So Thankful...

I shouldn't be so surprised by the outpouring of support by the people around me, I really shouldn't. God has been so faithful to surround me with people who love and care for me and who will get on their knees and pray for me when I go and do something crazy like travel halfway around the world to learn more about God's heart and share what I learn. I'm so humbled by the servant-hearts I see in so many of my friends and family.

To every person who has offered their prayers and committed to continued prayer...THANK YOU. I mean it. Seriously...you just take a second and really understand how very, very grateful I am for each and every one of you. Go ahead...let that sink in....

THANK YOU...
truly...
deeply...
genuinely....
YOU ARE A BLESSING to my very heart...and the heart of God, no doubt.

My heart is soooooo full knowing God's faithfulness through the lives of each of you...just like I said in an earlier blog that I couldn't prepare for this trip without God's direct intervention, I know that I also could not have prepared for this trip without the community around me. In your prayers and support, I experience real love - the love of Christ.

My dear [friends], let's not just talk about love; let's practice real love. This is the only way we'll know we're living truly, living in God's reality. It's also the way to shut down debilitating self-criticism, even when there is something to it. For God is greater than our worried hearts and knows more about us than we do ourselves. And friends, once that's taken care of and we're no longer accusing or condemning ourselves, we're bold and free before God! We're able to stretch our hands out and receive what we asked for because we're doing what he said, doing what pleases him. Again, this is God's command: to believe in his personally named Son, Jesus Christ. He told us to love each other, in line with the original command. As we keep his commands, we live deeply and surely in him, and he lives in us. And this is how we experience his deep and abiding presence in us: by the Spirit he gave us. (I John 3:18-24)

One last note, friends...
Brandi McElheny, from Children's HopeChest, is putting together a group blog for the team I'll be traveling with. If you want to keep up with additional insights from others on my team, follow: http://hopechestindia.blogspot.com over the next two weeks. The group blog will include bios for each team member, a daily prayer guide, trip photos, and more. Additionally, if you would like more information about how you can get involved with organized prayer coverage, please email Brandi at: brandi@hopechest.org. She is putting together a schedule. :) She will also be sending out updates on details of the trip that may not be posted publicly on individual's blogs or the group blog, so if you're interested in those details, contact Brandi.

Hey, did I say that I was thankful for you? Because I am. Truly.