LB2

One of God's ragtag teams.

What now?

Help.

Typhoon damage

Huh?

As far as I'm concerned, this describes almost all of HK island.

Typhoon humor

This made me laugh. It doesn't seem photoshopped.

Typhoon Mangkhut

Yes, it's a super typhoon but this seems excessive. It also looks like HK will only be at its edge.

Ah

I cleaned my apartment and then it started raining. Everything feels extra nice for some reason.

Malaysians trying out a Malaysian restaurant

why so hard ....

I feel like in this season I should learn to relax and let God be my Dad. He’ll handle everything and I don’t have to worry or do anything because He’s the one in charge anyway.

My mind, heart, and body need to learn to adjust to this new truth!

5 minutes before the rain arrived

Back at work again

My mentor suggested we meet after the dust settles as we all begin a new semester. Then in one of my replies to something we were discussing over email, I said, "Gosh!!!!!!"

And he immediately offered to meet sooner rather than later because I included so many exclamation marks. He is super sweet.

But nothing's wrong. I used a lot of exclamation marks because I've been having trouble getting back into a respectable work routine and for that moment--and actually even now--I don't feel very motivated to get back into work.

I'm sure God wouldn't approve, but wouldn't it be nice if life were a nice long vacation?

Summer storms

adulting

“The crisis of identity is fundamentally a spiritual crisis. In terms of our faith development we are far enough along in life to know what matters to us most and what our faith represents—a complete adult trust in God as reflected in our resolve to love God and others. If we face ourselves honestly, doubtlessly we will know that no matter how accomplished we are or how talented or how capable or how connected we might be, we are not really in control” (66).

-- Gordon Smith, Courage and Calling

Joy

Gordon Smith's definition of joy: “....rooted in confidence in the goodness of God, trust in his providential care and hope in the ultimate triumph of justice and peace” (160).

Phew

Retour

The highlight of returning to a less than ideal reality: getting my hands on books I ordered while I was away. Three of them by Tim Keller.

Blessings beyond compare

I feel like I lived several different lifetimes in the last few months. Not all of has been easy, but I can say that God is still good. I couldn't have planned the last few months the way they have unfolded. Sure, I would get rid of the hard parts, and that's probably why God wouldn't let me plan my life.

What will the next few months look like, I wonder?

Croatia

The water is so clear you can even see to the bottom at night.

Mediocre dinner because my mom got impatient so I sat down at the nearest restaurant. Worst food I've ever had in Italy....

Death and life

I didn't know this until this year when my dad told me about the tree outside our house. It sheds its leaves once every two years and looks like it's about to die. But after a few days, it grows new leaves again.

This feels so much like our walk with the Holy Spirit. What often feels like a death could be the beginning of new life in us.

The story I will tell

Storyteller (feat. Jamie Grace & Morgan Harper Nichols)

https://soundcloud.com/prettyfreshman-23/storteller-feat-jamie-grace

Goodbye Goettingen!

Almost gone

It's almost goodbye, now!

I haven't been here long enough to feel settled, but I've been here long enough to need closure.

I've enjoyed the mostly good weather we've had this summer. I like having a mostly private office thanks to an office mate who drops in very infrequently. I've enjoyed apfelsaftschorle and flammekuchen and spaetzle, but not much else of German food.

I'm not sure I'd want to come back to travel in Germany. Maybe Bavaria. Germany seems oppresively quiet to me. I'm not sure what it is. And it's so funny that everyone keeps asking me if I want to stay or come back. Maybe my stay was too short for me to feel deeply about the country.

If I had been based in Budapest this summer, I probably wouldn't have gotten anything done. A quiet German town? There's not much else to do but work. And rest after work.

God showed up. But the God we worship is not a ribbons and fluffy lace kind of God. His holiness is terrifying. So who knows what He'll do next?

Well, I'm praying for journey mercies as I close things out here and head out for a much wanted vacation.

"You want to know because you don't want to trust."

-- Jeremy Treat, sermon on Job's conversation with God



Ouch.