when Jesus breaks out of the box i put Him in.

this is going to be long, but so full of Jesus moments it will be worth your time.

allison and i were driving back from clearwater today and we were listening to the hillsong cd she had in her car. i was thinking about my baby girls and the fellowship event we have coming up on sunday night. i decided to send a short text alerting them of the fun ahead and realized that i had 28 girls to send a text to. because my mind is so weird, i then began to think about how many cars it would take (filled to the seat belt limit--safety first) to get my girls to my car if everyone came. then i thought, no wait...i can't even fit all of my baby girls in a FIFTEEN PASSENGER VAN. there physically isn't a car that i can legally drive with my current age and license to transport all of my baby girls.
while thinking on numbers, i remembered my favorite verse in malachi.

"Test me in this," declares the Lord Almighty, "and see if I do not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that you will not have room to store it."

Malachi 3:10b

if we think of a fifteen passenger van as a storehouse...yeah, i guess you could say that we have less than adequate room. when you include my coleader and i, we're only one shy of needing THREE VANS to transport us all.

so i then look at the cd case in my hand and see the explanation of where the cd generated.

while in bogota, colombia, hillsong was about to perform when the power went out. the crowd began to roar; not in agony or in fear, but in excitement. and not the sort of excitement that the concert is about to start, but excitement that they were there to worship Jesus. the hillsong guy commented on how this was when it truly sank in that no matter where he was, Jesus was there first because He created every single one of the people he was performing in front of.

this got me thinking about Lebanon. i started thinking about the women that i'm going to be encountering and how they will visibly be able to tell a difference between themselves and i. not just by my clothes, but the smile i wear on my face and my sense of freedom. they're so depressed and put into these horrible conditions, but i have been given freedom through the blood of the Lamb. i could hear God saying to me,

"Rebekah...why are you so burdened about your work in Lebanon? I am there now, as I am with you. I am already working and your job is going to be so easy because I have paved the way. And your girls? They're mine first. I'm just loaning them to you. Why do you complain about the task I have given you? You've asked for big things your entire life, and now I'm giving them to you, so please stop complaining. I only ask for you to love them. The only thing that I ever ask of you is for you to obey Me. Trust Me with your girls; follow Me to Lebanon. Trust Me to raise your money. Please."

being the idiot that I am, I continued to doubt that it was really my place to be this summer.

"Okay, God. If you really want me to go to Lebanon, I would really enjoy $1000 by the end of Spring Break. One thousand dollars shouldn't be that difficult for You to bring in during one week."

so, i show up back at my apartment and check my mailbox and find 10 letters. whoo hoo! ten letters in four days!! i start opening them in my living room and i am getting some pretty nice numbers on some checks and in cash. while i have two left, one was from a $500 supporter during my clearwater days, and the other was a $20 supporter. i opened the $500 supporter's envelope only to find $100. don't get me wrong, i'm thrilled for the hundred, but i remember thinking...

"it's okay, Lord. spring break isn't technically over til monday, so you still have time to get some cash in if you really want me to go."

as i'm tearing open my last envelope, i'm not expecting anything.

then...i see the number on the check...and i also start seeing spots. i realize the entire world is spinning too quickly and as i hand the check to my roommate to inspect, i grab onto a stool and the doorframe.

$1000.

One. Thousand. Dollars.

written to campus crusade for christ.

with my name in the note line.

i received over $1600 in support in a single day.

i received over 1/3 of my base support during one sitting.

"Rebekah Suzanne. Now it's your turn to shut up, write thank you cards, send out more support letters, and realize that I've told you a billion times to go to Lebanon. Stop fighting it and rejoice in the freedom I give."

...

...

...

"yes Sir."