Hi guys, I'm back. Just got this email from my uncle in Yemen...
Hi Family,
I do not know if you have heard but two tourists from Belgium were killed in an Al Kaida attack in Hadramout yesterday. It is about ten hours drive from us. All is ok here, though there are some demonstrations here planned this morning (not related to the attack) , downtown…so we will not go there then. Never a dull moment here.
Anna and Tim left yesterday and spent the night with Margie. They are at the Addis airport now with about 8 other kids going to RVA. They were ready to get back to school, but it sure was nice having them home longer. We have heard that rioting in Kenya has decreased but it is more violent when it happens. Keep Kenya on your prayer list. They really have a lot of problems and the two sides do not seem to be budging.
I will be in Yemen Jan. 31 - Feb. 10. I am not at all surprised or deterred by the timing of these attacks. I was prepared mentally for this, since conflict in the region is practically unceasing. Please keep both Yemen and Kenya on your prayer list, for God to supernaturally increase peace and love and decrease violence and hate.
Saturday, January 19, 2008
Good morning from Dallas!
I arrived safely in Dallas last night around 2:30am. It took me 2 hours to load my dad's truck by myself. The boxes were heavy and awkward, and there were more last minute items to get packed than I realized. So I didn't get on the road til 11pm. I was kinda worried about my safety, but I talked to Rick Bowman on the phone and he spoke some big words of encouragement that totally made me a woman on a mission to get to Dallas! He was like, "there is a calling on your life and God knows you need to be in Dallas safely, so walk in that truth and stay alert and focused on your mission!" He was right! I got iced coffee and hit the road and seriously before I knew it I was suddenly in Hillsboro, 2 hours had flown by. The rest of the drive to Dallas was a breeze. I was in the zone. I was a drivin fool.
So now it's 8am and I'm up getting last-minute things done, and making final decisions on what to take on my trip. My flight leaves at 3pm and goes to Wash, DC where I will meet up with my aunt Star and her group whose trip this is that I'm tagging along with. This is her sixth year in a row to go to Oman on this trip. She used to be in advertising/PR for about 20 years, and then about 10 years ago she had a big crisis of faith and felt God was calling her out of that and toward a position as an executive director of a small Habitat for Humanity chapter in Dorchester County, SC. She's been living with my grandpa in Charleston, caring for him as he's 92 and needs someone around.
Side note: my grandparents served as "M"s in the Middle East and North Africa for 46 years, in countries like Lebanon, Jordan, Israel, and including 25 years in Morocco. He is blessed to have Star living with him in his twilight years, taking good care of him. He is a dear dear man and strong servant of God. My grandma Beth died when my mom was 10 of Leukemia, leaving behind my mom and three sisters, Star being the youngest at age two, the middle two sisters named Susan and Joy, hence me being named Susan Joy.
People wondered how my grandpa could go on serving a God who would "take" a young wife/mother of age 33 who was serving Him on the field. Luckily my grandpa didn't see it that way, and could see things that are not seen. He trusted in God's loving faithfulness. A few years later God put my Grandma Arlene in his life (the grandma that I grew up knowing). She was about the age I am now. She fell in love with the girls and with my grandpa and they married and served in Morocco running a bookstore which sold, among many other books, the Bible. Prior to that my grandma had been serving the Lord in India for many years as a nurse. So together they had twin girls who are now both on the field with their husbands! Reminds me again of Romans 8:28 - And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.
