Home Sweet Home

I am home! And more grateful than ever to be here. I got home about 1:30 this afternoon and have spent the day kissing my beloved family members.

I cannot wait to show pictures and fill you in on the trip, but right now I am going to enjoy making up missed time with my husband and kids...and sleeping. 

Thank you for praying!

In case you have nothing better to do...

...you can read what is taking place in my life. 

I had a bit of free time this afternoon and just wanted to give more detail on what we have been up to in India.

India is really a beautiful country. It is winter here and the temperature is perfect (mid 70's). Everything is green and lush and I love looking at the country side. We spent the first few days traveling quite a bit, but the last four (or so...I've lost count) days in the same location. We will be here two more days before we take an overnight train ride to visit the Taj Mahal and then onto Deli. Honestly, I have lost count of days. I am not even sure what day of the week it is. I try to keep up with what day it is here, what time it is here, what day it is at home and what time it is at home. My brain is on overload. India is eleven and a half hours ahead of Texas. Confusing! And don't ask me where the half hour came from?!?

We have visited a girl's orphanage and three villages. The girls at the orphanage were amazing. I wanted to bring all forty home! Each village was very different from the other. The first village was very tribal. They live in a very remote location and when monsoons occur, they are cut off from the rest of society. We were the first white people they had ever seen. The adults thought we were gods and the children were terrified. It was an odd mix of welcomes!

Yesterday we spent the day traveling and visited Kama Sutra temples. It is one of the wonders of the world. It was really beautiful and intricate. The craftsmanship would be difficult to accomplish today, much less 1100 years ago.

Today was the first day of the Women's Seminar. It went really well. There are hundreds of beautiful women who have come to the first women's event of their life. First thing tomorrow morning, I will have the chance to speak to them. I am really excited. I think I am going to speak on 'moments'. As you well know, I am a procrastinator. This too, will be decided at the last minute. 

We also did a bit of shopping today. I LOVE shopping in India, it is the best! It is a bargainers dream. 

I don't want to bore you too much. I know how hard it is to understand or be interested in a journey that you have not experienced. I want to be sensitive to that. Plus, I don't have any pictures to share. Maybe I will steal more from Lezlie  :)

I will just tell you this...

India is a non-linear country. Meaning, they do not use a system of lines like we are accustomed to using. They do not have driving lanes. If there is a line painted, which is VERY uncommon, they don't stay in the lines. You do not have to stop at a traffic light (we have yet to stop for a red light) or a stop sign. There is no speed limit. In fact, there are no rules. And even if there were, there is no way to enforce them with contestant mass chaos.  It is so odd to me. 

Drivers stop to let herds of cattle, a goat, a pig or a dog cross the road. They will not stop for a human unless it is a child. Children of age two or three freely walk on the road with no supervision. 

People are everywhere. There are more people than you can image. Everyone should visit India at least once in their life. It is hard to put into words. 

I am missing my family so much, but they are doing well. The kids are having so much fun with their daddy and the rest of our family. Kayt rode a horse for the first time today and I missed it. I can't lie, I started tearing up when I heard what she did, but apparently she loved it. I wish I could have seen that little munchkin on a horse. Soon enough. 

Earlier, I had a little time to catch up with some friend's blogs. I remembered that Kelly was supposed to have her baby soon after I left. I was so excited to see her beautiful little girl, but was soon saddened by the complications Harper is having. Please pray for this sweet baby girl and her parents. I believe God is going to provide healing to her!

I love you Brad, Noah and Kayt! Watch the video I left for you on the computer. :)

Hugs everyone!

~Okay, this is funny...as I was finishing this up, I was just told that my speaking time had been moved to  tonight. Like in 1 hour. Remember that I told you I wasn't prepared? Haha. Gotta run figure out what God wants me to share :)

If you read this soon, pray that God speaks to and through me!

Sweet India

A people full of life, a culture abouding in tradition and a God full of majesty working in the midst....welcome to India.

I am watching the pages of National Geographic come to life before my eyes as I learn of the stories behind the people. Most stories tell of hands that labor with no end, feet the have traveled hundreds of miles to meet life's most basic needs and spirits that are continually joyful. Looking into the dark eyes of a child allows one to see directly into a heart that God is after. 

I have seen God in power through the worship of seventy five grown men who secretly worship together and then return to villages where they presume the role of church leader in a culture that makes outcasts of Christians. 

I have seen God's love for his people as I held a new born child who wore clothing of rags while his parents lovingly adored him from across a room of concrete walls and floor.

I have seen the mercy of God in the smiles of mentally challenged children taken in by strangers who understand that they are worthy of love and attention. 

I have watched the serenity of God in the swaying fields of grain that sprout mustard plants with tiny seeds. 

