No Turning Back

I have decided to follow Jesus. No turning back, no turning back.

I remember singing that song in Sunday School, and learning the story of Lot's wife, who looked back at the sinful towns of Sodom and Gomorrah with longing, then turned into a pillar of salt. I remember thinking "I won't turn back like she did! I will always follow Jesus!"

But I realized something in the last week. I though that looking back with longing to a life without Christ is what gets people into trouble, but it's not just that. Sometimes following Christ means leaving the things you love, and they might be great things, but He commands up to press on and look forward.

Proverbs 4:25-26 says, "Let your eyes look directly FORWARD, and your gaze be STRAIGHT before you. Ponder the path of your feet; then all of your ways will be sure."

God is leading me in the path He has planned for me, a path that will bring me pleasure, and Him immeasurable glory and honor (Psalm 16:11, Psalm 23:3).

I know this, and yet sometimes I look back. I look back to my family and friends, to mu church and the fellowship I love and am comfortable with. I look back to things that are good, but to things that are not straight ahead, directly in the path God is leading me on now. If I look back, I am going to run into a wall. And it is going to hurt.

God promises to show is the way we should go. He says, "I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will counsel you with my eye upon you. Be not like a horse or a mule, without understanding, which must be curbed with bit and bridle, or it will not stay near to you" (Psalm 32:8-9).

God will show us the path He wants us to take when we daily surrender every aspect of our lives; our families, our loved ones, our routines that make us so comfortable, our wishes and desires, and even our very lives. If we look backwards like a horse without a bridle, we will walk backwards, stumble, fall and get hurt in the process. If we surrender our lives and our ideas for the path we should take to Him, and fix our gaze on the author and perfecter of our faith, we will have a peace that passes understanding, even when things seem bleak.

Dear 7 people who read my blog...

Dear 7 people who read my blog,
         Since my last letter, the number has increased by 4... WOO HOO!!! Please take a moment to read the blog of one of my friends, and maybe pass it on to someone else.

Cami's Blog: simply HIS.

Then pray for Cami (and Miriam, another girl with her) as they seek to love like Christ.

Love,
me

History

Have you ever been struck by the fact that the places we walk have been walked on by people for hundreds of years (at least!)? Walking through Letchworth State Park always seems to remind me of that. My overactive imagination kicks into high gear as I picture Native Americans walking through the forests, fathers and sons working side by side to build the walls and steps during the Great Depression, and the countless other people who have walked the same trails we walk in the park. It always astounds me how the people and the times are always changing, but some places in the world seem to be frozen in time. Certain places give you a glimpse of the past in a way no history textbook could ever come close to doing.

Friday, I was blessed enough to go to one of those places.

Old Town Annecy is like a place right off of a post card, but pictures cannot do it justice. I will try to give you a glimpse though...

Every Friday there is a market down the narrow streets of Old Annecy.  You can buy flowers, fruit, veggies, cheese, candies, and even meat fresh from the vendors and you can sample just about everything. Picture your local farmers market, multiply times a bajillion, then add two. It's huge... and wonderful.

 I really like French cheese.

Hundred year old shops, houses and buildings line the cobblestone streets. 

Did I mention there is a Canal that runs along the streets?

 

The canal splits down the middle and goes around an old prison. I don't think I would mind being locked up here...

 

The canal opens up to a beautiful lake with the mountains in the background. 

I guess the thing I like about walking in places like this is thinking about the lives of the people who have walked there years ago. It reminds me that nothing is eternal. The houses and streets have changed over time (though in some places it doesn't look like it), and the people are long gone. The life that they lived may not even be remembered, but their souls are living for all of eternity in either heaven or hell. This world is not my home, heaven is. I want my life on earth to be spent praising and glorifying my creator, and I want my eternity to be spent the same way. God created this beautiful earth for his own glory. Praise God for the marvelous things He has done!

 

Mountians and Ant Hills

Mom and I went to Pennsylvania  a few weeks back and we drove through the Appalachian  Mountains. (see picture to the right). I was so excited. I have always liked mountains. I mean, to look at of course. I can't say I have ever sincerely desired to climb one... but still they are beautiful.

 
Well now I am in France and I am very close to the French Alps. I look back at my pictures of the Appalachian mountains and I am slightly less enthused. Let's face it, you would be too if you got to see <- that every day. The stunning view of the mountains is all around here. You can't look anywhere and not see something huge and beautiful. The Appalachian mountains are still big, and they are still beautiful, but I cannot look at them the same way because I have seen the Alps.

I heard someone once say that "When your problems seem too big, you view of God is too small." Often I look at the little foothills of life and think they are so big. It's like being in the Appalachian mountains and thinking they are the biggest mountains in the world.  I can't see over them and I just feel so overwhelmed and hopeless. Even traveling here, and later to Madagascar, it all seems so huge, so scary, so impossible.




