Hello From Lynchburg!

Hello dear friends and family! I hope your days are going well and that you're experiencing rest and satisfaction in the love of our Savior! I've been blown away by God's amazing grace for the past week and I'm loving the opportunity to abide in Him with no distractions. I was pretty distressed about not having a job for the first few days back in Lynchburg, but now I'm realizing that every day is a precious opportunity to just draw close to Jesus and experience absolute rest in Him.

I'm seeing more and more how I just needed to be quiet and get back to the state of worship I had before the craziness in Vienna. I think I forgot how to be calm and how to meditate on all of God's goodness! It's incredible what He'll show you when you just stop and shut up! Haha! Sorry, that's the unrefined portion of my personality popping out. Sometimes I have to use it when I can't describe my feelings with "ideal" wording. But anyway, I'm wondering if the Lord has something up His sleeve with this whole unemployment thing. I don't have any excuse but to get to know Him better each day. I can see where I've gotten off track and the things that He wants me to work on and I'm so refreshed by His enlightenment. What a loving and gracious Father we have!

Besides the holy quiet, life in Lynchburg is going well (despite being unemployed). I can't tell you what a blessing it is to be with Chloe and Tudi again (all the while missing my big sis too!). I've never been apart from Chloe for that long and although it was extremely hard, we both agreed that if the Lord called either of us into global missions, we know He would give us the strength to be away from one another. This is pathetic, but sometimes we would email three of four times a day while I was in Vienna. Our bond is closer than anyone could imagine and I'm so honored that the Lord would bless me with the gift that Chloe is to me.

And of course, being with Tudi is always a pleasure. No one can make me laugh harder than that girl! I'm so happy that she's enjoying Liberty and that she's building friendships that (I can clearly see) are a true blessing to her. Last night we were trying to assemble a TV stand for my living room and we ended up giving in half way through to make brownies. Siiiiiiigh; I'm really looking forward to this year with my sisters.

I'm not sure if I blogged about this before but I must tell you in case I haven't yet! I've written before that I went into Vienna the Sunday before I left for the States. I decided to go to the Augustinian church to try and make it for the service (no, I couldn't understand it and yes, it's Roman Catholic, but I thought that I would still have my own time of worship). I had been wanting to hear a church choir all summer, but I could never make it to any concerts and I traveled on half of the Sundays during my trip. I was pretty upset that I had come all the way to Vienna and hadn't heard any church choirs during my entire time there.

Anyway, when I walked into the Augustinian church, the sermon was almost through and they were beginning communion. I stood in the back and began praying and just reflecting on what the Lord showed me over the summer. Then, out of the quiet rang out the sweetest, most beautiful note I have ever heard. A woman was singing from the loft. She sang alone for a few moments and then was accompanied by a full choir and orchestra. I closed my eyes and got completely lost in how beautiful it was. In fact (and this is quite pathetic), I was so overwhelmed that I was finally hearing a church choir that I got extremely emotional. It felt symbolic to me - like a special present from the Lord. I spent the rest of the time just praising God for His gift of music and His blessings in my life. My overwhelming emotions from the music were replaced by the overwhelming goodness of my God. I will remember those moments in the Augustinian church for the rest of my life :)

So, have I waxed poetic enough for you? I know it must be hard for you to understand my feeble attempts at conveying my emotions, so I thank you for your patience. And a special thanks for reading once more! Look for the blessings in your life today, friend! Our God is a good God!