Home Again

I'm back in Decatur and had a good night sleep in my own bed. It was a wonderful feeling to be home and without much problem. Our trip to Aracaju, Sergipe, Brazil was wonderful and I believe God was active in everything we did. We saw and experienced some wonderful things and met old friends and made lots of new ones. I hope the seeds we planted in Aracaju bear fruit and the church there grows in spirit and number. Just in case you missed it, check out http://decaturmissions.blogspot.com for information from our trip. I hope to have some pictures and video posted online before long but need to get caught up in several places first.

It was so nice to see my wife and children when I stepped off the bus. Being home is a great feeling after being gone so long. It was also nice to ride in a suburban and truck some yesterday after going everywhere in either a subcompact taxi or on a bus.

I'm still in a bit of a fog. My exhaustion from the trip hit me hard yesterday afternoon and I sure haven't recovered yet. I came to work a bit earlier than normal today because I'm sure this afternoon will go downhill mentally at some point.

I'll try to get back in the posting groove before long but bear with me. I've got a busy 6 days ahead of me before leaving for a Colorado vacation with my family.

Between the Eyes and Straight to the Heart

Today's scripture hit me right between the eyes and is seeping into my heart as I think about it. Even in our evil ways, if we are working to do good, the Lord gives us the Holy Spirit to help us. God is good. I have been overwhelmed in the past few years as I have studied and prayed for God to reveal Himself to me by His mercy and love for me. I am slowly realizing that no matter what I've done, no matter what has happened to me in this life, there is One who will give me anything and everything I need - even though I do things I shouldn't, things that are not in God's will - I can return to Him. I have learned what it is to feel His forgiveness and I feel like the next step in my journey is to learn to use the Holy Spirit to help me be strong in times of weakness.

I ask for your prayers today. Sunday I will be leaving home and family for Aracaju, Brazil. I ask for strength to focus on God's call for me while I am there. It's hard to be away. I also ask that you pray for my family while I am gone and that they feel my love for every one of them even though I'm not there for a period of days.

I am brimming with excitement and fear as I leave for this journey. I am praying that God will use me and mold me while I am gone and that He will prepare the way for me when I return.

Crazy Stuff

Last night's lesson was what it would look like if we truly let our love for God show. What kind of (seemingly) crazy stuff would we do? What have you done in the past for/with people you love? Stay up all night talking? Do things with them or for them you don't normally do? Change your habits, your appearance, your talk?

What would the world look like if we put God first and our desires and dreams and problems a distant second?

When the question was asked last night, "what would doing something crazy because you love God look like in the eyes of the world?", the first thing that came to mind was the young girl at Columbine High School, who when confronted with a gun to her head and asked if she loved God replied yes knowing the answer would get her killed.

If I were willing to give my life for God, what would I do while alive to live in His will? What would I do for my family? What would I do for Christian brothers and sisters? What would I do for complete strangers?

I pray that I will live crazy in the world's eyes - that I will overcome, that I will change directions, that I will go where I'm not comfortable - that I will do anything I can to live a life that is worthy of the love God has shown me.

So Much To Do

I'm just 5 days from leaving for Brazil. What a whirlwind. There is so much going on, so much to do and life's problems in between. Today's scripture on my blog was one of my favorites - from the book of Psalms - "Be still and know that I am God." There are things going on around me right now that I simply can't control, much less even keep a handle on. All I can do is turn to God and trust Him but it is hard. I want to keep thinking of something I need to do, ways I need to respond but my prayer is that I will let God direct me.
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I am hoping to blog about our trip as much as possible. The mission blog space can be found at decaturmissions.blogspot.com. I hope you will visit it during our trip (leaving 6/15 and returning 6/25).
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I hope to post a couple of times before leaving but I ask that you include me and all those on our trip in your prayers.

9 Days and Counting

Our Aracaju travel group leaves in 9 days. My son goes to camp in 2 days. We have some birthdays to celebrate within the next 2 weeks. Work is piling up around me. My suitcase needs to go on a diet. There are some things involved in preparing for a trip that create moments of stress and I think I'm finding a few of those.

