Ideas-a-tumbling-forth, things-a-happening

it's gonna happen. it's really gonna happen. james and i are really going to india together with EMI this summer. the more i think about it, the closer i come to squealing because i'm so thrilled.  suddenly, india seems so close again, the sights and scents, people and needs so stark and hard to ignore. this time, we will not only be working on an EMI project together, we will be travelling to visit Jordi Village again, the school that was mentioned a few entries below. suddenly, with our grad school applications complete, fundraising for the school in Jordi Village doesn't seem like such a crazy idea, as it did last October. i remember distinctively when i heard the Lord's call in my life to do this. i was at work, listening to another convicting sermon by francis chan. he taught from haggai 1(when was the last time i read haggai?)

This is what the LORD Almighty says: "These people say, 'The time has not yet come for the LORD's house to be built.' "  ³ Then the word of the LORD came through the prophet Haggai: ⁴ "Is it a time for you yourselves to be living in your paneled houses, while this house remains a ruin?"  ⁵ Now this is what the LORD Almighty says: "Give careful thought to your ways. ⁶ You have planted much, but have harvested little. You eat, but never have enough. You drink, but never have your fill. You put on clothes, but are not warm. You earn wages, only to put them in a purse with holes in it."  ⁷ This is what the LORD Almighty says: "Give careful thought to your ways. ⁸ Go up into the mountains and bring down timber and build the house, so that I may take pleasure in it and be honored," says the LORD. ⁹ "You expected much, but see, it turned out to be little. What you brought home, I blew away. Why?" declares the LORD Almighty. "Because of my house, which remains a ruin, while each of you is busy with his own house.

and i thought to myself. how many times have i shoved aside the idea of doing God's work, because of inconvenient timing? inadequate resources? 'gotta take care of myself first's? too many. it no longer was a matter of if or when i was gonna do it, it became a matter of how. and within the last week, 'hows' have been flowing from all directions. and it's all coming together in such a miraculously smooth way (so far) that i can't help but sit back and smile because i know who's the one behind it all.

so this is the vision. there is a school in a remote village in India that leaks whenever it rains. thus, 60 children who usually hike 2-3 miles to school everyday can't go to school when it rains. and it rains a lot over there. we happen to know lots of friends and family members who are as incredibly gifted in art, as they are passionate and creative. how do these two connect? a silent art auction, filled with donated art (photography, paintings, sculpture, jewellery, furniture etc) held to benefit the completion of this school. there could possibly be live music and ongoing workshops (think photography 101, how-to-cut-a-swan-out-of-a-carrot, oil painting 101) to encourage more lingering. this idea was made known to me two nights ago as i lay in bed trying to fall asleep. just the excitement over this actually becoming possible kept me up for another hour.

today, we walked around old town alexandria for 6 hours and visited 11 possible venues. we might actually have secured a location already! for free! again, i just have to . so i'm writing this all down now, so i don't forget. i don't forget why i am doing this in the first place. when logistics start to overwhelm us, we cannot forget the simplicity of this vision. when doubts befall us, we cannot forget the Lord's faithfulness.

if you're interested in contributing to the art auction in any way, please stay tuned as we figure out more details!

Jeremiah 42

i found myself shaking my head in disdain when i read this last night, because we can find out what they ended up doing despite hearing God very clearly. something that i've been ruminating over recently, is the clarity of God's will. sometimes, we who call ourselves followers of Christ spend too much time trying to decipher His will is. of course that's not bad, it's just sometimes a waste of time, because even when God tells us where we should go and what we should do, we don't listen. we wait till we feel prepared, till circumstances are incredibly in favor for us, till everyone around us approves, then we wait some more to hear that extra confirmation to be sure. He's a loving God, we say, He's nice like that. surely He'll understand our carefulness resulting in our lack of faith, right? right?

Then all the army officers, including Johanan son of Kareah and Jezaniah son of Hoshaiah, and all the people from the least to the greatest approached Jeremiah the prophet and said to him, "Please hear our petition and pray to the LORD your God for this entire remnant. For as you now see, though we were once many, now only a few are left. Pray that the LORD your God will tell us where we should go and what we should do."

"I have heard you," replied Jeremiah the prophet. "I will certainly pray to the LORD your God as you have requested; I will tell you everything the LORD says and will keep nothing back from you."

Then they said to Jeremiah, "May the LORD be a true and faithful witness against us if we do not act in accordance with everything the LORD your God sends you to tell us. Whether it is favorable or unfavorable, we will obey the LORD our God, to whom we are sending you, so that it will go well with us, for we will obey the LORD our God."

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"And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him." Heb 11:6