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Hope

Over three weeks since I last bit my nails--I can't believe it! They're starting to get long enough for me to use a nail clipper now though so figured I'd snipe a pic. One of my nails (on the other hand) started tempting me today so I ended up "peeling it" away instead of patiently waiting to use a real nail clipper at home today. I am so tempted to just do the same to the other nine nails now, particularly because I know I already "gave in" to one. GAH must resist..


Had the chance to check out Milano Bakery yesterday during lunch-time. Jan and I have been having monthly outings for lunch where we actually leave our cubicles and our buildings.

The first time we did this was back in November when a Groupon deal prompted us to drive 6 minutes away from our building for lunch. This was a really epic moment because despite having worked in Detroit for 4-6 months prior, neither of us had EVER veered off the Ann Arbor to RenCen (and vice versa) route. In the brief 6 minute drive out, we saw sides of Detroit that vastly contrasted with the building we locked ourselves in for months. "Coincidentally" this happened during our church-wide Missions Week, where Jaeson Ma prophecied about the restoration of Detroit and our pastor shared personally about how God might be opening doors for us to be involved. This was the beginning of God opening my eyes and growing my heart for the D.

Who knows what this really means for my future, but it's been a lot of fun engaging more with the city since. I'm thankful for the opportunities I had to learn about the city by volunteering with great non-profits, organizations, and social enterprises like Junior Achievement, DP Day, and Get Fresh Detroit--but these organizations can only do so much.

In the end, what Detroit needs is HOPE--and this boundless, unchanging, eternal hope isn't going to come from a passionate politician, entrepreneur, or philanthropist. Detroit needs JC, our Lord and Savior, to continue to have hope and trust in God's goodness even through undesirable circumstances.

"Do you not know? Have you not heard? The LORD is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He will not grow tired or weary, and his understanding no one can fathom. He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak. Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall; but those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint." -Isaiah 40:28-31

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