Yay God

Can I just say YAY GOD? Seriously. He is so good. So so so good. I mean honestly. We tend to stick Him in this little tiny pocket sized box and take him out when it's convenient for us and put Him away when we don't want to deal with Him. And yet, He still loves us and He still loves to show off for us and show how much he loves us. What brings this on you may ask.. Well, today I met with my new friend Sarah. Now, Sarah is an amazing woman of God, one who struggles on a regular basis and isn't afraid to admit it. But she is also a woman who gives all the credit to our very very BIG God. Anyways, she and I are working together to put costumes and props together for the Christmas program at our church. She and I had only briefly talked in church, but she invited me over to her house today after she got her kids off to school so we could chat and brainstorm. Obviously God had another agenda. Sure we got the planing done, but He had much bigger plans in store for me when he placed her in my life. You see, here it is November. And I am loving Holland. But because I am human I am always alway always looking to see what the next step is. I don't just "sit back and enjoy the ride" for very long. So she and I are talking about how I got here and why I am here and what I think is going to happen next. I tell her I have absolutly no idea what I am going to do in August. Josh will be in Mexico in Medical school (yay Josh! SO proud of him!) And I will be back in the states (or that's what I think now.. God may move me to Bali or something). I explained to her that I really do feel like I am supposed to be a teacher but that stupid, ridiculously hard PRAXIS test is standing in my way. And I'm telling her how I plan on taking it 1 last time when I get back and we will see what happens from there. What I didn't tell her is that I am also looking at getting my ESL (English as a second language) certification, because with that I can teach English pretty much anywhere in the world. So she pipes up and says, "Angie, I really think that you should look into getting your ESL certification. I don't think you are going to teach in the USA your whole life." Now. Time out. For quite some time now (we are talking years) I've felt like I won't live in the states for a long time, so for her to say that and then bring up the ESL thing was a little weird to me. As if that was not weird enough a bible verse popped into my head( I have no idea where it is from, or what version it is but it goes something like this) I will take you from your land that is familiar and you will do great things before I bring you back again. (that is VERY loosely translated. I think it's somewhere in Jeremiah...) And then the song " if you want me to" popped into my head and it goes like this:

The pathway is broken And the signs are unclear And I don't know the reason why You brought me here But just because You love me the way that You do I'm gonna walk through the valley If You want me to  No I'm not who I was When I took my first step And I'm clinging to the promise You're not through with me yet So if all of these trials bring me closer to You Then I will walk through the fire If You want me to  It may not be the way I would have chosen When You lead me through a world that's not my home But You never said it would be easy You only said I'll never go alone (yeah oh oh)  So when the whole world turns against me And I'm all by myself And I can't hear You answer my cries for help I'll remember the sufferin' Your love put You through And I will walk through the darkness If You want me to  'Cause when I cross over Jordan, I'm gonna sing, gonna shout Gonna look into your eyes and see you never let me down So take me on the pathway that leads me home to you And I will walk through the valley if you want me to  Yes, I will walk through the valley if you want me to

So after that little verse and song popped into my head I got all goosebumpy. You know, the kind that you get when you know that God is about to do something that is going to totally blow your socks off? The kind that you get when you realize that life is about to change again so you better be ready.. Yup. Those are the bumps that I got. So Sarah goes to get the costumes and such so we can start sorting and I pick up her Bible and say, Ok God. I don't know what is next. No clue what so ever... So you do your thing and I'll just stand here and watch you move. So I open up the Bible to Psalms  32:8 " I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will counsel you and watch over you... Many are the woes of the wick, but the LORD's unfailing love surrounds the man who trusts in him." Uhhh... Ok God. I get it. I will trust you. I don't know guys. I don't know where I will be in August. I don't know if I will be getting my ESL certification, I don't know if I will be in Bali, Poland, Mexico or Iowa. No idea. But I do know that God showed up big time today. And I know that life for me is about to change again. So, prayers would be appreciated. I don't even know what to pray for really, I guess just prayer that my heart and my mind would be totally open to whatever God has is store for me. 

But seriously. Yay God. Yay for showing up and using Sarah to speak out loud what I had only been thinking privately in my head. Man, I am so excited what comes next! Yay!