Empowerment

My old friend Liz got married a couple of days ago. Her and I have been through all the ups and downs of an intense friendship. She had asked me to be in her wedding, and I said "yes" but after thinking about it some, I wasn't exactly stoked. Perhaps it was tinted with a bit of confusion at what the Lord was doing, and probably, to be quite honest, a bit of jealousy. All I could do was get down on my knees and pray to God for His impowerment and His Spirit to be made known at the wedding, to be made known in me. The result was far greater than I could have ever imagined! The wedding was beautiful, and seemingly perfect for the most part, but what I couldn't believe was the change in me! It could only be God at work in me to make me filled with such joy and peace! It wasn't forced, it wasn't anything other than God, and for that I am so thankful...!

taking the back seat

In about a month I'll be headed to Europe. It's hard to believe that this is coming to pass! I think what strikes me even more is how things are changing now before I even set foot over there! The plan was to meet with my good friend Teresa, spend some time in Italy, and then head up to Slovenia and the Czech Republic to check out Josiah Venture and the ministry that is going on over there. Now, Teresa may not be able to stay that long in Italy, and so we may miss each other entirely. The tickets I bought which I thought were refundable, are not, and if I wanted to change the dates of flights, it'd cost me some good $. That's ok though. It's never ever about us. It's about God. It's hard to sit back and watch God in the drivers seat taking us in ways we didn't expect. And not just sitting in the back, but sitting quietly and trustingly. We are people hungry for control, and yet we never really have it. We have to trust and believe. There is no other way. He is good all the time, and all His ways are filled with loving-kindness....