Face of Love

There are a number of things in life that I strongly dislike. 

This list includes, but is not limited to, being hit by cold water in the shower, forgetting to do half of a poli sci assignment, and pretty much anything related to money.  Also asking for help.

As you can imagine, these last two do not really make for me enjoying fundraising.  Ask people to pray for me?  No problem.  Ask for them to give money?  Uh... Remind me why I didn't get a job at a gas station for this next year again?

And I could discuss how this probably reveals that I have very skewed ideas of the relative values of prayer and money, but that really isn't my point.  Not in this post, anyway.

Here's the short list of things that I scribbled in my journal the other day of things that I am learning about, and that I am glad that I'm learning, much as I dislike the process.

humility
boldness
how to experience generosity
being part of a body
the Father's abundant provision for needs


Knowing that He provides for all of my physical needs reminds me that He will provide just as abundantly for all of the needs that I don't even know about.

Knowing that I rely on others to be able to go and serve this coming year challenges me, because I'm not in it alone.  It reminds me that when I do the work to get my certification, others have invested in me and I want to uphold their trust.  So much for awesome lone ranger-y things.

And so...

I am so thankful for everyone who is enabling me to go.  You're already showing me what Sanctus Real called "the face of Love" -- which is what all this going is about, after all.

Thank you.

The Face Of Love :

I've seen your face on stained glass, in colored lights
In pictures of you looking to the sky

You've been portrayed a thousand different ways
But my heart can see you better than my eyes
'Cause it's love that points the portrait of your life

The face of love
The face of love
You look more like love everyday

I've read your words in the pages of your life
And I've imagined what you were like
I may not know the shape of your face
But I can feel your heart changing mine
And your love still proves that you're alive

The face of love
The face of love
You look more like love everyday

You are the face that changed the whole world
No one too lost for you love
No one too low for you to serve
So give us the grace to change the world
No one too lost for me to love
No one too low for me to serve

Let us see...
Let us be your face

Adventure on Campus! (and other updates)

Today something really fun happened -- Dr. Jay, who ran the program that I was with before in China, and his wife were on campus because their daughter is starting school in the fall!  It was cool to get to show them around my world a bit.  They all were feeling like they were in a major information overload stage... and I felt like it was a role reversal.  Anyway, it was great to have a chance to reconnect on the other side of the world.


I finished doing the pre-China classwork for one of my three classes and have started on the second, so I just read Teaching to Change Lives by Howard Hendricks.  It was a great (and quick) read, and I enjoyed thinking through how what he talks about was demonstrated by various teachers I've had.  It's really exciting (and a bit nerve-wracking!) to think that I am going to be a teacher myself in not that long.  I just finished being a student!


In other news, I've had the opportunity to do a few conference calls with other future teachers.  Those have been good chances to connect with each other, hear about where we are all at in the process of preparing to go, and lifting each other up before the Father.  In a month and a half, we'll all be meeting each other in LAX.  Amazing.  


Annnnnd, finally... the new newsletters came to me from the printer today, so I am slipping them into envelopes and will be getting them dispersed out to y'all soon.  If you're not on my mailing list and would like to be, drop me an email/comment/something.  :)