opposites attract...

what is the opposite of giving up?

to Persevere...

question then, what does it mean to persevere?

“to continue in a course of action even in the face of difficulty or with little or no prospect of success...”

if we were to be, search our heart honest with ourselves, how many of us can say with full certainty that we persevere? there certainly have been times when I look back on my 25 years of life thus far that I can say, “YES” to that question. but, most of the time I know that I ran in the opposite direction when faced with a trial that required me to press on.

i have been surprised in such a confronting manner by a young lady who of late has taken a place in my heart so large that at times i wonder how much space i have left for anything else. she has impressed to me whether she is aware of this or not, so many attributes of the character of God and his heart for his children that i know i love him more because of her. how has she done this you may ask...

well in it’s simplest form, she loves. she loves with her whole heart not holding anything back even though at times she wants to protect herself, she doesn’t, she lets others in. she laughs, she cries, she ponders, she explores, but she does none of this alone, she takes others on this incredible journey with her. i have seen this woman for months now pursue the father heart of God like i have never before witnessed. she came into my life not knowing what his voice sounded like, or in which direction she was going, not knowing how to love with all her heart, not knowing how to see him, and with so many questions plaguing her. when faced with these thoughts and questions most of us would, like i was saying earlier RUN. when faced with our own thoughts and fears most of us find ourselves moving away from the trial, away from the challenge. but not her. feet firmly planted she stood not wavering, not moving, not shrinking back, she persevered. she continued in her course of action even in the face of difficulty with really no prospect of success other than this small nagging glimmer of HOPE within her heart until finally...

a response.

a vision.

an experience.

purpose, and insight into her father’s heart for his children.

i have never in my life been privileged enough to witness and be a part of something so personal, something so unique that it only makes me want to love God more. and her story in and of itself is enough hope, enough passion to stir my faith for greater things.

eye candy.

so i have just set foot on soil again after 10 hours of flying back to canada from my new best friend in a continent, europe. i have so many loves left behind in that great land, the colors, the smells, the languages, the people, the quaint little antique shops on every corner, the espresso, and the list goes on and on.

paris, london, germany, amsterdam, italy, it doesn't get much better than all that...well if i had the time to see more i suppose it would, but for now this fix will have to hold me until i return one god blessed day. a friend of mine asked me while i was away, "could you live in europe, if so where would you live?" and i believe my response to him was something along the lines of "YES please, but not just ONE place".

i had a special friend on my trip with me, his name is havier and he's a gnome. below are a few shots of his experiences while away.....

travel.

to taste, to see, to smell, to touch, to hear the sounds of a new place...*sigh*

you see there's this innate desire within me to see the world, to experience god's creation in it's natural form. pictures are great, videos fabulous, but to be there in the flesh...priceless.

why am i sharing this with you...well, i get to GO! i am leaving on the 6th of june and my destination is europe, paris is the first of many stops. my parents are currently living in heiden germany, they moved there at the beginning of the year because of a job promotion my dad was offered and so i am on my way to visit.

i will be flying from sydney to vancouver canada, then on to paris, then germany, and from there many other destinations, some of which are remaining a surprise. but, just when you might think it stops there, oh no! i am then flying from germany back to vancouver to celebrate my quarter century birthday in july with all my family and friends...that's right 25 years old.

the countdown is on, i leave in 12 days and absolutely cannot wait to go. i will be gone just over a month and of course i will miss this wonderful sunburnt land but the trip is much anticipated.

if you want to hear more about these travels continue to check back, i will be updating regularly while i'm venturing off in an exciting new land...