10 Days and Counting...

Praise God, I am fully supported! My plane ticket has been purchased and my departure date set for July 7th. I really can't believe this is happening, I will be moving to another country for 1 year...I can't wait! Its been amazing how God has worked out all the details above and beyond my own hopes and expectations. He is good.

I will be renting a house with several other girls just outside the city of Lisbon. I have an address and phone number for the house, if you would like to receive it please just shoot me an email or comment indicating so. I was also just informed that I should have a good internet connection at the house I will be renting, this should enable me to keep this blog updated and respond to emails.

Looking forward to sharing in this journey with you!

Never Alone

NEVER ALONE - Barlow Girl

I waited for You today
But You didn't show
I needed You today
So where did You go?

You told me to call
Said You'd be there
And though I haven't seen You
Are You still There?

I cried out with no reply
I can't see You by my side
So I'll hold tight to what I know
Your here, and I'm never alone

And though I cannot see You
And I can't explain why
Such a deep, deep reassurance
You've placed in my life

We cannot seperate
'Cause Your part of me
And though You're invisible
I'll trust the unseen

I cried out with no reply
I can't see You by my side
So I'll hold tight to what I know
Your here, and I'm never alone

We cannot seperate
'Cause Your part of me
And though You're invisible
I'll trust the unseen

I cried out with no reply
I can't see You by my side
So I'll hold tight to what I know
Your here, and I'm never alone

God tells us "...I will never leave thee nor forsake thee..." - with the loss of my grandpa and my departure date for Portugal quickly approaching, this promise is something I have been holding close to my heart. Though we cannot always feel or see Him, we must trust in who God IS and in His promises and remember that we ARE Never Alone.

God's Peace, Not Our Peace

Well I returned home from my grandpa's funeral last Monday. I must first thank those who were praying for me and my family, the funeral and time in Florida went better then I could ever have expected or hoped.

All this however has left me contemplating the idea of PEACE. What exactly is peace? Is our idea of peace the same as God's? We all seem to long to have peace in our lives, especially during times of loss. I mean it has now been two and a half weeks since my grandpa died and though I do not want to forget him I am anxious for the peace to set in, the healing to take place. But I have to ask myself, what do I expect this to look like? Am I hoping to be rid of all pain, feelings of loss and emotional fatigue? Do I desire the quick fix which seems so popular in our society today? If so, is that really what peace looks like? The more I ponder this question, the more I believe this picture to be false, well at least not a true picture of God's peace.

So now I must ask, what DOES God's peace look like? Am I able to claim it yet or must I continue to impatiently wait? Well if I may be so bold, I would like to take a stab at this. I believe His peace should be better understood as a journey that we must travel a process that we must experience. The hurt and pain, the feelings of loss and emotional fatigue have no quick fixes; rather we slowly and over time are offered increasing peace as we are drawn closer to the One who gives it. As we grow closer to God, He will help walk this journey with us as we process the loss and look for emotional healing. We know through experience that there are always highs and lows on the journey, but one thing is constant...God's love and peace, we only need take it.

So I think I will no longer wait for the peace to come, the eradication of hurt and these feelings of loss. Instead, I will choose to receive God's Peace, relying on it to comfort me in the highs and lows and slowly help me to remember with a little less pain each day.