Richard

He wore a navy blue hat and a cardboard sign. His face was speckled with salt & pepper whiskers and he held a dark, wooden cane at his side. He stood very still, as a statue, near the busy road. He seemed to stare off a bit, but it felt he was looking directly into me and piercing my heart. He spoke very sincerely and had a genuine tenderness that exuded from him. His hug radiated a warmth that stirred my spirit.

His name is Richard. He needs you to pray for him. Please, pray for him.

Go Ducks!

First of all let me begin by officially saying "hello" from Eugene. My parents, older sister, and I arrived in Eugene on Jan 2nd and Rachel and the kids and Rachel's parents arrived on Jan 9th. It was the first time Elias and Jael flew on an airplane and they did great. So that is beautiful. We had a great time with both of our families being here and were extremely sad to see them go. We miss them dearly already. But we are acclimating to life in Eugene now. We are very happy with our apartment. I have successfully hung all the necessary pictures and shelves which has made Rachel very happy. And I've always said, "A Happy Wife is a Happy Life." The kids have acclimated well to sharing a room. Usually Elias is pretty tired by around 8:30 at night and could go to bed pretty easily but Jael is quite the talker and usually stands up in the crib jumping and yelling "Elias" until she gets bored and eventually lays down. Needless to say, each night is an adventure. We love being close to the rest of our church. We can get to anyone's house in less than an 8 minute walk. It has been really fun to acclimate back into the life of our church family. I've been riding my bike or walking everyday into downtown where I spend most of my days getting a feel for the city of Eugene and thinking about the church plant. I've been telling Rachel how much I want to know everything about the city and the people right now. You would think that after 9 months of waiting for our house to sell I would learn something about patience and waiting on the Lord. I know I have been formed and have learned to wait but I continue to feel like a kid in the candy store. But you know, the fact that I'm ok with the tension between the two (the slow process of learning about the culture and feeling like a kid in the candy store) reminds me that I have been formed....and am continuing to be formed. I'm thankful that God has wired me the way I'm wired and am thankful that He continues to invite me into further formation into his glorious image. What a beautiful invitation!

Clint

I don't know

So.... I haven't had anything super inspiring to say...and so you haven't heard from me in awhile. So I'm going to ask a question. I want to know where and how you feel closeness with God. And I realize as a grammer teacher now,...there's no question mark in that. I think I feel God the most when I am alone in nature...but I forget that and spend a lot of time without that element in my life. So I want to be able to encourage you to spend that time with God where you feel Him or Her or It or Them the most. Where is that? Sarah

A good reminder

Cast your burden on the Lord, and he will sustain you...
Psalm 55:22

For the rest of my life, the week prior to my dad's death will be hard for me. That "week" is currently this one.

I'm not alone in my suffering for each one of us has a lot of suffering and hardships that we deal with every day.

So I will choose to cast my burdens, my life, my heart, to God...i believe he will sustain me! It was a good reminder for me to receive that verse during this week.

Much love,
Stacie :)

Short and Sweet

I am thankful that I'm incapable (a line from a song that I cannot name) of foreseeing the future and of making any good decision on my own. If my life was in my control I would not be thoroughly enjoying myself in a 5th grade classroom while covering a maternity leave and learning that 11-year-olds are not near as frightening as I had expected. I would not know the 26 delightful students I've now met and would not appreciate my stage of life to the extent of which I do at this moment.

I'm grateful that God is bigger than my ignorance and protects me from an non-abundant life.

A Longing

To you, O Lord, I lift up my soul,
in you I trust, O my God,
Do not let me be put to shame,
nor let my enemies triumph over me.
No one whose hope is in you
will ever be put to shame,
but they will be put to shame
who are treacherous without excuse.
Show me your ways, O Lord,
teach me your paths;
guide me in your truth and teach me,
for you are God my Savior,
and my hope is in you all day long.
Remember, O Lord, your great mercy and love,
for they are from old.
Remember not the sins of my youth and my rebellious ways;
according to your love remember me,
for you are good, O Lord.
Good and upright is the Lord;
therefore he instructs sinners in his ways.
He guides the humble in what is right
and teaches them his way.
All the ways of the Lord are loving and faithful
for those who keep the demands of his covenant.
For the sake of your name, O Lord,
forgive my iniquity, though it is great.
Who, then, is the man that fears the Lord?
He will instruct him in the way chosen for him.
He will spend is days in prosperity,
and his descendants will inherit the land.
The Lord confides in those who fear him;
he makes his covenant known to them.
My eyes are ever on the Lord,
for only He will release my feet from the snare.
Turn to me and be gracious to me,
for I am lonely and afflicted.
The troubles of my heart have multiplied;
free me from my anguish.
Look upon my affliction and my distress
and take away all my sins.
See how my enemies have increased
and how fiercely the hate me!
Guard my life and rescue me;
let me not be put to shame,
for I take refuge in you.
May integrity and uprightness protect me,
because my hope is in you.
Redeem Israel, O God,
from all their troubles!
Psalm 25

What an amazing God we serve! It doesn't get much more beautiful than this. (Read it once more, maybe out loud)