I'm scared

I always enjoy coming home to visit my family. My parents are always happy to see me and I thoroughly enjoy seeing my sisters, their husbands, and my two nephews and one niece. My oldest nephew, Evan, is now 3 1/2 years old and is so much fun. I can't believe how much he has grown up.

The other night, I took him outside with me to go on a "little adventure." As we were walking through the yard, I felt his little hand reach up for mine as he said, "Uncle Jeffrey, will you hold my hand? I'm scared."

Of course I said yes. I usually can never say no to him. I enjoy spending time with him and he just may give the best hugs in the world.

Later that night, as I remembered our "adventure," I thought about his simple request. The yard was very dark, and had I not walked through it many times before, I myself would have been very cautious as we made our way across it. Evan had no ability to expect where the trees were or how far away the ditch may be. He wasn't even sure where we were headed. He simply had said yes when I asked him if he would go outside with me.

So why did his holding my hand make everything alright? Why did he have so much faith in me. How did his hand wrapped in mine provide comfort and confidence for him to continue through the dark? While I don't have all the answers to these questions, they do make me think about our relationship with God.

How often does He ask me to go on an adventure with Him? I couldn't even answer that question because I so often am not even listening to hear Him when He does ask.

Why would I trust Him to lead me through the darkness when I have no ability to forge my own way through? Why wouldn't I?

How does His holding my hand provide "all authority in heaven and on earth" (Matt. 28:18) to give me comfort and confidence?

Why don't I as enthusiastically, as blindly, and with the same faith my nephew Evan has in me trust the Lord and follow Him through all the adventures He has for me?

If Evan had said no, that he didn't want to go outside with me, his life would have been no less affected as it was by our "little adventure." He would have simply stayed safe inside with the rest of the family in a completely familiar and comfortable environment.

However, every time I do listen to the Lord, say yes to His invitations, trust Him, and hold His hand as He takes me through new places, my life IS drastically affected. My ability to trust Him grows. My faith in Him rises. I provide opportunities for Him to prove Himself faithful to me once more, even though He is not required to do so. It is His joy. It is the delight of His heart. To a much greater degree than how fulfilling it is for me to take Evan on new adventures, it is so pleasing to the Lord when I truly lay down my life and follow Him. Granted, there will be dark places and I may be scared sometimes. But with the simple request and touch of my Father's hand, all peace is restored.

Once more, I'm reminded of one of my favorite quotes: "Every adult needs a child to teach, for that is the way adults learn." ~ Frank Clark

I'm thankful for Evan reminding me of how glorious it is to take an adventure with someone you love and trust. When I do, life is lived. May you take your own adventures with our Father as He invites you and may the touch of His hand holding yours provide all that you need to continue walking. May your "I'm scared" never keep you from what lies ahead.

Merry Christmas!

White Christmas

Growing up in the South, the concept of a White Christmas was often but a dream and desire hidden within the depth of my mind. I remember Christmas the year I was in kindergarten when we had a decent snow in Savannah. Since then, most years I remember wearing a short sleeve shirt, or at least no jacket.

This morning, I was checking on what the weather will be like when I get home this week for Christmas. Christmas day, the high is to be 76 glorious degrees. I can't wait. This seems weird, right?

Well, after the cold of Wilmore that I've been living in, and the even colder recesses of my dorm room, I am enjoying this warmth more than I could have ever imagined during Christmas time. I had to scrape an inch of ice off my car in order to leave Kentucky the other day, and this afternoon I will walk outside in a short sleeve shirt with no jacket. Amazingly Sweet!

I know many people will complain about the warmth around Christmas time. Everyone, even in the South, desires a cold, if not White, Christmas.

But I say this. Stop complaining. Jesus knows that I've been frozen for a few months now and is simply showing me His love by wrapping me in the warmth this weather. And people, it is B-E-A-UTIFUL. You may blame me if you are hot on Christmas. But just know, I'm loving it.

May you have a great time with friends (new and old) and family this holiday season. Whether you are in China, Ghana, Brazil, America, or anywhere else, may the Lord warm your heart with His presence.

Can you say "Awkward"?

There are not many things that can literally make me feel awkward or uncomfortable, for the most part. However, yesterday afternoon at work, I found myself in perhaps one of the most awkward moments ever!

