I literally live in the backyard

of our nations capitol.

I was walking home tonight and I couldn't even believe the scenery that was behind me.

As I turned around to shed a glance at the monuments behind me I could not help but to smile with joy at my present circumstances.

Ask and it shall be given to you, seek and you shall find, knock and the door shall be open unto you...

I have moved in with a group of young ladies from a good church. It is so refreshing to come home to people whom I know know the truth & seek it. As I am writing here tonight- I am also filled with a smile of joy because the past 2 hours have been filled with wedding planning.

What a fun time of life for Laura Beth... weddings truly are something to be hopeful for. =)

I have actually found my favorite wedding dress- Vera Wang (which might just make my dad say 'very wong' hahahaha). Looking forward to wearing it someday... I have enclosed the link of course. Vera Wang and the 'Divine Obsession' please watch this. =)

On the flip side of rose petals and engagement rings...

The Ugandan boys have passed the physical testing of their trying hearts. Both boys are doing splendid and are eagerly anxious to return to Uganda. I am looking forward to next week- I will be meeting up with the disassembled group from Memphis, New York and Indianapolis to re-unite Allan and Daniel with their fellow heart pals. =) A major blessing that all has gone well.

I am looking forward to these little ones being back home with their families and praying as they go that their hearts would be softened/opened to the gospel from this trip forward.

Quick update...

Thankful for you and your prayers over my life.

Growing

Always growing, always learning...

So thankful for the people in my life and the dear friends the Lord has blessed me with.

This week I have really been meditating on the different ways the Lord reveals himself to us. Creation is the most beautiful revelation of his glory (to the eyes that is...).  Out of all his creations PEOPLE are the most beautiful to me- especially, growing people.  I love the way the Lord brings people into our lives to reveal himself and his graces to us. Last night I read through a really good essay by Archibald Alexander on Growth in Grace. 

Read it my friends. =) Encouraging and edifying. 

Personally I found a single paragraph to be very convicting and challenging.

"Another powerful cause of hindrance in the growth of the life of God in the soul is that we make general resolutions of improvement, but neglect to extend our efforts to particulars.  We promise ourselves that in the indefinite future we will do much in the way of reformation, but are found doing nothing each day in cultivating piety. We begin and end a day without aiming or expecting to make any particular advance on that day. Thus our best resolutions evaporate without effect. We merely run the round of prescribed duty, satisfied if we do nothing amiss and neglect no external service which we feel to be obligatory.  We resemble the man who purposes to go to a certain place and often resolves with earnestness that he will some day perform the journey, but never takes a step towards the place.  Is it at all strange that that person who on no day makes it his distinct object to advance in the divine life, at the end of months and years is found stationary? The natural body will grow without our thinking about it, even when we are asleep, but not he life of piety, which only increases by and through the exercises of the mind, aiming at higher measures of grace.  And as every day we should do something in the good work, so we should direct our attention to the growth of particular graces, especially of those in which we know ourselves to be defective. Are we weak in faith? Let us give attention to the proper means of strengthening our faith and, above all, apply to the Lord to increase our faith.  Is our love to God cold and hardly perceptible, and greatly interrupted by long intervals in which God and Christ are not in all our thoughts? let us have this for a daily lamentation at the throne of grace- let us resolve to meditate more on the excellency of the divine attributes, and especially on the love of God to us- let us be much in reading the account of Christ's sufferings and death, and be importunate in prayer, until we receive more copious effusions of the Holy Spirit; for the fruit of the Spirit is love, and the love of God is shed abroad in our hearty by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us. And so we should directly aim at cultivating and increasing every grace; for the divine life, or 'new man', consists of these graces, and the whole cannot be in health and vigour while the constituent parts are feeble and in a state of decay. " 

Sincere thinking about personal growth...

I am thankful for the men/women in my life who encourage me daily, weekly, monthly or even at times yearly to "re-align" myself, if you would, in the written word of God and daily obedience to it. 

" Let those of us who are mature think this way, and if in anything you think otherwise, God will reveal that also to you. Only let us hold true to what we have attained. Brothers, join in imitating me, and keep your eyes on those who walk according to the example you have in us."

Philippians 3:15-17

Metro...

Welcome to DC. wow. Today was my first, successful, smooth, and what I would consider "empowering" day riding the metro! Thank goodness it was only on day two that I gained such quick (self-proclaimed) competency. HA! I decided it was well worth my money & efforts to give the metro's maps/schedules at least 3o minutes of my precious scrutinizing time after yesterday's tragic incompetent riding episode. Turns out reading has brought about victory once again in the world of Kata.
DC is fantastic. The weather has been unbelievable since I arrived. Yesterday I was able to bike to the monuments and watch the sun set over the Potomac. I feel very blessed to have ended up in this city for this season. Living close to the National Cathedral and American University has been so great as well.
Tonight, as I was rummaging through graduate programs...looking into different areas of study, I realized that there are just too many things in life to experience. I can't even begin to fathom how people choose their area of study!?
Deep down I would love to be a writer- I would love to write vignettes about the people and places I see & visit. An "in the field reporter" would be a fantastic fit. =) However when I discussed this with the woman whose home I have been fortunate to be living in (she is an editor) she said some very thought intriguing things. She really emphasized that it does not take a masters or even doctorate in English literature to make an excellent writer- but it takes time, people & experience.
If you have read any of the previous posts on my blog- you would realize in my case it would take a little more than those three things. For instance, an EDITOR, spell checker, proof reader, how about a thesaurus to have a little variety in word usage, and most importantly- readers.

J.I. Packer never intended to be an writer- this statement speaks for itself.
(I am in no way trying to compare myself to Packer...just a little encouragement that God is gracious and always working- his purposes will prevail and he will be glorified- in whatever measure he chooses to use & refine us).

So, in the meantime- as I continue down the educational road in medicine/nursing/healthcare...blah blah blah- I can dream about one day ending up on the Washington Post!
Until then- I will continue riding the metro (which is a breeding ground for good literature), continue in my nursing, and continue on to wherever the next airbus 330 might take me.
Once again, welcome to DC- glad you could join me.

Kampala Uganda

Lake Victoria

Only hours ago- well I should say a day ago- I was sitting in a beautiful, lush bustling country. The temperature was pleasant and the sun was shining. Lake Victoria was glistening and the storks were hunting for their next meal. I have just returned from Kampala Uganda transporting for Samaritan's Purse. It is close to 5am there now and I bet the sun is beginning to rise- and the roosters are crowing. Kampala is Uganda's Capitol city with roughly 2 million people. The people are beautiful and the children are many. Uganda has over 2 million orphans. Among those numbers (I don't know exact percentages) the AIDS virus is not uncommon. While I was there for a short while I was able to visit one orphanage that is run by a young American woman who truly has over 100 children. She is not alone- she has wonderful Ugandan residents who work with her and take care of all these little ones. As I was able to spend a small amount of time with a handful of the babies and kids my heart was broken again. I don't know how to describe the feeling you get when a little one lifts his/her arms and with droopy little eyes pleads with you to pick them up for a hug and attention. I don't think anything else in life gives me more joy than holding a precious little one.

Little ones at the orphanage