.

Love Jess xxoo

P.S – I’m not actually sure who reads these little posts apart from our mums, but if you’re not a hymn lover or even a Christian you can listen to Leah’s version of the whole song here.

Clear the stage by Tim

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Anything I put before my God is an idol
Anything I want with all my heart is an idol
And anything I can’t stop thinking of is an idol
And anything that I give all my love is an idol
– Jimmy Needham

Jess and I know all too well that it can be easy to make our gifts, possessions and the people that are close to us our sole focus. These things can become our idols and God is pretty clear that He wants all of our hearts and not second best (see Exodus 20:3-4).

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Early on, we made a conscious decision that we weren’t going to make this trip an idol. How sad would it be if we did this trip, but held onto it so tightly that if God asked us to let it go we wouldn’t? What if we did all this stuff for God, but not with God? What if it became about us and our talents? This means that we are seeking the one who is leading us on this trip more than thinking about the trip itself. This is something that we constantly remind ourselves of to keep our eyes on God.

A song that has inspired us is Clear the Stage by Jimmy Needham. It is a great reminder that it all comes back to our relationship with our heavenly Father and He must be first. In everything.

TG

Our House is a home by Jess

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Back in July, when meeting with Destiny Rescue, we mentioned possibly selling our house to fund the trip. We didn’t want to sell, but we weren’t sure if it was financially possible to pay a mortgage plus our travel expenses. Realistically, it’s not. However, Christian suggested we consider the renting option as our house is essentially our kids inheritance. I do love our little house, it is our home and holds precious memories. When chatting about it, Tim remembered a dream he had about renting our house to a Christian band, so perhaps it was something we should seriously consider. We also wanted to be able to bless someone else if we could, so we had a chat with God and told Him our desires.

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The next day, two of our great friends got engaged! YAY, so exciting and joyful… wait a minute… I wonder… When they asked if they could drop around, we said yes and then quickly discussed if we should ask them about their future housing plans. You never know… maybe God’s making a way… let’s do it!

We had a wonderful lunch together chatting about the engagement and listening to their wedding plans. When the topic of housing came up, they said they didn’t have any plans, but were nervous about finding a place. Really? Hmmmm. Oh so casually, Tim mentioned that we were thinking of moving next year and asked if they might be interested in renting our place, no pressure of course. The response? “Yes, we’re very interested!”

As I sat there watching this all unfold, I couldn’t help but think, ‘Is this real?’ My goodness, everything was kind of coming together. Not only did it look like we might be able to keep our house, but on top of that, God heard our desire to bless someone and He responded with an amazing couple. I almost rang my brother right then and there so we could laugh about how good God is.

Still, is it possible for us to pay a mortgage and finance this trip? Nope, but that’s ok, because faith without risk isn’t faith.

Love Jess xxoo

Daily bread – A testimony by Jess

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Give us today our daily bread.   Matthew 6 v 11

When we told our family about our trip, I mentioned that we didn’t know how we’d pay for it. My brother responded by saying that God would provide whatever we would need, but maybe it would be just enough… like in Matthew 6 v 11. In my experience from our other trips, this is usually the case.

Here is a daily bread testimony from the last few days:

~ Yesterday someone anonymously gave us $500.

~ Today we decided it was time to book our flights to the USA, so Tim got an updated quote from our travel agent. The total came to about $3500.

~ We had someone come around to help us process our tax. The estimated return was $3200 (I paid a lot of tax while I was on maternity leave).

~ Tim got the final quote from the travel agent including travel insurance, which came to $3,565.

~ We’ll book the flights on Friday.

Thank you Lord for our daily bread!

Love Jess xxoo

Be careful what you say by Tim

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It was an incredible week and it changed my life forever…

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In January 2000, I attended a conference called Planetshakers in Adelaide and I said some things that were taken very seriously. I told God during the week that He could have my life and use me any way that He wanted. Little did I know that He would listen and He would take me (together with my family) on amazing adventures.

During the conference I truly connected with God in a real way like I had never done before. I experienced His incredible love and felt the overwhelming sense of the purpose that He wanted to give me. It was a great feeling and I poured out my heart like water before Him.

Since then I have been on an amazing journey in God. Lots of memorable experiences, life changing moments and great friendships. Some lows and hard times, and times I didn’t think I’d get through. But, through it all was the knowing that God was right there with me and with my family.

I wouldn’t have it any other way but I have learnt to be more intentional about the words to say and the things I tell God. I ask for outrageous things and I ask for the world. He listens, He cares, and He has a plan to bring me along the road that He has for me.

I now look back 13 years later and remember that week. I’m so glad I said those things to God. I’m so glad He listened. And I’m so glad He’s stuck by me, even when I didn’t want to keep going.

Have it all

Be careful what you say, because God remembers. 😉

TG

Be here now by Jess

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I recently re-read a book by John and Stasi Eldridge called Captivating in which they told a story of a lady whose family’s motto was ‘Be here now’. I think the struggle for people who are moving onto something new is how to live in the current season whilst planning and dreaming of the next. It is my prayer to ‘be here now’ in every season of my life, even the tough ones.

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I remember after we had Amy, telling a few people that I was trying to live in the season. As many mums know, there are lots of sacrifices and things you miss out on with a new baby to look after, especially if you’re used to being heavily involved in ministry. So, taking the lessons learned during that time and bringing them into this ‘in between’ season, Tim and I want to make sure that we are present in this moment. We want to make sure we are still engaged with the life we’re currently living. We still need to work, go to parties, catch up with people and love and minister to those around us. If God had already intended us to move on from where we are, then this season would already be over. However, we’re still in Brisbane, so we will be here now. Oddly enough, on the way to work the other morning I was thinking about this phrase and I walked past a busker who was singing “Be here, be here, be here now.” Haha, oh Lord, you are so funny.

Let’s be honest, there are times when I’m doing something and think, “How pointless is this compared to what I hope is to come.” But, in those moments I have to make a choice to be here now; to honour God and others around me by not disconnecting before the right time. I choose to be here now.

Love Jess xxoo