Home Sweet Home?

I started reading again in 1 Peter today. The first few verses stopped me. Let me share them. 1 Peter 1:1-2 "Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ, To God's elect, STRANGERS IN THE WORLD, scattered throughout Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia and Bithynia, who have been chosen, according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through the sanctifying work of the Spirit, for obedience to Jesus Christ and sprinkling by his blood." For some reason, I stopped on, "strangers in the world." I needed to think about how much I am a stranger in this world. What does that mean for me? What does that look like? A timely reminder that this world is NOT my home! Where do I find solace, comfort, what am I clinging to? In John 14:23 Jesus says this, "If anyone loves me, he will obey my teaching. My Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him." What a powerful statement! If I am saved, a child of God who has repented of my sins and accepted the free gift of Jesus' perfect sacrifice of blood on the cross, then I am home always and wherever with my Lord and Savior! If there is no place to lay my head, I need not worry, I am still home. What peace, what comfort, what love of my God to make His home inside of me.
Lest we forget and get comfortable in this world, which I have been and will always struggle with, we need only to remind ourselves that Jesus said, "Foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay his head." This in a section of verses about the cost of following Jesus.
Challenged to keep eternity on my mind, and God as my home, the place where He wraps my heart up in His love and where there is no sweeter a place to rest. May I appear to not be from this world...an alien, a foreigner, one on a mission. On mission in Zambia, here, or WHEREVER God may call us in the little time we have left. Oh, Lord, let me not be comfortable in this world, let me be marked as a stranger! Now, I know some of you who know me would say, well yes, you are strange. I will not deny that! Ha! Let's all be a little lost in this world remembering that we have been found!

No Extra Tunic

I am sitting at Starbucks soaking up my first real warm sunshine, pondering what God wants me to share. I hear the birds chirping and the bells on the tower of the Opera House, the classical music in the park and see the familiar faces of people I know passing by my little table. It is these things I am also trying to soak in, the sounds and comforts of Woodstock, Il. My little gazebo in the park, my favorite shops, the sound of the cars on the cobblestone and the Farmers Market. It is a slice of MidWest heaven. I know we are leaving this all behind. The comforts and "some of my favorite things".

After getting rid of almost everything we own over the past few weeks, and moving out of our house, I was taken back to a verse that God had challenged me with years ago when we first considered possibly moving to Zambia full-time. It is in Matthew 10:9-"Do not take along any gold or silver or copper in your belts; take no bag for the journey, or extra tunic, or sandals or a staff; for the worker is worth his keep." It is in the context of Jesus sending out the disciples to evangelize the jewish people. The question is would I be willing to do this if I was one of the disciples standing before Jesus? IF this is what God asked of me? Will you go with nothing? No back up? No safety net? No plan B? Are you willing to see that your work is worth your keep, so to speak? My husband and I had a lot to overcome in regards to becoming long-term missionaries. It was one thing to raise money for trips, projects, and other Zambia needs mostly for other people. It was clearly another to raise money for us to go and live in Zambia full-time. Even though I grew up in a church that was mission minded and heard many missionaries over the years, it was still very hard to make that jump to now we are the ones asking for money so we can live in a Majority World country and reach people who do not know about Jesus. But the answer to that question was, "Yes."

Though we are leaving behind more than just "some of my favorite things", much more than material possessions and creature comforts. I know I am leaving behind family and friends, worship pals, prayer partners and those who are my, "iron that sharpens iron" (you know who you all are!). But God is calling. I entrust not only them to Him but myself and my family. We will go with "no extra tunic." No turning back, no turning back.

Help us get to 100% funded by the end of summer! We need monthly partners now. Be a part of what God is doing in Zambia. Go to www.iteams.us/give

Thank you for all the prayer and support over the years as we have continued to move toward this goal of living alongside those we are ministering to, soaking in their everyday lives, and caring enough to be in relationship with them, in the dust and the dirt. Kinda like Jesus.

I THOUGHT IT WAS SPRING!

Now, I realize I live in the Mid-West, but when the calendar states it is spring and there is a snow storm two days later, it is hard not to wonder what happened. Winter is long enough.  We NEED it to be spring!

I was thinking about this concept in our spiritual lives as well. We wait for and expect one thing when something else is given. How does that make us feel? Do we question what our motives were, or if God’s call to us was real? Do we allow our feet to falter and wonder where God could be? When we are holding out for spring and winter is what we get it can sometimes make us wonder what is going on. 

