Welcome to my suitcase

If you were to come into my bedroom right now, you'd probably think I was the messiest person on earth. My bed and floor are absolutely covered in clothes, suitcases, and hundreds of random items, from dental floss to a bright red first aid kit to my beloved copy of the Pilgrim's Progress. Pretty chaotic, I'll admit. There is an explanation, but it'll probably seem about as crazy as my room looks. I'm moving to Israel this Saturday, for three and a half months.
I know, I know, it's dangerous! There's war, and it's far away from home and comfort, and...
I've heard them all.
It's not that I've always had this dream to go to "the Holy Land" and walk where Jesus walked. The thought had never really crossed my mind until about four years ago, when my math teacher in my tiny international school in Spain, who just happened to have graduated from Master's, was discussing the Holocaust and Jewish culture with me and a few classmates. I had never heard anyone speak with so much passion and intimate knowledge about Israel and its history. Her eyes lit up as she talked about the life-changing semester she'd spent in Israel. "If I ever get to go to Master's, I'm going to IBEX (Israel Bible Extension)," I thought to myself. Well, the Lord is good, and I'm at the college of my dreams, and it's time for me to go to IBEX for a life-changing semester of my own. I couldn't be more excited.
While I was sitting in the airplane last night on the way home from an amazing weekend in Louisville with my amazing sister and brother-in-law, I grabbed one of those napkins they give you with your drink, and I jotted down five goals. I share parts of them with you now: PLEASE hold me accountable.
1) Press on diligently to know and enjoy God more by becoming more intimately familiar with and enthralled by His Word, esp. the OT, by spending quality time each day in prayer and heart-examination, and by pursuing excellence in my studies.
2) Actively pursue genuine fellowship with my roommates, looking not to my own interests but to theirs, and daily seeking to encourage them and point them to the cross by my words and actions.
3) Make a genuine effort to get to know, love, and stir up each of my fellow students toward love and good deeds, being intentional in my conversations with them and displaying joyful Christlikeness toward them at all times.
4) Make it a point to spend time getting to know my professors and their wives, observing and learning from their example and ministering to them in whatever ways I can.
5) Guard my time jealously... rising early to make the most of my mornings.
In a nutshell: BECOME UNSHAKABLE AND SPREAD UNSHAKABLE JOY (Ps. 62:5-8)

But wait... if I'm trying to guard my time jealously and redeem it for God's glory, why start a blog? Actually, I've asked myself that a lot lately.
The thing is, I'm getting the opportunity to do something that most people will never get to do in their lifetime, and many I've talked to would gladly hop into one of those suitcases on my bed and come with me to study God's Word in the Promised Land if they could. I SO wish that all of you could come. But I'm afraid you'd be terribly uncomfortable in my suitcase. So the next best thing I could come up with was a blog. I want you to experience what I'm experiencing, and through my blog, to see my eyes lit up as I share Israel with you.
And although I know I could probably fill up an entire page each day about what I'm learning, I want to take goal number 5 seriously. So as soon as I know my schedule for each week, I will pick an "Internet day". On that day I'll post a blog, e-mail, facebook, all that good stuff. It'll be great. Stay tuned ;)
Leave lots of comments and e-mail lots and most of all, pray for me a lot. Those goals are IMPOSSIBLE apart from God's grace.

Until next week, shalom.