wanting a fresh encounter

i am sitting in the prayer room at the international house of prayer in kansas city.  i cannot describe to you the feelings i have surging through my blood - in so many ways it feels like i have come home.  i am not sure if that makes sense really; i am not from the midwest.  it isn't really the location that feels like home to me, but the atmosphere of constant worship and prayer.  though we oversee a house of prayer back home, there is just something about just being here and not being responsible for anything other than being with God.  it is so refreshing.  i am struggling with the right words to write so i guess that is just how i will put it - refreshing.

our house of prayer is in a lot of transition and we don't have a building right now to meet for our regular prayer meetings.  i am realizing so much right now how much i miss it - that sacred place to go to just meet with the Lord.  He is moving in the midst of our community, no doubt, but i miss the gathering where everything else stops for the one thing of coming before Him.  no teaching, no conversations, no other thing but gazing upon Him and waiting on Him.  so refreshing.  it stirs my heart even more to just wait on Him and to listen to what He is saying. 

i am wanting to hear Him speak to me.  i feel like there is so much that has transpired in our lives over the past several weeks that He had my attention.  i need to hear His voice.  i want to encounter Him fresh and new.  i have already had many tears spill in the couple days here.

view taking off from vegas

the journey to get here with 5 kids was a bit intense - the kids were amazing with the full day of travel and we didn't lose anyone in the 4 airports we were at that day!  success right?!  no major meltdowns really either.

when we got into kc a couple hours late from delayed planes the place we rented a car from was closed and they didn't have our car there (though the lady on the phone told me it would be even with us getting in late).  in fact, they didn't have any cars there at all - a completely empty lot!

the only place open at 3am took pity on this little family of seven with sleepy kiddos and after watching us on the phones trying to figure something out, unsuccessfully, offered us this beauty for the price of an economy car.

yep, that is a good ole 12 seater.  isn't that crazy?!  these rent for much more than the minivan we rented and we ended up getting it for cheaper than we had paid originally.  crazy huh?  it was the only vehicle there that would fit our family.  otherwise, we could have been stuck at the airport for who knows how much longer.

we arrived at the house we are staying at 5:45am... so bedtime was 6am after the sunrise.  yikes!  but we made it and the kids passed with flying colors!  they were so great.

so here we are in kc.  if you think of it, would you pray that i hear from the Lord?  i have some things on my heart and i would love to encounter Him fresh.  thank you so much!

love you all.

charis