Wow! As August winds down, I look back at perhaps the busiest month of my life. It went a bit like this...
August 2-4: Spend some time with good friends of mine, Tim and Jo, as they celebrated their wedding in West Palm Beach, Florida.
August 4-9: Spend some time with good friends of mine, the Canner family in Baltimore and Scott, Amanda, and Kattie in our nation's capital.
August 9-12: Spend some time in Michigan meeting some of Kattie's family and friends.
August 12-16: Spend some time in Texas with some of my family and friends.
August 16-18: Take a 3-day cross-country road trip from Austin to Portland with Kattie.
August 20: Become officially engaged to Kattie and begin planning the wedding ceremony that will be November 9.
August 20-24: Begin training/orientation with Americorps for my Partnerships for Student Achievement program this year.
August 27-31: Begin teacher in-service at Glencoe High School, the school at which I will be serving.
In between all these things, Kattie and I have been organizing our future apartment, registering the car, planning on getting Oregon drivers' licenses, planning the wedding, meeting people, brainstorming ways to volunteer in Portland (we're going to attend an interest meeting at the Portland Rescue Mission Saturday morning), getting a membership at 24 Hour Fitness, getting lost all over Portland, and spending way too much money on life in general.
So, needless to say, it has been quite busy and hectic. But the Lord has remained faithful through it all, enabling us to continually worship Him through it all. No matter what is happening, wherever I am, He remains steadfast in His covenant love for me. HE IS MY ROCK.
The Lord is my light and my salvation;
whom shall I fear?
The Lord is the stronghold of my life;
of whom shall I be afraid?
When evildoers assail me
to eat up my flesh,
my adversaries and foes,
it is they who stumble and fall.
Though an army encamp against me,
my heart shall not fear;
though war arise against me,
yet I will be confident.
One thing have I asked of the Lord,
that will I seek after:
that I may dwell in the house of the Lord
all the days of my life,
to gaze upon the beauty of the Lord
and to inquire in his temple.
For he will hide me in his shelter
in the day of trouble;
he will conceal me under the cover of his tent;
he will lift me high upon a rock.
And now my head shall be lifted up
above my enemies all around me,
and I will offer in his tent
sacrifices with shouts of joy;
I will sing and make melody to the Lord.
Hear, O Lord, when I cry aloud;
be gracious to me and answer me!
You have said, “Seek my face.”
My heart says to you,
“Your face, Lord, do I seek.”
Hide not your face from me.
Turn not your servant away in anger,
O you who have been my help.
Cast me not off; forsake me not,
O God of my salvation!
For my father and my mother have forsaken me,
but the Lord will take me in.
Teach me your way, O Lord,
and lead me on a level path
because of my enemies.
Give me not up to the will of my adversaries;
for false witnesses have risen against me,
and they breathe out violence.
I believe that I shall look upon the goodness of the Lord
in the land of the living!
Wait for the Lord;
be strong, and let your heart take courage;
wait for the Lord!
Psalm 27
To all of you who have continually prayed for me and for Kattie and supported us through whatever adventures we experienced, Thank You! Now begins another one. This is just another opportunity to join the God of the Universe, the King of the Ages, in His little sandbox to play and see what He'll accomplish. His will must most assuredly be done! And we are the beneficiaries. May His goodness truly satisfy our souls in the deepest parts.
**An updated Newsletter is in the works with specifics on the aforementioned things.**
