The Rhythms of God's Grace...

As I sit here and think about where I am going and what I am about to do, tears fill my eyes with joy, sorrow, excitment, fear, nervousness, anxiousness... I used to always say, "I am gonna do this...", or "MY PLANS are to...." - what I am learning is that this is not about MY PLANS but GOD'S. What I thought I was going to do is not what God has me doing. Never did I think that I would be moving to Slovakia to share the Gospel of Jesus Christ to kids. WOW, what an adventure! God's love is so EXTRAVAGANT - his arms are spread so wide, his love is so deep, deeper than the oceans, and higher than the highest mountain that I can not even begin to fathom the love he has for us. I have found that when following God's will for our lives, that yes, to others we look crazy sometimes and probably don't understand ourselves what is going on, but His rhythms are so much more soothing than the paths we create on our own. Yet it may seem scary not knowing what he has planned next, but the adventure is well worth it.

Can life really get better than this? I don't think so!

"Go confidently in the direction of your dreams and live the life you have imagined"
H.D. Thorean

"Who amongst us through worrying has added a single day to our lives..."

As I get ready to move to Slovakia, the thoughts of; comfortable or non-comfortable, God's will or LeeAnn's will, convenience or not so convenient keep coming to mind. It is hard to explain the emotions that I am feeling...if you were to ask me, "Are you _____?" - you could put any emotion in there and my answer would be YES!!!
My friend/roommate (in Slovakia) , Amy, shared with me my emotions compared to a roller coaster...

You pay your money, you want to get on, you know it's going to be a thrill, people tell you how unforgettable and amazing it will be, and as your turn approaches your stomach drops lower and lower. You have thoughts like, maybe I could duck out of line now or am I really sure I want to do this. But you stay in line. You are going to be on the next train and your heart is now in your throat. You try to make light of it, joke a bit, look around at how unafraid and excited everyone else is and think, I can do this. People do this sort of thing all the time. Don't be ridiculous about it. So you get in the silly little car. You strap in.

And you think, what in the world am I doing. This may be a bad idea, But you certainly can't hop off now and you tell yourself to calm down. The train starts click, click, click, click up an incline you can't see over the edge of. You find yourself higher and higher in the air, at a more ridiculous angle than you anticipated. Sweaty palmed you hang on for dear life, pray for it to end soon, and think about faking a seizure or something just so they'll let you off. Click, click, click, how high are we going to go anyway? Hang on, tell yourself everything is going to be ok and swear to God you'll never ride another one of these %$#@ things again.

That is where I am right now. I am click, click, clicking my way to the top of a very scary, very unfamiliar roller coaster. I have no idea what is going to happen when I plunge over that edge in 5 weeks. There are some major differences though between the roller coaster experience above and the situation in which I now find myself. The main difference being that I can be completely confident in the designer, creator, owner, and operator of my particular ride. Instead of a terrifying carnie who hasn't seen a toothbrush in weeks, the operator of all these switches and levers is totally trustworthy, loves me beyond measure and has promised me that he has my best interests at heart.

"For I know the plans I have for you, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future" Jeremiah 29:11

I may have no idea where this ride will go, but my God, who designed it, built it, runs it, and strapped me securely into my seat knows perfectly. Because He is good and trustworthy I have nothing to fear and because my desire is that the purpose of my life will be to make His name Famous I will stay on this crazy train ride.

Vedauwoo , Wyoming