I had such a nice time today with the family who are my friends. I ate supper with them and we all chatted and prayed together before I left. They are already ministry supporters, but said after watching the Jaishri video tonight that they are going to pray about supporting another native missionary. Hallelujah! Praise God.

Like last week when I was at my S.S. teachers' home hanging out with them and others in our class, it was refreshing today getting to be "at home" with a family. I'm so thankful for the many blessings and special people that the Lord has brought into my life! He has been so good to me.

I had such a nice day today. It felt like I got so much done, and I had some really good time with the Lord. I enjoyed meditating on Philippians 1, the chapter (and book!) I'm memorizing.

Tonight was fun! I went over to Cici's pizza in the next town over, to meet up with people from my Bible study. We were seeing off Jonathon, as a surprise party. Except he spotted Edward in the window as he was walking up. :oP I very much enjoyed catching up with friends there. In fact, tomorrow afternoon after church I'll be going over to a family's house. I'll get to continue fellowshipping with them and show them The Call to Harvest and pictures from my India trip. :o) I look forward to it!

Then I also went to a game night at a staff family's home. That was neat--I played badmitton (sp?) outside with some gals, and then played some foosball with some buddies ... The phrase "It's been a while..." (since I'd played foosball without a teammate's help) became a catch phrase that my buddy Sean teased me about. :o)

Goodbye for now. I look forward to Sunday school and church in the morning. Nice to get an extra hour of sleep. ;-)

This was a such a good day. Like yesterday, the workday went by fast because I was working on a number of different things. Oh, and the projects are mostly finished, plus another one that came up. :o) A couple of stories were finished, and several were gathered for an email update, plus a "thank-you" paragraph was added. All that's left is "wrapping things up" on another story, and I hope to have that done before the end of tomorrow. Yay!

This weekend will be busy! I may be meeting up with my neighbor for lunch, and then Saturday night I have two things going on--I'll probably try to go to both. :o) One of them is a surprise going away party for someone at my Bible study. Another is a game night at a staff family's home. Then of course the next day is Sunday school and church ... AND, an extra hour of sleep. OR time with the Lord. :o) OR both. :c)

Today my friend Jasmine from last week came by the office for her tour. We also ate chili together downstairs at our Believers Cafe'. Jasmine really enjoyed the tour and was impacted and amazed at the vast number of unreached people and how the Lord is reaching Asia.

Over lunch today, she said how she feels like she's known me for a long time. She is such a sweetheart and loves the Lord and has such a heart for missions. I am so thankful for her and that the Lord has brought her into my life.

I went to the midweek service at Calvary Chapel tonight. I'd never been to that one, just the Sunday morning services. It was so good! The pastor went over Psalm 39-42 and made some good points -- about how our lives are fleeting and we are being prepared for heavenly bodies, etc. I also enjoyed the worship time.

Tomorrow I am meeting with several coworkers for our monthly lunch together. I look forward to that! I think tomorrow night my friend Lindi will call and we'll pray together. Then, Friday I might go to my Bible study, and Saturday night is a surprise gettogether to see off a friend from there. :o) I would really like to try to make it. Oh, and my projects from yesterday are going well! By the end of the workday tomorrow, Lord willing, I hope to have them finished.

Sunday afternoon was such a nice time ... A group of us from my S.S. class were over at the home of our teacher and his wife, hanging out and eating chili. And some people were out in the garage for a while, working on a game that they're having for the kids during the harvest festival. :o) I was in the kitchen helping Sammie and chatting with her, but did run out later, joking that I was "supervising". :o)

During part of the afternoon, I just kicked back and rested on one of their family room chairs while some others watched the football game, lamenting the impending loss of the Dallas Cowboys. We talked about us all maybe going over there for Thanksgiving, too. I felt so much at home ... It was a wonderful time. :o)

I got my SEND! articles back today and was given some changes to make and further research to do for sidebars and photos. That was fun! :o) Today I made the needed changes. During these next couple days, I need to try to gather all the information for my additions, as well as some source documentation for one of the stories.

