I'm not often comfortable enough to make myself vulnerable, but I've been mulling something over for the past few weeks and I've decided to write it down. Tomorrow night I'm privileged to be a part of a "Purity Promise" evening for the girls and moms of my youth group. I'm slated as the "single woman" who gets to talk and share about my life in that way. I feel like it's a very personal thing to talk about and it's made me think a lot about my values, what my standards look like, and the condition of my heart.
Beyond that though, something a bit more simple... I've been thinking about kissing. I have to sit in front of a group of people and basically tell my story. I love speaking to groups big or small so this isn't an issue, but as I think more and more about how to relate to these girls, I'm getting a bit nervous because a kiss is just a kiss today right?
What is a kiss? A dictionary defines a kiss like this: to touch or press with the lips slightly pursed, and then often to part them and to emit a smacking sound, in an expression of affection, love, greeting, reverence, etc. Kind of silly, but I really like the part about what a kiss is an expression of. We don't often recall that a kiss is an expression of reverence because if I'm being completely honest... not many people have an understanding of what it means to be reverent anymore. I think immediately of the immoral woman who anointed Jesus' feet with rare perfume. She entered a Pharisee's home, washed Jesus' feet with her tears, wiped them dry with her hair, and anointed them with rare perfume. She then remained and kissed his feet. Kissed his FEET? Wow, there's a case of real reverence and how a kiss expressed that.
Then I started to think of how kisses can be hurtful. Does this remind you of Judas? One kiss and Jesus is betrayed. Judas and the guards who were told to arrest Jesus came up with a prearranged signal. Judas agreed to kiss the "one whom they were to take under their guard". So upon arrival in Gethsemane, Judas walked straight up to Jesus, exclaimed, "Rabbi!", and gave him a kiss. Jesus was immediately arrested. So much for a joyful kiss.
For a teenager, a kiss is just a kiss. When it comes to family maybe it's something you're forced to do... give your mommy a kiss before you leave or something. Maybe it's getting a big wet one from a great aunt that you see once a year. Or maybe a parent makes you kiss your brother or sister after a fight. Maybe it's a way that you really do show love to your family. It might be something that you only share with someone really special. Or maybe it's something that you share freely without much thought. Therein lies the problem in my mind. When a kiss is just something you do because it's what you're supposed to do, that's a problem.
A kiss should be something special, I mean really special. What's so great about something that you share with everyone? NOTHING. It's not personal anymore. It's not something rare and precious. A kiss should not be something common like a hand shake or even a hug. It should be something that is treasured. Something that someone has to work to earn. When something is common, there's not much emotion behind it. I can assure you that a kiss is an emotional thing for a girl. Women connect emotion with physical touch when it's intimate. Essentially, a kiss has the power to break a heart into a thousand pieces, but it also has the power to connect people in a very real and strong way. It makes me very sad when people are so free with their kisses (and I don't mean a little kiss goodnight to my niece, I mean a real kiss, kiss).
This may sound super old fashioned, but I think a kiss can be somehow compared to sex. Maybe not quite that extreme because honestly I don't know many people who have only kissed their spouse, but how sweet would that be to have such a special gift for your husband? The more you give yourself away physically, the more emotions are given away. How can a heart ever heal and be whole for the one you're going to spend your life with if you're so free with yourself. Should I be embarrassed because it's been a LONG time since I've really kissed someone? Sometimes it feels that way, but honestly when I sit and think about it, I'm so grateful. I'm really excited to give my husband this gift. Not only will I be a virgin (which is kind of hard to come by these days), but I'll be able to give him all of me because I've not given it away.
I don't like that my way of thinking is old fashioned, but when I watch movies and tv shows I see how difficult it must be for young women to equate a kiss with real love when the characters in movies and shows are shown making out with several different people in one evening. That is now a pretty accepted idea of real love and what's okay to do physically. When I think of all of the things that a kiss can lead to, my heart breaks for the girls who think that's ok, and that's the way life is. When did purity become old fashioned?
I guess this all comes back to a real understanding of what real, unconditional love is. It comes back to knowing a love so deep, so high, so long, and so wide. The love of a Savior, of a Father. When we know that kind of love, we start to learn how to love ourselves and respect ourselves enough to cherish something simple (or not simple) like a kiss.
Soapbox ---> me. I'm off it now.
On a totally unrelated note, last week the father of one of my youth girl's passed away. He lost his nine month battle with brain cancer and is now walking, pain free on the streets of gold. While the family had been preparing for the loss, it did not make it any easier. I drove down to Indianapolis last thursday night to go to the viewing friday and the funeral saturday. I had never actually met him but spent time with his daughter and wife on a retreat and I really felt like the one thing I could do for them was be a presence. I feel like they blessed me more than I actually blessed them though. It was a sweet time of laughter, and a hard time of watching the mourning process take place. I was also very blessed to spend so much time with the youth in Indiana. I get to see them whenever I'm around on a weekend that there's an all group gathering, but it never seems like enough time. I was talked into staying Saturday night and got to meet a few of the kids I didn't really know well, like a few senior girls. After knowing I would miss church at Wheatland Salem, I decided to stay for youth group and had a total blast with the kids. The ministry at New Hope is moving forward and I count myself lucky to be a part of it.
This week I had the privilege of hanging out with my kids in Naperville that are on the youth worship team outside of the church. We went to Feed My Starving Children as a team and packed food, laughed, sang, and even danced a little. What a cool experience for all of us! I believe that those kids are being used in a big way at the church and I'm praying for their ministry every single day. This weekend my good friend, John is gonna come and hang with me and the worship after church and I'm excited to see what the Lord wants the team to learn through him. Would you be praying for the youth worship team? Pray for an insatiable hunger for Jesus and His Word. Pray for deeper commitment and understanding of Jesus. Pray for our daily walk with the Lord.
Much love to you all. Please let me know how I can be praying for you.
Thursday, February 18, 2010
Tuesday, February 9, 2010
Thank You Jesus for Friends
Reader beware: this is randomness.
Indianapolis turned out to be pretty fun this weekend. The snow storm prevented some parts of the plan, but created other fun times so it all worked out. I am always so blessed by the time I get to spend with the youth down there. I just wish I had a privet jet so I could be a part of both churches every Sunday. That would be fantastic! Any donors?? :) I also was able to spend time with some dear friends up here in Chicagoland at a Super Bowl party. I love seeing so many people I adore in one place.
