SPRING IS HERE!!!

sept 23, 2019

Here in swaziland our ministry host David hosts a weekly-ish song writing class. He said that we almost always are worshipping, that is in all areas of our lives not just singing, out of a place of celebration or desperation. So this is me, in fully on undone messy celebration, giving a shout of thanksgiving. i’ve said this a couple times, but the word testimony biblically means “do it again”. So Jesus would you do something crazy like this again?!

Winter seasons in our faith can be extremely tough. Winter season in our lives too. Those times where everything should be full, overflowing with contentment and thanksgiving. I thought that would be all of Swaziland;abundance that looked abundant. Yet, for some of my time it has felt dry, cold, and looked a lot like winter. In certain areas of my life and even my faith I have looked up and seen dead leaves where I expectant abundant green and multiplied fruit. I asked the Lord why and what he was doing one day, and this is what he said: Carissa, roots grow faster in the winter. He gave me this picture of a tree in a winter blizzard; the top bore no fruit or leaves. Yet under the soil were deep rooted growing roots. Heavenly colors surrounded the soil and it was so evident that growth was happening despite the barren exposed top. The Lord in showing me this told me about how when the energy isn’t being used for fruit or leaves that the tree can focus on the roots being grown. He said he was doing that in my faith. That in days where it feels dry I can still push into the truth of knowing for a fact that He’s good, that he’s working on my behalf, that the holy spirit is in fact interceding in accordance to God’s will (romans 8:26). With this winter seasons thing, he started telling me that in the winter when you walk through a forest, you can see a lot further than in the summer. In seasons of flurishing, leaves block your view of how far you’ve come. He encouraged me to look back while it was winter and showed me so much beauty and revelation in even that alone.  A while back someone told me that faith was like a savings account. Daily commitment to putting in more wisdom, time, and commitment would bring us intimacy and relationship with Jesus. I think a lot of time I think of faith as a checking account. Too often it’s wanting a quick return on my work. But winter seasons have slowly been teaching me how to have total reliance, even when i’m not seeing the fruit. I was telling my squad leader one day about what i’ve seen the Lord grow in swaziland, what things im still waiting on, and what things still feel like complete winter. At the end of our conversation she quietly said “yeah… but spring is coming. SPRING IS COMING!!!!” because swaziland/the southern hemisphere has reverse seasons from the states, we just came out of winter into spring. I realized this as she said it and we had a moment of giddiness. I knew the Lord had promised some things here in swazi and that he was about to take me from winter to spring. The next day I woke up, and I kid you not, it was spring. The grass was budding green, the mountain behind our house was green in the morning sun, the trees were flowering, little white flower bushes came up everywhere, and the huge cactus by our trash pit was blooming; the first and only time I saw it bloom. IT WAS SUPERNATURAL OVERNIGHT PHYSICAL FUFILLMENT OF A SPIRITUAL PROMISE. The Lord literally shifted a season to show me his goodness. 

Jerry is one of our 3 drivers!!!! One of the sweetest and most hilarious guys we’ve met!!

JESUS YOU SAID YOU WOULD MAKE IT SPRING AND YOU DID !!!

nov 23,2019

happy thanksgiving, celebrate with me, what can I be celebrating with you about?