Scripture through this past year ...

Just a few weeks ago, we celebrated our one year anniversary of working with MAF. Last November, after running my first ever half-marathon, we packed up our bags for a week of training in Guelph, that culminated with an offer of employment to officially begin our work as "pre-field missionaries" with MAF. At the time, if you would have told me that one year later, we'd still be here in Canada, still be seeking and waiting on 15% more of our ongoing MAF ministry support, and we'd still be "pre-field" ... well I don't know what I would have thought. But through this year, if there's one thing I've learned, it's that God's timing is perfect, and He is totally faithful. But He doesn't always work according to "Kelly's Schedule."

Therefore, I'd like to take this blog post to share a few verses that have meant a lot over the past year(ish) in our journey towards Angola.

Proverbs 16:9--"People may make plans in their minds, but the Lord decides what they will do."
Over and over, this verse has rang true in my life. Not only is it a reminder that God is ultimately in charge, but it is an encouragement--when life is not working out my way, it doesn't not mean it is out of God's control. In fact, we can totally trust Him with the timing and steps of our lives! God knows when we'll move overseas, when our visas will arrive, when we will meet people and circumstances that will radically influence our lives!

Ephesians 2:10--"For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them."
Written on the back of our prayer cards, this verse is a constant source of encouragement. We are made by God ... for good works ... which God has already planned for us! He knows our future, and it's an exciting place!

Micah 6:8--"He has shown you, O mortal, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God."
A verse that continues to convict me when my priorities get out of line--life is simple: act justly, love mercy, and walk humbly.

James 1:27--"Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world."
The verse that led up to MAF in the first place. A verse that we couldn't get out of our minds ... and convicted us to ask, "How can we love and serve orphans and widows (and others in need) with our skills and abilities?"

Colossians 1:15-20
Though it has very little to do with our MAF journey, in some ways, these verses have everything to do with our journey--because they are all about Christ. Reflecting on the past year of morning quiet times and Sundays at church, I can think of no single passage of scripture that I treasure more in all the Bible than these verses about the supremacy of Christ. Christ is the reason for everything we do--with MAF, but also life in general.