anticipation...

WOW! It really has been a long time since we've updated this blog! I'm so sorry about that. As I was browsing through old pictures and deleting some to make room for new ones, it occurred to me how much really can happen in just two short years! When we packed the suburban in December of 2006 and started our journey, neither of us could have ever dreamed what God had in store for our new life here in Lake City. We have seen Him provide for us spiritually, emotionally, financially, and physically over and over again. And now, He is allowing us to experience the joy and privilege of bringing a new little life into the world. Right now, we are counting down three and a half more weeks until the arrival of Baby Stella :) In the midst of baby showers, nursery preparations, to-do lists, travel plans for family, date-nights, baby registries, youth events, and planning meetings, the overwhelming thought is that of incredible joy- that we will get to meet this baby soon!!
I have pondered so many spiritual parallels since first becoming pregnant.( I actually never thought pregnancy was all that weird until I had the chance to experience it!!) I am amazed that BILLIONS of women have done this and continue to do this all over the world. But, I know that every time a couple or an individual experiences the miracle of life it is a profoundly life-changing experience (well, for the majority it is.) What a testimony to our CREATOR!! Even though so much of Eve's curse in Genesis 3 has to do with the pain of bringing a child into the world, our God who is SOOO full of grace allows this experience to be one of the most satisfying a human being could ever imagine.
I'm sure that our next several blog entries will be about the ups and downs and revelations God reveals to us through having a child. I don't know what to expect of this next adventure... but I do know that He who breathed life into us to begin with, has more in store than we could ever dream :)

the abide factor

ABIDE. This five letter word has been a running theme in our lives since before Seth and I were married. As most running themes do, it has left it's shimmering trail on our hearts through every major decision we have made. The first revelation of "abiding" came six months after we were married. We were spending the summer in Lake City working for David and Rosie at the Inn at the Lake (little did we know this town would be a much bigger part of our future). Our goal for that summer was to pray together to seek out what the Lord's will was for the next phase of our lives. One evening, we were having our devotional time together and we came across the Oswald Chamber's chapter for the day- June 14th. Here is an excerpt:

"Abide in Me..." John 15:4
"Our Lord's inner abiding was pure and unblemished. He was at home with God wherever His body was. He never chose His own circumstances, but was meek, submitting to His Father's plans and directions for Him. Just think of how amazingly relaxed our Lord's life was! But we tend to keep God at a fever pitch in our lives. We have none of the serenity of the life which is 'hidden with Christ in God' (Colossians 3:3) ..."Make the determination to abide in Jesus wherever you are now or wherever you may be placed in the future."

Wow! After reading that chapter several times out loud, we came to the conclusion that God's ultimate will for us isn't found in a certain place, job, degree, or relationship. His utmost desire and calling on our life is to ABIDE IN HIM. How freeing that concept is! As humans we love to complicate our lives and then we whine about how complicated our lives are. God's original design for mankind was to live naked and carefree in a perfect garden with all the time in the world to spend with Him. Since the fall, we have a bit more on our plate to do just to survive, but His plan for our lives still remains. "The chief end of man is to know God and make Him known." How can we possibly know Him without spending time with Him? We trick ourselves into believing that if only we can do something for God, memorize enough verses, go to enough potlucks, serve on enough committees, share the gospel with enough people... we can be in right standing with Him and therefore figure out the higher purpose of our lives. All of these things are good things, but if they become ultimate and begin to take the place of our relationship with our Father they take His place and can become idols.
In Matthew 11:28-30 our Lord said "Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light."
I praise the Lord for His competence. All the work that needs to be done for my salvation and eternal rest has already been done, through the blood of Jesus Christ. All I must do is accept it and abide.

Unmerited, Absolutely Overwhelming Blessing

The last week of October was an incredibly tough week.

We learned that there is a very ugly side of ministry and were looking it right in the face. We also truly learned that no matter how hard we struggle, how much we are persecuted, how how much we are disliked by enemies of Christianity... there is nothing that compares to the glory we will share with Christ when our days on earth are through. Romans 8:17

Though we were discouraged, our relationship with each other only grew stonger, as did our reliance on the Lord as our ONLY hope and ONLY comfort. I began to get excited that there was turmoil because it means something is being stirred up... "for the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing" 1 Cor 1:18

On top of all that encouragement, the Lord had something even more affirming in store for us at the Youth Convention in St. Louis. By Sunday afternoon, we were relishing in our weekend. The entire experience had been perfect, down to the smallest detail: the weather, our rental car, our hotel (right by the arch), the food, the people we met, the teaching, our time together... I had even metioned that absolutely NOTHING could make this weekend any better! haha!

One of the seminars we chose to attend was about middle school ministry. This particular seminar's teacher was Mark Oestreicher (Marko). He is the president of Youth Specialties, the organization that puts this conference together. Afterwards, we had a few questions for Marko concerning our particular middle school ministry. To clarify our question we explained our very unique situation of employment by 5 different churches- each from a different denomintation. I don't think Marko even heard our question! He was so ecstatic and intrigued by our situation. He asked for our contact info to hear more.

We received a call from him a couple hours later. He wanted to make sure we would be attending the general session that evening because he had a book he wanted to give us. We said yes, and were very excited to share more about what the Lord has done here in Lake City. At the session, the worship band finished and right before the speaker was supposed to go up, Marko came onstage and asked for Seth and Crystal Dady. !!! We were in shock! Reaching center stage, my main concern was keeping my knees from shaking too badly! There we stood, in front of 3500+ other youth workers, most of whom had been doing this for years and years, sharing the miraculous story of what the Lord has done in tiny Middle of Nowhere, Colorado. Right after Seth listed the 5 different denomintations involved, applause erupted from all around us! The Lord was SOOOO glorified in that place for the work He has done and the people in Lake City who were obedient to His call.

To top it all off, Youth Specialties wanted to encourage us by giving us $4oo to their resources store, 2 free convention passes for next year(worth $600), a free rafting trip for our entire youth group next summer, 300 finger rockets (the kids LOVE them!), and a Narnia gift basket!! WOW! We have never been so speechless with gratitude. Afterwards we were able to talk to several other youth directors who were encouraged by our testimony. Many of them asked "How do you do it?" To which we responded "We don't!! We don't know what we're doing!" haha, I'm sure that was REAL encouraging. Honestly, we were reminded of God's incredible sovereignty in piecing all of this together and pulling us along on the most incredible, most rewarding adventure of our lives.