Yet standing in constant view of these mountains gives me just a little glimpse of how great and glorious our God is. He is huge! He makes the foothills seem like ant hills in view of His greatness! When you glimpse the stunning beauty and power of God, you can't look at you problems the same way. They might still be big, but God is so much bigger, there isn't even a comparison. I trust in a God that MOVES mountains with just the slightest word. In light of a God that can do all things by the power of His word ALONE, I cannot see my problems in the same light.

The grace of God changes us; it changes our perspective on everything. It colors our world. Sin still comes in and makes mountains out of mole hills, but when we see God for who He is, we cannot help but have our perspective changed. It brings the focus off ourselves and puts it on the one who deserves it. How Great, HOW GREAT, Is our God!

Bonjour!

 Well friends, I am in France. It's pretty much awesome. It would be way cooler if I didn't continually make a fool of myself by saying Spanish words instead of French ones, but hey, I'm working on it. I have a deal with the little ones: They teach me French, I teach them sign language. It's working quite nicely. My 5 year old teacher says I have a nice French "r" (which coincidentally sounds like a very rude American noise...)



ANYWAY-- The first few days were hard. Leaving my family was not fun but as I went through security I just chose to trust God and He gave me a peace that was like nothing I can explain. It wasn't an "everything is going to work out" peace, or even a "God is with me all the time" peace. It was more like I trust God because He is great. He is taking me to the places he takes me to magnify and glorify His name. That's my purpose and it is my joy. So I had peace.



My attitude faltered a little in the Paris airport. It is seriously the most convoluted airport in the universe and I never want to go back there again. Too bad we go back in three months... I discovered something about myself though. The airport in Lyon wasn't much better. I found my way to the baggage claim, but I needed a Euro to get a cart. Fail. I asked a million people where I could exchange money, and everyone said "I don't speak English!" So my bags were coming off and I was scrambling to get those, one of my wheels broke and I was SOOOO very done. Even in my bad attitude, God was gracious. I asked a lady in an official looking uniform and she gave me a token. I thanked her and went to get a cart. It got stuck. There I am, yanking on the cart, running to get my luggage off the belt, trying to watch my other bags and basically almost in tears. The awesome lady took pity on me once again and helped me get the cart out. I'm certain she is an angel of some sort.



I have never been so happy in my life to see two people and I was to see Marc and Stacy. I almost cried. After they picked me up, we began the drive up to Le Balme de Sillingy. The Niles familt has been so incredibly welcoming! The kids are adorable and I have been having so much fun with them. We started a little bit of schooling today an we went on some walks. France is truly a beautiful place. There will be more pictures to come, but for now I bid you bon nuit!

Prayer Requests

As I head out today, I have a few specific prayer requests:

1) Please pray that I would continually walk in the path of Grace. There is no better place to be than in God's will.

2) Pray that I can be a blessing to the people God puts in my path and that I will be used by Him daily to accomplish His purpose for me.

3) Pray for safe travels, I will leave our house at around 2:30 today, I fly out at 5:05 and I get to my final destination (flight wise at least) at 2:30 tomorrow, which is like, 8:30 our time. I think. (I should really get a better handle on this time difference stuff...)

4) Finally, pray for a comforted heart. Saying goodbye is hard, and I ask you to pray not only for me, but also for my family.

Thanks everyone! 

Thoughts as I head out...

Psalm 29

1 Ascribe to the Lord, O heavenly beings,
    ascribe to the Lord glory and strength.
² Ascribe to the Lord the glory due his name;
    worship the Lord in the splendor of holiness.

³ The voice of the Lord is over the waters;
    the God of glory thunders,
    the Lord, over many waters.
⁴ The voice of the Lord is powerful;
    the voice of the Lord is full of majesty.

⁵ The voice of the Lord breaks the cedars;
    the Lord breaks the cedars of Lebanon.
⁶ He makes Lebanon to skip like a calf,
    and Sirion like a young wild ox.

⁷ The voice of the Lord flashes forth flames of fire.
⁸ The voice of the Lord shakes the wilderness;
    the Lord shakes the wilderness of Kadesh.

⁹ The voice of the Lord makes the deer give birth
    and strips the forests bare,
    and in his temple all cry, “Glory!”

¹⁰ The Lord sits enthroned over the flood;
    the Lord sits enthroned as king forever.
¹¹ May the Lord give strength to his people!
    May the Lord bless his people with peace!

This incredible God is the God I serve. He is mighty in word and in deed. I will follow Him to the ends of the earth with JOY because I trust Him with my whole life. He takes care of the birds of the field, and He will take care of me. He alone is my rock and my refuge, He is my portion, He is my everything. 

I serve a mighty God!