Home

Home is where you make it.  Home is where your heart is.   I think I've heard these two phrases quite a few times in my 26 years.  But for me, home is wherever God puts us.   Don't get me wrong, I love our hometowns, but we're willing to go wherever.

Kylie riding dirty in Prescott :)

Tromping through the fields of Prescott.

Walking with Daisy in Humnoke.

Dragging around her eggs at Easter in Humnoke. 

I've been a little nervous about moving.  Toby might say that I've been mildly depressed since we started packing last week, but I've come to realize that we're not leaving our home.  Our home is with each other.  So, I'm not sad or anxious about moving anymore.  Yes, we'll be away from family, but we'll have each other.


God knows what He's doing.  He has put our little family together, and we are His.  Since we've been married, we have tried to buy a house two different times.  Both attempts greeted us with a swift door slam in the face.  Once we went as far as to having the keys in our hand before we met a bump in the 'securing a loan' road.  I remember being so very disappointed, but looking back now - I can see God working.  He knew we were not staying in Conway.  See, guys.  Most of you know that we're moving to Springfield, MO here in a couple of weeks, but after that I will be taking a job with a company and become a travel physical therapist.  We plan to do this for a couple of years before Kylie becomes school-aged.  It's really the only window of opportunity that we have to make this happen.  This job could take us many different places across the US.  That is both very exciting and very scary for us.  I'm not sure what God has in store, but this is the direction He is leading us.


God is very clear about the cost of following him.  We have to be willing to give up everything.  No matter what He asks of us, we should be wiling to do it.  I first learned this lesson when I married Toby.  In Ephesians after explaining the roles of man and wife, Paul writes:

³¹ “For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh.”

Ephesians 5:31

I am very close with my parents - in fact, I'm an only child who has been called a Daddy's girl on occasion.  But, this verse is saying that I am required to leave my mother and father to be joined with my husband to become one.  That is a beautiful verse, but also a bittersweet one.  I guess that's why Daddy sat me down and explained why 'giving me away' was so very important.  He made it real for me.  He said, "Baby, when I give you away, I'm putting my trust in Toby to take care of you like I have these past 22 years, and that's a big deal."


Being willing to give up everything is a big deal, and Jesus expects it of us.  In Luke, Jesus and His disciples run across three different men on their way to Jerusalem.  Jesus makes it crystal clear what is expected of one of his disciples.

⁵⁷ Now it happened as they journeyed on the road, that someone said to Him, “Lord, I will follow You wherever You go.” ⁵⁸ And Jesus said to him, “Foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head.” ⁵⁹ Then He said to another, “Follow Me.” But he said, “Lord, let me first go and bury my father.” ⁶⁰ Jesus said to him, “Let the dead bury their own dead, but you go and preach the kingdom of God.” ⁶¹ And another also said, “Lord, I will follow You, but let me first go and bid them farewell who are at my house.” ⁶² But Jesus said to him, “No one, having put his hand to the plow, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God.”

Luke 9: 57-62

The first guy is who I want to be.  He's very enthusiastic.  He wants to follow Jesus wherever He goes.  But, Jesus quickly cuts to the chase.  If you follow Him, you may not have a place to lay your head.  He didn't sugarcoat it one bit.  

The next guy they happen across makes what seems to be a reasonable request.  When asked to follow Jesus, He asks to bury his father and deal with the grief that comes with it before committing his life to follow Jesus.  But, again - Jesus' answer is very direct and hard.  He expects us to give Him all of us. 

Finally, they run across a man who simply wants to say goodbye to his family before following Jesus.  But, again - Jesus consistently puts discipleship before family.  If we really analyze the meaning of that last verse in this passage, we see how important this is.  Think about it.  Looking back over your shoulder while plowing will definitely leave you with some crooked rows.  Not only that, but you may also run over the rows you've already planted.  When we concentrate on where we are going, and keep our eye on the task set before us, we go straight and the work is done right. 

I don't know about you guys, but that scares the heck out of me.  I'd like to find some loopholes around this, but there isn't.  As much as I don't like it, these words are tough.  But, they're meant to be.  Jesus meant what he said.  He wants to call serious people who truly understand the cost of discipleship.  He's looking for those who know what they're getting into, but still want to go ahead.

So, I'm excited for the ministry opportunities that lay ahead of us.  I'm sure we'll have plenty over these next couple of years.  I mean, who knows who'll we'll meet?  I can't wait to be able to tell others about Jesus and encourage them along the way.  That sounds pretty awesome to me!