On the Ground!

It is getting close to three weeks since I landed in Tunis, Tunisia. I am so excited to be officially moved into my new apartment with my friend Sam. She and I have both been living in limbo these past six months and so having our own rooms and space in general is very comforting.

Hopefully you all had a great Christmas celebration with family and friends gathered together. I was able to enjoy some holiday time with my IDEAS team here and also attended a wonderful Christmas Eve service at the International French Church. It was refreshing to be back in the lively worship environment of the beautiful black African style of praising our Lord.

Now that things are settled here I plan to be more frequent with updates on what all is going on. I plan to be traveling some soon so that will make for interesting tid-bits to share with you all as I adjust back to a culture here that is truly unique and precious in its own way but definitely provides a good opportunity for some laughs.

Lasltly for this post, but most certainly of great importance is my news about getting engaged! I unexpectedly met someone in the last couple months of being in America and God clearly had expedicious plans for our coming together. Our care for each other grew quickly and deeply in the final few weeks I had in California and as a realization of how far apart we would be soon, Isaac chose to propose within 24hours before I boarded my plane. Yes ladies, he is a hopeless romantic and in my opinion one of the best! It was a crazy time but one of the most certain decisions of my life. God has blessed us in finding each other, but we do have a hard road ahead so please keep us in your prayers.

I hope Isaac's and my obedience to the Lord's leading is inspirational for you today,
Laina
 

We Wage War....Why?

In my conversations recently the topic of war seems to have come up a lot whether we are referring to a historical war, the military, or the battle that as Christ followers we were born into and responsible to start fighting daily as our maturity grows.

I know most of you are thinking, "It's Thanksgiving weekend why am I talking about war", but people don't realize how much we have to be thankful for because of those that wage war in each of these categories. We are not excluded from this responsibility either because in the very least, we are called to fight the battle of integrity everyday so that the Lord's light shines brighter and makes our battle that much easier. We are to be the army that fights each day for truth, sovereignty in God, and the peace of eternal grace.

For those of you also fighting in the armed forces I want to appreciate your sacrifice in how the Lord has brought you to a commitment of defending your earthly country as well. I can only imagine the conviction it takes to make that choice, but I pray the Lord convicts me with the same sense of duty, honor, and sacrifice as I seek to lay down my desires and comforts to battle the images, abuses, emotions, and sins of this world in seeking to redeem the view and voice of women around the world. God made woman beautiful and purposeful for Him, and through certain people He brings around the hand you need to step out of the ditch people have come to know as home.

If you are that hand for someone else and have been denying the push He has put on your life to step up, today re-evaluate who you are deciding to leave in the ditch because of your choice. If you are the one living in that ditch, start looking for the hand because in choosing to stay in your ugly existence you are telling God his creation is not worth refining and using for His glory.

So I think it is fair to say we all have a war to be in and a battle to fight, we should get working!

With all the sincerity of my soul,
Laina

Soldiers of the Right Fight

I know the title of this entry seems a bit harsh and maybe that pushes some of you away but this was the topic of my young adults group discussion last night. Our study has been on the nooma clips that combine, scripture, practical discussion questions and stimulating visuals of real life daily struggles.

Last night the speaker used the theme of the anger we can often get when being cut off in traffic, our grocery bag breaking, or for some of us it just takes someone looking at us the wrong way to set us off. He then compared that reaction to the kind of righteous anger Jesus had with his children and the religious elites, when cleaning out the temple. The difference is when Jesus acted on his anger it immediately resulted in restoration and love, which unfortunately is not commonly the result we get as humans in the way we act out our anger.

The final question posed to each of us was, do we let our anger drive us or do we drive our anger? How often do we ask ourselves, why am I angry, and actually think through what the Lord might want us to do about those feelings. We are created as humans who get angry about things, just like Jesus did, but most of us today view our anger as a bad thing that needs to be removed from our life, simply because we don't take the time to understand its purpose.

In light of that realization I would ask everyone, how many of us recognize what makes us angry as a directional tool the Lord might be using? Someone once told me, sin breaks the heart of God and because we are made in His image, sin should break our hearts as well.

So...are we serving in jobs or ministries where our motivation stems purely from righteous anger to see change occur that will bring about justice for whomever involved? If we are not, then we might want to rethink how we spend your time.

Young Adult Group at our Halloween Party!!!

 

Field Trips & Baseball

This entry's title would seem strange and completely disconnected from each other; and you would be right outside of the fact that my life has been severely influenced by these two things in this past week.

My good friend is a kindergarten teacher at a private school. She's had three field trips these past two weeks that I was enticed to help out with. I mean come on who wouldn't want to go to the fire station or the pumpkin patch with sixteen crazy little kids! It was a workout for sure but also a good reminder of how to enjoy the variety of life and how to view things through the eyes of a child at times. Not to mention my immeasurable respect and awe of my friend who deals with these little ones each day, but even more then that she loves and invests in them in ways most teachers never fully grasp. So that is my nugget of wisdom and encouragement for the day, with an added picture and now we can move on to the less edifying highlight of my week!

I have to admit this second topic has been a really fun and intense addition to my life since being back in central California: BASEBALL!!! First, watching the Oakland Athletics almost make it to the playoffs was like a dream after an incredibly surprising pre-season. Then, we get to pain-staking anticipate the Giants make history getting into the playoffs, then only to pull that stunt once again as they slide right into the World Series last night for the second year in a row, after drawing it out to the seventh game with the St. Louis Cardinals! I know professional sports isn't everything in life but I am sure glad God made some humans capable of playing these games so that the rest of us can comfortably watch from a distance, on the edge of our seats of course, ha ha.