My grandma Arlene died of Leukemia as well, in 1994. Soon after it was obvious that my grandpa needed someone around to help with meals and stuff. I remember a little ditty being said in the family that he was "too heavenly minded to be any earthly good." Star has been a gift from God to him, taking care of the business of the household and keeping some meat on his bones. Luckily, he is a sweet and gentle man even though he's gradually forgetting who everyone is -- although he does spit like a camel, whenever and wherever. My aunts say it's from living for so many years in the Middle East. :-)
I always end up going off on tangents on these posts. You'll have to bear with me, since this is pretty much my journal, so as such I tend to get sentimental and think of all the things that have led me to this day, not just the facts of current day. Hopefully by telling you you'll come to see how the threads of the tapestry of my faith story have come together, and see the way that God has chosen to use my family as his faithful servants, and understand why I am so humbled and blessed to have been called home to Him, to serve in the work in any way he has planned for me. This trip is more about me just being available to him vs. me having any kind of agenda of my own. Please pray that I would remain connected to the spirit of God in every moment so that I may do his perfect will. John 15:5 has been my mantra the past two weeks in preparing myself for this day.
Unless I decide to blog again before leaving for the airport, the next post you will receive from me will be from Oman!!! Pray for safe travels, restful sleep, and a spirit of confident hope to fill me!
Love,
Susan
Ephesians 1: 18-19 I pray also that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, and his incomparably great power for us who believe.
So now it's 8am and I'm up getting last-minute things done, and making final decisions on what to take on my trip. My flight leaves at 3pm and goes to Wash, DC where I will meet up with my aunt Star and her group whose trip this is that I'm tagging along with. This is her sixth year in a row to go to Oman on this trip. She used to be in advertising/PR for about 20 years, and then about 10 years ago she had a big crisis of faith and felt God was calling her out of that and toward a position as an executive director of a small Habitat for Humanity chapter in Dorchester County, SC. She's been living with my grandpa in Charleston, caring for him as he's 92 and needs someone around.
Side note: my grandparents served as "M"s in the Middle East and North Africa for 46 years, in countries like Lebanon, Jordan, Israel, and including 25 years in Morocco. He is blessed to have Star living with him in his twilight years, taking good care of him. He is a dear dear man and strong servant of God. My grandma Beth died when my mom was 10 of Leukemia, leaving behind my mom and three sisters, Star being the youngest at age two, the middle two sisters named Susan and Joy, hence me being named Susan Joy.
People wondered how my grandpa could go on serving a God who would "take" a young wife/mother of age 33 who was serving Him on the field. Luckily my grandpa didn't see it that way, and could see things that are not seen. He trusted in God's loving faithfulness. A few years later God put my Grandma Arlene in his life (the grandma that I grew up knowing). She was about the age I am now. She fell in love with the girls and with my grandpa and they married and served in Morocco running a bookstore which sold, among many other books, the Bible. Prior to that my grandma had been serving the Lord in India for many years as a nurse. So together they had twin girls who are now both on the field with their husbands! Reminds me again of Romans 8:28 - And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.
My grandma Arlene died of Leukemia as well, in 1994. Soon after it was obvious that my grandpa needed someone around to help with meals and stuff. I remember a little ditty being said in the family that he was "too heavenly minded to be any earthly good." Star has been a gift from God to him, taking care of the business of the household and keeping some meat on his bones. Luckily, he is a sweet and gentle man even though he's gradually forgetting who everyone is -- although he does spit like a camel, whenever and wherever. My aunts say it's from living for so many years in the Middle East. :-)
I always end up going off on tangents on these posts. You'll have to bear with me, since this is pretty much my journal, so as such I tend to get sentimental and think of all the things that have led me to this day, not just the facts of current day. Hopefully by telling you you'll come to see how the threads of the tapestry of my faith story have come together, and see the way that God has chosen to use my family as his faithful servants, and understand why I am so humbled and blessed to have been called home to Him, to serve in the work in any way he has planned for me. This trip is more about me just being available to him vs. me having any kind of agenda of my own. Please pray that I would remain connected to the spirit of God in every moment so that I may do his perfect will. John 15:5 has been my mantra the past two weeks in preparing myself for this day.
Unless I decide to blog again before leaving for the airport, the next post you will receive from me will be from Oman!!! Pray for safe travels, restful sleep, and a spirit of confident hope to fill me!
