can't we all just get along?

love. we all agree we need it. we all agree we should give it. how about when someone is mean to you? if some is rude, lies, or manipulates you does that give right not loving that person?

Luke 6:
If you love only the people who love you, what praise should you get? Even sinners love the people who love them.

undeserved blessings

Who gave me this story? I don't deserve it. God's grace constantly amazes me. I would have never dreamed I could have done all that I've had opportunity to do and see... and yet God is always asking me to keep dreaming... He whispers "don't stop there - I have much more to show you!"

God gives us what we don't deserve all the time. I can't believe how lavish he is about it too. Just when you've had a wonderful day filled with friends, beauty, and Holy moments, God tops it all with real-time painting using the setting sun. I LOVE the Lord. No one is like Him. No one touches my heart like He does. No one forgives so quickly and lovingly. No one pursues my heart like He does. We serve a relentless God of love.

I've discovered a new passion. It's, well, basically... spreading passion. I love to ignite the passions of others to discover who they truely are in Christ.

And I love that my story begins and ends with God's hand at work in my life. Any tales I tell of far off lands or hearts made whole are all because of God's leading. Seriously, I couldn't have written a life story I would rather live out thus far. I'm not that creative!

My simple story is this: I was bored living my life for myself in Nashville. I took all those crazy passages seriously where Jesus says, 'don't worry about what you'll take with your or might need - follow me. Go where ever I send you.' Slowly, slowly I've let go of all the things I thought I needed to be happy and allowed God to show me true satisfaction found in him. And now... I follow Jesus. If he says 'stay.' I'll stay. If he says 'go', I'll go.

wakeboarding with Jesus

Yesterday I was at Simon Peter's house in Capernaum. You may remember stories in the books of Luke and Matthew that reference some of Jesus' time spent there. Although once a thriving city, it's all in ruins now except for the new fences and plaques that keep tourists out. Over Peter's house is a beautiful chapel with a glass floor to look down on the house from above. The windows of the chapel look out over the Sea of Galilee only about 200 yards from the house. I paused for a few minutes there to pray and try to make sense of the scene below... Jesus had been in this place. He had healed here, taught here, eaten here, and blessed many in this very place. Wow... and then a wakeboard boat passed by. I love to wakeboard in the summer. And somehow it all connected - God's presence, his joy and delight that he takes in me, in this modern day today while standing over a house where He once stood 2000 years ago. Jesus is alive. He is still present with his people and takes delight in them. I love this about God - how He has always been present and takes great delight in His creation.

with love from Spain

as usual i feel this is a bit overdue. there is so much i'd like to write in here. how do i sum up my time in the islands of lake victoria in Uganda? how can i fully express the contrasts of morocco? how do i put into words all that's in my head and heart that needs to be sorted?
i'm in Spain now, typing from a beautiful home on a hill that overlooks the Mediterranean. the temptation is simply to watch the ocean and not think, not process, simply flatline my brain. but my coffee buzz is just right, so i'm writing to you, my general public. actually, whoever is reading this probably holds a special place in my heart so that means you're not 'general'.
the extremes of emotion after 3 months of intense travel have me feeling bi-polar. one moment i'm so grateful, thrilled, and feeling blessed for all i've beheld. the next i'm internally whining about wanting to settle down and stay put for a while. can i please have some constant relationships in my life? lately that's what i've found most difficult. i mean, i love the life track God has me on, but i find it most difficult to change my deepest friendships every few months. i mean, true friends always hang on through all my world exploration, but my heart longs to have more consistency.
on the other hand, i've met more amazing people can i can possibly describe this little blog space. how else would i have sat next to a teenage boy from a slum area of Johannesburg and found out about his dreams of business and housing ideas for people in his position? if i had not departed, i would not have met Pam, a Kenyan woman with 2 children suffering from AIDS. her husband passed away last year and now she struggles to physically get out of bed each day, let alone pay for her children to attend school and face her family that shuns her. if i had not left my home, i would have never met Sam who works to bring the good news of God's love and freedom to the Muslim world in Morocco. his cover is his business there and he prays for opportunities that these beautiful Berber people would know the fullness of God's salvation.
so once again, my heart is full. every time i feel i can't take any more in, God enlarges my vision and my capacity for more. i wish i could show you somehow through videos or photos or moving poems all i've seen and heard. i'm not sure exactly what inspiration it may bring, but i can tell you nothing is like seeing it firsthand yourself.
maybe you want to depart too. either you're planning it in your heart or you're going to leave for ____________ [insert location here] soon. but in past months you've have amazing 'ah, ha!' moments yourself. if you've read this far, then you may have time to type out one of your own below. i'd love to hear it. being this far from home and stability, it's soo good to hear what new things you've discovered.
sending blessings and love from Malaga....

distracting excitement

It's Sunday evening here in Oxford, New Zealand. My bedroom has been turned inside out as I prepare to pack my worldly posesions into a backpack for the next three months. One week from today I will be in South Africa. Between now and then I have more to do than time permits - yet here I am writing to the general public.

I'm so excited.

Who knew you could live so fully? I love what I do. My life is poured out for the better of others and it's more rewarding than I ever imagined - AND fun. Yes, I'm having the time of my life here! My passions for Jesus, world travel, new experiences, and developing people have all collided as I've chosen to follow God's will. Growing up I had no idea that the word 'missions' could have such depth and breath. Even so, I find it difficult to put that label on what I do. How do you sum up the beauty and adventure and challenge and reward that following God entails? It continues to blow my mind.

food for thought

I love to birth dreams. It's my passion to see people's vision and heart longings be realized. As a result, I gravitate to all things thought provoking. This includes asking the hard questions. Here's an excerpt from a book I'm currently reading:

Whatever it is that has its hooks in you, you will never be free from it until you find something you want more. It's not about getting rid of desire. It's about giving ourselves to bigger and better and more powerful desires.

What are you channeling your energies into?

Because they will go somewhere.

If they don't go into a few, select, disciplined pursuits that you are passionate about and are willing to give your life to, then they'll dissipate into all sorts of urges and cravings that won't even begin to bring the joy that the "one thing" could.

You are crammed full of the "madness of the gods." And you will end up giving the force of your being to something.

Life is not about toning down and repressing your God-given life force. It's about channeling it and focusing it and turning it loose on something beautiful, something pure and true and good, something that connects you with God, with others, with the world.

What is it you've given your life to?

seasons change

Here's to new beginnings. I already have quite a few different accounts of my life posted on-line, but maybe this one will serve a more centralized purpose. I've enjoyed using traveljournals.net, but don't care much for the layout and design.
Seasons are changing for me again. Soon many friends will depart, new friends will arrive, and I will be changing roles within this YWAM base where I live. Even the seasons are changing from summer to fall here in New Zealand. It's beautiful.
I feel that I'm wrapped up in dynamic mess of God's artistic creation. Have you ever watched a painting being created? Often you wonder where the artist is going. Especially at the beginning. They'll make a long stroke across the canvas and you're wondering - what do they see in that? What could that dull line actually become? And slowly beauty is revealed. Time and patience unveils an image.
God does that with lives. We often can't see the big picture, but it's being worked out in our lives as a unique expression of God's creativity.