by Ka­tha­ri­na von Schle­gel

Be still, my soul: the Lord is on thy side.
Bear patiently the cross of grief or pain.
Leave to thy God to order and provide;
In every change, He faithful will remain.
Be still, my soul: thy best, thy heavenly Friend
Through thorny ways leads to a joyful end.

Be still, my soul: thy God doth undertake
To guide the future, as He has the past.
Thy hope, thy confidence let nothing shake;
All now mysterious shall be bright at last.
Be still, my soul: the waves and winds still know
His voice Who ruled them while He dwelt below.

Be still, my soul: when dearest friends depart,
And all is darkened in the vale of tears,
Then shalt thou better know His love, His heart,
Who comes to soothe thy sorrow and thy fears.
Be still, my soul: thy Jesus can repay
From His own fullness all He takes away.

Be still, my soul: the hour is hastening on
When we shall be forever with the Lord.
When disappointment, grief and fear are gone,
Sorrow forgot, love’s purest joys restored.
Be still, my soul: when change and tears are past
All safe and blessèd we shall meet at last.

In introducing us to his "highlighter technique" for studying and applying the Bible, David Powlison had us take some time to look at two great old hymns, Crown Him with Many Crowns and Be Still, My Soul. How often do I sing the words, but don't really consider what they mean or how they apply to me?
It was great taking time to study these old hymns and then sing these words of faith together.

I didn't realize that there were so many great resources for learning and growth right here in my "neighborhood." The Christian Counseling & Educational Foundation is located in nearby Glenside, PA.

A friend of mine has attended their annual conference and has used their curriculum in Sunday School. She told me about a one-day seminar that was being held and helped make a way for me to attend.

I was so blessed today!

The seminar was led by David Powlison on Bible Reading for Personal Application and I appreciated his teaching so much.

In brief, just SOME of the things I'll have to think some more about and apply somehow...

1 - he showed us some of his own personal techniques of looking at Scripture using colored highlighters. I love all kinds of office supplies so on a very silly level I really enjoyed learning his technique.
But, what I saw in his technique is a very clear way to observe the structure of passages of Scripture and the focus of it as well. If you're curious, he would use this color scheme in studying different passages:

GREEN - descriptions of turning to God, expressions of faith
ORANGE - human predicament -- suffering
PINK - human predicament -- sin
BLUE - God - what is remembered, what is seen, what He says about Himself

2 - "STOP. LOOK. LISTEN. THINK ABOUT IT." On the most simplistic level, I was reminded today that in order to read and apply the Word, we have to take time to actually look at it. He made note that so much of the Word is poetic in nature. Poetry tends to roar past you. You need to slow it down. It doesn't do well with skim reading. It's highly condensed, carefully constructed -- it's meant to engage you and take you somewhere.

"Not like a fast food meal that is a completely forgettable experience, we want what we do in the Word to be MEMORABLE."

I want to... I need to ... spend more time in the Word.

3 - The Bible's essential subject matter is the LORD, NOT ME. This was probably the thing that struck me the most. hmmmm...

4 - "Real application is when the passage and your life are fused. Truth (God's Truth) and honesty (about who I am, struggles, sin, etc.) got in the same room together."

5 - "Real application always leads to relationship. It leads you out of yourself and into relationship with God Himself and also with others."

There was a lot more, but those are some of the big things I want to process from today.

It was fun getting to go to this with my friend, Jenn and her roommate Jurica. I'm thankful for today!

Random side note -- we ate lunch at a place called Faties - ha!! They had the best Cajun Fries!

I'm no longer a FLORIDA resident.

Included on my "Things-to-Do" list was to take care of a bunch of stuff like my car registration, insurance, and other things like that. Today, my car was turned over to my parents and I was issued a Pennsylvania Driver's License.

I have to say that getting my PA license this time was much easier than my first time. As a high schooler, I had to take the driving test TWICE before I passed!

While I'm glad I've gotten these things taken care of, it is a bit sad. I love Florida and I've loved living in Florida. In a way, changing over my license makes it "official." I don't live in Florida anymore.

SIGH.

Next on things-to-do: get records and exams to apply for visa!!

Tonight I was so blessed and encouraged by spending some time with the Martin family.
I met Tony at the Christian Management Association luncheon in the beginning of December. He and his family are preparing to head out to Sweden with United World Mission.

It was such an enjoyable evening having dinner and talking with Tony, Gwen, their two daughters and their nephew.

It was encouraging to be with people who have deep hearts for the Lord and for missions. It was encouraging to be with people who are travelling this same road and going through a somewhat similar process - logistically, emotionally, spiritually. It was encouraging to learn about them and the ministry that God is calling them to take part in. It was encouraging to pray for one another.

I was reminded tonight of how God is working in people's lives all around the world to serve Him and glorify Him in so many different ways. There are stories of faith being written all across the globe. It's an incredible blessing to hear those stories and see them being lived out.

I LOVE NYC!

Yesterday I met up with my friends, Heather and Karen, in NYC. All three of us are in the same process of preparing to serve the work of Bible translation somewhere in the world. We went through training together in North Carolina this past summer. Heather and I also worked together in Orlando, Florida.

We started the day off with a nice long walk from Penn Station to Heather's friend's apartment. It was a nice way to see what felt like ALL of Park Avenue. Afterwards, we took the subway (yay for not walking!) to the Empire State Building. We quickly decided that we didn't need to go to the top when we saw how much it cost. It was a cloudy day, so it just didn't seem worth it.

We had hot dogs for lunch.

We had fun walking around and exploring all over the city. And using the subway to save our poor feet and legs from falling off! Yes, we are tourists!