I was looking back in Exodus 17 and I had this written in my margin of my Bible-“How do I feel about following God and still having the ‘bottom fall out?” This is in the context of Moses and the Israelites in the desert after the Red Sea and the waters at Marah and the manna and quail. In chapter 17 Moses and the Israelites are in the Desert of Sin and need water again. They are complaining and feel hopeless. They were arguing with Moses (can you imagine all those people coming up against Moses?) and blaming him for all that had gone “wrong”. They were about to stone him! So here I ask the question, are we willing to continue on when there is no water and trust God? Are we willing to walk the path He has laid out before us even when winter comes and it was supposed to be spring? Will we seek His face in the midst of seeming failure and wait on His next steps? Or will we be like the Israelites and say, “Is the Lord among us or not?” 

Imagine a similar scenario today. What would we be saying on the side-lines? As the world watched what comments would be made of not only Moses but of his God? THEN in the very next section, Moses leads the people on after God did end up providing water and they defeat the Amalekites because Moses lifted up his hands to the God of heaven. The God he was still following and worshipping. Wow. Moses could have turned back to Egypt at that point, but he followed His God. What does the “bottom falling out” look like for you? If we know we are following God and walking with Him, let us remember that in the big picture, God is working where we cannot see. Let us be as Moses. Willing to walk triumphantly out of Egypt, be almost stoned to death in the desert and still courageously walk forward with God no matter who is willing to believe with us. 

How does Moses continue on? How does he know God is there? Because God was speaking to him. He knew God’s voice. He chose to trust. Do we know God’s voice? There are many voices out there…we need to make sure we are hearing God’s and when we do, we need to 100% follow it. No turning back, no turning back…even when the "bottom falls out". 

International Women’s Day March 8th, 2015

In light of International Women’s Day I wanted to take some space in the saturated pool of voices on the needs of women around the world. As I have been to a multitude of International Women’s Day events over the years, I have found one thing missing in the mantra of women’s rights in the secular events claiming to have the answers for not only women in the Majority World but for us in the First World. While it was always exciting to celebrate a day to lift up women and our needs and desires, it ultimately left me feeling like I wanted to stand up and shout that this is not all there is people….glass ceilings, education, access to medicine, and opportunity (whatever vagueness that suggested). While these are important things to discuss and have answers for, we, as Christians, have a far more powerful, exciting, fulfilling, uplifting and eternal answer to the needs of women around the world. The answer to the most fundamental human need, the need for a Savior, a Savior from our sin that marks us unworthy before a Holy God. The answer to our empty hearts and souls, the answer to our need for relationship, and the answer to why we desire to worship something. Jesus is the answer to our problems. The One who speaks life into the lifeless, healing in the hearts of the abused and wholeness to the broken. The One who gives joy despite our circumstances and fullness of life despite our bank accounts or education. 

This, this is why I am willing to go and be a drink offering poured out to the women of Zambia. My God has made a way, Jesus is the propitiation of my sins, the atoning sacrifice, the justification to a holy God and the sanctification of my life surrendered to Him as not only my Savior but my Lord. Jesus is the overcomer, the giver of life and the bondage breaker of strongholds and demonic power, if we bend our knee to Him. This is the message that the women of the world need to hear amongst the other voices. It is in the miraculous life of a believer, poor or rich, educated or uneducated, sick or healthy, that God’s power is seen and His love lived out. God is revealing His salvation to women who have humbled themselves around the globe, and increasingly to the world’s poorest. God’s name is being made famous, glory and honor are being given because poor, simple women bent their knee and surrendered. The harvest is ready….the altering of a woman’s eternal destination is at stake. Let us be the givers of food, freedom and FORGIVENESS! The world is desperately trying to answer the problems of extreme poverty, abuse, and violence against women. Let us be the problem fixers, the ones who will pray to overcome dark strongholds and intercede for women we have never met. To pray for angels to protect supernaturally and for battles to be won in the heavenly realms. For the Kingdom of Heaven to come to this earth through women who are willing to say, “I am the Lord’s servant…May it be to me as you have said.” 

My prayer is that the light of Heaven would flow out of me and that my hands would touch, write, hug, work, hold, dig, or whatever needs to be done to reach women who are lost. That my mouth would speak the Truth that brings freedom and that the Name that frightens every demon would be boldly proclaimed. That my mind would be renewed every day and my heart open to be searched by God that all sin, and worldliness would be eradicated from my life so I might be an empty vessel filled up and overflowing. I pray for any woman today that is reading this and is not sure of your eternal destination, that you would reach out to me or another believer who might share that God wants to transform you spiritually, physically and emotionally. All aspects of women are important and they all need to be addressed to be able to bring purpose to the poor, safety to the scared, and life to the lost. Pray today and intercede with me for women around the globe, imagine their lives and ask God to give you women to pray for, countries to claim for God’s kingdom and miraculous stories that would only point to our Lord and Savior. 

Blessings to all my woman friends and the women of history that have sacrificed to be the hands and feet of Jesus to a dying world. 

