On the road again...

Well, Jeff is getting excited ... because it is almost time for fall tour with Lone Sheep. Last year was the first time that Jeff was able to really travel and build relationships with people on the road, so he is looking forward to going again and hopefully re-connecting with some of those people. This year he would like to go for a total of two weeks, but that will be broken up a bit. October 15th would be the first show in Memphis, and the last will be New Orleans on November 1st; a total of nine shows in six cities in the south east. It was fun to see Jeff get so excited about going. We have really enjoyed stepping into Lone Sheep little by little. In some ways, we have eased into it so gradually that we didn't realize how "deep" we are in it, and how our hearts have been moved; God's heart is for these nomadic people who long for community- the LORD desires to walk among them, and for now, at least, he is inviting us to help be his visible hands and feet, and knees as we pray for and with these incredible people who live a lot of their life on the road. As I said, Jeff will need to be gone for about 2 weeks, which means we have to raise support for that- to cover him missing work and traveling expenses. We still have a little money saved in our Lone Sheep account, but need more. If you would like to help us out financially, please let us know.
If you want to give by a check, please make it out to Lone Sheep and memo: Stalcups and then send it Beau (call me for his address) or you could make it out to SVCC and memo it Lone Sheep-Jeff Stalcup. Thanks for sticking with us on this journey- we are blessed by your presence!

Thank you to our Supporters!

Our summer was indescribable in so many ways, but I will give it a shot. Jeff would say that one of the biggest things to him was that now he could call Jesus friend. That sounds like not a big deal, but think about it a second, let it sink in... friend. Jesus really opened Jeff up to who he is and how much he is in love with Jeff. We where both overwhelmed at times with glimpses of the glory of the LORD and the sheer awesome-ness of our God. Because we live under so much grace, sometimes we forget who this Holy God is that loves us so. I found myself at times just whispering "Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty who was, and is, and is to come..." over and over. For me, the Lord grew my heart for intercession and assured me that I could do it, and that even in the midst of motherhood, that me and Him could carve out sweet time together. Also, for me the Lord showed me how manic my mind was, and he quieted it for me and he is still helping me with that area. Let's see... God dealt and continues to deal with us on how we look to people not God so often (that it is ridiculous!!!). Sometimes I was in tears by realizing how distracted I am by my desire to "know", whether that be knowing others or being known. Jesus wants us to gaze at him, to lock our eyes with him, and to behold no other. When we do it, it is glorious... to be so loved brings tears to my eyes even now!!
Well, I am not sure what else to say. We where refreshed, encouraged, built up, broken down, and built up again. We know that this was a part of the process of our life and a part of the preparation for whatever is next. We are establishing rhythms in our home now of prayer and fasting, and we are beginning to extend that into our time at Shades Valley, at the Birmingham Prayer Furnace, and to our future with Lone Sheep. Jeff has traveled with Lone Sheep a few times over the past year, and we have been praying for a while about what is next there. So... you will hear more from us on that front soon (jeff wants to travel with beau again this fall), but for now THANK YOU! THANK YOU! THANK YOU!!! we can't get over the fact that we where able to soak in KC for the last 2 months because of the LORD through you!! Our prayer is that somehow you have also been blessed. we love you :)

Goodbye KC/IHOP

This is the house we lived in for 2 months- it looked bad on the outside, but the inside was great and it was truly a peaceful house. Our kids slept great for 2 months- no bad dreams, David stayed in his bed, and no matter how late we where up, no one was ever tired. It was truly amazing, and I was able to share that with the owners of the house before we left (they are IHOPers who live in another house and rent this one). Lane Lackey took these pictures before we left. We took 2 days to drive home and it was an interesting trip. Jeff and I talked about how we would describe this experience to people at home, listened to a lot of music, I cried (mainly sadness to leave and worried that life would "eat me up" when I got home), and we prayed about our future a good bit. Coming into Birmingham was strange, and when we walked into our house, I felt claustrophobic. We had been in a furnished house but with only necessities ( we packed all our family's clothes in 2 Rubbermaids) and very minimal toys. We fit it all including 2 pack n plays into the back of the suburban. So, to come home to so much stuff was overwhelming, and honestly a little sickening. We are in process now of seriously purging which feels great!

Last Week in the prayer room

Our last week in the prayer room was a "teary" one for me. I had a hard time focusing on being present because I kept thinking about leaving. But, we where able to spend a little more time than normal, also, because Jeff was done with his classes. It was a great week, and our friends Lane and Ross Lackey and their daughter Selah came for our last 3 days. We started our time off with Birmingham people and ended it with Birmingham people- it was awesome! I did not know Jeff had taken pictures until after we got back, but I remember this day, and it was one of the times when all the kids where with us at one time(something we tried to do for an hour each day). The corded off area was the free dance area or kid space when no one was dancing.