Outside the Boat

For 23 years, we have been teaching our children to obey. Its a common lesson. You expect them to obey without question or hesitation. Sometimes its a matter of safety. “Don’t go into the street.” “Don’t touch that, its hot.” Sometimes, its a matter of responsibility. “Get your chores done.” “Feed the dog.” And sometimes its just a matter of necessity. “Go take a shower.” “Flush the toilet.” “Don’t pick your nose.” Ultimately, though, when we teach our children to obey, we are preparing them for their future response to God’s calling on their lives. As our children get older, the way they learn obedience is less by repetition and more by replication. We can’t expect our children to learn something that we don’t model for them.

 That being said, Dan and I are in the midst of lessons in obedience. God has called us on this adventure that is both exciting and terrifying. We are learning to take one step at a time and trusting God to show us what’s next. He is faithful and has already shown us so many amazing things. We have met incredible people who, by their example, have taught us so much about obeying God and serving the people He so desperately loves. We have a new understanding of the way God sees all of humanity; and the level at which His heart aches for all to come to know Him.


 In Matthew, God gives us a great example of obedience.

Matthew 14 

25 Shortly before dawn Jesus went out to them, walking on the lake. 26 When the disciples saw him walking on the lake, they were terrified. “It’s a ghost,” they said, and cried out in fear. 27 But Jesus immediately said to them: “Take courage! It is I. Don’t be afraid.” 28 “Lord, if it’s you,” Peter replied, “tell me to come to you on the water.” 29 “Come,” he said. Then Peter got down out of the boat, walked on the water and came toward Jesus. 30 But when he saw the wind, he was afraid and, beginning to sink, cried out, “Lord, save me!” 31 Immediately Jesus reached out his hand and caught him. “You of little faith,” he said, “why did you doubt?” 

 One of the things I love about this is that Jesus didn’t call Peter out of the boat to walk on a calm ocean. He called Peter out in the midst of a storm. The wind was howling and the waves were crashing all around him. As long as Peter kept his eyes fixed on Jesus, he was able to stay on top of the water. But as soon as he noticed the tumult of the waves around him, he began to sink. I love what Jesus says to Peter, “Why did you doubt?” Peter didn’t give any verbal indication of doubt, but Jesus knew. Doubt can be crippling.

There are so many things that have happened in the past several weeks that could have caused us to doubt. The waves have been high and the winds have been fierce. But God has been faithful. He provided when we didn’t think there was a way. He has made is calling clear.

 “Come” 

And here we are. 

 We have stepped out of the boat. 

May we keep our eyes that are so prone to wander, focussed on Jesus. 

 We have now entered the next phase of our adventure. We are preparing to GO. We don’t hope for disaster and were happy to learn that Hope Force International doesn’t either. Within about 3 minutes of beginning of our training, the room was filled with the sound of phones ringing with weather alerts from Tennessee (the home of HFI). They immediately stopped everything and began to pray that God would spare the people and not allow those tornadoes to touch the ground.

I’m not sure why this made such an impact on me, but it made me feel that this isn’t an organization of “storm chasers”, but one with a heart for the people. For the remainder of the training, we heard over and over that they consider their calling to be a

“terrible privilege”

 To the extent that we are able, we will be working on preparing our family physically, emotionally and spiritually for what lies ahead.


 Emotionally, we need to keep short accounts with one another so that we can be ready to serve others. We need to begin to teach the kids to see others through the eyes of God and remember that He desperately loves every human being.

 Spiritually, We need to abide in the truth of God’s word and allow Him to speak into our lives on a daily basis. We need to live with love and gratitude and allow others to see the reflection of Jesus in our lives.

Practically, we need to be ready to go at a moments notice (24-48 hours) and therefore need to have bags packed and ready to go. Which means we need things like muck boots, work gloves, work clothes, bug spray, flashlights, toothpaste, toothbrushes, etc.

Financially, we need to start raising support so that if and when a disaster happens we can go without hesitation. The “donate” button is still available on this blog. We will be working on fundraisers and ask that you would prayerfully consider supporting us.

 And....

if I'm being completely honest.....

now that I have actually put all of this down in writing......

I can begin to hear the waves crashing and feel the wind on my face. 

 Lord allow us to keep our eyes on You in the midst of the storm and continue to pursue your will at every turn!