thursday

"Then, at break of day, the king arose and went in haste to the den of lions. As he came near to the den where Daniel was, he cried out in a tone of anguish. The king declared to Daniel, "O Daniel, servant of the living God, has your God, whom you serve continually, been able to deliver you from the lions?"

[Daniel 6:19&20]

On Thursday morning at Island, there is a group of women who have joined together to study the book of Daniel. This week we found ourselves in an all too familiar story of Daniel in the lion's den. Of course there is much life to be found in the way that our Sovereign God chose to shut the mouths of lions and spare Daniel's life. But Thursday morning my spirit was pierced by the steadfast nature of Daniel's integrity and the holy habits that he had formed over his lifetime. While still surrounded by a pack of lions, Darius shouts down to Daniel and acknowledges the living God whom Daniel serves. I love that he calls to Daniel and accompanies this acknowledgment. He also included a key word when he spoke of his service: continually. Daniel didn't decide to turn to the Lord when he was being lowered in the lions den. His heart had met infinite love and as he lived and walked and loved in light of the Love he knew, he served continually. I pray that this feeble self can be found steadfast at the end of my days. Thursday afternoon yielded incredible time with the women on my team. We joined together to talk through what we've been learning lately, and take time to sync our hearts around truth for these days. The evening ended with lots of laughter and encouragement from precious cards that came to us all the way from Atlanta, GA.

[Annie & Ellie: thank you so much for your encouragement, you are both so thoughtful!]

As another week is bringing itself to a close, the days have seemed to pass so quickly, but they have been rich and I'm looking forward to surprises yet to unfold in the month of November.

wed nes day

These boots were made for walkin', and since I had a lot of walkin' to do Wednesday, they made their debut. The morning was full of reading and preparing for bible study Thursday morning at Island ECC. I met Vivien for lunch at Festival Walk. And after a few minutes of deliberation in the middle of people scurrying all around us in the food court, she decided on McDonalds. If you know much about my childhood you know that I survived off of McDonald's chicken nuggets and french fries for most of my childhood. If you have any inclination that I was a picky eater, you would be correct. So, at lunch I defaulted to my childhood delight and shared great conversation with Vivien. After lunch my boots took a little stroll towards Admiralty into Starbucks where I spent the later half of the afternoon sharing my story with another dear friend, Kathy. On a far less significant side note: someone asked me for directions as I was making my way home. Perhaps it was because they assumed I could speak English, or perhaps it was because they figured someone wearing boots was walking in a familiar direction. I'll let you decide. That evening our team gathered together for our first official HK BBQ. We had the great joy of introducing our friends Rick & Rob, who were visiting, to new friends here and watch them connect. We were also able introduce them to some classic American staples such as hamburgers and marshmallows.

tuesday

my toes tapped across campus to lunch with a few wonderful new friends. it was refreshing to sit and listen to their hearts unfold as we talked about their future. on the outside looking in, there seems to be one barrier after another preventing us from truly understanding one another. the obvious: there's a language barrier; a big one that would seem to hinder a depth of conversation. the not-so-obvious: cultural barriers that each one of us carry from our inheritance. as i approach these barriers, i'm beginning to realize that there is choice to their hindrance in our friendships. so instead of letting them separate us, they have now become points of conversation. it's a joy to gain deeper understanding and see how our differences no longer assume misunderstanding. for now they have begun to yield connection and compassion.

a week in my shoes : monday

with feet fitted in shoes that remind me of places already tread; living life in this city of new experiences alongside familiar faces is becoming wonderfully familiar and all the more surprising. yesterday i found myself sitting around a squared table with incredible individuals that i get to call friends. as we recounted God's promises in light of what we are all learning, i was humbled at what he has already done in our midst in the past few months. this meeting was followed by lunch at one of our favorite places that we like to call "Tommy's", Tommy just happened to be one of the first waiters that communicated with us in english so the name has stuck ever since. we rarely stray from our favorite dishes. but my theory is, when the food is that good i suppose there is really no need to branch out when i can't read the menu. the day ended with jason and i going on a treasure hunt with 3 precious little munchkins. time with them always includes laughter. the treasure hunt last night included making a crown and when i asked caleb if i could take a picture of his crown, this was his default pose. monday was lovely.

you decide.

I wore my tennis shoes with jeans. Does that make me a nerd or shall we just chalk it up to exhaustion and one bad fashion choice?