Wow, it's been quite awhile!
Ok, sorry for the long haitus from the postings, but it has been a crazy year! There's a lot to tell, but I'm going to try and compact things into just a couple of big things happening in my life this year in China:
I mentioned it awhile ago, but things couldn't be going any better with the girl situation :-) I've been very blessed to find someone who is my best friend and someone I care about in Kimberly. It's interesting to look back at other long-distance relationships, or attempts, that I've had in past years, and none of them have gone as well as this one has. I am attributing this to several different things. First, I think that the focus has been in the right place since day 1. We have focused on our interactions being honoring and glorifying to Dad in whatever we do. That was the focus before we started dating, and has been the continued one as we are dating, and I can see His blessings each day on us because of it. Second, I think I have had more realistic expectations going into, and being in, this relationship. It's honestly something I appreciate so much about Kimberly. As most of you know, I can tend to get excited and let myself jump ahead of things too fast. She does a great job of keeping me level-headed and in the present. Finally, the focus has had to be on getting to know each other. Too many times, people focus on the feelings when they are around that special person, and it clouds what you are getting to know about them. With Kimberly and I, we've been doing long-distance and have had to rely on conversations, and I think it's given us a solid foundation to go off of. All in all, it's made me the happiest I've been in a very long time :-)
I could go into school life and such, but there's one other area I would much rather talk about. I've found myself getting locked into the focus of what it means to be a man of G. All of my reflections on my studies each day somehow find themselves leading into how it makes me a better man for Him. My studies have led to the book of James, where I've found the toughest studies of my life. James tells it exactly how it is. He doesn't try to be nice; he knows how life should be lived and makes sure you know it when you're reading it. I feel like each day is a new slap in the face, but it's a good one. Does that make sense? The overall message I am seeing so far is a focus on being genuine. So many times, we try and make it seem, on the outside, that things are okay and we're doing the right thing, but that's not good enough. James says we need to strive for perfection in all areas of life, even if we will never be perfect. We must strive for the best always, for when we break one law, we've broken them all. It doesn't stop there, though, it goes into our relationships with others as well. I can't favor certain people over others; I'm called to show Dad's love to everyone regardless of their position or my feelings about them. It's been a tough couple of weeks, but I love the pursuit of being the man Dad wants me to be.
This is but a brief update of everything that has gone on for the last 3 months or so. I'm sorry there's not more to add, but I promise there will be more to come!
These are my stories...
