so, its my goal to be productive today and before the entire day slips away i feel its kinda important to define what a productive day really means.  for me it means shooting off an email that could radically change my life forever (more on that another time), having an encouraging/challenging talk with my dad, getting the oil changed in my car, meeting with friends and worshipping God.  If I did all that today, i would deem this day productive.  but what happens if that doesn’t happen?  what happens then?  what about the unknown?  can the unknown still be considered productive?  i believe it can and here is why…we can define a productive day with a long to do list of “good things.”  But as believers we must remember that God is the one who has it all under control!  He is the one with the plan and so with that in mind a productive day does not need to be defined by how much of our stuff that we get done.  It should be defined by how much we get done with God in a particular day or time period.  If I don’t accomplish anything on my list but have a day with God waiting on Him and listening to His voice, I would still consider that day to be productive.  so, here’s to a productive day!

San Diego may not be my home and I may not even be living here for a long time…but that doesn’t change the fact that it is an amazingly beautiful place to live.  Today for example I spent the afternoon and evening with friends at the beach.  As I sat in my chair with my feet in the sand looking out at the waves I was once again reminded of God’s amazing creation.  What a view I had and what an excellent reminder of God it was to witness firsthand.  At night, Kosova is pretty amazing with the crisp, clear sky and bright stars but there is not much better than sitting on Coronado beach with your feet in the sand watching the waves break off shore under a blue sky.  Isn’t God amazing??

sitting in the budapest airport waiting for my flight to begin boarding, all i can hear is the hum of the restaurant fridge and the beep beep beep of the register.  as i type and drink my last bottle of hungarian coke, this whole idea of “going home” has begun to cross my mind.  technically (according to my passport) my country of origin or “my home” is the united states of america.  so, as i continue my journey that started 17 hours ago to america i am in a sense “going home.”  but is america really where i call home?  if you walk into my parents house, one thing you will see posted on the wall is a sign that reads…”home is where the heart is.”  i have read that sign too many times to count or remember growing up and i believe it still rings true today.  with that in mind, if home truly is where your heart is then i am not so sure that my home is “america.”  i am still an american but i believe my home is elsewhere then the land of the free and the home of the brave.  so, if home is not america…then where is it?  if the sign in my parents house is correct then my home is in heaven!  that might sound like the “easy” answer for one who has a relationship with Jesus, but it is so true in my life.  my heart belongs to Him and therefore my one and only true home is heaven!  what a reminder this whole flight “home” thing has been about my real reason for being here and real home!  now with that said some might say that if heaven is my real home than america is just the temporary one.  to that statement i would say no as well.  my home in america is indeed temporary but i don’t believe my heart is there anymore.  you see, God has captured my heart and made it to beat with a intense passion for the people and countries of this world outside the USA.  my heart is there, and now after my trip to kosova, my body may be there as well.  america is not supposed to be my earthly home for very much longer and now after my recent trip to europe i know that for sure.  where I will “set up shop” next is still unclear but i believe it won’t be america long term and it will be somewhere where i can share the truth and invite as many people to come with me to my real home as i possibly can.  so, am i going home, no way…there are still billions of people outside the usa that need to hear how they can really be sure they are going home!