distractions

the assumption could be made that if someone has been on, say, eight missions trips in the past decade, about to go on the ninth, that said person should not be surprised by the pre-trip distractions and craziness.

sadly, i have blown that assumption right out of the water.

from a total lack of faith about raising the needed support, to a suitcase with a hole in it, all the way to questioning whether or not i should even be going on the trip, these past few weeks have been quite the 'party'!

and now, here we are. leaving in 5 days, 13 hours and 20 minutes, and this time, i have allowed words to distract me. couple that with the fact that some of the people that i most trust to talk me down from whichever ledge i find myself on, are away. mom & dad are in the northwest territories on a mission trip themselves, working at a camp for first nations children, and battling bugs the size of teddy bears. {which, i must say is very cool...not the bug part, but definitely the part about my parents serving together.} it just means that i need to find other ways off the ledge, or, crazy thought, not get on one to start with.

when will i learn?

so now it is time to get serious. i have a full week, between work, packing, and all the loose ends still to be tied up before i go, and the last thing that i need is to be distracted.

at PORTICO, we've recently started a new series called uncommon sense: everyday wisdom from the book of proverbs, and in the first week, doug rhind spoke of what is probably my oldest favorite verse, proverbs 4:23...

guard your heart above all else,
for it determines the course of your life.

this verse is my mandate for this week. i will not allow distractions of any kind to derail me from the last minute preparations, or the mission at hand.

and you have my permission to call me on it, should i waver.