i realize that i´m a terrible blogger. i´m roughly 5 days behind typing in comparison with what i´m actually doing.
i´m sorry.
ok i´m going to catch up!
so...after El Escritorial we went to Toledo. We spend two nights here as well.
I loved Toledo! it was small and quaint and filled with so much history.
the first night we arrived we settled into our hotel. very nice i might add. and then all who wanted headed up to the "old" part of the city.
it looked as if it came out of a story book. :) a group of about 8 of my friends went to search for a place to eat. this is something i am getting quite used to.
we get dropped of in random places by the bus and then we walk around aimlessly peering into unknown restaurant attempting to see if the food is good or not. i am never good at this. i just kinda follow. well...actually none of us are very good we just walk in and take our chances.
the food here is...quite different. i mean its hard to describe...they call it a Mediterranean Diet. Spain is supposedly known for this. the food mostly consists of meat (imagine ANY tyep of meat and they serve it), cheese (lots and lots of cheese), fish, fruit, and umm yea i think thats about it. so you would think this would be wonderful, however, its not. like i said i can´t really describe it. but i felt like i starved for the first three days of this.
so that night i ordered paella. mix of rice and all sorts of ocean life. i have absolutely no idea what i ate. but i just ate. we made a rule that we couldn´t speak in english at the table and it was so fun! it was also very embarrassing for me because about 3 of the people there were fluent in spanish, so i sounded like an idiot but it made everyone laugh a lot so thats good.
pray that i will become more confident and just speak spanish!
so the next day we toured the old part of the city. we walked and walked and walked. mom, thank you for making me put my sperry shoes in my bag. they might not come back in one piece but they are wonderful!
my tour guide was phenomenal. i always choose the spanish speaking only tour guide, which can be extremely frustrating at times because i find myself looking at what we are supposed to be looking at and then just tuning out his words. you see in order for me to begin to attempt to understand spanish i have to look at the person. i have to concentrate. i have to watch their lips. and i can´t do that AND look at all the marvelous things he is showing us. however this guide would sometimes throw in a few english words here and there and ahhhh it made me so happy!
we toured the Catedral de Toledo. another moment when i was completely in awe. it took my breathe away. our guide kept stopping us and telling us "We are very lucky. YOU are very lucky. what you are about to see is one of the grandest sites in all of the world" then we would all slowly turn the corner and...be left speechless. he was always right, corner after corner. Inside the Catedral there was a room full of extremely famous paintings. outside the door of the room hung two paintings. on the right was a painting of Peter hung upside down on a cross. on the left was a painting of andrew hung on the cross shaped as an X. these two pictures stopped me dead in my tracks. surrounded my students asking who these people were and why they were killed that way...a moment i will never forget.
guess what?? that night as i was walking down the stairs i saw some guys carrying suitcases and i asked where they were going they said "malaga" i screamed! i called blaire and we both realized we were staying in the same hotel two floors above each other! crazy! i was so excited!
we got to spend another night together!
the next day we woke up and got on the bus for our long trip to Sevilla! by this time i was very anxious and ready to just get there!
after a long bus ride we arrived and our host families were waiting on the curb for us! it was sooo cute, i felt like i was coming home from camp and my parents were there to pick me up!
so mi madre is adorable. she is so cute! she is very fashionable and stylish!
Bettina and I share a room, it looks a lot like a dorm room. two twin beds, two closets, a desk and two shelves. its wonderful!
i also have two "brothers" one is 21 and one is 28, they aren´t home that much but they are very nice.
none of them speak any english. my roommate knows very little, therefore for some reason i am considered the one who "knows" spanish. the madre always looks at me when she talks. its so fun to talk with her! i asked her to correct me when i mess up and she does.
she is a wonderful cook! she also has a son that lives next door who has two daughters ages 2 and 4. oohhh yes pictures to come soon! they are absolutely adorable. i find myself coming home just to play with them! i love them being around because i can actually understand them and talk to them.
yes i realize i consider this progress...talking with a 4 year old. ha
yaaay i am in Sevilla!
so i have caught you up to this past sunday night. i´ll post more tomorrow about this week!
love you!
Thursday, May 31, 2007
Tuesday, May 29, 2007
!Me gusta españa mucho mucho mucho!
(ps. i am soooo far behind on the blog...however this will be the ´catch up blog´)
so yes finishing the last blog up, rachel and i had a blast on the plane although we didn´t sleep or get to watch movie...but we took lots of pictures :)
once we got to the Madrid airport all of the ISA students gathered together and waited for our directors...after about 2 hours they came and then we headed to the hotel. we sat in the lobby and after 3 more hours i got a key to my room. once again...learning the lesson that other countries definitely do not run on any time schedule whatsoever.
so yea everyone told us that it was going to be sooo hot in Spain, you would never stop sweating they said. don´t even bring pants they said. well...this is one time i am thankful for being an overachiever even in packing a suitcase. because it was cold. and it rained. a lot.
my roommate is from Florida and attends UF her name is Bettina :) i like her a lot, we get along great and have had many many great and interesting conversations. i have no doubt that we are together for a purpose...pray that i will be faithful to act and speak in ways the Lord is calling me.
there are about 60 students on the trip with me from all over America...it has been so refreshing to meet people so unlike myself and at the same time it does get lonely. I knew coming in to this trip why i was coming: to dive into the spanish language and culture and to spend mucho tiempo con mi Dios :) i wanted this time to be full of reading the word, memorizing the word, and just a sort of retreat away with just me and HIM. however...this is difficult for a person that thrives being around people. pray that i will fight the sense of lonliness and that i will seek HIM more than anything else.
we got to spend two days on the town in Madrid:) Madrid is huge. very very big. it reminds me of what new york city might be like...its great to go and visit but it is extremely overwhelming.
the first days we visited a museum and the Royal Palace. both were sooo interesting. i loved learning more and more about the history of Spain, its culture, its art, its people...all of it has made me fall more in love with España :)
guess who i got to eat dinner with the second night in madrid?? BLAIRE!!!! i was so excited. i can´t begin to describe to you how much joy it brought me to see her walking into the restaurant. it was also incredibly strange to have two worlds collide. me and blaire in spain, eating at a little restaurant in Plaza Ana in the middle of the bustling city of Madrid. it made my day :)
after madrid we headed to El Escritorial. on the way we stopped at a memorial for the dictator Franco called Basílica de la Santa Cruz del Valle de los Caídos (Basilica of the Holy Cross of the Valley of the Fallen)
i really can´t begin to describe this place. as we were driving up the mountain you could see an enourmous cross from miles away. it stands 152.4 meters high. absolutely breathtaking. underneath the cross is the Basilica that was carved into a mountain. A basilica is basically a church. this was a monestary and as we entered they were performing a sort of mass. only the monks were there. the seats for the public were empty. only the overwhelming sound of latin prayers being chanted could be heard. i was standing in the very center of the basilica directly at the back of the last chair in for the public and suddenly all the lights went out. all, except the light illuminating Jesus on the cross. about 100 tourists were in the basilica at the time and every one of them fell silent. you literally stopped in your tracks and had to remind yourself to breath.
the reason behind this monument being built makes you feel eery just walking up to it. and its massiveness is not describeable. (is that a word?)
i couldn´t help but wonder though...after going to so many museums and monestaries and art exhibits with Jesus everywhere, what does He mean to them. does He mean anything and if so what? it has been weird to see Him everywhere...well not Him exactly but the symbol of Him and everytime my heart leaps. because i know Him. i love Him. he means more to be than anything in this world. this people see pictures of him everywhere, statues of the history of the bible everywhere...and i just wonder what it means to them when they see Him.
well my time is running out again...lo siento.
i love you all very much!
i am going to write more soon!
so yes finishing the last blog up, rachel and i had a blast on the plane although we didn´t sleep or get to watch movie...but we took lots of pictures :)
once we got to the Madrid airport all of the ISA students gathered together and waited for our directors...after about 2 hours they came and then we headed to the hotel. we sat in the lobby and after 3 more hours i got a key to my room. once again...learning the lesson that other countries definitely do not run on any time schedule whatsoever.
so yea everyone told us that it was going to be sooo hot in Spain, you would never stop sweating they said. don´t even bring pants they said. well...this is one time i am thankful for being an overachiever even in packing a suitcase. because it was cold. and it rained. a lot.
my roommate is from Florida and attends UF her name is Bettina :) i like her a lot, we get along great and have had many many great and interesting conversations. i have no doubt that we are together for a purpose...pray that i will be faithful to act and speak in ways the Lord is calling me.
