There's No Place Like...

In my John Lit class we were given an assignment to meditate on Ezekiel 47, which describes a river flowing out from the temple, deepening as it goes and bringing life to barren places - even the Dead Sea. This is really crazy, especially if you know anything about the Dead Sea (it's so intensely salty that nothing grows or lives there). Yet this mysterious river is so powerful that it turns the salt water fresh and life flourishes on its banks.

The crazy thing is that after Jesus' death and resurrection, believers are called His temple. I am His temple, and He dwells inside of ME. Somehow, his glory resides in ME. Somehow, He is pouring a river of life out of ME, like in Ezekiel 47. It gets deeper and wider and makes dead places alive. Somehow, I am the temple and Jesus is the sacrifice. All of those laws in the Old Testament having to do with God's presence in the temple and sacrificing animals to atone for sins were pointing to this. We have intimate, personal communion with God. Not perfect, yet, of course... Not yet an intense, passionate, joyous, never-ending, all-is-at-rest, fulfilling and sweet-sounding song that is whispered gently and sung at the top of angelic lungs... maybe not always that kind of communion. But God has given us our own markers to help us look forward to the day when those things will all be true. Always.

The church, for instance. As incomplete and corrupted with sin as it is, the church paints a faint picture of the community - no, the family - that we will be a part of in Heaven (our true home). It will be a family made up of every single race that exists on this earth - no longer divided by past, language, culture, time, or ocean, but bonded by mutual love for and from its Creator. Do we need another reason to start pouring ourselves into the lives of people who have nothing in common with us but our faith? Marriage is another symbol meant to communicate a truth about the love that Jesus has for His church. Jesus is coming back for His bride (a word used often in the New Testament to describe believers), and she will experience the love of His infinite heart as He shows her the depth of the price He was willing to pay for her. Marriage is a picture of what it means to love another person selflessly as Jesus has done and will continue to do when we are with him in Heaven (home). Even singleness gives us a picture of our undivided purpose to love and worship God that will one day be our greatest desire.

What other clues has He left us to help us look forward? Don't we have a great hope? Hasn't He proven Himself faithful? Or are we still measuring Him with a human measuring stick that leaves a little room for sin and human error?

This is the blessing of living in the already but not yet Kingdom. We get to look back on Jesus and see the truth of who He is, and we get to live as living, walking, breathing, talking temples (bearers of the Holy Spirit) bringing light and life wherever we go, and we get to look forward to the promises of a nothing-close-to-boring eternal future home. No wonder Jesus said that "the one who is least in the Kingdom" is greater than even the greatest of the prophets (i.e. John the Baptist, who still looked forward to His coming). Wow! Yeah, life is rough sometimes... and Jesus understands that better than any of us... but let us rejoice, because we are blessed, and things only go up from here.

If I may quote a proverb or two: There is no time like the present... and there is definitely no place like home.

O For A Thousand Tongues

Psalm 67

May God be gracious to us and bless us

and make his face to shine upon us,

that your way may be known on the earth,

your saving power among all nations. 

Let the people praise you, O God;

let all the peoples praise you!

Let the nations be glad and sing for joy,

for you judge the peoples with equity

and guide the nations upon the earth.

Let the peoples praise you, O God;

let all the people's praise you!

The earth has yielded its increase;

God, our God, shall bless us.

God shall bless us;

let all the ends of the earth fear him!

Wait, read that again.

I read this Psalm this morning, and at first it struck me as a little bit selfish. Like maybe the kind of Psalm that prosperity gospel preachers love. But then, looking closer, I realized that being blessed is not the point of this psalm at all. The goal of the blessing is that all nations would see God's saving power. This was His intention in blessing Israel through the offspring of Abraham, and was brought to a whole new level of fulfillment through the birth of His Son, incarnated to give us freedom from sin, and life to the fullest. Talk about blessing.

Side note: life to the fullest means this life too, not just life after death. Psalm 27 says "I believe that I shall look upon the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living!" Sometimes we forget that Jesus wants us to have joy in this life. Check out the book of John if you need proof. Actually, check out the book of John anyway.

