  JOURNAL NOTES -- "May 12, 2003" (NOTE: These notes were taken prior to and up to my first mission trip ever in another country! I will be sharing these posts with you on the upcoming posts. I hope that you will enjoy and share the excitement that I felt as I embarked upon this new journey! :)) A good prayer to remember as we embark on our upcoming journey: Grant to us, O Lord, the royalty of inward happiness, and the serentity which comes from living close to thee. Daily renew in us the sense of joy, and let the eternal Spirit of the Father dwell in our souls and bodies, filling every corner of our hearts with light and grace; so that, bearing about with us the infection of good courage, we may be diffusers of life, and may meet all ills and cross accidents with galiant and high-hearted happiness, giving thee thanks always for all things.
-- Robert Louis Stevenson The Weaver - Author Unknown My life is but a weaving, between my Lord and me, I cannot chose the colors, He weaveth steadily. Oftentimes He weaveth sorrow, and I in foolish pride Forget He sees the upper, and I, the underside. Not 'til the loom is silent and the shuttles cease to fly, Shall God unroll the canvas and explain the reason why.
The dark threads are as needful in the skilled Weaver's hand As the threads of gold and silver in the pattern he has planned. This is something I had posted on my website a while ago; however, it seems very appropriate to include it with my journal as I prepare for my faith journey to Guatemala in June since Guatemala is known for their finely, tightly woven goods. This poem adds such meaning & depth to the looms & woven goods we are about to see. 
