My Asian adventure is officially underway.  I am presently sitting at the airport in Korea!  It took two quick 30min flights to get me to Seattle, and then the monster 12hr flight to get me here.  I have to say… it went much quicker than I'd thought it would, but there's no way around the fact that 12 hours in a plane is at least 8 too many.  I will hop on a 5hr flight to Bangkok in about an hour and that'll be it for planes until the 4th.

While sitting in that enormous plane, greatly enjoying Korean hospitality, my excitment for this next two weeks has grown.  God is so amazing, and I know that I am about to see a side of Him that I have yet to understand.  I am SO looking forward to walking this journey.  I find real rest and peace in the fact that all I've been asked to do is follow.  I mean, that is truly all I'm ever asked to do… but heading into a continent that I've know nothing about, to live with a people I have very little understanding of, the simplisty of Christ's call to "come and follow"….   Well, it's a blessing!

I'll work to post a couple times while I'm on this trip… hopefully the next post will include some pics!

It's hard to believe that in two weeks I'll be in Asia.  I've wanted to go for so long, and now it's happening.  For those of you who don't know, I'm headed to Thailand and Indonesia with some other Vineyard guys.  We'll be hooking up with the Vineyard church in Bangkok for a few days before we hop on a plane to Bali for the Asia Vineyard Gatherings.  (I'm told that worship will be led by people of a different country/language/and culture each time we meet, so I'm pretty excited! 

I have to say… my heart is full of anticipation as I prepare for this trip.  I have a deep sense that God has incredible things planned for my time there.  When I was invited to go I knew right away that I had to make it work, but it's only been recently that I've started to see why God wanted me there.  Initially the plan was to spend about 5 days in Bangkok before we headed for Indonesia.  Then, a week ago, Norm and I were invited to come and participate in a worship conference prior to the Asia Gatherings. 

The conference will be filled with worship pastors from Indonesia who are really wanting to press into the Father's heart.  Up until now, most Christian worship in Indonesia has looked very 'western'.  As a result it has made it hard for the people of Indonesia to really enter into intimate places of expression and receiving.  Kiemi, the woman who is putting the conference together, has a deep desire to see the Indonesian church able to express there hearts with Indonesian songs, dance, and other creative expressions that are true to who they are as a people.  This vision and desire connects so perfectly with my heart for the people of God all over the world.  I've come to know the impact that unhindered and ___ worship has on the worshiper, a community, and even those who don't know Jesus.

This opportunity has me speechless.  Once again, God has stepped into my journey and orchestrated things in a way that goes far beyond my wildest dreams!  This experience has deepened my faith in Him.  He truly does have a plan for my life, and I am learning (one step at a time) to simply follow… He continues to take care of the rest!

Please pray for me as I head out on this trip.  Pray that God will clearly lead me as I head into a very unknown place.  I will be asked to help facilitate times of worship with people who know little to no English, so you can pray for divine creativity and wisdom on that front.  As well, they want me to be ready to 'teach'… so you can pray for insight and direction there as well.  Most of all, pray with me for eyes to see and ears to hear what God is doing and saying.

Here is a copy of the conference brochure, I thought some of you might like to see it: Worship Conference Invitation

This is the second recording that I've done since I moved to the Island.  It is a song that I wrote last year, and it has really been a bit of an anthem for Janna and I over the course of this journey.  Psalm 27.8 says

My heart has heard You say, 'Come and talk with me.'  And my heart responds, 'Lord, I am coming.'

This verse paints a vivid picture for me in the midst of worship.  As I live my life I do so with the understanding that I am constantly invited to live in the presence of God.  More and more I am learning to lay down my life and respond to this invitation.  I pray this song is a blessing, and that it can be a part of your hearts expression as well.

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

I've really grown to love Thanksgiving.  Truth is I have so much to be thankful for, as do many of the people I love.  I think it only makes sense to set aside a day every year for the sole purpose of giving thanks (truth be told I wish we could set aside a festival week!).  I love too that this purposed time of giving thanks is one that we share with others.  It's when we come together in our thankfulness that we are really able to give a voice to the gratefulness that we feel from day to day.  It's incredibly significant to sit down at a table with friends and family, and to share the blessings of our lives in a purposed way.  To speak out the things that we've come to treasure and to celebrate together the countless ways that God has broken into our lives with 'good gifts'.

This year, I am most thankful for so much.  My new home here on the Island, the time I've had to really rest and reflect on the past couple years, and the way in which God has walked so close to me.  I'm deeply grateful to Him for the restoration that has begun in me, and for the way that He's using our home and life to bring that to others as well.  I'm thankful for family, and the deep ways we've grown in love for each other through the incredibly hard year that has just passed.  I'm thankful too for friendship.  Specifically, I'm thankful for the way God has been so purposefully teaching me what it is both be a friend and to receive the plethora of gifts that come to me through my friends.  I've always said it's miraculous to see God heal a blind man, or to part the sea… but far more amazing to me is the way he brings lives together.  More than anything this year I am incredibly thankful for the people that God has brought into the life of Janna and I.  We are truly blessed to have the friends and family we do, and our lives show the extent of that blessing daily.

Although I'm thankful for many people, there are two that I am most thankful for, as I reflect on the many blessings of my life this past year.  First and foremost I am thankful for Janna.  She has given so much to me, and loved me in ways that have completely changed who I am.  I've always seen her as a gift from God, but the journey of this past year has opened my eyes even more to the depth of that reality.  Secondly…. words can't express how grateful I am to God for my sister.  Jayda was also a gift from God, and her life… her love… and her legacy are a treasure worth far more than anything available to me on Earth.  I miss her, but today I celebrate her and give thanks for the memories and ongoing way that her legacy shapes my life everyday.

Thanks finally, and most of all, to my Jesus.  I've seen you in new ways, and known your presence in some of the hardest of circumstances this past year.  Jayda spoke of you with such certainty, and her witness has strengthened my faith even more.  Your love and faithfulness have been an incredible gift… and I pray that this weekend you'd be blessed as we give thanks.  I pray to, that thankfulness would fill the lives and hearts of those I love, and that this thanksgiving You'd be seen in our praises.