Faith

three-minute thursday: hiatus

Go. It's 5:21 on Thursday morning. In less than 40 minutes we'll be on our way to the Indian Ocean with two cars full of interns. Today's agenda includes screaming down a water slide and giggling around a lazy river. (Did you know I absolutely love water parks?)

Tomorrow and Saturday I'll be soaking up as much as I can at a leadership conference; I have a lot to learn!

Sunday I'll be boarding a plane with my husband. Quite a few of them actually (planes, not husbands) as we fly from Durban to Johannesburg to Frankfurt to Rome to Palermo, Sicily.

I won't be checking email for two-and-a-half weeks. I won't be blogging either. The only new post you'll see while I'm gone is one that's scheduled for a specific day. You'll understand when you see it.

Play nice!

Ciao!

Done.

one step further

How many times have I said, "I never want to be like that" or "I don't ever want to do things the way that person does them"? More times than I can count. But it's not enough for me to say I don't want to do something.

I can hate something---truly loathe an attitude or action---but if all I do is think about the fact that I don't want to do that same thing, I'm not doing enough. I need to proactively think through what I will replace it with. Otherwise with all my mental space focusing on what I don't want to do, when I find myself in that situation, that very thing is probably going to be my first reaction.

Instead, I need to think about what I should do in its place.

I need to take more time to process through the things I've seen and experienced that I dislike and that I swear I don't want in my own life. I need to take it one step further and discover for myself what I will replace those things with, by using common sense, God's Word, and the input of those I trust and respect.

It's not enough to just say "I'll never do that!" I need to determine what I will do.

four minute friday: hope

Go. I'm off to Hope House in an hour. That's the local orphanage I take our interns to each Friday afternoon. This is one of the things I missed most while I was in America.

I love watching the kids' eyes light up as they learn something new. I love seeing them shoot their hands in the air, volunteering to help with the object lesson. I love the zeal with which they recite their memory verses.

But mostly I love sitting quietly with one or two of them, lavishing them with love and feeling my heart be strengthened.

I've been hearing stories of how much the kids have grown, and all the new things they're capable of doing now. I'm looking forward to seeing a healthy Nkosi, a walking, talking, happy Katleho, an interactive Mbali. I'm looking forward to seeing our interns in action, doing what they do best.

I'm tired today and feel like I don't have much to offer. But my arms aren't too tired to hug and to hold; that much I can do. I can be a quiet refuge for a child who needs just that.

This is the perfect ending to my week.

Done.