Anyways, my schedule seems to be ceaseless these days... but I think I like it. This weekend I'll be in Indy again. Next weekend I have a friend coming into town, a purity night for the youth girls, and on Sunday I'm having my friend John meet with the youth worship team. Then with the end of Feb and beginning of March I should be around, but by the middle of March I've committed to some stuff and I'll be out of town again. Then April rolls around and (praise the Lord) I'll be heading to Florida for a week of warmth and fun!! May is a light month so far, only one weekend is taken by a camping trip so far. June I'll be going to Haiti on a mission trip with WSC. Then my bff is preggers and we're planning her baby shower for the weekend after Haiti. In July I'll hopefully get to go on two mission trips, one to New York with NHP and the other to Birmingham with WSC. Then by August I'll be preparing to leave for Uganda, Lord willing.
So it seems like my time is cut out for me, but somehow I'm really glad. I love having stuff to look forward to. Jesus has been teaching me to really run for the prize. I feel like all the stuff that I'm doing is along the course and on track to win the prize, if you will. It's exciting.
Fundraising is where my mind is these days. It's pretty time consuming and it's been a bit of a stress for me. I've known since returning to America in June that I would go back to Uganda. And it's always been clear that I'll go back whenever the funding comes in. The Lord is my Great Provider and I trust Him completely with this. I need to remind myself everyday that this CANNOT be something I try to do on my own strength because it will never work. I'm in such a learning stage right now and though it's not always easy to be patient (especially when it comes to money), I'm trying my best to do so.
Moving on... I had to opportunity to talk to one of my favorite people ever (Peter) on Sunday and I'm still so happy about it. Have you ever had a friend, maybe a best friend that you've kinda lost contact with? Who hasn't really? It's a bummer. Reconnecting is so much fun though! Obviously I love people, but just catching up and being reminded of why someone is such a good friend is refreshing. I was able to talk about some stuff with him that he doesn't know about simply because we've lost touch a bit, but stuff that I've talked with other people about for a long time, and get a fresh perspective on the situations. It was just so fantastic to talk with someone that I really love and trust about things that everyone else I'm close with has had to hear about for years. :) Thank you Jesus for friends.
Indianapolis turned out to be pretty fun this weekend. The snow storm prevented some parts of the plan, but created other fun times so it all worked out. I am always so blessed by the time I get to spend with the youth down there. I just wish I had a privet jet so I could be a part of both churches every Sunday. That would be fantastic! Any donors?? :) I also was able to spend time with some dear friends up here in Chicagoland at a Super Bowl party. I love seeing so many people I adore in one place.
Anyways, my schedule seems to be ceaseless these days... but I think I like it. This weekend I'll be in Indy again. Next weekend I have a friend coming into town, a purity night for the youth girls, and on Sunday I'm having my friend John meet with the youth worship team. Then with the end of Feb and beginning of March I should be around, but by the middle of March I've committed to some stuff and I'll be out of town again. Then April rolls around and (praise the Lord) I'll be heading to Florida for a week of warmth and fun!! May is a light month so far, only one weekend is taken by a camping trip so far. June I'll be going to Haiti on a mission trip with WSC. Then my bff is preggers and we're planning her baby shower for the weekend after Haiti. In July I'll hopefully get to go on two mission trips, one to New York with NHP and the other to Birmingham with WSC. Then by August I'll be preparing to leave for Uganda, Lord willing.
So it seems like my time is cut out for me, but somehow I'm really glad. I love having stuff to look forward to. Jesus has been teaching me to really run for the prize. I feel like all the stuff that I'm doing is along the course and on track to win the prize, if you will. It's exciting.
Fundraising is where my mind is these days. It's pretty time consuming and it's been a bit of a stress for me. I've known since returning to America in June that I would go back to Uganda. And it's always been clear that I'll go back whenever the funding comes in. The Lord is my Great Provider and I trust Him completely with this. I need to remind myself everyday that this CANNOT be something I try to do on my own strength because it will never work. I'm in such a learning stage right now and though it's not always easy to be patient (especially when it comes to money), I'm trying my best to do so.
Moving on... I had to opportunity to talk to one of my favorite people ever (Peter) on Sunday and I'm still so happy about it. Have you ever had a friend, maybe a best friend that you've kinda lost contact with? Who hasn't really? It's a bummer. Reconnecting is so much fun though! Obviously I love people, but just catching up and being reminded of why someone is such a good friend is refreshing. I was able to talk about some stuff with him that he doesn't know about simply because we've lost touch a bit, but stuff that I've talked with other people about for a long time, and get a fresh perspective on the situations. It was just so fantastic to talk with someone that I really love and trust about things that everyone else I'm close with has had to hear about for years. :) Thank you Jesus for friends.
Monday, February 1, 2010
Words
I was asked by a friend to describe them in three words... so I did. Then I turned the questions back, interested to hear their answer for me. The three words used to describe me were: untraditional, loyal, and real. Loyal and real were easy for me to agree with because I do my best to make sure that I keep those that are important to me close by.
I have always played the role of peacekeeper, in my family and in my different groups of friends. I think I've played that role because I hate when people give up on each other... I don't understand it because it's not how I've ever been. It amazes me when people let a friendship die either over something dumb, or it just fades with time. I'm not a fan of that at all. I will always do my best to treasure friends and family and remain loyal to them. The Lord gives us gifts in our friends and families even if they don't recognize Him as the Giver Of All Things. Not to say that it's always easy to deal with all your friends... and it's never easy to deal with family all the time. Jesus has given me a great capacity to love others and I see it as a blessing. If we're good friends chances are, I'm not letting you go. :) K, that may have sounded a little creepy, but I think you get the point.
Real. I agreed with this adjective too. If there's one thing that I really strive for it's to be real and honest. I'm not one to sugar-coat things or tell you something just to make you feel better. As harsh as that may seem I think it's the best way to be. Now thankfully I have learned how to be tactful and also mindful of people's feelings, so this quality is something I'm glad I've been able to show. I really appreciate when people are real to me. A big pet peeve of mine is when someone is being fake just to appease someone else. Nothing good comes of trying to be someone that you're not.
