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Thanks to all those who have responded about my trip with words of blessing and prayers for my journey and the work God wants to do through my being here.  I think I could enjoy this blogging…

After 22 hours of driving and flying from my home in Oxnard, I arrived at Stuart and Marie’s home in Tralee in Ireland.  There were half a dozen or so folks waiting to greet me and we had a brief time of fellowship together before I found my way to a bed and 10 hours of much needed sleep.  I only slept about 3 hours on the plane coming here and was hardly able to string coherent thoughts together.

Awaking the next morning, Stuart and I headed for a cross-country tour to Killarney and a national park near there.  What a beautiful trip through the mountains and coastal villages of southeast Ireland. We passed lots of golf courses too, but I didn’t bring my clubs, nor have time to play.  The trip gave us lots of time to talk and I love how God has brought this group of people into the simple joy of living as his people together.  You can read a bit about them at a web site they are just starting to put together at: http://www.saintsintralee.net. 

Last night we gathered in Tralee to talk through the power of the cross and how it frees us from sin and shame to live deeply in the friendship God wants with each of us.  We’re going to continue that discussion this evening (Saturday night) as well.  But first we’re going on a bit of a road trip. Stuart will be dropping me off in Ballybunion to meet with some new brothers and sisters there while he drives on to Shannon to pick up Patrick who is flying in today from the States. 

Tommorow (Sunday) we will gather with the saints here in Tralee and then make our way down to Cork in southern Ireland to meet with some other believers there.  Your prayers for us are most welcome.

In less than an hour I will be leaving for the airport on a two-week trip to Ireland. I met the folks there over a year ago during an all-to-brief swing through the region. I’m going back to spend some time in five different places. Accompanying me on the trip is Patrick Mcbane from Youngstown, Ohio.

We are just starting a blog here, so I’m not too sure how this is going to work. But while I’m in Ireland I’m going to try to give some regular updates of what we’ll experience there. If all goes well, you’ll see some updates appear here from time to time. If not, you’ll know I couldn’t figure it out and we’ll start fresh when I get home.

Hopefully you’ll be able to respond to these posts as well. Please be patient with my learning curve here as we try this more direct way of communicating.

Isn’t God amazing?

I am constantly in awe at the things God arranges. I can’t believe I spent so much of my life frustrated that God wouldn’t do things my way or trying to manage a schedule that did more to keep him out than let him in. I don’t know how much I must have missed that he wanted to spill into my life because I was so focused on getting him to do things my way. In the last few years he has won me over. His ability to connect things at exactly the right moment far exceed my ability to do so. And it is so cool.

On my recent flight to Hawaii to teach at the YWAM base in Kona, God put me next to a woman who was on her way to Hawaii to make some medical decisions for her hospitalized father who had suffered a stroke. She was a new Christian and struggling with the choices she would have to make alone for her father’s care. It was such a blessing to be able to sort through some of those things for her both at a personal and theological level. We talked for over half of the journey about her situation and the choices ahead before she settled into a nap and I into some reading.

At the end she couldn’t have been more grateful. I stayed in touch with her through the week and her father passed away Tuesday night. Isn’t it amazing how God can arrange just the conversations we need when we need them most? But we both could have missed it so easily. If we’d just sat quietly ignoring each other as most do on airplanes, we would never have known.

If I hadn’t shown an interest in why she was going to Hawaii, and if she hadn’t taken the risk to tell me the real reason none of this would have happened. It’s a great reminder to take a bit of an interest in what’s going on around you. You’ll never know how God will use it to encourage another brother or sister, or to let the world get a glimpse of him in you.

I’m also going to Ireland next week with a brother from Youngstown, Ohio who I only met a few weeks ago. Patrick Mcbane, is an Irishman who has never been to Ireland. He contacted me a few weeks ago about visiting their group. I was already set to be nearby in Western Pennsylvania, but didn’t have a hole in my schedule to arrange anything with them. But God knew better. He shuffled some things around so I had a piece of the weekend unexpectedly free. Not only did I get to meet some delightful brothers and sisters in Youngstown, but God also connected me with a brother to share this journey to Ireland. I’m not sure what all he has in mind with that, but I’m freshly reminded that Jesus has his body well in hand and connects us with others at just the right time.

So be ready! Who knows what God might want to do with the next person who crosses your path!