Careening into Blessings

Location: J's apartment in Sighisoara, Romania, at nearly midnight on the night of February 20 (almost the 21st).

My buddy J. is on a work-related phone call with America right now in the room next door, but since it is his apartment, and I rarely stay here on Sunday nights, I cannot complain. Instead, I will make uses of the time to explain why I am town still tonight.

Today was a day full of blessings; it was one of those days when God's plans looked very different from mine, so living according to His plans was a wild ride--literally.

Yesterday found me visiting Sibiu with some of the American students. The rainy day hampered the tour a bit, but we had a nice day, especially when I got to introduce M. from Sighisoara to M. from Hunedoara--two of my friends who are very similar and whom I had been wanting to introduce for a long time. Last night though, the rain turned to snow. Last night, I thought it was pretty. This morning, I thought it was a shame I had to go pick up people for church, because it would have been a good day to stay in the village. I had no idea . . . .

I hopped in the Dacia a little later than I wanted to leave this morning, so I drove a little faster than I should have on the very snowy road. I knew it was fast, but I thought it was still a safe enough speed; after all, a lot of the rural roads in Romania get better when it snows. So I was singing a song from Deuteronomy 6:4 when the car started sliding. As usual, I stayed calm, and corrected a bit to the right. As the car continued to slide, I corrected back to the left thinking, "Don't over-correct." By the time I had to correct back to the left, I knew I was in trouble. Praying the whole time, and still calm, I realized I was headed over the embankment. I told the Lord I was ready, and hung on, thanking Him that the car did not flip when it went up on two wheels. I was surprised at how smoothly I slid down the hill; I was not whipped or thrown around at all. The car came to a stop in a muddy field with the hatch up against the bank--there would be no going backwards!

I sat in the car feeling stupid that I had crashed (I am a veteran driver with many miles under my belt, even in the snow), thankful that the Lord had been so gracious, and guilty that I was in my friend's car, who already thinks I break everything. On top of that, I had just had the brakes repaired! Figuring I had destroyed the car, I called the people I was supposed to pick up, and then called my neighbor to come help me out. Actually, I scoped out an escape route and tried getting it out myself, but to no avail. You see, I found out that not only was I not hurt in any way at all, but the car had very little damage and was still driveable.

While my Swiss neighbor, U., and his family were on the way, another car stopped, and a couple of guys helped me. We managed to get the car out of the field and back on the road, but I felt bad that one of the guys got sprayed with mud as he pushed! As I told you, I was praying the whole time, and I remained calm. After I was back on the road, I went toward home far enough to meet U. and tell him, "thanks anyway," and then turned around and headed to town. Not only did I make it in time for church, but I was hit with blessing after blessing today: God is SO good!

One highlight . . . last night, God asked M. to pray for a young couple we know who have been going through a rough spell in their marriage. We wanted to visit them today, and would you believe that I found them at my church when I got there?! They usually go to another church. So I cornered them and told them they had lunch plans; the four of us had the most amazing lunch fellowship discussing all of the good things God has done in our lives. When was the last time that you spent your time conversing with other Christians about the good things God has done in your life? Too often we spend our time whining or complaining or joking, and we do not talk about the most important Person in our lives, and all of the blessings He has given us!

That is why I am risking worrying you by telling you this story: I have to boast in the LORD! How good is God! God blessed me with a car to drive for a month. Then, not only was I able to drive the car out of the mess I got it in, but I was completely unscathed myself. (If you do not believe me, my entire church and my friends M. and J. saw me today, so they can vouch that I am not hurt in any way. Mom and Dad, this is especially for you; thanks for your prayers.) I am staying in town to have a mechanic friend look it over in the morning, but there was no serious damage because the Lord sent me between the telephone pole and the tree that I could have hit, and cushioned my two-meter descent with snow and mud. I had friends I could call to help me get unstuck, yet God even sent strangers to help me. The temperature was right about at freezing, so it was not nearly as cold as in past weeks, and my "incident" happened just before I would have lost my cell phone signal, so I was able to call for help. Then I was able to drive safely to town and to church, to bless others, and to be overwhelmed by amazing blessings in a wonderful day!

