Wednesday, August 18, 2010

Micah's BIG Announcement!




Micah would like for everyone to know that as well as turning two years old in April, he is also going to be a big brother! We are very excited about baby Burch #3 as we are calling it right now. With our timeline of trying to get to France by January of 2012, we are hoping that this timing makes it so that we don't have to delay our trip because of a pregnancy. We greatly appreciate your prayers in this new adventure. We are still very early in the pregnancy but we wanted to share it with you so that you would know how you can be praying for us right now. For those of you who have never read this blog and were curious about the "big announcement" you are definitely invited to take a look at the rest of the blog and learn more about our heart for missions in France. For, those who want to know more about our progress, I will get an update on here very soon! Thanks again for joining us in this journey!

Monday, July 19, 2010

Let Us Pray




After reading the book, Radical, that I told you about in my last post, there were several things that I was impacted to do. One of them was to enlarge my prayer focus as well as educate my children about missions and people groups around the world. As a part of the "Radical Experiment" that David Platt challenges us with, he recommends a couple of books to help us know how to specifically pray for particular areas of the world. One of these books directed at children and families is called Window on the World. We have added this book to our nightly Bible Story and prayer time. My kids are one and two and a half, so there are way too many words on the page to read it all. However, there are great pictures and we can pick a few things to focus on and pray for those. As they get older and can sit still a little longer we can read and learn more. It would really be great for teenagers even! As we approach our mission calling we will be specifically focusing on France and the French people, but it is great that we can know what is going on around the world and how we can be a part of that in prayer. I remember when I was teaching French at two elementary schools in the Memphis City Schools district. I had 5th and 6th graders who when asked if they could name other countries would say "Arkansas" or "Mississippi". They had no idea that there was more out there! If they had been out of Memphis, they thought they had seen it all. I want my children to be aware of those around the world who don't grow up with the luxuries that we have much less grow up knowing who Jesus is. I want them to be able to see beyond their little "world" and see how big our God is! I want our family to be a part of something bigger than what we are able to physically accomplish. Its so great to know that even before we get to the mission field we can be a part of missions. Its so easy to get caught up in every day life, so its important to take a moment and change our perspective! I definitely need it as much as my kids do! If you are interested in buying this book, or Operation World, which is more adult-focused, you can find them at a good price on Amazon.com. Last night at church, the preacher read through the prayer of Jabez and I have not been able to get out of my mind the words "enlarge my borders". That's what I want. I want to pray BIG and expect God to work beyond what I could ever begin to imagine...whether that means providing the support that we need to get to France or to work in an area of the world that I will probably never see! It all begins with prayer!

Sunday, June 27, 2010

Back Off Satan!


It seems like Satan has really been at work in the lives of my friends and family over the past few months. I have spent too many nights in tears over the people who have been affected by him. This past week while I was at our church summer camp, we were singing one of Chris Tomlin's songs that reminded me of the promise in Romans 8:31 "What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who is against us?" I am reminded of how big my God is and how in the end, we win! No matter what Satan throws at us in this life, he has already lost the war! I know is sounds cliche, but I am making it my goal to think eternally and not dwell on the sadness here in the present. With that being said, I am also making it my goal to be a true prayer warrior for those I love. I want to ask for your prayer for our good friend, Kathryn Lohness, who has been serving in France with World Team. She and her husband, David are the friends that we met while we were living in France. They took care of us, treated us like their kids and invited us to celebrate all the Holidays with them while we were there. They were such a blessing to us and they have a church plant in Le Deluge, France that has been growing since we left. Kathryn has just found out that she has breast cancer. They will be operating hopefully within the next two weeks. I know they would appreciate your prayers even though you do not know them. Finally I want to tell you about a book that I have been reading that does an amazing job discussing our role in global missions no matter who we are. He challenges the view that many Americans take when it comes to reaching the lost around the world. Here is a short excerpt from the book... "I'm not called"..."I wonder if we have in some ways intentionally and in other ways unknowingly erected lines of defense against the global purpose God has for our lives. It's not uncommon to hear Christians say, 'Well, not everyone is called to foreign missions,' or more specifically, 'I am not called to foreign missions.' When we say this we are usually referring to foreign missions as an optional program in the church for a faithful few who apparently are called to do that. In this mind-set, missions is a compartmentalized program of the church, and select folks are good at missions and passionate about missions. Meanwhile, the rest of us are willing to watch the missions slide shows when the missionaries come home, but in the end God has just not called most of us to do the missions thing. But where in the Bible is missions ever identified as an optional program in the church? We have just seen that we were all created by God, saved from our sins and blessed by God to make his glory known in all the world. Indeed, Jesus himself has not merely called us to go to all nations; he has created us and commanded us to go to all nations. We have taken this command, though, and reduced it to a calling- something that only a few people receive." I will leave the rest for you to read on your own. The book is called Radical by David Platt. It is a short book and an easy read. Definitely worth checking out! He asks some tough questions that have changed my way of thinking. I want to be "Radical"!