there are about 60 students on the trip with me from all over America...it has been so refreshing to meet people so unlike myself and at the same time it does get lonely. I knew coming in to this trip why i was coming: to dive into the spanish language and culture and to spend mucho tiempo con mi Dios :) i wanted this time to be full of reading the word, memorizing the word, and just a sort of retreat away with just me and HIM. however...this is difficult for a person that thrives being around people. pray that i will fight the sense of lonliness and that i will seek HIM more than anything else.
we got to spend two days on the town in Madrid:) Madrid is huge. very very big. it reminds me of what new york city might be like...its great to go and visit but it is extremely overwhelming.
the first days we visited a museum and the Royal Palace. both were sooo interesting. i loved learning more and more about the history of Spain, its culture, its art, its people...all of it has made me fall more in love with España :)
guess who i got to eat dinner with the second night in madrid?? BLAIRE!!!! i was so excited. i can´t begin to describe to you how much joy it brought me to see her walking into the restaurant. it was also incredibly strange to have two worlds collide. me and blaire in spain, eating at a little restaurant in Plaza Ana in the middle of the bustling city of Madrid. it made my day :)
after madrid we headed to El Escritorial. on the way we stopped at a memorial for the dictator Franco called Basílica de la Santa Cruz del Valle de los Caídos (Basilica of the Holy Cross of the Valley of the Fallen)
i really can´t begin to describe this place. as we were driving up the mountain you could see an enourmous cross from miles away. it stands 152.4 meters high. absolutely breathtaking. underneath the cross is the Basilica that was carved into a mountain. A basilica is basically a church. this was a monestary and as we entered they were performing a sort of mass. only the monks were there. the seats for the public were empty. only the overwhelming sound of latin prayers being chanted could be heard. i was standing in the very center of the basilica directly at the back of the last chair in for the public and suddenly all the lights went out. all, except the light illuminating Jesus on the cross. about 100 tourists were in the basilica at the time and every one of them fell silent. you literally stopped in your tracks and had to remind yourself to breath.
the reason behind this monument being built makes you feel eery just walking up to it. and its massiveness is not describeable. (is that a word?)
i couldn´t help but wonder though...after going to so many museums and monestaries and art exhibits with Jesus everywhere, what does He mean to them. does He mean anything and if so what? it has been weird to see Him everywhere...well not Him exactly but the symbol of Him and everytime my heart leaps. because i know Him. i love Him. he means more to be than anything in this world. this people see pictures of him everywhere, statues of the history of the bible everywhere...and i just wonder what it means to them when they see Him.
well my time is running out again...lo siento.
i love you all very much!
i am going to write more soon!
Saturday, May 26, 2007
wow
there is so much to tell and not enough time!
this is my first time to get a chance to go to an internet cafe since coming to Spain.
wow i really don´t know where to start...
Tuesday morning i fly out of DFW at 1205pm.
i love airports. i love how you come in contact with the most random people but for some reason have the best conversations. well they tell you to get to the airport three hours before you fly out for international flights...this is very annoying. i mean i completely understand the reasoning behind it and probably will better when something terrible happens the next time when i show up 30 min before my flight leaves. however, in the previous times i have flown...i show up, check in my baggage, get my boarding pass, and am ready to enter the terminal in 10 min flat. and yes thats exactly what happened this time as well. but it was good because i had a chance to spend time with my family on a bench just outside of the security check in. mom and dad prayed over me and after a few tears and many hugs we parted.
meet Andy. i met him when i decided two hours and 30 minutes was much too long to sit at my gate. so i went exploring and stopped at mcdonalds to get a diet coke. i called jenn and after a pretty lively conversation because i was so excited, i noticed a young man sitting across from me. i was really embarrassed that i took was extremely loud...but that started up conversation. He was a middle aged man, from charlotte. he was traveling to New York for business. He asked me what i was doing which led him to tell me all the stories of his nephew when he studied abroad...which led him to tell me about all his nieces and nephews...which somehow led him to telling me all about his career downfalls throughout his life...ya. it was pretty crazy. but i left him as soon as he began to tell me that all the spanish guys were going to fall in love with me. i was very uncomfortable. so i jetted.
meet Mrs Diana. she sat next to me on the plane. She is the director of the Miss Kentucky pageant. we had great conversation about women and supporting their success. i don´t think we stopped talking for the first 130 min. She was great. I had a chance to talk to her about God..about my love for jesus and basically the reason why i am driven to do anything. it was such a blessing!
meet micheal hosea. ha....i wish i could meet him...
