The Journey is the Joy

For Joy so great it cannot be described in broken, fallible words
For the opportunity to pour out a sweet offering of Good News far and wide over a distant land
For a community of like-hearted young and old with which to share the journey
For a son and daughter who love unreservedly
For the gift a loving family is to those who have never seen it
For laughter found in a thousand ways with a thousand new faces
For sweet worship as two tongues intermingle
For hope where despair rained behind an iron curtain nearly 50 years
For broken vessels a good God chooses to use
For young people who take faith steps and are used to bring the hopeless, broken to Jesus
For open hearts that trust unreservedly
For those who love and pour spiritual life into us
For a husband who lives to share Life with anyone and everyone
For the incredible privilege of living a life of faith with him
For the chance to sacrifice greatly in this ONE LIFE we are given
For Kingdom purposes to reign and call us deeper into Divine Love

For beautiful, new friends who share in the sacrifice of comfort for the unknown of a foreign land
For wonderful, old friends who have lit the pathway to pursuing God’s calling
For those who love and give and do not use
For precious young people who embrace and love on our little ones
For “little sisters” who entered my heart to stay forever 5 years ago
For their love and place within our family being so quickly known

• For a quaint European town that holds priceless beauty…

a palace garden to remind you of majesty
a church whose chimes take you to another era
a lake view whose sailboats paint a constant Monet
a 50 cent ice cream cone
a train station that a 2 year-old boy considers his greatest entertainment
a priceless dorm to house students from all over the country
a dorm to house staff to share the love of Jesus on this holy ground
a resilience that can only come from the Lord’s Spirit and cannot be broken amidst dust, scaffolding, drilling, hammering and any other construction noise
a sense of community that causes us to long for Heaven

• For a gorgeous city to journey to once again

and it’s majestic night view that only gets more beautiful each time beheld
for bridges that have stood amidst war and communism
for fortresses and castles and citadels that have stood against the same evil affronts
for millions of people whose faces depict generations of untold misery and hopelessness

for a hope that stands as the majestic buildings have

for trams that a young son loves to ride to and fro
for his reminder that the journey is the joy
for bright-eyed excitement that exclaims and proclaims
for a vision that from this land the good news will go forth to untold lands
for leaders who have lived dark days and remain faithful
for the courage to ever believe “the best is yet to come”
for a generation on fire whose faces are the hope of the Coming Kingdom
for a deep sense of unworthiness to behold any of this
and yet to have been given just this gift…

THE BEST IS INDEED YET TO COME!!!!!!!!

(#66-120)