intro

I've been going back and forth on creating a blog for quite some time now and as you can see, I have finally caved. I was persuaded by the blogs of others and the realization that, oh yeah, I leave for Uganda in a week and a half, and people back in the States would like updates. And a blog would be a neat place to put God anecdotes and to give Him praise for who He is and what He's doing. Only made sense to create one. Hopefully you'll have more uses than one for this blog.

The title of this blog, as I'm sure you've noticed, is "Chasing." This comes from the song "Chasing" by Charlie Hall.  Some lyrics:

Sweet forgiveness, my redemption,

You're a Savior once for all and today.

Oh the mercy, it comes to flood me,

Jesus on the cross, You took my place.

And I'm chasing after You

'Cause You first chased after me.

And You purchased me with blood,

I am free I am complete.

Now a child of my King,

Leaving old I am made new.

'Cause You first chased after me,

I am chasing after You.

And I found my love, I found my love,

And my heart is dancing

Jesus, Jesus, I am chasing after You,

Jesus, Jesus, Jesus, I am chasing after You.

These lyrics are the best way to describe how I see my day-to-day walk with God, it's a chase, it's a pursuit. What once was solely God chasing after me has now turned into a two-way pursuit, but God still and always will do a better job at that. He has saved me, set me free, and made me new, why should I not spend my life chasing after Him?

A word of caution, you will see LOTS of song lyrics throughout my entries. God has made me very music-oriented and it's through music that I often feel very close to Him.

As for Uganda, 9 DAYS until everyone on the team (Andrew, Amanda, Katie, Melanie, Michelle, and Mallory) comes together at my place and 10 DAYS until we embark on this awesome adventure God has planned for us. I can't believe the trip is finally here. I've been dying to go to Africa for nearly 2 years and have been waiting to go to Uganda essentially this entire year. Just by seeing God's faithfulness in support raising, in bringing the team together, and in laying out the details of the trip, I know God has HUGE plans in store. More will come on that later. But for now, I gotta peace. Please be praying for the team and I, for the precious kids and whoever else we'll be loving on, and for preparations to set out on what I anticipate will be a life-changing, eye-opening, heart-stealing mission trip.