For your sake, let me tell you about where I work. I basically am a janitor at a private Christian school in Lexington. The school uses a large majority of the same buildings as the church that it is run out of. Thus, spaces such as the fellowship hall, are also used as the lunch room for the school, etc...

Yesterday evening the church was hosting some sort of Christmas program. Therefore my co-worker and I got there early and began cleaning so that we would be out of the way and gone before their program began. I had finished collecting and taking out all of the trash and had begun vacuuming the classrooms. As I work, (walking around the school for three hours a day) I usually have my ipod playing. Thus, if someone wants to get my attention while I am vacuuming, they usually have to get pretty close to me.

So I turned around and noticed a guy, probably close to my age, standing at the door of the classroom trying to get my attention. I stopped vacuuming and took out my earphones and he asked if I knew how to tie a tie. He was trying to get ready for the evening program and needed some help. I went into the bathroom to use the mirror and tied his tie around my neck. It would have been very awkward to tie the tie around his neck. He was telling me how large he wanted the knot to be and other random things, such as where he was from, where he worked, and why he was needing my help with the tie. He was asking me similar questions, even though he never even asked my name.

Here comes the awkward part. As we were walking out of the bathroom, he told me thanks one more time and I assured him it wasn't a problem. At this point, I assumed our interaction was complete and headed back to my vacuum. That is when I heard him say this:

"By the way, you have a really nice a#%." (butt)

Wow. Really? I mean even if he were gay and was trying to hit on me, I could have possibly taken that as a compliment. But I was wearing some rather baggy jeans and we were standing in the hallway of a church / Christian school. And he was there to run a Christmas program. Moreover, it honestly did not appear like he was trying to hit on me at all. It felt very much like a straightforward comment followed by nothing, except him standing there looking at me for what I assume was his waiting on my response.

What should my response have been? I don't know. But I just nodded, put my earphones back in, and returned to the vacuum.

I know plenty of homosexual guys, but very few have ever hit on me or tried to flirt with me. So it would seem normal that I would have been caught a little off guard. But seriously! Did that just happen? What just happen? That is all I could think. I just kept laughing while I finished working and have gotten quite a few laughs from friends whom I've shared this experience with.

What an awkward day. I hope you find this to be as funny and awkward as I did. May you find humor, laughter, and many memories in the awkward situations you find yourself in. Whether you are creating them or just experiencing them, I hope you laugh.

good day / bad day

Are days really good or bad?

Qualifiers of a "good day" for me:
- warm weather
- a good deep conversation
- quality time spent with friends/family
- a Duke basketball win
- a Georgia football win
- an incredible meal
- new music
- a great book
- playing outside
- miracles
- etc...

"bad day":
- snow (or any form of freezing weather)
- isolation
- sickness
- Tennessee winning anything
- feeling misunderstood
- stress/worry
- coconut (in any form)
- etc...

These things really don't make a day "good" or "bad". The day in and of itself is just that, a day. It's the events within a day, and more particularly, our reaction to those events that permit us to call them good and bad days.

If this is true, than perhaps even a day full of "bad stuff" can still be turned into a great day.

Regardless of how you qualify your days, know this: Today was a GREAT day for me. Particularly for two reasons.
1. I completed my last paper for the semester, thus my first semester in seminary is COMPLETE.
2. And most importantly, my new nephew Lucas was born this morning and he and mom are both doing well. I hope to have pictures soon.

I can't wait to get home to see them, as well as all of my family.

May your days be filled with good things. And may you fill others' days with good things as well.

transitions

I took these photos a couple of weeks ago towards the end of "fall" around campus.








Seriously, within 2 weeks this is what campus started to look like. I knew it was going to be cold up here, and I realize that we haven't had a "real" or heavy snow yet, but this has just been crazy. I never thought it would snow this much before Christmas, much less before Thanksgiving.





May you all stay warm as you enjoy the seasons and the creation that is transitioning around you.

Mirrors

Every time that I encounter Christ, I am(or should be) further transformed into His likeness. My struggle lies in always finding Christ's image. Whether I find that in prayer, worship, the beauty of truth, other people, a community, creation, an act of grace, an act of justice, an embodiment of humility, a work of healing, etc... Whenever we open our eyes to see Christ we are presented with an opportunity to be redeemed.