Love,
Susan
Ephesians 1: 18-19 I pray also that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, and his incomparably great power for us who believe.
Friday, January 18, 2008
AAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!
OMIGOSH! OMIGOSH! OMIGOSH! OMIGOSH! OMIGOSH! OMIGOSH! OMIGOSH! OMIGOSH! OMIGOSH! I can't believe I leave tomorrow!
I'm finalizing my packing right now and loading up my dad's truck (he left it down here for me and took his Corolla up to Dallas, the car I had been using since I sold my SUV). I hope to hit the road for Dallas by 8:30 tonight. Please pray for my safety on the road, since it's kinda freezing raining out, and I am not the best driver in that huge Chevy Silverado. It scares me when they have those cement walls on the highway...I always feel like I'm going to hit them, and in the truck I know I will be white-knuckling it, feeling like I am wider than the actual lane.
My flight leaves from DFW tomorrow at 3:05pm, so I'll leave my parents house around 12:30 for the airport. I can't believe tonight is my last night in the great U.S. of A. for nine weeks, or possibly ten. I might maybe possibly be adding on an extra week in India at the end. My old best friend from jr. high in Chicago, Johnna, who now lives in Brooklyn, just so happens to be traveling in India exactly when I am. We connected when I visited NYC two years ago after not having seen each other for about 10 years, and then this spring she visited Austin on a work photo shoot. She and all her stylist friends even joined me at the Broken Spoke and totally loved it! Imagine a big group of NYC fashion people at the Spoke...they actually fit right in, which is why I so love that place with all my heart. For me, the Broken Spoke is a metaphor for the human desire to find God. We're all a little broken, but we still gotta make the wheel go round on the journey of life, so while we're here we try to find places where we can find a sense of community, belonging, and love. A place where we can forget about the world's troubles and feel the pure joy of being alive. That's how I feel on a good night at the Spoke, twirling around the dance floor. The owner James White says, "we ain't changed a thing yet, and we ain't never gonna!" Kind-of like the one God Almighty, who never changes. He's the Alpha and Omega and his Word is the same throughout the ages.
If you spend any amount of time on my blog you'll see that I love coming up with coming up with analogies. Some are a stretch, but I think my Broken Spoke analogy is perty darn good. You either get it or you don't, kinda like the Spoke!
www.brokenspokeaustintx.com
More on my India plans as details unfold. I gotta get back to packing!!!
Rots of ruv,
Sooz
I'm finalizing my packing right now and loading up my dad's truck (he left it down here for me and took his Corolla up to Dallas, the car I had been using since I sold my SUV). I hope to hit the road for Dallas by 8:30 tonight. Please pray for my safety on the road, since it's kinda freezing raining out, and I am not the best driver in that huge Chevy Silverado. It scares me when they have those cement walls on the highway...I always feel like I'm going to hit them, and in the truck I know I will be white-knuckling it, feeling like I am wider than the actual lane.
My flight leaves from DFW tomorrow at 3:05pm, so I'll leave my parents house around 12:30 for the airport. I can't believe tonight is my last night in the great U.S. of A. for nine weeks, or possibly ten. I might maybe possibly be adding on an extra week in India at the end. My old best friend from jr. high in Chicago, Johnna, who now lives in Brooklyn, just so happens to be traveling in India exactly when I am. We connected when I visited NYC two years ago after not having seen each other for about 10 years, and then this spring she visited Austin on a work photo shoot. She and all her stylist friends even joined me at the Broken Spoke and totally loved it! Imagine a big group of NYC fashion people at the Spoke...they actually fit right in, which is why I so love that place with all my heart. For me, the Broken Spoke is a metaphor for the human desire to find God. We're all a little broken, but we still gotta make the wheel go round on the journey of life, so while we're here we try to find places where we can find a sense of community, belonging, and love. A place where we can forget about the world's troubles and feel the pure joy of being alive. That's how I feel on a good night at the Spoke, twirling around the dance floor. The owner James White says, "we ain't changed a thing yet, and we ain't never gonna!" Kind-of like the one God Almighty, who never changes. He's the Alpha and Omega and his Word is the same throughout the ages.
