What am I doing?!

   Ahhh. Off and on from the time I was 10, I have had different blogs. I've always loved to document and share with people what is going on in my life. I guess just due to life getting busy, several times I have kinda dropped the whole blogging thing. But... Here I am again.

   These past 8 months of life have been different. A good different. But also a crazy different. The story is long; but in short- In June of last year, we sold half of our stuff, and moved the other half back up to St. Louis, Missouri to store at my grandparents. Our home in Texas was on the market, and so trusting God and obeying what He called us to do, my parents, along with me and Eli, packed up a few suitcases and headed to the Philippines in July. While there, we stayed in Baguio and attended a 5 month long YWAM FDTS. For those of you who don't know what that is, it is a Family Discipleship Training School run by YWAM (Youth with a Mission). During this school we covered different biblical and spiritual topics over a course of 12 weeks, called the Lecture Phase. We then applied all of our teachings into our next phase of 8 weeks, which was Outreach Phase.

   We graduated this school on December 12th, and headed back to the USA on December 16th. We are living in St. Louis at the moment, and waiting on God to show us our next step. Whether it be going back to the Philippines to do full time missions, or who knows what, we are believing God will show us. The most common question we get is this: "So what are you guys doing next?" The answer is simply this: We are still waiting on God to show us.

   The hardest part that has come with being back in the States is the fact that so many people don't understand what we're doing. They don't understand what living a life of obedience to God is. The crazy comments and looks we get from some people upon telling them that my dad is not looking for a job at the moment and  that we are completely trusting on God to reveal to us what we are to do next cannot be numbered. So many people don't understand it. In complete honesty, this has discouraged me, and at times makes me wonder why we're doing THIS. Why we are stepping out into obedience to see what God has for us..? There has been so many times that I have questioned God and even my parents on this. But God always has answers for us, and reminded me again why we are doing this.

   This life is not ours. It is God's, and it is not up to us on what we are going to spend our lives doing. The so called typical American "comfortable and settled life" is not enough for Him. If we are true believers of Him and we truly want to follow Him, we need to be so willing to obey Him when he calls us to do something; even if it's as big as leaving the country. No, God does NOT call everyone to leave their home country and give up half of their stuff. But He does have a call on everyone's life, and whatever that call is, you need to be willing to obey it. Even if it makes you look crazy, and even if it makes some of the people around you question you.

   All this leads me to say: I am in a place of contentment now. I know that God has us here in the states for this season, although it definitely isn't the same life we've always lived here in the states. I still struggle, but I'm choosing to trust God. I am excited to see what He has in store for us next!

   This life is a beautiful journey, not just my life, and not just my family's life, but EVERYone's life. I love seeing what God is doing in the lives of others, and I especially love seeing when people are obediently walking out the call that God has put on their lives!

                                               ~Madeline