Hope you enjoyed my simple excitements for the week and can now look back at your own and see a few things God graced you with as well.
Laina

Being Present

Some times when God has put a call on our life to go some where, there is still a preparation period before we leave. This time isn't always about studying and maturing in our skills, though those things are important, it is more so about being present in a certain place at a certain time for the Lord's intended purpose.

I have been eager for the time when I can return to Tunisia, but God has taken this extra time in the United States to remind me of the importance of the body all over the world and what my active role is in that body regardless of how long I will stay in one given place. God can use each of us in unmeasurable ways for just one moment or one day, as long as we obediantly follow His orchestrated plan.

Throughout my time in America while support raising I asked the Lord one request, "If you are going to keep me here longer then I would like, please at least show me why". He has been answering my prayer ever since I got here but I only realized it in these past two weeks. God can do anything on his own but he chooses to use us to love each other, support each other, and speak into each others lives.

I was blessed in Los Angeles to be there for a close friend during a time that she really needed someone to understand her expereince and speak acceptance and love into her life. Also, once I got back to San Jose last week, my Grandfather had unexpected heart surgery. I was honored to be the family member that held my Grandmothers hand and pray with them both before he went into the operating room.

God gives us purpose in different, most of the time, unexpected ways. All I know is that I am so grateful for the time He has given me to be with and care for my friends and family, because He knows there will be many times in my life to come that I will not be able to stand by my loved ones in person when they go through scary, painful, and surprising situations.

Thank the Lord today for the people he has provided to surround you in hard times,
Laina

When the Tables Turn

In this past week I have been following a situation in Tunisia that has caught a bit of news, so some of you may be aware of it, but if your not I would like to enlighten you. A little over a week ago a woman and her fiance were sitting in there parked car when two police officers came up to them. One of them took the man to a bank to extract money, while the other two officers proceeded to rape the woman.

I know this is not a fun topic to discuss but it is important. The main issue now is that the officers' lawyer is using the defense of saying that the couple was found in an "immoral position" by the officers which is against the law and punishable by 6 months in jail. Of course this does not excuse the act of the officers in the eyes of the Tunisian courts, but it has definitely caused them to take their focus off of the appalling actions that did take place. Now the woman is being put in a position of criminal and not victim.

We all ask ourselves how can this kind of thing happen in our world today. Well, that is exactly my point in sharing this with you. In the Arab world due to their strong conservative beliefs, still have laws against basic public affection and appearance, which when men especially, are trying to get out of punishment for heinous crimes, those laws can be used against woman in unbelievable ways.

There were many women demonstrating on the main street downtown yesterday, so please pray for this woman and the legal counsel defending her. Also, as you read the article I have linked to my post, realize that it is situations and events like this that cause my heart to break and motivate my soul to do God's work in empowering woman and helping them fight for basic rights of security. Despite this unfortunate news that I'm sharing with you, I pray that you have a blessed day and through this story, be grateful for the rights we have as women in this country.

Sincerely, Laina


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Moments with Mirrors

As I woke up this morning, unfortunately late having slept past my alarm, I quickly pulled on my clothes and grabbed my make-up bag to put on while in the car. Before I left the room though, I stopped and took a second to look in the mirror making sure I wasn't a complete mess as I exposed myself to the world. I was surprised by the message written  the mirror "home sweet home". This message was not written for me, but instead my for my friend from her roommate.

As I thought about it later in the day I realized, as I wake up each day in houses that are not mine, on other people's blow up mattress, not only has this nomadic life style become normal for me, but for the first time in a long time I have peace in the direction God has given me to live this way. I am lucky to have many places that I call home, I am not limited to just one. Because thankfully I now understand that "home" is not defined by a specific building, memory, object, or person, but it is the peace we feel in ourselves no matter where we are that God is there with us.

His leading us to a specific place in our lives, shows that our presence is requested there for that time and in that situation to do His work. To some of you this may seem ridiculous but to those of you who have a hard time letting go of the comforts and routines of your life, you might ask yourself this question. Am I at home here because of my stuff and my family, or because God has actually given me peace to do the same things each day, with the same people, in the same situations?

I simply suggest that which I have discovered; try to expand your spiritual horizons, and explore what God might do if you shake things up a little bit. You never know He could pleasantly surprise you with the excitement and peace you feel in doing things a little bit differently.

Well that's the thoughts for today, go and be blessed,
Laina

Lattes and World Peace

Well this may be a strange way to start my first blog post, but all the advise I've been given, is to be myself and talk about whats going on in my life.

So, I have been sitting at Starbucks for the past two days slaving over this, I'm sure terribly exciting blog, meanwhile the region of the world that I am working desperately hard to return to is surviving utter turmoil and rage. Tunisia I hope to be back soon!

It is so amazing to me that a nation such as the United States does not realize that with freedom of expression also comes the responsibility to know how what your saying affect others. By all means have an opinion and feel free to express your thoughts, but not in a manner that insults, hurts, and violates others in a way that you would not wish to be represented either.

Likewise, though I too was enraged at just the first few seconds of this vile film, responding in violence only is hurting the region more instead of seeking to look past the ignorant and malicious intend of a broken and wrong man. Now having given you my two cents on the matter, and nearing the end of my third latte for the day, I urge you to take a moment and pray for our messy world, and then let me know your thoughts on the matter.

I'm so thankful God is in control....blessings to all.