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Hello again, fair reader. If it seems like a while since I've written, that's because I've been a bit preoccupied with a new obsession in the form of Lost. Oh man, is it addicting. I had been holding out to watch it after I graduated, so I started a week or so ago and managed to watch all five seasons in rapid succession (thank you, Netflix!). This show should come with a Surgeon General's warning because it's like crack. One night, I seriously stayed up til 7am. No lie.
And it's just so smart. I love a good show that makes my brain hurt. I think my jaw may be sore from dropping so much. The allusions to the Bible and literature weave little mysteries in and out of the plot line and occasionally make for a great punch line (like the time Sawyer calls Charlie "Oliver Twist" HAHA!). Bottom line: I. Love. It.I'm waiting anxiously for the premiere on February 2, and to bide the time, I decided to make a list of all the questions I have to see how many they end up answering in the final season. If you have no idea what I'm talking about, just skip the rest of this post. ;) Here goes nothin'...*insert obligatory spoiler alert here*1. Who is Jacob's mysterious nemesis? Esau maybe? And is he good or bad?
2. What the frick is the smoke monster?!
3. What makes Walt so "special?"
4. Why can only Claire raise Aaron, and where is that girl anyway?
5. Will Charlie come back somehow? (Oh, I do hope so! He's my fave.)
6. Will Desmond have to return to the island? Will that lead Penny to look for him again (using that snowy listening station)?7. What happened after the nuke went off?8. What happened to the real Locke? Is he really dead?9. Who are the Adam and Eve skeletons in the caves?
10. What happened to Ben's childhood friend Annie?
11. What's in Hurley's guitar case, and why did Jacob give it to him?
12. Why didn't Sun go back to 1977?
13. Why can Hurley and Miles see/talk to dead people?
14. Is Widmore really good or bad?15. Will someone finally kill Ben already?!!!
16. Who was the man in the hot air balloon?17. Will Aaron ever get Charlie's DS ring?18. How did Desmond, Charlie, Eko, and Locke survive the Swan implosion?
19. Will Sayid somehow get Nadia back?
20. Will we get to see the Dharma headquarters in Ann Arbor?
21. Are there more Dharma stations?
22. Why does the Island/Jacob speak through Christian?
23. What is "the Island's" real agenda?24. Where did Richard Alpert come from, and why does he never age?
25. What happened to the Arrow station, and why was there a Bible there?26. What are the whispers in the jungle really?27. I know the numbers will still have an important significance, but what?!
28. How did the statue get destroyed?
29. What exactly is this "sickness" that the French crew got, and why has none of the survivors of 815 gotten ill?
30. What happened after 1977 that prevented babies from being born on the Island?
31. Did the Island have any natives living on it originally?32. Why did they draw the map on the back of the blast doors in the Swan station?
33. Why did Stuart kill himself? Or did he?34. Will Jack and Kate FINALLY end up together?
35. And...will the survivors of Oceanic Flight 815 EVER get OFF the Island?!!!
It's not too much to ask to get all that answered, now is it? :) I know those genius writers can do it...
At this very moment, a family who has become as dear to me as my own is stepping onto a plane and making the 24 hour journey to Africa in obedience to God's call on their lives as missionaries to Arua, Uganda. It's been such a joy (and so enlightening) to watch God move in every little step of The Taylors' adventure thus far, and I can't wait to hear all about how God uses them to influence the hearts of the Lugbara people. Praise God for friendship in Christ, following His will, and beginning new and exciting adventures totally on faith. Please join me in praying for this amazing family. If you'd like to follow their journey, check out Kat's blog, http://tothebridgeandback.blogspot.com/. Now for the official shout-out. Doug, Kat, Kylie, Karis, and Caleb, I love you all big time! And I'm saving up to come visit when I can! May your travels be safe, your transitions be smooth, and your faith be strengthened. I know you'll impact your new city just as strongly as you have impacted my life. I can't wait to hear all about it! Thank goodness for the Internet!
Holy, Holy, Holy is the Lord God Almighty who was and is and is to come. He's Lord over every moment of history, every fleeting second of the present, and every anticipated tomorrow (for eternity!), and that's the God who holds my life in His beautiful hands. How could I ever think this life was about me? And why would I ever want to be the one in control? Oh, God, how You must laugh when I try. Please forgive the times I take the brush from Your masterful hand in order to create a mess of muddied color on a canvas for which you planned an exquisite masterpiece.
This is my evening prayer. Take my life and let it be consecrated, Lord, to Thee. Take my will and make it Thine. It shall be no longer mine.
Why are you striving these days? Why are you trying to earn grace? Why are you crying? Let me lift up your face Just don't turn away Why are you looking for love? Why are you still searching as if I'm not enough? To where will you go child? Tell me where will you run? To where will you run? And I'll be by your side Wherever you fall In the dead of night Whenever you call And please don't fight These hands that are holding youMy hands are holding you Look at these hands and my side They swallowed the grave on that night When I drank the world's sin So I could carry you in And give you life I want to give you lifeAnd I'll be by your side Wherever you fall In the dead of night Whenever you call And please don't fight These hands that are holding youMy hands are holding you Cause I, I love you I want you to know That I, I love you I'll never let you goAnd I'll be by your side Wherever you fall In the dead of night Whenever you call And please don't fight These hands that are holding youMy hands are holding you
One of the reasons I love working with middle school girls is the way God can still manage to surprise me and speak through their precious 13-year-old voices. Yesterday I was sitting next to Mackenzie May when she pointed at my 3-inch scar from my melanoma (removed 2 years ago) and asked, "Do you like your scar?" I shook my head because who likes ugly 3-inch scars in prominent places? She replied with what I thought was a strange answer at the moment, "Well, I do. You wouldn't be Stefanie without it." I was taken aback at first by her response, but after a few seconds, the wisdom hit me like a ton of bricks.
Our scars do make us who we are. I wouldn't be who I am today without the hope, healing, and trust I learned through recovering from cancer. All the pains, trials, and heartbreaks I have ever experienced have collectively brought me closer to Jesus and helped me realize a little more of who I am in Him, and I wouldn't trade them for the world. Mackenzie's little comment was a sweet reminder of that fact and brought to my memory one of my favorite passages, "Not only so, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us." (Romans 5:3-5, emphasis mine). I'm so grateful that hope in Him will never disappoint and that He knows ahead of time every hurt that will come my way and how He'll use it to draw me closer to Him and make me more like Him. And I'm so glad God uses teenage girls to speak to my heart. :)
You hold my every moment You calm my raging seas You walk with me through fire And heal all my disease I trust in You I trust in You I believe You're my healer I believe You are all I need I believe You're my portion I believe You're more than enough for me Jesus, You're all I need You hold my every moment You calm my raging seas You walk with me through fireAnd heal all my disease I trust in You I trust in You I believe You're my healer I believe You are all I need I believe You're my portion I believe You're more than enough for me Jesus, You're all I need Nothing is impossible for You Nothing is impossible for You Nothing is impossible for You Nothing is impossible for You
Lord, make me an instrument of your peace. Where there is hatred, let me sow love; where there is injury, pardon; where there is doubt, faith; where there is despair, hope; where there is darkness, light; and where there is sadness, joy. O Divine Master, grant that I may not so much seek to be consoled as to console; to be understood as to understand; to be loved as to love. For it is in giving that we receive; it is in pardoning that we are pardoned; and it is in dying that we are born to eternal life. Amen.
---Saint Francis of Assisi, 1181-1226
