Over the Horizon

Sandy leads Bible study..

Last night Sandy led youth group Bible study! I wasn't able to be there since I was working with a team that arrived yesterday afternoon. However, Steve blogged about it, so I'm sharing his blog here for you to see. This isn't the first time she has led Bible study, but it has been a long time since the last study she shared. She usually does a really good job, and from what I hear this time was no different. Enjoy!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Last night at youth group, Sandra, one of the Student Leaders, gave the Bible study. She did a great job sharing about Joshua and the battle of Jericho relating the walking around the walls to things in our life that do not need to be there. Maybe we need to "walk around that wall" and believe that God will tear it down. God gave Jericho into the hands of Joshua, and Joshua believed.

 

Great job Sandra!!!

Jazmin wants to get baptized...

I thought I would just share another little testimony and prayer request....

It's for Jazmin. She was of course in attendance on the Sunday morning that Pastor Gradilla preached and helped baptize several members of our church. And as we filed out of church across the street to where the baptisms would take place, she came up to me and told me she really wanted to get baptized but waited to long to stand up with others. So, she thought her chance had passed. Of course, I told her that it was not too late to join the group being baptized, which she did. However, at the last minute she backed out of it.

When it was over, I asked her why, and she shared that it was because she told her parents that she wanted to get baptized and they had told her no. So, both Steve and I encouraged her in the fact that the best thing she can do at this point is to honor her parents by being obedient and trust the Lord to work out the details for her to be baptized. The desire to do so is an act of obedience in her heart, but to walk forward in baptism in rebellion against her parents is a contradiction. We told her to just be patient, and the Lord would honor her obedience of obeying her parents and would work out those details for baptism in HIS time. We also encouraged her to continue praying for the Lord to change her parents' hearts and work salvation in them too. Although she was discouraged by not being able to be baptized, we have been trying to really encourage her in that she has chosen what is right.

I have since spoken with her parents, and they shared with me that it's not so much that they don't want her to be baptized or won't give her permission to do so. In fact, they are not opposed to her new faith or involvement in the church at all. However, they want to see a visible change in her life as evidence that this new faith and church is actually having an effect in her. I have communicated with them that we really believe that the act of being baptized could very well be exactly what she needs to cement her new faith in her head and heart...for her benefit. That by allowing her to be baptized now, they may very well be giving her what she needs to begin manifesting the changes they want to see. However, they are set on wanting to see the change FIRST, and then allowing her to be baptized so as to make sure that she isn't just playing around with the church.

This is very discouraging and frustrating to Jazmin. She loves being a part of the church and attending services and worship. She wants very  much to do what is right and be changed by God. And in her heart she believes that baptism is the next step she needs to take. Being so young in her faith, the discouragement of not being allowed to get baptized is also enough to make her think, "what's the point of trying then?" And she struggles deeply with that battle between flesh and spirit and walking by faith instead of sight.

Please keep Jazmin in your fervent prayers. The Lord is going to do mighty works in her life, and in the lives of her family. Please pray for her faith to be increased and strengthened during this difficult time.

Jazmin

So, Jazmin (pronounced jaz-MEEN) lives near the house where I live, and she has participated in some scattered youth events over the last few years. She's 16 and in 8th grade. She's smart, but she's tough. She's got a tough exterior and doesn't really let anyone see her vulnerable. She's very outgoing and friendly, but she is also rather rebellious and "in your face" sometimes...especailly if you get on her bad side. She is not afraid to stick up for herself no matter what it takes, that is for sure.

Well, ever since I came back in the fall, she has started hanging around my house. I really don't remember how that started, but it did. She attended my Christmas Tree Party in December, after which I invited her to start attending youth group and Sunday services. She accespted and has attended BOTH ever since! Her family is not Chrisitian, nor are they VERY involved in the Catholic church...only on mandatory occasions. So, it was rather amazing to me that she would consistantly and faithfully attend the youth meetings and Sunday morning services and even defying her parents to attend! And this without knowing Christ as her Lord and Savior!

Well, the other day she came to me and said she needed to talk. She shared about a fight she had with her mom and some stuff she said that she was sorry about. So, we spent some time talking about what happened and how she might better deal with such situations in the future. But in the end I told her that real change would come with a relationship with Jesus Christ through His Holy Spirit living in her, and until that point she could only do so much in her own power. But I also told her that I wasn't worried too much about it because I knew that God has His own timing for these things and that when the time was right, He would do that work in her.

