By And By

This song is on loop on my iPod right now at work. I love hearing how other people praise God. :-D




Mpasi, ntantu ta kwisa
Beto bakisa yau ve
Nki nzila Yesu baka kwa zulu
Kansi Yandi twadisa
Beto ku landa Yandi
Beto bakisa yau mbote by and by



By and by, bu nsuka ta kwisa
Bana ya Nzambi ta kwenda na zulu
Beto yimbila kilumbu beto ndandu
Beto bakisa yau mbote by and by



Awa mpukumunu
Santana seka Nzambi
Beto kele ntantu sambu masumu
Beto yituka nki na yonso kele kwisa
Beto bakisa yau mbote by and by



By and by, bu nsuka ta kwisa
Bana ya Nzambi ta kwenda na zulu
Beto yimbila kilumbu beto ndandu
Beto bakisa yau mbote by and by



Bima mingi kele ve
Bu muyoyo ya beto
Kansi beto kwikila Tata Nzambi
Bonso ndinga ya Yandi
Beto ata luvundu
Beto bakisa yau mbote by and by



By and by, bu nsuka ta kwisa
Bana ya Nzambi ta kwenda na zulu
Beto yimbila kilumbu beto ndandu
Beto bakisa yau mbote by and by

Here's the story from Selah's website:
In 1948 my grandfather Laban and grandmother Marcella started the mission station of Nkara-Ewa. This is where Nicol and I grew up in Congo, Africa. So many people were coming to know Jesus as their Savior that the Belgian government outlawed baptism for two years. They thought the people were excited and didn’t know what they were doing. My grandparents continued to disciple and share the gospel during those two years. The recording you’re hearing is of my grandfather in our lake on the first day he was allowed to baptize. The Belgian government didn’t realize how real Jesus was to the Congolese, because on this day over 1,000 people were baptized. In the background you can hear my grandmother and the Congolese singing the old hymn “We’ll Understand it Better By and By” which she and my father Jim translated into Kituba. I also had the privilege of having my dad sing with me on this recording. — Todd

Thankful Thursday!

I know that Sonya is taking a sabbatical from blogging, but I feel like I should be thankful today, so I'm going to be. :-p

I am thankful that God moved my heart last night at Ash Wednesday service.

I am thankful that my family is going to be in NYC today. This will possibly be the last time I see them until December.

I am thankful that Evan and Caitlin are excited to be getting married soon.

I am thankful for my ridiculously smart husband and my (just plain) ridiculous cat.

I am thankful for Vashti, Baby Be Blessed, Heavenly Humor and Heart Galleries.

I am thankful for my right brain, a right heart, and a beautiful week!

Are you feeling thankful today? :)

Project O Luncheon Number 2

Sorry It's Been So Long

Sorry it's been so long! I've had the flu and, once I got better, I had a luncheon to raise money for Project O. I'm still a little under the weather. Mainly with coughing and stuff, but I'm hoping that I can not overexert myself today and keep getting better.

I think you'd really like to read this post:
http://kissesfromkatie.blogspot.com/2010/02/she-was-eighteen-years-old-and-she-had.html

Honestly...I don't know if it has upset me or what, but I can tell you, I've wanted to do something like that for years. I've wanted to go to another country and help children. I want to adopt. But have I really counted the costs? Sometimes. Sometimes not. My husband is very much against the idea. I know that he doesn't want to give up the comforts. He's said to me before, 'I feel like I can't give you what you want.' I guess I never really thought that it was true. Only God can do that. But if my husband won't go with, what do I do? I promised God to obey him. I PROMISED God.

I live in a city that just pisses me off with a job that I don't like in an apartment that doesn't make me happy. I know that God is calling me to a new beginning, but I'm scared. I am afraid of it at times. I'm confused. Can He call me, but not my husband? What do I do?

It's something that I've always thought about and it really tears at my heart. I don't know. It's way more than I was going to think about today, but maybe I needed to...

WATCH the Super Bowl?!

I think not. This is what I did instead.





Those are red velvet cake balls dipped in chocolate. Thank you, Bakerella!

'I Desire Mercy, Not Sacrifice'

I keep spelling 'sacrifice' wrong, but that's beside the point.

It's funny how God directs us. I think that when something happens and you see it two or three (or sometimes four or five) times, that it's a message and it's a message you're supposed to get.

My husband and I were talking about Mercy vs. Sacrifice, then, of course, Heavenly Humor (a lovely lady!!) blogged about it!

There are things in my life that are definitely sacrifice. Being part of the Advent Mission Fund is most definitely sacrifice and a sacrifice I wish I hadn't committed to. There are things in my life that are mercy. I think this luncheon that is coming up is mercy...I don't HAVE to have this luncheon and I really, REALLY want it to raise money for these kids that I'm going to meet in May.

But what I want to know is:

Can what was once seen as sacrifice become an act of mercy?

I know that I've talked about what's going on before, but I kind of want to not refer to it by name today, if that's all right? You know, I want it to be a left hand-right hand thing (even if it can't be) and I'm trying to figure it all out.

So, when I first thought about it, I don't know if it was sacrifice or mercy. When she e-mailed me back, it became so overwhelming, I felt like I HAD to do it. (sacrifice). I had the testing done (sacrifice) and I was scared. I was terrified and I was having panic attacks. After a few weeks, I told her I couldn't do it. A month goes by, a month and a half goes by, but I still think about it. It comes up in different ways (my mom mentions it without even realizing it) and it's still on my mind. The fear that I had before was gone and I feel that maybe this is something God is calling me to do (mercy?).

Now, the doctor's appointment I have this Friday is 7 hours long (sacrifice) and I'm going to miss work (sacrifice), but Christ gave his life and so I can give a part of mine (mercy?).

What do you believe defines the line and the difference between the two?

UPDATE: I think I'm feeling a little bit better about a few things. Andrea made a comment. Though I was thinking of sacrifice as something that I didn't WANT to do, I think I like thinking it's something I HAVE to do. Mercy is more of a choice. Of course, this may not be how everyone sees it and maybe it's because I'm trying to define the two and that one just works well with my situation ;)

Just Call It 'Hormonal'

Ugh. I never thought I'd do this. I heard Sarah Silverman say once that she didn't want any 'vagina babies.' A bit vulgar, but I agreed with her! I've always said that I've wanted to adopt, but I had a dream last night.

Normally, I have really ridiculous dreams, like my grandmother and I are being chased through my old elementary school by a group of Nazis that actually look like SWAT team members. But this one was very real.

I was standing in a bathroom and there was a pregnancy test in my hand and it's positive. And so I take another one and it's positive too. I was really excited. Then I think the cat jumped on my head or something and I woke up.

And it was one of those dreams, you know, where you wake up and you still have that same feeling you did in the dream? Of course, now I'm at work and I'm on the verge of tears thinking about this dream. Steve's asking, 'are you alright?' Yeah, I guess I'm just a bit hormonal.

So now I'm looking up baking supplies and trying not to think about it. Have you ever had dreams like that? Or at least dreams that felt so real?