You gotta have faith. . .

"And a woman was there who had been subject to bleeding for twelve years. She had suffered a great deal under the care of many doctors and had spent all she had, yet instead of getting better she grew worse. When she heard about Jesus, she came up behind him in the crowd and touched his cloak, because she thought, “If I just touch his clothes, I will be healed.” Immediately her bleeding stopped and she felt in her body that she was freed from her suffering. At once Jesus realized that power had gone out from him. He turned around in the crowd and asked, “Who touched my clothes?” “You see the people crowding against you,” his disciples answered, “and yet you can ask, ‘Who touched me?’ ” But Jesus kept looking around to see who had done it.Then the woman, knowing what had happened to her, came and fell at his feet and, trembling with fear, told him the whole truth. He said to her, “Daughter, your faith has healed you. Go in peace and be freed from your suffering.”  - Mark 5:25-34

Faith, something I think about often and yet this story is not one that immediately jumps to memory when I do. As God drew me to this story, repeatedly. . . and in all three gospels, I really began to look at and think about it and began to wonder why it doesn't come to mind more often? This is a story about a woman who had faith to do unconventional, courageous and extreme things. Sure to us, pushing through a crowd to touch Christ's cloak may not sound that outrageous. . . but in the context of her time, it was huge! In Leviticus if anyone touched a woman in her "condition" they were deemed unclean, and here she is fighting to touch Christ. She knew, her faith wasn't a huge leap, hoping that maybe He could help, maybe He could lighten the load. Her faith was knowing that He would completely heal, completely comfort and completely love her, in spite of everything else. As I compare this story to my own, my fear of the future, my confusion of the next step. . . I realize, my faith is in Him, and that faith is a knowledge that He is guiding my steps, He is in every detail and He is my rock, my redeemer, my comfort, my King. . . . He is my God.

Send Me

"And I heard the voice of the Lord saying, 'Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?' Then I said, 'Here am I! Send me.'" - Isaiah 6:8

As most people know, or are finding out, that small phrase, "send me", has become my life's motto over the past several months. It all started about 3 years ago on a short term trip to South Africa, God got a hold of my life and set me on a path that lead to where I am today. . . . now if I could just figure out where that is! As I've started moving forward in the plans He has laid out for me some pretty big life changes have occured, none bigger, to most people, than quitting my job. Maybe the gravity of that decision hasn't set in for me or maybe God is sheltering me from the worry that usually accompanies a decision like that because . . . . I am LOVING it! There is the small issues of cash flow being dramatically reduced, but God is finding ways to provide above and beyond what I ever imagined. So next, I go. . . where is still up in the air and any prayer for wisdom in making that decision is greatly appreciated! God continues to pull my heart and mind toward India, Cambodia and other SW Asain countries and I continue to look for opportunities and ministries that I could potentially partner with there. As I continue on the journey I'll be updating this blog much more often, no more 2 year lulls! I thought that would be the best way to keep those people updated who want to be updated on where this adventure is taking me! As I look back over the several years that have brought me here, I'm amazed at the people, situations and friendships that God has blessed my life with and used to show me that this is the path He has laid out for me, I eagerly anticipate each new day to live a life worthy of His calling and to see the beauty and wonder within that He continues to provide!

Here we go. . .

I don't know about you, but when I think of "blogs" I think of parents, pastors and celebrities. . . of which I am none! But I decided to start one anyway, why not, right? Surely I can come up with something interesting to say without having kids, preaching a sermon or starring in the next summer blockbuster. . . right?!
I guess only time will tell! As I embark on this endeavor, I thought I would start by sharing the blogs that I currently love to follow. . . oddly enough 1 belongs to a parent, 1 to a pastor and yes you guessed it, 1 to a celebrity!
The parent blog I follow is http://thelifeoftitus.blogspot.com/ Amazing family, amazing story, amazing little boy!
The pastor blog is http://evotional.com/ Mark Batterson. He's a guy out of DC who is a great speaker (and blogger). He and his church family are doing some awesome things on the East coast and I love staying current with what they have going on and occasionally being challenged along the way.
Finally there is the 'celebrity' blog I follow, http://bigbaldheadnormanreedus.blogspot.com/ . Norman Reedus. . . where do you even begin with this guy?! He is what you call a renaissance man, a great actor (if you haven't gone out to support Boondock Saints 2, you should!! I've seen it 3 times now but I can't do it all on my own!), director, artist. . . and he's pretty easy on the eyes!! ;-) I highly recommend checking out his photography, it is UNBELIEVABLE! He has this way of capturing "the beauty and wonder within" subjects that I think most people would overlook. It's not your magazine cover type photos with perfect people and smiling faces. . . it's the beauty of the world that so often gets pushed aside in society. If a photo could speak to you, his would shout!
So, if you read this I hope you like it and I hope you at least check out the other blogs mentioned, all of them are pretty great. . . and greatly different, and deep down isn't that all any of us really want to be??. . .