Little did I know that the moment would come LAST NIGHT AT YOUTH GROUP!! Apparantly, there was a time of prayer at the end of the youth study in which the student leaders prayed with and for youth who came forward wanting it. Sandy went over to Jazmin and asked if she wanted prayer and what for. Jazmin said sure and just asked for general blessing for her family. Sandy said that when she finished praying for that, she felt the need to ask Jazmin if she knew Jesus as her personal Lord and Savior, to which she answered no. When Sandy asked her if she'd like to, she made sure Jazmin knew there was no pressure. But to Sandy's surprise, Jazmin said YES!!! She then proceeded to pray and ask Jesus to come into her heart and life.

I stand amazed for sure! I never thought that the moment would come so soon. Jazmin made up with her mom and has fought with her again since that time. She continues to go to church, and she is now the owner of a Bible. She read 1 Corinthians 13 on her own and really liked it. She continues to come and want to hang out, and she continues to seek me out for advice when she needs it. I try not to push and leave room for her to be who she is and walk through her own process at her own pace with her own Lord and Savior.

I continue to stand amazed that Jazmin keeps coming to meetins and services, but I know that God is so huge, and He is just what she needs. Please keep her in your prayers! She is precious, and she has no idea. In fact, I told her that very thing once, and her response was: "Why would you say that to me? No one has ever said such a thing to me." She IS free today....but one day she will KNOW her freedom!! Praise God for that!!

Ana Speaks Out

Today I had my mentor meeting with Ana. And it was FABULOUS! God is definitely working in this young lady!

We are currently studying through Romans 1, and the overarching theme is FAITH....nothing without faith! And she's getting it! I prepared this study two weeks ago when Sandy and I were in Tepic for her doctor's appointment. We caught a ride in the morning, but her appointment was at 4 pm. So, we spent some time in the park doing our Bible studies (hers = Believing God; mine = preparing Romans 1 for Ana), and then had fun in the city!

Well, due to various circumstances, Ana and I just did that study I prepared 2 weeks ago YESTERDAY....and God's timing proves itself perfect again. Just after a discussion about holy images in her class, we studied in Romans 1 about how man turned away from the knowledge of the immortal God and instead chose to worship man-made images. We looked at how that is the result of a lack of faith in the one true God as well as other results of choosing to turn away from Him. The real-time application for her stunned her, and I asked her to share her story in her own words, so here it is: first in Spanish, then in English. Enjoy!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
(Spanish/Espanol)

Voy a escribir algo que me pasó cuando yo estaba en mi escuela. Nos dieron la clase de historia donde empezamos a hablar sobre las religiones de cada uno de nosotros. Como yo soy la única ciristiana en mi salón, la maestra me dijo si no creimos en las imágenes de santos origenes y le dije que no. Pero la maestra me dijo que por qué no, y la verdad no sabía que decir. Y luego los muchachos me preguntaron que si creía en Dios, y les dije que sí. Una amiga me dijo que si no creía en Jesucristo también, y le dije la misma respuesta: que sí creía en Dios como en Jesucristo, por Dios es el Padre de Jesús. Empecé a decir cosas que yo misma nunca creí decir, pero unas palabras grandiosas para mí. Eso fue el martes.

El jueves me fui a reunir con Ámbar a mi estudio que tengo, pero yo nunca pensé que el estudio iba a tratar con lo que a mí me pasó en mi escuela. Ámbar tampoco se imaginó esto. Fue algo sorprendente para mi porque ya tengo respuestas para las perguntas que me hagan los muchachos de mi salón.

Eso es lo que quiería compartir con ustedes. Les agradezco que oren por mi. ¡Dios las bendiga siempre! Las quiero, Ana.

(English Translation)

I am going to write about something that happened when I was in my school. We were in history class when we began to talk about our different religions. Since I am the only Christian in my class, the teacher asked me if we believe in images of holy origins [like of the virgin Mary, etc.], and I told her no. But the teacher asked me why not, and the truths is I didn't know what to say. And then the other kids asked me if I believed in God, and I told them that I do. One girlfriend asked me if I believed in Jesus Christ also, and I said the same answer: that yes, I believed in God as well as in Jesus Christ because God is the Father of Jesus. I began to say things that even I didn't know I could say, but the words were amazing to me. This was on Tuesday.

