A Royal start to the day!

I'm so glad I got up to watch the Royal Wedding. The music, the scripture, and their love for each other made this morning so incredibly beautiful. Kate looked stunning in her dress, as did her sister. If you missed it? Well, you missed a great wedding.

Congrats William and Kate!

One year later

One year. Really? Has it been that long since I boarded a plane to come back to America after being in Africa for 13 months? 'Tis true-wow. It's been an interesting year....very hard, but not without some amazing blessings and opportunities from the Lord. I'm thankful He is growing me through this time, even if things are not going as I planned. I'm learning that I have to fully rely on Him 24/7. Not always easy, especially when things are not going "your" way. I've realized that He alone is all I need. I get so caught up in relationships because I love and value those I care about, but unfortunetly they don't always work out the way we think. People come and go, but He has promised never to leave me....I can't thank Him enough for that.

What do I miss most?

The precious children who melted my heart with their smiles each and every week.

The amazing and breath-taking beauty that God provided everyday-His creatures are magnificent!

The friends I made-I love that we still keep in touch, even though we are thousands of miles apart.

My Bible Study girls-oh man, how I wish my I could spend my Sunday afternoons with you again-your love, laughter, and zest to learn about God's word was such an encouragement to my heart. I miss you dearly.

My family-The Embrees and Hawkins, who welcomed me with open arms.I'm so thankful for the wisdom, grace, and love these women gave me. Elle and Mary, your friendship is priceless. I love how we encourage each other in the Lord, even now. I can't wait for the day when we are together again.

Africa will always be near and dear to my heart. I don't know what God has planned for the future, but if He calls me back, I'll be ready to jump in with both feet!

Looking Forward

I've been struggling lately, and I was encouraged by what a friend wrote on her blog a few weeks ago. I'm encouraged that I'm not alone and that others are going through the same thing. I'm also encouraged by so many friends who are praying for me. And I'm most encouraged that I have a GOD who knows, even when I don't. I've been reading through Philippians-if you need JOY in your life, it's a great place to get it. I'm also reading "Be Joyful," a Warren Wiersbe commentary, along with the actual reading of God's word. It's been amazing.

Here is the blurb from Whitney's blog-hope it encourages you.

it's times like these - when I'm overwhelmed, tired, and alone - that it's so easy to dwell on the past...

• Like how wonderful it used to be to live near lots of close girlfriends, where we could meet down the street for coffee at a moment's notice.


• Or how I wish I were closer to certain people that used to be such a huge part of my life.


• Or how much more useful I used to feel for Jesus when I was backpacking in the Amazon or sharing the Gospel with cab drivers in Chicago... not sitting in my little house on the prairie studying notes.

Do you see how easy it is to be robbed of joy? I let it happen all too often. And yet every time Satan tries to swoop in on a moment of beauty and calm and replace it with turmoil, the Lord so gently reminds me of this:

"Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland." Isaiah 43:18-19

I am so guilty.

I'm guilty of dwelling on the past, of not "perceiving" the "new thing" He is doing. Like what about how He led me to nursing school, allowed me to get in, and has provided every penny? Or how He fuels our dreams for the future and so graciously centers them on serving Him? Or how He loves on us with sweet friends, encouraging conversations, captivating worship music. The list goes on and on. So why do I not notice all of these things? Because I'm not looking for them. I get lazy - and I'm not daily asking, "Your will be done, Lord" and then praying that He'll show me what that looks like.

I'm also guilty of thinking that the things I do bring me closer to God."If I could only just be in full-time ministry...."Somehow I fail to understand that when I say something like that, I am going directly against the Gospel - the truth that it is He who works in me, not me who works my way to Him.

Maybe this sounds like lots of rambling. Or maybe it's what you've been struggling with lately and that verse from Isaiah is precisely what you needed to hear. It amazes me how God's Word can travel deeper into your soul than anything else - how things you didn't even know needed to be dealt with rise to the surface when you read the Word.

I pray I'll remember the Gospel in moments like these, and choose to look for the new thing He is doing.

***Thanks Whit, for the perspective. So thankful for you.

Sweet Selma

My heart is heavy this morning. Selma was so precious to me and many others. She was the translator for Ella and I at Slovo while we worked with the preschoolers. Ella and I had the privilege of discipling her and 2 others for a couple months, and it was a joy to be able to invest into her life in that way. I loved watching her with her own boys. I remember visiting her in the hospital and praying with her. I'm glad that she is no longer in any pain, and I long for that day when I get to see her WHOLE and free. Thankful she is with Jesus now.

But our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ, who, by the power that enables him to bring everything under his control, will transform our lowly bodies so that they will be like his glorious body.

Phillipians 3:20-21