And if you ask for Wisdom...He will give it to you Generously!

Dear Friends and Family,

It's been MONTHS since I'm put a new post on the McCarthy Blog! Much has happened in our lives, many of you are aware. We've just come off the AMiA Winter Conference that ended a HUGE first month of the new year and I believe the Lord has finally given clarity to many questions I've asked you to pray on for our family!

To catch you up, the Lord was gracious to Dayspring Christian Academy with an AWESOME service day, November 7, where the kids at DCA really experienced the joy of service to their community and the school raised about $25,000. Next, the Lord poured out His, "More than we can ask or imagine" on our Christmas Season! After telling the children Santa would not be coming this year, the Lord had other plans! Through dear friends and family the tree (a gift from a dear friend) had MANY gifts for ALL 5 of our little ones! And we were SO GRATEFUL!!! = ) SO HUMBLED!! "Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not to your own understanding!" The year ended with an excitement that it was time for Jesus to bring The River it's permanent Pastor, Jonathan Tagg!

Our first weekend in January gave us time with Bill's family...all of them! Then my brother and his family the following weekend! THEN!!! We hosted the MIZERO Children of Rwanda in the NRV with 4 performances including The River and DCA! It was so wonderful to hang out with these precious kids and be a part of their tour this time around! Gracie LOVED little Edgite and Caela and Daniel LOVED playing with Jean Bosco and Jean Baptiste! WE MISS THEM SO MUCH!!!
The following week Caela and I packed up and headed to DC to have lunch with our dear friends, Bishop John and Harriet Rucyahana! We took them to our dear friend, Jenny Kumnick's house, and we enjoyed a meal together and playing with Liliana! Bishop John treated Caela like Peter Jennings as she interviewed him for her essay on The Hero of Africa. It was such a treat to hear Bishop John respond to Caela's question, "Who helped you build the school and church and what were their names?" Bishop John said, "You were one of those people, Caela!" She looked at me and said, "But Mommy I didn't put any bricks down!" Bishop John then said, "You challenged many people to move beyond being onlookers to DOING SOMETHING, not only for Rwanda but for whatever the Lord put on their hearts to do." He asked Caela when she was coming to Rwanda. She said she wants to go next year in March when she is 12 years old. He said, "Welcome Home!!" = ) He said they were our Rwandan family, and he is Caela's Rwandan Grandfather! = ) It was SUCH A JOY to be with Bishop John and Harriet and to share that precious time in their company! We all left committed to praying for God's further movement in our relationship for His purposes and His timing for the blessing of Rwanda and it's children!

Lastly, we went to the AMiA Winter Conference where each year I go seeking the Lord's voice as to the new year and what His will and purposes for us would be. With the financial strains on us, the children's needs, our church with it's new pastor, and a full first month of the new year pretty much taken up with our friends in Rwanda, I asked the Lord for CLARITY. Something Bishop John encouraged me to pursue. Here are some highlights from our time there.

I was blessed to spend a great deal of time visiting with our dear friend, Tom Herrick, from Christ the Redeemer in DC. Every time the Lord allows us time in eachother's company it is usually for building up and edifying for our lives. Again, he used us as touchstones of where we have come from, where we are, and where we are going! = ) I believe the Lord is moving in our lives in some way together, but just to be an encouragement to one another was SUCH A BLESSING!

Bishop Thad's devotions, of which I only got to hear one! Was a wake up call to ask Bill and I AGAIN...are we giving Jesus EVERYTHING! And he is so annointed a speaker...a true PAUL! And we left hungering to lay down ALL of our life to JESUS...ANEW!

Bill enjoyed the movie shown called AS WE FORGIVE and Bishop John's talk afterward. He said it gave him a different perspective on the genocide and he was humbled by Bishop John's passion and gained a new appreciation for him and what he is about. Such a gift! He was able to go to that alone because Liliana and I were EXHAUSTED!!! = ) Bill also had prayer for his shoulder! A prophetic word was given regarding someone with a shoulder issue, and at the moment right before it was given a woman near him laid hands on his shoulder not knowing he had the shoulder problem! We are trusting the Lord for complete healing and full function of his left arm!

