Bird's Eye View

My plan was to take the whole family to Jamaica in July 2020. It was a sure thing. We’d miss Christmas 2019 in Jamaica so that we could save some more to celebrate love with our friends plus have a real vacation, south coast and all. God had other plans. My 2019 miracle was being in Jamaica for Christmas (my last Christmas there was 2015!). But then there was Corona…which God knew would happen. Now any plans for traveling in July are up in the air. My July 2020 plans were not God’s plans. But He was gracious enough to let me see my family in advance. My plan was to have a family. I didn’t have a number in mind, but it wasn’t just two children. I ask myself; how does anyone know when their family is complete? I’m not sure. I knew I wanted children. Judah came along. He was awesome, and I knew I wasn’t done. I was ready for more of that awesomeness, and he would do well with a sibling. In came Ez, 2 years later. But when it was time to bless Ezra with a sibling, seems God had anoth...

I had a convo with a guy, yesterday, who told me he loved his Bible and he thought personal salvation was important, but he didn't think is was totally necessary to be attached to a particular church. He bemoaned the many issues and frustrations that come up, which I agreed with. I hate gossip just as much as he did...and that's one thing church people seem to be good at. As much as I could relate to what He was saying, and I could easily go through my head and list issues I have with my own church, I still told him I disagreed. As Mr.Henry preached this week (shout out to the Caribbean Baptist Heritage conference), Salvation and Church Membership have to go together.  And I do mean signing the little paper, not just showing up every week.  It dawned on me how similar the 'I don't need to be a member' arguement sounded to the 'I don't need to get married' arguement - I love the person. My commitment to them won't change whether or not I sig...

Sometimes it feels like the Women that are celebrated (even on days like international women's Day) are the ones that do a 'man's job'; things traditionally done by men. But the jobs that were traditionally done by women are treated like things that are holding us back from truly being successful.  My grandmother died this morning. My husband was commissioned to be the National Director of IS/IVCF Barbados this morning. My job is to be like my grandmother in supporting my husband's new role. I won't be given any medals for doing it. Not here on earth anyways. And even though I know this is a noble job, a most important one, my flesh does still think of success in a primitive way (read "pay cheque"). But aren't we all just tools in our Maker's hands? Aren't we simply hammers to be taken up to build whatever God wants. Why should I expect a hammer to be celebrated. I want my heart to understand that, and to be grateful for being used at all. ...

Part 3 of a 3 part series (Find part 1 here and part 2 here ) I had mentioned that I lost my voice in Part 2: A Day in the Book Fair . Here’s how that happened: About 2 weeks before the Logos arrived, the boys caught a cold. It got so bad for Ezra that I had to rush him to the polyclinic to be nebulized. Now, my immune system is quite friendly, and for some reason, feels it needs to experience everything my children do. I was fighting it so well, not a single sneeze. But my throat was starting to get sore a day or two before the ship arrived. It crossed my mind that maybe the Enemy didn’t want me to go, but I put on my belt of Truth, cause I knew that what God wanted would happen. So I never needed to give that another thought. I prayed and had others praying, and I moved forward. I didn’t seem to get a cold in the usual way, but my voice was pretty much gone by the day the ship arrived. Working in the Book Fair requires a lot of talking so I wondered if I should just stay ho...

I would have loved a little Jamaican flag on my badge Part 2 of a 3 part series. (Find Part 1 here and Part 3 here ) I arrive to the ship between 8:30am and 8:45am and head to the security desk to hand in my yellow ‘volunteer pass’ in exchange for my volunteer badge, which must be worn at all times on board. I head up the crew’s entrance which places me on Deck 5’s lobby area. I head down D stairs to the partner lounge to put my things in Locker 15 then head back up the stairs then down C stairs to Deck 4 where the tiny Matilda room is tucked away, hidden in the middle of the book fair. I choose one of the well worn, but clean, burgundy polo shirts that the Angels had folded and put away the day before. I have to head back up two sets of stairs to Deck 6 to one of the few bathrooms that we volunteers have access to, to change into my uniform, then head back down those 2 flights of stairs and back to the partner lounge for devotions at 9am. (And can U believe I did not lose ...

Part 1 of a 3 part series. (Find Part 2 here and Part 3 here ) In February 2017, at a Missions Conference at Abundant Life Assembly, I heard about the Logos coming to Barbados. In February! And since my life wasn’t going exactly as planned, November was far enough away that I could set my eyes on it whenever I felt disappointed. If I couldn’t do one thing, at least I would be able to ‘dip my feet’ in the waters of cross-cultural missions again. I invited Paul Wheatley, the regional director of OM, to share at WYcliffe Club (WC) in May. James and Althea also came and their testimonies were powerful and inviting. Three of us from WC became DEEP volunteers onboard! At the end of August, I got my first e-mail with information on how to apply. I was stoked! I got my reference in from my Pastor then lined up an interview with Haruka from Japan. She was always available to talk on whatsapp if I had any questions, and she was always so warm. I didn’t feel like an outsider. She made it ...