Toothpaste...

    Well, don't get too excited...I still haven't prepared THE blog post all about Bangladesh. It's coming, it's coming... But in the past 72 hours I've been reminded by God and the people around me of a powerful truth. Our words are an overflow from our hearts and minds. Jesus said in Matthew 15:18, "But the things that come out of a person’s mouth come from the heart, and these defile them." Our words also carry so much weight. A person's words can either build up or tear down those who hear them. So in a matter of three days I have been reminded three specific times about carefully choosing my words in my marriage, with my peers, and when using popular phrases.

1- Tuesday I was at Chick-fil-A in North Carolina getting dinner for Jonathan and I. After a full day of school, that chicken sandwich was DELISH! So I get in line and a nice middle-aged couple ordered in front of me. While the wife went to find a table, the husband and I waited off to the side for our orders. After the husband took one load of food to their table he came back and was waiting for something else (I guess more food?). Then something happened that made me almost lose my appetite. The wife came up to her husband with a disappointed look on her face and they exchanged a few remarks that weren't in ear shot of me. By their body language I could tell that something was wrong. Then the wife says to her husband "Ugh...I thought I trained you better than that!" and stormed back to the table. I could see the hurt on her husband's face...

Okay...deep breath... I WAS SO MAD. Don't get me wrong, I know we all loose it from time to time. Everyone has bad days and says things that they don't mean... but your husband is not a puppy! He doesn't need to be "trained". This experience was a good reminder for me to always be cautious of the things I say. Not only in my marriage with showing respect to my husband, although that is certainly important! But the things I say can even effect those around me in public. Sometimes our words can belittle others... This leads me to my next lesson of the week...

2- Every Thursday I meet with a 5th grader. She calls me a "counselor" but I function more like a mentor, and the school calls me a "lunch buddy" :) I love it. So today we were talking about a lesson that she learned in a friendship group at school about words. She said they did an activity where you squeeze toothpaste out onto a paper plate. The toothpaste represents the words that we say. Then you have to try to put all of the toothpaste back into the tube. If anyone's ever tried this, it's impossible! It just ends up becoming a minty fresh, sticky mess. But when we squeeze our words out, we can never take them back. This was another great reminder of the fact that words can last in a person's mind for years, and even a lifetime. I want to make sure that the words of mine etched in people's memories are ones that build up, not tear down. 

3- Just tonight I read an awesome article. Read it here: http://www.relevantmagazine.com/life/whole-life/13-things-stop-saying-2013 . It's called "13 Things to Stop Saying in 2013". Although it's funny, there's a lot of truth in it. Many times we start employing default words. We don't talk with purpose, but we just use words to fit in. Sometimes, we may not even know what the word(s) mean! So this was yet another convicting reminder about being purposeful about the words we choose and say. They matter!

So... I guess God is trying to teach me something :) But, I thought I would share with you all as well.
Have a great weekend!

p.s. Be checking Twitter for updates on Parkway's Live.Love. event this weekend. #LiveLove2013. It's going to be awesome!

Procrastination and Urbanization

     Well... I know, I know... I haven't posted anything about Bangladesh yet. This has been quite a week readjusting back to East Coast time, American food, work (we're not callin' it March Mania for nothing! haha), school work, and the list goes on! So I know that it seems like I have procrastinated blogging about Bangladesh, I haven't just been being lazy! Here is something God has been teaching me this week...

-  I've been doing a lot of reviewing and reflecting on one of my Southeastern classes in preparation for a midterm today. God has opened my eyes to His love for the city. In this class called Urban Evangelization we have walked through an overview of scripture taking notes where the city is mentioned. It's everywhere! Historically many Christians have ignored or neglected the city because it is many times seen as a place of sin, violence and corruption. And there are certainly cases where it is! But, God uses cities! There are lots of reasons why it's important to reach the cities for Christ (maybe a future post?). But here are just a few:

   1- Cities are where people are! Urban living is becoming the norm, rather than the exception. In 2008 the mark was hit, and fifty percent of the world was living in an urban area, and that was five years ago! Statistics say that by 2015 there will be over 480 cities of one million or more in the world. Tim Keller puts it this way in his book Center Church, "Cities have more of the image of God per square mile than any other place on earth".

   2- People go to cities for freedom and see it as a chance to recreate themselves. Although this can many times lead to sin, it can also lead to a person being more open to leave behind traditional views and hear out new ideas like the gospel. The city is also the “engine of culture”. Culture is created and developed in cities. It is where people of influence live. If they can be reached, the world can.
 ***all information learned from Dr. Chuck Lawless, Tim Keller's book Center Church, and Gary Fujino, Timothy Sisk, and Tereso Casino's book Reaching the City.***

These are just two of the MANY reasons to reach the city for Christ. But it's pretty convincing right? This is one of the reasons why I love Bangladesh. It's busy, it's crazy, but it belongs to God! My responsibility and my response to the greatness of Christ is to point everyone I come in contact with to Christ so that they may one day worship Him for eternity!

Alright, alright enough preaching :) Just wanted to share with you all something God's been teaching me lately. I won't completely leave ya hanging about Bangladesh. I'll end this post with some photos from the retreat we did for the workers there. *All photos taken by the awesome Ben Cornatzer*

This photo is of the retreat center we used. It was a beautiful and relaxing place (minus the mosquitoes :)

Here is a group photo. Not everyone is pictured here because they went home a day earlier. But I love this pic!

Home Sweet Home

We're back! Yesterday we landed in Richmond around 5pm after an amazing trip to Bangladesh. The first 16 hours we were home, the Hubs and I managed to sleep for 12 hours straight (Hallelujah!!!), take two hot showers, and eat Chick-fil-A....twice. Haha. While it was an incredible trip, there is just no place like home. There is something so priceless about hearing the people around you talking in your own language, being hugged by loved ones you haven't seen in a while, and sleeping in your own bed. I'm working on some posts to tell more about the trip, but for now, I'll probably go lay down :)

Here is a team photo- Photo Credit goes to Ben Cornatzer our team photographer :) . We can't thank everyone enough for all of the prayer support! The Lord did some amazing things! But more on that later...