(Here is a post-script written on the 21st of February... I am very happy I had the accident! Not only was it a great reminder of God's grace, protection, provision, and power, but it also spawned bunches of blessings. I thoroughly enjoyed meeting with my mechanic friend from the Baptist church and talking about life with Jesus. And would you believe it if I told you that I threw a car over a two-meter drop-off into a field, and there is nothing wrong with the car? The right side turn-signal cover had been knocked loose, but I had retrieved it from the snow and threw it in the trunk; today we were able to put it back on. Two screws was all it took to put the fender back in place, and a little bending of the hood made it close properly again. If you looked at the car not knowing what happened yesterday, you would never guess! So I had to buy no parts, and the brake repair before the accident was more costly--time and money--than the accident itself! And yet, when I arrived home today, U. told me that when he saw where I had gone over the edge, he could not believe I was still able to drive the car! What a miracle!)

We have a great God. Thanks be to God for His mercy and grace! And I want to thank you for all of your prayers. In fact, one man I was supposed to pick up for church told me that God had told him to pray for me and the car this morning, right at the time I was diving off the road! Our God is so faithful, that I cannot begin to convey the idea clearly enough!

Next time you are having a bad morning, I want you to remember that the same day that I planted a car in a field in the morning turned out to be one of the most blessed days I have had in a long time. God's plans are not ours! May your days be blessed, even without car accidents. But if bad things do happen, stay calm, trust God, and keep praying. There are people praying for you, and there are blessings to come! Best of all, Jesus loves you! Do you believe it? Live like you do!

Money Talks

Location: My house in the village of C., Romania, just before noon on the 18th of February.

I have to fight to protect my quiet village life; it is hardly that! I find myself in town nearly four or five days per week, which is not typical of a villager. Lately, the blessing of my friend's car is what has been taking me there, both literally and figuratively.

Many of you did not know that I was shopping for a car last autumn. I did not write about it, because I was shopping on faith. I thought that the plan the Lord gave me required a car, and so even though I did not really have money for it, I shopped for it, praying the Lord would provide. I did not mention this endeavor, because I only tell the Lord my needs, and He then provides for them how He wants. I do not want to get in the habit of mentioning a need on my blog, and then pretend to be surprised when some generous-hearted person meets that need. Like George Muller, I take my praises and petitions only to the Lord; He knows when I have need and when I have plenty. No one else needs to know.

So, twice I found suitable cars; twice the Lord clearly prevented me from buying them. I am very thankful that He did, because I see that I did not need a car. That season of almost daily commuting is over, and God provided the transportation in a variety of ways. Now he has provided me a car on loan for a month, and it has been a great blessing, but it also reminds me why I am blessed not to own one. This car has been expensive, requiring both time and money.

Gasoline in Romania is about 5 RON per liter (a little less than $2, or a bit more than 1 Euro). For you Americans, consider that a liter is roughly comparable to a quart, with four quarts in a gallon, and we are already talking about 20 RON per gallon, which is just under $7 a gallon. And my British friend tells me that Romania's gasoline is still far cheaper than the rest of Europe's!

On top of that, I wanted to bless my friend by getting his brakes fixed, because driving without breaks is scary enough for a lone adventurer like me, but when I have his family in the car, it is just plain dangerous. To do so, I took the car to the garage where they put more brake fluid in, and then they send you to go buy parts and come back another day. I had to go buy parts at two shops, and the same part (I needed two, one for the left and one for the right) was 20 RON different in price between the two places (roughly a gallon of gas)! Surprised, I questioned the guy, but there was nothing I could do about it, so I bit the bullet and walked out--only to realize later that he had not given me my change (or I dropped it somehow, though I think not).

Then I took the car to the garage, and they told me they did not have time to fix it: come back tomorrow! They told me, though, that I had bought the right parts, and that the job would take around three hours. I rearranged my schedule accordingly, and made an appointment for nine in the morning. Actually, a date. My poor girlfriend came with me, and you know she is a blessing if two of our first dates were babysitting four kids for Valentine's Day and then hanging out at a Dacia repair garage!

So we showed up at 9:00am, and it was not long before two wheels were off the car, lying on the ground. That is when the mechanic came and told me that one of the parts was wrong (he needed the front instead of the back), and that he was not sure if he could get the car done before they close at 4:00pm. A seven hour job is a lot different than a three hour job! We had already prayed about the whole process, and I trusted the Lord to work everything out right. I was happy to learn that they had the needed part for purchase at the garage, which saved us time. Then I told the mechanic that I would wait and watch him work, and we would see how things went. Pretty amazing that he got everything done in under three hours, don't you think?

