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Mosaic (Aug 9)



"I wait for the Lord, my soul waits, and in his word I hope; my soul waits for the Lord, more than watchmen for the morning, more than watchmen for the morning" (Ps 130:5).

We're not much for waiting, are we?


Through suffering, making plans, or kneeling in prayer, the way out is often our goal; the answer what we seek.


We read the psalmist's earnest plea for God's mercy at the beginning of the chapter and now he makes a patient declaration: he will wait and he will hope in God's word.


The reality that morning will come is the hope of the watchmen—and every night shift nurse. Exhaustion sets in, your eyelids droop and patients continue to need care. When the first staff arrive ready for the day, there's a sigh of relief, it's almost home time.

Whatever we are waiting on the Lord for, he hears us and doesn't leave. Though fatigue breeds discouragement, God is faithful. He is good and will see us through. When our hope is in Christ, it isn't in our circumstances, it's not fixated on our own answers to the problem, it's trusting he's got this and we're not alone.


Morning will come.


Content: This Week…

Five Things: On Travelling

In Articles (curated content just for you)


Five Things: On Travelling

  1. Travelling is a breeze...until it's not. I recently attended a leadership seminar with our mission organization in Orlando. The flights getting there were great, but on the return home, massive thunderstorms plagued the Minneapolis airport, causing them to close all runways except one. We spent an hour circling above the city. When it was our turn to land, we experienced what I've since learned is called a "touch-and-go" landing. The plane made it to ground for a second until we rapidly accelerated and ascended again, leaving us staring curiously down at the dots of city lights. We were then diverted to Green Bay, refuelled and returned to Minneapolis again, since the storm system had passed. I'd missed my flight to Winnipeg with the delays, slept for an hour on stiff airport seats until customer service arrived at 4:30am to rebook me again on another flight. So...I hung out on standby and eventually got confirmed for another flight, arrived and drove home, then slept really well the next night!!

  2. But it's been mostly smooth. In reflection, I realize how fortunate I've been in my travels, that this hasn't happened much. I had a day book with clients and a coffee date with friends, but all had to get put on hold while I sat on standby. (So appreciative also of the grace of others when plans go awry).


    Honestly, I think the last time I had problems with a flight was in high school when we were on our way to Mexico and a snowstorm hit so we were hanging out at the airport for a day...but then there was that time there was a fire at the Nairobi airport...and the time they fixed our plane with duct tape in Zanzibar...okay so maybe a couple adverse events.

  3. In Africa, travel is always an adventure. The days driving our Toyota Land Cruiser through muddy ravines and washed out dirt paths, we learned quickly you must expect interruptions and delays. This is very un-Western because here in the developed world we're a well-oiled machine, right? Every time we'd go anywhere you'd be delayed with neighbors requesting a ride, trying to tuck the chickens safely somewhere in the back or under the seats, or getting stopped by police offers looking for a little "chai break." (Once in awhile the neighbor needing a ride was pregnant and just couldn't wait to deliver).

  4. Delays and interruptions are ministry opportunities. I try to remember this when random things happen. So I pray for those rearranging my flight, I speak words of truth and peace to the young man sitting next to me who needs Jesus, and for the parents of the screaming, over-tired children who would've really appreciated landing at 11pm instead of 2am.


  5. A growing ability to pack only carry-on. Okay, I feel it's necessary to confess this may be coming a source of pride. But in light my latest flight kerfuffle, I was reminded how nice it was to have all my stuff with me, so nothing got lost, I could change if I needed to and was just able to get off the plan and grab my Uber or get to my car. I could even fit workout clothes, including sneakers and my travel workout mat. Sure, it's summer and that probably helps. My husband and I taking a quick vacation and I realized how badly I want to try just going carry-on, but we were experiencing different points of view, polar opposites actually, which isn't all that uncommon for us. (But, I did mention the possibility of pride being involved, right?) So I'll go now and take some time to repent.


On the Blog

This review on a new bible study resource on the book of Acts from Nancy Guthrie!


On my Shelf

  • I just started this one on enjoying God, finding hope and bearing fruit in menopause and I'm really surprised at how much I need this perspective right now!

    • She points out that our western perspective is that,"midlife is a problem to be solved, or even an enemy to be fought. The implication is that a woman's body must be controlled, look great and kept young" but "it's good news then, that Christians, no matter their experience, share a fixed orientation point: the truth that God is good and he is in control. We can say that he is the Lord of all—not just of what seems spiritual—but of our bodies and our moods, our homones and all our changes."


  • I haven't been reading many "old" books lately, so I'm thinking about what to start...then a quick tour through my kindle library and I found a few from the puritans that I must have bought on sale...now I just gotta pick one!


In Articles 

There is A Voice of Sovereign Grace | Ryan Bush (Hymn of the Day)

I was encouraged by the story of how this hymn after being shared by a pastor, encouraged her heart to turn to Christ. It reminds me that our creative work to express or teach biblical truths is used by the Lord. Listen to more details of the story in this 7 minute YouTube.


Cara shares from 1 Peter about Christ as the Living Stone and we shouldn't be surprised at blasphemy, whether it's graffiti from the year 200 or the global stage of the Olympic opening ceremony.


When the anxiety of Olympic trials looming and the longing of a dream, she clung to God's Word. This is a testimony to encourage us, even when we face our own ambitions, suffering and anxiety, that reaching for scripture builds a lifestyle of dependance and trust in Christ.


"Our churches today do not have too many world Christians. We do not have too many among us overzealous for cross-cultural missions. We do not have too many who regularly remind us of unreached and unengaged peoples, those for whom Jesus is a strange sound."


This is a grievous reality—less giving and less sending to missions is now characteristic of western churches. Africa is now the most Christian continent in the world and more missionaries and church planters are being sent from the Global South. While I feel desperate angst through these visioning discussions on our mission board, this article shares some ways we can let missions get to us. I've found that reading missionary newsletters, supporting them personally and staying in touch by following mission-minded Instagram accounts has helped me a lot.


Okay, on that note, here are 5 instagram accounts to follow to encourage you to pray for global missions and to stay in touch:


And so to finish up it seems this is a good article to follow. Kacie reflects on the difficult reality of expectations the term "missionary" implies, then the calling, task and beauty of God's work.


"I believe God is actively working in a broken world, calling people to Himself and calling His people to work for the redemption of all things."


Previously on Mosaic






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