This reality provokes me into thousands of further thoughts. The one I want to share with you now is this:

In what way do you best see yourself? Or better yet, in what way do you best see Christ in yourself? When you look at yourself in the mirror? When you allow someone else to share their perception of who you are? Or perhaps when you close your eyes and think about your life? Which of these portrays an honest reflection? The truest image of who you are.

As I continue to seek my true reflection, I further see how far I have to go in order that I may be like Christ. I firmly believe that our purpose in life is to be transformed into His image. "But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as from the Lord, the Spirit." 2 Corinthians 3:18

May you find your reflection. And may it lead you to a clearer image of who Christ is in you.

Culture Shock, part 2

Over a month ago, I shared with you about the Culture Shock that I have experienced since living here in Kentucky. While that has not changed much, I do want to also share with you another aspect of the culture of Asbury Seminary that I have enjoyed.

While this city and most of this state is very white, I must admit that there is a very nice international population on campus. There are students here from South Korea, India, Tanzania, Kenya, Brazil, and the list goes on and on. I have found much joy in getting to know several of these students and hearing their stories. I find myself drawn to sit with them in the dining hall and just listen. There is so much for me to learn from their perspectives and experiences. Knowing their personal stories helps me to digest all the Lord is teaching me about His Kingdom.

In small ways, I believe the international travels that I have experienced helps me to respect and appreciate who they are and all they have to share. There is one student in particular from South Korea that I have thoroughly enjoyed getting to know. His name, or I should say his American name, is Moses. He is so much fun to talk to and I have so much respect for him. I already have an invitation to come visit him in South Korea one day and eagerly long for the Lord to provide that opportunity for me. As we were talking about his American name and his Korean name, he decided that he would give me a Korean name as well. Because I can't type in Korean, here is a picture of what my Korean name looks like:



This is obviously a vertical image of the name, which is how he typed it out for me. You want to know the really cool part about this story? My new Korean name means exactly the same thing as my American name, and Moses did not even know what "Jeffrey" means. He said that he gave me this name, which means "peace" because he felt like it fit my personality. What a blessing! I truly believe in the power of a name. There is much power in the name of Jesus, and I believe He will bring purpose and power in our lives through our names as well. I'm trying to get Moses to teach me some Korean; however, I am hopeless at being about to make the correct sounds to pronounce the words.

Needless to say, I find much joy and blessing in the diversity of multicultural students that are on campus.(that is good since I will mostly be surrounded by only the international students over our Thanksgiving break when everyone else heads home for the week) Granted, this does not make up for the lack of national diversity that we have here. Nonetheless, it is still a great blessing that I believe is a beautiful picture of the Kingdom of God.

Again, may you find the beauty and blessing in the diversity that surrounds you and when given the opportunity to expand your experiences beyond our boarders may you have the joy, desire, and willingness to do so.

Hurricane

This is a new favorite song that I've been listening to recently. I find a lot of truth in it, as well as a danger if it truly becomes my prayer. Enjoy!

Kingdom story

I wanted to share a story with you all that I find inspiring. It is unique and somewhat sad, but amazing at the same time. I heard this story this weekend and will relay it to you to the best of my ability.

Daniel Lim is the Executive Vice President of the Forerunner School of Ministry at the IHOP base in Kansas City. He is from Malaysia and has an extensive history which includes pioneering numerous missionary projects in Southeast Asia. Several years ago, after the Tsunami hit, Daniel's wife began fasting and praying for those devastated by the storm. She felt very strongly that the Lord wanted their family to take a team of people, along with many supplies, to the areas. After enormous provision from the Lord, with a full team, and over a million dollars, they were set to leave. Daniel and his wife have two kids and their youngest, a little girl not even 1 year old, had been ill and they had to wait for the doctor's clearance before they could leave. Finally her health improved and the team was off.

When they arrived, they met a great amount of opposition from the government. Their team would go around in T-shirt which read "We love Myanmar." Daniel finally approached the highest authority he had access to and told them to stop the resistance for they were there simply to help. Within days, their team had every resource imaginable at their disposal, including a UN helicopter. Thus, the Lord was showering His favor over them: a Christian group of people their to love on a country that is 89% Buddhists.

