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...

in Bulgaria

Michelle (one of our missionaries) and I at one of the oldest Roman gates in Bulgaria.

Phil and I working on the menu for Triennial in the lobby of our hotel.

Bulgaria

I feel like I’m sitting in the midst of chaos, but in reality, I’m sitting in the midst of organized chaos. My bags are almost packed and I’ve already received the notice from Delta Airlines prompting me to check-in online. I’m just about ready to go. I’m traveling with Gwen, who is one of the most amazing people I know, so I know that it’s going to be a good time.

I am on my way to Bulgaria tomorrow and am excited about wrapping up a lot of the details for our mission-wide conference in October. I’m writing to ask you to pray for this time. Here are my requests…

1 – Safe travels for me and Gwen. I’d love to be able to sleep on the airplanes, too, and not have any motion sickness.

2 – That I would be an encouragement to our missionaries and interns in Bulgaria.

3 – That all of the details that need to be worked out get worked out smoothly without any bumps in the road.

4 – That I would rest knowing that God is carrying us in His perfect hands.

Thanks so much for praying…I look forward to sharing some great stories when I return.

God bless you,

Jen

why i might want to be an alcoholic

I recently read an article in Christianity Today and the title of this post is the subtitle of the article. Its about brokenness and how its easier to see Christ and accept His grace from the bottom of the barrel than it is from the rooftops or even in the everyday mundane. It talked about how self-righteousness is one of the most difficult sins to overcome because the simple act of raising open palms to God is so hard for those of us who are white-knuckle clutching on to our own pride. So, that got me thinking about hand-raising. One of my non-Christian friends asked me once why I raised my hands when I worshiped. I don't believe that anyone has to raise their hands in worship all of the time, your heart is what God sees anyway. Trust is what He wants, that involves all of who you are...that's what He wants. I do, though, still think about the reasons that I gave my friend. Here's my thoughts... 1 - When you are in total-surrender mode, where are your hands? This shows the other person that you've got nothing up your sleeve and you're helpless. 2 - When a child wants to be held, how does he come to his parents? When he can't take care of things on his own, how does he present himself to them? 3 - When you're in trouble and the police are at your door, what is the first thing that they yell? Why do they want your hands in the air? It's called surrender. You can't lift your hands up and feel anything but vulnerable. I admit that I'm struggling with surrender, total surrender. It scares me! I want to fly and let God navigate, but that's my game. Pray for me, if you will, and tell me what you think.

brats

So, I've just been reading a little bit of the military brat blog (its in my link list to the right), and it made me think of a couple things. First of all, if you ever have a desire to know a little more about me, many of these posts mimic my life. Sure, they aren't exactly my life, but without having to rehash all of the drama of moving around as a dependent, reading some of these posts helps me gain perspective. You might also see perspective from reading there. Another thing that it reminded me of was that I do have some stories. My life is made up of so many stories that are separated in sections. Each section changing with each move. I have a Germany section and a Colorado section, etc. I think I'm starting to understand just a very-little bit of how it might feel to write these down. I do have some funny stories and some hard ones. Maybe I'll find some good ones and post them here. One last thing...I have this movie about brats...if you are one or would like to learn a little more about us nomads, you are welcome to borrow my copy. I'd probably like to watch it with you, too. Hey, and by the way, thanks for reading this blog. I don't know who is and who isn't, but it's fun to know that someone is out there listening.