This week is
starting off great. Yesterday we had the "Friends of St. James" service, which
I felt went really well. The food was good (and I'm secretly glad that there
was enough pumpkin pie left over for us Americans to have some!!), the
presentation went well, the games were fun, and it was so neat to be able to
form better relationships with some of the older members of the church! It has
been a prayer of mine lately for God to give me the capacity to see people
through His eyes, and it's something I really have to work on, but God is
helping me to see just how precious those people are to Him—and how precious
you and I are to Him as well.

I can't believe
Thanksgiving is next week—I always feel like after Halloween, time really
starts to fly by until Christmas. Only 32 days left until I come home! As we
approach Thanksgiving next week (for you guys back home at least!), there truly
is much to be thankful for. I, myself, am at a sweet point in my life
spiritually. We are going through a book called "Listening Prayer," written by
Seth Barnes (founder of Adventures in Missions). While I am familiar with the
concept of listening prayer, having been on trips with AIM for the past 3
years, it is something that I need a lot of practise on—learning to be still
and listen for God's voice, and being able to discern His voice in my life.
Setting aside time to not only pray to God daily, but actually listen
to Him, helps our relationship grow so much. In my discipleship time where
Andrea (one of my leaders) disciples me, we've been reading the book called
"Captivating" by John and Stasi Elderedge. At the point I'm at in the book, it
talks about how God romances us--and beauty is probably one of the most
misunderstood qualities of God. God IS beautiful--and since we are made in His
image, He made us to be beautiful!

"God is relational to his core; he
has a heart for romance. He longs to share adventures with us--adventures you
cannot accomplish without him. And finally, God has a beauty to unveil. A
beauty that is captivating and powerfully redemptive."

Something I think
all women struggle with at some point in their lives is their beauty and how
they view themselves. I know I do! But God made us to bear his image—and
his image is one of beauty! My prayer is that I will see myself as God sees me
and truly value my worth, and that is also my prayer for all of the women
reading this! I pray that God will romance all of you more each day as you seek
Him!

All of us (minus Katie) at Friends of St. James: