airport

[Taken out straight from my journal as I was trying to come up with a poem for Anna&Yuriy's wedding. It just wasn't happening.  I felt a nudge from the Lord to just speak.  Just share from the heart.] 

About the airport.

A place of transit to the next destination.

Pack only what’s necessary.

I’ve taken Anna so many times to Sac and San Francisco, for missions trips and other things. She’s aslo taken me.  She flew to visit Yura, she greeted him here at the airport.

Airport.

And here we are celebrating their TAKE OFF. 

Whatever they have acquired through their single lives, their experiences, thoughts, oppenness and brokenness before God, faith, trust, these are the things they are taking on their flight, their “Marriage Plane” but it’s all just transit. 

Stops and take offs..

We are always traveling ..

Because our final destination is Heaven.. Eternity

Therefore – the qualities, disciplines, truths that are acquired will sustain you through this flight.... this life.

So may this life-flight, be pleasant. 

Travel Light.

No need to drag extra baggage with you.

Learn to be content with what you‘ve got.  It will last.  It’s more than what many others have.

May God continue directing your itinerary.  May He direct the flight. 

May you two enjoy this trip, for the rest of your lives.

And remember, it’s only temporary, until we arrive at our final destination.

И я так рада что точно вас на небе обниму!

love my new journal

I journal A L OOOOOT and I love my new journal.  It’s nice and thick and lines aren’t big.  The world map is perfect to reflect this season of my life.  But more than all that I love how it came about.

.......

Three years ago I was in Seattle for a seminar.  There was a young girl there for only a day.  She actually left after my first session.  She stood out to me.  We chatted briefly over dinner.  I was drawn to something within her.  She was a typical teenager, but in her eyes, I saw that she was not typical at all.  There was so much depth to her soul.  She left, but I could not forget her in my prayers. 

This time I came to Seattle for a month.  With no seminars planned, and a clear schedule.

In camp a young lady comes up to me, and as she smiles, I can clearly see that it’s the same girl, that years ago left an imprint on my soul.

We set up breakfast dates, and in those morning hours, Jesus Himself spoke to our hearts thru each other. 

It was simply ExtraOrdinary!! ;)

It is rare to encounter a kindred spirit in a ‘stranger’.  It’s fascinating.  The little things we were similar in brought many laughs and goose bumps.  God spoke and it touched our hearts. 

She wanted to get me a gift.  A Journal, by any means. 

Journaling is my language of the heart.  We chose this specific one.  It represents the journey that the Lord’s begun.  As I left the country, and endured on this uncertain trusting path, I shall be reminded of a life so beautiful, unfolding, a butterfly in a cocoon, still forming. 

This journal will always be next to my Bible. Next to me. 

God lives in Seattle

God has truly blessed me in Seattle.  In 5 weeks it rained only once and I spent more time in the sun in Washington than I ever did in California. 

I never got to go walk the city by myself

but I truly enjoyed all the chats and prayers with friends.

 Numerous breakfasts, and evening tea meetings,

speaking to teens and just hanging out,

sharing my walk, and what life with God is all about.

 Meeting with young moms, kids, camps, retreats,

 talks with my friends about their goals and dreams. 

Seattle is full of great things to do,

more than that, it has a soul that is struggling too. 

People in need of hearing from Jesus

People seeking answers, and purpose for existence

God lives in Seattle, of this I am certain

For He came and ripped the dividing curtain

He is a local, He does lives there

I had to at first search for Him thru the cloud of despair

Yet the sun does come out, after many days of rain

It is so comforting that He knows all our known or unknown pain

This ‘wanna-be’ poem is starting to drift

As my mind is jet lagging, falling asleep

….

In the morning or the night, I shall begin the search for Jesus in Moscow

i left Thursday

public speaking

To be honest, thru this month in Seattle God has been teaching me what it means to ‘Rest in Him, and to Walk Confidently in my gifting.”

 I love people. I love speaking. I love the public.

I love public speaking.

And most of all I love Jesus. 

He has been teaching me to rely completely on Him, because He has a message for His people.  I am only a microphone that He chooses to use at this time.

The last few days of my stay I had speaking engagements every night. 

And I enjoyed them.

