Old friends return

Ayako came to visit! Ayako and I met back in 2001 at Anderson College when I was a sophomore and she was an exchange student from Japan. I saw her last February when I was in Tokyo and she came to the US this January for a visit! What a wonderful blessing!

A little background: Back in 2001 Ayako and I became friends and I was instantly burdened with the fact that she didn't know Jesus. This started an eight-year marathon of praying and a many times of talking to her about Jesus, watching the Jesus film and providing her with a Bible in Japanese. Eight years later? She's a believer! Yay God! What a testimony to God that He continues to keep working in people long after you think. I can't explain how thrilled I am for her that she now knows Jesus. God is amazing!

We all have 'em

I am currently standing in my kitchen ready to go out to eat with friends downtown Charleston. I took a moment to look at the calendar I received from Samaritan's Purse. For the month of May there's a picture of a man standing next to a wall in Lebanon that reads "When I am afraid; I will trust in You."

Now the people living in Lebanon have more to be afraid in their day-to-day lives than I do; that I know. But as I stood here looking at the picture and reading what it said, I thought, I too am afraid sometimes. In fact, there is something I'm afraid of right now.

The Lord does not say that we can only trust in Him when are afraid for our lives or if we are afraid of famine or great pain. He just says to trust Him.

Whether they are big fears or small fears we can trust in Him. (Sigh).

New Year's!

New Years was a blast! 1-1-10 started off with a walk downtown Charleston. What a good idea! It was a cool, brisk morning and I headed out by myself. While walking down King St. I saw a rather large pile of extensions on the ground. I guess some women got tired of wearing them on New Years Eve and just chunked them down at some point.

I also did a little experiment while walking. I said "Good Morning" to every person that I saw. With the exception of four 19-yr-old girls I got a 97% return on my investment with people responding with smiles and "Good Morning". It was nice. I even had an old lady wink at me!

So, anyone making New Year's resolutions? I started that thought process last night. So still figuring it out. I've come up with one and that's to read more this year: to read at least one book each month. Definitely doable!