Then I got to untraditional and wasn't pleased about it. I've always thought of myself as somewhat normal (right?? Maybe??) so untraditional sounded like something I didn't want to be. I knew I wasn't supposed to read into it, but being a girl I couldn't let it go. I needed to understand what that meant. Luckily I was given an explanation. The definition I was given is this: "not satisfied with status quo; not going to do everything that everybody else does just because that is the way they do it." After hearing this I began to think through certain situations and interactions with different people and groups. I decided that this was a pretty accurate way to describe part of who I am. I do have this tendency to challenge authority when I don't think something is being done correctly. This isn't always done in the most tactful way and it's sometimes a hindrance. I get myself into trouble by offering up my opinion when it wasn't asked for. I like to see things happen quickly and efficiently and when there's something I can do to help a process along, I do it. I don't like being told something has to be done a particular way when I can see another way. Sometimes I find that I'm right, but sometimes I'm too stubborn to admit that I wasn't. I don't think we're supposed to always be ok with the status quo. Being untraditional is ok by me if it means always trying to better myself and the situations around me with the Lord's leading. It's not ok when I think I can take charge and come in and change things without regard to anyone else.
So for the past few weeks I've been thinking over these words and trying to see how they play out in my everyday life. It's been interesting to learn new things about myself and it's given me good insight into how I react to certain people and situations. My communication background definitely helps me understand others, but I don't often use it to analyze myself and the way I relate with others. Interesting... well, for me it is. Words are so powerful.
Anyway, moving on. I'm really excited with the way things are going with ministry right now. I was privileged to lead worship for the middle school lock-in on Friday night... I'm having a fantastic time with the youth kids at WSC and I looking forward to what God has to teach me this week with them. For Sunday school we're doing Alpha (http://www.alphausa.org) and I get to have my small group discussion with the seniors. They're a fun group of kids and I'm enjoying getting to know some of those that don't come for youth group. I'm looking forward to some changes this week and some sweet times with Jesus and the kids. So many are crying out and wanting to go deeper, and some aren't in that place, but Jesus commands us to preach the good news to all nations and that means the lost who show up on wednesday nights. Would you join me in prayer for the youth and leadership at WSC? I'm pretty excited to head down to Indy this weekend. NO I'm not a Colts fan... in fact I really hope they lose, but I'm pumped to see the youth kids down there! Would you also join me in praying for the youth and leadership at New Hope Pres? God is moving in big ways all over the place. Some times I don't recognize it and I even grow weary, but His love never fails. Never. Isn't that such a sweet promise to hold onto? That's what I'm clinging to this morning.
Psalm 111 is so beautiful...
1 Praise the Lord!
I will thank the Lord with all my heart
as I meet with his godly people.
2 How amazing are the deeds of the Lord!
All who delight in him should ponder them.
3 Everything he does reveals his glory and majesty.
His righteousness never fails.
4 He causes us to remember his wonderful works.
How gracious and merciful is our Lord!
5 He gives food to those who fear him;
he always remembers his covenant.
6 He has shown his great power to his people
by giving them the lands of other nations.
7 All he does is just and good,
and all his commandments are trustworthy.
8 They are forever true,
to be obeyed faithfully and with integrity.
9 He has paid a full ransom for his people.
He has guaranteed his covenant with them forever.
What a holy, awe-inspiring name he has!
10 Fear of the Lord is the foundation of true wisdom.
All who obey his commandments will grow in wisdom.
Praise him forever!
This is from the NLT and I absolutely love the phrasing of verse 9. "What a holy, awe-inspiring name he has!" Amen to that. I love this reminder of the awesomeness of God. Revel in it today.
I just finished reading Redeeming Love by Francine Rivers for the first time in about 8 or 10 years. If you haven't read it, I highly recommend it! I'm not really into fiction books (with a few exceptions of course), but it is fantastic. It paints such a beautiful picture of God's perfect love for us. It really does inspire to love deeper.
Thanks for sticking with this very jumble entry this morning. Blessings to you all.
I have always played the role of peacekeeper, in my family and in my different groups of friends. I think I've played that role because I hate when people give up on each other... I don't understand it because it's not how I've ever been. It amazes me when people let a friendship die either over something dumb, or it just fades with time. I'm not a fan of that at all. I will always do my best to treasure friends and family and remain loyal to them. The Lord gives us gifts in our friends and families even if they don't recognize Him as the Giver Of All Things. Not to say that it's always easy to deal with all your friends... and it's never easy to deal with family all the time. Jesus has given me a great capacity to love others and I see it as a blessing. If we're good friends chances are, I'm not letting you go. :) K, that may have sounded a little creepy, but I think you get the point.
Real. I agreed with this adjective too. If there's one thing that I really strive for it's to be real and honest. I'm not one to sugar-coat things or tell you something just to make you feel better. As harsh as that may seem I think it's the best way to be. Now thankfully I have learned how to be tactful and also mindful of people's feelings, so this quality is something I'm glad I've been able to show. I really appreciate when people are real to me. A big pet peeve of mine is when someone is being fake just to appease someone else. Nothing good comes of trying to be someone that you're not.
Then I got to untraditional and wasn't pleased about it. I've always thought of myself as somewhat normal (right?? Maybe??) so untraditional sounded like something I didn't want to be. I knew I wasn't supposed to read into it, but being a girl I couldn't let it go. I needed to understand what that meant. Luckily I was given an explanation. The definition I was given is this: "not satisfied with status quo; not going to do everything that everybody else does just because that is the way they do it." After hearing this I began to think through certain situations and interactions with different people and groups. I decided that this was a pretty accurate way to describe part of who I am. I do have this tendency to challenge authority when I don't think something is being done correctly. This isn't always done in the most tactful way and it's sometimes a hindrance. I get myself into trouble by offering up my opinion when it wasn't asked for. I like to see things happen quickly and efficiently and when there's something I can do to help a process along, I do it. I don't like being told something has to be done a particular way when I can see another way. Sometimes I find that I'm right, but sometimes I'm too stubborn to admit that I wasn't. I don't think we're supposed to always be ok with the status quo. Being untraditional is ok by me if it means always trying to better myself and the situations around me with the Lord's leading. It's not ok when I think I can take charge and come in and change things without regard to anyone else.
So for the past few weeks I've been thinking over these words and trying to see how they play out in my everyday life. It's been interesting to learn new things about myself and it's given me good insight into how I react to certain people and situations. My communication background definitely helps me understand others, but I don't often use it to analyze myself and the way I relate with others. Interesting... well, for me it is. Words are so powerful.
