God Shows Up blog series

My First Trip To Africa

by tiffanyGod Shows UpPosted on No Comments

In 2016 I had a grand adventure with God. I went on my first over seas mission trip. It was to South Africa. It was a big and scary trip for me, but I was excited. I had dreamed about taking a trip to Africa for awhile. Now I was able to take my first trip to Africa.

I learned and grew a lot even before I left the country.

The first thing came months before the actual trip. Did you know it takes a lot to plan for a mission trip? We had meetings and homework in order to plan the lessons and activities. This was on top of planning and organizing the basics of travel. Yes, we had a wonderful leader who did a lot, but we were responsible to get the needed shots, our own packing, work related stuff, and fundraising for the trip’s expenses.

Automobile Issues with God’s help

Once everything was planned I thought things would be easy sailing for me. However, a week before the trip my car broke down in rush hour traffic on a curvy mountain highway. I had just enough momentum to get over a lane and pull over on the tiny shoulder.

God showed up by sending the highway partol tow truck out pretty quickly. He was able to tow it to a turn off, so that I would be safe.

The next issue was finding a tow truck who would bring me all the way back to my home area and to the mechanic I regularly saw. After a few calls and what felt like a long wait a truck finally came to tow my car to my mechanic.

I had to leave it outside their building over night on the street. God showed up that night, because there was no damage to my car. On another visit to my mechanic I did hear about a stranger’s car getting looted.

The car was fixed within a day or two. I had it before I left for my big trip. Yes, in the end everything worked out. However, the whole situation was stressful. It caused stress and anxiety. It was not a fun experience, but God was present in it.

My first trip to South Africa also had many God moments. Each time God showed up could fill up another blog post, which I do plan on writing.

Want More?

For more blog posts in this series you can visit my God Shows Up page. I also have a YouTube series that goes hand in hand with this written series.

DreamWard Bound; Where Did The Week Go?

by tiffanyDreamward boundPosted on One Comment

success

This week was a little crazy and all over the place. From Saturday to Tuesday evening I was basically imprisoned in my home, since my car would not start and, besides a wonderful friend who drove me to Church, I did not have another form of transportation. Truth be told most of the time I did not mind the imprisonment. I got a few things done around the house that I needed to get done and was able to edit my novel a bit. I also binge watched Once Upon A Time, so that was fun.

I started to revise my goals this week, but got as far as first goal. This was basically just giving a new dead line for my 2nd draft of my novel and giving a different reward. I was going to do it Tuesday since I took the day off because I was going to have to pick up my car from the shop, but I kept thinking that I didn’t have time to really focus on my goals. I could be able to pick up my car at any point in the day. It wasn’t until evening that I actually did pick up the car, so basically wasted a perfectly good day not doing anything.

Once I got my car back I was able to go back to work and then Jiu-Jitsu class on Wednesday, which made it feel like a Monday. On Thursday I could not stay still at work; this made the day really hard. I then went to a leadership meeting for my improv group and we decided when which weeks I would be leading. I’m excited to step up and be more involved, even though I have no time as it is.

Friday came a lot slower than I thought it should, but it came and I went to a friend’s kid’s talent show.

Saturday was the 6 year anniversary of arriving in California the first time I moved here. My friends and I call it our Californiverrasary. The four of us  hung out for most of the day and reminisced about the last 6 years. We discussed memories of the beginnings of building our new California life. We had a conversation about what was the most surprising thing to happen to us. We also talked about where we see ourselves in the next six years. It was great to talk and spend time with just the original ‘Eastcoasters,’ even though I love the spouses and other additions to the group. The four of us have a special relationship and it seemed almost needed to be reminded of that, by stepping away from all of our other loved ones.

Saturday also got me thinking about my life, past and future. That could be a whole other post though, so instead of going off on that tantrum I will leave you with the link to the only post I published this week.

Weekly Writing Prompt

Note: Links removed to site updates.

Magic Machine (A Poem)

by tiffanymy creative self, other updates, PoetryPosted on No Comments

poetry

I ride up into the sky
among the clouds they call fog,
watching the others disappear
into the mist,
into the darkness,
with the lights that shine from behind
being the only reminder of where they go.

I ride safe inside
my magic machine
that takes me far
over many lands
or close
where I can dream of far greater things.

Yes, I ride my magic machine into the sky.