On the way home, we ran a few errands, and I ran into a village kid I know. He asked for a ride into town, so we took him with us. Meanwhile, M. reminded me that I wanted to stop at the part store to try to get my money back. She ended up running in, while I stayed in the car with R. R. and I chatted, and we talked about God's provision, and we even prayed together. We had a very nice time, and when M. came back without success, I told her not to worry about it. I had invested a few RON and some extra minutes in what resulted in quality time with a young man who needs Jesus.

Please pray for R.; he often comes to my church with several of his peers for the kids' program before service. Normally, they go home before service starts.

One time, though, one of R.'s peers sat next to me during worship, and when he saw me put money in the offering plate that was more than the 1 RON note that most Romanians drop in, he began to tell his friends. We then had a little chat about giving to the Lord, and about giving quietly.

I always try to give quietly, however much or little the Lord asks of me. I believe that giving tithes or offering to God through the Church is symbolic of us as we give ourselves completely to the Lord. Thus, sometimes when the Lord does not lead me to put cash in the offering basket, I put my hand over the basket and metaphorically give myself all over again to my God. At other times, I give generously, recognizing that all I have is my Father's, and that it came from Him, and that it is to be used for His glory. I can never pay Him back for all He has done for me, nor can I give Him what He deserves, but I can give obediently and gladly, showing Him that He is my master, not my money nor my possessions nor even my own welfare.

Yesterday, I was dismayed to learn that my giving (even the sum) had become the subject of gossip. I am neither ashamed nor sorry of how I give; in fact, I pray that others could learn to also give freely. However, it is a good reminder that people are watching us, and that they need to see Jesus in every part of our lives, including in our wallets and purses.

What if your giving suddenly became public? Would you pray for others to give like you do, or would you be embarrassed to find out if they do? Does your giving communicate to Jesus that He is First in your life? Do you feel free to give large sums, or do you just through in your spare change? Do you feel free to let the offering plate pass you by, or do you feel obligated to give, worried about what others might think or trying to pay off the debt that Jesus paid for you?

I am an American, and many people think that all American's are rich, which is a stereotype I hate. However, as much as I try not to live as a rich American, I hope I always live like a rich Christian! You see, if you know Jesus, you are rich! The fullness of God dwells in Jesus, and to those who have surrendered themselves to Him, Jesus puts His own Spirit in them to dwell. Everything in heaven and on earth belong to Him, and it pleases Him to bless us. So even if my wallet does not show it one day, I can always know that I am rich in Him! He is my provider, and He loves me! So wherever I am in the world, I will live as a rich Christian. I will give my love, my time, my money, and myself extravagantly to Him and to the people He puts in my path. Some people will think that my week has 8 days in it; others will think I am a millionaire. Some might think I am a saint; others might think I have infinite strength. The truth is, I am connected to the Vine, to the Source, to Jesus. He holds time in His hand, owns the cattle on a thousand hills, invented supernatural love, and gives me His joy as my strength.

Do you know this Jesus?

If so, do you realize how rich you are, no matter what is in your pocket?

Do others see you as rich and blessed, or do you whine pathetically because life is hard?

Christian, you are rich! May you use of your riches reflect the abundance of life we know in Jesus!

Happy Valentine's Day!

Location: Sitting at the table next to D. while he takes his English test in C., Romania. It is about 9:15am on the morning of the 14th of February.

Valentine's Day is not huge in Romania, but there are a lot of people that take advantage of the occasion to make a buck or to wink at a pretty girl. In the States, I have a lot of friends who boycott the day, recognizing that it is about ninety percent sillly, nine percent tolerable, and one percent based on the truth of God's love. However, my friend M. and I decided it was a good occasion to have some fun. Choosing Sunday afternoon the day before, we volunteered to "family-sit" for our Swiss friends who have four kids, and we helped the husband arrange a secret get-away date for his wife. When they headed off to their surprise destination, we stepped in with the groceries we brought, made pizza from scratch with the kids, and watched Ice Age 2 with Romanian subtitles. We had a really fun evening, and I submit it to your analysis, guessing that no matter how you feel about Valentine's Day, you will approve of the way we chose to enjoy it!