I have experienced the blessing of God when we are welcomed as royalty to a people who have never seen a white man. 

I have seen the creativity of God in a culture full of color, dance, and music. 

Things are great in India. I had a hard day yesterday missing my family, but today was wonderful and such a blessing to me. I am already really thankful for the things I have witnessed and the images ingrained in my mind. I know one reason for having such great days is because there are so many of you praying for our journey, thank you. 

Saying that I have experienced culture shock would be an understatement...geckos in the toilet, goats wearing clothing with children running around naked, and three year olds walking alone in a street with cars, motor scooters and buses swerving are only a few of the fascinating sights I have seen. 

Much love everyone,

Ash

See more pictures and updates on Lezlie's blog or here.

From the oposite side of the world...

Greetings from India! 

We arrived safely and I am having a great time. I have been overwhelmed and awestruck by the country of India. I am hoping I will have time to paint a mental picture for you of our encounters, but for now, you can see a bit of the beauty that God created in India. My internal clock is still a bit off, but I am slowly adjusting. An eleven and a half hour time difference makes a body confused. 

Check out Lezlie's blog.

Thank you for praying.

For my prayer warriors.

Tomorrow is the big day. For months, I have been anticipating January 15th, with a mix of emotions. Now, the time has arrived and God has already been doing a tremendous work in my heart. 

I wish I could tell you the amount of phone calls, letters, gifts, emails and encouragement that I have been given over the past week. I started weeping on the phone to Brad this morning at the though of how much the Lord has been loving on me as I prepare to leave. All I could ask Brad was why do people care so much? Why have so many people taken the time to be so good to me over the past week? I am doing nothing extravagant. I am going on a small trip to share Jesus and his love. People do this all the time. 

Yet, I know the answer. God has prompted them to do so because he has known just what my torn heart needed. 

One friend, that I barely know, brought by the a sweet card full of prophecies and symbolic gifts that will mean so much to me on my journey. I want to tell you all about her gift, but for sake of time, I will save the story. 

We have been taken to dinner, cooked for and prayed over. 

My beloved friends, gave me a bouquet of envelopes pouring with words of love and encouragement. I cannot wait to open one on each day of my trip. Thank you girls, so much!

Enough about that, but know that God is so good to meet all of us where we need to be met. 

Here is what I promised, a prayer assignment and specific ways you can be praying. My friend, Lezlie, is also going on the trip. Be sure to take her name to the Lord, too. 

I had asked the Lord for three people per day to pray. For our twelve day journey, that would be 36 people. Between the comments I received and the emails, guess how many people committed to pray? THIRTY SIX.  

For the sake of making this easier to read, I am going to do an assignment part and then a list of specific prayers for each day.  I put a few of you who I knew wouldn't mind on there twice since we will be finishing our travel home on the 27th. :)

Thursday 1/15- Tara, Kari, Sarah B.

Friday 1/16- Jessica V, Lindsey H, Jill

Saturday 1/17- Tessa,  Lindsay S., Taylor F. 

Sunday 1/18- Brittani, Katie, Donna G. 

Monday 1/19- Texas4Ever, Kristin, Nina

Tuesday 1/20- Sarah W., Ashley, Amber S. 

Wednesday 1/21-Amber D, Amy K, Kenzie

Thursday 1/22-Magen, Mandy, Megan

Friday 1/23-Amy B, Lindsey P, Kelly

Saturday 1/24-Robin, Tyler, Lauren

Sunday 1/25- Brenda, Taylor C, Heather

Monday 1/26- Denise, Avrie, Brooke S.

Tuesday 1/27-Sarah B., Magen, Amber D. 

Clear as mudd?

Now, this has been the kicker for me. I wanted people to be able to pray for the things we will do before we actually do them. With the time change, it has taken me a while to figure out how to best work this out. I believe this is correct...

Th 1/15- travel

F 1/16- travel, visit girls orphanage, visit house church

S 1/17- travel, half day vbs

Su 1/18- half day vbs

M 1/19- half day vbs

T 1/20- travel

W 1/21- Womens Retreat

Th 1/22- Women's Retreat (this is the day I will speak)

F 1/23- Women's Retreat 

S 1/24- travel, sight seeing

Su 1/25- travel, safety, independence parade

M 1/26- travel, flight from India to Chicago

T 1/27- travel, Chicago to home!

Daily ways to pray: 

My family at home. 

My husband as he cares for our angles. 

My heart to be focused on what God has called me to do. 

That God would protect my heart and mind from the desire to focus on 'home'. 

That the Lord would use me to minister.

Work in the hearts of those we encounter. 

Provision.

Favor.

Safety. 

Protection.

Other than what I have listed, I will just let the Lord direct you in specific ways to pray. 

Again, thank you so much. 