Anyway, moving on. I'm really excited with the way things are going with ministry right now. I was privileged to lead worship for the middle school lock-in on Friday night... I'm having a fantastic time with the youth kids at WSC and I looking forward to what God has to teach me this week with them. For Sunday school we're doing Alpha (http://www.alphausa.org) and I get to have my small group discussion with the seniors. They're a fun group of kids and I'm enjoying getting to know some of those that don't come for youth group. I'm looking forward to some changes this week and some sweet times with Jesus and the kids. So many are crying out and wanting to go deeper, and some aren't in that place, but Jesus commands us to preach the good news to all nations and that means the lost who show up on wednesday nights. Would you join me in prayer for the youth and leadership at WSC? I'm pretty excited to head down to Indy this weekend. NO I'm not a Colts fan... in fact I really hope they lose, but I'm pumped to see the youth kids down there! Would you also join me in praying for the youth and leadership at New Hope Pres? God is moving in big ways all over the place. Some times I don't recognize it and I even grow weary, but His love never fails. Never. Isn't that such a sweet promise to hold onto? That's what I'm clinging to this morning.
Psalm 111 is so beautiful...
1 Praise the Lord!
I will thank the Lord with all my heart
as I meet with his godly people.
2 How amazing are the deeds of the Lord!
All who delight in him should ponder them.
3 Everything he does reveals his glory and majesty.
His righteousness never fails.
4 He causes us to remember his wonderful works.
How gracious and merciful is our Lord!
5 He gives food to those who fear him;
he always remembers his covenant.
6 He has shown his great power to his people
by giving them the lands of other nations.
7 All he does is just and good,
and all his commandments are trustworthy.
8 They are forever true,
to be obeyed faithfully and with integrity.
9 He has paid a full ransom for his people.
He has guaranteed his covenant with them forever.
What a holy, awe-inspiring name he has!
10 Fear of the Lord is the foundation of true wisdom.
All who obey his commandments will grow in wisdom.
Praise him forever!
This is from the NLT and I absolutely love the phrasing of verse 9. "What a holy, awe-inspiring name he has!" Amen to that. I love this reminder of the awesomeness of God. Revel in it today.
I just finished reading Redeeming Love by Francine Rivers for the first time in about 8 or 10 years. If you haven't read it, I highly recommend it! I'm not really into fiction books (with a few exceptions of course), but it is fantastic. It paints such a beautiful picture of God's perfect love for us. It really does inspire to love deeper.
Thanks for sticking with this very jumble entry this morning. Blessings to you all.
Saturday, January 23, 2010
A Fresh Hope
A couple of weeks ago I was given the opportunity to go to Marion, Indiana where headquarters for World Gospel Mission is located and attend a workshop. I decided to stay with a good friend in Indianapolis which meant a long commute every morning and afternoon, but I knew that ahead of time and planned on the travel. What didn't I plan for?? Well from my time at IWU I thought I remembered that it took just under an hour to get to Marion from Indy. That was my first mistake. So after a fun Sunday night at youth group with kids that I LOVE, I woke up Monday with enough time to get ready and an hour to drive. Well, turns out it was further than I remembered if only by like 10 minutes, so I decided that I should speed things up a bit and get there on time. Let's just say that getting pulled over for speeding does NOT get you to your destination faster. Dang it! Strike one. So I arrive at the workshop, meant for career missionaries (not so much for volunteers), late on the first day. Strike two. I get to the room a good 15 minutes into the first session, devotions, with no bible to be found in my purse. Strike three. I had set expectations for myself for the week because I was there representing the volunteer status at WGM. I had failed... and I was super tired because staying in Indy with my buddy means not much sleep, so Monday morning did NOT start off well and I was praying that my experience that morning would not set the mood for the entire week. Well by the end of the first session via text message I was given these words of wisdom, "leave earlier, drive slower, and I have your bible." To top it all off I got to see two missionary families that I spent a lot time with while in Uganda. What started off as the worst day ever became one of the best days ever, not just because I got to see people I love, but also because I got a few minutes to take a step back and hear the goodness that the Lord has for me. He was imploring me to slow down... not just with my driving btw.
So each morning I woke up way before the sun was scheduled to rise, after getting just a few hours of sleep and headed on my way up to Marion. I am NOT a morning person by any means and I really love to sleep. So why didn't you just stay in Marion, you ask? Well I was much more blessed to stay with mi amigo and hang out with the youth group kids down in Indy... I don't get to see them during their daily lives very often, so this was a great opportunity to spend time with them. I was also excited to go to a bible study that I've been hearing about and to hang with fun people.
Anyways... if you've ever spent much time in Indiana or driving I69, you know how dreadfully boring and flat it is. There's not much to look at, and between Indianapolis and Marion there's a whole lot of fields of nothingness. In the winter time it almost seems desolate, unhopeful. It's as though the earth has been defeated because of the frigid cold. A long drive becomes even longer when you're passing over such a weary land. Those were my first thoughts about my surroundings. With unfamiliar morning radio shows I tuned into the very familiar Moody radio and KLove. Like a cloud opening up to reveal the warmth of the sun, the Word of the Lord came that second morning and brought hope to a weary and desolate land. Not to sound too dramatic, but it was like I had blinders on and they were removed. There was literally hope on the horizon as the rays of the sun began to creep over the vast flatness. Various shades of blues, purples, pinks, and oranges rose up from the darkness. I love the little gift that Jesus shared with me that morning. What a creative God we serve! Maybe now as I drive from Chicago to Indy, as I often do, I won't be as bored with the nothingness. It's not as hard to see beauty in that part of the creation. I love that hope always shines through... there's a promise of new life (like the coming of spring).
So anyways, the workshop was really good. Some of it didn't apply to me, but for the most part I found it helpful. It was also really cool to be at HQ because I've not been since I've been a part of the mission. I finally met the people I've been communicating with for the past two years and also made some good connections for my time back in Uganda. Over and over confirmation keeps coming that this is where God wants me. I'm excited. Spending time with the Coppedge's and the Bourne's was a huge blessing and very refreshing to me. It was like a little reminder of my time in Uganda. I went to Sudan with the Coppedge's almost a year ago and spent a little time with them in Northern Uganda where they live. The Bourne's lived in Kampala and are one of the most down to earth families that you'll ever meet. I love them and their genuine love for the Lord. :)
Beyond the workshop I was able to spend time at IWU that Friday hanging out with a girl connected with my church up here. She was an exchange student to my old high school a few years ago and now she is back in America attending IWU. Her brother is now here from Poland as an exchange student and he's on the worship team that I direct. I was able to help her get a little more familiar with campus, tell her about classes and teachers. She had just arrived that week and was still getting used to campus. It was so cool to see all of the new stuff that IWU has. It's been so long since I was on campus that I didn't even recognize some stuff. After that I drove back down to Indy to have dinner with a fabulous woman from Trent's church. I always love spending time with her... never a dull moment, let me tell you!