One week, Daniel and his wife and son left to travel north to minister in some smaller villages. While they were there, they received a phone call that their young daughter Emma, who had stayed behind with their family in the larger city, was in the hospital with pneumonia. Before they could return, their daughter had died. They buried her on a plot of land they had purchased to build an orphanage on. This had to have been very difficult for them. Some would ask how the Lord could allow such a thing to happen.

Within days, the dictator of Myanmar heard of the death of their daughter, and the sacrifice they had made in traveling with a sick child just to help their country. In an act of appreciation, he declared that a street in every village in the country be named after their daughter. Do you know what her name was, and what it meant? She went by Emma, but her name was Emmanuel (God with us).

So as they left the country, not only had they shared the love of Christ, provided so much aid, brought much relief, and had lost their daughter, but the name of Christ was left in every village in the country.

We may not always understand the Lord's ways and why things happen. However, we must remember that as subjects in His kingdom, He is in control and His kingdom is advancing in ways that we will cost us sacrifice. I know none of us would ever want to be asked of the Lord to lose our children, as Abraham was asked to do, but our Great God is establishing His kingdom on the earth and we must trust in His goodness and faithfulness.

"And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose." ~ Romans 8:28

May we all have the strength and faith to trust in the Lord and be obedient to all that He asks of us. And may we recommit ourselves to the reality of His kingdom and not be blinded by our limited vision of Christianity.

suffering

As I'm sure most of you are aware, I've had a very interesting first semester of seminary. I am learning a lot, although most of that is happening in the prayer room, doctor's office, or while I walk around at work for 3 hours a day, and not in the classroom.

There is so much that is on my mind. I literally have a list of things that I want to sit down, focus on, and really process. I am only waiting for the time to do that.

However, through the struggles of this semester, in this very new place, I've often found myself wanting comfort. I've found so much goodness in the Lord, but it hasn't always been comfortable (not that I was promised eternal comfort anyway). I've found myself wanting a nice, assuring hug from a close friend, or the company of someone who knows me and will just sit with me. Why? Again, mostly for the comfort that it would provide. The chance that it would give me to talk about how difficult things have been. Yet, I've realized how selfish that is. The Lord provides opportunities for me to share with people daily. It may not always be in the "comfortable" form I would desire; however, it is still there.

In conversation with a new friend recently, I heard this: "In the midst of our suffering, we need to be willing to listen. Hurt people always want to talk-to have attention drawn to them. But the real goal is to be a listener. Because God is speaking in your suffering. So I’m choosing to listen."

And oh how He is speaking. I'm just adding to my list of things to process. The joy in hearing all that He is speaking is comforting, not because of the content, but because of His voice. Perhaps I'll get around to sharing some of these things with you soon. For now, I'm just finding myself listening, with no agenda, and watching His faithfulness played out before me.

May you hear all that He has to share with you and listen to His words of comfort.

tough day

So today is a really tough day. And no, I'm not talking about the elections. (I do have some thoughts on that and will post something about it soon)

Today marks four years since one of my best friends in the world died. John was killed in a car accident in Athens. I can recount for you every moment of that day. And today is the first time that I have gone through the emotions of this day by myself.

Instead of sharing stories with you about John, I'll leave you with this. It is a poem he and I discussed several times. It was found both in his wallet and in his Bible when he died, and I read it at his memorial service.

The best way to live
is to appreciate each minute
as an unrepeatable miracle.

Work at your work and
play at your play.
Shed your tears.
Enjoy your laughter.

Don't try to borrow from the future.
Accept the fact that now
is the best time of your life.

Even before I ask,
God has His answer ready for me.
His generous blessings never fail.

Tough words to live out today, but I do my best as I remember him today.

May you find comfort and meaning in all your relationships.

Death by coconut?

So, a quick update on the past week and a half of my life. I'll give you all the short version. I made a quick trip to Athens last weekend, October 11th and 12th. On Sunday, October 12th I apparently ate something cooked in coconut oil. I have known that I am allergic to coconut, but I was unaware that I was eating something prepared with coconut oil. For reasons not fully known and too long to explain, I didn't have a normal allergic reaction after I consumed the meal.

