Gotta love MSN

Since my email address is hosted by MSN, whenever I close out my inbox, I get to see the MSN headlines for the day. Today there was a picture of an amazing looking steak with a link that said "Find the best steaks in your area!" Naturally, being an American who wasn't the least bit hungry, I clicked on the link. And with a search based on my zip code that was automatically generated, up popped the list.

Best steak in my area?

"Steak and Shake." No joke.

Followed by a few other fast food joints, and about 25 on the list was an actual steakhouse in the area that serves, y'know, MEAT.

Restraining sarcastic comment about quality news sources...

"I have never had a day of clarity in my life."

One of my favorite stories of all time is the account of a conversation between Mother Teresa and John Kavanaugh, the noted philosopher. Mr. Kavanaugh had gone to Calcutta for about three months in the 70s to spend time with Mother Teresa and "regroup" or "refuel" as he considered the next move in his career. At one point during this experience, Mother Teresa asked what she could pray about for him. Feeling blessed to have such a woman offer to pray on his behalf, Mr. Kavanaugh responded without hesitation, "Pray that I would have clarity as I seek out what I should be doing next with my life." Mother Teresa smiled gently and responded, "No. I won't do that." Surprised, Mr. Kavanaugh responded, "Why not? You have certainly always had clarity!" The little woman laughed and shook her head. "John," Mother Teresa replied, "I have never had a day of clarity in my life. What I have always had is trust. And that is what I shall pray that you will have as well."

I love this thoughtful exchange because it is powerfully true, and it is something I can completely relate to. I have likewise never had a day of clarity in my life. But I can say this: I have seen Jesus, and I know God. I don't understand Him, but I KNOW Him. And that is enough. Fully enough to provide all the strength I need for one more day of following after the most radical and scandalous Savior the world has ever known.

Pictures of Sana'a

The first time I travelled to the Middle East was back in 2004. I remember looking out over the hillsides of Amman one afternoon and commenting to my friend Jessica with an emphatic shake of my head, "This place is beautiful." She tilted her head, studied the landscape for a moment, and then replied, "It's pretty. Don't know if I would call it beautiful."

Beauty is certainly in the eye of the beholder. But that being said, to this day I love the landscapes that stretch across the vast lands of the Middle East. Surveying pictures of Sana'a, Yemen, make me that much more excited to be spending the summer there. Sana'a has a very different look from other places I've travelled in the ME, but it incorporates some of the classic elements of the region that I love so much. Check out these links to see for yourself:

National Geographic

Old Sana'a

Wayfaring

Re-entry Program for a Repeat Blogger

Yours truly is re-entering the blogosphere. To my fellow repeat bloggers who have written blogs, gained a following, and then randomly deleted them, welcome. So glad to be among friends. To all others, I make no promises of consistent updates, but feel free to follow. I would love to have you around.

I'm heading off to Yemen for the summer and am unsure of the accessibility of facebook there, so I've decided to find an alternate place to store random updates. Anyway facebook profiles take for-ev-er to load with any connection that's not highspeed, and while I recognize patience as a virtue, it is not one that I seem to possess (at least liberally). A move to an official blog site seemed in order.

Stay tuned.