Come

O Lord, I give my life to you.

I trust in you, my God!

Do not let me be disgraced...

No one who trusts in you will ever be disgraced...

Show me the right path, O Lord;

point out the road for me to follow.

Lead me by your truth and teach me,

for you are the God who saves me.

All day long I put my hope in you...

He leads the humble in doing right,

teaching them his way...

Do not let me be disgraced, for in you I take refuge.

May integrity and honesty protect me,

for I put my hope in you...

-Psalm 25:1-5, 9, 20-21

I love your sanctuary, Lord,

the place where your glorious presence dwells...

Now I stand on solid ground,

and I will publicly praise the Lord.

-Psalm 26:8, 12

The Lord is my light and my salvation -

so why should I be afraid?

The Lord is my fortress, protecting me from danger,

so why should I tremble?...

The one thing I ask of the Lord -

the thing I seek most -

is to live in the house of the Lord all the days of my life...

My heart has heard you say, "Come and talk with me."

And my heart responds, "Lord, I am coming."...

the Lord will hold me close.

Teach me how to live, O Lord.

Lead me along the right path...

Yet I am confident I will see the Lord's goodness

while I am here in the land of the living.

Wait patiently for the Lord.

Be brave and courageous.

Yes, wait patiently for the Lord.

-Psalm 27:1, 4, 8, 10-11, 13-14

I pray to you, O Lord, my rock.

Do not turn a deaf ear to me...

as I lift my hands toward your holy sanctuary."

 -Psalm 28:1-2

I've been on that page in my Bible over and over again recently.  These words are David crying out to God for guidance, protection, and favor.  He wants to know what to do next; he wants to know how to proceed.  He knows God is there and that God has the answers, that God is in control, that God looks favorably on those who are humble before him.  He's seeking and praising the Lord in the same breath.  He's saying, "I don't know what to do here, but I know you do and I know you'll guide me. And even though I'm not getting an answer yet, I am trusting you.  I am praising you.  I am waiting on you because you are the Lord and you care more about me going the right way even more than I do.  So surely I can be brave and courageous, walking in integrity and honesty, obeying you, as I hope in you and trust you with my life and reputation."

I once heard someone say, "Jesus cannot say 'Go' without first saying 'Come.'"  I like Psalm 27:8: My heart has heard you say, "Come and talk with me."  And my heart responds, "Lord, I am coming."  Really, how else do we expect to hear from God and know his will for our lives if we don't spend time with him, talking with him, and learning from him?  How else can I expect to know what to do next?  Sure, talking to wise friends helps.  It can help flush some things out.  Sometimes God does speak to us through other people, or confirms things through them, but ultimately he is the source.  It's like doing research for school.  How much more credible is a primary document rather than a secondary one that makes reference to it?  Or, even worse, a tertiary source which quotes the secondary which quotes the primary?  Very much so.  Anyone who's done academic research will tell you that.  It's the same with God.

In order to say like David: 

But I am trusting you, O Lord,

saying, "You are my God!"

My future is in your hands.

-Psalm 31:14-15

There has to be a conscious decision to wait on God and listen to him.  There has to be deliberate time spent with him, allowing him to teach.

The Lord says, "I will guide you along the best pathway for your life.

I will advise you and watch over you."

-Psalm 32:8

That is a promise we can live in if we seek the Lord.  If we come to him.  Just like a parent, boss or professor, you don't know what job to do or how they want it done until you ask them and listen to what they have to say.  That is why the Lord says, "Come."  He says, "For I know the plans I have for you... They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope.  In those days when you pray, I will listen.  If you look for me wholeheartedly, you will find me.  I will be found by you" (Jeremiah 29:11-13).  He's not hiding.  We are the ones who like to go our own way and ignore his calls so to speak.  Yet he says, "Ask me and I will tell you remarkable secrets you do not know about things to come" (Jeremiah 33:3).

There are a lot of questions in my life right now.  I'm confused about a lot of things.  Some of these things I want to be angry about, yet I know there is a bigger picture that I don't understand.  It seems that most things don't turn out as I expect.  I've stopped making plans.  They're just me fooling myself.  One step at a time, one moment at a time, is better.  One decision at a time asking, "Is this glorifying to God?"  Responding to God's call, "Come," with "Speak, your servant is listening" (1 Samuel 3:10), "confident I will see the Lord's goodness while I am here in the land of the living" (Psalm 27:13) and not be disgraced as I wait in his presence.

April/May Adventures!

Right.  So let's play catch up!

I posted the Scotland trip I took at the beginning of April.  It was awesome.  Check it out.

Spent Easter in London and even received an Easter basket! I haven't had one of those in years!  And apparently the UK does chocolate Easter eggs rather than chocolate bunnies.

The next weekend I was in Paris for four days to run the Paris Marathon!  It was my first full marathon (26.2 miles) and the first time I ran more than 16 miles.  I had missed a good month of real training due to on and off colds/flu-like something or others during March so I was nervous, but I still managed my goal which was to be around 4 hours (finished in 4:03).  I was so close to a sub-four I guess I'm going to have to run another one!  Thank you to Paula who came with me to be support and for getting me a fresh French baguette to much on afterwards!  It was really cool see the sites of Paris as we ran.  Fortunately though Paula and I were able to spend a couple days actually going to the sites, too.  These included the Effel Tower, the Louvre, and Notre Dame.

Start and finish at the Arc de Triomphe!

Then I had to hit the books again to finish my final Silk Road essay and take exams. (The UK had a month-long break from classes for Easter.  That's why I was able to travel.)  The week after I finished exams I had some visitors for a couple days!

It was a nice treat to see the Hertzlers!

One more place I visited was Windsor and Windsor Castle with the Messersmiths.  As you can see we had fun with the camera...

Then I finalized my dissertation proposal, presented it, got approved, and have commenced working on it ever since!  I'm researching how Animal Style art from the Northern Steppes got to Yunnan province (southwest China), how it was adapted to their culture, and what this can tell us about them (they left no written documents).  If that meant anything to you - bravo!  It's 15,000 words due September 15th.

Last Thursday and Friday I went to York and hiked eight miles of Hadrian's Wall near Newcastle with a classmate.  We got perfect weather!  The UK finally got a bit of summer!  (Which would only be in the 70s haha however it felt really warm to us.)

York Minster's flying buttresses!

Above: Looking back on what we had already hiked.

Below: We ran into lots of sheep and cattle along the way.

Then on Saturday (got back the night before from Hadrian's Wall) I played hockey and went to tea at Fortnum and Mason with ladies from my church.  You know it was a proper tea when it's where the Queen does her grocery shopping!  Yum!  We got to take home a few extra scones and jams to extend the yumminess until morning.

Speaking of church, I've become part of the rotation for teaching Junior Church.  Emily and I tag team it.  She knows all the little kid songs.  I do the lesson.  And I try to learn the little kid songs.  There are a bazillion of them I never knew about!  Their favorite though is one I know - Father Abraham.  I think it's just because they get to march around and be silly.  Sometimes I make up new moves to it just to keep them on their toes!

That particular Sunday was Jake's birthday.  At our church, birthdays are just excuses for the Filipinos to cook a feast!  Seriously, if you've never had Filipino food, you're missing out!  Here's a photo of me with the Messersmiths, my adopted American family in London.

And now I'm Stateside until June 19th.  If you want to see me hit me up!  I can use my American phone now! :)

Warning: I do have to finish writing my first chapter by the time I leave so it's not all fun and games! :P