Conversations

Oh, life. You make me want to dance for joy sometimes.
Occasionally, you make me want to scream.
Right now, I'd say I'm swingin' right in the middle. It's a good place to be.

But really, any place is a good place to be when you're free in Christ.
Even the not-so-comfortable places.
I need to remember that.

Speaking of the word "comfortable", I tried teaching this word to my conversation partner, Muteb (He is from Saudi Arabia! How cool is that?) the other night. Through that experience, I have yet again come to the realization that English is truly a stupid language sometimes. I wrote down "c-o-m-f-o-r-t-a-b-l-e" on the memo pad we were using for illustrations, and told him, "This is how we write the word in English." Then, I penned beneath it the letters "c-o-m-f-t-e-r-b-l-e", and told him, "...but this is how we say it." He absolutely could not get that pronunciatin to come out of his mouth for some reason. I have decided that we (namely, I) definitely take for granted the fact that we (I, again) learned English as our first language.

"You have this saying about cats and dogs to mean it is raining very hard," Muteb says.
It takes me a minute to register with that one.
"Oh, yeah. 'It's raining cats and dogs.'"
"Why do you say that?"

Introspective moment.

"I honestly have no idea."

Anybody out there in the blogging world have an answer for me on that one?


Aside from all the English stuff we get to talk about, we've also had a lot of chances to talk about what we believe (which, as you might have guessed, is quite different). He seems very eager and curious about my views on religion (which was kind of hard to explain in basic English, considering the fact that I identify myself with Christ instead of with Christianity-- but I trust the Spirit took over where my human limitations could not reach), and is very open to talking about the differences. He's even expressed an interest in visiting a Christian church with me sometime. :)
All of that makes my heart want to explode with happiness, because anyone coming to know the real risen Savior it is definitely a reason to celebrate-- but I would like to ask for prayer in matters of wisdom, gentleness, patience, and discernment... etcetera-- to the max. I know my friend's salvation does not depend upon me, and I cannot make anyone accept the life-giving water that Christ has to offer the (often unknowingly) thirsty. Pray that seeds will be planted, in the very least. Pray that I do not forget that without Christ, I can do little (aka nothing)-- and that includes evangelism. Anything that happens does not happen because of anything I do. (I'm kind of preaching to myself here... because I know I'll need the reminding). :)


Just some thoughts that have been on my heart as of late, that I felt were worthy enough to share here.

On other notes--

*I'm going home this weekend for the first time (first whole weekend, I mean) since school started. I'm stoked. It is Homecoming, and by golly, I am coming home, Bolivar. :) While it kind of pains me to be absent from Springfield/MSU for 2 1/2 days, I cannot wait to be reunited with family and great old friends once again. :)
*I'm going to another CRU Small Group tonight, because one of the girls I met a couple weeks ago at PoHo (whom I hit it off with splendidly and really enjoy a lot!) is a leader, and invited Chrissy and I to come. Hopefully, I'm prayin', this will work out. If not, 'tis okay. I'm just waitin' on the Lord for His direction on this'n.
*Tomorrow I meet with the director of the Multicultural Center to go over orientation for my volunteer work there. I can't wait to get started there. :)
*In case it hasn't been made clear-- I'm SO glad I still get to take voice lessons this year.
*I made bread (thank you, lara weaver for the recipe!) this weekend, and we have two loafs and a ziploc bag of scrumptious rolls sitting downstairs in the pantry as a result. It takes every fiber of my being to resist peeling back the tin foil to sneak a pinch of the whole-wheat goodness every ten minutes. (Which I would totally be doing, if I had absolutely no will-power, and a more durable digestive tract).
*God is good, all the time. This will never cease to be true. Sometimes (last night, for example, after a good 30 minute workout, sitting on the porch swing and looking up at the sky) I sit and ponder what we (namely, Jesus and I) have come through over the past two years or so. A lot of times, I still find myself asking: "Why?". But I never doubt God's goodness, nor loose faith in the fact that His purpose is being played out all the while, even when it seems like I'm sitting in a ditch somewhere on the side of the road I'm supposed to be on, feeble and stagnant.
"God keeps His word even when the whole world is lying through its teeth." (Romans 3:6)

And His word is full of promise. Everywhere. Just look it up. :)