Beginning again...for real!

Running. There is nothing greater than taking the last few steps of a long race that you have ran and know that it is finished. Right? It feels so wonderful to be at the point where you know you have accomplished a goal, even if it wasn't perfect or you didn't finish in your best time. You finished! 

...I have not finished the race. Let me rephrase that. We have not finished! On June 21, 1986 I began the race of walking the amazing and challenging journey with Jesus Christ as the Lord and Savior of my life. Aaron began his race September 2000; Malachi April 4, 2009 and Rachel Eliana October 21, 2013,,,prayerful that Isaiah and Caleb will soon begin the race too! The Taylor family has begun a few times to really pick up the pace and take huge leads in the race. By lead, I mean.,,actually furthering the gospel of Jesus Christ by TELLING others about JESUS! Plain and simple. Obeying the command to "Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit,"-Matthew 28:19.

        If I would have known at 7 that the race would include; pain, loss of people I love, letting go of things "I" thought were important, goals "I" had set, dying to self and becoming lukewarm...ugh I would have wanted to find a shortcut. Yet through the years of these different race tracks I am learning that God has given me many testimonies. And more than that, I have experienced Him in profound ways that I would not have had, had  I taken a different, easier path.(Which of course would not end with seeing His awesomeness at the finish line) And do you know what's even cooler than this? I AM NOT DONE! I am so blessed to have watched many amazing people of wise ages step into Impact 195; either as students or as missions overseers. In many cultures they should be done...retire or even have a sense that they have arrived in their knowledge of the Lord. Yet the Holy Spirit grabbed them and said, "there is more...don't miss this" Man it brings me joy to see people not stop sharing the Love of Jesus wherever they are. I pray that I too will burn with passion for my Savior as I grow and never, ever stop sharing His truth. It's not about me and my comfort. It's about that one person who may sit next to me on a bus who has lost their spouse or their son and has no hope. It's about the person who helped check me out at the grocery store who goes home and wants to end their life with no hope. It's about the little girl living two doors down who watched both her parents get thrown in prison and has no one to give her hope.

        Why do I turn my life's decisions into "me" focused ones? Every 10 seconds two people die. Yep. That's crazy to me. It's reality. My mind begins to wonder and think up ways to physically take care of those needs or a cure for "that" sickness. It is just a temporary fix. When I began this race I began with the ultimate cure and I carry it in my heart. It's not just for me. That's not why He saved me. It was never meant for us to take and hide...ever. It was meant to pour out of us. Overflow with Him! We get caught up in small talk and worry about offense but that persons life is at stake...SERIOUSLY! Do I get it?Do you? 

   And so the Taylor's continue to run the race as we sell practically everything and move to Jeremie, Haiti...I am really excited. I will be honest that the past six months of knowing we would be moving to Haiti have been incredibly hard. Lots has gone on in our home and around us that has been difficult yet God is so good. Always and has never left us. I am now committed to blogging what is going on in this journey. My hope is to lay out the facts...sometimes all we get are the super hard stories or the amazing miracles(mostly the miracles) of missionaries. But for me...it will be hopefully just honest and amazing too, because frankly, if we get to have another day that is God's grace which is miraculous! We love you all...thank you for praying for us and please keep on!