Maybe you are in love, want to be in love, have never been in love, or hate being in love. But wherever you are on the love spectrum, whatever you think of Valentine's Day, I encourage you to settle for nothing less than God's true love. It makes Hallmark holidays fade into yesterday as it stuns you with hope for something real and fresh, something worth celebrating. God's love for you is so real, so strong, that because of it Jesus gave His life for you, to sweep you off your feet and to set you on His path, for His glory, forever. Have you ever been pursued by love? You have, even if you have not recognized it! I pray that you will allow yourself the privilege of being loved by God! God's love is not "gushy" or "girly" or "chocolates and flowers," it is like a sunrise wrapped up in victory, the grand finale of perfect peace eagerly rushing into the glory of tomorrow's adventure!

Yes, Jesus loves you . . .

Boring WITH Brakes!

Location: You won't believe this--I am sitting in a gas station parking lot in R.'s Dacia with the computer on the steering wheel; it is Sunday, the 13th of February, a little after 2:30pm.

(The meat of this post is four paragraphs below, so skip there if you are in a hurry to know why I am waiting in the Dacia. Scroll down to the next post or look on the side column for a picture of a Dacia.)

I know, a laptop in a Dacia is like an oxymoron. The dash board is taped together, and I found a wire on my floorboard today, which I hope did not come off of something important. However, the steeringwheel is shaped just right for this little computer, and so here I am typing while I kill a bit of time.

I took this Dacia to the garage on Friday, and now I have brakes. I have to admit, driving with brakes is a bit more boring than driving with out, but I feel safer, especially when I have other people in the car--which is most of the time. For instance, I picked up four women who were hitchhiking out of my village together on Friday. They asked where I was going, and I mumbled something about taking the car to the garage because it needed some attention. However, they wanted to stop where I had not expected it, and when I could not stop, I had to admit that I had no breaks! As I downshifted and used my handbrake, I apologized that I could not stop right where they wanted, and that I had no brakes. I said, "I didn't want to tell you before, but now that you are getting out, I will tell you that I don't have brakes!"

There have been many surprises this week, and changes in schedules. Yesterday it poured, then snowed, and then the sun came out, all while I was cutting firewood. I was working on firewood yesterday instead of Friday, because Friday I had to go to town to get the brakes fixed. Thursday I was in town, too, because I had to pick up a package, which can only be done on Thursdays between 10am and 12pm. Now the guy at the post office has my cell phone number so he can call me when I get a package, saving us some of the trouble we have gone through. Most importantly, though, I met with my men's group on Thursday night, but please pray for us. It is going so well, but the other unofficial leader now has something at church each Thursday, and we might not be able to find a time during the week when we can all meet. That would be a great disappointment for me, because this group has been a huge blessing, but I trust the Lord; He knows what is best!

But enough about that, because I need to tell you about what just happened. I just came from A., a village in the Sighisoara area. We have a couple families from there who have been coming to our church, and it is a long way away; more than an hour's walk. These people have been coming faithfully every week, but they also beg every week, often going from one person to another. They are not bad people, but it is hard to feel welcoming to them if you know that they will ask you for something each time you talk to them.

I had run into the man earlier in the week, and I was praying for him the past few days; I could not get him out of my head. Finally, the Lord gave me a plan. I picked up groceries for them this morning--before they could ask me for anything--and volunteered to give them a ride home--again, before they could ask. Then I asked if I could come to the man's house after church for a cup of coffee, knowing that his house was in a very poor state and that he had little, if anything to offer me. He agreed, and I paid him a visit.

How wonderful it was! He is in a desperate situation, and it is true that his house is literally falling down around his ears. It is true that his wife died last year, and that he does not have much work because no one is hiring people to install new gutters at this time of year. It is true that they have almost nothing, and that they are using the second hand clothes they recently received. But it is also true that until he and his twelve-year-old daughter (who is sick and does not go to school) moved to this area, he went to church for eight years straight, never missing a Sunday! He gave up alcohol a long time again, and he trusts the Lord to provide.

I asked about his wife, and they showed me pictures. We chatted and laughed together, and then we prayed together. As we sat in their cold, fireless house, he did not offer me anything. But I was finally able to get behind the beggar to meet the man who loves Jesus, who wants to care for his daughter, and who is trying to get by best he can.

