Are you smarter than a 3 year old?

"Brothers and sisters, think of what you were when you were called. Not many of you were wise by human standards; not many were influential; not many were of noble birth. BUT GOD chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong." - 1 Cor 1:26-27

Yesterday, when I was hanging out at Starbucks, I met a little girl named Cassie. She was three years old and feisty. She wanted to show me how she could twirl, say her abc's, do a somersault (well, she didn't make it ALL the way over, but she made the effort), and count to five is Spanish. As we sat and talked (she did most of the talking) I realized that THIS must be how God sees me. All my wisdom must sound like the abc's to him. All my talent must look like a twirling 3 yr. old ballerina. Does he just humor my foolishness?

As I read in 1 Corinthians this morning, I realized, he loves my foolishness. He loves my 3-year-old wisdom. He loves it because in my stupidity, HE is given glory.

Part of what makes me nervous about going to another country is learning the language. I LOVE talking to people, and it is going to come out sounding like a 3-year-old's babbling. This was God's reminder to me that he doesn't need my words or my wisdom. "God was pleased through the foolishness of what was preached to save those who believe." - 1 Cor 1:21b The next time you find yourself talking to someone about Jesus, thinking you sound foolish, remember that God loves using the foolishness of a 3-year-old.

Thoughts from an airport...

People walking around, not seeing anyone.
We might be stirred by a bump on the arm
or a distant word
But besides that, we want to be in our world.
'Why are you in my space?!'

Are the confident truly confident
Or are we playing pretend?
Are the angry truly angry
Or is it a facade to hide the hurting child within?

MUST we constantly be on our cell phones
Or do we just constantly need to be needed?
Does the silence on the outside reveal a peace inside
Or is someone screaming to be heard?

Who will open up their eyes and see?
Who will be the one to scream...
ENOUGH!

I refuse to walk by the hurting, the lost, the broken.
I refuse to pretend like every thing's ok.
I choose to love and listen
I will be Jesus to those who have heard but never seen.

*These were some of my thoughts yesterday as I was stuck in the Chicago airport yesterday for a couple hours. In the midst of writing I met a girl, Sarah flying back from London. She had just been at her grandma's funeral, she was sick and the flight to get back home took way longer than planned. You never know when God is going to put someone in your path who is hurting and in need of Jesus. It reminded me to OPEN MY EYES and truly SEE people.Many people have HEARD of Jesus but never SEEN what he looks like.

The place you belong...

Is there a place you walk into and it feels like home? The aroma is sweet. You can taste it before a drop of it ever falls on your tongue. You recognize the couches, the lamps, the people… You hold that first cup, feeling the warmth on your hands. That first sip sucks you in and before you know it, you’re curled up with a blanket, journal, and the perfect cup of coffee.

Coffee is home to me, but it runs deeper than that… it’s a coffee shop. There is something about it that makes me feel like I could sit here for hours, talk to whoever comes in, drink my coffee, laugh, dig deep into the soul and just sit.

But again, it’s more than the shop… The other night as some of my friends and I were at Starbucks in downtown Charlotte, I got this feeling all over again. I realized that when I am in a coffee shop I am home. I belong there. And when I’m not there, I miss it.

It’s the people. It’s Wallis, a 40 year old man going to college for the first time to become an architect. It’s Amanda, a Swiss woman preaching the gospel on the streets. It’s a 70 year old man teaching us “new single missionary girls” how to defend ourselves with a newspaper.

That were I belong… with people. Loving people to Jesus.

The Way I See It #284
“You can’t lead the people, if you don’t love the people. You can’t save the people, if you don’t serve the people.” – Cornel West

Sounds like something Jesus would have said in a coffee shop.

Greetings from fall weather...

