ELECTION WEEK

Here's a few things to remember tomorrow on U.S. election day.

For my American friends and family.

• Let's remember that God is our ultimate authority. No matter the politician or political party in control, God is on the throne. He always will be.
• Let's not look to a president or earthly government to establish God's Kingdom. Christ is our savior. He is enough.
• Let's remember that people read our posts...even people who disagree with us. Let's be careful that our posts show the love of Christ more than the love (or hate) of a political party or politician. One simple post may hit one of my friends the wrong way, quietly poisoning our relationship, and, in turn, stopping any chance I may have had to share the love of Christ. Politics is not worth that risk.

For my Irish/European friends.

• What you see in the media in Europe regarding U.S. politics is by no means the entire story.
• Be quick to pray and slow to judge. I've witnessed intense judgement towards people simply based on a preferred presidential candidate. Have grace and patience to remember these are honest, caring people doing the best they can with the information they have, more information than we receive on this side of the Atlantic.
• America needs your prayers. Really, every nation is fallen and broken, because they're all run by humans who need grace. So they all need our prayers. But I'm American so I'm asking you to pray for my nation.

This election week, let's all be cautious (especially Christians) to be quick to pray and slow to attack, no matter what the outcome. Because no matter who is elected, the King of Kings is still in charge.

Mid-Term Update

Hello All! Let's take a brief pause and have an update! 

It's about half way through the semester for most colleges here. In the States, the word combo of "mid-term" strikes fear in many hearts. But here, instead of test anxiety, students in Ireland look forward to mid-term, as it is their long-awaited break. 

For the Alpha course in Carlow, they have seen many positive things during the first half of the term. There was one person who decided to give their life to Jesus. A few more are still searching but enjoying the discussion they get at Alpha (and who doesn't like a little pizza, too?). There are students regularly attending who are from multiple nationalities and faith backgrounds. Alpha has developed a good reputation on the campus, which is an answer to prayer! Portia has a couple of fellow leaders named Frank and Amanda who have truly been amazing as discussion leaders and people who genuinely care about their fellow students. 

In our family, Eden and Eli and growing and changing by the day! Eden is blossoming in his preschool and making a few little friends of his own. We are in the process of potty training, which has its good and bad days. So far, #2 is not happening. So, any tips from parents out there would be much-appreciated. Eli is teething already! He is chewing on everything in sight but still a relatively chill baby. Thank the Lord for that! We love getting to watch them grow and are continually seeking God for wisdom in balancing family life with work and church life. It is a journey for us. 

At the St. Marks South church plant, we've seen lots of friendships in the making and longer friendships deepening. We are off to a good start developing trust in the area, thanks to those who went before us when they began meeting there on Sunday nights last year. 

We are so grateful for everyone praying for us and supporting us in many other ways. We could not do this without everyone on the team! 

Behold Our Crazy

There is one day of the week that is like working in an air traffic control tower: Thursday. I look on the table and surveyed the day ahead of me...lunch in the car, steriliser for bottles, snack for Eden, water. It's like we're camping every Thursday. 

Here is what happens every Thursday: at 9:45...

• Katy, Blake, and Rachel arrive in Bray to help set up a mum and tot group that Katy and her friend, Aileen, run weekly.
• At 12, after clean up, everyone rolls out. Blake and I drop Eden and Rachel off at our house, and the two of us drive like mad to the city centre so I can finish up my two remaining modules for SALT.
• As soon as class ends at 2:50, I run downstairs where Blake the car and Eli ready so I can immediately drive to Carlow. I order pizza on the way, arriving just in time to pick it up and drop it off to the student Alpha group on campus, along with drinks, plates, etc.
• Since having Eli in the group would stifle conversation, I then head home arriving around 6:30 so I can relieve Rachel and start bedtime procedures.

Sometimes we in ministry are tempted to hide our crazy, or give the appearance that we can cope with the pressure with no stress. But, spoiler alert, we are regular people who occasionally wipe boogers off our kid's face with our bare hands because we forgot the wipes...again. 

We need Jesus to remind us to be kind to ourselves and remember constantly why we do what we do. We also need to accept help with both hands and be thankful for the many people around us who help us in so many ways.