Also, tomorrow I need to write a couple of web stories about our Bridge of Hope program. I was looking at the field reports, and they are touching! My hope is that the Lord would give me the words to convey the heart of these reports--that hearts would be moved as people read them. I know I am utterly inadequate--my words won't do. It must be the words He gives me--those I must write down. I am nothing without Him, and in my flesh dwells no good thing. What a privilege it is to be His ambassador on behalf of a lost world.

It was so pretty outside today! I went driving out in the country and walking--very late afternoon--at the nature preserve. Beautiful weather, especially as it neared sunset! It got cooler and was quite refreshing.

My lunch with Jasmine Friday was good! I showed her my India pictures and told her some of the stories behind them. She wants to come out to tour our office, and we've set a day for next week! : ) I hope it all works out ... We're going to eat a quick lunch first in the kitchen; I guess we will need to gulp down our food pretty fast so we can do the tour and still not have her traveling back to her office too late from lunch. ;o) She was talking about having me over sometime where she lives, on a lake. That would be nice. :o) She has such a love for the Lord and for missions. It so much looks like the Lord orchestrated us meeting and getting to be friends.

Auughh! I just composed a long post with some neat things that impacted me lately, and, alas, there were problems with the server and the post is nowhere to be found. I hate it when that happens. Thankfully, it doesn't happen very often.

Okay, so it's been a few days since I've posted. Guess I've been busy. Saturday was a nice day. And I enjoyed my S.S. class at Stonebriar again this week. I did get to eat lunch with my new friend, Lilly. We had a nice time together. I sure do look forward to getting to know her more in the days to come. Yesterday was a good day, too. I went to the dentist for a teeth cleaning and grabbed something to eat. On my way back to the office, I made a lunch appointment for Friday, with a really nice lady I met in the community, while apartment-hunting. She loves the Lord and has such a heart for missions. I gave her some ministry materials and, Lord willing, will be showing her pictures from my India trip on Friday. My prayer is that we will really connect and get to know each other and that she will be impacted for His kingdom being furthered in Asia.

Tonight we had the privilege of hearing some exciting reports from two of our leaders on the field. It's incredible what God is doing on behalf of those who have never heard His name. And the hunger He is putting in people's hearts to know Him. Praise the Lord! To Him be the glory.

Hearing from our field leaders tonight, I was given such a vivid reminder that the things we do here truly matter over there--that we are a significant part of amazing things that are happening on the other side of the world. The things we do here, sitting in an office building, make it possible for our brothers and sisters in Christ to reach their people in the 10/40 Window. Incredible. This is an unspeakable privilege. After being in India--and again, after hearing these reports tonight--I find myself so much motivated to do more and be more dedicated. Praise the Lord. May this fire burn bright within me and never die.

No ransom note today.

And ... no sight of Web Dog. Hmmm, the plot thickens ...

I just thought I'd let that be known tonight ... There was something really neat I wanted to share, but I'm tired now. I'll share more later ... I promise? :o)

Oh, I will say this, the Lord went before me today as I continued to work on the story I mentioned yesterday. (The day went by so fast! It does that when you're absorbed in a project.) Now I have what I think is my full "final rough draft". Only bad news? It's 758 words, needs to be cut down to 400. But God can do that. I'm also probably going to be working quite a bit on another 400-word article this weekend ... Thankfully, I have a rough draft on that one as well (about 400 words!), but I still need to do some research, tweaking, and maybe weaving in of some more relevant things. I've been enjoying this sooooo much!

Well, good night. :o)

I got off the phone not long ago with Lindi, my friend from church who moved to Utah. What a sweet time of fellowship we had sharing and praying together. We've been getting to do that about once a week.

We had such beautiful weather today. After work I went walking at the trail. No treadmill reading for me tonight, though. :o) But I was working for a while on one of my stories earlier, and I think the Lord gave me a breakthrough on an angle that would more effectively bring the missionary to life. I was excited!

