Can I just say, today's been a blast from the past.

An old favorite song quietly snuggled its way onto my ipod last night: You Alone

Favorite line: "You have given me more than I could ever have wanted, and I want to give you my heart and my soul." Here's why: As I was riding my bike to work this morning, I went over a bridge, (I always had to cross a bridge riding my bike to middle and high school in Germany); and I had a flashback to my early teens (13-14-15 year-old me) (because of that song), when my big life goals/fears/dreams were:

1. if only my transplanted kidney would keep working... until high school ends, or maybe even until university is done...
2. I really wanted to study medicine and become a doctor
3. Preferably become a transplant surgeon and work with (famous) transplant surgeons
4. Maybe do research, too?
5. Move to America

And ABOVE answering all that beyond my biggest dreams, I truly fell in love with my ultimate lover and best friend sometime in college, and since then, I've had so many more friendships with people from all over the world that are better and deeper than anything I knew at the time... So, thanks for being my friends, but all Glory to God for putting y'all in my life!

Then, on my way home, I was just worshiping, especially to "Salvation spring up from the ground," "Put a cry in us, so deep inside that we cannot find the words to say, we just weep and cry out for you," and "Let the prodigals run home."

Here's why: Our little church is going through some major changes, and trying to come up with a vision (it must be to glorify God, and to reach out to the lost). So, here I was, looking at the dead road before me, surrounded by beautiful flowers, and I was thinking how nice it would be if the dead road (or people) would just burst to life (and be saved)... there it was, salvation springing up from the ground...
Putting a cry into the hearts of our church (that is, God's people), a cry for renewal in Jesus... to give us hearts to reach out to all those around us...
And letting the prodigals run home... I think so many people these days have misunderstood the Christian church for a bunch of people who think of themselves as better than "non-church-goers," or they have in some way been hurt or offended by some person in the church (that person was probably me, for several people I know I was, so, I'm really sorry that I'm not perfect; not holy, not even close). They've left the church (or ran away from home), taking some part of knowledge about God (their Father) home with them, but they've not bothered to return home (after all, why would you, if some brother or sister who have hurt you still "lives" at home; that would not be a fun encounter). But how awesome if these prodigals would come running home and understand how much their Father really loves them (even if the earthly brothers and sisters will still be as big a mess as they were-- the 2nd son in the story was just as much a prodigal by not welcoming the brother back). So I just had to pray for them...

And continuing on to the "Happy Song," after several weeks of struggling in my walk with God (and really refusing to talk about Him to anyone; trust me, it was bad...), just shouting out "Your Joy is in this place!" out the top of my lungs...

It's been a really good day:)

Silke