God has greatly blessed me this past week. I was feeling a little lost, a little rejected, and not sure what was the next step for me. My mother encouraged me to try and do a missions trip. I looked into it and I am, pending approval by the Ethiopian government, going for 9 days to Ethiopia. I will be helping out in a clinic and working with AIDS patients. I feel so excited, so blessed, so encouraged by my Savior.

““For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,” declares the LORD. “As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.” - Isaiah 55:8-9

How wonderful to know that my Fathers thoughts are not my thoughts. For my mind is broken and bitter. How dear it is to know that His ways are not my ways. For I, like the apostle Paul, do the things that I do not want to do...

Father, guide me in Your ways this day. May the words that I say and my actions reflect who You are in me. Give me peace of mind and calmness of spirit. May my presence bring healing and peace, not calamity and war. Give me forgiveness in my heart and wisdom on what to say. In Jesus Name, Amen.

Acts 26:22-23 (English Standard Version)

²² To this day I have had the help that comes from God, and so I stand here testifying both to small and great, saying nothing but what the prophets and Moses said would come to pass: ²³ that the Christ must suffer and that, by being the first to rise from the dead, he would proclaim light both to our people and to the Gentiles."

Paul is testifying in front of King Agrippa and Governor Festus. He has finished recounting of who he was before his conversion, what occurred during his conversion, and about his ministry after his conversion. He told of why the Pharisees wanted to persecute him and how he used to be one of them. How I to wish that I had the passion that Paul has for sharing the gospel. I had coffee with a close friend who I don't get to see very often. In the conversation we discussed how we are both very shy to share our faith. She is thinking about joining a doctorate program for history and I am about start working on my bachelors. We both want to share our faiths, but work and learn in circles where our faith is not widely accepted. We both wish to serve God, but are not sure of the exact path the God would choose for us.

Dear Heavenly Father, give us guidance. May we have hearts that are tuned into Your will. May we follow Your way no matter how hard it is to do. Father, we are so thankful for the tools You have given us and the work our parents did to raise us. Father, we want to continue the legacy of faith that they have instilled in us. Grant us the strength and courage that we need to do Your work as You did with Paul. In Your Sons Name, Amen.