We visited St. Paul's Chapel. This historic church stands across the street from where the Twin Towers stood. There is an amazing history behind this church.
The tree stump is all that's left of the sycamore tree that shielded the church from damage.

We walked around Wall Street. We were there on the day they called the great "panic of 2008." There were news crews there covering the story about the stock market.

It was also the day that Heath Ledger died. :( It was a busy "news" day in the city.
We took a break from our day of walking to have delicious desserts and nice hot drinks at Flavors. It was nice to take a break and sit and chat for a while.

I enjoy these ladies. They are a lot of fun and good to talk with. I also appreciated our time together because it was good to hear how things are going as they too are in this same process that I am in.

We met up with Karen's brother at his work and thanks to his suggestion, we had a great dinner at a Japanese Noodle House - I think it was Men Kui Tei. It was a pretty cold day, so a big bowl of Char-Shu Men (soy sauce flavored noodle soup topped w/extra pieces of roast pork) was perfect! The pork in it was sooo tasty!! We also had some shumai and kimchee which were both delicious! YUMMMY!!

After dinner we walked around the city some more. We stopped in H&M. We walked through Rockefeller Center. We saw a poor guy fall and cut open his head on the ice skating rink. The rink workers just scraped up the blood from the ice with their skates. Hmmm...wonder if health inspectors would have okay'd that move? :)

And then we walked over to Times Square. Basically saw lots of bright lights!

I love the city. There's just so much energy, history, culture, great food,...! Sad that I've spent most of my life just a short train ride away, but really haven't spent much time there. Ahhh... need to plan more trips in the future!!

I had one fun day!

When I shared about my plans in my most recent Step In update, I had marked the 2nd week of March as my target for arriving in the Philippines. I have since decided that I will make a trip to Orlando, Florida in mid-March, before I leave.

A SLIGHT change in my tentative plans.

I have been invited to participate in the Wycliffe School for Global Engagement , a collaborative effort of Wycliffe USA and the Global Engagement Network (GEN—a leadership initiative of the Institute for Global Engagement) from March 17-19, 2008.

The Wycliffe School for Global Engagement will help equip Wycliffe leaders from within, preparing and retaining the leaders necessary to accomplish Vision 2025, and introduce emerging Christian leaders to a global perspective that expands their understanding of God and His world, preparing them to practically engage and lead in the 21st century.

I’m looking forward to this great opportunity for leadership development.

I’m also hoping that I will be able to plan this trip to enable me to connect with some family, friends and ministry partners in Florida before I head overseas.
At this point, I’m hoping to report to my assignment in Manila by the end of March / beginning of April.

"Oh, the joys of those who trust the LORD, who have no confidence in the proud or in those who worship idols. O Lord my God, you have performed many wonders for us. Your plans for us are too numerous to list. You have no equal. If I tried to recite all your wonderful deeds, I would never come to the end of them." (Psalm 40:4-5, NLT)

In order to do the work that I'm preparing to do in the Philippines, I'm responsible for developing a team of partners who will be in ministry with me through their prayers and financial investment.

Through these ministry partners - churches, individuals and families - my estimated monthly living expenses and financial needs are funded.

I have been amazed at the ways that God has been working. At the beginning of this week 72% of my estimated monthly needs were secured.

Today... it's 86%!!!

I am amazed! I am grateful for the team that God has assembled. I am in awe of God's provision and faithfulness. I am excited to see this happen and my move to Manila become a closer reality!

Praise God for His provision!
To my ministry team...thank you all for your partnership – your prayers and your gifts! This is a result of God working through YOU all!

As much as this percentage excites me... what it speaks to me is even more exciting!

I have been struggling with feelings of disappointment that I wasn't at 100% yet. I have been struggling with trying to figure out what I needed to do to make this happen.

In this past week God has really been reminding me that He is the One at work. He has been reminding me that I have to trust and wait on Him and Him alone.

This week God has released me...
He has given me a deeper sense of freedom.
I don't have to carry the weight of the burden of trying to make this all happen.

He has given me a deeper sense of peace.
I can relax and trust in God's timing and know that it will be perfect.

He has given me a deeper sense of hope.
Because He says to trust and wait on Him... and because He is faithful and good, I can rest in a hope that's secure.

God has given me those gifts this week... and then what a sweet surprise to see Him work in this way!

Thanks to those of you who have been praying for me!
Praise the Lord!

And...thank you, Lord!!

You are Good!!

Today I was reminded AGAIN that the work of Bible translation truly takes a team.

It's not just the work of a Bible translator.

It's not just the work of a literacy specialist.

It's not just the work of a communications consultant. :)

It takes a team.

Philadelphia Biblical University is near my parent's house. A group of students there got to hear how they could potentially fill one of the critical needs in the work of Bible translation.

Around the world today there are hundreds and hundreds of positions waiting to be filled for TEACHERS.

How can missionaries effectively do the ministry that God has called them to... if there is no teacher available to provide the necessary education for their children? Unfortunately, it is a struggle that missionary families sometimes have to face.

I got to listen as future PBU graduates got to hear that their skills, gifts, and passions can make a difference in this work. That's a message I love to hear being told... and a message I desire so greatly for people to receive and live out.

Pray for those students -- to be bold as they think about their futures, to be able to identify and move past their fears, to see how God has uniquely wired them and to have God's vision for their lives ... and that God would send out some from that group so that "the team" would be even more effective in getting God's Word into the hands of those who still wait for it in their language.

This week the temperature has been in the 60s.
I loooovvvveee it!
I drove around with my sunroof open and windows down. The other day I went to the park and sat out by the lake in the sun.



I love being outside. I find that it is one of my favorite ways to relax, unwind and connect with the Lord. It's hard in Winter for me to spend much time outdoors since it's FREEZING. So, this warm week has been a sweet gift.