If you spend any amount of time on my blog you'll see that I love coming up with coming up with analogies. Some are a stretch, but I think my Broken Spoke analogy is perty darn good. You either get it or you don't, kinda like the Spoke!
www.brokenspokeaustintx.com
More on my India plans as details unfold. I gotta get back to packing!!!
Rots of ruv,
Sooz
Thursday, January 17, 2008
P.S. Fundraising
One more thing.....if you've been wanting to donate to my trip fund but keep forgetting, you can scroll down on the left to my fundraising update and it will tell you how you can donate. I'd like to not have to think about it while I'm gone. I still need about $1500 for India.
I've been invited on a vision trip to Ndola, Zambia with Gateway end of June. I feel led to go, and as such will need to raise another $3800. I will need for someone to collect those funds in my absence, since my mailbox isn't mine anymore. All my mail will be forwarded to my sister Kathy's house here in Austin while I'm gone.
Goodnight, and thank you!
Sooz
I've been invited on a vision trip to Ndola, Zambia with Gateway end of June. I feel led to go, and as such will need to raise another $3800. I will need for someone to collect those funds in my absence, since my mailbox isn't mine anymore. All my mail will be forwarded to my sister Kathy's house here in Austin while I'm gone.
Goodnight, and thank you!
Sooz
Packing & getting ready to leave
I'm packing right now. I sort-of have been for the past two weeks, but now it's serious! I have stuff spread all over my empty room, piles of definitely/maybe/no's. I also still have some last items to pack up from the condo and take to storage tomorrow. It's going to be no easy task to get out of here and on the road to Dallas by tomorrow. I realized that I never did get my malaria meds. I got so distracted with the move that I totally forgot. Luckily I have 9 pills leftover from Panama, so I think that maybe that will be enough for India as long as I get 7 more immediately upon my return, b/c you're supposed to keep taking it for a week.
Another thing I never did was get my travel insurance in order. I did the preliminary legwork but then got sick with that sinus infection for a whole week when I was supposed to have met with the travel agent lady to help me with it. I hate doing this kind of stuff, so I pushed it til the last minute and now I'm going to pay for my procrastination with total stress tomorrow!
God has been sooooooo in this move. My family was literally a Godsend. My sister Carolyn took 2 days off work to help me pack and get organized, and my dad was down here for 3 days with his truck, and rented a 10x10 storage unit for me to put all my boxes. I didn't end up having to get a big air conditioned space since I ended up selling all my furniture. I feel bad b/c I was kinda moody and overly sensitive while they were here, letting the stress get the best of me. All they were trying to do was help, but I was not able to be myself and let my appreciation show and at times was really snotty and defensive. Sorry Care and Dad!!! I love you guys so much!! Thank you for your selfless help.
I have a HUGE answered prayer from today that I want to share with you guys. I was totally stressed about not having time to clean my place for the renters who are moving in next Thursday. I was having a hard time finding enough people to come help me clean tonight on such short notice, and to be honest I really needed time alone to pack and think through all my final decisions. On my way to a meeting at Gateway with our small groups pastor Gary Foran I prayed literally saying to God that there was no human way possible for me to get all done that I need done in the amount of time I had. I needed a miracle. I needed God to step in and help me because I am helpless at this point to get the job on my own. Not even 20 minutes later I was sitting with Gary and he asked how he could help. I said, well would you pray for me now? Maybe that will bring me peace and calm my nerves. He was like, of course I'll pray for you, but what can I do?? I was like, ummm, what do you mean? And he was like, "let me help you take this off your plate. I'll get a group of volunteers in there this weekend and me and my wife will spend a few hours ourselves."
