Still Missing You.

goodbye dana,

i miss poking my head into your room
talking to you about your family
sharing ideas for cool lessons
and making copies for you

i miss eating at china go and chipotle
looking at each other
when we don't know what everyone else is talking about
and walking to staff meetings together

i miss having someone to look after me
or someone to talk about life with
and having you listen to me
or just knowing you're grading papers too, right next door

its good to know i'll see you again
but its going to be a long wait
and it hurts so bad to think of all the things
we had hoped to do together

i don't understand why
God took you away so soon
or so suddenly
but i know he loves us

so let's rest in His unfailing arms
whether at home with Him
or here on earth
because He is near

but,

i still miss talking about Jesus
and your encouragement
and your smile
and your friendship

i guess i just miss you.



dear dana,

its hard to believe it has been a year since we were last together. it is still painful to think of what might have been, or how hard this past year has been for your family and friends. we miss you dearly, and i can't count the number of times i've cried because i wish you were still here. but God is good. he has given us the grace to make it through one year without you, and he will continue to give us comfort and hope when we need it most.

i miss you so much. today, i was thinking about colossians 3 - the chapter God put on both of our hearts just before your accident. "When Christ, who is your life appears, then you also will appear with him in glory." i'm looking forward to the time when we both will be with Jesus in all his glory, because HE is our life.

Love is...

What is love?

We write countless songs about it.

What is love?

We say we love our hobbies...fishing, reading, playing a sport, singing.

What is love?

We say we love our friends and families.

What is love?

I thought I knew what love was. I thought I did a pretty good job of loving others. In my mission statement, I said that I am created to love God and to love others. But what does that really mean? What does that look like in every day life?

Nothing has taught me more about love than teaching. When I first started the education program in college, I was required to write a "Why I Want To Teach" paper. In that paper I said that I wanted to teach because I love God, and therefore I want to express that love to others - especially kids.

I loved children because I thought they were lovable.

It didn't take long in my first year of teaching to realize a serious flaw in my thinking. Children are NOT lovable. Oh, if you spend an hour or two with them, they are cute and funny, and you think they are lovable. But spend an extended amount of time with them and you will find something totally different. They try your patience. They are self-centered. They are rude. They are ungrateful. They argue. They are disobedient, lazy, and the list goes on.

And while I tried my hardest to love these little obnoxious, squirrelly kids, I just couldn't do it. They weren't lovable.

But I've come to realize something that I've always known...yet never really let sink in to my heart. NOBODY is lovable. Not in the terms of behaving in a way that deserves love. We ALL are self-centered, rude, ungrateful, argumentative, lazy, etc.

But God loves us. Even though we are unlovable. Romans 5:8 says, "But God demonstrated his own love for us in this, while we were still sinners, Christ died for us."

Wow. We are completely undeserving of God's love, but he pours it out on us anyway. Even to the point of dying for us.

As I started this school year, God put 1 Corinthians 13 on my heart. "Love is patient. Love is kind." Love isn't meant to be used like money - lavished on those we like and withheld from those we don't. It is to be given freely to all. Especially the ones who try your patience. Especially to the ones it is difficult to be kind to. I want to speak love to everyone - not only through my words, but also through my actions. I want to love others the way God loves me - not because I am lovable, but because love is meant to be given to all.

When you encounter people this year, don't expect them to be lovable - because they're not. But make a decision to love them, regardless of how they act or make you feel. Remember what Jesus did for you. Memorize 1 Corinthians 13 and ask God to make you into a person who doesn't withhold love from anyone, but gives freely to all.

The Perfect Date

What is your idea of a perfect date? Long walks on moonlit beaches, April 24 because "its not too hot, its not too cold, all you need is a light jacket"?

Lately, I've found myself caught up in the "to-do" lists of my busy schedule. I move from one appointment to the next. And while I make time for my job, friends, family, and myself, I've left out one important person.

So, yesterday I decided to make a change. I went on a date. While we've spent time together in "group" activities, I've made little effort to spend a lot of one-on-one time with him. We didn't do anything elaborate, we just sat down on a dock at my favorite park and enjoyed each other's company. That's probably what I'd consider the perfect date.



We didn't spend a lot of time talking about frivolous things. He wanted me to share from my heart. I told him about the things that we worrying me, the things I was anxious about, the things that just made me sad. I told him that sometimes I felt like he wasn't taking care of me, protecting me, making me happy. I told him that sometimes I felt really lonely.



But then I stopped and listened to him. And he was honest with me. He didn't tell me I was silly or stupid or stubborn. He just reminded me about himself:

"The Lord is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and rich in love. The Lord is good to all; he has compassion on all he has made."

"The Lord is faithful to all his promises and loving toward all he has made."

"The Lord is near to all who call on him, to all who call on him in truth. He fulfills the desires of those who fear him, he hears their cry and saves them."

"The Lord watches over all who love him."

"This is what the Sovereign Lord, the Holy One of Israel says: In repentance and rest is your salvation, in quietness and trust is your strength...Yet the Lord longs to be gracious to you; he rises to show you compassion. For the Lord is a God of justice. Blessed are all who wait for him!"

"Therefore we do not lose heart...For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes, not on what is seen, but what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal."

"And the God of all grace, who called you to his eternal glory in Christ, after you have suffered a little while, will himself restore you and make you strong, firm and steadfast."

"Why do you say, O Jacob, and complain, O Israel, 'My way is hidden from the Lord; my cause is disregarded by my God'? Do you not know? Have you not heard? The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He will not grow tired or weary, and his understanding no one can fathom. He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak. Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall; but those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. The will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint."



