Time is ticking away...

tick... tick... ticking away! Half of me wants it to S - L - O - W - - D - O - W - N and the other half wants it to hurry up and get here! August 22... 5:50 AM... BNA departure. The part of me that needs it to slow down is the one that has the list of ALL the little things that still need to get done around here. Today, while Chris is in Haiti and Brynna is at JCreek, I am thankful for friends who have come alongside us and asked what we can do specifically to help get ready for this JUMP into the ocean. Prayer is at the top of our list. But, looking way down the list are little things that just add up to give me anxiety. I've never really struggled in my life with anxiety until now. Pray for me, please.

I'm so thankful that Jeff and Kim Willbur came down for a couple days and checked off many little things that sure felt HUGE when they were on the list. The list is slowly getting shorter. And we are grateful. Chris is in Grand Goave this week leading a team. They are building a house with a team of all but one man (GO WOMEN!) and providing VBS and prayer walking and all that jazz.

Last week I was able to meet with an adoptive momma in a coffee shop called "The Well" in Brentwood. Well... our cups both runneth over. We more than sprinkled that place with our tears. Tears of every kind: joy, grief, anticipation, sorrow, pride, anxiety, hope, knowing, not knowing... I have the absolute privilege of delivering a tiny token of their love to their baby boy in an orphanage next week. I'm gonna take videos and pictures and bring them back to her to help the time pass as she awaits the day that her family will be able to bring him home. His name is Jonathan. Will you pray for him and his transition into the U S of A? And pray for his family here who are waiting for the day?

James reminds us in chapter 3 verses 13-16: "Do you want to be counted wise, to build a reputation for wisdom? Here’s what you do: Live well, live wisely, live humbly. It’s the way you live, not the way you talk, that counts. Mean-spirited ambition isn’t wisdom. Boasting that you are wise isn’t wisdom. Twisting the truth to make yourselves sound wise isn’t wisdom. It’s the furthest thing from wisdom—it’s animal cunning, devilish conniving. Whenever you’re trying to look better than others or get the better of others, things fall apart and everyone ends up at the others’ throats.

17-18 Real wisdom, God’s wisdom, begins with a holy life and is characterized by getting along with others. It is gentle and reasonable, overflowing with mercy and blessings, not hot one day and cold the next, not two-faced. You can develop a healthy, robust community that lives right with God and enjoy its results only if you do the hard work of getting along with each other, treating each other with dignity and honor."