Jesusluvsall's Blog

As 2018 comes to an end and I look back on the year, the first thing that comes to mind are the people I have met along my  way down the path of this life. I think about the refugees I have met and visited in their homes. I think about the new students I have had the privilege of teaching. This year it was a blessing to get to know my Mandean friends from Iran, more Yazidi friends from Iraq, some new Brazilian friends, and so many people from other cultures.

As I spend time with my friends from many countries, I think about how in reality I am also a foreigner here in this life.  In 1st Peter 2, Peter called those who follow Jesus;

“Dear friends, I urge you, as foreigners and exiles”

If we follow Jesus, if we have come to trust in him, we are then foreigners in this life. Our real home is in heaven with Jesus. In that sense we are exiles. Peter urges us in that chapter to live our lives in a way that will show our faith to others.

Special moments also come to mind. It was a blessing to see some of my young Vietnamese friends get married last summer and to celebrate their weddings with them. I knew them when they were teens and part of my groups at my church, and now they are successful young adults with careers and married.

In February, I felt God prompting me to start writing again. I had not written much for quite a while mostly due to Celiacs foggy brain and just not feeling like writing. In March, a renewed focus and energy for this blog arose in me. My goal is to write for an audience of one hopefully blessing others meaning I seek to write for Jesus in hopes it blesses those who read my blog. I am so thankful for all the people who follow, read, like, and comment on my blog.

Speaking of my blog, I will be trying a new series focusing on the many names and titles for God in the bible. Perhaps it will be weekly, or semi weekly. It will start tomorrow with a post about God being El Shaddai.

2018 was uneventful for traveling which is something I love. Perhaps in 2019 I will have a ministry trip. It is in preliminary discussion.

I only went to my doctor once this year. Perhaps it wasn’t the best idea, but after having over 20 appointments with various doctors and six weeks of physical therapy in 2017, I wanted to take a break 🙂

2018 wasn’t the most exciting year I have had, but it was rewarding mostly because of the opportunities God has given me to befriend and help more refugees and immigrants. I hope to continue to do so in the coming year.

Thank you for reading. God Bless.