Between Two Worlds

Between two worlds between two loves
One that is here and one that floods
There was a time I was shrinking back
When I would say we'll get there when the red turns to black
I would smile, I would nod
and just say we're trusting God
But in His Presence God spoke
and said it's ok to feel like you are choked
The passion you have is the other end
It's exactly where I want you, friend
I want you trusting me here
and desiring there
dance with me today
and tonight be in the fray
For there is no other way for you to grow
when you have no other place to go
than on your face waiting for each step
as you live between this chapter and what's next

Kristin Choitz
2015

REST

My verse for 2015

Entering 2015 has been precarious. I moved into 2015 shedding 2014 but with the effects of it still attached like snake skin I am trying to rid myself of. I pray that I would be able to let that which is following me, the hurt, pain, suffering and agony, fall into the hands of my Father in Heaven. I think part of me wanted to spring into this new year with boldness, prayers answered, the path to Zambia sealed and all relationships in my life singing the glories of reconciliation, repentance and honor. That is not where I find myself.

Last year I sat quietly hearing God say that 2014 was going to be tough, that it was going to be really hard. I couldn't imagine how things could get worse but they did.

As with previous years, I continue to learn that God wants me at His feet and in His presence. That is enough. He wants me to REST in Him. That is my word for this year.

It is ironic that God has given me this word in what will probably be the busiest of any year on record. The year we will move to Zambia. It is not a mistake though. This REST is not the kind in which I will find myself by an ocean reading a good book. It is the REST I will experience in Him, in His presence in the middle of the storm. The REST I will accept in our calling and our service to our Lord and Savior. The place where I will worship God for, despite and because of everything going on in my life.

I have been studying Ezekiel and keep landing on the phrase, "The glory of the Lord". I wanted to study that a little more so I reached out for a pastor friend of mine and he gave me some verses to read. One of which was Exodus 33:14-"The Lord replied, 'My PRESENCE will go with you, and I will give you REST." He did not know my word for the year but God used him to confirm where He wants me. Resting in His glory.

As I claim 2015 for Zambia (and REST in God to get us there), I do so with a vision in my heart for Chibolya, which means graveyard. A vision for Chiboyla to be given a new name through the powerful love of Jesus and His resurrection power where He overcame death so that this hopeless community in Chongwe, Zambia could be given a new name and people freed from bondage and the old name thrown off for the glory of God! That I will REST in.

Blessings to everyone as we march, crawl, slip, jump, bound, run, walk or sail into 2015!

Remembering 2014

While I am looking forward to the new year of 2015, I felt God directing me to look back. To look back to last year at this time when I was sitting quietly, asking God about 2014. Wondering what the year would hold and what God wanted to show me. God asks the Israelites to do this often, He asks them to remember what He did, to look back. In Joshua chapter 4 the Israelites took 12 stones out of the Jordan river that they had just crossed and set them up at Gilgal so that, "In the future when your descendants ask their fathers, 'What do these stones mean?' tell them, 'Israel crossed the Jordan on dry ground."

Remembering, looking back, at what God has done allows us to remember who He is. God is faithful, holy, just, righteous, merciful and sovereign. I remember wanting 2013 to be over last year at this time, I remember asking God what 2014 was going to hold for me (I was hoping it would be better than 2013)....I was not so excited with His answer. "Hold tight," He said, "Stay close to me, your struggles and trials are not over." I am grateful now, that He gave me those words, that I would have those words and Him to cling to. I didn't know it at the time, but 2014 would be even harder than 2013. And as I look back, I can see one thing very clearly, God was with me and I will remember that. He gave me Joshua 1:9 as my verse for 2014 and boy would it resonate in my soul through the year. "Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go." I will remember He was my strength and my comfort. I will remember that He was my firm foundation and my resting place. I will remember that His Word was the pillar of truth that all circumstances and situations would crash up against. And that He and His Word are faithful and true. I will remember how He gave me a testimony, sermon or devotion at just the right time, just when I needed to know I was doing the right thing and trusting Him with the outcome. I will remember that He allowed me the courage to stand firm and lovingly do the hard thing which is always the right thing. He allowed me the ability to let go and let God. And I will remember that He has brought me, "thus far". I will remember how He provided for us to go back to Zambia and how His hand was supernaturally present in all decisions there. I will remember how He allowed us to be encouraged and encourage others in Zambia; women on the streets and men in compounds. I will remember how He gave me a peace that passes all understanding despite what was going on at home. I will remember that He has called me and gifted me to do His work. See, He was faithful then and He is faithful now.

After taking time to reflect back, it is time to look forward. I will sit before my God and ask for His direction in moving into the new year. What word and verse does He want to gift to me? What goodness does He want to impart? I believe that He wants to give us more of Him, His presence in our lives. As I learned in December, I do not need to know the future or have security or safety, I just need more of Him. Again Lord, reveal more of You to me in this next year. And let us remember He is already in 2015!
Happy New Year everyone and I hope this new year is marked by more of Him in us!