On Thursday [yesterday] I went to my meeting with Amber for the study that I have with her, but I never thought that the study would deal with what happened to me in school. Amber never imagined that either. It was really surprising for me because now I have the answers to the questions that the kids were asking me in class.

That is what I wanted to share with you. I thank you for praying for me. May God bless you always!

With love,

Ana.

Sandy's Thoughts on Advent

I asked Sandy to share her thoughts on Advent for all of you to read and enjoy. I've been trying to encourage her for a while to start a blog, but she's been reluctant. However, she has enjoyed our advent devotions so much that she was very excited to share how the Lord has impacted her heart during this time. SO....her post is below in Spanish (en espanol para los que lo ocupan) first in RED and then follows the translation in GREEN. Enjoy and Merry Christmas!!!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Hola. Quiero compartir con ustedes como está siendo mi vida en este tiempo de “Adviento”. Pues, primero los saludo en el nombre de Jesús y les deseo una feliz Navidad y año nuevo en compañía de sus seres queridos…

Bueno, el Adviento es algo nuevo en mi vida. Es por eso que quiero compartir con ustedes este tiempo que estoy pasando, ya que lo estoy viviendo conciente de lo que realmente significa (ya que Ambar y yo decidimos hacer devocionales relacionados con tal en nuestro curso de mentoreazgo).

Cuando ella me hablo de esto yo estaba realmento ignorante de lo que significaaba, pero cuando me explicó fue muy impactante en mi porque en esta temporada del año obviou festejamos y celebramos el nacimiento de Jesús (Navidad) pero con una mentalidad muy lejana a lo que relamente significa.

Adviento significa “venida”. Historicamente relaciona el primer adviento (la primera venida de Cristo en  el pesebre en Belén) con el Segundo Adviento (la venida de Cristo otra vez a la tierra en Apocalipsis 1:7, 19:11-16). Ok…cuando me di cuenta de estas relaciones, tuve que ponerme a reflexionar mucho! Cuando lo supe entró una sensación de temor en mi ser…y es porque realmente entendí lo que celebramos. Pero fue un temor no de cobardía pero uno de esperanza y sensación de que así cuando celebramos el primer adviento debemos festejar, esperar, y considerar el segundo.

Hoy en la actualidad es muy difícil ser concientes de lo que celebramos en la Navidad aquí en los pueblos de alrededor, ya que las culturas y costumbres son tan “importantes” que se pierde el verdadero valor y significado del ADVIENTO en las vidas de las personas olvidandose y perdiendo la esperanza que se encuentra en Jesucristo.

Para mi y mi familia nuestra esperanza es encontrarnos un día con Jesús entre las nubes. Es por eso que en mi corazón y mente el segundo adviento ha venido a quedarse muy grabado trayendo esperanza, paz, amor, y gozo en mi y mi vida. Estoy muy emocionada con eso porque nunca antes me había sentido como este año. Hoy me siento que realmente estamos en el tiempo de la Navidad ya que puedo verlo con el Espíritu y no nada más con la mente de tener diversión solo por tenerla.

¡¡Feliz Navidad!!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Hello. I want to share with you all how this time of "Advent" has passed in my life. Well, first, I greet you all in the name of Jesus and wish you a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year in the company of your dear ones....

Well, Advent is something new in my life. It's because of this that I want to share with you all this time that I am passing, especially since I am living conscious of what it really means (since Amber and I decided to do devotions related to this in our mentoring study).

When she first told me about this I was really ignorant of what it meant, but when she explained it to me it was very impacting in me because in this season of the year obviously we celebrate the birth of Jesus (Christmas) but with a mentality very far from what it really means.

"Advent means 'coming'. Historically it relates the first advent (the first coming of Christ in the manger in Bethlehem) with the second advent (the coming of Christ once again to the earth in Revelation 1:7, 19:11-16)." Ok...when I realized this relationship, I had to really reflect a lot! When I realized it, I felt a sensation of fear in my being...and it's because I really understood what we celebrate. But it wasn't a fear due to cowardice but a one of hope and a sense that when we celebrate the first advent we ought to celebrate, hope for, and consider the second.

