Hello, friends! :) I am finding refuge in an air-conditioned
Panera right now, getting some things done for the record. And while I
was here and on the internet, I thought I should post a little blog and
see how you all are doing, and update you guys on what's been going on
here.
It has been one busy summer so far! Shane has been working on a
record, we've also been helping with our church's worship record, not
to mention lots of house guests in the last month-- the biggest group
being my family of ten coming down and hanging for the week of July
4th! It's been bonkers, but so good.
In a couple of days, I'm headed out for a string of shows, and
then we get home just a few days before our trip to Zambia with World
Vision. I've been busy filling out visa applications and background
checks and all of that... it's so surreal to us that we get to go to
AFRICA, and on top of that, meet a boy that we sponsor! It's going to
be an amazing experience. If I learned anything from my trip to India a
few years ago, it's that you can't prepare... you can just... process
it once you're there. But mostly when you get home. A good friend of
mine has spent a lot of time in Africa, and even hearing her share
about it, I realized I have no idea what I'm going to feel while I'm
there. It's going to be a bigger reality check this time, though,
because I'm going with Shane... I know he's going to be so impacted,
and I'm going to learn a lot from what he gets out of the trip. But all
of that to say, I'm SO pumped! What a huge blessing and privilege to
get to go! Maybe the heat in Dallas is a way of preparing for Africa...
hmm...
In this busy season, I've had some days of discouragement. Just...
not being able to focus very well. Lots of distractions, tiredness,
schedules. I read something in this book called "The Valley of Vision"
this morning that rocked my world and I wanted to share with y'all --
have you heard of that book, by the way? It's a book of Puritan
prayers... amazing... if I read even a page, it messes me up for a
week. Here's a little excerpt from the prayer entitled "The Spirit's
Work":
O God the Holy Spirit,
Thou who dost proceed from the Father and the Son, have mercy on
me. When thou didst hover over chaos, order came to birth, beauty robed
the world, fruitfulness sprang forth. Move, I pray thee, upon my
disordered heart...
Yeah.
So good... I forget that, you know? "In the beginning, God created
the heavens and the earth. The earth was without form and void, and
darkness was over the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was
hovering over the waters." (Genesis 1:1,2) -- powerful. He hovers over
chaos and creates order and beauty. How badly I need that today!
Hope you all are doing well, and are reminded of His faithfulness
to you in the right now of your life! That He can take something
without form and completely empty and create glory! He can take CHAOS
and disorder and create beauty!
See you all soon, have a great rest of your day!
Beth