Week of January 30 - February 5
Monday - Friday: Relaxed around the house & prepared to head home. The weather changed almost every other day - hot, cold, warm, cooler, etc. etc.
On Thursday, mom and I went to visit some friends/supporters a few hours away. Thanks Miriam, Jim, Aaron and Micah for a great night.
In addition, I have had some great moments with God as I1ve been reading through Piper's Passion of Jesus Christ book with the following quotes encouraging me:
"To be in Christ, means to be in relationship to him by faith." (Rom. 8:1)
"The cross means freedom from the enslavement of ritual." (Gal. 5:11)
"When Christ died, he secured for his people not only new hearts but new security." (Jer. 32:40)
Saturday: Dad and I headed to K-town to see the up & coming UT Men's basketball team. The arena was packed, energy flowed, and another great win behind their belts. Go big orange!
Sunday: It snowed! All I can think of is that as I prepare to head home, God has a sense of humor and is getting me ready for similar weather back in Slovakia. It was a great day to be with my mom and dad to watch the Super Bowl. Those wondering, I went for Seattle since they were the underdogs. Yea I know, Cedric is on the Steelers team.
As for commercials - my favorites were the "streaker" Bud one and the one with the dead fly- humorous but don't ask me what company it was. Ok, the cutest one was the Clydesdales pushing the cart.
Week of January 23 - 29
It seems that most of my time this week has been getting caught up with friends over breakfast, lunch and dinner. Which has been a blast! I want to thank the following from Atlanta for their hospitality, support and friendship- Ethan & Tiffany, Kevin & Sarah, Jason R., Shane, Stephen, Jeff E., Diane & Mark- thanks for everything!, Brian M. & Beth!
On Wednesday, I headed to Chattanooga to see several friends before I returned to my parents on Sunday. It was great to see so many old friends and their families. Thanks to all who encouraged me along the way- the Huskins, Mattilas, Seymours, Underwoods, Foxwells, Brooksbanks, and Martha. Thanks Jason & Carrie for traveling down to see me as well.
Made it home safe and sound after seeing Matt & Jan in Knoxville.
Week of January 16 - 22
The week began in Bristol, VA and ended in Atlanta, GA with friends and family in between. My folks and I are rapidly finishing up a 24 marathon to get caught up with season 5. On Wednesday, we went to their church- they went to the service, while I spent time with the youth. After they were done with their service, they came by to pick me up. It reminded me when I was a younger kid and they would do the same thing. A fond memory!
I arrived safely in Atlanta. I met with NPCC missions director, Durwood, and had a very good & encouraging conversation. I appreciate their partnership very much. I got to spend the evening with some supporters at Scott & Angie Jordan's home. They have a 14th month old son who is the coolest little guy. Thanks Scott, Angie and Jack for making me feel like family and for your hospitality!
On Friday, I got to spend a few hours and lunch with my former co-workers. For me, they were no longer co-workers, but friends. It was great to get caught up and share stories. Afterwards, I went to see the new movie, The End of the Spear, with another friend. It was a good movie and recommend everyone to go see it.
Over the weekend, I got to spend time with my brother and his family. I had a great time hanging out with them and playing Legretto. Thanks Steve, Melissa and Christian for your hospitality and love. On Sunday, I attended NPCC. It was an encouraging message on missions. It was great to be around the body of Christ in worship, prayer and to hear the baptismal stories. In the evening, I spent time with my former ast. Manager and her family. Thanks Steph, Wayne, Ryan and Reid for all you did.
January 15
What a great adventure I had with my parents in Florida. I not only got to see Mickey, my grandmother, aunt, uncle, two cousins and my uncle's mom, but saw God in various places.
At a fish plant- on one occasion, dad took us to a seafood plant where we took a short tour. I saw a blue bin full of shrimp that weighed 700 lbs. As I smelled the shrimp, and saw the masses, all I could think of is God & how he cares for us & supplies us with food. That one bin was in front of many others that will feed hundreds of people who purchase frozen seafood dinners from grocery stores.
In Searching for God knows What - Miller compares the gospel of Jesus, a love story in itself with the love story of Romeo and Juliet at the balcony scene. I was astonished on how he shared the times of Shakespeare, his writings and comparing several themes from this story to the passages in the bible.
