Persecution

http://www.csmonitor.com/2006/0327/p01s04-wosc.html

Wow. This article reminded me again today that we in America have no clue what it means to be persecuted for our faith. I take it for granted so much that I can openly proclaim that I am a Christian and, at most, might be teased a little by a few people. Please take a few minutes and read this article. It is definitely worth it.

Waiting...

Ok, so I'm just about the last person on earth that anyone would expect a sports analogy from (given the fact that my understanding of sports is so limited that a friend once asked me if I wanted to go to the driving range and I told him I didn't want to shoot things), but do you ever feel like you are sitting on the bench just dying to get into the big game, and it's just not your turn yet?

That's kind of how I feel right now.

To be perfectly honest, I don't really have any room to complain. Life's pretty good overall and I know how blessed I am in so many ways. And I'm thankful to the One who blesses me, because I know how undeserving I am. But in a way, I feel like I'm on the brink of something big, and I just have to keep waiting on that bench. Fortunately I know the Coach I have, and that He knows just the right timing of all things. He's shown his wisdom to me in the past, and so I daily surrender my will and desires to His.

On January 1st, 2005, I wrote in my journal that the Lord had put a verse on my heart for the year to come. For some reason, I just knew 2005 was going to be a year characterized by the verse "The Lord gives and the Lord takes away. Blessed be the name of the Lord." And it was. The Lord gave in many ways. The Lord took away in many ways. And through it all, there has been no sweeter truth to me than that which says "Blessed be the name of the Lord."

And so, I will wait.

And I will pray, and serve, and try to love, and stumble along the way, and make some big mistakes. But it's okay, because I know I can trust the One with the plan.

Stepping Into Blogdom

Part of me can't really believe I'm doing this, but I'm taking another step into the big wide world of cyberspace and creating a blog. To be perfectly honest, it was only very recently that I even found out what a "blog" was. (It's been years since I've lived in college dorms, so it takes me a little while before I catch up with this kind of thing. Confession #1...I'm still pretty slow at text messaging and I just switched to digital photography two months ago!) But suddenly I've been amazed by this new world I've been exposed to...I have friends living abroad, friends in the mission field, friends planting churches, all using this online medium as a form of communication to keep people like me connected with their worlds! And I have to admit...I'm hooked.

The idea of my own little blog also appeals to me because it's a place to write pretty much whatever random thoughts or observations I feel like writing. It's like keeping a journal, only anybody in the world can read it. That kind of vulnerability appeals to me for some reason, and even if I'm the only person who ever reads these postings, I think this will be a creative outlet that's worth a shot. Who knows.

Confession #2...it's been my dream to write a book since I was about 7 years old! I have no clue what I'd write (or even what I might have to offer the world in a book), but my sister thinks it should be titled "My Family Backs Me Up." Yes, unfortunately, the pun was intended. Until the day when the publisher comes knocking on my door, however, anyone interested in what goes on inside this no-longer-naturally-blonde head of mine can invest 5 minutes in these pages from time to time. I promise to try and keep it as interesting as I can.

So, here I go...getting my feet wet in the world of blogging...