...the day before

The Day Before You

By Matthew West

I had all but given up on finding the one
that I could fall into
On the day before you
I was ready to settle for less than love
and not much more
There was no such thing as a dream come true
But that was on the day before you

Now you're here and everything's changing
Suddenly life means so much
I can't wait to wake up tomorrow
and find out this promise is true
I will never have to go back
to the day before you

In your eyes I see forever
and it makes me wish that my life never knew
the day before you
Oh, but heaven knows those years without you
were shaping my heart for the day that I found you
And if you're the reason for all I've been through
then I'm thankful for the day before you

Now you're here and everything's changing
Suddenly life means so much
I can't wait to wake up tomorrow
and find out this promise is true
I will never have to go back
to the day before you

It was the last day that I ever lived alone
And I'm never going back
No, I'm never going back

Now you're here and everything's changing
Suddenly life means so much
I can't wait to wake up tomorrow
and find out this promise is true
I will never have to go back to
I will never have to go back to
the day before you
the day before you
I'm never going back
I'm never going back
to the day before you

A Year of Changes

Many of you have been asking me what I'll be doing now that James and Cassie are going to Mexico. Let me share with you the awesomeness of God. :)

First, let me recap the last 4 years quickly. Four years ago I went on a missions trip to Oaxaca, Mexico with my church at the time. I'd never been on one, but said to the Lord "Here I am, Send me!". Well, He took that and ran with it. ;-)
James Olson was the leader of our team, and one day when we were painting a dorm room on the missions base at Roca Blanca we were talking about careers. Asking what I did, I told him I was a Pharmacy Tech, and he went on to ask if I wanted to be a Pharmacist. My reply was "no way! I want to be a graphic designer; it's what I got a degree in but haven't had a chance to utilize it". Insert a "God Moment". :) James latched onto that piece of information and instantly offered me a position with his company, Oaxacafe (wa-ha-ka-fay) Coffee Company, of which I instantly accepted. I had been praying for quite a while for God to land me in a position that I desired. Three months later I was working for James at this unique coffee company as a graphic designer and bookkeeper. This coffee company wasn't a usual company in that it gave a large portion of it's profits to missions to support missionaries in Mexico and to help fund community transformation projects. I had no clue at the time what the Lord had placed me in to. But I was soon to find out. :) As the months and years went by I found out more and more what the Lord was bringing about, and it was way bigger than me. That was a humbling revelation for me. Since then, I've been on 2 more missions trips to Oaxaca, Mexico. Each time I found a little piece of my heart was left behind. It doesn't take much to fall in love with the precious people and the amazing country. In an unusual way, God made me a missionary.

In the midst of all this, the Lord has been fine tuning my skills in many areas: I've grown so much in my graphic design skills. I've pretty much been a self-taught student of Quickbooks (considering I never took any classes in HS or college pertaining to bookkeeping or accounting, or had interest to do so, that's quite a feat!). I've become a connoisseur of coffee, i.e. coffee snob. ;-) I've honed my techie skills ... your computer doesn't work, can't figure out Outlook, I fix it for you. My web design skills have improved dramatically from old school html to today's Dreamweaver and CSS. All of this I have to give God the glory, because without Him none of this has been possible. He's been equipping me from the very beginning, it's all been linked together.

As part of all this, not only have I been just working for Oaxacafe Coffee Company, but also LAMP International Ministries (James & Cassie's non-profit ministry), and the newly formed Lamp Cafes Unlimited (otherwise known as Oaxacafe @ Cox South coffee shop). I've been rather busy, as you can tell. ;-) But none of these have ever been a "job". It's always been working for the Kingdom of God. He's been our CEO. And the miracles that I've seen can account for that. In my free time I was doing some freelance design work for several businesses and ministries. To be honest, alot of that work helped me give money to projects in Mexico as well as fund my missions trips. If you were any of those contributors, know that the opportunity to work with you was more than just a blessing.

