Long time...no post...

I feel like I should apologize for the long, overdue update I have yet to post until now, but I'm constantly trying to apologize less, so I'm not going to :-). HERE'S AN UPDATE!

A lots of wonderful and hard things have been happening since my last post.
#1: Church
C3 has been moving along at exactly His pace, which is so exciting to watch. We have a new couple who has felt led by the Lord to become a major part of C3! SO EXCITING! I love them so much already and am so excited to work with them. David and Margaret are from San Diego and Margaret actually used to be Shad's preschool teacher (hence the connection to the Salazars). They came out here for our Easter weekend to help and visit and felt stirred to come out here and help regularly. Since that weekend, they have at least twice a month to pray, serve, and seek God's direction. Long story short, they feel God is urging them to move out here!! He has given them favor with their landlord to break their lease, has provided a job interview for Margaret, and has been working mightily on their hearts. We as a staff are, and I am personally, so thrilled and blessed by the Lord's provision in them. It will be so exciting to see how God uses their gifts to bless the Body and further His kingdom out here.
Also, the Lord has provided a temporary (maybe?) worship leader for our services! HUGE relief for Mark, let me tell you. Justin has been playing worship at various churches in the desert for sometime now and is very interested in pursuing worship leading. He is planning on applying to worship leading school (I didn't even know that existed!) and in the mean time, helping lead at C3! We are so excited to see God grow Justin and grow C3 as we worship together.
#2: Community
Not that C3 isn't my community, but I'm more specifically talking about the community God has tremendously blessed me with alongside C3. I really am blown away by the faithfulness of the Lord. As I've mentioned before, He has led into this intentional circle of women, and men, who are seeking Him wholeheartedly and chasing after Truth. Everyday I feel more and more blessed and honored to be a part of this group, seeking Him together and following Him. One couple in our group is currently pursuing fostering and then adopting...AND THEY JUST MET THEIR KIDS THIS WEEK!! So unbelievably exciting. I'm not sure how much I should disclose, but they will act as their foster parents for several months before the kids become legally available for adoption. There are 3 kids: 4 year old girl, 3 year old boy and 2 year old boy. Nicole and Steve, aforementioned couple, have never had kids, so needless to say, prayer during this transition is needed and greatly appreciated. Also, they found out this week that the sibling have an older half-brother in a different foster family that may be up for adoption very soon that Nicole and Steve are praying about adopting as well. Please pray for the Lord's guidance and direction. It is so amazing to see how the Lord has prepared their hearts for these children.
God is constantly moving and changing in our community. A few different families are going to or have recently moved, a new baby has been born, a couple is getting married next month; it would seem as if God is stirring something, some change in all of us...preparing us for something...though what that is, I have no idea. God has been speaking during our time of prayer powerfully and is gradually unveiling all of our gifts; showing how they fit and work together for His good. I really don't know if I've ever been a part of such an intentional, honest community. I am beyond thrilled :-).
#3: Job
Sigh....I mean, literal sigh...out loud. My job has been a great challenge lately. Not a constant challenge, but a great one none the less. My honeymoon period with my kids is definitely over. They are testing me, pushing me, pushing each other and honestly, I'm not so fond of it. I know I need to have patience; things will get better with time. But that doesn't make it any easier. I'm consistently saddened by the way the kids speak to each other, speak to me, speak of themselves. There is some sort of physical altercation usually every week that I have to get in the middle of. Not anything serious yet, but it is draining. I would SO appreciate prayer and guidance with how to deal with the confrontation I'm facing everyday. I feel very limited in how I can tackle this situation, since I can't share my faith with them, but I know God is good and is using me in this position.
I also have to commute more than I thought for my job. We have almost biweekly meetings out of town, and by out of town I mean 3 hours away Irvine out of town. I find blessing in the time in my car by myself, but it is taking a great deal of time away from my kids and it's a strain on my car.
So in general, I would really love prayer for my job as a whole. He provided this position and I'm trusting Him with it. Even so, I can feel the ugly monster of aggravation and irritation pushing it's way into my mind and heart and I don't like it.

So! Lot's going on! And I still don't have a camera to post pictures :-(. But I so appreciate all of you praying for me and following what God is doing here in the desert with me. He is mighty and good. Powerful and strong. Gracious and kind. Ever present. Ever moving. And Indio is a testament to that.

In Him,
Lindsay