half-five...

...is what time I got up this morning. But after I woke up at 4am. Luckily for me, I'm in the Pacific time zone (in Arizona) so my body was telling me it was 7am and time to get up. I mean, I was awake at 4 and WIDE awake at 5:30. Kind of sad, but it was nice to have a leisurely morning before breakfast at 7:30. Now, if I could only get in bed early enough to wake up at that time and have a leisurely morning every day before work, I may actually enjoy getting up. But no, I stay up way too late doing.... well.... I don't always know. It's amazing how it seems to important at 9pm to watch this week's 2 hr Biggest Loser episode that's on my DVR. Because, you know, it's not like it won't be there tomorrow. I mean, that's just an example. I don't make silly choices like that. I always go to bed when I should so as to get a solid 8 hours of sleep.

Pshh. Right.

6 flights

It had been 8 full months since I had been on a plane.  I went to Ireland to help with some camps at the end of June '08 and got back on a plane at the beginning of March '09 for a training session in Toronto.  

Yes, I have a pretty cool job.  Many things escape me... I am NOT Captain Obvious.  But one thing I do know is that God has blessed me in SOO many ways over the past 4.5 years and while I don't have a top 10 list (yet), I know that many of those are because of my job at Upward.  So, while I get to travel the globe in helping tell kids and their families about Christ, I get to see other people, places and things that God has made.  And it blows my mind.  

I love that even though I was on 6 planes in just a week's time, God used the time in between those flights to re-energate me.  In meeting a group of South Africans (and a Brit) while in the UK, He let me see that His people are energized!  Holy cow - it was a small group, but they are pumped.  They are ready to take the UK by storm and let them know who this Jesus is.

The next "in between" was Ukraine.  This was my fourth trip there and while Ukraine is a cold country and you can still feel Soviet oppression, you can't help but SEE that God is working.  And in huge ways.  Each time I land, I'm blown away by the people I see in line as well as behind the glass window at customs.  I mean, my heart just breaks.

If you haven't heard the song Give Me Your Eyes by Brandon Heath, go listen to it (and watch the vid) on YouTube.  No, seriously.  Go watch it now.  It'll just take 4 minutes and 2 seconds.

But then God lets me see the people I know.  And He introduces me to other believers.  And my heart soars because He's working!  He's working all around us.  We just have to ask Him to let us see where He's working so that we can go and join Him in that.  

My prayer over the past few weeks has been for Him to do just what the song says... as cheesey as it may be.  But I really want Him to open my eyes.  I'm tired of looking through my own and seeing only what I want to see.  I want to see what He sees.  I want to see where His people are, I want to see where His people need help, I want to see where His people need love.  I also want to see where He wants me in terms of those who aren't His yet.  I want to see how He needs me so that the people who have no hope can have all the hope that He gives us.

And that's going to be hard for me.  I don't say that in an "I'm so humble" kind of way either.  I'm serious.  It's SO hard for me to step out because most of the time I just. don't. know. what. to. say.  Period.  God has given me some good ears so that I can listen.  He's given me a heart that can hurt or rejoice right along with you.  But any words that come out of my mouth in regards to what He's doing around me... that's ALL Him.  There are many words that come out of my mouth that are NOT all Him... but that's an entirely different post.

I'll put some pictures up from the latest trips soon, but in the meantime... go watch Give Me Your Eyes.  If you watched it when I asked you to above... then go watch it again.  I promise another 4 minutes and 2 seconds won't kill you.  :)