blank.

I have not blogged in a little while. It’s definitely not that nothing note-worthy has happened or that I have not had time to record it. It is simply that my blog has been blank or that my mind has been blocked [or lazy] to write. Well, it ends right here, right now!

You heard about my lovely weekend across the border [in MN], but you’ve missed out on the adventures south of here last weekend. The Plover quiz team trekked down to the bluffs of Prairie du Chien for the first quiz meet of the 08-09 year. Our Luke-filled brains, piled out of the large Mennigan van after 4+ hours of driving. It was my first time coaching and for all of the arm-chair coaching I’d done in the past, I discovered that I was woefully lacking any ability. There are things like momentum, timeouts, scoring and encouragement [not to mention team dynamics and mediatorship!!] to be considered. Yikes. Well, we made it through with minor injury. Literally. Danny whacked his head on a pole during the lunch game of 500, but he was okay and his quizzing even improved! My team is a superstitious one… Things like, I always do well in this chair/side/shirt or maybe I’ll do better without my hat are often thrown about the room. On the way home, we experienced Wisconsin ’s largest corn maze, located in Lodi . It was… cold. Some of us forgot to bring warm clothes and others of us forgot that muddy shoes shouldn’t be put on van seats. We laughed a lot.

Another bit of blankness that broods beneath my surface is this seemingly insurmountable task of contacting people for support raising as I return to Austria . My skills at procrastination and rationalizing said procrastination are truly astounding – something to be praised if they weren’t so stinkin’ wrong! And still again, God’s grace opens my eyes to see His fingerprints on my life and this process. He comes at the just-right moments to give strength and relief and motivation… How motivating the gospel has been for me in these moments! My heart for Austria grows with each thought of the dark hopelessness that exists there now contrasted with the bright hope the gospel brings! I am truly amazed that God would ask me to be apart of this spreading of this burning hope. So, pray for me as I contact and get others onboard with this great work!