God works in mysterious ways

God is at work whether I can see it or not.

That's pretty amazing if you think about it. God is always there you just don't always see him. Maybe its because you aren't looking or maybe you just can't make the connections yet. God has always been present in my life and its fun to look back on things that have happened over the course of my life that don't make sense in the moment but looking back you can see the connection.

John Bell

This past weekend I went to see John Bell for the second time in my life. For those of you who don't know who he is he is an amazing hymn writer, a speaker, a Presbyterian and a preacher among many other things. He is from Scotland but he came to one of the local churches here in Belfast this past weekend so me and some of the YAV went to go see him. He is just as inspiring as I remember from when I saw him the first time in Virginia.

During this past weekend, I was trying to remember what I could about the first time I saw him and I discovered that the music we sang stuck out most in my memory. And the one hymn that came to mind was The Summons, which he wrote and we sing in church back home a lot. Its funny that I blogged about that particular song just a few months ago and then here I get to see him again! Its pretty crazy to think that in some small way a part of the reason why I am here this year is because of John Bell and that hymn.

The Summons has always been in my top 5 favorite hymns of all time along with Here I am Lord and I'm starting to wonder if that is a sign or the beginning of something. Its almost as if I'm beginning to see the connection between these different points in my life, but I still don't know where they lead. I hope that by the end of this year I will have a better understanding of where that might be...

 Trust in the Lord with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding. Seek his will in all you do, and he will show you which path to take. Proverbs 3:5-6 (NLT).