In this day and age it is very difficult to be conscious of what we celebrate at Christmas here in the surrounding towns, since the cultures and customs are so "important" that the real meaning and value of ADVENT gets lost in the lives of people forgeting about and losing the hope that is found in Jesus Christ.

For me and my family our hope is that we will find ourselves one day with Jesus in teh clouds. It's because of this that in my heart and mind the second advent has come to be etched there brining hope, peace, love, and joy in me and my life. I am very excited about this because never before had I felt like I do this year. Today I feel that we are truly in the time of Christmas now that I can see it through the Spirit and not just with the mentality of having fun just for the sake of fun.

Merry Christmas!!!

"and he shall be called...Prince of Peace..."

Sandy and I for our mentoring "study" during the Christmas season have decided to celebrate Advent. There are daily readings that accompany the typical Sunday Advent passages, and I found some daily devotionals for those readings on Lifeway's website. So, we will be doing those in our personal devotional times and discussing them during our Monday morning mentor meetings; then we'll do Monday's devotion together to start the week.

This first week is focusing on Hope. Sunday was the first day, and that devotion I did with all the girls at the tree decorating party. Sandy spent the night on Sunday night, and yesterday morning she woke up in a bad mood and was being moody with me. So, I calmly but firmly explained that we could do the study if she wanted, but I wasn't going to force it on her because there wasn't much point if her heart and mind were closed, which at the moment they seemed to be. She heard me out and then went outside to spend some time thinking and praying. She came back in at least calmer, and it wasn't too long before her bad mood was totally gone. Last night we finally sat down to do the devotion, which I had already done myself in the morning. Before we even started, Sandy started telling me what the Lord spoke to her as she was outside praying in the morning. She said the only thing she could hear from Him was that He is the Prince of Peace and that if she does not have peace in her heart, then something is not right in her heart because He has given us His peace.

Well, I looked up to Heaven and just smiled because of how amazing the Lord really is. Here is the devotion for yesterday:

Isaiah 9:6-7 -- "He will be named Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace."

We celebrate the season of Advent because God has entered human history in the form of a man. Never before and never since has humanity had a greater hope than in Jesus Christ.

• When you are confused, discouraged, or brokenhearted, He is the Wonderful Counselor.
• When your circumstances seem impossible, when failure appears to be inevitable, and when it looks as though your world is caving in, He is the Mighty God.
• When loneliness creeps in or it seems no one cares, He is the Everlasting Father. He is the one who passes on to you an inheritance making you a part of a royal family.
• When the stress of hectic schedules and demands upon your time take their toll, when the family scene is anything but "heaven on earth" remember, He is the Prince of Peace.

Begin your prayer by thanking God for being sufficient for everything you will face today. Commit yourself to living in that sufficiency as a praise offering right now. Be sensitive today to the Word of God. Listen for His voice; look for His hand upon your life. Tune out the garbage. You'll be in for a real adventure.

It gave Sandy goosebumps, and she definitely heard the voice of the Lord yesterday and saw His hand upon her life. Her comment was, "Well I guess God was going to make sure I had this devotion yesterday...one way or the other." How amazing to serve and worship and be loved by the Most Sovereign Mighty God.

Thank you, Lord, for the hope you bring us and for never giving up even when we are stubborn and resistant! May this season of advent be one in which our hearts bend the knee and find themselves softened to Your Word and to Your Voice.

believing God...

this has been a theme recently in mentoring and in the local church in general, with my friends and their struggles, and even for me personally. it seems to be coming up a lot...and i mean A LOT. we're not just talking about believing IN Him....you can believe IN Him without actually believing HIM. believing Him goes deeper...it means believing what He says about Himself and His promises, taking Him at His Word and ordering your steps according to that Word and belief.

in the local church here, our pastor, Goyo, has been teaching on believing God, the most recent sermon being about remember His favor and blessing to us in the past when we are facing down doubts of His faithfulness for the future...or in other words, reminding ourselves that He really is trustworthy and we have reason to keep trusting and believing Him. he talked about the Israelites when the 12 spies came back from scoping out the Promised Land; 10 said the people were giants and they'd never win, and only 2 remained faithful and encouraged the people to trust God. He had said that He would give them the land and therefore He would, just as He had provided for them and delivered them at ever turn to get them to that point. they chose not to believe, and they died in the desert...never seeing the promise....the consequences of NOT believing Him. we're not talking eternal condemnation here....if you're saved, you're saved! but you can still live this life without ever "dwelling in the land of milk and honey" here in this life because you simply don't take God at His Word and walk on.