Oh my gosh is right! His act of having a servant heart, and freely being the body of Christ to me was an answer to prayer, the miracle I needed. It was really hard to first, reconcile with myself that he was actually offering this, and second hard to accept that kind of huge help. Getting a condo ready for someone to move into is no small task. So he's got several of my friends' email addresses and is going to make sure it gets done, asking volunteers to help until it's ready to go. I just feel so taken care of and loved and blessed. Our God is an intimate God who knows our needs and meets us there in that need when we lean on him for help. It may not always be such a swift and obvious answer, but at this point, getting my logistics taken care of is the only thing between me and that 20 hour airplane ride to the great unknown... and God knows that!
So then after that Lindsey called tonight having seen one of my emails mentioning that I had to make a trip to Goodwill. She came over and picked up all the stuff and is going to take it for me. Again, a real, tangible, physical answer to prayer. I have never experienced community like I have this past two months. God is teaching me to trust people more and let them love and help me.
I go back to the verse that my mom sent me in a card, that later my Grandma K. told me was her life verse: The one who calls you is faithful and he will do it. I Thessalonians 5:24
(P.S. All the times on my blog posts are incorrect. It's actually 10:20pm. I think it's 2 hours off. FYI)
Another thing I never did was get my travel insurance in order. I did the preliminary legwork but then got sick with that sinus infection for a whole week when I was supposed to have met with the travel agent lady to help me with it. I hate doing this kind of stuff, so I pushed it til the last minute and now I'm going to pay for my procrastination with total stress tomorrow!
God has been sooooooo in this move. My family was literally a Godsend. My sister Carolyn took 2 days off work to help me pack and get organized, and my dad was down here for 3 days with his truck, and rented a 10x10 storage unit for me to put all my boxes. I didn't end up having to get a big air conditioned space since I ended up selling all my furniture. I feel bad b/c I was kinda moody and overly sensitive while they were here, letting the stress get the best of me. All they were trying to do was help, but I was not able to be myself and let my appreciation show and at times was really snotty and defensive. Sorry Care and Dad!!! I love you guys so much!! Thank you for your selfless help.
I have a HUGE answered prayer from today that I want to share with you guys. I was totally stressed about not having time to clean my place for the renters who are moving in next Thursday. I was having a hard time finding enough people to come help me clean tonight on such short notice, and to be honest I really needed time alone to pack and think through all my final decisions. On my way to a meeting at Gateway with our small groups pastor Gary Foran I prayed literally saying to God that there was no human way possible for me to get all done that I need done in the amount of time I had. I needed a miracle. I needed God to step in and help me because I am helpless at this point to get the job on my own. Not even 20 minutes later I was sitting with Gary and he asked how he could help. I said, well would you pray for me now? Maybe that will bring me peace and calm my nerves. He was like, of course I'll pray for you, but what can I do?? I was like, ummm, what do you mean? And he was like, "let me help you take this off your plate. I'll get a group of volunteers in there this weekend and me and my wife will spend a few hours ourselves."
Oh my gosh is right! His act of having a servant heart, and freely being the body of Christ to me was an answer to prayer, the miracle I needed. It was really hard to first, reconcile with myself that he was actually offering this, and second hard to accept that kind of huge help. Getting a condo ready for someone to move into is no small task. So he's got several of my friends' email addresses and is going to make sure it gets done, asking volunteers to help until it's ready to go. I just feel so taken care of and loved and blessed. Our God is an intimate God who knows our needs and meets us there in that need when we lean on him for help. It may not always be such a swift and obvious answer, but at this point, getting my logistics taken care of is the only thing between me and that 20 hour airplane ride to the great unknown... and God knows that!
So then after that Lindsey called tonight having seen one of my emails mentioning that I had to make a trip to Goodwill. She came over and picked up all the stuff and is going to take it for me. Again, a real, tangible, physical answer to prayer. I have never experienced community like I have this past two months. God is teaching me to trust people more and let them love and help me.
