Here I am Lord, send me.

I promised myself the last time I stepped off an airplane back in August 2008, that I would never fly again. Ever.

It wasn't a bad flight. That's not it. I just simply do not like flying. I like my feet firmly planted on solid ground. I have only flown 4 times in my 31 years of existance, a record my 11 year old could run circles around, and all 4 times I was a complete nervous wreak. It's just not my thing.

So, you can imagine my husband's surprise (and mine, too!) when I woke up one morning last month and told him I felt the Lord tugging on my heart and urging me to go to Guatemala.
Back up - Why Guatemala, you ask? What could possibly be there?

A lot, surprisingly!

My uncle began working with an amazing group down there, Hope of Life, Int, who is in partnership with World Help. After his daughter Kelly went home to be with the Lord, at the age of 38, after a courageous battle with breast cancer, he began looking for something. Something from the Lord that would help restore his faith and help others. When he found Hope of Life and heard of their immediate needs for a special needs home for the children in the area, he went to work. When the rest of our family heard - Remember, there is a lot of us! - we all went to work. Some of us even baked hundreds, close to thousands, of cupcakes for months and sold them at street stands with our children - celebrating every dollar that was collected. The goal was met in December of 2011. Ground was broke January of 2012 and the end is in sight! The dedication is set for July 28th & the home will be in memory of my beautiful cousin - something so appropriate since she was a nurse and

also had a huge heart for babies and children.

Now, fast forward to today. Why am I going again?

Honestly - I'm not sure. Truly, I am just a stay-at-home mom with nothing more to give than some shlepped cupcakes on the street. I have no missions experience, I don't speak Spanish, and I have never left the country. (Canada does not count!)

Seriously though, the most obvious reason is that it will be an honor to stand as a part of Kelly's family as the building is dedicated and opened. It will be quite a sight to see the doors opened & to know this place will be a beacon of light for generations to come.

But, there is something more - I trust the Lord in that He telling me to use my words. My blog. My camera. Twitter. Facebook. Use it all to spread the word about what He is doing down in Guatemala. I am excited to see how God will use my trip to this place and am praying I remain faithful to what He wants. In the end, I am praying HE is glorified in it all.

Today, please take a couple minutes out of your day and check out this short video about

Hope of Life - have a couple tissues handy, too:

Capturing Motherhood

Each year, Mother's Day comes & goes.

Flowers are given. Breakfast is made. Cards are created. Mothers everywhere are praised for the work that they do. Churches ask them to stand to be noticed, restaurants hand out roses & complete strangers wish them a happy mother's day. But, alas, after just 24 short hours, we moms return to the trenches.

And honestly. . .  the trenches is where I revel the most in the glory of motherhood.

You know the trenches I'm talking about. The unseen ones. 
The middle-of-the-night fevers.
Packing lunches.
Praying over them while you watch their chest rise & fall. 
Wiping smeared peanut butter off the glass windows.
Finding leftovers snacks hidden in their closet...   a week later.
Changing diapers in the parking lot.
Spending the night in the bathroom, assuring them it will be over by morning.
Long hours spent on school projects.
Laying awake all night while your unborn baby kicks relentlessly.
Constantly pretending we are lost in the woods & we have no food to eat.
Answering 30 questions during a 10 minute car ride.

Can you relate to my trenches?

I can feel them slipping away at times. . .  My oldest is beginning to care for herself more than I would like. My youngest. . . well, he's feeding himself now. How is time slipping away so fast?

After being a mother for nearly 12 years, I am learning there is no way to hold on to this thing called. . . time. Sure, you can snap thousands of pictures. You can record countless hours of video. You can collect dozens of maternity shots, holding that belly that will soon disappear. You can imprint their hands on all sorts of materials, trying desperately to capture their littleness. You can even blog everyday, just so you'll have all the memories written down. But, none of these things will capture your motherhood.

Your motherhood is literally defined by the quiet moments. Not on film. Not in ink. It's not in the color-coordinated outfits or the perfect Christmas greeting card.
It's in the kisses you plant on their cheeks. The tiny hands you hold. The answers you give to all their questions. The countless fevers you soothe. The many prayers you speak over them. It's your touch, your voice, your influence over them.

