Holding my hand...

"For I am the LORD, your God, who takes hold of your right hand and says to you, Do not fear; I will help you." (Is 41:13) I like this verse. God holds on to my right hand. Have you ever felt like me where it is nice just to know someone is there, just holding onto your hand. It is a simple reminder of God's promise to always be there and to never abandon me, to never abandon us.

Today my grandpa died, yet once again today God is holding onto my hand. I don't know where I would be without God. I don't know if I could feel comforted by the world's weak explanations to life. But I do know that God is here--he has taken hold of my hand and when I decided to trust in Him, I took hold of his.

Holding his hand I know that I can trust Him my Adonai, my Master, who provides all my needs. As the verse says, I do not need to fear because God will help me. It is He who is holding my hand.

It's all about making connections...

Often in life I have come to believe that it's all about making connections with one another. Last Tuesday we had our first official SFC meeting after the school year had started, and with a few little words...over 50 people showed up. Now for many the following words may seem like a "no brainer" when you consider working on campuses, but for me the following words resulted in a successful launch year of SFC Brussels. The words... (any guesses?) "all you can eat Pizza." Our first official evening at SFC was held at Pizza Hut.

Birthday's also are a way to draw people in and connect them to others, on September 19th, I turned 27. It's odd, I don't think of myself as 27, I don't even think of myself as 26 sometimes...but to celebrate I threw a party and invited everyone. During the party people were able to mingle and get to know one another, people from SFC and not from SFC were able to talk and get connected. (I included a video of the night, in Belgium it's custom for the Birthday-person to give a speach...so I did thanking them all for their participation and involvement in my life.)

Tomorrow we'll be presenting our different small groups to SFC and I will be giving a short encouraging introduction to small groups. I am excited about it because, once again...it is all about connections. God connecting Himself to us in relationship, how he views our relationship with Him and with others vital parts to every life. In a short amount of time, over pizza, birthday cake, and small groups (the one I'll be co-leading has the catch phrase "How to live life with God" as it's theme); I have been reaffirming the realization that it's all about making connections.

Being the Perfume of Christ...

2 Corinthians 5: 14- 17, "14But thanks be to God, who always leads us in triumphal procession in Christ and through us spreads everywhere the fragrance of the knowledge of him. 15For we are to God the aroma of Christ among those who are being saved and those who are perishing. 16To the one we are the smell of death; to the other, the fragrance of life. And who is equal to such a task? 17Unlike so many, we do not peddle the word of God for profit. On the contrary, in Christ we speak before God with sincerity, like men sent from God."

What does it mean to be the perfume of Christ? This is our theme this year as we head into Back-to-School activities, we want to enter those campuses with "the fragrance of knowledge of him...the fragrance of life." One of my co-leaders, Joëlle, spoke last night at Students For Christ and presented this theme to the group expounding on the idea of perfume stating that "often we wear perfume not for ourselves, but for others...the fragrance we have can either attract people to us or repel them from us...let us be the channel through which God's fragrance attracts people to Himself."

This year, SFC is poised to, not out of our own ways, methods, or plans, attract people to God because we carry the fragrance of Him to others. We carry that fragrance because we approach him, spend time with him, and because it is he who spreads that fragrance through us. How sweet Christ must smell, and I look forward to smelling His fragrance through our group not only this year but for the rest of our lives as we learn what it is to be His fragrance to a dying earth.

Rice Sighting

Yesterday I had a "Rice Sighting." Now I am not talking about grains of rice, but of the Big Rice. Condoleezza. Condoleezza Rice. My sighting came along on an ordinary day when I stepped outside my apartment to go to the bank. As I was walking to the bank I saw three cops on motorcycles come speeding along with Sirens flailing announcing a car procession, then I saw car after car of tinted windows and CIA agents with ear piece and suits. The procession finished with two press vans and three more motorcycle cops finishing up the procession. In the middle of that procession was Condoleezza Rice, and I was standing on teh sidelines with my mouth agape.

