KONOMALA

“I am the problem”

That small phrase has been at the center of many hours of conversations with our friends here in Konomala lately. Not just because they are wrestling with the reality of their own hearts … but because we’re wrestling with the exact same thing! It’s not easy to take an honest look into your own heart. But if any of us are to move closer to our good Father, we have to come to grips with our deepest need and the true condition of our hearts. That’s the first step in initially recognizing our need for Jesus’ saving work. And it has to remain our daily posture in recognizing our never ending need for Jesus and His transforming life.

All too often we learn some stuff, assume that’s it, and miss out on the true life that Jesus is offering. We can easily become prideful about all that special knowledge that we have. Or sometimes we can become complacent, feel like we checked the right boxes, and move on to the next self-serving thing. Either way we take the position of authority, we become the center of attention, and we choose to stand independent of our Father.

Keep praying for us and our friends here! We’re all fighting the same battle in our hearts: will we choose self which will only bring death? Or will we choose humble dependence on the Father and find true life? It’s awesome to grow together with our friends as brothers and sisters now. It’s awesome to see some of them considering things to be true and submitting themselves to God. It’s messy to come alongside some who are feeling the pride and complacency in their hearts. It’s sad to see some who are choosing outright rejection of Jesus and His new way of life.

We’ve been spending time in the book of Acts lately as a church. It’s been so encouraging to see how God is working in all of our hearts as a new little gathering of people looking to Jesus. The reality and weight of who we are now has really been hitting home. We always wondered how this transition time would play out … and as promised the Spirit has really started to establish some amazing things in the hearts of our friends. They’re accepting what God is saying about who they are now. And they’re growing in the consideration that His way offers the best life possible.

What a privilege it is to be watching the Spirit work in our’s and our friends’ lives. It’s funny how many times we’ve referenced Paul’s words in 2 Corinthians lately. Our bodies feel like they’re dying, but our spirit’s are being renewed every day. We’ll be engaged in deep, real life conversations for hours on end … the kind of conversations that are worth it and feel life-giving, then as soon as those they end, our bodies feel like they’re crumbling. Apparently your back can only handle a certain amount of hours sitting on wooden planks and plastic chairs.

Fun Facts

• Grampa and Gramma (Seth’s parents) are coming to visit!
  The girls are beside themselves. They’ve been counting down for two and a half months now, and the day is finally here. Grampa and Gramma will be spending a little over a week with us. There will be lots of tea parties, beach trips, and catching up to do. Our friends here in Konomala are super excited too. One or two of them were on the verge of tears thinking about how meaningful it is for them to travel so far to visit.
  Can’t wait!

• We had a long stretch of really dry weather the last couple months. We were in major water-conservation mode. For a full shower we would have the water running for a total of a minute or so. Laundry wasn’t getting rinsed as good. Toilets were getting flushed less (yuck!). The heat was ridiculous … just a couple minutes of standing in the sun was brutal.
  On the bright side, we didn’t have to do much yard work because everything was dying!
  BUT NOW, the rain is back! We are so thankful for full water tanks again.

• Very soon we will start studying Romans with our friends. Until now we’ve been doing three sessions a week with new content each time. When we start Romans, things will slow down considerably. We want to intentionally start modeling how to properly handle the scriptures. So instead of teaching new content each time, we’re going to utilize the three times to first take time observing all that a text is saying, then consider its meaning in light of the whole of scripture, then lastly we’ll ask questions of the text to reveal how the text can strengthen and deepen our thinking. We want to see things the way God sees them. We want to always approach scripture as a way to hear from our Father and know Him more.

Please Pray

Pray that we would not choose to be blind to our heart’s true need. We need to choose humble dependence on our Father as He is the only source of true life. We can live His Son’s very life through the enabling of His Spirit in us.

Pray that we would live this well especially in our home. Our kids need to see and hear about the best life that’s available to them through loving dependence on their Heavenly Father.

Pray that our friends here in Konomala would continue to choose that same humble and dependent heart posture. And that they would continue to recognize and submit to the things that the Spirit is revealing to them.