sin

today's lesson is about sin and saddness. it starts with a lie, and we've all believed it at one point or another. the lie is that my story (the sin that's been done against me, to me...that i've done to others) or your story or the heart-wrenching story that we see on the news or the tragic story of the girl sold to monsters for sex or even the story of the starving child that sits alone on the side of a dirt street in Africa...i could go on and on, but here's the lie - the lie is that one of those stories is bigger than another. we spend so much time comparing and emphasizing and bloating these stories that we're blind to this truth - sin doesn't have levels in God's eyes. God sees sin and it breaks His heart! and it breaks His heart EQUALLY. i needed to know this...i needed to know that it was ok for me to mourn over sin, all of it no matter how small i thought it was...God's tears flow over all of it.

friends

One of my favorite things about our Triennial conference was the amount of hugs and snuggling that happened. It happened because we just pretty much have a snuggly group who cares about each other. So, here are a few of my favorite people. I hope that you can see the beauty in doing life together with friends and with an occasional snuggle with friends. It helps with the really rough times, too!

today

So, I've decided that sinus medication is designed to trick you into believing that you're getting better so you'll get up and go and then fall back into bed once you realize that you're not really better, you just thought you were. Ok, maybe not, but the idea in my head is that I'm feeling better, and when i get out of bed, it's as if there is a button on the bottom of my feet that trigger my coughing reflex. As long as I lay or sit for long periods of time, these fits don't happen, but once I move, its mayhem at its finest. I used to tell people that I would prefer a fever over a cold, and I'm seconding that emotion. At least with fever, you know your body is working for you. Coughing just feels like my body is rejecting air. Don't I need air? Does blogging about coughing constitute as complaining? I hope not...I just needed to get it out (without upseting my lungs). :)

travel weary

I guess I knew when I signed up for 32 days of travel that I would come back to the U.S. weary and exhausted, but I don't think I imagined it to be this difficult. Sure, the weariness could have something to do with taking care of 250 missionaries at our Triennial conference, or maybe the 8 days of Istanbul or even the 4 days of checking out Germany. Or, ok, it could have something to do with finishing my biggest project of my NMSI career and wondering what on earth I'm going to do next. Or, maybe, it's just the jet-lag and the sinus infection. Whatever it might be, I'm exhausted! As I sit here thinking about it, it really is no wonder. Sometimes I believe that I can take on the entire world. Ok, so I know how silly that sounds, but admit it, you've thought about it, too. You've probably even tried like I have. And, of course, as it is now hitting me square between the eyes...I do not have the strength to even last a month. Yes, if you haven't already guessed it, I feel like I've been hit by a Mack truck. I'm very aware that I haven't blogged in a long while and this is quite a silly way to get back into it. So, there ya go...now, all I have to do is catch you up. I'll save that for a day when I have some energy back! Later. :)

knots

There have been so many things going on lately that I have put off writing here. The conference that I've been coordinating and planning for the past year begins at the end of next month. That leaves me with a bunch of last minute things to take care of, and it leaves me little time to write. I heard something today that I want to unpack a little. The preacher at the church that I've been attending was talking about life issues that distract us from our relationship from God and from encouraging others. He was talking about hurts and pains and he compared them to a piece of yarn with a bunch of knots in it...Before that piece of yarn can be used to its fullest, the knots have to be untied. In most cases, this takes special care and often times a pin of some sort. The process is meticulous and the pin is sharp. It made me think about my life. I know that I've been hanging onto some knots that keep me from being fully available for use by God. I need some untying. Its something to think about...