God does not bless us for the sake of the blessing, but we usually allow ourselves to think that way, which leads not only to idolatry but also to a sense of entitlement. Greed. "I deserve" this or that... "I earned it" even! No, we do not deserve anything from God, and we have not earned anything but what our rebellion would suggest that we want - eternal separation from Him. Yet He still desires for these selfish beings to see His goodness, and he asks us to share the grace that we have found. His purpose is not to make me happy, and He is not content for one people to know His love while the rest live and die in darkness. His purpose is for all nations, tribes, and tongues to praise Him, for His name is too great to be contained or expressed in only one language. "Oh for a thousand tongues to sing our great Redeemer's praise!" God is in pursuit of all peoples, and He is calling us to testify to what we have seen, and to offer freely what we have been freely given.

Home Again, Home Again

Christchurch has decided to send me off with their second (and largest) snowfall of the year. It is absolutely beautiful. With a mix of winter wonderland mornings and sunny, warm days, I couldn't have asked for a better Winter to spend my Summer in.

Of course, the snow has created a bit of drama as well... The airport has been canceling a lot of flights, and delaying most of the others, which makes my chances of getting to my connection in Auckland on time a bit dodgy. If we make it to the airport at all, that is. At this point, 3 hours before my flight departs from Christchurch, it is still scheduled to leave on time... so we'll see what happens!

My time here in New Zealand has been absolutely incredible. I have met some of the most amazing people and have been so blessed to spend time with them. Eric and Robyn, thank you for making me so welcome in your home, and for sharing your life with me for a little while! I can't wait to see you in America soon! Rob and Monica, thank you for making this internship happen!

All In A Day's Milk ... I Mean, Work.

New Zealanders have the right idea about marketing. %96.5 fat free milk sounds a whole lot healthier than %3.5 or "whole milk" like we say in America. Either way, I'm addicted, and I don't care what Napoleon Dynamite thinks.

Since I have nothing else insightful to say at the moment, I thought I would give you a picture of a normal day for me here in the land of the Kiwi birds.

What's first? Oh yeah.

I wake up somewhere around and between 6 and 7:30, because although I do have an alarm clock, it is extremely loud and obnoxious and scares me whenever it goes off. This encourages me to opt for a more natural alternative, such as waking up whenever I feel like it. The next order of business is to have a cup of tea - white, with one sugar please - while I read my bible and journal a bit (this is the best part of the day). Breakfast usually consists of a bowl of cereal and a banana (don't you love all of these useless details? No complaining, it's my blog.) and at 8:25 it's off to work with Robyn, where we unlock all the doors and turn on all the heaters. This is a very important job, because when we get there it's almost as cold inside as it is outside. 10:30 is morning tea, which means we take a break and have a hot cup-of-something together (second best part of the day), and then get back to work. Most of my jobs revolve around organizing Planning Center, compiling resources for the worship ministry, and leading worship, but I'm also just available to help out with whatever. Our goal is to leave at 12:30, but it usually ends up being closer to 2, and the rest of the afternoon is spent at home. This is when I do most of my reading of controversial books and writing e-mails and playing guitar and reading. And sometimes I read. We have tea around 6, and then watch the news, and if I'm lucky, an episode or two of Dr. Who. So good. Then bedtime rolls around somewhere between 9 and 10 and I get to start all over again!

It's been hard to get used to completely depending on other people for things like transportation and communication, and now that I'm finally getting into a rhythm of doing life here, I have to start thinking about leaving. Yuck. I really do miss my family and am looking forward to seeing them again, but this summer (slash winter) has gone way too fast. What am I saying? I still have two weeks.

That's a ton of time.

Right?

Waging War

The last couple of days have brought in a nasty feeling in my stomach that likes to say hello every few weeks, along with a full-fledged cold, which is uncomfortable, to say the least. There's nothing like breathing for two days and nights out of one side of your nose while the other side is completely blocked by something that you don't really want to get a closer look at. This morning, as I was wallowing in my self-pity, a thought hit me, and I began to journal. The following is what came out.

***

I am grateful for sickness because it reminds me that I am weak and fragile, mortal and finite. Limited.
I am grateful when medicines don't work because it reminds me that Christ is the One who gives me strength and on my own I am nothing.
I am grateful when sickness is prolonged because it builds in me endurance.

I am grateful for sleepless nights because it teaches me patience. 

I am grateful for the unpleasantness because it makes me appreciate being well.
I am grateful for nightmares because they show me my fear and make me run to the only One who can truly protect me.

***

(Before continuing my journal entry, I wanted to share a piece of Kyle's blog that has impacted me and was on my mind as I wrote...)

Punctuations are so unimportant that most languages did not develop them until just a few hundred years ago. It’s the last thing you actually need to make a sentence function. 

