Idle and Blessed

What amazing people the Lord has put in my life. Yeah, I know everyone says they have the best friends in the world. You probably won't believe me when I say this, but I actually do. The best friends in the world belong to me :) I have purposefully left these next four days wide open, to pack, pray, be still, rest, and be with my family. It's been quite a while since I've had a chance to spend time with Mom, Morgan, Dylan, and Evan all together in one day. But today, as all of us laughed together, talked together, and ran errands together, I felt the blessing of family. I have missed that since moving out last fall. What a hilariously imperfect community of people we are in the Yeager home. And tonight my girls surprised me with a going away/early birthday party. They said they had to kidnap me or I would have told them I didn't have the gas money to drive to my own party. Probably true. Probably true. So, first surprise party of my life = success. I am so very encourag...

So much to do in the next 5 days! Tuesday I have to call the visa company because they didn't send me all my paperwork (of course :) ). My visa looks alright, but I'm worried because there isn't a letter of invitation anywhere. The good news is that it should be easy to get it emailed to me before Friday. Wednesday and Thursday will be packing/praying/spending time with family days. And Friday bright and early, I'll head to the airport! I really can't express the faithfulness of God in this process. He provided over $2,000 in one week. He has connected me with two incredible bodies of believers who are supporting and sending me, not just in words, but in action and tangible love . God has provided the little things, like a video camera and a world phone. There are a million little stories I could share of the Holy Spirit connecting dots and working on my behalf. Almost six months ago, I wrote down some goals for this trip in my prayer journal: Love on some people. ...

It's hard to believe classes are over. I'll never, ever be a freshman again (thank you, Lord!). Just 3 more finals, packing, and goodbyes stand between me and summer. Summer and me. Whatever. I'm thinking a lot about what I learned this semester, which is not a simple thing to think about. Learning about God in an academic setting is a blessing and also a curse...partly depending on the professor...coughcoughcrowder. Merging school and your deepest beliefs usually equals occasional crises, and I think that's what freshman year in the School of Religion is all about. But I'm past the "ohmygoshwhatthecrapdoibelieve???" stage. The hard part for me this semester has been keeping my head and my heart on the same plane. I know all about the four ecumenical councils, the three main models of the atonement, a/pre/post-millennialism, the church's interaction with various theological movements across history, the idea of fellowship in the book of Acts, the Nicen...