Sandy has been facing down this issue for quite some time. many times she chooses to just ignore it because it seems so hard, but then the Lord bring situations into her life that force her to stare down her doubts and choose whether or not she really believes Him or not, whether or not she will choose to walk by faith instead of sight. recently, we had a conversation about this in which i asked her, "what is impossible for God??" she answered, "nothing", and after a moment's pause to think she spit out, "but without faith it is impossible to please God" (Heb. 11:6). she immediately covered her mouth with her hands as her eyes popped out of their sockets in shock that this verse had come out of her mouth. she hadn't thought it...it just came out all by itself. the Lord was answering her doubts and lack of faith using HER VERY OWN MOUTH!! and He continued to do that throughout the rest of that day! it was truly magnificent to observe and experience...now to put it into practice and step out on that faith...

i have several friends who are dealing with difficulties in their marriages, and we keep coming back to this idea of believing God...taking Him at His Word...when they think He's too small to deal with all this or that it doesn't really matter to Him, are they believing that He really is who He says He is?? that He will do what He says He'll do?? do they really believe Him when He says that He LOVES them and that He has a hope and a future for them? plans to prosper them and redeem and restore them?

i too deal with this faith issue in my own life and walk. recently it has had to do with whether or not the Lord will contend for me when i stand for what i know to be true according to His Word. being in a foreign culture, the opportunities to offend without even having a clue that i'm doing so abound every second i'm awake and interacting with people...even when i'm not aware i'm interacting with them! and i have this fear of offending them and of that affecting the effectiveness of this ministry, or parents getting offended and not allowing their children to participate in youth group or events, or friends getting offended and holding on their resentment instead of talking to me about it and resolving the issue. it happens far more frequently than you might imagine...but do i believe God when He says that i am to stand firm, outfitted in the spiritual armor He has provided for me? do i believe Him when He says that His Word will NOT return to Him void but will accomplish the purposes for which He sent it? do i believe Him when He says that He will contend for me against those who slander me without reason and talk about me behind my back or get offended when i stand up for what is righteous before the Lord? do i believe Him when He tells me that i already have the victory in Christ Jesus?

in the spring of 2006, i did the Bible study by Beth Moore called Believing God, which deals with just  these sorts of heart issues, and MAN did it make a difference in me! then around December 2006, i sent in a written request to LifeWay for permission to translate the videos of Living Beyond Yourself, Believing God, and/or Breaking Free in order to create subtitles so that we could use the videos here in Mexico (the member workbooks are already in Spanish but the videos are not). i specifically had in mind Living Beyond Yourself becuase Sandy and I were planning to begin that study in March 2006 after I returned from a visa trip to VA. i never heard back from LifeWay...."oh well," i thought.

then on July 7 of this year...yes just four weeks ago...i received an email from LifeWay in which they informed me that my request had been APPROVED but the paperwork had never been documented and filed and that's why i never heard about the approval. i was approved to translate the videos for ONE of those three studies with the understanding that i would send a copy of the DVDs with subtitles to LifeWay and a copy to Living Proof Ministries (Beth Moore's ministry). well i just about danced around my living room when i read that email....A YEAR AND A HALF AFTER MY INITIAL REQUEST!!!!

if i had received that request way back in December 2006 or the beginnings of 2007, i would have spent my effort translating Living Beyond Yourself, but the Lord had other things in mind. now my plan is to translate and create subtitles for the videos of Believing God, and i hope to have the done in time to do this study with Sandy starting in January 2009. and let me tell you, I'M SO EXCITED to work on this project and try and make this amazing study available to those here who would dare to believe God....the journey of faith that is taken step-by-step believing what the Lord says about Himself and about us and about His promises and plans is SO WORTH IT! my prayer is that this church, this people, my friends, my family, and myself would not only believe IN God, but would in truth BELIEVE GOD and start living lives that PROVE IT! He can do that, and "he who promised is faithful!!"

