"As it turned out"... Life More Extraordinary

Dear friends,

Today started out like any other day, but as it turned out, it was not like any other day. I woke up at about 9 am, read for a little while, and wished I could go to church. Only problem was I did not know where any churches were and I didn't have anyone to go with. So I did what I do on any other day when I don't have classes or church; I lazed around, reading. Eventually I showered and ate and went online. Then I walked to the city centre and bought a cellphone from Orange. Really, that's the name of the phone company... Orange. Gotta love it. So I bought a pay-as-you-go phone for about 10 pounds and topped it off, which basically means to add money for minutes and texts, with ten pounds. Ok, getting a phone is not part of my daily routine, but walking to the city centre is fast becoming part of it. Before heading back to campus, I explored Winchester on my own for a little while before it began to rain. Surprise, surprise. I am quickly becoming used to the drizzly weather here. I spent the rest of the afternoon skyping family and friends then I met up with some students from the states for dinner and met two students I hadn't met before. After dinner, I checked my facebook. Hannah from Eau Claire had responded to a post I put on her wall last night asking if she was going to church today. She said there was a service at a church she heard about at 6:30 pm and that if I got her message in time, we could check it out. I looked at my clock. 5:40. I went in search of Hannah, and we decided to try to find the church. It took us for what seemed like ever - but was really probably 10 minutes tops - to figure out how to find directions and know where we were going. At about 6:08, we set off in search of the church. We were on a mission with our umbrellas out to ward off the rain and our hopes high. We made it to Randeigh St. before we got lost, or what we perceived as lost. We saw a lady on a bicycle and stopped her to ask where Christchurch Road was, which is the Road that would take us to Christ Church. How original, huh? The lady told us that we were at the intersection of Christchurch Road, then asked us where we were going. As it turned out, after hearing that we were looking for Christ Church, she told us that was where she was headed, too, and how to get there. A short walk later, and we were at the church, a beautiful old cathedral.

The service was wonderful. I felt right at home, and the music was similar to music back at my home church in Eau Claire. I even knew two of the songs. There was a guest speaker, Mark Greene, who is the Executive Director of the London Institute for Contemporary Christianity (LICC). I liked him right away as he began his sermon by comparing James Bond to Johnny English. For those of you who haven't seen Johnny English, you haven't experience amazingly cheesy comedy. He proceeded to talk about Ruth and as it turned out, she was God's hands. He then spoke of how we are on missions and how in our ordinary day lives we need to live for the Lord, because living for the Lord has to do with everything.

Colossians 3:23-24 "Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men."

By doing everything we do for the Lord, we are living life extraordinarily, even in the little things. Good work done in a good way is not enough, we need to live fully and faithfully for the Lord. We need to put love where love is not. At some point in time, the true meaning and purppose of the phrase "The Lord be with you" was lost and it became just another meaningless, empty expression. What does it really mean for the Lord to be with us? It means living a life honoring God, in all areas, and knowing God has us His hands, just as Ruth did. We are on a mission to live how God calls us to live and to have the Lord with us.

After service, a young woman behind me started talking to me and asked if I was new. Her name is Fern. Right away she realized I was from the States and I told her that Hannah and I just arrived in the UK a few days ago to study at the University of Winchester. Hannah and I started talking with her, her sister (Adrianne), and a guy who was sitting with them. I didn't catch his name. Fern and Adrianne gave me their numbers in case I needed anything at all while I was here. The were such sweet, lovely ladies. I'm excited to meet them over coffee. So, as it turned out, today was not so ordinary. I found a wonderful church, I made some connections, and I got yet another nudge from God. God is constantly finding ways to remind me of what life is about, and how simple, mere little things are far more than ordinary.

As it turned out... life more extraordinary!

May the Lord be with you, my friends.