Emie Update

Experiences of Life and Death

We have had an eventful few days. Heath recently updated about Asher’s experience with the death of a little lizard. We’ve had a few more incidences of death around here, but life is still springing forth.
One day, Heath asked Judah if we should let his biggest hermit crab go back to the ocean. Judah agreed that the next trip to the beach we’d set him free. Well, the next day, Judah came running to me with his biggest hermit crab half out of his shell and not moving a muscle. Judah was distraught, as we took time to explain the crab was dead. I held him in my arms as he cried over the loss of his first pet. He and Heath then dug a hole in the sand and made a grave.
That night as he lay in bed feeling very sad, I said, “Why don’t you just tell Jesus how you’re feeling about your crab dying?” So he did. And without any prompting to listen in case the Holy Spirit wanted to answer him, he took a few minutes and said, “Jesus said, ‘I know. I am always with you, Judah!’” That was worth the hermit crab’s death! It is evidences of the LIFE of Jesus growing in our Judah!
We have had great fun with new FRIENDS!! Thank you to all who prayed for my children to have friends. There is a 4 year old boy named Joshua in the Holy Given School and a 7 year old girl named Anna. The kids spend as much time with their new friends as they can! This has been so LIFE GIVING to my kids (and to me!!).
Yesterday, Anna was visiting for the day and Heath was cleaning a corner out and found a RAT! The chase was on and the kids were thrilled! I think Heath was having as much fun as the kids! He finally got it cornered in the bathroom, hit it over the head and stunned it. But just when he thought it was dead, with kids shrieking “Don’t kill it!” on my bed, the thing jumped up and ran back into my room. But Heath is GOOD and cornered it behind our wardrobe.
As Heath tried to figure out how to kill it, I was trying to explain to the kids that the rat HAD to die and if they didn’t want to see it, they needed to go to the other room! It only took a few seconds for them to decide the excitement of the moment was more thrilling than feeling sad for the dying rat! So they stayed to cheer Heath on rather than chant for the detestable rodent to live!
Heath conquered and we were all extremely happy to see him throw the dead rat over the fence! I was able to sleep a bit more peacefully knowing the pest was dead and not lurking in some corner in my house.
Some things need to die but they are hard to chase down. Like things we call “our issues.” They aren’t really “our issues,” we’ve just decided to own them. For those who are children of God, transferred out of the Kingdom of Darkness and into the Kingdom of Light, we have been given a new nature. We no longer have to try and make the old “better.” We just have to develop the NEW NATURE through the power of the Holy Spirit within us! (See Colossians) Those things we often call our issues are really strongholds of the prince of darkness we’ve allowed to remain way to long. It’s like rats. If a rat finds food and is allowed to stay . . . . pretty soon, you have a community of rats! It’s one thing to chase down one rat. It’s a whole new game when you’re hunting a community that has set up shop!
Other things will die as we continue to live in the Light and it may be painful, but it will bring more life. The crab was bound to die sooner or later. . . it was yanked out of it’s habitat, thrust into a glass cage and Judah kept forgetting to give it water! But in it’s fairly natural death, we were able to see evidence of true life in Judah. We really have been yanked out of our old environment (prince of darkness) and set in a new place (granted it’s much better than Judah’s hermit crab cage). But in this new environment, things will die.
There are many ways I can see strongholds of the enemy that I have owned as my ”issues” trying to hold me back from LIVING FULL LIFE IN JESUS! Impatience and frustration, especially with my children, I have frequently labeled as my issues. As I was meditating on these ideas of life and death, I decided to call them strongholds and go after them with a stick like Heath went after the rat! I feel as though I’m chasing them around the house of my heart and mind, but I’ve got a couple good hits on them! There have actually been a couple days when I thought maybe they were almost dead and then it got up and ran around again!!
And there are other things that seem to be dying fairly naturally, though I feel at times I’m in a glass cage and someone has forgotten to give me water. The death of my desires, needs, and plans, though sometimes painful to watch die, are being crowded out as I allow the new nature and His plans for me come in fullness. And I know that in these deaths, I am gaining more access to fullness of TRUE LIFE that Jesus died to make available to me TODAY! Amen.

Other things:
** Heath is teaching now in the Pastor’s Bible School and loving it. He’s using all sorts of experiential learning tools to see how they really learn best. Though it took the guys awhile to get used to Heath, they love class now.

** Heath and I have opportunity to help one of the guys who works in the kitchen finish building his first home. This is a guy I befriended while doing dishes for hours and hours when I was here for the school. He invited me to the property in December to pray blessing over it and I was able to do so. Since then, as he has worked and saved money, he now has the frame, bamboo, rocks, and sand. So we have decided to help him finish his house. Next week we will go get him tin for the roof and cement for his floor (which is a luxury) and doors. Then the following week, we will help with the work in finishing it. We’ll send pictures when it’s done. What a joy to see this through with Jildo.

** Asher brings us lots of laughter as he is talking up a storm! Last night as we put the kids to bed, we all had him repeat words and we laughed and laughed (not at him, WITH him!!). He loves to take a hower (shower), he hates stepping in the hicken poop (chicken poop), and he always wants me to hing (sing) at bedtime. We’re trying to get him to break the yaciyiar habit. And anytime is a good time for chocolate nilk.

Love you all, Emie for the Locke Fam