No Longer Surprised...(Part 2)

So it all really got started nearly two years ago at a Christ in Youth (CIY) conference in Colorado. Seated in front of my youth group we began reflecting on our day at the conference and our trip overall up to that point. After some chit chat I began working through a series of questions provided by CIY. One of which was 'Where do you see yourself 5 years from now?' I was surprised when, before I had finished reading the question, I had an answer. My answer? Well in my head I thought 'I'm not living in this country.' And then continued to think 'That's ridiculous, I've never had a desire to live outside of the U.S.' But I couldn't let it go. That answer just kept haunting me throughout the rest of the evening. It even kept me up a good bit that night as I tried sleeping.
The morning after this night of unrest, it was still on my mind so I shared it with my wife. She agreed and said so with, 'That is ridiculous because I'm not living outside of the country.' So that was that. She went to a class with Mark Moore and I went to lead a Discipleship group. She had already been in Mark's class twice that week, but on this day and at this time he chose to share about his new work with The Institute for Christian Resources (http://www.icrnet.org/) and their current need for new directors at the Budapest Christian Library (www.budapestchristianlibrary.com). He said the right person should have a heart for missions, ministry experience, and know something about books (i.e. worked in a library or book store). Well I qualify on all of those. In Beths words she was overcome by the spirit. And our friend Alex, who was sitting beside Beth agreed. She thought something was wrong with Beth becuase she broke out in a cold sweat, had a shortness of breath, and was nearly overcome by the anxiety she felt as she tried to contain the Spirit for an hour while listening to Mark. We have talked with Mark a number of times since and are amazed at God's working in our lives.



At this point we were still surprised by God. I mean all of this had happened so quickly that it couldn't have been anyone but God. I once heard someone say that 'timing' was the single most critical factor in a miracle. I'm not sure if that's entrirely accurate but it's certainly worth considering.
More tomorrow...

I'm no longer surprised by God...

It's true, I'm not surprised by God. You're only surprised when you don't trust something or someone or whenever you're unsure about how a situation might turn out. I do trust God and I believe He is looking out for me in ways I can't even begin to imagine. So again I say to you I am not surprised by him. However I am absolutely amazed by Him on quite a regular basis these days. As Beth and I continue our preperations for moving to the international mission field in Budapest, Hungary I see God doing things and can't help but smile in amazement. I want to take the next few days and tell you a few stories that have happened to us over the past few days, weeks, and months. For those of you struggling with my 'not being surprised by God', consider this: you tune in to watch Lebron James play basketball and he scores 25 points. If you are surprised then you're certainly not a basketball fan. I mean he plays in the NBA, he's one of the best players in the world, and possibly one of the best all time. Scoring points is what he does and it does not surprise me. It is the way he does it that amazes me, and I'm not alone. ESPN regularly has a clip of him in their Top Ten daily high lights. Again I am not surprised by God, but I am completely and entirely amazed by Him. Check back soon to see where I'm going.