Instead, the following day as I was driving down the interstate, I began vomiting everywhere and had to stop driving. My roommate and another friend from up here had to drive down to get me off the interstate and bring me back to Asbury. I wound up going to the hospital where much was done. In short, I had a very high fever, extreme pain, severe dehydration, and was somewhat disoriented. The diagnosis was a "non-allergic" reaction to the coconut that they could identify in my system. The doctor said that for some reason I had digested the coconut and because I am allergic to it, it simply began poisoning my body. All of the pain was coming from the poisoning. Have you ever been poisoned throughout your body? They hooked me up to an IV and kept me for a while to give me fluids, pain meds, and some sort of medicine whose job was to interact with the "poison" in my system and help me to start getting rid of it.

I have since been trying to regain my strength and appetite. I continue to find myself so exhausted. All of my professors have been generous with me missing class and even mid-terms.

If you are interested, I encourage you to look up products that contain coconut, coconut oil, or coconut extracts in them. You'll be amazed. I think I have finally figured out why my nose always itches while I brush my teeth!

So, I'm not dead; however, I am firmly and dramatically aware now that my death could come by coconut. Crazy isn't it?

May you all find health and blessing throughout your day and may you never bring a coconut anywhere near me! :)

Culture Shock part 1

I have had the great privilege of traveling to many different parts of the world. I would not consider myself a world traveler. However, I have had numerous experiences that have helped shape both my heart and my perception of all life around me.

Throughout all of these experiences, the greatest "culture shock" that I have ever gone through was coming back to America after I spent time in Ghana, West Africa. Granted, I have been "shocked" by many parts of the cultures I have visited. But when I returned from Africa, readjusting to life in America again was very difficult. I would find myself angry and broken quite often. However, this post isn't about that experience.

I wanted to share with you about the culture shock I have experienced within the States. I also have been able to travel to several different parts of the U.S. and have seen glimpses of the many cultures that comprise our country. The two experiences that rate the highest on my "culture shock" barometer have both occurred within the great state of Kentucky. When I was in high school, I participated in an ASP (Appalachian Service Project) in a very rural and poor area of Kentucky. The poverty there overwhelmed me as a high school student.



The second culture shock experience has been the past month and a half of my life, living here in Wilmore, Kentucky. Can you say WHITEVILLE? I realize that I have never lived in an inner-city environment, although I did spend much of my time while in Athens in the inner-city (I miss those kids soooo much). However, I have lived in the South and I am now realizing how much of a blessing it is to be surrounded by such diversity.

There is no diversity here in Wilmore. In Culture Shock part 2, I will share more with you about the different type of diversity here on campus, but this is a very white city. And this entire area of Kentucky is very homogeneous. This may not seem like a big deal to you, but it has been quite an adjustment for me. Some of the friends I have met here, especially those from the North, such as my roommate from Minnesota, say there is more diversity here than any place they have ever lived. I cannot imagine that. Do you recognize, value, and appreciate the diversity in your world? I encourage you to pay attention to it. Your world view will truly be enhanced by expanding it to understand and respect other culture's perspectives.

I am not trying to get on some political hot topic. I am simply making an observation of the strangeness of this culture to me. I am realizing more and more everyday the richness and benefit that comes from the varying degrees of diversity that have surrounded me throughout my life. I expect that the Lord has as much to teach me with the lack of diversity here as He has through other stages of my life, but I NEED SOME COLOR! The Lord made us all. We are ALL made in His image. And I want to be continuously and constantly reminded of that.

May you all be blessed by and be conscious of the richness and treasure that surround you in the diversity of your environments. (more to come in part 2)

Dwelling

For those of you who have been asking...






















So, I live in this room, with this desk, under this vent, up this stairwell, inside of this building, sleeping under this promise. Got it? Sorry, I can't figure out how to organize the pics like I wanted them.












And by the way, the previous video post was of JJ Heller singing her song "Love Me." She has some really good stuff.

Love Me

Birthdays!

Hi everyone.

No, I'm not still talking about my birthday. That is over and done with. However, today is my aunt's birthday!

Happy Birthday Aunt Janice!

It's weird. Because I literally know at least 6 people with a birthday today, but I'm sure my aunt is the only one of them who reads this.

Whenever I get the time, I have an interesting post coming up for you all soon! Get ready.

Grace and Peace

Completed!

My first paper as a seminary/grad student is completed, turned in, and done! I'm sure there will only be about 200 more of them to do until I graduate. Speaking of other papers to write, I should move on over to the bed and begin reading my next book so that I can write a paper on it and turn it in by Wednesday.