Is “Lord” just the comma to sloppily organized sentences in your prayers? Do you actually need Him in order to function in holiness or is His name just the spice to your carefully concocted prayer-recipe? Brothers and Sisters… be careful when you throw around the name “Lord.” Since when you do you submit yourself to a higher authority. When you recognize that you are not lord, but that God is, you are proclaiming that you must step down from the throne of your own heart, becoming a subject of the true Lord, allowing Him to take over, to reign unchallenged to do whatever He wishes in your life with no opposition from you.

                        He says:

                                    “My NAME is The Lord! That is my NAME!

                                                My glory I will give to no other,

                                                nor my praise to carved idols.”

Is. 42:8

... When you call Him Lord you communicate to Him that you are waging war on everything else vying for that place in your life.

***

When I call You "God" and "Lord" I want to believe that what I am calling You is true of You. I want to be in awe of Your holiness as much as I can bear. At the same time I want to experientially know Your love and the miracle of Your friendship. I want to be in You and of You. I want to have the courage to lay my life down for You. My life is Yours. I have surrendered it to You. 

My life is Yours. I have surrendered it to You. What a radical and dangerous proclamation that is in the paradigm of this life! How foolish it is in the paradigm of this world! To seek first the Kingdom of God, not the Kingdom of Style. Not the Kingdom of Friends. Not the Kingdom of Happy or the Kingdom of Comfort. Yes, I will praise Him for every friend, for every comfort, and for every happiness, but I must also learn to praise Him for every sickness, every long night, and every painful blow to my proud shell. Do I do this? Not often. I like my shell. But Jesus is not proud - He is jealous for His people and for His Name. Maybe He is jealous for his people because He is jealous for His Name. Maybe He wants to consume every part of us in His love, and make us holy as He is holy that we might look on Him and worship.

I have been blessed, but not for the sake of the blessing. I'm sure God delights in giving good things to His children, but if we care more about the gifts than about the Lover who gave them, something has gone wrong.

Psalm 49:18-20

       "For though, while he lives, he counts himself blessed -- and though you get praise when you do well for yourself -- his soul will go to the generation of his fathers, who will never again see light. Man in his pomp yet without understanding is like the beasts that perish."

Thank You for blessings to enjoy, and thank You for the fire that burns and refines. Please give me the faith to believe that You in all Your glory are worth all of my life. 

Snow Day In Christchurch

I woke up today to my first white July. Actually, my first white anything. It is amazing how beautiful things can be when there is a fresh layer of snow gently sitting on them. After staring at the backyard through the window for a while and eating our french toast, Emily and I decided to go to the park and try our hands at making a snowman. It took a little while to pile on the layers of socks, boots, gloves, coats, scarves and hats, but you can believe that we were both nice and toasty... except for the bits that snuck down our necks and into our boots. Now, you have to understand, snow in Christchurch is not as common a thing as you might think, so both of us were amateurs... but by the end we were feeling much more confident in our snowman-making skills. Here's a picture of our finished product, lovingly named Gus.

It was a very peaceful morning, aside from the cracking thunder that interrupted our snow-rolling. It must have run away from it's lightning, because it we never saw it strike, which made Emily think it might be a collapsing building. Luckily it wasn't.

The lazy snow day was a nice break after the amount of traveling I've done over the last two weeks. It started with a trip to Auckland with the Petrini family for the school holidays, which started last week and continue through the end of this week. We had a great time visiting all of the sights, including Sky Tower (which I endearingly and accidentally nicknamed The Space Needle), Rangitoto Island, Kelly Tarton's Antarctic Center (penguins!), Rainbow's End (the only theme park in New Zealand), and Matamata (the town now better known as Hobbiton). 

The view of Auckland from the top of Sky Tower

The Petrini girls and I at Rainbow's End

At the top of the crater of Rangitoto

It was a really fun week, and I loved Auckland. The day after we got back, I left again for youth camp up in Hanmer Springs (pronounced "Henma"... just switch the vowels around and you'll be good to go). We visited the hot springs that Hanmer is famous for, which was great except for the part where you have to get out of the water. Brrrrrrrrrrrrr! My toes definitely went numb in the first 5 minutes. It was fun, but I'm glad to be back at Robyn and Eric's place where there are heaters and electric blankets... and snow!

Speechless

-- A moment that took 75 years to make --

"You know, we serve a great God... He is so incredibly beautiful and good, and really is worthy of everything we can give. He completely deserves every sacrifice. He is so worth it..."

