Saturday, September 19, 2009

Psalm 65

Praise awaits you, O God, in Zion;
to you our vows will be fulfilled.

O you who hear prayer,
to you all men will come.

When we were overwhelmed by sins,
you forgave our transgressions.

Blessed are those you choose
and bring near to live in your courts!
We are filled with the good things of your house,
of your holy temple.

You answer us with awesome deeds of righteousness,
O God our Savior,
the hope of all the ends of the earth
and of the farthest seas,

who formed the mountains by your power,
having armed yourself with strength,

who stilled the roaring of the seas,
the roaring of their waves,
and the turmoil of the nations.

Those living far away fear your wonders;
where morning dawns and evening fades
you call forth songs of joy.

You care for the land and water it;
you enrich it abundantly.
The streams of God are filled with water
to provide the people with grain,
for so you have ordained it.

You drench its furrows
and level its ridges;
you soften it with showers
and bless its crops.

You crown the year with your bounty,
and your carts overflow with abundance.

The grasslands of the desert overflow;
the hills are clothed with gladness.

The meadows are covered with flocks
and the valleys are mantled with grain;
they shout for joy and sing.

Sunday, September 13, 2009

The pastor of my new church who taught my "Life-Connect" (new members-ish) class this morning spent 5 years as a missionary in Guyana. He and his wife lived in Georgetown, but traveled all over working with various pastors and doing an international worship program. Among those he worked with were Pastor Motie Singh, and also Pastor Yasin. He told me especially how much Pastor Yasin and his "flock" rejoiced over the new orphanage/church building and how much fruit his ministry bore there, as my Pastor and his wife spent a lot of time building a close relationship with the Yasins and ministering in the interior.

Rochester, NY - Guyana, SA - Allentown, PA

amazing.

Wednesday, September 2, 2009

Friday, August 21, 2009

Wednesday, August 19, 2009

Tuesday, August 4, 2009

Plans...

So, my future plans may or may not involve an internship at 2100 productions, InterVarsity's production studio. Raising support will be tough. It might help me in trying to figure out how in the world God can use my skills as an animator to further His kingdom. Again, raising support will be tough. Also in the "tough" category will be my ability to see this as an opportunity, rather than a step backwards where finances are concerned. It will also mean a step away from studios and a step towards freelance and communications work.

At this point, anything is possible.

Tuesday, June 30, 2009

Road Trip to FL with my sister

My sister and I drove to FL in my little Kia, Matilda, this weekend. It is an 18 hour drive both ways. We made the drive straight through both times. Matilda does not have AC and her radio speakers crap in and out (they lasted 14 hours on the way down and the entire 18 hours on the way back). We ran over a full 18-wheeler tire tread that raked the bottom of the car a 1/2 hour after we left at 4 am on Friday morning (it did no damage). We got stuck in a huge traffic jam in Alabama in the heat of the day (we saw a lot of interesting characters!). A cop pulled up behind us and flashed his lights more than once (we never got pulled over). Our cd player stopped working about 9 hours away from home (my little ipod has about 9 hours of music on it).

It was a wonderful adventure and I loved every minute of it. :)

States through which we travelled - 7
States in which we decided we would never live barring the mandate of God - 2

"Caverns" advertised between Allentown and Pensacola - 10

Headlights which I witnessed flicker and go out (not my own) - 3

Close calls involving road debris - 3
Close calls involving banana peels - 1

Brothers seen - 1
Beaches visited - 1
Cockroaches sighted - 3
Cockroaches in personal space - 1
Fish caught - 0
Jellyfish stings - 0!!!!!

Times the GPS messed up - 3

Sweet tea consumed - 3 quarts

Total Hours driven between Friday and Monday - 40

I love road trips.

"Some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we trust in the name of the LORD our God."
Psalm 20:7

Thursday, June 11, 2009

Resumes

Got 'em in at 5 studios, 1 temp agency.

I'm going to Florida for a weekend to visit my brother and some family I haven't seen for a while. It's funny that I never did much traveling over the summer or breaks (missions trips excluded, of course!) and I always used lack of money or the need to work as an excuse. Now that I need money more than ever but have no job, I'm getting around more than usual! One road trip down, one planned, and one to plan.

Katlyn and Nate's wedding was this past weekend. It was awesome. I truly enjoyed it, including all the fuss leading up to it. Everything was great, from meeting new friends, the shady shopping trips, getting prepped and beautified, hanging out with Katlyn's family, the "other wedding" at the park, seeing old friends at the reception, and even the trip home. It was really a blessing just to get to see Katlyn go through the whole process, especially the day of the wedding. She was absolutely radiant. I'm not good enough with words to describe her and Nate on the wedding day. they blew me away.



Songs of the week:
Saves the Day
Wild Sweet Orange

Tuesday, June 9, 2009

Some thoughts from Basileia...

At Basileia (an InterVarsity end-of-year retreat), I was in a track where we intensely studied a portion of the book of Mark. I came home and continued my morning study of Matthew with a completely renewed perspective. The things that I got out of Mark during the week of Bas were stunning, while my new perspectives on Bible study in general led me to crave a new attitude in studying Matthew. I have begun to tell myself:

It all has to start with believing that God has something to say to you. Believe that he has orchestrated this very moment in time, everything surrounding it, and that this moment has a purpose in your life within His will. He is here with you, experiencing this moment and watching you. Enjoy what He's made for you! He's ready for you to hear what He has to say to you. Are you listening?

I think that was the overall theme of Basileia for me. "Are you listening?" And now I'm at home, forced to do nothing but wait for something to happen, for some effort to pay off, for God to reveal the next step. Will I be ready? Will I know it when I see it?

Am I listening?

"To wait is not to sit with folded hands, but to learn to do what we are told."
~Oswald Chambers