In other news, I will be starting my job tomorrow. So hopefully that goes well. The other employee that I will be working with, Kaitlin, will be out some this week for "minor" surgery. So please keep her in your prayers as well as me, since I will be carrying most of the load in my very first week. Also, I will begin work on my first, all out, research paper as a grad student this week. It is due next Thursday, the 25th. My plan is to get all of these papers completed, catch up on some other reading, get adjusted to my job, and then sit down next Thursday night to watch the season premier of the final season of the only television show I have ever made an effort to keep up with, ER. (Jonathan, I know you will be watching, thanks to me :) And we can only hope that the TV will be free that night. If you read one of my earlier posts, you know that may not be very likely.)

Just as a preface, I want to share with you some topics of things that I hope to post blogs about in the near future:
- prefacing conversations and simple statements, why?
- details (including pics if i can upload them) on my new home
- a different view of worship as the body
- wearing God?

May you all have peace in the knowledge of whose you are!

Grace and Peace

He does it again

So as part of one of my courses, the students in the class are broken into small groups and for the last hour of each class period we meet together to discuss certain things we've read or have done pertaining to lecture. Mostly, however, we are just supposed to share with each other and pray for one another.

Well, most things are going really well for me right now. I'm still trying to adjust to a lot of things as they pertain to friendships and simply living in Kentucky (can you believe there are no Bank of America's in Kentucky?). So as I was sharing this with my group last night, I said to them that one of the main things that I'm waiting on and needing from the Lord right now is a job.

I honestly have not been stressed or overly concerned with finding a job only two weeks into being up here. But the moment I said that, one of the girls in my group said, "I know of a job for you."

Well, just over 24 hours later I now have a job! Making exactly what I had hoped I could make per hour when I was making my budget for living up here. With the most flexible schedule imaginable and all holidays off (which means I'll get to come home for Christmas! So I'll be there when Lucas is born :) ).

And once again, when given the opportunity to prove Himself faithful to me, and with my willingness to not jump at the first thing offered but to just wait on Him, He has come through. The Father's heart was affirmed again to me this afternoon. He is so good!

May you continue to experience the same measure of grace and peace that He has afforded to me of late!

Grace and Peace

the power of television

Living in a dorm again has been quite interesting. In most ways, I have enjoyed the simplicity of it and the community aspect it tries to create. However, I want to share with you one aspect of how TV plays a role in a dorm.

Now, on the one hand, I really enjoy not having my own television and the fact that I have not seen anything on TV for the past two weeks. It helps to not be distracted by it and to realize that in contrast to our culture, TV isn't necessary for life.

Downstairs, however, there is a nice lounge with couches and a huge television for all of the guys to share and use as they so desire. The primary tool used for the shared use of the TV is a simple sign-up sheet hanging outside the lounge door where anyone can reserve the television, in a 3 hour block, for a certain time they want to watch a program.

I have always been amazed, or should I say amused, at people whose actual schedule in life revolves around the need to be in front of a television for a certain show on a weekly basis. I've never been able to fully understand how the TV has that much control over someone's life. Well, I got an even greater realization of the power of television this afternoon.

As I was coming in the door, I just happened to look at the sign-up sheet to see if the TV was reserved on Saturday afternoon. If it was free, I thought I might try and watch my Georgia Bulldogs(GO DAWGS!) take down the South Carolina Gamecocks at 3:30. And people, the sign-up sheet was not one sheet, but about 5 sheets worth of reserved television times spanning from today until December. That's right, December! Obviously not every hour between now and then, but still.

I had to then pick my bottom lip up from the floor. How is it that someone's life, 4 months from now, can already be decided and their time reserved for a television program. I can't understand it. I'm all for supporting your teams and can understand watching your favorite program when you are free to. But how can someone already have the next 4 months of their life planned around a big picture box? Please help me understand. I just don't get it.

May your life be free from the bondage that televisions can impose.

Grace and Peace

what we learn from birthdays

So, today I officially turned 26 years old. Yeah, I know. I'm getting on up there. Even though my sister was certain that I was turning 27, I assure you, I'm just now 26. And I've noticed a very interesting thing throughout the day.