Did you know it's fall in Texas for a grand total of 2 DAYS??
Fall is my favorite season... so here I am in the great state of North Carolina where it SHOULD be fall, but it's not. At least not YET.
Somehow this feels a lot like my life right now. There are a lot of things that SHOULD be but aren't. Not yet. I should have a place to call my own. I should have a home. I should be ready to leave the country. I should be so excited about leaving.
But if I'm being honest, I would say that's what i SHOULD be, but I'm not.
I truly believe that this time of transition is one of the hardest I've had to go through. I constantly feel God is stripping me of everything that I consider ME... taking away my roommate, my apartment, my stuff, my comforts, my country, my family and leaving me WHAT?
An adventure called my future. As nervous as I am about leaving, I believe this will be my favorite time of year (kinda like fall), but it's not yet. It's a time of everything being new, drawing near to the heart of God, and waiting.
I listened to a Latin pastor the other day and he said, "I can't swim, but I can float. A lot of Christians can swim... they can work REAL HARD for Jesus, but they have a real hard time floating. They can't just float in the arms of the Lord as HE carries them."
That is me. I am having a hard time floating, but with the help of the Lord, yo puedo flotar (translation: I can float).

I don't need you silly letter...

This morning as I was driving to the church, I was fretting. Fretting over ALL the things i NEED to do and ALL the things I haven't done yet. Then I started fretting about money. All I could think was, 'I haven't even sent out my support letters yet!' And I feel like God just spoke to my heart and said, "I don't NEED your silly letters." And to be real honest, I was thinking, that couldn't be God. He doesn't say SILLY letters. But SILLY really was the right word.
When I got to church, I started talking to a lady whose granddaughter knows me, but I don't really even know her. As we talked, this beautiful woman of God looked at me and said, "I feel like God is telling me to support you in your mission to Ecuador." I was verge tears as the words, "I don't need your silly letter" rang in my ears.
He has chosen to use those letters, but he doesn't NEED them. He has called me to this place and will provide my way to get there. Thank you Jesus for being bigger than me.

Ecuador Here I Come!

Yes, the rumors are true... I have been accepted by SIM to go to Loja, Ecuador! Here's the info I know EVERYONE is dying to know ;)...

What I'll be Doing: There is a coffee shop in Loja called El Sendero (The Path) that reaches out to university students in the area (there are 2 Universities there). So I will be helping in the coffee shop, meeting and loving on people, and hanging out, all with the hopes of talking to them about Jesus.

When I'm Leaving: My target date is the end of January.How long I'll be gone: 2 years! aaah!

What I can YOU do: PRAY! I am looking for a team of people to be my prayer partners. You can pick a day of the week and be a part of my "Monday" prayer team or my "Tuesday" prayer team. Just let me know what DAY you want to PRAY!
GIVE! I am starting to raise my support financially as well. If you are interested in partnering with me, please let me know. For more info, email me at jamie.lin.eng@gmail.com

What's Next: The next 4 months is going to be a whirlwind... My last ROC will be October 18... then off to my training in NC. After that, I'm hoping to take a vision trip to take a look at Ecuador... then home for a month to hang with the fam. I will be back in Dallas sometime after Thanksgiving and then again sometime around Christmas. So much of this is an unknown, but I believe that God has been preparing my heart for this for a long time and I'm excited to see what he is going to do with it.

Along with my excitement comes some fear... but I know he who has been faithful to bring me this far, will continue to be faithful.

SIMstart

"To win the battle, you must go TOWARD gunfire..." I saw that quote by Newt Gingrich on a starbucks cup the other day and was blown away by how often we do the exact opposite. It is so much easier to run away from things that are hard, things that hurt and things that make us uncomfortable.

But those are all the things that God calls us to. It is completely against my nature to go toward the unknown, but that is exactly what I feel God is calling me to right now.

I have an opportunity to go to Ecuador for 2 years to help with a coffeeshop ministry to university students. Pretty much what I will be doing is hanging out with college kids, building relationships, helping at El Sendera Cafe and looking for opportunities to share the gospel... ALL the things I LOVE to do!

So this weekend I'm starting on a journey toward that mission... I am going to North Carolina tomorrow for SIMstart to find out more about the organization and hopefully about the ministry as well. Please keep me in your prayers as I start out on this amazing adventure!

I'll keep you posted!!
Passionately pursuing Jesus,
Jamie