Overflowing with joy, peace,... and snot!

The last 10 days or so have been absolutely wonderful...

I have been filled to overflowing with joy and peace, just as I have been praying for since I arrived in Greece.

Unfortunately, I have also had a cold, and while the worst of it had ended after just a couple of days... I still am overflowing with that lovely stuff that comes with colds, yeah... blah, lol. Seriously, is there no end? :)

Oh well, all of the good stuff has definitely overshadowed that annoyance!

I am in the middle of writing a report to share with my new fellow Hellenic Ministries missionaries at our family conference coming up in mid-April. I'll likely post it eventually... but for now, it's enough to say that each of my primary prayer focus points for this season of my life are being answered in very special ways...

They are for:
Connections and Relationships
Focus on THE goal
Staying in tune to the Holy Spirit's leading
Being filled to overflowing with the love, joy, and peace of Christ

**I have so many new connections and relationships I am building in Athens already that I am actually starting to get concerned that I have too many friends, haha. Is that a bad problem? I am praying the Lord will help me be faithful to encourage and spend quality time with those he leads me to invest most in... I just... wow, yeah, can't even begin to start listing all of the very special people that I have met so far, mostly because I don't want to leave any of them out! They range from being random people I have met on a bus, to students from Canada and America here for a few weeks or a few months, to Greek students in Bible studies, to fellow classmates from all over the world learning modern Greek with me, to adult men and women of all ages at church or Bible studies who have offered much encouragement and wisdom, to fellow missionaries from a number of different organizations all over Athens, and... yeah, okay, I could go on, but I should stop... Again, Lord, thanks for making it such a passion of mine to meet new people and start new friendships!! :)

**My prayer last summer was for the eyes and ears to see and hear clearly where the Lord is calling me, and then to have the courage and strength to respond. That is still my prayer, but I've modified the "focus" of that a bit.
The eyes - for "FOCUS on my one and only goal, Jesus Christ!" As I am seeking first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, all else will be added... and oh, it sure has been, let me tell you! :)
The ears - to stay IN TUNE to the Holy Spirit's leading. I want to keep developing an ever more clear sense of when the Holy Spirit nudges me to respond to his promptings for steps big or small. I want to know and recognize the voice of the Lord so intimately that I don't have to doubt or question it.

**And oh my goodness, I have been overflowing SO MUCH with the love, joy, and peace of the Lord. In fact all through last week I kept making the comment to some of my friends that if God wasn't careful, he was going to drown me in this overflowing flood of his goodness and presence in my life. I LOVE IT! Keep filling me up, Lord! :) I have been able to have a few sweet intimate dates with God... along a beautiful beach, and in my sun-filled room, and during a Greek church service, etc... and I want more. :) Because it is WAY too fun to let the joy, peace, and love that I am filled with, overflow and encourage those around me. It's absolutely wonderful the feeling of not needing any of it in return when I give it out, because, yes, remember: God is keeping me FULL to OVERFLOWING! Then of course in the process of giving it out, it always returns in even greater abundance even though you don't have the sense of needing it... but anyway, of course that is one of the special, beautiful ways that God continually keeps me overflowing! At times I feel almost too giddy to handle it, yeah... really, I'm serious. Haha, I know there was a few times people just kinda chuckled at me like I was crazy when I had this big, goofy grin filling my entire face when they asked me how my week was going... but what can I do? I just can't help it!! :) And I guess for now I'm not yet having a self-conscious complex about being the big "goofy, giddy" girl, haha! ;)

ANYWAY...
Thank you so much Father for everything! :) And thanks for drawing me ever closer to yourself, so that as I am looking to you, others will see a light beam shining brightly, piercing the darkness of this world, and directly pointing the way to you: THE way, THE truth, and the LIFE... Thank you for redeeming me and cleansing me and covering me in your righteousness so that I have this privilege of helping bring glory, honor, and praise to your precious name! I love you, Lord!! :D