en route.

[noah is on the move. felt like this picture captures what most of our christmas days were like. noah didn't seem to get the memo that we could sleep late during the holidays.]

a really great family came to visit us for a few days, while on their way to pick up their two girls from this side of the world. while they were here, the mom/wife said one of the wisest things about christmas. i had previously been [and maybe still am] a little "thrown off" by being away from home during special times. i felt like i had a light bulb conversation. i still hear the words spoken to me from last week...

"it's okay that we aren't "home with our families". mary and joseph were en route during that very time of jesus' birth. they left things and travelled... [then speaking on contentment] and we won't be 100% content here or there. that's what keeps us longing for heaven."

it was a light bulb conversation. and it wasn't until today that it started flashing up above my head... when reminded that perhaps it is on this side, for me, where i long for heaven most.

he's alive.

there is a mass of people that have little knowledge of the very reason for our being.

that's a huge part of why we moved. in fact, that is why we moved.

to a place that's on the opposite side of the globe than where we were born.

to a country whose language couldn't be more different.

to a people whose kids are diaper-less and instead wear split pants.

any time in scripture where i see the word "strangers", i literally feel it.

it would seem pretty rare to move to a foreign place to have someone of the other culture remind me of who jesus is. right?

i've heard the stories. ones that move me and make me cry. ones where believers' lives have been totally changed by seeing His Power move through the people that they had come to witness to.

and now, on this day. i've had my very own.

as i was talking with a chinese woman who helps me clean our apartment, she started teaching me new words. this isn't unusual. what was unusual was that she was over by our little, tiny nativity set sharing these words. after many, many SLOW speaking chinese words, i finally understood what she was dying to tell me.

"Jesus died, but he's not dead.

He rose. He lives. He sees me. I know Him, but I can't see Him.

He's not dead. He died, but He's not dead."

and that's what i came here to learn.

my g0d's not dead. he's surely alive.

the tree is up

and we've got some pictures thanks to self timer.

[noah only pulled the tree down twice within the first 24 hours it was up. pretty good, right?]