His Goodness. :)

As I flew from Omaha back to Cleveland on Sunday, I was thinking about the many ways God had blessed me throughout my two week trip. (It was so good, by the way, being with the Mallys and joining the Bright Lights team again!) I hate getting too wordy and then expecting everyone to read my thoughts.-- so I won't go into details-- but God was such a beacon of encouragement to me throughout the entire trip. He so refreshed me.
The greatest way He blessed me is through the verbal encouragement of people around me. I learned a huge lesson on this week. Prov. 16:24,

" Pleasant words are as an honeycomb, sweet to the soul, and health to the bones."

Oh, God, let my words build up and encourage others around me!! How many people are starving to be told that they are valued, noticed in some way? The devil, that accuser of the brethren, seems to constantly attack us and make us think we aren't even good inside, let alone noticed or appreciated by those around us . I want one of my missions in life to be blessing others through my words. To help people see that they are valued and appreciated. I want to make a concerted effort to see what Jesus sees in them, appreciating what He has done in them or what talents He has given them, and letting them know I NOTICE it.

Anyhow, that was a bit of a rabbit trail. On the plane home, I came across some verses while reading in Deuteronomy which literally brought me to tears! (Happy tears.) I'm going to be moving to Alaska from May 17th until August, and it feels a bit like an "uprooting" process. I'm stopping all my commitments and even halting my job while I'll be gone. It's a strange, somewhat unsettling feeling. (I know, I know... "Welcome to the missionary's life, girl"!) :) It's as if an 'era' of my life is ending. Maybe not, but that's how it feels.
Anyhow I loved this:

"The LORD your God who goes before you will Himself fight on your behalf...and in the wilderness...you saw how the LORD your God carried you, just as a man carries his son, in all the way which you have walked until you came to this place.’ [He] goes before you on your way, to seek out a place for you to encamp, in fire by night and cloud by day, to show you the way in which you should go."

Is God a man, that He should have to "go before" and "seek a place for" His people to settle? Of course not. He knew that wilderness better than any man and His foreknowledge would have allowed Him to simply TELL them where to go. Just like that. And yet He paints a beautiful, reassuring word picture of He Himself seeking a place for his children; the Servant King always.

Well there I go again. I was wordy in spite of myself.

Oh by the way, the music video I posted to the left has been going through my mind since Easter! So...consider it a belated Easter thought. :) I love Michael Card.