well this is when i began to read Redeeming Love. and to all the girls out there who i have encouraged me to read this book...i can now understand why. its absolutely amazing. and now i have become one of those girls who is going to force every person i know to read this book. the problem...now i keep looking for my micheal hosea around every corner. not a good problem to have. so yea the book is wonderful, however it only feeds the hunger within you to find HIM...and thats not profitable.
meet sassy spanish girl. i met her at in philly at the airport. she is a junior in high school and is heading back to her home city..Madrid. she was extremly pretty. She was an exchange student in kentucky. when i asked her if she enjoyed it she said no. when i asked her if she liked her host family she said no. (after being to madrid i can definitely understand why..i´ll explain later) but this friendship worked out great. she told me all the hot spots in madrid and all the things to do and not to do. like don´t where black socks with athletic shoes...hmm good thing i didnt pack that...
meet Rachel. she was my plane mate for about 8 hours. the Lord is sooo good. she was absolutely amazing. however, the plane ride was not. our lights didnt´go out. so the entire trip we looked like we had spotlights on us while the rest of the plane was pitch black. our tv also didnt work. we foudn that out after i bought the earphones....
o not i only have a minute left...i have to go
bye!!!! i´ll write more soon!
this is my first time to get a chance to go to an internet cafe since coming to Spain.
wow i really don´t know where to start...
Tuesday morning i fly out of DFW at 1205pm.
i love airports. i love how you come in contact with the most random people but for some reason have the best conversations. well they tell you to get to the airport three hours before you fly out for international flights...this is very annoying. i mean i completely understand the reasoning behind it and probably will better when something terrible happens the next time when i show up 30 min before my flight leaves. however, in the previous times i have flown...i show up, check in my baggage, get my boarding pass, and am ready to enter the terminal in 10 min flat. and yes thats exactly what happened this time as well. but it was good because i had a chance to spend time with my family on a bench just outside of the security check in. mom and dad prayed over me and after a few tears and many hugs we parted.
meet Andy. i met him when i decided two hours and 30 minutes was much too long to sit at my gate. so i went exploring and stopped at mcdonalds to get a diet coke. i called jenn and after a pretty lively conversation because i was so excited, i noticed a young man sitting across from me. i was really embarrassed that i took was extremely loud...but that started up conversation. He was a middle aged man, from charlotte. he was traveling to New York for business. He asked me what i was doing which led him to tell me all the stories of his nephew when he studied abroad...which led him to tell me about all his nieces and nephews...which somehow led him to telling me all about his career downfalls throughout his life...ya. it was pretty crazy. but i left him as soon as he began to tell me that all the spanish guys were going to fall in love with me. i was very uncomfortable. so i jetted.
meet Mrs Diana. she sat next to me on the plane. She is the director of the Miss Kentucky pageant. we had great conversation about women and supporting their success. i don´t think we stopped talking for the first 130 min. She was great. I had a chance to talk to her about God..about my love for jesus and basically the reason why i am driven to do anything. it was such a blessing!
meet micheal hosea. ha....i wish i could meet him...
well this is when i began to read Redeeming Love. and to all the girls out there who i have encouraged me to read this book...i can now understand why. its absolutely amazing. and now i have become one of those girls who is going to force every person i know to read this book. the problem...now i keep looking for my micheal hosea around every corner. not a good problem to have. so yea the book is wonderful, however it only feeds the hunger within you to find HIM...and thats not profitable.
meet sassy spanish girl. i met her at in philly at the airport. she is a junior in high school and is heading back to her home city..Madrid. she was extremly pretty. She was an exchange student in kentucky. when i asked her if she enjoyed it she said no. when i asked her if she liked her host family she said no. (after being to madrid i can definitely understand why..i´ll explain later) but this friendship worked out great. she told me all the hot spots in madrid and all the things to do and not to do. like don´t where black socks with athletic shoes...hmm good thing i didnt pack that...
meet Rachel. she was my plane mate for about 8 hours. the Lord is sooo good. she was absolutely amazing. however, the plane ride was not. our lights didnt´go out. so the entire trip we looked like we had spotlights on us while the rest of the plane was pitch black. our tv also didnt work. we foudn that out after i bought the earphones....
o not i only have a minute left...i have to go
bye!!!! i´ll write more soon!
Thursday, May 17, 2007
6 days and counting...
