It's been over a month...

and since then, I've been in Australia teaching in a Discipleship Training School (DTS) in Adelaide, connecting with the friends there. It was a rich time! Being back in Australia is always refrenshing! The weather was turning warmer and the days longer.

As I write, snow is falling heavily, blanketing the ground. I'm no longer in Oz, but back in Latvija, where the days are growing colder and shorter. One hopes for snow, and it's beauty, to brighten the grey surroundings.

Winter holds a beauty of it's own...God's creation in a bit of a dormant state, in order to produce more fruit in the future. To hear the song of the black-capped chickadee sitting on the bare tree branch wakes one out of the slumber of the season, and reminds us not only to hope for the next season to come, but to live in, take in, and enjoy the current season.

Why is it we often want the winter season (whether literal or figurative) to pass by quickly and spend most of it looking ahead to 'spring'? God is challenging me to take in all He has for me in this season. There isn't a demanding schedule right now, other than teaching here in Latvija, and the specifics of the arts ministry being established here. It's more a time of re-assessing, equipping, and planning - looking to the future, but living in the present. He as been speaking of rooting myself more deeply in Him, to be prepared for what lies ahead.

When I first came back to Latvija to begin my long-term stay here, a dear friend wrote these words..."Latvija - a great place to enjoy the beauty God has made, spend time in His presence, carry out the mission He has given, to dream His dreams...a place to be inspired and creative...a place of challenge to move mountains...the right place to establish God's kingdom". In order to even begin to touch the possibility of seeing these come to pass, I have to be rooted deeply in God! It's not at all about what I can do to see these things happen, but what He can do. So, I take steps, then wait, take steps, then wait - all under His direction.