End of week 3 . . .

As we end our third week here in Silver City, I lay awake late into the night wondering if the Lord will begin to reveal a portion of His plan in the weeks ahead?!?  I am so afraid of staying the same ol' Elizabeth, doing the same ol' thing like back home.  We could've stayed in Mansfield, Texas if that's what we were going to do.  I don't want to fall into the same ol' pattern of things.  I want to experience Him in a new way, with new people, maybe even doing a new career.  I want to be fully alive in this quiet little town. 

We love it so much here!  We breathe deeper here, sleep harder, talk more, visit longer and the list goes on.  I have an ongoing list of people whom we've already met.  Each one so unique in his/her way.  They each have a story to tell.  I want to spend time with each person, family or group of people me meet.  They're so different from the groups I used to frequent my time with back in Mansfield.  Back home we wouldn't have crossed paths with the types of people we've had coffee with, eaten dinner with already, or have invited to come to our home.  It's so fun!  We get to talk art with the hippies, enjoy dinner with different religious groups, and talk politics with the most liberal of them all. 

Today at church (the one we're almost sure we're going to join), I was listening to the pastor and just drifting off into thoughts of how the Lord must see this area.  How does He see our neighbors? New church body? The kids who go to school with our girls?  Does He find favor with them for their service to this city?  Of course He does!  It makes attending a new church so much easier when you realize that these are our brothers and sisters-in-Christ, doing the Lord's work.  It really helps you see that the building is not the church, rather the ones who frequent it.  It makes you realize what a team effort it is to serve and spread the Gospel in your hometown. 

I love the rhythm here.  It almost feels twenty years behind, and though I'm sure it will become a hard adjustment down the road, it's endearing for now.  The Post Office is packed regularly because snail mail is still a big deal.  Fingerprinting for the district is done on card stock and then sent off to the state, after an approval from the accounting department has been given.  There's only one, maybe two, school buses for our girls' elementary school.  Most kids walk home and ride their bikes.  Our neighbors load up their RVs and caravan to see new parts of the country together.  The first meal brought to our house was homemade bread with homemade chicken noodle soup.  Kids wanted scooters, UNO attack, Barbie Holiday dolls, and binoculars for Christmas.  Only one mentioned an electronic device that frequented our classrooms back home.  It's just a few steps behind, and they like it that way here.  It gives you permission to pull your hair back, sip a cup of hot coffee, and just take in the views.

We climbed the mountain behind our house yesterday, which is a HUGE deal for us city folks.  I kept seeing HUGE mountain lion paw prints in the dirt and snow.  It took me a while to relax and to know that the eyes of the Lord were upon us and it was for this reason (for our enjoyment) that He even created the mountains and the creatures that call it home.  We climbed higher and higher.  We saw patches of pine trees, prairie fields, and even forests of cactus.  It was amazing to see all of it with pockets of snow.  We had such a great time.  When we got home, we thawed out a bit, and then went downtown for a cup of coffee and hot chocolates for the girls.  Of course me met some folks and they pulled up a few chairs and joined us for conversation.  We were there for three hours.  We left with a sense of knowing one another, as if an invite to return was already in place.  And the weird part was, we were spending time with non-believers.  That's been the best thing and the hardest thing to overcome.  We are doing what Jesus did through so much of His ministry, and yet it throws us off if we stop to think about it too long.  There have been times that I'm just too afraid to really get to know or even fellowship too long with non-believers because I'm afraid of the fine line that divides our eternity.  But, isn't that exactly what Jesus wants us to do? 

For now, I end this post, but I really want to frequent my ol' blog.  I haven't used it too much.  I can read in the past postings and see how the Lord had been preparing us for this journey for a long time now.  I can't believe that I sit in bed, writing, and we're now apart of the journey He was preparing.  I really want to document the journey for us to be reminded of His faithfulness, to see where He's leading us, and to leave the girls a piece of recorded faith trips.  Oh how I love the Lord, and oh how I want to see Him.  I am afraid that I may become lazy in my walk because I don't live in Bible land, but I just might find more of Him in such a case.  Either way, I love you Lord and I think you for this life You've given me.  Help me to lay down fearful thoughts, and to pick up and clothe myself with Your truths!  Forgive me for being silent towards you and not making you apart of my every day.  Help me take in all that you have around us.  The pine-clothed mountains, odd streets, ever passing deer, random falling snow, and the faces of so many new people.  I don't know what You have in store down the road, and I do not want to pull out of Silver City, without having made it a true home.