Alas, our beloved Web Dog has been kidnapped yet again. The saga continues! And ... I do believe this calls for drastic measures. I'm not sure what, but, uh, something drastic. ;o)

I did get in touch with one of my suspects. However, he says he knows nothing.

Hmmm, we shall see if we get a ransom note tomorrow ...

25 more minutes on the treadmill, 170 more calories burned, 6 more pages of background material read for a second SEND! story I was given the opportunity to write. :OD

Hmmm ... I think this business of treadmill reading is becoming a habit. At least it's a productive habit. :o)

Work is busy, but going so well. My prayer is that the Lord give me His words as I write these stories. I know it is HIS words that will touch hearts. In my flesh is no good thing ... The Father must fill me with HIS thoughts, HIS perspective, HIS compassion for the lost. Only then will it truly flow through to the hearts of readers. It must all come from Him.

On another note, exciting things happened in the web room today, as our beloved Web Dog had been kidnapped and held. At least he was being productive. :o) I wrote this account to a friend this afternoon, names changed to protect the "innocent", and words very slightly altered for clarity:

Yes, yes ... it seems the web dog is getting around these days. Thomas kidnapped him and brought him to Sean's office Friday night, where he sat at his computer all weekend, working hard to help plant churches in Asia. (see attached pic) Today, tired from his labors for the kingdom, the web dog gazed out Sean's window at rabbits, while eating brownies and ice cream. (Yikes! We need to put the poor thing on an all fruits and veggies diet? [I'm sure he enjoyed the yummy morsels, though.]) The web dog made a brief appearance in the web room, before being whisked away for a long nap in Thomas's office. I rescued him (don't tell Thomas; I snuck in and grabbed him!) and now he is in our team leader's office, studying complicated documents.

As you can see, this is an exciting place to work, in more ways than one. :o) It's not everyday that there are dog kidnappings in the workplace ... even if it is just a stuffed animal. We have become quite attached to our little canine friend. (sniff, sniff) :oD

I woke up this morning at 6:30 feeling rested. I spent some time with the Lord and then made it to work a little before prayer meeting started.

Tonight I walked on the treadmill while doing some reading to prepare for a SEND! article I'm getting to work on. It sure made the time pass fast -- Before I knew it, I'd walked almost an hour on the treadmill, burning 350 calories! And I felt that the incredible story of a native missionary had been brought to life right before my eyes. His sacrifice, courage, and compassion for the precious children and their families around him--I was especially touched when I read that the parents of the children were so excited to find out that there exists a God named Jesus who loves them. That blew me away.

I only hope I can also bring the missionary to life for our readers. My desire is that the Lord give me HIS words. I know that is the only way there will be any life to what I write, anything of meaning. What a privilege that He would allow me to be His ambassador on behalf of His work among some of the most unreached in the 10/40 Window. It is only through the Lord's provision and because of Him that I can even write at all. That I can even be here, living and breathing. All glory to Him and Him alone.

A drizzling day today. Overcast with a light misty rain every so often. NOT a good day for our hiking outing (oh well!). We will reschedule--perhaps for a gorgeous, sunny day with fluffy, snow-colored clouds appearing in puffs across the sky.

It was a very nice day in spite of that. I tried out a S.S. class at Stonebriar--and really enjoyed it! I also made a new friend, Lilly. We hope to hang out together after church next week. :o)

Not an afternoon for hiking--but the perfect day for taking a nap. Yes, I took another nap today--this time not for quite as long though. Just 40 minutes. My roommate, Tara, took a nap today, too. This must have just been a nap-taking weekend. And now I'm tired still--but a good tired, a looking-forward-to-more-sleep tired.

So much for exercise today ... Does walking across the church parking lot and down two small flights of stairs count? :o)

I took a 3 1/2 hour nap today. I must have been tired. It sure felt good.

All in all, I think it's been a nice day. I went to my Bible study last night--Tara and I postponed our hiking and Baskin Robbins plans but may get to do that tomorrow. :o) I'm also meeting up with a friend for lunch. It will be fun to catch up with her.

