we love because he first loved us: The good, the bad, and the ugly... And the good news.

So… Sarah has decided to let me take the reigns of the blog this month. Lets hope I don’t screw it up. Lol. I want to talk this time on a couple things. First would be the things we are thankful for. The second would be struggles. I think it is very important to share both. Transparency is a concept that can truly benefit relationships, and to be honest each of you reading this are worth it. I cant help but to picture the audience that will read this as I write it, and the fact is it makes me quite emotional.

This post will be a bit spiritual. I hope it is welcomed and received as a blessing, because all of you have been a blessing to us… probably more than you’ll ever know.

To start with the things we are grateful for, I’ll try my best to keep it on track cause frankly no single blog post could house all the things in life both big and small that deserve gratitude. Keep in mind that these are not in order of importance (except for the first one because that is obvious).
We are thankful for:

· (Personally) My Wife!!!!!!!!!!!!!

· The life God has given us

· That God would use us for His will

· People (both friends and family) who show us so much undeserved love

· The new student friends we are making

· Great little tucked away places (like this coffee shop I’m in) where we can be in community with God

· The Bible

· The internet

· The opportunity to grow up in an environment that teaches about God’s love (which now we see is an amazing blessing)

· Amazing spiritual leaders God has given to us throughout our lives

· Adam Wright’s music… We feel very close to God listing to him sing

· Knowing that this place is not our home (nor is Birmingham)

· Learning and using a new language (there is nothing like being a foreigner speaking to someone in their native language)

· And so much more…

Being able to look at this small list helps us so much during times where we feel like a victim or just down about life, and we are happy to be able to share these things with you.

Moving on to the struggles we face it becomes a little harder to put words on paper… or virtual paper in this case. Sharing struggles takes a bit of humility, which I’m sure most all of you know, can be quite hard for me. The majority of these are my own struggles, and ill try not to identify Sarah with them.

You would think given our situation that my faith would be at soaring levels. Well, unfortunately it has been quite a struggle for me. Yes, my faith in core/essential matters is unwavering, but the day to day faith that God will take care of matters or the results of my efforts is desperately lacking. This has brought about false idols in my life, like:

· Being the one who’s right and/or knows best when communicating with Sarah (instead of showing her love)

· My own efforts/abilities and having results that I want to see

· The desire to fit in with and gain approval of my American friends here

· Being a good instagram-er

I know some of these things sound legit and others sound kind of ridiculous. The fact is, when I’m honest with myself, I often try to find my identity in these fruitless matters.

Now, the good news is that with time in the Word and reflecting on the things formerly mentioned, there is a clear path out of these struggles. It is also very important to know that the life of a Christian is not a life free from struggles, but yet a life with a loving Father to give your struggles over to no matter how great they may be. Often, I have to remind myself that He provides me shelter and peace, and through my weakness I am made strong in Him.

We love and miss you all so much,

Craig & Sarah

Til next time we hope you have days filled with blessings and leave you with a few pictures of course.