My New Home

It's 11am and already almost 95 outside--gotta love FL!

Cynthia are mostly moved in to our new apartment. The owners had just recently given it a new paint job and replaced some of the flooring and carpets so it's really nice! The guys were sweet and helped carry in a ton of furniture that had been donated by local families or inherited from past UNF missionaries. God is so good--our apartment is almost fully furnished for free! Already students have been stopping by to see the new team of missionaries here. It's so nice to have a place where we can welcome them in and talk and hang out.

Every morning, we attend Mass at a church close by. We follow that with a team rosary and holy hour. I've found that it's a really beautiful way to focus and start my day peacefully and in tune with Our Lord. It's so easy for me to wake up too late, rush to get ready, and spend the rest of the day jumping from thing to thing and never really take the time to ask God what He wants me to do that day (or at least take the time to listen for a while after asking!) Placing prayer and silence as a priority in my schedule really helps me to do everything else better and more efficiently. A teacher in high school once told me that if you can even set aside 15 min. during your day to stop and pray you'll already find virtue easier and life more Christ-centered. It seems to be true in my experience. My ability to tackle the challenges of the day always increases tenfold when I place God as the center of that day. When Paul says, "I can do all things THROUGH Christ who strengthens me," he aptly summed up the necessity for faith in our lives. I challenge you to set aside some time for Our Lord each day, if you are not doing it already, or to increase your time with Him (even add five minutes) because God will never be outdone in generosity!