Well first let me just say once again how blessed I am! The Lord has been so good to me. I recently had the opportunity to visit my bestie and her hubby in D.C. So much fun! I just love them! It is so amazing to see them already growing together as newlyweds and closer to the Lord as well. They seem so happy in D.C. and seem to have adjusted to life there so easily. I guess Joel has had a little bit longer to become acquainted with the area, but Caroline is catching up rather quickly. Anyway, while there, and upon my return, I was just overwhelmed by the reminder of how fortunate I am to have experienced and experience a friendship as precious as mine and Caroline's. I mean she has been my best friend for as long as I can remember, and I wouldn't trade it for anything...and I do mean anything. I was talking with a dear friend today and we were discussing how much we miss having close, godly, women/friends around. Friends who encourage, hold us accountable, rebuke us when needed (in love of course), teach us, challenge us, and just flat out make us laugh until our belly hurts. I was thinking about it and I began to wonder, does everyone get to experience a friendship like that? Or is our friendship so much deeper and sweeter than others because of our ultimate love and relationship with Jesus? I personally have been blessed with a handful of amazing Christian friends that have been there since birth, and they have all been incredible friends to me. Is that normal?
Then, I thought, once a child of God we are all capable of having a sweet, sweet fellowship/ friendship with our Savior. But do we truly seek after and long for a relationship with our heavenly Father the way we long for an earthly friendship? Just a thought, or more a challenge to myself I guess.
Thanks dear friends for always being there and for the blessing you are in my life! I love you all dearly!
Ok, next...um...Oh, I guess Secret Church would be next up. First let me explain what Secret Church is. Secret Church is this time of in-depth Biblical study that the Church at BrookHills does twice a year. All around the world, Christians face persecution and are not allowed to gather together and worship the Lord, so they meet in secret. Showing up at different times, from different places, and they gather together and study scripture and pray and praise the Lord for hours upon hours (for it may be weeks or even months before they can gather again). So with that in mind, BrookHills gathers for 6 hrs to do an intense study of the word and pray for our fellow brothers and sisters in Christ who are facing religious persecution. This particular study was on "The Gospel, Possessions, and Prosperity." Talk about a good ole' spanking from the Lord...ouch! I am so ashamed of the hold I have allowed to world to have on me. When I am honest before the Lord, I find myself physically sick over the use of my resources. After all why am I here on this earth? For riches? Success? Fame?...Absolutely not!! I am here to proclaim the gospel to the ends of the earth, to take the beautiful message of salvation through Christ to those who have never heard as well as those lost and caught in the holds of worldliness and the schemes of the devil, right? And how exactly is the American Dream, a retirement fund/ portfolio, and success in the business world going to help me do that? I'm not saying you can't use success in all of the above to the glory of the Lord, but don't you think it feeds the flesh and makes it easier for us to be distracted? All this to say, I recommend listening to the message from Secret Church, you can find it on the www.brookhills.org church website. Or if you don't really know when you could possibly listen to 7 hrs worth of podcast, I would like to recommend a book. Dr. Platt also just published his first book called "Radical." It is incredible and challenging all in one, and you should definitely check it out. It covers a lot of the material discussed at Secret Church.
What next?...Since I have rambled quite awhile, I guess I will end with a few words and pictures of my latest undertaking. I have decided to plant a garden! Haha...I know, I know. I'm from the country so this is really nothing new, right? Ha! I have always enjoyed the veggies from our garden at home, but never really had to do the labor associated with the production/growth process. So I planted a small garden here in Birmingham. I have planted herbs and veggies in hopes of making homemade salsa, summer pastas, and maybe making some flavored oils and things for cooking. Crazy? I know. Anyway, here are the pictures from my vigorous laboring. Let me just say it took at least two hours of intense ground breaking, root pulling to do this, so I am rather proud. Let's just hope the Lord makes my garden productive, because I have no clue what I'm doing : )
The picture of the garbage can is to show you all the roots I had to break and pull out. The tools are of course the players in the day's adventure. And the iris is just a really pretty flower in our back yard ; ) And no I didn't miss a spot on the dog house, the blank spot has dill seed and cilantro planted in it.
Update on China: I have 16 days until I fly out!! Yay!! I absolutely cannot contain the excitement I am feeling. God is oh so good! My trip is completely paid for, plus I received some extra support money that has been such a blessing. I had not calculated in the cost of the plane ticket I had to purchase to get me to Newark, NJ to meet my team or the cost of the immunizations I would need (almost $300 dollars worth!) But God has provided abundantly for every aspect of this trip and I absolutely cannot wait to see what else He has planned!! Thanks for all the prayers and support!
-With Love
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