And of course I'm lookin' forward to church.

Today was a good day. I feel that I've been brought through to the other side of something, having a little more of the Lord's perspective because of it. And that's a great feeling. As I drove home from Bible study tonight, I realized my desire is that I not shy away from hard times--that, rather, I allow the Lord to make me more like Himself during those times. There are so many times when I couldn't have said that.

I'm going to a ladies' breakfast tomorrow morning. We'll be learning things like time management and how we make that time to spend with the Lord, etc. I'm looking forward to it.

Today the Lord worked out something--the thing I had been asking prayer for. While there is still a related thing that I need the Lord to change in me, I have faith that He is able to do that. It's encouraging to see how He continues to work in me to shape my perspective and mold me to be a little more like Himself. And I have such a peace in my heart now. Thank You, Lord.

I feel excited about tomorrow and ready for whatever it may hold--by God's grace, of course. Tomorrow right after work my roommate Tara and I have made tenative plans to hike at some fun nature trails and then go for blueberry cheesecake yogurt at Baskin Robbins. Saturday is a ladies' breakfast -- and Sunday after church and Monday evening will be catching up with friends. I'm looking forward to all these times! I think fellowship is so important. :o)

I was eating at Chick-fila (yummy and fun! :o)) with a coupon after work today when I had "one of those moments"--those windows in time when you find yourself transported far beyond this mundane world with its treasures and sorrows. When you are filled with a sacred joy and reminded of all that truly matters. This world and its desires will pass away. But oh, how easy it is to forget that. Especially when we live in the "here and now". When the "here and now" is all around us, clamoring for our attention.

There I was sitting at a little table near the window, thoroughly enjoying my nuggets and waffle fries (and don't forget the barbeque sauce!)--and enjoying the chance to sit down and just relax at the end of the work day--when I got a precious glimpse of the Savior.

Christian music had been playing in the background for the last few minutes (had been loud and clear when I first entered the store) when suddenly words from "I Can Only Imagine" rang loud and clear through the ceiling speakers. And in that instant I was reminded in a vivid way that Jesus is all that truly matters. He--and He alone--is everything I could ever need or desire ...

For a moment in time, I found myself transported beyond the hustle and bustle of the world around me--cars speeding by outside--into a world with just my Savior and I, singing our own melody together.

We all need moments like this. They bring everything that much more into perspective.

As we labor here at the ministry to reach the unreached, the battle is not getting any easier. And yet we can have peace and joy in the midst of it. His peace and His joy, as we spend time in His presence. It is worth it, too -- People in Asia are coming "out of darkness into His marvelous light" and it is our privilege to be part of this! (1 Peter 2:9)

I'm back. :o) And doing MUCH better. Praise the Lord! I'm a little tired, but all things considered, doing well. There is still an unspoken that could very much use prayer -- that the Lord would grant me His peace (much better today, I think!) and work things out for His glory.

It has been nice to have my parents here. We have had such good times of fellowship -- Yesterday we went to Stonebriar church and then to eat at Schlotsky's Deli afterwards. That afternoon we went over to a staff family's home for a special time together. Then tonight we had a nice time of chatting with my roommate, Tara--and sharing prayer requests over mint chocolate chip ice cream. :o)

Tomorrow I'll be back at the office. It'll be a busy day, with work and then prayer meeting and then helping with clean-up afterwards. And my parents will be making the trip back home. Pray for the Lord's protection to be on them as they travel.

I am struggling. And slightly sad about something. And feeling stretched. And tired. By faith I thank the Lord for this, for through these things He is molding me more into the character of His dear Son. If I am to serve Jesus, should I not be willing to pay the price--to embrace the Cross? At the same time, I could use prayer ... to see things as Jesus sees them ... AND, for everything to work out for HIS glory and the furtherance of HIS kingdom.

I did get to see my parents tonight. That was really nice! :o) They're in town--well, in the next town over. Then I went to extended prayer at the ministry. I was so tired but at the same time the fellowship was kind of nice even so. Good night now.