I go back to the verse that my mom sent me in a card, that later my Grandma K. told me was her life verse: The one who calls you is faithful and he will do it. I Thessalonians 5:24
(P.S. All the times on my blog posts are incorrect. It's actually 10:20pm. I think it's 2 hours off. FYI)
Clothing metaphor
How weird/cool is this? Ya know how in last night's blog I made that clothing/skin metaphor? Check out today's entry in my Grace For The Moment devotional book by Max Lucado:
Jan. 17
Clothes of Salvation
The body that dies must clothe itself with something that will never die. I Corinthians 15: 53
Does Jesus care what clothes we wear? Apparently so. In fact, the bible tells us exactly the wardrobe God desires.
"But clothe yourselves with the Lord Jesus Christ and forget about satisfying your sinful self" (Romans 13:14).
"You were all baptized into Christ, and so you were all clothed with Christ. This means that you are all children of God through faith in Christ Jesus" (Galatians 3:26-27).
This clothing has nothing to do with dresses and jeans and suits. God's concern is with our spiritual garment. He offers a heavenly robe that only heaven can see and only heaven can give. Listen to the words of Isaiah: "The Lord makes me very happy; all that I am rejoices in my God. He has covered me with clothes of salvation and wrapped me with a coat of goodness" (Isa 61:10).
Jan. 17
Clothes of Salvation
The body that dies must clothe itself with something that will never die. I Corinthians 15: 53
Does Jesus care what clothes we wear? Apparently so. In fact, the bible tells us exactly the wardrobe God desires.
"But clothe yourselves with the Lord Jesus Christ and forget about satisfying your sinful self" (Romans 13:14).
"You were all baptized into Christ, and so you were all clothed with Christ. This means that you are all children of God through faith in Christ Jesus" (Galatians 3:26-27).
This clothing has nothing to do with dresses and jeans and suits. God's concern is with our spiritual garment. He offers a heavenly robe that only heaven can see and only heaven can give. Listen to the words of Isaiah: "The Lord makes me very happy; all that I am rejoices in my God. He has covered me with clothes of salvation and wrapped me with a coat of goodness" (Isa 61:10).
Wednesday, January 16, 2008
A Celebration of Miracles
Tonight was the going away dinner I had at the Taj Palace Indian Restaurant. I wanted a chance to see as many people as possible before leaving and say thank you for everyone's support these past few months. I really just wanted a chance to celebrate the miracles that God is performing everyday, in people's hearts and lives. I had it at an Indian restaurant to celebrate India and what the Miracle Foundation is doing in the lives of orphans there. If you've never heard of them you should check them out. They are an Austin-based non-profit that was started in 2003 by a friend of mine, Caroline Boudreaux. http://www.miraclefoundation.org/
I'll be ending my nine-week trip by spending ten days in India, loving on orphans with 45 other Miracle Foundation volunteers.
I was so blessed to have 25 friends and my little sister Kathy there!!! I felt totally surrounded by people I love and who love me. Literally surrounded... Before dinner they all gathered around me, and many laid hands on me, and Page and Brian prayed amazing prayers of protection and blessing over me. If you have never been prayed over like that I recommend that some time before you die you do! It is such a deeply profound, spiritual, delightful feeling like no other. You feel like people are just pouring love into you and like the holy spirit is completely filling you up. It is equally as humbling as it is exhilarating. I wish we could have done it for everyone in the room. Prayers like that are a major part of God equipping me to go be the body of Christ among other tribes and tongues. I feel so lifted up and encouraged!
Looking back on the night, it was just a beautiful time of community and enjoying the company of many wonderful friends. Tim, Christina, and Joe stayed behind and we all prayed again together in a circle. I wondered if the lady cleaning the tables thought we were nuts, because we stood there praying for a really long time. It was a powerful prayer for the ministries that God it calling each of us into in our own different ways and timing, and yet all for the singular glory of the Almighty God!
