connect to God

I shall be veering from my regular format for the next few weeks.

Why?

I said YES to a short-term mission trip! Saturday the 12th I leave for Guatemala. I will be traveling with another nurse, a dentist, a doctor, and a pastor. Both this week and next my blog will address 6 ways that mission trips are supposed to change lives. (gulp) Okay – I went into this thing with eyes wide open and with no expectations. But I really think it’s gonna surprise me. I am writing next week’s blogs THIS week and will have to show Ted how to post these for you to read while I’m gone. And then, I plan to go over these 6 reasons again when I return – to see how things changed for me.

The fifth way that short-term missions change lives, according to Seth Barnes* is they connect you to God.

But we ARE all connected – aren’t we? Say a blessing at mealtime … and go to church on Sundays (when there aren’t any conflicts).

Americans today have so much to do – or they choose to have so much to do. The morning alarm is like the gun sounding at a track meet. And … we’re OFF and running! By the time our day has ended, we feel like we have spent it on a merry-go-round! Seth Barnes suggests that we need to get off the merry-go-round of life and engage with God’s priorities more often than we do.

I expect that I will not be distracted by other things in Guatemala. I won’t have a house to clean, laundry to do, meals to shop for and prepare, meetings or rehearsals to get to, and the biggie – Amanda to take care of or worry about. All my distractions will be gone. It shall be interesting to focus on the purpose of the trip and to connect with God.

But when I come home – will that connection loosen? Perhaps I will desire more of a relationship with my God – and will change my lifestyle to include Him more. We’ll see.

I know God desires our attention … and not just on Sundays. We’ll see if the trip will impact me so much that I will seek a closer connection on a daily basis.

Time to make a better connection!

Just Laurel

Colossian 2:2 My goal is that they may be encouraged in heart and united in love, so that they may have the full riches of complete understanding, in order that they may know the mystery of God, namely, Christ.

Psalm 37:5 Commit your way to the Lord; trust in him, and he will act.