Merry Christmas!

Are there really only a few days left in 2019?! It feels like yesterday I was hopping on a flight to Atlanta to launch on the World Race and yet, here we are.

The last couple weeks have been an adjustment for sure. The newness of getting home has begun to wear off, and as I’m now spending time with family and getting ready to move south next week, the reality that the Race is over has a new feel to it.

The small things still get me, like waking up in the morning in a room by myself or the fact that I somehow had more privacy/quiet time on the Race (big family). Even sitting around the table playing Catan with my brothers has a different feel now that we’re all, at least legally, adults. This isn’t to say that I dislike being home. Catching up with friends and family has been so special; it’s just not the life I’m used to.

And yet, that’s ok.

As this Christmas season rolls on, I’m remembering that Jesus never said following Him would be easy, just that it would be worth it. I’m sure it wasn’t easy for Joseph and Mary to pick up and move several times. I’m sure it wasn’t easy for Jesus to live roughly 30 years till He was ready to start His ministry (especially with all the probable gossip behind His back about His virgin birth). And, I know it wasn’t easy for Him to give up everything for a torturous death. Yet, they did those things and the results were glorious!

Back to the present now. Some days are easy, while others all I want is to get back on the field, to the life that I became used to, to my squad who’ve become closer than family, and yet, this perspective on God’s plan helps to push me through and gives me the needed encouragement to keep going when I don’t want to. It’s not always easy, but as I’m increasingly learning, it’s definitely worth it.

So, this Christmas, I’m thankful for the incredible year I’ve had and also for the pain in it. The pain that reminds me of how much I love others. The pain that reminds me why I need a savior. The pain that reminds me why we celebrate Christmas and needed it in the first place.

For some, this season is full of joy and laughter, while to others, it’s full of pain and remembrance, and still others, a mixture. Yet, regardless of where we are at, I praise God for loving us enough to willingly submit Himself, as a Father and as a Son, to pain through the gift of Jesus for us. All the glory to Him!

Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, 

who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God. 

For just as we share abundantly in the sufferings of Christ, so also our comfort abounds through Christ. -2 Corinthians 1:3-5

For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counselor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace. -Isaiah 9:6

God Bless!

-Ben

Also, I surprised my sister when I got home a week early. Enjoy!

Just a small-town Minnesota boy following Jesus in a big world. Make sure to subscribe and follow along with this crazy adventure! God Bless!

Encounter in Italy

I’m Home!!!

I’ve been back in Minnesota for two days now and wow what a whirlwind it’s been.

I spent the past couple weeks in Italy, debriefing, processing, thinking, relaxing, and it was amazing and yet awful all at once.

Several months ago when I was planning the trip, I didn’t plan on traveling alone, on spending the whole time in Italy, on it being a “shorter” trip; and yet, God knew what He was doing.

My original plan was to travel to a couple countries with some friends as a time to relax and have fun after completing the World Race. As time progressed though, people, and even myself, made plans for after the race and eventually I came to the realization that I would be traveling alone. I wasn’t confident in this at first but went with it anyway because I figured it would at least be a way to “prove myself” in traveling around alone.

Then, a week or so before I embarked, God told me that the few weeks would be a time of encounter, and that He had something planned for me. He had orchestrated the time so it would be just me and Him. I was excited for the possibilities with this, but, as usual, I don’t always understand what God means when He gives me words for months.

The trip started off well in Lecce, Italy where I was upgraded to a private suite, but then my emotions started kicking in. I realized how much I miss my squad family, the people back home, and even the people I’ve worked with around the world (especially the kids). I would go back and forth in a weird tug of war from missing people back home so much, to absolutely loving where I was at, especially Rome which became one of my favorite places in the world. This see-saw went on for a few days with me equally praising God and crying out to Him for where I was at. I learned though, that’s where I needed to be.

God taught me a lot about myself in those two weeks, including the importance of relationships and a physical connection with others, and how to love others within my own boundaries. I’ve never been great at these in my past, often spending a lot of time by myself with only a few friends and also overstepping my boundaries with others. As I found out though, God has redeemed these areas this year and showed me not only how important these are, but how to balance them too, standing on His Word and what I know to be true the whole time, regardless of whether He feels close or not.

So, was it a time of encounter? Yes it was. It wasn’t what I thought it would be, but hey, when is it?

Now, I’m here around home for a few weeks before Project Searchlight and Lifestyle Christianity in January. I can’t wait to continue to see my family and friends after over 11 months apart and catch up with all that’s happened. But, more than anything, I can’t wait to see what God has next. As I continue to learn, my expectations aren’t always what God has in mind; but that’s ok. It’s how it should be.

“For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts. For as the rain and snow come down from heaven and do not return there but water the earth, making it bring forth and sprout, giving seed to the sower and bread to the eater, so shall my word be that goes out from my mouth; it shall not return empty, but it shall accomplish that which I purpose, and shall succeed in the thing for which I sent it.”

-Isaiah 55:8-11

God Bless!

-Ben

Also, I only have a few weeks at home but please reach out and let me know if you'd like to meet up and/or talk about the World Race, Lifestyle Christianity or really anything!

Just a small-town Minnesota boy following Jesus in a big world. Make sure to subscribe and follow along with this crazy adventure! God Bless!