Now fast forward to January 2009. This was my 3rd trip to Mexico with James, and this time a team from our church, James River Assembly. The precious leaders of Roca Blanca Missions Base, Duane and Sue Kershner, have been like parents to James and Cassie for the last 20 years. We all had an idea that one day that James and Cassie would take over leadership of the missions base, but none of us really had any idea when that time would come. Well, insert another God Moment. :) While in Mexico in January, Duane sat down with James and talked with him about beginning the process of the transferral of leadership - this year. For this to happen, Oaxacafe Coffee Company would have to be sold, but we didn't really know how that would come about. A week or so after our trip to Mexico, James was approached by a a friend - gentleman and his wife saying that they were talking to a business broker about buying a business, they just didn't know what kind. Long story short, Oaxacafe Coffee Co. sold in April (3 short months after the admission in Mexico)!! This has enabled James and Cassie to move to Mexico to be full-time Directors of Operation at Roca Blanca Missions Base. They will be departing the US on Sept.12 and staying till mid-December. We will be having another missions trip with our church in January 2010 again, whereas James will lead that. Then come the spring we are believing that the Lord will have provided the funds for them to be able to build their house in Mexico.

Now back to the original question: What will I be doing now that James and Cassie will be in Mexico? I've been asking that question for months myself. I've prayed and asked the Lord "Where do You want me? What am I going to be doing next?" Many scenarios had been discussed between James, Cassie and myself. But God had something else in mind for this time.

Some of that freelance design work I was talking about was done for a business owned by John & Debbie Tortorice, "The Lamp Stand". Again, this is not an ordinary business. This business also gives and supports missions. I don't believe that this was an accident by any means. :) God knows exactly what He's doing and when. Talk about Divine Connections. Once you are joined with someone that God has brought into your life, you are joined for eternity. John and James began talking about hiring me to work for The Lamp Stand full time. What I will be doing is none other than what I do now: Graphic Design, bookkeeping help, research and development, web maintenance, customer service, anything and everything that is needed of me. I like to use the analogy of the military. I'm a soldier in God's military. I have One Commanding Officer and I've been serving in this Unit for the last 4 years. Well, transfer papers have been issued to me, and I will be serving in a different Unit. When you tell God "Here I am, Send me" He doesn't take that lightly.

So August 20th will be my final day at Oaxacafe Coffee Company. I will begin working for The Lamp Stand full time on August 24th. I will continue working for Oaxacafe @ Cox South as bookkeeper and designer and administration, as well as for LAMP International Ministries. I will most likely be doing some work for Roca Blanca, as James leads and directs, so that will become more clear as the months go on.

If I have done any freelance for you in the past, and you wish for me to do more, you can contact me via puritymatters@yahoo.com or my cell phone (which some of you have) and I'll be happy to continue serving you.

This has been an end of an era. But it's also the beginning of a new one. I'm so excited to see what the Lord has in store in this next season. If He's done all this, what MORE can He do! Don't limit Him. Take Him out of the box, and see what He will do. :)

You can follow my Business & Missions adventures via my blog: http://puritymatters.blogspot.com/ or Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/puritymatters

...I thought you fell off the face of the earth

Face of the Earth
by TobyMac

Its been a long time coming
since I saw your face
Since we held it down
Since we were in the chase
It was the road less traveled
The path less formed
A skinny trail
It was barely worn

But we kept walkin'
and slippin' and talking'
And runnin' and fallin'
And cryin' and crawlin'

We were in the trenches
On top of the world
Young refugees but we were momma's pearls
Where you been dog?
Where you been?

I thought you fell off the face of the earth
I thought you fell, I thought you fell
I thought you fell off the face of the earth
I thought you fell, I thought you fell

Its been way too long and we've come too far
For you to drop out of my life like a falling star
Right off my radar
Not a sign or a trace
You know I had love for you that's Bigger than mistakes

Now Hope Road is calling
Let's pack you up and move
'Cause real friends are willing to intrude
So I'm gonna push you in because I wanna love you well
Let the ghosts of your past rest

Open up the door
This is the first day of the rest of your life
What are you waiting for?
This is the first day of the rest of your life
Open up the door

To life ...
Behold I stand at the door and knock
If anyone hears my voice and opens the door
I will come in ...