Covid cases are escalating wildly again in South Africa. Borders are closing. Boundaries are being drawn in every area of life.

I submitted our last set of documents to our immigration lawyer yesterday to apply for mine and our youngest's visas. Here's to hoping Home Affairs doesn't close again and borders won't stay closed too long! We'd hoped we were at the end of our 6-year stint without seeing family, but we will just wait and see.

I'm a food tracker. In many seasons over the last 7ish years, I have used an app called My Fitness Pal to track what I eat. It started in an extraordinarily hopeless season of life when I just needed a win. There was very little I had control over at that time, but I could control my caloric intake. I set a calorie goal, and it became a game - a way to win every single day. An unexpected journey toward health began from that desperate game as I started losing weight and feeling better. VERY slowly, I started making intentional changes and realized that I was capable of so much more than winning a game of numbers and food portions. I could re-wire myself - mentally, physically and emotionally.

A story about the story: I wrote this article last week for Help Club for Moms, which is why it sounds a little more generic (appropriate?) than most of my other personal stories. BUT I wanted to share it with you here and tell you this one frenzied moment I begin with - and the way God met me in it - has intrinsically changed me. Forever. I think I said the same thing to Chris every night when we got into bed last week: “I’m becoming different from that one moment. I think God is doing something in me.” Isn’t He good? So, as you read today, I want you to take heart that God can change everything about you in the moments when you don’t even like you.

was learning that He created and commanded order from the very beginning. Check out Genesis 1 and 2. Literally, the very beginning. This week, I poured deep into the Biblical narrative of God’s created order. I spent 3 evenings teaching moms about it and felt like I was just scratching the surface.

I'm an (excessive) planner. Every moment, even every meal is pre-determined. They rarely happen exactly as I planned, but I plan for that too. I have to admit... this week has had even more unexpected twists than I planned for!

Tuesday night’s presidential address threw a spanner in the works! On top of 3 Help Club teachings this week, we’ve been busy re-configuring Sunday mornings and all the other days in between. It’s honestly thrilling to lean into where God is and let Him be God. We’re just the vessels, and it looks like we’re going to be spending a lot of time online!

Last night after Benjamin was asleep, I was preparing the teaching I was going to do for Help Club. I popped my head into Chris’ office and found him deep in thought, scribbling notes and sending messages at the same time. He was watching President Ramaphosa’s “Family Meeting” speech regarding the 3rd wave of COVID-19 in Africa. The president was wisely saying, “The massive surge in new infections means that we must once again tighten restrictions on the movement of persons and gatherings.”

God started his salvation plan even before Jesus even set foot on earth. This week, Chris told the story of Abraham, and how it was the beginning of God’s great love story. He said, “Count the stars, Abraham. You will have more descendants than this.” No part of Abraham’s life was pointing to God’s promise. In fact, it seemed like it was too late. But God.

He is. And He always will be. All you have to do is choose to believe. He does the rest. Isn’t that GREAT news!?!

My life's direction has pivoted more than once while knee-deep in hurricane floodwaters. I have fervently prayed for more water as Cape Town faced "day zero", when we would run completely dry during a record-breaking drought. We need water to live - not too much, not too little.

One of my favorite parts of the week is called Southpoint Prays, when I livestream from Southpoint Church’s Facebook account. It’s a safe, encouraging space for the church to rally in the teaching Chris shares, take it a step further in practical application, and pray together. It’s been amazing to watch the church rally for prayer and find a sense of belonging virtually.

Chris Ladd is the man of my dreams, BUT he's got a few things to learn about life. Ok, its' just one thing: BIRTHDAYS.

I love to celebrate and have infused that love into my children. Lifa is an absolute boss at celebration, and one of Benjamin's first words was "Hooray!" (Future daughters-in-law, you are welcome.)

With the very deepest, greatest, furthest, widest kind of love, Chris stood on stage on Sunday and said, “We are all doomed!” He preached a powerful message with a hard to grasp truth. We have to realize we’re lost to be found. The GOOD news is that when we realized we are doomed without Jesus, His restoring loving, power and His fullness rushes over us like a tidal wave and changes everything.

I've been breaking social norms for the last few weeks when people ask, "How are things going?" Instead of the anticipated "Fine," I've been exclaiming things like, "Shockingly good!"

If you've been reading the Call to Worship or my blog for a while, you might know our family has been running fast and hard after the things God has spoken to us - only to hit wall after wall. For years, we've armed ourselves with verses like Isaiah 40:31, yet I still grew weary from running and faint from walking.

Yesterday, Benjamin and I went to a nearby park for a playdate. We had a very unusual encounter as we were getting ready to leave. It went something like this...

This is going to be so fun! Chris has just started a series at church that Is bringing us all back to ground zero. He asked us, “Who is Jesus to you?”

That’s where it all begins. Even if you don’t believe in Him - that disbelief started somewhere - and shapes much of your worldview and life decisions. At the end of the day, this short lifetime always turns us to what’s beyond today and tomorrow.

A dear friend bared her weary soul to me this week and said, "I don't even recognize myself anymore." Another storm and another crisis had rocked her family's world. Her soul was taking a beating. She wasn't responding the way she wanted to. She couldn't find the strength to be who she wanted to be. She could hardly stand the juxtaposition of hope and hurt.

Church was amazing this Sunday! We expected a quiet morning as rumors of a third wave of COVID rippled through the nation. I took my place next to Chris on the front row ten minutes after the service started. Several new families had poured in the door at the last minute, and I was helping them get their kids checked in. Chris leaned in to me when I joined him and asked, "Is it empty in here?" I whispered that I couldn't see any open seats.

Church was AWESOME!!! Chris talked about baptism, and I learned how to make a pickle! (Baptize that cucumber!) We are walking through some fundamentals of faith as the church expands, and God is unleashing so much. Check this one out!

I love weightlifting.🏋️‍♀️ We rent a weight set so I can exercise at home, and I train virtually twice a week with a personal trainer. I have gained surprising strength in the last year of training. It has NOTHING to do with my abilities and everything to do with consistently showing up and the calculated pushing of my trainer, David. The past few weeks have been full of extra meetings, deadlines and event planning. I had to cancel training sessions to make room for urgent needs.