I am still soliciting your prayers for our team that is going to Aracaju. We leave next Sunday and will return 10 days later. Everyone who has been is excited and all the new travelers have a mix of excitement and trepidation over what they are going to experience. There will be some specific prayer requests found at decaturmissions.blogspot.com and there will be updates from our trip posted when possible. I ask you to be in prayer for us today and throughout our trip, that our time and our message will glorify God and lead the lost to Him.
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I watched some of the Celtics-Lakers game last night. It seemed to be tight until the 2nd half (which I saw less of). I'm not sure who I would prefer to win and I'm not cheering for either team but there is a chance I'll watch more pro basketball over the next week than I have all year. Then again, maybe not.

The Rangers are back to .500 but can't get over the hump. They're only 6.5 back and the Angels never know when the injury bug might bite. So far, the Rangers have lost the games I have attended but won the following night so anyone interested in going should call, get my schedule and go the next night.

Foggy Headed Thursday

My mind is mush this morning. I'm starting to feel the strain of getting ready to leave the country in 10 days and all that comes with it from work to home. I'm sure it will all come together but it seems overwhelming today. Packing restrictions in Brazil is the biggest headache at the moment.
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I wish I was up on the latest news better. I know Obama won something earlier this week and Hillary may be dropping out and may be or may not be positioning herself for a VP slot. I'm predicting the wildest and ugliest campaign season yet.
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The kids got out of school yesterday with a couple of awards and a desire to get summer vacation started. My daughter was up running EARLY this morning with the cross country team so I will be interested in hearing how that went. I don't think it was what she was wanting to do early this morning when it was time to get up. I'm proud of her for doing it though.
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I've set up another blog, decaturmissions.blogspot.com for our Aracaju trip. I don't know how much I will be blogging here while we are gone but will be trying to update that site as often as possible while we are away.

What A Day

If you read my post yesterday, you know I was struggling through it being a mentally-manageable day. In the end, it was much more trying than I would have ever expected but also I constantly reminded myself to trust God to help me carry the burdens of the day and it was more peaceful than I first imagined. What I really brought home at the end of the day was the desire to grow into a relationship with God where I instinctively rely on Him instead of reminding myself that it's not all about me and what I decide to do.
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If you are reading this on June 4, please be sure to read the verse of the day on the right-hand side of my blog.
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This weekend is my son's last baseball tournament of the year. He's playing better than ever and I'm sad to see the season come to a close while he's having so much success but it's time for Camp Deer Run, a trip to Brazil, Uplift, vacation and Fortress - trips all or some of us are involved in. As I look at our full agenda for the summer, the one thing that makes me smile is that so much of what we are involved in is related to a desire to serve God and to grow in our relationship with Him. I don't say that out of personal pride but joy and thankfulness that God has surrounded me with so many people, especially family, that love Him. God is good.
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Tonight I get an opportunity to speak to our youth group about prayer. I have wrestled with this topic for several weeks now and it is something I will be studying for weeks to come because I feel like I'm only scratching the surface of what God wants me to understand. I worry that I won't be able to present what I'm feeling very well but have an excitement inside me because of what I have started to see and understand. I am praying that God will let His message come through me tonight and I will be able to share some of the joy I am finding in this study with the kids tonight.

I hope you join me today in a journey to seek God and know His peace.

When the Walls Close In

Do you ever get that feeling that the walls are closing in on you? I had that feeling this morning - the pressure that comes with forgetting to turn things over to God, the pressure from thinking I am in control, that I can handle all my problems and issues I have to deal with.

I am slowly, very slowly, learning the peace that can come when I put more trust in God; when I seek His help and turn over my worries, when I quit spending my time trying to think through everything and I spend more time talking to God. I wonder why I don't let go, why I let the stress and pressure of doing it all myself beat me down.

I have to make a trip to Ft. Worth today for a business problem and I hope to spend some of that time in the car visiting with God, asking for His help and thanking Him for caring so much about me. I believe if I can do that, the walls will start pushing back out, the light will come in and I will feel lighter and peaceful.