Avoidance

During the last few months, I have been struggling. As most of you probably know by now this is my final year in the CZ. Since I made this decision, I have had moments of joy, fear, frustration, sadness, peace, hope, excitement, and almost every other emotion on the scale. The part that has been the most difficult has been trying to understand why the Lord called me to a place and a people I have come to love as my own for such a short time, only to bring me back to the US with no defined vision for what He wants me to do next. I have been asking a lot of WHYs? Because of this, I have dived into a quarter-life mini crisis feeling untethered and a little lost at times for a good portion of this year instead of diving into Him. But through it all, I have learned several things and am continuing to learn some world view shaking principles.

1) He never hides, even if you do.
2) Just because you aren't succeeding, doesn't mean you are failing.
3) Leaving doesn't mean saying goodbye, it means work harder.
4) Sometimes "wide-open" is stinking intimidating.
5) Taking a step back, while painful, can truly help you see the bigger picture.

While to you most of these short quips may seem somewhat trite, but to me, they have been grounding. They have helped me to see more clearly the cliche phrases that Christians often pass around about the Lord being there in our times of need and their truth.

I have recently learned that its ok to take your hurt and struggle with it, but truly when you let Him take control, impossible things seem to happen. Personally, I am turning over a new leaf and diving deeply into His love, remembering that I can have as much of the Lord as I want and I am excited to see exactly what that means right now.

My time in Czech has been precious and life-changing, hopefully not just to me, but also to those that I have built relationships with. I continue to pray for Ostrava and the missionaries that are staying behind here. I know that the Lord will continue to do incredible things in this place and I can't wait to come back to see what happens!

I am looking forward to finding my new place in life and spending some time with you all. I thank you for your continued prayers and support. I would also appreciate continued prayers for the people of the Czech Republic and that their lives would be radically altered.

Love you all and talk to you soon!

Christmas Surprise!

Belated Merry Christmas to you all! (Click here to see: Christmas in O-town) I am sorry I did not send out anything this year but I I was a little busy...I went home surprised all you Knox people and had a blast doing it! Let me say that if you ever get the chance to do this to your friends and family, do it! It is the best surprise they will and ever get and it is a ton of fun for you too! Just ensure that you won't give anyone a heart attack when you do it! Well, for your enjoyment, I have made a video compilation of my many surprises caught on film...beware there is a fair amount of screaming and crying from all involved!

I hope to talk to you all again soon! I hope you enjoy it!

Click here: Christmas Surprise

Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change.
James 1:17