Spontaneity

I think we're crazy. We decided on Sunday to go to Europe for 10 days. We're leaving next Tuesday...less than a week from now. That's the crazy part. We wanted to do this trip anyway, and on Sunday it occurred to us that to go next Tuesday is the most logical and economical time for us.

On Monday and Tuesday I was scared and nervous. I wasn't sure if we should go. I was freaked out that we wouldn't be able to find our way around and that we wouldn't have places to stay. I was afraid that God wouldn't want us to use our money in that way.

I'm the most indecisive person you know, so I think that God just ends up leading me by shoving me along rather than telling me what to do because I'll debate back and forth with my mind for days if that is the case. As I sought him about this, I started to feel more at ease and more excited.

We're doing it. We got our tickets this morning.

Now that we've begun the process, God has been providing in the coolest ways. We found tickets for $200 cheaper than anything we had seen for three days. God sold our car. We might have a place to stay in London.

We don't deserve this gift. It's not like it's a mission trip or something that we can make look exceptional. But, I do feel God giving us unnecessary presents, and I'm so thankful.

We're going to London, Oxford, Rome, and Venice. If any of you have contacts in those places, we'd much much rather stay with a family than in a hostel. Let us know.

ABC's

I was teaching one of my kindergarteners the names of the white keys. The keys are ABCDEFG over and over, so I asked her if she knew her abc's. So, she sang her abc song for me...ya know, the abc song we all know. Actually, her version was especially cute. Same old melody with a bit of a twist.

She sang:

ABCDEFG....HIJK...ellopello P...QRSTUV...WX..YNZ

I guess that's why they changed the song.

An Offering

I have been so tired lately. But, I'm pretty sure that everyone I come into contact with can say that very thing. Sometimes I feel burnt out, exhausted, needing to be alone to reenergize...

But, I just read the phrase "Well done good and faithful servant." It reminded me that we're not supposed to be good and faithful comfortable people who make a good amount of money and have lots of friends to enjoy life with. We are servants. We're here to do a very important job. And, we're supposed to labor to accomplish it. When we die, Jesus will welcome us into our rest. This earth is not the time for rest.

Yeah, I know; we can't just go, go, go constantly. God did set aside a day commanding us to take a break and regain momentum. But, for me, right now, it's encouraging and inspiring to remember that I'm supposed to be a servant, and it's ok to pour myself out and be spent.

Let's show some love

For all you Sandals people who read my blog:
Mikko and Heidi Sivonen are leaving to serve as missionaries in Finland next week. They're having a going away party this Saturday at Heidi's parent's house. It's for everyone...even people who don't know them but want to support the missionaries of Sandals. Please try to come. It's in Sun City which is kind far, but they need our support right now. Going away to do missions can be a lonely thing at times.

If you can come, that's awesome. If you can bring food with you, that's even better. Email me if you can bring food. Tell more people too because I know they would be so encouraged by lots of people being there to love and send them off.

Email me for directions: leahvis@gmail.com

Not finished

I've definitely never considered myself a Pharisee. Pharisees are the bad guys in the gospels. They are the example of what not to do. I've pretty much always seen them as jerks, and I've been constantly thankful that I'm not one of them.

I've been doing pretty well in life. I'm a great girl and really most people are probably so thankful to have me around. And then...BAM...reality hits and the last three sentences turn into a pile of poop. Now I'm not trying to be down on myself. I'm just being honest. Lord, thank you for searching deep within me and displaying all the work yet to be done.

I have been a Pharisee. I have been judgmental. I haven't loved above all else. I have let fear lead the way, so I've needed to protect myself. I'm sure many in my path have felt condemned.

But, I look behind me, and I hurt for those I have trampled on.

I admit the truth. I am a work in progress. Some parts of me God has made beautiful. And some parts of me are yet to be completed. I just have to remember both sides of that.

The Forbidden Book

I'm reading the Da Vinci Code right now. I'm really excited about it because earlier in the year I was talking to a girl about God and she kept bringing up the Da Vinci Code. Later, I emailed her to keep in touch, and when she responded, that's what she asked about, again.

Soon, I can email her and tell her I read it. Hopefully it'll spark more discussion between us about Jesus. It's also a really good story so far. Derek told Rob it's like watching TV. Yeah, it's definitely entertaining.

I really want to finish it before the movie comes out. I just know it's going to make people want to talk about Jesus. I'm excited for that opportunity because it's never this easy for me to have such a discussion. People are so interested in this book, and I'm going to take advantage of it.

Best Friends

If any of you read both mine and Rob's blog, you might notice that we almost always blog at the same time. Even right now, we're both blogging, and as we have been blogging we realized that we have two subjects of things to write about. So, we each decided to write two blogs in one night. Yeah, we really do do everything together. Seriously, we literally spend about 132 hours together in a week. There are only 168 hours in a week.



Yes, I did just figure that out right now. I thought it would be interesting. We're very blessed because I know most people don't have that luxury.

You know what. I'm doing three blogs tonight because this random thought was too long.

An update

So, I followed through on my committment to visit that lady in the nursing home. I brought up the time that she mentioned Jesus being the angel Michael. She didn't remember talking to me about that. But, I continued by asking her if she knew about Jehovah Witnesses. She said, "Oh yeah, they come and do Bible studies every Thursday. But, I don't go to those anymore."

I guess she wasn't being misled. I'm glad about that. It makes me sad that Jehovah Witnesses are in the nursing homes leading the elderly in Bible Studies. It's a smart move on their part because they definitely have a willing audience as it's probably one of the lonliest places on earth. These people are about to die and they are getting the last word in.

I guess the most logical thing to do in response is to start my own Bible study at the nursing home too.