These are the words of an old man - a husband, a missionary, a pastor, and the father of a pastor... an old man in a wheelchair. An old man with a speech impediment. An old man named Cuth. I stood there, wishing words would come, while he couldn't seem to say enough. And why? Oh, no reason. "Hi, my name is Cuth, what's yours? It's sure nice to meet you. You know, we serve a great God..."

Cue peacejoyinspirationandconviction.

What an interesting sense of humor God has. This man with a speech impediment had left me speechless.

Fish 'n Chips 'n India

I've discovered the hidden wonder of this thing called fish and chips. For the longest time (meaning the last week and a half) I've heard the words "fish and chips" as if it's the newest thing since Starbucks, but I still hadn't eaten them. Of course we have fish and chips, or something called that, in America, but here in New Zealand... well you'd just have to taste them for yourself. It's the funniest thing, they fry up all this random stuff, like crab, sausage, chips* and, well, fish, throw it all onto a stack of paper, wrap it up, and hand it to you. Then you open the sack of deep-fried deliciousness on the table (or wherever you happen to be), and everyone diggs in. A community plate. Don't forget the tomato sauce*.

It's been a fairly laid-back week of some administrative jobs in the office and lots of reading at home. I've made it through one and a half books so far, plus or minus a few pages, and with a cup of tea, life doesn't get much better. Yesterday the Petrini's took me up to Rakaia Gorge (pictures will have to come later, as my laptop is still in the shop). Unfortunately, it was rainy and pretty cold, but still a lot of fun.

On a more seious note, tonight I went to the Sunday night youth service (though not exclusive to youth) called Grow, where the associate pastor was speaking about his trip to India. For the second time this week I was moved by the story of God's mission being fulfilled around the world through ordinary people like me. Like you. As he showed pictures and videos of the streets of Bangladesh and Calcutta, I couldn't help but hope that I will be a part of that work - of spreading the gospel to the ends of the earth, as Jesus commands in Matthew 28. It might mean helping to bring clean water to the millions of people who drink from the sewer every day, or maybe helping to rescue women from the sex trafficking industry opperating all around the world - yes that includes the US - or maybe just singing about Jesus with a group of kids who are braver than I am, who have buried their own parents after the earth shook one day in January. There is so much hope out there, only truly found in the name of Jesus. Why debate each other over whether social justice or evangelism is more important? How can we do one and not the other? Why not surrender our hands to the furthering of the Kingdom of God? Why not our money, our feet, our breath?

I sure haven't. I want to. I want to want to.

Lord, use me.

*chips = french fries
*tomato sauce = ketchup

A Quiet Morning

Ok, so all of my mornings so far have been quiet. And I love it.

I've been fighting off a bit of a cold over the last couple of days, but it's not too bad. Luckily I don't start work at the church till tomorrow, so I've been able to just relax. On Saturday, the Petrini's took me to this adorable little cafe called She Chocolate, where we got some amazing chocolate drinks and truffles.

We then drove along the hills to Governor's Bay and Lyttelton, where I got a few shots of the amazing scenery and visited a farmer's market and flea market. I'd been in somewhat of a jet lag/weird/tired funk since I had arrived, and that trip helped wake me up a bit. 

 My computer screen decided to stop working yesterday... just went black and stayed that way. The rest of the computer seems to be working fine... I can hear skype start up when I restart my computer and all, but I just can't see any of it. Someone started talking to my on skype and I couldn't do anything about it, so if that was you and you think I hate you... I'm sorry. =) I have to start my hunt for an Apple store today, but I think my chances of finding one is slim, especially after so many buildings are either in pieces or no longer functional.

Speaking of earthquakes, there haven't been any since I arrived (aside from a 3-point-something the first morning, which I completely slept through). This could be a good or a bad sign, since I guess the last couple big ones happened after a lull. I actually think it'd be kind of exciting, but that's only because Eric and Robyn's house is extremely earthquake-safe... I certainly don't wish another big one on the rest of the city.

This is the second country I've visited roughly 6 months after a major earthquake... it's almost haunting how similar the destruction looks to Haiti, minus the extreme poverty. It's sad in a different sort of way, since I know the architecture here used to be beautiful, whereas Port-au-Prince... well, it's beauty was never really found in its buildings.

Learn, Enjoy, Serve.

So, I'm here! 