Eph 2:10
"For we are God's [own] handiwork (His workmanship), recreated in Christ Jesus, [born anew] that we may do those good works which God predestined (planned beforehand) for us [taking paths which He prepared ahead of time], that we should walk in them [living the good life which He prearranged and made ready for us to live]."
spain.
romania.
i can't believe it. it feels like i am walking steps in someone else's life. i have to keep reminding myself that it is going to be ME on a plane in 6 days to Spain, and it is going to be ME on June 30th on a plane to Romania--all by myself...i'm not a travel agent planning this trip for one of my clients. nope. its me.
crazy.
..so if anyone tells you that studying abroad is simply signing a few papers and jumping on a plane. don't listen to them!
"For we are God's [own] handiwork (His workmanship), recreated in Christ Jesus, [born anew] that we may do those good works which God predestined (planned beforehand) for us [taking paths which He prepared ahead of time], that we should walk in them [living the good life which He prearranged and made ready for us to live]."
spain.
romania.
i can't believe it. it feels like i am walking steps in someone else's life. i have to keep reminding myself that it is going to be ME on a plane in 6 days to Spain, and it is going to be ME on June 30th on a plane to Romania--all by myself...i'm not a travel agent planning this trip for one of my clients. nope. its me.
crazy.
..so if anyone tells you that studying abroad is simply signing a few papers and jumping on a plane. don't listen to them!
i feel like everyday i wake up and say multiple times.."oh yeah that, umm yea i need to do that sometime..um before next tues and i leave the country!"
i am i bit overwhelmed. but God is faithful to be my peace.
i am i bit overwhelmed. but God is faithful to be my peace.
i have been reading in mark lately about Jesus :) about him and the boat and the storm.
...its funny to read it while thinking about studying abroad and flying overseas. I know that God is in control of not just this little trip but my entire life--and i'm pretty sure he is sleeping on a big cushion while i'm running around like crazy wondering about what in the world He has planned for this summer~
God IS faithful. i had no idea how i was going to pay for study abroad, i just knew that this was something i was supposed to do...so blindly, without knowing anything, i filled out the papers and applied for 2 scholarship.
a few weeks later i had 3 scholarships and 2 grants--all was paid for--and they threw me a wad of cash to stuff in my pocket for anything else i could possibly need.
crazy.
my God is crazy. faithful. outlandish. unchangeable. big. BIG God.
and i LOVE that he knows what He has planned before I do.
most of the time he asks me to do things that i have no idea what he is doing. he teaches me to have faith. he teaches me to trust Him, he teaches me what it means to walk without sight...and then...when i least expect it, its as if he simply wispers to me and reveals to me what he has been planning all along. i know without a doubt that me going to Romania was part of his "path for me that he has prepared ahead of time". jenn and i were lost. we had no idea at all as to why God choose to use us.
never would i have guessed that He would have allowed us to become friends with orphans our age.
never would i have imagined that He would make a way for us to continue building our friendship this semester over the internet.
never would i have thought that He would begin to soften their hearts, that He would begin to pursue them, that He would begin to pour over them LOVE everlasting.
and never never never would i guess that i would be on a plane back to see my dear sisters on June 30th.
crazy.
and now...now that i look back in restropect He begin to reveal His plan to me.
...its funny to read it while thinking about studying abroad and flying overseas. I know that God is in control of not just this little trip but my entire life--and i'm pretty sure he is sleeping on a big cushion while i'm running around like crazy wondering about what in the world He has planned for this summer~
God IS faithful. i had no idea how i was going to pay for study abroad, i just knew that this was something i was supposed to do...so blindly, without knowing anything, i filled out the papers and applied for 2 scholarship.
a few weeks later i had 3 scholarships and 2 grants--all was paid for--and they threw me a wad of cash to stuff in my pocket for anything else i could possibly need.
crazy.
my God is crazy. faithful. outlandish. unchangeable. big. BIG God.
and i LOVE that he knows what He has planned before I do.
most of the time he asks me to do things that i have no idea what he is doing. he teaches me to have faith. he teaches me to trust Him, he teaches me what it means to walk without sight...and then...when i least expect it, its as if he simply wispers to me and reveals to me what he has been planning all along. i know without a doubt that me going to Romania was part of his "path for me that he has prepared ahead of time". jenn and i were lost. we had no idea at all as to why God choose to use us.
never would i have guessed that He would have allowed us to become friends with orphans our age.