PS: if anyone has a copy of the Believing God DVDs that they would either donate to me or sell to me at at significantly reduced price, I would be incredibly grateful. unlike other studies, these videos are not available for download, and the retail price for the set is $200 at LifeWay stores, which is way out of my price range. just email me! thank you!

new friends

so, i've mentioned in several posts that we have been enjoying the presence of a family from Ruiz, a nearby larger town, at church services and youth group/events. it's been really fun to get to know them, and all three of their teenagers have clicked very well with the youth group. every time they are in attendance the energy is different, and we all look forward to seeing them.

one of them, Veronica, is 19 and has hit it off really well with Sandy, especially. this has been such an answer to prayer! it's so fun to watch them together and see how the Lord is building up a special friendship between them. Sandy says often that i am her best friend and was the Lord's answer to her prayer of two years for a real friend. but even so, i'm not Mexican, and that can make a difference at times. so it has been a real breath of fresh air for her to have a second close friend and one who is Mexican to boot!

Veronica, whom we call Vero, was able to spend the night the same night as Ana's graduation along with Sandy and Mily. while Mily was engaged with the graduation and festivities (she was one of the graduates' sponsor), Sandy and Vero hung out here looking at pictures online (their own), telling jokes and falling on the floor with laughter, talking about life and love and other mysteries, etc. it was a really great time, and i got such a joy out of watching the two of them together. i have never seen Sandy connect with someone else quite to this degree, so i'm just praising the Lord for how he continues to hear her prayers (whether she knows she's praying them or not) and how He continues to answer them in such perfect ways!

  

ana graduated!!

as you all know, Ana is one of the girls i mentor. she's 15 (turns 16 in november), and has just graduated from junior high!!! in Mexico, they are only required to complete through 9th grade (junior high), so this is quite a big deal. for her and her family, this is as big as our high school graduations, and we're all extremely proud of her. she will be going on to high school this fall, which is a wise decision in my opinion. it's a bit more expensive, and it is considered to be a college prep-school education (though what that looks like in mexico and what that looks like in the states is drastically different), so it should challenge her. she's interested in languages and in veterinary science, and she'd like to go to college one day if the Lord allows. her high-school education will make that an option.

 

i was able to go to her graduation ceremony and was even reserved a seat at her table! this means that i received an official invitation! here in mexico, anyone can go to any event, but that doesn't mean that anyone can get a chair. so this was exciting for me! the graduation ceremonies always involve the giving of their diplomas, but they also involve some other traditions like choreographed waltzes, speeches, etc. it was a very elegant ceremony and quite enjoyable.

 

it was only by the grace of God that i got to attend the ceremony because it was at the same time that the Highland Covenant team was supposed to be arriving, but the ceremony was supposed to start at 6 so i thought it would be fine (the team was supposed to arrive around 8). however, when 8 pm came around and the team arrived, the ceremony still hadn't started and i had to leave to receive the team. shortly after getting back to the base, one of the staff members was very gracious and offered to do the orientation so that i could return to the graduation. i'm so grateful!! i got back just in time to see all the waltzes, which lasted about an hour, and ana's mom sent me home with dinner since i couldn't stay and eat with them. that, too, was quite a blessing because i missed dinner with the team.

 

all in all it was a fabulous night, and i'm just so proud of ana! she is growing up, not just physically, but emotionally and spiritually as well, and i'm excited to see how the Lord continues to mold and shape her into a woman after His own heart!

ana & puzzling

ana has been coming around a lot more frequently to just hang out! it's actually been quite pleasant. i confess that ever since she asked me to be her mentor, i feel as though we've been playing some sort of see-saw game where one minute i think we've found a groove and the next minute she's reserved, stand-offish, or just plain confusing! so i've sort of backed off a bit and allowed her to set the pace, though i'm sure she doesn't know that, and i've tried to follow her lead and just be more relaxed and available for as she feels the need or desire to hang out or talk.

well shortly after the missionary care team left, ana started coming over in the late afternoon/early evening almost daily to just hang out. she gets bored being at home, and my house is one of the few places (if not the only place) her parents allow her to stay at after dark. so she comes and we typically pop in a movie and work on one of the various puzzles i brought back with me from virginia. this has actually been quite a pleasant past time for me, and she seems to be enjoying it as well!

the Lord is certainly good and i am endeavoring to continue trusting in HIM to open doors and pathways where and when He sees fit. my job in the meantime is to keep my eyes, ears, and heart open and to keep on walking. :)