I'm part of an online community of women focused on serving Jesus cross-culturally and encouraging one another in that lifestyle. This fall I'm in a small group talking about transitions in life and ministry. The group has been fantastic so far. It is very encouraging to hear from others going through similar things and share struggles and victories with people who have experienced the same hurdles and wins.
This week we are each sharing A Day in the Life in order to get to know each other better since it is an online small group. I thought it would be fun to share something like that with you all as well! This is A Sunday in the Life, if you want to see A Weekday in the Life let me know!
This is the view from my front yard. Recently a friend asked if I had ever thought about putting a table out there for enjoying the outdoors. I've only thought about it daily since I moved here. Well, Sunday morning I woke up to this delightful surprise! A full-size patio table in my little patch of grass. Now I just need to add some chairs! This is going to be a wonderful space for sharing meals and connecting with friends old and new!
Pictured: Stephen, Gedeon, myself, Tianna, Seif.
Sunday morning I tagged along with Rejoice (one of KMBC's trios) to visit one of our KMHA churches, Old Time Religion, for the start of their revival services. The trio sang and led in worship. It was a great time praising God! After the service, Stephen took us on a little excursion to the second smallest waterfall I've ever seen. (Sidenote: Special thanks to Stephen for always documenting our adventures! Without his photography efforts I wouldn't have many pictures to show you!)
Gedeon was not interested in being near the edge! I will say I wasn't thrilled with this foundationless floating rock ledge. But I decided to overcome fear by going as far as I could for as long as I could take it. I lasted about five minutes before I was ready to head back to solid ground. Seif and Tianna were much more comfortable.
I will say, I love these boots but they were not made for hiking! (Que soundtrack - "These boots weren't made for hiking...") If it hadn't been for the roots of these trees I wouldn't have made it up and down this incline. I feel like there's an analogy for growing deep roots in there somewhere.
I spent time in the afternoon relaxing with a good book. If you've never read "Hinds' Feet on High Places" I'd highly recommend it! If "Pilgrim's Progress" is an allegory for salvation, "Hinds' Feet" is an allegory for the life Christ asks of us after salvation.
When the main character, Much-Afraid, is traveling a long, hard road with her companions Suffering and Sorrow, the Good Shepherd sings this song to her about the purpose of her agony. (It isn't a veiled allegory by any means! But it is a good one!)
Sunday was filled with worship, good friends, and much-needed rest. (I did other things too, but Stephen wasn't there to take the pictures. I'll have to up my game on that one.) Days like this one refresh and renew me for the week ahead. Taking a day for Sabbath rest is integral. Often in ministry it isn't possible to keep a Sabbath on Sunday. I know several who are in full-time ministry and have more work on Sunday than any other day. If that's you, please find another day of the week to have a Sabbath. It's so worth it.
If you would like to make a tax-deductible donation toward the ministry I'm involved in at KMBC you can do that using this link. This guides you to KMBC's giving page where you can choose "Personnel Support" in the dropdown and type "Angelica Bradley" in the comment box. Funds given in this way help cover costs like fuel, travel expenses, those lovely meals with international students, and chairs for the beautiful patio table! And right now the college is offering a matching fund! That's two chairs for the donation cost of one!