Wednesday, May 26, 2010

"I'm not scared!"

My two year old daughter, Karis will tell me "I'm not scared" when she is in fact afraid of something. I'm not sure if she is trying to convince me or herself. I have been constantly telling God (and myself) that I am not scared to move my family to another country and raise my children in a different culture, but the fact is that I am scared! I am terrified at the thought of asking other people to provide the financial support that we will need. I cannot imagine how much my life will change over the next few years, and I must admit, change and I do not get along!! Last night Brandon was telling me about a blog of a girl who must have been scared out of her mind, but she was obedient to God's call. She did not hesitate at all, and the cost was great. I was reading some of her posts in tears and at the same time truly inspired. I am scared, but I am called by God and so I know that He will provide for our needs. I wanted to give you the link to this blog. It is an amazing story. You should definitely check it out, but grab a box of tissues first!...www.kissesfromkatie.blogspot.com.

Wednesday, May 19, 2010

"Baby Steps"

As the mom of a new walker, I am realizing the meaning of the phrase "baby steps". Neither of my kids walked very early. In fact, Karis was fifteen months old. They both seemed to focus more on talking. What can I say? They are my children! Micah, however was a little different than Karis. Karis was not all that coordinated. She still walks into walls and doors and such (also something that she gets from her mom). With Micah it was VERY obvious that he could walk if he wanted to, but he was determined that crawling was better- faster, more effective, easier. At thirteen months he finally decided to take those steps. His baby steps were a little slower and a little more wobbly for a few days, but it didn't take long for him to take off. Now he is almost as quick walking as he is crawling and very soon I won't be able to keep up with him! As I think about this, I can compare it to our journey back to France. For a long time we refused to even take baby steps in the process. It was easier to stay where we were- nice and comfortable. We were quick and effective in our ministry here and it was easier not to think about the future at all. Now that we have begun to take those first steps, we see how much better walking is than crawling. We have felt much support from friends and family already. So far, it has been a great experience. I know that there will be falls and stumbling blocks as we continue to move forward, but we are trusting God to be in control of our timeline. With that said, I wanted to give you our timeline. We are hoping to be in France in either December 2011 or January 2012. I have added a FAQ's section to our blog that will hopefully answer some of the questions you may have as well as give you more details about how you can partner with us in this ministry. Thanks again for your interest and support!

Tuesday, May 11, 2010

"Here am I, send me."

Then I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, 'Whom shall I send, and who will go for Us?' Then I said, 'Here am I, send me!'" -Isaiah 6:8 A few months ago I could not get this verse out of my head no matter how hard I tried. After several sleepless nights, I gave in and got up to put my thoughts down on paper which is where this blog began... At this point, I want to back up and give you a little history on my family. Brandon and I were married on September 17th, 2004 and moved to Beauvais, France one week later. I had a position teaching English to French students and Brandon was "along for the ride". While we were there we attended a small protestant church and became friends with the missionaries who were working with them. By the time that our year-long adventure was over, we both felt a call to return someday as missionaries ourselves. We began to prepare for this as Brandon attended Mid-America Baptist Theological Seminary and earned a Masters of Missiology degree in May of 2009. We also began the process with a mission called World Team. We were accepted and did our vision trip back to France in July of 2008 with our 6 month old daughter, Karis. After that, things got crazy as our son, Micah, was born in April of 2009. Brandon is the high school minister at First Baptist Church in Millington, TN. He, of course stays very busy with his ministry there and we had been thinking less and less about our calling to France. I must admit that I had even begun to doubt that call. I could not and cannot imagine taking my children away from their family and friends, but Brandon and I came to a crossroads where we had to make a decision of whether we would GO or not. A few weeks ago we drove to Montgomery, AL to meet with our missionary friends, David and Kathryn Lohness, while they were in the states visiting supporters. They encouraged us and prayed with us and by the time we came home a few short days later, we were ready to move forward. So, that brings me to the title of my blog "Allons-y!" which in French means "Let's go!". I feel it is appropriate to say "let's" including YOU because whether you are called to physically go to another country as a missionary or not, we are all called to "go" in Matthew 28:19-20. Brandon and I cannot go without you! We need your prayer and support. I am starting this blog to keep you informed about our process of getting back to France. I will try to keep you updated on our progress and let you know of any specific needs, prayer or otherwise. Thanks so much for being a part of this journey with us!