863 - 883

WHEW ... it has been a crazy few days.

I am sitting here with my diet coke, my Bible gateway and my notes trying to prepare to speak at a church tomorrow night about loving our neighbor.

That is my favorite thing to speak on ... I truly, truly believe that it's not our snazzy conferences or relevant church services that are going to change our world ... I believe with all my heart that it is daily, consistently, intentionally loving like Christ that is going to help people find the hope that is found in Him!

My students have been doing Project Thankful this month at BCM.  I've been trying to hit the highpoints of 1000 Gifts with them ... encouraging them to list gifts but also to practide gratutude.

So, we've been practicing gratitude in different ways.  We've been mailing letters to some of Callie's Navy friends.  Kristina is a sweet girl who is on her second deployment this year.  She is also a mom of two adorable kids and is going through a divorce.  She doesn't know how LOVED she is by the Creator of the universe.  Praying in some small way that these letters give her a further glimpse into the God who loves.  We are also writing to two Navy wives in CA whose husbands are deployed.  If it weren't for Callie, I would forget that deployment does not just affect the one who goes.  These sweet wives are also moms ... one is pregnant with her first child, the other a single mom (for now) to her toddler.  I got sweet messages from two of those women this morning and was in tears to know that something so small as a card from a stranger could make a difference in someone's life.  But, it does.

We also wrote notes to cancer patients and it was so sweet to see the short sentences students wrote to encourage someone in a hard time.

Thursday we are setting up a table in the student center and asking students what they are thankful for.  Praying for opportunities to talk about more than family, friends and college football! :-)  Although did you see those HOGS ... #6, baby!

Being the "rules" kind of girl ... I threw out there that I was sending out 30 handwritten letters this month as part of Erin's Project Thankful ... and the last of those went into the mail last night.  I tried to think of people who are not just the big 10 who ALWAYS come to mind when I think of my blessings, but whose touch in my life is none-the-less impactful.  The goal was not to get responses ... the goal was to bless.  But, I got a sweet response that (in part) said ...
Karen, well ya did it. You made me cry. What a sweet and thoughtful thing to say and do. Obviously it means so much that you consider me such a friend.

30 little cards ... a few bucks in postage.  Maybe it's time for me to ditch facebook birthday wishes and start again, in paper and ink, reminding people of the gift they are ... if it means that much, my 5 minutes is so well worth it.

Lots of good stuff ... but lots of hard stuff, too ...

There are so many places I see my own deficiencies in being a good friend ... like the friend with lupus whose family is struggling and I've not even sent a card or made a phone call ... let alone offered to babysit or take a meal ... and am overwhelmed with the needs of those around me (makes the things I am facing seem kind of silly) ... those who are facing cancer and chemo, those whose marriages bring hurt daily, those whose retirement years are not what they had in mind when they were 30 and carefree ...

Does anyone else feel like they are juggling so many balls that any slight movement will topple the universe??  It's just exhausting.

Last week I started receiving harrassing letters from someone I knew at UGA through his involvement in BCM.  He has very different views than I on women in ministry and for some reason he's made it his goal to debate me, publically, about these views.  I've come up against people before who do not agree with my position in ministry.  We've had good conversations and in the end, agreed to disagree.  Hard not to take it personally ... but it's part of life. 

Thankfully, I have a boss (and he has a boss) that have little tolerance for harrassment and who are dealing with this guy on my behalf.  BUT, he has a long history at UGA with some irrational (i.e. mentally unstable) behavior.  So, while his letters are harrassing ... his history makes him a bit more menacing ... and yes, I am leaving out the conversations about restraining orders, guns, and mace. 

Yes, it's been a tough few days ... probably going to get worse before it gets better and I am struggling hard to let the peace of God reign in my tired, overwhelmed, scared heart.

So, I'm going to stop and count gifts and retune my life to gratitude rather than fear ... perfect love casts out fear, right?  I think that's what I read!

863. peace that passes understanding
864. people who love well
865. encouraging words ... such a sweet sound
866. remembering what Andy Stanley said ... that I can do for the one what I WISH I could do for the many and being content in that
867. quiet mornings of sudy and prayer and diet coke
868. opportunities to share God stories
869. opporutnities to live God stories
870. going HOME
871. Christmas shopping ... I am so in the Christmas mood
872. Christmas crafting
873. snail mail letters
874. overcast days
875. wireless internet that lets me work from my couch, chair, starbucks, CFA, well, you get it ...
876. brown paper packages tied up with string
877. a friend who cooks dinner for me
878. flexibility
879. chocloate pecan pies
880. eating healthy and liking it
881. worshipping at River Hills
882. clean sheets
883. bath and body works wall flower smells