never would i have imagined that He would make a way for us to continue building our friendship this semester over the internet.
never would i have thought that He would begin to soften their hearts, that He would begin to pursue them, that He would begin to pour over them LOVE everlasting.
and never never never would i guess that i would be on a plane back to see my dear sisters on June 30th.
crazy.
and now...now that i look back in restropect He begin to reveal His plan to me.
please pray. because I feel like i'm in the same place as when i went this Christmas. I don't know exactly why i'm going. i don't have any clue what my God has planned. but pray that i will be faithful to the works he will call me to. pray that i will choose to surrender to Him daily.
and i LOVE that he calls me His handiwork.
handiwork is defined as "the characteristic quality of a particular doer or maker".
wow i am His characteristic. I possess a quality of Him, of my God. i am able to look and act like Him only because i have been recreated in Jesus Christ. God is so crazy! He gives us the ability to look and act like HIM. not only that but the scriptures calls us to BE Him to those around us. we are to BE His hands, BE His feet, BE His mouth. we are His little *copies*, we are 'products' of His handiwork, i mean I call myself a CHRIST-ian.
Matt 25:31-40
"When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his throne in heavenly glory. All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left.
"Then the King will say to those on his right, 'Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.'
"Then the righteous will answer him, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?'
"The King will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.'
this is my purpose. this is my job. this is my desire. and i am thrilled that God uses his people to BE Him to those around us. pray that i will dig into His word to find out what love means, how to love people, how to show them Jesus.one thing i will never forget from my class at church, 'Her Hands' is that we never get a vacation from being a believer. we never get to just be lazy. we never get to stop serving, stop loving, stop being unselfish--not even for a minute. never. ever. and that is crazy to me--please pray for me about that, because I have definitely been looking at this trip as much more of a vacation than a purposeful and intentional opportunity with the people I will be around to show them Christ. i mean i've definitely thought that i could possibly influence someone but at the front of my mind is a vacation. pray for me that i would not think that way. i know that every moment every activity every thing i will ever do will either exemplify Christ or not. there really is no in between. i want to focus and concentrate on the way i live these next 6 weeks. i hope that no one on the trip with me will ever guess if I am a believer--but they will know without a doubt simply by the way i love and serve them. --i want the way i treat them to scream so loudly-- *Jesus*. I hope that i look like an alien to them and i pray that i don't shy away from being different and simply try to fit in.
i am excited to see what God has planned for this summer
now i have to get back to deciding if i could possibly fit one more sundress into my suitcase...:)
and i LOVE that he calls me His handiwork.
handiwork is defined as "the characteristic quality of a particular doer or maker".
wow i am His characteristic. I possess a quality of Him, of my God. i am able to look and act like Him only because i have been recreated in Jesus Christ. God is so crazy! He gives us the ability to look and act like HIM. not only that but the scriptures calls us to BE Him to those around us. we are to BE His hands, BE His feet, BE His mouth. we are His little *copies*, we are 'products' of His handiwork, i mean I call myself a CHRIST-ian.
Matt 25:31-40
"When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his throne in heavenly glory. All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left.
"Then the King will say to those on his right, 'Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.'
"Then the righteous will answer him, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?'
"The King will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.'
this is my purpose. this is my job. this is my desire. and i am thrilled that God uses his people to BE Him to those around us. pray that i will dig into His word to find out what love means, how to love people, how to show them Jesus.one thing i will never forget from my class at church, 'Her Hands' is that we never get a vacation from being a believer. we never get to just be lazy. we never get to stop serving, stop loving, stop being unselfish--not even for a minute. never. ever. and that is crazy to me--please pray for me about that, because I have definitely been looking at this trip as much more of a vacation than a purposeful and intentional opportunity with the people I will be around to show them Christ. i mean i've definitely thought that i could possibly influence someone but at the front of my mind is a vacation. pray for me that i would not think that way. i know that every moment every activity every thing i will ever do will either exemplify Christ or not. there really is no in between. i want to focus and concentrate on the way i live these next 6 weeks. i hope that no one on the trip with me will ever guess if I am a believer--but they will know without a doubt simply by the way i love and serve them. --i want the way i treat them to scream so loudly-- *Jesus*. I hope that i look like an alien to them and i pray that i don't shy away from being different and simply try to fit in.
i am excited to see what God has planned for this summer
now i have to get back to deciding if i could possibly fit one more sundress into my suitcase...:)
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