Pray for Scotland

If you've been paying attention to the news, you might know today is a big day for Scotland. 

Today they vote on whether they want to be an independent nation or remain part of the United Kingdom. 

I've been trying to pay attention to all of the articles that are out there (and there are a lot) and listen to both sides of this discussion. I've read articles that talk about what the Yes vote will mean for the future of Scotland and what it will mean for other countries and leaders around the world. I've read articles that talk about the importance of the No vote for the stabilization of economy, as just a starting point. 
I've been really conflicted on both sides of this discussion over the past few weeks, agreeing with the Queen that people need to "think very carefully about the future." 

I found some tweets from Annie Downs this morning that really opened my eyes. I will confess, I read them not only looking for information about the vote, but also hoping to find what side she fell on in this debate. Maybe to help me have an opinion that was consistent with the Scottish people's voice, I don't know. 

But you know what? She cut through all the political talk about the vote. She titled her post "Today, we pray for Scotland." She shared some information links about the vote to help Americans understand what is at stake today. But in the end? She reminded her readers that at the end of the day, we need to pray for the people. Stand with our brothers and sisters in Scotland. Pray for revival in Scotland. Pray for the future of this country. 

It is so much more than a "yes" or a "no" vote today.  

I sit here far away from Scotland and Annie, but my heart is with them both. I am ashamed for thinking that this was just a simple vote. I forgot that our purpose in life is not to reduce people to the number of votes that come in on any particular political issue. There are real life people behind those votes and today I am praying for them. I am praying that God will give peace to the people and bring revival to that place, no matter the outcome of today's vote.

This rest of this post is taken from Annie's blog.  Join us in praying for Scotland. 

Will you join me in praying for Scotland today?

Here is what I’m praying:

–> For revival in Scotland (here’s a great article about that)

–> For the future of that nation politically.

–> For the rescue and salvation of relationships between Scots on the “yes” and “no” side, no matter the result. I have watched dear friends on both sides of the issue argue on Facebook, and everyone is seriously passionate, and I’m praying that God would give them the ability to reunite despite the harsh words and deep opposing feelings. Praying peace for all the hearts.

–> For God to do what only He can do- use this to draw the Scottish people to Himself.

Prayers you didn't know you prayed

It is a new morning ritual of mine to grab my iPod before I even get out of bed and check email, Facebook, Twitter and my Google Reader. It helps me get all that "stuff" out of the way before I am actually awake enough to function for real. This sometimes results in me falling back to sleep waiting for a page to load but, oh well!
To my shock/joy/excitement about a hundred thousand other joyous emotions, I ran across this post by a woman I previously only knew through the blogosphere as "Annie." I am following her trek to Scotland and the things she is learning about faith and herself in the process. What really grabbed me was the pictures at the end of the post. Did they look familiar to you, if you hopped over there? Well, they should! If you didn't, this is what the pictures were of: Remember this church I found while I was in Scotland? I fell in love with it, flaws, abuse, weeds and all. I find it hard to put it succinctly into words, or even into words at all, the reason why this church stood out to me the way it did. Whatever the words, I almost hoped that it would stay like this, as a beautiful reminder of some great Truth about God's love never ending no matter how messed up we get.
But Annie's post changed all of that for me.
There is a church (Crossroads Church Edinburgh) that desperately wants to meet in a church. Not just any church. This church. They went out one day and cleaned the weeds from the front of the church in faith that God hears and will answer their prayers concerning this building.
And I wonder...did God allow me to find this church, fall in love with this church, so that in two (almost three) odd years later, I could pray specifically for Crossroads Church to have this beautiful place? So I could call up a well-loved memory, put myself on that sidewalk, and pray with them for the joy and purpose of the Kingdom work that will be done there?
I couldn't have known all of that on that weekend I fell in love with Scotland. No way. I had no way of knowing how to pray for Crossroads Church. But God placed in my heart a love for that particular plot of land, that particular building, those particular people that would eventually worship there.

Join me in praying for and with Crossroads Church concerning their dreams of meeting one day in this building. I think I started praying years ago for them, but it is so nice to be able to put a name with the church!

I have to ask: when in your life has God answered prayers you didn't know you had prayed?

(Check out the rest of Annie's blog here.)

the one with pictures from Scotland

So here they are--pictures from Scotland. Trust me, you are glad I waited. If I hadn't, I would have missed all the great pictures on the train ride home...that and I didn't have my camera cord with me this past weekend...
To finish the weekend...dinner was a bit of a bust. They somehow forgot we had a reservation (even though our leader made the reservation that same day...) so that caused a bit of a problem. I got fish and chips with mushy peas, which seemed odd because it was a bit more of a posh place. I wasn't expecting fish, chips and mushy peas to be on the menu. Everything was good, though, so I suppose that evened everything out.
Another four hour train ride...complete with naps and novel reading. This time, though, it was light out so I could see the Scottish country side. Wow. It's amazing. I'll let you decide for yourself though...
So here we go! This first picture is of Edinburgh Castle. It was beautiful. From the top of the tower, you can see for miles. It's really something to see...This is the Castle, up close and personal.
This church was outside of my hotel window. It looked sad and abused, but it was still a church. And I loved that you can still tell what it is even though the years haven't been kind to it. I hope I can live a life that reflects that...that I never forget who I am and Whose I am.

So these next two pictures are the ones I took from the train. Aren't you glad you had to wait? This train ride home is, I am quite confidant, when I fell in love with Scotland. Wow. It has everything really. Town, city, country--you name it! And the hills...the beautiful hills with the snow...Before I keep going and rant and rave, I'll let the pictures do the talking...
We'll I hope you've enjoyed the visual smorgasbord (as Dr. Tom would say) of Scotland pictures. Somehow, time has again sneaked up on me and it is way past my bedtime. I keep reminding myself that even though my time here is almost up, I still have classes. You see how successful I've been with that. I'll just put this on my list of things to do over Christmas break: sleep.

the post from Scotland

Hello from Scotland! Now before you all get excited, there are no pictures with this post. I've spoiled you, I know. But at least I'm updating, right?
Friday we took a four hour train ride to Edinburgh. That was fun...yeah.
This morning, after a delicious Scottish breakfast (which is very similar to an English breakfast--actually, it's the exact same thing just a different country) we went to see Edinburgh by bus tour. No, not an enclosed, warm bus tour. It was the kind with the double decker bus with a bit of the top open. Guess where we sat? Yup. In the freezing cold! It was really nice though. You couldn't feel your face or toes after a while, so it wasn't so bad.
After the tour, we went to Edinburgh Castle. It was sooo beautiful! (Oh and Dad, I have inherited your propensity to take FOREVER in museums/ tour-y places. Thank you, so much. :) )
After I spent a few hours there walking around in the freezing cold (not an exaggeration, by the way) I walked back through the Grassmarket to my hotel. For those who like places with a bit of an interesting history, they used to hang people in the Grassmarket. There is also a pub here called 'The Last Drop' which I found very clever.
Tonight is a GSE dinner, which is great for two reasons: I don't have to make it/ clean it up and it's 'free'. Meh. I've paid for it already so I'll enjoy myself. That means starters and maybe even dessert! And that shows you how much I eat when I cook for myself!
Well the gloves I'm wearing are getting in my way a bit...so I think I'll sign off here. Cheers from cold Scotland!