First of all, without Facebook, I'm not sure that anyone would really know when other people's birthdays are. But more importantly, it always catches me off guard to see who I get birthday greetings from. There are those people whom you would straight up expect to send you greetings: parents, siblings, the closest of friends. And I did recieve greetings from most everyone of them. Through cards, emails, phone calls, and text messages.

There are others whom call or send you a text and while it doesn't surprise you that they put forth the effort to bless you, you also wouldn't be offended if they had not done it. This isn't because you don't appreciate their thoughts. It's simply because you don't expect them to do it.

But most interestingly of all, there are those people whom you would never expect to hear from. People that you haven't talked to for months, or even years. People whom, honestly, had it been their birthday, you may not have put forth the same effort. Yet, you're still blessed and somewhat overwhelmed from their kindness.

So, even though I'm in a brand new place, where very few people even knew that it was my birthday, I have been overly blessed. Thanks for all of the wishes and greetings.

And, upon your next birthday, may you be just as overwhelmed and surprised by those unexpected greetings as I was.

Grace and Peace

Trusting God

As most of you know, I really enjoy getting to know people and having deep, real relationships with them. (as a side note, having deep relationships sure does make transitioning between stages of life much more difficult!) Well, this past week as I've started classes and the thousand pages of assigned reading, I have had the privilege of touching base with some friends and in our conversations, I've been thinking about this concept.

Being that we have all been born into a sinful and fallen world, we are all doubters. Some people struggle with doubt more than others. Few Christians today will claim they have the true "faith of a child." Is that ok? Does God expect us to trust Him blindly even amongst all of our fears and doubts and hurts? Well, I'm not sure if He expects us to, but I do know that He wants us to. I also know that He has so much grace for us.

I think that God takes delight when I ask and allow Him to prove Himself faithful to me. Granted, He has done that more times than I could even begin to count. I have so many specific memories of how God has revealed Himself as Faithful. Still, I think God likes to continue to reveal that aspect of His nature to me. Let me explain:

There have been times in my life when I have been worried or overwhelmed with situations and honestly have doubted that things might work out. In those moments, the enemy comes in and begins condemning me as faithless and weak. The common response to that condemnation would be my feeling inadequate as a follower of Christ. In short, this would work to push me further away from the Lord.

On the flip side, when I have doubts, even though He has proven Himself so very faithful, I've just taken the opportunity to ask for His grace once more. And then I've just been honest with Him and told Him that I want to trust Him and am trying to, but that in my weakness it is difficult. I sit back and watch Him do His thing. His everlasting love pushes forth in grace and His faithfulness is revealed in an even deeper way. And I honestly believe that He enjoys doing it. I'm sure that He would rather I be honest with Him and allow my faith to continue to grow as compared to my feeling worthless and shameful for not trusting Him.

I know that I enjoy showing the extent of my love to my friends. However, I'm only able to do that as they give me opportunities to. I can't force myself upon them to prove to them my love. My heart overflows with joy, however, when I'm given the chance to do it. I don't get frustrated at having to do this. It truly becomes a joy for me to reaffirm my heart to them. And I believe that the Father's Heart also takes delight when I give Him the chance to reaffirm His love and faithfulness to me.

May you find peace as you ask the Lord to continue to prove Himself faithful to you. And may you see His delight in doing so.

Grace and Peace

And so it begins

I have been thinking for quite a while about creating a blog. Not that I've ever anticipated that anyone would want to read what I have to share. I simply have thought about having my own blog to use as a canvas on which to display my thoughts, share my experiences, and open my heart in a new way.

Seeing as how I am beginning a new phase in my life I figured this would be just as good of a time as any to start my blog. I have now gotten settled in my dorm and am getting somewhat accustomed to Wilmore, KY. After two days of orientation, a commissioning service, a short hike at Shaker Village, an interesting experience at a Blue Grass Music Festival, and dining at some local establishments, I am actually starting to feel like I am living here and not simply visiting.

This upcoming week will be both exciting and nervous in many ways. So I say, let the adventure begin! Although I already have several topics to blog about, I will for now leave you with this introduction. Remember, I'm still getting my feet wet in this whole new world of blogging.

I will share one concern I have. Even though I believe this to be the easiest way to share with others what is going on in my life without bombarding mail boxes with mass emails, I am somewhat fearful that this will limit how often I hear from you what all is going on in your lives. So, PLEASE do not hesitate or forget to call me and share with me your lives.

Grace and Peace