These have been some of the funnest talks I have given.  I felt peaceful and confident.  I know God has called me to this, and I want to stop demeaning the ability He has given me to share my heart and what He has taught me, to be genuine and raw on stage, to just BE ME. 

Funny how when I walk in obedience to the Lord, using what He has gifted, people are impacted, God is glorified, and I get to ENJOY it in the process. 

God has given me the gift of confidence on stage, and I love it.  There I said it.  I really LIKE sharing with people!  Sharing His truth, and just talking about Him.  I love Him, so I talk about Him. J

I truly, really, greatly, enjoyed these last few opportunities of sharing.  I don’t remember the last time when I had so much fun. 

Is it because I am rested? Or is it because I AM Resting?

I think the latter.

extra weight - costs

Last night in Seattle, before flying out to Russia, we had a great meeting with the ladies. 

As women, we constantly are sharing with each other the ‘latest diet trend’ that will help us quickly lose the unwanted pounds.  God has showed me a parallel that runs between our physical and spiritual style of life, which I wanted to share. 
Personally I am far from being ‘fit’ in both areas. However honestly sharing from personal experiences and failures has proven to have the most impact. 

Simple diet that actually works has no secrets!  Change your eating habits, and start exercising!  PERIOD.

With doing these things faithfully one WILL see the change that they so desire. 

It is the same in the Spiritual sense. We refuse to do the simple proven fact that improves our spiritual health: feeding on God’s Word and exercising prayer and fasting.  We substitute the true nutrients with all kinds of other things, like TV shows, novels, and even ‘spiritual reading’ but we neglect the ONE thing that will provide the body the MOST VITAL nutrients it needs for survival, the true living word of God.  We also neglect exercise with a passion.  We often know logically that it is a good thing, but our flesh wins out and we choose to spend our time on something else, than making excuses that we’re busy, with school, work, kids, cooking, shopping, church, chatting, whatever…

We choose.

We choose what we eat.  We choose what we do.

And you know, as God has been leading me in shedding pounds in the physical sense, both in the body, and just in the style of life. I realized something just this morning…

Getting to the airport with 3 huge suitcases, I knew I was overweight on the allotted baggage for my travel to Russia.  It was all the gifts I was bringing.  I prayed and prayer for a miracle. I prayed for the bags to somehow shrink and be lighter.  I prayed for grace that the extra pounds on each bag would be overlooked by flight attendant. 

Neither happened.

I had to overpay.   A lot.

And as I sat in the airplane thinking that God did not answer my prayers my mind wondered to what I was sharing with the ladies last night.   I realized “EXTRA WEIGHT COSTS A LOT.”   When we have, all good and maybe even necessary things in our life, but it’s EXTRA, we could live without it, but we CHOOSE not to.  Those things, in the end, COST US A LOT.  They could cost us our health, wealth, relationships, but mainly it hinders our spiritual wellbeing.  We choose to pay for that extra weight.  We pay to have our physical richness with the spiritual inheritance that God has given us.  We trade in what’s His, for something we want, right now.  Even if it is a good thing.

O Lord, help me to continue shedding the ‘extra’ pounds of my life.  Show me what I am trading in Your richness for.   I want to be truly fit, ready and available for any good work.  I want to invest the treasure you have given me, so that it will grow and multiply, and not squander it away on careless living for simple pleasures of life, right now, in the moment.  O Help me God!!!

The Meeting with Ladies

new talent

So I had no idea I can draw, or that I like doing it.

When I was little I used to take art lessons, but that was over 20 years ago.  

As a friend was preparing for her dads big birthday event, she kept looking for someone to draw pictures of Saint Petersburg for decorations.  I felt a nudge from the Lord to offer to help.  My immediate response was: ‘ come on, I do not draw.’ But then a thought:  “Jesus can do it!” 

“I can do ALL things in Him” has always been my favorite verse! J

I offered to try.  The first painting proved to be a great success. I looked at it and thought – IT IS GOOD.  As I continued this pursuit, I realized how exciting it was to CREATE. 

We are created by the Creator in His image, thus we can create, and IT IS GOOD!  J

I kept drawing all day, and did the final drawings the next morning.  It was so much fun!!!

I guess with more TIME, things starts surfacing that are normally buried in the chaos of schedules and chores.  I wonder how much untapped talent is walking around me.

Maybe I shall continue to develop this unveiled skill I never thought I had.