Well everyone, I leave in 15 hours to get on a shuttle to drive to the airport to head off to Namibia. My heart is so anxious right now, but I think it's because my "Namibia drive" is already up and running :-) As pastor Darin would say, "Sleep when you get home" although I am hoping I could somehow get in one good night's sleep before take off, but I have a feeling my nerves will take over. I'm glad I have people in my life to remind me not to worry so much though :-) I just finished a book this morning called "Seizing your divine moment" by Erwin McManus. Nothing in that book was necessarily new (I have a really smart friend who should write his own book) because I've gotten the same advice before. But what was different was many more years of life experience. It is always comforting to me to read another believer's story who is so much farther down the road than I am. To know that I am not alone in the journey called life, and that other people who seem so put together have gone through the same things that I am currently going through. You learned about this man's horrible proposal to his wife, his failure and successes as a pastor, and his awesome heart for God. Probably the biggest thing I got out of it is that if you love God and are seeking after Him, what you are doing is already in God's will. I know that I worry so often, spending hours praying for a burning bush or a note in the sky, when a lot of times we need to just get up and go. Another aspect of the story that I loved is how he tied the story of Jonathan and his armor barer throughout the story. Jonathan was long gone living out God's will, while Saul was back praying for a sign. I don't want to be like that. I don't want to be so scared of life that I don't live it. I don't want to miss out on God's awesome plans for my life when deep down you know what His will is, but you waste time praying to know all the specifics. I've been learning that God is so much bigger than practical, and so much bigger than specifics. All we really need to do is to love Him with all of our hearts, and seize any moment we can to love God more, and to share that love with other people. Life isn't so much about getting it right, but about living the best you can by loving God to the best of your ability, and loving others and sharing God's love with them as best as we can. I just saw on my really smart friend's site that "love is the greatest calling." I can worry about everything that phrase means, and worry about all the details but then I miss out on getting to experience all that God has intended. I'm looking forward to going back to a place where I don't worry and I simply live. My new favorite quote is "Life is a journey, Seize every moment." I'm sure it's already a quote or two different quotes that I have merged together, but that is my encouragement to all of you. Love until you have nothing left to give, and I promise the results are rewarding. After writing my heart out I feel much better and I'm ready to get going. Prayer is always good and please check out the Namibia blogsite: http://namibia2006.blogspot.com/ this is where you can look at pictures, hear updates, and see all the amazing things that God is doing. Also you cna leave me comments :-) I like getting those. Love you all and looking forward to sharing this journey with you :-) love in Christ, Amanda PS: I did not edit this post so ignore all the typos and run ons :-)