Then Lindsay showed up after her small group meeting just to say hi. We ended up talking for a half hour and praying about the amazing things God is calling her to do and the bold steps of obedience she is taking towards him. We also talked about my blog and whether or not I should be so open about my inner spritual walk in such a public forum. I've been struggling with whether or not I should temper my enthusiasm for how totally much I am completely in love with Jesus. I don't want to freak people out who have not yet chosen to accept him as their Lord and know him an intimate way, worrying that I would turn them off to him or to me. I came to the conclusion that this is my Voice, and I feel called to use it, and not to hide or feel ashamed or feel any fear around speaking truth and glorifying God unceasingly. He deserves all the glory for being perfect and faithful and all-powerful!
I have not always known Jesus the way I do now, nor do I know him now like I will many years from now. Personally I find it refreshing when people tell me their own stories of faith, stories of their real encounters with truth and with growing to know God more. I like the details and the inner thought dialogue. The real stuff people think about, question, and struggle with. And then after the dark night of their soul has been conquered by Light I love to hear about the revelations they see in the sunrise. I love getting a peek into their hearts because it always resonates with mine. You can only know truth when you know it in your own heart. Mental knowledge is like clothes, you can take it on and off to suit your tastes, depending on the season or the etiquette required for the occassion, but heart knowledge is owned by each individual in a permanent way -- you couldn't take it off any more than you could take off your own skin. I finally feel comfortable in the skin I'm in, and it just wouldn't feel right to edit myself for an "audience" when the only person I'm trying to please is the Lord. So that's why I'm going to continue to use my voice in the best way I know how, and that it to speak from my heart.
Speaking from my heart - THANK YOU to everyone who came tonight and who wanted to come but couldn't be there. I love you guys and thank God that you are in my life. Thank you to my family for your endless love and support. God has used all of you to make this journey possible. You are the hands and feet. Please take care of each other until I return!
John 15:17
This is my command: Love each other
I'll be ending my nine-week trip by spending ten days in India, loving on orphans with 45 other Miracle Foundation volunteers.
I was so blessed to have 25 friends and my little sister Kathy there!!! I felt totally surrounded by people I love and who love me. Literally surrounded... Before dinner they all gathered around me, and many laid hands on me, and Page and Brian prayed amazing prayers of protection and blessing over me. If you have never been prayed over like that I recommend that some time before you die you do! It is such a deeply profound, spiritual, delightful feeling like no other. You feel like people are just pouring love into you and like the holy spirit is completely filling you up. It is equally as humbling as it is exhilarating. I wish we could have done it for everyone in the room. Prayers like that are a major part of God equipping me to go be the body of Christ among other tribes and tongues. I feel so lifted up and encouraged!
Looking back on the night, it was just a beautiful time of community and enjoying the company of many wonderful friends. Tim, Christina, and Joe stayed behind and we all prayed again together in a circle. I wondered if the lady cleaning the tables thought we were nuts, because we stood there praying for a really long time. It was a powerful prayer for the ministries that God it calling each of us into in our own different ways and timing, and yet all for the singular glory of the Almighty God!
Then Lindsay showed up after her small group meeting just to say hi. We ended up talking for a half hour and praying about the amazing things God is calling her to do and the bold steps of obedience she is taking towards him. We also talked about my blog and whether or not I should be so open about my inner spritual walk in such a public forum. I've been struggling with whether or not I should temper my enthusiasm for how totally much I am completely in love with Jesus. I don't want to freak people out who have not yet chosen to accept him as their Lord and know him an intimate way, worrying that I would turn them off to him or to me. I came to the conclusion that this is my Voice, and I feel called to use it, and not to hide or feel ashamed or feel any fear around speaking truth and glorifying God unceasingly. He deserves all the glory for being perfect and faithful and all-powerful!
