Jesus, my King

Derek and I love authority. We love the safety, the boundaries, and the comfort of it. But in the last month or so God has clearly warned us to never ask God for a king in our earthly authority when He has already given us Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith. In some ways, it caused us to grieve (me actually to grieve and Derek to grieve for me) the daily maternal role in my life. My mother is of the best kind. She loves me fiercely, she picks up offenses for me only to come back quickly and rebuke me for my sins just in case I mistakenly take her support for thinking me perfect, she shouts and cheers, she hugs, she cooks, she teaches, and everyday of my life she has pointed me to Jesus. Over the years God has brought others, including my sweet mother-in-law to fill the gap but I miss the daily nurturing role of my mom! Why at 37 and after 12 years in foreign missions am I only now recognizing the pain of this, I have no idea! Probably because God has blessed me with so many amazing women in my life. Yep, I'm sure that's it. But pain is what I feel now and it's forced the issue of Jesus, my King and no other and for that I am grateful! Now to just learn and grow from it...

Derek and I have a really busy week. We're each teaching 2 Bible studies, Derek preached yesterday and has been asked to preach again tomorrow evening (he's got 20 min yet to make a decision on that one), I've got Phokeng finances to organize and food to buy, and we have a couple of important meetings. All of this will take our focus and the intentional heart to place Christ first in everything and allow him to reign as King over our lives. We would greatly appreciate your prayers for the week ahead as we ask the Lord to reveal Himself through us. Many blessings!