WSUMC (my home church) was having their winter high school retreat in northern Indiana, so after dinner that night I went home, packed up my stuff, and left for the retreat. I didn't get there til almost 11pm so I was completely exhausted after a week of no sleep. I knew going into the weekend that I shouldn't expect much sleep there either. BUT the senior girls laid claim on me to sleep in their room and they even gave me the big bed! It was SO amazing... like a nice hotel. We got like 6 or 7 hours of sleep... all in one night. It was fantastic! The whole retreat was great and it was so cool to finally hang out with some of those kids outside of the church. It's easier to connect in a different setting sometimes. The speaker was great and the band was pretty good too. I thought it was a relaxing weekend with some really sweet times with Jesus. :)
I finally arrived back home late Sunday afternoon and I feel like I've been catching up on sleep since. I did almost nothing last week after work and slept like 9 hours every night. It was amazing and I don't even feel guilty about my laziness. Even today, I laid around until like noon then went and hung out with my senior girls then came home, talked on the phone, and as soon as I'm done with this I'm going to bed!
That said... would you be in prayer for Haiti? I feel a strong burden for that situation and I really want to get down there asap. I'll go when it makes sense for me to go and I won't be in the way of medical type people. Right now I feel like I would be a hindrance. Pray for clarity on a time frame and also pray for the team from my church going down there tomorrow to scope things out. Lastly, I've just sent out my prayer/support letters as of yesterday and it always makes me a little anxious. Pray for the support to come in, but mostly pray that I am quick to remember to trust Him with the finances. Thanks! Much love.
So each morning I woke up way before the sun was scheduled to rise, after getting just a few hours of sleep and headed on my way up to Marion. I am NOT a morning person by any means and I really love to sleep. So why didn't you just stay in Marion, you ask? Well I was much more blessed to stay with mi amigo and hang out with the youth group kids down in Indy... I don't get to see them during their daily lives very often, so this was a great opportunity to spend time with them. I was also excited to go to a bible study that I've been hearing about and to hang with fun people.
Anyways... if you've ever spent much time in Indiana or driving I69, you know how dreadfully boring and flat it is. There's not much to look at, and between Indianapolis and Marion there's a whole lot of fields of nothingness. In the winter time it almost seems desolate, unhopeful. It's as though the earth has been defeated because of the frigid cold. A long drive becomes even longer when you're passing over such a weary land. Those were my first thoughts about my surroundings. With unfamiliar morning radio shows I tuned into the very familiar Moody radio and KLove. Like a cloud opening up to reveal the warmth of the sun, the Word of the Lord came that second morning and brought hope to a weary and desolate land. Not to sound too dramatic, but it was like I had blinders on and they were removed. There was literally hope on the horizon as the rays of the sun began to creep over the vast flatness. Various shades of blues, purples, pinks, and oranges rose up from the darkness. I love the little gift that Jesus shared with me that morning. What a creative God we serve! Maybe now as I drive from Chicago to Indy, as I often do, I won't be as bored with the nothingness. It's not as hard to see beauty in that part of the creation. I love that hope always shines through... there's a promise of new life (like the coming of spring).
So anyways, the workshop was really good. Some of it didn't apply to me, but for the most part I found it helpful. It was also really cool to be at HQ because I've not been since I've been a part of the mission. I finally met the people I've been communicating with for the past two years and also made some good connections for my time back in Uganda. Over and over confirmation keeps coming that this is where God wants me. I'm excited. Spending time with the Coppedge's and the Bourne's was a huge blessing and very refreshing to me. It was like a little reminder of my time in Uganda. I went to Sudan with the Coppedge's almost a year ago and spent a little time with them in Northern Uganda where they live. The Bourne's lived in Kampala and are one of the most down to earth families that you'll ever meet. I love them and their genuine love for the Lord. :)
Beyond the workshop I was able to spend time at IWU that Friday hanging out with a girl connected with my church up here. She was an exchange student to my old high school a few years ago and now she is back in America attending IWU. Her brother is now here from Poland as an exchange student and he's on the worship team that I direct. I was able to help her get a little more familiar with campus, tell her about classes and teachers. She had just arrived that week and was still getting used to campus. It was so cool to see all of the new stuff that IWU has. It's been so long since I was on campus that I didn't even recognize some stuff. After that I drove back down to Indy to have dinner with a fabulous woman from Trent's church. I always love spending time with her... never a dull moment, let me tell you!
WSUMC (my home church) was having their winter high school retreat in northern Indiana, so after dinner that night I went home, packed up my stuff, and left for the retreat. I didn't get there til almost 11pm so I was completely exhausted after a week of no sleep. I knew going into the weekend that I shouldn't expect much sleep there either. BUT the senior girls laid claim on me to sleep in their room and they even gave me the big bed! It was SO amazing... like a nice hotel. We got like 6 or 7 hours of sleep... all in one night. It was fantastic! The whole retreat was great and it was so cool to finally hang out with some of those kids outside of the church. It's easier to connect in a different setting sometimes. The speaker was great and the band was pretty good too. I thought it was a relaxing weekend with some really sweet times with Jesus. :)
I finally arrived back home late Sunday afternoon and I feel like I've been catching up on sleep since. I did almost nothing last week after work and slept like 9 hours every night. It was amazing and I don't even feel guilty about my laziness. Even today, I laid around until like noon then went and hung out with my senior girls then came home, talked on the phone, and as soon as I'm done with this I'm going to bed!
That said... would you be in prayer for Haiti? I feel a strong burden for that situation and I really want to get down there asap. I'll go when it makes sense for me to go and I won't be in the way of medical type people. Right now I feel like I would be a hindrance. Pray for clarity on a time frame and also pray for the team from my church going down there tomorrow to scope things out. Lastly, I've just sent out my prayer/support letters as of yesterday and it always makes me a little anxious. Pray for the support to come in, but mostly pray that I am quick to remember to trust Him with the finances. Thanks! Much love.
Friday, January 8, 2010
Dying to Self
I stumbled across this poem yesterday and I think it's fantastic. It kinda kicks my butt. Maybe it will do the same for you.