I am so glad I went. We have been praying together at church to know how to involve and help this and other families. We have several families who are coming regularly, who have enormous need, and who come from a little too far away to be very involved. Our church does not have the resources to help them much of the time, and we are trying to teach them to depend on Jesus.

So now I am killing time before I need to pick up R.'s family and take them home. Please pray for this man (G.) and his daughter (L.) Please pray for our church, as we stuggle with knowing how best to be the hands and feet, as well as mouth and heart, of our wonderful Jesus.

I bless you in His Name, in the Name of Jesus!

Save the Date!

Location: Home! (My house in the village of C., Romania.) It is nearly 8pm on the evening of February 7, 2011.

Why did I put an exclamation point behind "home"? It feels good to have a place to call home, and to be there. This has been my home since last May, even if I often stay in other places, and I am so blessed to have a space to myself. Thank You, God, for all Your blessings.

Though I finished my commuting schedule a month ago--the one that required me to spend the night in town several nights per week--I still sleep one or two nights in town on a regular basis, at my second home, J's apartment. (Please continue to pray for J., not because anything is wrong, but because we all need prayer. The Lord has used him to bless me greatly, time after time, even though I have often inconvenienced him. Thanks to your prayers, his heating system finally got fixed last week, which he will celebrate the rest of the winter, but do please continue to pray for him, that He might be blessed as much as he has been a blessing. Thanks!) It works nicely for me to stay there on Tuesday nights; that way I can participate in our small group that evening, and I am already in town Wednesday morning for my weekly visit to V., where we do our Bible Hour. Add in the fact that I find myself traveling sometimes, and you can understand why it feels so nice to have a quiet evening at home in the village. This weekend was fairly "chill" as far as my agenda was concerned, but it included a lot of unexpected travel. At the last minute, I made plans to visit some friends in Brasov with M., meeting her there after a course she finished on Saturday afternoon. On my way, I stopped in the village of A. to visit my buddy I. Unfortunately, I did not get to visit with him very long during that short visit, because he also had some other plans. However, I got to spend the majority of that day with my French friend, J., who is I.'s brother-in-law. J. and E. are back from several months in the States (he was the one I was covering for last fall on the child evangelism team), and we had a lot of important things to discuss. He is also one of my favorite people to pray with, and we made sure to pray together.

After that relaxed time in A., I hopped on a second train and met M. in Brasov, where we went to meet her friends. I especially enjoyed playing with their little baby. She is less than two, and though my Romanian is better than hers, her German is better than mine, so I was able to use her kiddie books to learn a few words, too. We had a good time with them, and I especially enjoyed taking a walk downtown Brasov with them. I had been there before a couple of times, but it was fun watching the baby chase the pigeons in the square.

So, except for teaching this morning (we have a French test tomorrow!), this has been a quiet day at home. I just finished some laundry after dinner, having spent a good portion of the afternoon . . . writing! It is such a joy to be writing! I do not know if what I am writing is good or not, but at the moment, I do not care. I am one step closer to some of my dreams just by being a writer, and since I am writing, I am a writer now! The more I write, the better I will get, and the odds are that something I write will be worth reading! I have had to be very intentional about sitting down to write, because I found that my habit was to try to get everything done first (like laundry, cooking, tidying up, emails, etc.) and then to write when I got done. However, that meant it was always late before I had a chance to write, and I was usually tired by then. Now that I have made it a priority, it works! Please pray for me in this, that I would prioritize my time in a godly way, being a good steward of it, and please pray that I would only write what the Lord gives me to write. He will direct my paths!


I do have a priority that is greater than writing, and that is spending time with my Jesus. Outside of teaching, that is how I spent the majority of my morning: in prayer and Bible study. Some people think I am a missionary, simply because I moved to a foreign land and am involved in ministy. Those folks might be okay with the idea of me spending time in prayer. However, I think there are a lot of people who wander what I do, thinking I am squandering my youth chasing adventures and not working. It is those kind of thoughts I have to battle when I set aside time for prayer. The truth is that it does not matter what people think: there is no better way to spend my time than in prayer and Bible study with my Jesus.

I have a question for you. Is your time with Jesus like my writing time was? I mean, do you try to get everything done that needs to be done, and then, by the end of the day, you might manage to find a few minutes of time to open your Bible or to recite a bedtime prayer through your fatigue? Or is it a priority? Do you schedule things around your time with Jesus, or do squeeze it into blank spots in your agenda?