We also met Mike and Karen Brymer from Little Rock's St. Andrew's Church. A Divine Appointment! Karen and I were able to share about our lives. They have 7 children! He is the worship Leader at their church! And Karen and I are both the same age! Being with her gave me a hunger to grow in building our family and I loved her family's mission statement..."Basically to lead my children to know what their gifts are and to help them use them in serving the kingdom." I look forward to seeing how the Lord uses this new relationship to help us in that desire for our family, as well!

I went to prayer twice. The Lord spoke to me to go to His Word and that He was birthing something in me. I left my time with Bishop John and the conference with a true peace, that I was not in a hurry for anything to HAPPEN...it would happen in God's time. But that my family and my children and our home...AGAIN need to be the focus of my life at this season.

Now I come to my prayer request for all of you dear to us! The Clarity given, just today, is this:

I have struggled with the idea of having a Mary Kay business because my heart was not in it. The Lord gave me clarity today that my family is my top priority. This avenue of provision is also a place my family can benefit from, it will be blessed because Jesus is leading, it is a flexible job choice, and it can lead to not only blessing us financially as a family, to be able to meet the bills, but also to be an avenue for blessing the children of Rwanda, The River, etc. as the Lord leads. And it is an opportunity to encourage women and perhaps the Lord has placed this business before me for such a time as this with the economic climate the way it is. Isabella asked me today if she could help with my Mary Kay Business! She wants to come with me to the meetings, make calls, and do inventory. Her love tank gets filled when we get to DO THINGS together! This is a place that can happen for her! (Below is a photo from her summer sleepover where her friend Emma and our little Gracie are enjoying a makeover!)
This decision to pursue this business has been weighing on me for MONTHS! But as when we arrived in Blacksburg 3 years ago and the Lord told me, "Pray ALONE in your room and get your house in order"...I disobeyed, because I felt that that was not enough, I needed to do more! Because I had not prayed and did not get my house in order, I was not ready for what lied ahead! And it almost destroyed my family! Mary Kay is not MY first choice because I want to spend the time it will take to work this business...beyond the hours I use to serve my family...to be serving Rwanda, DCA, The River, etc. But JESUS is saying...again..."TRUST IN (ME) WITH ALL YOUR HEART and LEAN NOT TO YOUR OWN UNDERSTANDING!!!" Just today the Lord led me to read about Moses who struck the rock, God said, "You didn't trust me" YIKES!!! So...even though I don't understand His ways, I do know that He is not letting me go with this! = ) And I am ready to pursue this business for my top priorities...my husband and my children. And as I walk in obedience to my King, I TRUST He will bring revelation as to WHY this avenue and I will look back and say, AGAIN, "WHY DID I DOUBT?"!!! = ) Today, also, I was reading an article in a church flyer from the mail and it was about this man who had trained for the 1924 olympics in a four man race. His wife was about to give birth to his first born child. He had to make a decision. He made the decision to be home and miss the olympics! The four man team won the gold that year. 20 years later his son sent him a note from the 1952 olympics saying, "Dear Dad, Thanks for waiting around for me to be born in 1924. I'm coming home with the gold medal you should have won. Your loving son, Frank (Havens)." This just brought it home, that I may think there is a higher calling at this season of our life. But Jesus says, "Follow Me." Whereever He says to go! = ) And it will be well with you!

We continue to pray for and remain in constant contact with Bishop John and Harriet, Mizero, and those in our lives the Lord has blessed our hearts for ...and for Rwanda! As the Lord leads we will move by His Spirit! He just calls us to LOVE HIM with our whole heart, soul, mind and strength! and to wait on Him!

We ask that you would PLEASE continue to pray for us as we stablilize our lives as a family, our home, our finances, our time, our health...and that the Lord would give me more and more passion for this business and for His purposes for it that I would be GREAT at my work and for my family! And that He would continue to annoint and guide our work with Rwanda starting with Bill's heart, as head of our household, and trickles down to me and the children...having Caela as the heartbeat of this body for His work in our family for Rwanda!

We love you all dearly! Thank you for walking out this life with us! We will keep you posted!

"...with the sweetest affection." (1 Peter 1:22).
Bill, Cheryl, Caela, Isabella, Daniel, Gracie, and Liliana