Book of Job - as I read Job, I not only saw God's greatness, glory, majesty, might, strength, power, creation, order, laws, limits, and learned why He allows suffering, but noticed how we should reply to any major tragedy, or minor suffering to first turn to the Lord & worship Him. It is funny, but over the past few years I have noticed a few Christian leaders respond just as Job's friends did to understanding why things occur. They bring out the sin issue. How their reactions mirror those of Job's friends. Sure, sin is the root of man's problem, but perhaps just like in Job's case, it is for us to turn to the Lord, and seek Him in all things.
I also saw how one young man, Elihu, handle Job's situation. He showed respect to his elders, sat and listened for a long period of time, before speaking. Was he praying through that time seeking God's wisdom? I don1t know, but what I do know is that I need to follow his lead by listening more and speaking less and wait for the Lord to share from His heart.
And one final lesson from the book of Job was what we can learn from any storm. Elihu uses rain as his example. Now maybe this is just my impression, but I believe while Elihu shared his thoughts, it was raining and used the rainstorm as an example. In 37:13, he shares that God brings the clouds to punish men, or to water his earth and show his love. Later, God will speak to Job in a storm thus is my reasoning for this. If I am wrong, please let me know. However, what I did learn was that through any storm or suffering or tragedy, we might not understand why things occur, but God does. Maybe for some it is a bad thing, like the clouds, but for others it is a good thing, like the water showing us His love!
Sorry if I got out of hand, just wanted to share a few thoughts that hopefully will encourage you as it did me. Hope all things are going well for you and your loved ones. Have had a great time in the states seeing family & friends. In the next few weeks, I will travel to various places - Atlanta and Chattanooga and hope to see many of you. I do miss my friends in Slovakia and am looking forward to returning soon as well.
January 8 - 14
This past weekend, "Missionary Mike" visited Charlotte, NC. It was a refreshing time to be with a few friends and their youth/church. The message was related to parents & youth in regards to when Jesus was in His Father's house and Mary and Joseph were looking for Him for three days. The worship was God-honoring and was an enjoyable time to share my ministry with the youth. I want to thank you Sean, Suzanne, the youth and community of Stonebridge for making my visit a relaxing, refreshing and encouraging time.
I want to thank you for your prayers regarding my eyes. I went to the eye doctor yesterday and was told that I do not need surgery nor can they do anything for me at this time due to a few unknowns. Because of my age, we have time on our side and he would like for me to come back in a year to see how things are going and what new technology they have to correct what I am lacking in my vision. I learned a great deal and know that God has His hand in all of this. No worries, I am not going blind, just have to live with a few minor uncomfortable side effects related to corrective eye surgery.
In the meantime, my folks and I are heading down to Florida for a few days to visit my grandmother, aunt, uncle, cousins and Mickey Mouse! Please be in prayer for us as we travel and spend time with the family. I will be back on line soon.
January 1 - 7
Happy New Year!
Celebrated New Years with a few friends in Atlanta. It was great to laugh and be myself with friends who love me as I am. Interesting I should write this after just reading another Chapter from Donald Millar's Book, Searching for God Knows What. In the 11th chapter, he talks about how we as humans are living in a circus of redemption & not living the human dream, the deepest desires of our hearts; to be loved and accepted.
We live in a circus, or in communities full of illusions, trying to make ourselves look better then someone else, smarter then someone else, or more attractive then someone else. Why? For a response of love and acceptance as one would give to a circus act under the big tent. He says, the fall has made monkeys of us. We are trying to be people we are not and how we act affects our relationships.
However, we don1t need to be monkeys, or care what our audiences think, because we have the creator Himself who has redeemed us and given us our identity in Him. As a believer, I fall into this trap and totally forget the redemption of Christ. I have been redeemed, and am loved and accepted by God! That is all I need.
He offered a cool question that I think we should all consider. "Imagine how much a man's life would be changed if he trusted that he was loved by God?" We would act totally different, much like what the bible calls us to be like, like Christ. It is my prayer that this year, I will understand God's love more, increase my joy in Him, and strengthen my identity in Him as a son/man of God, so that I may live Christ in front of others rather then being defeated and beaten up by the enemy which has led me astray at times.
Thanks God for this valuable lesson, which I plan to live out this new year.