It helps me to think of it as a wedding--not just any wedding, but my wedding. I do not know if or when I will get married, for that is all in God's hands. However, I imagine that should I get married, there would be very little that would be able to prevent me from making it to that wedding. If I am marrying the girl of my dreams, no storm, no catastrophe, no unexpected guest, no car problem, no attack, no challenge of any kind would keep me from getting there. And when I do arrive, and I am saying my vows or listening to hers, I would not answer my phone even if it is the president of a nation or a pope or a famous person of some sort. I would not run out halfway through to grab a burger, nor would I try multi-tasking, cooking lunch or trimming my fingernails for example, while I am at the altar tying the knot. Would you?

Think of your wedding, or some other extremely important appointment with someone you care about, someone you cherish. What would you allow to keep you from that date? What would you allow you to distract you from that time, or to cut it short?

For me, that is prayer time. I have made it a priority in my life, and even a phone call from a beautiful girl can wait if I am face to face with my Savior, the Jesus who died on a cross to set me eternally free.
Maybe you think I am slacking when I spend a whole morning in prayer instead of going out to "put my hand to the plow," but I have learned that every moment of my life is more productive through prayer than it is through my own strength. I would like to challenge you to set a date like that with Jesus. A date that you would not interrupt even if your friend in Romania called you. A date that you would keep everyday, even if it meant sometimes rearranging the rest of your schedule. A date that would convey to your Lord just how much you really love Him, that nothing else on the face of this earth is more important to you than Him.

I am praying that you will do that. Valentine's Day is coming up in America: who is your First Love?

If I may borrow an idea from Francis Chan, matched with a photo I took this weekend: Is this what your walk with your Abba, your Father, your God looks like? I hope so!

Meanwhile, thank you for your prayers for your friend in Romania. He is happy and healthy, and making some important decisions about the coming months. He has the responsibility and privilege of driving his friend's Dacia for the month, and of dating a beautiful Romanian Saxon gal from Sighisoara. He is investing in the life of a fifteen-year-old boy in the village of C., and he is preaching in the village of V. while learning wisdom from his choir director/mentor who leads and translates for him there. Most importantly, he is growing in faith and the Word as he walks with Jesus. He is honored that you pray for him, and that one of the churches in Indianapolis recently took a moment to present information about his life in Romania. Thanks for your prayers, thanks for your love, and thanks for reading this blog.

I bless you in the Name of our First Love, Jesus!

In Church, In Love

Location: Happy February (today's the 1st) from my little house in C., Romania

Before long I will drive my Dacia into town. No, it is not mine, it is R.'s; he had to leave town again and left it in my care again for the month. It is a blessing to have wheels, though it is even better to have him around. Please pray for him, and especially for his family while he is away. Our men's group will not be the same without him, either, and G. is also out of town this week.

Nonetheless, I am looking forward to men's group on Thursday; again last week it was a huge blessing! The Lord knew I needed something like that in my life. In fact, I have things each day of the week that I look forward to now . . . After Thursday comes Friday, my last day of language lessons for the week, often meaning my time is freer during the weekend. Saturday is my Sabbath day when I have no weekly plans, especially in the morning (and you will recall that the morning is my favorite time of day!). Sunday brings the opportunity to gather with people I love to worship our great God together. Monday represents the return to village life, a day when I can get caught up on things that need to be done, and if D. has done his homework all week, we watch a movie on Monday as a reward. Tuesday brings with it our young adult small group, and Wednesday is the day I head into the village of V. and help teach a Bible Hour there. Life is good, because God is so good, and so generous with His blessings!

Naturally, many of these days dawn on frustrations that, like weeds, need to be pulled up. But we can expect that in this life on a sin-cursed Earth, groaning until it is restored by our Creator. For instance, Sunday morning was extremely frustrating for me, and it was everything I could do to hold myself together. I wanted to fall apart, to surrender myself into God's arms and cry or sleep or sit quietly, but I could not for a variety of reasons. I had to chauffer many people to and from church, but I nearly went home in between, just wanting to isolate myself in my misery.