I will try to update the blog when I can, but you can also follow the trip here. 

This is what big brothers are for...

I would also like for you to notice Noah's clothing choices. Only on church days and 'school' days do I pick out his clothing. All other times, he's the clothing boss. 

And I am not sure why I take pictures of many of my kids messes. It's just something I do. I cannot seem to take pictures on Christmas, yet I have tons of pictures like this. Doesn't make any sense, does it?

Future. TYMTJ-Day 10

We shall finish up by looking forward. 

Press into praying for your man's future; everything God has in store after this very minute. So many things that will happen for you and your man will be far greater than you can currently conjure up. We serve a God that does not have his hands tied. He is mighty!

Our focus:

Protect him.

Bless his health.

Guard his mind.

Hold fast to his heart.

Go before him.

Be his counselor, his confidante, his help and his refuge.

Surround him with people who will speak life into him.

Be his shield and his firm foundation. 

Light his way and give him hope. 

_______________________________

Thank you, friends,  for joining my on this journey; we made it! Way to be a faithful mate. You have also helped hold me accountable to doing what God called me to do. I can almost guarantee that I would have weaseled my way out early, if not for you. Gracias!

I have had calls and emails from people wanting to start the journey late or print and keep the posts as references. This was never my goal, but for anyone who would like them, I have put an easily accessible links on the right side. Happy Monday!

 

Jesus Time. TYMTJ-Day 9

Anyone still trucking with me? When you say pray for ten days, it seems a small feat. Yet, when you put ten days of hard-core praying to the test, it doesn't seem so small does it? I am confident that our dudes will reap from our diligent, loving efforts. 

On the first Sunday of our journey, we prayed for our man's worship. Now, here we are back to Sunday and I just cannot get away from the fact that this is a day in which most of us take our worship public. So let us focus on his Jesus time today. 

Spending time with the Lord. A statement, a question, a request....

Whether or not you know that your husband spends daily, quality time with the Lord or not, let's seek this for him.  Now, don't you start judging your man. What does your time with the Lord look like? Yeah. That's what I thought. 

I kid, I kid.

As we go through our day today, let us really just press into this topic for our man. Pray for your future husband, that God would do these things in his heart this very day and that God would develop discipline in him now, rather than later. May we all step closer to the Lord as we take this cry of our heart to Him. 

Our focus:

Draw him into an intimate time of worship.

Call him away to a quiet place.

Drown out life. 

Speak with clarity.

Reveal yourself.

Love him.

Give life to your Word.

Pour out revelation.

Grant him accountability in his journey of following Christ.

Shape him into a man of integrity, character and self-discipline. 

The Past. TYMTJ-Day8

Long before you knew your man and even early on in your relationship, there were many events and much life that took place. Just as our past has much responsibility for determining who we are on this day, so does our mans. 

Let's pray for our guys life, before today. We want life before today to be an encouragement for his present and his future. Though we cannot change the past, we can learn from it, grow through it and become mature because of it. When our man may not think to pray for his past, let us take that responsibility on ourselves. As we pray for his past, let us ask Jesus to reconcile it. May we also thank the Lord for developing him into the man he is today.

Our focus:

Seek forgiveness for yourself if there are any areas in his past that you have yet to forgive or have developed bitter roots. 

Ask that he would have full forgiveness of himself for who he used to be.

Allow his past to be used to encourage him in his future.

May he learn from past triumphs, successes, failures, and sins.

Would he be able to use each part of who he is as a testimony to Christ and his faithfulness. 

Pray that his past is not where his thoughts dwell.

Give him eyes to see that you are doing a new thing. 

Reveal yourself faithful in the past, giving the promise of being faithful in the present and the hope of being faithful in the future.

His family. TYMTJ-Day 7

I am a little behind in posting this. I got so caught up in the game last night and my girl-time with Sarah that I neglected to pre-post. 

Onto day seven...

I really think it would be meaningful to spend one day focused on your husband's family. If you are married, this is now your family as well, but these are the people that knew him and loved him long before you did. 

I realize that families can be a very 'sticky' situation in some cases. I ask you to put opinions, disagreements and past hurts aside today. No matter the family circumstance, the Lord used family blessings and trials in your man's life to develop him into the guy you are so crazy about. As easy or difficult as it may be, spend today focused on your man's family, taking them before the Lord. 

Our focus: 

Thank Jesus for a family that brought such a wonderful man into the world.

Pray for mended family relationships (if needed).

Petition that Jesus would make himself real and known to his family; call each person out by name. 

Ask for protection to surround his family members. 

Pray for the health of family.

Give wisdom to family members.

Pray that your husband would be quick to honor his family. 

Seek out wisdom so that both you, and your man may know and agree on what family legacies to pass along and what God desires to break and rebuild in your family.