I guess it is about time I wrote again. Having not yet shared about our FWB (Family Without Borders) Night, I have decided to take this opportunity to let you in on a part of our life that is really exciting.
In February, seeing our family going in many directions, we decided to start having a family night. We ate, played music and worshipped together as those are our favorite things to do. The next week different ones of our family started inviting their friends and it just sort of grew. Sometimes people would say that they did not want to interfere with our family night hence the name FWB (Family Without Borders). We have been amazed to see how God touches lives without our even doing anything.
My goal is to feed every one a hearty meal that comes through the door and to try to remember their names and to hug their neck. I am amazed how hungry people are for family love and we are more than happy to dish it out. I feel like I have graduated from being the mother of 5 to being the Mom of many!
We have seen 2 people get saved (thank you Jesus & more Lord, please!!) and 2 filled with the Spirit (sorry if that does not fit in your book :-) by that I really mean that two precious people got the gift of speaking in tongues, though that did not happen in the context of a Family Night, but as a result of FWB :0)
We have seen Jesus touch hurting hearts with His gentle love. What an endearing thing to see people bloom and open up and walk in the reality of who God has made them. We have watched people step out, some for the first time, with the Song of the Lord or a prophetic word. I have even had the privilege of doing some "hight tech" mentoring via email and text messaging and of course over a cup of coffee!
The ages of our new family range from little baby to Grandmas! What is family with out the grandmas! & the babies, they both add so much joy and love. There are a few families who come on a regular basis and lots of singles, all drawn together by one passion, Jesus! We want to worship and honor our King and to come into His presence corporately, we love to soak in His presence and see lives changed. Sadly we have sent a few of our "family" off to college and one to boot camp. The Dad of one of our families is in Iraq. Many more students will come as the school year rolls around. David is going to CU Boulder and a number of kids come from there.
Usually David, Emily and Joe lead our time together with worship, getting direction from the Lord. It is different every time. Through out the night, other people jump in with the music as needed. We have a wonderful friend, Sherman, who plays guitar and sings beautifully. He also makes spaghetti for us about once a month!
Tonight there were less folks than usual, it was nice and intimate. Having a whole slew of people and being packed in like sardines is also fun. As long as the Lord is here, it doesn't really matter how many people come. Even if no one came, we would still have our Family Night. We love seeing who God brings and encouraging each one to seek God as to what He has gifted them with. We want people to have a safe place to use what God has given them. It is a joy and privilege seeing people of all ages set on fire for Jesus and seeing their view of Him expand and the light come into their eyes when they realize that they are loved by the Father. When that realization sinks in it is mindblowing.
Like I said, we eat a meal each Monday. My goal is to start eating at 6:30 so we can get to worshipping. Sometimes it does not work out the way I plan. Today I started cooking a huge vat of bean soup at 4:00 and by 5:45 they were still crunchy. I was not too happy about that. But, Josh (our 14 year old for those who don't know) said, "Mom, that's OK, we are not a restaurant." I thought that was sweet. It was nice to be reminded that we are just family. We finally ate at 7:45, and it seemed that everyone enjoyed themselves and the soup, quesadillas and salad.
We have had a few different things; baked potatoes w/ chili, tostados and green chili, bean soup with rice and quesadillas. We have had spaghetti, pizza, garden pasta salad and hotdogs and of course Josh's famous potato salad. We have had humus and pita (or tortillas) uummm...... breakfast burritos & chicken pasta salad. I can't remember what else. We always serve a huge salad and lots of sweet and unsweetened tea. We don't always have dessert but this time we had leftovers. Please ladies, I need some new ideas. I have no idea what to serve next FWB in just 6 short days. The hard part is that I am never sure how much to make. We have had over 60 people and usually not less than 30ish (including kids) it is hard to figure out. But, the Lord always leads me and once, I am sure, He multiplied the breakfast burritos. :o) We called it our Mexican loaves and fishes. Once, when we made Sloppy Joes, someone else was bringing the buns. I felt to buy another bag and we ended up using 1/2 the bag. Tonight I thought there were not going to be that many and there wasn't a ton of people.
One thing I love about FWB is that it is a family affair. Each one of us has to pull our load or it just won't work. Josh has been amazing! I think he could about run the whole thing. He is my right hand man and we have fun. Ari (he's 11) has been pulling his load and leaning to work hard. Emily (22 years old) helps when she can by stopping at the store for that one forgotten item and pitching in when she gets home from work. She also prepares for the music and generally seeks the Lord for the evening as do the older brothers, David (20 years old) and Joseph (18 yrs.). David & Joe have been helping set things up and sweeping and mopping and all the other stuff that goes into it. We have never had such a fun and exciting family activity and to think it includes all our favorite things, loving on people, getting to know Jesus more, food and lots of fellowship.
All together I can say that we feel honored and bless to be able to be a part of such a wonderful thing that God is doing. He is good & we love being a part of His Kingdom!
So, if you are in the area, please come join our FWB. We would be very blessed to have you and I think you would be blessed too! Our mailman came and a few of our neighbors as well.
So, if you are wondering, FWB is a big part of what we have been up to for the last 6 months and loving every minute of it. And, I forgot to add, sometimes, I am so not ready and God sends the most precious people to help me. Some girls have become more regular at helping, others are house guests from out of town. All in all, God has helped me and sent me help right when I have needed it the most as He does so well.
Hope you were bless by hearing about our Family Night. By the way, we start at 6:30 on Monday nights. Please come join us. You can always email me for directions. I believe we will continue on through the school year unless the Lord shows us other wise. Here is my email: Karise7@gmail.com.
Love,
Karise
