Random Happenings...

Wow! Its been a long time since I've posted anything. Sorry to those of you who faithfully follow my blog and read my stories. The lapse in entries is due partially to my own lack of discipline and laziness but also in part to the fact that my internet access was extremely limited for the last few weeks and I haven't been able to get online much.  So in an attempt to try to catch you up on my life in the last 3 weeks (which is almost impossible), here is a list of some of the random happenings in my life lately.

1) Spent a couple days exploring the beautiful country of Scotland with all its historical buildings, beautiful lochs, glens, forests, hills,  and castles that made me feel like I had stepped back in time.

2) Worked in the cafe onboard

3) Celebrated my 26th birthday and felt very blessed with the many friends that God has given me on this ship that helped make my day special.

4) Celebrated Easter Sunday with a sunrise service out on deck 9 followed by an amazing brunch with all of ships company.  Was a great time to reflect and remember the sacrifice God made in sending His Son to die in our place so that we can live with Him by faith because of His grace.

5) Spent more time working in the cafe

6) Set sail for the Faroe Islands and tried to enjoy the couple days of relaxation despite the uncomfortableness that sailing seems to bring me.

7) Spent 16 hours with some locals being taken all over the islands.  Saw some historical sights, beautiful scenery, had a picnic lunch, climbed along waterfalls, saw lots of sheep, had a successful whale hunt, went bowling,  climbed rocks and hills,  jumped on a jumping pillow, and had an amazing dinner and time of fellowship with a Faroese family.

8)Work, work, and more work.

9) Tried whale meat for the first time.  Wouldn't really recommend it but at least I can say I've tried it.  My trip to the Faroe's would not be complete without trying whale :)

10) Going out tonight to a women's gathering with 3 other girls from the ship and we'll be sharing some testimonies, ship stories, doing some special music (done by me), and just enjoying a time of fellowship and encouragement.

And there you have it.  A brief summary of my last 3 weeks.  For whatever reason, the internet is not letting me post any pictures on here right now but for those of you who are interested and haven't already seen them, I have most of my pics in different albums on my facebook.  All my Scotland pictures are up there and my Faroe Island pictures will hopefully be there within the next week or two.

Deeply Engaged

There are times when I find myself deeply engaged in thoughts of God and my life in Him.  Deep thoughts that take me to new places and help me in beginning to discover more of who God truly is.  Today has been one of those days and I am choosing to share my ponderings in hopes that they will encourage you to think more deeply and to take time to discover anew all that God is and wants to be in your life.  In my writing, I do not mean to draw any sure or solid conclusions, but rather to simply share where my mind has been and would openly receive any of your reactions or thoughts on the matter.  

The phrase 'the unconditional love of God' has become cliche and is something I think we use all too often devoid of any real meaning, and it therefore loses its power and we end up with hearts that remain unchanged by its truth.  It is so easy to gain intellectual knowledge of God without allowing it to affect our hearts.  "Until the love of God that knows no boundary, limit, or breaking point is internalized through personal decision; until the furious longing of God seizes the imagination; until the heart is conjoined to the mind through sheer grace, nothing happens.  The wild, unrestricted love of God is not simply an inspiring idea.  When it imposes itself on mind and heart with the stark reality of ontological truth, it determines why and at what time you get up in the morning, how you pass your evenings, how you spend your weekends, what you read, and who you hang with; it affects what breaks your heart, what amazes you, and what makes your heart happy."  The thought that God loves me as I am and not as I should be requires a re-thinking and a readjustment of my thoughts of myself.  As I grow in my life of faith, I feel a shift in my images of who God is and who I am.  How radically my image of God is changed when I begin to take seriously how deeply and passionately and unconditionally He loves me.  And how radically I must work through my own self image as I try to accept myself as loveable by God.  Christ emptied Himself, cried out from His heart with nails in His hands, and poured out His blood for us that we might believe in His deep love for His children.  How is it that we have come to imagine that Christianity consists primarily in what we do for God?  Our Christianity should never begin with what we do for God, but should always begin with what God has done for us and what He has achieved for us in Christ Jesus.  In a moment of prayer to my Father this morning, lifting my hands to Him and declaring myself as belonging to Him, I felt myself being embraced in His loving arms and being given the desire to live in His smile and to hold tight to His every word as I continue engaging in the battle of letting go of myself and clinging to the one who loves me unconditionally and has come to claim me as His own!  Abba, I belong to You!

Complicated Simplicity

Took some time to take a walk this morning on my own. The sun is shining and its a beautiful day. A bit cool but warm enough to go out in a long sleeve shirt and a jacket. I walked to the beach and found myself a nice rock near the waters edge to sit and read my Bible.  Been spending some time reading through Colossians and thought I would share some of my random thoughts with you all.