And I have come to realize the only way I will know I have captured my motherhood is by literally telling myself one thing - I am enjoying this. I enjoyed it! Yes! That's it. Speak that to yourself while you prepare their meals. At the park. In the middle of the night, rocking away the fussiness. Cleaning out the crumbs from the folds of the couches. Answering the same question for the tenth time.

Soon it will be gone. Your home will be clean. The smears will be no more. The little questions from the backseat will grow silent. But, you will remember one thing. . . You enjoyed the trenches.

Seeds Do Move Mountains!

Lately, I have been reflecting a lot on the Scripture ~ "I tell you the truth, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, 'Move from here to there' and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you." {Matthew 17:20}

The following post is to give ALL the glory to Jesus.... 

 First, let me give you a little history on me. I am blessed to come from a family where we are all believers in Jesus Christ. Here is my family:

If you're counting, this is 76 people. {Two have gone Home.}
Yes, I'll repeat, we are all believers ~ sinners saved by grace.The little ones who are too young are currently being trained in the ways of the Lord.


Let's go back in time for a minute...   Back to the beginning. Back to the mid-1940's.
The setting is Pittsburgh, PA. A traveling pastor sets up a tent and begins a small town revival, preaching the Good News of salvation through Christ.

My great-grandfather, who was raised in the church, drove by & decided to go in. Upon entering he laid his eyes upon the image of the two roads hung up on a wall - the roads .... one toward Heaven, one toward hell ~ something he had never heard before!

That night he accepted Christ into his heart, went home and informed his wife and 3 children they would be going the next night. One of his children being my grandmother. This was the spark that lit a fire in my family that has burned throughout 4 generations and is being spread into the 5th generation of little ones. Because this one man followed the Lord's promptings & began to evangelize, the seed he planted blossomed and has truly moved mountains.



We are a humble, Christian family that has been used to spread the Gospel throughout the world.

*Our family helped start a private Christian school in Palm Beach county that has equipped thousands of young people to impact the world for Christ for over 40 years. This school has sent doctors, lawyers, school teachers & missionaries out into their work force to be a light in a dark world.

*Our family helped plant a church in Palm Beach that ministered to families for over 30 years ~ We supported missionaries, fed the hungry and homeless, trained new believers, began an Overcomers group for addicted individuals and spread the name of Jesus throughout our area.

*Individuals in my family have struck out on their own to spread the name of Jesus - using everything from missionary trips around the world & building orphanages to funding revival concerts to planting more churches to our little ones selling cupcakes on sidewalks to build a special needs shelter for children in Guatemala.

*When my cousin, a young mother and wife, became sick with cancer, her body began to fail but her faith never wavered. People throughout the world prayed for her and were moved by her trust in Jesus. Though she is not with us anymore, her words are here: {http://kdlgourley.blogspot.com/}

No one could ever begin to measure the ripple effects from these efforts. Only Heaven knows about the little children in Romania & Costa Rica who were ministered to...   the lonely soul who found Jesus at a rock concert revival in Boca Raton, FL, the countless believers that were equipped at the school & church who went on their own to begin their own ventures. Are you beginning to see these ripples? They are looking more like Heavenly tsunamis to me.

There is power in the name of Jesus. If you're feeling small in this great, big world I want to encourage you that you are not! God has a purpose for you - right where you are. Are you a stay at home mom? You have hearts to teach right in your own home. They will grow up one day to impact their world for the King of Kings. Are you currently in the workplace? Ask the Lord to lead you to a lonely soul in your office. When you're in your yard on Saturday, begin to beg the Lord that He will send you to your neighbors that do not yet know Him. Ask Him! Ask Him to send you opportunities to share the Gospel...   believe me, He will.

We are a family that can count on each other & pray for each other. When we have encountered trials & tribulations, we know that the others are lifting each other up to the throne of Jesus. Go back to the first picture of my family and study each and every face...   go ahead... I'll wait a moment.....
Did you look again? We are just one example of what God can do with just one person. That pastor. That simple, humble man traveling through my great-grandfather's town. I'm sure he is in Heaven now with his Saviour and he knows full well what came from his small efforts to expand the Kingdom of Heaven.

Thank you, whoever you are. Save a spot for us.