Ruth

I'm doing Kelly Minter's new Bible Study on Ruth. So far it's amazing! It wouldn't be a study that I would normally pick up, but thanks to my friend Nikki, I did. I can relate so much to Ruth and Naomi; it's really helping me. This whole move to Vegas has been bittersweet. On one hand it's been amazing and I am really grateful to God for allowing us to do this. On the other hand I feel like a missionary, far from home.

One of the lessons in the study talks about 'weeping forward'. Naomi and her daughter-in-laws are on the road back to Bethlehem. Along the way Naomi tries to talk both the girls into leaving her and returning to their homes. It's a huge bawl-fest; everyone is in tears. Orpah decides to go home and Ruth insists on staying with Naomi. Both girls wept, but they wept in different directions. Orpah wept going backwards (back to Moab) and Ruth wept going forward (to Bethlehem). Kelly says, "Although there will be weeping in this life, the direction in which we weep is what truly matters."

She goes on to compare Paul's weepy farewell to his friends in Ephesus (Acts 20:22, 36-38) to the parable of the rich young man (Mark 10:17-22). "The apostle Paul wept but didn't allow his grief to stop his forward motion while the rich young man walked away from Christ with great sadness. It's difficult to point a finger at Orpah or the rich young ruler because we too may have turned back in the face of loss or adversity. But how great the honor and reward of Ruth and Paul who, in their tears, kept walking forward."

When I left Virginia Beach I left weeping...forward. But there are days when, if I'm honest, I weep backward. I long for the 'old days' and forget what the days ahead will bring. I forget the amazing work that God is doing and will continue to do here.

So how about you? If you're honest, which way are you weeping? One of the things that helps me is journaling and putting it all out there for God; every thought, frustration, disappointment and tear. Kelly ends the lesson by saying, "God sees your tears. Cry them, wipe them, feel them, but don't let them stop you. It's possible to cry and walk."

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A Busy Summer!

The kids finally finished school a few weeks ago. Thankfully we are done with year-round school schedules for good! The city has transitioned all year-round schools to traditional schedules.

We spent last week outside Sacramento at a camp for Mien (a people group that lives mainly in Southeast Asia, but also in the US and Canada) teenagers. We "adopted" the Mien when we were part of Forefront and have continued our commitment to them at Verve. Vince was the main speaker; it was a blast. The best part was that Dawson got baptized! After much thought, prayer and lots of good questions he decided to get baptized with 29 Mien kids on Friday.

I still haven't received any test results. I have an appointment in the middle of August; I'm still having issues and can't drive...ugh!

If you've been reading my blog, you know that I have a passion for human trafficking. I felt sure that God was leading me to get my Master's Degree in Counseling or Social Work. Some things happened that made me think that maybe He wasn't leading me in this direction, so I kind of gave up on it. Well, God has made it pretty clear that this is what I'm supposed to do after all.

I'm in the very beginning stages of checking out schools (I'm hoping to get my degree online), requirements, tuition, etc. Do you know of any scholarships for moms going back to college, and/or pastor's wives, and/or anything?! Also, I'm looking at Regent or Liberty right now. Any thoughts on either of those, or an online program that I'm not thinking of? Thanks!

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