Have you had a date with Jesus lately? Have you been too busy to spend time just listening to him? We slot activities, people, and tasks into our schedules, but rarely set aside time with the one person who always speaks the truth, who is the God of all comfort, and who can truly satisfy the desires of your heart.

Get away. Go to your favorite place and spend time with him every day. Enjoy your perfect date.

Thailand

Well, I am going to Thailand. Hopefully.

From July 10-25 I will be traveling to Thailand with 11 other WONDERFUL adults and high school students. During this time we will be working with students at an international school leading a sports camp for children in the area and visiting an AIDS orphanage. We will also be staying in a Lahu village and working with missionaries at a seminary there. Building a wall around the seminary complex will be one of our projects.

Satan has already been working really hard to discourage me from going on this trip. From the beginning, I've had a difficult time with my passport. I lost my passport from my Europe trip three years ago. So, I applied for a new passport. Now, I am $90 poorer, and I still don't have my new passport. No one can explain why it is taking so long for my passport to be processed, and the chances of me getting it before the team leaves Tuesday morning are slim to none. This has been terribly discouraging for me, but I can only trust that God is using this in his plan for our team, and I hope that I can bring him glory through this situation.

***Update******************************************

My passport was shipped to Chicago this afternoon. I should be picking it up in the airport during my 9:05 a.m.-12:45 layover.

Please pray that the airlines will accept my letter from Sam Brownback explaining why I don't have my passport at the Wichita airport and let me on the plane Tuesday morning at 5:30 (This flight is considered an international flight and they rarely let people on w/o a passport). Also pray that I will be able to get my passport and board my flight to Thailand during my layover in Chicago.

Thanks!!!

****************************************************

Please pray for our team!
- Pray for our ministry there - that our eyes would be open to see where God is working and that we would be willling to join with him in that work.
- Pray that our actions and words would reflect Jesus at all times.
- Pray for wisdom - especially for the adults as we have to make decisions in a culture that is very different from our own.
- Pray that God would change us - through our experiences and through his Word.
- Pray that we would recognize Satan's attacks for what they are and for the strength to be able to stand firm and resist him.

If you would like to email me, please send emails to this address with my name in the subject line: lrry_frnd@yahoo.com. You can also check our website for pictures and daily updates: wefcmissions.org. I would GREATLY appreciate your prayer and emails!!!


Thailand Missions Team 2007

"Now to him who by the power at work within us is able to accomplish abundantly far more than all we can ask or imagine, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. Amen."
- Ephesians 3:20-21

monkey see, monkey do

So, this February I got my cartilage pierced. I'd been wanting to do it for a long time (probably 4 years), and I'd finally forgotten all the reasons why I DIDN'T get it pierced before. (Just so you know, I love it!) Anyways, it didn't take my kids long to notice. For about a week I had to answer all kinds of questions, "Did it hurt?" "Why did you do that?" etc. Well, today I noticed one of the girls in my 3rd hour had taken a plastic ring from her agenda binding and "pierced" her cartilage too. Hmmm...don't know how I should feel about that one...or what her parents will do if they see her new "piercing." Just a funny reminder of what kind of an impact we can have on the lives & decisions of others!

though i feel alone

I never walk alone,
Christ walks beside me,
He is the dearest friend I’ve ever known;
with such a friend to comfort and to guide me,
I never, no,
I never walk alone.

- Unknown

what are you going to pursue?

When I graduated from high school & college, I was showered with cards from family friends and relatives. Inscribed on these cards were all the typical sayings, “Follow your dreams,” or “Reach for the stars!” Graduation speeches are full of encouragement to pursue your dreams because YOU will accomplish great things.

We pursue a number of things in our lives. As children, we chase after a toy or video we really want. In middle and high school, we pursue good grades, relationships, iPods, etc. We might pursue excellence in our talents and abilities like playing a sport or a musical instrument. We spend money, time, and sometimes even sacrifice relationships to get what we want. This doesn’t stop when we graduate from high school. In college we dedicate hours of our lives toward a degree. Afterwards we pursue success in our jobs, newer cars…and the list goes on.

And while all these things are good, there is Someone far greater we need to pursue. So often things take our focus away from the one and only thing that can bring true satisfaction. I know, I know, you’re about to say, “I’ve heard this a million times before! I even know the “church” answer to give – we should pursue God.” And you’re right – we should! But do you? Honestly? I have to admit, many times I don’t. I may sacrifice my time for a favorite activity, but do I spend just as much time (if not more) with God every day? Stop right now and search your heart. Is your relationship with God something you pursue? Or is it just a habit, a duty, or nonexistent altogether?

The Pursuit of God by A.W. Tozer really challenged me in this area of my life. In his book Tozer focuses on Psalm 63:8, “My soul follows hard after thee: thy right hand upholds me.” He goes on to say that our very deepest longings are filled by God and God alone. So, where does this desire for God come from? Ultimately it begins with God. He has put a longing deep in our hearts for him. His Spirit moves in our lives when we trust in Jesus to restore our relationship with God, and we respond. We “follow hard” after God, because we know he is all that matters in life. We can hold on to the things of this world loosely because we have God who “satisfies your desires with good things” (Psalm 103:5). Whatever comes our way, whatever loss we may face, we’re still ok because we have Jesus.

You may not know what job, what major, or even what college to pursue, but all those things are small and insignificant compared to the decision you’re about to make. I want to challenge you, beginning right now, to pursue Jesus with everything. I guarantee you won’t regret it!

So, what are you going to pursue?