Dying to Self
(author unknown)
"When you are forgotten, or neglected, or purposely set at naught, and you don't sting and hurt with the insult or the oversight, but your heart is happy being counted worthy to suffer for Christ, that is dying to self.
When your good is evil spoken of, when your wishes are crossed, your advice disregarded, your opinions ridiculed, and you refuse to let anger rise in your heart, or even defend yourself, but take it all in patient, loving silence, that is dying to self.
When you lovingly and patiently bear any disorder, any irregularity, any unpunctuality, or any annoyance; when you can stand face to face with waste, folly, extravagance, spiritual insensibility, and endure it as Jesus endured it, that is dying to self.
When you are content with any food, any offering, any raiment, any climate, any society, any solitude, any interruption by the will of God, that is dying to self.
When you never care to refer to yourself in conversation, or to record your own good works, or itch after commendation, when you can truly love to be unknown, that is dying to self.
When you can see your brother prosper and have his needs met, and can honestly rejoice with him in spirit and feel no envy nor question God, while your own needs are far greater and in desperate circumstances, that is dying to self.
When you can receive correction and reproof from one of less stature than yourself, and can humbly submit inwardly as well as outwardly, finding no rebellion or resentment rising up within your heart, that is dying to self."
Dying to Self
(author unknown)
"When you are forgotten, or neglected, or purposely set at naught, and you don't sting and hurt with the insult or the oversight, but your heart is happy being counted worthy to suffer for Christ, that is dying to self.
When your good is evil spoken of, when your wishes are crossed, your advice disregarded, your opinions ridiculed, and you refuse to let anger rise in your heart, or even defend yourself, but take it all in patient, loving silence, that is dying to self.
When you lovingly and patiently bear any disorder, any irregularity, any unpunctuality, or any annoyance; when you can stand face to face with waste, folly, extravagance, spiritual insensibility, and endure it as Jesus endured it, that is dying to self.
When you are content with any food, any offering, any raiment, any climate, any society, any solitude, any interruption by the will of God, that is dying to self.
When you never care to refer to yourself in conversation, or to record your own good works, or itch after commendation, when you can truly love to be unknown, that is dying to self.
When you can see your brother prosper and have his needs met, and can honestly rejoice with him in spirit and feel no envy nor question God, while your own needs are far greater and in desperate circumstances, that is dying to self.
When you can receive correction and reproof from one of less stature than yourself, and can humbly submit inwardly as well as outwardly, finding no rebellion or resentment rising up within your heart, that is dying to self."
Thursday, January 7, 2010
HIStory (clever, I know)
When someone asks, "will you pray for me about...??" Do you? Do you actually sit down and take the time to pray? When someone says that they'll pray for you about something, do you believe them? This is something I've been thinking about and even struggling with a bit. There are times when someone asks me to pray for them and of course I agree to, but then I go about my day quickly forgetting that request in the midst of daily life. I need to actually stop what I'm doing and lift up the request immediately to ensure that I pray for it. However even when I do that it becomes something really quick and then it gets filed in the back of my mind. Now I know that I'm not the only one who does this and some would even say, "don't beat yourself up about it." But really this is something I need to be better at. This is NOT to say that if you ask me to pray about something I won't and really I do my best, but sometimes things fall by the wayside and I wish they didn't.
My new goal for myself is to write stuff down. I have always carried this cute little pad of paper in my purse and it has a bunch of random notes from sermons, addresses, phone numbers, and it even has a song in Swahili translated to English, but I think it's time that it becomes my little prayer pad. From now on I can sit down at night or in the morning and flip through my prayer pad and remember to lift up the prayer requests I'm given. I'm excited to see how God moves in each situation... because now I'll remember what I've been praying for. It's so simple... and I'm just now getting on top of it. Oh my! I hope this helps you guys to remember to pray too. :)
Something else that I wanted to share with you guys...
For the past 6 months since I've been home I've been trying to figure out what's next. Where I need to go and what I need to do. God quickly confirmed and reconfirmed that I'm to be going back to Uganda. But somehow I was looking for a different kind of answer. NOT a different answer, a different kind of answer. I'm so excited to have the opportunity to head back to Africa, that's not the issue. What I was hoping for was more of a confirmation on what my life is about. Like what is the purpose of my ministry. I feel like that's a heavy question. I also know that I don't really need to know the answer, but it would be nice, right?
Well I've written on here in the past about being called to love on people, which I totally am called to do. More specifically though I believe that the Lord is calling me to be a support system. What does that even mean? Hard to say, but I'm understanding more and more everyday. Right now it means that God has given me a ministry with the youth at Wheatland Salem. I'm not the "director of student ministries" and I'm not the "youth pastor", but I have the job of bringing Jesus to them anyway... of loving them and being there to help out those who are in charge. As I understand the call on my life more and more I can see how Jesus ordained my past to bring to this place.
Maybe it started with my parents moving to AZ when I was 16. It was then that I began to learn how to be VERY independent. I learned to rely on the entire body of Christ to be my family when mine lived 1,800 miles away. I learned that dependence on God must be first because when your family's gone and you're a "guest" somewhere it can get real lonely.
Then college at IWU... Going in, I was determined to come out a music theory teacher/choir director. Heading out with a degree in Communications I had effectively learned how to relate to people and communicate with them on deeper levels than I would have been able to. I learned what it means to be a mentor, to counsel, to lead, and to speak well. How does one who used to fear public speaking grow to love it? Major in Communications in college! Bring on the big crowds!
After college I found myself still living in Marion, not sure where I was supposed to be next. So I was a substitute teacher for almost 2 years before moving back to IL and taking the youth pastor job. My time in the schools showed me my love for teaching (on some level) and definitely confirmed my love of youth. So when God asked me to be a youth pastor I not only had experience in teaching, but I had the skills necessary to communicate with the kids. Even beyond that I had the experience of being a leader in my youth group growing up, having been on worship team and such.
As the youth pastor at Plano UMC, God used the skills and talents He had given me to shepherd an awesome group of kids that I still talk to today. It was so cool to see them come to know Jesus!! Then, rather abruptly God called me to Africa. Of course I was super reluctant because I felt like I was FINALLY getting somewhere with the youth group and kids were accepting Jesus and how could I leave when things were moving in such powerful ways? But in His strong, silent way, on a beach in Florida at sunset, the Lord asked me to trust Him in all things, to remain in Him, and to go.
