Its amazing to see God work in the littlest ways! This morning, this weekend, the last few months haven't been any different.
"Because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail.
They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness." ~Lamentations 3:22-23
To start, God puts people in your life for a reason and one of those people is my friend and sister Amie Beth! She is a teacher in Northern Virginia with one of my dearest friends, Jennifer M., who was a roommate my fifth year at Virginia Tech. Jennifer always said that the two of us had to meet because we had a lot in common, soon we will have even more in common as we are both "Racers" to be! We've been able to hang out a few times, and have had a lot of phone calls since June. Being on a September 2013 Route, Amie Beth leaves for her World Race in 8 days!! I can't wait to follow along with her as she heads down to Central America 4 months ahead of me 🙂 You can see more about her journey and how God truly is working at her blog, www.amiebeadling.theworldrace.org
"You are compelled to have adrenaline pumping through your veins. Others enjoy being around you. They love to live vicariously through your adventures."
Getting to spend time with friends is always a blessing, especially as I don't live close to a lot of my Virginia Tech friends. This weekend in Atlanta was wonderful for that reason; I got to catch up with a lot of great friends even if for a few brief moments (or 2 hour long Skype phone calls)! Its great being able to meet back up and feel like you haven't skipped a beat, even if its been years! I even learned more about some of my friends and their faith that made my heart smile 
You all know who you are and you know how truly special you are to my life 🙂 I can't wait till we get to spend time together again, hopefully sooner rather than later. Maybe a few trips to NC, DC (VA/MD), CA, and TN are in order before I head out on the Race 🙂
Let's Go!
On the trip back up from Atlanta I stopped off at Outpost Armory and REI. I find myself talking about the WR to everyone… including people I haven't met. I know that God is amazing and that sharing His impact on me is a great way to declare His love to others 🙂 While at the Outpost, I was looking at various waterproof containers as options for me during the Race (among other things!), and I got to talking about my trip. One of the gentleman next to me sang out, "Doing the work of the Lord! Amen sister!" It just made me smile, yes, I am doing the good work of the Lord!
"For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do." ~Ephesians 2:10
The REI trip is just another example of God winks in my life. As I was looking at towels, a gentleman named Kerry came up and asked if he could help, and as I started to explain what I'm doing he quickly said, "You're doing the World Race!" And from there, it was an amazing adventure throughout the store assessing what I had, what I still needed, and continuous excitement and thanks from Kerry for what I was doing. While I was trekking around the store in a pack, a girl (Whitney P.) came up and asked if I was doing the WR. Turns out, her sister was a Racer in 2010 and that she had 3 Racers staying with her who had finished the Race about a month ago! We planned for a meet up in the morning. God is good 🙂
Coffee this morning in Nashville was so fantastic! It was so great to see the hearts of these two women and one guy and their passion for Christ and the WR 🙂 The amount of tips and insights they provided have made me even more comfortable and excited about this journey. I feel like I'm almost completely packed (or at least with a good idea of what I have left). I have been filled with an overwhelming hope for what God can do in my heart through this entire experience!!
"May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope." ~ Romans 15:13
God is good, all the time, and all the time, God is good!!
Amy Beth