Christianity is so complicated in its simplicity.  I find myself being able to understand why so many people turn to other religions, because every other religion requires you 'to do' something where Christianity requires nothing but faith.  God makes it so simple for us to have relationship with Him. We don't have to do anything to earn our salvation or to prove ourselves worthy to God.  Christ has made us worthy.  He has already done the work for us when He hung on the cross taking on the sins of the world as His own.  It has truly been finished!  All we have to do is to accept His gift of grace.  I think that once we really understand this, the more we will want to serve Him.  It will be a service done out of love rather than a service to prove ourselves or as an effort to make Him love us more.  He has loved us with His life and continues to pour His life into us.  For in Him we are made complete.  For some reason this somehow doesn't seem like enough...to just walk in faith.  Is this an issue of pride in my life?  Is it proof that I truly don't understand the sufficiency of Christ?  In my wanting or feeling like I need 'to do' something.....anything to give back to Him, am I suffering from a need to feel in control?  He has done the work and it is our job to follow Him in love and obedience.  Colossians says we have been buried and raised with Christ and we are no longer subject to the regulations of this world.   We have been made alive in Him.  Christ IS our life!  Is He my life?  Are others seeing Him or are they seeing me?  This journey of faith continues to be a mystery to me.  "God willed to make known what are the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles: which is Christ in you, the hope of glory."  God is helping me to understand Him more and I continue to be amazed by who He is and how much He loves me and has already accomplished for me so that I can have the peace of God in my heart and the hope of the glory to come!

Community

"If we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin." (I John 1:7)  I have found myself so encouraged and so blessed these last 3 days by the community that exists on this ship.  Friday, Saturday, and today were days full of fellowship with my brothers and sisters onboard and it has been so refreshing.  God has blessed me richly in such a short time with people that I can really talk to and who can tell when I'm having a bad day and will drop everything to listen or will pray for me at that moment no matter where we are or what we're doing.  I've been so encouraged and challenged by others opening up to me and those around them in a real, honest, and transparent way and how others come around them in support, without an attitude of condemnation or disapproval, but rather one of love and acceptance and forgiveness....all qualities of God that in some ways I feel like I'm starting to really understand for the first time.  Coming here as a missionary, you feel like you're going to have awesome times and you're gonna be strong and just shine your light for Jesus (which does happen) but you are also confronted with yourself.  You realize (or are rather reminded) that you don't have it all together and neither does anybody else on this ship.  Everyone has weaknesses, and everyone has those things they struggle with, and everyone is stuck in a world where sin has a hold on all of us.  But, while we all battle against Satan and against our sinful nature we can have confidence because Jesus has already won the battle for us and His grace that was given through the blood that He shed is sufficient to cover all our filth and has made us clean.  We have victory!  In the end we are still His and there is nothing that can snatch us out of His hand and take away our salvation.  Praise the Lord for a happy ending!  But until that day when He defeats evil once and for all and locks it up for eternity we have a war to fight and it is one that we can not fight alone!  We need each other and I am so grateful for the body that He has made me a part of in this time and place.

Picture of the Day

I absolutely love this picture and had to share it! I took it while out on a walk this morning.  I'm not sure exactly what it is but it's one of those pictures that evokes emotion.  Please leave your comments and let me know what it makes you feel or think about.  Perhaps that seems like a strange request to some of you, but sorry, it's the artist in me :)   

Coffee Shops or Cafe's and Coke or Cola

After a very miserable 30 hours of not feeling well and puking out everything that was in me, I have arrived in my next port...Scheveningen, Netherlands.  We will be here for the next 3 weeks and have lots of things planned during our stay.  Its a very beautiful port.  The beach is about 2 minutes down the road, the main city is about a 15 minute walk and we are about a 1 hour train ride away from Amsterdam.  Looking forward to exploring more of the city and walking along the beach on Friday as it is my day off.  Granted the beach isn't quite as fun in winter as it is in the warmth of summer, but I still find it beautiful and love listening to the crash of the waves along the shoreline!  This port is definitely much different from the small village of Harlingen that we just left.  We are definitely in a bigger city and have already discovered that if you walk into a 'coffee shop' and order a coke, you will not be getting a bottle of soda but rather a plastic bag full of cocaine!  You think I'm joking, but I'm totally serious!  Come check it out for yourself!   In this area, if you are interested in having a good coffee or some other similar beverage and pastry it is highly advised that you go to a cafe not a 'coffee shop,' and if you want a soda it is called a cola in this area!  Oh, the things you learn when traveling the world!  

Baker for a Day

Today I had kind of an odd shift.  Every third thursday I am on what they call the X shift and we usually work from 8-5 and its a day of deep cleaning the whole galley and dining room area.  But today, I was lucky enough to be chosen to help in the bakery.  So while my whole team spent the day scrubbing and cleaning who knows what, I spent 8 hours baking.  It was actually a lot of fun but not an easy job.  Everyday they bake 70 loaves of bread for ships company and lots of cakes and cookies and such to serve to our visitors who stop by the I-Cafe down on deck 4.  So during my time today I cracked over 450 eggs, helped make enough cookie dough for 1,000 cookies that turn out to be about the size of my hand (now thats a lot of dough).  I also helped make, bake, and decorate 12 chocolate cakes, 12 coffee cakes, and 10 fruit cakes.  By the time I was finished I was so covered in batter and icing :)  All was going perfectly well until I started having to cover things and put them in the freezer.  Now this freezer is one of those walk-in freezers that you see on the movies, you know, the kind that you could hide a dead body in! Kinda creepy!  I really think that the giant plastic wrap and the plastic things that hang in the entry way of the freezer had a conspiracy against me!  The plastic wrap just would not cooperate for anything and every time I went to walk into the freezer, I swear the plastic came alive and grabbed at me and tried to keep me from walking through and then did everything they could to grab the cakes out of my hands and send them crashing to the floor while dropping chunks of ice on my head!  I'm serious!  It was quite the battle, but in the end I prevailed!!