So I moved to Uganda for a year, taught, mentored, counseled, and led. Every part of my life, leading up to that point was God molding me, specifically for that. I went when He could use me and my abilities in such a way that would lead others into His presence and bring Him glory. Sweet!
Now I've been home for 6 months and I'm getting ready to go back for who knows how long, but I'm going back knowing that I'm being molded even now to do the work God has set before me. That work is being done in Illinois and Indiana right now, it will be done in Uganda and Kenya soon, and beyond that it will be done around the world, where ever that may be. As someone called to be a support system for others, my ministry is not limited to one specific area. It's kinda cool knowing that I get to go where ever.
That idea carries over into my relationships. I've been blessed with the ability to go where I'm needed for my friends. That means going to Florida, driving to southern IL for a day trip, going to Michigan, helping friends in TN, visiting friends in Alabama, hanging out in Indiana, going to AZ to help my brother. It's been amazing to be in a position where I can do those things... just another way that Jesus uses me as support. Someday when I get married I get to be someone's support system every single day. HIStory in the making. Clever, right??
I love my friends and family so much. I'm so thankful though, that from the time I was 16, God was preparing me to be able to go and do. It doesn't make leaving a ton easier, but I know I can do it when I remain in Him.
Darn... I feel like there was something else I wanted to say. Well, it's gone. I just looked out the window and got distracted by the copious amount of snow and thoughts of sledding later. Enjoy it if you've got it!
My new goal for myself is to write stuff down. I have always carried this cute little pad of paper in my purse and it has a bunch of random notes from sermons, addresses, phone numbers, and it even has a song in Swahili translated to English, but I think it's time that it becomes my little prayer pad. From now on I can sit down at night or in the morning and flip through my prayer pad and remember to lift up the prayer requests I'm given. I'm excited to see how God moves in each situation... because now I'll remember what I've been praying for. It's so simple... and I'm just now getting on top of it. Oh my! I hope this helps you guys to remember to pray too. :)
Something else that I wanted to share with you guys...
For the past 6 months since I've been home I've been trying to figure out what's next. Where I need to go and what I need to do. God quickly confirmed and reconfirmed that I'm to be going back to Uganda. But somehow I was looking for a different kind of answer. NOT a different answer, a different kind of answer. I'm so excited to have the opportunity to head back to Africa, that's not the issue. What I was hoping for was more of a confirmation on what my life is about. Like what is the purpose of my ministry. I feel like that's a heavy question. I also know that I don't really need to know the answer, but it would be nice, right?
Well I've written on here in the past about being called to love on people, which I totally am called to do. More specifically though I believe that the Lord is calling me to be a support system. What does that even mean? Hard to say, but I'm understanding more and more everyday. Right now it means that God has given me a ministry with the youth at Wheatland Salem. I'm not the "director of student ministries" and I'm not the "youth pastor", but I have the job of bringing Jesus to them anyway... of loving them and being there to help out those who are in charge. As I understand the call on my life more and more I can see how Jesus ordained my past to bring to this place.
Maybe it started with my parents moving to AZ when I was 16. It was then that I began to learn how to be VERY independent. I learned to rely on the entire body of Christ to be my family when mine lived 1,800 miles away. I learned that dependence on God must be first because when your family's gone and you're a "guest" somewhere it can get real lonely.
Then college at IWU... Going in, I was determined to come out a music theory teacher/choir director. Heading out with a degree in Communications I had effectively learned how to relate to people and communicate with them on deeper levels than I would have been able to. I learned what it means to be a mentor, to counsel, to lead, and to speak well. How does one who used to fear public speaking grow to love it? Major in Communications in college! Bring on the big crowds!
After college I found myself still living in Marion, not sure where I was supposed to be next. So I was a substitute teacher for almost 2 years before moving back to IL and taking the youth pastor job. My time in the schools showed me my love for teaching (on some level) and definitely confirmed my love of youth. So when God asked me to be a youth pastor I not only had experience in teaching, but I had the skills necessary to communicate with the kids. Even beyond that I had the experience of being a leader in my youth group growing up, having been on worship team and such.
As the youth pastor at Plano UMC, God used the skills and talents He had given me to shepherd an awesome group of kids that I still talk to today. It was so cool to see them come to know Jesus!! Then, rather abruptly God called me to Africa. Of course I was super reluctant because I felt like I was FINALLY getting somewhere with the youth group and kids were accepting Jesus and how could I leave when things were moving in such powerful ways? But in His strong, silent way, on a beach in Florida at sunset, the Lord asked me to trust Him in all things, to remain in Him, and to go.
So I moved to Uganda for a year, taught, mentored, counseled, and led. Every part of my life, leading up to that point was God molding me, specifically for that. I went when He could use me and my abilities in such a way that would lead others into His presence and bring Him glory. Sweet!
Now I've been home for 6 months and I'm getting ready to go back for who knows how long, but I'm going back knowing that I'm being molded even now to do the work God has set before me. That work is being done in Illinois and Indiana right now, it will be done in Uganda and Kenya soon, and beyond that it will be done around the world, where ever that may be. As someone called to be a support system for others, my ministry is not limited to one specific area. It's kinda cool knowing that I get to go where ever.
That idea carries over into my relationships. I've been blessed with the ability to go where I'm needed for my friends. That means going to Florida, driving to southern IL for a day trip, going to Michigan, helping friends in TN, visiting friends in Alabama, hanging out in Indiana, going to AZ to help my brother. It's been amazing to be in a position where I can do those things... just another way that Jesus uses me as support. Someday when I get married I get to be someone's support system every single day. HIStory in the making. Clever, right??
I love my friends and family so much. I'm so thankful though, that from the time I was 16, God was preparing me to be able to go and do. It doesn't make leaving a ton easier, but I know I can do it when I remain in Him.
Darn... I feel like there was something else I wanted to say. Well, it's gone. I just looked out the window and got distracted by the copious amount of snow and thoughts of sledding later. Enjoy it if you've got it!
Saturday, January 2, 2010
How Blessed Am I??
