European Travels

 These past few months I have been traveling... A LOT!

It began with a training conference in the 

beautiful countryside of England.

(I didn't take that picture above- obviously!)

Next I got to travel to London for 1.5 days.

Big Ben

The London Eye

What my view of England is from the movies...

Next stop was Athens, Greece

Cheered my friends on while they ran the in the 

2,500 anniversary of the marathon. 

I felt a bit like a slacker when I saw all these really 

old people running the race and not even being tired!

Did the touristy thing and went to 

visit the Acropolis for a few hours.

Athens has 5 million people living inside its city limits!

My last morning in Thessaloniki; strolling down the beach.

Wishing you were with me!

The White Tower in Thess.

Used to be a prison called the Bloody Tower 

until a prisoner paid for his freedom by whitewashing the building.

And what I hope is the end of my journeys for some time:
Torino, Italy

The cathedral outside my window- beautiful.

However, it woke me up a lot because 

I've grown used to the 3 mosques near my house,

and their calls to prayer- not church bells- HA!

A really cool monument.

This house has character!

I love it!

The rain was awful, but it sure made beautiful pictures!

"Come now, you who say, 'Today or tomorrow we will go into such and such a town and spend a year there and trade and make a profit' - yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes. Instead you ought to say, 'If the Lord wills, we will live and do this or that.'"

James 4: 13-15

PS: I hate the new Blogger- can't figure out how to caption pictures and videos...Ahhhh!

A Life Lived Well

This past week I had the privilege to attend a leadership conference in Italy. Some of those in attendance (namely men) were some of the most incredible people I've met.  Many had served the Lord in some remote place since before I was even born! But the person that stood out to me the most was a little man serving in his home country. He was in his upper 50's, and had recently been facing the choice to retire or not. He decided not to (Praise God!), so this is what he now does:

The poorest people in his home country are immigrants from Nigeria. The women aren't allowed real jobs, because they are there illegally. But it is legal for them to "work" as a prostitute. So, this man and his wife go each evening to the streets to meet with these ladies. Many come from religious backgrounds. The know the songs and the words to the stories that are shared. But their lives and hearts are so empty. As this man shared his story, his heart, and work among these women in his broken English, there wasn't a dry eye in the room. Such passion he had for a seemingly hopeless cause.

God is a God of hope. He is the God of light and life. And He, and He alone, will make a way for these women to find and live in freedom. Please pray!

And may many other countless men and women that begin to focus on themselves and retiring make the same decision as this dear man did!

Unwanted Catergories

This past week I received an email from someone that bore some pretty rough news. And as I sat and thought about the situation and pretty much just life in general, I came to realize something: I was in shock and unable to process what was happening because I simply didn't have a category in my head for such a thing.

Have you ever been there? Someone you love betrays you. A sudden death occurs and leaves you reeling. Something you invested a lot of time, money, and effort into fails. A person you truly look up to and respect lies, has an affair, or does something else unthinkable. Or anything in between...

We've all been there. We can all understand. Life doesn't happen as we dictate. We can't plan the outcome of anything; really. And therefore, many things will happen that we're not prepared for.

So, I find myself possessing a new category in my mind and heart. It isn't one that I want. And it is something I hope I never have to file anything away in again. But the Lord touched my heart with these verses this morning:

"Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God..."

II Corinthians 1:3-4

So, for His Name and His Glory I willingly embrace this new file in my mind as being a gift which I believe He will use one day to provide comfort and peace to someone else.

~Amen~