Do you know why I did not? Everything inside of me screamed to retreat, nurse my wounds, and recover in a peaceful place. Had I done that, though, the devil would have won that battle. Do you realize that? Do you recognize what a privilege it is and how important it is to gather with brothers and sisters in Christ to worship together? Even if you church is not perfect? Even if your frustrations are coming from your church! I remind you that the devil wants to isolate us. It is not a sin to not go to church . . . but it is unwise. When we do not fellowship with other believers, we give them no opportunity to encourage us. When we do not gather in worship with other believers, we short-change God, because we fail to bring Him blessings through corporate praise and devotion. When we do not gather as the Body of Christ, we avoid the very blessings we are praying for, the very help we are seeking, the very protection we need! So on Sunday, I went to church to scorn the devil.

It will not surprise you that the Lord blessed me. I did not enjoy service, I sat in the back and the whole time I did not want to be there. Yet because of that, I was able to pray more deeply from my heart when I was suddenly called to lead the congregation in prayer. And then the Lord blessed me through the attitude of a visiting friend who usually attends another church, one who came because another obligation had made her miss her own worship service, but her desire for Christian fellowship pushed her to come to another church to find it.

Do you ever want to go to church so badly that you will do everything in your power to get there? Or this: do you only obey God and resist the devil when you feel well, or even when your emotions assail you and your body threatens to shut down? God is always our God. Do you appreciate that fact? Do you show Him your appreciation? "Blessed is the man who perseveres under trial, . . . (James 1:12).
While I am preaching from the Word that God has been pouring into my heart (James 1:25), I want to say something about romance.

Some of you may know, and others of you may be shocked to learn that I am dating a beautiful young lady here in Sighisoara. She is a great blessing to me, and I pray that the Lord's will may be done in our friendship, as well as in every other aspect of each of our lives. We are leaving everything in His hands.

Meanwhile, we like to hold hands. Of course, people notice when we hold hands, and we smiled when we spent some time with the teenage girl who lives across the street from me. As soon as she got home, we learned that she ran to call her best friend, another teenager in our Gospel choir, to tell her the exciting news about M. and J. You see, everyone likes romance, or, more accurately, everyone likes someone else's romance.

Why?

Because watching a young couple with dreamy eyes and silly smiles is like watching a movie. Their happiness is contagious, and their optimism brings hope to veteran couples whose marriages have lost some of their fire, and to unmarried singles who are dreaming of their own true love! It gives gossips something to talk about, gamers something to bet on, and poets fodder for their rhymes.

Now you know as well as I do that so much of what we call "love" turns out to be fleeting infatuation, and that "true love" is not as magical as it appears to the bystander. True love is hard work! True love is a decision that involves commitment, time, and effort. It requires grace, grace, and grace, plus forgiveness. It needs more time to listen than to talk, more time to understand than to analyze, and more time to be than to do. True love is build upon Jesus Christ as the cornerstone, but the rest of the bricks in the walls are conflicts that were defeated and covered over by mortor and plaster of forgiveness and grace.

That is us, Church. Is that what our Romance looks like?

I want us as the Church to be so in love with Jesus that everyone is talking about it--that everyone is excited about it! I want the gossips and the games and the bystanders to be so awestruck by the relationship they see us in, that they forget all of their whining and scheming and criticizing and demoralizing. I want to feel like I am walking on clouds because I am constantly receiving reminders from my Lord that He loves me, and I want to hold hands with Him as I walk through the cold and darkness or dance in the sun. I want our relationship with Jesus to give hope to those who have never allowed themselves to fall in love with Him, and to revive the fire of those who are barely hanging on to the faith they once had.

Certainly, on the inside, there will still be conflicts and tension in the church. But God's grace is sufficient to cover them, and if we set them on the cornerstone of Christ, they will become even stronger walls, cemented together by grace, showing beautiful mercy and lovingkindness to all who pass by or come in.

In America, it is nearly Valentine's Day. How about it. Would you be willing to fall in love with Jesus again? Or for the first time? Forever? He is waiting at your door with a bouquet of blessings--please do not keep Him waiting!

Speaking of waiting, I should get ready to head to town. However, I have been making a conscious effort to set writing as one of my highest priorities, because otherwise this passion of mine never finds issue. Please pray for me as I write. I want to write only what God puts in my heart, only for His glory. I trust Him to make plans for me that will organize the more mundane parts of my "to do" list, and that will also give release to the gifts and godly desires He has planted in me.

Thank you for your prayers; I am praying for You, too. I am delighted to watch your romance with Jesus unfold!