What an amazing weekend! Ananda and I left early Friday afternoon for Visalia, where we spent the weekend with our friends Leslie and Stuart Anderson. Our friend Tyler drove down on Saturday morning and stayed until Sunday morning, as well. It was so fun–just like our days in college!

They got me hooked on “The Office” and we watched most of seasons 1 and 2 (all but 2-3 episodes of season 2!!) and I can’t wait for the premiere on Thursday!

Leslie and Stuart have a beautiful home and they were such incredible hosts this weekend. They cooked amazing meals for us and made us feel right at home. It was so awesome!

Saturday we took a picnic lunch and headed up to Sequoia National Park/Kings Canyon National Park, because Ananda (being from South Dakota) had never seen the Sequoias. It was amazing–and it was chilly! The trees are all located between 5000-7000 feet, so the weather was perfect.

It was a great weekend–see pictures below. Now it’s back to the “real world” and back to being an adult again. 🙂 I love my friends!!

 
 

Lesa, Leslie and Ananda

Tyler, Lesa, Leslie, Ananda, Stuart 

 
 
 
  

 
 
 
  

Stuart and Tyler, with our chips at 7000 feet…

Bottom picture: The General Sherman Tree–the largest living tree in the world!

Wow–today was incredible.

I received my first promotion (after only being there officially since April!) and a substantial pay raise! WOO HOO! God is SOOO good. I know that I am exactly where I am supposed to be, and He confirms that daily!

I had a great lunch with Mike, and it was so good to have him healthy and able to have lunch (we’ve postponed this numerous times). 🙂 He’s doing well, though they still have no idea what’s going on. I was so blessed to have him as a boss for 3-4 months–and it’s so great to have a great friendship with him now. He is such a great rolemodel, and he really believes in me, which is appreciated and needed 🙂

AND, today they came and switched my huge computer monitor for an awesome new flat screen! 🙂

I had my first workout today, as I joined “Curves” yesterday. I’m on my way to accomplishing my goal of losing a lot of weight this year (more importantly, 2 sizes).

The only bad thing about today was that I found out that my long lasting “interest” just started dating someone. No, he doesn’t know of my affection, and that’s just fine with me. 🙂 It’s not like he’s married, so there’s still hope 🙂

God is great!!

Click on the title above to read about another amazing thing Google is doing!

Whether Tony Blair really said this or not, it’s very true! 🙂

“In case we find ourselves starting to believe all the anti-American sentiment and negativity, we should remember England’s Prime Minister Tony Blair’s words during a recent interview. When asked by one of his Parliament members why he believes so much in America, he said:

“A simple way to take measure of a country is to look at how many want in… and how many want out.”

What an incredible speech…

[This is what I posted in 2004 on this day…worth posting again…]

I’m sure that most people are posting about what today represents…

So I don’t want to repeat all that has been said.

The thing that I remember the most about that day was probably my devotional reading.

I read “My Utmost for His Highest” by Oswald Chambers, and was blown away by the relevancy of the devotional. It is always so amazing to me how God puts things exactly where they are needed…it happens SO often with what I read, as I’m sure it does with you all as well.

The last line of this devotional is so incredibly true and relevant…and I wanted to share it with you all.

May we never forget what happened on that September day…

September 11
Missionary Weapons

If I then, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another’s feet —John 13:14

Ministering in Everyday Opportunities.

Ministering in everyday opportunities that surround us does not mean that we select our own surroundings—it means being God’s very special choice to be available for use in any of the seemingly random surroundings which He has engineered for us. The very character we exhibit in our present surroundings is an indication of what we will be like in other surroundings.

The things Jesus did were the most menial of everyday tasks, and this is an indication that it takes all of God’s power in me to accomplish even the most common tasks in His way. Can I use a towel as He did? Towels, dishes, sandals, and all the other ordinary things in our lives reveal what we are made of more quickly than anything else. It takes God Almighty Incarnate in us to do the most menial duty as it ought to be done.

Jesus said, “I have given you an example, that you should do as I have done to you” (13:15). Notice the kind of people that God brings around you, and you will be humiliated once you realize that this is actually His way of revealing to you the kind of person you have been to Him. Now He says we should exhibit to those around us exactly what He has exhibited to us.
Do you find yourself responding by saying, “Oh, I will do all that once I’m out on the mission field”? Talking in this way is like trying to produce the weapons of war while in the trenches of the battlefield–you will be killed while trying to do it. We have to go the “second mile” with God (see Matthew 5:41 ). Yet some of us become worn out in the first ten steps. Then we say, “Well, I’ll just wait until I get closer to the next big crisis in my life.”

But if we do not steadily minister in everyday opportunities, we will do nothing when the crisis comes.

–Oswald Chambers

Things in my life are changing, for the better…God is definitely working in my heart in some amazing and yet difficult ways, and I am so relieved, in a sense, because I’ve been in a spiritual low for over two years now…but things are starting to make sense, and I am finding that my love and passion for the Lord is returning in new and fresh ways, ways that are surprising me daily.

I’ve been doing a lot of reflecting lately…about this blog, for one. I remember when my posts used to be so filled with “brilliant” thoughts and reflections, and it seems like I used to be learning and thinking about new things all the time. For instance, this post, from Sept. 2004:

Our discussion on Plato continued today in my Classical Political Thought class…

And one thing stood out to me in particular as being applicable to the Christian walk.

In Book III, the men are discussing censorship, and what should be allowed in education. They point out that the things you teach your children will indicate what kind of adults they will be. The tales you tell them will stick with them always. And concerning heroes, they note that people should try to imitate the right heroes.

My professor stated that: “It’s hard to return to who you once were after you have been filled with imitations of others…”

Shouldn’t we, then, as Christians, strive to imitate Christ so much that we forget who we once were? And, shouldn’t we teach our children–not only in word, but by example as well–the ways of Christ, so that these things are deeply implanted within them?

Or this post. Or any of the posts from 2004, really. If nothing else, college was great for blogging purposes, because my mind was always engaged and always being challenged…and I was constantly engaging God and communicating with Him. But it was at that point that He decided to begin stretching and changing me, making me who I am today. It is exciting as I begin to figure out who I am, how I’ve changed, and what I’m going to do with it in the future.

Another thing upon which I have been reflecting is the obvious thing: September 11th, 2001. Ananda and I went to see “World Trade Center” today in the theatre, as we thought it was time to see it. It was incredible…of course, it was emotional, but it also caused us to see the events of that day in an entirely new perspective. It had not occurred to me that those who were on the ground that day, those who were working to rescue the people in the buildings, had no idea what was going on. They didn’t have televisions with reporters speculating as to what had crashed into the buildings…in fact, these men in the movie didn’t even know that the second tower had been hit. When they were rescued, after being trapped for around 24 hours, they were asking where the buildings were. They had no idea what had happened that day! What a shock that must have been! It was an emotional look at the tragedy of that day, and I am so glad that I saw the film.

Yesterday, I finished a book that I can honestly say has changed my life, and that is no exaggeration. It is called “The Heavenly Man” and it is by the man that I have mentioned in earlier posts, Brother Yun. Oh my goodness, has this challenged me! I have such a passion for missions in lands like China, Tunisia, and other countries which are not open to the Gospel of Christ. I do not know what the Lord is going to do with this passion, but I know that it continues to grow, and I am looking forward to serving the Lord in whatever capacity He allows! 🙂

Life is good… 🙂