Another Rainy Day

So I am in Portland, Oregon. It really does not rain here as much as it does in Seattle, Washington... or as Adrienne tells me, Columbus, Ohio. Whatever. :-) It still rains a lot. And I do love the rain because it makes everything so green. I love that when the sky is gray this week, I see amazing spots of color in the flowering trees and the flowers that are coming out of their winter naps.

Anyway, I sit in a great new cafe in Gresham today. I am watching the rain outside as I marvel at the way God orchestrates people in and out of my life. You see, I went to a women's retreat with my church about a month ago. And two women that God literally put in my path that weekend have decided and are excited to partner with me in this ministry! God is just amazing! And once again I marvel at His good gifts to me!

A friend recently joked that I should stop being so positive... I guess I can't... especially if I keep remembering how God cares for me!

a musing

so I have been thinking a lot lately about how great it is that my dear friends are always around me. Not everyone has that privilege. It seems that every where I go to work or live, good friends soon follow or are already there! I went to work at Multnomah and my friend Sharon was there! Then my friend Tracy came to work there! And I made wonderful friends there as well! Then I went to work and live in Europe... and my friend Bekah went to Prague and my friends Joel and Amy were already in Slovenia and my friend Sara went to Africa (not close but same time zone!) And then several of my dear friends moved to Lithuania... And my friend Kristin is moving to Slovenia. Seriously??!!!! how good is God? It overwhelms and astonishes me how He cares for me!
You know... living in Germany and having friends in Slovenia or Lithuania is like having dear friends in Northern California if you live in Portland. That is how close it is!

So... thank you all for following the Lord's direction in your life to move for a couple years or for a long time over to that side of the world... i consider it a personal blessing from the Lord.... and I know you get to learn and grow a lot too... :-) And thank you to everyone who sends us with your prayers and financial support. You are just as important!

How God answers

So... really exciting news! God provided a way for me to go to Scott and Adrienne's wedding! just wanted to send out that little update.

flying

So I just had to share... I am frustrated at the cost of flights in the States. I can't find a plane ticket that I can afford to be able to go to my dear friends Adrienne and Scott's wedding. I got to be there when they were falling in love in Germany... but I can't be there when they get married...so frustrating! Who gives airlines the right to charge so much????

Henri Nouwen

Have you read anything by Henri Nouwen? I appreciate a lot of what he has written. I am reading through a book right now by Charles Ringma called "Dare to Journey with Henri Nouwen."
I am getting many insights from this little book and what I love is that they all point to the Lord. This morning there was a quote from a prayer by Nouwen that said this, "I live as though there were something important to be found outside of You." I was really struck by that. Food for thought and hopefully continuous action.

My Seattle Trip

So I promised photos and stories of my Seattle time.

I began on Thursday with my cousin Brian and his lovely wife Jen and their cool dog Lenny.
It was SO great to see them and to get to know them better. I am so honored to be friends with my cousins! We toured Seattle, had great pizza, amazing coffee, good laughs and great talks. :-)

On Friday I had the privilege of having lunch with my friends Cindy and Chad and their great boys Andrew and Nicholas. I met Cindy in the summer of 1993 when we went to Alaska together on a mission trip with DELTA Ministries International. When Cindy and Chad got married in 1998, I was honored to be a bridesmaid. And now they are going to work in New Orleans with CRM! And now that I know Chad reads my blog too... HI CHAD!


Friday evening I got to hang out with my dear friend Brian, whom I have not seen for about 6 years. I met Brian the same summer I met Cindy and when I went to Northwestern College in Iowa for a couple years...that is where he was and where I got to know his great family as well. It was so fun to marvel at how God maintains friendships over years and miles!
And I was blessed to stay with my dear friend Tami who has been in my life for about 5 years and she is a treasure in my life. We stayed up way to late and caught up on life. I introduced her to facebook too. sorry Tami... :-)

You know.... what is the most amazing to me is that all these friends are partners with me in the ministry that God has called me to.

My friend Kristin

So today is the birthday of my dear friend Kristin. We met in highschool... and were not really friends... we were civil to each other.... then God brought her back into my life and it has been so great to see God build this friendship and deepen it. here are a couple photos of us from last summer when I saw her in Italy.




Happy Birthday my friend!

Seattle

I am in Seattle visiting dear friends...photos coming soon....like when I get back to Portland where my cable is to upload photos... :-)

I spent 4 hours in traffic today....that was fun.

yeah...more to come