I have not always known Jesus the way I do now, nor do I know him now like I will many years from now. Personally I find it refreshing when people tell me their own stories of faith, stories of their real encounters with truth and with growing to know God more. I like the details and the inner thought dialogue. The real stuff people think about, question, and struggle with. And then after the dark night of their soul has been conquered by Light I love to hear about the revelations they see in the sunrise. I love getting a peek into their hearts because it always resonates with mine. You can only know truth when you know it in your own heart. Mental knowledge is like clothes, you can take it on and off to suit your tastes, depending on the season or the etiquette required for the occassion, but heart knowledge is owned by each individual in a permanent way -- you couldn't take it off any more than you could take off your own skin. I finally feel comfortable in the skin I'm in, and it just wouldn't feel right to edit myself for an "audience" when the only person I'm trying to please is the Lord. So that's why I'm going to continue to use my voice in the best way I know how, and that it to speak from my heart.
Speaking from my heart - THANK YOU to everyone who came tonight and who wanted to come but couldn't be there. I love you guys and thank God that you are in my life. Thank you to my family for your endless love and support. God has used all of you to make this journey possible. You are the hands and feet. Please take care of each other until I return!
John 15:17
This is my command: Love each other
Tuesday, January 15, 2008
Photos!
As you can see, I've discovered how to change the text color. I think I may have also discovered how to add photos to an individual blog post. If so, this changes EVERYTHING! Blogging will be infinitely more satisfying than I had ever dreamed possible. AWESOMETesting now with an image of my condo....bye-bye condo...
The BIG MOVE and the BIGGER SELLOFF!
My friends and family have been an answer to prayer this week, helping me get all packed up so I can move before leaving, now that I've got a renter for my condo. I don't have much time to write, but I just wanted to say that Kathleen, Page, Bonnie, Merry, Kari, and Nancy from Gateway came over on Sunday afternoon to help me pack for four hours, then my sister Carolyn came down from Dallas Sunday through today, and my dad came down yesterday and will be here til Thursday helping. Joe and my brother-in-law helped my dad move some furniture tonight. It's been a major team effort.
The big news is that yesterday while I was out looking at storage facilities to store all my stuff, I got this massive feeling like it was just not God's will for me to be spending $200 per month indefinitely to store all my stuff. So I ran home and at around 5pm sent out an email on the Gateway SinglesShare yahoo group. By 10pm I had sold my leather couch & chair, coffee table, end table, & console table, book shelf, and a picture and terra cotta pots. Today I sold my glass curio cabinet and a small storage cabinet. Tonight a woman called wanting to buy my entire 5-piece office set, so she'll be over at 8am to pick it up. God is SO in this! My dad told me that at dinner with my other sister Kathy tonight he told her "I don't normally believe when people say this and that was God's will, but with Susan it sure does seem to be the case."
We still have lots of work to do, and somehow in the midst of all this I have to pack for my trip, but I know it will come together just as it is supposed to.
Romans 8:28 And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.
The big news is that yesterday while I was out looking at storage facilities to store all my stuff, I got this massive feeling like it was just not God's will for me to be spending $200 per month indefinitely to store all my stuff. So I ran home and at around 5pm sent out an email on the Gateway SinglesShare yahoo group. By 10pm I had sold my leather couch & chair, coffee table, end table, & console table, book shelf, and a picture and terra cotta pots. Today I sold my glass curio cabinet and a small storage cabinet. Tonight a woman called wanting to buy my entire 5-piece office set, so she'll be over at 8am to pick it up. God is SO in this! My dad told me that at dinner with my other sister Kathy tonight he told her "I don't normally believe when people say this and that was God's will, but with Susan it sure does seem to be the case."
We still have lots of work to do, and somehow in the midst of all this I have to pack for my trip, but I know it will come together just as it is supposed to.
Romans 8:28 And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.
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