This is the time of year when we recount the happenings of the past year and think ahead to what the New Year promises to bring. We set goals for ourselves, usually without a good plan in place to actually reach those goals. We come into the the new year with expectant hope that something big is going to happen... that something will change and that this will be the best year of our lives. So, like most people I celebrated the new year in a big, fun way. I have goals for myself that I want to see accomplished, but how am I going to do that? It's easy to hope for something, but not so easy to see it through. There are things I expect out of the new year... I expect to have all of my funding in and be heading back to East Africa, I expect to lose weight so I can be more affective in my ministry, I expect to meet God in a new fresh way, I expect all my different ministries to grow, and I totally expect to enjoy the time I have left in America to spend with dear friends and family before I enter the mission field abroad once again. I think that all of those things are very attainable... none of those are beyond God. For me, I can't do any of those on my own. I don't have enough strength, even though I like to think that I'm so strong and independent. What good is strong independence if you go everything alone?? I'm praying even now that I wake up every day with expectant and terrible hope that God will be in the center of everything from my weight to my relationships and my ministries. It must be about Jesus, otherwise what am I working towards?
I write these words mostly for myself. As a reminder of my Hope and a reminder of my motivation. People tend to shy away from holding each other accountable because it's hard. It's really hard sometimes!! But I hope that each of you love me enough to hold me accountable to these things.
Anyways... I cannot thank you all enough for an awesome birthday and new year!! I was blessed beyond belief by my friends and family. After spending Christmas being sick, it was amazing to be able to celebrate by seeing SO many of my favorite people on earth!
My bestest friend ever, Michelle was here so I spent the day before my b-day getting pretty with her. We got our nails done and had a blast! Then on my b-day I got to skype with another bff, I was woken up by multiple phone calls and texts, and the first thing I heard the second that I opened my bedroom door was, "Happy Birthday!!!" I had a very relaxing day all leading up to a night with my friends and family and being blessed by each of them. I had friends on their way home from Virginia and instead of going home they came to my dinner, friends drove out from the city to come, another friend drove 4 hours! It was all really amazing to me. I was overwhelmed by the amount of emails and facebook messages from people around the world. I was floored by people's love for me, but more floored by their love for Jesus. I asked on facebook for people to donate to Jade and Shelah Acker's (Lino's family) mission, Refuge and Hope International in honor of my birthday. I was hoping that one or two people would donate a little, but instead my goal was reached and is going to be exceeded!! How amazing that you guys would choose to bless me so greatly by blessing those that are so important to me. Amazing! Jesus is amazing! Last year on my b-day I was blessed so much by the Acker family, so this year I wanted to return that blessing to them and thanks to Jesus and my friends and family it happened! Praise the King Of Kings!
My good buddy, Trent had gotten here on my b-day, so we spent New Years Eve together in Chicago. I was able to see some amazing friends along the way into the city which was fabulous! We got to my good friend's, Blake and Emily's house in Chicago and spent a little time with them before venturing out in the freezing cold to explore city a bit. After our first walk to the "L" it was obvious that finding a nice warm movie theater made the most amount of sense, so we saw a movie, then just as I was thawing out we ventured back out into the cold and walked over to meet up with some other friends for a bit. After hanging with them, Trent and I hopped on a bus (we had to keep warm for as long as possible and walking would NOT have accomplished that) and headed down to Navy Pier for fireworks.
After walking around for like 45 minutes the fireworks and music were rocking and the New Year was here! I had never spent New Years Eve in Chicago before, so I had a total blast! It was so much fun! Even with the silly frigid wind I'd do it again! So then after our subzero walk back to the L and then to my car, it was really nice to know that I could be warm... that is until I locked my brother, Trent, and I out of my Vinny's house the next day. :) Oops, thankfully we're all like Mcgyver and were able to break in within like 10 minutes.
So needless to say it was very fun and adventurous and I am blessed beyond measure by the time with my friends and family. The promise of newness and freshness for the new year is exhilarating and I can't wait to see what the Lord has in store. I'm thankful for His promise and in awe of His faithfulness.
I write these words mostly for myself. As a reminder of my Hope and a reminder of my motivation. People tend to shy away from holding each other accountable because it's hard. It's really hard sometimes!! But I hope that each of you love me enough to hold me accountable to these things.
Anyways... I cannot thank you all enough for an awesome birthday and new year!! I was blessed beyond belief by my friends and family. After spending Christmas being sick, it was amazing to be able to celebrate by seeing SO many of my favorite people on earth!
My bestest friend ever, Michelle was here so I spent the day before my b-day getting pretty with her. We got our nails done and had a blast! Then on my b-day I got to skype with another bff, I was woken up by multiple phone calls and texts, and the first thing I heard the second that I opened my bedroom door was, "Happy Birthday!!!" I had a very relaxing day all leading up to a night with my friends and family and being blessed by each of them. I had friends on their way home from Virginia and instead of going home they came to my dinner, friends drove out from the city to come, another friend drove 4 hours! It was all really amazing to me. I was overwhelmed by the amount of emails and facebook messages from people around the world. I was floored by people's love for me, but more floored by their love for Jesus. I asked on facebook for people to donate to Jade and Shelah Acker's (Lino's family) mission, Refuge and Hope International in honor of my birthday. I was hoping that one or two people would donate a little, but instead my goal was reached and is going to be exceeded!! How amazing that you guys would choose to bless me so greatly by blessing those that are so important to me. Amazing! Jesus is amazing! Last year on my b-day I was blessed so much by the Acker family, so this year I wanted to return that blessing to them and thanks to Jesus and my friends and family it happened! Praise the King Of Kings!
My good buddy, Trent had gotten here on my b-day, so we spent New Years Eve together in Chicago. I was able to see some amazing friends along the way into the city which was fabulous! We got to my good friend's, Blake and Emily's house in Chicago and spent a little time with them before venturing out in the freezing cold to explore city a bit. After our first walk to the "L" it was obvious that finding a nice warm movie theater made the most amount of sense, so we saw a movie, then just as I was thawing out we ventured back out into the cold and walked over to meet up with some other friends for a bit. After hanging with them, Trent and I hopped on a bus (we had to keep warm for as long as possible and walking would NOT have accomplished that) and headed down to Navy Pier for fireworks.
After walking around for like 45 minutes the fireworks and music were rocking and the New Year was here! I had never spent New Years Eve in Chicago before, so I had a total blast! It was so much fun! Even with the silly frigid wind I'd do it again! So then after our subzero walk back to the L and then to my car, it was really nice to know that I could be warm... that is until I locked my brother, Trent, and I out of my Vinny's house the next day. :) Oops, thankfully we're all like Mcgyver and were able to break in within like 10 minutes. So needless to say it was very fun and adventurous and I am blessed beyond measure by the time with my friends and family. The promise of newness and freshness for the new year is exhilarating and I can't wait to see what the Lord has in store. I'm thankful for His promise and in awe of His faithfulness.
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