I had a good flight over, mostly due to the fact that I bought one of those travel pillows in the airport and was actually able to sleep most of the way! I also sat next to a man who was a total hippie, who had moved to NZ 30 years ago. We didn't talk much except for a little at the beginning and about 2 hours at the end, but in those 2 hours he told me all about why he believes we are here on earth: to learn, to enjoy, and to serve. He wishes people would go beyond their little bubble to help other people, and hates the hold that money has on so many. He believes that we are all a part of a huge energy force (not personal, not God), and that there is eternal life, but no judgment. Everyone goes to the same place. I was so intrigued by what he had to say that I just listened and asked him questions for the majority of the time. He was obviously not going to be moved by any theological discussion about it, and even if he weren't so deeply set in his ways, I wouldn't have really known what to say. It's funny how all of those arguments I learned in Bible classes seemed inadequate when face to face with a very intelligent person who has very good reasons for what he believes. It gave me something to think about even after I'd left the plane. 

Rob picked me up from the airport around 10:00 yesterday morning, and we went straight to the church building. One of the cool things I got to help out with was their after-school ministry for girls ages 9-12 called Shiloh. They provide snacks, play games, and do either crafts, or art, or baking, or sewing, stuff like that. Today we made bread and played a LOT of jump rope. It was fun, and it helped keep me awake throughout the day. After that, Rob and I picked up his girls from school and he dropped me off at Robyn and Eric's house, where I took a shower and went to bed. Jet lag hasn't been as bad as I expected, and I slept a good 11 or 12 hours last night.  Robyn and Eric are really, really nice and have made me feel right at home.

So far, I love the culture here. I think I've finally gotten all the meals sorted out... breakfast, a cuppa ("a cuppa" means a hot drink, could be coffee or tea, usually served with a snack of some kind around 10:30), lunch (called dinner on Sundays, or if it is a hot meal), afternoon tea (this is more optional, and is usually a snack), tea (dinner, but a little on the lighter side) and supper (if you are hungry after 7 or so). The hardest one for me to remember is that "tea" means dinner. and "dinner" sometimes means lunch. it's funny because it all really depends on the context, and you just figure it out. I love that everyone stops in the middle of the morning for a cuppa (every time I hear that, I want to say "a cup of what?" the funny thing is they actually spell it "a cuppa", as if that is a real word). it's like a universal break from whatever is going on that day. I also love the way they talk. It just makes me smile.

Oh, one more thing... it is really cold here. Kind of like Heidelberg in December, except they don't have central heating, so if you are lucky you find room with a space heater on the wall or ceiling. I didn't realize how cold I had been until I got in the hot shower and my body started to thaw out. But all that kind of makes it fun... more interesting at least. Plus I have an electric blanket in my bed, which is so nice (and probably a big reason why I slept so well!)

Anyway, I've got a couple days to take it easy before I start working, so I'm going to read for a bit and then go to the grocery story with Robyn.

Learn, enjoy, serve.

The Road Goes Ever On And On...

And I'm off. In one hour my mom and I will drive to SF, and at 9:45pm, my plane will leave for New Zealand. This came so fast... I mean, I knew it would, but still. 48 hours is just not enough time at home.

I'm really tired already (I had this great idea of staying up really late and sleeping in to start getting off East Coast time and inch my way toward NZ time... which would've been great if I hadn't succeeded so well at staying up late and failed at the sleeping in part). All that to say, the idea of a 13 hour flight overnight where I will probably not sleep doesn't sound like the greatest thing. But that's ok, everything in life doesn't have to be fun. Besides, I'm going to a place that I've wanted to see ever since middle school (I think that was about the same time Fellowship of the Ring came out... huh. must be a coincidence).

I am so blessed to travel as much as I have. I'm just not ready to go yet... I'm homesick and I haven't even left.

"I Now Present To You: Mr. and Mrs. Daniel Westman!"

Well, I just gave away the most interesting and exciting part of this post, so I guess you don’t really have to read the rest.

As I write this I am sitting in the Washington Dulles airport waiting on my direct flight to Sacramento. I’m pretty sure we don’t even get peanuts now, so I’ll probably have to grab an over-priced and over-processed snack to bring on board with me.

Hold on a sec...

~ * ~

... So after writing that last bit, I was informed that my plane to Sacramento had been switched out for a smaller plane and that if enough people didn’t volunteer to give up their seats, I would be kicked off. At first I was anxious about it, but then I realized even though I leave for New Zealand in less than 3 days, it’s not going to kill me to get home tomorrow. It actually started to sound kind of fun. A small adventure! 

