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FINALLY!
My fabulous husband got his Private Pilot’s License a few weeks ago, after 2 years of training. He is actually a pilot!!! I went flying with him last week, we took Jason and Katrina and flew to the Lindsay airport, had breakfast, and then flew home. That was their wedding gift from us, and I think they really enjoyed it. It was a unique gift, to say the least. I had alot of fun flying with Chris- I wasn’t actually scared at all, he is such a good pilot. I hardly felt the landings, and I felt safe the entire time. I’m sooooo proud of him!
Finally figured out how to post pictures:)
This is one of my beautiful babies, sticking her tongue out!! I think this picture is hilarious. It’s especially funny if you actually know Aphrodite (that’s her name).
TANZANIA TEAM 2006
It’s 10:15 on Thursday, right now, and if my calculations are correct (anyone who took gr. 11 math with me, feel free to laugh here), then we are leaving in 61.5 hours! (11:45pm Saturday!).
Can’t wait!
This week has been quite crazy with working at the bookstore and getting ready for the Tanzania trip… and as a trip leader, it’s especially busy. I am a natural “worryer”. I admit it. Whenever something big is happening that I have some responsibility in, I worry like crazy that everything is going to work out, that all the details will be taken care of, that nothing will be missed. That’s what I’ve been doing this last week and this week, until just recently.
God reminded me that for all my fretting and worrying about the trip, and wanting to control everything to make sure it gets done right, I am missing a great opportunity to trust in God, and his provision, guidance, and protection. I know that God is in control, and that he has my best interest at heart. He has called me to this team, and to leadership on the team, and He has promised to carry me through. Ashley (my co-leader) reminded me of something that she was reminded of by someone else… that it is when we feel inadequate that God can best use us, because the truth is, we aren’t adequate… but He is.
These song lyrics by Ginny Owens have been on my mind alot lately, they really capture perfectly how I’m feeling. It’s called “I Am”.
No Lord, he said, you’ve got the wrong guy.
Simple conversation gets me tongue-tied.
And you’re telling me to speak with a maniac king.
Could it be I’ve lost my mind?
And besides, I am weak, don’t you want someone strong,
To lead them out of Egypt when they’ve been there so long?
And anyway, they wont believe You ever spoke to me.
That’s not your problem, God replied.
And the rest is history.
There’s a bigger picture you can’t see.
You don’t have to change the world, just trust in me.
‘Cause I am your creator, I am working out my plan,
And through you I will show them, I Am.
Now Lord, are you sure? He’s just a shepherd boy,
Too small for battle gear with a giant to destroy.
What on earth can he do with five stones and a sling?
That’s not your problem, God replied.
‘Cause I can do anything.
There’s a bigger picture you can’t see.
You don’t have to change the world, just trust in me.
‘Cause I am your creator, I am working out my plan,
And through you, I will show them,
I Am the first, I Am the last,
I Am the present and the past,
I Am tomorrow and today,
I Am the only way.
Great Lord, she said, I’m just a simple girl.
You say that I will bring your son into the world.
How can I understand this thing You’re gonna do?
That’s not your problem, God replied.
‘Cause, there’s a bigger picture,
And you don’t have to change the world.
I’m your creator, I am working out my plan.
And through you, I will show them,
There’s a bigger picture, you can’t see.
You don’t have to change the world, just trust in me.
I’m your creator, I am working out my plan,
And through you, I will show them, I Am.
Elizabeth M. Ricci, B.A.
ooohhh that feels good!!
Well, here we go. Maybe the first thing I should do is explain the title and address of my blog. I really had a hard time deciding what to name my blog because I wanted it to be “good”. You know, that great title that makes people go, “ooh, that’s good… she sounds so brilliantly introspective and insightful, I want to keep reading!” So maybe my title doesn’t really do that for you, that’s ok, because I happen to really like it.
Let’s see if I can explain it the way it is in my head. I was sitting in the caf at my school studying one day, and another girl who goes to my school was sitting there studying, and she started talking about ants, and how funny it must seem to God to be “sitting up there” in heaven, watching us humans, driving around in our little boxes (cars), doing such silly things (too numerous to name), and generally just going about our busy little lives. It might be sort of like us watching an ant colony, and how they go about their busy little lives, carrying this crumb from point A to point B, and how that’s like their goal in life, all the while not even taking notice of the giant human beings watching them.
In this sense, I feel like I am living in a fishbowl (or an ant colony thingie, whatever). I get so wrapped up in my life and silly things in my life that sometimes I forget that there is a very real, very powerful God that exists, watching my every move, knowing it before I even do it, and moreover, knowing every single possible thing about me! I can’t hide from Him, that’s for sure (which is a good thing!). Psalm 119 is a good reminder of this.
The title is true in a second (but somewhat less important) sense too. Life in a consumer-driven society is often inevitably lived in the fishbowl too. The incredible sense of pressure to “keep up with the Jones’s”, in whatever way that works itself out in your particular life, is almost impossible to avoid. There are some who care about that stuff much less than others, but I think 99% of us are not completely immune from it; I think it’s part of original sin- pride and the desire to appear better than we actually are and to find our fulfillment in sources other than Christ. I try to resist it every day, but I admit that it’s hard. This coming from someone who often shops at Wal-mart for clothes, and is proudest of her $3 pair of cords from a thrift shop. If it’s hard for me I can’t even imagine how it is for someone who actually fully buys into that whole world.
I am graduating tomorrow from university with my B.A. in philosophy. Exciting, yes. Scary, definately. I often wish God would just drop me a bit of a hint of a five or ten year plan for my life. Even 3 years would do. Where am I going to be? What will I be doing? More importantly- where does God want me??? This is where I surrender control of my life over to Him and trust Him to guide me in the right direction!
Tomorrow marks the end of my school career (for now anyway). I have been a “student” since I was 4. That’s 18 years of being a student, and now I have to be a grown-up. To be continued…
Red and Honey 