After just returning from the Beaumont Mission Trip I started to think about how hard everyone worked.  Most of us are not used to that much hard physical labor (it's nothing like sitting behind a desk or phone all day), but everyone found the strength to persevere each day.  I know in our group they did not want to come down off of the roof until the job was done each day.  I started to wonder where the extra strength comes from.  I came to the conclusion that God prepared each on us for the trip and gave us just enough energy to complete each day's task. &

I believe God has great plans for our lives, but sometimes he knows we need more training.  It is these during these moments that God will put us into some really difficult or challenging situations in our lives where we experience pain, confusion, frustration, sadness or despair.  I believe he wants us to depend on him and realize that he has a purpose for the situation.  While that purpose is probably very unclear to us, it is all part of Gods' plan for our lives.  I believe our response to these situations is to listen for God speaking to us and fully engage life and

I've been thinking alot about compassion for the last several months.  As I tried to organize my thoughts around the topic, I came up with the 4 week study on compassion for Wednesday nights.  It has helped me better understand what the bible teaches about compassion.  It seems that more thought I put into the topic, the more I began to realize what a great plan God has for all of us.  He provides everything we need to love and be loved.  He gave us the ultimate gift of love, grace, forgiveness, and compassion with his Son!  And all he asks from us in return