Half an hour later I was standing outside with my half-eaten starbucks muffin, waiting for a shuttle to the hotel… and am now sitting on a huge bed, about to go to sleep – praise the Lord!

Ok, back to the important stuff.

The last week before the wedding was insane. There were masses of people (mostly the bridal party, but also some friends and family) at the Spann’s house during the day, and countless projects to delegate and complete. Somehow, of course, they all got done, and I even got a strange sort of exhilaration out of the craziness – again, praise the Lord. It was probably one of the most fun weeks of my life.

Yesterday was the day of the wedding, and around 10am the bridesmaids, make-up artists, hairstylists, babies, babysitters photographer, and other helpers all arrived. I won’t go into the details, but lets just say that after a few hours, several cans of hairspray, a few hundred bobby pins, a few layers of makeup, dresses, shoes, and bouquets, we were ready to go. The ceremony was amazing, and the reception was a blast. It went by so fast. Congratulations to Dan and Linzy Westman!

I have to pause here to say that Linzy was without a doubt the most beautiful bride I have ever seen. She sparkled and glowed and radiated... simply flawless. 

Goodbyes were hard… especially because I don’t know for sure when I will see many of these people again (lucky for me, Chicago weather can’t beat California, which almost guarantees me a visit from Linzy sometime in the not-too-distant future). The Spann family was so gracious in letting me stay with them, and for the entirety of my two-week visit I felt like I was part of the family. I will miss them, and I hope it won’t be my last visit.

Summer Adgenda Item #1 - Wedding: COMPLETE.

Eternal Sunshine of a Spotless Dress... or T-Shirt.

Day 3 - A sunshiny day at Linzy's hosue, and between jet lag and helping to plan a wedding, I am exhausted.

Ok, so I shouldn't really blame my tiredness on the wedding prep - that's been a blast. Lucky for me, I love doing tedious little jobs to keep my hands busy, like assembling earrings for the bridesmaids and creating place cards for all of the guests. This morning we went to the house of a cute German lady who is doing the alterations of the dresses, and I got to see Linzy in her gown for the first time... talk about breathtaking! I can't wait to see her in 11 days, wearing the glow of a bride on her wedding day... I'm pretty sure she will outshine even her dress.

We even learned a cool trick while we were at the seamstress' house. Apparently, she uses a damp cloth with a dab of Dawn to rub off marks and stains on all her dresses. She cleaned up a couple spots on Linzy's dress, and said she had even used it to get blood off of a wedding dress! Amazing! My T-shirts, on the other hand, have not been so lucky. I don't think I've gotten through one meal here so far without spilling something on myself... between spaghetti sauce, cherries, syrup, and more spaghetti sauce, my two white tanktops and v-neck t-shirt have taken a beating. Oh well, better get used to it. Everyone gets old someday.

Day 1 of Summer Adventures

Delayed flights, standby tickets, and short-tempered gate attendants.

About an hour ago I took my last sip of McDonalds orange juice, said goodbye to my chauffeur (sometimes known as Tibbers, Boyfriend, or occasionally, Evan Thibodeau) and made my way into the jungle. I guess traveling wouldn't be the same without a few bumps in the path... but God is faithful. In the midst of the confusion and my own impatience, He let me overhear the phone conversation of Rachel Brown telling her husband how the Lord had just provided a way for her to fly home with him. The same booked flight that was about to cause me a three-hour wait in Sac-o-tomatoes International had just become a blessing to this woman and her small family. She saw the stress in my eyes as they met hers, and struck up a conversation, sharing how her traveling experiences as a military wife had taught her to trust in the Lord. I met her infant son, Barrett, which, combined with the meaning of his first name, Matthew, means "Bringing God's Gift to Others" (Barrett means "trader"). She encouraged me that God would provide a flight for me, as he had for them, and that they would be praying for me.

I was struck with her boldness and compassion. Here I was, at the beginning of the conversation unsure if I wanted to tell her that I was a Christian too (nervous, even!) And yet she spoke with confidence and joy, encouraging me in the Lord before she even knew I shared her faith! Why am I so concerned with what other people think of me? Why do I hesitate before speaking the name of Jesus in the very world that He created?

Lord, help me to be faithful to share Your love every minute of every day. Let me be ready and willing to speak of You at every opportunity. Thank You for providing me with a flight, as well as with a trying situation where You displayed Your faithfulness. Open my eyes to see You working in all situations - good or bad, exciting or mundane.