Now, I should probably expect to see this from time to time since I am living five minutes from the European Union in Brussels, the heart of Europe. But I confess, I am a newbie and seeing the "United States Secretary of State" isn't something I expect to see. But then again...life has a way of surprising us. My "Rice Sighting" was just one such surprise.

The legacy will live on

Five Brussels students, one vision, one awesome God equates to one powerful experience at this year's CSM. This year over 100 people gathered in Brussels, to be further trained in what is student groups and how they as students can make a difference on their campus. It was a powerful time of prayer, unity, planing, dreaming together, and crying together.

In times of powerful worship, prayer time, teaching, and fellowship--there were also times where we gathered together asking God some very honest questions. Last year at this same time Joe, a campus-worker in Scotland, was leading worship and teaching. Yet this year, after an eight month struggle with cancer, he was being placed in a coffin. It is times like these where I tell God that I don't understand Him. But in my lack of understanding, I choose to trust Him.

Joe was not there to lead worship, to teach, or to encourage us with his insightful wisdom; yet his legacy and vision of seeing students being equipped, trained, and enthusiastic about reaching their campuses was very much alive. The five students who went from Brussels came away from CSM with a passionate desire to redeem the time on their campuses. Small group ideas were "born" at CSM. Dreams became goals to reach. Students caught the vision and prayed for their group that others may also catch the vision. Joe was not at this year's CSM, but his spirit and passion for campuses will live on.

"I want to sit by Diane..."

These powerful words that are now the title of this blog were said numerous times by my niece Makaila while I was in Oregon this past week. They were often accompanied by the words "Diane, what are you eating? I want to eat the same thing as Diane!!...Diane what are you doing? I want to do that with you!" Her words once again melted my heart.

Being home these past two and a half weeks were wonderful! I had quality time with family and friends. The first week I spent at the coast with my immediate family, building sand castles with my niece, nephew, and Dad. Meeting and holding my youngest niece for the first time. Taking walks and drives with my brothers and sisters-in-law. Having some quality "Gilmore Girl" moments with Mom. Plus all the moments of laughter and catch up with friends and service-partners. Instead of trying to do everything, I was just content to "be."

I can still taste Mom's home cooking, hear Dad's stories, see my nephew's "fancy feet," hear my niece's pleading to sit by me, and feel the sand between my toes as I am walking and talking on the beach with my brother. I love how in the "being," my...your...heart can be melted by the simple things of life. "Diane, can I sit by you?"

Tears ran down her face...

I had a front row view. There as I was singing with the worship team (in Arabic I might add) a veiled woman sat in awe as the tears kept running down her face. Her two children were with her as well. They listened intently and danced with the team at the end. God touched her heart, and her tears touched mine.

On June 28th after the SFC Barbecue a friend drove me back to Brussels so that I could participate in a two-week outreach towards Arabs here in Belgium with lead by a Moroccan who before Jesus touched His life he had been a devout in his religion. Out of the 70+ participants in this conference, the majority are also from Arabic backgrounds. To hear their stories of acceptance by God when their families often turned away from them, to hear how God appeared to them in their dreams, and how they now call "Isa" (Jesus in Arabic) Savior--all of that has remarkably had an impact on my life.

During this conference time was equally spent between learning and instruction and times of outreach. We learned about possible obstacles that some might have in coming to Christ and how to respond and share "Isa" (Jesus) with them in a way that is understandable. In the cities of Mons, Charleroi, Liège, and Brussels we handed out over 30,000 Bibles and Jesus-films in Arabic, Turkish, and French. We had the opportunity to hold "Cultural Evenings" with songs in Arabic, fairs for the children and their parents, and talk with people about Jesus at the market place. One woman literally cried, many more were touched and are now (in faith) allowing Jesus to heal their hurts and to give them a freedom that they had never known.