Thanksgiving, by the numbers

How is it possible to describe all the ways one is thankful? What exactly are you thankful? I can try to use flowery words and well-chosen adjectives to paint an honest picture of my gratitude. I could write out my word of appreciate in beautiful calligraphy on handcrafted paper. This year I've decided to take a different approach.

Like any good straight faced accountant would say, "let the numbers speak for themselves". Here are the numbers for the past year:

Vibrant sisters: 2, Sarah and Rebecca

Concerned parents: 2, Cleo and Linda

Absolutely wonderful grandparents: 1, Betty

Quality roommates: 1, Johnathan, aka "Buddy"

Incredible friends that have helped save my life: 17

Countries traveled safety to and home: 14

Airmiles safely traveled in 2006: 104,003 on 12 airlines

Cities visited safely: 33

Close calls using mass transit: 4

Athletic activities I've had the privilege of participating in: 10, tennis, hiking, trailrunning, basketball, volleyball, badminton, swimming, soccer, ultimate Frisbee, biking, etc

Electronic devices that keep me organized, connected, entertained and inspired: 4, computer, Ipod, Nokia 7310, and Jabra Bluetooth headset

Amazing, "I can't believe I have it" vehicle that I have access to: one, black Saturn Ion
Amazing restaurants discovered: 6, Fez, Sauce, Euro Café, Lux, Desparados, and Pollo Camperos

Nights spent under proper shelter: 365

Days in which I had freedom to worship God: 365

This is simply just a small glance of the amazing things that I'm thankful to God for. If this list was honest, the internet could not hold the content.

Josh
Kearney, Nebraska

Encouragement from Mozambique in the middle of the night

It is funny how encouragement arrives. We all have our preferred ways in which we like to receive encouragement. However, that is not the nature of encouragement. Free as a bird and scarce as good food in London, it comes from all different directions and may actually catch you off guard.

I have been blessed by some unexpected encouragement. The source of this encouragement is Simon, a friend and co-worker in Mozambique. Simon is from Mozambique and works in the Marrameu district. He learned his English in Zimbabwe and speaks very proper. I love it! It is such a contrast from my slang plagued American English.

I left Mozambique on the 29th of October. Since then Simon has sent me three “middle of the night” text messages (sms). They arrive in the middle of the night because sending them during the day in Mozambique means the middle of the night in Phoenix, Arizona.

I would like to focus on one message that I received recently. It was a such an encouragement and just blessed my night and day.

Here was the message:

“Enjoyed to learn from you. Hope your pressure at work has eased. God of all strength will refuel you with undiluted power. Shalom”

Let me just set this message up a little bit. First of all, Mozambique is not a wealthy nation. Mobile phones are not cheap and neither is service. I have no idea what it costs to send an international sms from Mozambique to the United States, but I’m confident that it’s not cheap. So, this encouragement came at a great cost.

I appreciate Simon’s compliment about his enjoyment from learning from me. However, I’m not really sure what I taught him. But the beauty of this sms comes at the end. Sometimes encouragement is considered something that is given exclusively by people who know you really well. I mean, how could someone who barely knows you speak any worthwhile encouragement? That’s a good question. But a better question is “what is good encouragement?”

Obviously if Simon had been aware of my mad tennis skills, he could have praised my moves on the court. If he had read any of my short stories, he could applaud my writing ability. However, Simon is unaware of any of that. We were only together for a brief time (2 days). But Simon taps into the real essence of true encouragement. Rather than highlight my futile abilities or skills, Simon returns the spotlight where it belongs: God.

Simon chose to encourage me by reminding me of greatness of God. God is the source of my fuel for anything that I do. This type of encouragement is deeper as it grabs at my inner being. Rather than boosting my ego into the stratosphere, he reminded me who made the stratosphere.

And the bonus was the wording of the encouragement. He could have simply said, “God is great” and that would have been encouraging truth. However Simon busted out with some amazing imaginary to communicate this encouragement. “God of all strength will refuel you with undiluted power”. You can almost picture it. I love this image. God is refueling, renewing, and replenishing my life. And not just with some “random watered-down Exxon $2.25 a gallon” fuel. But with undiluted power. Outstanding! I love it.

As I read this at 3:22 AM, I was tremendously blessed and encouraged. I remained awake for a while and just chewed on this truth.

So, I hope that we can all learn a lesson about true encouragement from the example of Simon.

Be blessed and replenished by the grace of God,

Josh
16th Street and Camelback

beaches of mozambique

I recently returned from Mozambique and wow, what a beautiful country. I got a chance to drive all around the country, seeing animals, rivers, and mountain scenery.

However, what I loved the most was the beaches. Here are some pictures. Enjoy!

Josh